Excitement is reaching fever pitch in what has felt like the longest week ever.
I can see Jonny raining high balls down on Habana and Montgomery, the forwards piling in and dropped goals sailing through the posts.
I predict England to win by a point. They have the experience, and Butch James and Francois Steyn could wilt under pressure.
Let me have your thoughts…
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1) If England can get at Percy, they will try to prize him open like a can.
He hasn’t been properly tested all tournament and pre-RWC there was way too much talk that ‘if SA wanted to take Bill home, they would not be able to do it with Percy at the back’.
2) Can you just imagine the abuse that will start to rain down if SA do lose!
The 22 (+ however many million supporters across the globe) must be crapping it…
No matter what quite a lot of people have said, whoever wins will fully deserved to and should be respected for it. It’s not how that matters in the end.
My prediction is that Bakkies Botha will be sent off for a late tackle on Jonny after about 23 mins and England will win 53-3, scoring 8 tries in the process.
We will then have an open top bus tour around Earlsfield, Southfields and Wimbledon for a good old gloat.
To be honest, I don’t know why SA have been given so much credit. They beat an England 3rd team in the summer, and an England team with no fly-half in the pool stages (which was all tactical by the English to lure the Saffers into a false sense of security…what an Oscar-winning performance by Jase Robinson pretending to tear his hamstring).
Montgomery will lose his hair-spray and fake tan before the game, and will spend the rest of it crying when jonny rains merry hell down on him (did anyone see the Rugby Club last night when Monty – whose favourite film is Brokeback Mountain – practically running away from the Garry Owens?). Sackey’s faster than Habana, and Francois Steyn will be given a schoolboy’s beating by Moody et al.
It’s in the bag. I’m not going to concede to excess like Mr Peel, but I predict a more realistic score of an England 38-0 win (5 converted tries and a dropped goal, just for good measure).
Good to see you not getting carried away J-Dog apart from the fact that 7 converted tries and a drop goal is actually 52-0.
Who said 7 converted tries??? I’d check your eyesight’s working Peel, along with your kicking…
I don’t see why we can’t put a ton past them, there’s been far too little in the way of cricket scores at this world cup!
In all seriousness, I predict there will be less than a try in it and England need to get their noses in front early to stand a chance.
We won’t be able to play catch up rugby if we get two scores behind.
Steyn is the weakpoint, send the backrow through his channel all night and give him no space in possession.
The kicking game is crucial because if our forwards front up like they have on their last two outings we’ll have the edge again but it all depends what we do with the ball, especially turnovers.
A tight game will go our way, an expansive thriller could backfire. Bugger it, “it’s coming home, it’s coming home, Bill is coming home…” Go on England
Jason # 3 ”which was all tactical by the English to lure the Saffers into a false sense of security…what an Oscar-winning performance by Jase Robinson pretending to tear his hamstring”
Who cares about Robinson, he is a has been. The Boks do not give a damn wether he plays or not. He runs like a rabbit at times, but mostly in circles. That is why England cannot even get a sniff of the try line.
Wilkonson is a bit fragile and will be rattled big time tomorrow. Go Bokke 42-15
Name me a harder, pound-for-pound player in world rugby than JW…
‘will be rattled big time tomorrow’ – what like when he collected his melon sized balls, checked his stance and sent the Aussies packing in 2003 and two weeks ago?
Am sure your side will be fine as you have loads of experienced RWC final players – oh thats right, you don’t. You have one, and will he last the full 80, I think perhaps not.
OK, sorry Justin, I’m 7 – 5 number blind. It’s a rare condition. Wilkinson is fragile and Robinson is a has-been in the same way as Habana is really slow and Burger is a bed-wetter. They’re all awesome players – let’s not get into the Aussie approach of slagging off the people we’re worried about – it tends to backfire.
That’s why we’re targetting Monty – we know that he actually is a bed-wetter.
England are just going to have to make sure they minimise mistakes. All of SAs tries against both England and Argentina (7 in total) were capitalising on errors and using turnover ball well. None of them were a structured breaking-down of the opposition. If England minimise errors, SA may struggle to break them down in a more conventional way.
So Catty, rein in the 30 metre miss passes – they’ve got a quick lad on the wing.
You gus are unreal, you play awful rugby, however you win a couple of games and think your the best in the world. Dad’s army have had their day……
Oh and by the way remember when De Beer kicked all those drop goals and all the english were crying out for drop goals to be worth less, whats happened to that opinon. The rugby you play is out-dated, the southern emisphere have got it right, except NZ are chokers and can’t handle pressure and the aussies aren’t good enough.
NOT US………..
SA 25 – 6 ENG
You gus are unreal, you play awful rugby, however you win a couple of games and think your the best in the world. Dad’s army have had their day.
Oh and by the way remember when De Beer kicked all those drop goals and all the english were crying out for drop goals to be worth less, whats happened to that opinon.
The rugby you play is out-dated, the southern emisphere have got it right, except NZ are chokers and can’t handle pressure and the aussies aren’t good enough.
NOT US………..
SA 25 – 6 ENG
Neel Van Rimmer, we don’t think we are the best in World. We are just getting behind our team – nothing wrong with that is there? You have to accept that at knock out rugby we aren’t half bad. Coming from nowhere to the final is a fair achievement.
If England plays such awful rugby it is only going to look worse for you lads if you lose.
So where were you all 5 weeks ago – the guys i spoke to after the game were calling for a complete rehaul!
they have done well, fair game and enjoyed them beating the french, cause we might have stuggled against them! although it would have been better for the neutral. one way finals are not great spectacles
Apologies, you’re right Neel. The southern hemisphere have got it spot on. New Zealand beat….oh no, they lost to a northern hemisphere team; Australia beat….oh no, they too lost to a norhtern hemisphere team. Ok, at least Argentina were beaten by a fellow southern hemisphere team, albeit a 2nd rate one.
