Wales vs South Africa

[RC]

Thanks to a courtesy ticket from a certain company i got to go and watch this match today and i really enjoyed it.
Wales actually played from the kick off - that was one positive. We played with heart, we were tough up front and there wasn't one point where south africa bullied us.
South africa were clinical (superbly so) and it cost us dearly, because from my perspective in the stands we had a lot of possession and territory, however, everytime SA got into our 22m they scored.
Some cracking fights, funny watching AWJ putting Habana on his arse and Mike Phillips throwing his weight around again - just what we like to see.
Wales were unlucky to only get 2 tries, there were more for the taking if only we did the basics a little better.
Handling was quite poor, and this held us back somewhat. The line-out was a good display today, especially considering we were against SA.

I'm very proud of the boys. In my eyes i believe hook didn't have too good a game at all, whenever his boot made contact with the ball 8 times out of 10 the kick would be sliced and he tried to take on too much on his own.
Henson played solidly, didn't run enough straight lines as far as i'm concerned, didn't attack the defensive line but defensively put up a great performance and showed some stunningly soft hands throughout.

South Africa's defence was very good. It didn't look like we were going to break it, but we persisted and got 2 tries and as i said before, we were unlucky not to get anymore.

 

[Incredible Schalk]

I thought the SA lineout was pretty weak(by their standards) without Matfield, shame he didnt play.

 

[BokMagic]

Well from a SA perspective, satisfactory performance, but not really brilliant. Good scrummaging while Heinke came on, but obviously got shown up for the 16 minutes we had only 7 forwards on the park. In the lineouts, well one could see that Smit only joined up late with the squad, because we lost a lot of our own throw-ins. And while the back row certainly defended brilliantly, with Burger absolutely outstanding, I feel that we should`ve contested more for the ball.

But the backline certainly did their job with some superb finishing. And I was very impressed with Kankowski`s debut at 8, he really looked quite good in his debut. So overall, nice to get a decent win under the belt in our 1st outing as RWC holders.

@Aussie Pride- sorry mate, been a bit busy, so I`m a bit late with answering your questions. Firstly, the centres you mentioned. I rate Murray as our 2nd best no. 13 at the moment, behind Fourie. He showed some promise in his debut season in 2006, showing some strength and pace, but he made a massive leap forward this year, adding rock-solid defense and good hands to the mix. Struggled a bit with his handling in his 3 tests to date, but I think that he`ll seriously push Fourie next year for the no.1 slot. Julies- well he doesn`t get the recognition he deserves in SA. For some or other reason, we seem to pick big, strong 12`s like that idiot De Wet Barry over creative playmakers with soft hand skills. He should`ve been in the original RWC squad, ahead of Olivier I believe.

Backrow forwards- yeah I also really rate Floors. Another who deserves better than just 1 test cap. Unfortunately, he`s competing with Burger for the openside slot, so he`ll still be in his shadow for the forseeable future. But I`d want him in my match 22. His flair, coming from his success at 7`s, as well as his ability to hit well above his weight on defense, will give him my nod. And well, Lobberts kept a certain Pierre Spies on the bench for the SA u/21`s, so yeah, he looks like a solid bet for the future.

As for the props, a couple of other Saffas have said it all I believe.

 

[shtove]

Keep hearing people raving about Henson, but to be perfectly honest I saw nothing about his peformace I would rate above 'Decent'.

Yes, the guy showed some nice touches. There were a couple of passes which showed he has soft hands. However, unlike all the top 12s of the game, he doesn't threaten the gain line enough. Take a look at the likes of Giteau, D'Arcy or Jauzion, and you can see they offer a huge threat with ball in hand. This doesn't mean they look to run it on their own every time, but the ability to make breaks draws men to them, creating space for others. In all honestly, Steyn looked very comfortable man to man on defence against Henson.

Admittedly it doesn't help when he has a plank like Parker outside him, but the guy just doesn't attack defences enough to be convincing for me.

Also suprises me that people readily criticise Hook. I think he did admirably with the quality of ball he was given - the chip for Stoddard's try (who I thought showed great promise) was wonderfully weighted).

At the moment I think as a pairing, Burger and Smith eclipse even McCaw and Collins as the best flank-forward combination in international rugby. The amount of work they get through is astounding. In tandem with the young number 8, who also looked a useful prospect, they negated much of the Welsh attacking threat. [/b]

Henson was up against a rush defence, so for me his distribution today was superb: the one true talent in the Wales backline. Hook is hard to judge - I couldn't understand why he refused to distribute to the right in the second half, but I guess there was a good tactical reason.

Good point on Burger and Smith. The French defeat of the ABs in the RWC was a great match - but looking back I'd prefer to have seen these guys up against each other in the final.

 

[KZNSharksFan]

I live in New Zealand so had to endure the Welsh commentary. The one bloke was good and fair but the other Welshman with the lisp really ****** me off!!! He was the most biased commentator i have ever heard! And i have had the displeasure of listening to Grant Fox. Who was that guy?

 

[Incredible Schalk]

I live in New Zealand so had to endure the Welsh commentary. The one bloke was good and fair but the other Welshman with the lisp really ****** me off!!! He was the most biased commentator i have ever heard! And i have had the displeasure of listening to Grant Fox. Who was that guy?
[/b]

Brian Moore :lol: , yes he is very biased but he's English and i didnt detect a hint of bias towards Wales.

