Guys! Rugby, like the economy is a cyclical thing. You have ups and also downs. The ABs have however had more ups than downs in the past so you guys are not used to downs! Things will change and we in South Africa still rate the ABs as our biggest and toughest opponents! Honestly! Most of us support the ABs when playing opposition other than SA.You guys have been rated number one in the world between world cups but seem to have struggled at world cup time. Maybe the thing has turned around? Maybe 2011 is yours if you do not panic and let Graham Henry sort out the problems and build towards 2011. Best of luck.

if the ab's respond well to defeat then they should be on fire to defend the bledisloe... at least thats what i hope.

I am disappointed with the Bloem test, fact is, we lost the battle there, not the war. Yes, we somehow seem in shambles.

For example, I think Ma'a is not creative enough, the ball seems to die there. he will make a greater impact off the bench. And the apparent lack of strike force in teh back three, although worrying, I think it requires merely a small adjustment. These south africans' are strong on defence. What happened to the 'grubber'. We need a tactical inside centre, this will also relief some pressure of our fly half(Donald).

Also, please ALL BLACKS, if you are reading this...the lack of brutality in teh pack is a pain to look at. And please, we need intensity when you do the HAKA. This is where the foundation is laid...fear instilled in the opposition.

Nigel du Preez

New Zealand supporters are just like us ... we hate losing!! That's stating the obvious but I feel one should genuinely stop bad mouthing the AB's and rather give a bit of credit to what is a magnificant SA side. Not all 15, but without a doubt this is an awesome pack. Dominant in the line outs, lose play and with the addition of Brussouw, the balance is just right. Playing on a hard field in Bloem also made the AB's task that much harder.

Like in the 90's when the AB's had Fitzpatick, Brooke, etc. That to, was a maginificent pack. What goes around comes around as they say and with the retirement of Bakkies, Matfield and Smit around the corner we must enjoy (objectively) the traits and gile of this magnificent pack of forwards. World class fetcher, sprinting 8th man, best lock combo in world rugby, bussling strong hooker, line out kings. Its just great to watch and enjoy. Its speaks volumes that NZ rugby can compete with what is a under strength team.

Who wins on Saturday is not the issue. But just to watch one v. two is the world is an absolute honour and seeing these athletes in full cry is what its all about. I just hope its another cracking addition in the long history of AB's v Springboks, am sure it will be!!

So Lee, thanks for 'your' definition of the physical battle. Here's a tip, scrums are usually won by the team with the better technique. Ask one of our smallest props ever, Olo Brown.

When differentiating between the the breakdown and the physical battle, do you really think 'clearing the rucks' is more to do with general physicality than it is the breakdown? Bahahahaha. Nice point on the tackles too, very seldom a ruck is formed directly from a tackle. Bahahahahaa, keep 'em coming.

Get some mongrel? Did you come up with that all by yourself champ?

Ok, fair enough, clearly the South African Rugby union are doing their job properly. I personally don't mind all that much about being second place, especially to a team that does so well considering all they have to go through and put up with, political and coaching issues. I like the talent coming through the NZ structure, it's just hte top end stuff that is a bit of a mess at the moment. SA love their currie cup, NZ needs to fall back in love with the NPC.

Go OTAGO! Ranfurly shield winners 31st July 2009!

The one question is - did the AB's bungling version of rugby also cause the Boks to play badly. As Marc says - in spite of all the errors, bad play and penalties they had, the Boks was still not all that convincing. Imagine what an Aussie team would have done with all that ball! ;)

Hopefully the Boks will also plan to use all the ball they are winning to better effect.

Logan #35

The NZ$ is a far more capable of competing with the pound/euro than the South African Rand is.

There was an article on a South African website(I will try and find it) that listed 47 ex-Boks playing in Europe and 220 other south africans playing professional rugby in Europe.

So I think both countries are in a bind in terms of losing players, the Boks are just lucky they had the Lions tour so the experienced players didn't all leave after the World Cup win, whereas the ABs players did. South Africa will go through similar issues soon when Matfield, Smit and Habana call it a day and head north - Jean DeVilliers has jsut signed with Munster. I guess they are lucky that their youngsters will have played with the experienced guys a bit longer - e.g JPP, Pienar, Steyn, The Beast, Bismark, Spies, Brussow.

So it's the end of the world because there is a team that currently, at full strength, full of talent and experience, is better than us? Not to mention that that team is reigning World Champs and the 3rd most experienced in their nations history. NZ is in a huge lull at the moment, $NZ can't compete with the pound or euro, NZRU/SANZAR like fiddling with things that don't need to be fiddled with, and the IRB keeps changing the rules. We are allowed to lose now and then, it means we're human, it's not like losing is a regular occurance, and we all know we can improve. Bring on Durban... also sack Smith, even John Mitchell had better attacking tactics than Smith, and Mitchell is a loon!

Ewoks #22

To me the physical battle is all the collisions - i.e tackles, scrums, clearing the ruck at pace

By breakdown I mean the fight between the loosies.

My point being that the games the ABs win are the ones where Richie normally causes havoc at contact points even if the Boks are hitting harder and going forward he normally has the ability to hang in there and upset things. I thought on Saturday he wasn't near his best and for most of the game, Brussow won that battle.

Sorry should have made that more clear. Thank you for your two cents.