NH Chances This Summer

[BRSTLDRGN]

So their most creative player is a hooker.

<img style="-webkit-user-select: none" src="http://www.myfacewhen.net/uploads/1186-alrighty-then.jpg">

 

[psychic duck]

I will bet you that Argentina v Italy will have more points than England South Africa

 

[Feicarsinn]

There were 39 points in the Ireland vs England match you mentioned earlier. Does that make it better than the World cup final?

 

[psychic duck]

There were 39 points in the Ireland vs England match you mentioned earlier. Does that make it better than the World cup final?

okay you win

 

[cyRil]

okay you win

The Duck relenting in an argument...??!
Is that the 4 horsemen of the Apocalypse I see honing into view??!!!!

 

[Tadginator]

If quadE cooper plays then Wales should win 2-1.
Expecting Ireland to be brutally murdered at the hands of Liam messam in all three tests with a few zac Guildford tries thrown in for good measure.
England to lose to south Africa by small margins
Scotland to lose to Argentina but should beat cook islands with a bit of Richie Gray magic. I'm hoping for length of the field gallops.
Does anyone know will tim visser be qualified for these?

 

[Teh Mite]

So their most creative player is a hooker.

*****

Please...

 

[HenryChinaski]

If quadE cooper plays then Wales should win 2-1.
Expecting Ireland to be brutally murdered at the hands of Liam messam in all three tests with a few zac Guildford tries thrown in for good measure.
England to lose to south Africa by small margins
Scotland to lose to Argentina but should beat cook islands with a bit of Richie Gray magic. I'm hoping for length of the field gallops.
Does anyone know will tim visser be qualified for these?

I wondered that earlier, I think he qualifies in june this year.

 

[Me 1]

I wondered that earlier, I think he qualifies in june this year.

Half way through the tour iirc, so not sure whether he will be picked.

 

[Zed]

Ireland won't win a game, I think Wales will go down 2 - 1, I think the poms vs the saffas will be close. Scotland will be winless.

 

[Melhor Time]

Italy vs Argentina is going to be great. As far as I know there's never been a genuine attempt at boring a large group of people to death before. The results should be quite interesting.

Good tries in this game. 39-22 to Argentina if you must know.

The video says 2008 but it was 2005.



Seriously... Argentina vs Italy is always a must see. Seeing what Brunel can do and who the team goes in al three matches will be really interesting. Far more than seeing Australia vs Wales play three more matches.

 

[TRF_heineken]

Whats the general feeling in SA?

You obviously lost a lot of experienced players after the RWC (as well as PDV which I assume everyone is happy about). Is there quality youthful talent coming through to replace the guys they've lost and if so, how do you think they'll perform internationally?

Have you watched any Super 15 games this season? al the teams are oozing of youth players and they show some great promise.

Heyneke Meyer has made it clear that he wants the best. He has Already had talks with Francois Steyn to come back to SA as he wants him to play at 12. The Sharks are already busy talking to him about contracts.

News reports also suggest that he's trying to get Fourie Du Preez to come back to SA, even if it's just for the internationals.

based on what I've seen so far in the Super 15, this is the squad that I'll pick:

Props: Dean Greyling, Werner Kruger, Jannie Du Plessis, Coenie Oosthuizen, Pat Cilliers. The Beast if he recovers from injury
Hooker: Bismarck Du Plessis, Chilliboy Ralapele, Adriaan Strauss
Locks: Andries Bekker, Flip van Der Merwe, Franco van der Merwe, Eben Etzebeth, Juandre Kruger
Back Row: Schalk Burger, Heinrich Brussouw, Josh Strauss, Pierre Spies, Willem Alberts, Jacques Potgieter, Duane Vermeulen, Marcell Coetzee
Scrumhalf: Francois Hougaard, Dewald Duvenhage, Jano Vermaak. And Fourie Du Preez if he's available.
Fly Half: Morne Steyn, Johan Goosen, Elton Jantjes.
Centres: Jean De Villiers, Francois Steyn, Juan De Jongh, Wynand Olivier, Doppies La Grange, Andries Strauss
Wings: Bjorn Basson, Lwazi Mvovo, JP Pietersen, Bryan Habana (always played well under Meyer's coaching), Ndungane brothers, Gerhard van den Heever, JJ Engelbrecht, Willie Le Roux
Full Backs: Patrick Lambie, Zane Krichner, Jaco Taute, Joe Pieterson

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

Whats the general feeling in SA?

