[2014 EOYT] Wales vs South Africa

[Mikel92]

Kind of a scary thought that South Africa could only get stronger with all those men out. Spies and FdP back again and in form? Ummm...no thanks.

Despite a poor tour (although a very, very good Ireland at home and a desperate-beyond-belief Wales were never going to be easy), I still consider South Africa the AB's main threat to the World Cup. If my calculations are right, we should meet them in the semi-finals? Next year's RC will be interesting. Each team won at home this year and narrowly lost away. The All Blacks are travelling better than the Boks generally, but still some scores to be settled in that rivalry. This year was even stevens.

If England can sort their combinations out, and Ireland remain consistent then I'd be watching those two as well. Kind of awaiting the 6 nations.

 

[TRF_heineken]

Kind of a scary thought that South Africa could only get stronger with all those men out. Spies and FdP back again and in form? Ummm...no thanks.

Despite a poor tour (although a very, very good Ireland at home and a desperate-beyond-belief Wales were never going to be easy), I still consider South Africa the AB's main threat to the World Cup. If my calculations are right, we should meet them in the semi-finals? Next year's RC will be interesting. Each team won at home this year and narrowly lost away. The All Blacks are travelling better than the Boks generally, but still some scores to be settled in that rivalry. This year was even stevens.

If England can sort their combinations out, and Ireland remain consistent then I'd be watching those two as well. Kind of awaiting the 6 nations.

Next year's RC won't be such a great measurement as you think. Each team only plays each other once because of the World Cup. SA have 2 home games and one away game.

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

Next year's RC won't be such a great measurement as you think. Each team only plays each other once because of the World Cup. SA have 2 home games and one away game.

The draw is ridiculously favoring us and Aus though. If we don't winthe upcoming RC tournament we don't deserve any more luck next year IMO.

 

[Big Ewis]

oh shiit, that's right guys.




BIIIG test for NZ. Let's see if they can steamroll past *this* one.

 

[TRF_heineken]

The draw is ridiculously favoring us and Aus though. If we don't winthe upcoming RC tournament we don't deserve any more luck next year IMO.

Well, apart from 2011, the team that usually won the Tri-nations didn't go on to win the World Cup... So it's not necessarily a bad thing...

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

oh shiit, that's right guys.

View attachment 3538


BIIIG test for NZ. Let's see if they can steamroll past *this* one.

That really is a horrible lop-sided looking thing, yes. Aus in particular getting both SA and NZ at home. Poor Arg again having to take it up the rear.. schedule-wise. They'll certainly be targeting Aus at home again though for a must win.

Well, apart from 2011, the team that usually won the Tri-nations didn't go on to win the World Cup... So it's not necessarily a bad thing...

Well, 2011 was the combo breaker so I'd pretty much prefer them all; a full trophy cabinet would look very nice.

 

[TRF_heineken]

That really is a horrible lop-sided looking thing, yes. Aus in particular getting both SA and NZ at home. Poor Arg again having to take it up the rear.. schedule-wise. They'll certainly be targeting Aus at home again though for a must win.


Well, 2011 was the combo breaker so I'd pretty much prefer them all; a full trophy cabinet would look very nice.

SA also plays a "warm-up" game after the RC against Argentina in Argentina...

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

SA also plays a "warm-up" game after the RC against Argentina in Argentina...

Which will be as good a run in as we could hope for seeing as the Pumas play a very 'traditional' game- even more so than us and lets face it, RWC knock out games are always closer to being 21-man affairs (counting the ref here) than anything else.

 

[Sotavalta]

Kind of a scary thought that South Africa could only get stronger with all those men out. Spies and FdP back again and in form? Ummm...no thanks.

Despite a poor tour (although a very, very good Ireland at home and a desperate-beyond-belief Wales were never going to be easy), I still consider South Africa the AB's main threat to the World Cup. If my calculations are right, we should meet them in the semi-finals? Next year's RC will be interesting. Each team won at home this year and narrowly lost away. The All Blacks are travelling better than the Boks generally, but still some scores to be settled in that rivalry. This year was even stevens.

If England can sort their combinations out, and Ireland remain consistent then I'd be watching those two as well. Kind of awaiting the 6 nations.

You don't need to be scared of Spies, he is one of those guys that looks intimidating but has been off form for a very long time. Vermeulen is much better than Spies will ever be.

I think the three teams that stand a chance to win this World Cup is All Black, Springboks and England (Only because it is home advantage). Maybe Ireland.

 

[Mikel92]

Well, at least we're facing the Wallabies in Sydney. Aside from this year's draw, it's been a happy hunting ground for us in recent years. Suncorp is more of a fortress. Will be interesting to see how the Boks get on there. They usually get plonked over in Perth. How SA travel in that first week will be important.

Aus do seem to have the more favorable draw by the looks of that, but I'm not sure a Christmas break and a Super campaign is enough time to sort their issues out.

 

[Big Ewis]

You don't need to be scared of Spies,

Spies are by default a scary thing though.

..

I'm sorry, I'm kind of the lonesome scavenger on this forum. When a thread is past its time, I come in and feast on its carcass shamelessly and there's usually nobody there to shoo me away or put me in trouble for it..

