Robbie rates Boks
26 Sep 2007
Crusaders coach Robbie Deans believes the Boks are the only team that can stop the All Blacks winning the World Cup.
Deans, writing in the French Rugby Hebdo paper, praised John Smit and Jake White and said the Boks and All Blacks were the only two realistic contenders.
“There are about eight or 10 contenders who are trying to convince themselves they can win the World Cup. But there are only two who know they really can win it: New Zealand and South Africa.”
Deans sees White’s Springboks as the squad most likely to crash the All Blacks World Cup party.
“I am sure they (New Zealand) have the potential to play at a higher degree of intensity no matter who their adversaries are, except perhaps for South Africa,” wrote Deans. “There are three reasons the Boks can win this World Cup. The first is historic. And it is not only because the core of the squad is from the Under-21 side, coached by a certain Jake White, that became [Under-21] world champions in 2002 by dominating the final against a New Zealand team that included five players who are here in France, including Daniel Carter.”
Carter actually did not play and the Boks beat NZ in a semi-final 19-18. Nevertheless, Deans continued.
“These Boks have since notched up some considerable success, like the Tri Nations victory in 2004 or that of the South African sides in this year’s Super 14.
“White has at his disposal a mature squad that prides itself on considerable confidence, which is based as much on their performances as the depth of their bench, which has been markedly superior to whatever his predecessors had.”
Deans also believes the Springboks will head into the quarter-finals realising that for a number of them, this could represent a fairytale end to their careers. “Victory could be the culmination of some of their careers, for players like John Smit or Victor Matfield … not to mention [coach] White,” Deans wrote.
He added that while the Springboks have maintained their physical prowess, White has introduced a broader mindset to the squad.
“South African teams always fall back on their physical prowess and a mentality that is unfailing, but White has added certain mental flexibility,” he said.
Deans also pointed to the pride South African players have in wearing the Springboks jersey and the leadership of Smit as being pivotal, as well as Smit’s calmness under pressure.
“Smit is not only a respected captain. He is also a man who can keep his emotions buried deep inside when faced with the pressure moments,” he said.
278 Comments
Pages: [1] 2 3 4 5 6 » Show All
26 Sep 2007, 00:26 am
what about the aussies ?
26 Sep 2007, 00:27 am
Good Call, I think we are in there with a Big Chance
Time will tell and hopefully it pans out to the SA vs AB final
26 Sep 2007, 00:33 am
Yep,but there are other teams that can do it as well
26 Sep 2007, 00:40 am
rugby fan
The Ausies have done well, but will take injuries and will burn out when they go into the playoffs.
The reason being, they have no depth and Larkham is already crocked for next match.
Lastly! Ausie as usual will not do well away from home when faced with a good Teams
26 Sep 2007, 00:49 am
I reckon he’s spot on, and with that the endless and enduring respect we have as New Zealanders for South African rugby.
The only thing I see as a bit of a stretch is going back 3 years to when SA last won the 3N, and glossing over the S14 this year – to me, winning this years 3N would have really told us something, but hey, Jake changed the format and sent a different team out.
In contrast to recent posts, we certainly wont be undercooked going into that final (should we make it) by having to take on the Frogs and the Wallabies to get there.
SA v Wales then Argentina, hmmm, makes it quite interesting.
26 Sep 2007, 00:50 am
chucks
in berrick they have found an aswer to larkham .
did you say you went to P’house
26 Sep 2007, 00:54 am
Nope it was Mount Pleasant
26 Sep 2007, 00:56 am
Mount Pleasant , that leafy area !! wonder if it is still good .
26 Sep 2007, 01:00 am
Well there you have it folks, from the mouth of the next All Black coach.
I bet there will be certain ex pat South Africans living in NZ who will hate Deans for saying this.
26 Sep 2007, 01:01 am
I have not been back since 1979!
But Google Earth still looks good there, anyhow I am tired now!
Chat later
Chuckwoodybumblespring
26 Sep 2007, 01:09 am
Ever heard of schmoozing?
26 Sep 2007, 01:11 am
No way will Deans coach the AB’s he has been down that road allready and made a hash of it
26 Sep 2007, 01:29 am
Morning all.
Deans has been mentioned as a possibilty to take over from Connolly after the RWC.
Nothing verified though, just a couple of reports in the local papers.
Would be an asset to Aussie rugby.
26 Sep 2007, 01:38 am
#13 it will never happen, they are too many old school heads against the ideal.
