My apologies for the lack of posts over the last week. Bronchitis and two of her cousins, who’s names I can’t pronounce has had me by the balls of late. I am alive and kicking again though, and will try and get some new posts up ASAP.
Jacques Fourie, getting ready to wear the blue and white stripes?
I’ve been hearing whispers of this and that over the last two days.
I’ve been trying to find out what’s happening and I’m not sure how true it is, but I have it on quite good authority that WP are signing Jacques Fourie. I’m not sure yet who the other is. If it is true though, it’s a pity that Jean De Villiers is leaving. Can you imaging the two of them tearing through the midfield defence of Super 14 teams? Devastating…
Watch this space for updates as the story unfolds, and remember you heard it here 1st!
Jacques Fourie & Jean De Villiers - reunited at last
As far as the starting lineup goes, this is probably the best possible Springbok team I have seen in a few years. PDV often has a hard time with his critics, but I feel he deserves some credit for getting this selection spot on.
1.Tendai Mtawarira, 2. Bismarck du Plessis, 3. John Smit (captain), 4. Bakkies Botha, 5. Victor Matfield, 6. Heinrich Brüssouw, 7. Juan Smith, 8. Pierre Spies, 9. Fourie du Preez, 10. Ruan Pienaar, 11. Bryan Habana, 12. Jean de Villiers, 13. Jaque Fourie, 14. JP Pietersen, 15. Frans Steyn
I am excited to see the phenomenal centre pairing of Jean De Villiers and Jacques Fourie come up against the All Black pairing of Ma’a Nonu and Conrad Smith. Both excellent combinations, this is set to be a battle of the midfield titans. I tip the South African pairing to come off ahead.
Set to be equally as good will be the battle at the breakdown, with each competing nation having one of the best fetchers currently in world rugby. Will the new kid on the block, Brussouw have what it takes to hold his own against McCaw’s vast experience? Something tells me it’s going to be a great match up.
I suppose some people will be upset that Ruan Pienaar has been selected ahead of Morne Steyn. Although Steyn’s kicking game is great, Ruan’s tactical kicking is as good as any. He is a more creative flyhalf, has the experience, has beaten the All Blacks before and has only had one below par game so far in the #10 jumper. He is a confidence player though, so let’s hope he slots his 1st attempt at goal.
Steyn will get his chances, he might have kicked the series winning penalty against the B&I Lions, but he had a shocker the following week, worse in my opinion than Pienaar’s off day in the 2nd test. He is new to the Springbok system, and still has to find his footing in certain aspects, but I think he has a long time ahead of him in SA rugby. In any case, I think we are well covered in the flyhalf channel regardless of which of the two are on the field, something we don’t often have the privilege of claiming in SA.
I think it is going to be a cracker of a game! Go Bokke!
Referee: Alain Rolland(Ireland)
Assistant referees: Nigel Owens (Wales), Tim Hayes (Wales)
TMO: Johann Meuwesen (South Africa)
Kickoff: 17h00 for those of you who are STILL living under that rock.
Answer from Tuesday trivia #11: Carel Du Plessis, dubbed ‘the prince of wings’, played flyhalf for the 1978 SA Schools XV.
Q: How many points did Jannie de Beer score in the 1999 World Cup?
Sireli Naqelevuki does the bare minimum
Sireli Naqelevuki cost Western Province an all important bonus point at the end Saturdays huge North/South derby.
I am a fan of having atleast one big wing in the starting lineup and Naqelevuki is a particularly large winger, standing at 1.93m tall and weighing in at 118kg, but what good is it playing a guy like him if he isn’t interested in being on the field? Whilst I appreciate the fact that he has that Fijian style of ‘lazy’ running, the truth is he is absolutely lethargic at the best of times, not using his size to our advantage.
Naqelevuki was generally unfit for most of the Super 14 2009 season, often hanging around somewhere behind the backline or just not showing up for a set piece move involving him. On more than one occasion his ‘I don’t give a toss, I’m getting paid anyway’ attitude has cost us the win. Who can forget that game against Boland last year in Wellington when he dropped the ball over the try line?
I’m all for having an international player here and there if absolutely essential to the success of the team, but do we really need him? In my opinion we don’t.
In Tonderai Chavanga, we have one of the fastest men in world rugby, if not the fastest. I know Chavanga’s hamstrings have been a liability of late, but atleast he wants to be on the field and generally looks for work. Chavanga should be backed up on the bench by one of WP’s young guns. It is time to get rid of a non performing Naqelevuki, play Chavanga, and blood some young talent off the bench.
Some of the young players that WP could blood include:
Berrick Barnes cut through the All Black's defence
A big congratulations to George Smith on his 100th test appearance, making his debut VS France in 2000, at the age of 19 and before ever playing a professional rugby match. Smith, at 29 years of age and still at the top of his game, has the ability to become the most capped rugby player of all time.
The Wallabies went to Eden Park looking for their first win in Aucklandsince 1986. They came out all guns blazing, with centurion George Smith making his 1st breakdown steal in the 3rd minute and the Wallabies scoring their first try in the 4th minute after #15, Adam Ashley-Cooper cut through the All Blacks defensive line, setting up the motion for Berrick Barnes to make a break on the blindside, selling the dummy, and stepping All Blacks #15, Mills Muliaina, to go over for an amazing try. I felt Muliaina, usually ‘Mr Dependable’, was uncharacteristically shown up on defense for the third time this season.
