North versus South
by Paki's Corner | 02 December 2009 (05:36)
Each week before I write my blog for RugbyZone I read what the other bloggers have to say, and inevitably the Australian voice of David Campese makes me laugh!
It is appropriate to start with ‘the kicking game’ and in my opinion it worked extremely well for the Springboks in the Tri Nations, and not so well during the end of year tour. It is clearly evident that depth in the Springbok camp is lacking, but I’m not too concerned with that. South Africa has a long list of players that are either injured, or unavailable due to overseas commitments. I would expect that the start of 2010 would see the return of many of these players all competing for places at the next RWC.
Springbok coaches in the past decade have traditionally selected some absolute shockers (‘bolters’ as some say) for the end of year tour, and the results have been less then favourable (Add to that the unique situation in South Africa where a certain number of players in the system have to be of a certain colour). The northern hemisphere play a slightly different game in different conditions, and perhaps the players are not as fresh after a gruelling professional season that includes the Currie Cup, Super 14, Tri Nations and once in a while the Lions series.
The exact same is true when a side from Europe travels to the southern hemisphere and suffers a string of defeats. And probably the same reason why the DVD ‘Living with the Lions’ is a must for all sports fans!
Therefore it’s not the end of the world that the Springboks haven’t played and performed well (much to the delight of Campese). Credit to Ireland and Scotland though for superb victories, which shows how close international rugby is these days. The All Blacks, on the other hand, have bounced back from a poor Tri Nations series to remain unbeaten on their European campaign. The 2011 RWC will be very closely contested and perhaps the All Blacks will be favourites that could go all the way this time. It’s still early days, and I wouldn’t count out the Springboks, especially with plans to rest many of the top players on a rotational system over the next two seasons.
I was pleased to see that the Springboks won the IRB Team of the Year Award, and very interesting that for the first time in its history the Coach of the Year didn’t come from the same team! I would actually agree with their decision. However the Player of the Year in my mind was Fourie du Preez, even though Richie McCaw did have another fine season.
The All Blacks take on the Barbarians this weekend in what is always an historic match. Unfortunately most of the regular starters for New Zealand have been given a rest, so that should even up things as the Barbarians have just assembled this week.
Meanwhile in the United States, the USA Eagles stormed into the 2011 Rugby World Cup thanks to a 27-6 win over Uruguay. Captain Todd Clever scored two tries to help his team qualify. This result is vital for the development of rugby in America.
And speaking of which, the blockbuster movie Invictus opens in cinemas worldwide on December 11th. Invictus is expected to be the biggest sports movie ever made, and is guaranteed to increase rugby awareness in North America. In fact USA Rugby has announced that they have partnered with Warner Bros. in the promotion of Invictus and these are exciting times in the rugby world.
Finally, the IRB World Sevens Series kicks off this Friday in Dubai, so expect a preview from me by then!
Cheers
Dallen
Dallen Stanford played 54 matches for the USA 7s team throughout his career spanning from 2006 to 2009, including 13 IRB 7s tournament appearances. To read other articles by the South African visit http://ur7s.com/members/dallenstanford and www.pakiscorner.com.
