South Africa vs New Zealand Sat 4pm, Sky Sports 4

thomond2006

http://www.rugby365.com/tournaments/trinat/news/2597820.htm
http://www.rugby365.com/tournaments/trinat/news/2598080.htm

South Africa:
15 Gio Aplon, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Jean de Villiers 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Francois Hougaard,
8 Pierre Spies, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Flip van der Merwe, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 John Smit (captain), 1 Gurthrö Steenkamp.

Replacements: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 CJ van der Linde, 18 Danie Rossouw, 19 Francois Louw, 20 Ricky Januarie, 21 Butch James, 22 Wynand Olivier.

New Zealand:
15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Joe Rokocoko, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (captain), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Tom Donnelly, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Ben Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.

Replacements: 16 Corey Flynn, 17 John Afoa, 18 Samuel Whitelock, 19 Victor Vito, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Aaron Cruden, 22 Israel Dagg.

Date: Saturday, August 21
Venue: FNB Soccer City, Soweto
Kick-off: 17.00 (15.00 GMT)
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: Alain Rolland (Ireland), Simon McDowell (Ireland)
TMO: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

Bulls winger Francois Hougaard starts at 9 for the Boks (Pienaar is injured). JdV is back at 12 and JP Pietersen is back from injury and starts on the wing. Aplon is at fullback as both Kirchner and Steyn are injured. Flip van der Merve gets his first start in the second row. Juan Smith packs down on the blindside in his first test of the year.

Cowan is selected ahead of Weepu at scrum-half for the ABs. Weepu must be wondering what he has to do to nail down the jersey.

New Zealand by 20-25.

Judgement Day

Yeah I'm really going for the ABs to really hammer them this time out. A weakened Boks and I can't see anything there to worry the boys. I didn't think that Weepu sparkled in the last game and he only started due to Cowan being injured but on his day he makes Cowan look pedestrian.The only thing that can save the Boks is if the All Blacks fail to turn up having already virtually got the Tri-Nations trophy in the bag.

wixfjord

Aplon at full back :eek: 5'9"
This is going to be an absolute hammering!

PhatPiggins

wixfjord wrote: »

Aplon at full back :eek: 5'9"
This is going to be an absolute hammering!

Have you seen much of him at 15? He's actually pretty good, grand he's obviously not the best under the high ball but his D is good and he's electric in space. Neither Cowans awful box kicking nor Carters surprisingly average out of hand kicking(this season) will send shivers down him.

Like all PDV coinflips it'll either be a spectacular failure or a sartling success.

wixfjord

PhatPiggins wrote: »

Have you seen much of him at 15? He's actually pretty good, grand he's obviously not the best under the high ball but his D is good and he's electric in space. Neither Cowans awful box kicking nor Carters surprisingly average out of hand kicking(this season) will send shivers down him.

Like all PDV coinflips it'll either be a spectacular failure or a sartling success.

Seen very little of him tbh, bar one Stormers game, but the smallest man on the pitch at fb against the All Blacks in that sort of mood and with a big back three could spell trouble. I love Aplon on the wing, but no matter how good you are being that small is a big hindrance, pace cant help you when a guy like Nonu is bearing down on you one on one and your the last man!

PhatPiggins

wixfjord wrote: »

Seen very little of him tbh, bar one Stormers game, but the smallest man on the pitch at fb against the All Blacks in that sort of mood and with a big back three could spell trouble. I love Aplon on the wing, but no matter how good you are being that small is a big hindrance, pace cant help you when a guy like Nonu is bearing down on you one on one and your the last man!

Depends how deep he has to stand and the quality of the NZ kicking I guess. Cory Jane could give him the most trouble.

I actually like the balance of the SA backline more then any of the previous efforts this season. A lot will depend on how Habana/JDV/Steyn approach the game as they've all been playing on reputation so far.

Thats a terrible tight 5 by SA standards

sock puppet

Tbh it's the best team South Africa have fielded this competition though I can't understand the reasoning behind leaving Roussow on the bench. Haven't really seen De Jong at 13 either so not sure how he'll do.

I'll go for a narrow Springbok win if they keep the ball in hand more. They've been decimated by injury and suspensions this year but they need some kind of a performance to salvage a bit of pride.

subfreq

BOKS have a superior bench for me which could count for a lot in a rough smash em up game.

Yesterday I almost convinced myself that the Boks could win this then I looked at the starting lineup and I'm not as confident.