Before the game I thought one of the best contests would be between the centres Read More >>
I’ve previously posted a few of Bob Skinstad’s episodes of The Skinny, and I must say, I really enjoy what the idea he’s got going here. For those of you who are new to The Skinny, it’s a short clip filmed by Mike the camera man, where Bob sits down, over a few rounds of beer, with a rugby personality and basically chats about the game of rugby.
If you check out our about page, that’s basically the vibe we like to go with here at Blogspotrugby, chilling with a few mates, over a round or five of beers, chatting rugby.
In this episode of The Skinny, Bob sits down with international referee, Craig Joubert and throws out a few questions sent in by Bobs followers on Twitter.
Very cool, check it out below.
You too can follow Bob Skinstad on Twitter .
Rory Kockott must take comnd of the backline
The second in our series of ‘Players to watch in the 2009 Curie Cup’ focuses on last years champions, the Sharks. The Sharks have had t dig deep this year to replace a whole host of payers on Springbok duty.
Siting in last place after week one, one has to feel they won’t stay there for much longer.I d think that they are going to struggle a bit whilst their young nwcomers find their feet in the beginning stages of the competition. The Sharks main concern at this stage must be the flyhalf position with 19 year old Guy Cronje just not cutting it in the #10 jumper.
The Sharks are apparently trying to finalise the contract of Argetinian #10, Juan Martin Hernandez. A move I don’t fully understand. I know at the moment they don’t have many options other than to bring in someone with experience. I was chatting about it to a mate of mine today who is quite a well known rugby journo, both here and abroad, let’s call him Sid. Sid, Blogspotrugby’s own ‘Stig’ of sorts, brought up the issue of the lack of decent up and coming flyhalves in South Africa at the moment. Although Juan Martin Hernandez will be great ot watch in the Currie Cup, it leaves the Sharks in the exact same situation next year as they now find themselves in. No one with enough experience to be the Sharks pivot, whilst another youngster gets thrown on the deep end through lack of experience and playing time. I tend to agree. It’s a bit of a catch 22 situation I’m afraid.
Which brings me to my choices of the two Sharks players that, in my opinion, have the opportunity to stand out:
Backs: Rory Kockott
Kockott exploded on the Super 14 scene in 2008. He was perhaps unlucky not to have received the award for the South African player of the tournament. With no established pivot in the current Sharks squad, Kockott has the chance to take comand of the backlin as well as keeping the forward momentum going, something which he does exceptionally. Big shoes to fill perhaps, but I feel Kockott has the ability as well as the mindset to do it. At 1.80m tall and 92kg, Kockott has the size and strength to hold his own.
Forwards: Jean Deysel
Jean Deysel has been knocking on the Springbok door all season. At 1.91m tall and 110kg, Deysel is a powerhouse in the loose. He crosses the gain line regularly with his direct approach. Deysel links well with his backline. His only downfall at times are his handling skills, which aren’t the worst around either. Watch Deysel cross the gainline while bashing his way through opposition defences this season.
Keep an eye out for these two Sharks. Will they be able tocarry this depleated Sharks lineup?
Answer from Tuesday trivia #10: Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The tour tookplace in 1921.
Q: In which position did Carl Du Plessis play for the SA Schools XV in 1978?
Rising stars in the Griquas ranks
With the 1st weekend of the 2009 Currie Cup Competition having come and gone, the Griquas top the log with thier bonus point win over the FS Cheetahs.
The Griquas will hope to carry their form in the first game through to the end of the competition, but it has to be said that the hard men from Kimberly will find it difficult to be any kind of contender for the cup, come the bussiness end of the competition. This team should however never be discounted on a game to game basis, especially when playing on the hard field of their home ground.
The Griquas have had some talented players plying their trade in Kimberly in the past, most recently, Zane Kirchner. As is the nature of the game though, those players quickly get snatched up by the larger unions.
Their are still a few exciting players to look out for in the Griquas team though. In my opinion, the two that stand out the most at this point are:
Forwards: Jonathan Mokuena
Jonathan Mokuena is an accomplished Springbok sevens star, having captained the team in the past. He is also the current Griquas captain. At 1.87m tall and 100kg, this powerful flanker is no slouch on the rugby field. Mokuena is dangerous, both in broken play and at the breakdown. He is no stranger to the 15 man game either. I’m interested to see how he plays in this years Currie Cup.
Backs: Sarel Pretorius
Sarel Pretorius was perhaps the spark in the team that lead to the Griquas superb win at the weekend. Having been yellow carded early in the game, the Cheetahs scored three tries in 19 minutes upon his return to the pitch. Pretorius was one of the key players in the Royal XV team that gave the B&I Lions a good run for their money earlier in the year. At 1.74m tall and 85kg, and having previously represented the Emerging Springboks in the Nations Cup, I feel it’s a matter of time before Sarel Pretorius is snatched up by one of the larger unions.
Keep a watchfull eye on these two rising stars.
