South Africa - The State of the Nation

If it were Bakkies…

A question frequently asked this weekend after Waratahs lock Will Skelton helped a teammate to lift a Crusaders opponent and then drive him into the ground, then shoulder-charged a player without the ball, and then dived shoulder-first onto an opponent on the ground – without so much as a yellow card, never mind a red for any of the three incidents – was whether Bakkies Botha playing in a Springbok jersey would have gotten away with any of the three actions. To the clearly expressed indignation of the Waratahs, Skelton was cited and then given a two-game suspension (which the Waratahs are appealing), but the follow-up question is: What sanction would Bakkies Botha have been given?

Kitshoff – Malherbe – Koch

If a Springbok Test 23 were to be selected right now, and scrummaging regarded as the most important criterion for choosing props, the first three selected would be Steven Kitshoff, Frans Malherbe, and Vincent Koch. The Stormers trio have been a revelation, the best scrummagers, as individuals and as a unit, in Super Rugby 2015, and Springbok first-choice props Beast Mtawarira and Jannie du Plessis face a tough time retaining their Test 1 and 3 jerseys.

Are these Bulls the real deal?

After two poor performances and losing both their games in New Zealand, the Bulls play the Brumbies in Canberra on Friday. They need to win, preferably with a four-try bonus point, to show they are the real deal and deserve a spot in the competition qualifiers. Wouldn’t giving Springbok scrumhalf Francois Hougaard the opportunity to start at scrumhalf help them turn their up-to-now unsuccessful tour around?

Vodacom Cup Final

The Vodacom Cup, the provincial feeder competition while Super Rugby is on, reaches its climax on Saturday at Newlands when Western Province play the Pumas. It’s a young Province team, selected from players outside the Stormers squad, so richly talented but mostly young and inexperienced players, against the more experienced Pumas, almost all of whom will play Currie Cup rugby in the second half of the season. It should be a fascinating final.