Springboks vs Wallabies, 28 Aug 2010, Loftus Versfeld

[TRF_Olyy]

No , cos it was not a tip tackle , it was a tackle and fourie dived for the line. Having said that there has been times when players were sites for less offences so we will have to wait and see.

That's what i was trying to say, but just couldn't find the words

 

[Sparty]

What a crap game of rugby. If we had played against New Zealand like that we would have lost 100-0. Australia's inexperience was exposed, as they failed to close a game that they should have easily. Habana needs to GTFO of this team. You CANNOT afford to do the **** that he has been doing at international level. Aplon is way better than Habana is at the moment. Juan de Jongh needs to partner Jaque Fourie.

Agree , the ABS would have killed us , it was great to see the comeback and I expected is to lose actually.

Juan Smith MOTM in my opinion. He is just an incredible player.

Agree , but Hougaard was better . I knew he would be MOTM , he was awesome and we dont to worry about scrumhalf post WC , he is not a winger though

Fourie was good.

I actually only say him late in the game , he did some good things but he did look slightly lethargic in the first half[/quote]

Hougaard has cemented his place at 9, and when FdP is back, he needs to start at wing. he is too good to leave out.

100 % !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! but I wont play him on the wing , I would keep him as a reserve if FDP is back (this is for the boks and not bulls though , at the bulls I would play him at wing)

Chilliboy had a huge impact. Stupid coach only realizes now that Smit is not an 80min player anymore. Idiot coach.

dont see the fuss why people dont rate him , he was good when he came on and the diffs from last week and this week was that last week we seemed to run out of steam on the last 20 , this week we upped our game.

Francois Steyn is terribly unfit.

picked on reputation , he is unfit and has not played for a while , absurd to drop Gio for him. Its a tragedy that Gio was not evens on the bench !!

JPP was good.

finally showing some form , wish Habana would follow him

Kankowski still needs to start ahead of Spies.

Dont know whats the fuss with Spies , he has been just as bad as Habana this year , needs a break

Our back-line play is woeful though. Our coaching staff are really clueless.

I disagree , though we did some good things in the backline , JDV really played well and could have created some nice tries , I remember him breaking but missing Habana on his outside , intelligent player that JDV , thought he and Hougaard was the best of the lot.

Lastly , the coaching staff got it right this week with Chillie bit awfully wrong with Butch , ib Butch's defense he did save the day and played very well when he came on so maybe I am wrong about that.

VERY lastly , Schalk Burger remains KING , I just wish he let the flyhalf play to the flyhalf !!

 

[Sker]

Agree , but Hougaard was better . I knew he would be MOTM , he was awesome and we dont to worry about scrumhalf post WC , he is not a winger though

Err...

Not to sound rude or anything, but did you watch any of the Super 14 and Hougaard on the wing? Because it doesn't sound like it.

 

[smartcooky]

An interesting question now arises with these last two outstanding performances by Francois Hougaard at halfback.

Obviously a fit Fourie Du Preez would still rank as #1 in SA, surely Hougaard would have to be pushing hard for #2, and if Ruan Pienaar was #3, where does that place Januarie. If he still gets selected by PDV, then there will surely be no justice.

I think Hougaard's best chance of making the SA RWC squad would have to be at halfback now, and since both he and Du Preez play for the Bulls in Super 15, perhaps Hougaard should consider moving to another team.


PS: Juan Smith was awesome, and I think equally deserved MOTM.

 

[woodward]

glad to know the refs consistent if the boks win

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

Ahhh. How adorable. Don't be such a baby woodward

 

[Rangerrrrrr]

I would be worried if I was a Bok supporter after that game, simply due to the lack of vision and intellect from the coaching team. They still seem to think that box kicks, pointless midfield bombs and speculating touch finders are the way forward, christ even England of all teams are keeping the ball in hand and beginning to adopt a running game. The backs can actually play if given a chance, aside from the Steyns.

