HOPING TO SMOKE THE DRAGON
Caroline Ross, Peter Hlongwane, Tanya Cowan and Carl Adendorff join millions of other South Africans in getting behind the Springboks before the Green and Gold take on the Welsh dragon in their quarter-final at Twickenham on Saturday. The Boks have an impressive record against Wales and, after a shaky start to the tournament, are starting to hit form before this knockout match.
FOUR northern hemisphere teams and four from the southern hemisphere have qualified for the quarters.
They all have worked hard for it and earned the right to be there for another chance to win the Web Ellis Cup.
The competition has a great spread of different cultures and playing styles.
Twenty years ago, our last pool game against Canada ended in controversy with two red cards issued to both teams, and we lost Peter Hendricks (wing) and James Dalton (hooker), which was disruptive. The next weekend we had to play Samoa in the quarters.
They were replaced by Chester Williams and Chris Rossouw. Since it was a knockout game we didn’t allow all the negativity around the red cards to distract us. We knew that we had to lift our game to turn the negativity into a positive. And we beat Samoa convincingly, with Chester scoring four tries.
The Boks against Wales is the first quarter-final to be played tomorrow. The Boks had an unexpected early lapse, but recovered to win their pool, and now face the Welsh Dragons, who managed to survive the pool of death with sheer passion, heart, desire and dedication, despite their early injury setbacks.
The way they upset the Australians last weekend with rush defence and by not allowing them to settle in their playing pattern made it clear they are a team who like to focus on the opposition’s strong points, and, by being destructive and disruptive, won’t allow the opposition to settle and dictate.
Powerful
The Boks’ strong points are their line-outs and powerful, physical play. The Welsh were physically stronger than the Australians, and should match the Boks. What concerns me is the Welsh line-out play.
They were very effective against England, and dominant against Australia.
The Welsh will certainly focus on the Boks’ line-out play, and I sincerely hope Heyneke has an alternative plan in place should they be countered physically and in the line-outs.
If not, it will be long and difficult match. The Welsh will be underdogs in tomorrow’s clash, but they’re a dangerous team.
They have proven they can raise their game, but the Boks haven’t had the chance yet; tomorrow they have the chance to raise their game and prove they are worthy to qualify for the semis.
This is a big test and will show if they are fit enough to play 80 minutes of intense rugby, and not just 60, which was their Achilles heel in the Rugby Championship games against New Zealand and Australia.
The All Blacks against France is the second quarterfinal, and so far the All Blacks have not been pressured. We have seen that a physical presence from the opposition, like the Georgian team, can disrupt them.
The French last weekend were totally outplayed by the Irish in all aspects of the game – a result the All Black didn’t want to see.
France will be the underdog, which will make the All Blacks more cautious and fearful due to past experience.
When France are the favourites, they can be hugely disappointing, but as underdogs they can be world beaters.
In the previous World Cup in New Zealand, 10 minutes longer and the All Blacks would have lost the final. France is the bogey team of the All Blacks, something that will be in the back of players’ and supporters’ minds.
Are we poised for another twist in the tail of upsets?
The third quarter-final sees Ireland up against Argentina.
Ireland have taken a step up and made a big statement. Could this be the year they are crowned world champions?
They were very impressive in demolishing the French. They’ve always been known as a physical up-and-under kicking team, but they showed that they can run the ball as well; a complete team with more variation to their play.
The question is, after losing two key players and their captain, will Ireland be the same effective, confident team? Will the replacements be capable of delivering the same standard of play as last weekend? There is a huge difference between starting players and their replacements.
Starting players experience huge mental stress due to the hype, impact and responsibility resting on their shoulders leading up to the game. This can be very draining, mentally and physically, if the player is not used to that situation.
Argentina’s strong point is their ability to score tries when given just the slightest opportunity, but Ireland should be the favourites.
The fourth quarter-final is Australia versus Scotland. After two intense, bruising games against England and Wales, Australia can take the risk of resting key players and give players with injuries time to recover for the semis. I can’t see Australia losing this one.
Referee-wise, New Zealand will be very relieved to have Nigel Owens, rather than Stuart Barnes.
The most interesting game, referee-wise, will be Ireland and Argentina. Ireland had a very difficult game against Italy with Jerome Garces at the helm. It will be interesting to see how the Ireland versus Argentina match pans out with him in charge again.