Does Rassie go with the tried and tested or does he change things up and make a few changes?
I’d like to see the likes of Willemse, Hooker and Moodie at centre and vd Bergh needs to start at 9
Hanekom needs to start as well
We need to ditch the Fourie comeback as well, Wessels needs to be the bench hooker
Willemse and Moodie, yes. Hooker on the wing and Esterhuizen, the Premier 12 in the game at 12.
@Deus Ex Lemur no we need to move on from Esterhuizen as he is a similar age to DA and Kriel
No point in investing in a 32 year old turning 33 - that’s short sighted. He is deserving but is unfortunately the wrong age now
Hooker has played all his junior rugby as a centre and that’s where we need to see him operate moving forward but I guess that will only happen once DA, AE and Jessie are pastured out
No chance of that configuration, Dave.
Rassie wants 3-1 and he won't be experimenting now...especially now that the Quinn is crocked and there is blood in the water.
What did you think of the game on the weekend?
Our best game of the series so far - we looked more in control, our defence out wide was better. We no longer saw their loop around as we had one off defenders rushing to block out their attempts
It was good to see some scrum dominance back as well
Marx was huge, Ox and Wilco impressed. Siya was good as was Wiese
Yet again Reinach was the weak link - Crappies made a huge difference when he came on. Centres were good making an impact for a change. Sacha pushed hard in everything he did, still looking for that form.
Hooker was great, I want to see him at 12, with more opportunities with ball in hand.
Manie was good as was Hanekom
It was a dogfight in the first half then thankfully we took control of the second. Two soft luck of the bounce tries for the AB’s kept them close
As for the team for this Saturday - who knows with Rassie. He is the kind of coach who says to the likes of Moodie etc - go out and make sure we don’t draw the series
@Saffolk The defence was ragged. The All Blacks failed to exploit us out wide as much as they could have as they were lacking the patience to earn that space.
Great video Blobbrain. I posted it yesterday.
Mallet was a star turn
Look forward to the team announcement. Rassie will pick a team he thinks can win.
Hopefully the upward trend will continue.
Manie and Krappies should start. Willemse will be back. Lood might start with Eben off the bench. Ditto Hanekom. Who knows. Rassie has options
Dont think Hooker will move into center
He is doing very well on the wing. Will Moody get a chance? Allende will most likely start.
I think he will stick with the tried and tested. Too risky, as a loss would mean a drawn series.
Also, Rassie commented that he has changed the team a lot this season, and even last season, because he needs to test replacement players. Some of these players will not pan out, but others will.
The Boks looked undercooked in the first test. It did not look like a settled team, whereas the third test did look like a team with established combinations that implement the game plan
I saw on FB he is announcing the side tonight
Very true what Mallett said - this side under Rassie has the amazing ability not to suffer a sequence of losses. If they lose one they bounce back the next game
That coupled with their record makes them a pretty special side
I was very happy to see that even when Jasper isn't mega dominant, the Boks can still outmuscle the opposition.
Kind of a relieving revelation, actually.
Imagine the rise in physicality when Ruan Venter is back
@Saffolk Ja, Venter was epic this season. If he can get back there after his injury he'll be a Bok for a good long time. That guy in his prime is gonna be something else.
Kolisi should he dropped. The first try he was just riding the ball carrier, no dominant tackle and then fails to jackle the ball, a pop to Savea which he then scores. Soft try
I think this going to the the fore of the world cup team.
Rassie is going to pick these guys. He has now invested too much in Kriel and Dud.
Unfortunately to see AE being wasted. Prefer him over dud.
Moodie has been injured and not quite ready.
I think we won't see Hooker at 12 until 2028 and by that time he will be 25. Not the that bad, but I'm worried what happened to Hougaard. He was meant to be the next number 9 but after 5 years at wing could never go back from 11.
I also think we need our backline axis to be in the same team.
Hooker to Bools or Stormers as we don't have a 12, can combine with Sasha and then we have the most hyped up back in Markus Muller
Bullshit Kolisi had a good game
You are correct that Kolisi should be dropped — in fact, on my assessment he probably should not have played another Test after that 2013 performance against Samoa. However, rugby selection does not take place in a vacuum, and the Boks in particular are an emotional animal.
I don't think dropping him now, immediately before Baltimore, necessarily sends the right message to the rest of the side. He remains enormously respected within the group, he is the captain and figurehead around whom much of this series has been framed, and whatever we think of his present playing merits, those things carry weight within a Test environment.
There is also the practical problem that we don't have Kwagga Smith available, who for me is quite obviously the starting 6 on merit.
Kolisi has never been a particularly imposing physical presence in the tight exchanges, and historically the Boks have often got more value from him by using him away from the heaviest traffic — cleaning for the wider attacking units, working in the wider channels and performing roles that make better use of his mobility and work rate than asking him to live in the trenches.
That, for me, is the important point. If these players are going to be selected, whether we believe they are there on merit or not, then the coaches have to identify what they still do well and construct their roles accordingly. There is little sense selecting Kolisi and then asking him to be something he has never really been.
So while I agree with the broader argument about Kolisi, I wouldn't drop him for Baltimore. I'd instead narrow his role and put him in the areas of the game where he can still contribute most effectively. That's the approach I'd take for Saturday.
Nice post Deus.
I think you underestimate Kolis's physicality and ability to play in the traffic but of course he is better playing out wide especially against the wee abs.
I notice there is less hype about Paul de Villiers. Is this guy the deal.
Kwagga is best off the bench - another sgeing player.
Hanekom could be tried at 6 as well.
