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The second week of June Internationals have brought precisely the right amount of nervous confusion to the tipping panel. After last week had everyone picking every game the same way, losses for Australia and South Africa mean that all confidence is shot.
And that was after I’d decided to add Japan and Scotland to the fixture, just to add some uncertainty!
So are England and Ireland on the start of a roll? Can Australia and South Africa desperately send their respective series to a decider? Will The Crowd’s picks be a whole lot less conclusive?
With nothing but twos on the scoreboard last week, Digger and Paddy will again lead off, and Digger has backed up with this week’s Big Question.
Diggercane: “New Zealand, and I fear by plenty. Which won’t really bother me as I will be there to see it.
“Australia versus England is a head-scratcher, and unfortunately I can’t see the teams before offering this pearl of non-wisdom. I am going to say England. They seem focused and appear to have the belief. Their set piece is tidier and, well, I don’t really know but that is what my gut is saying. And there is a lot of that.
“I am not really sure about South Africa either but I will tip them. I cannot see them putting in a lacklustre display again; surely they will be highly motivated after a poor showing last week, and Ellis Park is an intimidating venue at altitude, no less. It’s a lot to turn around in a week and the calling up of Morne Steyn does not fill me with a heap of confidence.
“Scotland because I always do, and Argentina to get it done off the back of having a match last week.”
Tips: New Zealand, England, Scotland, South Africa, Argentina.
Paddy Effeney: I’m going France as my lone ranger – and that’s simply going off what I read and saw of the Pumas game. Surely France can be just that little bit better and take a game off the Pumas? We’ll find out.
Are we really tipping Japan-Scotland? Scotland, I guess. But I have no idea…
The rest of it, I’m backing everyone to even things out, except the All Blacks, who of course will just continue winning.
The Wallabies and Springboks can both arrest issues pretty quickly, but like Spiro I’m thinking the rust factor was a big one.
Tips: New Zealand, Australia, Scotland, South Africa, France.
Harry Jones: “The All Blacks will score 40 this time; the Welsh won’t crack 20.
“No.3 England to continue their ominous growth. Look out, rugby world!
“Scotland over the Blossoms; brave versus brave. I feel the Jocks will have too much Angus beef.
“Springboks to nip the Irish; unconvincingly. And France for me.”
Tips: New Zealand, England, Scotland, South Africa, France.
Brett McKay: So that didn’t go well last weekend.
New Zealand is an easy pick, and I just have a feeling that Digger may well see a thumping at the Cake Tin. Any possible rust was blown away within 50 minutes last week, and I suspect the way the All Blacks finished the game will be how they play it this week.
Japan and Argentina aren’t quite so easy picks, but they get my pick regardless. I didn’t see Argentina’s win, on account of a terrible time zone miscalculation on my part and Fox Sports not showing the game anyway. But they did look pretty good in the highlights I’ve seen since (as most teams do, admittedly). And I fear Fox won’t let me see them this week, either. Or Japan for that matter.
Can Japan beat Scotland? Of course! Can I be more specific? No, I can’t!
How South Africa bounce back will be one of the focus-points of the weekend (actually… just writing that down for a talking point tomorrow). Ireland are on the brink of a historic series win, and the Springboks will perhaps be under the most pressure to win a Test at home in recent memory.
Ireland deserve to start favourites at Ellis Park, because even with 14 men – and even 13 men – they wanted to play rugby. The Boks barely fired a shot last week, and recalling Morne Steyn is rather bewildering. Ireland to win.
And the Wallabies have to win. Have to. For all the obvious reasons: pride in the jersey, home turf, to shut Eddie Jones up, vindication for keeping much of the Brisbane team in place. For all of those reasons. But there’s one bigger reason, and it’s along the same selfish lines Digger cited above: I’m sitting on the sideline in Sydney next week, and I’d like it to be a decider!
Tips: New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Ireland, Argentina.
Who were your top three players from the northern hemisphere sides to impress you over the weekend? (from Digger)
Digger: “Well, outside all the obvious choices such as George North, Maro Itoje and Rory Best, I quite liked the look of Rhys Webb and Conor Murray, two excellent halfbacks, while George Kruis for England gets through so much work and is the type of player that provides such backbone to a side, similar to what Sam Whitelock has provided for many seasons with the All Blacks.
“Jack Nowell on the English bench didn’t see a lot of time, but he also looks like quite a player and hopefully we can see more of him. Devan Toner was a workhorse while Paddy Jackson has me wondering who the last bloke was, Sexton or something?
