The Beast is back…in contention!

Tendai “Beast” Mtawarira is now a naturalised South African after being granted South African citizenship. This means that the man who annihilated Phil Vickery in the British and Irish Lions Series is back in contention for Springbok selection.

“This is very gratifying news indeed and thanks to much hard work that has been going on behind the scenes over the past few months,” said Mr Oregan Hoskins, president of the South African Rugby Union.

“I’d like to personally thank Minister Dlamini-Zuma for her intervention to assist in this matter. It had long been the Beast’s desire to become naturalised and he has had to endure some difficult times in recent months. He is now eligible for selection should he fit into the plans of the coach and national selectors.”

The Beast’s availability brings a welcome conundrum for Peter de Villiers and he stands a good chance of making the squad for the Tri Nations series. Gurthro Steenkamp will probably keep the No.1 jumper as he has been the form loosehead in South Africa this season.

Knowing that there is real competition in the form of the Beast will bring out the best in Steenkamp and this is a great scenario for the Springboks.

The Springbok squad for the away-leg of the Vodacom Tri-Nations will be named by Mr Hoskins and Springbok head coach Peter de Villiers on Saturday evening. It will be broadcast live on SuperSport 1.

The Overseas Based Fan

There has been so much written about the overseas based player, but what about the overseas based FAN!? Does the overseas based fan have the same bragging rights as the fans back home in South Africa? Are the fans in South Africa more eligible to shout for the Boks than those based overseas? Here’s a look at what it’s like supporting the Boks from abroad…

Living abroad is fun, exciting and lonely all at the same time. Having a base of friends that come from South Africa helps, but even braais, boerewors, biltong and a £1.40 can of Crème Soda doesn’t help when you’re really missing home!

The recent FIFA World Cup in South Africa has been televised every single day in the UK and has put South Africa on the map! Seeing home on TV every day brings both pride and longing. Proud that your beautiful country is being showcased and longing to be home so that you can soak up the atmosphere with your family and friends.

Unfortunately Bafana Bafana, with as much progress as they have made under Carlos Alberto Parreira, are not our most dominant sporting force. When you mention “South African sports” and “world beaters” in the same sentence, only one sporting code and name springs to mind - Rugby and the Springboks.

The Springboks are more than just a national rugby team. They are a brand and an identity, and take the hopes of a nation on to the field of play in every match. None more so than the hopes, pride and identity of the many South Africans living abroad who revel in the camaraderie, friendship and pride of being South African when the Boks play!

Fewer days are better than when you are kitted out in Green and Gold after watching the Boks beat the opposition at Murrayfield, the Millennium Stadium or Twickenham. When you wear your team’s colours, you not only show support for them but are representing your country as a fan. Your behaviour in losing and in winning counts towards the image of the Boks.

On a recent visit to the Millennium Stadium to watch the Boks vs Wales, just before half time the Boks found themselves trailing 16 -3. A welsh lady turned to me and said, “You know you’re still going to win.”

Either this was pure negativity from the Welsh or immense respect for the World Champions - I’d like to think it’s the latter, either way she was right. The Springboks are the most dominant force in World Rugby at the moment although our Kiwi neighbours would argue otherwise. The Tri Nations is sure to settle that debate.

As a Bok fan and a South African living in the UK, I can safely say that the end of year tour is highly anticipated by the many Saffers living here. It will bring a time to celebrate being South African and in a small way it will be a time to feel at home again!

Bad Brad represents England

Brad Barritt has been rewarded for a good season with the Saracens with an England call up and many might see him as being a traitor, but you can’t blame him.

It would have taken a lot to replace Jean de Villiers at inside centre and Barritt is just another unlucky player to be plying his trade in the same era as the current crop of Bok superstars.

Good luck Brad, you’re going to need it if you play against the Springboks.

