Front Row Grunt

My time at Sport24 has come and gone people … Without doubt some of the greatest years of my life that included not only the arrival of my real world son, Joe Stanley, but also my other child, Sport24.co.za, now the biggest sport site in South Africa …

It also included the birth of the Sport24 blogging platform … which brought some legendary banter off this and many other fantastic blogs. Of course not all the banter was legendary, but I suppose that comes with the territory, and to be honest, at least there was banter!

I will be moving on to have a go at starting my own business in the digital media space, offering writing, project management, consulting and MC services … together with building a few digital properties of my own, of course starting with the Front Row Grunt …

As such, I will be permanently moving The Grunt onto the Word Press platform, and using the url www.frontrowgrunt.co.za …

I am certainly not ruling out the odd blog post or at least a comment in amongst this vibrant community, but the primary home for the Grunt will be at the new URL …

Thank you all so very much for the incredible memories, and I wish acting Sport24 editor, Garrin Lambley, and his editorial team, all the best for the future. The digital space is built for sport, and I for one, cannot wait to see what new developments await …

Cheers,
Tank

PS – I have tipped the Lions to pip the Sharks in the Boks vs Buddies Currie Cup final …

Greetings fellow Sport24 Bloggers …

I am back from a truly fantastic trip to New Zealand to take in the quarter and semi finals of what has been a wonderful Rugby World Cup …

That Sydney to Joburg flight in cattle class, especially if not graced with an isle seat when of my gargantuan proportions, is not for the feint of heart!! But I survived that, together with the trans Tasman hop to get things going, and the JHB – CT link to finish off a solid 27 hour travel stint …

A magnificent and life changing trip to a World Cup at the heart of rugby union comes to an end … But it is just tremendous to be home. We live in a great country …

I see that a fairly big stink was raised when we at Sport24 removed the featured and recent blogs from the home page … And people seem pretty unhappy with the move to Facebook as the only way to comment on Sport24 stories …

The storm seems to have blown over, and not wanting to revive the whole thing again, I just want to reiterate what both our Commercial Manager Dave Brooke, and our Blog Ed Dom Valentine have said while I was away …

The removal of the Blogs from the Sport24 home page is a temporary measure, and they will be back in some form later this week. We were put under enormous pressure from the main okes at Naspers and Media24 to include the SuperSport videos on the Sport24 homepage. We had a plan in place to make that happen without losing the Blogs, but while I was in New Zealand, the decision was made for the change to go live sans the Blogs. Hence it happening without announcement to you Bloggers. And for that I apologise …

The Facebook login is ONLY if you want to comment on the Sport24 or News24 stories, and has NOTHING at all to do with the Blogs. It just means that you cannot comment on those stories using your normal Blog login, but commenting on each other’s blogs remains exactly as it was. It seems commenting on stories and Blogging have not been seen as the separate entities they are.

Regarding the move of my Blog to Word Press – My trip to the World Cup was in a personal capacity while on leave. It thus gave me the opportunity to experiment included Blogging, Facebooking and Tweeting using only my personal iphone and ipad, and given that WordPress have excellent publishing apps for both, I Blogged on www.frontrowgrunt.co.za. Nothing sinister. That SuperBru chose to link to my Word Press blog was their call …

Some really distasteful things have been said, and to be honest, I think this space would be a much better place without those (minuscule minority, thankfully) who went off pop. As Craig Joubert will be saying on Sunday … Roll away tackler!!

I really am sorry for any inconvenience caused …

Tank

PS – The plan for putting the Blogs back on the Sport24 home page:

OK, enough with this commenting from afar … My time has come to board a jet plane and head to the Land of the Long White Cloud to see for myself what the hell is going on over there …

Seven of us roughnecks will be squeezing into the biggest campervan New Zealand has to offer and making our way to the Wellington quarter finals and both semi finals in Auckland …

Part of the experiment includes Blogging, Facebooking and Tweeting using only my iphone and ipad, so given that WordPress have publishing apps for both, I will be blogging on www.frontrowgrunt.co.za. My Twitter handle is @tanklanning and the Front Row Grunt Facebook page can be found at http://www.facebook.com/frontrowgrunt.

I cannot promise more than late night pics at seedy bars, but given that it’s $ 9.00 a beer, I might actually find the time to spit something out that makes a little sense …

One thing is for sure though, thanks to Canterbury, we have some pretty cool kit!

See you in Wellington …

And of course my personal favourite … Which is the shirt you can win by paying the Front Row Frunt Super Bru pool …

And there you have it … Suddenly there are just 8 games left in the World Cup!

This weekend’s quarter finals:

Saturday 08 October 2011
Ireland v Wales, Wellington 07:00
England v France, Auckland 09:30

Sunday 09 October 2011
South Africa v Australia, Wellington 07:00
New Zealand v Argentina, Auckland 09:30

Basically representing a wet dream for the IRB … with the winners of the Saturday quarters playing each other in the first semi and the Sunday winners playing in the second semi, there are now designated Northern and Southern streams with a guaranteed North vs South final on the 23rd of October … And thus guaranteed European eyeballs, and more importantly European TV and tourist money!

The IRB will also be loving the fact that the top 8 ranked teams in the world are all in the quarter finals, thus giving their ranking system credibility. But France, seemingly suffering a similar shambolic set up to their soccer colleagues, stick out like sore thumbs as the team that do not deserve to be there. I believe Samoa would have given England a run for their money, although they have certainly let themselves down on the thuggery and post match Tweeting front.

On that, Springbok coach Peter de Villiers is 100% on the money in slamming the thug like tactics used by Samoa during their 13-5 loss on Friday as “something that brings the game into disrepute”.

“What bothered me most is that this could still happen at this level when there is technology at the disposal of the officials. If this is what professional rugby has become I do not want to be part of it,” said Div. Good on him.

So who is going to win this thing?

I said before the World Cup started that if the Wallabies were to lose Benn Robinson or the All Blacks were to lose Dan Carter, that their World Cup aspirations would be severely curtailed … And so it has come to be …

And with the Boks having come into the tournament seriously under cooked in terms of game time, they are now finding the form that comes from regular game time, and the confidence that comes from winning regularly. Bloody tough to have to beat the Aussies and All Blacks BEFORE getting to a final, and the All Blacks still have to be regarded as favourites, but I now truly believe the Boks have as good a chance as any side.

