Saturday, November 28, 2009 Previous editions
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
I LOVE this phase of the season when the big boys from down under come to town and we are treated to a host of quality international rugby.
Between now and December 5 when New Zealand sign off their tour with a game against the Barbarians in Twickenham, rugby fans have 20 full internationals to cherry pick from. The Sky+ box will be on overtime.
The opening phase of the season has provided far more entertainment than normal, with the Heineken Cup in particular producing some cracking contests.
While Ireland will not enter the fray until Sunday week, Wales and England will give an early indication of their current form when they face New Zealand and Australia respectively on Saturday.
I’m sure Declan Kidney will be a keen observer in Twickenham as he runs the rule over the Wallabies, Ireland’s opening opponents. My only regret with Ireland’s autumn schedule is that New Zealand are not on the rota as Kidney’s squad are far better placed to record a first win over the All Blacks than when they met at this juncture last season.
Australia are rebuilding their squad with a view to the World Cup in 2011. Coach Robbie Deans has made a significant change at the helm with Rocky Elsom taking over the captaincy from long-term incumbent Sterling Mortlock.
The Wallabies have had a poor time of late with only one win in their six Tri-Nations encounters. After losing for the fourth time in as many months to New Zealand on Saturday in Tokyo they now focus on an injury-ravaged English outfit to start their first Grand Slam tour of Britain and Ireland in 25 years on a positive note.
I think they are good enough to beat England and will therefore arrive in Dublin with a spring in their step. More on that game next week.
The highlight for me over the next few weeks will be Ireland’s clash with world champions South Africa in Croke Park. This game will offer the Irish management a great opportunity to discover exactly where they are two years out from the next global showdown in New Zealand.
The Springboks are unquestionably the best side in the world with the Webb Ellis Cup, Tri-Nations and a Lions series currently in the trophy cabinet. For good measure, the Blue Bulls are also Super 14 champions. The question now is whether they are able to maintain the drive and motivation to kick on from here? No side has ever retained the status of world champions.
Despite all their recent successes, I feel they are still shackled in some respects with Peter de Villiers at the helm. Having seen him in action close up in the Lions series you get the feeling he is a bit of a loose cannon. His selection policy has come under scrutiny again with his touring squad.
Take Heinrich Brussow for example. The find of the international season was only drafted into the national set up by de Villiers, despite all the evidence of his consistent brilliance in the Super 14 campaign, on the Monday before the opening test against the Lions. The change of heart only occurred when de Villiers finally accepted that Schalk Burger would not be fit after several weeks out injured.
Brussow’s reward for his continuing excellence – he was immense in the Currie Cup final last Saturday – was to be dropped to the midweek side to play Leicester on Friday night while the body of the squad stay home in South Africa to prepare for their opening test against France.
I just don’t understand that type of selection especially as Brussow’s fellow Cheetah and regular Springbok flanker Juan Smith is out for the rest of the season due to injury. However, fate intervened yesterday when Pierre Spies was declared the latest Springbok causality and was withdrawn from the squad. The net result was de Villiers was forced to reassess the Brussow decision and withdrew him from the Leicester game.
The one certainty is South Africa have an abundance of talent. For further evidence of this watch a replay of that Currie Cup final where the Blue Bulls completed a marvellous season by beating the Cheetahs 36-24 in a magnificent spectacle.
It had everything – intense physicality at the breakdown, a massive setpiece confrontation where Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha were subjected to a stern examination from an unheralded second row combination of David de Villiers and Nico Breedt and outstanding broken field running orchestrated particularly by the world’s best scrum half, Fourie du Preez.
The only pity is that the Springboks are so conservative in the way they approach the game in comparison to the two teams on show in Pretoria on Saturday that you sense there is even further scope for improvement in what they could aspire to.
Outside of their contest in Dublin, I feel the game of the month could well be South Africa’s encounter against France in Toulouse on Friday week. It will also give an indication of where the French are after their defeat of New Zealand in Dunedin last summer.
We all know that when they get their act together at international level they can beat anyone. France will pose the biggest threat to Ireland next year in the quest to win back-to-back Six Nations championships. As we have seen in Europe this season the French at club level are up for the fight and if they carry that attitude into next year then they will be hard to beat.
The other side worth keeping a eye on is Fiji, given that they have been in relative hibernation since their world cup heroics two years ago, playing only six tests since pushing South Africa all the way in the quarter-final. Their thrilling 38-34 victory over Wales at the pool stage was the match of the tournament.
If they succeed in assembling all their talented runners, including Vilimoni Delasou, Napolioni Nalaga and Seremaia Bai from an array of European clubs when they arrive in the RDS on November 21, they will test Ireland. Remote controls at the ready.
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