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Venue: Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa
Time: 11:45 CAT (SA, GMT+2)
This is the only match on Friday. I'm already trying to arrange a business lunch with a "client" so that I can catch the game during my lunch break.
I hope we smash them. The big guns will all start this match, as our next game against Canada is next week Wednesday. So the guys that started against Namibia will all most likely be benched for this game, except for maybe Lukhanyo Am, depending on Jesse Kriel's ****le. There's also a rumour that Mapimpi might not start this game.
Bok camp on the record as saying the Italian pack are as strong as the ABs. Hopefully they play as well as they evaluate talent.
Italy have at no point under O'Shea shown an ability to defend 8+ phases and the Boks have actually developed some potency to go along with their brawn (whether they'll choose to use it is another matter). Put Mapimpi in your fantasy team (if he is picked).
I'll settle for the Italian 6N special. Score three tries and ship under 60.
I think you'll do better than than. I have Boks by 12, but Italy will give a good account of themselves.
I assume all this talk of "Italy as good as the All Blacks" is a tactic by the Bok coaches to keep their players motivated?
If they beat Italy (which is not guaranteed), the way the draw seems to be going I think the Boks have a good run at getting to the final.
That easy route you've been banding about .
Well as it stands we could be playing Japan and although we beat them fairly convincingly a few weeks ago that performance against Ireland would at the very least trouble us. At the most, well the have beaten us before.
Then if we got past Japan/Ireland we would have to try and pierce the Welsh
defence we have had problems with for the last four or five times we have played them. I'll admit that skipping England or Australia has its positives but there are definite roadblocks regardless of the side of the draw which we end up in.
The last thing we would want is to be talking about how happy we are that we got the easy route and then get dumped out by those easy opponents. It's not a great look.
That's why I said "if" you have to beat Italy first. I think you'd beat Japan and Us (Wales). Easy is relative term
Us (Wales)
Full strength first XV but I'm surprised by the pace-free bench.
I guess Steyn is there to kicks sticks in the event it turns into a messy dogfight like Florence.