 

[aussie_pride]

<div class='quotemain'>
I live in New Zealand so had to endure the Welsh commentary. The one bloke was good and fair but the other Welshman with the lisp really ****** me off!!! He was the most biased commentator i have ever heard! And i have had the displeasure of listening to Grant Fox. Who was that guy?
[/b]

Brian Moore :lol: , yes he is very biased but he's English and i didnt detect a hint of bias towards Wales.
[/b][/quote]
His lisp is bloody annoying though.

 

[aussie_pride]

One other thing. I found it highly unusual that Charteris being the 6'9' giant he is, is employed as a lifter and not a jumper in the line out. I thought the Welsh line out was decent; much more improved than in the World Cup. Both Bennett and T-R Thomas have improved their throwing. However, I just think Wales could be absolute dynamite in those lineouts if Charteris is jumping. He'd be much a easier target for the thrower to hit and would gain a fair few steals.

As per usual Alun-Wyn Jones was impressive as were the Welsh back row. I though Stoddardt looked very sharp, not just with his running but how he inserted himself into the game. He and alot of the outside backs seemed to slip over alot. For those who are greatly familiar with the Millenium Stadium, is it because of the closed roof that the surface is so slippery? Finally Id like to say that I was impressed with both Mark Jones and Gavin Henson. Mark Jones was very quiet in the first half but made an impact in the second. Henson showed glimpses of class and really looked to open up the SA defence. Im a bit unconvinced as to whether Tom Shanklin is the right centre partner for him though.

 

[Bull]

<div class='quotemain'>
I live in New Zealand so had to endure the Welsh commentary. The one bloke was good and fair but the other Welshman with the lisp really ****** me off!!! He was the most biased commentator i have ever heard! And i have had the displeasure of listening to Grant Fox. Who was that guy?
[/b]

Brian Moore :lol: , yes he is very biased but he's English and i didnt detect a hint of bias towards Wales. [/b][/quote]

Have to agree with Sharksfan that guy was hugely biased towards the Welsh, luckily I could switch the commentary to Afrikaans.

 

[Incredible Schalk]

<div class='quotemain'> <div class='quotemain'>
I live in New Zealand so had to endure the Welsh commentary. The one bloke was good and fair but the other Welshman with the lisp really ****** me off!!! He was the most biased commentator i have ever heard! And i have had the displeasure of listening to Grant Fox. Who was that guy?
[/b]

Brian Moore :lol: , yes he is very biased but he's English and i didnt detect a hint of bias towards Wales. [/b][/quote]

Have to agree with Sharksfan that guy was hugely biased towards the Welsh, luckily I could switch the commentary to Afrikaans.
[/b][/quote]


Maybe im just so used to it i dont notice it but i didnt hear him showing much bias towards Wales. Like when Pienaar i think it was tried to stop the first try and he had been tripped slightly and Moore said it was "disgraceful". What a hypocrite :lol:

 

[dullonien]

Congratulations South Africa on a clinical display of rugby. As others have said, not a complete display from the forewards, but very close to it in the backs.

From Wales it was an odd display. Shtove had said he's never seen Wales with as much possision against top opposition. The problem was, it was in the wrong areas of the field, around SA's 10m line, instead of inside their 22. Every time we got inside the 22 we lost the resulting lineout or scrum. It was nice to see the linout finctioning reasonable well, but we have to win the improtant ones, we buckled when it mattered.

Our front row still isn't there, it's our main problem at the mo, hope Gatland can sort something out! Second row looked strong, Ian Evans being a tad quiet for his standards, bit Alun-Wyn being his usuall self. Back row wasn't quite there. Charvis worked hard as usuall, bagging his record 22 try. Jonathan Thomas looked good at no. 8, slightly lacking the go foreward we need. Sowden Taylor was very quiet though, he's not there yet. Maybe Richard Parks would be a better option? he's everywhere for the dragons and he gives us another ball carying option.

Our backs were mixed, Peel having a quiet game, good disribution, but not much else. Hook was inconsistent at best, he's still learning. Henson's distribution was sublime, defence solid, but needs to get his running and kicking game back.

Shanklin needs to be bought back into the number 13 shirt to parter Henson, more should have been made with Hensons passing, but Parker was quiet, didn't run the angles like Shanks does. Shanklin did work very hard, getting into the game at every oportinity, pitty the same couldn't be said for Mark Jones.

I thought Stoddard had an excellent debut. He looked very nervous to begin with, dropping a couple of balls and missing a crucial tackle. His second half display was very sound, getting a try to boot. He looked dangerous in attack, just needs to work on his deffence slightly. He'll learn.

All in all, on ok game for Wales. Not a bad starting place for the Gatland era. I'm sure we'll improve.

 

[Sir Speedy]

^^ "Not a bad start."
Don't let Jeremy Guscott read that or he'll probably make an other outburst of, "If that shows signs of encouragement, you may aswell give them the wooden spoon now."

 

[KZNSharksFan]

<div class='quotemain'>
I live in New Zealand so had to endure the Welsh commentary. The one bloke was good and fair but the other Welshman with the lisp really ****** me off!!! He was the most biased commentator i have ever heard! And i have had the displeasure of listening to Grant Fox. Who was that guy?
[/b]

Brian Moore :lol: , yes he is very biased but he's English and i didnt detect a hint of bias towards Wales.
[/b][/quote]


Thanks. I'll bear that in mind the next time he's commentating. Might have to mute the TV.