KEY POINTS:
Here is an earlier selection of Your Views:
Johnno (Auckland)
Why are we bitching about the Springboks decision to rotate and rest players as we have had the luxury of doing it in recent times? The NZRU has a nerve really even mentioning the topic with this bleating over unfairness to the rugby fan and South Africa sending part of their RWC squad. Their players need a break just like our reconditioning programme as they prepare for the RWC. How would Henry and co like to be dictated to on when, how, who and why in regards to selection and interference from the NZRU. The NZRU has the right formula at present and have looked at the big picture for Henry and his players to ensure the RWC dream is successful. Canterbury can not sell out a test game regardless of the opposition. If the faithful Canterbury crowds see no point in even going to Super 14 matches these days especially on a cold night. The RWC is dominating team planning and matches from 18 months out of the event. Should we ask if the RWC is the right thing for rugby on the international stage, especially as the IRB can not get a functional and meaningful test calendar together in between RWCs. Go the AB's and let's worry only about our backyard.
Dutch Kiwi (Toloroa)
Chris Rattue does not seem to differentiate between resting players during a regional competition and an international one. If the South Africans wanted to spell players they should like New Zealand have used the Super 14 window. In any case it is now too late to spell players and expect them to be fresh for the World Cup. As usual South Africa have got it wrong and New Zealand was spot on. As to the Aussies they can certainly talk the talk but I am doubtful they can walk the talk.
Praveen AB Fan
Wouldn't really matter what team they send over! We will beat them! There is going to another trophy in our cabinet come Nov! Even if Jake White sends his mamma to motivate the Springboks, they will lose. Why? Because they are a bunch of cheats! Having watched the replay a couple of times, there's a grapple or a punch in every rucks. Personally I think that we have so much depth now that even Suzie would be hard pressed to do any damage. We are the best! We can field two teams that can beat the world. The Junior AB's are on par with the Aussies so come Sat, Matt "Pies" Dunning will get a lesson on how the men do it! Go the Mighty All BLacks!
Richard
I see nothing wrong with this. What is the difference between this and the All Blacks that were rested up earlier in the year. Perhaps we should be doing the same.
Guy (Johannesburg)
Unfortunately, unlike New Zealand and to a lesser extent Australia, South Africa does not have the luxury of cherry picking Pacific Islanders. When will Australia and the All Blacks realise that their habit of undermining the rughy development of islands such as Fiji, Tonga and Samoa, is a serious blight on the development of world rugby. These islands never field their best teams because of the New Zealand and Australian rugby administrators' policies of underdevelopment. It's about time the All Blacks changed their names to the All Pacific, or the 'old farts' at the IRB got involved for the good of the world game and stopped this practice. What the All Pacific team are concerned about? Is that they have never won a world cup when South Africa has been part of the competition?
Mike #8 Melbourne
White's unilateral decision to send second stringers to Australia and NZ is another blow to the credibility of the game internationally. Administratively, Rugby Union is a shambles when compared with other high profile international sports bodies. There appears to be little pride left in SA in regards to who represents their country in their favourite sport, and for such a sports-loving country and people that is indeed a sad commentary. Personally, I would prefer to see SA join the European Nations in a "Seven Nations" competition, and Australia, NZ, a combined Pacific Islands team and Argentina to compete for a Quad-nations title in our part of the world. Finally, I paid in good faith for four tickets for the test match in Sydney in a fortnight's time. All of us have now decided not to travel to Sydney to see a second choice 'Bok team play a full-strength Wallabies outfit. Shame on you Jake White, your fellow selectors, the SA administrators and those SA supporters who see no problem in "second-choices" representing their country in an important competition. Oh well, back to watching Aussie Rules for the weekend of the SA v Wallabies farce!
Stick (Northland)
I have no problem with Jake resting his top players, but they should of said so earlier instead of saying they would send their best player then not doing what they said they would. And why on earth didn't they rest them against the second string England team that they complained about?
Andy (London)
Bad for the game. Sending a 2nd string side for a meaningless tour match is one thing but to concede mid-tournament is another. ABs v Boks is THE test match and I think this devalues both jerseys. Pulling players from S14 is not a problem because GH was fully intending to use his top squad for all internationals. Rugby should be internationals first and then domestic rugby. Also, what is JW trying to do? His 'best' team have just lost to the ABs and won't have another chance to regroup until September now, while the ABs still have three tests to fine tune. He's either trying to lessen the ABs competition in the hope they drop their standards or wanting to send out his hitmen to take out McCaw, Carter and co. which I doubt is his intention. He's got two games to build his depth and 'rotation'. Bit late Jakey. I hope the Aussies and ABs spank you by 50 you gutless wonder.
