tri nations wrap

A few weeks later i know :)

The last game between the Blacks and Ausies was as close a comparison to
life in general as any! On the one had we have Australia who did all but
win the game. They deserved more than they got. Same as in the first
test against the Boks. The Ausies did all they had to do but the old
adage of survival of the fittest held so true in this game. The Blacks
ground out a win against the odds. They showed old signs of panic when
they were a little behind but the old heads stuck to their game. The
main difference was when Jerome "the super hero" Kaino came on to the
field. With a name like that he was born to be a character in Mortal
Kombat...Kaino wins, flawless victory. But his introduction showed what
a truly balanced loose trio the Blacks have in Richie Kieran and Jerome.
Another visible difference was when Slade came on for Cruden. I like
young Cruden and i dont think he had a bad game, other than 2 or 3
random kick offs his game was pretty decent. he tackled anything that
came at him wasnt scared to take on the line, what more do you want from
a guy? But Colin Slade just seems to have that confidence, he came on
and was shouting the odds, true sign of a confident man.

Ausies are a team to watch. They did what they wanted. They played how
they should have played. They kept the ball and Bam Bam stole ball that
wasnt theirs! Quade danced a little but i think he held off a little.
Gitts showed his class again and the ever solid and reliable Ashley
Cooper did his thing. Aus have a young and slightly built side, but they
play with technique, skill, belief, confidence and precision. That shows
that our (Boks) preoccupation with size is ill informed. Rocky Elsom
what a sour p**s?!! my word! Have you seen a more personality-less
international captain in any sport?

A quick summary of the tri-nations...it was a pretty interesting
competition this year. To be honest there were only 2 out of the 3 teams
that showed any signs of wanting to play. with respect the Boks were
pap. I blame coaching for the selections. For sticking with the same
tired players when clearly they lacked heart. I have been saying this
for a loooooong time, Bryan, is overrated. He is fast, he works hard but
if you dont give him the interception he is largely ineffective,
actually he is a liability, because he inisists on coming off his wing
to go for the intercept, which gives the attacking team endless over lap
opportunities. John Smit, another one, no where near the best hooker in
the country, and judging by the results of the last tri nations, maybe
not the best captain we have at the Boks disposal. Schalk Burger another
guy who as much as he puts his body on the line, he is as ineffective as
a misguided missile. The sad thing is there is talent aplenty in this
country. I know i live in my own world, but i would find a space for
Luke Watson in that team and make him the captain, well maybe after this
era, because a lot of these senior players dont like him much and that
will result in an epic fail of the defence of the Boks' world champ
title. I'd play Chilliboy at 2 or if not Burden or Liebenberg. I know
many of you like Bismarck but to me he is ANOTHER Bakkies Botha, a
yellow card waiting to happen. During the end of year tour, id like to
see the likes of Flouw, Deysel, Strauss (lions), Duane, get a shot in
the forwards. In the backs Pretorius, Lambie, Jantjes, Mvovo, Viljoen
(griquas) and the griquas wing get a shot on tour. You guys wanted Frans
Steyn you got him and with him you got a bucket full of toilet! The Boks
lost a few games, and they looked clueless on the field, but i think it
was more an attitude thing than anything else, this was shown in the
last half of their last test. They need to just man up and focus on the
game. you cant have guys like Victor, De Villiers, Fourie in your team
and be toilet.

Aus are the best placed out of the 3 teams in my mind. They were never
outpayed by any team, well maybe in the first test against the Blacks.
But it was their first game fresh team and they showed improvements in
every game. They have exciting backs competent forwards and the
willingness to win. They will go far. I wont write a lot about them
because we all know they are a team on the up.

The Blacks, what a difference a year makes? that being said though i am
not one of those AB supporters who believes this team is wonderfully
majestic, nah man, they are fallible. They were competent. they were
solid. They did their job, but they were under the pump a few times.
They showed maturity as a unit. and have unearthed some skillful players
such as Izzy Dagg. Some of the old heads are stepping up and playing
their best rugby in a long while. And to think that there are the likes
of Hore, Williams, Sivivatu, Kahui. Players like McAlastair that can be
called on. Then there is this phenom called Sonny Bill Williams. He is a
specimen of a man, but i am not buying the hype though not yet at least,
watched him play a few games for Cantebury and he has great offloads and
he is a presence, but he has much to learn in terms of rugby. I would
rather the Blacks not have won this year, but good for them that they
did because winning becomes a habit. The beauty about the way they are
winning is they are having to scrap for their points its not the 50-20s
of other pre world cup years.

It was a decent tournament, dissapointing from the Boks performance and
point of view but alas, they will come back, need to work on their
defence and decide on their systems and execute accordingly. Its not all
doom and gloom. Oz will just have to keep on keeping on and their day
too will come. The Blacks well just keep building and most importantly
building depth in 10, 6, 7. The end of year tours will be most
interesting and i look forward to it, but till then go the Lions in the
Currie Cup, loving how Province have been playing too.

Till the end of the year then boys and girls

Y