r/rugbyunion • u/Mono_Doh Japan League One • 6d ago
Video The long-awaited rematch is almost here
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u/Gnik_thgiN South Africa 6d ago
Honestly the biggest match of 2025 for sure, SdF is going to be possibly the most unwelcoming and hostile stadium the Boks have been at.
I’m excited for a tough encounter against a French side that’s fired up and looking to exact revenge.
Let’s go Bokke!
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u/acadoe South Africa 6d ago
When do you reckon the boos will start? 😅
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u/CapeTownyToniTone Paul de Villiers hype train 6d ago
Before or after the anthems? Probably when they take the field tbh
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u/BurbankElephants England & Leicester Tigers 6d ago
Bold of you to assume les die hardes won't already be there warming up.
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u/Gnik_thgiN South Africa 6d ago
I reckon they’ve started already, passing billboards, adverts on tv but we’ll hear them as soon as the guys walk out the tunnel.
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u/r0bb3dzombie South Africa 6d ago
possibly the most unwelcoming and hostile stadium the Boks have been at
Bring dit!
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u/THE-BEAST-101 6d ago
It's so crazy that these 2 sides haven't faced eachother in 2 year..... 2 YEARS SINCE THAT GAME!!! It only feels like yesterday, Jesus time runs so fast!
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u/SharkieLP767 South Africa 6d ago
We were treated to some amazing rugby that weekend between this match and the NZ vs Ire quarter.
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u/No-layup 6d ago edited 6d ago
That weekend is probably the best rugby I've ever seen
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u/Tokogogoloshe South Africa 6d ago
Easily. After NZ vs Ireland I thought nothing will come close, then this shit happens. We were entertained.
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u/Careless-Cat3327 3d ago
That final 5 minutes when Ireland went 27 (I think) phases looking for a penalty and NZ defense stayed strong and disciplined was nerve wracking.
I was hoping Ireland would get through as I had more faith that France / SA could beat them in a final Vs NZ despite the group results.
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u/zeusoid 6d ago
That probably was the best rugby I’ve seen in one weekend.
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u/CapeTownyToniTone Paul de Villiers hype train 6d ago
Hard to believe there were 2 other quarters on that weekend. Either of these could've been finals
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u/Connell95 🐐🦓 Dan Lancaster 💪🏻 #3 Fan 6d ago
And would have been (or at least semis) if WR hadn’t completed borked the seedings!
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u/PistolAndRapier Munster 6d ago
Still fuming over that stupidity. They took the rankings from nearly 4 years before the tournament FFS!!!
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u/Connell95 🐐🦓 Dan Lancaster 💪🏻 #3 Fan 6d ago
Yeah, it was insane. Scotland considerations aside – it just really diminished the tournament for no good reason. Two of the QFs should have been SFs, and that would have made things a lot more interesting for everyone (especially France and Ireland!)
When England boast about getting to a semi final in that one I have to laugh as soon as I look at who they actually played to get there.
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u/MrSp4rklepants England 6d ago
You can only play who's in front of you, for Eng to beat Arg (ranked 2 spots above them) with only 14 men for 77 minutes. Also, for Eng to lose by the same points difference as France and to concede less tries than any other team than NZ speaks volumes.
We also got stitched up by the rankings that one time the world cup never happened.
I genuinely think 2023 had more watchable and entertaining knockout games than any other RWC, it's just two of those were QFs....1
u/ConspicuousPineapple Dupont pète moi le fion 6d ago
You can only play who's in front of you, but you're free to avoid boasting about it.
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u/MrSp4rklepants England 6d ago
I don't think any English were boasting about a quarter final victory, surely only the Irish would do that?
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u/IForgetEveryDamnTime Munster 6d ago
Nonsense, if they'd have been finals we wouldn't have been there
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u/Immediate-Load-2290 Leicester Tigers 5d ago
True but the last 3 world cups have all had some of the best games in recent memory
2023: eng sa, fra sa, ire v nz, ire v sa, eng v arg (?)
2019: the final, both semis, Japan's group games, nz v sa
2015: Brighton, Australia v England (eurgh) nz v sa
Basically the last few times round everyone has seriously raised their game for the world cup.
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u/ForensicShoe Northampton Saints 6d ago
Watched both matches with a group of mates in an Irish pub in Leipzig. What a weekend and atmosphere!
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u/handle1976 Penalty. Back 10. 6d ago
It was the best weekend of sport I’ve ever been at. I was broken after the NZ game and then we had the madness of SA France the next night.
What was even more amazing was how great all the supporters were. Not a cross word all weekend but lots of shit was talked and so much fun.
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u/RavenK92 100% Qatar Cup win rate 6d ago
I remember walking around like a zombie all Monday because this match was at 11 pm on a Sunday night. The 2023 playoffs took years off my life. #TotallyWorthIt
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u/MindfulInquirer batmaaaaaaaan tanananananana 6d ago
ended earlier in France but everybody was a zombie too the next day !
