Boks vs B&I Lions - Live Thread

No more wise cracks please JW. 

Am pulls off big tackle.

Lions are rattled. 

How's ya father mate! 

Willems comes on. How well will he defend. 

Willie has problems with right knee.

Morne misses penalty. 

Score 17 - 13 to SA A 

Nice game...Trurd should be pissed off...enough for me.

Befoe the game I said the scrumming would be a problem.   The fact is that Malherbe has Covid infection and is likely to be out for another 7 days   He is the real deal at Tighthead.

As to the game I also said that Morne Steyn is not a test level player and his aimless possession-handover kicks were present as expected.  

The moment De Allende and Du Toit left the field the attacking of the A team was gone.

Disappointing game; well the second half which is all I saw.

Can't remember the ball ever getting past Steyn during that time and 90% of the time Faf just up and undered it!

At least the Lions tried to run it,  but they have not a lot of talent in that department and their shovelling the ball along the backline with little go forward made them easy targets for the Bok A defence.

Hope to see the Boks actually use their backline in the tests but not holding my breath.......

Morne Steyn was solid, but certainly not a great game. Pollard will be an improvement. 

Faff needs to pass more, his up and under are too frequent and predictable. This gives the Lions opportunities to counter. Need to play the game in their half more often. 

The Bok defence was tested with 13 players. When they got back to 15 players, the back row looked a bit slow compared to the Lions one. 

I wonder if the Boks will play one more game before the test, or if that is all she wrote for preparation. 

Sharkbok, who would they play though??

Just got off the plane to see the score, a pretty miserable margin of victory, hardly convincing. Should get folks interested in the actual test games th ough. 

The weakness of the Lions was clearly there to see in this game…..at centre, at lock-in particular. Bundi makes Dud Allende look imaginative. About the only clear advantage the Lions had was Currie who was the best flank on the park.

But perhaps this game was the best thing that could have happened to them…..in the last Lions series our physicality was a new element in the first test. The Lions will be looking for ways to beef up their pack in this first test.

Our scrum was probably our weakest point. Kitshoff is no Beast and Nyakane and Coenie looked vulnerable. Our weight advantage wasn’t evident.

Watching the Lions doing exactly what England did vainly charging the ramparts made one wonder what happened to Gatland’s running at gaps.

Mozart is as per normal totally wrong.    Both the Springbok Coach and attack coach is self-isolating. after being Covid active.  So is a Number of other players.   but according to him Erasmus is suieless and Nienaber is the king.

\As tpo the assessment of the game it is clear that the abnsence of Malherbe was the problem and he blames kitshof forthe scrumming problems in the first half.

As to Steyn he buggered up badly at flyhalf - aimless and inaccurate kicking was a major problem and he neutralized the whole backline.   After Du Toit and De Allende were replaced  the team malfunctioned and went backwards,

I mentioned the weak sports in the team before the game - the Tighthead and the flyhalf and both  of those were  correct.

Stop bitching Mike you picked the Bok's (A) to loose! It wasn't a great performance but considering they haven't played a Tests since RWC, the run up has been blighted by covid in the camp. Players have been isolating in their rooms. They only conceed 13 points, 10 of those against 13 men. In the second half there were wholesale changes. A 9 on the wing a back at number 8 etc. Team selection for the tests will produce a competitive Bok side, my only concern is match fitness and there is no substitute other than game time to address this. There is plenty on the video to keep Rassie & co busy sorting out. 

A pleasing result, better than was expected taking several adversities into account, well done Rassie and co.

Lions were a bit unlucky however by 2 disallowed tries, one by Rees-Zammit I thought was more than unlucky, not to be awarded.

Lions scrumhalf also too many kick aways and Lions did not capitalise correctly on 2 oportunities that were obvious when Faf was sent off, instead of forwards driving for the try line ( a scrumhalf sent off does not alter the defence) should have spread the ball wide, would be a better option. Farrell too was poor.

This series is going to be closer than originally thought.

The day Lügnerin calls a game correctly the universe will collapse. It cannot happen, it will never happen. I heard how Steph vindicated himself against Georgia, and when I watched it, I saw the same flawed myth as before. As per Damian, he doesn't have the capacity to be a world class player. He is out of his depth at Super rugby, and I've seen him struggle at Tin Cup level too. You deny reality, truth. It will scar you yet more Lügnerin. The truth will be undefeated. That's a fact of life. Ende. 

Yet, the Boks won the RWC and PSDT won WR player of the year...yes, as always, a case can be made for another, more deserving player (I also think Thor was the more deserving player) , but it's laughable to deride fine players as useless...insulting to boot.

The truth will always triumph - but the problem is distortion in what you consider as the truth.    sorry I was wrong - but the SA team ws weakened by a useles flyhalf and tight-head.    de Allender and Du Toit made up for p[art of the deficiency - so instead of losing as expected - they won.   Credit to De Allende, kolbe and the two tryscores.     

Steph, the 17th best flank in the SH in 2019, one of the weakest Bok, won a popularity award based on SA media. That's it. A poster boy for the Boks. Nothing rugby related. A reputation that was manufactured as far back as 2014 based on a projection of what he might be, not what he was. I've challenged anyone to defend him, none have succeded. The best the Church of Steph can muster is, "He ares tha best coz everyone knows he is", "Only a stupidz don't think he arez da beest playa", "He is the best because of stuff I don't know". Compelling stuff from the plastics.

Damian and Steph; Dud 1 and Dud 2. Players who can be found contributing negatively in tests throughout their career. Only in SA can a player directly concede three tries and lose a game at the death and still come away being hailed as best in the world. The land of knuckle dragging bufoons. 

But Dud has a huge ‘engine’ ….man did he look like a lock out of water yesterday.

