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Ntsako Mukansi from Mbet International and John Maylam, founder of 7qz, sat down with the legendary Gcobani Bobo to recap on the Boks’ crucial RWC opener vs Scotland as well as giving some insights into the second round of pool games.
Bobo, you called it bang on - Boks to win by 15 points last weekend, bud!
Can you do our Mbet/7qz picks for us this week too?
You also called the Jasper/Duane Vermeulen combo exactly to a tee. Jasper bashed it up and emptied the tank. Then Duane came on and added leadership when Siya went off - even though Bongi officially took over the captaincy (the ref didn’t seem to know).
So with that intro and ego boost, let’s hit you up with the first question today, starting with a debrief of Sunday’s game
1) What surprised you and what didn’t surprise you from the Bok game?
The biggest surprise for me was the last 5 minutes of the first half when our scrum started struggling, because that was one area I thought we would completely dominate. We found ourselves overextending and giving away penalties. Luckily, we managed to rectify that after half time, so credit to Daan Human, the forwards coach.
What didn’t surprise me was the patience shown by the Springboks. They stuck to the game plan, which was to apply pressure, push them into the corners, and let Scotland try to run at them. As soon as the Boks managed to add scoreboard pressure to the equation, it became very difficult for Scotland, and they became more desperate, playing into the Springboks hands. Excellent all round game management from the Boks.
2) You, me, Rassie, Jacques, and the rest of South Africa know that you can’t go into a World Cup semifinal and final without a recognised goal kicker. Manie is playing so well that he is impossible to drop. It is as clear as daylight that he has no confidence in front of the sticks though… he seems to be bothered by the shot clock too. If you were the Bok coach, what would you do?
I think we as the South African public have more of a problem with Manie Libbok’s kicking than he does. He has a very strong mindset … I call it the goldfish memory, whereby he forgets his previous kick and just gets on with it. He has an amazing ability to remain focused on the task at hand. That said, management needs to make a plan at practice as to who will be the goal kicker. In 2007, Butch James was flyhalf, but Percy Montgomery was the kicker. I am sure they will come up with a plan.
3) The Bok defence was awesome on Sunday, and as has been said many times, defence wins World Cups. While defence is a collective team game, De Allende and Kriel were solid in the centre of the park. The same could be said of Moodie and Esterhuizen vs the All Blacks though. Moodie and Esterhuizen are perhaps more attacking. Do you think the Bok management are playing horses for courses or do they have a clear distinction between first-choice centres and back up centres?
I don’t think it’s a case of horses for courses. The Bok centre pairing of De Allende and Kriel have something like 130 caps between them and they are both performing to a high level. If it’s not broken then why fix it? The public is always eager for the next best thing to take over right away but I can’t see management changing from this combo for the bigger games unless either of them get injured or suddenly suffer from a dramatic loss of form.
4) One surprise on Sunday was Angus Gardner keeping his hands out of his pocket. Did you think Finn Russell deserved a yellow for his shoulder charge on Arendse?
I expected a yellow card for Russell, so I was quite surprised. Although it must be said that there could be a case to be made for a penalty to Scotland in the build up to that as Arendse may have been seen to have intentionally knocked on.
What about Jesse Kriel’s accidental clash of heads? How does that compare to the Tom Curry red card and subsequent 2 match ban?
As for Jesse, if they didn’t see it on the field and he hasn’t yet been cited, then I think he is in the clear. To be honest all we want is for some consistency. Right now there doesn’t seem to be any and this has confused the public even more. Rugby needs to get this part of the game clarified sooner rather than later.
5) What did you make of France’s win over NZ? Many are writing off the All Blacks … what are your thoughts there?
As a South African fan would you prefer to face NZ or France in the quarterfinals?
There is plenty of Rugby World Cup history between these two teams. If you think back to the 1999 semifinal upset by France over New Zealand, as well as the 2007 quarterfinal shock and then the 2011 final. I felt that France were well prepared for this game with their long kicking keeping New Zealand in their own half. I also felt the All Blacks went away from their game plan which is to use ball in hand to exploit opportunities and space. They seemed to lose confidence quickly and started to kick the ball away.
That said, you can never write off the All Blacks. South Africa would first need to beat Ireland in order to face the All Blacks in the quarterfinals, but if they did, I think South Africa would be confident based on the momentum gained from their recent big win over the All Blacks.
6) Any other observations from the first round of games?
I was expecting more from Argentina particularly after England’s red card, but Los Pumas completely imploded. England’s work rate was superb, and their senior players really took ownership of the situation.
Fiji were hard done by some of the refereeing decisions on the day. I had them as potential upset winners over Wales, but it wasn’t to be.
7) Do you think Australia is missing (or will miss) Michael Hooper, and/or is Will Skelton suitably able to captain the team while fulfilling his playing role at lock?
I think for Eddie Jones it was a case of him wanting to mould the team into his vision. The first place you usually go is to the leadership and changing the ethos through that. I think Will Skelton will grow into the role. Australia’s scrum was amazing against a tough Georgian outfit, so that will bode well for building a base toward 2025 when they will host the British Lions, and 2027 when Australia will host the next World Cup. Will Skelton has won 2 European Cups and played in 3 finals so he is world class.
We won’t put you on the spot this week in trying to predict the Boks vs Romania result as that may be a cricket score. Will instead see if you can keep your hot streak going for the Ireland game.
This post and content is sponsored, written and produced by MBet and 7Qz.
