PoP - congratulations (your bio says 'General trouble maker') You could well have started an international incident of epic proportions with this post !
An incident that can only be quelled with the drinking of large amounts of
1) English ale
2) Windhoek
3) A case of Pinotage
or anything except F&%$!*G Castle
20
martraveller
21
princessofpenguins
Mmm... Pinotage...
Windhoek and biltong would be best while watching the finals though ;-)
23
fartherted
"because they have looked relaxed and untroubled by any team the entire tournament."
i assume you missed the tonga game?
i don't know who'll win to be honest with you, all i know is
A. im glad were playing your lot again so if we do win we haven't got to put up with the "yeah but we beat you 36-0" for the next 4 year
B. England really shouldn't be here so have nothing to loose, SA are going to look very daft if they loose to us
24
bosch
FatherTed yes, the Tonga game was our B-team playing. The game was then closed out when the replacements were sent on. Those replacements were the insurance policy, Jake White had said so before the time, and that plan worked when it needed to.
Against Fiji the Fijians came back to level at 20-20. Smit then told his players "Remember the look in the eyes of the All Blacks and the Aussies. I don't want to see that here." And that worked too.
I don't know what is going to happen either, but I feel proud of what the Springboks have achieved during this tournament and of the way they did it.
25
martraveller
FatherTed do you remember our opening game against the USA ? Did we set the world alight ? No we just succeeded in looking as bad at the world cup as we have during the last 4, 6 nations !
What went wrong against ZA in the group stage ? The excuse is obvious, we went into the game without a recognised fly half. But in reallity our forwards spent the game in reverse gear and failed to compete at all levels !
Whats improved ? Everything, probably caused by the fear of being the most pathetic defending champions ever !
Why did we beat the Aussies ? Couldn't face 4 years of mockery !
Why did we beat the French ? Because we can !!!!
Will we win on Saturday ? Hopefully yes (from an English perspective) but provided we play with passion and commitment, we can be proud to still be the only Northern hemisphere nation to have held the Webb Ellis trophy !
Where did the name 'Try' come from ? According to legend, on that fateful day when young William Webb-Ellis 'picked up the ball and ran'. As he crossed the line and touched down the ball, he turned to the Games master and asked ' Did I score sir ?' to which the reply came ' No Webb-Ellis, but it was a damn good try !'
27
bosch
"When England were thrashed 36-0 by South Africa in Paris they were a team without a game," proclaims The Sun, the most widely read British daily. "When they return to the Stade de France they do so as a team who have become the game."
The same piece states further that "... this England team are prepared to rip the heart from your body and terrify your soul."
Pro tip
Lonely Planet
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