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Joined January 2014
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I live and love rugby.
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The rugby gods work in mysterious ways, and sometimes what appears to be a devastating loss is actually just the kick a team needs…
When the San Antonio Spurs lost game six in 2013 to the Miami Heat, I was certain they had lost their best shot at…
In 12 months I hope I will be watching the Wales versus Australia game in the UK. It will be the group decided and…
The Kenya XV's 'Simbas' dominated Madagascar, running in 34 points and conceding none in their second qualification tie at the Mahamasina Stadium in Antananarivo.…
South Africa capped off a wonderful string of performances to clinch the Las Vegas Sevens Cup final over their arch rivals New Zealand by…
agree, Faingaa has played really well…..
Cheika warns Wallabies must endure pain before gain
Haha, or Warren Brosnihan……..i’m in bits right now…..
Biltongbek and Harry come into possession of secret tapes from the Springbok training camp
We will try focus on the positives. But the pack, and the tight 5 in particular need to be mentally ready for a gruelling 80 minutes. I hope KB puts Cruden and Nonu under enough pressure to make the over-commit to his channel.
Ewen pulled one hell of a joker out of the bag, and for Beale’s sake, I hope he is ready to challenge the line and give his backs some quality ball and support.
Go the Wallabies!!!
MORTLOCK: Kurtley set to repay Link's faith
I had Murray, Care, Tanaka and Fourie in the my top 5 behind Smith…..Murray adds flanker worthy defense to the mix, but can’t touch Smith for sniping ability/nous.
No doom or gloom here, but the Wallabies won't win the Bledisloe this year
Like Brussouw, but without the running game, and a little slower………I’m still surprised that Meyer sees absolutely no use for him. I think he is better player than Coetzee (even wth his improved power game).
No doom or gloom here, but the Wallabies won't win the Bledisloe this year
really good assessment Diggercane, I think Kaino and Read provide the physical edge in the loose and tight over the Aussie backrow…..Aaron Smith is miles ahead of any 9 in the world right now……Foley will balance and match Cruden/Barrett.
The bench selections will be crucial, thought i would rather see Cane make the side over Todd……
No doom or gloom here, but the Wallabies won't win the Bledisloe this year
Genia’s form as a Wallaby was a little above average, and he gave away crucial possession with his repeated box kick attempts. He also had Quade under tremendous pressure because of the way he delivers the ball. Wallabies won’t miss until he returns to his 2011 form.
Moore is the biggest loss for the team, TPN isn’t as proficient and gambles alot on defense, i think Charles and Hanson ably cover the 2 spot.
I agree with BB, it will come down to the combinations, i would expect to see AAC shifted to 13 mid game if Kuridrani isn’t up to it….I wouldn’t be surprised to see Beale out wide if AAC is switched in for Tevita.
Speights impact will be felt soon enough, he gives you go forward ball, keeps his marker honest and will almost always pull the next defender because of this ability and reputation. He is a game breaker, and will lift that back-line up a notch.
Wallabies to eke out the 1st game and end up 2nd this RC.
No doom or gloom here, but the Wallabies won't win the Bledisloe this year
Great read Harry, the Boks made the most of their possesion and Wallabies never really looked like they were going to turn the tide.
That said, Aus should win this year, the scrum has adjusted nicely to the new sequence this Super XV season, I think they should win
most of their own put ins, enought to get some set moves in motion. The SA backrow is scary good, and they should push the envelope all game, but i think the continuity of the Wallaby backs (barring injuries to Foley and Folau) should give them enougt go forward to score 3 to SA’s 3…my prediction: Wallabies by less than 5.
What has changed after the Springboks' Suncorp shellacking of the Wallabies?
May be some hubris to this op, but no one on the Wallabies side can bring JPots swashbuckling flair to the game.
I agree that Mccalman should start, but at 6, leave Carter and Simmons in the engine room, OR start Skelton knowing he
is only good for 40 minutes at test pace. Charles will not be a step down on TPN, he will do his part….
AAC has to start at 13, and I say Tomane on one wing….Mccabe on the other.
The Waratahs are better than the Wallabies
Wallabies should hold their own with Slipper, Kepu, Simmons/Carter/Horwill/Skelton in the engine room. That said i expect pretty even contest from all the 4 nations. AB’s will miss woodcock, savvy operator who wins penalties even when he is being dominated.
Wallabies' scrum ready to pressure Kiwis
I venture you have at least 2 with De Allende in there, and Cornal adds another hard running dimension to complement Mr. Le Roux.
The gauntlet has been thrown, who will win the Rugby Championship?
