SASaffolk
Captain30,741 posts
SASaffolk Captain30,741 posts
29 May 2024, 20:55#1
With Willemse out this would be my side
15. Fassi
14. Kolbe
13. Am
12. de Allende
11. Arendse
10. Pollard
9. Faf
1. Kitshoff
2. Marx
3. Malherbe
4. Etzebeth
5. RG Snyman
6. Kolisi (c)
7. PSDT
8. Roos
16. Bongi 17. Ox 18. Wilco Louw / Thomas du Toit 19. Lood / Ruben v Heerden / Jenkins / Moerat 20. Kwagga / Elrigh Louw / Hanekom / Emmanuel Tsituka / JL du Preez / Dan du Preez / Vincent Tsituka 21. Williams / Papier / Nohamba 22. Libbok / Masuku 23. Esterhuizen / Moodie / David Kriel / Gelant
29 May 2024, 23:04#2
23 reserves Saffex and still only beat the ABs 14 men by a point…..
SASaffolk
Captain30,741 posts
SASaffolk Captain30,741 posts
29 May 2024, 23:20#3
Moola who won the WC? And who won the WC before that
Are you still smarting? Move on
29 May 2024, 23:55#4
Rassie has stated that he wants to give most of the old guys another crack at beating Ireland, so I think we will see Willie at 15….I do not think lood will feature in the reserves. I think Rassie will start Franco at 5 or he will be on the Bench….. but the rest is most probably who Rassie will pick.
SASaffolk
Captain30,741 posts
SASaffolk Captain30,741 posts
30 May 2024, 07:30#5
Rassie is a huge fan of Lood so why the hell would he not pick him huh?
The same Lood that Matfield said was the best 5 in the game
Let me guess Rassie and Matfield are clueless?
30 May 2024, 12:09#7
Because lood hasn’t been playing for the Boks for a long time and like I said I think he will go with Mostert simply because he is our incumbent 5 and rightly so.
SASaffolk
Captain30,741 posts
SASaffolk Captain30,741 posts
30 May 2024, 18:39#8
Get your fucking facts straight Lood is the incumbent 5, useless Mostert was dumped as the starting 5 pre Covid and only started again in the last WC when Lood was not available
Mostert is useless - RG is far, far, far better as is Lood
I’m guessing it’s between Lood and RG to start against Ireland - hopefully it will be RG with Lood or Ruben v Heerden on the bench
All real locks not a light weight physical liability
SASaffolk
Captain30,741 posts
SASaffolk Captain30,741 posts
30 May 2024, 18:53#9
Here we go DA:
Ex-Springbok captain De Villiers laments loss of injured trio at World Cup
Johannesburg (AFP) – The absence of three injured first-choice players will be a massive challenge for South Africa in their Rugby World Cup defence, according to three former Springbok captains including Jean de Villiers.
Fly-half Handre Pollard, centre Lukhanyo Am and lock Lood de Jager were all missing from the squad announced in Johannesburg on Tuesday.
However, all three are on standby in case of injuries during the tournament, which starts in France on September 8, with the Springboks facing Scotland two days later.
"The squad is very different to what we would have chosen prior to what we know now," former centre Jean de Villiers told SuperSport.
"If you had to play a World Cup final today you would have selected all three," he said.
John Smit, who captained the Springboks to victory in the 2007 World Cup in France, said the loss of Pollard was a heavy blow as it left the team without an established, match-winning goal-kicker.
"World Cups are won by goal-kickers," said Smit. "We have to figure out who our top three goal-kickers are."
Former star lock Victor Matfield, the most capped Springbok with 127 Test appearances, said the selection of 2019 World Cup-winning captain Siya Kolisi was "fantastic for the country".
But all three former captains shared concern about his match fitness after a long lay-off since knee surgery in April.
De Villiers said defining leadership roles would be important.
"Siya might be the captain of the squad, but he might not be the captain on the field.
'Leadership roles'
"You need to be clear about the leadership roles. We have also lost two leaders in the backline in Pollard and Am."
Matfield added, "Those three (injured players) are a big loss. We only have one recognised fly-half (Manie Libbok), although Damian (Willemse) can play there as well.
"De Jager is the best number five lock in the world. He is the guy running the lineouts."
Smit said Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber and director of rugby Rassie Erasmus had to make tough choices.
"It's difficult to take a guy who is injured to a World Cup because you cannot really send him back. What Jacques and Rassie have done is smart.
