Having completed their Tri-Nations campaign in Christchurch on Saturday, the Springboks will now turn their attention to France and the World Cup, starting in Paris in September. While the 1995 world champions failed to make a telling impact on the southern hemisphere rugby championship, coach Jake White will be fairly happy with his team’s performance.
South Africa’s credentials of being serious challengers for the World Cup title in France later this year will be tested by the number one-ranked team, New Zealand, in the second match of this year’s Tri-Nations competition in Durban on Saturday. Jake White’s Springboks are coming off a thrilling, last-gasp win over Australia last weekend.
With only 30 places available for the World Cup, competition in the South African squad is as fierce as ever as a bunch of fringe players look to impress national coach Jake White this weekend when the Springboks face Samoa in a one-off Test at Ellis Park.
South Africa produced a commanding second-half performance to hammer England 55-22 in the second Test in Pretoria on Saturday. Northern Bulls heroes Bryan Habana and Pierre Spies both scored two tries on their home ground, while Percy Montgomery finished with 18 points to his name.
South Africa kicked off their international season with a crushing 58-10 win over World Cup champions England in Bloemfontein at Vodacom Park on Saturday. The hosts, who ran in seven tries, led 30-3 at half-time. England, minus up to 30 of their leading players who are either injured or were involved in last weekend’s Heineken Cup final, were no match for the South Africans.
South African rugby is seemingly in pole position to be the strongest challenger for World Cup honours in France later this year. Winners in 1995 on home soil, the Springboks failed badly at the tournaments in 1999 in Wales and 2003 in Australia, but are now at the top of their game.
The Coastal Sharks scored 20 unanswered points in the final quarter here against the Auckland Blues on Saturday to romp to a thrilling 34-18 win in a Super 14 semifinal clash to qualify for the final next weekend. The Sharks led 14-6 at the break and will now host the southern hemisphere inter-provincial rugby competition final for the first time.
There may be bigger and more famous stadiums in world rugby, but there are not likely to be more intimidating places than Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria. Serving as the home ground to the Bulls since the 1920s, it is the venue for Saturday’s Super 14 semifinal against the Canterbury Crusaders.
The Sharks scored four tries to earn a valuable bonus point when they beat the Lions 33-3 in Durban at the Absa Stadium on Saturday. The victory took the men from Durban into second place on the Super 14 points table and kept alive their hopes of hosting a home semifinal in two weeks’ time.
If South Africa are to host a Super 14 semifinal for the first time since 2001, then the Sharks are first going to have to overcome some tough local challenges. But the men from Durban will also hope the second-placed Auckland Blues falter against the Northern Bulls in Pretoria this weekend.