New players to bolster Boks?

So the performance of the “more physical” Springboks left much to be desired. The pumas out played the Boks in every aspect of the game. Our supposedly more physical pack was nowhere to be seen as they dominated us at the breakdowns and at scrum time. The Boks who would have wanted a bonus point win from their trip to South America were shown how to play rugby. Our single minded game plan to kick the ball and use our forwards did not work and to add insult to injury Argentina using the same tactic were able to dominate us. We came home with our tales firmly between our legs and a lot o think about before we head to Australia. Things aren’t going to get any easier especially facing the number 2 ranked team in the world followed by the world champs. A lot needs to be done in order to perform against the Wallabies, new personnel and a new game plan.

Coach Heyneke Meyer has seen the light and has included Duane Vermeulen and Johan Goosen as well as Francois Louw and Juan de Jongh, players who all add excitement to the team. Vermeulen and Goosen have been injured but now they get their chance to show what they can do. There are many players who are out due to injury but we have a wealth of talent to fill or even better there positions. Other possible players I think should be called up: the Cheetahs scrumhalf Sarel Pretorious, he adds spark and excitement to any team he plays for and the partnership of him and Goosen would be a bonus. Heyneke Meyer is always stressing the fact of tested partnerships. The Sharks centre Paul Jordaan, he is well versed at playing centre or wing and has explosive pace to break any line. The Lions flank/eighth man Josh Strauss who captained the Lions to a Currie Cup Championship last year and offers a lot in terms of speed, power and tons of heart.

The coach is on the right track with the players he has included and hopefully can improve on the performance against Argentina. South Africa has 2 big centers in De Villiers and Steyn and Blitz wings in Habana and Mvovo. Yet we don’t use them, we persist with the up and unders instead of holding the ball and using our 100 plus kilogram centers to break the line. We need to use our backs in order to compete with Australia and New Zealand.

First test to come against Australia

The Springboks are to face the Pumas on Saturday on their return leg in Mendoza. The Boks cruised to a 27-6 win over the South Americans last Saturday in Cape Town. It won’t be an easy task playing them at home but the Boks should win comfortably, hopefully with a bonus point. The first real test however will be when they take on Australia in Perth on the 8^th of September. Playing Argentina is by no means easy as they are a physical team and it will be a bruising encounter. They however don’t possess the fire power that Australia does. With players like Kurtley Beale and Digby Ioane who can hit from almost anywhere on the field, our defence will be really tested. The pin point accurate kicking of Berrick Barnes will definitely test our back 3, especially Zane Kirchner. Our forwards will have to be at the top of their game to deal with an extremely physical and well organised pack that the Wallabies have. Lead by Captain David Pocock, they will be very good at the break down and the cleaning out will have to be efficient.

 

Australia do not even compare to the challenge we will face against the inform All Blacks. Their simple but efficient style of rugby has been dominant over the past few years. The current squad is in devastating form at the moment and will be difficult to beat when on top form. We will have to play out of our skins to beat them this year.

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kings to buy players

The Southern Kings who have been included in next year’s Super 15 competition are going to have a tough time going up against seasoned professionals and international players. The Kings are made up of players such as Luke Watson, Jaco Engels and Jongi Nokwe who used to play for the bigger franchises. The rest of their team is made up of players with little or no experience. The whole point of including them in Super Rugby was to give the Eastern Cape the opportunity to get their players in the top flight competition. Having only one year to prepare this will be almost impossible, so they will have to look elsewhere for players. They have already bought Western Province fly half Dimitri Catrakilis, this is defeating the point of having an Eastern Cape based team when you have players from other provinces.

They should have been given more time to work their way up to the premier Currie Cup division and have to earn their place in the Super Rugby instead of just been handed to them. Apart from the possibility of embarrassing themselves, they are not even fulfilling the whole point of giving the Eastern Cape players a chance.

Dimitri Catrakilis to join The kings Next year

Everton Shock United

The Barclays premier league got under way for Manchester United and Everton last night. It was not the dream start United or their new signing Robin van Persie would have wanted. United's defence had a tough time dealing with Belgian international Marouane Fellaini and he finally broke the deadlock with a superb header. United would have wanted a win to start off their title race after losing the title to City in the last seconds of last season.

First Division Kings to Replace Currie Cup Champions

So its official, the Southern Kings will be participating in the 2013 Super Rugby at the expense of the Lions. The lions who have been competing in the “Super” competition since 1993 when they won the Super 10. They have also been competing in the Currie Cup premier division since its inception and have won it numerous times the most recent last year. The last time Border or an Eastern Cape team won the trophy was in 1934. The Southern Kings as a franchise participates in the Currie Cup 2^nd division; they failed to qualify for the premier division due to losing a play off game. They have no experience playing at the highest level and with no players in the Springbok team what chance do they have going up against the likes of the Crusaders, Sharks and most recent winners the Chiefs. These teams are teaming with international players with years of experience at playing at this level.