"They have picked guys who are fit and able, and they have put the rest on standby. If anything happens to one of the (selected) 33, they can call them up."
De Villiers said South Africa's depth of playing strength "could also be our biggest weakness. I am not sure we know who are best team is."
Matfield said warm-up matches against Wales in Cardiff on August 19 and New Zealand in London on August 25 were important in the build-up to their World Cup opener against Scotland.
"We don't have a pool set-up where we can play guys who are out of form, there are no really easy games.
"I think in the next two weeks we will see as close as possible to the team that will run on in our first World Cup game."
The Scotland match will be followed by pool games against Romania, Ireland and Tonga.
Group winners and runners-up qualify for the knockout stage.
© 2023 AFP
SASaffolk
Captain30,741 posts
SASaffolk Captain30,741 posts
30 May 2024, 19:46#11
Oh boy Moz and what did Smit say here huh?
‘Smit said Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber and director of rugby Rassie Erasmus had to make tough choices.
"It's difficult to take a guy who is injured to a World Cup because you cannot really send him back. What Jacques and Rassie have done is smart.
"They have picked guys who are fit and able, and they have put the rest on standby. If anything happens to one of the (selected) 33, they can call them up."
Case closed
SASaffolk
Captain30,741 posts
SASaffolk Captain30,741 posts
30 May 2024, 21:40#13
No Moz you miss the point Smit is making - he says as everyone in the know does that you don’t select injury players - what part of this obvious fact are you missing?
At the time the WC squad had to be announced, Pollard was still under an injury cloud, he had not played a single minute of rugby in months
So as Smit correctly points out, Rassie made the correct call something you choose to ignore everytime
Pointing fingers at Rassie for not selecting an injured players serves only to embarrass you
Your attempts to discredit the best coach the Boks have ever had fails at every turn. You simply can’t argue against back to back WC’s, not to mention RC, Lions series and being ranked number 1
Yeah Rassie is clearly a clueless nutter. Let me guess - all those records are down to luck lol?
MOMozart
Captain49,914 posts
MOMozartCaptain49,914 posts
30 May 2024, 21:45#14
He threw three heads in a row….chances of that are 1 in 8. Lucky, very lucky….to say nothing of a Final opponent playing half the game with 14 men.
SASaffolk
Captain30,741 posts
SASaffolk Captain30,741 posts
30 May 2024, 21:55#15
What a joke - luck my arse
Ah yeah back to that 14 man shit again failing to compute the fact that SA had 14 men for 20 min including the vital last 10, had no specialist hooker for 78min to drive home the set piece advantage and the game was played in the pouring rain
Go tell the Lions about their thumping of sides with 15 men while they played with 14 - not once but twice this season
Rassie lucky my fucking arse
Rassie is a rugby genius and that’s why he keeps winning everything
When he wins a 3rd WC will that be down to luck as well lol?
31 May 2024, 13:54#19
Lood might of been the incumbent 5 lock, but right now he isn’t….so if he gets picked, it will not be on form but reputation….if you want to drop Mostert, then do it for a Ruben van heerden or a Ruan vermaak, that makes much more sense.
SASaffolk
Captain30,741 posts
SASaffolk Captain30,741 posts
31 May 2024, 15:41#20
Stop speaking shit Lood is in great form in Japan and Mostert is not the incumbent he was only there because Lood was injured
Mostert has to go for either RG or Lood and the likes of Ruben v Heerden, Jason Jenkins, Ruan Vermaak, Andre Smith, Reinhardt Ludwig and Moerat are far better squad options than powder puff
SASaffolk
Captain30,741 posts
SASaffolk Captain30,741 posts
31 May 2024, 15:46#21
Net red card means fuck all when you are down to 14 in the vital last 10 min, the 14 man NZ side was nullified by our lack of a specialist hooker and the weather conditions
Um hello what part of not selecting Pollard because he was injured are you not comprehending?
And your nutter made the non hooker call and guess what he won yet another WC
Dubious red card my arse - what utter horse shit
SASaffolk
Captain30,741 posts
SASaffolk Captain30,741 posts
31 May 2024, 22:28#27
It was a WC final helloooooo
It does not matter how you win it - just win it
The only reason you have issues with our great side’s achievements is your misplaced disregard for the best coach the Boks have ever had
Why do you dislike Rassie so, what has he done that finds no favour with you? I’m intrigued as it makes absolutely no sense at all
PLPlum
Captain21,007 posts
01 Jun 2024, 05:18#32
"It was a WC final helloooooo
It does not matter how you win it - just win it"
That goes for any game or match ever.
