Southern Hemisphere’s 2 elite Teams, New Zealand and South Africa are playing Italy and France respectively. Whereas it seems that even a 2nd-best All Blacks side will still be too strong for Italy, the same cannot be said about SA Vs France.

We are all worried about the Springbok scrums against the unpredictable French and worried about the enforced changes to the Bokke since the Tri-Nations, but a strong Springbok Team has nonetheless been chosen with strong backup from the bench.

The All Blacks are clearly in experimental phase leading up to the World Cup of 2011, but have chosen a New-look team to take on the worst of the 6 Nations Teams, Italy. The quality in this New-look team is stiil strong.

All Blacks vs Italy:

My prediction for this match is simple, Italy excells in the forwards department but struggle in the backline and Naas Botha is right when he said on Boots and All that Italy must’nt be forced to play structured rugby, it is not their style, it is not the way their temprament works.

The All Blacks have a host of real “ball-players” scattered through their Franchises and clearly shows the world that there is so much quality depth in their rugby that it is often difficult to identify who the top players in their positions are.

They field a strong forwards pack in any game and at the back they have runners who could all turn a game on it’s head.

All Blacks will win comfortably…. by 22 or more.

Players to watch:

For Italy: Italian skipper Sergio Parisse will again be a key figure for the hosts while burly prop Martin Castrogiovanni will look to dominate in the set-piece following his powerhouse display against South Africa last weekend. Aussie playmaker Craig Gower will also have the responsibility of guiding the troops against a formidable All Black backline.

For New Zealand: Ben Smith gets a chance to show his worth while another debutant, flyhalf Mike Delany will be keen to continue his Air NZ Cup form on the international stage. Lock Tom Donnely will have big boots to fill in the absence of veteran Brad Thorn while Corey Flynn will be hoping to make the most of rare start in the black jersey.

Head to head: Italy will take the All Blacks on up front and Martin Castrogiovanni along with his fellow front row teammates Leonardo Ghiraldini and Salvatore Perugini will look for early dominance against All Black heavies Neemia Tialata, Corey Flynn and Wyatt Crockett . Craig Gower‘s battle with Mike Delany will be another highlight while the midfield tussle between the exciting Tamati Ellison and Luke McAlister against Gonzalo Canale and Gonzalo Garcia should also produce some fireworks.

Recent results:
2009: Italy 6-27  New Zealand, Christchurch
2007: Italy 14-76 New Zealand, Marseille (World Cup)
2004: Italy 10-59  New Zealand, Rome
2003: Italy 7-70  New Zealand, Melbourne (World Cup)
2002: Italy 10-64 New Zealand, Hamilton 
2000: Italy 19-56  New Zealand, Genoa
1999: Italy 3-101 New Zealand, Huddersfield (World Cup)
1995: Italy 6-70 New Zealand, Bologna
1991: Italy 21-31 New Zealand, Leicester (World Cup)
1987: Italy 6-70 New Zealand, Auckland (World Cup)

The teams:

Italy: 15 Luke McLean, 14 Kaine Robertson, 13 Gonzalo Canale, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Mirco Bergamasco, 10 Craig Gower, 9 Tito Tebaldi, 8 Sergio Parisse (captain), 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Alessandro Zanni, 5 Quintin Geldenhuys, 4 Carlo Antonio Del Fava, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Salvatore Perugini.
Replacements: 16 Fabio Ongaro, 17 Ignacio Rouyet, 18 Antonio Pavanello, 19 Simone Favaro, 20 Simon Picone, 21 Kristopher Burton, 22 Alberto Sgarbi.

New Zealand: 15 Cory Jane, 14 Ben Smith, 13 Tamati Ellison, 12 Luke McAlister, 11 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 10 Mike Delany, 9 Andy Ellis, 8 Rodney So’oialo (captain), 7 Tanerau Latimer, 6 Liam Messam, 5 Anthony Boric,  4 Tom Donnelly, 3  Neemia Tialata,  2 Corey Flynn, 1 Wyatt Crockett.
Replacements: 16 Andrew Hore, 17 John Afoa, 18 Jason Eaton, 19 Richie McCaw, 20 Jimmy Cowan, 21 Stephen Donald, 22 Mils Muliaina

Date: Saturday, November 14
Venue: San Siro Stadium, Milan
Expected weather conditions: Light rain, high of 9°C
Kick-off: 15.00 (14.00 GMT; 03.00 NZ time, Sunday, November 15)
Referee: Stuart Dickinson (Australia)
Assistant referees: Alain Rolland (Ireland), David Changleng (Scotland)

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France vs Springboks:

This week a lot has been made of the supposedly “Big” centre running against Adi Jacobs, also about the size and grunt of forwards picked, but that must be measured against a Team who boast a Tri-Nations Trophy, who’s one Franchise boasts a Super 14 Trophy and a side who boasts a win against the British and Irish Lions in a series.

