[2019 Rugby Championship] Round 2: New Zealand vs. South Africa (27/07/2019)

[TRF_heineken]

Just my opinion but I see this happening a lot in SA sport, rugby and cricket that in the World Cups people are taken based on past reputation and what they do "off the field" aka great team man, coaches the youngsters etc.
Matfiled cost us that semi final lost last time against the AB's. Way over his prime but how can Bok rugby be without him..
Amla now in the Cricket World cup, same story
NZ is bordering on the same this year, trust me we are actually relieved to face SBW rather than Laumape, Smith rather than Bridge
Dangerous times folks

This! Plus don't forget about Jean De Villiers during the last World Cup who was mostly a passenger on crutches that whole year. I had that sinking feeling about Etzebeth prior to last week that he'll be in the same boat, but he certainly did impress me and I'm hoping he'll do the same this week.

But with that said, having Mo'unga, SBW and BB in your backline does spell out danger for opposition, if they click, it could be a very long day at the office.

Let's hope we can make it 2 in a row in the Cake Tin.

 

[Larksea]

Just my opinion but I see this happening a lot in SA sport, rugby and cricket that in the World Cups people are taken based on past reputation and what they do "off the field" aka great team man, coaches the youngsters etc.
Matfiled cost us that semi final lost last time against the AB's. Way over his prime but how can Bok rugby be without him..
Amla now in the Cricket World cup, same story
NZ is bordering on the same this year, trust me we are actually relieved to face SBW rather than Laumape, Smith rather than Bridge
Dangerous times folks

naaa I can see your logic but... I mean Ben smith missed some high balls last week but did you see what happened when he got the ball? he got through the line pretty much every time, he is low on gametime this year and just needs a go. if anything the way he carried last weekend shows hes up for it.

SBW vs laumape.
now laumape is a great player but he is not the best distributor
to quantify that, while this has not been a great super comp for SBW but Laumape is averaging ~0.5 passes per run and SBW is averaging ~1 pass per run while its rained tries for Laumape his try assist rate is less than half SBW and thats SBW in a blues side struggling outside rookie no name 10's while Laumape was in the humming hurricanes outside arguably the best 9 and 10 in the world. I would say in test rugby distribution is going to be a bigger factor. And it's arguably the main reason why despite having a bumper two seasons in super rugby laumape has struggled to get gametime for the AB's. Laumape averages slightly more meters per run both have a high average but his stats suggest that the ball dies more often with him while it stays alive with SBW.
Sure SBW has had his season seriously interrupted by injury and I would say looking at his stats he has not made tackles like he should - I would put that partly down to the blues just being mostly a mud side this year.
A stat that is not so easy to see is how SBW creates a ton of trys without even touching the ball. His size and skillset make him and ideal decoy often attracting more defenders than most with defenders knowing if they dont commit 2-3 he will just get a pass away.

That said SBW still has to prove himself before the WC, I dont believe the selectors will run him out come crunch time unless he has proved he's up to it. what I mean by that is if this game was a must win game. SBW would not be starting.

 

[petite]

i rate him over laumape

 

[JohnKA]

South Africa have Damian de allende in the backline, so the chance of them winning is reduced by a big margin already.

 

[Alex Anghel]

Matfiled cost us that semi final lost last time against the AB's. Way over his prime but how can Bok rugby be without him..

Are you referring to his overall play in that semi final or just to his knock on at the end? Considering that Matfield was basically 10 m out from his own posts, there was really no realistic expectation that could entail having the ball moved across the park in order for a try or an attempt at goal, either by ways of an AB's infringement or by a drop.

This is a solid ABs team and I am happy that one of my comments I made last year during the EOTY tour materialized, namely that if they are going to persist with this dual play making approach, Mounga should start at 10, Barrett at 15 and Smith at 14 . Sadly, my thinking of having McKenzie on the bench for storming the field in the last 20 cannot happen anymore.

I cannot wait for this game! ABs by 15.

 

[Gena_ZA]

Matfield came on in no 19, half his age with 20 min to go
Fumbled an attacking line out ball in the 72nd minute in a good attacking position <- that and his general play at outside center and us Safas had a tad enough of him by then
Obviously he did not cost us the game on his own, read it in my context

Also not comparing Laumape with SBW, even Crotty is a better rugby player now than him, in 2019
But stick with him please, good wine comes with age they say

Looking forward to a hard and close game on Saturday

 

[tewdric]

The Boks have the massive motivation of being able to knock NZ off the top of the world rankings are preventing the 10 years at the top being chalked up.

