Springboks v Wales 2nd Test
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Clearly selected to see what they can do in a test that actually counts. PSDT will probably only get 40 after long injury lay-off and the pack looks good to me. Roos and Fourie both had a very good URC and the mix of new and old looks balanced enough on paper so I’m hoping for a cracker. Combinations won’t be settled at all and the pressure will be on. Properly. Really keen to see how all the new blood does against a solid and fired up Welsh team
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https://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-union/62024871
This is a shame, Francis is probably our best scrummaging tight head. He was played off the bench last week to try to counter the bomb squad, but clonked his noggin pretty much straight away.
Also a worry for him personally, as he's had a few concussions in the past, including that disgraceful one in the 6N when he was so woozy he had to hold on to the post to stay upright but they let him play on - and then when they eventually took him off for an HIA he somehow passed it and was allowed back
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@ACT-Crusader said in Springboks v Wales 2nd Test:
They’ve gone for a 6-2 bench.
Deon Fourie on the bench, a 35 yo making his debut. Plays a bit of hooker and flanker. He’s pretty small by international standards but he’s a decent player.
He's pretty average IMHO. There's a reason he hadn't been picked up till now.
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@booboo I’ll try:
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Dweba: A faster Marx. Haven’t seen much of him since he moved to Bordeaux. If they sorted his lineout throwing he’s gonna be annoying other teams for a long time.
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Orie: a very good URC player. But that’s his level.
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Roos: reminds me of a young Vermuelen, but slightly more Skinstad than Venter in his makeup, if that makes sense? Like Duane in 09, playing with a huge chip on his shoulder common to every loosie who believes the coaches are picking worse players ahead of them on yesterday’s efforts. That has sometimes bled into ballhogging and … over enthusiasm in contact. Hope he fulfills his current promise.
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Hendrikse: Sharks scrummie who at his best is reminiscent of Weepu. Took to test rugby like he was made for it when he debuted last year but some filthy Argie vaporized his leg. Struggled on his return. Hope he’s the kind of player that plays better at test level.
More when I get a chance.
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@booboo reading that back, I’m pretty excited about this team. The comparisons are to give you a sense of what kind of player they may become if they reach their potential. Time will tell and your mileage may vary.
Obviously, this many debutants and relative newcomers raises the question of whether the team has enough old heads to allow them to settle. That’s probably why I’m much more worried about Mirrors Kriel and Elstadt than any of the new faces. We know their ceiling which is not nearly good enough to put up with their floor.
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Kurt-Lee Arendse: Kolbe doppelgänger. Coming out of an unfashionable high school and university he forced his way into rep sides but still had to sneak into pro rugby through the backdoor: varsity sevens performances earned him a blitzbok spot which got the Bulls calling. For a small man he is surprisingly safe under the high ball and solid on defence. And on attack? Like an electric eel dipped in vaseline. Very keen to see how he goes against Evans, whose fairly handy himself.
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Nthuko Mchunu: explosive loosehead. At just 23 and having only moved into the frontrow in his final year at Maritzburg College, you might wonder how he scrums. Bloody well, so far. Another step up on the weekend, though. Expect it to go well with Karl Marx and Koch battering away alongside him. But it’s his work around the park that makes him special. He can really shift and makes more than his share of tackles.
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Ruan Nortje: long, thin Bulls lock. Think Mostert but longer. From what I’ve seen of him he’s the rugby equivalent of pepsi. Serviceable, if you’re desperately looking for something to mix with Brannewyn at 3 am and some other bastards drank all the coke and ginger ale. But you wouldn’t ask for it and 9/10 you’ll refuse it if you were just looking for a thirst quenching cola product.
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Deon Fourie: like a reverse Mealamu. Retreaded from hooker to openside finally called up for higher honours after a long and otherwise unstoried career. Also, not a kiwi.
Face looks more and more like a heavily used catcher’s mitt with every game though - in that way he’s exactly like ol’ Kev.
- Grant Williams: nippy scrummie. In fact, nippy doesn’t do him justice. Faster than shit off a hot shovel. Serious Reinach vibes. Hope I’m wrong.
If you’ve read this far, let me close by saying that the real affront to the Welsh is starting Spiele Kriel and having Elstadt within 50 miles of the stadium. And of course, the All Blacks must be destroyed.
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@Catogrande not going to lie, this hurt my feelings.
