As good as it is to have the Boks winning, it is worrying to see the updated laws have sent Rugby back twenty years.
If it wasn’t for the fact that the sole try scored by the Boks was worth 5 points not 4, the rest of the Bok performance looked like a fourteen defenders and Naas Botha show. It is like watching tennis with fifteen men. During the Super 14 tournament this year the warning bells were ringing, when teams could win games by kicking ball up field and defending. Fast forward two months, take away the short arm penalty and suddenly it is the only way to win rugby.
The reason tries were changed from 4 points to 5 points was to let the backs back into rugby. Rugby has always been a sport about fifteen men playing different roles and not about 10 man defensive rugby. It was about taking it away from the one dimensional sport of football and into a game where the big, small, short and tall all had a chance to offer something on the field. The tri-nations has so far shown that there is no longer space for creative running rugby, it is about having a one dimensional flyhalf and fourteen support players. Isn’t that American football?
Hats off to the Boks and Morne Steyn for beating the opposition to the punch and working out 10 man rugby is the winning way. Middle finger salute to the Law makers, referees and administrators of the game that drag the sport down further every year.
Thank the Rugby gods for the 7’s game, so that rugby can still get some international attraction and give true backline players a chance to run and score tries. Fifteen man’s rugby’s future lies in simplifying the game and if this isn’t done expect it to go the way of cricket. Six international teams claiming World glory, yawn.
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to score 3 points in 8 minutes with two extra players on the field is disgraceful. and those three points came from the infringement. it is great to see the boks winning again but not this way. its like earning money by stealing people’s pension, nice but wrong. rugby is supposed to be more than one kicker.
i agree, Saturdays game was one of the worst games ive seen in years,i think it was like 40+ balls kicked out of hand, by only the boks, aus scored two tries off 1st phase, i recall seeing mossie for the first time in the 70th min, thats not good for the game
@willa (Comment 2) : yeah it isn’t something to be proud about. morne did the job, but ruined the game as a spectacle. as much as it is sport, it is also entertainment. lets bring back the entertainment.
The game didn’t make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside……satisfied with a win, but thats about it.
thought I was the only one who felt this way… 🙂
The Boks are winning and I’m loving it. 😀
I love the 80’s too.
Nothing entertains me more than seeing the Boks win. By one point or by a hundred.
@robdylan (Comment 5) : nope i am sure the aussies and kiwi media will be complainimg soon. obviously the sa media love the bulls and are used to boring rugby, so you won’t hear a peep from them.
@McLovin (Comment 7) : at least the music was good in the 80’s. so eventhough the rugby was dull you could dance lekker after the game. it sucks when the music and rugby is kak.
@McLovin (Comment 8) : nothing irritates me more than a team that doesn’t take opportunities when they are there. 8 minutes with a 2 man advantage and you friggin flyhalf kicks the ball away. the only time we go for a try is when a forward takes a quick tap and runs (we almost got that try had we not run out of time). isn’t that the backline’s job? and then we complain cos our wings are looking kak, but the guys haven’t seen ball for three weeks, they have no clue what they are supposed to do with it. and you could see jp was getting sick of chasing ball. he stopped tackling the catcher after a while.
@try time (superrugby’s kryptonite is SANZAR) (Comment 10) : then don’t go to phokeng, we had a big debate about who is the worst, the ref or the dj, terrible!!
@try time (superrugby’s kryptonite is SANZAR) (Comment 10) : 😆
Watched All out Rugby and they were enthusing about the kick and chase. Forgive me, but I don’t recall a single example of when we successfully retrieved the ball. Aus might have lost it forward once or twice, but that’s like 2 out of 30. The defenition of insanity – doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
I like winning rugby, sometimes it has to be boring, but we also need to play expansively at times, especially when you are up 2 men. Kudos to Victor for taking a quick tap, and to Smitty for a beaut of a grubber that led to our try, but Morne Steyn has a thing or two to learn about attacking running rugby, and he has not convinced me.
Last week everyone was singing his praises, maybe it’s time to question his credentials. He can kick, but he can’t play.
@Baldrick (Comment 14) : He can kick, but he can’t play.
What a surprise!
@try time (superrugby’s kryptonite is SANZAR) (Comment 11) : correct, and everyone is fighting who is gonna be 12 next year, but with morne at 10 it doesnt matter, cause they are never gonna see the ball
@try time (superrugby’s kryptonite is SANZAR) (Comment 9) : I’m no Bulls fan but I quite enjoyed watching them this year in the S14. Not boring at all, scored 48 or so tries in 15 matches. Two of the top try scorers in Habana & Spies.