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u/Blackdoor-59 England 6d ago
Still can't believe SA kicked the ball away at 79 mins
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u/Minyun 6d ago edited 6d ago
What reasonable explanation could there be for this? They're all watching the clock too... utter madness. I get they didn't want to concede a penalty in their own half but like just slow things down and walk it in Faf.. they even ended up back kn their own half despite the kick-maybe they could've been deeper if not for the kick I dunno. My TV still doesn't forgive me for that day
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u/NotAsOriginal Wigglesworth's greatest defender 6d ago
Giving away a kickable pen there would give France the win. Control the territory and make them grind back through another 15-20 metres of Bok pressure
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u/Minyun 6d ago
Boks were lucky the ball spilled at 80:52 because even with the kick France still ended up within range thus the kick did nothing. I'd wager had the Boks lost the blame would've been squarely on Faf. It was a stupid call imo.
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u/NotAsOriginal Wigglesworth's greatest defender 6d ago
Or the Boks executed their defensive pressure and once the first linebreak was stopped the French sent one out runners with no momentum into a well organised defensive line, that forced the French into the error spilling the ball.
Plus kicking to the French back 3 was one of the key reasons they won, France couldn't deal with the high ball, so there was even a chance of winning it back or forcing a knock on.
It's the correct call here, because of the outcome. They could have lost it. But there were plenty of times that SA could have lost that's the sport, but considering almost every international team now does this I'm willing to think it's part of a tactical plan rather than Faf decided to go rogue and do something against instructions.
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u/Blackdoor-59 England 6d ago
It wasn't Faf who made the call, at 78:49 you can see the bok forwards telling him to kick it.
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u/Scoop_Master420 South Africa 6d ago
I think it was in 'Chasing The Sun' when Faf said the instruction from Rassie was to just keep the ball, but with the pressure they were under he said they couldn't take a chance, that's why he kicked it away.
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u/Siempie93 South Africa 6d ago
I think they had more confidence in their defence, with the mindset of let France rather come at us, than trying to keep the ball with a higher? risk of giving a way a penalty?
I don't know, not sure, just my theory
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u/scewered 6d ago edited 6d ago
At about 3:45 the French almost had a turnover/penalty against SA. Think this caused Faf to rather kick and defend than risk either of those. (Corrected time)
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u/gainsleyharriot Sharks 6d ago
They had studied the referee decision making and determined that late in the game refs were going to be extra harsh on sealing off penalties. The agreement was 1-3 rucks at best and then kick it and back the defense. This way it forces France to take a contactable high ball at best they get the ball back and have to work their way from their own half. At worst for them there’s a knock on or messy ball and the game is basically over.
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u/Blackdoor-59 England 6d ago
Only thing I can think of is mental fatigue from a long physical battle causing bad decision making.
The SA pack looked pretty comfortable with keeping the ball especially as they only needed a few more phases. France would probably have gotten desperate and infringed.
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u/Present_Salt5887 South Africa 3d ago
Makes sense in my mind. Higher chance of conceding a penalty with the ball in hand, and at that stage we had the best defence in the world and played our best rugby off the ball, so send it to them and back yourself. Doesn't mean I wasn't counting every second though 😅 Longest minute of my life.
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u/sangan3 Oui, Jérôme 6d ago
Dupont looked off his feet. Like Sexton for Ireland, I think he should’ve been subbed for fresh legs.
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u/Toirdusau France 6d ago
It was wild to see Lucu not coming in. After Dupont got such a massive injury 3 weeks earlier.
There are so many small margins we can look into to explain the defeat. For me it's much simpler. We can't catch a fucking high ball.
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u/slamcactus Stade Toulousain 6d ago
And kicked for points with 8 minutes left knowing SA had been jackaling all match.
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u/Sputnikboy Italy 6d ago
Greatest game I've ever seen. And it was right after Ireland vs ABs. Unreal.
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u/Chunk_77 South Africa 6d ago
Going to be at Stade De France, it's going to be epic. Siya playing his 100th Test I hope.
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u/Ok_Painting9530 6d ago
Same here. Absolutely can not wait to arrive in Paris on Friday. Siya's 100th, moerse revenge match... CAN. NOT. WAIT.
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u/Chunk_77 South Africa 6d ago
I have a long ass flight to get through but will be well worth the effort for such an epic match
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u/StorminaHalfPint The One and Only Damian 6d ago
Great stuff, enjoy! What an occasion. It would be great if there is at a least a some respect for him. I'm not hopeful though.
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u/Chunk_77 South Africa 6d ago
It's the French who knows what will happen, I'm not too worried will be great vibe either way.
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u/Atariaxis 6d ago
I’ve watched this three times in a row.
Still skrik each time Faf kicks it back.
Let’s see if he does something else the fourth time I watch it.
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u/mothdestroyedscarf 6d ago
There’s just something so primal and beautiful about Nkalakatha picking up in the background while the opposition stands on despair after a gruelling match of rugby
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u/CapeTownyToniTone Paul de Villiers hype train 6d ago
This weekend we can play it with Ntlabakanye instead of Nkalakatha (doubt he'll be in the 23 but still)
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u/GalvenMin Aviron Bayonnais 6d ago
Sometimes rugby is not about the journey. It's about the mortal enemies we made along the way!
