Legend amongst legends

So last week our mates over at Green and Gold Rugby posted this video of Stephen Larkham’s career highlights and I enjoyed it so much, I thought I would post it here for all of you to enjoy too.

After starting his professional career as a fullback, Larkham developed into one of the greatest flyhalves in the history of Australian and world rugby, in 2005, being named  at #10 in Australia’s team of the decade.

In my opinion, Larkham was one of the best flyhalves the world has ever seen. With a reputation as an elusive runner and the linchpin of a (then much more) potent backline. I think G&GR hit the nail on the head when they described him as often “ghosting” through the opposition backline.

Larkham’s famous 48m-drop goal to seal victory over South Africa in extra time of the 1999 Rugby World Cup Semi-Final has gone down in rugby folklore as the defining moment in the Wallabies victorious Rugby World Cup campaign. Until then, neither Larkham, nor any other member of the Wallabies team had ever scored a drop goal in an international test match.

A video montage of Larkham’s glorious career: [SARUGBY11]

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 >>

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 >>

What's up with the fern?

SANZAR has extended a conditional invitation to Argentina to join the Tri Nations from 2012 to create a new “Four Nations” Championship.

Andy Marinos, Acting Managing Director of SA Rugby and CEO of SANZAR said:

“To have the Pumas, third at Rugby World Cup 2007 and currently ranked sixth in the world, join with the three top ranked international teams in world rugby will be exciting for fans, players, sponsors and broadcasters across our four countries and beyond.  They play a different style to the All Blacks, Springboks and Wallabies and their inclusion will see the Tri Nations evolve to be a truly Southern Hemisphere Championship”

SANZAR has however attached conditions to the invitation of the Unión Argentina de Rugby (UAR) to join the Four Nations in 2012: Read More >>

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 >>

Bob gives us a shout from OZ

I managed to catch up with a mate of ours here at BlogspotRugby this week , Bob Skinstad, on his tour to Oz with the Springboks, and asked him a few quick questions about the Boks current Tri Nations campaign.

Being a former Springbok himself, Bob is no stranger to the rigours of life on the tour, and should be well equipped in taking part in a quick Q&A session.

Here it goes:

• Dooley: Bob, the Springboks were criticised for playing ‘boring’ rugby after their first 3 wins, but put the flair in for the most recent win against the Wallabies. Do you think there is substance in the ‘boring’ label, or is winning winning at test level?

Bob: People are quick to criticise – especially when they are looking from an opposition fans point of view and their sides aren’t winning – I think there is only one measure for success, and that is winning – and there is also a separate measure for entertainment and that is crowd pulling factor. The IRB made the laws and the Boks play to them – they are just playing to them better than anyone at the moment !

• Dooley: PDV has done a lot better tactically so far in the Tri Nations than in the B&I Lions Series, do you think he will be able to keep the edge on our opponents for the last two games?

Bob: Yes – he has a healthy mix of senior players and young flair players that compliments his strategic edge with one of diverse talents, so they should be able to keep doing that.  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.

Possible IRB 2009 player of the year?

The Springboks managed to shed their “boring rugby” label at the weekend when the comprehensively beat the Wallabies in Perth, silencing their critics. The Final scoreline was a lot closer than the actual game, with the Springboks falling asleep in the last 5 or 6 minutes, allowing the Wallabies over for two tries, to put them in reach for the bonus point loss.

The Wallabies took heed of Robbie Deans’ threat concerning their poor discipline earlier on in the 2009 Tri Nations, only conceding 4 penaltiesto the Springboks 16 in the Perth test. They did well to hold on and play for the full eighty minutes. On more than one occasion the Wallabies took the ball through 8+ phases, once making it to 16 phases and spending a total of over 7 minutes in the Springbok’s 22m area. The Wallabies played a lot more with the ball than the Springboks did, having double the amount of breakdowns, scrumhalf and flyhalf passes than the Boks and having to make less than half the amount of tackles the Boks did.

These stats could be viewed either way. Some might applaud the Wallabies for their fighting spirit in giving it a go right to the end, some might say how it enforces how much better the Springboks were on the day. They used the ball they did have more effectively, making 4 line-breaks and 11 offloads. The Springboks became the 1st team to score the 4 try bonus point in the 2009 Tri nations competition.

Congratulations to Fourie Du Preez on his 50th international test. Week after week he puts in performances that highlight why he is arguably the most complete rugby player in the world.

It was good to see Schalk Burger and his tackle rate back on the pitch, making an impressive 8 tackles during his 26 mins on the park.

Standout performances: Read More >>

There isn’t a whole lot to say about this past weekends Tri Nations encounter between the All Blacks and the Wallabies. I felt both teams where quite weak. 

Sitiveni Sivivatu did quite well in putting Ma’a Nonu through for his try. On the other side of things I felt Richard Brown was a tad unlucky to get a yellow card, his tackle looked worse than it was, but was classified as a spear tackle by the referee. Both teams were hit by a few injuries, forcing key players to leave the field, which didn’t exactly help the game’s excitement level. Both Wallaby wingers should be shot for not kicking the ball into the stands in the dying moments of the test, giving away a crucial penalty, allowing Dan Carter to seal the win.

Here are the highlights, notice how the All Blacks dive off their feet at almost every breakdown:

The battle of the best...

Saturday poses possibly the biggest test of Robbie Deans’ international coaching career when the Wallabies take on the All Blacks in Sydney. With Stirling Mortlock, their talisman, out for the rest of the Tri Nations, the Wallabies will have to dig deep to keep composed. I’m hoping George Smith puts on a better display as captain, after getting a bit snotty with the ref in their final away game.

Both teams have big stars returning for this match up. The much anticipated return of All Black wonder-boy, Dan Carter will allow for the Kiwi fans to breathe a little easier. Luke McAlister also returns to the starting lineup alongside Carter, boosting the Kiwi’s kicking options, and in so allowing for pressure to be taken off Carter if he needs some time to settle.

The returning player I’m most interested to see however, is Wallaby flanker, Rocky Elsom. After a brilliant stint overseas with Leinster, winning 11 man of the match awards out of Leinster’s last 13 games, Elsom will be rearing to go in the Gold Wallaby jumper.

Mano e Mano: Read More >>