Nelson Mandela up for grabs
by Paki's Corner | 02 September 2010 (06:41)
This past weekend’s Tri Nations encounter was a highly entertaining, heart-stopping thriller, going down to the final minute!
Both teams made some very poor defensive errors and I am sure the All Blacks would not have let in many of those nine tries, but it was certainly exciting to watch.
For the Springboks, scrumhalf Francois Hougaard was sensational. His try saving tackle on Adam Ashley-Cooper reminded me of a young George Gregan hitting Jeff Wilson over the tryline to spill the ball. Gregan’s hit was better as Wilson was already over the line, but the result certainly changed the match. With ball in hand Hougaard is super dangerous and he has that ridiculous jump side-step that setup a brilliant score for Pierre Spies. When Fourie de Preez returns the Springboks will have two unbelievable number 9s.
Center Jean de Villiers got some great go-forward momentum, and always threatened on attack with Jacque Fourie. Watch them this weekend, I think they will come good.
I was not impressed with Frans Steyn, and perhaps there was too much expected of him on his return to the Boks. Bryan Habana also struggled and unfortunately caused two tries to be scored by the Wallabies in the opening 20 minutes. Both players are pure quality, and will bounce back this season, making me eat my words when the RWC rolls around next year.
Victor Matfield was excellent in the lineouts and disrupted plenty of Aussie ball. Congratulations to the legend for 100 Tests and being a great example of a rugby player, on and off the field.
This weekend will be another crazy 80 minutes, which could go either way. The Wallabies possess some very talented players, and with both teams fighting for second, it could bring the best out of them.
In the Women’s Rugby World Cup, it’s also New Zealand who look to remain unbeaten as they crushed France 45-7 to make the 2010 final. They will face England, who took out a very good Australian side by 15-0. In the 5th place match the North American rivals Canada face the USA. Canada beat Scotland 41-0 while the USA bounced back against Ireland, after losing to them in the pool stages, to race away with an impressive 40-3 victory! South Africa disappointed and will play Wales for 9th place.
New Zealand look set to win their 4th RWC title in a row, with England making its 5th final appearance. Interestingly enough only three teams have ever played in the Women’s RWC final: New Zealand, England (Champions 1994) and the USA (Champions 1991).
The Currie Cup produced two major upsets this weekend. First off, the Pumas made history at their new stadium in Nelspruit (Mbombela Stadium) defeating the Blue Bulls 22-21. It was a remarkable effort by the Pumas, only their second win of the season. Meanwhile at Newlands in Cape Town, Western Province’s unbeaten run at home came to end thanks to the high-flying Cheetahs.
Some cracking matches await us this weekend!
My predictions: Sharks over the Blue Bulls, Pumas to beat the Leopards, Griquas to upset the Cheetahs, WP to beat the Lions and the Springboks to claim the Nelson Mandela Challenge Shield against Australia.
Dallen Stanford played 54 matches for the USA 7s team from 2006 to 2009, including 13 IRB 7s tournament appearances and the 2009 Rugby Sevens World Cup. To read other articles by the South African visit www.UR7s.com, www.EaglesXV.com, www.RugbyIQ.com and www.PakisCorner.com. He currently works for the Tackling Cancer Foundation in the USA (www.TacklingCancer.org).
