The Official Rugby Thread

I'm going to start supporting netball.

here is my 2c on the game this weekend...

i believe that the coaching staff is to blame .. firstly having goosen on the pitch for that long being injured is just plain ignorance.
He should have been sub'd asap as he let down the back line in defence. Its not his fault as im sure he wanted to play but they should have taken him off. Secondly with the back line having an over lap when dagg was off and they tried to pound it up with the forwards is retarded. Bob skinstad highlighted this and its so true .. why go 8 on 8 when u can go wide and have the over lap. thirdly there was some seriously pointless kicking from the bokkes .. why kick your possession why ?? i agree kick for field position but then kick it into touch not straight down their throats so they can run it back .. the bokkes have lived on physically abusing the opposition but the all blacks are bigger and stronger without the aggression of lets say bakkies. they need to change their game plan and get some quality centers .. habana should be put to rest and they need to to find some guys with sparkle ..

They are unfortunately in another class with regards to the backline. No chance in hell we can take NZ with our current level at the back soon. Fortunately for us Auzie has the worst squad probably in the last 20 years. Apart from NZ it is my perception that the current level of world rugby is at a all time low

It's been a long time since I heard my dad swear ten times in a row. :blink:

@Zimbulk: Agree with your analysis 100% except I thought Habana is really hungry to play world class rugby. He just got a bit greedy/stupid and planked his name but otherwise I thought he was brilliant especially under the high ball. Our back line is terrible but its a problem made much worse by the fact that our centres play shit. Jean de Villiers plays like he is at high school and Jaco Taute is an eighth man playing his second game for the springboks as a centre. At the end of the day it is your centres that link up the front line with the back line.

"If you play a test match without a strong centre"

We had some of the worst defense that I have seen in a very long time. Israel Dagg literally broke through something like 4 tackles for that try right after the kickoff (the first two being Taute and Bekker, two people who should have flattened him).

We had some shocking defense, the AB's outclassed us.

One thing that severely pissed me off was the ref's performance at scrum time, how many times did their pack collapse or fail to bind, and the one time Oosthuizen's bind slipped, we get penalised yet they got off scot-free and just had resets? Also the ruck area, something needs to be done about the shocking calls there.

All in all, I am not blaming the ref, even with the best ref in the world, the AB's beat us fair and square, but the worst part was, it didn't even feel like they were playing good rugby, we were just shocking.

@Zimbulk, there are a couple of players that need to be analysed and their positions reassessed, Habana isn't one of them.

we got beaten by a better coaching staff, that make the right decisions at the right time and put the right players in at the right positions.

we need to up our coaching staff, i think we have the right players (overall in the country)

Michael wrote: we got beaten by a better coaching staff, that make the right decisions at the right time and put the right players in at the right positions.

we need to up our coaching staff, i think we have the right players (overall in the country)

We are stuck with Heyneke Meyer while the two best coaches in the world are on Supersport talking kak with Naas and Ashwin.

@Theodoric: How about that spear tackle?

i believe my judgement on habana was a bit harsh .. he is hungry and he looks like the only player who wants to play ... and that was evident in the game against oz .. bokkes need to come with a different game plan all together .. the days of bakkies are over and man he was a tough son of a gun and people feared him .. think is who would u play at center that could possibly challenge another world class back line ?? i like elton at 10 but what of lambie in the centers ?? is he too small ?? they need running centers but ones like frans steyn who dont pass and try bash everyone .. its also down to bokkes dont off load that much and thats the new thing in rugby.. u see the all blacks passing the ball off loading and the forwards doing it but the bokkes ... lets crash and see what happens. they need to realise their physical domination era is over and time to choose mobile agile and forwards with ball skills .. i have to admit i have got mad respect for one of the bokke flanks ( louw ) he is what the bokkes need more of .. the sad thing .. pick a world 15 and how many bokkes to u think would make it ??

