The Springboks and Barbarians goes toe to toe on Saturday 4 December 2010 at Twickenham, London at 16:30 SA Time.

This game is difficult to judge, it is a festival game and we should see a very different playing style from a Springbok team which shows 12 changes from last week’s side. All the youngsters and “Fringe-Bokke” gets game time this week.

I suppose the only logical way to go about making predictions would be to compare the teams on a player by player basis, not that this is my favoured way of looking at any match because a good team performance always beats a star-studded lineup who do not play as a team. It just feels that there might be more team cohesion in the Barbarians side, with 5 Wallabies playing with their regular partners in the backline and with the squad mostly consisting of Wallabies and All Blacks, all in good form at present.

Well, let’s look at the match-ups:

15. James O’Connor vs Patrick Lambie – On attack I believe O’Connor is scintilating and I rate him better than Lambie.

14. Odwa Ndungane vs Joe Rokocoko – Steady Odwa against the aging Joe, maybe Joe also edges this one.

13. Adi Jacobs vs Adam Ashley-Cooper – Ashley-Cooper has been in sublime form, he is better than Adi by some margin.

12. Andries Strauss vs Ma’a Nonu – Andries is an unknown quantity at International level but is a good defender, but one would have to say that Ma’a has the experience and is in form in a form All Blacks team, he gets the nod here too.

11. Lwazi Mvovo vs Drew Mitchell – Lwazi is a player I really rate and I’ve touted him for a Bokke berth for some time already this season but he’s up against a strong and wily try-scoring machine. If only Lwazi had more International experience… therefore I would have to give the nod to Drew.

10. Elton Jantjies vs Matt Giteau – With no Springbok experience Elton’s form will be watched with big anticipation. Matt Giteau has been in the worst form for all his International years… I’m going to surprise you here and bank on Elton!

9. Francois Hougaard vs Will Genia – 2 Exciting youngsters, Hougie with grit and determination and Genia with all round sniping mastery. I suppose I cannot give the Barbarians all the awards, so let’s call this one a draw.

8. Ryan Kankowski vs Colin Bourke – Even though Kanko has been largely out of form, this type of game should suit his playing style and he’s up against an uncapped Kiwi, so Kanko gets my nod.

7. Juan Smith vs Rodney So’oialo – Juan is fantastic, I have to give him the nod against an Ex-All Black.

6. Willem Alberts vs Martyn Williams – Alberts is a machine but I have my doubts about him at openside. He will carry the ball strongly, he will tackle well and his heart and soul will be in this battle. Against him a totally different player, the more classical opensider and an old wily fox. Willem, I’m banking on you, big time!

5. Alistair Hargreaves vs Chris Jack – Well we know these 2 gentlemen well and the Kiwi gets my nod against Hargreaves who I do not really rate.

4. Bakkies Botha vs Anton van Zyl – Bakkies wins this one hands down, provided he keeps the exemplary dicipline he has shown on tour.

3. CJ van der Linde (Tight head) vs Salvatore Perugini (Loosehead) – Let’s call this a draw.

2. Adriaan Strauss vs Keven Mealamu – Adriaan stands back for no one and is accurate with his throws into the lineout but Keven is one hard bugger and strong ball carrier, he gets the nod.

1. Coenie Oosthuizen (Loosehead) vs Neemia Tialata (Tight Head) – Coenie is a young buck with heaps of potential and he is very mobile but he is up against a seasoned International. Because Coenie is playing in an all Cheetahs front row I back his performance tomorrow in a game which should suit his style of play.

So, it looks like I’ve picked 7 Barbarians to be better, 5 Springboks to be better and 3 draws.. but I think I’been optimistic towards the Springbok chances.

I also think cohesion in the Springboks is going to be a problem.

I predict a Barbarian win…. BaaBaas by 13 PLUS.

Teams:

Barbarians: 15 James O’Connor, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Ma’a Nonu, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Matt Giteau (captain), 9 Will Genia, 8 Colin Bourke, 7 Martyn Williams, 6 Rodney So’oialo, 5 Chris Jack, 4 Anton van Zyl, 3 Neemia Tialata, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Salvatore Perugini.
Replacements: 16 Keven Mealamu, 17 John Yapp, 18 Quintin Geldenhuys, 19 Daniel Braid, 20 Andy Ellis, 21 Stephen Donald, 22 Seru Rabini.

South Africa: 15 Patrick Lambie, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Adi Jacobs, 12 Andries Strauss, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 François Hougaard, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 Juan Smith (captain), 6 Willem Alberts, 5 Alistair Hargreaves, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 CJ van der Linde, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Coenie Oosthuizen.
Replacements: 16 Bandise Maku, 17 Tendai Mtawarira, 18 Werner Kruger, 19 Flip van der Merwe, 20 Keegan Daniel, 21 Charl McLeod, 22 Gio Aplon.

Date: Saturday, 4 December 2010
Kick-off: 16.30 SA Time (14.30 GMT)
Venue: Twickenham, London
Expected weather: There is a 20 percent chance of snow, a high of 5°C (windchill: -3°C), dropping to-2°C, and a southwester of 14 km/h
Referee: Pascal Gauzere (France)
Assistant referees: Christophe Berdos (France), Peter Allan (Scotland)