I know the Boks raise their game at home but the NZ starting 15 is awesome at the moment. Still no out and out fetcher for the Boks either. WTF?

Above everything I am fascinated to see what we get from Nigel Owens. I thought he had a total shocker in the Aus v Eng game. This match will be as big an occasion as he will ever ref. It's going to be white hot.

PhatPiggins

subfreq wrote: »

BOKS have a superior bench for me which could count for a lot in a rough smash em up game.

Yesterday I almost convinced myself that the Boks could win this then I looked at the starting lineup and I'm not as confident.

I know the Boks raise their game at home but the NZ starting 15 is awesome at the moment. Still no out and out fetcher for the Boks either. WTF?

Above everything I am fascinated to see what we get from Nigel Owens. I thought he had a total shocker in the Aus v Eng game. This match will be as big an occasion as he will ever ref. It's going to be white hot.

Replacements: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 CJ van der Linde, 18 Danie Rossouw, 19 Francois Louw, 20 Ricky Januarie, 21 Butch James, 22 Wynand Olivier.

Do you really think so? Thats the greatest bunch of has beens, never has beens and token players they ever assembled. Only Rossouw adds anything.

I wouldn't replace any of the starters with those misfits other then for injury

Judgement Day

PhatPiggins wrote: »

Replacements: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 CJ van der Linde, 18 Danie Rossouw, 19 Francois Louw, 20 Ricky Januarie, 21 Butch James, 22 Wynand Olivier.

Do you really think so? Thats the greatest bunch of has beens, never has beens and token players they ever assembled. Only Rossouw adds anything.

I wouldn't replace any of the starters with those misfits other then for injury

Especially Ricky Januarie - I wish he was starting. As for CJ. :rolleyes:

thomond2006

PhatPiggins wrote: »

Replacements: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 CJ van der Linde, 18 Danie Rossouw, 19 Francois Louw, 20 Ricky Januarie, 21 Butch James, 22 Wynand Olivier.

Do you really think so? Thats the greatest bunch of has beens, never has beens and token players they ever assembled. Only Rossouw adds anything.

I wouldn't replace any of the starters with those misfits other then for injury

Ralepelle is such a political selection, he's second behind Gary Botha at the Bulls. Same with Ricky Januarie, behind Duwenhage (sp) at the Stormers. Both of them in because of their skin colour, not their ability (which isn't much to write home about for either of them).

Olivier is a really overrated player and CJ hasn't improved from his Leinster days.

subfreq

CJ is old but built for a clash like this. Olivier, Roussouw, James and Louw all have experience and will contribute.

Obviously Dagg is the exception. He is a different level all together.

*Edit. I was writing my post before I saw the others above. Made me laugh that we all have a low opinion of Ralepelle and Januarie. Thing is Januarie will get game time late on and plays a blinder one game in 5.

Judgement Day

Judgement Day wrote: »

Especially Ricky Januarie - I wish he was starting.

Jayziz he is so average. One chip and chase against NZ a few years ago and suddenly he's getting picked ahead of Pienaar.

Havent seen much of Hougard (dreadful spelling), but by all counts he's highly rated.

Gonna stick my neck out anyhoo - Boks by 10 in spite of the midget at full back, sorry judgment day.
Powerful pack as always with a decent enough centre pairing now. I'm surprised Spies is still there, I thought Kankowski would have pipped him to the starting 15.

handsomecake

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iHbK8cSHsA

hougaard and de jongh are pretty tasty in attack. hougaard played wing all year for the bulls and he was lightening.their answer to austin healy.de jongh loves a side step.be interesting to see their decision making and defence at test match level.

all blacks by 10 + for me.

toomevara

Don't know, that SA team is far from the worst I've ever seen. Some nice balance to it, and some genuine quality. If they click the might give the Kiwis a little more than they bargained for. Also on home soil you'd expect a bit of a bounce in form...

Judgement Day

As far as I can see the home advantage is the only thing the Boks have going for them and, possibly, the fact that the All Blacks may go off the boil having already almost tied up the Tri-Nations. I think that Dan Carter is on the way back to his absolute top form again after some slighly wayward goal kicking in the earlier games - good by any normal mortal standard but not up to his usual superb record. One commentator mentioned Dan and Jonny Wilkinson in the same sentence during the last match so he has surely arrived!



