As a South African who originally came from the Eastern Cape, was schooled there for the bulk of my formative years, and has retained a great affection for the area and its people, I can empathize with the need and desire of blacks from that area wanting to compete on the bigger stage of rugby.

What I cannot stand; what I abhor; is the unbridled arrogance and naked greed of a toady like Hoskins, sycophantically following his venal, corrupt political masters’ every bidding to shove political power down the throat of every one besides themselves.

As is plainly evident from the way they neglect the people of the Easter Cape, the manner in which they mismanage the affairs of that area, and how ruthlessly they plunder its coffers for their personal gain, the national and provincial government of the ANC( Another Corrupt Nightmare) does not give a hoot for the people.

If they cared they would instal a government funded system of providing a platform for the poorer schools in the Eastern Cape to have the facilities, the bursaries and the infrastructure, to make it possible for more black boys to be given the right training, nutrition, nurturing and coaching to become superstars like Siya Kolisi.

Do they? Ha, not flaming likely! Too much like hard work and sacrifice; rather steal or waste the the money. Much easier.

As for a bloated Super competition, the absurdity of more and not less teams, boggles the mind. The ever increasingly, dull, boring grossly overlong Super competition, is not only slaughtering the players, but must rank as aclassic way of promoting excess for profit, as opposed to quality and development of young players. The gladiators of old Rome must have felt much the same way, waiting for the decadent leaders to give the thumbs up, or down

Interesting discussion on the possible Wallaby 8thman selection.

The only Australian player who strikes me as a real 8th man, with all the qualities to grow into the role of a consistently good intrnational 8th man, is Scott Higginbotham. The rest are average at best, and when one considers that besides the best 8th man in world rugby, Kieran Read, the Kiwiis have players like Liam Squire and Luke Whitelock cutting their teeth on the fringes of All Black selection.

Perhaps it is unfair to judge the Wallaby wannabee 8th men because the tight five fail too often to establish the sort of platform Read works off, or(this year) the platform Vermeulen has had at his disposal when operating for the Springboks.

Even good players can be nullified. On Saturday in the Currie Cup Final in Cape Town, the Sharks strangled Vermeulen to the extent that he looked ordinary. On the other hand, Keegan Daniel, who had the benefit of a rampant pack setting him up , also looked less than ordinary.

Clearly, good 8th men do not grow on trees. As a good friend of mine, a really good provincial loose forward in his day, one Preston Robertson, wisely comments, an 8th man must be an ‘Entrepreneur, not just a hard working labourer.’

No matter how tight modern rugby defences are, and no matter how effective on any given day, the rush defence of Jake White, Eddie Jones and Brendan Venter can be, a really good 8th man will still have to perform minor miracles in the face of the incoming Tsunami; very few 8th men remain respectable on these occasions

Interesting article Harry, but the stuff about an all 8th man team including players being able to play prop or hooker is over the top.

I agree that watching good 8th men in action is the epitome of analysing and assessing the allround skills of a complete footballer, who can play 8th man, number 7 flank, lock, at a pinch, or perform adequately on the wing or centre, but certainly not at scrumhalf or front row.

Back to the real issue. Over the 64 years of following rugby avidly, I have seen many superb 8th men.

My list (by no means comprehensive) includes the following in two distinctly different rugby eras; pre professional and post professional.

1949-1995

Hennie Muller, Doug Hopwood, Merve Davies, Mark Loane, Tim Gavin, Buck Shelford, Zinzan Brooke, Brian Lochore, Benoit Douga, Walter Spanghero, Murray Mexted,

1996 onwards

Kieran Read, Sergio Parisse, Bobby Skinstad, Lobbe,Haridnordequay, Picamoles,

Excellent summary, Elisha

What strkes me is that the All Blacks not only make better use of their superior handling and passing skills, but appear leaner, less gym muscle bound and aerobically fitter than the Springboks, their only valid opposition in the last year.

