Monty to start his hundredth

[Darren]

Just a thought - where does it say they Montgomerey missed 2 games so he could have his 100th at Newlands?

[NTT]

no one earns the right to pick when they do and don't play. If he were injured I wouldn't care, but it cheapens jerseys when it happens in any country and any sport

pieter stated he was on the bench against the argies and is playing this week. sounds like a selection issue or rotation policy more than anything, a 33(?) year old cant be expected to play every minute of every game especially now with the elvs. if its prearranged to happen at newlands then so be it. why care at all.

[pieter blackie]

Just a thought - where does it say they Montgomerey missed 2 games so he could have his 100th at Newlands?

It was a remark made by Lara in this post but nowhere can I find any article to confirm that

[jargan83]

Just a thought - where does it say they Montgomerey missed 2 games so he could have his 100th at Newlands?

why didnt percy play on saturday? - Western Force Rugby Supporters Site

pieter stated he was on the bench against the argies and is playing this week. sounds like a selection issue or rotation policy more than anything, a 33(?) year old cant be expected to play every minute of every game especially now with the elvs. if its prearranged to happen at newlands then so be it. why care at all.

so does that mean his 100th cap is the cheap one??

[jono]

no jargs, i think someone pulled some strings

[Darren]

Thanks Jargs - I missed that previous thread. I assume Lara spoke to him ata training session in, Perth ...

Whilst Percy may have made a request, I doubt he made the decision, surely selectors make such decisions?

[NTT]

so does that mean his 100th cap is the cheap one??

well, from the article it says hes the 1st springbok ever to reach 100 tests. so its obviously a huge occasion for saffa rugby as a whole, if they manipulated it to make it more special for percy good on em.

cheap cap? theres no such thing in international rugby. he earnt the other 99.

[jargan83]

cheap cap? theres no such thing in international rugby.

dont we usually criticise the northern nations for cheapening Test Rugby by sending down pissweak teams every year?

[NTT]

dont we ususally criticise the northern nations for cheapening Test Rugby by sending down pissweak teams every year?

if the selectors didnt select percy but still selected 14 other regular 1st choice players then its not quite the same as sending an understrength side on a tour.

its not cheapening a cap or some sort of conspiracy. its the saffas wanting to celebrate a great achievement by percy and a 1st for saffa rugby. wont hurt either that the extra publicity will almost certainly guarantee a sellout.

[jargan83]

if the selectors didnt select percy but still selected 14 other regular 1st choice players then its not quite the same as sending an understrength side on a tour.

its not cheapening a cap or some sort of conspiracy. its the saffas wanting to celebrate a great achievement by percy and a 1st for saffa rugby. wont hurt either that the extra publicity will almost certainly guarantee a sellout.

It's not cheapening this one, it cheapens the last two becasue Percy was sitting about not wanting to play untill the Newlands test. I would have thought a Test against the All Blacks in Sth Africa would sell out regardless of whatever sideshows are happening, i thought them saffers love their rugby

[Cowboy]

Firstly cogratulations to percy on 100 tests it's an amazing achievement.

I think you have to start asking how many more tests does he have left in him? If the answer is only a handful (which I suspect), the boks can probaly afford to be choosey about which games he plays. They get to blood someone else into the position while he's out and he gets more recovery time between games. It's not a cheap cap it's just the older players sometimes are still the best available when fully fit, they just aren't up to the schedule like they used to be.

[AndyS]

If he missed the game in Perth and was on 98 games (as per Lara's post), then I presume he must have run on against Argentina at some point.

I struggle to see the issue here. He wasn't first choice for the first TN match and they lost. He played the second and they won, giving them break of serve. If he had actually been fit for Perth, they could have played him and let him sit out the Argie game and no-one would have even noticed. My guess is that the selectors took a calculated gamble - either he still wasn't first choice or he wasn't fully fit, as a win against Australia would have essentially given the Boks the TN. They didn't win, so their fallback position was to have the emotion of his 100th in front of his home crowd to help them defend serve against the ABs. He may think (or they may have allowed him to think) that it was his choice, but I'll bet it wasn't.

If you want to bitch about something, it is probably that he is getting a game despite not being the form player. I note that one of the Planet-rugby articles stated that "Some would argue that it is a sentimental selection, and it is true that Montgomery was always slated to figure in some way in this match..." - sounds fairly calculated to me....

[jargan83]

"sentimental selection" sounds pretty cheap to me.

I haven't seen him play alot of Percy this year so didn't comment on his form
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[RuckNMaul]

Congratulations Percyon making the ton
not my favorite player but anyone who playes 100 games for there country deserves big ups

i think its a discrace.
i dont think anybody in any sport should be able to dedicate when they play for their country. its the highest honour available to a sportsperson.

and i stand by what i said. and i dont think i was too hard on him at all

after 99 games of service why not allow him the honour of playing his 100th where ever he wishes

apart from the player who effecivley minded the jersey.
"your not the first choice, but perc doesnt want to play, so wear this until he does"

if after years of training and following the dream of playing for your country you were asked by a 99 test player that you most probly grew up admiring to "mind" his jersey for a few games so he can become the first ever 100 caped player in your countrys history at his home ground im sure you would feel proud to do so, i would

hmm... i think i agree with you jono. thats great for percy to get 100, well done to him, but i think he should have played when the team needed him. who knows? maybe he was the missing ingredient in perth. maybe the boks could be winning the tri-nations if he was there? he should be putting his country and their rugby needs before himself and his wants, and thats what playing for your nation means to me...

good argument ther robyn probly the only point with any weight

[AndyS]

hmm... i think i agree with you jono. thats great for percy to get 100, well done to him, but i think he should have played when the team needed him. who knows? maybe he was the missing ingredient in perth. maybe the boks could be winning the tri-nations if he was there? he should be putting his country and their rugby needs before himself and his wants, and thats what playing for your nation means to me...

I am tolerable certain that, if the selectors had wanted him to play, he would have been playing. Whatever he might have wanted, the last thing would have been to be stranded on 99.