Rassie has some difficult choices to make.

It was evident that the intensity in the starting 15 was not there as it was in tbe French game. Mallet noted this and said line speed was down and showed clips where Bok players were running slowly back to support the player taking the highball. 

I noted a while back that Kitshof looked a bit jaded. Others in the pack who have played a lot are Bongi, Malherbe and Vermulen. Mostert and Du Toit have played a lot but have big engines.

So I think Rassie needs to swop things around. 

Starting front row should be Ox, Fourie and Koch. Give Kitshof Bongi and Malherbe the last 30 minutes. I think they would do a good job. 

Eben needs to play 80 minutes against NZ. start with Eben and Mostert. Bring Snyman on after around 45 minutes. 

Start with Wiese and Kwagga  and again bring Vermulen and Kolisi on for last 30.

That means a 6 _2 split. However given thst Kwagga can play in the backline it's not as risky as you might think. 

You could of course not have a, replacement for Kwagga. Meaning a 5-2 split. 

We have to get on top in the forwards.

In the backs two definite changes I would make are to drop Reinach. This guy is simply too passive. Replace him with Grant Williams. The other change I would effect is to drop Arendse and put in Moodie. Moodie is just as quick but is more creative and covers. 12.

I think Kriel is extreme fit so he should be okay. If Allende is taking tbe strain maybe Esterhuizen comes in. 

So depending on the bench split you can have Williams, Libok and Willemse. Start perhaps Faf, Pollard and Willie.

Rassie will have to assess where each player is. 

One thing is for sure. If Rassie rearranges the Bok side and loses he will cop. a lot of flack from you know who. If he sticks with the same side and loses he will cop a lot of flack from you know who. 

If we win the RWC again under Rassie it will be pure luck. The anti Rassie and tbe Boks brigade will be inconsolable should we win. 

As it stands now the Wee abs appear to have peaked at the right time. Our guys having had the harder battles are looking a little jaded and hence the suggested changes. 

The lineouts faltered when it was decided to throw the ball way back to the tail of the lineout. Easy fix. 

Marx was really missed against England. 

Agree, Rassie can't start the same team three weeks in a row. This is what I've said in a below post.

"Boks as I feared looked flat, low on energy hence the reason they were dominated for most of the game by an average English side with a simple kicking strategy."

Energy is the least of the problems. The Boks haven't won a gainline battle in almost every test since 2021. What's been done about it? So many excuses. The Boks will never reach their potential until they are held accountable. The free reign Erasputin, a water boy at best, is given will only ever. 

Poor old Deus has become the Boards laughing stock. 

It a started with Mozzz. He decided he didn't like Erasmus for some weird reason. Rassie was captaining and coaching The Cheetahs. Mozz began his vendetta. Mildly enough. However Rassie as the Player coach won the Currie Cup so poor Mozzz  had his noze put out of joint and he was mocked for his trashing of Rassie. 

Mozzz, his bruised ego leading the way upped his  criticisms of Rassie. However With Rassie as coach won the Currie Cup again!. The Cheetahs had this eon 2 of their 3 Currie Cups with Rassie as coach. 

Mozzz ego was even bruised. 

Rassie went off the the Stormers and the Stormers reached their only Super Rugby final.  Mozzz was sniping form the sidelines. 

I am not sure when Alucard joined in with Mozzz but by the time 2019 RWC came along these two were virulently anti Rassie and becoming anti Boks as well. The Boks just must win with Rassie as coach as thst made them look like the Rugby dimwits they are. 

So they spent the 2019 RWC teasing Rassie, trashing Du Toit and trashing Allende. They thought Bok rubgy was useless. Boks played the game all wrong etc. 

But the Boks eon the RWC, WON coach of the year, team of the year and Du Toit was named player of tbe year. 

Incredibly these puffed up jacking pops their ego now shattered began to hate Rassie even more and their hopes for the Boks crashing intensified. It was becoming utterly disgraceful. 

