Croke’s cold but calm
28 Nov 2009
The temperature is close to freezing but the good news is there’s very little wind inside Croke Park.
An earlier forecast suggested the mercury would climb no higher than six degrees Celsius on match day, but my car’s thermometer revealed a frigid one degree at 12:30pm local time. The stadium lights are on and there’s a dense fog surrounding the ground, but the blustery conditions that threatened to settle have not materialised.
This will help Springbok tactical kickers Fourie du Preez and Morne Steyn who talked about the wind factor earlier in the week. Now the Boks just need to overcome the cold, as the first 10 minutes are always crucial in terms of establishing physical dominance.
The IRFU is expecting 75 000 people at Croke Park today, which is a sell-out considering they’ve put more seats into the standing section on the hill.
Bakkies Botha has been an injury concern since last Sunday and was never going to be fit for this fixture. Although they will miss him in the tight, the Boks have anticipated his omission and trained with Andries Bekker in the starting line-up for the better part of the week.
As the hosts, Ireland don their white alternate strips with the Boks wearing the traditional green and gold jersey. There’s plenty of South Africans sitting in the crowd who are wearing the self-same jerseys, but at this stage they’re obscured by several layers of warm clothing. The Dublin city centre has been saturated with Saffas this week, so the Boks can expect plenty of support.
By Jon Cardinelli, in Dublin
12 Comments
28 Nov 2009, 15:40 pm
Does it matter?
28 Nov 2009, 15:55 pm
Probably not.
28 Nov 2009, 15:56 pm
The wind might have influenced tactical kicking, but with Fourie du Preez and Morne Steyn in our team, I don’t think wind (or lack of) will be of importance.
28 Nov 2009, 15:56 pm
Is it wet or dry?
28 Nov 2009, 15:58 pm
My one’s wet.
28 Nov 2009, 16:00 pm
*SHOCK*
……..HORROR……..
whisper it
‘rugby is a Winter sport’ !
28 Nov 2009, 16:04 pm
hie kommie bokke hie kommie bokke la la la
28 Nov 2009, 16:24 pm
Where the f#@% is Big Hit and his JustinTV link when you need him?
Probably sucking a Paddy’s c#@% at Croke Park at the moment.
28 Nov 2009, 16:57 pm
@kwas:
justin tv forward slash projectvanilla
28 Nov 2009, 17:35 pm
@sglazer: Thanks, glaze.
28 Nov 2009, 17:40 pm
@kwas: Pleasure Kwassy
29 Nov 2009, 01:35 am
It’s cold at Choke Park….
Duhh!
You’re closer to the North Pole than to the equator. And you’re four weeks away from midwinter.
And rugby’s a winter sport.
So it’s cold?
So what?
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