On the other side of the draw I think Ireland are also finding form at the right time, and should have the edge over both Wales and then England, to then take on the best that SANZAR has to offer.

The picks of the quarter finals are without doubt the Wellington games … The city I just happen to be visiting this weekend! Bring on Ireland’s Call and Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika! Tears guaranteed!

Losing Frans Steyn is a blow, but I do not see it as all doom and gloom … And I certainly do not see it as the Bok coach is seeing it – Div is saying that the loss is worse than the All Blacks loss of Dan Carter! Jean de Villiers and Juan de Jongh are world class centres, with the former the tried and tested option, and the latter the exciting new kid on the block.

On Steyn’s replacement … Div says he lost a lot of sleep before deciding that he needed a fullback rather than a centre, which has merit. And based on that thinking, and with due respect to those playing in South Africa, there is no one else but Zane Kirchner … It also speaks to a safety first and conservative approach that this Bok management follow.

Two other options that might have made more sense …

1 – Believe in Gio Aplon as your backup fullback to Lambie and pick a wing like Lwazi Mvovo or Bjorn Basson to back up Habana, Hougaard and Pietersen, all of whom took knocks against Samoa.

2 – Believe in Gio Aplon as your backup fullback, think outside the box, and call in one of Ross Skeate, Anton van Zyl or Jean Deysel to cover for the injury ridden Bakkies Botha and Johan Muller …

The men with the whistle:

A panel of 10 Referees and two TMO’s have been selected for the business end of the tournament:

Referee and Assistant Referee duties: Wayne Barnes (England), George Clancy (Ireland), Craig Joubert (South Africa), Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa), Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand), Nigel Owens (Wales), Dave Pearson (England), Romain Poite (France), Alain Rolland (Ireland) and Steve Walsh (Australia) will perform.
TMO: Giulio De Santis (Italy) and Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

The quarter final appointments:

Joubert – Wales v Ireland
Walsh – England v France
Lawrence – South Africa v Australia
Owens – New Zealand v Argentina

Cheers,
Tank

With the World Cup taking centre stage for obvious reasons this weekend, we might have got a view into the future of the Currie Cup. The actual rugby was fairly humdrum, although exciting enough, especially in Bloemfontein, but there were many more empty seats than filled ones at all the televised games …

The Golden Lions secured a top four spot on the log when they fought back to clinch an unlikely draw against the Cheetahs, and in moving up to 45 log points, they ensured their first semi-final since 2008.

A gutsy Western Province moved back into the top four on the log with a deserved 15-10 victory over The Sharks in a scrappy match in Durban, while the Blue Bulls and Griquas both kept their play-off aspirations alive with bonus point victories.

Blue Bulls 47 (28) Pumas 12 (7)

The Blue Bulls secured their third try scoring bonus point when they beat the Pumas by 47-12, scoring six tries in total as they remain in contention for the semi-finals, albeit in 5th position on the log.

Blue Bulls – Tries: Flip van der Merwe, Louis Fouché, CJ Stander, Francois Venter, Arno Botha, Bjorn Basson. Conversions: Fouché (4). Penalties: Fouché (3).

Pumas – Tries: Jaco Bouwer, Marius Coetzer. Conversion: Coenie van Wyk.

Cheetahs 25 (15) Golden Lions 25 (5)

Two late converted tries with Tewis de Bruyn in the sin bin saw the Golden Lions snatch an unlikely 25-25 draw in Bloem. With five minutes to go, the Cheetahs were ahead by 25-11 and seemingly on their way to their third consecutive victory against a higher-placed team on the log, but when De Bruyn was yellow carded, the Golden Lions cut loose and scored two converted tries – by replacement prop Jacobie Adriaanse and left wing Michael Killian – to level the scores.

The visitors scored three tries to the one of the Cheetahs, whose SA U20 flyhalf Johan Goosen kept the scoreboard ticking over with his accurate (and lengthy) goal kicking via four penalty goals and a dropped goal. This before he was unlucky to take knock to the head and be stretchered off. He was seen shaking hands with the Lions players after the game so one has to presume that the neck brace was precautionary, which would be a relief to the Cheetahs coaches, because Goosen might as well have been born with the tattoo “Future Bok” on his forehead.

This was the second time in a month that the Cheetahs have drawn a match after conceding a heap of points late in the game.

Cheetahs – Try: Piet van Zyl. Conversion: Sias Ebersohn. Penalties: Johan Goosen (4) Sias Ebersohn. Drop goal: Goosen.

Golden Lions – Tries: Cobus Grobbelaar, Jacobie Adriaanse, Michael Killian. Conversions: Elton Jantjies (2). Penalties: Jantjies (2).

Leopards 23 (10) Griquas 38 (3)

Five second half tries saw Griquas keep their slim hopes of reaching the semi-finals alive when they beat the gutsy Leopards by 38-23 in Potchefstroom.

At half time the home team lead by 10-3, but enter scrumhalf Sarel Pretorius, who scored his team’s first try minutes after taking to the field. After that followed two more tries as the team from the Northern Cape stamped their authority on the match. The Leopards hit back with a second try of their own, but the visitors finally cut loose with two more tries late in the match.

Leopards – Tries: Wesley Dunlop, Vainon Willis. Conversions: Dunlop, Clayton Durand. Penalties: Dunlop (2). Drop goal: Dunlop.

Griquas – Tries: Sarel Pretorius, Rocco Jansen, Riaan Viljoen, Jonathan Mokuena, Leon Karemaker. Conversions: Rudi Vogt (3), Monty Dumond (2). Penalty: Vogt.

Sharks 10 (7) Western Province 15 (7)

Dewaldt Duvenage scored a late try to go with his penalty goal to help seal a dull 15-10 victory over the Sharks. It was a scrappy match that was played in very windy conditions, with The Sharks struggling to convert an early advantage mainly because of unforced errors and good defence by WP.

Jean Deysel, who was moved to lock in a shuffled Sharks line-up shortly before kick-off, got the home team on the board with a try in the tenth minute and while it looked like The Sharks had the ascendancy upfront, they could not score any more points. WP took their chances in the difficult circumstances, with Danie Poolman (right wing) scoring a well-worked converted try to level the scores at 7-7 shortly before the break.

