Springbok Rugby
Springbok duo Gurthro Steenkamp and Gary Botha’s arrival at French club Toulouse has been held up by visa problems, the Top 14 club’s forwards coach Yannick Bru said on Wednesday.
From a South African perspective the rugby calendar makes little sense. The way the international fixtures are currently set out does not really allow for any competition to run its course to completion, it has therefor been proposed that there will be a break in the Super Rugby competition next year to allow the June tour window, and then the Super Rugby competition will resume. In between all this, there is a Currie Cup that will now take a further step back to accommodate the Super Rugby and International fixtures.
Tim Noakes has denied accusing anyone of match fixing or any claims that the Springboks’ quarterfinal match against Australia officiated by Bryce Lawrence was either ‘fixed’ or ‘bent’, as has been reported.
In a letter to Sport24, Noakes claimed that his statements had been misconstrued and taken out of context. Continue reading
Peter de Villiers is beskikbaar om die Springbok-rugbyspan vir langer af te rig.
As a general rule I watch the rugby not the referee.
This of course doesn’t mean that I don’t shout at the referee (even in front of the TV knowing pretty well that he can’t hear me) when he makes mistakes. I can see when the referee has a bad game and of course I get upset but I am, as a spectator, more interested in how we play; what do we do with the ball; our structures and systems at the tackle ball; our game tactics; what is the script we are following; our defensive patterns; are we showing improvement on previous games in areas we didn’t do well; how is our scrum going; are we using starter moves; running angles of the backline; how well is No10 dictating the match and where does he take up position behind the scrums, at rucks and line-outs and so forth.
A consequence of all that is that I tend to reflect more on why didn’t we get things right or what went wrong and what can we improve on, independent of whether we lose or win after the match. Continue reading
Our friend and fellow blogger, Ashley, felt strongly enough about the issue to send me the following Article to publish… this is his view on the matter and he asks certain rather interesting questions.
Here are his thoughts:
Has the hierarchy at New Zealand Rugby at last lost faith in their team? Have they (or at least some powerful individuals) at last reached a stage where they no longer believe that their team can win the World Cup on their own steam?
Well, from where I’m sitting it certainly seems to be the case.
Following on from GrootBlouSmile’s article about South African rugby’s next step. Here is my input.
GBS and BonzaiGBS
The South African National rugby shift boss…. errr sorry, coach appeared to have resigned in interviews in New Zealand, only to then deny that he had resigned upon arrival in South Africa. Whatever the situation, his 4-year contract comes to an end at the end of December 2011 anyway, which leaves the process open for a replacement to be appointed.
There has already been wide-spread speculation as to who the right candidates might be…. but that’s not why I am writing this Article!
Retiring Springbok Captain John Smit and his outgoing coach Peter de Villiers have placed a large portion of the blame on New Zealand referee Bryce Lawrence for their Rugby World Cup exit.
As you read this, Bakkies Botha is back in Pretoria, leaving behind him New Zealand and the next 3 games of the Rugby World Cup which ends on the 23 October.
Cause: “Achilles Tendon injury”.
Halfway through a frustrating night -during which I slept little due to the massive disappointment of SA dropping out of the 2011 RWC- I started to see some reasons why the Springboks lost.
The thing that kept me awake most was the fact that the Springboks had 76% of the ball, dominated scrums and line-outs (Matfield taking 6 of their line-out balls), had territorial advantage for most of the match and had the Wallabies under massive pressure for almost the entire match and still lost the game.
Here are the 13 reasons I came up during my night of suffering. Continue reading
Peter de Villiers called it quits as South Africa coach after the reigining champions lost a World Cup quarter-final to Australia on Sunday.
“It was a brilliant journey,” said de Villiers, who took over from Jake White following the Springboks’ 2007 World Cup win.
John Smit was born on 3 April 1978 in Pietersburg, he went to Pretoria Boys High where he was head prefect and played for the first XV from 1996 to 1998. As natural born leader he was destined to become captain of the Springbok team and was identified at a very young age by Jake White, making his debut for South Africa against Canada at the tender age of 22. Since his debut in 2000 John Smit has played 111 test matches for South Africa, captaining his country on 83 occasions. South Africa won 69 of the 111 tests in which John Smit represented his country, he captained South Africa 83 times winning 54 tests.
Dit was Frans Steyn se heel laaste minuut in die Wêreldbeker.
Springboks (3) 9 / Wallabies (8) 11 (Final Score)
The South African Springboks and the Australian Wallabies did battle in the Third Quarter Final in Wellington at 07:00 SA Time (18:00 NZ Time).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & 4, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
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And so, the Springboks exit Rugby World Cup 2011….
At quarter-final time you play the game with your bags packed.
If you lose, you’re on the next flight out. It’s simple motivation to make sure you keep going for at least one more week.
Springboks lock Bakkies Botha has been ruled out of the rugby world cup due to an Achilles tendon injury and will return to South Africa on Friday.
JP Pietersen trained with the Springboks as they continued their build-up to the World Cup quarterfinal in Wellington on Thursday morning.