“And I have two apologies to make, one is to James Haskell. I just didn’t think he was that good, turns out he can be (and I should probably pop North in there too). Sorry, James (and George).
“While I didn’t watch the Argentina and Italy game so cannot provide comment on their match because I wasn’t allowed due to some family thing I apparently attended. My bad.”
Harry: “Three surprising stars for each northern hemisphere team:
“Wales: For me, Liam Williams shaded Ben Smith for most of the Test match at Eden Park. He was full of ideas and confidence and weighted what he did very well. He has been a good player for a while now, but to perform that well in the stadium easiest to choke in, that was special.
“Jonathan Davies was also very good for Wales, and not only with his good passing skills but also with his boot. Finally, Gethin Jenkins, even though he has millions of caps, has been written off for years, but I thought he stood tall and I like the old guys having that ‘one last heroic stand’.
“Ireland: Rory Best is often good, so I can’t pick him (but let me say that he so outplayed his opposite Springbok number that I’ve forgotten the Bok hooker’s name, except that it’s not Bismarck or Malcolm). Devin Toner would probably top my list of ‘I did not see that coming’. He was great at lineouts, of course, but in general play, he was super! He powerfully smothered Bok runners and held them like babies at the bottle.
“Luke Marshall tackled like a man possessed in the midfield, both when two-men and one-man down. He passed, too, a skill seemingly unknown to Damian de Allende. Finally, Jack McGrath was a rock. He may have been owned by Faf de Klerk in the opening phases, but by the end, he had the last laugh, having subdued the Springboks with one of the busiest shifts I’ve seen from a prop.
“England: Mako Vunipola was being referred to by Greg Holmes by the end as ‘Mr Vunipola’. He was powerful and smart. His good mate, the tall tighthead Dan Cole might have cost Scott Sio a few quid over the next few years when Sio thinks about moving north to make money. And that winger Marland Yarde was dangerous all the time; Australia looked jumpy when he had the ball, and when they tried to find his outside, they found nothing but tackle and dirt.
“I apologise for not watching the Jaguares plus Tomas Cubelli beat the Italians, but Stuart Berry was the ref and I was depressed by the worst showing at home by a Springbok team since… ever.
“Spineless at hooker, fat at the back, slow at the side, crabby in the middle, weak in the tackle, Philadelphia Freedom at the pivot, and disinterested in the last try-scoring chance by JP ‘My Arse Before My Head Please Please Tackle Me’ Pietersen.”
Brett: I do hope Harry is feeling better after that…
With a notable mention to Welsh flyer George North (because I thought everyone would’ve included him by now), my three are England back rower James Haskell, Ireland hooker Rory Best, and his young flyhalf Paddy Jackson.
I’ve liked Haskell as a player for a long time, in truth, and for no particular reason. He’s just struck me as a player who gets stuck in, even though his form has been quite up and down for years. Anyway, it’s well and truly up at the moment, and it was pretty hard to miss him in Brisbane, with his red headgear seemingly everywhere.
Tough in defence, going the full George Smith at the breakdown, and somehow, managing to stay invisible when pushing the offside line to the limit. Might be the tallest ball-pilferer in the history of the game. Or that might be hyperbole.
Best played the very definition of the captain’s knock at Newlands, pushing the fine line of infringement to the bleeding edge; he played to within the proverbial ‘bees’ of illegality. But it worked, he led the Ireland pack wonderfully for 68 minutes – at times the seven-man Irish pack not only held firm against eight Boks, but was actually allowed to apply pressure.
Best provided precisely the inspiration his team needed, and they reacted. They followed him superbly and by the time Conor Murray scored just after half-time, the upset was well and truly on. One of the more remarkable Test wins in recent memory.
And a major reason Ireland won the match in Cape Town was the performance of young Jackson. I admit I know nothing about him; I’ve not seen him play for Ulster, and though he has 14 Test caps to his name, I honestly can’t recall him in an Ireland jersey, either.
But what a talent. He obviously kicks well, but the composure, wow! He just seems to have time with the ball in hand, which seems to the indicator of the really good players. Great game awareness – the drop goal before half-time – and he runs to the line well, too. This was one of those occasions when it really wasn’t difficult to stay awake at that time of morning. Great game from the redhead.
Paddy: “Sorry gang, I’m going to have to waive the big question this week. A weekend hiking meant little rugby was watched…”
The Summary
Now over to you guys…
Make your selection in each of the five Tests below, and we’ll collate all the votes and publish the results after 2pm AEDT on Friday afternoon.