The Wallabies are still a 'soft' team in many respects, the Boks wouldn't have scored those easy trys and they would have been absolutely destroyed by N.Z with their counterattacks, finishing ability and defense. Just imagine if the Boks had a coach like Deans or Henry, rather than someone who seems to rely on a coaching manual from 5 years ago.

 

[InsaneAsylum]

good game of rugby, obviously not the result I was looking for but it was pretty close all the way. i think the wallabies could have closed it out except for when our lineout fell apart, or should I say matfield took our lineout apart, add some poor execution of basic skills and it was game over.

hougard and j.smith were good for the boks, although hougard needs to get rid of that gay haircut haha. genia and beale had alright games for us.

ref was consistent

 

[Sam Owen]

good game of rugby, obviously not the result I was looking for but it was pretty close all the way. i think the wallabies could have closed it out except for when our lineout fell apart, or should I say matfield took our lineout apart, add some poor execution of basic skills and it was game over.

hougard and j.smith were good for the boks, although hougard needs to get rid of that gay haircut haha. genia and beale had alright games for us.

ref was consistent

Wallabies got a penalty in the last quarter of the game and they chose to go to for a lineout when their lineout was already in tatters. Sure enough Faingaa threw it straight to Matfield, the option was a bad one in a needy time IMO.

 

[Ostrayian]

If deans wants to be like the kiwis he needs to have faith with the guys on the bench and actually use them.
Henry brought on weepu, vito, dagg, and whitelock who all made an impact for them to get over the line against the boks. The AB's are clearly a fitter team then the wallabies so i dont know why deans thinks most of his players can play a full 80 minutes in the high veldt.....use the bloody bench players deans!! Its really hard for me to admit this but the AB's play with a lot more intelligence as well.
Saia faingaa should have been yanked with 30 minutes to go. Dunno if he was tired but evrything he did seemed to turrn to ****.
The last 20-30 minutes would have been the perfect environment to bring on luke burgess he may have a shonky pass but his running game would have given us oppurtunities not to mentiion his solid defense. genia was clearly sucking wind as well.
A faingaa and barnes would have been good to at least harden up the midfield defense.
Mumm was exposed as pretty average without sharpey out there to hold his hand. Pretty embarrassing when sharpey is trying to make calls from the bench.
Theres something really mentally wrong with this player group.

 

[Wally]

Robbie Deans record as Test coach is poor. If New Zealand were achieving the same results with him at the helm he would have been gone a long time ago. Of course the Australian players are to blame for a lot of this bad form - but there's no argument that he doesn't have the cattle to build a successful team. I think last night's decision to not bring on any fresh legs in the dying stages when the Wallabies were starting to get rolled shows a lot of his inadequacy. When the team was obviously tiring and starting to look rudderless in attack it amazes me that blokes that run hard and direct such as Faingaa, Moore and Higginbotham remained on the bench. Not to mention the game was being played over 1000m above sea level, come on.

 

[nickdnz]

Both teams were crap. The Springbok backline never looked very dangerous, so they put the ball into touch and relied on their set piece to drive their forwards over the line. The Australian backs looked dangerous in the first half, but then they resorted to doing what they've been doing all season. Instead of spreading the ball out wide, they sent it into the centre, for the forwards to try and crash it up. This doesn't work!

Beale looked dangerous, but bad tactics cost Australia the game.

And my god, do I hate Aussy commentators. I can't put my finger on it, but who was they guy who doubted almost every call the referee made? Most of the time he didn't know what the **** he was talking about.

 

[madflyhalf]

I don't understand why Australia don't want to take some tactical kicks.
Yes, you expose your team to broken play and counter-attack, but... if you use every single ball you have trying to carry it towards the line for 100m, don't be surprise if with 25min to go you're tired and unable to attack well!

They have stopped kicking: no up & under, no long kicks, no kick into touch, only some grubbers or chip and chase... and when they need to kick, they miss touch, or send the ball over the dead line or in goal area.

