Northern hemisphere rugby

Kaplans comment

I said there were going to be upsets… I was hoping it wasn’t going to be the Boks. In fact all 4 Southern Hemisphere superpowers may have lost on this weekend , almost unheard of since I was born. That is how big the apparent gulf has been for decades. Not so on this weekend.

The Boks were well beaten in Dublin. They lacked their physical edge and to me seemed slightly off their game. They got out passioned and out thought by a very tough competent Irish outfit. We were off our game. And even though referee Poite didn’t have the best afternoon out there, I think it is wise to first look at our own performance before we start looking for excuses.

Having said that. There were some very poor decisions on the day, some iffy ones and some that merit discussion at the very least. Clearly I can’t go into every decision on this platform, but an in depth visual review would be very helpful for our deserving public who quite correctly would like answers…

Ireland best tactic of the day was to double staple over the ball on defence thereby confusing the clean and winning turnover or penalty. This is illegal . Referees in general are poor at identifying this. They did it very well all afternoon. It does lend itself towards poor attack as the team in possession feel threatened with the ball.

Poite penalized du Plessis early in the game at scrum when his opponent had clearly hinged on the set. A poor call. Made even worse by the fact that the Irish scrum got butchered the whole game and it was clearly a tactic to negate a strength.

Ireland also used a line out tactic where they would back off once the ball was collected and then come in round the side… appallingly poor refereeing understanding of what is happening. Either penalize Ireland for leaving the line out or penalize SA for early transfer of the ball before contact is made, the other option is not good for the game.

The yellow card for Strauss was equally poor. The fact that he made contact with the player in the air was no different from Kearney on Le Roux in the first 2 minutes of the game. The inconsistency of sanction had local supporters up in arms. I personally feel that oversanitizing this aspect is a knee jerk reaction to the injuries which may take place and the referee needs to be able to use common sense. A penalty it may have been, but never a yellow card.

We will see more odd results as teams from the North up their game, starting next week… Who will fall by the wayside?

Pirhobeta, are you insinuating that I am like a one eyed Pirate??????????? :lol: Interesting article there Bob. I had not seen it but at least he was watching the same game I was! :whistle:

Another shocking display by a obviously biased referee, sa never took the points when available and it cost them
We will not make the same mistake this weekend and will dominate the english upfront
Imo jean de villiers should consider retirement, looked like he would rather be anywhere but on that rugby field

Hear Lambie in for Pollard, Rienach/Hougaard, JP/ Hendricks and possibly Straus for Bismark for the England.

Just back from the match, proud as punch

England now lost 5 in a row

Can Lambie cut it as THE Bok #10 ?

The answer to that is a resounding yes. Finish and Klaar....

Rob Martin wrote: Can Lambie cut it as THE Bok #10 ?

The answer to that is a resounding yes. Finish and Klaar....

no no not at all he is ok but not the answer , i would bring steyn back more consistency I know you sharkies wont agree, however the bokke have lost the zest to produce and the will to win if it wasnt for the interception we would have been in trouble... but a win is a win ooo we also need a scrumhalf and some forwards that can put us on the front foot to allow our backs to run ,,we must be one off the best defending side in the world

Another great days rugby
cheers Bob

Scotland have stepped up their game. But also New Zealand played like shite. I think their World Cup price should drift a bit after last nights performance. Thought -14.5 at 1/3 was a sure bet.

Maybe I am ultra sensitive but I can't handle Skinstadt as a Rugby commentator.
Apart from being totally biased, I find his speech very disjointed.
Could it be that he still has the stud in his tongue.
What happened to Bladen,Stransky,Cowley etc?

Don't wanna be a ATR Merchant
But SA and France where certainties this weekend, SA couldn't repeat that performance from last weekend
And France beat a useless aussie side, Morning Chicken