Springboks vs England - Bok team announced - Why Ivan van Zyl?

15  Damian Willemse, 14  S’bu Nkosi, 13  Jesse Kriel, 12  Damian de Allende, 11  Aphiwe Dyantyi, 10  Handre Pollard, 9  Ivan van Zyl, 8  Warren Whiteley, 7  Duane Vermeulen, 6  Siya Kolisi (c), 5  Pieter-Steph du Toit, 4  Eben Etzebeth, 3  Frans Malherbe, 2  Malcolm Marx, 1  Steven Kitshoff

whats so funny?

I am in general happy with the team - but am not sure about Van Zyl.  Have serious doubts about the backline replacements as well and with reason.   The third English test in June was a nightmare with Jantjies at 10 and Esterhuizen at 12.   Bad combination. 

Quite frankly I hope they are not us ed.    

@mike

I called for Jantjies head a while ago, but i must say, I would like to see him have an outing or 2 with HP outside of him.

I have a feeling it may be like chemistry, where one partical is only properly activated when combined with another. (please lay off the science insults, its just an analogy)

Chippo

Sorry - but for one reason I disagree with you.   Maybe the defense in Wellington played a role in what you wrote - but I am not convinced that it will work again in future.

Both Jantjies and Pollard can be rated as poor defenders at 10 and I do not really trust them in defending in the channel and as a combination slightly wider out as well.       

JW

Nobody is happy with the BR - but politics play a role and I think that it will improve with time.    

Whiteley can play it out the back. Steph will do the same, so too Eben, Kits and Marx. We have options. I was expecting Lood to start. Certainly wasn't expecting Duane at 7. Not that bad in the forwards, Kolisi aside. 

The backline is a huge gamble. Willemse at 15 is the first such gamble. Damian is deadwood. Which Kriel will we get? I'm happy we got Van Zyl, but he won't be Faf. We all knew that, so no surprises.

It's a shame André isn't starting, but at least he is on the bench. Rassie is been tremendously poor in his Handling of our centres. He deserves squad full of Jorrie Mullers as punishment.

I'll still back the Boks to win, but that backline doesn't look like it'll control the game. With the power we have up front, there is ultimately no excuse for a loss. Van Zyl provides a steadier service and boot than Papier. It makes more sense to start him. 

Senior player

2115 posts

Which Kriel will we get?

Let's just hope Dan Kriel is not hiding in the luggage and trying to get his first test. Although thinking about it, they do not really look that much alike even though they are supposed to be identical twins. Or is the alter ego Jesse or Jessica going to start.

Ag foeitog - AO is having hallucinations again - he has clearly forgotten how really poor Esterhuizen was in the third English test in June  or pretended he did not see how poor his tackling in fact was.

Let me remind him again - Esterhuizen made 4 tackles in the game but missed 3 attempted tackles,   A missed tackle ratio of 42.9% is totally unacceptable for a professional rugby player.

But then he likes that type of MTR and Jantjies had a  33,3% MTR that day.  The two were defensive sieves that day,  Combined they made 6 tackles and missed 4  for a MTR of 40%

Happy dreamworld AO = beware you may wake up one day and fond out you were dead wrong about virtually every rugby issue discussed on this site,

Dave

To be quite frank I would rather have seen Lood de Jager at lock and Du Toit at 7 - with Vermeulen at 8, but I think Erasmus would rather phase De Jager in after a 6 months absence from the game.  

I am worried about Vermeulen.   Indications are that he virtually had no rugby since June and we all know what happened in the June tests - two top games in a row followed by a blow-out in the third test.  I doubt whether there is not a fitness question around?   Wish Coetzee was in the squad - at l east we will have a better loosie than we have at present.  

Louw should be nowhere in sight as well.

Gee wizz its not much of a game is it ? Not enough All Blacks in it 

Hope your boys give the arrogant poms a nice kick up the arse 

Ambrose comes off the bench during SR and is given game time in some really tough matches.

Logically Van Zyl should start against England.

Makes no sense.

Mozart

Do you understand rugby at all?    I explained in detail how our line-outs deteriorated with physical defective players at 5 insofar as rolling mauls are concerned - both in forming of and defense against rolling mauls.   

You missed it that the only fairly successful rolling mauls this year occurred when the line-outs went to Du Toit and that Mostert is not able to execute such action effectively.   From your response  it was clear you missed the plot completely in that regard.

I would rather have Du Toit calling the line-outs than having Mostert calling them.   One of the problems with the selection of Vermeulen and Whiteley is that both are not leaving us with a third line-out option.   Whiteley used to be quite good in line-outs - but he has the same problem as Mostert insofar as line-outs are concerned,  since competition in the air became a problem preventing attacking mauls following  line-outs near the goalline, where Marx often used to score tries.

Try and avoid your player dislikes and think about what happens in games.  

Rassie has picked a very mobile starting 15 with what looks to have sufficient physical clout. He can increase the physicality by moving Duane to eight and Du Toit 7, bringing on Lood or Snyman at lock - very powerful pack.

Rassie knows England will try again to spread the ball wide and build up an early lead. Warren and Whitely provide cover out wide.

The backs are as good as he could have picked without Faf and Willie, prefer Van Zyl to pedestrian Schreuder.

You cant fault Rassie on his selections. Now its up to the players. Warren and Duane provide the real leadership. Kolisi is purely a figurehead captain to appease the anc.

Boks to win by 10 or more.