Flag's senses seemed a bit dull...

Friday night got off to a rather shocking start when what can only be described as a blatantly blazed reggae singer, Ras Dumisani, butchered the South African national anthem.

Never in my life have I heard something which so closely resembled a cat being violently murdered, passed off as South Africa’s national anthem. It was an absolute disgrace to say the least, especially when taken into account how much the South African anthem means to millions of people countrywide, symbolising the unity of our great nation.

As an afterthought it’s quite funny to see the looks of absolute bemusement on the players faces as the off-key, out of tune screeching of Ras Dumisani sucker punches them in the nuts right before kickoff.

I propose that all singers performing the national anthem’s of various countries should from now onwards be subject to the same stringent drug testing as the players themselves… Haha.

If you think you can handle Ras Dumisani’s butchering of “Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika”, watch below.

Anthemgate: [WhatJoNoThinks]

Once the game began things didn’t get much better, with the Springboks delivering the worst performance of the year against a determined French team.

A few things I’d like to point out:

• Heinrich Brussow was once again the shinning light in the Springbok team. Putting in another stellar performance and pilfering French ball whenever possible.
• It was clear for all to see that there are massive voids left by the departure of Jean de Villiers and Francois Steyn, with their incumbents, Adi Jacobs andZane Kirchner respectively, having rather crap games. Kirchner in particular was never in position, with other players always having to rush back to field French kicks. I don’t remember him sticking one decent tackle, as he bounced off every attempt he made. One good thing about him though is that he is extremely reliable under the high ball when he is in position.
• The villain of the Springbok forwards would have to be Ryan Kankowski, who put in a performance he’d rather forget. Kankowski’s usual deft handling skills were nowhere to be seen on the night, as he knocked on almost every ball he touched. He will want to make up for Friday’s game in the upcoming tests if he is to close the gap between himself and the injured Pierre Spies.
• Another thing I really can’t wrap my mind around is the lack of strategy used in temporary substitutions, especially when it comes to the 2nd row. Danie Rossouw is too slow to be used as a loose forward replacement, and Andries Bekker is too light and not physical enough to be used as a replacement for Bakkies Botha. It’s simple, if Bakkies has to leave the field temporarily, Danie should replace him. Whereas if Victor Matfield has to similarly leave the field, Bekker should replace him. It really isn’t rocket science, I just wish the coaches would get it right already.

The Springboks weren’t the only ones to put in a KAK performance on the night. Never have I ever seen a more shocking performance by a referee!

• Wayne Barnes seemed adamant to stop the Springboks from getting into the game wherever possible. He must be the single worst referee in rugby union at the moment. He blatantly allowed forward passes (watch the clip below, in the 14thsecondthere is a forward pass, Barnes puts his whistle in his mouth as if to blow, but then just lets play go on) and went back on decisions. At one point saying something like “Sorry, I called advantage over too soon, play on”.

If you can bear to put yourself through it again, here are the highlights: [Rugbydump]