 

[Oliver Madden]

The Boks have the massive motivation of being able to knock NZ off the top of the world rankings are preventing the 10 years at the top being chalked up.

I think SA would need to win by a decent margin for that to happen. If the Boks won the RWC on the other hand....

 

[Pieter Steph du Teague]

What's happened to Tu'inukuafe? Injured/Rested or just out of favour?

Last week I'd assumed that they just wanted to see whether Tu'ungfasi could hold up at loosehead at international level so that he could cover both sides of the scrum going into the RWC.

 

[Oliver Madden]

This is going to be a warm one I think!. I don't think they'll be any soft-peddling or holding back in this game, even though they've got a World Cup match to come. I do think this is the first time in years where I've thought a team that has played in NZ has a genuine chance of beating the All Blacks. I think the Boks will be up for this, they'll see this as a great chance to beat NZ In NZ for two years running. Interested to see how the Mo'unga - Barrett experiment goes, got a feeling it could work a treat. Not sure about moving Ben Smith to the wing though. Surprised SBW is still playing for the ABs. Think he's overrated personally. I think it will be very close but I've got a feeling the Springboks could win In Wellington again (well hoping so anyway).

 

[tewdric]

I think SA would need to win by a decent margin for that to happen. If the Boks won the RWC on the other hand....

It would need to be by 15 points.

 

[SomeOke]

South Africa have Damian de allende in the backline, so the chance of them winning is reduced by a big margin already.

This old chestnut is getting a bit tired, the guy made an effort to improve his game this year in terms of distribution. Besides our options aren't great based on SR this season (I'd like to see Serf, but he's injured apparently).

From the little I saw of SBW this year, he's still got it, wouldn't isolate that as a weakness. If the AB's have any weaknesses it would be fresh combinations imo. I.e Barret and Richie MO playing together, Frizzell and Todd pretty much never played together etc.

Both tight fives are pretty much full strength.

 

[TRF_heineken]

This old chestnut is getting a bit tired, the guy made an effort to improve his game this year in terms of distribution. Besides our options aren't great based on SR this season (I'd like to see Serf, but he's injured apparently).

From the little I saw of SBW this year, he's still got it, wouldn't isolate that as a weakness. If the AB's have any weaknesses it would be fresh combinations imo. I.e Barret and Richie MO playing together, Frizzell and Todd pretty much never played together etc.

Both tight fives are pretty much full strength.

Yeah, I also think DDA has made a decent effort this year. But with that said, I think because of Frans Steyn and Andre Esterhuizen knocking on the door for that 12 jersey, the pressure is on DDA to prove himself or else he might fall out of favour very soon, especially if Serfontein is also fit and ready to play just after the RC.

 

[Johnny Storm]

Really looking forward to this match as an SA supporter. It will be the last match this year that I think I can really enjoy. Every match from now on will be high stress/high stakes, except for the Argentina game, which will probably just be a 2nd team stroll with experimentation for the WC.

I think the ABs will clinch it, they have picked a side with over 1K caps in the 23, the strongest AB side I think I have seen since the 1995 final. I would like to see a draw, but I think an SA win would lead to complacency - something that has let them down before.

 

[hbijbjon]

What's happened to Tu'inukuafe? Injured/Rested or just out of favour?

Last week I'd assumed that they just wanted to see whether Tu'ungfasi could hold up at loosehead at international level so that he could cover both sides of the scrum going into the RWC.

Big Karl rumour has it was afflicted with Meningitis and is still recovering
Training but still off being in match condition

Time is running out for him to make 31 man squad for ABs

 

[Rinkadink]

SBW and Crotty intimidate me more than Luamape and Bridge. That may change in time but as of now I can see why selectors are maybe aiming for the first two.

Looking forward to this match.

 

[mkersyshull]

I'm in the UK and don't have Sky sports. Does anyone know where I can get a radio commentary for the game?

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Incredible linespeed from the boks.

 

[BobbyM]

ABs looking pretty rusty. Number of handling errors and penalties so far

 

[bushytop]

BB looking assured at 15 so far.