All Blacks vs Springboks . . .

Other than a British Lions test match vs the Boks which only happens every 12 years, there's no rugby fixture that excites me more than the Springboks vs the All Blacks. Doesn't matter if it's two experimental teams playing each other in a watered down Rugby Championship match, it's still the Bokke vs die Manne met die Swart Truie.
Up until isolation the Springboks were the only team in world rugby with a positive head-to-head score against the All Blacks (20 wins, 15 losses and 2 draws) but as we all know, after isolation we have been their bunnies (16 wins, 43 losses and 1 draw). As much as we like to think we're improving after the disastrous early years of post-isolation, the opposite is true and if anything the All Blacks have dominated us even more in recent years having won 16 of the last 19 tests between the two countries.
It's hard to draw any positives from those bleak stats but I'll do my best: 
We did beat them the last time we played in New Zealand . . . although they did come to South Africa after that and beat us.
The last three tests have been very close with a combined points differential of 5 points. Compare those tight scorelines to the previous three tests which we lost by a combined total of 137 points (including a 57-0 drubbing).
Also in the Boks favour is the fact that Rassie sent a rested squad of 13 players to New Zealand last week while some of the All Blacks have returned from a long trip to Argentina. Yes, the Crusaders players were all rested as well but some of the starting All Blacks who didn't play against Argentina - like Sonny Bill Williams and Rieko Ioane - still went on the trip.
I think this is pretty close to our best Bok team barring a few injuries and one or two questionable selections but it's great that we have so much competition for so many positions with the World Cup coming up.
I think it's going to be a tight and relatively low-scoring test match with a lot of kicking out of hand and I'm really hoping the ball will bounce for us and the Bokke can claim a second consecutive victory on New zealand soil.
Go Bokke!!!

Actually a pretty decent post by Peeper.

Rooinek: "Go Bokke!"
Baboon-ou:


"Duh-huh . . . hoo r u suporting Rooinek?"
LMAO!

Barret is not a test standard pole kicker.  He has his days when he is good, but he is not consistent enough. The All Black game plan is to score more tries than the opposition- but if that does not happen, would you bet your house on him in a knock out match?

We'll worry about the knock-out match when it comes . . . for now they have Richie Mo'unga in the side and he's a pretty good goalkicker.

I think I put that comment on the wrong thread..... Supposed to be on the Jake White one.