Who are your favourites for the Semi Finals of the RWC at the moment...?

First topic message reminder :

The start of the Tri-Nations and an Ozzie loss to Samoa have added a few interesting permutations into the mix. ABs are still favourites by a country mile on current form.

Some people base their theories on History though and there are a few teams that have made semis and finals more often than others, will it all just be a little bit of history repeating?

The PI teams look stronger than ever, can they do it?

Is there an unexpected Dark Horse out there who could surprise us all...?

Pick Four Teams from the POLL of who you think will be the Semi Finalists.

OK, which idiots haven't voted for four teams!

Ireland fans love going on about how they've put SA 'in their place' a number of times yet always fail to mention that when it's happened it's been a Bok B/C team at the end of a long season in traditional Irish conditions. Plus there was the classic 'Go speak to your players John' try when the whole SA team had their back turned on the Ref's instuction. Even Scotland got some wins over those B/C Bok teams! Don't see them bragging about it!

It's come up often on the old 606 and while Ireland are my favorite NH team it still gets to me.

Who has said we've put them in their place? If we end up playing South Africa we're up against it,but it should be an entertaining game nonetheless.

Read the thread and you'll find it.

Maybe i'm a bit more touchy than normal due to P Div's ruining of the Bok team....

But put the proper BOK starting 15 out and I'm convinced it's the team the All Blacks fear most

MMaaxx wrote:Read the thread and you'll find it.

Maybe i'm a bit more touchy than normal due to P Div's ruining of the Bok team....

But put the proper BOK starting 15 out and I'm convinced it's the team the All Blacks fear most

Don't worry too much bud, you know what happens when you tell a Bok someone wants to take their Web Ellis trophy away from them.

MMaaxx wrote:Ireland fans love going on about how they've put SA 'in their place' a number of times yet always fail to mention that when it's happened it's been a Bok B/C team at the end of a long season in traditional Irish conditions. Plus there was the classic 'Go speak to your players John' try when the whole SA team had their back turned on the Ref's instuction. Even Scotland got some wins over those B/C Bok teams! Don't see them bragging about it!

It's come up often on the old 606 and while Ireland are my favorite NH team it still gets to me.

Hmmm.... let's look at the facts around those "suspect" victories and the alleged use of Bok B/C teams.

Ireland and SA have only played each other 20 times in 105 years since 1906. 7 of those matches in South Africa which Boks all won at home.

In the last decade, Ireland and SA have played each other 7 times. The score is 4-3 to the Boks with two home victories and two away. Ireland wins were all at home. 137-145 is the cumulative scoreline for the period. Ireland has the biggest winning margin in that period with their 32-15 victory in 2006. (SA has the biggest margin overall winning 38-0 in Lansdowne in 1912.)

Weather conditions are part and parcel of the game - same as playing the Boks on the high veldt is an advantage for SA, such as the first test of a two-test series in Bloemfontein in June 2004 that was tied at half-time 11-11 before Boks went on to win by a margin of 14. It would also be easy to say that Ireland were at the end of a long season then.

The second game in Cape Town was slightly closer with the Boks winning 26-17. SA XV team that day was: Montgomery, Paulse, Joubert, Julies, van de Westhuysen, du Preez, du Randt, Smit, Andrews, Davids, Matfield, Burger, Conje, Wannenburg. This was the core of the team that went on to win the Tri Nations that year.

Later that year, Ireland posted their first victory of the professional era in a 17-12 win over the Boks. Jake White set things up nicely by saying in advance that none of the Irish side would get into the Boks current team. The famous incident involving O'Gara asking ref, Paul Honis, whether he could go ahead and play whilst John Smit had his back turned to give a team talk, and the ref saying yes, gave Ireland their first points on the board to lead 5-0 after 20 minutes. O'Gara missed the conversion, and the sides traded penalties for the next 60 minutes with O'Gara matching Montgomery kick for kick. The other critical moment in the match was Schalk Burger getting binned - again - and give Ireland another 3 points.