Toots (Brisbane)
I think that was a bad move by South Africa rugby. Rugby fans here in Australia have paid for their tickets months in advance to see these games and for SA to pull a stunt like that was very, very poor. They can't use the same excuse the Kiwis did in the Super 14. New Zealand came open before the Super 14 kick off started confirming that 22 of their top players will be rested giving the rugby public a chance to select the games they want to attend. Well mark my word South Africa you can kiss your World Cup chances goodbye. If you think you need to rest your players mate you left your reconditioning run too late.
Kiwi (Sydney)
Last year the Aussies spanked the SA A team 49-0 in Aussie, what will they do to the B team this year? Like last year the Aussies weren't rated either so no reason why they can't do the same this year. Even more scarier is when they cross the ditch to "sunny" Christchurch, fog and horizontal rain. They'll think they are on Mars! Whether it's the SA A or B team they don't travel well like their English relatives, so really no biggy.
Fish
I don't really blame them. I am a staunch rugby supporter, but enough is enough. The Tri-Nations and S14 are taking the gloss off our rugby. I know now rugby is money driven, but playing the these tournaments every year is just too much. We have gotten away from real rugby, ie. tours. No international team comes here and experiences real NZ culture, and that new picked provincial 18 year old winger doesn't get to face a world champ. And do I need to mention Argentina? Or playing tests during the Northern hemisphere club finals? Come on. I know I will never change the face of rugby, but I think there should be a happy medium
Murdock (Melbourne)
The only reason I believe South Africa are sending a second string team is because they know there is no chance of a win against New Zealand or Australia on home ground. This way they can justify losing, and Jake White would not be under so much pressure for the losses sustained whilst touring. The objective of this is to keep their morale high heading into the World Cup, knowing that their best team were beaten by both Australia and NZ two months before the World Cup would be a huge psychological blow. The only question I have is would they have pulled out their top players if they had won the first two games of the Tri-Nations?
Andrew
It's a stupid idea having the Tri-Nations in world cup year anyway. But the fundamental problem rugby has is that it isn't a major international sport, and there is a gulf in class between the few countries that do play it. Compare it to say, soccer. In their group at the last world cup, England had to play Paraguay, so in a warm-up game, England played Uruguay - a country with a very similar style to Paraguay. The idea that England would have played competitive matches against a full-strength Germany, Brazil and Italy, three months before the world cup would have been absurd. In rugby you don't have the luxury of playing warm up games against similar opposition. Where as in soccer, Paraguay are pretty much the same as Uruguay, in rugby South Africa are miles away from, say, Georgia. That's the problem, what's the solution? There isn't one. The IRB had a chance to make the game more global by giving the 2011 world cup to Japan. They chose not to, so rugby will be forever dominated by 4-5 countries, and these problems will always remain. International rugby isn't much less boring than international rugby league.
Harden up
Let them rest. They are big boys. They are going to need it if they meet the All Blacks in the semis or finales, provided that both make it, because the All Blacks will run them around again and they won't have the 50000 Springbok supporters to cheer them on - but I'm sure there will be thousands of New Zealanders there. The Boks rely heavily on there forwards, so do we, but can they go the distance? We shall see?
Neil Stewart
They have ruined the Tri-Nations for 2007, but I'm pretty sure the Aussies and the All Blacks would have done the same in their situation.
Crawf (Perth)
If South Africa doesn't want to send its top players, why don't NZ and Australia play each other in a series outside of the Bledisloe Cup? There is a couple of teams not fielding full strength teams.
Mike
Here's a different view: SA send their second string team to cause as much damage to the other two teams as they can, while they rest their own no.1 team. Why is it that every team in the world complains about their off-the-ball tactics? I can assure you we'll see plenty of head-high tackles and late hits from them when they play their last two Tri-Nation matches. Things never change.
Creeptonite (Adelaide)
I'm tired of SA rugby, their heyday is long gone. Pre-apartheid SA played with courage and fierce determination. It use to be them against the world! What's happened? They should of gotten better not worse. I kid you not, NZ and Australian fans and administrators need to cut SA loose and play another nation. Our two countries have encouraged a style of rugby that is free flowing, exciting and entertaining. SA rugby is full of drop goal bandits, and shows no free running flare. Who cares what SA does, they're doing it to themselves. Let's get the French or Argentines to field and grow their talent. I know they'll appreciate and respect the honour of our competition.
Hawkeye (Sydney)
I think that the Springbok's not sending their A team is a little bit desperate. Fundamentally, if they really thought that they needed to rest key players (reconditioning is out of the question at this late stage) then they should have done it for the whole Tri-Nations tournament and sacrificed the Tri-Nations for a pitch at the RWC. The Aussie match showed that allowing them to play (for, face it, revenue) worked against them with injuries to key players and a potential demoralisation of players like Victor Matfield who as "captain" has a SA home loss to the ABs. The ABs may have just gotten it right and you can't compare the ABs withdrawal the same way as this is a slap in the face for the NZ and Aus Rugby Unions, who in reality will not lose income (the matches will be sell-outs I would imagine) but could potentially have a player injured for effectively a dead rubber.
