So here we are then. At the business end of what has been a shambolic and in many ways disappointing Lions tour. No fans, Covid a constant threat to the tour as a whole, weak provincial teams not offering much, players in and out of isolation and still very little clarity on the actual fitness and match readiness of the Boks, who’ve had one competitive outing since winning the World Cup almost 20 months ago.
The 1st test is in Cape Town, at sea level, and will by all accounts be dry and cold despite it being the winter rainy season down there. So it should allow for a decent game of rugby. Should. The other two Tests are also now going to be in Cape Town, so no altitude for the Lions to acclimatise to. First blood Lions (except for losing to the SA ‘A’ side, which had quite a few of this side in it anyway).
How important is this Test? Well, according to an anorak with more time on his hands than me (probably doesn’t have to make his own lunches, the bastard), going back to 1968, whoever has won the 1st Test between these two has also won the series. So fairly important to get that marker down!
Onto the Bok side. The starting backline is the same one that blitzed England in Tokyo, so really continuity there, with established combinations and understandings. However, Handre Pollard has had little game time recently and as the pivot, is key to keeping his forwards going forward and distributing to his outside backs when the chance is on. He’ll be rusty for sure, but hopefully settles quickly. Similarly, Makazole Mapimpi on the left wing has been in isolation and hasn’t had a great build up to the match.
Positives are that Faf, the centre pairing, Cheslin Kolbe and Willie le Roux all got a good run in that ‘A’ match and gave the Lions plenty to think about. With Pollard, de Allende and the superb defensive organiser Am marshalling the midfield, the Lions are unlikely to get too much yardage through that channel. They’ll also fancy having a crack at Dan Biggar’s channel and the Lions midfield and seeing if they’re in sync. Plenty of gas in the back three as well, with Willie also very adept at entering the line with great timing and offering good variety with his left foot.
All eyes will be on Chessie and seeing how he goes against McDuhan and whether the Boks give him much first phase ball. If they do, he could cause havoc. McDuhan has been very impressive on this tour (and before it), but the Bok defence has regained its miserly reputation and the drift and scramble seems to work most of the time. It’ll be interesting to see if the Boks use the ‘Japan rush’ where Am flew up into the Japanese midfield regularly to make it difficult to get the ball to their speedy wingers and forcing them back into the midfield and heavy artillery.
The replacement backs don’t fill me with much confidence, although all have enough experience to get the job done. Hershel Jantjies is an electric 9 when on form and snipes around the sides excellently, whilst Elton at 10 is very experienced. Damian Willemse is inconsistent and not much cop defensively.
The forwards? I’m a bit bewildered by the front row, which I don’t think is anybody’s first choice down here. Ox Nche is in just his 2nd Test and gets the nod over the ginger ninja Stephen Kitshoff based on his mobility, whilst Trevor Nyakane was less than impressive in the ‘A’ match. Up against wily operators in Jones and Furlong it could be a gamble that backfires on the Bok coaching staff. If it does, the Boks will be on the back foot early on. Mbonambi at hooker is the man in possession and excellent in all his disciplines. The replacement front row could cause absolute havoc in the second half though and it’ll be interesting to see when they’re introduced.
The second row is excellent with the physicality of Etzebeth nicely complemented by the sheer work rate of ‘Sous’ Mostert – a hugely underrated part of the Bok pack at both the set piece and on defence in open play. With the excellent Lood de Jager to come off the pine, there is quality in the second row.
The back row is either a master stroke or a disaster waiting to happen. Siya Kolisi isn’t everyone’s cup of tea down here (many for reasons other than rugby), but he does a lot of unglamorous work and is a great leader, something we’ll need in the heat of this battle. Bok World Cup winning captains – Pienaar, Smit and Kolisi – have all been hugely respected by their sides and importantly also by the opposition and the refs. You can’t replace that. PS du Toit is another machine in the pack, who not only offers a lineout option and a tackle machine, but a good carrying option too. He owned George Ford in the World Cup and will be looking to put similar pressure on Dan Biggar. The real surprise is Kwagga Smith at 8. The exact opposite of Duane Vermeluen – who will be sorely missed whatever the management says about depth and quality – Smith is a natural ball carrier who thrives in open play. He’s also very good on the floor and likely been picked to slow down Lions ball and win turnovers. He won’t knock many back in the tackle though.