SA XV that day was: Montgomery, Paulse, Joubert, de Wet Barry, Willemse, van der Westhuysen, Fourie de Preez, Os du Randt, John Smit, Andrews, Botha, Matfield, Burger, van Niekerk, Venter - most if not all had played in the successful Tri-Nations earlier in the year in the matchday 22. White, to his credit, never blamed the Honiss blooper as the reason the Boks lost the game.

Two years later in Nov 2006, White decided to field an "experimental team" for the November match in the run up to the RWC 2007. The Boks had already been thrashed in the Tri-Nations 49-0 by Australia in SA, 35-17 and 26-45 by NZ home and away. They narrowly won their other two home games. Whilst relatively experienced players such as Habana, de Villiers, Smit and van der Linde featured, the Boks were simply overrun by a much better, more experienced Irish side 32-15.

The last time Ireland beat South Africa was in November 2009 in a fog-ridden Croke Park. Both teams had had a long year. Both had players who had been involved in the Lions series during the summer. Ireland had won the 6 Nations. SA the 3 Nations. They won 15-10 in a "battle of the hemispheres" styled match to finish the year undefeated.

The SA team that played Ireland on that day was: Z Kirchner (Blue Bulls); J Pietersen (Sharks), J Fourie (Lions), W Olivier (Blue Bulls), B Habana (Blue Bulls); M Steyn (Blue Bulls), F du Preez (Blue Bulls); T Mtawarira (Sharks), J Smit (Sharks, capt), BJ Botha (Ulster), A Bekker (Western province), (Blue Bulls), V Matfield (Blue Bulls), H Brussow (Cheetahs), S Burger (Western Province), D Rossouw (Blue Bulls). Replacements: B du Plessis (Sharks), CJ van der Linde (Leinster), F Hougaard (Blue Bulls), J Deysel (Sharks), D Potgieter (Blue Bulls), R Pienaar (Sharks), J de Villiers (Munster). Most of the team had featured in their Tri-Nations title victory.

With regard to the comment: "Even Scotland got some wins over those B/C Bok teams!" Scotland have played South Africa 21 times, winning five matches. Their most recent was in 2010 winning 21-17; their previous win before that was in 2002, 21-6 in Murrayfield.

The 2010 matchday 22 was: Z Kirchner, G Aplon, F Steyn, J de Villiers, L Mvovo, M Steyn, F Hougaard , T Mtawarira (Natal Sharks), 2 B du Plessis (Natal Sharks), 3 J du Plessis (Natal Sharks); 4 B Botha (Blue Bulls), 5 V Matfield (Blue Bulls, capt); 6 D Stegmann (Blue Bulls), 7 J Smith (Free State Cheetahs), 8 R Kankowski (Natal Sharks) Subs: A Strauss (Free State Cheetahs), CJ Van der Linde (Free State Cheetahs), F van der Merwe (Blue Bulls), W Alberts (Natal Sharks), R Pienaar (Ulster), P Lambie (Natal Sharks), Adi Jacobs (Natal Sharks).

Anyone change their thoughts this weekend. Ireland were unconvincing with their second string.

Scotland had some good moments.

New Zealand lived comfortably with Australia.

Wales showed great fitness, England didn't.

maestegmafia wrote:Anyone change their thoughts this weekend. Ireland were unconvincing with their second string.

Scotland had some good moments.

New Zealand lived comfortably with Australia.

Wales showed great fitness, England didn't.

England still won though. Fromt he Western Mail, "There were three tries for starters. But, more than that, Warren Gatland’s men didn't capitulate when England threatened to run away with it in the third quarter.

Instead they finished the match on the front foot, even if England, who thoroughly deserved the win, looked like they had stepped off the gas.

Read More http://www.walesonline.co.uk/rugbynation/rugby-news/2011/08/07/england-23-wales-19-91466-29191127/#ixzz1UKfv8BxU
"

Who said they didn't win nottins? he was saying they didn't show great fitness....which they didn't.