South Africa on Thursday in New Zealand named the most experienced team in Springbok history for their Rugby World Cup 2011 quarterfinal against Australia in Wellington on Sunday.
Springbok wing JP Pietersen faces a race against time to be fit for South Africa’s Rugby World Cup quarter final against Australia on Sunday.
I have been pondering the possibility of the Springboks being able to win this world cup, and after having seen the amount of criticism they have received (which is par for the course) I started to falter in my belief.
If the old cliche about“Defence wins World Cups” applies, then the Wallabies and the All Blacks have cause for concern.
When a player works four years to get in prime condition for the World Cup it is very sad when they get injured. The way a player handles his disappointment shows his metal. There are disappointments in your career and adversity makes you a better person. There might be many more disappointed players at this stage but the three Southern Hemisphere partners each lost one or more of their best players.
Here is the Dan Carter story.
Frans Steyn, Drew Mitchell and Wycliff Palu can be added as big losses.
South Africa have called Blue Bulls fullback Zane Kirchner into the Springboks Rugby World Cup squad as a replacement for the injured Frans Steyn.
South Africa may have guaranteed their place in the Rugby World Cup 2011 quarter-finals but coach Peter de Villiers had plenty of reasons for a restless night after the match against Samoa at North Harbour Stadium on Friday.
Some key moments in the game.
Don’t you just hate it when the Springboks go into their infuriating defensive mode of play?
Truth is the Springboks were never really at risk of losing the game and it was almost like a big boy holding a little kid at arms length while the little guy punches himself to a stand still.
The last couple of days required extreme patience from South Africans here in New Zealand. It took quite some maturity to stay relaxed and calm in the face of the overbearing arrogance and confidence exhibited by the Samoan supporters here in New Zealand.
Listening to them you would have thought they are the world champions and a team who have beaten every other rugby nation/team on the continent (as oppossed to the Springboks who have actually done it) so assured where they that they were going to win the match. The pre-match gamesmanship like having a team talk before doing their Haka just an example of an overbearing cocksureness that really should be the privilage of competitors that have done the hard yards and who have the track record and ability to utilze such tactics too gain advantage. If primary school kids pulls such antics against high school kids it is out of place and utterly useless becuase it will make no difference whatsoever to the outcome of the match.
Springboks (13) 13 / Samoa (0) 5 (Final Score)
The South African Springboks and Samoa did battle in Albany at 09:30 SA Time (20:30 NZ Time).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
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The Springboks won a very hard match, with a lot of niggle in the match and a fiery Samoa not giving up.
The game was marred by the first Red Card of the tournament, to Paul Williams, for a punch to the face of Heinrich Brussow and also marred by a Yellow Card to John Smit.
Samoa exits the tournament and the Springboks end top of the “Pool of Death”, Pool D.
How old is too old? Despite South Africa’s impressive figures from their three matches so far (153 points scored, 19 against, 20 tries), 18 is the one that seems to be exercising the sceptics.
A difference in IRB world ranking places of eight, and South Africa’s commanding RWC track record against them, suggests that the Springboks should have a reasonably smooth ride past Samoa in their last Pool D fixture at North Harbour on Friday.
There are five changes in the pack as Bismarck du Plessis is partnered with the returning Tendai Mtawarira and Bismarck’s brother Jannie du Plessis in an all-Sharks front row. The final change among the forwards sees the return of Heinrich Brüssow to the back row.
Victor Matfield will captain the Springbok team to play Samoa in the deciding Rugby World Cup Pool D clash at North Harbour Stadium in Auckland on Friday.
TEAM anouncement at 20:00 (Team in article above)
Springbok coach Peter de Villiers gave his players two days off to recharge the batteries ahead of their final Rugby World Cup 2011 Pool D match against Samoa, on Friday.
Is this a pot of crock by Brenden Nel, or is it just a public relations stunt or is there after all something most of us miss?
Why are senior players like Fourie du Preez and Victor Matfield, who could possibly benifit the most from John Smit’s exclusion, so happy to play under his captaincy?
Springboks (31) 87 / Namibia (0) 0 (Final Score)
The South African Springboks did battle with Namibia in Albany at 10:00 SA Time (20:00 NZ Time).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
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The First half was not convincing at all by the Springboks, too many lapses in concentration and too many forced and unforced errors riddled this period. Despite not being clinical enough the Springboks scored 4 converted tries and a penalty in the First Half.
The Springboks started the Second Half in much the same vein, but then suddenly all gears clicked into place, and the tries rained on the poor Namibians. The Springboks scored 56 points in the Second Half.
Altogether, the Springboks scored 12 tries, hell make that 12 converted tries, as the 2 Springbok kickers had a flawless night with the boot as well.
At this juncture in Rugby World Cup 2011, this is the biggest win of the Tournament, surpassing the 83 / 7 score by the All Blacks whilst at the same time keeping the score sheet squeeky clean for the Springboks on the day.
All Blacks were taken by surprise when told Springbok coach Peter de Villiers feels their famous pre-match haka, an indigenous Maori war dance, is over-used.