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Tri Nations 2009-2011
South Africa v New Zealand. 21 Aug 2010. What is your prediction?
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<blockquote data-quote="Darwin" data-source="post: 338378" data-attributes="member: 24910"><p>What a great game of rugby! Personally I think a draw would have been a fairer reflection of the game, but as they say, great teams win the games they shouldn't.</p><p></p><p>The Boks were a completely different team than that the one that toured NZ and Australia. Their tackling was generally sound, and they looked dangerous at times when they ran the ball in the backline. There were two major improvements I noticed in the Boks, one was their kicking game. There were two aspects of the Boks kicking game that impressed me: (1) Hougaard's accurate box-kicks from the base of the ruck that put the AB's under real pressure (2) Morne Steyn's touch finders (when he found actually found touch), which he kicked into the stands, rather than just into touch - this prevented the AB's from taking quick throws (preventing the AB's from counter attacking), and allowed the Boks to attack the AB's lineout.</p><p></p><p>The second major improvement for the Boks was their work at the breakdown, which really impressed me this game. They only stole a few clean balls, but they did compete strongly, which ment New Zealand was getting much slower ball than they had in their previous games - this allowed the Boks to form their defensive line. This along with their more accurate kicking ment the AB's had to work a lot harder to breach the Boks defensive line.</p><p></p><p>There were a few standouts to me on both teams. For the Boks I thought Aplon was solid at fullback, while Habana looked dangerous one the wing when he got the ball. Steyn had a mixed game - his goalkicking was great, but he did make a few huge errors, such as not finding touch from a penalty (and whats worse, kicking the ball dead). Spies made a number of good runs, breaking the first tackle on a number of occasions, while I thought Smith and Burger also had good games.</p><p></p><p>For the AB's, none of the outside backs stood out to me, but they were all solid. Nonu was impressive in midfield, especially with his passing game (and the obvious final break). Carter's goalkicking was poor, and he made a few errors. Weepu added something when he came on - I imagine he will be starting the next game, especially given Carter will not be playing so they will need a goalkicker. Thorn was again impressive -he just keeps getting better. I worry about Ben Franks scrummaging - he seems to struggle at the top level (both at loosehead and tighthead), it was interesting that the scrum improved when Afoa came on, as he is notoriously weak scrummager!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Darwin, post: 338378, member: 24910"] What a great game of rugby! Personally I think a draw would have been a fairer reflection of the game, but as they say, great teams win the games they shouldn't. The Boks were a completely different team than that the one that toured NZ and Australia. Their tackling was generally sound, and they looked dangerous at times when they ran the ball in the backline. There were two major improvements I noticed in the Boks, one was their kicking game. There were two aspects of the Boks kicking game that impressed me: (1) Hougaard's accurate box-kicks from the base of the ruck that put the AB's under real pressure (2) Morne Steyn's touch finders (when he found actually found touch), which he kicked into the stands, rather than just into touch - this prevented the AB's from taking quick throws (preventing the AB's from counter attacking), and allowed the Boks to attack the AB's lineout. The second major improvement for the Boks was their work at the breakdown, which really impressed me this game. They only stole a few clean balls, but they did compete strongly, which ment New Zealand was getting much slower ball than they had in their previous games - this allowed the Boks to form their defensive line. This along with their more accurate kicking ment the AB's had to work a lot harder to breach the Boks defensive line. There were a few standouts to me on both teams. For the Boks I thought Aplon was solid at fullback, while Habana looked dangerous one the wing when he got the ball. Steyn had a mixed game - his goalkicking was great, but he did make a few huge errors, such as not finding touch from a penalty (and whats worse, kicking the ball dead). Spies made a number of good runs, breaking the first tackle on a number of occasions, while I thought Smith and Burger also had good games. For the AB's, none of the outside backs stood out to me, but they were all solid. Nonu was impressive in midfield, especially with his passing game (and the obvious final break). Carter's goalkicking was poor, and he made a few errors. Weepu added something when he came on - I imagine he will be starting the next game, especially given Carter will not be playing so they will need a goalkicker. Thorn was again impressive -he just keeps getting better. I worry about Ben Franks scrummaging - he seems to struggle at the top level (both at loosehead and tighthead), it was interesting that the scrum improved when Afoa came on, as he is notoriously weak scrummager! [/QUOTE]
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South Africa v New Zealand. 21 Aug 2010. What is your prediction?
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