Just as it looked like the game was headed for a draw, Duwenhage hacked through a loose ball and scored the match winner with three minutes left in a game that will probably not be remembered for the right reasons.

Sharks – Try: Jean Deysel. Conversion: Meyer Bosman. Penalty: Fred Michalak.

Western Province – Tries: Danie Poolman, Dewaldt Duvenage. Conversion: Lionel Cronje. Penalty: Duvenage.

Absa Currie Cup Premier Division Log

Absa Currie Cup First Division

Boland secured their place at the top of the First Division standings with an emphatic 53-24 victory over SWD in George and will now host the Griffons in the semi-finals.

EP and the Valke will contest the other semi-final after the East Randers snuck into third position thanks to a 34-31 victory over Border in East London.

Boland and EP have been in a class of their own this season, completely dominating the First Division, each losing only one match the entire season. Only a monster upset will prevent the two sides from meeting in the final …

SWD 24 (17) Boland 53 (22)

SWD – Tries: Wilhelm Koch, Braam Immelman, Mzo Dyantyi. Conversions: Elric van Vuuren (2), Deroy Rhoode. Penalty: Rhoode.
Boland – Tries: Willie le Roux (2), Ashton Constant, Zandré Jordaan, Elgar Watts, Danwel Demas, Bolla Conradie. Conversions: Watts (6). Penalties: Watts (2).

Border 31 (21) Valke 34 (10)

Border – Tries: Ntabeni Dukisa, Vuyo Mboto, Shane Spring. Conversions: Dukisa, Dale Sabbagh. Penalties: Dukisa (2), Sabbagh (2).
Valke – Tries: Jaco Snyman (2), Kyle Hendricks, Chris Ehlers, Clinton Kayser. Conversions: Juan Kotze (3). Penalty: Kotze.

Absa Currie Cup First Division Log

OK – Job done. By beating Samoa 13-5 today, the Boks have topped Pool D, and will thus play the runner up of Pool C at 07h00 on Sunday the 9th of October at the Wellington Regional Stadium.

It was not called the ‘Group of Death” for nothing … That they got a little lucky against Wales, and will be sporting a few proper bruises from the Samoan game is almost superfluous … It’s knockout time now, and the Boks have proved themselves to be not half bad at that in past World Cups.

A few warning bells would have been sounded, though, as Samoa made severe inroads in the second half, often breaking tackles via the big men running at pace. Jacques Neinaber will certainly be earning his keep, and skipper John Smit might want to sit out the post match video session, but that was a very tough, physical game, and the Boks came out on top.

Samoa are the side, to my mind, that have made the most progress in the four years since the last World Cup. That they are now ranked above Six Nations side Italy, bears testament to that. With structure, patience and a solid scrum now very much part of their game, they are no pushovers.

So as said in my last post, the business end of the Rugby World Cup is without doubt upon us, with at least three of the weekend’s fixtures being pool deciders.

Pool C is a real scramble … Australia will go top after their mismatch against Russia, but then Ireland could sneak ahead of them if they beat Italy. Lose to Italy, though, and it’s home time for the Irish, and a quarter final against the Boks for Mallett’s marauders!

There is a potential banana skin for the French in the form of Tonga while the England vs Scotland result will determine the fate of both teams …

My RWC predictions:

Saturday:
04h30 – Australia v Russia – Australia by 68
07h00 – France v Tonga    - France by 14
09h30 – England v Scotland – England by 11

Sunday:
02h00 – Argentina v Georgia – Argentina by 15
04h30 – New Zealand v Canada – New Zealand by 86
07h00 – Wales v Fiji – Wales by 24
09h30 – Ireland v Italy – Ireland by 11

And locally …. With three rounds to go before the Absa Currie Cup play-offs, only the Pumas and Leopards are out of the running for a spot in the semi-finals.

The log-leading Golden Lions, fresh off a defeat to the Bulls, face the tough prospect of having to take on the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein, with the Bloem boys having recorded comprehensive victories in the last two weeks.

The injury ravaged Western Province team travel to Durban to take on The Sharks and are in real danger of losing their third consecutive match and placing their semi final chances in a real pickle.

In the other two matches this weekend, the Blue Bulls, also on the back of two good victories, host the Pumas in Pretoria and Griquas take on the Leopards in Potchefstroom.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30

Blue Bulls v Pumas, Pretoria – 19:10
Referee: Sindile Mayende
12 August: Blue Bulls won 16-12 in Nelspruit

My prediction: Blue Bulls by 14

Blue Bulls: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Bjorn Basson, 13 Wynand Olivier, 12 Francois Venter, 11 Gerhard van den Heever, 10 Louis Fouche, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 CJ Stander, 7 Jacques Potgieter, 6 Warwick Tecklenburg, 5 Juandre Kruger, 4 Flip van der Merwe, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Gary Botha (captain), 1 Dean Greyling
Substitutes: 16 Willie Wepener, 17 Rossouw de Klerk, 18 Gerrit-Jan van Velze, 19 Arno Botha, 20 Dustin Jinka, 21 Francois Brummer, 22 Jurgen Visser

Pumas: 15 MJ Mentz, 14 Wilhelm Loock, 13 JW Jonker, 12 Siviwe Magaba, 11 Johan Jackson, 10 Coenie van Wyk, 9 Shaun Venter, 8 Doppies le Roux, 7 Jaco Bouwer, 6 Corné Steenkamp (capatain), 5 Marius Coetzer, 4 Boela Serfontein, 3 Ashley Buys, 2 Pellow van der Westhuizen, 1 Dawie Steyn.
Substitutes: 16 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 17 Brett Nel, 18 Eduan van der Walt, 19 JP Mostert, 20 Hendrik van der Nest, 21 Dewald Pretorius, 22 Carl Bezuidenhout.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1

Free State Cheetahs v Golden Lions, Bloemfontein – 15:00
Referee: Marius Jonker
13 August: Golden Lions won 17-10 in Johannesburg

My prediction: Cheetahs by 7

Free State Cheetahs: 15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Ryno Benjamin, 13 Robert Ebersohn, 12 Philip Snyman, 11 Cameron Jacobs, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Piet van Zyl, 8 Ashley Johnson, 7 Philip van der Walt, 6 Lappies Labuschagne, 5 Izak van der Westhuizen, 4 Francois Uys, 3 Coenie Oosthuizen, 2 Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1 Marcel van der Merwe
Substitutes: 16 Hercu Liebenberg, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 19 Boom Prinsloo, 20 Tewis de Bruyn, 21 Sias Ebersohn, 22 Andries Strauss