LOOKING FORWARD TO A BLACK DAY IN SOWETO!

subfreq

Judgement Day - Slightly OT but, if they do wrap up the 3N this weekend do you think they will give a run to the subs in Sydney or keep the foot on the throat?

subfreq

subfreq wrote: »

Judgement Day - Slightly OT but, if they do wrap up the 3N this weekend do you think they will give a run to the subs in Sydney or keep the foot on the throat?

i thought the last leg was in NZ, no?

thomond2006

subfreq wrote: »

Judgement Day - Slightly OT but, if they do wrap up the 3N this weekend do you think they will give a run to the subs in Sydney or keep the foot on the throat?

Henry said that he will give the likes of Cruden starts after the South Africa leg.

subfreq

I thought it was in Sydney. Aus has a pretty grueling schedule this 3N. Two groups of 3 games.

In their next grouping its 2 in the Highveld followed 7 days later by a game against a fully rested NZ in Sydney(i think).

Anyway not to derail the SAF game thread. Just wondered if a NZ supporter or anyone knew.

Looking forward to a full on game this weekend. Starting to lean back towards SAF by less than 10.

Sorry you're right, its in Sydney, just checked.

Judgement Day

subfreq wrote: »

Judgement Day - Slightly OT but, if they do wrap up the 3N this weekend do you think they will give a run to the subs in Sydney or keep the foot on the throat?

Foot on throat I hope and continue building the momentum towards the World Cup. I don't fancy any of the 'home' nations chances in the November tests.

PhatPiggins

Judgement Day wrote: »

Foot on throat I hope and continue building the momentum towards the World Cup. I don't fancy any of the 'home' nations chances in the November tests.

I don't think so, they'll surely start the bench players. They cant afford to get caught out with a lack of squad depth like last time.

If Cruden is destined to be backup to Carter(I think he's cat to be honest) he'll need to start at least 4 games against decent opposition between now and the WC.

If he tanks against the likes of Australia at least there is still time to look for an alternative

sock puppet

PhatPiggins wrote: »

I don't think so, they'll surely start the bench players. They cant afford to get caught out with a lack of squad depth like last time.

If Cruden is destined to be backup to Carter(I think he's cat to be honest) he'll need to start at least 4 games against decent opposition between now and the WC.

If he tanks against the likes of Australia at least there is still time to look for an alternative

They should just stick David Hill on the bench. At least we know he can slot a drop goal.

Judgement Day

Graham Henry talks up the Boks and PDV's 'great' team selection and talks down expectations - a wily old fox.

Henry wary of altitude factor

Scrum.com
August 18, 2010

New Zealand coach Graham Henry has conceded that Johannesburg's altitude factor could prove the biggest hurdle between his side and the Tri-Nations crown.

The All Blacks have not tasted success on the Highveld - the upper plateau region of the country - since 2006 when they beat the Springboks 45-26 in Pretoria but more recently they were thumped 40-24 at Ellis Park in 2004 and beaten 28-19 in Bloemfontein last year.

"We're not getting ahead of ourselves," Henry said. "We know the challenges of playing up here at altitude. We were here in 2004 at Ellis Park where we got well beaten up by the Boks. We know it is a big job to win here.

"New Zealand teams come here regularly in the Super 14 and try and play in Super 14 semis and finals and realise it is hard to try and get things together in a week and play on a Saturday. We are under no illusions to how difficult the task is. Quite frankly, that is all we are thinking about at the moment, is to try and do the job and play well."

The New Zealanders currently top the Tri-Nations standings and need just a point in their remaining two matches to clinch the title. However, there will be more than 90,000 supporters willing the home team on after a rugby international was moved for the first time to Soweto and it's now famous venue - Soccer City, which hosted the recent football World Cup final. And Henry is expecting the hosts to come out firing.

"Peter de Villiers has done a great job selecting his team," added Henry. "It's a very strong side and they'll be very motivated playing in Soweto for the first time."

The All Blacks lost all three Tests to the world champions last year and their coach is also desperate to reverse that scoreline. "This has been our motivation since the series started. If we can pull it off it will be wonderful but it will be difficult. South African players get used to playing at this altitude and know what is required whereas our fellas play one or two games a year at altitude. We don't have that sort of experience and it makes the challenge harder. We're up for it."

http://www.scrum.com/trinations2010/rugby/story/121526.html

duckysauce

kiwis 11/10 -5 at paddypower

thomond2006

duckysauce wrote: »

kiwis 11/10 -5 at paddypower

If ever there was a certainty. (touchwood)

Judgement Day

The thoughts of Joe Rokocoko below - my kind of talk. With 46 International tries to his name Paddy Power have him at 9/5 to score a try - easy money? With 4 hat tricks already in his overall career Paddy Power have him down for this feat at 35/1 - only for the brave.