 

[veux]

I thought both teams played pretty poorly though, it was like watching a game of touch at some points. The last two games, they were proper games of rugby and sound contests. This game was a bunch of headless chickens.

I agree that Deans should have used the bench, the Wallabies looked tired.

 

[ridgerunnersp]

Agreed madflyhalf. I think that their aversion to kicks, as well as lack of substitutions lost them the game. Running every single ball inside your own 22 against a team like SA is mad. Genia put in some decent kicks, as well as Cooper. Really every time they did kick, they were well placed and gained some decent territory. What I wonder is why Giteau doesn't kick any more. Last year his kicking out of hand was the best in the world (in terms of effectiveness). His midfield kick where he drops into the pocket and bangs it up the left touch into the corner is his best kick, but he hasn't used it all year. You can kick in rugby for a reason, it's not just a running game. You can really see Deans trying to copy Henry in some respects. However, the ABs have the size, power, and fitness in their team to use that game plan of all attack, whereas the Wallabies don't. Who is a more effective crasher: Ma'a Nonu or AAC? Not even close, yet AAC took numerous ineffective crash balls (thanks in part to JdV's superb defense) when even Nonu couldn't make a dent last week (until the last play of course). The Oz forwards are not physical enough to dominate the breakdowns or fit enough to get there as the game goes on. Yes, Oz looked nearly as dangerous on the counter as Mils and co. in the early stages of the 3N, but the ABs didn't rely on it for their points. They are also able to change gears and adapt to the situation. Personally, I think Deano is a double-agent for NZRU, come to sow dissent and misery in the Wallaby ranks before the WC. His Crusaders played with such nous and panache along with their skill and speed. I haven't seen any flashes of higher thought this year. Lets go Deano play your players to their strengths and trust your bench.

 

[Wally]

This article pretty much sums it up from an Australian perspective.

<!-- Class 'push-0' just right-aligns the element so that the main content comes first. -->Australia blow big lead on the high veldt
By Greg Growden

<!-- cT-imageLandscape -->

The Wallabies, the masters of ruining green and golden opportunities, uncovered another way to lose the unlosable Test on the highveld on Saturday night.

They were sitting pretty, ahead 21-7 and within sight of ending a 47-year-old hoodoo which has involved regular bashings by the Springboks at altitude. Then they lost their heads.

<script type="text/javascript"> delayedAds.push(function(){ FD.addExternalReferralsAd($merge(FD.baseAd, { id: "adspot-300x250-pos-3", iframeId: "adspot-300x250-pos-3-iframe", params: $merge($merge(FD.baseAd.params, { pos: 3, aamsz : "300x250" }),getAdParams("300x250")) ,addSmall: true ,smallText: "Advertisement: Story continues below" }) ); } ); </script> Had the Wallabies shown composure, maintained some semblance of a defensive line, kept their set-pieces intact and used their chances wisely, one of the great Australian victories - and a first win at Loftus Versfeld - was in the offing.

But no. Yet again the Wallabies' structure was shown to be flimsy, and their lack of experience in knowing how to put away an opponent led to the most exasperating of defeats. The best opportunity in years to beat the Springboks deep in their heartland, and on such an emotional day as South African second-rower Victor Matfield's 100th Test appearance, was wasted.

Did the Wallabies choke? Sure. Did they implode? Sure. Are they improving? How can you tell? They can't put together an 80-minute performance, and as soon as the storm clouds start to build, they fall into their bad habits.

The Wallabies are like a faulty engine. They cough and splutter, stalling at times, then accelerate out of control when you least expect it. It is a madcap, dangerous ride in which you often don't reach your destination.

But what is particularly frustrating about this whiplash of a trip is that the Wallabies have no idea how to defend a lead. So often in recent years they have failed to take advantage when on top of an opponent. They score, and appear to immediately slacken off.

It was the old routine at Loftus when, just two minutes after the Wallabies had taken a 14-0 lead, Springboks flanker Juan Smith was almost led to the line when a giant hole emerged in the visitors' defence.

