Old players getting picked

Do some players get chosen for the Springboks purely because they have played for the team previously? When a Springbok team is chosen you will often see many names which you have seen before and that would make sense as you would assume they are the best. This is in fact not always the case as it is not always possible to be in form all the time. This is the argument currently of the Springbok team as some players have been chosen purely on reputation. Morne Steyn for example has not been in the form we know he can in and yet he still manages to make the team. This ruins the competition for positions as players who may be the in form players are not been chosen consistently. Are players getting this "special treatment" because of their previous selection. If you are not performing currently you should be dropped and the in form player be chosen, this will promote the dropped player to work harder to make it back into the team and the replacement player to play harder to keep the place. There should be no automatically chosen players because they have played before unless they are the current in form players. This might be a reason for teams not getting to know each other but players should at least be given the chance to prove themselves.

Racism in sport needs to stop

The rise in Racism in recent times has been exponential. The Luis Suarez fiasco involving Patrice Evra put a stain on both himself, his team and the Barclays Premier League. The case involving John Terry which would be handled in a criminal court, this was not a good example by the former English captain. In the on going UEFA EURO 2012 there has been numerous cases of racism especially by the fans. Nations have been fined for their transgressions,but is this enough? There should be more serious consequences for racism.

Sport is about bringing people of different races and cultures together. In my experience it didn't matter what the colour of your skin was, if you play alongside me, you are my brother. As for players of the opposite team, you didn't see colour, all you saw was the enemy, regardless of what the colour of their skin was.

Spectators are there to enjoy the game, the support their teams and have a good time. They should under no circumstances racially abuse anyone. They have no right to throw things onto the field or shout at players in any way. If they have an opinion why aren't they playing professional sport? They are ruining the true meaning of sport and making it into something which nobody can enjoy.

Baby Boks defy the odds

The Baby Bok team has had a disappointing Junior World Championship so far, losing their first game to Ireland. They beat Italy convincingly but going into the game against England last night it seemed impossible that they would progress to the semi-finals. They would need a bonus point win over the English to go top of their group and move on to the semi's. This was a tall order especially when they lost their captain Wian Liebenberg and replacement fly half Tony Jantjies to injury just before the game.

The performance in the first half didn't give much hope as they were outplayed in every aspect of the game by the English. Only the Boks resilient defence held England out, sometimes just inches from the line. Going into the half time break it seemed that all hope was lost and that they would not reach the semi's.

The second half however was a different story, stand in captain William Small-Smith ignited the Baby Boks with a scintillating break and superb try. The play just got better and better, everything that was going wrong in the first half seemed to be going right in the second. A great break by Steven Kitshoff getting stopped inches from the try line only to be carried over by stand out player Shaun Adendorff. The third came from forward Pieter-Steph Du Toit who found himself in the back line and broke the line easily to score.

Shaun Adendorff was the hero when he broke the line again to run in for the fourth and bonus point try. The Boks fought back hard to beat a very physical English team, they showed a lot of composure and maturity under pressure. This could be the spark they need to take them through to the finals. They face Argentina in the Semi-finals who will not be an easy opponent.

Are Coaches that important?

When ever a team loses it seems that the coach gets fired for the teams poor performance. Are the coaches to blame and do they have that big of an impact on how the team performs. Some people would argue that coaches have the biggest impact whether a team performs well or not. In certain cases this seems to be true, Ewen McKenzie head coach of the Reds took them from a team of fairly unknown youngsters to Super Rugby champions. This evidence would suggest that he made the world of difference. Another instance was Roberto Di Matteo of Chelsea who took a struggling team to an FA cup and UEFA Champions League title.

Examples that stand out are Italian Jose Mourinho who has found success with numerous teams. Sir Alex Ferguson who has had major success with Manchester United. Robbie Deans who has won more Super Rugby titles than any other coach. This would all point to the fact that coaches do make a difference. The other side of the argument would be that coaches don't make that big of a difference. Barcelona who have been on top of the World regardless of who has been the coach would be a perfect example. New Zealand rugby team, Australian cricket team have been the best in the world with numerous coaches. This could be that there players were of the best quality and didn't require a good coach.

