Conrad Smith and Ma'a Nonu aware of Springboks midfield threat in semifinal; Liam Napier

Rarely do Conrad Smith and Ma'a Nonu get upstaged.

They've been the lead act of international rugby's midfield show for some time now.

The record-breaking All Blacks pairing have consistently set the bar in two of the most challenging backline roles.

Cast your mind back to Ellis Park in July this year, though. That test revealed one occasion when Smith and Nonu did not emerge on top.

The old guard – Smith 34, Nonu 33 – confronted two emerging stars in Stormers second five-eighth Damian de Allende, 23, and Bulls centre Jesse Kriel, 21.

For the most part, the exuberant Springboks duo had it their way. De Allende's strength regularly punched over the advantage line; Kriel showcased his pace with a stunning try, bursting onto a short ball and between Nonu and Smith to leave the veterans staring at each other asking who should have nailed him. It was a concerning sight.

Ahead of the RWCsemifinal showdown on Sunday, that memory is not lost on Smith.

"They played particularly well last time we met them over in South Africa," Smith said. "They probably had the wood on Ma'a and I so we know how dangerous they can be. They've carried that form through this World Cup."

Indeed. De Allende has been particularly impressive, topping the defenders beaten with 21, eight more than the blockbusting Nonu.

Jean de Villiers' World Cup-ending broken jaw spared Boks coach Heyneke Meyer from a potentially awkward decision. De Villiers had struggled to recapture the form of old after returning from a horror run of injuries. Calls for him to be dropped were widespread after the shock loss to Japan and he was shifted to the largely unfamiliar role of centre to accommodate de Allende's presence.

As harsh as it sounds, the Boks skipper's absence has probably been a blessing. Certainly it confirmed the ushering in of the new brigade.

The de Allende- Kriel combination pose more problems for Smith and Nonu. This time, though, they appear ready.

"They've been very impressive so far. Individually they're great players and they've formed a great partnership," Smith said. "I was gutted for Jean. I've probably played more against him than anyone else. It was a sad way to see him end with an injury like that but I'm sure he's still a big influence on the team and no doubt helping the guys that are there.

"They're two guys we're very aware of and what they do for their team. They're a couple of major strike weapons so they'll take a bit of containing. We've talked a bit about that already."

 

Well this article will get a few bok posters excited But IMO it is just sweet talking the opposition
Although Nonu was fantastic in the game against France last weekend he was greedy, when SBW came on he barely got any ball from Nonu. I am sure the coaches will point this out to him. They may not be on the field at the same time this weekend anyway but this shouldn't happen.

 Cast your mind back to Ellis Park in July this year, though. That test revealed one occasion when Smith and Nonu did not emerge on top.

The old guard – Smith 34, Nonu 33 – confronted two emerging stars in Stormers second five-eighth Damian de Allende, 23, and Bulls centre Jesse Kriel, 21.

For the most part, the exuberant Springboks duo had it their way. De Allende's strength regularly punched over the advantage line; Kriel showcased his pace with a stunning try, bursting onto a short ball and between Nonu and Smith to leave the veterans staring at each other asking who should have nailed him. It was a concerning sight.

Just underlining a few points for Dr Mozzzzzzzzzzzzz and Foxie and of course cerudunce windpomp and I think it was poor sharkbok who was also all at sea re our center combo.?

They certainly were shown up last time out. The element of surprise is gone now though. The Boks also played a vastly different type of game than they are playing now. 
I reviewed the Ellis Park game again yesterday and that Bok side and the one we've seen in the World Cup are like two completely different teams in their approach. We launched some beautiful attacks in that game and created more clear scoring opportunities than the AB, with often only a final pass or a bad bounce preventing a try. 

 Are the ABs tempting the Boks into playing a more expansive game? Nah, just making sure they say good things about the opposition before a game.
It has already been documented on this site that de Allende generates a lot of dust but goes nowhere & Kriel is trying to remember what a tackle is.

 Maybe Meyer is planning a surprise and the Boks will rip em apart again. Agaisnt Wales we palyed dom rugby. It was a disgrace.
Boks were very superior last time we met the wee abs and only bent reffing a crooking by mccheat saved them.
Plus we will have a stronger bench by far.
However I have listed 3 points of concern in a thread.
Watch out for wee ab red zone infringements and that they will be tring to engineer a Bok yellow. Unlike other sides they will be looking how to crook a win. 
Away with the wee abs their departure will improve the tone of the RWC considerably!
Here is hoping for a Bok/Argentina RWC final.  Thankfully all the PI teams are long gone and now it just needs the down under lot to disappear. Clear the air so to speak!    

 There is no worry - Mozart has already stated clearly that the De Allende-Kriel combination as a liability for the Springbok team and will be major reason for the Springbok loss in the game on Saturday.
Who the hell is Conrad Smith to  state  a contrary opinion to what the celebrated Mozart and Desert Fox think?  He must know that he is only a international center - not a sage on rugby matters like our two members.     

 Dr Mozzz and Foxie have stumbled badly this year but I see glimpses ofa recoverey - or backtracking 
Too man y wrong calls.

 "Kriel showcased his pace with a stunning try, bursting onto a short ball and between Nonu and Smith to leave the veterans staring at each other asking who should have nailed him. It was a concerning sight."

the same old story that we've been hearing from the bok supportes since then, seems that they don't have any other feat to build the epic over.
But sorry to say but this, as many other epics, is just fantasy. Nonu had his shoulder injured wich impeded him of trying to tackle Kriel. He had to leave the field just after the try.

Read and weep Moffie and DumbFox.......ignorance personified  

 ABF
An injured shoulder of Nonu - when did he injured it?    Trying to tackle De Allende most probable.  On the day as a whole Nonu was shaky and I think his replacement by SBW was in fact an improvement benefiting the AB's.
However - with respect - Conrad Smith is pretty near the mark in identifying a problem in this case.  De Allende has overshadowed both Nonu and SBW in the Super series and Conrad's own form has been rather spotty this year.
I would not completely disregard what Smith is saying.   They are definitely taking counter-measures - which would not have been the case if the situation did not worry them to some extent.