So begins the international season...

Greetings rugby followers...

Yip the international season is well underway and so far pretty interesting regarding the form books i say! Oz are looking the most expansive, the Boks back to their physically bullying selves and my Blacks are looking but ka ak yo!!

Lets start with the Ausies, they are a team that is building some depth and with a coach like Robbie Deans you can see the change in their forward play too. Their scrums don’t seem to be struggling that much fair enough they have only played Italy but Italy generally have a strong pack...at least. What i like about the Ausies is the balance they seem to have now and the depth they are building. I mean who plays a 19 year old as a starting international fullback? Australia, thats who. I don’t think they are the finished product just yet, but thats what you want though right? All the signs are demonstrating a team progressing on the right path. Their front row is more than competent, my pick being the brumbies prop who plays like an extra loose forward, the one who scores all the time, I get confused between Ben Alexander/Benn Robinson, but u know which one. The bra has skills, and is quite pacey for a presumed porker. There are the 2 locks they have, nothing flash but both big and hard working. The loose trio is hectic. George Smith at i think 28/29 years old closing in on 100 test caps looks like he has another 100 left in him. He is at his menacing and linking best, I would put him as the best out and out open side flanker in the business at the moment, followed by Luke and Brussow. Anyone they have at 6 and 8 (Brown, Mumm, Pockock, Waugh, Palu) looks hardly out of place. Burgess looks to be growing into his no 9 role. Gits, well what can be said about the best no 10 in the business at the moment? Yes alot but i have 2 other teams to get through so you can use your imagination as well as these superlatives, wow, amazing, mercurial, magical...in the centres there are Barnes and Mortlock, the Master (Morts) and the over achieving student. Then they have loose trios to burn, Ashley cooper, Turner, Mitchell, Ioane, Tiquiri, Heynes juslike nah they are building something special here.

Then there were the Boks. To be honest i was one of those who thought they were a bit underdone and would feel the heat a wee bit in the first test. Not that i think the Lions are anything to be fearful of. This Lions team is much better than the one that was taken to the cleaners in NZ a few years ago, but in terms of striking fear into opponents, I am not too convinced and I have always said that. They have quality individual players but as a collective man i don’t know. Their formidable pack got a formidable pasting for roughly 40 minutes last week. Everyone is giving the high fives to Beast but i am not too convinced about his scrumming just yet, he had a lot of help from Bismark and Bakkies. Dont get me wrong he did what he had to do, held his own, back straight and i think the plan to attack Vicery paid dividends! So what turned the game? Second half replacements or the Lions lifting their intensity? I would go with the Lions, but South African supporters will go with the substitutions. Now you tell me what was lost by bringing on Guthro and Deon for Beast and John, fair enough they had the ascendancy in a few scrums, but the Welsh made changes which seemed to neutralise that before the Beast went off, or am i mistaken. Brussow was having a stormer and i don’t think he should have been taken off so early, but ey it was his debut, he worked tirelessly and he was replaced by the Bulls and Bok supersub Danie Russouw, just the way south African supporters like it...more meat in the pack, afterall Brussow, like Luke, is too small to play flank!! Anyway, i am pleased for Div that they won because all the heat he is taking even from a win, imagine if they had lost. The team is looking pretty solid at the moment particularly upfront. The loose forward come scrummy Fourie is also looking on top of his game. The rest of the backline is a wee bit rusty but nothing a little game time wont sort out.

The Abs looked pretty ordinary in the first test, but the French brought a quality side and played a damn impressive game so lets move on from that. The second test, even more ordinary Abs but luckily the French were slightly more ordinary. I am not convinced about Cowan at 9 this year thus far and Donald at 10. He just looks like he is not relaxed at all. Donald at the Chiefs is not the same Donald with an AB 10 jersey. Enter Lukie...I hope. I am not too concerned to be honest. We might take the wooden spoon in this years Tri Nations, but its ok we are hopefully building some depth cos its lacking. The first test what was the sum of the loose trios test caps about 12?

Anyway moving right along to this anima called the South African rugby supporter. The animal along with idiotic players like Bakkies and Bismark that make me dislike the Bok team so much. Never have i seen an animal that suffers from so much one-itis ever. Let me highlight some inconsistencies...Ricky Januarie, yes a bit of a porker but he looked the same during last years tri nations when he won you the game at Carrisbrook, Ricky Januarie, what a boytjie...the saviour...blah blah blah. Next, but how can he be picked, he didn’t play much super 14 this year, but wait neither did Ruan Pienaar, or Jacque Fourie, and there are other players who played consistently well during this years super 14 that weren’t picked, but lets not worry about those players lets just pick on Earl Rose and Ricky. Earl Rose, shame poor guy, if you watch rugby like i think i do, and see a lot of the Lions tries, they were ignited by who? Yes Earl Rose. A couple of stuff ups were of his making yes, but you cant tell me he was any worse than a few others whose names i will save for later as I have some more comparsisons i want to draw(or biatching). Earl Rose didn’t ask to be picked, he has never said he is the best in his position, yes but why pick him some might ask, well what were people saying when Bob Skinstad, who by his own admission was nowhere near worthy of being picked ahead of AJ Venter or Teich by a long mile?mmm let me see not too much. A few rumblings here and there but nothing to the extent that we have on the comments on Rugby365 and Sport 24 about Rose and some other players, who all coincidentally appear to be players of colour. I mean lets take Frans Steyn for one, randomness personified, but u stay right where you are even though a player like Kirchner was by a country mile the best fullback in the country and then some. But how can you pick Ricky when Kockott and Vermaak were better than he was. Then the most annoying one for me. Drop Adi Jacobs and put in Jacque Fourie, but wait aren’t we the same people that are saying that you cant just pick players who haven’t played much S14 this year, but its fine to substitute Jacque for a player who has not put a foot wrong thus far this year? Hmmmm...sheesh what else...oh yes Brussouw, yip it was impossible to pick Luke because he is too small, foolish!! He is bigger than Brussouw is. He is not good enough, well i did some research and as far as loosies in SA go, those 2 were in the top 3 or so in SA. Yes so Luke stood for what he believed in, he believed that the Bok emblem, just like that old flag, represents the old school. And well done to him for saying what he believed. Its funny though that a player like Toks is guilty of racially abusing a young lady but no don’t worry Toksie, you are one of the boytjies...

Anyway onto this weekends games. Boks will win at Loftus, the Lions best shot was in Durbs. That being said I’d like to see the series go down to the wire, i.e. the 3rd test being the decider. France v Oz, should be a ripper, but Oz to take it and NZ to have a good hit out against Italy, just hope for no more injuries and something starts clicking other than my knees

Outta here people have a good rugby viewing weekend