Italy a threat?

Mozart ... that's absurd.

Utter madness!!

I expect the Bokke to thump these Italians by at least 30 points. Non negotiable.

We have a hundred year history and they but a decade or two.

 Agreed Moz, Italy are no walk over these days. They have always had a good pack and have now found a back or two with clout. Handy 15 and centres.

CC you need to wake up and get with the times. History counts for stuff all you stupid twit

Without any emotion...Italy could very be a threat. Was France threatened by Tonga,,,was NZ threatened by France.???

Of course they were ...any body with a brain can see this.

One of the countries with probably the vast reservior of talent...ie SA has the arrogance of Saffex believes in the divine providence of SA, whilst he sits on his fat shithouse throne of Shithouse blues in Essex , now Suffolk...actually his picture looks like this...passing a big turd...in defiance to Mike who in turn also sits on a throne and symbolically shits all over him.

Guys wake up rugby is changing like everything in life...times will change things and I'm very glad...personally I love more competitors in the future...I'm tired onf SA. NZ. Eng, Australia...love to see France, Argentina, Pacific Is or later the 2nd tier nations rise. Makes it more interesting...rugby for me is just rugby...not a weapon against any country...may the best win. Has sport LOST this.

Ofcourse we love our countries and would love them to win but have we lost our respect for others and pride for those deserving....

Seb catch a wake up you stupid prick

Italy shouldn't be a threat. Yes, they're good, and should compete well. But in no way should this game be close at the end. Boks should win by 10+ points. But I have a feeling the Boks won't, and they will make mistakes, and it will be close.

What a load of rubbish!

Italy might have improved over the last few years but they're coming off a low base and they don't have a prayer against the Springboks in South Africa. A Springbok win by less than 20 will be a bit embarrassing, not just for Springbok rugby but for Southern Hemisphere rugby in general.

I reckon we'll klap the Eyeties by 30 plus.

Tell me, SubstantialBull, in your learned opinion - and considering your self-proclaimed knowledge of history - what was the score the last time Italy played the Springboks in Durban?

 These days Italy can physically impose themselves. They cant be walked over or run over. 

Saffex ...you call everybody that disagrees a stupid prick...I hope you do not speak this way to your wife...who undoudedly will disagtree with your churlish attitude.

Are you really a lawyer...I find that very hard to believe...what client would trust you??

Problem with you Seb is that you are too fucking stupid to realise that I said the Italians would be no push over. Your pathetic attempt at humour and that little dig aimed at me, was misplaced. As I said, wake the fuck up.

Am I a lawyer, who gives a shit - what difference does it make?

Now piss off

Saff its not my intention to insult or bring you down...I'm bigger than that and I realise you are unique and like most of us have a chip on our shoulders.

I believe you have your nicer side...my suggestion is that you show it.

Italy is good enough that if the Boks are off their game they could make it close. Don't see that happening though - Boks have a very good team taking the field and the bench is stacked.

Rooinek...

Tell me, SubstantialBull, in your learned opinion - and considering your self-proclaimed knowledge of history - what was the score the last time Italy played the Springboks in Durban?

Typical of a REDNECK reply.

What the hell has this got to do with the present or the future?

Such mentality...that's what causes brainlessness in future thought patterns.

SubstantialBull, you were the one blabbering on about history. Your words: "Most of the commentators here are ignorant to history...probably never studied it....there is none so blind that will not see".

Do you remember saying that, stupidissimo? Yes? You do? Well then stop being such a sickening coward and answer the question. Twat!

Oimatey...I predict a Springbok win...just as I would predict a Sea Cottage win in the Durban July many years ago...but it did not happen.

Tell me, SubstantialBull, in your learned opinion - and considering your self-proclaimed knowledge of history - what was the score the last time Italy played the Springboks in Durban?

Redneck I do not want to argue with ego and stupid and ignorant rants. If on the off chance (which I agree) we are beaten by a borderline 1 tier nation will you apologise ...I think not...you do not have the manliness, spirit or honesty to acknowledge this??? Maybe I'm wrong but your rantings and insults are pebbles off my back.

Just answer the question, chump . . . and if you don't know, then don't be afraid to ask.

Edit: As for Sea Cottage, Mr Self-Proclaimed-History-Boffin, he ran in the July Handicap twice, so anyone who knows anything about Sea Cottage, the Durban July or SA horseracing in general would have specified the year.

Wehe! What a complete twit this SubstantialBull idiot is turning out to be!

Dear old Saffex..do not be a cunt. Listen to my drift...you are a shit communicator...

Now lets get back to the topic.   Last year we barely managed to beat  Ireland and Scotland - the latter team a week  afterwards lost  badly against Tonga.   The same with Ireland - wom Italy beat easily in the 6-Nations after beating France.  So statstically Italy can beat SA.

However, Italy has a major ally in their quest and that is Meyer.   He selected a team with about 6 under-performing dolts in it - by far not the top selections he should have made.  One of them had to be replaced because of injury - but he obviously was not matchit  in any event - so his replacement is a vast improvement.   If ther level of performance of the other five is not improved - we may end up not winning or - if winning by a narrower margin than we bargain on.

