Player match ups

Habana will win as he is the best wing at test level.

JP Pietersen is significantly the better of the two.

Morné is far better 10, the better decision maker and more thoughtful distributor.

Tuilagi only because Jean is not a real centre. Otherwise a so-so player.

Hartley should better Bismarck. Bismarck has been in very poor form and certainly at best the 4th best hooker in South Africa; somewhere in the late teens for tests. 
 

Saffex

After you rating of the Junior Bok players and the fisaco on Monday I have a problem with your rating of players.   They flopped badly and I do not know whether it will not happen again on Saturday.   My one problem is that rugby is a team game - not a game of individuals and that team play can overcome individual rankings - but be that as it may.

I think your ranking of a number of players are way off - perhaps because you are supporting certain individuals that has not performed for years - and that makes it suspect.   I shall not get personal preferences get precedence and wants to make the following comments:-

Kirchner - not the best full back in SA,   I would say it is even-stevens in this case.

Pietersen - he is not really above average and my vote goes to Ashton

De Villiers - no reason to make a prediction based on personal preferences without fact.  De Villiers better

Francois Steyn - Barrit to my mind is not up to standard, so Steyn beats him wholesale

Morne - agree with you. he is one-dimensional and is not the all-round player needed as a flyhalf

Hougaard - better than his opponent, depends on which Hougaard turns up on Saturday

Spies - He was very average in Super 15 and I go with Morgan here  

Alberts - too slow and poor in all aspects of the game - Robshaw walks it.

Coetzee - no competition - Coetzee is better by a mile

Kruger - not sure about this one, but Kruger likely to be the better

Etzebeth - no competition - Edzebeth walk it even though his Hungarian name means Elizabeth

Beast - no competiton from the POMS here

Bismarck - no competition from the POMS

Du Plessis - not happy about his performance on Super 15 level.

Insofar as Hougaard is concerned I want to explain further.  In the past five Super 15 games Hougaard did not really shine and three of the games was lost by the Bulls.   He is capabale of much better than he did in those games.   If he comes with the same performance as in those five games - I would call it even stevens.

Now let me explain something about Etzebeth.   The surname is of Hungarian origin.   Many years ago there was a vetenary surgeon - he was a refugee from Hungary after the 1956 revolution - by the name of Etzebeth in the town where I grew up - and the youngster is probably a descendant of the vet in question.   However, the origin of the name is also clarified.   In Budapest there is a bridge called the Etzebeth bridge, named after the Empress Elizabeth (Shisi) of Austria-Hungary.   The Hungarian name for Elizabeth is Etzebeth - so that explains my comments above.   

As I said earlier - rugby is a team game and does not depend entirely on indivuidual performances - but individual flops can cost us dearly - but I still hope for a win.   However, I have my doubts about that win and can only hope I am wrong in my assessment as to the ultimate winner. For a vriety of reasons I predicted a POM win.  

Lets rate the players out of 10 after the game.

der, Farrell will chew Morne up and spit him out. Farrell is at least a rugby player, the kid knows how to launch and attack by either running himself or setting an attack up. Something Morne is not capable of doing at all. Farrell is far better.

10. Flyhalf - Morning Stain vs Owen Farrell. I know you Yarpies tend to rate flyhalves based exclusively on their place-kicking ability - and Morning Stain is indeed a world-class kicker - but he's a very average player with the skills of a donkey and a weak defence. Farrell may not have Stain's reputation as a kicker (not yet anyway) but he has a great step, excellent ball skills and he can tackle. England 1.

Habana is past his best so to claim he is the best at test level is laughable.

Bismark is twice the player Hartley is - its not even close and Bismark will own him in every way

Amazing how you all feel qualified to comment on the players, given most of you haven't ever seen them play, let alone watched them for years.

I'm glad Mike has such a knowledge of Tom Johnson that he can, without a hint of irony, make claim that Coetzee is so superior, full stop. He might well be, but one doesn't tend to make rash comments without actually having any knowledge at all. Forgive me if you have followed Johnson's career, Mike. I'm sure Exeter Chiefs are glad of your support !!

What should all probably do, is just watch and enjoy the match on Saturday and the next two Tests. And maybe then, most of you will actually have an idea about who you are actually watching and how well they can play the game. Just a thought.

Fortunately I do not know a great deal about the individual English players as I do not watch much NH "rugby"  and, as a consequence, I hopefully am excluded from the wrath of Becs who clearly is on the warpath as some oaks here do not know what they are talking about as usual.

Mike has at least cottoned on to be wary re ou sapsters take on things given the baby bok debacle!

 That said the Bokke were born to rule the poms and that is that!  

Becs I was thinking the same thing. These guys know squat about the English players and here we have Mike telling us that an old man like Jean playing out of position is better than one of the best 13's in the game. Has he actuall seen Tuilagi play?

Becs

Sorry to disappoint you, but I am a rugby fanatic.  Let me explain soemthing that you may not be aware of.  Most major club rugby games in England - as well as Heineken Cup games can be viewed on DSTV.   We have seen an amazing number of such games and am familiar with most of the English players.   In the case of Coetzee he is a 20 year-old with massive ability - he absolutely shone in the Super 15 competition playing against some of the best loosies in the southen hemisphere.   Johnson is not top notch.  He is 29 years old and is only now being selected on international level - so I am pretty sure that Coetzee can shine against  him as well.

However, I still say we do not really know how things are going to work out tomorrow.   So lets wait and see.

Hahaha  Mike....way to answer that prissy line of thinking. Hell even BBC USA carried the Pom tests. I watched a few, but honestly very few of the Pom players stood out.

I know English rugby almost as well as South African rugby. Certainly I have never missed an international game of theirs since the mid 90s. I'm not alone on this either. The Poms are pompous and over-inflated as usual, they had a mediocre campaign in another substandard Tin Cup that could barely match the quality of the Currie Cup; yet here they are, bleating of how great these players are. I simply loved all the hype surrounding Lawes in 2010, another example of the overhype these Poms exert on their players. Shown up, badly. The simple fact is that these England players are nothing special. They looked a far better side on the 2010 EOYT where I actually thought they might turn a corner and start delivering.

der as per usual complete nonsense. The Poms started the 6N poorly, they were a new side with a new coach, they then dominated Ireland and France which by any standards is a fine achievemnet.

Lawes is their best lock by some distance, big guy who puts in massive hits and likes to play with ball in hand. A real athlete and a big one at that. He is a big loss to England

Is it really? Monstered by the two best packs proves what? Then the French, very poor as usual. Ireland? Well, they are in sharp decline, but that has been the class since the latter galf of 2007. Wales are the better side in the 6 Nations, but they, like England, are overrated. The standard of rugby in the 6 Nations ventured from shocking to embarrassing.

As for Lawes. He was tested and found wanting. Massive hits were not seen against the Boks as he was simply smashed and pounded into dust. Ball in hand, yes he likes to run a bit. All to no avail though. Looks like a poor man's Bekker, which isn't saying very much really. He is a loss to them though, but only because of the scant quality amongst their ranks. Gone are the days when England produced bruising forwards.