The Boks will get there. But winning is the ultimate.
Steyn scored 55 points in two matches against the 2nd & 3rd best sides in the world. I’ll take that any day. 🙂
@try time (superrugby’s kryptonite is SANZAR) (Comment 9) : To be fair to the Bulls, this wasn’t their gameplan this year, they actually played attractive rugby ( ok I’m gonna be sick)
@Baldrick (Comment 14) : don’t talk to me about supersport. all out rugby showed highlights of the sharks game, yet they don’t have the decency to show the full game. dstv costs enough buckeroonies so can’t we get all the cc games, rather than 50 replays of the boks game.
@willa (Comment 12) : its always the ref. you can always wear earplugs, but a ref ruins a game. 😆
Speaking of music, are they now playing music while play is on? I’m sure during the Cheetahs Bulls game there was music blaring quite often during play. ❓
@McLovin (Comment 17) : @Pokkel (Comment 19) : which begs the question are the bulls ten years behind or ahead of the current game? 😆
@try time (superrugby’s kryptonite is SANZAR) (Comment 21) : im sure it was the same ref as the sharks v wp game, deur die k*k doesnt describe it,he was changing his mind the whole time, “scrum, no wait 22 drop,no no no sorry scrum”,
@willa (Comment 24) : maybe it is a good thing the game wasn’t televised.
@try time (superrugby’s kryptonite is SANZAR) (Comment 23) : Good question…where are the Boks then at the moment? 10 years ahead or behind 🙄 😆
@willa (Comment 24) : but doesn’t this all lead back to what i said above, rugby needs to be simplified so it is easier for the players, refs and more importantly spectators to play and understand. look at how poor roland’s handling of the scrum was. the aussie loosehead never bound. lets have an overhaul to make it a great game to watch and support.
@Pokkel (Comment 26) : 😆 😆 the boks have never been ahead. we only catch up in world cup years.
@try time (superrugby’s kryptonite is SANZAR) (Comment 27) : and have beer to drink
The Boks are clearly ahead at the moment. On the scoreboard, in the rankings and hopefully in the amount of trophies we have.
@willa (Comment 29) : damn right. 😆 keep the beer and ticket prices down to get the spectators to the ground.
@McLovin (Comment 30) : what worries me is have we peaked to soon? especially with twenty percent of the starting lineup going to france next year.
@try time (superrugby’s kryptonite is SANZAR) (Comment 32) : silverware looks nice, but the webb ellis trophy is a lot nicer. especially if we are the first team to win it 3 times. lets hope p div has his eyes focussed on the right goal.
@try time (superrugby’s kryptonite is SANZAR) (Comment 32) : Who’s going to France? F Steyn….
Didn’t watch the game – so no comment on the “boring” part…
Winning / Entertainment – I pick winning. I find that when the Boks win then I’m automatically entertained.
Let the boys win the TRI-Nations…and then buy themselves time to experiment with a more expansive brand of rugby.
BOKKE!
@try time (superrugby’s kryptonite is SANZAR) (Comment 32) : Funny thing is I believe we haven’t peaked yet. 😯
In 1972, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn’t commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire… The A-Team.
@McLovin (Comment 37) : 😆
@McLovin (Comment 36) : how can we have peaked? We’re not playing any rugby?
@robdylan (Comment 39) : I think that we are all hoping that you are right….lets hope we can build on this and not become a one dimensional team
@robdylan (Comment 39) :
We’ll play rugby next year… 🙂
’n Aanrandingsaak is teen Ian Macdonald (41), oud-Springbok-flank, aanhangig gemaak nadat hy na bewering ’n lynregter tydens ’n skolerugbywedstryd in Roodepoort met die vuiste bygedam het.
Macdonald het mnr. Pieter Matthews, ’n vlagman in gistermiddag se wedstryd tussen die Hoërskool Noordheuwel en die Hoërskool Monument in die Coca-Cola-rugbyreeks vir skole, sowat agt vuishoue in die gesig en teen die kop gegee, het Matthews vertel.
Dit nadat Macdonald Matthews kort voor die einde van die wedstryd toegetakel het.
Macdonald se seun, bekend as Maccie, is ’n leerling aan die Hoërskool Noordheuwel en was tydens die voorval as flank op die veld, het Matthews gesê.
Die Hoërskool Monument het toe 13-12 voorgeloop.
