The Springboks vs British & Irish Lions 1st Test Thread

[Blake]

Vok Ox, why in the world would you want Frans Steyn.

A ridiculously strong big game player. 3 RWCs, never lost a RWC match he's played in. One previous Lions series, won the tests he started.

I'm guessing he wasn't ready. He makes the bench minimum. Can't think of many other fit players that can be added. Reinach on the bench maybe.

It's basically going to be same again and try to do it better.

I've been as big a fan of Frans Steyn as you have boet, but he is well past it now. We squandered his best years due to the incompetence of our administrators.
Watching Frans Steyn play now is like when they kept carting out Jean de Villiers at the end of his career...a shadow of the player he was. It's getting sad now.
Frans still has his big boot, but other than that he is slow and soft in contact now. Doesn't make any plays or create any opportunities for his outside backs.
Just trucks it up in a crashball, and loses it in contact half the time.
Not sure how many of his matches you've watched over the last 10 months, but he has been shockingly bad.
Time we put him out to pasture.

I'd still have him in the wider squad for this tour though. He seems to be great for team morale and as a mentor to younger players.

[Blackmac]

Just rewatched the game and posted this on PR to highlight the English and Welsh insistence the VdM was a liability under the high ball.

"You are actually just fantasising now. Let's put this bollocks to bed.

Duhan competes for 7 high kicks during the game. Three defensively and 4 offensively.
He takes the first two defensive kicks cleanly under pressure.
He knocks the 3rd back to Hogg under immense pressure from Kolbe
Offensively he taps the first one back but it is slapped back by a Bok who then gain possession.
Second one he forces a knock on from Pollard.
Third one he taps back and it is cleanly gathered by Lawes
Fourth one is where he and Henshaw go up and it is knocked on by Henshaw when VdM is clearly in a better position to gather.

Finally he takes an a Bok cross kick cleanly under pressure from Kolbe because he is well positioned.

In addition VdM chases down three longer kicks, forcing one penalty, one knock on and finally smashing fudge out of Smith.

Only 5 competitive high kicks were gathered cleanly in the game. Biggar knocked both his efforts on and Williams failed to gather both his, both under pressure from by Kolbe"

[boere wors]

Vok Ox, why in the world would you want Frans Steyn.

A ridiculously strong big game player. 3 RWCs, never lost a RWC match he's played in. One previous Lions series, won the tests he started.

I'm guessing he wasn't ready. He makes the bench minimum. Can't think of many other fit players that can be added. Reinach on the bench maybe.

It's basically going to be same again and try to do it better.

I've been as big a fan of Frans Steyn as you have boet, but he is well past it now. We squandered his best years due to the incompetence of our administrators.
Watching Frans Steyn play now is like when they kept carting out Jean de Villiers at the end of his career...a shadow of the player he was. It's getting sad now.
Frans still has his big boot, but other than that he is slow and soft in contact now. Doesn't make any plays or create any opportunities for his outside backs.
Just trucks it up in a crashball, and loses it in contact half the time.
Not sure how many of his matches you've watched over the last 10 months, but he has been shockingly bad.
Time we put him out to pasture.

I'd still have him in the wider squad for this tour though. He seems to be great for team morale and as a mentor to younger players.

You are absolutely right. Frans, as good as he has been, is woefully out of form unfortunately

[boere wors]

Great post. Only thing I would change is a SOS to Marcel Coetzee for the bench in place of Janse van Rensburg.

That would be the ideal thing to do, but someone has mentioned correctly above, the problem is that we cant bring him in due to quarantine. Would bust the covid bubble

[Blake]

You are absolutely right. Frans, as good as he has been, is woefully out of form unfortunately

Os doesn't really buy into "form" (unless his views have changed over the years).
He has always been of the opinion that "talent" is innate and "form" is coached...a result if physical and mental preparation by the coaching staff.

You should therefore scout for talent, select your most talented players and get them into "form"
If a player is out of form, it is the fault of the coaches for not getting them in peak shape and getting their head right.

It's an interesting philosophy, and if that is what you believe it makes 100% sense to have somebody like Frans Steyn as an early selection on your team sheet.
I'm not sure I buy it though, and it definitely has diminishing returns once the player starts approaching their mid-30's.

