I can’t wait for the books to come out after Snor de Villiers is given the arse. They’ll be a real cracker and reveal exactly who did coach the team and what the dynamics were.
If the Springboks were to lose their home tests; notwithstanding the political factors at play, there’s every chance the Clown would be shown the door.
PdV would be crying into his Castle Milk Stout. Inexplicably, his Springbok battle cruiser seems to have sprung a leak as fortuitously, the Wallabies seem to have righted theirs.
Of course, we’ve seen this before and the real test comes next week when they have to repeat the exercise against the best in the business.
That’s for the future – the past was last night and the result relieves pressure on players, coaches and long suffering fans. What a cracker of a game to lead off our campaign.
Yes, it was our best opportunity for a win and the Wallabies grasped it with both hands in the best Tri-Nations performance since….ummm, the last time we won!
Before we’re potentially returned to our funk and earth next week, let’s rejoice at the flowering Rock, Breakdown Bam and the Genie man – fantastic.
Ratings:
Ashley-Cooper – 6 AAC was placed at fullback to shore up our defence against the bomb but as it turned out he didn’t need to defuse too many. With the Wallabies tactically retaining ball in hand it didn’t give the Bokke too many opportunities to return it with interest. Play didn’t really go his way but he’s a dependable pair of hands and always looks accomplished.
O’Connor – 7 JO’C will take some time to adapt to his new wing position but last night turned up all over the place (which was his brief). He was dangerous every time he handled the ball with sublime footwork and strength. You couldn’t fault his defensive effort as he smashed gorilla after gorilla. Now that Diggers is gone for the season I think JO’Cs sown up this position – don’t you?
Horne – 6 Another who didn’t get too many opportunities but was a good link man. Made some telling tackles in defence. The good news was that his fitness held up. To me he’s got quite a way to go before he cements the spot.
Giteau – 8 The Gits of old returned last night. He had his best game in green and gold since the Welsh test last year (not forgetting some good stuff against Poms in game 1 this year). Footwork, vision, crisp passing and goal kicking. A dangerous chappy with ball in hand he electrified the backline. See what you can do when you’re happy?
Mitchell – 8 Shmoo’s inconsistency meant that he was due for a big one. True to type, he had a very big one. He was dropped because he leaked in defence. Last night, his defence saved certain tries and on attack his pace and strength was a feature. He’s played his way back into the team (until next time).
Cooper – 7 QC didn’t get the space to operate in as he has in some of the ‘lesser’ tests. His ball distribution was excellent and he inevitably chose the right option. He had few opportunities to step and run, but like the rest of the backs tackled his heart out. A mistimed tackle on Morne Steyn (a ‘southern spear’ perhaps) gave him 10 minutes in the bin and two week’s suspension.
Genia – 9 What a talent this guy is? In the thick of everything and such a menace on the fly. A sublime halfback’s performance with crisp, beautiful passing and dangerous running whenever there’s a hint of a gap near the ruck. Scored a typical try at the tail end of the game to seal it. I thought his clearing from the ruck could have been a bit quicker at times but I guess he was just setting up his forward pods. Another magnificent effort.
Brown – 6 He’s copped a fair bit of criticism lately for not being the bludgeon No 8 that we probably need but this guy had a workmanlike game in the loose and contributed solidly in defence. I’d say he’ll be supplanted by Higgo in due course.
Pocock – 9 The benefit of being the only true No 7 on the park contributed to his Man of the Match performance. Bam Pocock was simply outstanding at the breakdown – pinching, snaffling, muscling up, ‘turn-overing’ and being ‘facialed’. He’s a one-man wrecking machine! His brilliant try-saving tackle on Habana was immense (not forgetting his many other dominant tackles). His big test will be next week where he’ll get the chance to show just how far he has come.
Elsom – 9 A world class display of power running by the Rock. He was a man on a mission last night and it showed. This was a return to his old Heineken Cup form. The workrate and physicality of his tight forwards allowed him to run a little wider off the ruck. He found or created the holes and burst through. Magnificent and menacing in full flight. A captain’s knock of class and composure.
Sharpe – 7 Sharpie was mixing the tight stuff this time round with his usual carries. He didn’t stand out too much because he was working away in the muscle zone. Gone are his seagulling days. If this guy gets injured again we’d be in trouble.
Mumm– 7 Mummy said himself that he hadn’t been on song lately and recognised that his rugby mortality was at stake. He certainly responded to that last night. Full of muscle and bustle, he finally played that traditional, physical lock’s game – not as a converted flanker. He had plenty of go-forward and hammered into rucks and mauls. It’s probably saved his skin if he can repeat it next week.
Ma’afu – 7 There have been doubts about Ma’afu’s ability to contribute at this level. Last night was a sort of coming-of-age for him. He looked like he belonged and certainly gave his all. He topped the tackle count (16) but again was under pressure at scrum-time. I think the jury’s still out on him but an ‘A’ for effort.
Faingaa– 6 Saia Faingaa continued his good form from the June tests into this match. He was only on for one half but was solid in the set piece and offered physicality at the breakdown. He wasn’t overawed playing at this level. He’s turning into a very solid international hooker who will be next in line after Squeeky Moore and TPN.
Robinson – 5 Cat did OK for someone who hasn’t played this quality of rugby for some time but struggled to make any sort of impact. His scrummaging was not at its best and he’ll only improve with game time. A poor pass to JO’C early on bombed a potential try.
Reserves worth mentioning:
Moore – 7 Squeeky looked every inch an international when he came on after halftime. As the game wore on he became more prominent. He had plenty of involvements and helped to stabilise the scrum.
Simmons and McCalman made solid debuts off the bench with the former winning three out of three against the best lineout in town.
So, my overall rating for the Wallabies last night was 7 – well done, comforting – but you need to do it again.
10 – A legendary performance to go down in the history books
9 – Outstanding performance: Man of the match shoo-in
8 – Excellent all round game
7 – Good game with a few sparkles
6 – Solid performance
5 – Average – ho hum
4 – Below par
3 – Had a bad game
2 – Tell your story walking pal
1 – A complete joke
