World Cup curse of crashing Kiwis
Get used to it New Zealand. Come October there will be another heartache semi-final exit as yet another of New Zealand’s national teams implodes.
The Black Caps were smashed in their last three matches at the Cricket World Cup and the manner of defeat against Sri Lanka reminded me so much of the All Blacks last two rugby semi-final exits.
The Black Caps couldn’t cope with the pressure of the occasion. Their fielding was ordinary, their bowling indifferent and their batting exposed as brittle. The New Zealand batting, so powerful in the early part of the tournament, folded with the weight of expectation. It surely is a sign of things to come with the All Blacks.
Cape Town, in 2005, and Rustenburg, in 2006, were evidence enough to know that the All Blacks are more than capable of that one horror match a year. And to lose the World Cup all they need to do is be true to form and produce that shocking 80 minutes against the Springboks.
Already their management are talking up the brutality of the Springboks. Already there is doubt within the All Blacks camp. Influential members of the All Blacks keep on reminding the public that victory at this year’s World Cup is not a done deal and that South Africa, in particular, pose a real threat.
It is as if they are preparing their public for the worst and the Springboks in Jake White’s squad know the only team the All Blacks fear physically are the boys in green. There is a disregard in New Zealand for the challenge of England, Wales and even Ireland. The New Zealanders simply believe they can’t lose to those players. There is a respect for Australia and France, only because the two have done New Zealand in the World Cup at the last two semi-final appearances.
But there is genuine fear that the Springboks will be physically too potent in a one-off situation. And it is a fear the Boks can already smell.
It is interesting how many of the current Bok squad have privately noted how much respect the Boks are being given in New Zealand. As some have said, it is as if New Zealand are already talking themselves into defeat.
White has the squad to beat the All Blacks, but his job will be all that easier if the All Blacks have already beaten themselves before kick-off.
I loved watching the Black Caps getting smashed. A World Cup semi-final implosion. Get used to it New Zealanders. This one is minor to what’s coming in October in Paris.
April 25th, 2007 at 1:28 pm
#49 .. agreed.
April 25th, 2007 at 1:29 pm
Tacticus the Bulls winning the S14 or SA winning wc? Which one would you rather have. Probably a rhetorical question…
April 25th, 2007 at 1:31 pm
Correct me if I am wrong but how over the past 5 World Cricket Cups including this one, SA have been in only 3 of those semi- finals and have never reached a final – yet let’s hope that is about to change
So why are we bagging the Kiwis about crashing in semi’s?
April 25th, 2007 at 1:31 pm
Keo, difference is the only two defeats were on SA soil. When SA can beat NZ away from home, we’ll chat again.
You only need to look at the end of year tours to know NZ can perform in the northern hemisphere better than any other southern hemisphere team. Then again, probably better than any northern hemisphere team too.
April 25th, 2007 at 1:32 pm
49# Katvis
Ek stem, ook saam met Tact se siening.
April 25th, 2007 at 1:32 pm
Wendz
The head Monarch is bored and wants some entertainment from his obliging subjects!
April 25th, 2007 at 1:36 pm
LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT !!!
Although my preference for teams taking a beating are (in this order):
Poms
Aussies
All Blacks
April 25th, 2007 at 1:37 pm
Bagel. That would not even be a toss up. Bulls over boks, 365 days a year…too many losers i dont like in the other teams. John smit, bob skinstad, bolla conradie and butch james to name just a few…Not to mention some of their supporters…
April 25th, 2007 at 1:38 pm
#56,
keo knows by now which buttons to press to get X amount of replies. and it’s ironic that the fewer facts in his “fishing” articles, the more posts it generates.
April 25th, 2007 at 1:38 pm
More like most of Province supporters
April 25th, 2007 at 1:38 pm
we’ve only ever played them once on neutral ground in northern hemisphere
22-18 to BOKS … history is with us!
April 25th, 2007 at 1:39 pm
Yep, Paulse scoring a beautiful solo try
April 25th, 2007 at 1:41 pm
once again, a once-off win!
Will you be writing the SA obituary after the world cup Keo?
April 25th, 2007 at 1:45 pm
Didnt keo also predict that the pommies were going to knock the proteas outa the cricket world cup with kevin pietersen being the star well he scored 3 and the only thing knocked was english pride. Im pretty concerned now with keo’s prediction that prob it for the boks wc chances
April 25th, 2007 at 1:46 pm
Keo. You sober?
April 25th, 2007 at 1:47 pm
why don’t we rather accept that NZ are and have been the dominant force in world rugby since SA’s ejection from int. sport and now also since SA’s readmission. let’s look at the bigger picture. how do we get onto that level in the medium to long term. once off victories with victor matfield concussing byron kelleher in the 3rd minure count for nothing. same applies with rodney so’oialo making a silly intercept try pass, and blocking a defender just before his team scored.
i’m calling for perspective.
