Wallabies v Springboks - Perth 2009

5 to 1, changes to the Wallabies team compared to Springboks and also what I think would be the odds of Australia winning on Sat.

Don't confuse my confidence with arrogance, you cannot right off any of the top rugby nations, but when you compare recent showings and the amount of changes that the Australians have had to endure compared to the Springboks, you have to concede that the Boks are clear favourites!

As individuals, the players coming in and those swapping positions for Australia definitely have the potential and talent to play top class rugby, but as we all know rugby is a team sport. The Wallaby's have their backs up against the wall which makes them even more dangerous as stranger things have happened, but a win this weekend seems highly unlikely.

The Springboks on the other hand (Darrrren), have the luxury of a fully fit squad with the exception of Danie Russouw who has just overcome an ankle injury and will be rested this weekend. An interesting change for the Boks is Ruan Pienaar starting at fullback ahead of Francois Steyn. Steyn's impending move overseas was surely a motivating factor combined with PdV having half an eye on the end of year tour. For me Pienaar would start at flyhalf and I would put Morne Steyn at fullback, but PdV might be right in keeping Morne at flyhalf and perhaps weening him into the fullback position. The only department where Morne is better than Ruan is at goal kicking time and you don't have to play at flyhalf to kick at poles. As a flyhalf, I still believe Pienaar offers much more on attack and marshalls the backline better.

Finally, I cannot wait to see Schalk Burger come off the bench! I fully agree with Brussow starting ahead of him, but consider yourself in Burger's position. A former IRB Player of the year and Springbok stalwart having been banned for the past 8 weeks. Surely he would want to put in a massive display to resurrect his playing career and reputation? Be afraid Wallabies, be very afraid...

Go Bokke!

For the full teams and chosen write-ups click on the links below:

Springboks - http://www.supersport.com/rugby/article.aspx?Id=313455

Wallabies - http://www.sarugby.com/news/News/article/sid=12137.html

South Africa's golden genration

What a generation of sportsmen we currently have!

South African sport surely has to be applauded for all their achievements over the past few years.

I don't think there is any other country that has as much political interference and as much public pressure as South African spots teams! Yet through all of this we have the No.1 Rugby & Cricket teams in the world!

Yes, the Proteas have become number one by England beating Australia, but the work done to be in the position of taking the number one spot has been the main contributing factor. When a batsman scores a century the score book doesn't say how many times he was dropped and the same can be said for the No.1 ranking, the table will simply read: "1. South Africa". How they got there is all academic.

Before I mention the all-conquering Springboks, we have to mention that Bafana Bafana have had some promising results, showing great potential. We all know that there is soccer talent in South Africa and with the right mental coaching and man management there is no reason why soccer cannot emulate it's cricket and rugby siblings.

Another code in for a quick mention is the Springbok sevens team. They won the world series last season and put in some demolition job performances against highly ranked opposition.

Onto our beloved Springboks. World Cup medals, Super 14 medals, Lions Series medals and unbeaten in the Tri Nations so far - these are just a few of the many accolades the Boks have accumulated over the past few years. I won't go too much into the Springbok team's achievements as they are well documented, but they are by far the most outstanding sporting unit to represent South Africa of late.

When there are so many negatives in our country, the great achievements by our sports men and women gives us something to be extremely proud of. So next time you cross a loud South African be careful not to confuse arrogance with pride!

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.