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/ 3 October 2007

Bok World Cup prop worries ease

South Africa coach Jake White said on Wednesday that injured prop CJ van der Linde will be fit to face Fiji in the World Cup quarterfinals. Van der Linde had picked up a knee injury and had been considered a doubtful starter for Sunday’s game at the Stade Velodrome.

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/ 3 October 2007

Boks tackle World Cup prop crisis

South Africa are facing a front-row crisis ahead of Sunday’s World Cup quarterfinal clash against Fiji. BJ Botha has already been forced out of the competition with knee ligament damage suffered in the 64-15 Pool A win against the United States last week, while fellow tighthead prop CJ van der Linde has bruising on one of his knees.

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/ 30 September 2007

SA warm up for quarters with win over US

Tournament heavyweights South Africa lost flying winger Bryan Habana with a gashed cheek as they went on a try-scoring spree against the United States on Sunday. Habana’s injury and prop BJ Botha’s retirement with a knee injury were injury concerns ahead of the quarterfinal with the Fijians in Marseille.

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/ 30 September 2007

‘Terrible spectator’ Schalk Burger raring to go

After pacing the sidelines for two weeks, Schalk Burger gets another chance to wreak havoc for South Africa at the World Cup. The bustling blonde backrower was switched from the flank to number eight in a strong Springboks lineup unveiled by coach Jake White for Sunday’s match against the winless United States in Montpellier.

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/ 29 September 2007

White: Can’t stop Oz poaching players

Springbok coach Jake White issued Australian rugby with a dare to plunder South Africa’s burgeoning rugby talent as the Wallabies look to boost their shallow player depth ahead of the next World Cup. ”The reality is that not every South African superstar is going to be playing for South Africa,” said White on Friday.

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/ 28 September 2007

White names strong Bok team for US clash

South Africa are not planning to cruise into the Rugby World Cup quarterfinals. The Springboks have already won Group A and want to keep the momentum going into the knock-out stages of the tournament, so coach Jake White on Friday announced a strong starting line-up to face the United States Eagles in Montpellier on Sunday.

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/ 28 September 2007

Springboks in with a chance

When the draw for Rugby World Cup 2007 was made, certain things were assumed. It seemed a foregone conclusion, for instance, that the big game in Pool A would be South Africa against England and that the only potential giant-killer among the other three teams in the group would be Samoa.

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/ 22 September 2007

Blundering Boks barely beat Tonga

Mighty South Africa were given the fright of their lives on Saturday before they made sure of their World Cup quarterfinals place with an error-strewn 30-25 win over Tonga. Springbok coach Jake White almost paid an embarrassing price for making 11 changes to the side who beat England 36-0.

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/ 19 September 2007

White rings changes for Tonga clash

South Africa coach Jake White retained just four players who started in the 36-0 defeat of titleholders England last Friday when he named his team for the World Cup Group A match against Tonga in Lens on Saturday. The 43-year-old has guided the Springboks to two impressive wins over Samoa (59-7) and England.

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/ 13 September 2007

White confident ahead of England match

South Africa and England have quite a Rugby World Cup history and their clash at the Stade de France on Friday promises to be yet another enthralling chapter. It was here eight years ago that the Springboks — then the defending champions — ended England hopes of landing the William Webb Ellis trophy and ridiculed Clive Woodward’s statement of ”judge me on the World Cup”.

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/ 8 September 2007

Boks warm up for England

South Africa test their World Cup credentials against the rugged Samoans on Sunday in Paris in a warm-up for their Pool A decider against defending champions England next Friday. The Springboks, who were knocked out in the quarterfinals in 2003, have had a relatively smooth preparation compared to their own rocky standards and are regarded as one of few sides capable of stopping the All Blacks.

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/ 7 September 2007

The Boks’ big chance

Australia beat England at the 1991 Rugby World Cup final, but in the South Stand at Twickenham lurked a couple of fellows who held up a banner emblazoned with this motto: ”South Africa, the real World Champions”. As it turned out, the blazers of the International Rugby Board had met during the second World Cup to debate the re-entry of the Springboks into the international fold.