Mnr. George Raftopoulos, skeidsregter, het ’n strafskop aan Noordheuwel toegestaan, waarna Matthews met die vlag in die hand agter die pale gaan staan en wag het.
“Macdonald het toe hier duskant my gestaan en vir die skeidsregter geskree: ‘Maak oop jou f****n oë, jy’s pateties,’ ” het Matthews gesê.
Matthews het toe omgedraai en aan Macdonald gesê: “Dit was ’n goeie game, dit help nie ’n mens gee altyd die skeidsregter die skuld nie,” het hy vertel.
Macdonald het hom toe glo gevra: “Praat jy nou met my?” en Matthews het gesê: “Ja.”
“Ek gaan jou dooddonner . . .” het Macdonald glo geskree en hom bestorm, het Matthews gesê. “Hy het my toe met sy plat hand teen die bors gestamp. Toe ek retireer het hy my een vuishou teen die kop gegee. Ek het teruggeslaan. Ons het mekaar toe seker so twee of drie houe oor-en-weer gegee.”
Macdonald het die heelwat kleiner Matthews toe glo teen die grond gegooi, op sy bors gaan sit en die skraalgeboude lynregter se arms met sy knieë teen die grond vasgepen.
“Hy het my toe seker so ses na agt houe teen die kop en in my gesig gegee.”
Matthews se seun, Pieter (17), kaptein van die Noordheuwel-span, het dit toe gesien en glo Macdonald van sy pa afgestamp, waarna nog ’n ouer Pieter na bewering gegryp en met die vuiste bygedam het.
’n Reuse-vuisgeveg het toe tussen toeskouers, ouers en van die rugbyspelers uitgebreek, het Matthews gesê.
Matthews het ’n klag by die Roodepoort-polisiekantoor ingedien, het kapt. Simphiwe Ndlovu, polisiewoordvoerder, bevestig. Ondanks talle oproepe, boodskappe en SMS’e kon Beeld Macdonald nie in die hande kry nie. Mnr. Manie Reyneke, uitvoerende hoof van die Goue Leeus Rugbyunie (GLRU), het gesê hulle betreur die voorval en sal teen die skuldiges optree.
Oh My word…(That is btw the School I want to send my daughter in grade 8)…
So – parents from the same school?? Eish..
On a different note…School rugby again:
I am once agian very proud of my Alma Mater…we entered 2 U/19 teams and one U/15 team in thye Beeld Trophy (not bad for a school that has less than 500 kids – Primary and Senior division)
We played the quarter finals this past weekend – U/15 won 19-12 and the 1st team won 27-7.
The other U/109 team is playing in a different comp or leaugue – not sure how they did.
@Prof. Ice Babe(Thunder Horse) (Comment 42) : Not good. 🙄
Since when have the Boks been successful at playing an expansive game??
Maybe Under Mallet but thats about it.
We tried it under Stroolie, under Carel as well as Viljoen and it didn’t work!!! 😕
I thought Frans Steyn probably had his worst game of the season for the Boks….when he runs at the opposition he tends to stop and then try and sidestep and he always gets caught with the ball. He is a big boy, but he seems to have lost his ability to step. If he can’t step then run into the opposition at full speed and at least try and cross the advantage line. His decision making seems very slow ( probably why he’ll never be a flyhalf). The boy just doesn’t seem very bright, but al least he can kick.
We also ‘stuck to the gameplan’ regardless. I can’t understand that we didn’t change the gameplan for the 9 minutes that the Aussies only had 13 men. I suppose being 3 from 3 in the trinations is nothing to complain about, but hell I just feel we can do so much better.
Johannesburg – Dale Steyn, South Africa and the world’s No 1 fast bowler, has tested positive for a banned substance and is facing a hefty fine or even suspension.
A urine sample taken from Steyn during the Indian Premier League (IPL), exceeded the allowed level for morphine after taken too many painkillers.
Due to injury, Steyn could only play in three of the Bangalore Royal Challengers’ matches in the tournament.
However, Proteas team doctor and member of Cricket South Africa’s medical committee, Dr Mohammad Moosajee, believes the 26-year-old fast bowler should get off.
“Dale presumably took too much Myprodol after struggling badly with migraines over the past few months and he also broke his left thumb during the IPL,” said Moosajee.
He added that Myprodol and codeine (the substance contained in the painkiller) are not listed as banned substances by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
According to Dr Pieter van der Merwe, head of the South African laboratory where testing takes place for banned substances, codeine is turned into morphine by the body and a very high dose could lead to a positive test.
