Nov

30

Running the rule over the Autumn Internationals

Filed Under Sport 

           Up here in the Northern Hemisphere we’ve been blasted by Sky, the BBC and ESPN with the Autumn rugby internationals. Apart from watching thousands of Investec ads (so tired of the zebra!), the many so-called experts rolled out always start by eulogising the local teams only to get quieter and quieter.

Just for fun, here’s a quick snapshot of what the teams looked like:

The Boks:

Tired, fatigued, bored (?); how can you describe a tour that went belly up from the first match. There is no doubt that the loss of Spies, de Villiers etc has changed the balance of the side but for the London Sunday Times to say that the ‘Boks bubble has finally burst’ is stretching it. Have a look at John Smit’s twitter - the answer is somewhere there.

The youngsters will have benefited from losing to the grizzled world mercenaries of Leicester and playing a trial match against the ex-pats of Saracens.

The All Blacks:

Dan Carter was fresh. Richie Mc Caw was inspirational. Sound familiar? The Blacks cruised around until the final game and then whack! there go the French. However, apart from the main men, there’s no real heavy penetration at inside centre and beyond. Win the World Cup? Can’t see it.

Wobblies who became Wallabies:

At the end of the smashing victory over the Welsh on Saturday, there was a great scene where George Smith gave Dave Pock a big handshake and a hug - ‘over to you now, mate’ summed up this new side. Robbie Deans has them on an upward trajectory. Young, fresh, determined and with Rocky leading the pack, a little wild and wooly. Forget the Scottish loss, Git’s moustache was tickling him.

Image

George, we’ll miss you but Pocock is a pretty good replacement.

 

England:

How can you describe really bad? Over coached, over-gymmed, over-anxious, bereft of talent. Excuses, excuses. Sorry, but England were awful and no more so than against the Pumas. Against the All Blacks they looked a little better but then the Kiwis were on cruise control. Don’t know of one player who showed that he actually knew what to do except moan about the ruck laws and the referees - Moody maybe? I bet Italy can’t wait for their 6 Nations game!

Ireland:

In Sexton they have found a new gem of a fly-half. Fast, well balanced and a great kicker. However, you just can’t help feel that they’ll walk the 6 Nations and fall over their own feet in the next World Cup. The forwards won’t last the pace and O’Driscoll cannot go on forever.

The rest - Italy, Scotland, Wales, Pumas and Samoa. Thanks for coming guys, you made for some good entertainment and enthusiasm. We loved your anthems.

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