[2018 Rugby Championship] Round 5: South Africa v Australia (29/09/2018)

[Derpus]

Worst game of rugby i have seen for years. Both teams. ******* garbage. Error after error. I want my 80 minutes back.

 

[Bean]

I stayed up to watch this. It was bad.

 

[unrated]

Worst game of rugby i have seen for years. Both teams. ******* garbage. Error after error. I want my 80 minutes back.

I stayed up to watch this. It was bad.

I actually didnt think it was that bad. On the contrary i actually enjoyed this game. The atmosphere was great at the stadium and our crowds has lost faith in the last few years so really good to see the crowd is backing the team again. Its the first time in years that i have seen such a big crowd against Australia of all teams.

Then i thought the Springboks put up a valiant defensive display with minimal possesion. A win is a win and one that im happy with. Now everyone is getting ready for the clash against the Abs next weekend.

 

[TRF_heineken]

I also didn't think the match was so bad to watch either, it was certainly better than the away game between these 2 earlier in the tournament. I think this game had much more flow to it, and I think Garces did a pretty good job refereeing the game. Although I didn't agree with the whole Faf de Klerk attempted interception... It didn't even look like he touched the ball, So I don't get why Cheika is so up in arms for him not getting a yellow...

It's just so strange, we lose when Australia doesn't have Folau or Pocock in their team, but win when they do.

The standout performers for me for the Boks were: PSDT, Handre Pollard and Cheslin Kolbe. The tip Naas Botha gave to Pollard about his goal kicking has been working wonderfully and it seems like he doesn't have the yips anymore.

I'm a bit anxious though about this coming weekend's game. We shouldn't play like we did against Australia, otherwise we'll be punished all throughout the game. Yes our Defense was again immense, and I hope we can keep it up, but our attacking left a lot to be desired. I think we missed about 8 chances in try scoring attempts, and usually it was because of handling errors.

 

[Umaga's Witness]

I watched with not full focus so I'll try not to embarrass myself too much. i thought the start of the game, perhaps the whole first half was very good to watch. yes, there were mistakes, but almost all of the were forced by very good defence, or competing at line outs, rucks, etc. it had an intensity, and that's what the best boks games are all about, in my opinion. One of my favourite tests ever was something like 15-11 to the ABs over the Springboks it was just an immensely intense game. The second half I had less focus on the game, and it seemed the players had less focus too, with more unforced errors.. Perhaps that was partly fatigue?

Pollard has been pretty good this year, to my disappointment as I'm a fan of Elton's who I find more entertaining to watch even thought's not as good an all round player. Pollard takes and makes some heavy hits, so you can see why he is appropriate for the Boks gameplan. He was very good from what i saw.

Genia was also very good. He manages to clear the ball from rucks when they are really not very secure. he also made some good plays.

The wallabies need some more punch, not that I have any idea where they are going to get it. obviously they figure they don't have it, so they'll just try and manoeuvre around the opposition with guile. I think the Wallabies are doing alright given their resources, and don't really deserve the criticism. Some of the selections are iffy but, again, it's difficult given their resources. I probably would have kept Foley at 10 with Beale at 12. Seemed like a 'hope for a miracle' selection there, by giving their best back the 10 jersey. in reality, he's their best back only when he's playing 12.

Boks look like they are beginning to show some consistency on defence. it will be interesting to see how their defence holds up next week, and whether they can execute often enough on attack. I can't wait.

 

[SomeOke]

Have to agree with the above sentiments, the first half was pretty good, but the second half was fairly rubbish from both teams. Makes sense, I could be wrong but I think the score for the second half was 3-0?

Pollard had his best game in a while which is promising, I thought Siya and PTSD were both great as well and both our wings looked lively when they got a sniff.
That said our tight five was mostly pretty flat, Kriel and AE both looked pretty awful on both attack and defense, our centre combination continues to be a worry. I thought Faf and Willie had poor days but we still won.

All in all I sound sour but I'm not at all, sometimes you need to win ugly, didn't really think we ever looked like losing this game and that's all I can ask for. We aren't going to set the world alight when the majority of our backline isn't clicking (our wings and Pollard excluded).

It's probably safe to say that barring a massive scoreline deficit next week faith has been somewhat restored in Rassie's regime.

