Predictions: Boks vs Oz

Boks by 10

32 - 22

OZ by 6..................... 29-23

ABs  33   -  Argie  21

Boks by 10-15. 

What Moola said.

It's a tad ambitious, and would depend on how free the Wallabies are on defence. We should be beating the worst ever Wallabies by about 10 to 15, and if they are really have a mare on defence with free space, then more can be on the cards. I do stress, it would have to be freely given! If they sit back and let the Boks run at them, they'll be making their lives more difficult. The Boks like running at a passive defence. Especially with wings that hang back outside the edge defender. That's where the stat padding occurs. 

A Springbok pack is always a formidable unit to challenge especially at Loftus. However Jones knows that only too well and is a sly old fox. He has always been a coach that loves new challenges and I think he just overstayed his time in England and I suspect he got bored there eventually. He brought Japanese rugby to a new level. He is Australian (and Japanese) and knows and understands Aussies and what sparks them. He is back on his own turf and I believe has risen to the challenge to prove his coaching prowess. Nothing will really surprise me. Too many aspects to these teams in early stages to be sure of. Lots to settle.

It could go either way but I’m going with 5-7 points to Wallabies this time as this is a relatively new team at least in combinations and it depends if it fits together under pressure and I will be pleased if I’m wrong. The Aussies are tough bunch and I think they will roll up their sleeves and give it a good go.

I wouldn't say always. Our scrum isn't that impressive, and our physicality on the line has been consistently weak. We are bossed on the gainline game after game. We like to gang tackle, we don't defend strongly individually. If teams insist on playing linearly through the channels, our defence looks a lot more solid than it is. If they space us out and start offloading, we look heavily fragmented. Our fitness is an issue. I've seen out patterns breakdown as the game progresses as players struggle to keep up with the pace and stay in sync. It really depends on what the Wallabies dish up. When they weren't blown off the field with fantasy calls by player 16 last year, they absolutely ripped us apart. That was an injury depleted Wallaby side, and the worst of all time! I wouldn't get to comfy if I were the Boks. Go out there and really hammer them on the line. Thankfully Esterhuizen is there, and he has been the key man in two Wallaby victories, and the reason we won the abbreviated competition in 2019. The only man I have ever seen stop Kerevi in his tracks and totally shut down the entire attacking game of a Wallaby team singlehandedly. I think he can do it again. He is also the best distributor of all our backs in SA, and that gives the outside unit more options. I just hope he isn't forced into another deep lying role like every other test. Watch every other test he has played in, by the ball comes his way, he is 20m behind the gainline with a swarm of defenders in his face. Whereas Damian gets flatter ball more quickly and does absolutely nothing with it. I'm quite bored of Damian getting dumped on his crash balls. The sight of him being dumped even when supported by Wiese was especially damming. 

Always, I mean, in the psychological sense, in the minds of opposition sides and fans and yes sometimes not so in practical reality.

Yes, I've always been a big fan of Andre Esterhuizen and was often mystified why it has taken so long for his rightful recognition and I really hope he has a good game and prove his worthiness. .

Meyer carved out a role for Damian, and that has been the model ever since. Interestingly, Damian's best season has been 2017! Esterhuizen is a real 12, and Damian is a hybrid 12/wing. I met him in 2015, a very nice guy off the field. I quite like him as a person, but as a 212, he is a disaster.  

Bok win by 7 points put a be on Spingboks and Al Blacks win.     

I suspect underneath this clash is not so much the players but the battle of the coaches...we have all seen how coaches rally their forces to create wins, never forget Kitch Christie who pulled off a fluke win, by Joels opportunist drop kick, the bulk of the work was done by the team to contain their not so secret weapon, Jonah Lomu but the opportunistic pot shot by Stransky was the nail in the coffin...we won the WC but we were not better than the 1995 NZ side. NZ was outwitted. But competitive rugby always relies on improvising coaches to outwit their opponents.

The Bok's big win was against the Wallabies. That was the make or break of that 1995 WC campaign. That set the tone. It was no fluke either. Kitch was a man manager who had a very loaded team. 

I remember that well, I was at Newlands...all the hype about David Campese, one of the greatest matches of all time...cracked the ice.