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I am writing this article purely on emotion and frustration. After watching this weekend’s Super 15 matches, a few thoughts came to mind. At certain stages when looking at the Sharks, Cheetahs, Lions and Stormers this weekend, it looked like we are not as bad as people say we are, but then moments later we make the most elimentary mistakes you could imagine. Continue reading

It’s not all doom and gloom when looking towards the business end of this year’s rugby. Most of us are quite concerned about the performances of the Bulls, Lions and Cheetahs, but then we have to be honest with ourselves. Over the last number of years the Cheetahs and Lions have never really looked like world beaters and have often found themselves at the bottom of the Super Rugby tables.

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The EOYT is about to kick off, I have taken the stats for the Autumn Internationals in Europe and though it would be interesting as a reference point to start off. If you look at this as the benchmark of what statistics tell you, and then add to that the relative form of each team taking injuries into consideration, this may be a basis to work from in predicting the outcome of the Autumn Internationals. Continue reading

Having a look at the training squad that was selected  for a 2 day training camp, and including the injured players who may be part of the RWC, it stands to reason that out of this lot the RWC squad will be selected. I am going to give my opinion regarding these players as to whether I see them as potential candidates and what the springbok’s chances are to retain the trophy. Continue reading

After an exciting weekend of Semi final deciding clashes the four semi finalists have been decided, the Sharks, WP, Bulls and Cheetahs have all secured their places to battle it out in the knock out stages in two weeks time. Continue reading

Since re admission South Africa has been rather successful on the sporting arena. Particularly in Golf, Rugby and Cricket. We are a nation who loves to compete, and we hate losing. In fact it is fair to say that we are very often poor losers, case in point this year’s Tri Nations. PDV blames it on conspiracy theories, some of us blame it on the coach and the world plus a few objective Springbok supporters blame it on the ultimate outdated game plan. Continue reading

After the umpteenth “review” on Pieter de Villiers it is clear the coaching panel is now cast in stone for the upcoming World Cup in New Zealand. It is therefor imperative that we now find within ourselves the passion and patriotism in our character to support our Springbok team and the coaching staff. Our personal feelings in this matter must be set aside as we look towards next year as the Springboks will need our positivity more than ever before and any negativity towards either Pieter de Villiers or anyone else involved will only deter them on focusing on the job at hand. Continue reading

Having had a look at the new look Super 15 schedule for 2011 and reviewing the results of this year’s Tri-Nations and going back all the way to the End Of Year Tour last November it is becoming increasingly clear that our top rugby players are playing way too much rugby. Injuries have also taken it’ s toll on a number of Springboks and a few had to take care of long standing injuries such as Fourie Du Preez with his shoulder. Continue reading

Where does one begin, in 2009 PDV led his charges to a series win over the Lions and to the Tri Nations trophy, during this time there was a lot of criticism for the way they played and also a couple of controversial issues raised in regards to on the field “fouls” commited by Schalk Burger (alleged eye gouge), Bakkies Botha (clearing out the ruck with no arms), this continued into 2010 with Bakkies Botha (head butt) once again in the frame. There were also a number of spear tackles which saw Jean de Villiers and Jaque Fourie receive bans for these dangerous tackles. Continue reading

A lot has been said about the way the Springboks seemed to have stagnated in their play. The most obvious direction to pass blame is towards PDV and his assistant coaches. They are the ones who must give direction to the team. They are also primarily responsible for selecting a group of players that can fit into a game plan that is required to win tests. Continue reading

In the first article in the series we looked at the Stormers and their trials and tribulations during the last 10 years of Super rugby. Today we look at the Bulls and the remarkable improvement they have shown over the decade. Continue reading

Well it is now time for reflection and hopefully the emotions have settled down a little. I thought it would be interesting to look at the match statistics and see what can be taken from them. Continue reading

This Saturday is the time for the springboks to redeem themselves, they need to set aside all the excuses of their coach, the media hype about them playing last year’s rugby, the ill feelings that SARU has for the antipodes and focus on one thing only, beat the All Blacks. Continue reading

Over the last month or so, a common discussion around pubs, braais and common folk have been the perceived rise of Stormers rugby and I thought a little investigation should give some perspective on whether this is a storm in a teacup, or the real deal. Continue reading

With the Rugby World Cup 2011 not far away and the realisation that within the next year many of our rugby players will look towards retirement after the RWC, the question beckons of how well are we prepared for the next generation of Springboks to come through. Continue reading

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