Also, when speaking of awful rugby I assume you’re referring to our lack of try-scoring and a penchant for dropped goals. Well, as we’re on the subject, didn’t SA win the 1995 RWC whilst scoring no tries and finishing with a dropped goal…?
At the end of the day (although perhaps not by the end of tomorrow) we’re World Champions, and in my book that makes us the best in the world.
You have just gone over my points in the first comment, NZ choked and aussies aren’t good enough, but they play the correct rugby.
We did win in 1995 by dropped goal, but that was along time ago – alot can change in 12 years!
england will learn soon enough i guess – although i do commend the amount of “bandwagon” fans you have
Neel Van Reean – not sure if you have this expression in SA but you may like to consider this “pride comes before a fall”.
I certainly hope that your team has as much contempt for the English team as you seem to. Although I suspect it’s just bravado in the face of genuine fear that you might be beaten by a team playing “awful” rugby.
you got my name right this time any way. we are confident i agree but thats the fans, i’m pretty sure the players wouldn’t make that mistake, they saw what happened to the aussies.
i just feel we are all round a better team, apart from JW and the big guy sheridan, i struggle to see where any england players would get into the bok team
Hasn’t this world cup though shown that the collective is bigger than the sum of its parts?
We recognise that player for player, we’re not the team we were in 2003 and maybe we don’t have the wealth of talent that other teams have enjoyed, but as Sophocles once wrote, he that bonds with his brothers shall conquer adversity. Allez les Blancs
Neel, I agree that player for player the Boks are stronger although I’d prefer to have Robinson than Montgomery. A team can be greater than the sum of its parts though.
I agree the Boks are favourites but you never know. Let’s just hope for a great game.
here here
Oh and Neel, if things do go against you tomorrow, and stranger things have happened:
1. Take a leaf out the Aussies book from 2003 and be a gracious loser because you’re not great at the pre-game chat and
2. Log back onto this blog on Sunday/Monday, we’ll all be beside ourselves waiting to hear your balanced point of view imbetween some heavy duty gloating.
Fans tearing strips out of each other is for football my friend, banter is all good because it based around respect, something you seem to have bypassed.
18 – 17, England.
Whoops, that should have read “Bokke, 181 – 7, England”.
OK – 8 hours to go – I am living and working at an American Uni in the Middle East – so getting a few strange looks every time I mention ‘rugby’, ‘world’ and ‘cup’ – even the massive flag with the cross of St George with English rose in the centre on my front door on campus does not seem to alert the Americans to the match…….
Come on boys, 80 minutes of the heart and passion we all know you have – England Expects…and will not be disappointed. Swing low…………..
My Schedule (I am 3 hours ahead of Paris): 8am – wake, explain (again) to American wife how important today is
9am – walk the dogs on campus – hang cross of St George on front door
9:30 – explain (again) to wife how monumental this is – bemused looks; 10:30 – stomach begins to churn – not this nervous since I played in Dubai 7s
11:45 – Lunch not looking too appealing – how can I eat? Too nervous – some sort of empathy with the Boys in Paris
12:30 – watch BBC and the thousands flocking to the City of Love. See the choir at Waterloo station – shivers down the spine – times like this being an expat is not great – explain to wife why I seem a little misty-eyed
2:30pm – call mates to check they have beer and meat for the pre-game barbecue
2:32 – call mates to see if they are also shi**ing it; 3:36 pm – sitting in office writing this blog – had to get out of house to avoid another explanation of the importance of the day
Look ahead: home at 5pm, pace the house, open a beer, nerves all over the place, call friends in UK and hear the throng of a distant London boozer, 8pm friends arrive, discuss game and chances, 8:32 decide England will win, 8:40 decide England will fall apart, explain to wife the mood swing, 9pm fire up barbecue, eat, drink, be merry, discuss game, a few beers in and realise England WILL win, 10:30, get TV on and viewing spot on couch, 10:46, pace floor, look for support from friends, 10:55, stand and sing national Anthem, those shivers return, stomach on a day out at Alton Towers, whistle blows, here we go…come on boys, DO US PROUD………………..
You know you’re in trouble when you start to believe your own PR. It wasn’t that long ago that England were written off as a team of aging, has-beens, waiting for the arrival of a new generation. Now, miraculously, they’re potential World Cup winners?
Over confident, over hyped, and (soon) overrun!
Nothing to do with PR, David. England has been reborn since that drubbing, and now we are indeed potential World Cup winners. It’s not media spin, we really have beaten Australia and France, and we might just beat the Boks.
PRE-MATCH BUILD UP
Just set-up the pay-per-view on Directv ($30 for Setanta, it kills me, those Irish guys are so anti-English). I’ve verified that it shows as “purchased” on the guide four times so far – better check again in a minute. Hoping Lewis will distract me with a strong qualifying performance in a couple of hours.
Next step is to painstakingly reconstruct the circumstances from 2003. I have to check photo evidence – I know I was wearing one of the dark away shirts, but I have two versions…. Must also hang St George cross on the deck, find the CD with Land of Hope and Glory, and print pictures of the 22 man squad and pin up to the LEFT of the TV.
DURING THE GAME
It’s going to be tough. In 2003 there were times when I had to hide in the basement, when I just couldn’t take it. That was in the last quarter – I guess I hope it is just as close at that point for this game.
Tricky timing dilemma – here in Minneapolis kick off is 2pm, and we’re joining some neighbours for dinner at 6 (haven’t met them before, and don’t want to make a bad first impression). So really need to keep the nerve medicine intake steady. I wonder what time the liquor store opens.
Stealing a famous quote – come on boys, give ‘em f*** all