NPR

Masterji wrote: ↑Mon Jul 31, 2023 1:58 pm As a neutral I think the Bok problems stem from Willie not letting the 10 develop. It's OK for him to direct play now and then but the guy takes over at 10 without the responsibility of a 10. If the 10 is useless then drop him but at least play them at 10 and let them sink or swim or put Willie at 10. The other thing is how much Kolisi has been missed, And that's not just his leadership but his dominant tackling. The other real worry for the Boks is decline of AM, looks a shadow of the player before the injury. The bish Bosh merchants in De Allende and Esterhuizen can't make up for a BOK team lacking fully fit AM in tight games.

Doesn’t matter if Am is in RWC19 Final form - the tactics do not include passing the ball to our #13

Masterji wrote: ↑Mon Jul 31, 2023 1:58 pm As a neutral I think the Bok problems stem from Willie not letting the 10 develop. It's OK for him to direct play now and then but the guy takes over at 10 without the responsibility of a 10. If the 10 is useless then drop him but at least play them at 10 and let them sink or swim or put Willie at 10. The other thing is how much Kolisi has been missed, And that's not just his leadership but his dominant tackling. The other real worry for the Boks is decline of AM, looks a shadow of the player before the injury. The bish Bosh merchants in De Allende and Esterhuizen can't make up for a BOK team lacking fully fit AM in tight games.

Hang on. Have you ever been in the position where there is absolutely noone developed in second position and your only flyhalf is injured long term. Get there first before you criticise the more experienced players for helping out

Sards wrote: ↑Mon Jul 31, 2023 5:46 pm

Masterji wrote: ↑Mon Jul 31, 2023 1:58 pm As a neutral I think the Bok problems stem from Willie not letting the 10 develop. It's OK for him to direct play now and then but the guy takes over at 10 without the responsibility of a 10. If the 10 is useless then drop him but at least play them at 10 and let them sink or swim or put Willie at 10. The other thing is how much Kolisi has been missed, And that's not just his leadership but his dominant tackling. The other real worry for the Boks is decline of AM, looks a shadow of the player before the injury. The bish Bosh merchants in De Allende and Esterhuizen can't make up for a BOK team lacking fully fit AM in tight games.

Hang on. Have you ever been in the position where there is absolutely noone developed in second position and your only flyhalf is injured long term. Get there first before you criticise the more experienced players for helping out

Willie is a good player but he should let the FH do his job. If now and then he becomes the 2nd play maker, then that is sensible but when you watch the Boks he takes the space of the FH. If he is so good at FH, why not play him at FH and play someone at FB, hence my point about Willie at FH without the responsibility because if it goes tits up, he loses nothing.

SaintK wrote: ↑Mon Jul 31, 2023 11:58 am

Argentina full-back Juan Cruz Mallia has been cited for alleged foul play during his side's 22-21 defeat to South Africa in the Rugby Championship at the weekend.
Cruz Mallia is alleged to have contravened Law 9.11, whereby players must not do anything that is reckless or dangerous to others.
From the opening kick-off, the ball was collected by Springbok scrumhalf Grant Williams – who attempted a clearance. Cruz Mallia jumped to charge down the clearance and his hip collided with the head of Williams – appearing to knock the 'Bok No. 9 out cold.

Good. I hope they throw the book at him.

And I hope the match day officials also cop some sort of punishment for being useless twats.

Agree on the citing... I'm still in a state of disbelief that no action was taken onfield. That's damning for the officials, there's no excuse for that.


On a different tack... I had the ABs pencilled in as unlikely at best this year, suggesting they could lose both the RC and Bledisloe with a likely failure at the RWC on the cards. I have to eat those words... the performances over the last 3 tests have been astounding. Hilariously, the areas of improvement are pretty much exactly what many have complained about over the last few years... getting beaten at the ruck, not enough numbers over the ball and slow or aimless movement outside of the ruck. I think it's fair to say it's all still a work in progress with plenty of room to improve... the mid stages of games where opponents are getting back on terms is obviously a weakness. There are other concerns related to selection... how Caleb Clarke even gets a game is beyond me and I still don't see the worth of BB playing as starting FB. He gets in the way in attack when he injects himself into the line more often than not and his defensive reads leave a lot to be desired. He remains a handy finisher for my money but not that much more that demands a place.