But you’re right, of course. It’s shockingly disrespectful not to persist with Jantjies. Tradition now demands we play our walking 30 point handicap. With typical Souf African petulance we’ve compounded our effrontery by bringing in some scrub who doesn’t even start for his club.
No doubt about it, Rassie and Nienaber simply don’t respect the spirit of the game. True rugby purists would’ve stuck with the pack that ran nice and hard directly into the waiting maw of Wales’ chop tackle defence, struggled to attain any traction from the maul and battled at the lineout. The disdainful bastards can’t even pay lip service to the values that animate our great game by maintaining the insanely unbalanced loose trio the Welsh dominated in the first half.
Besides, the second game of a home test series you’ve taken the lead in is not the time for squad building, load management and examining combinations. Certainly not a year out from a World Cup.
That’s best done against the All Blacks, preferably at Eden Park, with the Rugby Championship in the balance, with the RWC squad announcement a few short weeks away. So that you can drop a boring, wrong, whiney video to distract everyone from what a clusterfuck you made, as I believe, is now tradition.
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@Smuts said in Springboks v Wales 2nd Test:
@Catogrande not going to lie, this hurt my feelings.
But you’re right, of course. It’s shockingly disrespectful not to persist with Jantjies. Tradition now demands we play our walking 30 point handicap. With typical Souf African petulance we’ve compounded our effrontery by bringing in some scrub who doesn’t even start for his club.
No doubt about it, Rassie and Nienaber simply don’t respect the spirit of the game. True rugby purists would’ve stuck with the pack that ran nice and hard directly into the waiting maw of Wales’ chop tackle defence, struggled to attain any traction from the maul and battled at the lineout. The disdainful bastards can’t even pay lip service to the values that animate our great game by maintaining the insanely unbalanced loose trio the Welsh dominated in the first half.
Besides, the second game of a home test series you’ve taken the lead in is not the time for squad building, load management and examining combinations. Certainly not a year out from a World Cup.
That’s best done against the All Blacks, preferably at Eden Park, with the Rugby Championship in the balance, with the RWC squad announcement a few short weeks away. So that you can drop a boring, wrong, whiney video to distract everyone from what a clusterfuck you made, as I believe, is now tradition.
this rates high on the salt scale
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Is that the sound of you circling the wagons mate?
In honesty I’m not sure which argument of your two that is your main point. Is it the argument that changes needed to be made from the first test based on performance? That’s reasonable of course but 14 changes? That would imply the coach and selectors got more or less everything wrong.
Or is it that other players and combos need to be tried out and it’s better to do that wholesale v Wales rather than v NZ at Eden Park with TRC on the line. That puts Wales firmly in their place. How many changes would there be if it was Australia? 8? 10? Less?
Edit: Or are you agreeing with my point albeit in a tongue in cheek manner. That thought has just occurred to me.
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Appears more like a coaching unit thinking it’s just a matter of time before the team clicks regardless of the personnel.
And Wales can’t play any differently and/or better.
With a different ref and without Tomos Williams’ brain fart we (Wales) could easily be 1-0 up.
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@MiketheSnow hopefully this weekend
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Must applaud RasNaber to plan this well in advance and stick with it. I like the 6,7,8 combination and love the back three who play 15 aswell and midfield.
Wish the experiment further by cut out box kick (Hendrikse is a terrible kicker) and run back at them with that speed and skill of the back 3.
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Cuthbert in at 11
Wainwright on the bench for more than likely his first cap
Us by 4-8
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@MiketheSnow
Didn't Thomas start the first test too? -
@gibbon-rib said in Springboks v Wales 2nd Test:
@MiketheSnow
Didn't Thomas start the first test too?My bad
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@Catogrande my point was mainly to amuse myself instead of doing work.
But also, yes:
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Changes were justified by performance;
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This is the best test for wholesale experimentation before the RWC and substantial experiments are needed;
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Of course that implies that I agree with the coaches that this Welsh team is not as strong as the All Blacks and Australia (I’m conveniently leaving the Argies out of this.)
Is any of that enough for neutrals to reconsider their desire to see the boks thrashed for hubris? Probably not.
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I can agree with the last bit 😉
I wish you, as a die hard Bok supporter, good luck for Saturday but I shall be shouting for Wales. Though I feel a little uncomfortable saying that.
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@Catogrande Cheers mate. And reciprocated.