[Blake]

Great post. Only thing I would change is a SOS to Marcel Coetzee for the bench in place of Janse van Rensburg.

That would be the ideal thing to do, but someone has mentioned correctly above, the problem is that we cant bring him in due to quarantine. Would bust the covid bubble

Even if we could bring Coetzee into the mix (which we can't) how good is he under the high ball? If he isn't as solid as Duane, it won't make a lick of difference.

Kwagga was solid fielding kicks in the first half, as was Kolby, and Le Roux and Pollard...and we prospered.
Once we started faltering there, the whole gameplan unraveled and it was used against us.

We need to get that hole in our defense plugged first. It is always going to be the Lions' Plan A against us. Now that they are up 1-0, they can afford to experiment with some tactics and plays next week to look for another chink in our armour, and if they can't find one, they will just revert back to contestable kicks.

[Sards]

All the reserves should be dropped. If you don't have the passion or skill fokof. Bring in Thomas and the Bulls prop...( name ). They have spent 2 years stopping Stormers rolling mauls. Get Reinach straight onto the bench. If Faf is having a bad day he can bring it on. Drop Kolbe for Fassi. Fassi catches kicks for fun and is a deadly finisher and can cover 15. Easy fix

[Chilli]

All the reserves should be dropped. If you don't have the passion or skill fokof. Bring in Thomas and the Bulls prop...( name ). They have spent 2 years stopping Stormers rolling mauls. Get Reinach straight onto the bench. If Faf is having a bad day he can bring it on. Drop Kolbe for Fassi. Fassi catches kicks for fun and is a deadly finisher and can cover 15. Easy fix

Drop Kolbe?
He is a proven match winner
Your kids time will come.



We need the Goose on the bench, not Junkies

[Cartman]

FFS, yeah let's gaffie Fassi's career by playing him in a do or die match where one small mistake will stay with him forever

[Sards]

FFS, yeah let's gaffie Fassi's career by playing him in a do or die match where one small mistake will stay with him forever

It's do or die. This is the match that counts. You have to go all in. And it's not just you that will feel disappointed in another Loss. Millions will be affected. Make the call. Remember . This is not Currie Cup. There's always another chance. This is it

[Sards]

All the reserves should be dropped. If you don't have the passion or skill fokof. Bring in Thomas and the Bulls prop...( name ). They have spent 2 years stopping Stormers rolling mauls. Get Reinach straight onto the bench. If Faf is having a bad day he can bring it on. Drop Kolbe for Fassi. Fassi catches kicks for fun and is a deadly finisher and can cover 15. Easy fix

Drop Kolbe?
He is a proven match winner
Your kids time will come.



We need the Goose on the bench, not Junkies

So agree about the Goose . Don't stress. Rassie won't change his game plan. Him and Nienaber were about to get the boot at Munster because they could not change the game plan of 10 man rugby and were exposed by teams that played with the ball. Luckily for them the bok job came up or they would still be looking for a job. Point is. They could never put a plan B together. So what you saw this week is exactly what you will see next week.

[OomStruisbaai]

FFS, yeah let's gaffie Fassi's career by playing him in a do or die match where one small mistake will stay with him forever

Sards only want $hark$ or x $hark$ in his Bok team.

Must be hard for him to see the form of Damian Willemse.

[Raggs]

You should definitely drop Kolbe. 100%. Drop him please.

[Sards]

FFS, yeah let's gaffie Fassi's career by playing him in a do or die match where one small mistake will stay with him forever

Sards only want $hark$ or x $hark$ in his Bok team.

Must be hard for him to see the form of Damian Willemse.

Yoh...its like talking to children.
Point 1. You only have the squad so that is where you have to look.
Kolbe is an exciting player and the best in a team that knows how to use him. With the bok game plan that hasn't changed since Snor took over he is not used to his strengths and based on Rassie's inability to change game plans its not going to change in one week. They couldn't change in that 40 minutes we lost the game...

[Blake]

I find it hilarious that Sards thinks the Boks still employ the same gameplan they did when Jake White, Peter de Villiers and Meyer were coaches…just because there is a lot of kicking involved

[Sards]

I find it hilarious that Sards thinks the Boks still employ the same gameplan they did when Jake White, Peter de Villiers and Meyer were coaches…just because there is a lot of kicking involved

Ask any Munster supporter on here what they think about Rassie and Nienaber.

