Well done to the Wallabies for finally proving me wrong

Ironically the All Black prop Ta'avao, who at one point was not picked by any Super side on either side of the Tasman, credited part of his turn around to what he learnt at the Waratahs on scrummaging.

I do wonder if the Springboks are just mentally had it. Also have no idea what will happen with the Argies - will our team now be a bit complacent given our immediate past is 2 wins and theirs is 2 losses, and therefore give them a sniff? Or will it be a comprehensive win? About the only thing I know is the form book is nothing to go by in this competition.

Thanks for the article Bentnuc. It and further comments have me thinking and that can be a dangerous thing. I note that many people over time have suggested that we need to consider OS players for their experience. I don’t necessarily agree that overseas equals experience. Certainly there have been a number of players that went overseas and returned better players. Could that change have taken place if the players had moved within Australia? I think that we need only look as far as James Slipper to realise it certainly can. The trouble is that in Australia, loyalty has always been seen as a premium characteristic. So to change club only occur/s/ed in extreme(?) circumstances. Of course in the professional age moving between clubs is not looked down on the way it once was and players that move can also be a positive influence, like Sharpe at the Force, Hooper at the Tahs and Turinui at the Reds. The point about the OS experience is that the player goes to a club where he/she is needed and therefore, I suspect, coaching in that position may be more intense. That change can happen here by changing clubs or new coaches at your club. A National coaching system is great but it must also allow for freedom and creativity in the coaching ranks to allow the players an opportunity to grow and improve as well.

Is the real match this week? When we are meant to win and win well with silky running and backline moves.

Must confess I was surprised by how dominant the Wallabies were, I was expecting a close game, and was not that confident at all, especially as the Wallabies had lost the ‘surprise’ factor (after having lost twice to the ABs before the first game, thought the Springboks might be a bit complacent, and have their eyes on their upcoming 100th clash with the ABs, but that factor gone after previous week result). Hodge’s ruck work not a surprise, he is an intelligent all round footballer, not unlike Conrad Smith for the AB’s. But to see everything come together like that from the team was quite amazing. Great boost to their confidence, and augurs well for the NH tour.

That was an excellent game. I've watched it 3 times already. I hope they go on an unbeaten run for the rest of the year. Looking at how Rennie is building the team, he'll have them peaking come 2023.

There was some great efforts in the leadup to the SA try too in defence by hodge, kerevi and white. Each of kerevi and hodge went from one edge of the field to the other and then back again in the space of very few phases to cover both the backfield and act as fringe defenders. Great effort and decision making on when to join, when to step back. Unfortunately, they had to commit numbers to the line and eventually that space opened up behind with Faf good enough to execute the kick knowing that they weren't breaking the WB defence down any other way.

not bagging the youngster, the gap between good and poor is embarrassing regardless of level. Dont tell me 4-5 hail mary passes which led to trys is acceptable at any level.

The WB issue has been experience in the backline and the 2 o/seas players made the difference. Don't think you can bag the youngsters as being embarrassing as there is a massive step up from super rugby to playing the ABs.

Add the fact its been up for over 3 hours....

@Bentnuc Good article - we can only hope it continues :thumbup:

Good article Also good on being one of the very few giving mea culpas on Kerevi , where many beforehand criticised him as being a poor passer, ball hog, poor defender, poor kicker, and low work rate. It seemed a lot looked anywhere for fault. He was criticised far too much IMO beforehand. He was never as poor in any of the areas as people made out, and obviously has improved some areas in Japan. I am glad he has proven them wrong. Same goes for QC BTW.

Considering comments are held in limbo awaiting scrutiny and contributors articles are edited and read prior to release on here, youd have to think someone in The Roar is having a laugh and done this on purpose.

You can’t buy experience. That’s the underlying difference from where we were ground hog day around a month ago to last weekend. Let’s not get to exited. To keep up all the good work we need to beat this tired Argentina group. We’ve shot up the rankings. The results I feel of the spring tour will truely give us a gauge if we are worthy of a top three spot or not. But again it’s also dependent on us playing our most experienced squad. The gap between our local players and our overseas contingent in terms of skill, composure and game management is embarrassingly huge. It’s been our o/s players that have dragged this group to new levels. May it continue.

Which forced turnovers? Did I read that right? Well, we f#cked the boks up at the breakdown!