The NZ/SA Rivalry, how fierce is it?

[Chiefton]

Found another video that will probably give you a closer insight into the rivalry. It was made around the same time from the looks of it and again takes a kiwi's perspective.

 

[PaarlBok]

Only see this one now. The All Blacks was and will always be the Springboks biggest rivals. Every single young rugby player in SA dream match was and will be to play against the All Blacks. In SA we sort of live for rugby rivalry. Think it all have to do with the culture of our schoolboy rugby. We cal it Interschools/derby or whatever. Inter School sport is usually all winter sports between two rival schools. There is only one game/match which decide winning or losing this interschools, that will always be the main rugby game between the two schools first team and all the players /parents/ old boys from all the teams will attend this game. The All Blacks vs Springbok test is the interschool main match for any SA supporter / player. For myself winning a test in NZ against the All Blacks mean more then winning a World Cup trophe. I dont want any other team to beat them, want that pride for the Springbok.

 

[PaarlBok]

http://springbokrugby.webs.com/

 

[Chiefton]

http://springbokrugby.webs.com/

This is pretty much what I was looking for. Thanks very much mate.

 

[Shiggins]

Yeh great idea. I don't even know how South Africa are second ATM. The wallabies have had the meat over them for quite a while now. Surly the Anzac rivalry is much bigger then the saffas.

 

[PaarlBok]

This is pretty much what I was looking for. Thanks very much mate.

Pleasure. You did not mention the 1981 Springbok match vs Waikato. That match made me a MooLoo supporter. I was impressed with the way the rugby supporters got stuck into the betogers. sadly the chainsaw man was absent.

 

[PaarlBok]

Yeh great idea. I don't even know how South Africa are second ATM. The wallabies have had the meat over them for quite a while now. Surly the Anzac rivalry is much bigger then the saffas.

Dont worry mate, you'll never understand this.

 

[PaarlBok]

If you want to dig really deep into Springbok rugby, this is the site to visit. http://www.genslin.us/bokke/sarugby.html

 

[Chiefton]

Pleasure. You did not mention the 1981 Springbok match vs Waikato. That match made me a MooLoo supporter. I was impressed with the way the rugby supporters got stuck into the betogers. sadly the chainsaw man was absent.

It's still a relatively raw wound if you talk to certain people about it and I couldn't imagine how things could be for South Africans, so personally I tried to keep Politics and Rugby apart here.

My late Grandfather was at the match and up until I last spoke to him he felt the right result was 'played out' on that day. He did get out of Rugby Park bloody quickly after it was called off though.

 

[Rassie]

Shiggans let me remind you why we are second. 31 - 8

 

[Rassie]

It's still a relatively raw wound if you talk to certain people about it and I couldn't imagine how things could be for South Africans, so personally I tried to keep Politics and Rugby apart here.

My late Grandfather was at the match and up until I last spoke to him he felt the right result was 'played out' on that day. He did get out of Rugby Park bloody quickly after it was called off though.

Did you know at the hight of Apartheid in 1978 Soweto had 115 Football fields, 3 Rugby fields, 4 athletic tracks, 11 Cricket fields, 2 Golf courses, 47 Tennis courts, 7 swimming pools built to Olympic standards, 5 Bowling alleys, 81 Netball fields, 39 children play parks, and countless civic halls, movie houses and clubhouses. In addition to this, Soweto had 300 churches, 365 schools, 2 Technical Colleges, 8 clinics, 63 child day care centres, 11 Post Offices, and its own fruit and vegetable market. There were 2300 registered companies that belonged to black businessmen, about 1000 private taxi companies. 3% of the 50,000 vehicle owners in 1978 were Mercedes Benz owners. Soweto alone had more cars, taxis, schools, churches and sport facilities than most independent countries in Africa

 

[Dan54]

Yeh great idea. I don't even know how South Africa are second ATM. The wallabies have had the meat over them for quite a while now. Surly the Anzac rivalry is much bigger then the saffas.

It is absolutely no way down playing the Wallabies and the rivalry between Wllabies/ABs Shiggins, and as I have said some younger posters may have the ANZAC rivalry ahead, but most real rugby people who have followed the game for awhile would consider SA the main rival. Maybe as Paarl says you may never understand.
As an example I was talking to Saffa in Auckland years back when SA first came back to world rugby , he said then can't wait until we play you, the first test SA had at that stage was meant to be against Wallabies, he told me then that all of SA knew a test against the ABs would be arranged as they would not accept anyone else as their first test back!

 

[Dan54]

Was it the ABs vs wales?, when after a try (or game) the crowd were singing 'jolly good fellow' or something. In THOSE days I doubt there were fantastic numbers of kiwis following the team (a la the lions) so the conclusion is that the opposition crowd were singing the praises of the touring team, a wonderful moment (which puts the modern style of booing a player into perspective)

Of course, me being basically ignorant of rugby history, I get the commentator Stu Wilson mixed up with the player in THAT tackle from Gregan!

