EOYT: England vs South Africa, 24/11/2012

[Tony Manx]

Do we abuse it though? Afterall we havn't gone down to England since 2006!

Answered your own question my boy!!

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Yeah, is that a joke?
South Africans and the Irish are the worst winners going!

 

[Standardprocedure]

I'd actually put the Irish streets ahead of the Saffers, and put Wales on a par with the Boks when it comes to crowing about winning (you can sympathise with the Welsh though, as winning doesn't happen too often!)

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

No sense of humor on this thread.

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

This game actually has huge implications for SA as with a number of injuries a few of these players can nail down their position or at least make it difficult for others to stake a claim.

- Adriaan Strauss has been one of the top SA players and could it actually be that he'd make Bismarck sit on the bench. Again. It's great to have arguably the world's 2 best hookers in one country. Pity we'd struggle to argue any of our other players as being world no1 in their position though.

- With Bekker out again Kruger has another chance to stake his claim. I'm not convinced either will be there ahead of those bubbling underneath the surface (v/d Merwe, Bresler, Du Toit) end next year to partner Etzebeth who is the one guy to have totally nailed down his jersey.

- Lambie has been told to play flatter and play his own game. Will it work at test level and with a slow Pienaar to feed him? We'll have to wait and see.

- De Jongh has another chance (not that he got any real chances against Scotland on account of not getting any ball) to show he's wares in the starting XV.

If they don't take the chance I think F Steyn and Goosen at least are assured of their places.

 

[Feicarsinn]

Yeah, is that a joke?
South Africans and the Irish are the worst winners going!

Fortunately enough it's not a problem we have to deal with very often eh?

 

[SomeOke]

This game actually has huge implications for SA as with a number of injuries a few of these players can nail down their position or at least make it difficult for others to stake a claim.

- Adriaan Strauss has been one of the top SA players and could it actually be that he'd make Bismarck sit on the bench. Again. It's great to have arguably the world's 2 best hookers in one country. Pity we'd struggle to argue any of our other players as being world no1 in their position though.

- With Bekker out again Kruger has another chance to stake his claim. I'm not convinced either will be there ahead of those bubbling underneath the surface (v/d Merwe, Bresler, Du Toit) end next year to partner Etzebeth who is the one guy to have totally nailed down his jersey.

- Lambie has been told to play flatter and play his own game. Will it work at test level and with a slow Pienaar to feed him? We'll have to wait and see.

- De Jongh has another chance (not that he got any real chances against Scotland on account of not getting any ball) to show he's wares in the starting XV.

If they don't take the chance I think F Steyn and Goosen at least are assured of their places.

Should be very interesting indeed. I'd actually love to see Bekker as the starting lock - with him an Etzebeth we will have an extremely dangerous line-out that few teams will be able to compete with if we have it gelling well especially since both our likely 8's, Spies and Vermulen are both great from the back as well. On top of that Bekker is the type of player who's extremely dangerous in loose-play, while Etzebeth is good in the tight stuff. The biggest concern with that particular combination is that Etzebeth tends to carry a lot and with Bekker hanging about in the loose we might lack grunt on the ground.
Kruger is a very decent player but I'm not sure his line-out work is needed and I don't think he offers quite as much as Bekker in general (Bekker on form of course) as well as being a little bit softer on defence than our other forwards, meaning he doesn't show the same physicality on defence that the likes of Etzebeth, Flouw, Alberts and Vermulen do.

As for scum-half I don't understand what ours are doing at the moment, this two-steps pass type of attitude just lets the opposition defensive line get organised, when it takes so long to clear it just allows the defence to push up which is why JdV has to take it up himself so often, we saw this with the quick organised line of the Scots not giving our outside packs any opportunity in space. I just wish our 9's would pass straight from the ground (although it might be a symptom of our scrummies trying to protect our young fly-halves.

Adriaan Strauss is a fantastic player definitely a suitable international Hooker, but Bismarck has the potential to be a real game-breaker which Strauss doesn't. It's the difference between a great player and a phenomenal player.

I'll personally be happy if JdJ just puts his usual great defensive effort in as I feel that Youngs and Tuilagi are the only players really capable of breaking our defensive structure when we're organised (although I do think Care could do just as well).


As for the gloating debate, everyone loves to win and everyone loves to rub it in it's just human nature. NZ are the exception because they can afford to be gracious in victory .

