Month: August 2010

Match details
Date: Saturday 4 September 2010
Venue: Vodacom Park, Bloemfontein
Kick-off: 15:00 (14:00 GMT)
Referee: Wayne Barnes (Eng)
Assistant referees: N Owens (Wal), S McDowell (Ire)
TMO: Johann Meuwesen (South Africa)
Assessor: Steve Hilditch (Ireland)

South Africa

Replacements:
16 Chiliboy Ralepelle | 17 CJ van der Linde | 18 Flip van der Merwe | 19 Ryan Kankowski | 20 Ricky Januarie | 21 Juan de Jongh | 22 Gio Aplon

15 Francois Steyn
11 Bryan Habana | 14 JP Pietersen
12 Jean de Villiers | 13 Jaque Fourie
9 Francois Hougaard | 10 Morne Steyn
6 Schalk Burger | 8 Pierre Spies | 7 Juan Smith
4 Danie Rossouw | 5 Victor Matfield
1 Gurthro Steenkamp | 2 John Smit | 3 Jannie du Plessis

3 Salesi Ma’afu | 2 Stephen Moore | 1 Benn Robinson
4 Mark Chisholm | 5 Nathan Sharpe
6 Rocky Elsom | 8 Ben McCalman | 7 David Pocock
9 Will Genia | 10 Quade Cooper
12 Matt Giteau | 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper
11 Drew Mitchell | 14 James O’Connor
15 Kurtley Beale

Replacements
16 Saia Fainga’a | 17 James Slipper | 18 Dean Mumm | 19 Richard Brown | 20 Luke Burgess | 21 Berrick Barnes | 22 Anthony Fainga’a

Australia

­Much has been written about South Africa’s fall from grace in recent weeks. They have gone from a team that could do no wrong to a team that just can’t get it right. In particular, the South African media is falling over itself about the sudden plummet. While one can certainly see a big difference between last years Tri-­Nations and this year’s, the suggestion that the difference is only the law application is wrong minded.
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Player ratings
Good Boks: Francois Hougaard, Juan Smith, Schalk Burger, Victor Matfield, Gurthro Steenkamp, Jean de Villiers, Jaque Fourie
Bad Boks: Bryan Habana, John Smit

Match Stats

44 – Springboks v Wallabies – 31
45% – Possession – 55%
4 – Turnovers conceded – 6
8 – Penalties conceded – 6
2 – Free kicks conceded – 1
79 – Tackles made – 59
21 – Tackles missed – 17
7 – Handling errors – 13

MOTM: Francois Hougaard

Springboks 44 (24)
Tries: Juan Smith, Guthro Steenkamp, Pierre Spies, Frans Steyn, JP Pietersen
Conversions: Morne Steyn (4), Butch James
Penalties: Morne Steyn, Frans Steyn

Wallabies 31 (28)
Tries: Will Genia, James O’Connor (2), Dean Mumm
Conversions: Matt Giteau (4)
Penalty: Matt Giteau

Victor Matfield

Victor Matfield
Birth: 11 May 1977, Pietersburg RSA
Height: 200cm
Weight: 115kg
Position: Lock
Provinces: Blue Bulls (1998, 2001 to present), Griquas (1999, 2000)
Primary school: Pietersburg-North
Secondary school: Pietersburg High
Tertiary education: University of Pretoria

Test stats
Springbok number: 705
Tests: 99
Results: P 99 | W 62 | L 35 | D 2
Points: 30 (6 tries)
Captain: 11 Tests (7 wins)
Tests started: 95 (4 as replacement)
First Test: 30 June 2001 (age 24) v Italy (Port Elizabeth)
Last Test: 21 August 2010 (age 33) v New Zealand (Soweto)

Honours
SA Rugby Player of the Year nominee (2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009)
Try of the Year (2004) (v Australia in Durban)
Most-capped Springbok lock
World record with Bakkies Botha for most Tests as a lock combination in the starting line-up (56)

How Matfield revolutionised the game [Rugby365]
Victor Matfield, who on Saturday will become just the third South African to play in 100 Tests, stands head and shoulders above others – and it has nothing to do with his height.

Bok ace coaches Wallaby kickers [Rugby365]
Australia will have a Springbok ace up their sleeve when they tackle South Africa in their Tri-Nations Test in Pretoria on Saturday.

Why Pocock rates Burger as a fetcher [Rugby365]
Schalk Burger is a ‘world-class’ fetcher, and highly rated by the Australians, even though he is regarded as just another ‘brute basher’ in his own country.

Vultures circle over Habana [Sport24]
Will Bryan Habana be back to his best on his favourite hunting ground against one of his regular victims on Saturday?

Matfield deserves big welcome [IOL]
Springbok captain John Smit has made a passionate plea to fans and the people of Pretoria to jam-pack Loftus Versfeld for Saturday’s Tri-Nations encounter between the Boks and Australia to honour rugby great Victor Matfield.

Steyn not ready for test [Rugby365]
Francois Steyn, who has been called up for South Africa’s Tri-Nations match against Australia, is “not ready” for Test rugby.

A question of intensity for Boks [SuperSport]
John Smit believes the key to his Springbok team’s chances of beating Australia in their fifth Vodacom Tri-Nations encounter at Loftus on Saturday will be the level of intensity they can bring to the game — and he is 100% on the money.

Div sings different tune [SuperSport]
Wallaby flank David Pocock is commanding respect from Peter de Villiers … and the Springbok coach is singing a different tune about Irish referee Alain Rolland.

Match details

Date: Saturday, August 28
Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Kick-off: 17.00 (15.00 GMT)
Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Nigel Owens (Wales), Simon McDowell (Ireland)
TMO: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

Teamsheets

Springboks – 15 Frans Steyn, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Flip van der Merwe, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 John Smit (c), 1 Gurthro Steenkamp.
Subs: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 CJ van der Linde, 18 Danie Rossouw, 19 Ryan Kankowski, 20 Ricky Januarie, 21 Butch James, 22 Juan de Jongh.

Wallabies – 15 Kurtley Beale, 14 James O’Connor, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Richard Brown, 7 David Pocock, 6 Rocky Elsom (c), 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Dean Mumm, 3 Salesi Ma’afu, 2 Saia Faainga, 1 Benn Robinson.
Subs: 16 Stephen Moore, 17 James Slipper, 18 Ben McCalman, 19 Scott Higginbotham, 20 Luke Burgess, 21 Berrick Barnes, 22 Anthony Faainga.