Sanjay's Rugby World

1995, One team, One country. The Springboks. World Champions

The 1995 Rugby World Cup final against the All Blacks was the most important day in South African rugby history. It was a momentous day, inspired from above, and the effect on our great nation was unbelievable.

Throughout the tournament South Africa were guided by a higher power, as we beat many of the major rugby nations. Australia, France finally the All Blacks.

To see Nelson Mandela in the Springbok jersey, handing over the William Webb Ellis trophy to Springbok captain was an unbelievable occassion in South African history. Madiba thanked Francois Pienaar for his contribution, but we are all indebted to the great man for his role in rescuing South Africa.

It made one proud to be South African. It showed how great our nation can be. How the colour lines can be broken…not black, not white – just dynamite!

The 1995 Rugby World Cup, where the Springboks defied the odds and became the World Champions, is to be made into a feature film. Watching this short clip brings back memories of that great day.

It recreates tears of joy, ignites the pride and passion of South Africans, and above all gives us the hope that the South Africa we all strive for can become our reality.

What a world cup it has been! The results have been somewhat surprising with 2 of the 3 traditional superpowers being knocked out early and the rise of countries such as Argentina and Fiji.

Argentina deserve their glory for being commited and consistent over the last few years. They certainly deserve more top level exposure as South Africa have conistently promoted. The question is in which competition and can they still be competitive with a new coach and new players to replace some of their stalwarts like Augustin Pichot. The island countries are in the same boat and inevitably nothing will change and their rugby will suffer until the next world cup.

But the moment of glory belongs to the Boks. The whole country has been unified once more in scenes reminscent of 1995. Their victory started 4 years ago. When Jake White took over as coach after the despair of the 2003 world cup, the first thing he stated was “We will win the world cup in 2007″. From that moment, the focus has been on regaining our trophy. Whilst he identified the core of the team he wanted in 2004, injuries and form meant he had to continually tweak his squad.

Whilst I have been critical at times over the last 4 years, especially in 2006, who else would have had the balls to bring back Os Du Randt, Montgomery and Skinstad. Who else in Springbok rugby has had the courage to stick by their convictions and who else would have pulled in Rassie Erasmus and then Eddie Jones? For 4 years White has stated defence wins world cups. The All Blacks believed this was wrong and attacking rugby was the order of the day, so they built a 30 man squad capable of scoring tries. Who was right?? From the quarter finals we saw that the teams that won had strong defences, often with less possession and territory. The difference being that over 4 years the Boks worked on having a plan B with a squad that could score tries and gamebreakers who could change the game if need be.

As we have now won 2 World Cups out of 4 attempts this makes us the most successful nation in the history of the game. Australia have also won twice but have competed in 6 tournaments. Hopefully this lays to rest this debate once and for all!

Credit must go to the players for they have been magnificent. Os Du Randt at 35 years old is a legend. To last 80 mintues in a World Cup final shows surely makes him the best prop in the history of the game. Percy Montgomery at 33 was quite simply the best kicker, not missing a kick in 3 games at the Stade De France. To play on with torn knee ligaments show the character of a player who many have criticised for being too soft.
Smit has been captain courageous and a great leader when the team has needed to regain composure.
The lock pairing of Botha and Matfield was quite simply the best in the world for the last few years. They are magnificent.
The backrow of Burger, Smith and Rossouw was not the best combination in my book but they were head and shoulders above any other trio at the world cup. Indeed Smith was the player of the tournament.
Du Preez is regarded as the best halfback in the world, and took the pressure off Butch James who has matured immensely.
Frans Steyn and Jacque Fourie were magnificent in defence and at 20 years of age for Steyn to earn a world cup winners medal is amazing. He will be the next golden boy of SA rugby.
And to the wings…JP Pietersen at 21 has come a long way but will get much better. His defence was outstanding over the tournament whilst on the other wing, the man with jet shoes, Bryan Habana has become the most dangerous player in world rugby and deserves his IRB player of the year award!
And the players on the bench have done their job too…Du Plessis, Van Heerden, Pienaar, Pretorius, Skinstad, Olivier, Muller, Steenkamp, De Villiers, Botha…