Golden Lions: 15 Jaco Taute, 14 Deon van Rensburg, 13 Doppies la Grange, 12 Alwyn Hollenbach, 11 Michael Killian, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Michael Bondesio, 8 Joshua Strauss (captain), 7 Derick Minnie, 6 Cobus Grobbelaar, 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Michael Rhodes, 3 Patric Cilliers, 2 Bandise Maku, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg
Substitutes: 16 Martin Bezuidenhout, 17 Jacobie Adriaanse, 18 David Bulbring, 19 Warren Whiteley, 20 Burton Francis, 21 James Kamana, 22 Dylan des Fountain

Leopards v Griquas, Potchefstroom – 15:00
Referee: Pro Legoete
12 August: Griquas won 32-18 in Kimberley

My prediction: Griquas by 8

Leopards: 15 Hofmann Maritz, 14 Jovan Bowles, 13 Charl Weideman, 12 Joubert Engelbrecht (captain), 11 Vainon Willis, 10 Wesley Dunlop, 9 Johan Laker, 8 Robert Kruger, 7 Luvuyiso Lusaseni, 6 Philip de Wet, 5 Bradley Mockford, 4 Brendon Snyman, 3 Dewald Coetzee, 2 Gavin Williamson, 1 Jean-Jacques Rossouw.
Substitutes: 16 Marius Fourie, 17 Alfred Wauts, 18 Christo van Niekerk, 19 Siya Mdaka, 20 Spanner Pretorius, 21 Liam Slatem, 22 Clayton Durand.

Griquas: 15 Rudi Vogt, 14 Dusty Noble, 13 Wilmaure Louw, 12 Matthew Rosslee, 11 Rocco Jansen, 10 Riaan Viljoen, 9 Marnus Hugo, 8 Jonathan Mokuena (Captain), 7 Justin Downey, 6 Marnus Schoeman, 5 Jaco Nepgen, 4 Hendrik Roodt, 3 Lourens Adriaanse, 2 Ryno Barnes, 1 Ivann Espag.
Substitutes: 16 Simon Westraadt, 17 Steph Roberts, 18 Edwin Hewitt, 19 Leon Karemaker, 20 Sarel Pretorius, 21 Hanno Coetzee, 22 Monty Dumond.

Sharks v Western Province, Durban – 17:05
Referee: Mark Lawrence
13 August: The Sharks won 21-19 in Cape Town

My prediction: Sharks by 9

Sharks: 15 Stefan Terblanche, 14 Sibusiso Sithole, 13 Marius Joubert, 12 Meyer Bosman, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Frederic Michalak, 9 Charl McLeod, 8 Keegan Daniel (c), 7 Jean Deysel, 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Ross Skeate, 4 Anton Bresler, 3 Eugene van Staden, 2 Kyle Cooper, 1 Dale Chadwick.
Substitutes: 16 Monde Hadebe, 17 Wiehahn Herbst, 18, Jan Andre Marais, 19 Marcell Coetzee, 20 Conrad Hoffmann, 21 Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 22 Adrian Jacobs

Western Province: 15. Heinrich Steyl, 14. Danie Poolman, 13. Berton Klaasen, 12. Marcel Brache, 11. JJ Engelbrecht, 10. Lionel Cronje, 9. Dewaldt Duvenage, 8. Nizaam Carr, 7. Siya Kolisi, 6. Nick Fenton-Wells, 5. De Kock Steenkamp, 4. Adriaan Fondse, 3. Brok Harris, 2. Tiaan Liebenberg (captain), 1. JC Kritzinger
Substitutes: 16. Deon Fourie, 17. Frans Malherbe, 18. Tertius Daniller, 19. Nick Koster/Pieter Louw, 20. Louis Schreuder, 21. Johann Sadie, 22. Conrad Jantjes

Absa Currie Cup First Division

The final round of the Absa Currie Cup First Division is a mathematician’s dream, with various permutations meaning any of the six teams can still qualify for the semi-finals.

The permutations:

EP (currently on 42 log points) will finish top of the log if the Cavaliers lose and don’t get any bonus points from their match against SWD, otherwise they will be second.

Boland (41) will finish top of the log if they beat SWD (with or without a bonus point) or lose but score one bonus point (for losing with fewer than eight points or scoring four tries). If they lose without scoring a bonus point, they will be second.

Griffons (18) will finish fourth on the log if SWD lose without scoring two bonus points and the Valke and Bulldogs draw and they don’t score four or more tries each.

SWD (16) will finish third on the log if they beat Boland or score two log points, either from a draw or two bonus points. If they lose, they will be out of the semi-finals.

Valke (16) will be third on the log if they beat Border and SWD lose to Boland, or fourth if they beat Border and SWD beat Boland. They will be fourth on the log if they draw with Border and SWD lose, but they will not make the semi-finals if they lose.
Border (15) will finish third if they beat the Valke and SWD lose to Boland.

Weekend’s fixtures:

SWD vs Boland
Date: Friday, 30 September 2011, Kick-off: 17:05
Venue: Outeniqua Park, George
Referee: Rasta Rashivenga
19 August: Boland won 49-24 in Wellington

Border vs Valke
Date: Friday, 30 September 2011, Kick-off: 19:00
Venue: Buffalo City Stadium, East London
Referee: Jason Japtha
19 August: Valke won 57-42 in Kempton Park

Saturday is going to make for some pretty industrial rugby watching …. Best to catch one of the games while on a gym bike, lest that couch actually become attached to your bum! But keep one pick ticket back for that Ireland vs Italy game on Sunday morning …

Enjoy
Tank

It may not be quarter final time yet, but the business end of the Rugby World Cup is without doubt upon us, with at least three of the weekend’s fixtures being pool deciders.

The Boks take on Samoa on Friday in a fairly crucial Pool D decider. Lose and the Boks could be heading home, win and they top the log to face any of Australia, Ireland or Italy!

