Rassie is pissing me off

Rassie is a brillant, best ever Springbok coach/manager according to some folks on this board.

So what is the problem?

Nothing wrong in including Nico for the test and collecting a Springbok jersey for the effort.

Perhaps it is a family connection, a friend that is being rewarded for his rugby skills.

Remember the Stormers hooker who eventually earned a Springbok jersey coming off the bench in the dying minutes of a test.

Nothing new........

Just suck it up guy.

I think a lot of people have blind spots…..

His is very strange, given you need to be rebuilding with youthful players. 

Basically what you are saying Dave is you believe in the Genius when he agrees with you. I don’t suffer from that problem…..he did exactly what I asked for when he went back to Bok forward power and defense. And I gave him generous credit after our 2019 WC final win. Which is still, by far, the best game an Eluckmiss team has played. .

But when he failed to kick on from there and build the attacking facets of our game leading to 3 lucky one point wins in France, I had no problem pointing it out.

What he is doing is so obvious. Making weird selections which nobody else expected, knowing the core team and bench is good enough to fix the problem if necessary. This makes him look prescient and the opposition look worse.

He’s your guy..stop whining.

"... our 2019 WC final win. Which is still, by far, the best game an Eluckmiss team has played.."

I understand what you're trying to say, but our best match under Rassie was the 2023 Semi final vs France...one of the best matches of Rugby ever played...certainly one of the best matches I've ever seen.

It was a Quarter Final….the semi was the awful game against England. The game against France was certainly the most enjoyable test, but we played best in the wc2019 final.

The French match was perhaps our luckiest win. France had over 60% of possession and territory, gained more than 100 meters more than the Boks. Beat 43 defenders  to our 12.

We scored 3 excellent tries but against the run of play and one pressure try by Etzebeth. Pollard made the kicks. It was a bit of a miracle winning that test, France blew it.

Actually I agree in part. With 3 one point wins, there probably were factors other than luck, that secured the WC. Probably the fact that this team had done it before helped. They kept their nerve, France and England clearly didn’t. The age of the team, north of 30 helped, this was a mature team. And the fact that Pollard had ice in his veins was obviously a ‘necessary condition’.

Tactical innovations…..sure the scrum after the mark. But nothing that rises to the level of match winning. The team was well prepared and the defense was clearly the best in the tournament. But no better than 2019. Four years passed with basically the same tactics and the same team.

Why did that work, it really shouldn’t in a competitive rugby world. The problem is the ABs continued to decline, Oz continued to decline, England continued to decline. Ireland was probably about the same and France was clearly better,

In aggregate I’d say if we didn’t get better, neither did our opponents.and so it was a kind of 2019 redux where we remained just a smidgin better than our opponents.

I understand what you're trying to say, but our best match under Rassie was the 2023 Semi final vs France...one of the best matches of Rugby ever played...certainly one of the best matches I've ever seen.

I disagree. The first 20 or 30 minutes was pretty good, breathless stuff. Then the game degenerated into largely France launching ineffective lateral attack on ineffective lateral attack and the Boks just tackling them to death. It was busy stuff from France, but it wasn't good stuff - 80s helter skelter against a modern defence and they never changed the tune. For the Boks it was another defensive shutout of a dominant side. We didn't make much play at all.

I was at the edge of my seat for the whole match...intense stuff of two top sides throwing everything at each other...we might have been better in the final vs the Poms, but it was less spectacular because England could never get close.

I'm not good at dissecting matches after the fact. I'm more intuitive...I go with my gut...It spoils the game for me if I look too close, I leave that part of the game for you guys...you are particularly good at it, so I'll take your opinion seriously...

"Best" in context(GPT) ...

Coach - Biggest winning margin:

Moz is spot on when it comes to the performance relative to importance of the match. The Springboks completely outplayed England, and the final scoreline reflected that dominance. The significant margin essentially made the latter stages of the game a mere formality. Sure, England might have been feeling the effects of their bruising encounter with the All Blacks, but the reality is, you can only beat the team that's in front of you. The Boks did that emphatically, leaving no room for doubt about who was the superior side on the day.

Fan - High scoring match with a close finish:

No brainer for me, this one has it all. There's something special about a match where both teams are going toe-to-toe, trading tries and points, keeping everyone on the edge of their seats. It's the kind of game that captures the essence of rugby—intensity, skill, and that heart-stopping suspense right until the final whistle. The outcome hanging in the balance until the very end, is what makes these matches unforgettable.

Both matches were great to watch...as was the practice match at Twickers vs the Allblacks...these are the good times!!!

PS...the French at home in a full stadium in their home RWC, vs the Poms in Japan.

Like I said, Rassie picks players who played under him at the Stormers or part to the Cheetahs, it is his default. Better the guy you know than the guy you don't. 

Probably going to be a 50/50 series in SA against NZ

No worries Draad, you're free to enjoy what you enjoy. We all look through different eyes. It was a good game spectacle wise, but even during the game (I see in my live comments I called the game "loose and frantic") I could see that France was throwing it away with the unstructured way they were using their avalanche of possession.

Ou mozzietard trying to revise history. The tard was highly critical of Rassie in 2019 as he has always been. Very consistently anti Rassie. He also trashed Du Toit and Allende as well. Du Toit was IRB player of the year on 2019. What a spectacular blunder

Dave is correct Rassie isn't perfect. There has never been or ever will be a perfect coach. But he is one heck of a g ood coach as history has proven. 

I agree this lock selection is problematic. 

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Now that was what we were asking for. Not the dull tactics that barely won the Welsh test, but a softening up followed by some excellent running rugby. Perhaps the Welsh test was a rope a dope tactic, or perhaps Rassie realized we had to take a few chances.

The test was won with the massive defensive stand in the first half.....and by the Beast's total destruction of Coles. He did it in  the British Lions series as well. So many questioned his selection ahead of Kitshoff, but he is the best loosehead in the game.

Vermeulen was, however, the rightful man of the match. Massive brave runs, secure kickoff receptions.....unmoveable on the deck. And there were those who wanted a Deysel twin.

Losing Lomp for Mostert, was no problem either, as Mostert was huge in the goal line defence.

Big games also by Etzebeth, Malherbe, and even Kolisi. 

And really all the backs were good today. Allende was solid apart from a bad miss on May in the English in  goal. Am showed great touch in the Mapimpi try. And while Kolbe's try was huge, even better was his  smother tackle on Lawes when England had a big overlap. Willie found his mojo  with one smart early break and fine general fullback play.

But defence was the core of this win.....England, who made a huge mistake playing Ford against this Bok defence, simply had no clue what to do by the second half. They needed Farrell at 10 and Tuilagi at 12. But by the time they made the switch, the Boks were dominant

I was delighted that we were able to score two fine tries to underscore the win.....something we were criticized for not doing in our other WCs. Scoring those tries provided the high the crowd needed.

Our return to success has come  from a rejection of the expansive game and a return to traditional Bok rugby.....with massive defence and physicality. But while last week's performance was dull and risk averse.......today we added the second bit......subdue and then penetrate!

Well done Rassie that was a master  class. If the Boks stick with this formula we can get back to where we were before our banning.....top 

Apologize HasBeen if you have any sense of fair play.