@NTA said in Boks v Wobblies I:

Pretty early to name a team compared to the standard Thursday. I guess they're comfortable with anything they pick

He'll innovate by changing the side during the week.

@W32 said in Boks v Wobblies I:

SA are definitely beatable. This year will be very interesting, big names are fading.

I think the Boks will be fine but the one position which should be interesting to see how the transition goes is tighthead prop. I've kept a pretty close eye on Wilco Louw during the July Tests and while he's an incredible scrummager, he looked at times to struggle with the pace of the game, being exposed a bit in the defensive line and putting in some rather lazy looking cleans.

Frans Malherbe was great in that sense: not only was he excellent in the set piece, he also brought a lot of value around the field. Louw will probably need to start showing more in that regard, otherwise I could see how he'd be overtaken by someone like Ntlabakanye sooner rather than later. Ntlabakanye might look out of shape but he's surprisingly mobile for his size, with a big engine on him.

@Mauss Agree. He's probably the world's best scrummaging tighthead prop but needs to up his workrate in general play.

He can't do 40mins of South African paced rugby?

@MN5 said in Boks v Wobblies I:

De Allende injured I assume ?

In any case Esterhuizen is a terrific replacement. Probably my two favourite 12s going round the traps at the moment.

Boks by about 30

DDA is carrying a niggle, but is expected to be available for Boks II.

@akan004 Wilko has been great all season for the Bulls. TH fatties is there for scrums. Anything else is a bonus. He and Ox is our best fatties. Add Marx and I expect a torrid time in the scrum for the Wallabies.

Ellis Park at 2000m+ altitude can be tricky if you're not acclimatized.
I'm giving the Boks the advantage on Test 1 here. Not to say it's not going to be competitive. The Boks don't have a pressure kicker in their set up. If the Wallabies can keep it close, where kicks become result defining, then it could end badly for the Boks.
The long range weather forecast shows a slight possibility of rain too - which is a pity if it transpires. Both sides I feel would relish a Highveld encounter that encourages expansive play.

@Billy-Webb the rain and wet conditions might help to keep it closer for the Wallabies. I think a forward oriented game is probably best for the Wallabies too.

word is JOC to start at 10?

@mariner4life said in Boks v Wobblies I:

word is JOC to start at 10?

Sounds like it, Drew Mitchell let it slip on the KOKO podcast last night. Apparently had been talking to him earlier in the day.

If O'Connor gets to play, as rumoured, I'm stoked for him. I rate him as an amazing talent who for (fill in the blank reasons) never completely closed out his international potential.
At a visceral Bok supporter level - I hope we shut him down completely.
Isn't rugby fun?!

@Billy-Webb said in Boks v Wobblies I:

(fill in the blank reasons)

Oh come on, we all know your reason is he chose his birth country over the grandparent rule.

@Smuts said in Boks v Wobblies I:

@pakman said in Boks v Wobblies I:

Boks are beatable. Main strike weapon will be maul.

Imminently beatable. Main strike weapon is the maul and the scru…

Imminently beatable. Main strike weapons are the maul and the scrum and Arendse (5 tries in 2 tests against Oz), bugger

Imminently beatable. Amongst their arsenal are such diverse weapons as:
the maul and scrum
Arendse (5 from 2) and
Fassi and Moodie (each 1 from 1)

Also shouldn’t forget the hot hand of Edwill van der Merwe (5 tries in 3 tests for the Boks) aaargh …

I’ll come in again [exit and immediate reentry]

Imminently beatable. Their ever-expanding arsenal is easily underestimated but contains such diverse weapons as:
the maul and scrum
The tryscoring threats of Arendse (5 from 2), Fassi and Moodie (each 1 from 1)
Along with the hot hand of Edwill van der Merwe (5 tries in 3 tests for the Boks)
To say nothing of two-time and current world player of the year PSDT

Bugger.

They are beatable if you can nullify their many and diverse threats.

*eminently

@delicatessen said in Boks v Wobblies I:

@Smuts said in Boks v Wobblies I:

@pakman said in Boks v Wobblies I:

Boks are beatable. Main strike weapon will be maul.