Yep, Pool C is a real scramble … Australia will go top after their mismatch against Russia, but then Ireland could sneak ahead of them if they beat Italy. Lose to Italy, though, and it’s home time for the Irish, and a quarter final against the Boks for Mallett’s marauders!

Unless, of course, the Irish score four tries and lose by less than seven while the Italians do not get a fourth try!! Inconsequential me thinks as the Irish should dispatch the Italians with relative ease …

Key final pool matches:

Friday, South Africa v Samoa, 09:30     
Saturday, France v Tonga, 07:00     
Saturday, England v Scotland, 09:30     
Sunday, Ireland v Italy, 09:30     

So to Friday morning then …

Rationally speaking, and going by the latest IRB rankings, this match sees the 2nd best team in the world take on the 8th best team. The Boks have played Samoa six times before with South Africa winning all six matches, by an average margin of 42 points. So the Boks should take this with relative ease, and I think they will …

The cliché, though, suggests that games are not played on paper, and I would suggest not on the IRB ranking ladder either, with factors such as pressure, passion, injuries, referees, weather and sheer bloody mindedness all playing their part …

Sport24 colleague, Chief Writer Rob Houwing suggests Beast Mtawarira v Census Johnston, Fourie du Preez v Kahn Fotuali’I, and JP Pietersen v Alesana Tuilagi as the key matchups, and one could easily add Tusi Pisi vs Morne Steyn, Seilala Mapusua vs Jaque Fourie and George Stowers vs Pierre Spies to that mix …

It’s no wonder some pundits are saying it could be close …

With many of the Samoan players plying their trade in Europe and New Zealand, it is amazing to see that experience improve the structure, patience and set pieces – things that were not part of their game until very recently.

But this is a very strong Bok side who seem to be finding their feet at the right time in the tournament. I would have been inclined to start with Hougaard ahead of Habana, but having the former on the bench is a big asset for Peter de Villiers.

The key will be to starve the Samoans of ball, turn them round with precision kicks from both Du Preez and Steyn, attack them in the lineout using Matfield, and get the upper hand on their scrum. Add a dollop of patience and a water tight defence that will frustrate the hell out of the Samoans, and this should be plain sailing for the Boks …

Below the stats and facts surrounding the game:

South Africa v Samoa, North Harbour Stadium, North Shore – 09:30

South Africa: 15 Pat Lambie, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Frans Steyn 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Schalk Burger, 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 5 Victor Matfield (captain), 4 Danie Rossouw, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Substitutes: 16 John Smit, 17 Gurthrö Steenkamp, 18 CJ van der Linde, 19 Willem Alberts, 20 Francois Louw, 21 Francois Hougaard, 22 Jean de Villiers.

Samoa: 15 Paul Williams, 14 David Lemi, 13 Seilala Mapusua, 12 Eliota Fuimaono Sapolu, 11 Alesana Tuilagi, 10 Tusi Pisi, 9 Kahn Fotuali’i, 8 George Stowers, 7 Maurie Faasavalu, 6 Taiasina Tuifua, 5 Kane Thompson, 4 Daniel Leo, 3 Census Johnston, 2 Mahonri Schwalger (captain), 1 Sakaria Taulafo.
Substitutes: 16 Ole Avei, 17 Anthony Perenise, 18 Logovi’i Mulipola, 19 Ofisa Treviranus, 20 Filipo Lavea Levi, 21 Junior Poluleuligaga, 22 George Pisi.

TEAM STATISTICS

• The starting line-up has 723 caps
• The oldest player is Victor Matfield (34 Years)
• The youngest player is Pat Lambie (20 Years)
• The heaviest player is CJ van der Linde (123 kg)
• The lightest player is Fourie du Preez (88 kg)
• The tallest player is Victor Matfield (2.01 m)
• The shortest player is Pat Lambie (1.77 m)
• The average weight of the forwards is 116 kg
• The average weight of the backs is 95 kg

MATCH STATISTICS

• Friday’s match is South Africa’s 29th in Rugby World Cup tournaments. Of the previous 28, only three were lost for a winning percentage of 89.3%, the best by any participant in this tournament.
• So far South Africa scored 114 tries in Rugby World Cup tournaments and is currently on 987 points, 13 points short of 1 000 RWC points.
• South Africa and Samoa have met on six occasions – three of those meetings at the Rugby World Cup. The last match between the teams was at the 2007 tournament when South Africa won, 59-7. Twelve of Friday’s match 22 played in that match in Paris, in which Bryan Habana scored four tries.

PREVIOUS MEETINGS

• 13/04/1995: South Africa won 60-8 in Johannesburg.
• 10/06/1995: South Africa won 42-14 in Johannesburg.
• 06/07/2002: South Africa won 60-18 in Pretoria.
• 01/11/2003: South Africa won 60-10 in Brisbane.
• 09/06/2007: South Africa won 35-8 in Johannesburg.
• 09/09/2007: South Africa won 59-7 in Paris.

PLAYERS’ MILESTONES & RECORDS

• Victor Matfield will captain the Springboks for the 17th time. Of the previous 16 tests, South Africa have won 11 for a win percentage of 68.75. Victor will play in his 109th test match to join John Smit as the most capped Springbok.
• Should John Smit be used it will be his 110th test and his 16th in RWC tournaments, equalling Os du Randt’s Springbok record. John has played all his Rugby World Cup tests consecutively. The record for most consecutive RWC tests is 18 and is held by Martin Johnson of England.
• Bryan Habana is the top try scorer in tests for South Africa with 39 tries in 72 tests. He shares the Springbok record for career tries in Rugby World Cups with Jaque Fourie, both on nine career tries.
• Jaque Fourie holds the Springbok record for most career tries as a centre with 28. He shares with Jean de Villiers the record as the most capped Springbok centre with 56 caps. And shares with Bryan Habana the Springbok record for most tries in Rugby World Cup tournaments with nine.
• Morne Steyn needs four points to reach 400 points in tests career. He is currently the leading points scorer in this tournament with 48 points. He will appear in his 21st consecutive test match.
• Danie Rossouw made his Rugby World Cup debut in 2003 and with six tries in tournaments he is now the Springbok record holder for tries by a forward.
• Schalk Burger is South Africa’s most capped flank forward with 64 tests and shares the Springbok try scoring record for a flank with Juan Smith with 11 tries each.
• Pierre Spies is South Africa’s top try scorer in tests as a No 8 with seven tries.
• Gurthrö Steenkamp is South Africa’s top try scorer as a prop in tests with six tries.
• Jannie and Bismarck du Plessis will play together for a 19th time.