It still amazes me how much the Australians have slipped from the outstanding teams during the Eales era. Even after Eales one always expected to see flair and clever innovation from the Wallabies. Until quite recently that was still the case. Now, sadly, there is not only the perennial weakness in the Wallaby team, with a few rare exceptions, namely a very poor set of props plaguing a decent pack, but the backs are by and large, unimaginative and plain dull, or spoilt brats like JOC. The days of McKenzie, Kearns and Daly, and before them the teriffic Topo Rodriguez and Tommy Lawton front row(can’t remember the other prop)seem to have vanished

No doubt the lack of tough internal competition like the ITM and Currie Cup competitions, plays a big part in the current malaise in Australian rugby, but one always regarded Australian rugby as very smart, and batting way above its weight when one took into consideration its orphan status in the matrix of Australian sport. Perhaps one of the reasons is that the Wallaby of yesteryear was mostly a very well educated, highly intelligent man from a solid background; way back certain typical old time Wallabies come to mind, such as Garth Stapleton, Nick Shehadie, Greg Davis(ironically Kiwi born)Peter Crittle, John Thornett, Tim Horan, thr great John Eales, Joe Roff, and many more. The genius of the Ella brothers and David Campese seems to have been replaced by undoubted talent in certain cases, but not backed up by character and commitment, and to put it bluntly, solid upbringing.

I call the spoilt, grossly immature brats like JOC, the Bling Brigade;they need to go back to school and acquire a set of life values. Beale might be different, inasmuch he appears to come from a pretty fractured family background. I hope he can make it to adulthood, JOC, in my opinion, is a dumb little brat who will continue to destroy himself. I rather admire the way Q Cooper has resurrected himself. It can be done.

The All Blacks and the Springboks have both had their share of bad eggs in the roost, but handle it better than the Wallaby hierarchy, if the end results are anything to go on. I would proffer the one glaring example of a talented All Black, Ma Nonu, being an exception. He is a serial thug with his repeated cowardly no arms hits on people when they are not expecting it, and in USA gridiron would be far better placed to see how his ‘blocks’ would be effective as a middle linebacker. I suspect that he would find it a bit different,

It will be interesting to see how the Wallabies reinvent themselves in the nest few years

Outstanding article BB.

Unless Meyer continues to pursue a game plan based on attacking the opposition by utilising the whole width of the field, as done by the Boks on Saturday, but more so with a proper flyhalf who can stand flat, take the ball at speed, and not crowd our centres by crabbing across field, ultimately our top opposition, the All Blacks, will continue to beat us most of the time.

Until such time as we can beat the All Blacks consistently, our frustrations will continue. Sure, our much vaunted defence, cruelly exposed last Saturday, will have to improve. We are still being badly beaten at the breakdown, and until we find and select another decent lock to partner Etzebeth, our lineout(traditionally one of our strengths) is not that great.

Besides our frail mental attitude and capability at the crucial moments aginst the lightning quick ,high risk style of the All Blacks, our fitness seems to be very suspect. Yes, the All Blacks were knackered in the last twenty minutes, but it was they who had that extra mental and physical fitness and sheer drive and willpower to outlast us.

So all the stats in the world can be deceiving, if we don’t execute correctly at the flashpoint moments in the big games, particularly the biggest game of all; against our implacable rugby foes, the All Blacks.

We have come a long way from that hapless, hopeless style which got us nowhere for years, except for a brief moment in 2007 at the RWC, and in 2009. We expect to be far better than that. Our record against France, Australia and New Zealand in the last decade is dismal. The Springboks should be hammering on the door to be number one, not repetitively being content to be number 2 and occasionally number 3 in world rugby.

To BB and Harry, both of you have raised vakid arguments in excellent pieces on the fabulous test last weekend at Ellis Park, and the ongoing rivalry between the two best sides in world rugby.

A few points regarding both;

1. The current teams both have weaknesses., or looming gaps to be filled.
In the case of the All Blacks,Nonu is a distinct weakness in midfield on defence,and if the laws had been properly and fairly applied by a number of referees in recent times, his undisciplined and thuggish Brian Lima behaviour on the field would have seen him red carded more than once. He is a rugby felon allowed to roam the backstreets of rugby willy nilly. No wonder no franchise wants him in New Zealand.

