RWC Quarter Final: Springboks - Wallabies (09-10-2011, 18:00)

[Sam91]

Higgenbotham is one of thee dangerous forwards in the game. One that makes opposition fans hope he's not playing. Australia need that since the rest of their forwards don't produce a more dangerous game than he. Especially McCalman

I agree mcalman is a cat compared to higginbotham

 

[Magricos]

I think the Wallabies will win and I'm happy Ashley-Cooper is back at 13 and Ioane is back.

 

[Shaggy]

The Boks to win by 9 (note how the margin's easily divisible by 3)

...the Boks to dominate up front, dominate the lineout and the scrums, play for position and territory, and bank the opportunities/points in lots of 3 if necessary

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

I still think Australia will win this since they have a better backline and halfback pairing

Australia will have a massive advantage with Genia, Cooper and Beale

Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using Tapatalk

 

[callsign.springbok]

still too close to call for me! and still the only one with any vcash on the draw after 80min..

 

[saffer]

I am so amped for this game! It's all I thinking about. If we lose, I am going to be depressed and very, very grumpy! and if we win, Pure elation

 

[TRF_heineken]

Can't wait for Sunday!!

gonna be a cracker!!

The Springboks has a solid 22 for this game! Bringing on Hougaard, Bismarck and Aplon with 30 - 20 minutes to go are game changers!

Also i think Aus has made a major error in not starting Nathan Sharpe! he was the biggest thorn in the the Boks flesh in the last Tri-nations game as he really disrupted our mauls and gave Victor a hard time at the Line-outs.

Based on current kicking form, I'm giving the Boks the upper hand. Morne Steyn doesn't look like he has a problem with the ball like most other kickers in the tournament and the Boks have played 2 games already in the same stadium so far so that might help him too!

Gonna be a Cracker!! GO Bokke!!

 

[TNT88]

Higgenbotham is one of thee dangerous forwards in the game. One that makes opposition fans hope he's not playing. Australia need that since the rest of their forwards don't produce a more dangerous game than he. Especially McCalman

Higgenbotham stands on the wing half the game and looks good when he gets to go on a run. Rocky Elsom also does this to an extent. We can't have 2 seagulls on the field in a knockout game. McCalman isn't a superstar but he has some size and can do the hard work in a tight game.

Also i think Aus has made a major error in not starting Nathan Sharpe! he was the biggest thorn in the the Boks flesh in the last Tri-nations game as he really disrupted our mauls and gave Victor a hard time at the Line-outs.

Good point. We have potentially sacrificed a huge advantage at the line out, for Vickerman who works a little harder around the ruck area.

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

[TABLE="class: grid"]
[TR][TD] Springboks [/TD][TD] [/TD][TD] Australia [/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD] Patrick Lambie [/TD][TD] 15 [/TD][TD] Kurtley Beale [/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD] JP Pietersen [/TD][TD] 14 [/TD][TD] James O'Connor [/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD] Jaque Fourie [/TD][TD] 13 [/TD][TD] Adam Ashley-Cooper [/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD] Jean de Villiers [/TD][TD] 12 [/TD][TD] Pat McCabe [/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD] Bryan Habana [/TD][TD] 11 [/TD][TD] Digby Ioane [/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD] Morné Steyn [/TD][TD] 10 [/TD][TD] Quade Cooper [/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD] Fourie du Preez [/TD][TD] 9 [/TD][TD] Will Genia [/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD] Pierre Spies [/TD][TD] 8 [/TD][TD] Radike Samo [/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD] Schalk Burger [/TD][TD] 7 [/TD][TD] David Pocock [/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD] Heinrich Büssow [/TD][TD] 6 [/TD][TD] Rocky Elsom [/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD] Victor Matfield [/TD][TD] 5 [/TD][TD] James Horwill (c) [/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD] Danie Rossouw [/TD][TD] 4 [/TD][TD] Dan Vickerman [/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD] Jannie du Plessis [/TD][TD] 3 [/TD][TD] Ben Alexander [/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD] John Smit (c) [/TD][TD] 2 [/TD][TD] Stephen Moore [/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD] Gurthrö Steenkamp [/TD][TD] 1 [/TD][TD] Sekope Kepu [/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD] [/TD][TD] [/TD][TD] [/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD] Bismarck du Plessis [/TD][TD] 16 [/TD][TD] Tatafu Polota-Nau [/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD] CJ van der Linde [/TD][TD] 17 [/TD][TD] James Slipper [/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD] Willem Alberts [/TD][TD] 18 [/TD][TD] Nathan Sharpe [/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD] Francois Louw [/TD][TD] 19 [/TD][TD] Ben McCalman [/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD] Francois Hougaard [/TD][TD] 20 [/TD][TD] Luke Burgess [/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD] Butch James [/TD][TD] 21 [/TD][TD] Berrick Barnes [/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD] Gio Aplon [/TD][TD] 22 [/TD][TD] Anthony Faingaa [/TD][/TR]
[/TABLE]

 

[nickdnz]

Higgenbotham stands on the wing half the game and looks good when he gets to go on a run. Rocky Elsom also does this to an extent. We can't have 2 seagulls on the field in a knockout game. McCalman isn't a superstar but he has some size and can do the hard work in a tight game.