THE COACHES
Peter de Villiers match record is as follows: 45 test matches of which 28 were won with 17 losses for a win percentage of 62.2.

Titimaea Tafua made his Samoa Coaching debut in 2009 against Japan. His match record is 22 test matches with 11 wins and 11 losses for a win percentage of 50. Under his guidance Samoa won their first IRB Pacific Nations Cup in 2010.

NORTH HARBOUR STADIUM
South Africa’s first match at this venue was last Thursday against Namibia, which was won 87-0.

THE REFEREE
Nigel Owens of Wales made his International Test debut in the match between Ireland and Japan in 2005 in Osaka. Since then he officiated as referee on six occasions with the Springboks involved. Of the six tests, South Africa won 4 and lost 2.

Now go and tell your boss about that massively important dentist appointment at Friday at 09h30 that you “Forgot” about …

Tank

Andy Wood, perhaps better known as “The General” over at Camp SuperBru, together with his able lieutenant Richard Atkins, have come up with some real World Cup food for thought …

That it comes out on the day that the IRB are being accused of being a little money hungry by the New Zealand Rugby Union, is of course pure coincidence …

But it has long been thought that IRB are just a smidgeon protective of “Their” Northern Hemisphere teams, especially given the success of SANZAR in recent years …

So riddle me this, then:

The RWC draw was based not on the results of the preceding RWC, but on the IRB world rankings at a time when these things needed to be resolved, in 2008. And the top four teams in the world at that time were:

1. New Zealand
2. South Africa
3. Australia
4. Argentina

Now given that in just about any professional sports tournament, the draw is arranged so that the semi-finals should see the 1st seed take on the 4th, and the 2nd seed take on the 3rd, if the results play to the seedings, 1 beats 4 and 2 beats 3, setting up the final everyone wants to see: 1 v 2.

Giving the world what it wants – An All Black vs Springbok final …

Yet for RWC 2011, the intention of the draw was to produce these semi-finals:

1st (NZ) plays 2nd (SA)
3rd (Aus) plays 4th (Argentina)

And as Andy points out: “This obviously massively advantages the 4th seed, as instead of facing the All Blacks, they take on the Wallabies – a much tougher prospect now than they were in 2008 of course, but still the antipodean team you’d rather face”

Further, says Andy: “It was fairly predictable that a northern hemisphere team would supplant Argentina as the fourth seed: England or France.”

So is this the IRB trying to look after one of the Northern Hemisphere sides by giving them an easier semi that would have normally been the case?

Especially since commercially, it’s all about who plays in the final, not who wins it, because TV/media audiences in Europe (the UK, in particular) will be much, much bigger for the final and the week leading up to it if a Northern Hemisphere team is playing, and especially if it were to be England …

For a more thorough look into this, please take a look at Andy Wood’s blog by CLICKING HERE.

For a weekend on which the Springboks did not play, there were a few fairly significant happenings on the rugby front …

• The UCT Ikeys added to their Varsity Cup win by taking the League title for the first time since 1974
• Pukke beat UJ to win the 2011 Club Championships
• Boland hammered EP to throw a real spanner into the Kings march to Currie Cup and Super Rugby
• The Bulls beat the log topping Lions to keep their Currie Cup semi final hopes alive
• The All Blacks destroyed France to confirm their status as out and out RWC favourites
• I got my first Currie Cup Grand Slam Point on SuperBru this season!

I was three when UCT last won the League! And try as I might when donning the blue and white stripes during my thoroughly enjoyable stint at this great institution, even with the likes of Andrew Aitken, Lance Sherall, Rob Brink, Michael Kirsten, Gavin Lawless, and Simon Berridge as team mates, under the tutelage of Allan Solomons, I think we best we could do was third …

So for the current crop to put together 13 wins on the trot to come back from their decidedly shaky start to the league – perhaps a hangover of sorts after winning the Varsity Cup – another first after being losing finalists, twice – including a bonus point win against Vics on Saturday, to take the title from Maties by a single point, is just outstanding!

Well done to head coach Kevin Foote, assistant coaches Paul Day and Dave Wessels, and captain Don Armand. It’s no wonder they have produced so many WP players in recent years …

In the first-ever final between the two teams, Pukke won their fourth Club Championship title in eight years when they beat UJ 19-14 in a tense final played in front of well under 50 people, sadly, at the Danie Craven Stadium on Friday.

The Potch students, given little chance heading into the tournament after a disappointing Varsity Cup and a semifinal loss to Raiders in the Golden Lions League, showed that they are pretty damn good at tournament rugby by winning the final and beating Maties 39-36 in their semifinal.

Significantly, there were three Varsity Cup sides in the two semi finals, proving not only how good the tournament is for the Varsity sides, but also how important it is for the non-Varsity clubs to pull their fingers out their bums and do something to right the ship. The fact that not even Willem and his staffie  were prepared to take a stroll down to watch the National Champs also points to the fact that some significant sort of change has to happen to the club structures.

And down in Wellington, Boland, with former Springbok Sevens flyer Danwel Demas scoring four tries, became the first team to beat EP this season by hammering them 49-15. This means the wine farmers can go top of the log if they beat SWD next weekend.

EP did concede 28 points in the final 15 minutes of the game, and were issued three yellow-cards by referee Marius Jonker, but it is not exactly going the way Oregan Hoskins and SARU wanted this fairytale to go is it? How the hell are these guys going to play Currie Cup rugby, let alone Super Rugby? I cannot wait to see how SARU handle this one … And based on their stalling, I am pretty sure they have no clue!

Speaking of the Currie Cup …

Away victories for the Blue Bulls and Cheetahs ensured the competition is still wide open with just three rounds to go. These results, coupled with The Sharks’ bonus-point victory over Griquas on Friday mean the team from KwaZulu-Natal move into second place on the log, the Free Staters go third and WP drop two places to fourth. The Golden Lions still top the standings and the Blue Bulls are now fifth, passing Griquas in mid-table.

