This must have been one of the best matches played in South Africa for years. the game was outstanding as a result of -
* spectacular all round performances by both forwards and backs;
* excellent reading of the game and hard running by the backline players, line breaks and breaking of tackles coupled to a number of excellent off-loads of balls in tackle situations;
* top class linking between the loosies and the backline players in attack;
* strong and very effective forwards displays; and
* very good defense
The latter would be disputed by people in view of the very high scoreline of 63-33 by which the Shimlas won the game - but the scoreline was supported by the above performances scenario in a free-flowing game. The Shimlas scored 9 tries - 6 of which were converted - a converted try counting 8 points in this competition. The Pukke scored 4 tries - 3 of which were converted, plus 2 converted penalties (4 points). Four of the Shilas tries were scored in the last 20 minutes of the game - before that the score lines were fairly equal.
The question is why is it so impossible for our Super 15 teams - and even the Springboks - to show the ball skills shown by the Shimlas and Pukke yesterday?