Looking at the pack overall, it would appear that the Boks are wary of the Lions playing fast and loose (by Test standards) so have picked the likes of Nche and Smith to add mobility to the pack early on and disrupt the Lions at the breakdown, with some brutally heavy artillery to come on later on.
Prediction? If the Boks don’t run out of puff too early and they’re able to nullify the Lions pack, I think they’ll sneak it. Boks by 2 points!
Onna telly this week – there’s only one, but it should be a goodie
Saturday 24th July
| South Africa v B&I Lions | 17:00 | Sky Sports Main Event |
Ovally Balls 
Well, that broke the blog!
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I don’t see why SA would change how they play, surely they’ll just do the same thing only believe they’ll do it slightly better and hope that this time they’ll get the breaks. There’s every chance they will on both counts. If they believed that they were good enough to go more expansive to give them a better chance of winning (I think they were, but they did nothing to suggest they thought the same) then they wouldn’t have risked losing to a Wales team they were better than in a World Cup semi-final the way they did by just churning out the same old shite and hoping it fell their way.
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*Real Cricket Match Report preliminary point of note No.1*
We played our last game at our ground today. I’ve been going there for 21 years and will have played about 200 games of cricket there. We’ve used it since some time in the early 90s so there are people with slightly bigger numbers than me though not many. The guys who have done the work to maintain the square though have spent huge chunks of their lives there. Very sad about it, it will almost certainly go to rack and ruin as a cricket ground now and it is an exceptionally beautiful and peaceful place. It may well end up at least in part being sold for development and that is very sad. The hospital itself not being used to the same extent as it was is a complete mystery to me given the shortfall in mental healthcare in the local area and across the country and should be a scandal, but there it is. Bit churned up about it all.
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*Real Cricket Match Report preliminary point of note No.2*
One of our opposition today was in pretty advanced stages of Parkinson’s. His eyes were aligned strangely, his face set in a disturbing aspect, he was unable to move his arms and legs properly or speak clearly. It took an eternity for him to come out to the crease when it was his turn to bat. He batted for some time for one run though more were added by the chap he was batting with, in the field he put his body (chiefly his legs) in the way of a number of strongly hit shots as best he could. It was his first game for two and a half years and it was both heroic and tragic and I am also a bit churned up by it.
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*Real Cricket Match Report: Wellington vs Shepherds, 25/07/21*
We came second. There were buzzards circling overhead, rabbits and foxes running around the further reaches of the ground. Had some beers afterwards watching the evening sunlight catch the trees.
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Great to hear about the Parkinsons guy,CMW. It’s sad but also uplifting. I haven’t played cricket for 25 years, since I can’t run due to a Ford Fiesta bending my leg a bit. Rode cross country thru the back lanes to get to Gatwick for a fit to fly covid test on Saturday, and passed half a dozen cricket matches in small grounds, with guys playing in a light drizzle. Was lovely, and brought back memories of all the lovely little scruffy grounds we used to play at, and indeed, decided that if I come back in September for a couple of weeks I am going to offer my services to the local beer team to stand at first slip in the rain for the afternoon, as they are often short. ( Some of the grounds i passed on Saturday were far from scruffy, but being the Sunday A’s who also played Saturdays, we rarely played at the fancy ones.).
Also, a crying shame about the ground on may levels. Hope you have a good one lined up.