Dane Coles does not look like a real All Black hooker. Woodcock must be approaching his sell by date, great player that he has been and still is. Conrad Smith is another teriffic player who cannot go on forever. In both cases no obvious replacement stands out, whereas in the case of Carter Barrett and Cruden,and Taylor, all look very good.

That is about ot in the case of the All Blacks. Their supreme fitness and calm approach, even when under the pump, allied with huge self belief and great skills, makes them very difficult to beat, even when they play in Fortress Ellis Park

2. As for the Springboks, they have come a long way from the tried and failed dismally kick and charge drivel which saw them lose far more often than win against both the All Blacks and the Australians over a number of years, except for 2009.

Nonetheless, their lack of fitness and glaring weaknesses at fullback and lock(Kirchner and Kruger) and the usual crabbing across field by Morne Steyn and his blasted habit of standing too deep and defending very poorly, makes him a liability. His kicking cannot win tests against the All Blacks as his record against them proves.

Stats do not win games;despite our overwhelming advantage in territory and possession, and metres made, we still cannot finish more often than the All Blacks. We score 4 tries;they score 5 tries, Simple arithmetic. We also missed far too many tackles, supposedly our great strength. How big a part did our patently obvious lack of supreme fitness play? Even when the All Blacks were down to 14 men at a stage in a game at Ellis Park when their lungs should have been burning and their legs failing, they outlasted us;something wrong there

Meyer has done a pretty good job of resurrecting the team which despite its big names did not (other than 2009) exactly set the rugby world alight from after the 2007RWC to the time Meyer’s babes started growing up, but he needs to look at certain positions and the lack of fitness of the Boks. They seemed to fade in a number of games, including the one in Dunedin last year when they had the All Blacks on the ropes.

Optimism is good but cold reality is also needed to become consistent champions. Ask McCaw what it took to pick the All Blacks up after their devastating loss in the RWC2007.

Well done Biltongbek. Your latest piece is up to your usual high standard. I respect your anonymity but please tell me where you live.

I live in Cape Town and have become very friendly over the last three years with Spiro Zavos, and hope to spend a week with he and his wife, Judy, in Sydney next March/April after spending some time with my family(daughter, son in law and granddaughters in Timaru, South Island, NZ.

I first visited the family and Kiwi friends from way back in 2005, timed to see some of the games between the B&I Lions and the All blacks. The first test at the old Jade Stadium in Christchurch was a cracker, somewhat marred by the spear tackle by Tana Umanga and Mealamu on BOD. His departure was a most regrettable incident, but the ABs were so good on the night that 2 BODs would not have stopped the relentless All Blacks.

In the second test in the Cake Tin at Wellingto, Carter gave the best performance by a flyhalf I have ever seen, and the first test I ever watched was the 1949 Ellis Park test between the Springboks and the All Blacks, in which Hennie Muller and my hero of that time, Hansie Brewis, were both superb.

Now that Barrett and Cruden are snapping at Carters heels, it is time to reflect the the absolute peak of Carter’s career(in my opinion) was reached over 8 years ago, an eternity in modern rugby.

A word of caution about sending Carter off to pension Alley. Both Barrett and Cruden are very good, but Carter is still the ultimate balance of attack(has lost some pace agreed) pinpoint accuracy with jis kick-offs, line kicks and is by far the most solid defender of the three. H e cut his teeth way back playing inside centre to Mehrtens. I am not a Nonu fan and believe that Shag Hansen might well play DC at inside centre to Barrett and keep Conrad Smith at outside centre. Yes I know that the current ABs rely on Thug Nonu to crash up, but they are capable of adapting to DC at inside centre. In any event, Nonu,s defence is very suspect.

As far as HM is concerned, he has done a very good job, but urgently needs to sort out the two Ks; that is dump both for good. Kirchner is not up to the required standard, and Kruger is simply a ‘softie.’ Alberts is slow, lazy(never climbs in for his full time on the paddock) and unbalances the loose forward trio. Coenie is never going to be an effective tighthead.

