The Man in the Mirror tells the truth, and nothing but the truth. It will blow your socks off.

“Joost do it!”

And that is exactly what he did. After much media hype and speculation over the last few months surrounding a speculated Joost sex tape, he has now come clean and is willing to accept the consequences.

The former Springbok scrum-half has owned up and admits to feeding the (his) ball(s) to a “hooker” of a different kind, as well as running down the other “white line”. (Oh, please do excuse the puns!)

Joost’s SuperSport contract as commentator and presenter has also been terminated following discussions between the two parties upon which they both mutually agreed to part ways. Click to read more about where “SuperSport Axes Joost”.

Not many people have seen the footage and just in case you missed the late night movie on ETV over the weekend check out the sex tape video below and see what you think.

The sex tape is published across 9 video clips; below is the first:
If you are still keen for more (the actual naughty stuff) you can watch them all at Heat.co.za.

The handbag in the clip seems to have a rather clunky zip, definitely no Prada or Gucci label that.

I wonder how much her match fees were…

Clip 01 – The Camera Setup in the bathroom prior to their meeting.
WARNING! Please note these clips may be offensive to sensitive viewers and contain scenes of a sexual nature…(No under 18′s)

Get off of me you fly...

In a heavy blow to the Springboks, Pierre Spies has been ruled out of the Springbok end of year tour with a surgery requiring finger injury. Spies apparently injured his finger in the Currie Cup final this past Saturday an had to have surgery on Monday night. Spies’ athleticism will no doubt be missed by many of the Springbok fans, but all is not lost. In a country where we are currently blessed with a whole host of extremely talented loose forwards, as the door closed for Spies last night, it opened for Sharks loose forward, Jean Deysel.

Many rugby fans around the country were disappointed to see Deysel originally left out of the Springbok end of year tour squad, whilst a host of shock selections, some unwarranted, were included. Deysel has been knocking on the door for Springbok selection, or there andthere abouts, for some time now. Diesel Deysel as he is called by many of his fans has what it takes to make the step up an should do us proud in the Green and Gold strip. He is a player who relishes in the physical contact, enjoys running with the ball, and shows good interplay. My only gripe with him is that from time  to time his handling is a bit kak, but I’m sure he will be working on this. All in all, I think it is not a bad call at all.

In other news, Fourie Du Preez has been rewarded for his sublime form this season Read More >>

Take that you "bliksemse bal"...!

Naas Botha is quite simply the face of rugby as far as South Africa is concerned. Naas is still baas [boss] as far as tactical rugby knowledge goes, and love him or hate him, his opinion is generally respected across the rugby playing fraternity. At times during his playing days he was criticised for not getting involved in too much contact, nor keen on having a go himself. Whilst the first part of the above might be true, I definately don’t believe the second part is. Perhaps the view that his running game was below par is due to the fact that his kicking game was so far ahead of anyone else at the time.

Naas was devastating with both his left and right boot, earning him the nickname, “Nasty Booter” from the British press during the 1980 British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa. They found out just how nasty he could be in the third test in Port Elizabeth when Botha, under immense pressure, put a touchline conversion between the uprights in wet conditions to give the Springboks a 12-10 victory and an unbeatable three-nil series lead.

As well as being a devastating kicker of the ball, whether it be drop kicking, punting or place kicking, Naas had impeccable handling skills and was able to get his backline moving very quickly at any given moment with his accurate long and short range passing. He had an eye for a gap and was a deceptively quick runner.  This coupled together with his handling and superb passing skills resulted in countless tries for the players outside of him.

Naas controlling the 1986 rebel New Zealand Cavaliers test:

Naas had a tactical reading of the game that was second to none. Read More >>

Don't give me lip #4, I'll snot klap you...!

Jonathan Kaplan is the most experienced international test referee of all time, this year becoming the first referee ever to take control of over 50 test matches (53 to date). He began refereeing in 1984 and took charge of his 1st international test between Namibia and Zimbabwe, in Harare, in 1996.  Kaplan doesn’t take kak on the field, once telling Bob Skinstad, “You talk on the radio, I’ll ref the game…”. At 174cm and 79kg, he isn’t scared to take charge, putting the often towering players around him in their place.

Who better to chat to in a year which has highlighted so many law changes and clear problems at the scrum and breakdown areas. BlogSpotRugby caught up with Jonathan Kaplan and asked him a few quick questions.

Here Goes:

• Dooley: Read More >>

Gary Knight was nearly knocked unconscious by a flour-bomb

The 1981 South Africa rugby union tour of New Zealand, still known by many in New Zealand simply as “The Springbok Tour” was controversial due to the (then) South African government’s policy of racial segregation. This policy polarised opinions and sparked controversy throughout New Zealand. The decision to proceed with the tour inspired widespread protests across New Zealand.

South Africa’s policy (at the time) of racial apartheid had discouraged most countries from having sporting contacts with it. However, the Springboks were considered to be New Zealand’s most formidable opponents. Therefore, there was a major split in opinion in New Zealand as to whether politics should interfere with sport and whether the Springboks should be allowed to tour.

Despite the controversy, the New Zealand Rugby Union decided to proceed with the tour. Despite violent protests and the disruptin of two earlier games, the series was in the balance at one test victory each. This led to “the Flour-Bomb Protest” during the final test match at Eden Park, Auckland on 12 September 1981. A low-flying light plane piloted by Marx Jones and his “Bombardier at the back”, Grant Cole disrupted the final game of the tour by dropping flour-bombs on the pitch. In spite of the flour bombing, the game was continued.

