How good are the Boks?
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On the Boks themselves: hate watching them smash six shades of shit out of us, but in the neutral games it is great to watch their power and accuracy. They've definitely taken the personnel they have and built a good game plan for what works.
Are they better than the John Smit RWC winning era? Hmmm.... They're definitely less boring, but that was a product of the Law interpretations at the time. I think the opposition the Boks had back then was definitely better, which means they had to out perform some pretty fkn good teams.
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@stodders said in How good are the Boks?:
A hypothetical league containing Boks 2024, ABs 2015, Eng 2003, Oz 1999, NZ 1996, Boks 2009 (my opinion on the best international teams of the pro era)
Who wins? Ref is Nigel Owens. For me, the best ref of the last 30 years.
Good question.
IMHO England 2003. That was their absolute peak of Uncompromising Bastard, combined with accuracy in all things.
(And yes bc the pricks beat us in the RWC final).
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@NTA said in How good are the Boks?:
@stodders said in How good are the Boks?:
I ask because there are a lot of Bok posters on X saying they think the Boks would have walloped the ABs in both games if passes had stuck. Is this the true Bok fan view, or just the view of the few?
SOME - not to be confused with "all", "most", or "a high percentage" - of the Boks fans on Twitter are utter cockheads, and not to be engaged with.
I posted up a still of Libbok taking a restart ahead of the halfway line from the last game against Argentina, which IMHO is a pretty easy fix for the ref to have a word without making a big deal out of it (ironically, the ref was BOK).
Some said "look it's not a big deal" and we had a bit of a back and forth about pedantry in the Iaws.
The rest blared out "have a cry" or "go catch a kangaroo or something" etc. The more who replied to it, the more they leaned into the dickhead category.
There are a lot of them who are drunk on the current levels of success and think their shit doesn't stink. How quickly they've forgotten the Peter de Villiers years. Three losses in a row to Australia before the last 4 wins in a row. A winning percentage in the 2010s of only 60%.
Sing when you're winning, but don't be a doos about it, eh?
Those particular fans will go back to whining about refs when the wheel turns.
There are fluffy rabbits 🐇 supporting every country. Without exception.
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@stodders said in How good are the Boks?:
A hypothetical league containing Boks 2024, ABs 2015, Eng 2003, Oz 1999, NZ 1996, Boks 2009 (my opinion on the best international teams of the pro era)
Who wins? Ref is Nigel Owens. For me, the best ref of the last 30 years.
NZ 2015.
Easy.
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@booboo said in How good are the Boks?:
There are fluffy rabbits 🐇 supporting every country. Without exception.
Each group built on the success of their team at the time.
The bandwagon jumpers of the Wallabies 98-2003 probably started it, to a degree, ratcheting up the noise through to England in 2003. Then social media started to grow....
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@NTA said in How good are the Boks?:
@stodders said in How good are the Boks?:
A hypothetical league containing Boks 2024, ABs 2015, Eng 2003, Oz 1999, NZ 1996, Boks 2009 (my opinion on the best international teams of the pro era)
Who wins? Ref is Nigel Owens. For me, the best ref of the last 30 years.
Good question.
IMHO England 2003. That was their absolute peak of Uncompromising Bastard, combined with accuracy in all things.
(And yes bc the pricks beat us in the RWC final).
Living in Sydney in 2003 I did love that Wallabies team, all league back three, the mighty Stirlo at centre ( an inspiration for pasty white guys everwhere ), Larkham and Gregs weaving magic……a short but effective loose trio of Lyon, Smith and Waugh…..Vickerman, Sharpe and Harrison up to niggly tricks……ok a pretty mediocre front row but fuck it, no team is perfect ( how the hell did a non athlete like Bill Young get to the top like he did ??? )
Once we got eliminated by god I hoped Oz would beat England in the final, not to be sadly.
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@MN5 said in How good are the Boks?:
Living in Sydney in 2003 I did love that Wallabies team, all league back three, the mighty Stirlo at centre ( an inspiration for pasty white guys everwhere ), Larkham and Gregs weaving magic……a short but effective loose trio of Lyon, Smith and Waugh…..Vickerman, Sharpe and Harrison up to niggly tricks……ok a pretty mediocre front row but fuck it, no team is perfect.
Once we got eliminated by god I hoped Oz would beat England in the final, not to be sadly.
Actually I think Smith-Waugh unbalanced their loose trio. Waugh slowed down so quickly they should have stuck with Smith IMO.
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@nostrildamus said in How good are the Boks?:
@MN5 said in How good are the Boks?:
Living in Sydney in 2003 I did love that Wallabies team, all league back three, the mighty Stirlo at centre ( an inspiration for pasty white guys everwhere ), Larkham and Gregs weaving magic……a short but effective loose trio of Lyon, Smith and Waugh…..Vickerman, Sharpe and Harrison up to niggly tricks……ok a pretty mediocre front row but fuck it, no team is perfect.
