Is it just me or is Durbanite a little delusional? Looking forward to the Barbarians game this weekend, hopefully the All Blacks pick a strong side and there are some good trys. It will be interesting to see how Joe Rokocoko plays against the All Blacks after he was unwanted for this tour.
Welcome to the world of the mentality of South African rugby, everything is one big bad conspiracy and the world is against you. Take the ridiculous 'Justice for Bakkies' protest. It stems from the days of apartheid when they were not allowed to play rugby and hasn't left. The single most painful experience on the planet is watching a rugby match with a South African when you have no care who wins and simply want to watch the game. You stand no chance of enjoying it.
The All Blacks have named an alright team for the Barbarians game. No Dan Carter, Sivivatu, Muliaina, a few others, but McCaw is starting and at least we have Donald instead of Delaney. Again there are discussions over law changes, which will not lead to anything. Ticket prices for the World Cup have been announced. They are pretty expensive for the finals (the cheapest being $NZ390 and ranging up to about $NZ1300). Some of the smaller games are pretty cheap though. But still, if any of you come over from the states or Britain for it you wont be doing to badly.
That was a good win by the Barbarians. The All Blacks team showed the lack of depth in some positions, i.e. first five-eight and openside flanker. Habana had a pretty bloody good game. It was funny in the first half when the Barbars line out calls were in Afrikaans. And when one of the Barbarians took a quick tap and forgot to tap it.
Pump the brakes there for a second, partner! I am also South African and also a rugby fan, but we have absolutely ZERO right to blame anyone else but ourselves for our bad tour. Typically, we started to believe our own hype that we are/were the best team in world rugby and only had to pitch up in order to collect the winnings. Sadly, we were brought back down to reality the hard way. Sure, you can say all kinds of things about team selection, referees, fatigue, etc, but the fact is that if we want to claim to be the best team in the world (which we are not), then we got to win the games to prove it. I look at the boring style of rugby we are dishing up: unimaginative, predictable and school-boy type stuff (maybe because we have a school-boy coach?). Compare that to the rugby of the French, the Ozzies and the Kiwis. Even when they lose, they look better losing than we do winning sometimes. Sure, we get it right sometimes (Like when the Bulls won the Super 14 title with an awesome display of rugby, and the first test against the Lions), but we need to be consistent if we want to be contenders. I for one say, get back to playing the game, not the circumstances. I am proud to be a Bok supporter, but we need to grow up as a rugby nation and a rugby-watching public.
Its that time of year again rugby fans, Super 14 starts in a week preseason games are about down. Whats everyones predictions for early season form, standout players, good moves, bad moves and who is going to win the whole lot?
I caught the Wales v England game, and I've never seen a team squander so many opportunities. I'm predicting it to be either France or Ireland taking this one away. As for the Super 14, its hard not to be impressed with the Brumbies adding Rocky Elsom and Matt Giteau in the offseason, plus it being George Smith's final season for the team.
Was reading a little bit today on the Super 14 and Tana Umaga thinks it will be ahrd to go past the same 4 finalists this year. Myself I hope like hell the Chiefs make it but I think with Carter being back this year the Saders are going to be very hard to beat.
It's always hard to go past the usual suspects in the Super 14, the Crusaders and Bulls will be right up there as they always are. I'm interested to see how Aaron Cruden steps up to the next level. He was the IRB young player of the year for 2009 and looked pretty good in a Manawatu team that was mostly going backwards in the Air NZ Cup. With the Hurricanes, he'll be the only player in the backline without All Blacks experience. Prediction: Zac Guildford will top the try scoring charts with the Crusaders. Other than that, I'm interested (amused?) to see Carlos Spencer with the Lions. Will be fun to see how he goes.
Maybe it's just wishful thinking from me, but I think that the Blues will be very strong this year. An All Black front row (2/3 of which are regular starters), the locks will be a bit of a weakness now that Ali Williams is injured but Boric is a good player. Finally there are strong players at half back and first five eighth. And outside of them there is a wealth of talent, McAlister, Toeva, Rudy Wulf, Rockococo, and a guy who played for Samoa in the sevens on the wing (whose name I can't remember). My prediction though is that the blues will make the semis or final but that the Crusaders will win it. It's hard to past a team with the experience that they have.
Agree with your prediction although Masaga for the Chiefs if fit will give him a run. On King Carlos apparently he has rave reviews for his first game for the lions. Was one of the few shining lights for them, still has all the old tricks in his bag. Looking forward to seeing him play as he was always an entertainer and I consider seeing him live a highlight.
In any event, these are the odds I found for winning the whole thing. $3.50 Crusaders, $5 ACT Brumbies, $6 Bulls, $9 Hurricanes, $10 Chiefs, $11 Blues, $13 Waratahs and Sharks, $14 Stormers, $81 Reds, Force, Highlanders, $126 Cheetahs, $251 Lions. So basically Stormers and below have a shot, the rest are no hopers?
Blues - Odds i believe are inflated. Stormers - don't discount them could finally be the year they string together some performances. They have the team on paper to do it. Reds - Stigma of past years, they have a new coach and some new players and have been looking good in preaseason. Preaseason unfortunately counts for little. Lions - I have a sneaking feeling that Carlos will bring enough to this team to get them off the bottom. Everyone else is pretty much getting what they are.
Watched the first game of the season last night, Blues vs Hurricanes. Way to many penalities, Hurricanes should have gone in for the kill more often. Stephen Brett was outstanding for the Blues up until he threw that horrible intercept. All in all not a bad game considering it was the first of the season and they are always scrappy this time of year.
Agreed however most were due to the new interpration on the breakdown. You now have to release before attacking the ball.
Was quite pleased with how well the HUrricanes played to the ref, maybe a sign of things to come instead of them throwing away games with stupid mistakes. Great start to the year for my boys getting up over the Sharks in SA.
I was at the game, it was a mess getting in there. People outside were getting turned away but there were still empty seats inside. Anyway it was a promising first half for the blues and Stephen Brett in particular. But the penalty count kept the Hurricanes in it until Brett fucked up with that intercept pass. Then the blues lost any structure that they had by playing stupid rugby. The Chiefs did well to win against the Sharks away from home. The Cheifs' scrum did very well against the Sharks, especially when you look at the Springbok front row. Unfortunately I only saw the first half so I missed Durbanite throwing bottles at Steven Donald when he kicked the winning points.
Seriously? I was at the game too. Being an away fan, and not realising that Auckland had put a new busway in on the Northern Motorway, I was at the ground at about an hour and a half before kick off. I was sitting about five rows in front of David Tua, and a few rows down from the All Blacks coaches wearing my Hurricanes tshirt. It seemed to me that the Hurricanes took half a game to adjust to the new interpretations of the ruck rules, while the Blues still hadn't figured it out by the end which is why they gave away a dozen kickable penalties. Cruden got a nice welcome to super rugby from Benson Stanley, but he'll bounce back. He'll be starting for the 'Canes by mid comp.
Did look like him coming on and Gears intercept were the sparks that stepped them up. Loved Stanleys hit on him. Was a really good hit in the opening minute as well.