Springboks unveil team for All Blacks
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Peter de Villiers has unveiled his team to take on the All Blacks at Newlands on Saturday. Two surprising choices were made with Percy Montgomery named at fullback and Fourie du Preez at half.
Percy Montgomery will make his 100th appearance for the Springboks against the All Blacks. Montgomery, 34, will be just the 9th player to play 100 matches for his country and the first for South Africa. In what has been a sensational career for the Boks, Montgomery will join an elusive club that will permanently cement his place in Springbok folklore.
In perhaps the most surprising selection Fourie du Preez replaces Ricky Januarie who has been a standout for the Springboks this year. Fourie du Preez who was sensational at the World Cup made his return last week against Argentina and immediately slipped back into his sublime form. This was enough to convince Peter de Villiers who is a big fan of du Preez that he was the best man for the job.
The decision to select Montgomery is not without controvesy as Conrad Jantjes has been arguably the form fullback of the Tri-Nations but de Villiers is looking for the superior kicking game and experience of Montgomery in what will be a pressure cooker in front of his home crowd.
In other team news Andries Bekker will fill the huge shoes Bakkies Botha, his partnership with Victor Matfield will be key to the Springbok lineouts. The Boks also welcome back Bryan Habana who returns from injury.
The South African side is;
South Africa: Percy Montgomery, JP Pietersen, Adrian Jacobs, Jean de Villiers, Bryan Habana, Butch James, Fourie du Preez, Pierre Spies, Juan Smith, Schalk Burger, Victor Matfield, Andries Bekker, CJ van der Linde, Bismarck du Plessis, Tendai Mtawarira.
Reserves: Adriaan Strauss, Brian Mujati, Danie Rossouw, Luke Watson, Enrico Januarie, Francois Steyn, Conrad Jantjes.
All Blacks name team for Boks
Graham Henry has announced the same starting lineup for the All Blacks as the team that destroyed Australia at Eden Park two weeks ago.
The All Blacks victory was emphatic and Henry has shown confidence in his side. Only one change was made to the All Blacks, that of Isaia Toeava who replaces Anthony Tuitavake on the bench.
The All Blacks will be keen to inflict an away win against the South African’s in the Tri-Nations Rugby match at Newlands. A win will keep the New Zealander’s in the Tri-Nations series ahead of their final match against the Wallabies in Brisbane on 13 September.
The New Zealand side is;
New Zealand: Mils Muliaina, Richard Kahui, Conrad Smith, Ma’a Nonu, Sitiveni Sivivatu, Dan Carter, Jimmy Cowan, Rodney So’oialo, Richie McCaw, Jerome Kaino, Ali Willliams, Brad Thorn, Greg Somerville, Andrew Hore, Tony Woodcock.
Reserves: Keven Mealamu, John Afoa, Anthony Boric, Adam Thomson, Piri Weepu, Stephen Donald, Isaia Toeava.
Springboks Botha and Fourie out of Tri-Nations
Bakkies Botha and Jaque Fourie have been ruled out of the rest of the Tri-Nations series. Springbok lock Bakkies Botha had a scan and it was revealed he had ruptured his posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, this is a major blow to the lock who has been in fine form this year. South Africa will aim to nurse him back into shape for the northern hemisphere tour in November instead of undergoing surgery.
Jaque Fourie is out after a scan revealed a depressed fracture of his cheekbone. Fourie will undergo surgery during the week ruling him out for the rest of thr Tri-Nations Rugby.
Danie Rossouw will replace Bakkies Botha at lock and Francois Steyn gets another crack through the loss of Jaque Fourie to injury. Steyn will be keen to remind Peter de Villiers just what he offers the Boks in the heat of battle.
Schalk Burger vs Luke Watson
The performance of Luke Watson on the weekend against Argentina had me thinking about who is the best openside flanker for the Springboks. It’s hard to argue about the ability of Watson but for most of his career he has been a second option and also a versatile loose forward.
Against Argentina, Luke Watson played in the openside flanker position vacated by injured Springbok Schalk Burger. Watson was in everything and was inspirational delivering on his long held ability, could this performance lead to more opportunities?