However it has been off the field that this team has impressed me. This team has taken social responsiblity on their shoulders too. They have talked of uniting the nation. Of the effect it will have on the people of South Africa. This is what could not stop the Boks from being World Champions. A united South Africa is more powerful than any other force. We never lose when Madiba has a message for the Boks. We never lose when our President is at the game. And what a joy to see Thabo Mbeki lifted up with the World cup. This has continued on for a week in South Africa. It has been fantastic to see the players visit Soweto. To see an old woman come out to see Victor Matfield…to see young white children idolise Bryan Habana.
The players have taken their responsibility magnificently and are such fantastic Ambassadors for South Africa.

It will be a tragedy if Jake White doesn’t remain in Springbok rugby. He has achieved so much and has only just begun. He has learnt so much. South Africa now has a golden opportunity to build on this success. Post 1995 we got it wrong, this time sanity needs to prevail. This could initiate great change in SA rugby. With Smit, Monty, Matfield, James and other leaving the rules could be relaxed to enable them to remain as Boks.
If the core of our team is left intact with Jake White, we can become the first country to successfuly defend the world cup. Bring it on!…

After a pulsating 80 minute final the Boks deservedly emerged victorious.
It had been a low scoring affair but the Boks were dominant from the beginning. In typical finals fashion the game never really opened up, but it could have done so if needed. The mighty Boks took England on up front and beat them at their own game.
It was a hard, forward oriented and territorial affair, but the superior boot of Du Preez, James and Montgomery meant England couldn’t settle into their rhythm. In fact England achieved greater territorial and Posessional advantage but simply couldn’t put that to use against a defence that was quite simply too strong, too committed and too patient. The Boks never panicked and simply waited and forced the errors from the English.

In the first half the Boks had a few chances to score a try but couldn’t quite crack the English defence when they could have finished the game much like the pool match. However some weak refereeing when the Poms deliberately infringed, and a bad call when Fourie Du Preez had the ball at the bottom of a ruck on the English line didn’t help the Bok cause.

The plan had been for the Boks to open the game up in the second half but they never really needed too. England came close to scoring a try with a break from Tait early in the second half, but TMO Dickinson made the right call after a series of fantastic desperation tackles from Matfield and then Rossouw that epitomises the character and skill in the Springbok team. Photographic evidence proves they were the right call as Cueto had a foot on the line. Had England scored the Bok approach would have changed such is the ability of this champion team, but as I stated they didn’t need to and once they created the 9 point buffer England were never going to come back as they couldn’t score a try, their plan being to win penalties and rely on Wilkinson to keep them intact.

In the end the Boks never needed to step out of second gear. Their superior strength, fitness and commitment getting them home easily. In scenes reminiscent of 1995, no team deserved victory more as a country was united by a team of heroes who have fullfilled their destinies.

Viva Die Bokke!

South Africa 15: Percy Montgomery kicked four penalties and Francois Steyn a penalty.
England 6: Jonny Wilkinson kicked two penalties.

This weekend sees the quarter finals, and in reality the beginning of the business end of the torunament. Now we get to see teams that are more evenly matched, and it is now do or die. Have a bad day and you are out.

QF 1: England v Australia
This game will either be close or Australia will win easily. The question will be how good are the English forwards? If they can dominate up front and gain field position, then Jonny Wilkinson can kick them home. And with their cross field kicking strategy they may sneak a try or two. However if the Aussie forwards achieve parity their backs will have too much class and they’ll put the poms away

QF 2: France v New Zealand
Similiar to QF 1 in that it will be close or very one-sided. The French have that ability to turn it on on their day even though they have been very poor. Their confidence will be low so an early score from NZ will kill their chances. In light of their very poor record in their last 7-8 clashes with NZ, and the fact the game is being played in Cardiff, I am afraid it will be NZ by 30+

QF 3: South Africa v Fiji
Although many are predicting a tough game, this one will be one-sided. The Boks have had a few injury setbacks, but they are primed and ready for this game and they will simply smash the Fijians up front and dominate the set pieces. This will allow the Bok backs too much time and space and I am predicting a 40+ point drubbing.