Sharks 29 (14) Griquas 18 (10)

The defending champions had to work very hard for this victory and only got their revenge for losing in the first round to Griquas in Kimberley after a late try by Springbok winger Lwazi Mvovo and a penalty goal by Meyer Bosman they put a bit of daylight between themselves and the brave team from the Northern Cape.

Sharks – Tries: Dale Chadwick, Jean Deysel, Meyer Bosman, Lwazi Mvovo. Conversions: Fred Michalak (2), Bosman. Penalty: Bosman.

Griquas – Tries: Rudi Vogt, Matthew Rosslee. Conversion: Vogt. Penalties: Vogt (2).

Pumas 32 (25) Leopards 19 (0)

The Pumas, who got their first victory of the 2011 season in Kimberley last week, took a commanding 25-0 lead in the first half with flyhalf Coenie van Wyk scoring 20 of these points through a try and five penalty goals. But 19 unanswered points in 10 minutes early in the second half saw the Leopards narrow the gap to just six points (19-25). That is how the score stayed until late in the match when flank Jaco Bouwer scored a converted try with less than 15 minutes on the clock that made it safe for the Pumas.

Pumas – Tries: Jaco Bouwer, Wilhelm Loock, Coenie van Wyk. Conversion: Van Wyk. Penalties: Van Wyk (5).

Leopards – Tries: Philip de Wet, George Tossel, Gavin Williamson. Conversions: Wesley Dunlop (2).

Golden Lions 18 (6) Blue Bulls 21 (18)

A well struck drop-goal by young flyhalf Louis Fouché with less than 20 minutes to go helped the Blue Bulls become the first team to beat the Lions at Coca-Cola Park. It was only their second loss of the season, but the team from Pretoria move up to fifth place after their second successive win of the season. Ill-discipline by the visitors saw the Bulls reduced to 13 men early in the second half saw the Lions fight back to level the scores at 18-18 after an hour of play. Then Fouché struck …

Golden Lions – Tries: Michael Killian, Josh Strauss. Conversion: Elton Jantjies. Penalties: Jantjies (2)

Blue Bulls – Tries: Jano Vermaak, Warwick Tecklenburg. Conversion: Louis Fouché. Penalties: Fouché (2). Drop-goal: Fouché.

Western Province 20 (6) Cheetahs 34 (24)

For a second consecutive week the Cheetahs scored a comfortable victory against a team higher than them on the log, and on Saturday they were clinical in the first half, in the process silencing the Newlands faithful. WP fought back in the second half, but they could not contain the Cheetahs, who put the result beyond any doubt with a drop-goal and a converted try to leap frog their hosts on the log.

WP – Tries: Nick Fenton-Wells, Deon Fourie. Conversions: Lionel Cronje (2). Penalties: Cronje (2).

Cheetahs – Tries: Cameron Jacobs, Piet van Zyl, Pieter Labuschagne, Coenie Oosthuizen. Conversions: Johan Goosen (3), Sias Ebersohn. Penalty: Goosen. Drop-goal: Sias Ebersohn.

Premier Division Log

Absa Currie Cup First Division

Boland 49 (13) EP 15 (10)

Boland – Tries: Danwel Demas (4), Bolla Conradie, Willie le Roux; Conversions: Elgar Watts, Le Roux (4); Penalties: Watts (3).
EP – Tries: Jaco Engels, Luke Watson; Conversion: Louis Strydom; Penalty: Strydom.

Valke 53 (31) SWD 45 (7)

Valke – Tries: Franco Booysen (2), Reg Muller (2), Zander de Kock, Jaco Snyman, Carlyle Hendricks. Conversions: Juan Kotze (6). Penalty: Kotze. Drop goal: Kotze.
SWD – Tries: Wilhelm Koch, Layle Delo, Braam Immelman, Giant Mtyanda, Duwayne Smart, Wentsley Scott, Eric Coetzee. Conversions: Elric van Vuuren (5).

Griffons 21 (7) Border 25 (18)

Griffons – Tries: Shaun Raubenheimer, Japie Nel, Tertius Maarman. Conversions: Tiaan van Wyk (3).
Border – Tries: Ntabeni Dukisa, Onke Dubase, Shane Spring. Conversions: Dukisa (2). Penalties: Dukisa (2).

First Division Log

The Boks get a good Braaiday weekend off after smashing the Fijians and Namibians, with just the tricky little Samoan encounter left next Friday morning in the group stages of the World Cup …

This weekend sees the one fixture all of New Zealand seem to be obsessing about, with the French taking on the home side. I actually think it will be a bit of a letdown with the All Blacks being far too good for this yo-yo French side …

Fiji vs Samoa should be good fun, even if just for the double haka, and rib rattling tackles – expect to feel those here in South Africa!

My World Cup weekend predictions:

England v Romania: England by 36
New Zealand v France: New Zealand by 16
Fiji v Samoa: Samoa by 14
Ireland v Russia: Ireland by 28
Argentina v Scotland: Argentina by 7
Wales v Namibia: Wales by 18

Locally the Bulls have a tough task in keeping alive their Currie Cup semi-final hopes when they travel to Johannesburg to face the table-topping Golden Lions.

In Cape Town, Western Province host the resurgent Johan Goosen blessed Cheetahs in a tricky encounter for the home team, after the side from Bloemfontein crushed The Sharks last weekend.

In the two other games of the weekend, Griquas travel to Durban to face The Sharks, still hurting from their defeat in Bloemfontein last week, while both the Pumas and the Leopards will be aiming for their second victory of the season in Nelspruit.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23

Pumas v Leopards, Nelspruit – 15:00
Referee: Pro Legoete
5 August 2011: Leopards won 27-15 in Potchefstroom

My prediction: Pumas by 4

Pumas: 15. MJ Mentz, 14. Wilhelm Hendrik Loock, 13. JW Jonker, 12. Siviwe Magaba, 11. Johan Jackson, 10. Coenie van Wyk, 9. Shaun Venter, 8. Christo le Roux, 7. Jaco Bouwer, 6. Corne Steenkamp (Captain), 5. Marius Coetzer, 4. Willem Serfontein, 3. Brett Nel, 2. Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1. Dawie Steyn
Substitutes: 16. Pellow van der Westhuizen, 17. Michael de Neuilly-Rice, 18. Eduan Van Der Walt, 19. JP Mostert, 20. Hendrik van der Nest, 21. Dewald Pretorius, 22. Carl Bezuidenhout

