Once again we have chosen the “World XV” from just one match – South Africa V Australia at Newlands Stadium, Cape Town, South Africa.
The Springboks were again dominant, as they were the previous weekend against New Zealand. In the lineout and the tackle contest, they completely overwhelmed the Wallabies, and it is a tribute to the courage and determination of the Australian team, that they remained in contention, at least on the scoreboard, for most of the match.
Our selected team is:
15. Adam ASHLEY-COOPER. Australia.
14. JP PIETERSEN. South Africa.
13. Jaque FOURIE. South Africa.
12. Jean de VILLIERS. South Africa.
11. Bryan HABANA. South Africa.
10. Morne STEYN. South Africa.
9. Fourie du PREEZ. South Africa.
8. Pierre SPIES. South Africa.
7. Heinrich BRUSSOW. South Africa.
6. George SMITH. Australia.
5. Bakkies Botha. South Africa.
4. Victor MATFIELD. South Africa.
3. John SMIT. South Africa.
2. Bismark du PLESSIS. South Africa.
1. Ben ROBINSON. Australia.
Obviously, most of the players picked themselves.
Perhaps Morne Steyn’s selection over the very highly rated Mat Giteau may surprise a few, but Steyn did plenty which contributed to his team’s success. Giteau did very little and, in my opinion, is way out of form.
In the back row, Smith was great for Australia, so we had to make space for him. He is an excellent ball-runner and can win lineouts also, so he will fit in at blindside very well.
Ben Robinson gave the Springbok front row a torrid time, despite the fact that Brussow spent most of the game bound on him, and he made a heap of tackles – there were certainly plenty available to be made!
I hope that it’s not too long before Tatafu Polota-Nau is available for consideration. I thought that he was outstanding when he came on, and helped lift the Wallabies’ game to a new level, in both attack and defence.
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2012