April 25th, 2007 at 1:48 pm
Too true, Keo, too true. They’ve been the best team at the last three WC, and won none of them!
April 25th, 2007 at 1:48 pm
I agree the Kiwi’s are beatable away from home – just no ones managed to do it for a few years except you lot.
But … re mental scares, I was surprised to compare their likely forward pack to the 03 RWC semi forwards and find that McCaw, Collins, Jack, Kevin, Rueben Thorne, Somerville and Williams all were on the losing side that night. Not to mention McDonald, Mills, Mauger and Rocko in the backs – so thats a fair bit of RWC semi choking experience – 11 out of 15 – they are carrying in their best 15!
April 25th, 2007 at 1:49 pm
Its all good and well, and i love this article, but what happens if we lose to Aus today?
Then our choker tag is back and the kiwis and aussies will use that as refernce to the boks.
lets not get ahead of ourselves, if we open our mouths too soon we could find our feet in it.
April 25th, 2007 at 1:50 pm
Good funny stirring article by the way.
April 25th, 2007 at 1:53 pm
Keo,
NZ has respect for Aus my ***!!!
… you only got one thing right in that article and that is that the Boks smell
So much anger … it must really hurt to lose
April 25th, 2007 at 1:53 pm
48 – the poms were the best in the world from the last half of 2001 until 2003. They beat everybody
April 25th, 2007 at 1:56 pm
The Boks smell?
April 25th, 2007 at 1:56 pm
#68,
we didn’t beat the AB’s the past three years. we weren’t a better team on each occasion.
2004: a team in transition. a lot of the AB’s who featured or were on tour that day at Ellis Park were playing their last test. spencer, meeuws (?), rush, mehrtens and a few others.
2005: some of the AB’s hadn’t played for a fair while and thus were rusty. add travel to that. plus victor matfield took out byron kelleher in the opening minutes.
2006: rodney so’oialo gifts SA with an intercept, causes a try to be disallowed when he blocks an sA defender just b4 the AB’s score and also gives away a key converted penalty.
Make up your own mind.
April 25th, 2007 at 1:57 pm
72. ya they beat everybody…. including their wives
April 25th, 2007 at 1:57 pm
#48 What hogwash!!! Just listen to yourself! You are seriously one of those that believe the past was great. (maybe for you but not for the rest of us man!) Thank god we are not going back to the past!
What honour are you talking about ? That you percieved yourself as a superior race over others? If that’s honour then I would rather back side that looses all the time!
The same attention that was given to rugby could still be archieved if it could be more representative. If this continues, kiss those times goodbye forever!
Bye the way ,has it not occured to you that the Boks were already left behind because post isolation period , we were never really that strong. Yes we won the world cup but cracks were already starting to show in our systems. That was even before transformation came into play. We are talking about a team that is not even fielding 20% of players of colour and you continue to complain about transformation. Please! Who are you fooling?
As I have said it previously , the fact that our players handling skills were atrocious (it’s not black players I’m talking about), could not off load in a tackle, etc. Can you blame transformation for this? Bye the way these are reasons why we loose matches. If these deficiencies only occur to black players then i may agree. But you all know that is not true! As I have said before , stop this siliness!
April 25th, 2007 at 1:58 pm
Sa’s sporting decline is also greatly influenced by the 1 million emigrants over the last 10 years from the rugby/cricket playing demographic group. Just like was the case -only to a far greater extent- in zimbabwe. They lost, what, 80% of that demographic group and their sport is 80% weaker. We lost 20% of the corresponding demographic group, and the boks are 20% weaker. How many pierre spies’s, graeme pollock’s or carel du plessis’s have we lost because of that?
April 25th, 2007 at 2:06 pm
Tac,
Not many because then they would have made it big in their newly adopted country.
And oh yes, mentioning Pierre Spies in the same breath as the other two is rather funny.
April 25th, 2007 at 2:07 pm
I sense a brawl.
April 25th, 2007 at 2:08 pm
Actually its boredom
April 25th, 2007 at 2:11 pm
Tacticus wat is wrong with the Boks supporters? The Bulls fans have an awesome record and are loved by overseas nations… Also why do you hate all the English players??? What is your problem with them. Bobby, Butch and John and you hate them all. You obviously know the game very well probably more than most, but you are blind, bias and if English South Africans are a race, racist… I will never take you seriously.
Sad
April 25th, 2007 at 2:12 pm
Now just imagine if SARU actually tries to grow the game and get a miniscule 5 million of the 42 million non-whites to play the game.
April 25th, 2007 at 2:12 pm
I don’t mind a bit of fun but there is no need for these ‘respect for Australia’ comments
April 25th, 2007 at 2:13 pm
bagel, i will have you marmite and cheese before my first cup of coffee. all english in SA are only here because we let them.