And I include Coetzee

[sorCrer]

I find it hilarious that Sards thinks the Boks still employ the same gameplan they did when Jake White, Peter de Villiers and Meyer were coaches…just because there is a lot of kicking involved

Ask any Munster supporter on here what they think about Rassie and Nienaber.

And I include Coetzee

They all say they'd have him back in a heartbeat.

[OomStruisbaai]

Sards still struggling with Rassie.

[Blake]

I find it hilarious that Sards thinks the Boks still employ the same gameplan they did when Jake White, Peter de Villiers and Meyer were coaches…just because there is a lot of kicking involved

Ask any Munster supporter on here what they think about Rassie and Nienaber.

And I include Coetzee

If you include Alistair Coetzee’s attempt to try and play “total rugby” with Jake, Rassie and Nienaber who play a “defense and counter attack”-based gameplan, then you know even less about rugby than I thought you did.

Spoiler: it wasn’t a lot to begin with.

[Blake]

Ask any Munster supporter on here what they think about Rassie and Nienaber.

They all say they'd have him back in a heartbeat.

Yep when SARU eventually axe Rassie and Nienaber (because they are idiots that listen to public opinion) we will be back at 7th in the world rankings within a year.

Mark my words.

[Openside]

Just watched it. Blimey the boks were very unlucky with a number of calls there.

Call of clear and obvious in front of the kicker (which it needed to be due to the on field try call). Was anything but clear. The TMO even said words to that effect, but then still claimed it as ahead. Weird decision process.

I probably missed something but Faf trying to clear the ball from the “ruck” right on the try line. Emoji reached over the “ruck” and grabbed the ball also. Somehow became a lions pen??

The lifting above the horizontal and not returning to the ground down with care. In what world was that not a card. Not that I bay for cards.

The lions maul try looked a bit of a fumble. It might not have been, but it certainly deserved more angles of scrutiny there.

Spot on all your observations.

I agree with the offside but the point is moot as the pass was already forward.

Cowan Dickie try had already been scored before the clumsy handling took place.

Watsons tackle was stupid and unnecessary and deserved to be looked at.

The bills try was fortunate as the ball definitely touché SDuT hand…

Frankly it was a dull error strewn match - I hope the next two are better but would accept a 3-0 win

[Yr Alban]

Just rewatched the game and posted this on PR to highlight the English and Welsh insistence the VdM was a liability under the high ball.

"You are actually just fantasising now. Let's put this bollocks to bed.

Duhan competes for 7 high kicks during the game. Three defensively and 4 offensively.
He takes the first two defensive kicks cleanly under pressure.
He knocks the 3rd back to Hogg under immense pressure from Kolbe
Offensively he taps the first one back but it is slapped back by a Bok who then gain possession.
Second one he forces a knock on from Pollard.
Third one he taps back and it is cleanly gathered by Lawes
Fourth one is where he and Henshaw go up and it is knocked on by Henshaw when VdM is clearly in a better position to gather.

Finally he takes an a Bok cross kick cleanly under pressure from Kolbe because he is well positioned.

In addition VdM chases down three longer kicks, forcing one penalty, one knock on and finally smashing fudge out of Smith.

Only 5 competitive high kicks were gathered cleanly in the game. Biggar knocked both his efforts on and Williams failed to gather both his, both under pressure from by Kolbe"

This is why I don’t go back there.

Of the 5 kicks that were gathered cleanly, I think Price had two?

[dpedin]

Just rewatched the game and posted this on PR to highlight the English and Welsh insistence the VdM was a liability under the high ball.

"You are actually just fantasising now. Let's put this bollocks to bed.

Duhan competes for 7 high kicks during the game. Three defensively and 4 offensively.
He takes the first two defensive kicks cleanly under pressure.
He knocks the 3rd back to Hogg under immense pressure from Kolbe
Offensively he taps the first one back but it is slapped back by a Bok who then gain possession.
Second one he forces a knock on from Pollard.
Third one he taps back and it is cleanly gathered by Lawes
Fourth one is where he and Henshaw go up and it is knocked on by Henshaw when VdM is clearly in a better position to gather.

