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/ 28 September 2007
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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
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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
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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
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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
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On the surface, Friday’s World Cup pool clash between England and South Africa looks similar to their 2003 meeting. In reality four years has seen an astonishing 180 degree shift in expectations. The winners at the Stade de France will go on to a probable quarterfinal against Wales and a possible semi against France.
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/ 10 September 2007
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South Africa will beat world champions England in their crucial World Cup clash on Friday, Springbok coach Jake White claimed after his side walloped Samoa 59-7. White said he wasn’t basing his optimism on the poor performance of England in their 28-10 win over the United States or the 1995 world champions’ comprehensive defeat of Samoa, but on more solid factors.
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/ 9 September 2007
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South Africa unleash their massive forward pack against a robust Samoa team in the second Rugby World Cup Pool B match on Sunday. Springbok coach Jake White is worried about the power of the Pacific Islanders having an impact on his team’s chances of beating 2003 world champion England in the crucial Group A match on Friday.
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/ 7 September 2007
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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.
Club rugby in the northern hemisphere has long been derided as the poor cousin in world rugby. But the post-World Cup exodus of a raft of top-flight internationals from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa will help confound that long-standing belief.