GG sofar.
Unfortunate for all the cards though.
But laws are laws..
Have a great call Adam.

Great call Oliver.
Be blessed mate.

Bloody well done.
GG.
Congrats Zoolanders.
Comis Marauders,can keep ure heads held high,that was a very very nice surprise to watch and am a happy camper.
Some brilliant rugger from both teams.

Blissfull insanity?

Loving this LOL

Bloody good play

Ola Oliver,hope u have a great call.
Tuned in bout 10 mins ago and boy does it look like I missed a
Great 1st half.
Finding myself rooting for them Blue Marauders,very vibrant energy on the pitch from them.
The Zoolings seem a tad out off sink but am looking forward to the 2nd half,hoping they find that cohesion.
2nd half gonna be a cracker.

A hearty welcome back to our experts.
And thank bloody beer Life returns to normal..and we can proceed again..albeit as a Saffa with our error in parliament fixed on valentines and a good slugfest from 4 teams to look forward to. It be a bloody awsum week sofar.

Come win or lose,one thing remains sure and true:

Emm Stormers are going to make it rain in Cape Town,blitzkrieg phase play and points,offloads and clean breaks,contest breakdowns like trojans..
And come 57 mins and 20 secs into the 2nd half emm Jags are gonna lose the plot..
Keep a lookout for stormers backline..besides elende..sorry,allende..

With the loss to the brilliance of chance..as in a kwaga making a kwaga of himself..facepalm,my Saders won at altitude and barely snatched Victory over a rampaging Lions outfit in ol Joburg.
With “Akkies” gone,toetie gone,rassie in, and “The Error” resigning in Parliament..Rugby in Saffa land might get overlooked by them devious powers that be and just like Trump taking all the flack n headlines..everyone else can actualy get stuff done !!
Meaning that 2018 will in all likelyhood be remembered as the year the Saffas came n collecting..scalps,throphy’s and hearts.

Round 1 of Super Rugby starts with 3 Saffa teams winning..cause I see test rugby at Ellispark and A storm front moving in over Newlands..

Stormers over Jags
Lions over Sharks or a draw..

Thanks Josh and Thomas for emm updates.
Any update on Carlos’s game,how did the old bugger play;)

Good day Marcus.
Ps u write 10 times beter than i do so this isnt mud slugging at your piece.
The piece voices an opinion,perhaps not 100% your own,but i do get in a sense where u are coming from.
Point A I want to focus on: SA will become the easy beats..
I get why u could say that within the sphere and context of dilution of the talent pool and making it beter etc.
It fits nicely into the reasoning for the culling by sanzar.

Here’s my problem with that,i dont believe South Africa has a problem with finding soldid performing young talent.
But as the Lions have shown,a good coach,with a good coaching team,support from the respective union to build a base on middle tier players.
And stick with them.
Mold and shape them over 3 years can have a huge impact
In the world of rugby union and a Nation.

The other part of this is the direct influence the well performing lion players have on other saffa supporters,the head coach etc.
It starts a cannonball effect and with the inclusion of the lions players in the boks and now whiteley as capt.
If allister coetzee plays his cards right he may have a very formidable Springbok team on his hands in the very near future.
Rassie Erasmus’s inclussion in the top tier decision makings,the complete overhaul of the sharks management ovee the past 2 years.
John mitchel becoming head of rugby at the bulls.
The ever consistant stormers
Nevermind both kings and cheetas whom i believe will find great success abroad will all add to the X factor that i feel will rise in Sa rugby jusy in time for the Japanese Rigby Workd Cup.

Its a wild believe that i cant realy support with with facts figures and stats
Mere hopeful belief.
But that sa will be the easy beats..
I highly doubt it.

Yup

Lions u played like trojand in that last 20.
With 15 men it couldve gone either way.
Kwagga.
Ure an awsum player and its sad that red came to you.
Lions u can hold ure head high.

Saders.
Congrats Boyz.

