NPR

Sards wrote: ↑Thu Apr 29, 2021 4:36 pm

Blake wrote: ↑Thu Apr 29, 2021 1:00 pm

assfly wrote: ↑Thu Apr 29, 2021 5:43 am

That'll be shame if it's only three. It's usually four plus the occasional game against the Barbarians.

The fourth match is always a fuckup, because it's outside the test window and we lose access to our European-based players.

I miss Bok rugby as much as anybody but I'd rather them not play any games where we would not have our best players available.

How is it different for other nations.

FalseBayFC wrote: ↑Fri Apr 30, 2021 11:27 am Been watching clips of Jesse Kriel in Japan this year and his Bok games. The guy is absolutely lethal. Him and Hendricks have to be in the mix for the Lions tour. I would put in the top 6 centres in the world at the mo. He's also only 27 years old.

boere wors wrote: ↑Fri Apr 30, 2021 2:12 pm Kriel seems to be in good form, but to be fair, who doesn't look lethal there?! But ja, we are quite bolstered in the centres, DDA and Am first choice, although Am needs to find his 2019 form again. Hendricks and Kriel more than competent backup, and I would also look at Serfontein, the guy is playing great Rugby in Montpellier.
What surprises me is that anybody would seriously consider Damien at 10 as backup for Pollard. He is not performing or let alone even playing there for WP and would be eaten alive by the Lions. I would be more confident to have Kolbe at flyhalf, at least he's been doing so for his club and excelled, even nailes his kicks. I'm somewhat sorry for Willemse, he has not lived up to the expectation so far. He is a great talent and still a youngster, but imo he is in desperate need for a change in environment to fulfill his potential. He should go to France and become a star player there in a couple of seasons.

handyman wrote: ↑Fri Apr 30, 2021 2:17 pm

FalseBayFC wrote: ↑Fri Apr 30, 2021 11:27 am Been watching clips of Jesse Kriel in Japan this year and his Bok games. The guy is absolutely lethal. Him and Hendricks have to be in the mix for the Lions tour. I would put in the top 6 centres in the world at the mo. He's also only 27 years old.

Jesse Kriel has all the physical attributes, but for me he is not an intelligent player.

Lemoentjie wrote: ↑Fri Apr 30, 2021 7:56 am

Sards wrote: ↑Thu Apr 29, 2021 4:36 pm

Blake wrote: ↑Thu Apr 29, 2021 1:00 pm

The fourth match is always a fuckup, because it's outside the test window and we lose access to our European-based players.

I miss Bok rugby as much as anybody but I'd rather them not play any games where we would not have our best players available.

How is it different for other nations.

They have agreements with the national team. So even if a Wales player has a club team game outside the test window, the WRU (who controls the Welsh club teams) will force the clubs to let him play in the national team. Whereas the SARU cannot force Sale to release Bok players outside of the test window unless it's specified in their contract (which Sale would never agree to).

Fangle wrote: ↑Fri Apr 30, 2021 4:42 pm Contracts are meant to be adhered to. But maybe not in your line of business.

Sards wrote: ↑Fri Apr 30, 2021 4:54 pm

Fangle wrote: ↑Fri Apr 30, 2021 4:42 pm Contracts are meant to be adhered to. But maybe not in your line of business.

The terms of the contract should be structured differently and enforced to protect our players from this predicament. A little bit of imagination and this could be structured to benefit the national team. And don't imagine that it would make our players less desirable abroad. Our boys have done us proud.

Just curious. What line of business do I run that is not ethical. I find that comment quite insulting and worthy of a ban. You have attacked my professional integrity.

Chilli wrote: ↑Fri Apr 30, 2021 2:23 pm

boere wors wrote: ↑Fri Apr 30, 2021 2:12 pm Kriel seems to be in good form, but to be fair, who doesn't look lethal there?! But ja, we are quite bolstered in the centres, DDA and Am first choice, although Am needs to find his 2019 form again. Hendricks and Kriel more than competent backup, and I would also look at Serfontein, the guy is playing great Rugby in Montpellier.
What surprises me is that anybody would seriously consider Damien at 10 as backup for Pollard. He is not performing or let alone even playing there for WP and would be eaten alive by the Lions. I would be more confident to have Kolbe at flyhalf, at least he's been doing so for his club and excelled, even nailes his kicks. I'm somewhat sorry for Willemse, he has not lived up to the expectation so far. He is a great talent and still a youngster, but imo he is in desperate need for a change in environment to fulfill his potential. He should go to France and become a star player there in a couple of seasons.

A very sensible post Sards.