I do agree that the Eastern Cape should have a team at the top level of competition but they need to earn it. They should at least have been playing in the Currie Cup Premier division and be near the top for them to deserve a place. The lions who may have finished last in Super Rugby this year are still reigning Currie Cup champions and deserve their place above any other team.

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Provincialism

There has been a lot of talk lately about the majority of the Springbok team being Sharks and Bulls players. The whole scrum is made up of Sharks players besides the locks who are Stormers. The coach has said that he likes to keep combinations together, I would have to agree with him as players who have been playing together for some time do tend to play better as a combination. There have been arguments between fans about players from their province being chosen or not being chosen and who should and shouldn’t be there.

As a Stormers supporter I was upset that there were not more Stormers selected for the Springbok team, but I was acting from a perspective of a Stormers supporter and not that of a Springbok supporter. As a South African I should be more concerned with the overall team and not look at what province a particular player comes from. It should not be the case for everyone either because when they put on the green and gold we all stand together and shout for the same players. I believe that players should be chosen for their talent, regardless of what province they play for. Yes the topic of combinations does affect that because to have a good combination you have to play together. Players should however be given the chance to play together in a Springbok environment in order to build those combinations. Jean de Villiers and Jaque Fourie are arguably the best centre pair South Africa has ever seen, definitely the most capped centre pairing and at first they played for different provinces but shone in the green and gold.

The make up of the Springbok team should be a collection of the best players in their respective positions and not a group of players that only plays well together. In a Springbok environment there should be a culture and style that goes with the team and no matter who plays, that style should stay the same. For example if you play an attacking style of rugby then changing players shouldn’t change the style. People should stop looking at what province a player comes from and rather look at if he is the best player.

Cotzee vs Kolisi

There has been a lot of talk concerning the no. 6 jersey for the Springboks. A lot of people wanted to see Heinrich Brussow back in the mix with his prolific ability to be a fetcher and the current lack of one. Going up against the likes of David Pocock and Richie Mckaw it would be beneficial to have a decent fetcher. With Bizmark playing the way he is it seems that he will fulfill that role quite well. That still leaves the question of who to put in the no. 6 jersey. With Schalk Burger out for what seems like the rest of the year they will need someone to fill his big shoes.

Marcell Coetzee has been playing in that position when the Springboks took on the English on June. He performed well in the 3 tests and many would pick him to continue in the Championship. As is tradition in Springbok rugby, once someone is playing in a certain position for a period of time nobody else would be considered unless in the case of injury. As I’ve said time and time again, the player who is in the best form should play, that’s how the All Blacks and Australia pick their teams and it seems to be working for them. Don’t get me wrong, Coetzee is a good player and deserves a spot in the squad but I don’t believe he should be in the starting lineup. I believe the best way to decide who the better player is, is to watch when they compete against each other for their respective provinces. Usually one player will dominate the other and this is a good way to gauge who is in better form. No man does this better than Siya Kolisi, who has been filling in for Burger at the Stormers. He came in during the first game after Burger left with injury and has impressed in every game thus far. Every tackle he makes sends his opponents backwards, regardless of their size or reputation.

He may not be the biggest player standing at 1.87m and 101kg but when you see him tackle it makes no difference. Coetzee isn’t much bigger at 1.91 and 106kg and also a physical player who relishes the tackles. Both players are similar in style and stature but in my opinion Kolisi stands head and shoulders above him in terms of heart and his defensive skills. The way he plays is different to most players, he seems to be playing purely for the love of the game and not seeing it as a job and for that reason I say he is the best no. 6 in South Africa at the moment.

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Argentina in the running?

The Springboks are set to face Argentina in their first Championship game on Saturday at Newlands. In a newly revised format each team will play each other twice, both home and away. The inclusion of the Pumas was seen as a way to boost their rugby as they have not been part of any major competitions. This will benefit them in the long run as they will be playing the 3 best teams in the world. They deserve a place in the competition after putting in some brave performances in the 2011 Rugby World Cup. It could however have a negative effect on the competition at present as they might be out of their depth. Not being used to travelling and playing in tough conditions could cheapen the competition.

South Africa, Australia and New-Zealand have had a fierce rivalry for as long as I can remember and games in the past between these nations have some of the best ever. The Tri-nations competition is said to be one of the best in the world and with the rivalry of these teams Argentina might fly under the radar and could beat teams if underestimated. Just ask France who lost twice to them in the 2007 Rugby World Cup. They will definitely benefit from playing the 3 best teams week in and week out and will hopefully improve their rugby overall, making them another rugby powerhouse.

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The Best Ever?

Everyone has their favourite player who they regard as the best but how can you say that a particular sportsman or sportswoman is the best? Naturally people would have different opinions as to who the best is. A much bigger debate rages on and that is who the best of all time is. Again people’s opinion would differ, so what would be the best way to settle this debate? The best way would be to prove your claim, would his or her performances be the deciding factor or would it be the opinions of experts in that field. I believe the best way to determine who the best of all time is to look at statistics. This is of course not full proof, for example Rugby players in the past were not seen as professionals and had day jobs. For this reason they didn’t play as many games so their stats can’t compare to the professionals of today. It is however one of the only ways to prove claims.