You obviously lost a lot of experienced players after the RWC (as well as PDV which I assume everyone is happy about). Is there quality youthful talent coming through to replace the guys they've lost and if so, how do you think they'll perform internationally?

What would the best South African 22 look like atm? Same with Australia?

Have you watched any Super 15 games this season? al the teams are oozing of youth players and they show some great promise.

Heyneke Meyer has made it clear that he wants the best. He has Already had talks with Francois Steyn to come back to SA as he wants him to play at 12. The Sharks are already busy talking to him about contracts.

News reports also suggest that he's trying to get Fourie Du Preez to come back to SA, even if it's just for the internationals.

based on what I've seen so far in the Super 15, this is the squad that I'll pick:

Props: Dean Greyling, Werner Kruger, Jannie Du Plessis, Coenie Oosthuizen, Pat Cilliers. The Beast if he recovers from injury
Hooker: Bismarck Du Plessis, Chilliboy Ralapele, Adriaan Strauss
Locks: Andries Bekker, Flip van Der Merwe, Franco van der Merwe, Eben Etzebeth, Juandre Kruger
Back Row: Schalk Burger, Heinrich Brussouw, Josh Strauss, Pierre Spies, Willem Alberts, Jacques Potgieter, Duane Vermeulen, Marcell Coetzee
Scrumhalf: Francois Hougaard, Dewald Duvenhage, Jano Vermaak. And Fourie Du Preez if he's available.
Fly Half: Morne Steyn, Johan Goosen, Elton Jantjes.
Centres: Jean De Villiers, Francois Steyn, Juan De Jongh, Wynand Olivier, Doppies La Grange, Andries Strauss
Wings: Bjorn Basson, Lwazi Mvovo, JP Pietersen, Bryan Habana (always played well under Meyer's coaching), Ndungane brothers, Gerhard van den Heever, JJ Engelbrecht, Willie Le Roux
Full Backs: Patrick Lambie, Zane Krichner, Jaco Taute, Joe Pieterson

The general feeling in SA is very optimistic but we should realistic and remember that we are probably going to be fielding many new combinations and blood quite a few test rookies (at least I hope we do).

There are many new faces that are showing up the more settled players in the Super rugby competition at the moment and I hope some of them make it into the squad. It will be interesting to see how much Meyer relies on experience and how much he relies on form as they don't overlap in most cases. For instance, Johan Goosen had a blinder for the Cheetahs while Morne Steyn possibly had his worst performance in Super rugby over the past weekend.

So for me it's a case of weighing up experience and proven combinations with taking a risk on form rookies and do so with absolutely no time as they will be playing Super rugby just the weekend before the first test!! It's going to be difficult and I wouldn't be surprised to see England in it with a good chance. With Divvy and Smit gone, don't expect us to be vulnerable for too long though!

Experienced test players (some more than others) we can still call on;
1 Beast Mtawarira / Dean Greyling
2 Bismarck du Plessis / Adriaan Strauss / Chiliboy Ralepele
3 Jannie du Plessis (we have better props than both these Sharks though) / Werner Kruger
4 Flip van der Merwe / Gerhard Mostert
5 Andries Bekker
6 Heinrich Brussow
7 Schalk Burger / Juan Smith (possily won't be available as he seems to be injured permanently)
8 Pierre Spies (hope not though!!) / Willem Alberts
9 Francois Hougaard / Ruan Pienaar / Fourie du Preez (though I hope he only plays on the bench behind Hougie as he wasn't his great self last few times out for both SA and Bulls)
10 Morne Steyn (we have better but is it too early?)
11 Bryan Habana (to be retired though hopefully)
12 Frans Steyn / Jean de Villliers
13 Jaque Fourie / Juan de Jongh
14 JP Pietersen / Gio Aplon
15 Patrick Lambie.. (well, at least he has RWC experience)