England team to face the NZ Maori’s:

15 Delon Armitage (London Irish)
14 David Strettle (Harlequins)
13 Mathew Tait (Sale Sharks)
12 Brad Barritt (Saracens)11 Chris Ashton (Northampton Saints)
10 Charlie Hodgson (Sale Sharks)
9 Danny Care (Harlequins)
1 David Flatman (Bath Rugby)
2 George Chuter (Leicester Tigers)
3 Paul Doran-Jones (Gloucester Rugby)
4 David Attwood (Gloucester Rugby)
5 Geoff Parling (Leicester Tigers)
6 Chris Robshaw (Harlequins) CAPTAIN
7 Steffon Armitage (London Irish)
8 Phil Dowson (Northampton Saints)

REPLACEMENTS

16 Rob Webber (London Wasps)
17 Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers)
18 Dan Ward-Smith (London Wasps)
19 James Haskell (Stade Francais)
20 Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers)
21 Shane Geragthy (Northampton Saints)
22 Ben Foden (Northampton Saints)

Putting on my selectors hat...

The eagerly awaited Tri Nations series between the worlds leading rugby nations is around the corner and with a match against a northern hemisphere nation standing in the way, players are probably eager to fast forward a few weeks.

Australia beaten by England this past weekend are sure to want to rectify things against Ireland but the Wallabies look the most brittle of the three southern hemisphere giants.

New Zealand are looking good with Dan Carter back in form and convincing wins the past two weekends.

South Africa look good as well and although not highly convincing against Italy this past weekend, when Peter de Villiers selects his first XV it will be a different story. Let's take a look at the possible selection.

Loose Head Prop:
With Tendai "Beast" Mtawarira fighting to become a South African citizen, the door is wide open for Gurthro Steenkamp who has put in two stellar performances for the Boks after a solid season for the Super 14 winning Bulls.

Hooker:
There is no contest with de Villiers clearly not including Gary Botha in his plans and Bismark du Plessis recovering from surgery, John Smit is the obvious choice for hooker and captain.

Tight Head Prop:
Three players are in contention for the No.3 jersey. BJ Botha has been uncharacteristically unconvincing and CJ van der Linde needs to acclimatise to the Southern Hemisphere pace of the game again. So after a notable performance against a solid Italian front row Jannie du Plessis gets the nod.

Second Row:
There was talk about Danie Russouw putting pressure on Bakkies Botha for the No.4 jersey, rightfully so after a superb Super 14 for the Bulls and good performances for the Boks. Botha silenced any critics with a powerhouse performance in his return match. The World Cup winning combination of Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha are paired to form the Bok engine room.

Openside Flanker:
Dewald Potgieter, Francois Louw and Schalk Burger are all available for the No.6 jersey but with regular Blindside Flank Juan Smith still unavailable Schalk will don the No.7 jumper. From recent performances of Louw and Potgieter, Louw has been the pick of the two. Francois Louw comes off the back of a great Super 14 with the Stormers and has shown that he can handle his own in the Test arena.

Blindside Flanker:
Schalk Burger has been immense for the Stormers this season and is the ideal candidate on the Blindside in place of Juan Smith. His partnership with Francois Louw will also bode well for the Boks.

No. 8:

Ryan Kankowski, Danie Russouw and Pierre Spies are all in the mix for the No.8 position but no one will argue that Pierre Spies is the obvious choice with Kanko and Russouw in all likelihood providing cover from the bench.

Scrumhalf:

There has been lots of debate around the selection of Ricky Januarie and the playing of Ruan Pienaar at fly half instead of his accustomed No.9. Januarie has been inconsistent but can have matches where he is untouchable. Pienaar played a fair amount of games at scrumhalf for the Sharks during the Super 14 and is currently not the first choice flyhalf for the Boks. With quicker service and a good eye for the situation Ruan Pienaar gets the No.9 Jersey.

Fly half:

Butch James is back in the Springbok mix and we all know what he can do! James looks off the pace and probably needs more match practice before can mount a serious claim. With Pienaar the prime suspect at scrumhalf, Morne Steyn is in great form and showed last Saturday that we has the footwork as well with his jinking try.

Left Wing:

Bryan Habana picks himself in a position with no real contenders. Van den Heever, Francois Hougaard and Gio Aplon have all showed promise this season but the man who has raced a cheetah is still South Africa's best wing.

Inside Centre:

Juan de Jongh has burst onto the scene and is such an exciting player! His combination with Jaque Fourie at the Stormers this season has been great to watch. Butch James was also trialed in the No.12 jumper but there remains one man for the job, Jean de Villiers.