Consistency has long been an issue as has Jake White who was never a fan of Luke Watson. The ability of Watson has never been questioned but the controversy that has surrounded him has been a constant plague on his career.
WIth both Burger and Watson only 25, they have long careers ahead of themselves but under new coach Peter de Villiers which will he choose long term. Perhaps we will see a George Smith vs Phil Waugh like rivalry for the openside flanker position once more for South Africa.
Schalk Burger has been sensational for the Boks, he is without doubt in the top several openside flankers in the world. Burger always holds his own against George Smith and Richie McCaw and has deserved to maintain his prized Springbok jersey but could that competition have got just that bit harder.
I would like to hear your thoughts on who should be the Springbok openside flanker? Do you prefer Luke Watson or Schalk Burger?
My votes with Burger on past performance and his rock hard disposition.
All Blacks underdogs against Springboks?
The New Zealand All Blacks arrived in South Africa on Saturday and are preparing ahead of their make or break clash against the South African Springboks in Cape Town.
Steve Hansen, the All Black Assistant Coach decribed his side as the underdogs for the big clash on the back of the Springboks strong home record. While New Zealand have had a tremendous home record in recent years the Springboks have not done too bad for themselves.
The away win for the Boks could prove vital in the Tri-Nations Rugby tournament as it secured them a rare away win among their Tri-Nations competitors. The win could prove the difference should they win all their home games over the next three weeks.
The All Blacks knowing the edge the Boks have are trying to turn the heat and pressure on the home side. This is a smart move and when great teams like these take part in the heat of battle any slight advantage could be the difference on the day.
The Boks will be keen to show they are the real deal after the World Cup win and their home spectators have very high expectations, this will put considerable pressure on their shoulders. But to write off the All Blacks would be at their peril as the All Blacks are smarting after losing at Carisbrook and will be eager to hit them hard.
The addition of Richie McCaw could be the difference in Cape Town should they be shown any sniff of victory, he is an inspirational leader and when the All Blacks need him he delivers as we saw against the Wallabies at Eden Park.
Do the All Blacks deserve to be the underdogs? I would love to hear your thoughts.
Springboks and All Blacks trade barbs
Another Tri-Nations Rugby match and another set or barbs being fired back and forth. This is standard fare when so much is at stake and today Peter de Villiers let fly at the All Blacks.
Peter de Villiers has labelled the All Blacks as cheats at the setpiece and wants to see the referee Matt Goddard police the game evenly. The South African coach, de Villiers takes exception with the tactics of the All Blacks in the lineout. He focused his attention on what he perceives as the All Black flankers coming through the lineout illegally to stop the ball being thrown to the scrumhalf. Peter de Villiers also brought attention to the spoiling of the lineout jumpers in the air and jumping across the line to close the gap to less than half a metre.
We know all teams stretch the laws of the game as much as possible to exploit any advantage they have over each other or aim for taking advantage of refereeing styles. All the best sides such as the All Blacks, Springboks and Wallabies are masters at this, sometimes it works and sometimes it fails miserably but they will all keep using anything that will give them an advantage.
The Wallabies have been exponents this year of an early engagement at the scrum, this has put off tradionally stronger packs such as the All Blacks and Springboks. Both sides raised concerns just as the Boks are doing now with the All Blacks. All will be revealed this weekend in Cape Town.
Meanwhile, the All Blacks are focused on the underdog tag. The assistant coach, Steve Hansen has insisted that the South African’s have a big home advantage and they are very much the underdog.
We can expect the banter to continue as Henry and de Villiers ramp up their banter ahead of the clash on Saturday.
Wallabies enjoy break before South Africa trip
The Wallabies are on a short break before the team reunite on Wednesday for a two day training camp in Sydney. The Wallabies will finalise their team on Thursday before making the trip to South Africa on Friday morning.
The break is a welcome respite from what will be an intense two weeks in South Africa where the Wallabies will aim to claim the Tri-Nations under new coach Robbie Deans. South Africa will be going into the game after their encounter in Cape Town against New Zealand. A win will have them energised with the Tri-Nations in their grasp, a loss against the All Blacks will have them fired up to redeem themselves. Either way the Wallabies will be up against a hostile team and crowd.