Fangle wrote: ↑Fri Apr 30, 2021 5:22 pm

Sards wrote: ↑Fri Apr 30, 2021 4:54 pm

Fangle wrote: ↑Fri Apr 30, 2021 4:42 pm Contracts are meant to be adhered to. But maybe not in your line of business.

The terms of the contract should be structured differently and enforced to protect our players from this predicament. A little bit of imagination and this could be structured to benefit the national team. And don't imagine that it would make our players less desirable abroad. Our boys have done us proud.

Just curious. What line of business do I run that is not ethical. I find that comment quite insulting and worthy of a ban. You have attacked my professional integrity.

I expect that you have good contracts that you live up to, because you are a good businessman, which is why I’m surprised that you seemed to expect different from rugby ones. But you’ve clarified that.

Cartman wrote: ↑Sat May 01, 2021 1:07 pm Just look at these two teams dreamt up by keo and his mates, fck me
https://www.sarugbymag.co.za/springboks ... nst-lions/

Cartman wrote: ↑Sat May 01, 2021 1:07 pm Just look at these two teams dreamt up by keo and his mates, fck me
https://www.sarugbymag.co.za/springboks ... nst-lions/

OomStruisbaai wrote: ↑Sun May 02, 2021 3:34 am After yesterday matches.

Only changes in the squad will be Fassi, Ox and Marco van Staden.

FalseBayFC wrote: ↑Sun May 02, 2021 9:53 am

OomStruisbaai wrote: ↑Sun May 02, 2021 3:34 am After yesterday matches.

Only changes in the squad will be Fassi, Ox and Marco van Staden.

Agreed. Also Pollard played for the first time yesterday. Pray that he stays fit.

https://www.iol.co.za/sport/rugby/inter ... 6a9c59ba6a

The series mark the first time Georgia will tour South Africa, while the two Tests are also the first time the two countries will meet again since their only previous clash, at the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia.

It means Jacques Nienaber will make his debut as Springbok head coach on the weekend of 2/3 July, with the second clash set for one week later on the weekend of 9/10 July. SA Rugby will confirm the exact dates, venues and kick-off times in due course.

Rassie Erasmus, Director of Rugby, welcomed the World Rugby July Test schedule and said the two-Test series against Georgia offered the Springboks a very good opportunity to prepare for the much-anticipated Castle Lager Lions Series.

“Nothing beats a full-blooded international to test your skill set, readiness and ability under pressure, and we are delighted to have this opportunity before the Lions series,” said Erasmus.

“Jacques (Nienaber), his coaching staff and management have been working around the clock to get the team as well prepared as possible, and the Georgia series is a much-needed opportunity after such a long and unforeseen interruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Last year, Nienaber was named as Springbok head coach, but the worldwide pandemic has prevented the Rugby World Cup champions from playing any Test matches since 2 November 2019, when they defeated England in the final in Japan.

“The confirmation of the Georgian Tests, and the announcement of the British & Irish Lions squad last week have caused a lot of excitement and I am sure it will lift the spirit of the players – we can now accelerate our preparations for our return to Test rugby,” said Nienaber.

assfly wrote: ↑Mon May 10, 2021 9:28 am Two tests against Georgia confirmed for July.

The series mark the first time Georgia will tour South Africa, while the two Tests are also the first time the two countries will meet again since their only previous clash, at the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia.

It means Jacques Nienaber will make his debut as Springbok head coach on the weekend of 2/3 July, with the second clash set for one week later on the weekend of 9/10 July. SA Rugby will confirm the exact dates, venues and kick-off times in due course.

Rassie Erasmus, Director of Rugby, welcomed the World Rugby July Test schedule and said the two-Test series against Georgia offered the Springboks a very good opportunity to prepare for the much-anticipated Castle Lager Lions Series.

“Nothing beats a full-blooded international to test your skill set, readiness and ability under pressure, and we are delighted to have this opportunity before the Lions series,” said Erasmus.

“Jacques (Nienaber), his coaching staff and management have been working around the clock to get the team as well prepared as possible, and the Georgia series is a much-needed opportunity after such a long and unforeseen interruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Last year, Nienaber was named as Springbok head coach, but the worldwide pandemic has prevented the Rugby World Cup champions from playing any Test matches since 2 November 2019, when they defeated England in the final in Japan.

“The confirmation of the Georgian Tests, and the announcement of the British & Irish Lions squad last week have caused a lot of excitement and I am sure it will lift the spirit of the players – we can now accelerate our preparations for our return to Test rugby,” said Nienaber.

Pretty sub-standard preparation for a Lions tour.