Finally he takes an a Bok cross kick cleanly under pressure from Kolbe because he is well positioned.

In addition VdM chases down three longer kicks, forcing one penalty, one knock on and finally smashing fudge out of Smith.

Only 5 competitive high kicks were gathered cleanly in the game. Biggar knocked both his efforts on and Williams failed to gather both his, both under pressure from by Kolbe"

This is why I don’t go back there.

Of the 5 kicks that were gathered cleanly, I think Price had two?

Spot on mate! Did Williams actually take any high ball cleanly in the time he was on the pitch?

[Yr Alban]

Just rewatched the game and posted this on PR to highlight the English and Welsh insistence the VdM was a liability under the high ball.

"You are actually just fantasising now. Let's put this bollocks to bed.

Duhan competes for 7 high kicks during the game. Three defensively and 4 offensively.
He takes the first two defensive kicks cleanly under pressure.
He knocks the 3rd back to Hogg under immense pressure from Kolbe
Offensively he taps the first one back but it is slapped back by a Bok who then gain possession.
Second one he forces a knock on from Pollard.
Third one he taps back and it is cleanly gathered by Lawes
Fourth one is where he and Henshaw go up and it is knocked on by Henshaw when VdM is clearly in a better position to gather.

Finally he takes an a Bok cross kick cleanly under pressure from Kolbe because he is well positioned.

In addition VdM chases down three longer kicks, forcing one penalty, one knock on and finally smashing fudge out of Smith.

Only 5 competitive high kicks were gathered cleanly in the game. Biggar knocked both his efforts on and Williams failed to gather both his, both under pressure from by Kolbe"

This is why I don’t go back there.

Of the 5 kicks that were gathered cleanly, I think Price had two?

Spot on mate! Did Williams actually take any high ball cleanly in the time he was on the pitch?

Not that I recall?

[Niegs]

[Sards]

There is no plan B.
No clever change in tactics coming up.
The plan is to come out the same way but harder

[Blackmac]

This is why I don’t go back there.

Of the 5 kicks that were gathered cleanly, I think Price had two?

Spot on mate! Did Williams actually take any high ball cleanly in the time he was on the pitch?

Not that I recall?

Nope, beaten to both by Kolbe who knocked both on.

[Raggs]

So we all following the hilarious twitter saga going on at the moment? Rassie is retweeting and talking to himself, via a very obvious dummy account he runs

It's Planet Rugby level multi quoting :D.

[Margin__Walker]

So we all following the hilarious twitter saga going on at the moment? Rassie is retweeting and talking to himself, via a very obvious dummy account he runs

It's Planet Rugby level multi quoting :D.

It's superb. 4d chess and all that

That other account is 100% him or someone close to him.

[Raggs]

So we all following the hilarious twitter saga going on at the moment? Rassie is retweeting and talking to himself, via a very obvious dummy account he runs

It's Planet Rugby level multi quoting :D.

It's superb. 4d chess and all that

That other account is 100% him or someone close to him.

It's him. The 16 liked tweets were all liked at times that he was with the team. It also has access to high def angles from the match etc. 0 followers at the time, yet Rassie magically finds it?

[sorCrer]

So we all following the hilarious twitter saga going on at the moment? Rassie is retweeting and talking to himself, via a very obvious dummy account he runs

It's Planet Rugby level multi quoting :D.

It's superb. 4d chess and all that

That other account is 100% him or someone close to him.

It's him. The 16 liked tweets were all liked at times that he was with the team. It also has access to high def angles from the match etc. 0 followers at the time, yet Rassie magically finds it?

Created in 2016. It could be me.

[Chilli]

FFS, yeah let's gaffie Fassi's career by playing him in a do or die match where one small mistake will stay with him forever

Sards only want $hark$ or x $hark$ in his Bok team.

Must be hard for him to see the form of Damian Willemse.

Yoh...its like talking to children.
Point 1. You only have the squad so that is where you have to look.
Kolbe is an exciting player and the best in a team that knows how to use him. With the bok game plan that hasn't changed since Snor took over he is not used to his strengths and based on Rassie's inability to change game plans its not going to change in one week. They couldn't change in that 40 minutes we lost the game...

