Wallabies v South Africa 18 July 2015

[The InnFORCEr]

With the squad to be named later in the week, what does your starting 15 look like for this first International for the season.

I think there will be few experiments and some chances to shine in this game along with some "non negotiables".I don't think we will see our "best team" until Bledisloe time.

1. Slipper
2. Moore
3. Kepu
4. Mumm
5. Skelton
6. Fardy
7. Pocock
8. McCalman
9. Genia
10. Cooper
11. Horne
12. Giteau
13. Kuridrani
14. Mitchell
15. Folau

[chibi]

I wonder if Giteau will rove into first-receiver now and then, he has a good eye for the development of play.

[zimeric]

I cant help but get excited for another season of international Rugby.
A relatively new look team with plenty of potential but also perceived frailties that im hoping can be ironed out by this weekend. my biggest concern is our tight 5 i just dont think we have strong enough cattle to compete with the man mountains we will encounter in the RC and the RWC.
i like your team but im with Hooper in that i dont see why we cant play Poey as a 6 and id have AAC instead of Kuridrani and Tomani instead of Horne... the less Tahs in there the better!

[Bill Guptahouse]

Here is the betting!
http://twf.com.au/showthread.php?t=36796

[The InnFORCEr]

Burger back in Springbok starting line-up
July 15, 2015


Schalk Burger is back in the Springboks’ starting line-up for Saturday’s Rugby Championship clash against Australia at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.

Burger’s inclusion at No 8, after a great performance as replacement against the World XV last weekend in Cape Town, is one of five changes to the Springboks’ match-23 for this match.

The other four changes are on the bench, where props Heinke van der Merwe and Frans Malherbe, as well as Lood de Jager (lock) and Lwazi Mvovo (wing) have been included.

Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer said the changes were all part of the plan to rotate players in the build-up to the Rugby World Cup.

“We’re expecting a massive contest for the ball on the ground on Saturday and with Schalk there next to Francois Louw and Marcell Coetzee, as well as Bismarck du Plessis, we’ve got a lot of players who are very good at the breakdowns," he said.

“Warren Whiteley played very well last weekend, but he knows exactly where he stands and will play again for the Boks this season. For this match though, we decided to go with this specific loose trio.

“I’ve said last week that we will make changes, but it’s also important to keep some form of momentum. Saturday’s match is going to be massive in the context of our season and we have to ensure we tick the right boxes.

“It will be good to see what Heinke, Frans, Lood and Lwazi can do from the bench, while we’ve also opted to keep continuity in the starting team. There will most likely be changes for every match this season as we keep one eye on the World Cup.

“Trevor Nyakane and Vincent Koch performed very well off the bench against the World XV last weekend, but as we have a lot of depth at prop, I’ve decided to give opportunities to Heinke and Frans to stake their claims, especially as both of them have been in excellent form thus far this season.

“Heinke was the in-form loosehead prop in the French Top 14, while Frans anchored a brilliant Stormers scrum this season.

“Lood is back from injury and our plan has always been to bring him back in one of our first three internationals of the season, while we’ve decided to go for Lwazi as he was very good for the Sharks in Super Rugby, is superb under the high ball and knows his way to the try-line.”

Meyer is under no illusions about the enormity of the task as hand in Brisbane on Saturday.

The Springboks’ recent record in Australia is not great. The Boks have only beaten the Wallabies once at Suncorp Stadium, two years ago when they won by 38-12, which is South Africa’s biggest away victory ever the men in gold.

“If we’re not at our best, it will be a long day at the office,” said Meyer.

“But we played some brilliant rugby last weekend against the World XV in Cape Town and the challenge this weekend is to build on that and improve in the areas we lacked.

“Our basics have to be spot on and it will also be a great test for our defensive systems against a Wallaby side that can rip any team to shreds with the ball in hand.”

South Africa XV:

1. Tendai Mtawarira
2. Bismarck du Plessis
3. Jannie du Plessis
4. Eben Etzebeth
5. Victor Matfield (c)
6. Francois Louw
7. Marcell Coetzee
8. Schalk Burger
9. Ruan Pienaar (vc)
10. Handré Pollard
11. Bryan Habana
12. Damian de Allende
13. Jesse Kriel
14. JP Pietersen
15. Willie le Roux

Reserves:

16. Adriaan Strauss
17. Heinke van der Merwe
18. Frans Malherbe
19. Lood de Jager
20. Oupa Mohoje
21. Cobus Reinach
22. Pat Lambie
23. Lwazi Mvovo

http://www.sanzarrugby.com/therugbyc...rting-line-up/

[hertryk]

Victor still hanging in there..and No Jean De Villiers..

[valzc]

Somehow I'm finding it hard to be inspired by this Warrabies team - can't think why........ Not! ( Beale, Skelton, Genia, Simmons........ groan)

[zimeric]

Issue ive got with the Boks team this year is that there is not a single Lions player in the match day 23 and they came second in their conference this year....smells like politicking or a big boys club if you ask me.

[Alison]

Glad to know it's not only here that that sort of BS happens

[The InnFORCEr]

The team is

1. Slipper,
2. Moore,
3. Kepu,
4. Simmons,
5. Skelton,
6. Fardy,
7. Hooper,
8. Higginbotham,
9. Genia,
10. Cooper,
11. Horne,
12. Giteau,
13. Kuridrani,
14. AAC,
15. Folau

16. TPN,
17. Sio,
18. Holmes,
19. Horwill,
20. Pocock,
21. Phipps,
22. Toomua,
23. Mitchell.

[UNCLE BOOG]

Poey off the bench. At least sitting on the pine will give him more time to make political slurs on social media.

[Alison]

Pocock on the bench? Seriously?

[andrewg]

I've already got a bad feeling about this team.

Front Row and replacements fine.
Poor Line Out options
Too open across the Back Row. Hooper/Higgers little impact.
Pocock off bench hard to fathom.
Poor defence up the guts. Hope Gits can still tackle.
Little impact at the breakdown. Missing the strong contributors in the Backs from the EOY Tests.
Slow out wide.

Hoping that the game isn't lost before we start using the bench.

Will start writing my post-game assessment now.

I hope that I'm wrong and will be happy to acknowledge Cheika as a miracle worker when I am.

[jono]

Yeah. Hoping to be proven wrong but hooper over pocock?
Poor choice there

[shasta]

Hooper AND Higginbotham? Looks like Cheika isn't planning to contest on their ball. Fardy is in for a busy night.

Hopefully Hooper has been told to play as a 7 or else.