A team that wins a league by simply winning still wins the league. It's a nothing statement really.
A team that is too afraid to press home an advantage, decreases that advantage and increases their chances of losing. That's not a smart move in anything competitive.
The loss of Bongo was huge. But the loss of their captain was far bigger for the ABs.
I think Rassie is a good coach. I think many teams envy the Boks and Rassie could probably get into a job anywhere he chooses, when he chooses, at this point.
But none of that means the Boks played a smart final or that wasn't an incredible amount of luck involved.
Here. Think about all the times you've heard the phrase "x lost the game as opposed to y winning it." Every time you've heard that phrase you knew exactly what it meant and probably agreed with whomever said it.
Now, see if you can apply that phrase to the WC final. If you mind blocks you from doing so then you're a Rassie fanboy and not being honest with yourself. Because the Boks got all their points on offer while the ABs didn't.
Still, that was the best RWC in history and it's very sweet the Boks came out on top. Their profile has skyrocketed and they seem to have pipped the ABs as the darlings of rugby in the eyes of the masses.
Can I just add, the English really are a sport loving nation. They support their own side to the hilt but their sports journos(not legacy media types but rather independents) are so damn objective in coverage and reviews that one simply has to admire them.
PLPlum
Captain21,007 posts
01 Jun 2024, 05:52#34
Compare the 2019 final the 2023 one.
2019 was a master class with zero luck involved. 2023 was the opposite.
England were in the 2019 final for about 20 minutes. The ABs were in the 2023 final until the final whistle and had numerous chances to win the game despite being the worst ABs in decades.
You could balance it out by looking at our 1/4 and 1/2s games but let's not forget that the ABs had to get past Ireland.
I just find it odd that we can't seem to admit how lucky we were. We were one relatively simple missed kick by the ABs away from losing.
Hence they lost the game more than we won it.
Still, I've already watched all three our knockout games back about 5 times each and it doesn't matter that I know the result or have watched those games multiple times, the suspense remains, every time. A great advert for rugby.
PLPlum
Captain21,007 posts
01 Jun 2024, 08:33#37
Ja, that French game was crazy. Started with everyone scoring tries, and then slowly became a pressure cooker. It had literally everything.
The world was robbed of seeing one of the best hookers of all time in those games though. I'd like our leaders into the next WC to be Marx and Willemse...with Roos hopefully being groomed to eventually take over.
No matter how many times I say it, I actually can't believe the names Springbok rugby is tossing about of late. Marx, Willemse, Arendse, Eben, Pollard, Moodie, Roos...it's like a never ending list of people that would walk into any team on earth.
Honestly, I prefer to focus on that because I'm all too aware of not wanting to take a golden seat for granted.
SASaffolk
Captain30,741 posts
SASaffolk Captain30,741 posts
03 Jun 2024, 16:53#39
What I don’t get is the inability of rugby followers to understand the significance of losing Bongi in minute 2 and how this negated the Kiwi’s losing Cane.
So had Bongi stayed the duration we probably would have won the final by 15 to 20 points.
Losing a forward means a weaker opposition pack, with a back filling in on the side of the scrum at scrum time. Given this fact, we have to assume that with Bongi on the field we would have dominated the scrums and won a good number of scrum penalties, giving us kicks at poles or kicks into the corner.
Added to this, is the effect on the line outs - with Bongi throwing in we are more or less assured of accuracy.
What we got instead was Fourie at 2, which effectively nullified our ability to enforce the numerical advantage in the set pieces.
Also worth considering is the fact that if you are drawing a back into the pack that leaves one short defending out wide. In normal good weather conditions on a hard surface you can exploit that man down out wide. But again conditions conspired against the Boks on the day given the rain throughout the game and in the days preceding the match. The underfoot was hardly conducive to spreading the ball wide.
But hey ho all we ignorantly hear is that the Boks struggled to beat 14 Kiwi’s. If you don’t get the Bongi loss you don’t know your rugby.
It’s no different to saying a player had a great game because he gained 50m with ball in hand when those 50m were a simple run in unopposed
05 Jun 2024, 01:20#40
What I don’t get Saffex is how you can possibly say that Bongi being replaced by Fourie equated to the ABs losing Cane (also the Captain) for well over half the game!! You are the ONLY one on this site spouting this garbage!
Good on the Boks for winning the RWC but for fucks sake just admit everything fell into their lap and they were just a teensy weensy bit lucky!
Do we need another poll on this question??