"But we're only at about 70 percent of our capability, we know there's so much more to come before we're at the top of our game.

Full article here:

http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,3821_6317016,00.html

And an early tribute to the great man here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlLhwQEOizI

handsomecake

sock puppet wrote: »

They should just stick David Hill on the bench. At least we know he can slot a drop goal.

i like colin slade.think he could step up.

redroar1942

How many of those tries were pre 2008 JD? I think he's only a ghost of the player he used to be.

Judgement Day

Sadly he was still in good form against Munster in 2008 - an event that I try to blank out when admiring him! Still, while not the player he once was he's finding some form again and his try in the Melbourne test was pure class.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8hzfrTPo6E

Meantime Victor Matfield falls into the trap of slagging off the opposition - keep it up lad.

Matfield accuses All Blacks of dodgy tactics
Scrum.com
August 19, 2010

Springboks vice-captain Victor Matfield has stepped up the mind games ahead of his side's Tri-Nations clash with the All Blacks by accusing their old rivals of unfair tactics at the lineout.

Speaking in the build-up to the eagerly-awaited clash at the 90,000-capacity FNB Stadium in Soweto, the 98-Test veteran suggested that the All Blacks have been throwing the ball into the lineout too early and has urged Welsh referee Nigel Owens to prevent a repeat this Saturday.

"It's one area where we would like to put them under pressure. If we can just get them to form the lineout and don't throw it quickly in," Matfield told the Sydney Morning Herald. "Firstly it's our aim to stop them throwing it in without us getting there. If we can get that hopefully we can put some pressure on their lineout."

The Springboks are desperate to rescue their Tri-Nations campaign after slumping to three successive losses which sees them languishing at the bottom of the table without a single point.

"There are quite a few things we need to be better at, but I don't want to go into those details," he said. "I think we know we weren't as good as we should have been overseas, we were maybe 10-15 per cent off our game and we need to fix everything. Everything needs to be better and then we'll stand a chance."

Matfield also revealed he is excited by the prospect of returning to Soweto having played at the Orlando Stadium in the township with his Super 14 side, the Bulls, earlier this year.

"The guys are looking forward to it," he said. "It will be the biggest crowd I've ever played in front of, so that's going to be amazing. With us having had the experience in the Super 14 semi-final and final we've seen how the whole of South Africa went to Soweto and really enjoyed it. There are so many people who want tickets and there are no more left. It's going to be a great experience and hopefully we can make it better by getting a result on the day."

duckysauce

hope the kiwis ripp them a new one

Judgement Day

Sky Sports 4 at 4pm ......don't miss it!!

wixfjord

**** me! Best haka ive ever seen!

toomevara

As a neutral hope we get a game. Want to see SA bury the excuses, stop all the nonsense and start trying to play constructive rugby. Less braun more brain and I sincerely hope they do'nt resort to the kind of underhand nonsense that we see so often from SA teams when backed into a corner/faced with manifestly superior opposition i.e. lets hope they don't do a Corne Krige. They really need to emerge from this game with some sort of credit, the result is less important.

PhatPiggins

Well they've picked the team for an open game but I don't know if PDV has the tactics to match.

Personally I can't take any more whinging from the Bok's. I want to see them either attempt to play rugby or get stuffed by 40 points

Morf

wixfjord wrote: »

**** me! Best haka ive ever seen!

My favourite was when Samoa (i think) countered the Haka with their own.

The anthems sounded cool

Risteard

I hope the All Blacks rip them apart.

sock puppet

Great play from South Africa. New Zealand need to harden up if they're to win this

uggh these Kiwi commentators are driving me mad. Would much prefer the saffa ones.

sock puppet

Try Burger. Jesus why couldn't have they played like this in their previous matches

Risteard

Good try. South Africa playing very physically and effectively. Good rugby.

wixfjord

Deleted User wrote: »

uggh these Kiwi commentators are driving me mad. Would much prefer the saffa ones.

What channel you watching?

castie

pass for Woodcock try looked a bit forward to me.

Tony Woodcock doing his best impression of Marcus Horan

wixfjord

wixfjord wrote: »

What channel you watching?

Fox Sports stream

Risteard

Ouch.

castie

lol owens in middle of a ruck!

Smiths got to get a ban for that!

Nigel owens got milled, looked nasty

pappyodaniel

Taxi for Owens?