Podgy (Melbourne)
As a diehard All Black fan living in Oz it has been interesting to watch the saga of the "under strength" Springbok team unfold. But I have a question for people to ponder - would White have made the same decision if they had won last weekend? I think not. Think on this, if they had beaten us last weekend I think you would find the Boks would have fancied their chances against the Wallabies in Sydney and thereby giving themselves a shot at the Tri-Nations. By White picking a less than full strength team he is admitting that in NZ he has a less than optimistic view of the outcome. Says more about Aussie rugby than anything else.
Mark (Auckand)
I hope that South Africa do not win the world cup as this would be the motive for all other sides to apply the same technique. This is going to destroy international rugby. Rugby is such a great sport when it comes to international matches as it brings out the best players. Soccer on the other hand is different and the only games that matters are clubs and the world cup and the Euro competition. I hope the IRB will put a stop to this before 2011, if not then the Bledisloe Cup, Tri-Nations, Six Nations etc, will mean nothing in world cup year.
BetOnBlack
I must say that this isn't too different from the NZRFU pulling our elite out of the first 7 rounds of Super 14. OK, so these are internationals that are being affected now, but who are they to say which is more important or relevant to the good of the game? The World Cup has successfully become the bane of world rugby and I can't help but think that our desperation to end the 20 year hoodoo got the ball rolling in the first place. At the end of the day, all this sort thing reminds me to do is steer clear of buying tickets to international fixtures in RWC year. It's too risky now.
Daimon French
Yes, I am also concerned about this second string South African side coming over with the message to target the top NZ and Aussie players. If this happens what can be done? They get banned for a few weeks but not a loss for South Africa. If NZ/Aussie players get injured this would be a huge loss for these teams in a world cup year. So I say rest our top players from these games and keep giving experience to other players in a test match environment.
Tommo (Hibiscus Coast)
They are fully justified after NZ stood down their players for 8 weeks. What is fair for one is fair for the other. I am an AB fan but Graham Henry wants it all his way. Good on the Boks for resting their players.
Solaris
I think if we want a true strength versus strength at the world cup the likes of NZ, Aus and SA and for that matter all of the actual contenders must look after the fitness and condition of their players. What does the Tri-Nations mean this year in the bigger scheme of things? I think that most teams have sorted out their squad and will not want to risk them to injury at this late stage. I'm sure the All Blacks and Australians will feel the same should Carter, McCaw and Larkam etc, be ruled out of the world cup during a Tri-Nations encounter. SA have already had injuries to Du Preez, Smith, Smit, Spies, Habana, etc. How long do the NZ and Aus unions want this list to be? I say good planning SA.
Martin (Auckland)
A storm in a teacup! South Africans have been complaining for a long time that their teams are under strength due to quotas, so what's new? Kiwis think they are unbeatable in any case and that the WC is a mere formality. Are we hearing the first muttering excuses should some players be injured and they do loose the WC? Samoa sent a under strength team to SA due to their players playing for NZ! Best possible WC Final = England vs Australia, and Aussie bringing it down under!
East Coasty
All the fans that have brought tickets to these games have the right to feel ripped off. If you paid for tickets to watch Beyonce and instead her grandmother comes out and performs you'd feel dudded right? Well what's the dif? I never backed the decision by Graham Henry to rest players from the S14. If you look at it how many players were injured anyway it didn't make a lick of difference. We've lost nearly all our countries locks, Carter was injured, so was Jerry the list goes on. Rugby is a contact sport and every player with half a brain should know you can be injured with every tackle, every run or scrum at any given time, be it at training or on the field. If the Boks want to rest their players then so be it but it not only makes SA and Jake White look like a jackass, but Rugby as a code is starting to get a donkey feel about it. Let's hope the fans don't turn on the players and instead of hearing that all too familiar chant of "All Blacks, All Blacks" or "Wallabies, Wallabies" the cheer for the games best could go something like Eeeeeorrrrrrr! Eeeeeorrrrr!
Chris (Johannesburg)
What if, just what if this so-called under-strength team is very competitive and even wins? And win they can! All of the selected players are worthy of the Bok-jersey. The three new caps in the team should have been there a long time ago. Just wait for the tests, and be unpleasantly surprised! Under-strength? Other-strength!
Springfield (Brisbane)
Everyone including NZ has done it so stop bleating. Over here the Aussies are moaning, but hey, over here in Queensland we have to watch second rate teams play most weekends.
