The quarter finals Sharks vs Bulls , Kolisi looked out on his feet by halftime . I actually mentioned that here . His conditioning guys will know where he is at but how do you send him home . It’ll cause a major upheaval .

Yes Im not only concerned but disappointed . We were explicitly told by the coaching staff that they had to go Uber conservative for the B&I Lions due to prevailing circumstances , lack of game time etc . SA Rugby is evolving . A new breed of highly athletic , skilled players starting to make their presence felt in domestic rugby but The Bok management yet to embrace this huge asset. Kolbe for example despite his team having 60 % possession confined to a defensive , kick n chase role .

This looks like a brilliant wicket . Rewards both bowlers and batsmen equally . Still early days but casting my mind back to the rubbish produced by Pakistan for Aussies last tour where long periods of the match were borderline unwatchable. Kudos to the management and ground staff . It certainly made for a highly entertaining opening day .

The pre match hype around The Boks was frankly off the charts . The loss of Wales to Italy surely cemented their fate . They apparently did not belong in the same room as The Boks . Reality in short supply tho. Not long ago this Welsh team were 6N champions and the matches they lost this year were close and could have easily gone the other way . They have a positive win record against SA past few years and all their losses to the Boks were by a hairs breath . With an avg of 36 Test caps per player and many Lions players from the last tour no shortage of experience either . Although Nienaber constantly said Boks would not underestimate them it’s impossible for the players not to see media , social media etc and begin to believe in their own superiority A proper wake up call .. still a win though but more importantly a lesson in humility hopefully fully absorbed . Tough calls need to be made around the form of Kolisi and Jantjies too. Why no fetcher flank either . Also where is the evolvement of the game plan Rassie promised 2 years ago . Important questions for sure .

It was an ice cold crisp and delicious Amstel draft .. thanks Harry . 😁

One of the most terrific days of Test cricket I’ve seen for ages . Had absolutely everything . Superb bowling , waxed and waned as batsmen tried to wrest control , an innings from Pant that will and I mean this will go down in the Anals of Indian Cricket history . A full house stadium with hundreds of millions following on tv . Test cricket in crisis, …….what crisis ?

Maybe it’s just me getting older and more cynical but the quality of politicians globally poorer than I can ever recall and the standard was never very high to start with . That the friggin Minister of Sport can make such a cringeworthy error beggars belief .

Not so wierd . Few overs before Kohli lucky to survive an identical leave , ball just missing leg stump off the bat . Also got out at the Wanderers in JHB to Rabada exact same way . It’s a technical issue . He is not getting his bat up high enough on the leave . On sub continent wickets no issue . On pitches where the ball gets up a bit big problem. But what an innings from Pant .. coming in at 98/5 just took the initiative away from “New” England . In style too . 100 coming off 89 deliveries.

Fascinating rugby coming up . Can Aussies put the Jones curse to rest . Won’t lack motivation.. yes England low on confidence but high , very high on desperation . England know one good winning performance can put right so many negatives recent past . Yes just one solid 80 minutes . NZ tackle an Irish team that no longer will approach them with awe .. NZ look ripe for the pickings .. a disrupted preparation , uncertain selections and gameplans , the familiar supreme confidence strangely lacking .. Irish up against history but surely , surely they must fancy their chances . Boks just have to pitch up to beat Wales apparently . Champagne bottles already on ice .. yet .. nothing last few years between these two teams suggests that is going to be the case . If Wales can match the set piece , pressurize the nr 9 and 10 channel and with ball in hand go wide and do it fast .. But history also against them . Wales however have nothing to lose . Can play bold , brave rugby .. Not expected to win anyway .. Boks do not have that luxury . Argentina and Scotland a coin toss .. who wants it more ..? Could be some very interesting discussions here on Monday .

Define cricket fraternity …Does that include the players too ?

The more things change , the more they stay the same . Hard to believe but the IPL has been with us for 17 years now . I Predictions of Test Crickets demise has accompanied it every step of the way . The big 3 have essentially dominated Test Cricket for ever . Occasional cameo performances from Pakistan , South Africa , NZ , Sri Lanka and The Windies have shaken things up but it’s never lasting . Crowd attendances and overall interest in Test Cricket in England , Aus , India , covid excluding remains strong . Crowd attendance in the supporting casts group only good when playing the big 3 . You cannot give tickets away to a Test match between South Africa and Bangladesh in Johannesburg . So to the Test Cricket Doomscrollers ( yes it’s a real word I discovered the other day and it’s in the Oxford Dictionary) . I don’t really share the views that Test Crickets days are limited . Seems to be just fine to me .

