SA v Ireland test 2

Fair enough.

Id say it's a shot he thinks he could make. And needs to prove to himself that he can make it in a pressure situation.

I think the players hold themselves to a higher standard that fans hold them to.

SA rugby Twitter is something else 😂😂 they are the worst losers (and winners), like a bunch of Rassie mini-me’s with their slow-mo and screenshots of every perceived decision that goes against them. Apparently Doris looked at Kolbe at the end so it was definite obstruction 😂

Crowley done ok as you said, he is very inexperienced at this level and that was a cauldron.

We also have to remember, Sexton was 24? I think when he played in that semi which was his breakout. Crowley seems older beacuse he has been in the news so much. He hasn't had big games for Munster in European qtr's/semi/finals etc which really took Sexton onto the next level. This is not a pop at Munster by the way before people start.

He needs to get more experience, he needs to play in more of these games and figure things out.

When you look at it at end of game. SA had Pollard and a hugely experienced team with the youngest player been 31 next WC

Ireland had Crowley who hopefully should have at least another 2 World Cups in him. Was Pollard any better than Crowley??

Bullshit.

It's always good to spoil a SA party. Cocky shower.

That second half was hard going. But such individual brilliance won the day.

Separately, referees in rugby are starting to do my head in.

Playing centre stage in their own heads. Loving themselves on the big screen. Coaching players throughout the game. Cozy first name terms.

Uurrgh just shut up, apply the laws more and stop trying to be the centre of attention

Humphreys spent time on the bench

All true, and the only thing I'd add is Humphries spent his first three years at test level competing with Eric Elwood, until he retired after the 1999 World Cup. He tends to be overlooked as we rightly celebrate Humphries, O'Gara, and Sexton; but Elwood was rare a bright light in what was a dark time for Irish rugby in the mid and late 1990s.

Beating world champions in ther own turf is more meaningful than a club game, be it a final, besides having the guts to try it again afer what happened, is even more special, most players would hide in that situation, but the greats learn, and try again

I think his kicking issues are overblown, and if he's not good enough, find someone else to kick. Libbock is far more dangerous with the ball, both in his own right and in his ability to create for others. Pollard literally offers nothing.

Couldn't agree more. I'm forever banging on about this. I call it the Nigel Owens effect. He brought the "referee as centre stage" to new levels. He got plenty of publicity for doing so. A lot of the other refs (particularly British ones) want a piece of that action and attention.

I detest the first names nonsense. The players should be referred to as the number on their back or the position.

Glad I am not the only one who thinks this. There is a promising player in Pollard, but he has been pushed into a pattern where he is not the playmaker and he rarely takes the ball as first receiver, I don't know if he will be that player again. If you saw how he played for the under-20's he was flat on the line and threatening it. Now he just stands back as a forward or De Allende takes the ball at first receiver.

Add in he is terrible on defense as well. He misses a lot of one on one tackles. But…he has 2 world cup wins and that counts for so much more than playing well or being the playmaker as Sexton was. He was paid a lot of money by Montpellier and only played 29 matches in 3 years and was on the bench before he left. I think that says a lot about him. He was also relatively anonymous against Leinster in the Champions Cup, both matches, this year.

Libbok cannot be trusted to kick at goal, but he offers so much more on attack. Rassie though is a conservative coach and he will go with the player that will execute the game plan over Libbok who is more unpredictable. Rassie likes his playmakers on 11, 14 and 15 where they are far away from the ball.

Libbok might have missed a few kicks - like Pollard did last week - but he might have added a bit of attacking spark and Pollard made a lot of errors.

SA never looked like scoring a try unless it was from one of the back three picking it up in broken play and scorching up the field. Their OH was a non-entity.

He has two WC, will play the exact same next WC and in reality could probably win it

I feel sorry for the refs tbh. Rugby is becoming like football withfans whinging about refs. Plenty of Irish fans think that Ireland and their provinces only ever lose game because of the refs. It's embarrassing. One minutes rugby fans whinge about the TMO getting too involved, the next rugby fans whinge when the a TMO doesn't get involved. It seems they'll always be in a no win situation. Letting managers ans certain players away with the antic they have around the refs has made it even worse as well.