Len (Durban)
I read your comments but it is strange that if anybody does something New Zealand don't like it's against sprit of the game. When all the best players are left out of super 14 by All Blacks its okay, but if you are an international club or national team it should be the best. So don't start something and when others do, just shut up. Cheers hope to return there soon.
James
SA have not picked or sent their best side once for the last few years due to the quota system. SA should rather not renew its commitment to the Tri-Nations and revive its plan to play the European nations annually and NZ/Aus periodically.
BJ (Tauranga)
I think that just because Graham Henry and his working team has in there wisdom used a rotation system and can afford to truly rotate there team and be competitive with several combinations, that we should complain when other countries have the same idea when there focus turns to the world cup. Betrayed? No bloody way! It's just the way it is nowadays.
Michael G
I can't believe the hypocrisy posted from the majority of Kiwis on this opinion poll - or mind you, I can. GH was given a mandate to withdraw his chosen ones from the S14 with the stated aim of winning the world cup even if it was at the expense of not winning the S14. JW wasn't allowed to pull his best players and well, golly a Saffa team won, wouldn't you know. It should have been quite clear to all you rugby geniuses that the Boks were running on empty in the last 15min on Saturday and that sending this mob to ANZ would have been a kamikaze act. What would GH have done if placed in a JW's shoes? That's right take the AB's for another hiding and a couple of bonus injuries thrown into the deal 10 weeks out of the WC. Come on guys, get with the programme, if GH can put the WC ahead of everything else, shouldn't everyone else be allowed too?
Noizy
To those accusing the All Blacks of similar tactics when John Mitchell sent an 'under strength' team to Europe in late 2002, it might be worth remembering that that team only lost to England by 3 points (this against the eventual winners of the upcoming World Cup), drew with France, and absolutely thumped Wales. It was a team that included Mehrtens, Lomu, Howlett, Umaga, Cullen, and many other 'A' members. In short, it was a team that was still expected and able to win against top-class test opposition. This isn't quite the same - does anyone really expect this SA squad to be competitive?
Boksupport in NZ
Finally the hectic schedule has caught up with the Boks! I think the last 5/6 weeks starting with the super 14 semis, the players have been working off a huge adrenalin rush and now there's nothing left in the tank! Looking through the injury list(www.iafrica.com ) the next best team is what we'll see here. It's a pity, but hey, now is your opportunity to give them a huge clap - or at least try! I personally believe that all internationals (other than non-cap games) should have been wavered during this and all future world cup years. See you in the final! Go Bokke!
Gman
How would the NZRU, ARU and its supporters feel if SA was forced by the its government to field a team consisting of 8 players, who didn't deserve their place on merit?
Hinejell
Yes, okay, the bulls beat the sharks in the final of the super 14. All South African affair. NZ and Aussie, were saving their best players too for the world cup coming up soon. So why can't the South Africans do the same? C'mon. Let's be fair here. Personally, I don't think any player should be wrapped up in cotton wool. If you are not good enough on the day, then you should not be selected. Go back to the old days, where every player gets a fair go.
Mike (Barcelona)
This under-strength b team White is sending will have a good effect on a number of fringe players, this will be their chance to play themselves into the test team and hopefully as well play a game that is more creative than the current Bok team.
But this b team will have an important mandate and that will be to cause injury to, or target certain players who are a threat to the Boks chance at the cup, namely NZs captain McGaw, Carter, and key players in prop, lock and mid field, its this mentality within the Bok psyche that destroys their game, their game plan and their reputation. So let them send their kids and Aust and NZ will whack out a few cricket scores against them, no one will be the wiser for it except White after he loses the cup and his job.
Duane (NZ)
Test rugby is just one step closer to being a complete joke. And we started it.
JB
Who cares? The AB's surely went thru there rest programme period based on peaking for the world cup. We all seemed to agree that when they came back to the Super 14 that they were short of high intensity rugby. It's great that one of our major competitors decides to do the same but gives themselves no time to get back into full combat mode before the cup. We need to play our cup squad in the rest of the tri nations and put them into it full on. Henry and Co have sucked the South Africans in nicely. We are priming up our full squad right on cue and that probably goes for our top 40 players. As the song goes "Who let the dogs out" we did and guess who is going to get bitten. Here is another prediction - In two years time the European club teams and their money rich owners will hijack the television rights to rugby. The South Africans will join them and most of our top players will be playing Heineken Cup. Like soccer, the Rugby World Cup will take precedent only every four years. If we don't get in with John O'Neil and the Aussies to make a competitive South Pacific tournament then you best get used to grass roots rugby as that all we will have left. Stop moaning about sub-standard touring teams because that's what you are going to get from now on. If you haven't noticed, four million Kiwis who can't even fill a small stadium on a fine day just don't cut it with a TV network.
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