The Springboks are currently still on tour in Europe and have lost both their tour matches, the first match against Leicester in the United Kingdom and the second match against France in Toulouse. I hope that they break out of this losing streak. Perhaps it was the poor portrayal of the South African National Anthem before the match by Ras Dumisani that jinxed the performance of the Springboks in the match against the France. Or maybe the Springboks were just completely outplayed by the French on their home ground. Or it could have been the referee (Springbok fans love blaming the referee). It seems that everyone’s looking for a scapegoat to blame for the Springboks’ poor performance on Friday night in Toulouse. The Springboks have not beaten France on their home ground in a game of rugby since 1997 (when Nick Mallet’s Springboks beat the French by 52 points to 10). This may have been in the back of their minds as they started the match on Friday night. Julien Dupuy scored the first points of the game for France in the 6th minute of the first half. The Springboks only managed to reply with a penalty by Morne Steyn in the 20th minute. A few minutes later Morne Steyn kicked over a drop goal for South Africa, followed by a try for South Africa by the captain, John Smit. The Springboks were leading by 13 points to 3, but failed to score in the rest of the match. They had no reply to French try by wing Vincent Clerc and the other points scored by the French. 2 Yellow cards handed out to Kankowski and Morne Steyn didn’t help the Springboks either. In the end France beat the Springboks convincingly by 20 points to 13. The Springboks face Saracens in the UK in a mid week clash this week before facing Italy on the weekend. Let’s hope South Africa have their rugby playing boots on for the rest of their European tour.

This is video of Ras Dumisani performing the SA National Anthem before the match:

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The Springboks are currently on tour in Europe. Unfortunately they lost their first tour match against Leicester in England last week Friday. Guthro Steenkamp and Chillyboy
Ralepelle were injured in the match and sent home to South Africa. 2 Cheetahs players have been called up to replace these 2 players, Wian du Preez (prop) and Adriaan Strauss (hooker). Tonight’s match against France kicks off at 9:45 PM (South African time) and will be broadcast on Supersport 1 and M-net in South Africa. The match is being played in Toulouse in France, at the Municipal stadium. This promises to be a cracking game of rugby, but I think the Springboks will be victorious at the end of it. The French are a force to be reckoned with on their own soil. Only time will tell if the Springboks will be victorious in this match against France. Hopefully we’ll get to see Bryan Habana score one of his world famous tries (example in the photo below)

French Team: Damien Traille, Vincent Clerc, Yann David, Maxime Mermoz, Cedric Heymans, Francois Trinh-Duc, Julien Dupuy, Louis Picamoles, Imanol Harinordoquy, Theirry Dusautoir (captain), Romain Millo-Chluuski, Lionel Nallett, Nicolas Mas, Willem Servat, Fabien Barcella. Reserves: Dimitri Szarzewzski, Sylvain Marconnet, Sebastien Chabal, Julien Bonnaire, Morgan Parra, David Marty, Maxime Medard.

South Africa: Zane Kirchner, JP Pietersen, Jaque Fourie, Adi Jacobs, Bryan Habana, Morne Steyn, Fourie du Preez, Ryan Kankowski, Schalk Burger, Heinrich Brussow, Victor Matfield, Bakkies Botha, John Smit (captain), Bismarck du Plessis, Tendai Mtawarira. Reserves: Adriaan Strauss, Wian du Preez, CJ van der Linde, Andries Bekker, Danie Rossouw, Ruan Pienaar, Wynand Olivier.

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After the Vodacom Bulls beat the Vodacom Cheetahs convincingly in this past Saturday’s Currie Cup final, the Springbok squad was announced for the upcoming 2009 South African tour to Europe. 37 players have been chosen to represent their country. South African rugby is really doing well in 2009, so this promises to be one of the best tours in history. Pierre Spies was selected but has withdrawn from the squad. He’s undergoing surgery one of his fingers (an injury sustained in the Vodacom Bulls Currie Cup campaign). He has been replaced by another player (Jean Deysel from the Sharks). South Africa will face Leicester in on the 6th of November, France on the 13th of November, Saracens on the 17th of November, Italy on the 21st of November and Ireland on the 28th of November.

Here is the list of players who were selected:

Forwards (20):

• John Smit (Sharks) – Captain
• Victor Matfield (Vodacom Bulls) – Vice-Captain
• Andries Bekker (Vodacom Western Province)
• Bakkies Botha (Vodacom Bulls)
• Heinrich Brüssow (Vodacom Cheetahs)
• Schalk Burger (Vodacom Western Province)
• Bismarck du Plessis (Sharks)
• Jannie du Plessis (Sharks)
• Alistair Hargreaves (Sharks)
• Ashley Johnson (Vodacom Cheetahs)
• Ryan Kankowski (Sharks)
• Bandise Maku (Vodacom Bulls)
• Tendai Mtawarira (Sharks)
• Dewald Potgieter (Vodacom Bulls)
• Chiliboy Ralepelle (Vodacom Bulls)
• Davon Raubenheimer (GWK Griquas)
• Danie Rossouw (Vodacom Bulls)
• Gurthrö Steenkamp (Vodacom Bulls)
• Heinke van der Merwe (Xerox Lions)
• Jean Deysel (Sharks)

Backs (17)

• Heini Adams (Vodacom Bulls)
• Meyer Bosman (Vodacom Cheetahs)
• Juan de Jongh (Vodacom Western Province)
• Fourie du Preez (Vodacom Bulls)
• Jaque Fourie (Xerox Lions)
• Bryan Habana (Vodacom Bulls)
• Francois Hougaard (Vodacom Bulls)
• Adi Jacobs (Sharks)
• Zane Kirchner (Vodacom Bulls)
• Odwa Ndungane (Sharks)
• Jongi Nokwe (Vodacom Cheetahs)
• Wynand Olivier (Vodacom Bulls)
• Ruan Pienaar (Sharks)
• JP Pietersen (Sharks)
• Earl Rose (Xerox Lions)
• Morne Steyn (Vodacom Bulls)
• Riaan Viljoen (GWK Griquas)

The selected SA Squad features 9 new caps. 14 Vodacom Bulls players have been selected. 11 Sharks players have been selected. 4 Vodacom Cheetahs players have been selected. 3 Xerox Lions players have been selected. 3 Vodacom Western Province players have been selected. 2 GWK Griquas players have been selected. In all, this promises to be a great Springbok team. I’m sure that all the new players are quite excited to be selected. South Africa has a great opportunity to prove to the world that they’re still the World Champions of Rugby Union.

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