 

[Sotavalta]

Haha Yes by default a Spies is scary, but not this one. Ok maybe he is... I won't say it to his face.

 

[ENZED-88]

Frans Steyn only had a problem with SARU, not HM. But his agent already confirmed that he is returning to SA for the Super Rugby Season and will be available for selection for the Springboks. He has also shed 10 kg's while playing in Japan.

This was a bad tour yes, but it's by no means a cause for panic. With the amount of injuries this year, I think we did rather well. Here's a list of the unavailable players who will be back in 2015:

Pieter-Steph Du Toit (Lock)
Flip van der Merwe (lock)
Willem Alberts (back row)
Francois Louw (back row)
Arno Botha (back row)
Pierre Spies (back row)
Fourie Du Preez (scrumhalf)
Ruan Pienaar (scrumhalf)
Frans Steyn (centre/fullback)


Not only are they classy players, they have experience (bar PSDT), and that was something that was lacking in this EOYT. We made bad decisions at crucial times and lost our heads. But I don't see that as a negative. The guys learn from their mistakes, and I know all of them will come back in trying to make amends.

These losses should be used to our advantage, and it came at the right time, we have enough time to iron the things out before the World Cup.

The big question is how long will it take for these boys to find form again? Very inconvenient having all these injuries a year out from the RWC.As a kiwi SA is the only team I still get worried about.

Spies? Surely SA have better players than him, he looks the part,but he's soft as anything an has half the intimidation factor as Vermulen, he doesn't seem to fit into that SA pack, reminds me of when the AB picked Adam Thomson in 2011 to take to the World Cup.

 

[The Jones Boy]

South Africa and England are the teams best positioned for winning the next RWC
Forward dominating pack approach, good consistent kickers, a backbone that can tackle and stifle the opposition.
An i form south africa would be the more dangerous option but home advantage for England goes a long way.

 

[TRF_heineken]

The big question is how long will it take for these boys to find form again? Very inconvenient having all these injuries a year out from the RWC.As a kiwi SA is the only team I still get worried about.

Spies? Surely SA have better players than him, he looks the part,but he's soft as anything an has half the intimidation factor as Vermulen, he doesn't seem to fit into that SA pack, reminds me of when the AB picked Adam Thomson in 2011 to take to the World Cup.

I'm not saying Spies must just walk back into the Bok-team. Actually none of these guys should, they should first prove themselves after their injury lay-offs. I only mention Spies because he's been out for 18 months.

Spies played his best rugby when HM was the coach at the Bulls. HM knows Spies very well, and it was HM who converted him from a wing to a no.8. I still think that Duane Vermeulen is and should be our first choice no.8. But if Spies can get in form, he could be a very potent weapon off the bench when the opposition legs are tired, especially at scrums and rucks.

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

Nah, if we want a potent weapon off the bench against tired legs we should have Carr on the bench. Not as big or fast as Spies but uses what he has much more effectively and attacks the space and has hands and a feeling for a running angle most of our backs can't claim to have. Unless Spies has a monster season in 2015 I see the pecking order as;

1 Vermeulen
2 Carr
3 Whiteley
4 Spies

 

[TRF_heineken]

Nah, if we want a potent weapon off the bench against tired legs we should have Carr on the bench. Not as big or fast as Spies but uses what he has much more effectively and attacks the space and has hands and a feeling for a running angle most of our backs can't claim to have. Unless Spies has a monster season in 2015 I see the pecking order as;

1 Vermeulen
2 Carr
3 Whiteley
4 Spies

well, I can't agree or disagree with you. 2015 will be the season to tell. But Carr is in an awkward position as he'll be played out of position if Vermeulen is picked at 8 for the Stormers.

 

[ENZED-88]

What happened to Ryan Kankowski? Is he no longer relevant?

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

well, I can't agree or disagree with you. 2015 will be the season to tell. But Carr is in an awkward position as he'll be played out of position if Vermeulen is picked at 8 for the Stormers.

Vermeulen will certainly be 1st choice but I expect some rest for him with Carr coming in and we might swap around a fair bit in the backrow. Between Carr, Vermeulen, Burger and Kolisi we have some good players though we are now in the same boat as the Bulls in that we don't have an out-and-out fetcher.

What happened to Ryan Kankowski? Is he no longer relevant?

Well, I expect it's between him and Mtembu to start at 8 for the Sharks but, yes, he has somewhat dropped off the radar of both the staff and fans whereas with Brussow it's just the staff that are uninterested.

 

[TRF_heineken]

Vermeulen will certainly be 1st choice but I expect some rest for him with Carr coming in and we might swap around a fair bit in the backrow. Between Carr, Vermeulen, Burger and Kolisi we have some good players though we are now in the same boat as the Bulls in that we don't have an out-and-out fetcher.



Well, I expect it's between him and Mtembu to start at 8 for the Sharks but, yes, he has somewhat dropped off the radar of both the staff and fans whereas with Brussow it's just the staff that are uninterested.

True.

I'm just waiting in anticipation to see if HM will get his wish that some of the Springbok players will get sabbaticals during the Super Rugby tournament.