So what will happen if the performances are again not up to standard - the newbies in the team would get the blame for that, while the under-performers will get away with murder.   I think there are some areas of the game where we will be under pressure and those include scrumming - our tighthead is poor  or was so all through the year - so much so that he at times were placed on the bench by the Sharks.   We have a perrenial problem at 8 - because the favoured player does nothing of note - built likeTarzan - but plays like Jane .   The other dubuious inclusion is Basson on the wing.

I think that the Boks will win tomorrow - despite Meyer's handicaps - because I am sure that the good players in the squad will play above-themselves and thus negate the non-performing favourites of our coach.

.

 Yes Italy are improving, but I really don't see why the is a discussion about this it's highly unlikely (9% chance, to put a simple stat up) that Italy will win. When they beat France they were in Rome, that crowd could've lifted a snail to beat a Cheetah in a sprint, it was spine tingling to watch and I believe that intimated the French. Also Michalak truly had a game to forget, he was not upto standard and every attack the French had abruptly stopped with him as he killed all sort of momentum. They also beat Scotland in Rome, I didn't watch that match but I expect the crowd was a big factor to the end result.

Also Parisse and Castrogiovanni (their two most influential players) had a shocking game for the BaaBaa's against the Lions.

Sounds like Italy are a good challenge given their performances this year. Boks are a new side with very little preparation. 

Ou maaaikie Jannie has been rested this season hence his being on the sharks bench this year. You do know he was badly overplayed last year?

Hope fully spies will shape up or ship out. A more attacking game plan may suit him?

Wow, I'm glad I'm not one of the crimson-faced half-wits who gave the hapless Eyeties any kind of chance aginst the Springboks!

Threatening? Pfffffffffffffffhahahahahahahahahahahaha!

Quite a few faces with a lot of egg on this thread! I'm guessing the board clown will try to worm his way out of this latest embarrassment by trying to change the definition of the word "threat". Wehe!

Well done Bokke!

Well apart from the first 20 min and the last 15min, we were struggling to make an impact. It was a very disappointing middle period of the game. How the hell could we let the Italians starve us of so much possession and territory in that period.

Scoreline was flattering thanks to a Basson intercept and the magic of Habana. Good enough showing by the Boks but poor middle period

Nonsense Dave, the game just underlined the fact that Italy are nowhere near ready to pose a threat to the Springboks . . . especially playing in South Africa.

Unless of course you think a 34 point drubbing can be called a "threatening" scoreline. In that case I'd like to know what scoreline you'd consider to be a solid snotklap?

A 34 point win over Italy in Durban sounds about par for the course to me and if you want to attribute that to the "magic" of a player that you've slagged off in the past, well, please note Bryan Habana was part of the Springbok team that was announced and therefore one of the many reasons why I quite rightly scoffed at suggestions Italy would threaten us today. You can't use Habana's performance as your excuse for believing Italy had a realistic chance of beating us today . . . unless it was some kind of surprise to you that he was in the team!

No Rooies at no point have I ever said that the Italians would beat us, not even close. What I said was that the Italians were nowhere near as crap as some of you make them out to be. The Bok scoreline was flattering, for a good 50 min of that game, they had us struggling......underlying my very point.

Had we played the full 80 min as we did the the first 20 min then I'd say you had a point. Fact is after 20 min we struggled and then broke the shackles in the last quarter with a bit of individual brilliance from Habana and an intercept from Basson.

We were anything but convincing for large parts of that game.

We should of scored two more tries, we'll get there! 

So hang on Dave, just so I understand . . . the opening post (that you agreed with) indicated that Italy were a legitimate threat to the Springboks not just to compete, but to even win the game, especially at sea level in soft conditions. The Springboks then give them a 44-10 pasting and now you're complaining that we didn't beat this same side - which according to you is "no walk over these days" and who have a good pack as well as backs with "clout" . . . by a bigger margin?

Is that a fair summary, Dave?

If so, I'm a tad confused. If Italy are "no walk over" and you agreed with the opening post that they might even win, surely you'd be ecstatic with a 44-10 win, instead of grumbling about the 20 minutes either side of half time when we weren't scoring at about a point a minute?

Just clear up one thing for me, did the Springboks exceed your expectations today or didn't they?

Italy were totally in the game, at 20 points to 10, until minute 63. They were starving the Boks of ball in the second half and playing competitively. After that a few lucky breaks and Italian desperation padded the score line. To clear up that one thing for you....no the Boks didn't exceed my expectations, they looked much like they did against thePoms last year.....hot  starts, fading to grey. That help Santayana?

Dave what about the tries that JJ failed to score. The score line was right in the way it reflected the game, our defence was better and our attack more organised. But yes the Italians are no push overs and are constantly improving but not at the standard that they can compete to win over us, yet.

Shez at no point have I ever said the Italians would beat us. They have very little chance of doing that. My point is that they are no pushovers as they used to be and they proved that in the 6N and for much of the game against us today.