The positives HM has created far outweigh his ‘blapse.’

One man who made it possible for the epic at Ellis Park to restore one’s faith in modern rugby has been overlooked. The referee; he did a bloody good job. Hats off to him.

Here’s a brief look at the possible or definite weaknesses in the two best rugby teams in the world.

Springboks

Lock partner for Etzebeth: Kruger is a massive liability;not only in game, but in most of his test appearances. Flippie is not a long term solution to the key position of building an effective lock partnership. Hopefully Pieter -Steph Du Toit will start his Bok career in November in the U.K. Further down the track Paul Willemse looks to have the right stuff for higher honours.
Fullback: Kirchner is hopelessly out of his depth against opposition of the calibre of the All Blacks, No equivalent to Dagg looms in SA , but Meyer has goofed badly in not identifying an alternative to Kirchner. Precosiously talented Pat Lambie is being screwed over by Meyer, Hennie Daniller is a much better player than Kirchner, Ludick, who has gone overseas, is amuch better player than Kirchner; the list goes on and on,
Number 6: Alberts is slow, clumsy , plays in short bursts of energy, and against good opposition, ponderous. Bulk is no substitute for an 80 minute(in the modern game 55-60 minutes) speedster who has the ability to be in the right place at the right time; like Siya Kolisi or Derrick Minnie for instance; not ‘Fat Alberts.’
Flyhalf: As good as Steyn is at kicking, he is bloody awful at running a backline against top opposition, and his defence is pathetic.If we are going to continue to play the wonderful brand of rugby exhibited on Saturday by the Boks(please, please, don’t go back to the skop and charge endless rumble drivel which got us nowhere anyway), then we simply have to find and nurture a real flyhalf.

We have the talent, Stay with the concept of developing a 15 man rugby team like the All Blacks and who knows; we might just surprise ourselves and the rugby world

Excellent summing up BB Very good piece on a teriffic test match.

The Good, the Bad and The Ugly

The Good: A rugby test of the highest order between the two best teams in the world; an excellent referee, and a passionate crowd, revelling in the superb Ellis Park atmosphere; Despite the intense rivalry, a game played in the right spirit, with the right attitude, namely to play positive rugby. Players who stood out as being quite exceptional in mostly very good company: Read, Barrett, Smith, De Villiers, Etzebeth, Le Roux.and Kolisi

The Bad: Kirchner. He is not to blame, Meyer has a lot to answer to for persisting with a player clearly hopelessly out of his depth against the best, and mediocre against weaker opposition than the All Blacks. Kruger is another shocking selection. I am utterly convinced that a very promising youngster like Pieter- Steph Du Toit has the pedigree and the inner fortitude (plain old guts) as well as the burgeoning skills to have done far better than Kruger. He was a disgrace to the green and gold. Again, shame on Meyer

The Ugly: Nothing and nobody for a change

One of the best tests in a very long time

Excellent piece Biltongbek. You capture the heightened emotion a clash between the old arch rugby enemies evokes quite beautifully.

As something of an ancient relic muttering in my rugby beer, I am often at loggerheads with my fellow South Africans over their vituperative comments about the All Blacks. Yes, I want us to get back to the position where every test between the Boks and the All Blacks is a cliffhanger, where we win more than we lose, and we restore the pre isolation order. Yes, I want us to win on Saturday, and I believe that we have our best shot at beating the All Blacks in a long time. But, and it is big but, please let us not go back to the dreadful skop and charge drivel we have served up far too often in the last decade, We have the material to play attractive winning rugby. Let’s do it and stop talking about doing it, and how the All Blacks cheat, particularly in their own 22. They seem to manage to structure a heck of a lot of very good tries in the rest of the field. Surely so can we?

We blew it badly in Dunedin last year, and were never really in the recent game at Eden Park, Bismarck incident or not. Meyer has brought a sesnse of balance to our team, although like all armchair critics, I don’r agree with a few crucial selections.

