Thanks to James Horwill and his fellow Wallabies, Divvy and his mighty men have a decent idea of what it takes to counter and comprehensively outplay the All Blacks. The answer was no secret as it still boils down to fronting up amongst the heavies. Taking the physical battle to the NZ forwards and keeping their set pieces under immense pressure has once again provided the platform to orchestrate the Kiwi demise. But before Bakkies and Bismarck start grinning uncontrollably in anticipation of the battle of the brutes, another twist needs to be made to the battle plan. The brutal Aussie onslaught was made all the more potent and effective by players adhering to strict discipline and cleverly avoiding being drawn into the negativity and niggles that characterise All Black rugger.

How often has Richie and the lads made Bissie and Bakkies’ life hell with tugging at their shirts, pushing them down on the pitch or my personal favourite, running obstructive lines on scramble defence? The answer is, too often to remember and possibly too painful as well. Horwill and company was having none of it and remained calm and focussed throughout the game. Sure Quade Cooper and Richie threw their handbags at each other, but that was more a case of McCaw getting frustrated because things weren’t going his way. Speaking of things for once NOT going old Richie’s way – a special mention also has to be made of the referee, who had a solid performance and was consistent all around.

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For those of you that thought you might have stumbled onto a Swedish penis enlargement website, do not navigate away. The big dick is of course none other than the Aussie referee himself, Stuart Dickenson, and this very much a rugby post. The unfortunate name Mr Dickenson has acquired is both a play on words relating to his surname as well as a direct result of the common opinion of him amongst any and all Springbok rugby fans. But have we stopped and considered why this is? Why do we dislike this man so intensely? Sure, he is strict and even pedantic at times, but he is seldom if ever blatantly subjective.

He is such a staunch follower of the letter of the (rugby) law that he has come under the spotlight in the land of the white cloud as well. Paddy O’ Brien, the hallowed head of the IRB refereeing panel has made it his implicit mission to dissect the way Dickenson applies the law and he didn’t like what he saw! The Australian adjudicator has been unrelenting in his firm handling of infringement law at any break down and this spells disaster for Kiwi golden boy and all-round “skelm” Richie McCaw. O’ Brian realised in a flash that The Dick was never going to be intimidated by McCaw’s presence or pedigree and that he could ill afford. If any of the readers has the time to research when last Dickenson officiated an All Black game, be my guest, just don’t be surprised if you have to go back 2-3 years to get answers. (more…)

Seeing Graeme Smith’s mug on the front page of every major news rag about a week or so ago, I became enraged all over again. This muppet led the whole country down a garden path and when things went south, did not have the balls to face the public or the music. Nope, Graeme instead slipped away to Ireland to woo his future bride. Of all the lame things this tosser has done in the past, this surely takes the cake, but I thought about it some more and realized that this “poser” could unfortunately not take all the blame. He was merely another “choker” in an already unimaginably long line of non-performers.

It was then that I thought of looking in to this label of choking and my research took me to a wonderfully credible source – WIKIPEDIA. When browsing through Wikipedia that same day, I was intrigued to find the word/label “choker” not only listed, but explained by using the SA Cricket team as an example. Stats were flung around like sparks leaping off a metal rod going through a grinder. During my brief, yet emotional trip down an unpleasant memory lane, I found that I had almost forgotten how badly our boys have let us and themselves down through the years.

In 1992 the absence of a Duckworth-Lewis System drilled us, during the 1996 tournament we were the fancied team, but Sri Lanka made mice of our men. Steve Waugh was spared a life in 1999 and proceeded to nail our butts to the wall. Shortly after, came 2003 with Shaun Pollock, Eric Simons and the “misunderstanding of the Duckworth-Lewis System. The Caribbean was the abrupt stop for a short, yet painful few days in 2007, when Mattie Hayden, Adam Gilchrist and Brett Lee made sure we were spanked like naughty children. And finally 2011 came along and we demolished everyone in sight, only to lose a dramatic 8 wickets for 68 runs in double-quick time to bow out to the Kiwis in the quarters.

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Richie McCaw admitted on Wednesday that he didn’t always act within the laws of the game against the Springboks in the first two Tri-Nations games, but said that it’s all part of rugby.

The All Black captain was penalised five times against the Springboks in Wellington according to website ruggastats.com. This infuriated coach Peter de Villiers and a number of his senior players.

Irishman Alain Rolland was the referee who failed to punish McCaw with a yellow card for his transgressions at the breakdown and will again be the referee when the Boks play the Wallabies at Loftus Versfeld on August 28.

“I made a few mistakes. I think the important thing is to know what you will get away with. But I undoubtedly made mistakes,” said McCaw.

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Richie McCaw will celebrate his 100th Super 14 game for the Crusaders against the Stormers at Newlands on Friday night.

The All Black and Crusaders captain will be playing his landmark Super 14 match against the Stormers in a game that both teams have to win after last week’s hiccups in Brisbane (Stormers) and Perth (Crusaders). The Crusaders seldom lose two games in a row, so the Stormers should be wary, and even more so now that the visitors will be trying to make it a special one for their leader.

“The Stormers will have a similar feeling to us as they were knocked over last week as well,” said McCaw.

“If we are going to be in with a shot at the end of the competition, we need to perform this week. That is the bottom line. We realise that if we are going to be in the top four, we have to win all three of the remaining games.

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Richie McCaw will make his return to no. 7 flanker on Saturday when the Crusaders face the Cheetahs in their Super 14 encounter.

As a result of a shoulder injury to Kieran Read, Thomas Waldrom takes over at number eight while George Whitelock moves over to blindside.

Meanwhile, Dan Carter has been named as the starting fly-half but he has not trained this week due ot a tightening of his adductor muscle described by coach Todd Blackadder as ‘freakish’.

Blackadder said it was in the best interests of the team’s preparation to make a decision on Friday rather than leaving it until close to kick-off.

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The All Black and Crusaders captain Richie McCaw will be back in time for the clash with the Sharks, but Andy Ellis will not be fit to play.

Richie McCaw returns from a six-week layoff as the Crusaders gain momentum and challenge for a top-four finish. Coach Todd Blackadder has been forced to start Ryan Crotty in midfield due to Casey Laulala’s broken arm, a move that will see Tim Bateman shift to No 13. Bronson Murray will oust Owen Franks at tighthead.

Ellis has been bracketed with Kahn Foutali’i as he is still feeling the effects of a rib ailment incurred in the win over the Stormers.

“Andy is running around and doing everything we’re asking but we want to leave it until the last minute before making a decision,” said Blackadder.

All Blacks lock Ross Filipo and Kade Poki are back on the bench. Micahel Paterson will cover McCaw at flank given George Whitelock’s injury.

Crusaders – 15 Leon MacDonald, 14 Jared Payne, 13 Tim Bateman, 12 Ryan Crotty, 11 Colin Slade, 10 Stephen Brett, 9 Andy Ellis/Kahn Fotuali’i; 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Richie McCaw (capt), 6 Kieran Read, 5 Isaac Ross, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Bronson Murray, 2 Jason Macdonald, 1 Wyatt Crockett. Subs: 16 Daniel Perrin, 17 Owen Franks, 18 Ross Filipo, 19 Michael Paterson, 20 Fotuali’i/Tyson Keats, 21 Adam Whitelock, 22 Kade Poki.

Source: keo.co.za

Pic: tvnz.co.nz