So where are the Boks after yesterday….

We once again demonstrated that we are the biggest threat to the ABs. We don’t have all their attacking weapons but we have the physicality, set pieces, defence and breakdown strengths to nullify those skills. So we end up with a draw….these games were 50/50.

Oddly we contrived to lose against Oz. But there are some good reasons….Australia in Kerevi had a player who could dominate the midfield and in Hooper a much better fetcher than the ABs fielded. Then also Cooper played a mature game at 10….in a similar situation that the ABs bungled with phase play at the death,  Cooper hoofed the ball down field and challenged the Boks to win from their 22. The ABs blew the game as much as we blew the first match….50/50.

There is a chance if Oz are smart enough to welcome Skelton back in the fold to join the mountain Tupou that they may be the more formidable competitor at the WC. The AB forwards behind the Whitelock/Retallik generation look very ordinary. Nor are their inside backs that impressive. Every AB scrum was creaking and they had to resort to tricks at the lineouts.

What of the Boks? Well we showed yesterday we didn’t need Harrassmiss on the park to play our best game. Nienaber has handled adversity with considerable class and brought his team back from a near disaster. The most important thing about yesterday’s game was that he has established himself. Hopefully Harrassmiss stays in South Africa working on …er…development systems.

In terms of tactics yesterday showed more bullets are better. It also showed that our backs can handle, given the license. Am’s pass would have graced Spencer, but I was more impressed by Nkosi actually being alert enough to take it and draw the defender.

We can run, sidestep, dummy, pass and offload. We need a backline coach that helps us institutionalize those things.

But ……this is huge….we can’t allow that to negate or diminish our other skills….defence, the kick rush, the breakdown. The rush defence totally negated Mo’unga yesterday…just as it crushed Ford in the WC. We can’t lose that.  In the past we have swung from one extreme to the other, tearing up existing strengths in the process.

Yesterday was close to how we should play, but we do need to move the ball in a more slick way in the backline. And we need our forwards to learn how to offload. The Bools are doing that…..Snyman may be the best offloading tight forward in the game. We can learn how to do this rather than dying with the ball.

We also need forward carrying power. We saw Bongi running with power yesterday. We have relied far too long on locks….Dud Toit, Mostert, Etzebeth and Lomp to be our primary carriers. They can’t do it. None of them break tackles and they never offload. They are dead options simply extending the phases. One power ball carrier who breaks the first tackle would add huge momentum to our efforts.

If we can add those skills…use the box kick at the right time and as a ruse the opponent always has to resource against, we have a chance of really becoming world number one.

I got a message from an ex US Eagles player yesterday after the game praising the Boks play. I take that as a good sign, let’s hope we don’t regress again. The next two years could be great ones for Bok rugby.

"Nkosi actually being alert enough to take it anddraw the defender."

That was nice indeed...there is life in the Boks still.

So where is Moz after yesterday. Under a mountain of EGG 

Hahahahahaahahahahahahahaha

Rassie I am sure spent hours trying to help Nienaber. Not as good as having him present but everything helps. Nienaber has always been an assistant to Rassie and this is still the case. This set up allows Rassie to use his tremendous organizational skills to the benefit of SA Rugby.

As for Saturday's game it was not much different to the way the Boks played against England. But at that point the Boks got scant praise from our duo. Hahahahahahahaha

Imagine this side with the world class Du Toit at 7,  Snyman at lock and Kolbe back on the wing.

While Mozzzz and the Org where putting the knife into the Boks and Rassie we see now that the Boks are not imploding and its not time to chuck out Rassie and Nienaber. 

It could help Mozzz and the Org if they also considered that the Boks only needed 6 more points to win the RWC. 3 in the first test against Oz and 3 in the first test against the wee abs. But no these losses opened the door to mean, daft attacks. 

There is work to be done as no side is the finished article. But trashing the Boks and Rassie/Nienaber even when they had won the RC, the RWC, and a Lions series was absurd.

We wish the duo a speedy recovery!

I wasn't actually that impressed with our attack. New Zealand have defensive issues and mentally weren't as up for the game as we were. There are still selection issues and weaknesses in the gameplan. We wanted this test more and that was enough, but we are still the team who finished third in the RC and who occupy last place in pretty much all attacking statistics. When New Zealand were putting some phases together, we folded as usual. Defence is still a problem. The win will alleviate pressure and buy time, but an overhaul is still required.