Players that have done their part and should get a Bok berth:
Duane Vermeulen, erm well that's about it. I would have said Riaan Viljoen but he hasn't been as good for the Sharks as he has been for the Cheetahs in the past.

Young guys could force their way in with good performances in Super rugby:
Steven Kitshoff
Coenie Oosthuizen
Eben Etzebeth
Johan Goosen
Willie Le Roux
Johann Sadie
Siya Kolisi
Marcell Coetzee
Arno Botha (if he gets some chances)
Rynhardt Elstadt

Hell, I totally forgot about the Lions' Jantjies, Strauss and Taute. Might not a bad idea to include either or both of Cilliers and F van der Merwe; in combo they probably make 50% of all tackles the Lions make LOL.

 

[bushytop]

Does anyone else think the Australia tour might be the right time to bring Dan Biggar back into the squad?

I know he has performed poorly for Wales in the past (dont think he had many chances with a 1st choice XV though) but I remember him showing loads of promise at age group level... and think his performances for Ospreys this season seem to be on an upward curve... culminating in MOM award during the victory over Lienster in Dublin this past weekend.

 

[Nicolaas]

Have you watched any Super 15 games this season? al the teams are oozing of youth players and they show some great promise.

Heyneke Meyer has made it clear that he wants the best. He has Already had talks with Francois Steyn to come back to SA as he wants him to play at 12. The Sharks are already busy talking to him about contracts.

News reports also suggest that he's trying to get Fourie Du Preez to come back to SA, even if it's just for the internationals.

based on what I've seen so far in the Super 15, this is the squad that I'll pick:

Props: Dean Greyling, Werner Kruger, Jannie Du Plessis, Coenie Oosthuizen, Pat Cilliers. The Beast if he recovers from injury
Hooker: Bismarck Du Plessis, Chilliboy Ralapele, Adriaan Strauss
Locks: Andries Bekker, Flip van Der Merwe, Franco van der Merwe, Eben Etzebeth, Juandre Kruger
Back Row: Schalk Burger, Heinrich Brussouw, Josh Strauss, Pierre Spies, Willem Alberts, Jacques Potgieter, Duane Vermeulen, Marcell Coetzee
Scrumhalf: Francois Hougaard, Dewald Duvenhage, Jano Vermaak. And Fourie Du Preez if he's available.
Fly Half: Morne Steyn, Johan Goosen, Elton Jantjes.
Centres: Jean De Villiers, Francois Steyn, Juan De Jongh, Wynand Olivier, Doppies La Grange, Andries Strauss
Wings: Bjorn Basson, Lwazi Mvovo, JP Pietersen, Bryan Habana (always played well under Meyer's coaching), Ndungane brothers, Gerhard van den Heever, JJ Engelbrecht, Willie Le Roux
Full Backs: Patrick Lambie, Zane Krichner, Jaco Taute, Joe Pieterson

i would like to think that we have better players than the guys listed in red. most of them never really impressed me, especially andries strauss:huh:

guys that never do something wrong but also never stand out are werner kruger, pat cilliers, franco vd merwe, doppies, ndugane bro's, engelbrecht, joe pieterson

i would throw in guys like kitchoff, siya kolisi, rynardt elstadt, johann sadie and jean deysel (when he gets some game time) in there as well.

2 positions that i worry about is at tighthead and inside centre, jean de villiers isn't what he used to be (although he started playing better again), wynand olivier does ok for the bulls but never performed for the boks and jaun de jongh is good but he rarely passes, so i hope we get steyn back real soon.

