Destiny

Okay, so the All Blacks beat the Aussies in a "thriller". As far as I'm concerned, a game in which the lead changes several times is exciting and a good rugby match. I do have to however have a go at NZ coach Graham Henry for preaching running, spectacle rugby when his team kicked as much as they did.

Right, now that my rant is over let's discuss 2 things as to keep to the topic. Firstly let's work off the "running rugby" comments made by Henry and Deans. Yes, for the average fan or someone who knows nothing about the game, scoring tries and lots of them would be far more exciting. For the millions of others that appreciate the game in it's purest form, we know what gets us excited. It could be newcomer Brussouw outplaying veteran McCaw, it could be a grubber by tighthead John Smit which leads to a try or it could be Vickery being totally dominated by the Beast. It is clear that what gets real rugby fans excited is not purely based on the scoring of tries.

Regarding the amount of kicking that has taken place in games recently, I think, is due to adaptation. Teams defences have improved vastly over the past half decade which means opposition teams have had to adapt and find other ways to get over the advantage line. Kicking well can be very effective and because good teams play the situation we mostly find the best option is to launch a kick leading to less "running" rugby. By playing the situation correctly your destiny lies predominantly in your own hands.

As we look ahead for the week, the second point to the topic is the fact that the Springboks have their Tri Nations destiny in their own hands. Unlike the All Blacks and Wallabies who need to rely on other results (with the Aussies almost certainly out of the running), the Springboks know that winning two of their away games will clinch the 2009 Tri Nations. Unbeaten in the Tri Nations so far, the Boks' previous travels to Australasia have always been seen as a huge challenge in which losing admirably was good. Expectation has never been higher in South Africa and neither has the ability to fulfil such expectation. The current crop are more than capable of recording a clean sweep of their away leg as they have players that have experienced winning Down Under and know what is expected.

Don't get me wrong, complacency is never an ingredient for success, but watching destiny unfold in the business end of the Tri Nations will be filled with high emotion.

Go Bokke!