Final word. If as you say, De Villiers’ Springboks only ignited because they ‘reverted to Jake White rugby’, why in the world did White’s Springboks never whip Australia or New Zealand a la Saturday?

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‘but the fact is we were never the best side in the world and it’s time that this argument was put to rest.’

Come now - we win the world cup twice and we cannot claim to be on average the best side in the world. Why bother contesting the cup if that is the way you think. The Aussies and ABs were beaten out of the world cup. Try giving us some credit for getting there and staying there to the end.

btw I think it is still too early to judge pdv, it takes time for any new management team to come together and some of those games could have gone either way.

I think after the house of pain we became over confident, then losing in CT forced us to play for a bonus pt in Durban which we stuffed up gloriously and it took us a boo or two in Durban to get the basics back in Jhb.

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Rumours are it was Schalk Burger and Jean De Villiers.

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Well I’m a Tongan born Aussie married to a Saffa… and you’re coaches results have been woeful to say the least…

One huge game and everything is fine… some would say SARU is ‘relieved’ more than anything else…

Look at the scored mate… Bok’s are the wooden spooner’s and have lost 1-2 against us and 1-2 against the AB’s…

This with arguably the most talented and settled squad available…

One word… WOEFUL…

I must be ‘prejudiced’?

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Are you for real?

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Now I’ve got it from a good source (who will remain unnamed to protect my sources, as good “journalists” do), that the senior players in the team before Saturday’s match said “Screw PdV’s style, we are going to play the way Jake taught us”, and basically went against the way PdV wanted them to play. We went from this “expressive” style of rugby as tutored under PdV to a structured, disciplined game as tutored under JW – and others.

Saturday we had a team on the field. The previous weeks we had 15 individuals (sounds like Bafana, hey?) playing their own way. When we came together as a team and functioned as a unit, we showed the world: be afraid, be very afraid. We are worthy of the title “world Champions”. It’s a effing shame we won’t have a chance to play the ABs again soon, I’d love to see what this performance would have done to the ABs.

Nokwe was brilliant, but let’s face it folks – the game-plan called for those moves, and we managed to pull that move on at least six of our eight tries. Not wanting to take anything away from Nokwe, but Os could have scored those tries – heck, I could have scored those tries – because it was a disciplined, structured team-driven game play that had the ball at the right place at the right time and the winger had a job to do – dot it down. I don’t think there were many instances of individual brilliance – no, this was a team who gelled as a unit, and there were no glory-boys or room for “individualism”. (Though some guys DID try and go it alone and a try or two went begging coz they wanted to be heroes and go it alone and not pass to the un-covered man on the outside…). You have a job to do – a job you are paid VERY well to do - go out and do it.

And wow, it was inspiring. Was it Coach Div’s doing? If not, then he needs a klap for not being able to inspire and coach his team. If it is his doing, he needs a klap for not doing it sooner!

All in all, a dismal Tri-Nations – as was expected – with unexpected dizzying highlights of beating the ABs at The House of Pain, and then wiping the floor with the Sheepsh… er, Wallabies. I think the psychologists would call this a Bipolar team?

I’m waffling. I’m outta here. Cheers.

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“Last weekend’s match between Australia and New Zealand was a good pointer, he said.

The style that he promotes is aimed at having ball carriers available at all times to finish moves.

“If you look at the way the All Blacks committed too many players to the breakdown points last weekend, I think were are on the right road,” he explained.”

www.news24.com/News24/Sport/Rugby/0,,2-9-838_2368036,00.html

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Thats my thing as well. If the media had had their way around 2005-2007 Jake White would have been out on his ear before the World Cup.

Remember 49-0 against Oz? The Pretoria media had already annointed Heyneke Meyer in his place.

Your example of the Bulls struggling this year is brilliant. they only lost Gary Botha and Matfield yet you’d swear someone had taken Bafan and asked them to chuck around a weird shape ball.

If Heyneke had gotten the job and gotten bad results the knives would be out for laager mentality and everyone would be pointing out what a difference Eddie Jones’s vision made at the WC.

But hey, people will not see past their own prejudices. Look at me, I’m a defiant Pirates supporter.

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