Solid win by the Boks

Professional perfomance by the Boks. Credit where credit's due, Matfield prescience made us a lot calmer than last week and this is coming from one of his biggest critics.

Positives:

- Etzebeth was massive
- Better at scrum time than a couple weeks ago
- Very good at lineout time, winning a couple against throw (kudos to Matfield)
- Habana looked the liveliest he's been in a while- Lambie was calm and solid, making the right decisions

Negatives:

- We got into good positions but couldn't finish of the moves. - Need to get De Allende and Kriel involved more
Shouldn't get too carried away with this but it's an improvement . 

This is just my take on the game

Fair take Deddy. Just as the Durban game didn't mean our WC chances were doomed, this doesn't mean all the issues are resolved. HM has a lot of contradictory evidence to sift through, but his instinct to bring in some of the old warriors and tilt towards the traditional Bok style is welcome.  

 Very true, Moz. It was a nice mix of youth and experience. Add in Willie, Vermeulen, Louw and I thinking thats what Meyer is seeimh ae he's starting 15 at the WC. What did you make of Lambie? I know you're not his biggest fan, but I think he added a lot more calm to our game than Pollard recently. In saying that though, I think Pollard has the higher ceiling.

 World cups tend to be won by tough guys at 10....Larkham, Wilkinson and Butch come to mind. It wasn't true of the ABs in 11, perhaps  that's what gave France a chance.
With  Lambie, the pattern seems to be he comes back...plays well for a few games and then starts becoming hesitant. Witness the YE tour. 

So I very much doubt he can lead the Boks to a WC win....to me he is more of a bench player. That said the ask with Pollard the last few matches was too much...he was expected to play expansive rugby without front foot ball.  I think he has to be given a simpler game plan and told to dial it back a bit. Most of his errors came  from being over ambitious.

 Congrats to the Boks ,I couldnt see them playing that badly twice in a row .

 I think the Boks have been able to experiment more leading up to the RWC. They have tried the expansive game plan & now also their traditional game plan. The latter will be critical in the RWC. This game was what the doctor ordered for the Boks, finally a win that will give confidence & another set of players tested & more prepared.