 

[George Ford]

The wallabies need some more punch, not that I have any idea where they are going to get it. obviously they figure they don't have it, so they'll just try and manoeuvre around the opposition with guile. I think the Wallabies are doing alright given their resources, and don't really deserve the criticism. Some of the selections are iffy but, again, it's difficult given their resources. I probably would have kept Foley at 10 with Beale at 12. Seemed like a 'hope for a miracle' selection there, by giving their best back the 10 jersey. in reality, he's their best back only when he's playing 12.

My thoughts too. I think Cheika has been backing Toomua a bit, but it's time for Foley to come back into the fold. It was always going to be hard to find a replacement for Giteau at 12, but I agree to Beale showing his best in that position. Hodge has pretty much established himself at 13 now and the back three looks solid. Toomua can fit the role of being an impact player instead.

I feel for the Wallabies - they have the players and the leadership (Hooper & Pocock ) to turn this around for them.

As for the Boks, all that was needed was the win and the game never felt quite in trouble which is enough for now. Bring on the ABs

 

[All Black]

Pollard strikes me as a player who can give us some real problems in the future. We haven't seen the best of this 'kid' who is probably the biggest five eight in the rugby championship.

 

[All Black]

Folau is literally only good at two things. Running with the ball in hand and catching a ball in the air. Possibly the best in the world at those two things. Problem is, full backs need to be able to kick, have some semblance of positional awareness, tackle, pass, etc.

I beg to differ with Folau on the wing. Since Folau has been to the wing, have we seen the best of him? or did we see the best of him at fullback?

 

[Derpus]

I beg to differ with Folau on the wing. Since Folau has been to the wing, have we seen the best of him? or did we see the best of him at fullback?

We haven't seen the best of Folau all year.

Folau probably looks a little more potent going forward from fullback but our backline is more balanced with DHP there.

 

[TRF_heineken]

Pollard strikes me as a player who can give us some real problems in the future. We haven't seen the best of this 'kid' who is probably the biggest five eight in the rugby championship.

He's getting there certainly. I just wish he can get to that peak like that game at Ellis Park where he scored 2 tries against NZ (it was the game where Pat Lambie kicked that monster after 80mins, to give SA the win)...

 

[All Black]

He's getting there certainly. I just wish he can get to that peak like that game at Ellis Park where he scored 2 tries against NZ (it was the game where Pat Lambie kicked that monster after 80mins, to give SA the win)...

Stephen Larkham was thrown into the deep end as a youngster debuting at fullback against us I believe. This was way back and I remember thinking 'this guys gonna be good' not because he was playing good, because he wasn't, but the skills and some of the things he did, he did well for a youngster.

Anyway, I'm no master scout but the thing I saw in Larkham is the same thing Im seeing in Pollard.

 

[All Black]

We haven't seen the best of Folau all year.

Folau probably looks a little more potent going forward from fullback but our backline is more balanced with DHP there.

I hope you guys can sort out his position because Folau needs heaps of ball in the right situations. I'm hearing his name in the league talks so get the ball to the man so he can have some fun before he ups and leaves.

 

[TRF_heineken]

Stephen Larkham was thrown into the deep end as a youngster debuting at fullback against us I believe. This was way back and I remember thinking 'this guys gonna be good' not because he was playing good, because he wasn't, but the skills and some of the things he did, he did well for a youngster.

Anyway, I'm no master scout but the thing I saw in Larkham is the same thing Im seeing in Pollard.

The thing is that Pollard was seen as this great player while he was still in school. There was a big fight about him between WP and the Blue Bulls, when the Blue Bulls signed him (but WP couldn't afford to have another flyhalf at that time in their squad). Then he became the U/20 Bok captain, and from there on he just kept on showing he's a classy player.

Yes, he's still a bit rough around the edges in some aspects, but he's big, physical, good distributor and so calm under pressure. I think it's going to be mighty tough for every other fly half in SA to become number 1.

 

[Derpus]

I hope you guys can sort out his position because Folau needs heaps of ball in the right situations. I'm hearing his name in the league talks so get the ball to the man so he can have some fun before he ups and leaves.

I wouldnt be fussed if he left. He's good but the game desperately needs the money he costs elsewhere.