Very happy with the streaming of the Lions tour on Peacock, the US NBC digital platform. All you need is a US postcode and a proxy server, i have been using http://www.smartdnsproxy.com for a few years, and get Aussie terrestrial channels and BBC I player no problem in US, its about 3 quid a month, and so is the subscription to Peacock.
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Slow day, how about a musical interlude? Fired up the old steroe in the shed up on Saturday, and played some scratched vinyl on the Garrard 401 before i offload it all. This album came out first, and this song hit the mood right, previously one of my less loved off that album, Smoking OP’s by Bob Seger.
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And yes, vinyl does have a certain something.
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That Rassie is a sneaky bugger (thread)
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classy
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Refit – this is what Clive and Co did after thatch at Twickenham in 2002 just for the twitter generation.
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Craigs, there is a global law firm called Clyde and Co that I initially read that as! Was Twitter around in 2002? No it wasn’t, you scamp. Just checked. Only from 2006. I think it’s only right that we mark March 2006 as the end of human progress.
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Does anyone here use a mesh wifi network at home?
I’m looking for recommendations
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I’ve got mesh curtains, if that helps?
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@CMW, lovely cricket updates.
As a thick continental, cricket is too esoteric for me, but the way you write about it makes me regret I do not understand it and I wish I could play the game.
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Flair, cricket as a kid was a great chance to spend an entire day out in the open, running around and having fun. Most of our grounds here aren’t the quaint village types that CMW et al describe, but there are some things that leave an indelible impression on you: the sound of bat on ball, whether the crack of a great shot piercing the field on its way to the boundary, or the nick behind to the keeper; the sound of a ball whistling past your ears at 130+ km/h (probably a lot less at school); the smell of freshly cut grass in the outfield, the changing weather as the day meanders on, from bright sunshine in the morning to thunderclouds in the afternoon and hopefully not too much rain (I know I’m speaking from a Highveld perspective here); the camaraderie you develop spending that time together either batting or fielding, plotting over the course of a whole day, every ball approached with a sense of anticipation of a wicket or a run. There are lots of other aspects, but to me, cricket as a kid was a joyous occasion, a day well spent and plenty of stories to tell afterwards, from the great wicket or innings, to the banter on the field, the lunches (yes, I know) at the school dining halls, and more mundane or quirky things like watching birds building a nest when you’re posted to the boundary next to the big tree.
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Discuss……
Biggest surprise is Faletau to the bench / Watson out of the panel – no obvious open side cover if Curry gets ‘knacked’
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Watson omission surprising tbh
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Vunipola did enough to justify selection, though I wonder what will happen if the Boks go after the scrum in the first half like they did last weekend.
Harris over Daly is a nod to defence, I guess, but Murray over Price suggests the Lions will be playing tighter than they did last week, which is odd since they improved when they tried to ship the ball wide.
Navidi would have made more sense than Faletau in terms of form, imo, but I think Mish is a bit unfortunate there.
Otherwise not a surprising selection.
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Reactions:
– the bench is strong
– presumably Murray is an experience/sf
– I’m glad Harris is in – hope he passes to his winger occasionally(!)
– tough on Watson and differently tough on Adams
– well done Mako
– interesting that George hasn’t made either game and I’m sorry Navidi didn’t get a chance. I wish the Welsh prop wasn’t injured. This was not the game to be adventurous at #10
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Ramiro Moyano, Arg international back three player, joins Embra from Toulon.
Emiliano Boffelli, Arg international centre/wing/fb, joins Embra from Racing Metro
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something people like me may have missed:
– Kevin Sinfield to leave R League and join Leicester Tigers as defense coach
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Must admit I’m mildly surprised at the changes. On form, Murray is a step down from Price, playing tighter or not, and he hasn’t exactly set the tour alight. Mako I can understand, he was good when he came on last week and I gather many people felt the Daly experiment didn’t work, so Harris is next cab off the rank.