Leopards: 15 George Tossel, 14 Hoffman Maritz, 13 Charl Weideman, 12 Joubert Engelbrecht (captain), 11 Jovan Bowles, 10 Wesley Dunlop, 9 Johann Laker, 8 Robert Kruger, 7 Luvuyiso Lusaseni, 6 Philip de Wet, 5 Bradley Mockford, 4 Brendon Snyman, 3 Berend Botha, 2 Gavin Williamson, 1 Jean Rossouw
Substitutes: 16 Marius Fourie, 17 Dewald Coetzee, 18 Juan Pretorius, 19 Dries van Schalkwyk, 20 Liam Slatem, 21 Wynand Willis, 22 Clayton Durand

Sharks v Griquas, Durban – 19:10
Referee: Jason Jaftha
5 August 2011: GWK Griquas won 43-33 in Kimberley

My prediction: Sharks by 18

Sharks: 15 Stefan Terblanche, 14 Sibusiso Sithole, 13 Marius Joubert, 12 Meyer Bosman, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Frederic Michalak, 9 Ross Cronje, 8 Keegan Daniel (captain), 7 Jean Deysel, 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Alistair Hargreaves, 4 Anton Bresler, 3 Eugene van Staden, 2 Kyle Cooper, 1 Dale Chadwick
Substitutes: 16 Monde Hadebe, 17 Wiehahn Herbst, 18 Ross Skeate, 19 Marcell Coetzee, 20 Charl McLeod, 21 Adrian Jacobs, 22 Louis Ludik

Griquas: 15 Riaan Viljoen, 14 Dusty Noble, 13 Wilmaure Louw, 12 Matthew Rosslee, 11 Rocco Jansen, 10 Earl Rose, 9 Marnus Hugo, 8 Jonathan Mokuena (captain), 7 Davon Raubenheimer, 6 Justin Downey, 5 Frikkie Spies, 4 Hendrik Roodt, 3 Lourens Adriaanse, 2 Ryno Barnes, 1 Ivann Espag
Substitutes: 16 Simon Westraadt, 17 Steph Roberts, 18 Leon Karemaker, 19 Marnus Schoeman, 20 Hanno Coetzee, 21 Monty Dumond, 22 Rudi Vogt

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24

Golden Lions v Blue Bulls, Johannesburg – 15:00
Referee: Lourens van der Merwe
6 August 2011: Lions won 36-27 in Pretoria

My prediction: Blue Bulls by 4

Golden Lions: 15 Jaco Taute, 14 Deon van Rensburg, 13 Doppies la Grange, 12 Alwyn Hollenbach, 11 Michael Killian, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Michael Bondesio, 8 Joshua Strauss (captain), 7 Derick Minnie, 6 Cobus Grobbelaar, 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Michael Rhodes, 3 Patric Cilliers, 2 Bandise Maku, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg
Substitutes: 16 Martin Bezuidenhout, 17 Jacobie Adriaanse, 18 David Bulbring, 19 Warren Whiteley, 20 Rudy Paige, 21 Burton Francis, 22 James Kamana

Blue Bulls: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Bjorn Basson, 13 Wynand Olivier, 12 Francois Venter, 11 Gerhard van den Heever, 10 Louis Fouche/Francois Brummer, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 CJ Stander, 7 Jacques Potgieter, 6 Dewald Potgieter, 5 Juandre Kruger, 4 Flip van der Merwe, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Gary Botha (captain), 1 Dean Greyling
Substitutes: 16 Willie Wepener, 17 Rossouw de Klerk, 18 Gerrit-Jan van Velze, 19 Arno Botha, 20 Dustin Jinka, 21 Francois Brummer/Marnitz Boshoff, 22 Jurgen Visser

Western Province v Free State Cheetahs, Cape Town – 17:05
Referee: Stuart Berry
6 August 2011: Cheetahs won 28-22 in Bloemfontein

My prediction: Cheetahs by 5

Western Province: 15 Conrad Jantjes, 14  Danie Poolman, 13  Johann Sadie, 12 Marcel Brache’, 11  JJ Engelbrecht, 10 Lionel Cronje, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Nick Koster, 7 Tertius Daniller, 6 Nick Fenton-Wells, 5 De Kock Steenkamp, 4  Hilton Lobberts, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Tiaan Liebenberg (captain), 1 JD Moller
Substitutes:  16 Deon Fourie, 17 Frans Malherbe, 18 Nizaam Carr, 19 Siya Kolisi, 20 Louis Schreuder, 21 Berton Klaasen, 22 Heinrich Steyl

Cheetahs: 15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Rayno Benjamin, 13 Robert Ebersohn, 12 Philip Snyman, 11 Cameron Jacobs, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Piet van Zyl, 8 Ashley Johnson, 7 Boom Prinsloo, 6 Pieter Labuschagne, 5 Izak van der Westhuizen, 4 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 3 Coenie Oosthuizen, 2 Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1 Marcel van der Merwe.
Substitutes: 16 Hercu Liebenberg, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Francois Uys, 19 Johan Wessels, 20 Tewis de Bruyn, 21 Sias Ebersohn, 22 Andries Strauss.

Absa Currie Cup First Division

Boland vs EP Kings
Date: Friday, 23 September, Kick-off: 15:00
Venue: Boland Park, Wellington
Referee: Marius Jonker
12 August 2011: EP won 23-18 in Port Elizabeth

Griffons vs Border
Date: Saturday, 24 September. Kick-off: 15:00
Venue: North West Stadium, Welkom
Referee: Joey Salmans
12 August 2011: Border won 26-21 in East London

Valke vs SWD
Date: Saturday, 24 September. Kick-off: 15:00
Venue: Barnard Stadium, Kempton Park
Referee: Quinton Immelman
12 August 2011: SWD won 24-15 in George

Enjoy people. I will be teaming up with my Cheerful Chunky mates to take on The Toad in Noordhoek in a Braaiday potjiekos competition  … They have promised me a good stock of Black Label, and given that the day starts with the All Blacks vs France game at 10h30, they will actually be lucky to actually see a potjie from us …

That said, I really do hope to make it up to the Green Mile on Saturday afternoon, where Ikeys will be taking on Vics … A victory for the blue and whites will see them take the league title for the first time since 1974!!

Cheers
Tank