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The promise Kolisi has made for Springboks rematch with Wallabies
Beaten Springboks skipper Siya Kolisi has promised a more determined effort from his team this Saturday in Brisbane when they play the Wallabies in their Rugby Championship rematch six days after a last-gasp two-point defeat on the Gold Coast. A Quade Cooper penalty at the death denied South Africa in what was their first away Test match since their World Cup final win over England in Japan in November 2019.
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The Springboks returned to the Test arena in July following a 20-month absence and while there was a whiff of desperation surrounding them in the week following their July 24 defeat to the Lions in Cape Town, Kolisi insisted desperation wasn’t the word to use to describe the fallout following their latest defeat.
“We watched the game and we knew we went wrong and it was very upsetting to lose like that, especially looking at the game, the mistakes we made and some of the things that are a given for us, that we normally being and we didn’t bring on the day so that is difficult to see,” said Kolisi at his virtually held eve-of-match media briefing ahead of the round four Championship game.
“I wouldn’t say desperate, I’d say more determined. We are more determined this weekend than we were last week. We were determined last week – we just didn’t show that on the field.
“We have really worked hard on what we had to do and individually you watch your game and you look at simple errors. Australia played well, really well, and I want to give credit to them, but we can be much better this weekend and we will.”
"The feedback and the work from them has been good, from Joel’s and the referee’s side"
– Seven weeks is a long time in rugby judging by how the Springboks have engaged with officials this week compared to Rassie's July rant #Springboks #RSAvAUShttps://t.co/9vMrouERvH
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 16, 2021
The world rankings permutations heading into Saturday’s round four of the Championship have highlighted that the Springboks, who haven’t beaten the Wallabies in Australia since 2013, could lose their No1 ranking if the All Blacks beat Argentina by more than 15 points and South Africa also lose to Australia. A smaller margin would be enough for the All Blacks to reclaim the top spot if Australia win by more than 15 points.
Kolisi, though, was unaware the Springboks’ No1 ranking was under threat. “I didn’t know that but winning is what we care about and we know that is the only way you can maintain that (ranking). It’s not the only thing we care about but it is the only way we can maintain that No1 spot so we want to win that weekend – but I didn’t know we could lose the No1 spot. We won’t focus on that, we just want to win. That is the most important thing so we can get back in the competition and have every chance to win the competition.”
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"If you look at it unemotionally you can say we could have won the Test match and nobody would have said anything, it wouldn't have been a debate"
– Jacques Nienaber had a busy media briefing after naming an XV with just two changes #Springboks #RSAvAUShttps://t.co/5YHpT2KI5z
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 15, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
I really get the sense that when all is said and done, the path of least resistance will end up being a merger of Wasps & Worcester that essentially kills the Worcester Warriors brand and sees Wasps permanently playing at Sixways. I’m not saying that’s what should happen or what I want to happen. I just think it’s the easiest rout to take and therefore, will be what happens. Wasps will definitely return to play first, and I suppose it all depends on if they can find support at Sixways. If people turn up and support Wasps in that community, at that ground, I bet they drop the Sevenoaks plan and just remain at Sixways. Under the radar but not totally unrelated, it looks as though London Irish are going to be brought back from the dead by a German consortium and look set to return, likely to the remade Championship. It’s set to have 12 clubs next season with 14 in 2025/26, what do you want to bet those extra 2 are Wasps and London Irish?
1 Go to commentsThe shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
1 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
8 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
56 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
8 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to comments