You can't put Lambie at centre Nonu will man-handle him like a box of oreos. We actually have two world class centres (Jean de Villiers and Frans Steyn), but unfortunately Frans Steyn is injured atm and Jean is playing like his ass. I was very impresses with Elton Jantjies on saturday absolutely amazing stuff to break his virginity! Who would be in your world 15 bud? Love stuff like this.

props dont really matter

2. Kevin Mealamu
4. Brody Retallic
5. Ali Williams
6. Liam Messam
7. Richie Mc caw
8. Alberts ( bokkes ) or Keiran Read
9. Genia
10. Carter
11. Digby
12. SBW
13. Nonu
14. Cory Jane
15. Dagg

Pyroclasm wrote:

Michael wrote: we got beaten by a better coaching staff, that make the right decisions at the right time and put the right players in at the right positions.

we need to up our coaching staff, i think we have the right players (overall in the country)

We are stuck with Heyneke Meyer while the two best coaches in the world are on Supersport talking kak with Naas and Ashwin.

@Theodoric: How about that spear tackle?

That spear tackle was ridiculous, worst of all if you see the video (or photo) of it, it happened right in front of the ref! The same ref who gave Sam Warburton a red card in the WC semi-final for the same offense.

Retallick did receive an off-field yellow card though, so there is "some" justice in this world

Zimbulk88 wrote: props dont really matter

I sincerely hope you're joking!

So your world 15 is basically the AB's with maybe one Bok?

@Theodoric: There is justice bro. She's standing outside with precious.

@Zimbulk: Basically the All-Blacks? I don't see Habana? Haha

Glad the Sharks won! Means my team is in the finals!

What really disappointed me was Steyn's cheap shot right at the end on Ludick...

Yeah. I like Steyn even less now. The Bulls' tactical kicking was woeful, and perhaps Morne is even more to blame than Heyneke for how crap the Boks looked before Morne got the boot. What a palooka.

i support the all blacks so its basically non sense ... would love to see other guys ideal world 15 ... also guys lets be honest .. all blacks are the best team in the world and have majority of the best players

Although I'm a Bok supporter through and through, it's obvious that New Zealand are in a class of their own.

And I don't know how they failed to beat Australia today. Yes the game was in Aus and that the pressure was up for the Bledisloe cup, but Australia are experiencing one of their worst sides in a long time.

Also did anyone watch the relegation match between the Cheetahs and EP Kings last night? I've said it before, and I'll say it again: watch out for Raymond Rhule in the near future. He is on fire.

Stormers vs Lions semifinal what a game!!

Said howsit to Habana today. Told him he needs to keep on doing exactly what has been doing because its worked out great! Never change a winning formula.

As someone in the heart of WP country...

*ahem*

Go Sharks!

Theodoric wrote: As someone in the heart of WP country...

*ahem*

Go Sharks!

I have a good min to take some karma away from you

anyway, I cant see province winning but I am hoping that the fact that they are for once being played up as the proper underdogs will count in their favour as there isn't the pressure of chocking which seems to do them in year in year out.

GSP wrote:

Theodoric wrote: As someone in the heart of WP country...

*ahem*

Go Sharks!

I have a good min to take some karma away from you

anyway, I cant see province winning but I am hoping that the fact that they are for once being played up as the proper underdogs will count in their favour as there isn't the pressure of chocking which seems to do them in year in year out.

But that will only strengthen the stereotypical view I have of WP supporters

In all seriousness, I'm always nervous before my team plays against Province, you guys just have that knack to win when it's really not expected and a choking streak can only last so long (unless you're the Proteas).

May the best team win!

Theodoric wrote:

GSP wrote:

Theodoric wrote: As someone in the heart of WP country...

*ahem*

Go Sharks!

I have a good min to take some karma away from you

anyway, I cant see province winning but I am hoping that the fact that they are for once being played up as the proper underdogs will count in their favour as there isn't the pressure of chocking which seems to do them in year in year out.

But that will only strengthen the stereotypical view I have of WP supporters

In all seriousness, I'm always nervous before my team plays against Province, you guys just have that knack to win when it's really not expected and a choking streak can only last so long (unless you're the Proteas).

May the best team win!

Fair enough mate. It should be a top top game and, as you stated, may the best team win!!

Go Sharks!!

Not impressed... Painted face, painted arms, painted everything .... And we lose haha, but good game, had a jol anyway,

The last time the Stormers won a currie cup it was R2.78 for a liter of petrol. Congrats!