26 Sep 2007, 01:46 am
#14
Not discounting it. John O Neill has given the aussie rugby tree a hefty shake just recently.
perhaps this might be his next coupe.
26 Sep 2007, 01:53 am
the All Blacks must be favourites but if you look at their games to get to the final you have to say that winning will be a huge ask.
They have not been tested yet and then they are likely to play France, Wobblies, and SA in a very short space of time. Some games may got to extra time. BMT will be needed from the quarters and they have a lousy record against the French in the world cup. The French at home gaining confidence you have to say that the quarters NZ v France is key.
Then the semi’s they will have the “4 more years boys” still fresh in their minds.
Then is all goes well for SA the final and then memories of 1995 will come back to haunt. In short if they pull it off then we will all have to stand back nad say this is one of the best AB sides of all times.
26 Sep 2007, 01:55 am
Deans just doing the old favourite of trying to get the boks to believe their own press.
why do so few people see it!?
26 Sep 2007, 02:05 am
Danie Craven always said be careful if you opposition praises you too much!
26 Sep 2007, 02:17 am
Kesbok – well, according to you there is no lack of motivation is there.
I think many of the past lessons will have been well and truely learnt by this team, there’s more to just winning the cup for the class of 07, its finishing off what the others had started.
As said, any other team to win this will be a great side if they are to topple the All Blacks considering the amount of preperation thats gone in, but if they do, we’ll be the first to congratulate them.
26 Sep 2007, 02:43 am
Berrick is a greenhorn, he will be exposed behind a forward pack going backwards in the Qtrs v England.
26 Sep 2007, 02:53 am
Deans is very disrespectful in what he says. I’m happy NZers think like that, that is why they get turned over by teams like Aus and France.
26 Sep 2007, 03:17 am
CAVEAT: Don’t fall into the trap guys.
26 Sep 2007, 03:38 am
Deans is in line for the Aussie job. Wonder if he watched the Boks against Tonga. What “n gemors!Don’t write off the Aussie.They have mongrel
26 Sep 2007, 03:40 am
I dunno about anyone else, bu I am seriously worried about Argentina. We seem to be taking them fairly lightly, and no mention has been made of them yet. Yet they are going to be our semi’s contenders (assuming we beat Wales). They comprehensively outplayed France (no slouches, they have beaten us recently), and have the best defensive record in the tourney so far. Not one try! And they are in the supposed “group of death”!
They have a serious forward pack, are very physical to the point of being able to match the Boks, and have hugely creative playmakers. And a damn fine coach. They have run the BA’s close away, as well as the Boks in the past few years. They have beaten France 4 out of 5 times AWAY recently, and accounted for the Irish at home and away.
They have historically never beaten us before. BUT. This is a team to worry about. I hope Jake is paying attention, because I would hate that the first time the Pumas beat a Bok team is in the semis of the ’07 RWC.
26 Sep 2007, 03:49 am
Deans is an astute rugby coach , his record with the Crusaders speaks for that. Coming from him, these are words that make a bok supporter feel good even if he/she is an expat SA in NZ, Modawg.
I would take Deans to task on one point though – the Boks do not have depth on the bench whereas the AB’s do.
A question to all the conspiracy theory doubters. If Deans wanted to pull the wool over SA eyes, would he be making his thoughts known via a French newspaper for goodness sake?
26 Sep 2007, 04:14 am
21: Big Hit – how often do we get turned over by France? Twice in 10 years?
Lets see, played 13 won 10 lost 2 drawn 1 in the last 10 years.
We’ve never lost at Stade de France, and havent been beaten in Paris since 1973.
Our last loss to France was 7 years ago at Stade Velodrome.
Hardly being called turned over now is it?
26 Sep 2007, 04:18 am
and Big Hit, lets look at Englands record over the same time:
Played 16, won 7, lost 9, drawn 0.
England have lost 9 times since 1997, so whats your excuse?
26 Sep 2007, 04:26 am
Quite the contrary I think Aus are a far bigger threat to NZ than RSA at the moment… with or without Larkham…
As for depth… ironically the Wobblies have a far stronger 30 man squad than the Boks…
26 Sep 2007, 04:30 am
I reckon that Deans was just taking the draw into consideration. Our team will more than likely play the AB’s in the semi’s and will probably lose a close one. On the other side of the draw you have SA, The poor form of the NH teams leaves SA as the only real contender. End result is a SA v NZ final. In saying that but I feel that if SA should be glad that they are not playing France. I feel that they are a team that realistically would beat SA.