Recent history last 8 years suggests that’s not going to happen . Since 2014 played each other 9 times . Wales won 5 , Boks 4 .. Avg points differentiation 5, 666 , yes I was a little picky on where to start .. . so I will say if Boks win by 16 which they won’t , I will owe you a beer . If Boks win by 6 or less and again history and the alignment of the planets of course suggest that at home they will win , I will sponsor you the beer that You owe me , which I intend to consume with relish , but never forget whence it was from 😁 oh and if Wales wins I … well I will simply get drunk and go to sleep . All bets off .

Or if Ireland take a game off NZ Brett … The ABs go down to 4th . I think I’ll enjoy that more than seeing Da Bokke lose nr 1 to … probably the best right now anyway .. France 🏉

Much ado over altitude but in truth 21 of the current Bok squad no longer campaign regularly at altitude . Either Coastal based ( Sharks n Stormers) or overseas based .. they will also feel it .

Problem goes deep . Not much coming up at school level either . High School rugby in SA soooo important .. too important .. yes it breeds a ton of talent but not creative players .. coaches too scared to loose so nr 10s kept in a tight leash . . No coincidence that current Bok team , all the game breakers , Kolbe , Am , Mapimpi , Willemse did not attend a premier rugby school .

If the Boks were looking to run the ball a 5/3 bench split would have made more sense , bringing in Warrick Gelant on the bench and going with Evan Roos at 8 . Those predicting a hammering I think are wrong .Boks Japanese based players short of game time , Kolisi In the URC semi Sharks vs Bulls looked unfit and gasping for air before halftime. Think Nienabers brain tells him to run Wales off their feet but his heart isn’t in that kind of game so he dared to venture there but couldn’t quite get himself to do it . It’s becoming increasingly obvious through his own statements that Nienaber coaches from stats . His own comfort zone . They are the beginning and the end for him . This means no surprises Saturday for Wales who have the players , experience and game to go the attrition route . Not a foregone conclusion at all . ..

Ruan Nortje from The Bulls for starters .. arguably their player of the season this year . One position there is a factory somewhere has in South Africa that mass produces locks . No concerns there . It’s at nr 10 that looks and is thin .

Nah it isn’t 😛

Actually I had dinner with him , John Allen , Scottish International and Bok Hooker and a few other guys after an SA Legends rugby event in Port Elizabeth . That wasn’t long before he was diagnosed with motor neuron disease . Was a bundle of energy at the time .. very sad story .

Joost Van Der Westhuizen .

While I’m on a roll , A cry for help . .., The ICC World Test rankings has NZ at 4 and Eng at 5 .. after this series . The World Test Championship rankings has England at 6 , NZ at 7 .. There are other anomalies too . What’s going on ? Reminds me of boxing . Many World Champions same weight division .

I can understand after all the doom and gloom in English Cricket post the last Ashes that one good series and the excitement bells are ringing . I remember posing the question here at the time . How good is this Aussie team actually ..excellent , or … did England just make em look good . This Eng vs NZ series may have answered my question finally . I think Aus just overpowered an English team that frankly didn’t look too bad on paper at least . Now I pose the same question.. how good is England ? or did NZ make em look better than they are . Where do they really stand in World Cricket ? India and South Africa over the next few months will again answer that question .

No doubt you are in the majority . Sooner or later , time is running out , England are going to have to reveal themselves. Assuming there is a bigger plan to reveal . The only sector that still seem to support him are his players . Lose them it’s game over .

In Eddie I Trust …I find it difficult, no wait , make that impossible to believe that he has as suggested so often past season from virtually all quarters , lost the plot . He has come under fierce criticism from fans , the media , ex players , coaches , and even had to face a tribunal by his own England Rugby Board to please explain . Still has his job but it was a close run thing . Yet he hasn’t deviated from his “ No Plan is a good plan “ strategy . He is up to something . Everybody knows exactly what NZ , Aus , SA , IRL , Wales , France , ARG , Scotland are going to bring to the World Cup .. no real secrets . Nobody knows what England are up to . Don’t disappoint me Eddie . I love having those told you so moments and am waiting patiently.

A few posts here calling it inappropriate to be mates with an opposing team member . Ironically same page is the header for last weeks podcast . “ Rugby is Changing “ … Truth is with cross pollination between various Nationalities now at club level this is more and more the case that 2 Club teammates find themselves on opposing sides Internationally . Doubt it impacts the intensity tho .. can Recall Schalk Brits throwing a beautiful right hook to Owen Farrell’s chin , his Saracens teammate , while playing for The Baabaas vs The Lions . Said he hasn’t stopped apologizing since . 🏉