Overall, I think this current team has a massive Jason Ryan feel to it... tough, hard, fast and clinical. Obviously Joe Schmidt's influence is clear as well... there is a system to the play. These two are going to carry Foster to heights he could never have reached without them and I'm not ruling them out for an actual tilt at the RWC final. I would never have said that 6 months ago.

Masterji wrote: ↑Mon Jul 31, 2023 11:30 pm

Sards wrote: ↑Mon Jul 31, 2023 5:46 pm

Masterji wrote: ↑Mon Jul 31, 2023 1:58 pm As a neutral I think the Bok problems stem from Willie not letting the 10 develop. It's OK for him to direct play now and then but the guy takes over at 10 without the responsibility of a 10. If the 10 is useless then drop him but at least play them at 10 and let them sink or swim or put Willie at 10. The other thing is how much Kolisi has been missed, And that's not just his leadership but his dominant tackling. The other real worry for the Boks is decline of AM, looks a shadow of the player before the injury. The bish Bosh merchants in De Allende and Esterhuizen can't make up for a BOK team lacking fully fit AM in tight games.

Hang on. Have you ever been in the position where there is absolutely noone developed in second position and your only flyhalf is injured long term. Get there first before you criticise the more experienced players for helping out

Willie is a good player but he should let the FH do his job. If now and then he becomes the 2nd play maker, then that is sensible but when you watch the Boks he takes the space of the FH. If he is so good at FH, why not play him at FH and play someone at FB, hence my point about Willie at FH without the responsibility because if it goes tits up, he loses nothing.

The reason why we lost the aerial battle against the All Blacks and the test.

Guy Smiley wrote: ↑Tue Aug 01, 2023 5:50 am

No he does not! He's a criminal allowed to behave like a criminal in plain sight... it's a shocking situation. If Razor has a poor three years and then asks to remove his assistant coaches I'd want Razor gone! You can't blame your tools... if you're the biggest tool.

I'm not watching any of these videos until 2024.

Gumboot wrote: ↑Tue Aug 01, 2023 7:21 am I'm not watching any of these videos until 2024.

I like that Aotearoa rugby pod show. Just some smart inside talk from players, none of that bullshit like the breakdown. Parsons is away at the moment but Bryn Hall has some good insights.

There have a guest AB each week at the moment. I could do without that personally.

Guy Smiley wrote: ↑Tue Aug 01, 2023 7:35 am

Gumboot wrote: ↑Tue Aug 01, 2023 7:21 am I'm not watching any of these videos until 2024.

I like that Aotearoa rugby pod show. Just some smart inside talk from players, none of that bullshit like the breakdown. Parsons is away at the moment but Bryn Hall has some good insights.

There have a guest AB each week at the moment. I could do without that personally.

I like it too generally. Interviews not so much. Unless it's someone like Ryan who provides good insight. And Bryn seemed to think Ryan's fingerprints were all over the All Blacks current style... though maybe he would say that...

And the fucking dodgy ref thought it wasn't even a pen?

DISCIPLINARY UPDATE: Argentina fullback Juan Cruz Mallia received a two-week ban for his challenge on Springbok scrumhalf Grant Williams in last weekend’s Rugby Championship encounter at Ellis Park.

https://rugby365.com/countries/argentin ... scrumhalf/

Insane_Homer wrote: ↑Fri Aug 04, 2023 8:53 am And the fucking dodgy ref thought it wasn't even a pen?

DISCIPLINARY UPDATE: Argentina fullback Juan Cruz Mallia received a two-week ban for his challenge on Springbok scrumhalf Grant Williams in last weekend’s Rugby Championship encounter at Ellis Park.

https://rugby365.com/countries/argentin ... scrumhalf/

Hardly a dodgy ref Homer (poor for his delayed reaction to stop the match yes, but not dodgy). Think that is a fair result, he'll be available for the RWC.