18 months before the 2011 WC I predicted a final eliminating NZ and predicting a clash between SA and Les Bleus in NZ...it's documentated...but dear old Brycy stuffed it up...genuine. NZ however won and really deserved it...but WC's are a diiferent ball game.
Seb
I spent an enormous amount of money and went to France for the 2007 WC. Well wroth it. However, when I saw what was happening in the Springbok set up with their huge list of has-beens I lost interest and would not go to New Zealand to watch - despite Bryce Lawrence - they would not have made it, I gave them no chance in the WC
Bean Brain this looks like the Bring Back Brycy the Bokkillas home page and you know Brycy loves to watch the fat boys dance...
...oh the WC memories of Samoa smashing the boks are still fresh in the mind and it was fun to watch the rugged Samoans running roughshod over your pretty boys.
From memory Wales also dominated the boks in pool play but ironically it was dodgy officiating that cost Wales and Samoa their games against the Springboks .
A real travesty of justice. But these teams took it like real men.
So as you can see leading up to the game against Australia, SA were extremely lucky to have the rub of the green and the Springboks mediocrity was exposed for all to see.
As ou maiaaikie points out although a little harshly 'they were'nt even worth watching.'
On another post he talks about 'too many geriatrics in the WC bok team"
Others here have said they were a bunch of inept and incompetent blowhards.
Bean Brain it's probably about now you need time to go feed your guide dog .
One must also draw Bok fans to the fact that up to this point Australia had emphatically imposed their dominance over SA by winning the last 5 out of 6 games.
So statistically at the time Arstralia were the superior side and clear favourites to win anyway.
The game itself from memory Burger got away with murder .The boks lost simply because they could'nt turn possession into points. Australia had the same problem on Saturday.
Some say Super Yarpie baboon Bismark should have started ahead of Smit so blame PDV.
Does'nt matter though as NZ would have kicked your yarpy butts anyway.
In actual fact Brycy the Great did SA a big favour helping them to save face and giving them a convenient excuse for their plethora of inadequacies . Something you can milk for 4 years playing the victim card so i know secretly you're all thanking Brycy the Magnificent in your prayers each night before bedtime.
You see the truth Bean Brain is since 2009 South Africa has'nt been able to beat NZ , at Eden Park since 1936 and yet some silly yarpies seem to suffer from the same delusionional disorder in thinking that SA is somehow justifiably worthy and deserved of the title of World Champions .
So before you fall off your unicorn just remember, you're not World Champions unless you can demonstrate some supremacy on a regular basis.
Keep taking notes though as you're learning from the best and you can't beat the free masterclasses the ABs are providing for all the wannabe champions...
Wardad
Please - we do not want another Bryce Lawrence discussion on the board. Beeno will have a burst artery if he gets provoked again. I am not really one to point fingers - but Lawrence was a gross incompetent and he was scrapped from the test referee list because of incompetence. Came back on Super 15 level and the result was a near seizure by Blackadder - he buggered up a game involving the Crusaders. He afterwards quit reffing and was made head of Referee coaching in New Zealand.
Is the latter why New Zealand is producing such a limited no of refs that made it onto the IRB test panel? You cannot have a gross incompetent in the position Bryce Lawrence is in and expect quality refs coming through. Be it as it may - Beeno will imply he crooked the 2011 Wallabies - Springbok game to get them out of the competition - I don't think he did - he was incompetent and that was enough.
Well to solve the question...I had France to win against the Boks but I also had France to win. My logic was simple...I smelt trouble in Pool A when France was having to play NZ twice...I presumed the first game to be a riot of revenge with the AB's having a big victory but if France had a second bite of the cherry they could throw their proverbial surprise...because the Frenchman are known for this...one day below standard the next day brilliant...this is not a myth we saw them lose against Tonga but that is often a red herring with French rugby and every great team that plays them has an inbuilt fear...will they fire or won't they. They will always when the pressure is on and they do this at WC level...how unlucky they were at Kings Park in the Semi against us when the rain came down. At the end of the day SA was eliminated unfairly by the worst reffing ever recorded...by Bryce Lawrence and not by the cheating Pocock and the blind ref...the truth came out later...the ref of the tournament was later axed from the higher level of rugby...no more reffing jobs in the Super Series...how the hell do you explain this logic...a total farce...an indication that guilt was only felt later once the cat was in the bag. A very sad day for rugby. The final between Les Bleus and the hosts was also marred with doubt and I don't blame the Frenchmen for feeling hard done by...Craig Joubert is an ethical man but I believe he took the wrong strategy to ref a very difficult game...Trinh Duc's miss (I don't Yachvili would have missed) would have caused havoc in NZ.
Afterall in fairness NZ's outstanding record deserved the win but the paradox is that is not how WC's are won or justified...a one point margin certainly is not convincing...I often wonder what the reactions would have been if France had won in NZ...it would have left both Austr and SA with 2 wins each, NZ, Eng and France with one. This would have had a huge impact on rugby accolades and status...unjustly in the wider sense ofcourse because NZ has and is the best in the world but WC's give an extra spice or essence to rugby.
Hakwa
I am not the one to convince about the 2011 WC campaign of the Springboks - I said they had the wrong team to ever win the trophy - far too many rugby geriatrics in that squad. That is why in fact I did not bother to go to New Zealand to see them playing.
It is also the reason why - looking at the 2015 WC - I am shouting and screaming for some minor changes to the team. We cannot go into that campaign with the losers who bedevilled the 2011 campaign. Wholesale changes are not needed - we need some adjustments only - and I have identified 5 weak links in the team - Kirchner, Morne Steyn, Alberts, Kruger and Jannie du Plessis.
I hope Meyer gets it right and then we will see how next year CR goes.
Seb, whoever said a one point win was convincing? It certainly wasn't but a win's still a win.
The French find it very difficult playing two top games in succession.
1987- Great win in semi vs Australia but failed to fire in Final
1999- Amazing comeback to beat ABs in semi but lame ducks vs Australia in Final
2007- Another great comeback to beat ABs in quarters but dismal effort vs Poms in
in semi when they had home advantage
2011- Bumbled their way to a close win vs 14 man Wales in semi but fought every inch
of the way vs ABs in Final.
All any team can hope for is they don't come up against the French in a knockout game
during a RWC when they have played poorly in their previous match!!
moolaa
Well said - the French are unpredictable - and that remains a fact of their rugby history. Take for instance last year against the Wallabies - they took them to the cleaners - and the selfsame team beat England a week later. The 6 Nations played two to three months later - and they were the pits - losing even against Italy of all teams.