 

[Nicolaas]

Players that have done their part and should get a Bok berth:
Duane Vermeulen, erm well that's about it. I would have said Riaan Viljoen but he hasn't been as good for the Sharks as he has been for the Cheetahs in the past.

i thought he has done pretty well so far for the sharks.

 

[Tadginator]

Does anyone else think the Australia tour might be the right time to bring Dan Biggar back into the squad?I know he has performed poorly for Wales in the past (dont think he had many chances with a 1st choice XV though) but I remember him showing loads of promise at age group level... and think his performances for Ospreys this season seem to be on an upward curve... culminating in MOM award during the victory over Lienster in Dublin this past weekend.

I agree with this. I've always liked dan biggar and I think he deserves a chance. I think that priestland is an immensely ordinary outhalf and he's never overly impressed me. Bring back the biggar

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

i would like to think that we have better players than the guys listed in red. most of them never really impressed me, especially andries strauss:huh:

guys that never do something wrong but also never stand out are werner kruger, pat cilliers, franco vd merwe, doppies, ndugane bro's, engelbrecht, joe pieterson

i would throw in guys like kitchoff, siya kolisi, rynardt elstadt, johann sadie and jean deysel (when he gets some game time) in there as well.

2 positions that i worry about is at tighthead and inside centre, jean de villiers isn't what he used to be (although he started playing better again), wynand olivier does ok for the bulls but never performed for the boks and jaun de jongh is good but he rarely passes, so i hope we get steyn back real soon.

Agreed RE the players you highlighted. I'd rather have a young player like Kitshoff or Sadie/Venter in the extended squad than a solid but 'dead-end' player like Cilliers and Olivier/Andries Strauss.

It looks like a certainty that Steyn will play the first two tests vs England but not the third (he is getting married then). Hopefully his fitness is up to speed.

i thought he has done pretty well so far for the sharks.

Ehh, hasn't been bad but I just think he (Viljoen) looked a lot better with the Cheetahs. Maybe their game just suits him better. He was a shoe-in for a squad of 30 last year for my money (with him and Lambie my 1st choices for 15) but I'd prefer to go Lambie > Taute at this stage. Give Willie le Roux 2 years at 15 for the Cheetahs and he might become a prospect. Kirschner is looking in better form than Viljoen; never a good sign.

 

[psychic duck]

Agreed RE the players you highlighted. I'd rather have a young player like Kitshoff or Sadie/Venter in the extended squad than a solid but 'dead-end' player like Cilliers and Olivier/Andries Strauss.

It looks like a certainty that Steyn will play the first two tests vs England but not the third (he is getting married then). Hopefully his fitness is up to speed.



Ehh, hasn't been bad but I just think he (Viljoen) looked a lot better with the Cheetahs. Maybe their game just suits him better. He was a shoe-in for a squad of 30 last year for my money (with him and Lambie my 1st choices for 15) but I'd prefer to go Lambie > Taute at this stage. Give Willie le Roux 2 years at 15 for the Cheetahs and he might become a prospect. Kirschner is looking in better form than Viljoen; never a good sign.

so much change at once in the Bok team

will they be vulnerable to to a hard beating by the All Blacks?

by the way Stormer 2010, do you know whether Meyer will pick players based abroad?

will Fourie du Preez, Jaque Fourie, Bakkies Botha, Ruan Pienaar, Johann Muller, Francois Steyn or Gurthro Steenkamp have any chance of being selected?

 

[DuncTheDoodle]

so much change at once in the Bok team

will they be vulnerable to to a hard beating by the All Blacks?

by the way Stormer 2010, do you know whether Meyer will pick players based abroad?

will Fourie du Preez, Jaque Fourie, Bakkies Botha, Ruan Pienaar, Johann Muller, Francois Steyn or Gurthro Steenkamp have any chance of being selected?

He said he will in December/January shortly after being named, if I recall correctly.