Sorry Brett.
No jumbos.
Harvards

Ola KK.
This gonna be a Cracker?

Cheers Digggs.?
Cheers Machoocks.
So it Begins ?

Hope this game is a cracker.
I believe both teams will bring it,and today as a saffa supporting the crusaders I can have my cake and eat it too.
Cause whether the Lions Roar and become King,or Saders Putem to the Sword,I am happy either way.
Lions have built up decently over the past 2 years,played highly watchable entertaining rugby,won and beat opposition and opponents against all odds,trumped my saders last year thoroughly and represented South Africa proudly in the Final.
They did so against the NZ teams last year.
I am happy with peyper.
Scott Robertson is happy with peyper.
Sofar I have yet to hear them complain about the reff situation,or the conference.
Its part of the game.
They can do nothing about it,and like proffesional gents they are steaming forward in anticipation, in preperation in the hope passion and desire to lift that throphy no matter the trials and tribulations.
The Lions are in the same boat.
Even bigger underdogs considering their foe has been and are emotionaly and mentally prepared for this very match,irregardless of where and whom they play.

They have everything to win and everything to lose.
And I for one will watch and judge by the merrit of their play.
Enjoy every second of it come win or lose on either side.
And know.
The 30 men on that field at that time.
Have only one goal.

To win.
To play.
To be at their best for 80 solid mins and leave nothing behind.

I am going to be watching that Final today.
And its going to be spectacular.
To the Lions,you who are about to die,I salute u.

To my Saders,Putem to The sword.
Give no quarter
Give no mercy
Let your Relentless assault in precision mastery of the Game guide you.
Never giving up.
Never surrendering.
To the Crusaders.
Hear hear

Ghehehege ST.
I really appreciate your comment.
And you are correct regarding not giving aus enough credit.
I am as much a fan of the Boks reaching that plateau as I am for the wallabies.its my heart.
I know I didn’t state it as such,with my little mud slinging action.
Thank you for going into aus dinamics and the challenges it faces.
Its nice to hear it fresh,uncomplicated.
Just as at times it is difficult to explain saffa politics in rugby and its huge influence on the game,so too I recognize that aus has its own unique challenges and fights going on.
I am at fault in that regard as i like to think i have a vested interest in all rugby unions in the SH.
But have to admit there is a lack of knowledge and understanding regarding footy in Auz.
I as well am looking forward to a great 2018 season for all Unions.
Esp the aussies…who am i supposed to pick on..;)

I really enjoyed this article Nicholas.
Very well written,and some very good points.
Keep them coming 😉

Good day Neil.
I’m no Aussie,so I refrain on commenting on aussie matters.
Have been keeping an eye on Hooper for a while now.
And u basically said what i saw.
Don’t think he’s a bad player,but a square peg in a round hole just dont fit.

So I should just change my passport and not care bout saffa affairs when i am a saffa and do love my country because I have been a crusader for many years..due to my fam tie in NZ..

Ohh…i forgot u dont know me..u just read with filters on and challenge anything that doesnt fit into your mold..
The whole we and them taken in pedantic zelousness as “we” saffas are prone to do..
I support Rugby as a whole and am as a passionate Saffa regarding ruga as you Greco.
My entire post I am speaking from a saffa perspective ..
Irregardless of which team I support.
And am not blinded by bias.
If i have spoken wrongly,correct me regarding it.
But the whole we I and Them trip..tad rich.
Just sayin.

I for one am happy to see a place for both the Cheetas and Kings in NH.
It opens a whole can of potential..and worms..
And should also be a worrying sign regarding the direction of where SARU’s heads are at and the direction they’re headed in the possible foreseeable future,for the other Union countries.