Real Madrid would be the perfect example of a team full of super stars and having arguably the best coach in the world, this would prove that good players and a good coach is the best solution.

Rafa king of Clay

Rafael Nadal has won a record breaking Seventh Roland Garros title against world number 1 Novak Djokovic in a match which was full of drama. The Rivalry between the Spaniard and the Serb is quickly becoming one of the fiercest in tennis. Both players have a great deal of respect for each other but give no quarter.

Djokovic who bested Nadal in the previous 3 Grand Slam finals could not hold on to beat Nadal at the French, the only title which he is yet to win. The Spaniard sped to 2 set lead before rain threw a spanner in the works. Nadal who uses his superior spin, coupled with the balls and the clay make him almost unbeatable on clay. The rain making the balls and the surface wet and heavy which cancelled out Nadals advantage. Djokovic capitalised on this winning the third set comfortably against a rattled Nadal.

The Serb was looking set to take the Fourth set until the rain became too heavy and play was delayed until the next day. Play resumed with Nadal leading the Fourth set 3-2 but hardly looked comfortable. Djokovic showed signs of brilliance which helped him take the previous Grand slams but could not break the defence of Nadal. At 6-5 in the Fourth Djokovic double faulted to give Nadal his record breaking win. Wimbledon could be the next place where these 2 champions do battle once again.

Rafael Nadal © Gallo Images

Euro 2012 about to kick off

With the 2012 Euro about to kick off, there has been a lot of questions about who are the favourites. There are a few teams who have been showing great form of late and pose a great challenge for the cup. The current holders and world cup winners Spain always pose a threat but with injuries to key players they might have a tough time. The Netherlands who have been in devastating form will be definite favourites. The usuals like France, Italy, Portugal, Germany and previous winners Greece all have a great chance of making the finals.

There may be some wild cards who could upset a lot of the big teams. Teams like hosts Ukraine, Sweden, The Czech Republic and Russia could pose more of a threat than the big teams give them credit. England hangs in the balance between favourite and a disappointment which they have been over recent years. With new coach Roy Hodgson at the helm, who is more concerned with having a clean sheet than scoring goals could cause problems for them. Going up against some of the most attacking minded teams in the world could be their downfall should they continue with their current strategy.

Springbok team named

Yesterday Heyneke Meyer named the Springbok team to take on the English in the first of three tests on Saturday. There were some usual names with the all Sharks front row named. Pierre Spies and Willem Alberts were also selected to add some experience to the forwards. An uncapped second row of
Eben Etzebeth and Juandre Kruger join the forwards.

In the backs there was but one surprise where Zane Kirchner was named ahead of Patrick Lambie who has been in fine form this year. Lambie who had to fill in at fullback during the world cup when Kirchner was not even part of the squad. The bench has a mix of experience with some youth and those players will be playing their hardest to make the starting line up for the next test.

The lock pairing of Etzebeth and Kruger is a formidable one, both players posing great physicality and Etzebeth with some speed to back up his size and strength. These two will be a force to be reckoned with come Saturday.



Above Juandre Kruger and Eben Etzebeth
(from http://www.supersport.com/)



Titanic Encounters at the French

Both Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer survived marathon matches against Jo Wilfried Tsonga and Juan Martin Del Potro respectively. Both players had to weather a storm of play from their opponents as they had to fight to survrive.

Djokovic winning the first set went down the next 2 sets with Tsonga fighting hard. Tsonga having 4 match points in the fourth set but couldn't finish off a resilient Djokovic who took the fourth set in a tie break. The Serb has shown his ability to fight to the bitter end and this could help him in the latter stages of the tournament. Tsonga fought well to take the world number 1 to five sets and revealed some of his weaknesses, but in the end Djokovic was too strong.

