Good, better, Bokke
Defending champions South Africa South sent out another emphatic message to their World Cup rivals and put one foot in the quarterfinals with their biggest ever World Cup win.
The Springboks scored 12 tries and routed Southern African neighbours Namibia 87-0 at the North Harbour Stadium, in Albany, on Thursday.
It shattered the World Cup mark set by the Boks at the 2003 World Cup, when they beat Uruguay 72-6 at the Subiaco Oval in Perth.
However, it was only the fourth largest win in all Tests – with the biggest win being the 134-3 victory against Uruguay at the Basil Kenyon Stadium in East London in 2005; the next best being the 101-0 win over Italy at Kings Park in Durban in 1999 and third on the list is the 105-13 triumph against Namibia (again) in a World Cup warm-up match at Newlands in Cape Town in 2007.
It was a day of records for the Boks in Albany.
In the process, wing Bryan Habana finally became South Africa’s all-time leading try-scorer – after he crossed in the 22nd minute for his 39th Test try – a record which he shared with Joost van der Westhuizen for over a year.
Habana’s last try was against Italy at Witbank in June last year.
However, he is second best only when it comes to South Africa’s best try-scoring strike rates.
By far the best player with the best strike rate – between Tests played and tries scored – is legendary former Bok centre Danie Gerber. He scored 19 tries in his 24 Tests, a strike rate of 80 percent.
Habana comes in at a handy second with 54 percent and just one other player, Chester Williams (51), is over 50 percent.
Top 10 Bok try-scorers:
39 – Bryan Habana (72 Tests – 54 percent strike rate)
38 – Joost van der Westhuizen (89 Tests – 43 percent)
32 – Jaque Fourie (67 – 48 percent)
26 – Breyton Paulse (64 Tests – 41 percent)
25 – Percy Montgomery (102 Tests – 24 percent)
21 – Pieter Rossouw (43 Tests – 49 percent)
20 – James Small (47 Tests – 42 percent)
19 – Danie Gerber (24 Tests – 80 percent)
19 – Stefan Terblanche (37 Tests – 49 percent)
19 – Jean de Villiers (70 Tests – 27 percent)
14 – Chester Williams (27 Tests – 51 percent)
Talk about putting your money where your mouth is:
Former World Cup Bok Ashwin Willemse is going to find himself in financial dire straits if the Springboks continue their try-scoring feats.
Willemse has promised to donate R100 to charity for every point the Boks beat the opposition by.
Thursday’s rout cost him R8,700, not to mention the R4,700 from the Boks’ 17-16 (over Wales) and 49-3 (against Fiji) victories in the two previous games. He is now R13,400 out of pocket, but a ‘happy’ man.
We want to say: ‘Happy birthday Bakkies Botha!’:
The Bok second row legend turned 32 on Thursday and played a respectable 50 minutes.
Rugby IS a global game:
Who said that rugby was not a global game?
Well, not us… in fact, just today we had emails from Cape Town, the United Kingdom, Sudan and Namibia during the live coverage of the Bok-Namibia match.
It was great to see how many people – from all over the place – are following the 2011 RWC.
So, we thought we’d give a quick ‘shout out’ to those readers who emailed us during the match:
– Grant Hardy; London
– Aaron Paul Herbert; Wynberg, Cape Town
– Roelof Colyn; Merebank, South Africa
– Willie Heyns; Walvisbay, Namibia
– Louis Peters; Juba, South Sudan
Bad timing:
Some fans just have the worst timing – such as these guys at a game where the Boks scored 12 great tries and won 87-0!
Fire alarms viewers:
A stray cigarette butt caused the large scrub blaze which alarmed fans and thousands of TV viewers during Japan’s match against Tonga, a report said.
New Zealand’s fire service was inundated with calls when flames appeared just behind Northland Events Centre stadium’s packed main terrace during the second half on Wednesday, the New Zealand Herald said.
A witness said a group of people watching the game from a tree accidentally ignited the scrub fire, which burned about 15 metres from the stadium before being extinguished by firefighters.
Henry wants respect for Aussies:
All Blacks coach Graham Henry has urged his fellow New Zealanders to respect the Wallabies amid reports of fierce trans-Tasman rivalries turning spiteful.
Reports have claimed that Australia fans were verbally abused and spat on in New Zealand.
“I hope they are making everybody feeling welcome out there, even the people from over the ditch [Australia],” Henry grinned.
“Because that’s what it’s about, isn’t it? We have respect for Robbie [Deans] and his team and four-and-a-half million New Zealanders should have respect, I think.”
World Cup chief Martin Snedden also described reports that Australian fans were spat on and abused by New Zealanders as “out of character”.
Royal rumble:
As Mike Tindall’s newly wed wife, royal heir Zara Phillips, made a surprise arrival in New Zealand, England coach Martin Johnson snapped at a reporter who tried to question the England centre about footage showing him with a woman in a bar.
“We’ve put it to bed, it’s not an issue,” Johnson told the journalist.
“I said to you last week what happened, the guys went out and had a drink.”
“We’ve played a game since then and we are looking forward to another game this weekend so if you’ve got any questions about that we’d love to hear them and answer them for you,” Johnson added.
Divine inspiration:
A New Zealand cathedral has taken the country’s devotion to its national rugby team to a new level, exhibiting a painting depicting Jesus as an All Black.
The work by artist Don Little, painted in the style of a Russian Orthodox icon, shows a haloed Jesus wearing and All Blacks jersey as he dispenses blessings while clutching a white rugby ball.
The painting went on display this week at St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral in Wellington and sold within a few days to an Australian collector.
Cathedral dean, the very reverend Frank Nelson, said the icon was fitting because rugby was often referred to as a new religion for New Zealanders.
“Central to Christian belief is that God became a human being in this world,” he told AFP. “Our Christian belief is that he happened to do that 2,000 years ago in Palestine.
“What intrigues me about this, and what I want people to think about, is that if it were to happen today, why should he not be an All Black?”
Despite the depiction of Jesus as an All Black, South African-born Nelson admitted he retained a soft spot for the Springboks after 20 years in his adopted homeland and his Rugby World Cup loyalties were divided.
“I’m sitting on the fence,” he said.
The alternative anthem:
A handy instructional video for those who struggle with the South African anthem…
There seems to be a few people out there who could benefit from this.
