South Africa Springboks
Having battled anti-Apartheid sporting boycotts early in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, The Springboks eventually put those issues behind them to record their first World Cup victory in 1995 against the All Blacks. It is still considered South Africa’s greatest sporting moment in the midst of the unrest plaguing the nation at the time. Since then, the Springboks have been one of the constant powers in world Rugby, currently sitting in second position in the IRB world rankings. They contest the Tri-nations tournament alongside New Zealand and Australia – a competition which they have won on two occasions. South Africa beat England in the 2007 Rugby World Cup final to register a record equalling second World Cup crown.
Monday, March 15th, 2010
In 12 months time, the best rugby nations from around the world will venture to New Zealand for the 2011 Rugby World Cup. The question is, who’ll be world champions?
I’m expecting it’ll be the All Blacks that will be the one standing on the dais being crowned world champions for the first time since 1987.
The South [...] Read article
Thursday, February 18th, 2010
Springbok captain John Smit will become the first South African to play 100 games for one Super rugby team when the Sharks hosts the Cheetahs in round two of the competition.
The 31-year-old will reach the landmark in Durban on Friday and will be joined by Pedrie Wannenberg a day later when the loose forward makes [...] Read article
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010
Movies about real life events or people many times leave me wondering if a specific scene or moment in time was exaggerated for effect. With the wealth of information available via the Internet it is an argument that can be solved with some degree of certainty – usually.
Over the holidays I went to see Invictus. [...] Read article
Saturday, January 16th, 2010
Watching the Test match on a Saturday afternoon in 2008 between the All Blacks and South Africa, I was impressed with the non-stop tear-away speed of the game brought about by the inclusion of the ELVs.
But the highlight of the match, to my eyes, was the try scored by Ricky Januarie, the South African [...] Read article
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009
Whenever we watch a game of pro rugby, in whichever league or competition, it’s no great surprise when somebody has to go to the blood bin for tape or stitches.
But then there are other sports in which people bleed: the NHL is infamous for disputes – players throwing off the gloves and slugging each [...] Read article
Saturday, December 19th, 2009
After Hoy’s and Stash’s team lineups, I thought it appropriate to chuck a Tri-Nations together with the addition of a Boks team. The Boks in this period were on the decline after ‘98 and ran through a very dark period before finding the light around ‘04.
I have also, for interest, added the playing era [...] Read article
Sunday, November 29th, 2009
Jonathan Sexton kicked all Ireland’s points to give his team a 15-10 win over world champions South Africa on Saturday.
The 24-year-old flyhalf landed five of his seven kicks to justify his selection ahead of record scorer Ronan O’Gara and give his side a third straight win over the Springboks.
South Africa did score the only try [...] Read article
Sunday, November 22nd, 2009
Did I say 19 points? Oh ho ho! What a chuckle. The only people laughing louder than me (and probably AT me too), are the Scottish fans who quite rightly will be dining out on this victory for quite some time to come.
There’s also a few deranged giggles coming from the Wallaby fan section, [...] Read article