QF 4: Argentina v Scotland
This game will be closely contested but a drab affair. Both teams will try to gain forward dominance and the Pumas will win that battle. As neither team has any real class in their backline they will look to penalties with their outstanding kickers. I predict the Pumas will win by 10-15 points

Here’s hoping for France and England to help the Bok cause by upsetting the Wobblies and Kiwis…

In what provided a great wake up call, the Springboks overcame an enthusiatic Tongan side 30-25. Admittedly we started with a virtual B side, and were never seriously in Danger of losing the match until we were reduced to 13 men.

However the drama really happened off the field. Francois Steyn was sinbinned for 10 minutes for trying to break up a scuffle. He was eventually cited just minutes before the 48 hour deadline, for an alleged bite. There was no evidence at all to suggest this, as everybody knows. Steyn is not a dirty player, he never will be. The Tongans have admitted they didn’t want to cite Steyn but where forced by…Clearly somebody is trying anything to derail the Boks as this is the second incident on one of our star players. Surely there should be repercussions for making flase accusations??

To the Boks credit they have not wanted to get involved in off the field incidents and are simply focusing on the USA match. And we know an angry Springbok is a dangerous animal, so let the world beware!

This world cup so far has been one of the better ones. The great David Campese has suggested it should be reduced to 16 teams, and while a rethink of the format is definitely warranted, I believe the results, passion and pride of the so called minnows has certainly warranted their inclusion. The only way they can get better is to play the bigger teams and it is pathetic that the only chance they get is at a world cup. That is the bigger issue. I am in favour of 24 teams, 6 pools of 4, and the top 2 go through to a round of 12 where they have 2 pools of 6. A round robin format can be used to have semis, or simply a final, that would reward consistency and have tougher games, whilst the minnows would get a chance to play at least one big team in the early stages. A second tier competition for the teams that finish in the bottom 2 of the inital pools (A plate tournament) could run concurrently to give the minnows something to aspire to and produce closer games. Obviously it would run longer, but the world cup is rugby’s showpiece.

As far as the games go, I stick to my orignial prediction of SA, NZ, and the Wobblies to makes the semis. I am not so sure about France. I think Argentina may get their spot. Regardless SA will make the final on their side of the draw, NZ and the Wobblies to fight out the second final spot. I make NZ a 70% chance to go through, but an upset is possible as evident 4 years ago.

As far as the Boks go this campaign is remarkably similar to 1995. There we came into the tournament and weren’t one of the favourites. There we had a big opening game that gave us the high road to the final. Here we started a tough one with Samoa and by beating England we have earnt the high road this time too. The emergence of John Smit as a strong leader is similar to Pienaar and the calm and composure of the team is testament to this. All it requires now is a “Joel Stransky” to step up and win us the final!

South Africa united to completely outclass a demoralised English team 36-0 in paris. The buildup for the Boks was disrupted with the Schalk Burger citing, but the country for the first time since the magic of 1995, have united around the team. From politicians to administrators to the people in the street, the people of South Africa have made their voice heard and the players have certainly been bouyed by the support. It makes a massive difference to have a country united as opposed to a divided team surrounded by controversy and fractions as we have had in the past.

The coaching team also did their homework and the Boks played a superbly structured game for 80 minutes, that blew the english apart. And then we simply relied on a few pieces of magic to score some tries. Fourie Du Preez was magnificent in this regard, having a hand in all the tries. And we even butchered at least 2 tries otherwise the damage could have been much worse.

The Springbok defence was also magnificent, and the discipline at the breakdown mean that the Poms could not get any momentum. The sight of the english cpatain demoralised after a record defeat and left speechless was priceless. The Poms now have a crunch game against Samoa, and at the moment that looks 50-50. Whoever wants the second quarter final spot has it up for grabs.

