England

APV1 says...

@ gazzabok - one of the few good things to come out of the result...

Your donation to The Wooden Spoon.

@ Chopper - you're probably right about the stats, although the Boks were bigger.

Posted 12:02 18th June 2012

bokbevok says...

Phil are you deluded that the midweek team impresses immensely . The England fringe players couldn't dictate how they wanted to play against third tiers SA players ( largely back up voda com players.

I would say disappointed immensely as not mug to fall back on. If that was great play to you then you will never compete against SH teams at that standard.

Frustrating to say the least if you were a Pom supporter I would guess.

Posted 13:54 16th June 2012

Ruggernaut says...

Substitutions can make a HUGE difference. Phil is absolutely right in his comments about the impact Strauss and Oosthuizen made when they came on. But I still think (and this is coming from an SA supporter) that England have a very powerful pack. For some reason they are not getting the recognition they really deserve. They're also very mobile around the field. I was very, very impressed with the way they competed at the break downs. It's something that I hope the Boks worked on during this week, because this is one of the areas where England definately performed better in the first test.

Posted 20:28 15th June 2012

letsgoboks says...

Nice column for england.

Would be good to have one for SA. Preferably not a South African forward though :D

Posted 16:40 15th June 2012

Chopper says...

Sorry but I think you'll find most of the Springbok weights were incorrect when they were listed live on TV. With the exception of Willem Alberts who was listed 1kg heavier at 120kg's, but most of them were off.

The worst case was JP Pietersen who I think they listed at 85 or 86kg when he is in fact, according to the Sharks website 102kg.

I tallied up the weights listed on sarugby.co.za and the couple that weren't listed there from their respective unions and got a total of 909kg. Now I now their weights may fluctuate slightly but not by about 40kg.

I think the Springbok pack was listed in and around 860 - had a couple of pints by that stage.

I'm expect that it's debatable they got the weights of the English pack right as well.

Posted 15:12 15th June 2012

gazzabok says...

The English are delusional. That was't a competition once the Boks settled into the game.

Boks will win by 20+ tomorrow. If not, note this comment and I will donate 10 quid to Wooden Spoon.

Posted 13:12 15th June 2012

APV1 says...

With regards to the "extra bulk" comments, I see it as the impact the Bok bench had over ours. There's no doubt that Strauss and Oosthuizen were bigger and better than Mears and D-J. No doubt at all. They scrummaged better and were hugely influential on the result.

Lee Mears - 98kg, 5'9"

Paul D-J - 116kg, 6'2"

Coenie Oosthuizen - 127kg, 6'0"

Adriaan Strauss - 102kg, 6'1"

So we gave away 2 inches in height, but 15kg in weight!

That's the extra bulk he was referring to, as prior to the subs, the packs were more evenly matched.

Posted 11:48 15th June 2012

APV1 says...

Once again, an excellent column. Real astute observations and some realistic and honest appraisals.

I'm also glad that this is still keeping him out of the commentary box..!

;-)

Posted 11:12 15th June 2012

Sharkyzulu says...

Good, balanced commentary, Phil!

However what extra bulk were you referring to? England's pack outweighed South Africa's! Just goes to show that size isn't everything... ;-)

Looking forward to the game tomorrow!

Posted 10:49 15th June 2012