Deus now was beside himself. Considering himself to be way beyond Rassie or anybody else for thst matter on matters oertsini g yo rugby he bold trumpeted how the Boks were a side with a glass jaw and and a soft underbelky. This was the worst Bok side ever and Rassie the worst coach ever. 

With the Boks in difficulties against England he was having a field day trashing the Boks only to have the wind taken out if his sakes as the Boks magnificently rallied to come back and win the game. 

Has any coach won two Rugby World Cups. If not nobody has done better than Rassie as he has one RWC  and has made a final. 

So what can we expectfrom these two anti Bok buffoons. Well if we lose to the wee abs they will be all over the boards screaming hysterically how Bad the Boks were and how bad the coach is. That is a given. 

If we win the RWC they will down play the win, and will trash Rassie regardless. 

People talk about Trump derragement syndrome and rightly so as the lefts criticism of the great man are obviously totally unhinged. But in all my time on any rugby board nothing compares to the drivel these two blowhards have come up with. NOTHING. 

The Cheetahs played Cheetah ball, which had nothing to do with Rassie in the Currie Cup. Where did Rassie take the Cheetahs in Super Rugby? Not very good was it? That with an excellent backline coach who proved his worth once the dead wood was gone.

Erasputin always leaned on his servile assistant to provide the core of the model, but this cycle, Erasputin has made life hard for Nienaber by filling the team with turnstyles. This is the softest Bok side in all the years I've been following them. This is the worst prepared Bok side in a WC of all time. The 2019 side was mediocre, but at least there was a clear mediocre plan.

There is no tangible evidence or record of Erasmus coaching well. Nothing good can be separated from the work Nienaber put in place. Erasmus is a snake oil salesman. An oaf. As I've come to understand, South Africa is a land of oafs who will only accept other oafs. 

Bwahahahahaha Doos doing down on stupid. Expected nothing less. 

Harrassmiss should buy Ox a  Mercedes.

Erasmus should be locked in a dungeon. This vile cretin should never see the light of day again. 

Bit harsh….how about house arrest in Despatch.

Close enough 

Absolute rubbish. Rassie's choices are not difficult at all

Option 1: Play real rugby. Show a tiny bit of ambition and faith in the players and allow the ball to go down the backline at least once in a game.

Option 2: Carry on playing this predictable, one-dimensional and puerile brand of "rugby" where you just hoof every ball you get into the heavens and hope the opposition receiver drops it or you get a lucky bounce.

Those are his choices. It's not a hard de cision at all . . .but we all know he's going to stick with option 2.

"Absolute rubbish"? Not quite. 

Take your option 1. for example "......allow the ball to go down the backline at least once in a game."

We both know that's never going to happen, it's never happened in the past so why would it happen in a WC final specially so with a deadend centre pairing of De Allende and Kriel. And if by chance or miracle the ball does go down the line, what then? Do you honestly believe those two are wired for running rugby? Don't think so. So the obvious change is to substitute them with AE and CM. The problem as I see it that Erasmus is stuck in 1960's Bok rugby and can't see the wood for the trees in regards to the talent and skill at his disposal and neither does any of his assistant coaches. Fact is they cannot and never have coached running rugby. Getting rid of the Dead-end centre pairing is where it starts, it is change and for what it's worth the players write their own playbook.

But that's not the only changes needed if my theory that the Boks were lethargic and need a change of fresh legs is correct. Bok strengths have been neutralized, no longer can we depend on the rolling maul, lineouts and scrum as an advantage. It's only our scrum that's weaponized but only in the second half of the game ......well then weaponize the scrum, start with Ox and Nykane and bench the Gingerman and Malherbe. Give yourself a fighting chance, for what it's worth milk the penalties.....stay in the game as opposed to chasing it in a final. Ideally and I mean ideally  I would  start Fourie and Kwagga but that won't happen unless Captain DoesNothing cops an injury or something that puts him out of the game. And finally, I would start the best lock pairing in world rugby......Snyman and Etzebeth. Think Rassie is up for it? I know you don't and I wouldn't bet on it .

Go Bokke!