 

[TRF_heineken]

Should be very interesting indeed. I'd actually love to see Bekker as the starting lock - with him an Etzebeth we will have an extremely dangerous line-out that few teams will be able to compete with if we have it gelling well especially since both our likely 8's, Spies and Vermulen are both great from the back as well. On top of that Bekker is the type of player who's extremely dangerous in loose-play, while Etzebeth is good in the tight stuff. The biggest concern with that particular combination is that Etzebeth tends to carry a lot and with Bekker hanging about in the loose we might lack grunt on the ground.
Kruger is a very decent player but I'm not sure his line-out work is needed and I don't think he offers quite as much as Bekker in general (Bekker on form of course) as well as being a little bit softer on defence than our other forwards, meaning he doesn't show the same physicality on defence that the likes of Etzebeth, Flouw, Alberts and Vermulen do.

As for scum-half I don't understand what ours are doing at the moment, this two-steps pass type of attitude just lets the opposition defensive line get organised, when it takes so long to clear it just allows the defence to push up which is why JdV has to take it up himself so often, we saw this with the quick organised line of the Scots not giving our outside packs any opportunity in space. I just wish our 9's would pass straight from the ground (although it might be a symptom of our scrummies trying to protect our young fly-halves.

Adriaan Strauss is a fantastic player definitely a suitable international Hooker, but Bismarck has the potential to be a real game-breaker which Strauss doesn't. It's the difference between a great player and a phenomenal player.

I'll personally be happy if JdJ just puts his usual great defensive effort in as I feel that Youngs and Tuilagi are the only players really capable of breaking our defensive structure when we're organised (although I do think Care could do just as well).


As for the gloating debate, everyone loves to win and everyone loves to rub it in it's just human nature. NZ are the exception because they can afford to be gracious in victory .

Yeah, but it's also how we as Saffas have been brought up. We are the most competitive people I know, we want to win everything, even drinking!!

 

[Amobokoboko]

Should be a close game.

 

[Nobblynick]

England having Brown on the wing is almost a tacit admission that they have no idea what they are doing....

I don't think it's that strange a decision. It will be tonking down with rain today and saffas aren't exactly shy of kicking the ball.

Whilst I agree Goode should have the 15 shirt, having another safe pair of hands in the back 3 isn't a bad idea.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

If Lancaster knew he was going to be playing a 15 on the wing (as I presume he did when the fixtures had the Boks in them), and he knew Freddie Burns wasn't going to get game time (as I presume he knew he wouldn't as soon as he appinted Farrell Sr. in his staff) then he should have brought Abendanon into the squad for Foden, rather than Burns.
While it's good to have Burns training with the England squad, etc., Abendanon would've been a far better option on the wing than Brown.

 

[SomeOke]

I don't think it's that strange a decision. It will be tonking down with rain today and saffas aren't exactly shy of kicking the ball.

Whilst I agree Goode should have the 15 shirt, having another safe pair of hands in the back 3 isn't a bad idea.

Still raining? That's disapointing news, talk was that we would play a more expansive game but that may not go down now.

Union needs to follow Dunedin and invest in covered stadiums, I'm sick of boring slogs in the rain, creating more entertaining games can only be good in the long term.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Still raining? That's disapointing news, talk was that we would play a more expansive game but that may not go down now.

I think you forgot you support South Africa for a minute there?

 

[Saintjay]

Still raining? That's disapointing news, talk was that we would play a more expansive game but that may not go down now.

Union needs to follow Dunedin and invest in covered stadiums, I'm sick of boring slogs in the rain, creating more entertaining games can only be good in the long term.

Nah it's a game about running with a ton of mud on your boots. Driving rain and miserable wingers turning the colour of a smurf.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Good to see Augustus Gloop at hooker for the Boks again.
Thought his international career might have stalled after he got stuck in that big tube after he fell in the chocolate river.

 

[Wilko's left boot]

Well that's a better start than last week...

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Youngs and Brown have both started much much better than I expected.




Edit: 73mins with Farrell now....
Hopefully he plays like he's (occassionally) shown he can, rather than how he usually does...

 

[Mrs. Peter Quinn]

Yeah, but if Youngs hadn't arsed up that pass we might have had a try

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Flood coming back on?

Was he in the "concussion bin" or whatever it is?

 

[Wilko's left boot]

the return of flood. Thank goodness.