The Wallabies will carefully assess their two star players Adam Ashley-Cooper and Rocky Elsom. Both are battling against time to be fit for the tour. Ashley-Cooper is recovering from a broken hand and appears to be the most in doubt while Elsom is a likely starter after recovering from an ongoing foot injury.
The loss of Elsom in the last game against the All Blacks was costly as the Wallabies were dominated at the ruck and the combination of Waugh and Smith was ineffectual. If Ashley-Cooper is unfit Drew Mitchell is likely to be named the fullback.
South Africa unveil team for Argentina
The Springboks today unveiled there side to take on the Pumas in Johannesburg on Saturday. The side includes Jongi Nokwe who will make his debut. Nokwe is blessed with exceptional speed, much like injured Bryan Habana he will continue the Springbok tradition of utilising extreme speed to exploit their opponents.
The team features no real surprises and is built more about ensuring the team have a solid workout before the big clash against the All Blacks next week in the Rugby Tri-Nations series. Percy Montgomery has been selected on the bench and should he make it on to the field he will clock up a Boks record of 99 matches. Joe Van Niekerk is also in line for his 50th cap off the bench.
It is expected that front line players Schalk Burger and Bryan Habana will be back for the make or break clash against the All Blacks next week.
The South African team is;
Conrad Jantjes, JP Pietersen, Adrian Jacobs, Jean de Villiers, Jongi Nokwe, Butch James, Enrico Januarie, Pierre Spies, Juan Smith, Luke Watson, Victor Matfield, Bakkies Botha, CJ van der Linde, Bismarck du Plessis, Tendai Mtawarira.
Reserves: Adriaan Strauss, Brian Mujati, Andries Bekker, Joe van Niekerk, Fourie du Preez, Jaque Fourie, Percy Montgomery.
Are Pumas a one hit wonder?
Argentina had a fantastic World Cup in 2007 finishing third. The dour style of play was gone and in it’s place was a brash and exciting game styled very much in the style of French provincial Rugby where many of the Puma stars play.
Much was expected of Argentina in the tests played against Italy and Scotland but the Pumas post World Cup were world’s away from the side that took the Rugby world by storm. While the team have undergone some changes since the Rugby World Cup they will be keen to show they have something serious to offer the Rugby world.
Success or at least a strong performance will be pivotal for the Pumas if they are to show they are worthy of being a part of the southern hemisphere international Rugby calendar. With Argentina pushing for a place alongside the All Blacks, Wallabies and the Springboks a performance that will push the Boks all the way is the key to their potential acceptance in any expanded Tri-Nations series.
With the top four teams now all in the southern hemisphere Argentina have the chance to show they are deserving of their fourth place in the IRB rankings. I can’t see them posing a threat to the Boks and will be surprised if they are with 20 points at the end of the game but I hope for the Pumas and for Rugby in the region they push the Boks, or even pull off a major upset.
The Ruck and Maul will preview this match later in the week.
New Zealand push for Super 14 changes
Reports today that there is a strong push from the New Zealand provincial teams to revamp the Super 14 competition. The New Zealand push is for a 14 team trans Tasman tournament that would involve nine teams form New Zealand and five from Australia.
I don’t think this has series legs but their is some merit in the discussions. The Super 14 series will is currently locked in till 2011 with the South African’s, Australian’s and New Zealand. Any changes would depend on the approval of all teams and while South Africa have talked about leaving after the current contract runs out I see it unlikely.
The current broadcast deal is lucrative and should South Africa move away from the Tri-Nations series then they would look to join that of Europe which could prove detrimental to their development against the two best Rugby nations in the world.
The Super 14 need to look at expansion into the Pacific Islands and also Japan, this move would lock in the long term future of the game in the southern hemisphere and secure the development of the game in the region. I would like to see Argentina join the current Tri-Nations series, this would be great for Argentina and also expand on the current Tri-Nations series.
Planet Rugby have a good article on this called The End of Super Rugby?, check it out if your interested.