The English have landed.

First topic message reminder :

So the time is upon us, the English have landed.



Sport24

A 42-man England squad skippered by flank Chris Robshaw arrived on Thursday in crisp, clear conditions to start a five-match, three-Testtour of South Africa.

After travelling overnight from London, the 2012 Six Nations championship runners-up took a one-hour flight from Johannesburg to Durban.

Kings Park in Durban hosts the first Test on June 9 followed by Coca-Cola Park in Johannesburg a week later and Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on July 23.

There will also be midweek matches against South African Barbarians sides – drawn from players in the second tier of the Currie Cup domestic competition – in Kimberley on June 13 and Potchefstroom six days’ later.

The Test series has been labelled “A new era against an old enemy” by series broadcasters SuperSport, referring to new Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer and the 106-year rugby union rivalry between the countries.

Having led the Pretoria-based Bulls to Currie Cup and Super14 glory, Meyer replaced Peter de Villiers after defending champions South Africa lost 11-9 to Australia in the 2011Rugby World Cup quarter-finals.

A 3-3 stalemate was the outcome of the 1906 Test between England and South Africa at Crystal Palace in London, the only draw with the Springboks winning 19 and losing 12of the subsequent meetings.

England visited South Africa for the first time in 1972 and won a one-off Test 18-9 at Ellis Park, but have managed just two more victories in nine other internationals in the republic.

The Red Roses also made a last-eight exit from the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand, falling 19-12 to eventual runners-up France, and have also changed coaches with Stuart Lancaster replacing Martin Johnson.

Meyer names a 32-man series squad in Pretoria on Saturday after the SuperRugby clash between the Bulls and the Stormers and suffered a blow this week when a back injury sidelined lock Andries Bekker for five weeks.

Stormer Bekker was a certain first Test starter and Bulls’ Flip van der Merwe and Juandre Kruger and 20-year-old Eben Etzebeth of Stormers are now the main contenders to replace legendary lock pair Bakkies Botha and Victor Matfield.

Botha has moved to French side Toulon and has not figured in any squad speculation while Matfield retired after the World Cup and persistent rumours of a return against England never materialised.

An injury to prop Matt Stevens forced Lancaster into a late change with Rupert Harden from Gloucester drafted in to join 21 other forwards and 20 backs on tour.

While Meyer will rely largely on Bulls, Stormers and Coastal Sharks, 30 of the England squad come from Premiership winners Harlequins, runners-up Leicester and semi-finalists Northampton and Saracens.

Among the Leicester Tigers is Samoa-born centre Manu Tuilagi, cleared this week of performing a ‘tip’ tackle on fellow tourist and Harlequins scrum-half Danny Care in the Premiership final.

I wonder if Bryce Lawrence will make an appearance

TrailApe wrote:

I wonder if Bryce Lawrence will make an appearance

They said on super sport last night that Steve Walsh will officate in the first two and Alain Rolland in the last.

Well Steve-Baby is a loose cannon - god knows what he'll do (but whatver he does it will be with a flourish, a pert glance at the cameras and with immaculate grooming)

I don't like Alain Rolland.

Just don't.

Dunno Why.

You don't like 'look at me' Rolland? You're not Robinson Caruso there.

TrailApe wrote:Well Steve-Baby is a loose cannon - god knows what he'll do (but whatver he does it will be with a flourish, a pert glance at the cameras and with immaculate grooming)

I don't like Alain Rolland.

Just don't.

Dunno Why.

Agree about its-all-about-me Stevey. Never liked him as a ref before his rebirth as an Aussie and now. But, to be fair, I watched some recent matches he reffed and he was surprisingly, shockingly, OK. Maybe this means a shocker is coming, but let's give him a little slack for now. But only a little.

I like Alain Rolland. Reminds me of someone I knew in med school.

Reminds me of someone I knew in med school.

A cadaver?

Think I might have used the [quote] thing wrong!

no, seems ok to me mc

fixed for you mcrjfNo7.

Remember when you do the quote thing, there is a / at the second [/quote].

I liked steve walsh this morning in the Saders Landers game. He was tough but fair. He neutered the Saders sneaky tactics very early on , gave whitelock yellow in the 15th min and very nearly reduced them to 13 just two minutes later. Even the Comms noticed how well very co-operative Mccaw was when Walsh threatened to bring out the yellow again .Oh and just for good measure he binned a highlanders player (Haskell)

mcrjfNo7 wrote:

Reminds me of someone I knew in med school.

A cadaver?

You were there too?

that was funny mcrjfNo7, and you Dr Grey,

We are just one big, ugly, smelly family!

You should have seen some of my old girlfriends after a few pints.
Made cadavers look, well, not too bad.........

doctor_grey wrote:We are just one big, ugly, smelly family!

You should have seen some of my old girlfriends after a few pints.
Made cadavers look, well, not too bad.........

God's way of telling you to drink less right there Doc. right there.

That was God talking to me right there?
I knew there were voices in my head. And they kept telling me to.............

But that is all ancient history. I am better now.
Better every day.
Really.

No, really.

Me too compadre.

So I see Necrophilia is alive and kicking then.

Dead boring but don't half save...

I think the new look Walsh with the gold paint job is a better model than the old black one. Maybe the move to unleaded fuel helped.

With Rolland these days, you do at least feel he'll allow us to play with more than 13 players for most of the game. Sometimes useful.

biltongbek wrote:

Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler wrote:

biltongbek wrote:South African press rarely bothers about headlining rugby players behaviour of the pitch, if something does happen it is usually on some back page.

We are much more into the actual rugby side of things.

Like moaning about referees and whinging about citing panels?

It is topical, about rugby, inebriated rugby players are not.

If rugby isn't about inebriated rugby players then I don't think I want to play the game any more!