It would be a sad day indeed should the Saru teams leave SR.
I grew up with SR,from inception to this day.
Its part of our cultural tradition and joy,we live for the next weekend,the next braai,the beers the comoraderie,the banter and hours of rehashes of countless viewpoints.
Its also an escape from the dramas our country faces for the past couple of years, then the goverment decided to missuse Black empowerment and implement the completely illegal qouta system..nough said..
Zelous passion,high emotions,vocal lectures and discussions all arise on a daily and weekly basis all centred around one thing..Rugby Union.
I,we as Saffas love SR.
We hate losing..with a passion..we think we are the best..and believe we are the best..
And that belief will stick until the day we are able to field a SR tournament with our best,with zero restrictions and be proven otherwise.
Filled the Bok squad with our best based on merrit,with a coaching staff there on merrit.
And have it slug it out against the best countries in Union Rugby.
We saffas have an unrelenting belief that that team,who is of one purpose mind and goal,that team who is proud and fills each saffa with pride.
Will beat any rugby union team every day all day.
For we have yet to have that.
We have yet to develop our own character of being,our identity as other nations have without these restrictions.
Yes.
We are arrogant for thinking that.
But the problem comes in when u ask if u are the best but u are playing a nation with both arms tied behind its back and for many a year considered to be a strong rugby playing nation..

I read through all the posts.
Some relevant and some very good points,and it struck me that its the saffas that are the biggest support base in shear numbers.
Many an aussie on the forum has mentioned that Union is not the most popular sport in Auz.
Many argued the case of league vs union and whats best for auz going forward in general.
Non of those arguments had at its centre a cause for blame against Saru..
Thats pure auz dissinterest in general Rugby Union..
And if someone is to blame..its the ARU..and not SARU..
Because if lack of quality rugby and saffa teams are to blame the log this year states otherwise..
And that argument becomes invalid.
And if the converence argument is brought up auz has an even bigger problem..because if the old format was used..they wouldnt have had any team in a final.
Irregardless of who they played this year.

I love auz and its inclussion in SR.
I love to hate them.
I love the banter,the get a rise out of them.
Its all in good fun and sportsmanship.

But as a saffa spectator.
I ,like my fellow saffa spectators can only watch the circus that is our country at times,and how with politics they are killing the game we love so dearly.
How we still have workarounds just to stay relevant,because..we want to play..we want to be here.
The lure of NH silver uneccesarily complicated matters on top of the stupid bloody conference system.
And the addition of extra travel and teams.

I for one am going to miss both The Kings and Cheetas.
Cheeky watson and co has allot to be accountable for regarding the barage and assault the Kings brand name endured.
That which they represented out of the gates,and the question beggs.. and if the Kings had been probably managed,how big a significant impact would they have made in the minds and hearts ,not just in saffas but world union as well.

But selfish men with own agendas stacked atop all the above written things just added fuel to the SR fire.
And yes.
The majority of those men i believe reside in Sanzar and yes in Saru.

We saffas yell and ridicule all reffs …regardless of nationality..
We seek nutral reffs so we can shut the nay sayers who believed the 16th man gave the game to us.

The very last thing the Lions want this weekend is a saffa reff.
We want that win on merrit.
I am a crusader.
But i feel for the Lions in that regard.
For if the Saders win,”they overcame all sorts off odds”…
But should the lions win and its not emphatic,its the reff ..its the conference..blah blah blah blah bloody blah.
Last year those same Lions played in the Final in NZ.
Played all the NZ teams to get there.
And had akkerman not sent his B team to argentina they would have had a home final.
How they somehow not merrit where they are at this year baffles me.
Lions,as a Saffa Crusader this weekend is going to be a helluva Final.
And may the auz dissinterest be their own downfall and their excuses be the catalyst.
For its born out of spitefull negativity and selfcentredness.
There is no passion in it
No life.

And for those knocking the cheetas…the fan base of cheetas supporters kinda trumps near every auz team..just saying…;)

Think i stirred thus pot good enough..ghehehegege

Smirky dance face on…ghehehehe

Congrats My Boys?
Commis’s Landerz.
You played a great brand of rugby all season.

Ghehhe
Always on time chooks 😉

Ola roarers.
Putem tooooo that Sword !!!!?