Alberts is too slow and does not play for 80 minutes or whatever time he is allocated. Kirchner is brave, reliable and painfully predictable. Because he is the best kicker for posts in international rugby we are stuck with Morne Steyn who stands far too deep, crabs across field,crowding his centres and is a pretty hopeless tackler. Nonetheless, he will be our best shot for victory with his deadly boot.

None of this is Steyn or Meyer’s fault. It is the fault of the IRB Laws. For ages I have advocated that if union rugby can tolerate substitutes who sometimes come on for 3 minutes, to ensure their match fees, why cant the American gridiron concept of a specialist kicker like Steyn,be brought on for the shots at goal, and leave a real flyhalf to conduct the rest of play?

Casting back to the old days which so many of us older toppies yearn for(in rugby terms), I had the privilege and pleasure of attending a lunch in Cape Town last Saturday, organized by the great Springbok centre of the sixties, John Gainsford, at which about 10 1963 Wallabies and about 14(about, because I cant remember the exact figure) celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Wallabie’s outstanding tour of South Africa in 1963. The palpable comradeship and cameraderie between the two sets of international players was a delight to witness, and it made one yearn for the days of tours and the excitement surrounding not playing each other too often. The game at Newlands afterwards was a huge anti climax.

Nonetheless, Saturday’s test is a mouth watering prospect. I tip Steyn to kick us to victory by 6 points.

BB, the Wallanies need to have a yen (or a few million) for Eddie Jones. The ‘Link’ is missing, and Jake the Snake was naive to dream of being the next Wallny coach.

Geoff, does he like gliding, the magnificent solitude and beauty of McKenzie country, floating like a great big bird over South Island, the sheer aura of being an AB, and sinking a few Speights with his mate Ali when he isn’t klapping Frenchman………. sorry, very few Frenchman play rugby in the Top 14…….oh well, Ali will have a ball in France, and number 7 will dream of those long glider flights while he battles the Boks.

Agreed BB. Brett’s article is brilliant, and, yes, the atmosphere before the ‘Doornfontein Opskop’ is electric; something like those magnificent, awe inspiring old fashioned electric storms of the Jozi I knew and loved as a youngster. All thunder and lightning as nature reminded us of our puny lack of power, and afterwards, the beautiful smell of wet earth and cleansed atmosphere, plus(in days long gone) millions of flying ants; why have they disappeared?

Moenie worry nie; the Boks are going to win on Saturday. The ABs are going to win the Rugby Championship, but will fall to the wiles of Susie, even if she is getting on in years now. Joel Adenoids Stransky has thrown the Basie van Wyk bones, and the Boks will win, particularly as ‘Geelkaart’ Flippie will not be there; Franco is a much better player anyway, but HM will start with ‘Papwiel Kruger’, who must have a gotcha over Meyer. Can’t wait to see how Piet Spiere se kleinseun van die Swartland shapes in the EOTY Tour in the Soggy Island.

Party time in Jozi Saturday night. If only we had a real flyhalf, the Bok backline could show us what they are capable of; oh, and a real fetcher like Heinrich Brussouw, not a lumbering tank like Alberts.

The Wallaby tactics and execution were both poor in the first half of the Newlands test. They made it so easy for the Springboks who were not that flash themselves, other than the brilliance of Fourie Du Preez.

In the second half the Wallabies were much better, but like South Africa, need a real flyhalf to ignite the backline. Yet again, Morne Steyn, fed superbly by Du Preez, stood way too far back, crabbed across the field, crowded his centres, and merely shovelled the ball to them to sort out his poor distribution.

If only Metronome Morne could run on to do his kicking for posts(which is outstanding) and then slink back to his chair to watch a real flyhalf get the Springbok backline moving and playing to their potential. Meyer must shoulder blame as well for his Neanderthal tactics. South Africa are clearly the second most successful rugby team in the world at present, but second is not good enough.

I am actually sick and tired of the Bismarck debate. It is factual to say that the IRB did something they have not done before; certainly not in the last decade. If I am incorrect, please provide relevant details.

