Boys coming home

Would like them to win but it ain't gonna happen.

Have had some time to process what's occurred thus far at this competition.

Sauron will select AE/Moodie to play Tonga.

Then he'll select DDA and Kriel for France.

Our backs will fail as a result and we'll be coming home after the French game.

We won't be gifted a plethora of scrum penalties against the French and their lineout won't offer us as many let-offs as the Irish did. They're gonna kick better than us and our backs are gonna flop with DDA and Kriel. Just like they did against the Irish...just like they always do when those two play.

Could be a totally different WC had we not brought 4 x 9s and more wingers than any team needs. Pollard was already injured coming in but we didn't see fit to perhaps bring another 10 to the WC, while knowing that Manie's kicking is shady. Nah...Faf, Willemse and Cheslin can kick for us, right? This after seeing what happened on the end of year tour last year.

Could have been totally different had we stuck with the dominant formulae that worked for us against all the sides we played before the WC, outside of those 20mins against NZ in NZ.

As I mentioned in another post, the Irish loss showed us exactly what we should do. It shone a light on what won't work for us in the knock-out stages.

I had hope that Sauron would see the light but the more I think about it, the more I realise that he's simply gonna double down.

Sad to say, but I don't think we're getting past the Frenchies.

Hopefully I'm worng.

Cheer up Plum, all is not lost! Can’t see how Du Pont can possibly function adequately with a mask on, especially as it can’t be made of a hard material. It’s therefore going to be bulky and surely impede his peripheral vision. I predict the Frog backline will therefore not function as it should and this will greatly enhance the Boks’ chances. This is of course dependent on a couple of things: 1. The pool positions playing out as expected. 2. Du Pont even fronting for the QFinal which I suspect he won’t.

Moola, the French will beat us without their first choices for 9 and 10...when Sauron doubles down on his selections and gameplan, as I'm now almost certain that he will.

Moodie was tested, succeeded, and dropped.

AE was tested, succeeded, and dropped.

Marx was the hero that the forwards rallied around. He's gone and his understudy...and his understudy's understudies, are a far cry from what what Marx offers.

We won't approach things with any measure of confidence against the French and will try to play territory for 60 minutes. We'll then chase the game in the final 20 and fall short.

That's how I see it going.

I seriously hope that I'm wrong and welcome all the egg in the world to land on my face. But that's what I see happening.

It' s as Moz says, there are two Bok teams. The one that backs itself and looks unbeatable, and the other one that screams "Our coach is petrified!". The latter will run out against France.

Doom and Gloom or Euphoria syndrome. 

Realistically we have a good chance if beating France but nothing is cast in stone. 

Nobody knows who will be selected. If you do name the team Rassie will select and let's see how right you are. 

I don't want it to be doom and gloom, Beeno.

I'd love for the Boks to win as much as everybody else here.

The side to face France will be identical to the one that played Ireland...with Pollard coming in for Manie.

We might bring Mapimpi in for Arendse and Duane will certainly replace Wiese.

That's all that'll I changes think will occur...but I hope it's not.

I hope we start with the same side that started against the ABs but with Pollard for Manie.

We might bring Mapimpi in for Arendse

What benefit is there in Mapimpi over Arendse?

"What benefit is there in Mapimpi over Arendse?"

Although Mapimpi is also not the best defender, he tends to do it a bit better than Arendse….he is bigger and has a bit more power runs in traffic …

It really looks to me that the camp is looking for Answers but just not finding them….we are almost in the Quarter,s and still don’t really know our A Team…to much swopping and changing for a so called settled Squad….The media is always loud about how we are not a 1 trick pony team, but what I see on field is a Team that instinctively always return to tight conservative Rugby.

Denny

I never said I'd pick Mapimpi ahead of Arendse.

It's just a change that I'm expecting to see.

Moolaa, the mask can be no thicker than 5mm. It’s quite a task trying to create it in the first place. 

5mm is pretty thick.

...as far as something like that goes.

Surely they's just scan his face and print one?

You would have thought so, but apparently not. 

So dangerous though.

I'd like to know just how severe the fracture is.

Canelo broke a boxer's orbital in a match some years back...guy needed half his face put back together with pins and plates.

One big wack in the face and he will be done

We won’t be coming home we are going to win this thing

They put a plate in it, Plum, so it must be pretty bad.

Also, how will it affect his game?

It's great to be brave and all but you really gonna go up against the Boks, in a crunch match, with a cracked face?

He may end up having a total howler of a game.

I know, it’s a huge risk. 

Or he may have a blinder :)

He might do. 

Got to wait and see  

My guess is Du Pont will play flat out….the tricky question is how the Boks handle it. The slightest  hint of anything illegal will result in a card.

This could be like the hurt tennis player being very hard to put away….takes his opponent out of the game.