He is a world champion and WPOTY and if you really believe he's 17th ranked flanker in the SH, there's no point in discussing anything with you. "Jealously makes you nasty." This is so futile and stupid, but yet...unbelievable!!!

His RPI was 17th best in 2019 based on production. Is that hard to believe? He was after all 29th of the top 30 ball carriers by volume. His defence stats? The most porous of all Boks between 2018 annd 2019, and that's before we take into account moments where he is outright beaten, something not accounted for in the stats - those are very often moments where his lapse blows the entire coverage, and where poor Mostert is put under the duress of overloads in his channel. As we saw when comparing Schalk to Steph at 7, Steph is a dead-end as far as attack is concerned. If you can't accept these facts Herr Draht, then you are beyond lost. These aren't opinions, these aren't feelings, these are plain facts. Reality. Truth. You tell me this is not true, but when pressed for answers, no Stepg fan can point me in the direction of his production. You can't even argue that he is a poor player who had one big critical game in the WC. His only two successful tests are the home test against Australia in 2018 (Where Esterhuizen totally shutdown the Wallaby attack, setting the tone for the game by setting them up for a try intercept), that and the England away test of the same year. That's it. Note how the whole team was on point for those tests as far as structure was concerned - though England ran riot after Damian gifted a penalty for the lead. 

Draad if you did your Rugby Pass homework you would know Augie is just quoting the facts as reported by the most data driven rugby site.

Since when is Rugby Pass the standard? It's just another subjective tool without context. 17th in their position don't get selected WPOTY, not even with all the hype in the world. At some stage you two will have to acknowledge that you are missing something...quite a lot actually... Bring me just one article by just one reputable rugby pundit who shares your view of PSDT and DdA being useless and undeserved Boks ...just one.

It’s not subjective, it is objective….algorithmic. It’s useful because it isn’t dependent on individual interpretation. He was ranked 17th in 2019 Super  rugby based on a series of stats like missed tackles, balls lost as well as defenders beaten….which he never does.

Rugby pundits tend to be a bit of a chorus….independent, critical thought doesn’t mix with beer.

It depends on which facets of play the algorithm was compiled and the weight of the different facets. The mere fact that the WRPOTY scored 17th in his position,  in the year he won his reward, should tell you there's something seriously wrong with the "algorithm ". There would have been a massive outcry if his selection was so much controversial...it wasn't. To date, you and Auge are the only punters trashing PSDT and DdA...sad really...same as Maaik p!ssing on Morné's achievements. 

Rugby data/stats  can be distorted and Mozart and the  Kindergarten Imbecile are experts in that..    

"It's just another subjective tool without context."

Player of the Year had to be a South African….it should have been the WC final MOM, Vermeulen…..that at least had context. But there really was no clear standout candidate….so it became a popularity contest.

It’s a point of interest, nothing more.

I repeat Dud Toit is only playing flank because he failed at lock. He can’t fetch, he can’t break tackles, he can’t offload, he cannot defend space as we saw with the Welsh try.

He adds bulk, process phase running and process phase tackling…in copious quantities because he is assigned those duties. And he is alert to the pick and go….which is the one unique thing he brings. Your frigging rugby experts haven’t even noticed that.

Not the best loosie playing for the Boks let alone the best player in the world.

on the contrary...I am on record saying that I would have preferred Thor for POTY...you 2 are embarrassing yourself by claiming certain Bok stars as useless...not merely bad, but useless...duds...and you've been perpetuating these lies and insults for years now, regardless of evidence to the contrary...same with Rassie.

Actually I never said Dud Allende and Dud Toit are useless. I said they are overrated….neither would make my Bok team, but of the two Dud Allende is more capable of performing his role. He is a centre. Dud Toit is a lock who has been allowed to play a Rover role.

The old AB teams prior to 2015 would have exposed this weakness. But in 2019 our forward dominance shielded his shortcomings.

Dud Allende is a blunt weapon…surely we can expect a spark of creativity from a Bok 12.

As for Rassie….I prefer honest competitors….not guys who abandon the Boks for a better offer from the Stormers, retire but don’t really retire the moment they have won something, engage in sneaky activities like his water boy antics. Some apparently like all these Rassie ‘tricks’, I just prefer a more honest approach.

As for his coaching Rassie very competently coached old style Bok rugby, with a few twists. But the ‘expansive game’ which so many were calling for was abandoned under Erasmus with not a peep from a fawning press.

As you know I have been calling for a return to our strengths for a long time. But does that mean our players can’t offload…surely not.

As for Bok player of the year, apart  from Vermeulen I’d pick Etzebeth who never gets a mention….but also dominates the short end of the lineout game after game, while Dud Toit swans on the left wing.

If all the doom and gloom you were pedaling came to fruition, we would not have come close to winning the RC or the RWC. We are simply better than you give us credit for. It'sthe simplest conclusion...Ende...

Wrong again…..I think we have tremendous talent….we win because of our resources which are the best in the rugby world,

No, not quite. Inferior 2018 to 2017. That's a fact. 2019? Beat the worst Wallaby side in 45 years (thanks to Esterhuizen again shutting down their game), beat an injury hit Welsh side, then our best matchup of the NH: England. Herr Draht, you are dreaming. As per Rassie? There is no evidence of coaching beyond that of Nienaber. José is a coaching philosopher, never the technician. He needs his crutch to make things happen. Nienaber is the submissive partner; how fortunate for José. Damian is a wing at heart converted to centre, where Meyer carved out a role for him in 2015. That's been the model for using him ever since. He has no pass, no field vision, can't read play, is weak to head-on traffic, is passive. He offers far less than the worst of Olivier. Steph is also passive, and cannot read play. Both make outrageous amounts of errors. Look at a Bok test, look at key lapses, these faces turn up time and again.