It would seem that opinion is divided upon the following issues:

Was the Bismarck tackle high? I believe not. In fact , it was a classic fair hit.
Was Bismarck offside? As I understand the Law/ Rules, he was not because broken play was in operation after a 22 drop out
Was the inadvertent villain, the Hail Mary pass to DC, which gave BDP the time to smash into DC?

As for the second incident, BDP quite possibly deserved a yellow card, although I have seen far more aggressive handoffs in many games, where the the player with the ball smashes his hand(often the heel of the hand) into any part of the tackler, above the shoulder, which could be deemed dangerous if it makes contact with the tacklers face(it often does). Too late in the case of BDP and Messam squaring up, because Poite had screwed the pooch with his first gross error.

Result of all this is that the test was ruined for the players, the spectators and the clear cut superiority of the All Blacks on the day; another major rugby clash marred by controversy and vituperative slanging of each other by supporters of both teams,

Is it worth actually staging these games if it continues to be more a case of mud slinging from both sides about the fairness or unfairness of referees?

Finally, while we endlessly debate BDP and the Springboks, why is a serial thug like Ma Nonu allowed to repeatedly shoulder charge late and with obvious intent to do unfair and illegal damage?

So much has been said and written about Poite that it should be left to the usually weak and gutless SARU to lodge a formal protest at IRB level to force their hand into doing something about Poite. He should be sent to Papillon’s Devil’s Island. SARU ( Sorry Woo) are so useless that they make the tits on a boar look useful, and they should join Poite on Devil’s Island.

The All Blacks and Poite are not to blame for the ineptitude of Pienaar, the bumbling of Kirchner or the puffed up, self aggrandizement of Jannie Du Plessis while he fritters away ineffectually. Poite is to blame for the worst refereeing display in any really big game in the last decade(even worse than Bryce at Any Price Lawrence), and he is to blame for ruining a real contest in which the All Blacks were definitely the better team but probably by 7 points, and some truly memorable rugby.

Another arch villain is Ma Nonu. He is a real jerk; a serial no arms thug who should be drummed out of rugby. No wonder no franchise will pick him up. SBW please come back quickly.

Who’s Spies???

Coconut, you are entitled to your view about the damage the tours undertaken in the eighties to the two countries caused, particularly in New Zealand.

In a fair bit of time spent in New Zealand visiting family and friends, following rugby, and touring fairly extensively throughout that beautiful country, the fine folk of New Zealand, of both Maori and Pakeha persuasion, have not brought up the 1981 or the 1986 tours much, other than to talk about the actual rugby played. Perhaps it is because the New Zealanders are warm and hospitable in their own country(and equally friendly outside NZ) and do not wish to drag politics into the exchange of ideas and views.

This I do not believe, because my Kiwi friends are not lilting lilies and express their views as forcibly and passionately as any other clan. Any fair minded person in both countries recognizes the stupidity and short sighted lunacy of Apartheid, but very few I have come across in both countries wish to regurgitate the evils ad nauseum. It is done and lessons, painful but ultimately constructive were learned. The intense rivalry, is in my opinion, a natural sporting rivalry, honed on the battlefield of test rugby, and polished by national pride and competitiveness. You will always get the extremists on both sides and some of the behaviour of Springbok supporters in NZ has appalled and saddened me, but in the main, the banter and rivalry between the supporters of both the Boks and the ABs is a good natured one. One thing for sure, the average Kiwi has an amazing knowlede and understanding of the game, far in excess of his South African counterpart. Long may the intense rivalry be about rugby, not dead and buried politics. All countries grow and learn from their political mistakes. That is human nature. Some learn less than others.

There are great rugby rivalries in many parts of the rugby world, be they at club level, provincial derbies, or at international level. They are all worthy competitions and deserve their passionate following.