Mish not in the 23 suggests Gats has seen the light from the ‘Jaco Johan’ tweets and has remorsefully thrown him out – quite right too. A stab at my Bok side for Saturday, 15 to 1:
Le Roux, Kolbe, Am, de Allende, Mapimpi, Pollard, de Klerk, Wiese/Duane/not Smith, du Toit, Kolisi, Mostert (de Jager?), Etzebeth, Nyakane, Mbonambi, Nche. Bench: Kitshoff, Marx, Koch, de Jager (Mostert?), Elstadt/Duane, H Jantjies, M Steyn (panic selection)/ E Jantjies, D Willemse
The bracketing depends on fitness and game readiness for de Jager and Duane Vermeulen, although I don’t think you can throw both back into the mix right away after how badly we faded last week. Also, Mostert’s covering and defence around the park is very important and likely to be so again. On the other hand, de Jager is the stronger scrummager and if Nienaber goes for broke in that area, he may be tempted. Malherbe out the 23 altogether and then a toss up between Morne Steyn’s metronomic boot and goal kicking to close out a match, and Elton Jantjies more adventurous approach (assuming we’re on the front foot later, which is a big if).
So no backline changes in the starting XV and just a tweak here and there in the forwards, depending on fitness etc. The main thing is that the guys need to step up a couple of gears to not just lead at the break, but last the whole 80.
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It is quite another to be deliberately undermining referees – publicly in mid-series – by provoking thousands of salivating internet trolls.
Kitson highlighting what a scoundrel Rassie is and how the springboks are ruining rugby and caused covid.
#stripthemofthetrophyandgiveittotherightfulwinners2019
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Deebs – I know. Poor lambs… I mean poor, gentle springboks.
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There’s a team list here somewhere.
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Every now and then in life you wish you’d waited a few seconds to gather your thoughts correctly, organise yourself and what you’d like to say, and then smile with relief when someone else says something first. This is one of them. My Bok side is completely off the mark! Springbok team to face the British & Irish Lions at Cape Town Stadium:
South Africa: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Francois de Klerk, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siyamthanda Kolisi (captain), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Mbongeni Mbonambi, 1 Steven Kitshoff.
Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Trevor Nyakane 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Lodewyk de Jager, 20 Marco Van Staden, 21 Albertus Smith, 22 Herschel Jantjies, 23 Damian Willemse.
So, the backs remain the same, but the bench now only has two – Herschel Jantjies covering 9 and Damian Willemse the rest. He’s played at 10 and FB and can probably cover the wings too, but has scant experience at centre.
The forwards see Kitshoff and Malherbe promoted to the starting XV, despite making little to no impact off the bench last week, but Mbonambi keeps his place. Ox Nche, who was arguably the pick of the Bok props is out with a neck problem apparently, whilst Koch is correctly onto the bench. Marco van Staden replaces Ryno Elstadt on the pine, with Kwagga Smith the six forward, having been dropped from the starting line up.
Well. What to make of that? The one bloke I wanted out of the 23 is on the park from the start, with the other on the bench and a player who has hardly ripped it up at 8, albeit his strengths are definitely more in line with ‘traditional’ Bok play. Marx, van Staden and Smith on the bench is clearly an attempt to keep up with the Lions in the second half and disrupt them on the ground and in close quarters. As for the rest, it would appear that the strategy is an early alert for Flair to watch The Timeless Test, rather than this – the Boks, for one, are gonna kick the hell out of the ball.
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Whispers that the Ox is injured, Deebee.
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Ah, should have replied much earlier. Someone blamed it on Tom Curry lifting him at one of the scrums.
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I think Wiese might get over-excited and physically dangerous………………….
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Willemse came on at centre v Georgia and looked good, Deebs, and played a bit there in the SA A win over the Lions. He’ll be ok there. Also, not sure they’d take either de Allende or Am off unless there was an injury.