Great read Harry, and your analysis is spot on. The next couple of weeks will be very interesting. The backrow battles should be titanic…Kaino- Mccaw-Read vs. Flouw, Alberts, Vermuelen vs. Hooper, Fardy, Palu…bring on the RC!!!
I have SA possibly taking it this year, I expect De Allende to have a breakout comp.
Balance of power in the Rugby Championship: Status quo or changing of the guard?
Dear Jamie,
Mr Joubert may have gotten the call wrong, and put the onus back on Foley to make the kick. Like James said the breakdown is a 50/50 game, with plenty of missed calls. But Mr Joubert played this final so well, and Sir Richie, as usual was tip-toeing on the line all game, moreso in the 2nd half as the contest got tighter.
It was a bang bang play, and one that he should not have called against Richie, but the talisman, as you so affectionately refer to him as, went for it when he should have probably fronted up. But that is not the nature of his game, he plays on the wrong side of the ruck and makes a nuisance of himself consistently, that may have earned him the ping……fair or not.
Time to move on, suck it up and let it go…..the better side won.
Joubert's decision was wrong, and SANZAR know it
I would like to see Pedro come up with the scores to that game….
Waratahs metre-eaters to run all over Crusaders
Gio Aplon comes to mind, fast, powerful on the run and a game breaker, and I like Damian De Allende a lot, bigger winger and had the skills and brute strenght to play center till JDV came back….he will be a great Bok once he gets his chance to start.
Blitzbooke's success should inspire the Springboks
Lambie is a solid option at the back, but brings no game breaking ability at test level, imo. Mvovo played well at fullback for the Sharks, do you think they should start grooming him for left wing/fullback exclusively. SA has plenty of good wingers coming through, and Habana looks like he has some years left on him.
I also like Werner Kok to make the leap to the next level like Hendricks. He has pace, power and looks like he will graduate to the next level.
If you watch the sevens boys, they are smaller and play up to the opposition, Afrika, Branco and Kok frequently bring down the big Fijians, NZ’rs and Samoans, like BB said, it is a mindset….these smaller guys dominate the point of contact with aggression and the nous to pick their chance to counter ruck/pilfer.
Blitzbooke's success should inspire the Springboks
Read literally throws himself into everything he does, other than JPot, i can’t think of too many other players who commit their bodies to contact, something Schatz doesn’t do.
Rebuilding the Reds (Part II)
You’e right Eddard, the draw worked out in Kenya’s favor, especially after stealing the game against Namibia, the should have enough gas in the tank to win the last game and a maiden berth. Namibia are still in it (mathematically), If they run in a ton of points and Kenya lose with no bonus point.
As for competition for SA, unfortunately no african team has the infrastructure to compete with the bokkes, or their lower tier teams for a long time. They live, breath, eat and sleep rugby and cricket in SA. For almost all the other countries Rugby is further down the pecking order, and investment at the grassroot level isn’t a priority. That said there is growth, the Southern Kings ran in over 100 points a couple of year ago, this year they pushed a couple of Vodacom Cup sides to the very end, losing big to WP, Bulls, and Lions.
Kenya XV's on the brink of RWC15
🙂 he does amble along with aplomb, another superb lock off the production line.
SPIRO: Let players who want to leave Super Rugby go!
Great read BB, I see Hooper as more of a ball carrier and great link/support backrower. Pocock would be the player you need for a defensive stand, and Hooper for the dynamic offensive support. Flo is a hybrid of the two, equally adept at mucking about in the trenches, as he is at running down the middle of the park and offloading.
Coetzee has been good, but he is still so one dimensional, and it saddens me to see the brilliance of Brussouw hung out to dry. I thought he would a mainstay in the side once he got his first few caps……….”i can only dream of sponsorship”…..lol. Pollard looks to be a great prospect for RWC15 next year.
Meyer, do we really need all those overseas players?
Hey Matt, It has been a great tourney, and the fans in Madagascar are great!!! I’m sure if Zim wanted to be a part of the Vodacom Cup they could have joined a while ago. Argentina had a club playing in the comp a couple of years ago, the Pampas XV, but have since withdrawn due to financial constraints. The Kenya team made it through the comp on a shoestring budget, and from i understand, very trying conditions.
Kenya XV’s biggest issues have always been scrummaging, the ferocity at the breakdown, and maintaining the defensive line after several phases. The experience in SA has played a huge part in their improvement, most pundits didn’t give them a chance to qualify.
Harry, they should have begged Jacques Burger to play.
Kenya XV's on the brink of RWC15
had me in sticthes……
RATHBONE: Refs, rattling bones and the riddle of the Rugby Man