Grant Cole reflects back on the actions of that day: Read More >>

We recorded our 1st episode of BlogSpotRugby TV this weekend. Adrian and I have been discussing the possibility of posting a video blog for a while now, but just haven’t got around to finding out the ins and outs of how to set it up. We ended up recording it directly from Adrian’s 15″ MacBook Pro, and I think it turned out great.

We received a few tips on how to set it up from a good mate of ours, Jason Bagley, who was recently voted as one of 300 young South African’s you should take to lunch. Check out his site, www.jasonbagley.com, and his football blog.

The video is basically a roundup of the Springbok’s victorious Tri Nations campaign. With neither of us ever really having much time in front of the camera before, it was quite nerve racking to begin with, but I think we relaxed towards the end.

We would love to hear your comments and any crits on how we can improve future episodes of BlogSpotRugby TV, so leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

BlogSpotRugby TV S01-Ep01 – “The Pilot” Read More >>

Need I say more…?

The Green Machine wins it by a length...

Can Stephen Donald cut it in the centres?

The All Black’s selectors have named the All Blacks team to play the Tri Nations Test against South Africa at Waikato Stadium, Hamilton, on Saturday 12 September.

Henry said the team was energised by this weekend’s challenge:

“Every Test match between New Zealand and South Africa is a massive occasion but this weekend it’s a ‘winner takes all’ Test which we are excited about.”

 The Starting XV is as follows: (test caps)

1.                Tony Woodcock (56 Tests)
2.                Andrew Hore (41)
3.                Owen Franks (5)
4.                Brad Thorn (31)
5.                Isaac Ross (7)
6.                Jerome Kaino (21)
7.                Richie McCaw – captain (74)
8.                Kieran Read (10)
9.                Jimmy Cowan (26)
10.             Dan Carter (60)
11.             Sitiveni Sivivatu (38)
12.             Stephen Donald (15)
13.             Ma’a Nonu (40)
14.             Josevata Rokocoko (58)
15.             Mils Muliaina (75)

Reserves:
 
16.             Aled de Malmanche (1)
17.             John Afoa (18)
18.             Adam Thomson (10)
19.             Rodney So’oialo (59)
20.             Brendon Leonard (11)
21.             Isaia Toeava (15)
22.             Cory Jane (6)

Graham Henry and his team have been trying out different backline combinations in the build up to Saturday’s test. The fact that Carter has been selected at #10 doesn’t fool me into believing he will remain in the #10 channel for the duration of the game. Look out for Donald switching into the #10 channel from time to time as with the Barnes/Giteau combination.

Henry is being very cryptic about what is in-store after the kickoff. This footage from the NZ Herald page on Youtube: Read More >>

Centre Superstars, who is tops?

As the Springboks line up to face the Wallabies on Saturday 05 September 2009, Jean De Villiers and Jaque Fourie will make Springbok history as they overtake the record set as a centre combination by De Wet Barry and Marius Joubert.

Barry and Joubert both played schoolboy rugby at Paarl Gymnasium, and both went on to establish themselves at provincial level before earning Springbok call ups, where they played with a ‘radar like sense’ of where the other was on the pitch, with Barry often being able to offload the ball blindly to Joubert in complete confidence that he would be there to receive.

De Wet Barry was often criticised for his direct, hard running approach. Labelled as being unimaginative, he often broke the line with that same ‘direct’ aproach, enabling him to put Joubert into space. He was a rock on defense, most memorable for me was being at the 2003 Springboks VS Wallabies test at Newlands where De Wet Barry tackled the KAK out of Steve Kefu, practically ending any hope of Kefu’s rugby career right there.

In 2004, Joubert became only the 2nd South African  to score a hatrick against the All Blacks (after Ray Mordt accomplished the feat during the infamous ‘flour bomb test’ at Eden Park, Auckland) en route to South Africa’s Tri Nations victory that same year. Joubert also famously scored a double against the Wallabies, taking Chris Latham for an absolute NIL in the process

The combination between Barry and Joubert was one of my favourite aspects of the Springbok game during that ‘era’. Let’s take a look at Joubert’s hatrick, with Barry playing a vital role in one of his three tries: Read More >>

The Springbok squad to face he Wallabies at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on saturday 5th September 2009 has been announced. They are as follows: (test caps in brackets)

Jaque Fourie, try scoring machine, becomes the 19th Springbok to earn his test 50th

1 Tendai Mtawarira (17)
2 Bismarck du Plessis (28)
3 John Smit – Captain (88)
4 Bakkies Botha (61)
5 Victor Matfield (87)
6 Heinrich Brüssow (8)
7 Juan Smith (61)
8 Pierre Spies (26)
9 Fourie du Preez (50)
10 Morne Steyn (7)
11 Bryan Habana (52)
12 Jean de Villiers (52)
13 Jaque Fourie (49)
14 Odwa Ndungane (4)
15 Ruan Pienaar (34)

Reserves:
 
16 Chiliboy Ralepelle (7)
17 Jannie du Plessis (11)
18 Danie Rossouw (41)
19 Schalk Burger (51)
20 Ricky Januarie (39)
21 Adi Jacobs (26)
22 Frans Steyn (34)

• There is one change to the starting XV from the previous Test against Australia in Perth last week with Odwa Ndungane replacing the injured JP Pietersen on the wing.
• There is one change to the bench where Danie Rossouw comes in for  injured lock Andries Bekker.
• Centre Jaque Fourie will earn his 50th Test cap on Saturday, becoming only the 19th Springbok to earn this honour.