South African flavoured BaaBaa's

New Zealand is known for it's lamb, but it was a distinctly South African flavoured BaaBaa's side that was bleating after Saturdays match.

A good performance by a bunch of talented internationals thrown together in a week overcame a 2nd string No.1 ranked All Black side.

Rokocoko facing the Haka was the first moment that indicated it was going to be no ordinary international match. Clearly lacking a usual test match atmosphere and intensity, there was no lack of entertainment. Habana surely showing why he is the world's best finisher scored a hatrick, and against any New Zealand side this is no easy feat.

The exciting backline of du Preez, Gitteua, Habana, Roberts, Fourie, Rokocoko and Mitchell displayed some exciting moments during the game. Especially exciting was Roberts and Fourie combing in the centres.

The forwards also gave a stellar performance and uncapped international WP Nel showed that he has a future on the international rugby scene. It was only the second time in history that the Barbarians have beaten the All Blacks, and even though it was a second string New Zealand outfit it was a good win and a good way to finish of the international year.

Times are changing

News of players changing provinces, clubs, countries and nationalities are part and parcel of the modern era. Traditional rugby was all about pride and representing the club, province or country you came from. It was about defending your territory and you wouldn't dare change allegiance and swap sides for fear of becoming a traitor.

These days a rugby player is an employee and all decisions are business based. Some players would argue that moving to a bigger union or club is because of the huge history or the quality of players at the club, but we all know that at the end of the day it is a business decision.

Clubs and provinces look for quick solutions because the pressure from fans and supporters to produce winning results is immense. Developing a player is time consuming and not always easy. Rugby is showing signs of becoming much like soccer (or football) when it comes to the trading of players, but the powers that be should becareful of retaining the traditions of the sport that make it so unique.

I do not mind players changing clubs or going overseas for a year or two to earn the Euro or Pound and to learn a different style of rugby, but when you change your allegiance to an adopted country I have to question the moral and ethical points of such a move.

When you represent a club or province, you do so for the level of play and the financial gain. Changing your loyalties can be easy when you are being paid more and play with better quality players at a club or province.

International rugby is about pride, nothing more than raw pride! I am sorry, but Riki Flutey is not English. He doesn't deserve to play for England, not because he is a bad player, but because he is not English. Clyde Rathbone's grandmother was Australian, so what! Clyde Rathbone is South African.

You cannot tell me that playing for a different country is a financial decision as you can earn a lot more by being a quality player for a club - just look at some of the salaries being paid out by French rugby clubs!

Some may argue that playing in a foreign country makes national selection difficult. I say work out what your priorities are, finances or pride? There is of course the option of doing both. John Smit did it, Daniel Carter did it and many many more have done it and will continue to look after their financial futures while not jeopardising their international careers a la Frans Steyn.

Anyway, whichever way you look at it rugby needs to keep it's rich traditions at some level and there is no better place to do this when representing your country.

The current state of Springbok rugby

Hello! Thanks for taking time to read! This is my first posting, so here we go...

Since the Jake White era there have been many ups and downs for Springbok rugby. In the last 2 years we have witnessed the first black Springbok coach, retiring legends and some record breaking games against England, Australia and most notably the All Blacks (in New Zealand!).

There has been a lot of contrversy surrounding our head coach, Peter de Villiers. I will be the first to admit that I was one of the voices calling for his axing on more than one occassion. However, I have changed my view and no longer believe he is a bad coach, I believe de Villiers possesses the coaching ability but lacks the skills of a press spokesman. Unfortunately for de Villiers his first language is afrikaans, and as many South Africans will tell you some things are best said in afrikaans and kept that way.

While there are still some reservations about our colourful coach, the facts remain that under his tutorship the Springboks have recorded record wins over England at Twickenham and Australia in South Africa, and became the first side in many years to topple the All Blacks on their home turf.

Some people may argue that de Villiers inherited Jake White's team, but on the flip side it was all there to be messed up, with new coaches often changing things around to make their mark. Surely de Villiers has done something right to keep the same captain and core Springbok players together who won the World Cup in 2007? It must've been so tempting to bring in new players, choose a new captain and coach a completely different style of rugby to put his own mark on Springbok rugby. Instead he decided to go with his head and not his heart and chose to build on the foundations already set by White. The result, a Lions Series WIN!

Currently we are 2 games into the Tri Nations with the Australians narrowly losing to the All Blacks in the first and the Springboks dominating the All Blacks in the second to come out deserved victors. The third test match is gearing up to be a colossal battle between the two old foes (South Africa and New Zealand) - a rivalry that dates back to almost being as old as rugby itself! Yes the Springboks recorded a good win in Bloemfontein and the margin should've been much more if not for the off day with the boot for Ruan Pienaar, but you write the All Blacks off at your own peril!

Surely both teams will look for major improvements and Saturday's test match should prove to be highly nerve wrenching. I am not going to be roped into a prediction, but will watch as all Springbok fans and supprters do...with the belief that we can beat any team in the world and the hope that we don't mess it up!

Enjoy the game - GO BOKKE!
p.s. Please feel free to leave comments.