
The ultimate test match must surely be between the Springboks and All Blacks, and from my refereeing days this test was every referee’s dream to referee. The emotions around this test are intense and normally the build-up during the week leading up to the test is a magnificent experience. World number one vs World number two is the prime game and many gathered around the televisions sets with great hopes of a spectacular game, a running game with great tackled and well planned defence.
Well, I know that many rugby lovers, New Zealand and South Africans, were very disappointed that this potentially wonderful game ended up being one of the worst games this year. Were we as South Africans spoiled by the previous week’s victory against the Aussies, or maybe expected too much from the Boks against a world class team, no, the best team in the world.
The only way to beat the All Blacks is to play in their faces for 80 minutes, as we did against the Wallabies. You have to close down the time and space, and force them on the back foot so that their big forwards must play back. This will demoralize their pack of forwards and will also create penalties for us, as they will not always play through the gate at tackles, rucks and mauls. Never give a team the space to run from the front foot and make sure you defend them behind the advantage line. I do not want to think back anymore on the Boks game, because this makes me depressed, but we still have a chance to win the Rugby Championship, and will the last game against the All Blacks at Ellis Park be the “final”? Well, we must now wait and see.
In the Currie Cup game in Kimberley between the Sharks and Griekwas, the Sharks buried the Griekwa ghost. A Ghost that haunted them for years in Kimberley, maybe this ghost is haunting a few other teams as well. Although they won by one point only, a win is a win. The rest of the games did not deliver to the expectations we thought they would. The Cheetahs beat the Lions narrowly, but their victory also gained them a valuable five points on the log, something the Lions needed desperately. The Blue Bulls lost again, and this could be one of the worst seasons in their 75 years of great rugby and rich rugby history. They stay the most successful rugby union in SA with most trophies over the years.
In the First Division the Pumas are experiencing a dream season and maybe also deserve to play in the top competition. Nelspruit is proud of their boys in pink, which also gave a new meaning to pink in rugby. Stade Francais, also plays in pink and has defined winning and pink as synonymous with each other. Go Pumas go, let’s see if you can be unbeaten this season, even in the playoff, or will SA Rugby change the competition format again to save one of the top teams?