Mohammed Ali would come to mind as he proclaimed himself the greatest ever. His persona, attitude and skill in the ring would back up his claim. His stats would back up his claim further as he only lost 5 fights in his whole life. He also won a Gold medal at an Olympics. He beat some of the best fighters of the time and nobody would blame you for saying he’s the best ever. When you compare him to the likes of Floyd Mayweather jr, his stats seem to pale in comparison as Floyd has never lost a fight. Some would say that the opponents he has faced couldn’t compare to those of Ali but stats don’t lie and he is unbeaten.

After his 200m gold medal Usain Bolt has proclaimed himself “a legend and greatest athlete to live”. Granted he is the fastest man alive and he holds 5 gold medals at the Olympics but this claim is greatly exaggerated as he only ranks 65^th on the all time Olympic medal tally. He isn’t even the highest placed sprinter as Carl Lewis is placed 5^th on the all time list. To be the greatest you have to be head and shoulders above everyone else. Statistics don’t lie and they can be the only thing to prove the best from the rest.

Michael Phelps the greatest ever

Phelps began his Olympic Career at the age of 15 when he swam at the 2000 Olympics where he won no medals but it seemed to inspire him. His road to the 2004 Olympics included 5 medals at the 2002 Pan Pacific Championships and 6 medals at the 2003 World Championships.

Athens 2004 is when he first won medals at an Olympics. Winning 6 gold and 2 bronze medals, claiming 3 Olympic records and 2 World records. His dominance in the pool continued as he won 17 gold medals from 2005 to 2007.

2008 Beijing would be where Phelps really showed the world what he could do. Although he always kept his goals a secret there was always a suspicion that he would attempt the impossible and try to break the record for the most gold medals won in a single games. This record being held by Mark Spitz with 7. He achieved 6 medals, the 7th in controversial style when he beat Milorad Cavic by 1/100 of a second. Phelps's 8th gold rested on the shoulders of the relay team of Brendan Hansen, Aaron Piersol and Jason Lezak. They didn't disappoint breaking the World record giving Phelps his record 8th gold at one Olympics.

Phelps continued to rack up gold medals winning a further 14 from 2009 to 2011. Coming into the 2012 Olympics people would be excused for thinking that Phelps was in the twilight of his career being 27 this time around. He didn't do much to prove people wrong in his first race only placing 4th in the 400m individual medley. He would turn this around and in the end winning 4 gold and 2 silver medals. Not the performance you would expect but he did break the all time record for most medals won in Olympics in all sports. Breaking the previous record of Larisa Latynina and winning 22 overall thus making him the most decorated Olympian of all time. A humble man in victory and defeat he is a deserved holder of the title of greatest Olympian of all time. Now retired Michael Phelps has achieved 71 medals in all competition, 57 gold, 11 silver and 3 bronze just proving that he is the greatest swimmer the world has ever seen.

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Magic in London

The last few days have been particularly exciting especially in the pool. World and Olympic records being broken regularly. South Africa's very own Cameron Van Der Burgh won the 100m breaststroke in world record time of  58.46. Winning South Africa's first male individual gold medal ever. The USA has n dominating the pool with Ryan Locthe and Michael Phelps with 3 medals a piece and USA having 16 in total over China's 7.

Despite the dominance of the USA there have been many surprises, especially against the big names in swimming. Chinese teenager Shiwen Ye won the woman's 400m individual medley in a blistering world record time of  4.28.43. She also won the 200m individual medley in Olympic record time of 2.07.57. Lithuanian teen Ruta Meilutyte came out of nowhere to win the woman's 100m breaststroke, beating out race favourite Rebecca Soni. France beat the USA in the men's 4x100m freestyle with Yannick Agnel beating Micael Phelps in the last 100m. Yannick Agnel and Ryan Locthe top the medal table with 2 gold and 1 silver each.

Last night was the most exciting by far when the men's 200m butterfly took place with Michael Phelps looking to make history by becoming the first man to ever win 1 event in 3 seperate Olympics. This was not to be as South Africa's Chad le Clos came steaming through on the last 50m to take Phelps by 0.05. With his Silver Phelps equalled the all time Olympic medal record of 18. This was not good enough for the 'Baltimore bullet' who looked to break this record when he and his team lined up in the men's 4x200m freestyle. Ryan Locthe gave them a commanding lead and Phelps took it home in the last 200m to make history by becoming the most successful Olympian of all time in all sport. There is no argument that Phelps is the greatest swimmer of all time but now the greatest Olympian of all time. It will take many years to overcome the mountain of achievements he has set.

Moving away from the pool. In the men's cycling individual time trial Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins took on time trial world champion Tony Martin and Olympic champion from Beijing Fabian Cancellara. They were no match for Wiggins however as he stormed to victory with Tony Martin and Christopher Froome coming in second and third. The Excitement over the past few days has been at fever pitch. It is a definite improvement from the cycling road race and I'm sure it will continue in this fashion.

 (MICHAEL SOHN / AP Photo)