Rugby Championship 2025: South Africa v Australia

[KOB1987]

JAS isn't getting moved to the wing - sure, he's missing some defensive reads but they are building a centre combination for 2027, he has the skill and intelligence to get on top of it, they'll persist with him there in the interest of the long game.

 

[cyclopath]

Boks looked unfit, maybe they needed more warm up games, no excuses the rugby championship/ tri nations has existed since 1996 so they’ve 29 years to prepare for this.

Maybe the supplement balance is a bit skewed to bulk over VO2 Max.

 

[cyclopath]

How long before another Rassie missive comes out aimed squarely at BOK?

He'll have to recover from eating his shit sandwich first.

 

[KOB1987]

Can someone explain the rationale behind the midfield 'lineout'? All I could work out was it took 3 players to catch the pass.

 

[cyclopath]

The Good - All of the Wallabies; watching the expressions of Bokke fans in the crowd once they realised this was not going to plan; BOK elevating clear communication to an art form.
The Bad - injuries to Wilson and Pietsch.
The Ugly - Rassie's crap with the "mid-field lineout" and "kick-off not going 10" rubbish; SA rugby Twitter. Although they all came up with nothing.

 

[Dismal Pillock]

He'll have to recover from eating his shit sandwich first.

 

[Dctarget]

Van Nek is replacing Slipper (HIA). Anyone get when his head knock happened?

 

[Brumby Runner]

I think Finn Mackay is better than Meredith just hasn't had the opportunities yet at Super Rugby level.
We're going off vibes and unrealized potential rather than data yeah?

Sounds like Finn Mackay should be playing for Ireland or Wales with that name. My assessment of Meredith is from watching him play Super Rugby for the Brumbies where he didn't cause any drop in performance from Noah and in fact actually improved in some areas like kicking for touch. Probably gained more than 20m on average over Noah's efforts. He is also noticeably faster than Noah and has shown a good short kicking game in his earlier Brumby Runner days.

Of course, the moment he starts to attract attention here with his performances out will come the perennial complaint that anyone would look good behind the Brumbies' pack.

 

[LeCheese]

The Good - All of the Wallabies; watching the expressions of Bokke fans in the crowd once they realised this was not going to plan

 

[cyclopath]

View attachment 23134

That was the face that led to my post!!!

 

[Wilson]

8 lineout takes for Wilson, equal most for the match with Frost. Fair to say he's developing pretty bloody well there, even with some fo.the struggles we had with our throw.

 

[griffins]

Sounds like Finn Mackay should be playing for Ireland or Wales with that name. My assessment of Meredith is from watching him play Super Rugby for the Brumbies where he didn't cause any drop in performance from Noah and in fact actually improved in some areas like kicking for touch. Probably gained more than 20m on average over Noah's efforts. He is also noticeably faster than Noah and has shown a good short kicking game in his earlier Brumby Runner days.

Of course, the moment he starts to attract attention here with his performances out will come the perennial complaint that anyone would look good behind the Brumbies' pack.

He did have a couple of good games but as noted very much in system. I also saw him fail to close out a club game earlier in the year with a 2 score lead and less than 5 on the clock, featuring a kick out on the full. Noting he was primarily a 15 until a year or so ago and the rough edges I do think you're getting a bit ahead of yourself, but there's definitely something there and I hope he sees more action and continues to develop next year.

 

[LeCheese]

8 lineout takes for Wilson, equal most for the match with Frost. Fair to say he's developing pretty bloody well there, even with some fo.the struggles we had with our throw.

I was told he would never be a primary lineout option though????

 

[Micheal]

1. How many times did Kriel rush in only for a pass to be floated over his head? It was a tactic but falls squarely on the coached. He kept doing it.

I noticed that too.

This sounds strange but after the game I was thinking that an answer to the rush defence that we're seeing dominate defensive systems globally right now might be ... a tall outside centre?

If you play / have played basketball you know how a few cm in height difference really changes the passes that you can throw to a team mate (or that defensive players can compete for).

The passes seemed to go over Kriel often -- JAS has 10 centimetres on him, and would have a far bigger wingspan than him.

That's a huge difference at this level.

 

[Adam84]

I think Meredith is better than each of Lynagh, Donaldson, Lolesio and Edmed.

I came to read about the performance last night and instead there’s crackers like this.. Larkham must be an idiot for starting Noah over Meredith.

never take those brumbies glasses off BR, it’s an enjoyment to read.

PS hope Meredith does well in Super Rugby in 2026 and lives up to this crown you’ve anointed but other coaches haven’t.

 

[Major Tom]

Sounds like Finn Mackay should be playing for Ireland or Wales with that name. My assessment of Meredith is from watching him play Super Rugby for the Brumbies where he didn't cause any drop in performance from Noah and in fact actually improved in some areas like kicking for touch. Probably gained more than 20m on average over Noah's efforts. He is also noticeably faster than Noah and has shown a good short kicking game in his earlier Brumby Runner days.

Of course, the moment he starts to attract attention here with his performances out will come the perennial complaint that anyone would look good behind the Brumbies' pack.

You need to take the blinkers off BR. He had a good year, but he's got as much super rugby experience as HMP. Neither of them should be considered ahead of JOC (James O'Connor), Lynagh, Noah or Edmed. It's just common sense.

 

[Micheal]

The Ugly - Rassie's crap with the "mid-field lineout" and "kick-off not going 10" rubbish; SA rugby Twitter. Although they all came up with nothing.

What the absolute fuck was the purpose of that mid-field lineout? Can someone enlighten me as to what they were trying to do with it? The ball went up, then it immediately went back out.

If you're using it to set up a maul, sure, but otherwise why use it at all?

 

[Adam84]

JAS isn't getting moved to the wing - sure, he's missing some defensive reads but they are building a centre combination for 2027, he has the skill and intelligence to get on top of it, they'll persist with him there in the interest of the long game.

I think he is doing incredibly well and would like for them to persist with him at 13… But i dont think he is running very good lines ‘yet’, maybe that’s more a reflection of the wallabies attacking structure but he rarely cuts back in and seems to drift wide when running hoping to use his big step/stride to beat defenders.

Ikitau gets used to crash the ball up regularly, and arguably it’s not a very good use of him.. I’d like to see JAS floating there occasionally coming back on the inside or running support lines.

 

[TSR]

Can someone explain the rationale behind the midfield 'lineout'? All I could work out was it took 3 players to catch the pass.

Yeah. I’m lost in it. As far as innovation goes I’m happy to let the Boks have that one.

Did a good job of isolating their next ball carrier fhough.

 

[rugbyAU]

Good to have Daungunu back

So Bell to start and Ross to debut?