I sort of remember Kolbe doing exceptionally well at the 2019 RWC, scoring loads of tries etc.
Maybe he just didn't get enough quality ball on Saturday?

[Sards]

Sards only want $hark$ or x $hark$ in his Bok team.

Must be hard for him to see the form of Damian Willemse.

Yoh...its like talking to children.
Point 1. You only have the squad so that is where you have to look.
Kolbe is an exciting player and the best in a team that knows how to use him. With the bok game plan that hasn't changed since Snor took over he is not used to his strengths and based on Rassie's inability to change game plans its not going to change in one week. They couldn't change in that 40 minutes we lost the game...

I sort of remember Kolbe doing exceptionally well at the 2019 RWC, scoring loads of tries etc.
Maybe he just didn't get enough quality ball on Saturday?

They are asking him to jump instead of putting the ball in his hands and asking him to turn a team inside out. There are a lot of tactical flaws from the coaching staff that needs some scrutiny

[Chilli]

Yoh...its like talking to children.
Point 1. You only have the squad so that is where you have to look.
Kolbe is an exciting player and the best in a team that knows how to use him. With the bok game plan that hasn't changed since Snor took over he is not used to his strengths and based on Rassie's inability to change game plans its not going to change in one week. They couldn't change in that 40 minutes we lost the game...

I sort of remember Kolbe doing exceptionally well at the 2019 RWC, scoring loads of tries etc.
Maybe he just didn't get enough quality ball on Saturday?

They are asking him to jump instead of putting the ball in his hands and asking him to turn a team inside out. There are a lot of tactical flaws from the coaching staff that needs some scrutiny

Well that is sort of the point. The execution was wrong. No momentum and poorly executed.

I am sure that the plan for this test is to play better and not make those silly mistakes. This should bring Kolbe into the picture.
However if the plan is to be shit like last week then maybe they should drop Kolbe and play Fassi. Pull a Gaffie on him.

What are your thoughts on Mampimpi? How did he play?

[Chilli]

Yoh...its like talking to children.
Point 1. You only have the squad so that is where you have to look.
Kolbe is an exciting player and the best in a team that knows how to use him. With the bok game plan that hasn't changed since Snor took over he is not used to his strengths and based on Rassie's inability to change game plans its not going to change in one week. They couldn't change in that 40 minutes we lost the game...

I sort of remember Kolbe doing exceptionally well at the 2019 RWC, scoring loads of tries etc.
Maybe he just didn't get enough quality ball on Saturday?

They are asking him to jump instead of putting the ball in his hands and asking him to turn a team inside out. There are a lot of tactical flaws from the coaching staff that needs some scrutiny

Did you watch the 2019 RWC?
Kolbe jumped
Kolbe caught
Kolbe scored
Soringboks won

[Sards]

Well the aerial battle was certainly won by us this past weekend. No issues there

[Raggs]

It's superb. 4d chess and all that

That other account is 100% him or someone close to him.

It's him. The 16 liked tweets were all liked at times that he was with the team. It also has access to high def angles from the match etc. 0 followers at the time, yet Rassie magically finds it?

Created in 2016. It could be me.

You were supporting Munster in 2016? It's a burner account that he made (maybe with someone else) to snoop on twitter, and now that he's got something he wants to complain about, it suddenly posts high def analysis clips, and Rassie himself magically spots it and likes it, despite the account having no followers at all up until that point :D.

It's him, maybe it's someone else typing out the tweets etc, but he's given them access to the account for that purpose.

It's brilliant :D

[Deveron Boy]

Rassie all over Twatter trying to highlight borderline foul play decisions from match. What an absolute arsehole.

[sorCrer]

Rassie all over Twatter trying to highlight borderline foul play decisions from match. What an absolute arsehole.

Serious? Where is this?

[Raggs]

Rassie all over Twatter trying to highlight borderline foul play decisions from match. What an absolute arsehole.

Serious? Where is this?

Just check his twitter. He's quoting/liking etc clips from an account that's either his, or one he's given his team access to.

The one he posted himself is a mixed bag. Moan about the decision, but tacked onto a legitimate point about leaving injured players alone to make it seem less moany.