It's ok Kiwis, we'll rock up......

it's a no-brainer you're best on the planet, world champions, you know the usual, a class act.....the Boks, well what can one say, they're the underdogs, not #2 or #3 just an above average team with no standouts or stars to boast. We'll rock up later but not as lambs for the slaughter, no no no, we'll have none of that, your guys will have to earn that win.

So how is this great game going to shape? From an AB perspective not a great deal is going to change, they'll pitch with their usual flair an razzmatazz, run the ball for ninety minutes and a bit, there'll be the usual slick passes at high tempo and there'll be a bit of kicking as a sideshow. 

The boring Boks, well the experts are saying the defensive effort of Wellington won't be repeated, I agree. They'll still base their game on the proven rush defence, be a lot more clinical and they'll prey on AB mistakes..... then look to cash in. We're not going to see a repeat of the Wellington effort of 280+ tackles. Instead, we'll see our flyhalf Pollard do a bit more kicking with the aim of pinning the AB's in their quarter. From a Bok perspective a lot is going to hang off the shoulders of Pollard, his kicking needs to be effective. The Boks would also need lady fortune or make their own luck.

It will be interesting to see how the wily Hansen counters the rush defence.....it's an unknown for now but I'm sure he'll come up with something. SlowFlouw and our pedestrian midfield will hopefully not blink, stutter or show any hesitation for if they do they'll cop the full Tsunami of a wounded Kiwi side.

That's my view of how the game will unfold but if I'm wrong I can always blame it on the Ref

Enjoy Kiwis.

Go Bokke!!!!

Nice post Denny. I agree, defence will still be key. You've got to be able to pressure the All Blacks defensively. If we look back to the World Cup in 2015, France defended very passively. They were scared to advance their line and close the gate on the outside. It was very puzzling to me. They allowed die Schwarzwelle to wash over them like a raging torrent of pain. You can't allow them to run at you on their terms, especially if you can't close off the outer channels. In that very game, there was a 20 minute period where they did apply pressure, and the All Blacks committed many errors. In one phase of attack they were bumbling the ball backwards many metres and nearly got turned over. Then back to the passive defending after conceding a scrum try.

Rocking their runners is a basic ingredient to cook up a victory. One of the reasons why I'd like to have seen André is that he can pressure them well behind the gainline. He can defend on his own and completely dominate any player from 1 to 15. Good tracking on cover defence. As it is we still have the tools. Steph, Eben, Malherbe, Kitshoff, Marx, Pollard, Faf, Dyantyi and Mostert are very assured defenders. I just hope Steph is a little more accurate around the fringes. If he does that we'll hold up much better. We need him to have another big game. The bench was a missed opportunity in my opinion.

Conclusion? The Bok's have the tools to do the job. Clearly, the Kiwis have decided they are going to run us off our feet and will do it with some grunt. It's going to be a much more physical encounter. Wellington was a long grind, sometimes up to 18 phases of defending across the width of the field. This is going to be an arm wrestle. It's in our DNA to win those. 

Good post Organhuffer one gets tired of these roll over Bok supporters. Face it the whole rugby world would love a Bok win!

"So how is this great game going to shape? From an AB perspective not a great deal is going to change, they'll pitch with their usual flair an razzmatazz, run the ball for ninety minutes and a bit, there'll be the usual slick passes at high tempo and there'll be a bit of kicking as a sideshow." Well, none of that happened  "

"The.......Boks, well........we'll see our flyhalf Pollard do a bit more kicking with the aim of pinning the AB's in their quarter. From a Bok perspective a lot is going to hang off the shoulders of Pollard, his kicking needs to be effective." This happened really well 

"It will be interesting to see how the wily Hansen counters the rush defence" Well, up and unders and box kicks to stop the rush defense and make the Boks forwards run back to defend  and no more intercepts.