26 Sep 2007, 04:54 am
Hurray!!!! Steyn has been cleared
26 Sep 2007, 05:09 am
Bryce – I fully agree with you, I really think that if any team has a real chance of knocking us over its actually Australia, then SA.
Aus just seem to know how to out smart us, and should we see that one off, we then have to take on the Boks which is a different contest, like playing a head strong England of 2003.
Aus certainly have a far more constructive backline able to pull of minor miracles, and I think the AB’s have enough knowledge on how to difuse the SA rush defence – which on the face of it, was never once tested by England was it!
Where Aus are weak, as a perception, is the forwards, but they have plenty of ammo to take us on out wide.
World cup may soon get interesting.
Quota – he was never guilty, but boy didnt get a reaction!
26 Sep 2007, 05:16 am
The Aus scrum has never looked better, barring the ‘perceived’ front-row weakness… they match the both NZ and RSA from 4-8… and on current form their lock pairing equals the Boks and surpasses NZ…
As for the backs, yep… they are smart and brimming with talent…
Only need compare the performance of Cooper, Barnes, Mitchell, Shepherd to what the Bok dilettantes produced last week…
May you Kiwi’s and Wobblies bash the living s@#t out of each other leading into the finals against the Boks…
26 Sep 2007, 05:21 am
Sjambok
The Pumas did beat us once,with Hugo Porta at the helm,somewhere in the eighties I think.
26 Sep 2007, 05:25 am
Intresting to read this same article in the Sydney morning herald was titled Wallabies No Chance – R Deans
Hilarious
26 Sep 2007, 05:27 am
Manly Bok I think it was a South American combined team called the jaguars but basically the Pumas
We thumped them by 50 the following week or the previous week from memory
26 Sep 2007, 05:28 am
Hehe horns,smacks of today/tonight.
26 Sep 2007, 05:28 am
Bryce in Oz please dont ever talk about Rocky Elsom and our back row in the same sentence again !
26 Sep 2007, 05:30 am
I refuse to watch that prgram they re hash the same stories over and over.
Remember
when we sent out our B team earlier this year and ARU said we had promised to send our A team. Funny that me and everyone who reads this site knew JW’s intentions in March already – fools.
26 Sep 2007, 05:32 am
Yep horns apparently they were always known as the jaguars,as that is their emblem ,but a SAfrican commentator called it a Puma way back and it stuck.
26 Sep 2007, 05:33 am
Kia Kia you are living in a time warp of 5-6 years ago. Australia has lost the wood on NZ years ago look at the results pal. NZ flog them 4 in every 5 games. SA is the only team you fear as you hate our confrontational style.
26 Sep 2007, 05:34 am
And by the way I would love it if the Wobblies did beat you cause they have no chance of beating us in the final I fear them like a wet piece of spaghetti
26 Sep 2007, 05:34 am
We dont need to be rated by Deans.We know where we stand.Especially after the Tongan game.
Go talk up your own team and organize a ticker tape parade for them when they get back.Cup or no Cup!
26 Sep 2007, 05:36 am
Anvil please stop acting like a typical bonehead with your laager mentality, please. This guy is one of the best if not the best coach going around, accept his comments gracefully as they have menaing. I ask you again please
26 Sep 2007, 05:50 am
4.
“Lastly! Ausie as usual will not do well away from home when faced with a good Teams”
apart from having won two World Cups away from home you might have a point
26 Sep 2007, 05:51 am
horns, No argument about his coaching pedigree mate.albeit only at provincial level.
But we dont need these distractions and rantings by the opposition now do we ?
Stay focused and get on with the job at hand.Deans can go fly a kite and keep his mouth shut while he is at it.
26 Sep 2007, 05:56 am
Hey Vindicated,
Hows your alcoholic,balding,cocaine sniffing,wife beating chokers cricket team doing?
26 Sep 2007, 06:07 am
hey guys…..a weird question…but what religion is schalk and bakkies?
26 Sep 2007, 06:15 am
Buddhist and Muslim…
26 Sep 2007, 06:19 am
LMFAO biOZ.
I think they are both devoted Chrstians.Why ?
26 Sep 2007, 06:36 am
no, seriously…?
Pages: [1] 2 3 4 5 6 » Show All
Have your say
You must be logged in to post a comment.