April 25th, 2007 at 2:13 pm
83, could agree to that everyday. **** them
April 25th, 2007 at 2:14 pm
…ig
April 25th, 2007 at 2:14 pm
…ig (gy) gonna pop
April 25th, 2007 at 2:15 pm
Bah, 16 Inch dong, that debate is long and i just dont have the gum to stay here that long.
But yes, transformation is something that needs to happen. Just not the way the government wants it to.
They should take the onus on themselves to scout and breed a talent pool. But no, its allot easier to claim the fortunes of the few who make it and pat themselves on hte back. Oh, please.
Government, put our money where your mouth is.
Get out there and develop the game, find the talent, nurture it, arrange more training camps and leagues amongst youths, do something but dont sit on your high horse and blame the white man for the lack of ethniticity in our national team.
I believe there are allot of black players coming through the ranks, now more than ever, be patient, within 5 years i can see a 50% white and 50% black team. sorry indians, then all we need is for indians to complain that they are not represented, and you will start to understand the frustrations of today.
Patience people, we all want the best team out there, regardless of ***** size.
April 25th, 2007 at 2:15 pm
SA rock
April 25th, 2007 at 2:16 pm
Yes, it would be fun to watch NZ implode again (not to mention how it would shut the Tackler up for the next four years!), BUT lets not get ahead of ourselves. The Kiwis are squared up for a great Worldcup, and talking us up is not going to do it alone. A lot of fine coaching, team selection, vision, strategy as well as plain luck are required ahead and dreaming about knocking NZ out is very different than actually doing it!
April 25th, 2007 at 2:16 pm
#77 Man Please! How many could be gained if the boys playing these sports at under 19 level could be managed properly? we could easily double that and I cam assure you, we will! Wait and see!
Anyway its normally that as the sorciety normalises we’ll find people who will be threatened to change. You can either deal with the change or leave, as simple as that! The way you complain you can honestly believe that all whites have been excluded from these teams. These teams are 80 -85 % white! Thats about only 15% improvement with govt. intervention! I guess looking at this stat , if it were by you there would be not players of colour. Let me say this further, Stop the silliness!
April 25th, 2007 at 2:16 pm
4 more years chch
April 25th, 2007 at 2:18 pm
Lost you there Shooter. Who is we btw?
April 25th, 2007 at 2:19 pm
92 Clyde Wombat,
in 4 more years we will be watching Sri Lanka beat Aus in rugby
4 more years Clyde
April 25th, 2007 at 2:19 pm
Tac, post 77
If our sport is in trouble because of the alleged 1 mill expats is’nt that all the more reason to open the sport up to a larger demographic?
By the way, the single largest number of permanent immigrants out of SA in one calendar year is 27 000.
Also, before you get all worked up on immigration you need to realise one thing. Countries that are willing to accept immigrants are, in this day and age, looking at the top 2% of all applicants. They are not exactly going to take **** are they?
So how do we justify 1 million departures? Dont fool yourself Whites from the old Apartheid era arent the brightest population group on the planet despite NP propaganda.
One last thing, in one of your other posts… in the old days the whole nation did NOT come to a stop when the boks played… only the white part of the Nation.
April 25th, 2007 at 2:20 pm
Keo i hope that this is the case being patriotic and all.However the fact that the All Blacks do so well is that they are great thinkers,adapt to situations and conditions and respect the opposition like our beloved Boks.White should not mouth off or boast about fielding the “heaviest packs” ever etc,etc. Just remain humble and get on with game plans.Also they need to use the “rush” defence and “drifting defence” at different times in the game.The All Blacks get rattled at times when you confront them and close them down.This should be exploited wisely.Just ask Rodney Soialo !However the All Blacks do have the skill factor which we on the other hand suffer with at times.Ever noticed how many good try scoring opportunities go astray due to forward passes,dropped balls,fumbles etc or running the wrong lines in the Super 14 by our teams.We need players with big match temperament and skill.The physical side we will ALWAYS possess,we just need the right players with skill,can do the basics correctly and play with their heart`s and think while out there
April 25th, 2007 at 2:20 pm
SA by 27 runs or 2 wickets…. MVP: Gibbs.
April 25th, 2007 at 2:21 pm
Post #88,
It is SARU not Government’s mandate to manage the inner workings of rugby. Government is just there to oversee SARU’s deliverables – performance, social development (transformation amongst others), etc.
It is SARU’s (not government) responsiblity to grow and evelop the game in order to achieve it’s social development objectives.
April 25th, 2007 at 2:21 pm
Everyone assumes that transformation “must” take place. Bull!! Why exactly people? If the USA track and field team must “transform” to reflect the demographics of America, just over 70% must be white, while we all know that African-Americans are by far the better athletes.
This is a recipe for mediocrity.
April 25th, 2007 at 2:21 pm
oh and greetings manne !