Once we got eliminated by god I hoped Oz would beat England in the final, not to be sadly.
Actually I think Smith-Waugh unbalanced their loose trio. Waugh slowed down so quickly they should have stuck with Smith IMO.
Maybe some big hitting from Matt Cockbain or some hard carrying from Owen “Melon” Finegan ?
I just named two blindsides from their glory years, I could barely name two players full stop from their team nowadays.
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@MN5 said in How good are the Boks?:
Once we got eliminated by god I hoped Oz would beat England in the final, not to be sadly.
That was such a great day, I was in Cyprus drinking heaps, blasting 27mm at airborne targets, and then the final beating the Ozzie whilst I was eating halloumi and bacon butties. My English born mum was front and centre that day!
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@MN5 said in How good are the Boks?:
( how the hell did a non athlete like Bill Young get to the top like he did ??? )
He owns a pub.
Also, by the time everyone had picked their backs (league targets), and locks (tall kids), and back row (also league targets), only the unathletic kids are left.
And that, folks, is how Australian Rugby undervalues front row players.
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@NTA said in How good are the Boks?:
@MN5 said in How good are the Boks?:
( how the hell did a non athlete like Bill Young get to the top like he did ??? )
He owns a pub.
Also, by the time everyone had picked their backs (league targets), and locks (tall kids), and back row (also league targets), only the unathletic kids are left.
And that, folks, is how Australian Rugby undervalues front row players.
Yeah but even using your criteria above he was unathletic. The guy appeared to have no muscles at all.
How the hell he competed with the rampaging monsters that opposed him is anyones guess. Good on him.
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@MN5 said in How good are the Boks?:
Yeah but even using your criteria above he was unathletic. The guy appeared to have no muscles at all.
How the hell he competed with the rampaging monsters that opposed him is anyones guess. Good on him.
he was 1.88m tall and at least 110kg, bigger than he looked, more cunning than some took him for
Prints of Bill Young
Bill Young Australia Rugby Union England V Australia Twickenham, London, England 16 November 2002 Date: 16 November 2002. Our beautiful Wall Art and Photo Gifts include Framed Prints, Photo Prints, Poster Prints, Canvas Prints, Jigsaw Puzzles, Metal Prints and so much more #MediaStorehouse
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@nostrildamus said in How good are the Boks?:
@MN5 said in How good are the Boks?:
Yeah but even using your criteria above he was unathletic. The guy appeared to have no muscles at all.
How the hell he competed with the rampaging monsters that opposed him is anyones guess. Good on him.
he was 1.88m tall and at least 110kg, bigger than he looked, more cunning than some took him for
Bill Young Australia Rugby Union England V Australia Twickenham, London, England 16 November 2002 Date: 16 November 2002. Our beautiful Wall Art and Photo Gifts include Framed Prints, Photo Prints, Poster Prints, Canvas Prints, Jigsaw Puzzles, Metal Prints and so much more #MediaStorehouse
Yeah that was my point ( I think )
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@booboo said in How good are the Boks?:
@stodders said in How good are the Boks?:
A hypothetical league containing Boks 2024, ABs 2015, Eng 2003, Oz 1999, NZ 1996, Boks 2009 (my opinion on the best international teams of the pro era)
Who wins? Ref is Nigel Owens. For me, the best ref of the last 30 years.
NZ 2015.
Easy.
I would say so but if the Boks had everyone fit to play the 2015 ABs tomorrow, then they would be a formidable opponent.
Now all we need is some to do the head to head between the two teams!
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@stodders said in How good are the Boks?:
A hypothetical league containing Boks 2024, ABs 2015, Eng 2003, Oz 1999, NZ 1996, Boks 2009 (my opinion on the best international teams of the pro era)
Who wins? Ref is Nigel Owens. For me, the best ref of the last 30 years.
Boks 2024
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@BerniesCorner said in How good are the Boks?:
@stodders said in How good are the Boks?:
A hypothetical league containing Boks 2024, ABs 2015, Eng 2003, Oz 1999, NZ 1996, Boks 2009 (my opinion on the best international teams of the pro era)
Who wins? Ref is Nigel Owens. For me, the best ref of the last 30 years.
Boks 2024
😳. You ok @BerniesCorner ?
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@booboo said in How good are the Boks?:
@stodders said in How good are the Boks?:
A hypothetical league containing Boks 2024, ABs 2015, Eng 2003, Oz 1999, NZ 1996, Boks 2009 (my opinion on the best international teams of the pro era)
Who wins? Ref is Nigel Owens. For me, the best ref of the last 30 years.
NZ 2015.
Easy.
Great team, filled with GOAT players in so many positions, knew how to win