Federer had a tough time against the Argentine Del Potro going down 2 sets but showed his class by winning the next 3 sets fairly easily. Federer who seems to be coming into form at the right time

Federer and Djokovic face off in the semi-final which has the makings of a fantastic match.

Both players are seeming to be in fine form but do they have any answers for a rampant Spaniard in Rafael Nadal who looks in the unbeatable form on clay we are so used to. Nadal takes on fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro in the other quarterfinal.

(picture from www.Supersport.com)

baby boks not living up to hype

The IRB Junior World Championship kicked off in Stellenbosch on Monday night. South Africa took on Ireland in a fairly dissapointing game with Irelnad outplaying the Baby Boks in the second half to take the game 23-19. The Baby Boks held a lot of the possession in the first half but squandered their chances and paid the price while Ireland took all of theirs. Their was a lot of hype about this Baby Bok side, with some of their players boasting super rugby experience. Clearly the game plan in place was not effective against a very organised Irish team. Hopefully they can live up to the hype and not just fizzle out.

(picture from www.Supersport.com)

Lorenzo back to winning ways

Jorge Lorenzo claimed top spot at the Catalunya Grand Prix yesterday when he held off fellow Spaniard Dani Pedrosa and Italian Andrea Dovizioso. Lorenzo opens the gap between himself and reigning world champion Casey Stoner to 20 points going into next week's British Grand Prix. Lorenzo is riding a wave of confidence at the moment, can he keep the momentum going and take another win next week? Casey Stoner will not be easy to beat as the Australian has been consistently fast this season and announcing his retirement at the end of the season will make him harder to beat as he would like to end the season as world champion once again. This makes for a very exciting season to come and with the likes of  Dovizioso and Pedrosa and surprise Cal Crutchlow in the mix, anything can happen.

(image from http://www.supersport.com/)

Springboks or Bulls?

The Springbok squad was announced last night after a bone crunching encounter at Loftus, which the Stormers came out tops. Out of the 32 man squad named for the England tests, 12 are from the Bulls, 11 from the Sharks, 3 from the Stomers and 2 from both the Lions and Cheetahs. Among these players are 9 uncapped players. Some of the players Heyneke Meyer has chosen are not the best players currently in those specific positions.

Players such as Marcell Coetzee who this year has been impressive but cant hold a candle to Schalk Burgers replacement at the Stormers Sia Kolisi who was the difference in the Bulls clash. He has stood up this season and made his presence felt and should be named in the squad and not just on the fringes.
Elton Jantjies who may have impressed in a poor Lions team is not the best flyhalf currently, not even the second best. Morne Steyn has not been in the form we know he can be, where as Peter Grant has been solid since his return from Japan. His kicking record has been impeccable and has scored a few tries so far and has proved to be the in form flyhalf behind injured Johan Goosen. Wynand Olivier who has never been of Springbok quality finds himself in the squad, a player who has shown no creativeness gets the nod ahead of young and exciting players such as Andries Strauss, Robert Ebersohn and Tim Whitehead all who have put performed him this season. JP Pietersen who has scored a number of tries this year is another player who does not show creativity in his play and gets a place ahead of exciting player Gio Aplon who has made the difference in many games to keep the Stormers at the top of the South African log.

Pierre Spies who has not impressed at all this season and has at times been almost invisible on the field. Players like Lions inspirational captain Josh Strauss and Cheetahs impact player Ashley Johnson would have been a better option in the absence of injured Duane Vermeulen. Zane Kirchner like Olivier lacks excitement and vision and many a player could have been chosen in his place. Joe Pietersen, Willie le Roux, both exciting players who create something from nothing.

There are many top players who are injured but the players chosen in their stead are not the best replacements by a long shot. It appears that South African rugby is falling back into the style of kick and drive with the forwards. In modern rugby this style is outdated and will have no answers for teams who show flare and run the ball. The Springboks are filled with Bulls and Sharks players as per usual over the last few years. Both teams who have a shocking defencive record and up against a newly invigorated English team who will run the ball.

Are we still living in the past or does Heyneke know something we don't?