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.

Boks’ best not good enough [Sport24]
The Springboks will start preparing on Monday for their next Test against Australia at Loftus knowing that their best is no longer good enough.

Smit: ‘I missed that tackle’ [Rugby365]
South African captain John Smit was left ruing a missed tackle which saw New Zealand grab a last-minute victory in their Tri-Nations encounter in Soweto on Saturday.

Where did it all go wrong? [Rugby365]
It is time for some serious introspection in the Springbok camp and not just the players, the coaching staff as well

All Blacks to rub salt into Bok wounds [Rugby365]
In what will be rubbing salt into the festering Springbok wounds, the rampant All Blacks now turn their attention to creating a record winning streak after clinching the Tri-Nations title with a dramatic 29-22 triumph over South Africa at the weekend.

Henry hails ‘best ever’ win [Rugby365]
New Zealand coach Graham Henry praised his side after watching them clinch a last-gasp 29-22 victory over South Africa in Soweto Saturday to seal the 2010 Tri-Nations title.