Zane Kirchner plays alongside Fourie du Preez, Morne Steyn, Bryan Habana as he’s done all season, with success, so I’m not too worried about his inclusion.

Adi Jacobs would have to show the mettle of 2008 and not that of 2009’s appearances. He seems to run too laterally and cramps his players on the outside out of space. In addition he seems to be favouring a weak shoulder, injured early this year. We hope he defends well and distributes well.

At No 8 we have Ryan Kankowski, who many have a high regard for, but critisism has been thrown at him for disapearing in tight matches. Ryan, tonight is your night to stand out and prove us all wrong!

The big worry in the front row is the strong French front row against a questionable Bokke front row… but at least a full back-up front row is stationed on the bench… and the Bokke might just need all of them!

It is extremely difficult to make predictions for this match and I’m going to, for once, not stick my neck out too far, predicting a very close encounter… with either team winning be 5 or less.

Players to watch: If there is to be any flair it may well come from scrumhalf Julien Dupuy who can snipe effectively and flyhalf François Trinh-Duc who opened up the New Zealand defence with that great try at Carisbrook this year. There is greater potential flair on the Springbok side with Bryan Habana, JP Pietersen and Jaque Fourie. You would want to watch those and you will see Schalk Burger, Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha. Personality seems to rest with the South Africans.

Head to Head: The most important contest could be that between France’s new captain Thierry Dusautoir and South Africa’s new player Heinrich Brüssow who in a few matches has risen to stardom. There is also potentially an interesting contest at No.8 between strong, robust Louis Picamoles and fast, clever Ryan Kankowski. If it is tough, Picamoles is likely to flourish. If there are chances to run, Kankowski can do that. But the big head-to-head could just be front three against front three – Nicolas Mas, William Servat and Fabien Barcella against John Smit, Bismarck du Plessis and Beast Mtawarira.

Previous Results
2006: France won 36-26 at Newlands
2005: France won 26-20 at Stade de France, Paris
2005: South Africa won 27-13 at Boet Erasmus, Port Elizabeth
2005: Draw 30-30 at King’s Park, Durban
2002: France won 30-10 at Stade Vélodrome, Marseille
2001: France won 20-10 at Stade de France, Paris
2001: South Africa won 20-15 at King’s Park, Durban
2001: France won 32-23 at Ellis Park, Johannesburg
1997: South Africa won 52-10 at Parc des Princes, Paris
1996: South Africa won 13-12 at Parc des Princes, Paris
1996: South Africa won 22-12 at Stade Municipal, Bordeaux
1995: South Africa won 19-15 at King’s Park Stadium, Durban
1993: France won 18-17 at Ellis Park, Johannesburg
1993: Draw 20-20 at King’s Park, Durban
1992: France won 29-16 at Parc des Princes, Paris
1992: South Africa won 20-15 at Stade Gerland, Lyon

That means in 16 matches, two have been drawn and France and South Africa have each won seven. France won three times in South Africa, South Africa four times in France.

Teams:

France: 15 Damien Traille, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 Yann David, 12 Maxime Mermoz, 11 Cédric Heymans, 10 François Trinh-Duc, 9 Julien Dupuy, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Imanol Harinordoquy, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (captain), 5 Romain Millo-Chluski, 4 Lionel Nallet, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 William Servat, 1 Fabien Barcella
Replacements: 16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Sylvain Marconnet, 18 Sébastien Chabal, 19 Julien Bonnaire, 20 Morgan Parra, 21 David Marty, 22 Maxime Médard.

South Africa: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Adi Jacobs, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 Schalk Burger, 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 John Smit (captain), 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Wian du Preez, 18 CJ van der Linde, 19 Andries Bekker, 20 Danie Rossouw, 21 Ruan Pienaar, 22 Wynand Olivier.

Date: Friday, 13 November 2009
Kick-off: 20.45 (19.45 GMT 21.45 SA time)
Venue: Stadium Municipal, Toulouse
Expected weather conditions: Overcast with a high of 18°C, dropping to 10°C and a light wind from the southeast.
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees: George Clancy (Ireland), James Jones (Wales)
Television match official: Graham Hughes (England)