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I think the Boks have played into the Lions hands here, picking a slower starting pack, albeit probably better at the set piece to try to grind the Lions down. If the Boks did dominate the first half up front last weekend, it wasn’t by much. Will the bench be able to keep the red army at bay in the second half? Not really sure. Van Staden, Marx and Smith will need to be outstanding in the loose to turn ball over and disrupt the Lions without losing shape and giving away penalties. Big ask, with two pretty inexperienced players in the back row. The replacement front row will need to be far better on our ball and the Lions. First up tackling needs improvement too, by the whole team.
Murray is back to hoof the ball as the Lions clearly think they’re going to dominate the aerial battle again, but that has a risk/reward in potentially increasing the number of scrums and set pieces if you don’t gather cleanly. If the Boks are going well in the set piece, it creates a bit of a conundrum – but it’s an if to largish if. Lions pack is also looking good, so we’ll have to see.
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Georgia isn’t quite the level of the Lions, and he played for what 10? 15 minutes against the Lions for SA ‘A’. Agreed that de Allende and Am are nailed on for the 80 barring injuries. I like Willemse when he’s on the front foot with a bit of space, but if he’s faced with heavy traffic on defence, he’s not much cop.
My biggest hope is that the Boks have got more of that precious game time under the belt and can keep it up (Karl!) for the full 80 or near enough.
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COME OUT AND FIGHT DAMMIT!
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No.
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Oh. Ok. Call it a draw then?
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We’ve deliberately reduced the number of Scots in the XV to give you a chance on Saturday.
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A noble gesture. I’ll increase the amount of whisky I drink to balance the ledger.
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I’ve only just caught the Real Cricket updates, thanks CMW, they are always a treat.
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Lovely but poignant real cricket updates, CMW. I hope you are bearing up well under the flow of endings and changes you are dealing with these last times.
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Iks! Not drowned!
Seriously, hope Heidelberg missed the worst of the flooding.
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Gats is going full-on discipline and accuracy to try to snaffle the series. A team picked to perform their specific positional roles to get them through 60+ intensive minutes. Focus on set piece, kicks, and defensive duties, but with enough pace in the back row and back three to pressure the Bok defence if given a chance. The bench seems to offer more in space and attack, so it could be the game-plan to achieve parity until the last quarter, then use the ball more aggressively in attack.
It’s harsh, but I think H. Watson has been omitted because of the poor discipline / self-control with that tip-tackle. He got away with it, but if he hadn’t it would (probably) have shifted the momentum of the game considerably.
My main concern is that we might be found lacking at the breakdown – especially winning turnovers.
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Still afloat, BB. Thanks.
HD missed the worst of it – it was around us it but never directly hit here, or this part of the Region, apart from the kind of swollen river you might only see if the snow had melted after a harsh winter. Weather in general has been shite since early Spring though.
The last months have been really trying, but on an everyday basis. Nothing terrible, just debilitating energy-sappers regarding money, health, family etc.
Being bothered to do stuff is my biggest problem, but hopefully this will pass sooner rather than later.
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Glad you’re not flooded Iksy and hope things turn around soon matey.
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All the best, Iks xx
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Greetings MrIks! Glad you’re still dry and hope that life improves ASAP!
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Thanks my lovelies.
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Guten Morgen MrIks, I was thinking of you when we saw those awful pictures on the news here.
All the best.
The weather has been rubbish here since Spring too, with the odd scorchio moment thrown in.
I think Curry is being given a bit of a light touch, he gave away a stupid penalty himself – the late one on Faf, which was deliberate.
We don’t see what the guys are doing in training but so far Faletau has been in poor form, I think if they wanted to change up the bench then Navidi would have been a better option, just going on performances so far.
For me Murray over Price is unfathomable, Price’s kicking was good, there is another forum full of South Africans who are very happy with the Lions selection at nine for Saturday.
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…. unless of course the idea is to play it tight for 60 and bring on the likes of Daly and Price to up the tempo for the last quarter
I thought Owens was a bit unlucky not to start this one, too
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