At international level the big rivalries are multiple; the British & Irish Lions against the big boys, the AllBlacks and the Springboks, and at times, Australia. The 6 Nations is a mighty competition. The Bleisloe is on its own a teriffic rivalry; or used to be until the Australians lost their way. The ultimate rugby clash at international level is without question the clash between the All Blacks and the Springboks, although it has been marred by the relative weakness of the Springboks at times since readmission. Since 1992 the All Blacks have been dominant; up to 1981, the Springboks were marginally ahead. Since 1992 the Springboks have produced some memorable performnces against their traditional rivals, but by and large, the All Blacks have not only raced ahead in the head count, but consistently produced a brand of rugby which, quite frankly, has been light years ahead of the dreadful crap the Springboks produced, with notable exceptions (1995 and Mallet’s Springboks kicked off by Carel’s under recognized contribution to a very good backline).

Now, it appears that the old Springbok adage of ‘Subdue and penetrate’ aligned with some really talented backs and solid, if not powerhouse forwards, could be the beginning of the end of the awful ‘skop en charge’ crap we served up for years. The commitment is there; the coach seems to have moulded a happy, close-knit squad, and despite Morne Steyn, a backline which can move the ball wide. There is no lack of passion and commitment in the current squad, and the prize of winning in Auckland is a massive incentive. Rugby by its very nature, is a game of the mind far more than it appears to be to the uniniated. Saturday will tell us if the current Springbok squad is a special one or if the Wallabies fooled us by being so soft-cock.

Spot on, biltongbek.

I agree that to revert to the previous ‘skop en charge’ drivel will not work on a reasonably dry surface; but then it appears that the chances of the ball not being slippery are slim, and underfoot conditions not conducive to solid scrummaging being highly likely. In that case, assuming the worst, namely that Poite becomes pedantic about scrumming infringements, then the battle for the ball in broken play and the team which commits multiple forwards to the rucks and mauls, will become a significant factor.

Although Francois Louw does not possess great pae, he does have that special quality of anticipation as to where the ball is and when to get down and scrap for it. I do not believe that Alberts has the pace or nous to complement Louw and Vermeulen in a really tough game played in good conditions at pace, but if it is wet he will find the slowdown of the game to be favourable for his crash bash style of play.

There are so many intriguing clashes in sight; front rows/locks at lineout time/centre pairings, halfback competing against halfback/ place kicking by the two flyhalves/referee against both teams.

Interesting debate on the big, big game coming up on Saturday at Eden Park.

If, as predicted, the underfoot is heavy and even worse, slippery, it will not suit either team, and scrummaging could become a lottery if Monsieur Poite blows the scrums up, or persists in resets from the front rows slipping. Then, it could well depend on who gets the most shots at goal, and with Steyn kicking in the 90s, it could favour the Springboks. Let us hope the waether does not ruin a potentially massive clash.

The size of the Springbok forwards is not a factor which I believe will have Kieran Reid’s men quaking and quivering, or disappearing like truant schoolboys out of the orchard when pinching the farmer’s fruit, as did the hopeless, hapless Wallabies last week. Man for man the debate is wide open as to who has the more physical pack; that is, constructively physical.

The props more or less cancel each other out, although if Grandpa Woodcock rouses himself up adequately, he is a far better all round prop than Dr. Du Plessis, and Owen Franks is no slouch either, and should not be at a disadvantage against the Beast.

Bismarck is definitely a trump card for the Springboks. Etzebeth is a key man in the second row for the Springboks, and if he plays to his potential, is a massive part of the fire in the Springbok forwards bellies. Flip van der Merwe is physical , but will he control his notoriously slack discipline for 60 minutes or more? Retallick and Whitelock are two superb locks, and it will be a fascinating lineout duel, where Flippie is no Matfield; but then, who is?

Reid is arguably the best 8th man in the world and Vermeulen is getting better with each game. One must assume that Messam is starting because Shag wants his grunt and high work rate, and experience to counter the Boks at the breakdown and on defence. Francois Louw is right up there with the best in the world in his specialist role, but Alberts tends to fade in really tough games. Cane is good but Richie’s experience in the white hot cauldron of such a big game will be missed.

