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<blockquote data-quote="Eleutherarch" data-source="post: 1096747" data-attributes="member: 85519">I&#039;ve not met anyone who is out-and-out confident in SA&#039;s chances at the World Cup. My own position, and one I extrapolate for the majority of Springbok supporters, is that I am confident that we will put up a competent performance and no more or less than that at this stage. There are so many variables this far out, not least the hideously difficult path we&#039;ve drawn. This series will likely be a 1-1 draw.The notion that SA are going to put 15+ on the ABs in both games is farfetched enough to the point of being laughable. These are almost always knife-edge games, but if one team is going to put up a decent margin over the other, it&#039;ll be the ABs. I never really think of the Boks as a team putting others to the sword, more an agent of blunt force trauma causing a haemorrhagic seeping of points, without necessarily stymying the flow against themselves.The ABs are wounded. SA are still rough and error-prone which is a conducive environment for AB scoring. SA will need to up their game significantly to be competitive in aerial contests - NZ are formidable in the air. Which Pollard is going to turn up and can he start to bind the team together? Will Mzwandile Stick be able to extract a little more proactivity from the backs overall? Will they persist with the inexperience of Hendrikse in these two games of such magnitude?Up front I see no issue and I don&#039;t think the ABs&#039; coaching refresh is going yield dividends in the time available.Nervous but looking forward to it.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Eleutherarch, post: 1096747, member: 85519"] I've not met anyone who is out-and-out confident in SA's chances at the World Cup. My own position, and one I extrapolate for the majority of Springbok supporters, is that I am confident that we will put up a competent performance and no more or less than that at this stage. There are so many variables this far out, not least the hideously difficult path we've drawn. This series will likely be a 1-1 draw. The notion that SA are going to put 15+ on the ABs in both games is farfetched enough to the point of being laughable. These are almost always knife-edge games, but if one team is going to put up a decent margin over the other, it'll be the ABs. I never really think of the Boks as a team putting others to the sword, more an agent of blunt force trauma causing a haemorrhagic seeping of points, without necessarily stymying the flow against themselves. The ABs are wounded. SA are still rough and error-prone which is a conducive environment for AB scoring. SA will need to up their game significantly to be competitive in aerial contests - NZ are formidable in the air. Which Pollard is going to turn up and can he start to bind the team together? Will Mzwandile Stick be able to extract a little more proactivity from the backs overall? Will they persist with the inexperience of Hendrikse in these two games of such magnitude? Up front I see no issue and I don't think the ABs' coaching refresh is going yield dividends in the time available. Nervous but looking forward to it. [/QUOTE]

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