We have a team approaching 31 years in age. Yesterday they looked fried. Kitshoff, Malherbe, Bongi, Kolisi, Dud Toit even Etzebeth dragging themselves from ruck to ruck.
And then we have a game plan where we make 20% more tackles and chase kicks all the time. These oupas were done by the final whistle. And now we have a day less of recovery than the ABs.
But I think the Boks will be up for the ABs….unlike England. That lack of motivation was the banana peal I warned about.
For Saturday the ABs are going to be flying. They were humiliated at Twickenham but have clawed their way back.
All this talk by noobs like HasBeen of wholesale changes in the team you can forget. Pollard may start, but don’t be surprised if the slim man does the opposite just to be clever.
The first ten minutes of this test will be vital…..the manne sweated blood to pull back 6 points on the Poms. Get a try or two behind against the ABs and it could be rough.
Our potential man of the match is de Groot. We have to exploit this relative weakness. Once we start winning scrum penalties it all falls into place.
2,348 posts
So, we had Libbok at 10, only to find Pollard was the right man all along. What of Esterhuizen at 12? Who was rewarded? What of Kwagga all year long? What of Snyman? What of Ox? So much of Willemse at 15, but we resort to the 12 year old formula of Willie at 15 to save the day. There's been so little development, and it's clear that the potatoes coaching this rabble won't budge from their trusted duds. Libbok, Kolisi, Steph, Faf, Damian, Arendse, Thor, Kits, Malherbe et al haven't looked world class all season long. They can count their blessings they were pushed to a final artificially, as these duds have never looked good enough at this level. It doesn't have to be this way though. A good coach who can evaluate talent and BUILD a team would have done much more. This cycle has been the easiest in the pro era, but we are consistently scraping the bottom of the barrel. Past Boks sides ajd coaches would have e eaten these teams alive! We should be dominant in a manner similar to classic All Black sides. We are weak in contact, when we have players who can dominate week in and week out. Players with hunger to compete. Not these passive types who loaf around. I've never seen a Bok side so devoid of leadership. What has been happening these past four years? We hear about planning and attention to detail, and complex systems of analysis. It doesn't show at all. All this tripe amounts to is work that could have been achieved by drawing vague ideas and names out of a hat. It's a final, and the Boks could, again, turn it on for one game, but no true Bok supporter will say this team has looked good all year. They won't be looking any better in the coming years either, as we have the tick well attached the veins of Bok rugby.