Moosajee confirmed that Steyn’s morphine levels were tested at 1.3 microgram per millimetre, slightly over the allowed level of 1.0.
The International Cricket Board earlier confirmed the result of the test, but refused to reveal the name of the player involved.
“The Royal Challengers medical team were informed of the painkillers and we have already sent a detailed report to the IPL in which we explained the reasons for the use of it,” said Moosajee. “We expect to get feedback within the next few days and are confident that there will be no action taken against Dale.”
@Prof. Ice Babe(Thunder Horse) (Comment 42) : Ian McDonald is a big boy, glad I didn’t piss him off 😯
@Pokkel (Comment 46) : +10
@wpw (Comment 47) : did you lose the address of the cricket site?
whoa!!! Damned if you do, damned if you don’t…one day people don’t want “helter skelter” they want to revert back to “our traditional strengths that won us the world cup”
You dish up the”traditional” brew with extra vuma! Now they’re moaning that beer is too strong & too fermented!
@quota (Comment 51) : I think we need a good mixture of both
@wpw (Comment 47) : By the sounds of it, he’s innocent and should get off.
@Pokkel (Comment 52) : how do you get to it if you don’t ever practise it in match situations? The second the coach gives that order, journalists will be up in arms talking about “let’s earn the right to go wide”
Like we saw with the all blacks in durban & the boks vs the aussies ast year in durban the running game requires precision in handling & execution & both teams were dismal on those particular days…
Pdv wants to win the tri-nations & shut up his critics first, then the champagne rugby can follow!
@Pokkel (Comment 52) :
Yes we do – but expect the scale to tip more to one side- depending on whether Ruan or Morne is on the field.
Turning points for the Boks gameplan in this Tri-Nations were:
1. Ruan missing a couple of kicks…
2. Ruan getting injured
3. Morne converting a lot of kicks…
For all we know – if Pienaar wasn’t injured for the Durban test – he could’ve bounced back and took the chances that were converted by Morne. That would’ve changed the complexion of the Newlands test as well. But that’s a lot of coulda, shoulda, woulda…and as loyal as PdV is to his players – he had to stick to the winning formula – and for now that winning formula has Morne Steyn in it.
We’ll see what happens in the away legs – but so far so good – I don’t have much to complain about. Bokke!
@blackshark (Comment 55) : + 1000
@blackshark (Comment 55) : +1001
And well done to Mr de Villiers too.
@quota (Comment 54) :I agree with everything you say 100%, I suppose as an avid Boks supporter I always want more. We are winning and that is great and we are in a fantastic position. I just didn’t feel that satisfied after the game on Saturday, because I feel we let great opportuinities slide.
I agree, lets win first and then start changing the gameplan. I just don’t want us to fall into a rut and continue to play this style of rugby for the next 4 years.
I think we can also adjust the gameplan a bit when we are ahead ( or when the opposition is down to 13 men), but revert back if things don’t go according to plan.
All in all I’m a very happy Bok supporter, now let’s really show them what we are capable of.
@Prof. Ice Babe(Thunder Horse) (Comment 42) : hey then you must live close to me if you wanted to send ur daughter there,i live 2km from monument, and 1km from noordheuwel
@Pokkel (Comment 58) : I think it was the inability to score even one try when they were down to 13 that REALLY rankles. I can forgive everything else.
This is the beauty of rugby – different teams with different strengths win with different game plans. A ‘boring’ game plan well executed is to me just as enjoyable as a running game. The day that they change the rules to such an extent that the only way to win is by a running game is the day we might as well all start watching rugby league.
@willa (Comment 59) :
I live about 2km (if that) from Noordheuwel..
@willa (Comment 59) : @Prof. Ice Babe(Thunder Horse) (Comment 62) :
Bloody Gauteng’ers 🙂
@willa (Comment 59) : @Prof. Ice Babe(Thunder Horse) (Comment 62) :
Actually, I should feel sorry for you. 😥
@Pokkel (Comment 64) :
Damn right you are!! 😉
@Prof. Ice Babe(Thunder Horse) (Comment 65) : On a good morning I’m at work in 5 min….on a really bad morning 10 min….ag julle kan maar die stad vir julle hou 😉
@MysticShark (Comment 61) : yes but the current game is so technical, it turns away new viewers. even regular viewers are perplexed at what happens on the field at times. take the giteau vs bakkies situation. rugby needs to make itself more attractive to international markets to let it compete with athletics and football. look at the success rugby 7’s has become internationally. it is because it is simple, clean and fast paced. rugby has become a grunt and grind stop start affair, ruined if the flyhalf kicks away good ball.
