British Bulldog spirit to bite down hard on bumbling Bokbok bumheads
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Well.
Well well well well.
Boks writing of the Pomlandians. The French did that at Agincourt. The Spanish Armada did that. Nelson dealt with the damn Frogs and Spaniards at Trafalagar as well. The Germans did that in WW2.
Poms by 2
World Cup Rugby | England v Sth Africa THE FINAL
Boks by 15
Rugby World Cup, Springboks | October 19th, 2007
Jonny Wilkinson is good, but he is not worth 36 points a test.
Wilkinson averages 14 points every time he plays for England, but for South Africa to lose and England to claim a second successive World Cup the English have to improve by 36 points on their last World Cup showing against the Boks, a month ago at the very same Stade de France.
Both camps insist that there is no relevance to the Pool match, won 36-0 by South Africa. It is naïve to think both sets of players can simply forget about that match. Psychological blows had to have been landed and while there is enormous respect for Wilkinson among the Boks there is also a realisation that he is not the player who dominated them between 2000 and 2004.
Back then Wilkinson averaged 90 percent with the boot against the Boks. In this World Cup he has a success rate of 60 percent. He has struggled for distance in his line kicking and his drop goal success rate is 55 percent. Sure he is a match-winner and a factor, but he is currently not at the peak of his powers.
Significantly the man South Africa’s master tactician Fourie du Preez spoke mostly about this week was England scrumhalf Andy Gomarsall who, like Wilkinson, did not play in the Pool match. Gomarsall, believes Du Preez, has had the biggest influence on the England revival.
“He’s a very good player and a huge improvement on (Shaun) Perry. He has a strong kicking game and he keeps the opposition scrumhalf busy. He’s in your face all the time and he has enough skill to vary his game. He also takes a lot of pressure of 10 and 12 because of his box kicking game,” said Du Preez.
The Springboks have spoken with reverence of the English comeback, applauding their back to back wins against Australia and France. Bok coach Jake White has praised the resilience of England and the mental strength to be 80 minutes away from successfully defending their title.
This said the Bok coach has been even more in awe of his own team’s results and attitude at this tournament.
“We’ve had a lot of knockers going into the final, but we scored nine tries in our two play-off matches and won by 17 and 24 points respectively. There were difficult moments in both matches, but we finished with decisive victories and this while apparently not playing particularly well. If that’s the case I have to be confident that the players who have served us so well in this World Cup are capable of producing the kind of 80 minutes that wins you the World Cup,” said White.
All of the Boks starting XV completed their media duties at the team hotel on Thursday and all of them were startled by the mass media turnout.
“Wow,” said JP Pietersen. “I’ve never seen so many media at a press conference.”
John Smit and even White concurred, saying if they hadn’t realised how big the occasion was on Saturday they certainly know now. [EDIT: The Bokboks are not even taking it seriously! They are done for]
But as startled as the Bok players were at the number of journalists in search of the most telling sound bite, they continued to display maturity in communicating their message and calmness in discussing the tournament and the prospects of winning on Saturday night.
There is confidence and humility in this squad and it has been there from the first press conference and opening performance. They’ve won universal praise for how they’ve played, but they’ve also won over people for how they’ve interacted. It is very telling that for those of us who have been in France for the last seven weeks nothing in the players’ or coaches’ behaviour has changed this week. [EDIT: Never heard the old chestnut about a leopard and spots mate? Bokboks are dirty knaves]
They’ve acknowledged being a bit more nervous, but if they weren’t they wouldn’t be human. Yet that’s been the only difference. White has maintained the same preparation that has worked throughout the tournament and the focus this week has been on emotionally getting the players in the right frame of mind.
“Our job as the coaching staff was to get them to the final in one piece. We’ve done that and we’ve picked the most experienced starting XV in the history of Bok rugby. But they have to play the game – and I have no doubt they are good enough to play it well enough to win,” said White. “There is nothing more that can be done. This is what they’ve worked for since 2004.”
Those in the pro England camp talk of Phil Vickery’s squad’s mental hardness, but the Boks, in beating England in the Pool match and overcoming Argentina in the semi-final, showed they too respond to the occasion. When there has been a demand for intensity in the last seven weeks the Boks have delivered.
The scrumming has not been good enough, but every other aspect of their play has been exceptional. They’ve promised an improvement, but it is debatable we’ll see it.
England, given the strength of their tight five, should still have ascendancy in this discipline, but with scrums averaging 16 a match, it is the lineout, at a more substantial average of 35, that is the more pertinent tight phase. It is here where South Africa has had no equal, with Victor Matfield, Bakkies Botha and Juan Smith also the most destructive trio in poaching opposition ball.
The Boks have also been ferocious in the collisions, turning aggressive defence into an attacking weapon. The turnovers are not a charitable gesture from the opposition. The Boks have earned the right to each turnover.
South Africa, player for player, have been more in-form than England at this tournament. England have acquired a winning habit in the last four weeks because any defeat would have ended their championship. The Boks had a winning culture before the tournament started.
If the Boks play to their potential and England give as good as they did against Australia and France, the Boks will win by 15. And that’s being conservative. [EDIT: And thats the final nail in the Bokbok coffin. RIP Saffa rugby, Poms by 1 point]
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