He bagged the aussies from doing the rounds with the bled when they won it, heck I want to see the wobs do THREE laps next year when we win it back!
quote]
terry, haven't watched doco, but singing for he's a jolly good fellow was probably in Barbarians game, it was Wilson Whineray's last game as All Black skipper and he had just scored a try in the famous willie away movement named after him (I think). An aside if I recall rightly only points scored for baabaas that day was by one of ABs, as they used to invite one of them to play for them.......different days indeed!
As for Stu Wilson bagging Aussie for doing laps, once again in those days it was seen as a bit soccerish, and a winning team should just humbly accept cup and leave field, hell if anyone scored a try a pat on back was considered about as emotive as you should get

 

[crangs81]

Even though I know the Boks are historically our biggest rivals the fact i started watching rugby when they were excluded meant the Wallabies ended up being the team i most wanted the AB's to beat. Moving to Sydney in 99 enforced it for me as they had the wood on us and the Bledisloe.

That tackle
The greatest game ever, Stadium Australia 2000
The return game in Wellington and that kick by Eales
Winning the Bledisloe back 2003
2003 world cup Semi

They all stick with me a bit more than the 95 world cup final and the 96 series

 

[aeneas]

If the title of the thread was who do I most not like to see the AB's beaten by......

Enlgand.

 

[crangs81]

If the title of the thread was who do I most not like to see the AB's beaten by..

Enlgand.

lol and spot on. Even more so now i live here. The level they got talked up by the local press after last years win made Wales beating them in the 6 nations a rather amusing event

 

[terry j]

Dan, yep your memory is correct (if MY memory of the doco is correct!), it was the babarians game and it was whineray.

Hah, one hing I forgot to mention as having made me roar with laughter when I saw it was how the ABs won a game at the gasp. That hilarious (and so bloody obvious!) 'pushing in the lineout incident'.

They did not tip their hand in the doco and tell us what was to happen, it was bizare to watch and unreal 'in real time', yet the got the penalty! How one wonders, in those days was it completely unheard of for the ref to get feedback from the touchies? Surely there was no way in hell that the touchie missed what really happened.

And there were TWO of them falling over! What makes it 'worse', it HAD to have been a pre planned move from somewhere.

Just for passing interests sake in the thread, now that we have the attention of the kiwis and the saffers, and having already admitted to being quite ignorant historically of rugby and the 'great past players', I'd be quite interested in hearing appraisals of the playing abilities-and where they fit into the playing historical record for your country-of any of the current (or very recent) rugby commentators.

I'll use the example (as he has come up) of Stu Wilson. For starters I have copped to getting him mixed up with Geoff Wilson (was it?) so for a while I have mentally tried to work out how good a player Stu was with that confusion in the background. So, how good was he? Does his record give him brownie points when it comes to his observations for example?

As far as relatively recent commentators, there was a kiwi who's name for the life of me escapes me right now who does not seem to be commentating right now, tall lanky guy, backrower (or scrum at least), sounded like he knew his stuff and appeared in that doco. Wish I could remember, probably will as soon as I hit post.

And the saffa commentators who have played, where do they fit in the saffa hall of fame?

 

[Dan54]

Probably talking about Ian Jones terry he does commentary now. Was a bloody good lock, not sure I am convinced I would really like him as a person, but who knows??
As for Stu Wilson, yep he was a great wing, think his record should give him a few Brownie points, also a very very funny man to hear speak. Was part of the famed Ebony and Ivory wing set up for Wellinfton and All Blacks, with his real good mate Bernie Fraser on other wing.
The diving incident Wales you talking about was so staged by Haden, he should of got a kicking, but ref never saw it, it was genuine penalty for Geoff Wheel going of Frank Oliver's shoulder at No 2. Actually son used it somewhat a few years later when someone was jumping of his shoulder in lineout, didn't get a penalty, but ref watched his opponent next lineout and saw what was going on, son told me that's all he wanted.
Obviously of other current commentators we see from NZ, Willie Lose was a good No 8 played for Tonga, actually if you see Melodie Robison, she was a bloody good player in the women's team and has a WC winner's medal. Justin Marshall you would know, and the only other one that comes to mind at moment is Matt Cooper, does sideline quite often, an above average 12-13 for Chiefs had a few tests, probaly almost most famous moment was getting eye gouged by Richard Loe!!!

 

[terry j]

yeah, pretty sure Ian Jones is the guy, quite tall, dark hair, 'skinny' as such. TBH I hardly hear him anymore, I watch foxtel so maybe he is more 'local' nowadays?

Sounds like RL was a genuine 'hard man', tho perhaps that is best reserved for less savoury offenses.

Yep, justin marshal at least is the start of 'my era'.

Thanks, enjoying the backstory. Looking forward to the saffer insights (tho maybe they have less commentators that played)

 

[Bullrush]

Never liked Justin Marshall as a player. I once heard someone say that it's no coincidence that the lowest time All Black history coincided with Marshall's career!!