@robdylan (Comment 60) : exactly. you have two wingers that have good try scoring potential and they are used to chase morne’s kicks.
@Pokkel (Comment 66) :
Pokkletjie…not MY choice to stay there… 😥
@Pokkel (Comment 64) : u should not feel sorry, u should be scared, krugersdorp mense is nie jou speel maaitjies nie 😆 @Pokkel (Comment 66) : i drive to work in 10min eitherway!
@Prof. Ice Babe(Thunder Horse) (Comment 69) : is ur daughter still at school?
@willa (Comment 71) :
@willa (Comment 70) :
Wild Wild West!! LOL!!
McGyver, now he was cool in the 80’s.
Cape Town – SA Rugby Union president Oregan Hoskins on Monday praised the South Western Districts Rugby Football Union for their strong action in suspending a club found guilty of violent behaviour for 15 years.
The Heidelberg Club was suspended after an incident earlier this month during which the club’s supporters invaded the field to attack the players of the Mossel Bay Rugby Club.
“I applaud the union for their strong action and the clear message they have sent to clubs – not just under their jurisdiction, but across the country,” Hoskins said.
“The implications for the Heidelberg Club are obviously very serious indeed and I have sympathy for those hard-working officials and members who had no part in this incident.
“But a club has to take responsibility for the actions of its members and players .”
Hoskins also commended the Golden Lions Rugby Union for their approach to the disciplinary case involving the Eldoronians and Wanderers clubs.
The teams were involved in a match that was abandoned in the second half amid allegations of violent conduct and racism.
“These cases can lead to accusations of bias and unfairness but the Lions’ decision will ensure that the public will have the full facts .”
@Rahul (Comment 75) : 😯
@Prof. Ice Babe(Thunder Horse) (Comment 72) : the eldest wasnt in wysneusies was she?
@willa (Comment 77) :
Nope…wikkelvoetjies..
Next on FNB Classic Clashes, Wysneusies vs Wikkelvoetjies.
I love it.
@Rahul (Comment 75) : not really the sort of thing we want to discuss here.
@Rahul (Comment 75) :
Senor, if I had posted that then you would have seen the numbering going for a loop again.
@Salmonoid (Comment 79) :
Where is Morne today? I wonder….:roll:
@Salmonoid (Comment 81) : oh dear. not going to do this again, are we?
This isnt a throw-back to 80s rugby, it’s just the Boks playing to their (current) strengths.
Do what you need to do to win.
And if its a throw-back to anythign it’s a throw-back to 2003.
@robdylan (Comment 84) :
Nah, its already done.
‘Egg whites are good for a lot of things – lemon meringue pie, angel food cake, and clogging up radiators’ – MacGyver.
Knight Rider, a shadowy flight into the dangerous world of a man who does not exist. Michael Knight, a young loner on a crusade to champion the cause of the innocent, the helpless, the powerless, in a world of criminals who operate above the law.
@McLovin (Comment 88) : bored much? 🙂
@robdylan (Comment 89) :
Yip, couldn’t be bothered with working today.
You guys have your dimensions all wrong.
A rugby field is a flat 2-dimensional surface with only length and width. Teams that play a running game operate in those 2 dimension only.
Kicking teams also utilizes the 3rd dimension, height.
To refer to the current Springbok game as one dimensional would only be correct if you are implying that they actually play with one more dimension than their opponents.
Three dimensions normally beats 2.
Example: When Frans Steyn made that kick he used only length and height, completely forgetting that a rugby field also have width, the kick failed to go out. The rest is history.
@fyndraai (Comment 92) : that’s a taboo subject here!!!
@robdylan (Comment 93) : Shit. Not reading the rules is going to cost me one day.
@fyndraai (Comment 94) : he he… one day! 🙂
Bloody Frans Steyn. Glad we’re shot of him and his brainless antics!
@fyndraai (Comment 92) :
@fyndraai (Comment 92) :
You are a bastard. 👿
A classy one perhaps, but a bastard nonetheless. 😳
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
I have more interesting observations about 3-dimensional rugby but after such a nice compliment I figure, rather quit while the going is good. 🙂
i said it after the game, the fact that we are not scoring tries is worrying, they will have to work on that. GO BOKKE!!!
@fyndraai (Comment 92) :
Nonsense, that had far more to do with dementia than any dimension. It was in abundance that day, the officials, Habs, Frans, Jaco, the spectators…….me.