The Boks can now get over their last 2 pool games with a virtual second string side as our top team can start preparing for the quarter finals in what should be a reasonably easy passage into the final.

South Africa 36: Tries: Juan Smith, JP Pietersen 2. Conversions: Percy Montgomery 3. Penalties: Francois Steyn, Montgomery 4.
England 0:

After the Samoan game Springbok superhero the incredible Schulk (Schalk Burger) was cited for a fairly innocuous tackle on their halfbak. Referee Paul Honiss decided at the time only a warning was warranted, after all Schalk was going for the ball (And he is another who hates South Africa and has cheated us in the past). So for a citing to be made was ludicrous.

Schalk was subsequently given a 4 game supension, reduced to 2 on appeal. What a disgrace! And it would be the Aussie Judicial commisioner we have had problems with before, I have no problems with a 4 match suspension, provided it is warranted. I understand the IRB want to stamp out foul play. Why is a South African always on the recieving end! All Black Tony Woodcock throws a punch and is not even cited. English captain Vickery deliberatly tries to trip a player and gets 2 matches. Samoan Brian Lima comes onto the field and tries to decapitate Andre Pretorius. No citing. Where is the consistency??

Whilst the world is out to get South Africa, it only makes us stronger and unites our team. And Schalk Burger will be back for the quarter finals.
Let the world beware…”Don’t make him angry, You wouldn’t like to see him when he’s angry!”

The Springboks overcame a tough Samoan side 59-7 in Paris on sunday. The Samoans played a hard, physical game and held the Boks for the first 30 minutes. However in the end the class of the Boks came through as they ran in 9 tries.
Bryan Habana showed how dangerous he is with his jet shoes in scoring 4 superb tries. His pace, and strength were sublime and he is the most dangerous back in world rugby at the moment. The rest of the Boks played quite well but the rugby world cup dream is over for Jean DeVilliers after he tore his bicep muscle. Francois Steyn played well in replacing him and he is someone that could become another real star for the Boks this tournament, however he has not played alot of rugby at inside centre.
The downside to the victory is the citing of Schalk Burger. But we only have 6 days to prepare for the clash against England…the Boks should be too strong but it is going to be a tough game and may well define this world cup campaign.

South Africa 59: Tries by Bryan Habana 4, Percy Montgomery 2, Jaque Fourie and JP Pietersen Percy Montgomery kicked five conversions and three penalties.
Samoa 7: Try by Gavin Williams. Williams kicked the conversion

Rugby world cup 2007 is now upon us. Already we have seen one of the biggest upsets in RWC history with the frogs losing to Argentina. this is just reward for a team that has consistently been in the top 8 in the world yet is unable to gain a spot playing against the top teams in the world in the 2 premier world rugby competitions ie tri-nation or 6 nations.This tournament will unearth a new group of world class superstars. As I am confidently picking a Springbok-All Black final, the majority of my players to watch will come from these two teams.

The players to watch are:
Bryan Habana (South Africa)
Blessed with blinding pace and acceleration, his all round game has been superb this year. His strong defence and ability to read the play makes him dangerous at all times. A big match winner for the Boks.

Fourie Du Preez (South Africa)

Now there are only 11 days to go before the world cup, and the Springboks have completed all the preliminaries. There are no more warm up games, the next will be the real thing. 4 years of build up by Jake White comes down to 7 games (hopefully!)

The Boks completed their preparation today with a 27-3 victory over the Scots. After the early exchanges of a penalty apiece, a bit of brilliance from Bryan Habana led to a 3 try blitz within the space of 6 minutes.

South Africa 27: Tries by Bryan Habana, Jaque Fourie and Fourie du Preez
Percy Montgomery kicked three conversions and two penalties
Scotland 3: Chris Paterson kicked a penalty

The warm up games so far have produced the results we would expect but the margins have not been surprising. The favoured teams have not won convincingly. Are teams holding back or we will see a much more even world cup than we have in the past. I suspect the quarter finalists may produce a surprise or two, but the semis will be France, Australia, NZ and the Boks.