FalseBayFC wrote: ↑Mon May 10, 2021 10:00 am I reckon our starting XV have enough rugby in them and know each other well enough to overcome that. Biggest threat to our campaign is injuries between now and then. The lions still have a ton of great players to call on if they have any injuries between now and the tour. Our depth is a concern.

Blake wrote: ↑Mon May 10, 2021 10:13 am

FalseBayFC wrote: ↑Mon May 10, 2021 10:00 am I reckon our starting XV have enough rugby in them and know each other well enough to overcome that. Biggest threat to our campaign is injuries between now and then. The lions still have a ton of great players to call on if they have any injuries between now and the tour. Our depth is a concern.

Indeed. We need some time together as a team to gel, sure, but I don't think we will be trying anything fundamentally different than in 2019.
It's just about brushing off the rust.

Injuries are a concern sure, but really only in a couple of positions I feel; flyhalf being the biggest concern. If Pollard goes down, we are in a bit of a bind.

Forwards we have decent depth everywhere. Outside backs I'm also comfortable. Scrumhalf we have Faf, Jantjies and Reinach. Centers we have depth, but not a lot of time together and given our defensive focus might be a weakness in terms of communication and interplay. We have a decent pool of players in DDA, AE, Frans Steyn, Am, Hendricks etc, all with caps, but not a lot of time together.

assfly wrote: ↑Mon May 10, 2021 11:51 am I admire your optimism lads, but the rugby I've been watching in the NH the last few weeks has been incredibly good. These guys have been playing meaningful and extremely competitive rugby since October, including two national competitions (Autumn Nations Cup and Six Nations). A lot of the Lions players toured in 2017 and a lot play together at provincial level too. And they will have warm up games against our unions before the tests even start.

Now look at the dross we have been subject to since Super Covid Unblocked started in October.

Sorry to play devil's advocate, but I think we're in a spot of bother. I hope I am 100% wrong.

assfly wrote: ↑Mon May 10, 2021 11:51 am I admire your optimism lads, but the rugby I've been watching in the NH the last few weeks has been incredibly good. These guys have been playing meaningful and extremely competitive rugby since October, including two national competitions (Autumn Nations Cup and Six Nations). A lot of the Lions players toured in 2017 and a lot play together at provincial level too. And they will have warm up games against our unions before the tests even start.

Now look at the dross we have been subject to since Super Covid Unblocked started in October.

Sorry to play devil's advocate, but I think we're in a spot of bother. I hope I am 100% wrong.

Lemoentjie wrote: ↑Mon May 10, 2021 12:00 pm I'm interested to hear your XVs for the 1st Lions test.

Personally I think there is quite an issue with all Lions players having played ~10 test matches in the last 12 months, while the Boks haven't played any.

1.5 years is such a long time in rugby where each season forces new innovation and changes.

Blake wrote: ↑Mon May 10, 2021 12:37 pm

Lemoentjie wrote: ↑Mon May 10, 2021 12:00 pm I'm interested to hear your XVs for the 1st Lions test.

Personally I think there is quite an issue with all Lions players having played ~10 test matches in the last 12 months, while the Boks haven't played any.

1.5 years is such a long time in rugby where each season forces new innovation and changes.

Depends on injuries, but I'd stick as close as possible to the RWC final team, with replacements for Beast and Flouw who have retired.

Nyakane or Thomas du Toit seem to be the obvious choices, with Nche and Gqoboka bubbling under. I wouldn't blood a prop against the Lions though. Might be risky.
For Flouw's replacement I'd ideally look for another strong fetcher type player. Giving Marco van Staden a cap off the bench would be my choice. I like both the Du Preez twins, but I'd rather they play blindside flank and/or No8 and keep a better balanced backrow. Vermeulen will probably retire after the Lions series and that should open up a jersey for one of them.

Sards wrote: ↑Mon May 10, 2021 1:04 pm I would start afresh. Best time to do it....but you know that the topples all want to play the BILs

Blake wrote: ↑Mon May 10, 2021 1:10 pm

Sards wrote: ↑Mon May 10, 2021 1:04 pm I would start afresh. Best time to do it....but you know that the topples all want to play the BILs

Post your troll team so we can all have a laugh.

Let's throw away all the time and effort and caps that have been invested in a World Cup winning team that know the systems and coaches and gameplans and have been checked up on and checked in with for the last 16 months and try an unproven team, unfamiliar with the tactics and game-plans with a new coach and see if we can get something out of them in 4 weeks. What could possibly go wrong.

assfly wrote: ↑Mon May 10, 2021 2:23 pm At least there will only be a handful of Lions fans, if any. Sad, but whatever helps the Boks as we're up against like like you say.