Outside Centre:

Jaque Fourie has had an outstanding season after moving from the Lions to the Cape. No contest.

Right Wing:

Gerhard van den Heever, Francois Hougaard and Gio Aplon have the opportunity to fill the Right Wing vacancy left open by the injured JP Peterson. Only Aplon has been given a real opportunity to showcase his talents and he has grabbed it with both hands. His performances have been good enough to secure him the No.14 shirt. I would, however, like to see van den Heever given a chance.

Fullback:

Frans Steyn, Zane Kirchner and Joe Pietersen are all names that could fill the Fullback position. The jury is still out on Kirchner's abilities and Pietersen has not been given a real chance. Steyn is an outstanding player but has too many moments of madness at this stage of his career. This Tri Nations series will be perfect for Frans Steyn to settle in and get rid of the flashy play that has often got the critics talking.

1. Gurthro Steenkamp

2. John Smit

3. Jannie du Plessis

4. Bakkies Botha

5. Victor Matfield

6. Francois Louw

7. Schalk Burger

8. Pierre Spies

9. Ruan Pienaar

10. Morne Steyn

11. Byran Habana

12. Jean de Villiers

13. Jaque Fourie

14. Gio Aplon

15. Frans Steyn

16. Gary Botha

17. CJ vd Linde

18. Andries Bekker

19. Danie Russouw

20. Dewald Potgieter

21. Ricky Januarie

22. Juan de Jongh

The Boks Up Front

As most rugby purists know, the front five or tight five are the key to any rugby team’s success. You can have the best backline in the world but even Dan Carter will be ineffective if he has an under par tight five.

The possession and supply of good quality ball in a rugby match is reliant enormously on the performance of the two Props, Hooker and Second Rowers (or Locks). Lineout’s and scrums are still immensely important seeing that a winning scrum and lineout will drain energy from and demoralise the opposition.

In the Second Row department the Boks have the best combination in World Rugby. Victor Matfield is undoubtedly the Lineout King and Bakkies Botha is the enforcer par excellence. If this combination is at its peak come RWC 2011 other countries will be, and should be, very worried!

In the horrible event that one or both of these rugby superstars gets injured we have two very capable replacements that would easily start for any other national team. Andries Bekker has been Matfield’s understudy for quite some time now and when Matfield decides to pass on the baton, the 2 metre Lineout Prince will be ready, able and willing to step up and establish himself.

It has been said that Bakkies has been feeling a bit of pressure because of the way Danie Russouw has been performing in his absence. In return Botha put in a superb powerhouse performance in his first game back and is still my first choice enforcer for the Boks. Russouw can count himself extremely unlucky to be playing rugby at the same time as Botha.

For me there is currently only one starting hooker for the Springboks, John Smit. It is almost folklore already that Smit is one of the best International Rugby Captains ever! He is certainly one of the most respected. What Smit might not have in terms of loose play, he more than makes up in his scrumaging and the tight/loose. His Captaincy speaks for itself, ask any player who has played under him.

Bismark du Plessis and Gary Botha would be my 2nd and 3rd choice hookers. The main reason is that they are perfect impact players for Test Match rugby. Imagine being the opposition after playing an hour of rugby and on comes Bismark du Plesssis or Gary Botha – just the thought would make you dejected and yes, there is still a place for the impact player.

Tighthead Prop is an interesting topic at the moment. BJ Botha has not impressed since his return and Jannie du Plessis is still seeking the consistency that would make him first choice. CJ van der Linde is a tighthead World Cup winner and can play both sides, but who is our best tighthead? This is one position that is still up for grabs and any one of these three can establish themselves as the Bok No.3.

Everyone, including myself, was in disbelief when Tandai “Beast” Mtawarira was not allowed to play for South Africa after representing the Boks in 15 Tests. Beast was (and still is) regarded as one of the best looseheads in South Africa because of his great strength and incredible mobility for a prop. He is fast, has good hands and is a formidable srummager – just ask Phil Vickery.

Fast forward to today and you could ask Martin Castrogiovanni the same question about Gurthro Steenkamp! Steenkamp has been incredible in the past two test matches and Castrogiovanni, who many rate as the best tighthead currently in world rugby was sent packing to the sidelines. Here I don’t have a preference, you can put either Beast or Gurthro at loosehead and both would be superb.