A big potential weakness in the Springbok backline is Pienaar. H elooked good last week but then his Auntie could have looked good at halfback when the Bok pack was so dominant. Saturday will be very different if the packs more or less cancel each other out, and Pienaar is put under pressure.

The All Blacks have not seen Willie Le Roux in action close up. That will be the an interesting feature of the game.

Roll on Saturday

Interesting article, and very much in accord with anybody who played in the forwards in the amateur days.

As for Tane Mahuta, you are entitled to your opinion but many of us in South Africa and my good rugby pals in New Zealand and Australia disagree strongly with you.

Nowhere in the wording of the instruction to referees applicable to the revised scrum commands is it indicated that the referee be the arbiter of the timing for the ball to be put in to the scrum. His task is to call the forwards to stand ready, to bind and when the packs are sufficientlly steady, to call ‘set’, and to ensure that the scrumhalf puts the ball in straight. Obviously, any blatant scrummaging misdemeanour such as collapsing or boring in etc is his domain as well. His primary function once the scrum is set is th ensure that the scrumhalf puts the ball in straight. He is not empowered to be the conductor who when he(and none of the current referees has any understanding of the dynamics of 16 men locked together in a contest of strength and technique)decides that the scrum is poised to his satisfaction, barks a command to the scrumhalf that he is now allowed to feed the scrum.

As numerous observers have pointed out, the interminable delay some refs practise is causing chaos in some games, Some sensible refs, like Glenn Jackson, is do it fairly quickly. Craig Joubert is making the whole procedure a farcical’ watch me, I am in charge’ fiasco, and the temerity to lecture the forwards on how to obey his command. What absolute drivel! It worked well in the old dayswhen every team had their own way of warning the hooker(and of course both sets of forwards) that the ball was about to be put into the scrum. There is no way that the present implementation of the crouch, bind, set is working satisfactorily. It could be an improvement if the referees did what they can understand, not conduct a robotic instruction class. As one person said, are they going to be in charge of the lineouts next?

The administrators of the laws of rugby seem incapable of understanding that the scrum within, reasonable rules of engagement, is the domain of the players, not the referees. Rugby is not meant to be a platform where referees run the show. Good refs understand that and referee unobtrusively. With notable exceptions, the current bunch of top rated referees need to have explained to them that their role is not one of a prima donna, but that of a servant of the game. Spectators watch rugby to see the players perform, not the refs!

I wonder what McKenzie can do to improve the Wallaby scrummaging?

The ridiculous new experimental drivel of the scrumhalf having to wait for confirmation to put the ball in(talk about robotic implementation)is causing increased confusion and reset in the scrum department. Surely, once the ‘set’ is done the scrumhalf should of his own accord br enabled to put the ball in quickly and as long as he puts it in straight, and no blatant misdemeanour is perpetrated by either front row, the natural evolution of 16 powerful men shoving against each other will evolve into the ball coming out t the back of the ‘attacking’ scrum, or a good old fashioned ‘tighthead’ occurs, and the defending pack gets hold of the ball.

The insistence that the referee orchestrate the scrum is causing havoc, but more so for the weaker packs, or the dumber packs. Last weekend, the All Black pack slaughtered the Wallaby pack simply because they had a much better front row, and all 8 forwards bent their backs in the first and second heave. The Wallaby front row buckled, so consequentlly the locks battled, and the back row was in frequent retreat.

Are there any better scrumming props and locks available in Australian rugby? I get the impression that Simmons does not push his’keep’ so to speak and no set of loose forwards can perform adequately at scrum time if their tight forwards are being bullied.

Where to now, as the saying goes?

Well said, Fernando.

Springbok supporters(some, not all) are pathetically one eyed, and cannot aways see both sides of the coin.

As much as I admire young Eben’s ability, he does have a bad habit of chicken neck strangling which will cause confrontation. The plain fact is that the Springboks were outplayed by a rugby nation with a fraction of the players we have at our disposal. Do you imagine that when the great Argentinain flyhalf Hugo Porta beat us back in the old days in Bloemfontein, we whinged as much. I doubt it. Give credit when credit is due.