The Wallabies scored again to go 14 points ahead of the Springboks, but within minutes their standards slipped a second time when their lineout defence was so shoddy that South African prop Gurthro Steenkamp ambled through the middle to tighten the gap. But Australia also didn't help themselves at important moments when one-time strengths of their game let them down. The Wallabies' lineout work, one of their most potent assets a few seasons ago, was at times diabolical, especially in the 70th minute, when they were handed a marvellous chance to regain the lead.

The Australians positioned themselves for a lineout throw 10 metres from the Springboks line, and provided hooker Saia Faingaa and his jumpers worked as one, they were in the ideal part of the field to strike. Like the All Blacks the week before, here was the moment to bound over the top of the South Africans and win the Test.

Alas, the throw was astray, the Springboks won possession and worked their way out of danger. There were three other occasions when the Australian lineout bombed - which makes it imperative that Stephen Moore regains the starting hooking spot for this weekend's Test in Bloemfontein.

Big moments require experienced players, and Moore would have made an impact in those final minutes. Keeping Moore out of the action was a blunder by Australia's coaching staff, who strangely continue to underutilise their utility back, Berrick Barnes. He was once again not used off the bench, and was another player who might have been handy on the field around full-time.

Springboks coach Peter de Villiers knew he had got away with one, praising the Wallabies for their attacking initiative and for having ''good running lines and a lot of dancers''. ''If they hear music, they can dance,'' he said.

But, as far as the Wallabies were concerned, this was a night when the music died.

 

[Jer1cho]

glad to know the refs consistent if the boks win

Wow, you are really something.

 

[nickdnz]

Agreed madflyhalf. I think that their aversion to kicks, as well as lack of substitutions lost them the game. Running every single ball inside your own 22 against a team like SA is mad. Genia put in some decent kicks, as well as Cooper. Really every time they did kick, they were well placed and gained some decent territory. What I wonder is why Giteau doesn't kick any more. Last year his kicking out of hand was the best in the world (in terms of effectiveness). His midfield kick where he drops into the pocket and bangs it up the left touch into the corner is his best kick, but he hasn't used it all year. You can kick in rugby for a reason, it's not just a running game. You can really see Deans trying to copy Henry in some respects. However, the ABs have the size, power, and fitness in their team to use that game plan of all attack, whereas the Wallabies don't. Who is a more effective crasher: Ma'a Nonu or AAC? Not even close, yet AAC took numerous ineffective crash balls (thanks in part to JdV's superb defense) when even Nonu couldn't make a dent last week (until the last play of course). The Oz forwards are not physical enough to dominate the breakdowns or fit enough to get there as the game goes on. Yes, Oz looked nearly as dangerous on the counter as Mils and co. in the early stages of the 3N, but the ABs didn't rely on it for their points. They are also able to change gears and adapt to the situation. Personally, I think Deano is a double-agent for NZRU, come to sow dissent and misery in the Wallaby ranks before the WC. His Crusaders played with such nous and panache along with their skill and speed. I haven't seen any flashes of higher thought this year. Lets go Deano play your players to their strengths and trust your bench.

Ma'a Nonu obviously...seriously, it isn't even close. Nonu is a far better crasher than AAC, and breaks the line more often.

Okay...

 

[Amobokoboko]

Good game, both sides played very well. Sa took the game in the last 15 minutes.

 

[madflyhalf]

Ma'a Nonu obviously...seriously, it isn't even close. Nonu is a far better crasher than AAC, and breaks the line more often.

Okay...

Yeah, Ma'a Nonu is also a pure centre, AAC is mr. Everywhere, though he has played bad yesterday... in fact I think that was his worst performance in 2 years! One of the most consistent Aussie back had a very bad day at the office.
I really admire him, expecially as fb, and I think it's been only an accident! In the worst match for the Wallabies

Nice article upstairs, well focused!