Sasue
I was hoping for some comments on the first round games of the Under20 WC - but nothing as yet. As the SA and NZ games were on at the same time - I did watch the SA game - and switched over to the NZ game whenever they were busy with goal kicks - which normally was off mark and not worth watching. Sionce then I have looked at the highlight package on the NZ game only.
Did you have the opportunity to watch the games - and what do you think about performances?
@mikey,
the only games ive watched so fare are the SA, NZ, ihave the OZ match, but i will probably run it on my laptop while i work tomorrow.
i did watched the highlights of all the matches played yesterday though and it was pretty much as i expected.
i was very happy with NZs perforance, they were strong everywhere on the field and were calling the shots from the word go. while it was only fiji, fiji were putting in some real heavy hits durinbg the game as they looked to upset NZs ball and run of play, unfortunately for the fijians, some of those hits were to high and the captain needs a good rap on the knuckles for not pulling his teams head in and as a consequence, they suffered two red cards and three yellows, it might seem excessive to anyone who didnt watch the game or only caught the highlights, but IMO fiji were lucky to not get more.
despite the very physical attention NZ got fron their fiji cuzzies, NZ were more then up to the task, and the most impressive thing about their perforamnce was the composure they kept, ive seen plenty of more senior players crack it durong the spXv season for shitload less.
NZ u20
standout players was ardie savea, hes my pick to be the under 20 player of the year, in the first minute he tackles, strips the ball and then runs away leaving the fiji speedsters for dead to get a try, thats pretty much how hes going to be rolling in the game, and in the breakdowns the fijians had no answer to him.
hes like a winger whose determined to make the flankers fundamentals his top priority, hope he stays fit cos hes important.
jason emery was strong too and he in particular got a lot of attention from the fijians, especially with the off the ball stuff, hes going to be very important too.
other names to look our for was mafileo, micehal collins and te rure who looks like hes got some real mean skills.
SA u20
most of these guys were unknown to me, but the old formula of big powerful forwards balanced with a nice super quick backline was obivous from the start.
like NZ the level of competition was always going to make this a how much will they win by match and not only did the saffas not dissapoint, but they were smart in how they used the 80mins to try and run the team through phases and get things moving in the forwards while the backs try and string together their own things. i thought SA did this very well and that will help them out big time later on down the track.
i was hugely impressed with loose forward du plesiss, the halfback urngerer and kolbe the fullback, all three are going to be a huge handful for any teams and i found myself holding my breath every time kolbe would get the ball and shape up to run.
at the end of the day this level of rugby IMO is the true indication of just why NZ and SA are the powerhouses fo rugby, the only team i can see beating SA is NZ and vice versa.
the others while capable of putting up a fomidable front of sorts, just dont have rugby ingrained into their DNA the way NZ and SA do, and it shows cos NZ and SA u20s play like men, while the rest playe like u20s.
i might seem arrogant but thats how i see this comp, cant wait for the inevitable NZ vs SA match, will prob be in the smeifinal or even better in the final.
Sasue Thank you - I agree with you - I could not summerize it any better. Thatwas why I asked an expert for his opinion. LOL
Sasue Thank you - I agree with you - I could not summerize it any better. Thatwas why I asked an expert for his opinion. LOL
Sasue, what did you think of Dries Swanepoel? (Number 21)
Want an unbiased opinion see!
Shezza
I rate Swanepoel very highly and elsewhere stressed the fact that he should be starting against the English. To my mind the difference is what to do about his center partner. Pollard did well against the USA - but for his goalkicking disaster. However, I prefer Van Rensburg - a much tougher nut than Pollard - and against the English that would be a major issue.
Hopefully Theron will put Pollard back at Flyhalf (he replaced Tony Jantjie's with Pollard last year after we lost to Ireland) and starts Rohan. I'm a bit worried Theron values Gedulds 7's experiance and the fact he scored 2 tries against the USA, he's too light for my liking and I don't think he would show the same value in a more close match.
@shezza,
i thought swanepoel was good, but hard to determine just how good considering the level of the yanks. he seemed very strong in contact though, i think it was him that sparked the try to the winger when he took two players in contact and on the way down he offloaded the ball to urnrger which was quite nice.
would like to see more of him and some good selection headaches for the coach.
i also thought that geduld was awesome, i didnt think he was that light, i thought justr right, LMAO, :oP
but seriously i was impressed with some of the linbes gedulds lines that he ran, prob due to that 7s background.
i wouldnt change pollard geduld, rather i would test them against the english who looks to be their hardest opponents before the finals come round.
@shezza,
i thought swanepoel was good, but hard to determine just how good considering the level of the yanks. he seemed very strong in contact though, i think it was him that sparked the try to the winger when he took two players in contact and on the way down he offloaded the ball to urnrger which was quite nice.
would like to see more of him and some good selection headaches for the coach.
i also thought that geduld was awesome, i didnt think he was that light, i thought justr right, LMAO, :oP
but seriously i was impressed with some of the linbes gedulds lines that he ran, prob due to that 7s background.
i wouldnt change pollard geduld, rather i would test them against the english who looks to be their hardest opponents before the finals come round.
Yeah, he was the person who managed to offload while being tackled by those two defenders. I would have Pollard at 10 because our Flyhalf against the USA was slightly bullied. That means I would have Rohan Van Rensburg at least on the pitch, sadly I can't find the team for tomorrow anywhere, guess we'll just have to wait!