Good point. We have potentially sacrificed a huge advantage at the line out, for Vickerman who works a little harder around the ruck area.

It's hard to say Higgenbotham and Elsom are two seagulls (which they are), but then say you need Sharpe on the field. The man is good at line outs, but he stands in mid field all day. I think he hits the fewest rucks out of any player in Australia.

 

[TRF_heineken]

Sharpe on the field. The man is good at line outs, but he stands in mid field all day. I think he hits the fewest rucks out of any player in Australia.

Yeah, for a dummy runner he sure gets the ball a LOT!

 

[TNT88]

It's hard to say Higgenbotham and Elsom are two seagulls (which they are), but then say you need Sharpe on the field. The man is good at line outs, but he stands in mid field all day. I think he hits the fewest rucks out of any player in Australia.

I was just talking generally in that post (and encouraging some good conversation from our saffer friends). I actually think the extra work Vickerman does at the ruck outweighs the line out advantage. If we had Sharpe, Elsom and Higgenbotham on the field for this game it would cause problems at the breakdown. Sharpe will be good off the bench though, we'll need him in the 2nd half.

 

[Shaggy]

i think Sharpe makes more run metres than Vickerman, and Vickerman also has a tendency to back chat to the referee, and has been marched 10 metres on a couple of occasions because of that.

Maybe Vickerman is a better pusher in the scrums?

 

[Bokbe4k]

Contrary to what Habana said about the running game, I think the Boks are going to pepper the aussies with high balls,they will put a strangle hold on the game and try to frustrate Aus, I also believe we will see a whole host of drop goals from Morne' Steyn. Going to be a great game, Boks to win by 10.

 

[M Two One]

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

Did you make those?

 

[M Two One]

Did you make those?

No, no, but you might think so, right? They're from a set by comic artist Béka Poupard. All rugby comics.

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

I guess the one about the All Blacks is just a black square

 

[Darwin]

Good looking team named by Australia. Only change I probably would have made is Simmons for Vickermann, as Simmons has a phenomenal work-rate (and a strong combination with Horwill, Samo et al.). I can understand entirely why Higginbotham doesn't make the bench - he is great in an open expansive game, but in a tight contest you want your forwards to be hitting the breakdown and doing their job in the tight, rather than standing on the wing waiting for the ball. I really like the look of Australia's backline with Ioane back on the wing (and AAC back at centre).

South Africa look to have an advantage up front, though Kepu and Alexander can hold their own at times. The lineout battle will be interesting - neither team has had an overly dominant lineout so far this RWC (both at 82% on their own throw). I think South Africa have a slight edge in the loose-forwards. Pocock vs Brussow will be a highlight - I rate Pocock as the best openside in world rugby, though Brussow is not far behind (alongside McCaw and Warburton). If it was simply a 1-on-1 battle at the breakdown I would give Pocock a slight edge, however I feel South Africa have an edge as Burger works exceptionally well in tandem with Brussow. Elsom and Samo do provide Australia with some running threats, but I expect Spies to cause Australia some issues off the back of a (reasonably) dominant South African pack.

Where Australia do have an edge is in the halves. Genia has been great, but Cooper has been pretty quiet this RWC. I think both Genia and Cooper could cause South Africa some big problems; Genia will look to snipe close to the ruck and take advantage of the poor lateral defense of some of the South African tight-forwards (J Du Plessis, Smit, and Rossouw in particular), while Cooper will look to exploit South Africa's rush defense by doubling around in mid-field - at tactic Samoa used effectively at times last week. Morne Steyn has played well so far this tournament, but du Preez still looks quite a long was from his best - if South Africa want to defend their RWC crown du Preez is really going to have to step up.

The midfield looks pretty even to me: de Villiers and Fourie are arguably a better attacking combo (though AAC has looked dangerous this tournament), however they certainly won't receive near as much ball as McCabe and AAC. McCabe and AAC are a very strong defensive duo - if anyone isn't sure why McCabe is in the team count he number of tackles he makes in the match (it will probably be between 10-15) and count the number he misses (it will probably be 0-1, most likely 0). I think Australia have a clear edge in the outside backs too: O'Connor, Ioane, and Beale are all deadly with space to move. I expect O'Coonor, Beale and Cooper will be tested a lot under the high-ball, but South Africa will have to make sure their chase is good, as Australia can be devastating on the counter-attack. Pieterson and Lambie have been pretty good for South Africa, but you can't help but think much of their role will involve defending, defusing bomb, and chasing kicks.

Overall I expect is to be a very close match. South Africa do have an edge in goal-kicking, though O'Connor can be a very good kicker... as long as he nails his first kick. If he misses his first kick he can end up having a shocker, which Australia can't afford. I'm picking Australia by 5, but I'm really not sure either way.

 

[thegameoflegends]

McCabe instead of Barnes...this running joke has gone on a bit too long now