Lastly, I’d like to add what a difference it seems that Os du Randt has made as scrum coach. The experience passed on by the legendary loosehead coupled with John Smit returning to hooker has made our scrum one of the finest…Bring on RWC 2011!

French toast

The French always come with an "unpredictable" tag. John Smit complimented them before the match, but Springbok rugby is too full of confidence at the moment for his statements to ring any alarm bells.

We thrashed the Six Nations champions with great authority and de Villiers will be very happy with his selections. The National coach comments that he now has 30 players that can all play international rugby and this is fantastic for Springbok rugby a year before the World Cup. My hope is that he doesn't have the headache of who to chose for the important matches in a sense.

Having 2 sides that could easily play the same level of rugby week in week out is great, but we know that rugby doesn't always work like that - look at the All Blacks. It is important for de Villiers to know his starting XV, his BEST XV. The other fifteen, although able to slot in, should not be given false hope as this will not aid the team dynamic.

Captain John Smit and senior players like, Matfield, du Preez and Habana need to work hard to ensure the team instills the ethos of Springbok rugby into the new crop of players who are making a name for themselves.

The Springboks have always been expected to win every game they play and this won't change for a very long time. South African rugby is in a good place and long may it continue, it's been said before but we cannot become complacent.

Well done to Gio Aplon on another good performance and Francois Louw on proving the Welsh test was not a false hope.

Let's see how we do against Italy...

Having a Wale(s) of a time!

My first experience of the Millennium Stadium was everything it lived up to be! The Welsh are great fans of Rugby and know how to have and show you a great time. The Lost Prophets were the pre-match entertainment followed by base jumpers delivering the match ball from the Millennium Stadium roof!

My favourite part of any match, besides the actual play, is the singing of the anthems! Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika was sung, as always, with pride and vigour by the many South Africans that had made the trip from London to Cardiff for the match. I was always told that the Welsh can sing and evidence of this has always been witnessed on TV coverage. The singing of the Welsh national anthem in the Millennium Stadium blew me away! While munching away on droewors at the Millennium Stadium watching Wales vs South Africa was a great way to spend a Saturday!

Before kickoff there were a few facts that everyone was speaking about, including the Welsh supporters. The Welsh had one or two injuries but otherwise selected their best available 15. The Springboks, although World Champions, were resting key players and had less than a week to gel a team together and had many last minute changes to the starting line up because of various reasons.

The Boks started the first half like a team introduced to each other just before kickoff. With a number of players in the starting lineup plying their trade overseas and quite a few newcomers, it was no wonder. The Welsh on the other hand came out with full guns blazing and took the game to the Boks.

The second half proved why the senior Bok players like John Smit and Victor Matfield are so important to the Springboks. They've been there time and time again and know the situation. The Boks came out in the second half like a new team and by the end of it where in control of the match. When Wales went 16-3 up a welsh lady next to me turned and said, "You know you're still going to win." She was right.

The newcomers all did well in their first outing. I am not a Stormers fan, but I was particularly impressed with Juan de Jongh, Francois Louw and Gio Aplon. De Jongh is a good centre with great foot work, good handling skills and good speed. He also has solid defence and is definitely one for the future. If he continues to work alongside Jean de Villiers and Jaque Fourie he will become a world class player! For the Wynand Oliver supporters, I'm afraid to say that he is a great Super Rugby player but has never impressed me at International level.

Francois Louw showed that he is capable of holding his own on the international stage. It wasn't a standout performance, but it was more than sufficient to suggest that he can develop into a great flanker! South African rugby is very blessed to have such depth at loose forward at the moment.

Gio Aplon provided some good touches. There are many people who think that the modern wing has to big, strong and fast - I disagree that they have to be big. I was once told that there is "no counter for speed, if someone is faster than you then he's faster than you."

Aplon is not the fastest player around yet, but he can develop into a Breyton Paulse as he has good hands and quick feet. If you can't catch him, you can't tackle him! His sevens experience showed and helped him in his first outing for the Springboks.

All in all it was a good performance from the Boks, with one or two small errors. Against better opposition these errors would have cost us, but against better opposition we will be more clinical.

Let's see what the French have in store.