A lot of people have mentioned expectation, and that's probably the key thing. Not just the expectation of the supporters, but the media too, and worringly also within the England camp. The standard line seemed to be that four wins was probably out of the question, three wins would be excellent and ...

Nothing wrong with being a school coach who moved up the system the hard way. Graham Henry was a school coach until his mid-forties, Jake White was a school coach who never had a provincial/franchise/club head coach position until the Brumbies. It seems preferable to fast tracking star players like ...

Southern Kings:
Parkes, Killian, Murray, Strauss, Nelson, Catrakillis, Vergallo, Watson, Leaonardi, Mbiyozo, Nel, Sykes, Buys, Maku, Engels

Gonna have to let one of those foreign players go.

We have a SA rowing team??

When did that happen?

What's up with Free State? They normally lead the way at this level.

One year would make sense consideirng that Roux probably would have another year at the Stormers riding the pine behind Bekker and Etzebeth. Hope that's the case. He's also behind Elstadt and De Kock Steenkamp, although Etzebeth was too until he actually played. Y'see this is why we get all these t...

we'd have been able to attract a higher profile player.

Roux will be cheaper. Perhaps a sign of the times that provinces are looking at value for money instead of marquee names.

Strange.

Apparently he has been signed on a one year contract, and The Stormers are already talking to him about coming back after that. I can't understand why Leinster would agree to such a thing.

http://www.keo.co.za/2012/06/27/leinste ... mers-lock/

That's twice now posters have linked to his show reel. MADE BY HIS AGENT. Actually, he might be better than I thought. Apparently he was ranked higher than Etzebeth last year (he is 1 year older) and it was only because of injury that Etzebeth got first crack at the Stormers 4 jersey. This might jus...

Dryden wrote:What is this project player thing that nh clubs have?

It's only in Ireland, not nh. A player who is not qualified to play for Ireland, but can become qualified through residence.

Cartman wrote:Is it true he's going to Leinster?

Another promising player you can't hold on to

<cough> CJ Stander <cough>

Unexpected, to put it mildly. Presumably he is going to take the project position. A very long shot imo. One Super Rugby cap as a replacement, only one Currie Cup start.

The huns dont get a vote do they?

They do.

I hope Etzebeth and Coetzee aren't overawed at all. I have no doubt that Kruger will do excellently. It's the two laaities that I'm a bit worried about. If only a guy like Schalk or Juan was there to guide them throughout. Do us proud Bokke! Etzebeth has never been overawed by anything in his life....

Weather forecast: Saturday 09/06 Cold and wet: 10/21°C 64% risk of light rain I expect a lot of high-kicks in these conditions. Our back 3 are pretty safe in the air, and I know that Ben Foden from their side is pretty good. Never seen Mike Brown play, and I'm not sure how safe Chris Ashton is unde...

Kruger is a great pick for SA. Knows the Saints players inside out, good understanding of the rest of th England players as well. Could be a real asset for SA if they have the wit to use him correctly Dead right. He's proved himself in both the English Premiership (which SH posters don't count*) an...

Kirchner
Pietersen
de Villiers
Steyn
Habana
Steyn
Hougaard
Spies
Alberts
Coetzee
Kruger
Etzebeth
Jannie dup
Bismarck dup
Beast

Strauss
Oosthuizen
van der Merwe
Daniel
Pienaar
Lambie
Olivier

Referee: Steve Walsh (Australia)
Assistant referees: Alain Rolland (Ireland), Simon McDowell (Ireland)
Television match official: Iain Ramage (Scotland)

I found the team list for the 2006 Bokkies U-21 team that reached the final and lost to France. Don't ask. A curious mixture of successful and unsuccessful (some non-existent) senior careers. (1 to 22) Heinke van der Merwe Chilliboy Ralapelle Sangoni Mxoli Nicolai Blignaut Wilhelm Steenkamp Keegan D...

A seriously under rated player. I can't understand why one of the Big Three in SA didn't sign him years ago for higher wages. When you think of all the duds (Willem de Waal ) that have been poached from the Cheetahs.