White: ‘It will be close’
8 Sep 2006
After performing so admirably in front of a dismal crowd of just 26,000 in Phokeng last weekend, the Springboks are looking forward to playing at a packed Ellis Park.
Ellis Park holds 62,500 people – the biggest rugby ground in the country – and it is expected to be filled to capacity for the final Vodacom Tri-Nations Test against Australia tomorrow.
Coach Jake White is relishing the opportunity to play in-front of a full house. “It is always a great thing to play in front of a packed stadium. We know what Ellis Park means to us and the fans and I don’t think there are too many better stadiums to play in than Ellis Park when it’s jam-packed,” White said at the team hotel on Friday.
The Boks are looking to finish a poor campaign on a high, but have not used their dominance over the Wallabies at altitude as a motivating factor. “I don’t talk about that sort of stuff with the team. Obviously it is a thing people are speaking about. I was thinking about it outside that the (the Wallabies) have won just two out of 18 games away from home yet they have won two World Cups, so you have got to put things into perspective.”
White pointed out that when the Boks won at Loftus Versfeld last year it took a late Andre Pretorius drop-goal to seal the 22-16 win. “I know we were ahead, but that drop kick that went over need to be kicked twice and it could also have been a charge down and a try on the other side. Test matches between South Africa and Australia have hardly ever been one-sided.”
The Boks are banking on home ground advantage and a a bit of Madiba Magic to help them again. Last year Nelson Mandela was present as the Boks won 33-20 in Johannesburg. This time round he will not be present, but did present every member of the squad with a personally signed copy of his Long Walk to Freedom book. “That was great,” said captain John Smit, “and I would love to get another phone call from him before the match.”
Meanwhile, news from the Wallaby camp is that Strling Mortlock did not train because of a problem hamstring. Team management though dismissed it as “precautionary” and that “he will definitely play tomorrow.”
By Andrew Hollely, at the Bok team hotel
73 Comments
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8 Sep 2006, 15:51 pm
Bolla sal dit laaik, Shame hy lyk ook altyd so down
8 Sep 2006, 15:51 pm
Jis Koos
Ek moes ook al lankal by die huis gewees het.
Vir vroulief vertel ek gaan net vanmiddag gou uit en dan na huis toe
Het moerse verkoue.
8 Sep 2006, 15:53 pm
Skim:”Ek weet dit gaan close wees maar julle beter wen anders gaan ek jou kom donner.”
8 Sep 2006, 15:55 pm
Hehehe David, skoonmoer het nou net vir vroulief ‘n sms gestuur! Is die nou de moer in…ek be-aam net alles
8 Sep 2006, 15:55 pm
Lets hope Mandela lives forever, because if they need him to motivate them to win a test, then I just don’t know anymore.
8 Sep 2006, 15:57 pm
#55 Superbok, they just need to lose five tests in a row to motivate them…
That’s the only thing that gets these guys to play these days
8 Sep 2006, 16:00 pm
DaveS Thanx
So, TT is an old customer? You say he has been hanging around this site for three years?
Holy Moses! Then the boy is lost and beyond, or he has a moer of a thick skin if he didn’t get the message by now?
He is getting more presumptious and abnoxious by the hour, he even took a sucker swing at Madiba on this thread.
No, seriously, why would anybody leave his country and use every opportunity from abroad to to run down his own motherland.
Peter Hain had a motive when he moved from Pretoria to the UK to agitate against the erstwhile government, but I do not for the life of me get this boy’s drift. In NZ, of all places.
8 Sep 2006, 16:08 pm
SavidS whassup with da oracle dude?
8 Sep 2006, 16:09 pm
Yes last feek it was a question of not enough Phokeng supporters !
8 Sep 2006, 16:16 pm
Koos
TT verstaan Afrikaans doodlekker.
8 Sep 2006, 16:17 pm
Yip, ek vermoed hy is ‘n boer…iets wat hy nooit sal erken nie en dit is goed so.
8 Sep 2006, 16:23 pm
Well probably for the same reason he left here, because he was to stupid to how great this place is.
i bet he was a skinny nerdy dweeb, who got his *** kicked every where he went, could find a girl friend (well one he didn’t pay for) and now lives, where ever it is he lives, in obscurity un known to the local stuck to his keyboard on the net just waiting to chirp from there where he is safe from another asswhiping
8 Sep 2006, 16:25 pm
in my haste I type could, when it should obviously should have been couldn’t
8 Sep 2006, 16:25 pm
Koos
Maar wat my dronkslaan is dat hy n ultra-regse wese is, moerse rassisties en als, hoe kom hy oor die weg in NZ? Of kom hy nie oor die weg nie?
Spruit sy besoeke aan hierdie site dalk uit n perverse tipe verlange na Mamparrafontein, of waar hy ookal vandaan is?
Nee fok, dis n weird geval, ek se jou broer. Miskien het die ou hulp nodig.
8 Sep 2006, 16:31 pm
pieter, al ‘n ruk terug gese die man soek hulp. Jy sal verbaas wees hoeveel ver regse mense in die res van die wereld bly, as jy wil en op die regte pleke soek is hulle daar. Dink net selfs hulle het hom weg gejaag…
8 Sep 2006, 16:50 pm
Pumas 28
Bulls 27
8 Sep 2006, 16:52 pm
Jy’s reg, Tackler. Hulle moet nou ophou met hierdie “magic” strond. Dis nou hoe desperaat die Bokke is, en ook sonder verbeelding.
8 Sep 2006, 17:33 pm
i wonder if the boks can read let alone spell madiba!!…
i pray that the book has nice pictures in them for them to look at instead!!!
8 Sep 2006, 18:39 pm
I just have to respond with my new found afrikaans vocabulary. My mum suggested to me that the tacky tackler should try some extramurial activities like he should nye sy hand instead of typing kak.
9 Sep 2006, 03:52 am
Mens kry amper hierdie vaal Japies jammer, of hoe, wanneer die TT hulle flou sieletjies so maklik uitryg?
9 Sep 2006, 08:47 am
Jake is King!
9 Sep 2006, 11:08 am
The reason they won is that there were not so many people last week so the Boos were a distant whisper, but now the Boos will be amplified!
Go the Wallabies!
I have friends in High (highveld) places such as Loftus to come to the party for me and boo the boks.
9 Sep 2006, 11:59 am
Benjamin.
The only part factual in your post was “lowly boks”.
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