Imminently beatable. Main strike weapon is the maul and the scru…

Imminently beatable. Main strike weapons are the maul and the scrum and Arendse (5 tries in 2 tests against Oz), bugger

Imminently beatable. Amongst their arsenal are such diverse weapons as:
the maul and scrum
Arendse (5 from 2) and
Fassi and Moodie (each 1 from 1)

Also shouldn’t forget the hot hand of Edwill van der Merwe (5 tries in 3 tests for the Boks) aaargh …

I’ll come in again [exit and immediate reentry]

Imminently beatable. Their ever-expanding arsenal is easily underestimated but contains such diverse weapons as:
the maul and scrum
The tryscoring threats of Arendse (5 from 2), Fassi and Moodie (each 1 from 1)
Along with the hot hand of Edwill van der Merwe (5 tries in 3 tests for the Boks)
To say nothing of two-time and current world player of the year PSDT

Bugger.

They are beatable if you can nullify their many and diverse threats.

*eminently

As we get closer it will be imminently again.

@delicatessen My bad. I realised I’d mistyped, but after @smuts had taken the bait so magnificently, there seemed little point in correcting!

@mariner4life said in Boks v Wobblies I:

word is JOC to start at 10?

Let’s go ‘straya

Supposedly SARU have buggered the pricing strategy for this one and there's gonna be a load of empty seats

@KiwiMurph said in Boks v Wobblies I:

Supposedly SARU have buggered the pricing strategy for this one and there's gonna be a load of empty seats

It's about 100NZD for the cheapest tickets, from what I've seen. Which is criminal in SA.

When is the team named?

What happens if JOC goes down???

I imagine niggles played a part, but I’d have had LSL on bench.

@pakman said in Boks v Wobblies I:

What happens if JOC goes down???

Tupou happens.

@pakman said in Boks v Wobblies I:

What happens if JOC goes down???

I think that Wright would move into 1st 5 and Kellaway comes on at fullback.

@pakman said in Boks v Wobblies I:

What happens if JOC goes down???

Schmidt has side they may still tweak the bench as the Donaldson injury happened late Thursday.

Kellaway can play 10 or someone like Paisami or Edmed could come onto the bench

Nic White can actually play 10 also.

@pakman Watching that - I wouldn't mind him coaching the ABs.
And I loved him throwing shade on Rassie by omission. Repeatedly giving praise to Tony Brown, Felix Jones, and "the athletes he has at hand" - but... the unsaid was greater than the said.

Unfortunately no story here. Just a genuine injury to a reserve prop requiring a like for like replacement.

Schmidt however, was the first to blink by dropping a forward for a reserve 10. (Rightly so, Madness to be reliant on a 35 y/o SR part timer)

@PN said in Boks v Wobblies I:

Unfortunately no story here

But Rassie.

Still a genius.

@booboo said in Boks v Wobblies I:

@PN said in Boks v Wobblies I:

Unfortunately no story here

But Rassie.

Still a genius.

The reeducation camp youve been attending has finally got reality sinking in mate!

Edmed to bench in place of CdC

To be fair the original squad was named within an hour of Donno going down.

@MiketheSnow Heard that before Mike. Pride comes before a fall, and the Boks are not always at their best when they are heavily favoured.

One red card could change a lot

@stodders said in Boks v Wobblies I:

@MiketheSnow Heard that before Mike. Pride comes before a fall, and the Boks are not always at their best when they are heavily favoured.

One red card could change a lot

So Mike’s neutral take on the match somehow becomes, in your view, “Springbok arrogance”? That’s quite a leap.

Out of interest—what exactly was the moment that marked the All Blacks’ own “pride before a fall”?

Some commentary and second guessing I'm not following on this thread...
So here's my uneducated view:
Boks favourites. Why? Because they're good, and at home, and at altitude - always an adjustment.
BUT: I believe this is is a vastly underrated Wallaby team. They have been well hardened by the Lions Tour. Being underdogs is going to play into their hands. They could (need to) front up to Bok aggression in the pack, and if they do, they have some electric players out wide. This will be a close one.