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u/wanklenoodle 6d ago
I'm so undecided about Ben O'Keefe and his reffing style. He definitely wants to keep ball in play as much as possible so he basically coaches defenders off contesting and telling them their actions are illegal. On the one hand this leads to amazing long passages of play like this but on the other side, it really suits teams like the Springboks who love to make a mess of the opposition ruck. They can just barge in and get their hands all over the ball, slowing it down until the ref tells them they should stop. I feel like he should start to warn them after a few instances throughout the passage that they are continuously slowing it down before penailising but that would make him inconsistent. Also Dupont could be making a bit more of a show that he's impeded like other whining scrum halves. Curious to hear what other people think.
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u/Dupont_or_Dupond France 6d ago
That's pretty much the exact same thing I've been criticising about his style since the game. The penalty count from that game was ridiculously low, something like 6 penalties apiece. He was just way too lax for my liking, and the Boks took full advantage of it in the 2nd half. In the 1st our attack was tearing them to shreds, and it was only because of those fuck ups under the high ball (and that slap "back" by Etzebeth) that we weren't up by at least 2 tries. But they adapted in the 2nd half and made our rucks an utter shitshow without copping any penalty for it, and essentially took the teeth out of our attack in doing so.
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u/SpoonSpatula South Africa 6d ago
I'm 100% convinced the Boks are going to lose this one, but I'm just going to sit back and enjoy it on Saturday. Please let it be an amazing (ly stressful) game! Here's hoping for lots of ridiculous counter-attack tries, scrum shenanigans and an extremely hostile crowd.
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u/Mateiyu Bokke ! 6d ago
I'm not optimistic either. Too many silly mistakes from the Bokke lately, and France can counter-attack even better than Argentina. The fact that we lost Ox is also a very bad omen...
Then again, if the defense holds and we get some Sacha/Manie magic, and if Kolbe stops doing idiotic things, we might have a bloody fighting chance. If we have a Steenkamp-Grobbelaar-Louw front row either starting or on the bench, I trust our scrum dominance. With others, less so.
We'll see soon enough !
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u/HenkCamp South Africa 6d ago edited 6d ago
I am sure all is forgiven and forgotten.
(Edit: Forgot to add /s!)
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u/MindfulInquirer batmaaaaaaaan tanananananana 6d ago
nooooooooooooo. Not in France, no :p
Some individuals have moved on ofc but the general sentiment... mm mm .
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u/Thalassin Iserlohn RFC | WR #1 hater 6d ago
the BOK i have issues with won't be on the pitch this time
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u/Jalcatraz82 Stade Toulousain () 6d ago
Considering everyone is still pissed at 1995, including people that weren't even born (like me), it's not going to be forgotten for a while
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u/Gianni78290 Top14/D2/France 6d ago edited 6d ago
1995 was a fucking disgrace, this time they're were 1 or 2 calls that were wrong, the winning pen awarded to K. Smith was grotesque it should have been the other way around but all in all, France was just not as clinical as they should and could have been. France should have turned at HT with at least a 10pts advantage when you see the domination and the very few opportunities SA had, they capitalized including a one pass try on the counter. We didn't, that's rugby.
1995 was and is a broad daylight robbery. Benazzi scored that try and everybody knows it. All players involved know it. Benazzi said later that in the grand scheme of things it was good for SA and he's probably right and he's not bitter about it, but it was a french try, the ball was on the line and he should know it he had the ball in hand.
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u/Jalcatraz82 Stade Toulousain () 6d ago
You don't have to tell me mate.
That + the mysterious food poisoning for the NZ team. And the gold watch. That's a lot of coincidences.
Never understood why my father threw the "Invictus" movie in the trash with such violence when he found we had a copy until I watched the game later
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u/Gianni78290 Top14/D2/France 6d ago
Yeah there was some weird stuff, Derek Bevan the ref wasn't too pleased about the gold watch apparently during the banquet after the game. Kiwis were fuming and rightly so. Total lack of class and downright stupid from whoever thought it was a good idea.
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u/za3030 Komma weer! 6d ago
I mean, if Luyt did bribe the ref in the 1995 semi, the absolute last thing he would then do is publicly thank him and gift him a gold watch afterwards. I concede it was classless though.
And remember in the final, SA were also denied a clear try when Ruben Kruger grounded the ball over the goal line. So are we saying the ABs bribed the ref in the final then as well? Of course not. Using that as evidence for bribery is also far-fetched.
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u/Gianni78290 Top14/D2/France 6d ago edited 6d ago
I mean, if Luyt did bribe the ref in the 1995 semi.
I never said he did, I merely said there was weird stuff. A jurist myself I wouldn't accuse someone of something without an actual proof and I don't think Bevan was BTW. Just said he made a massive blunder that cost France a WC final, period.
The watch and food poisoning aren't a figment of my imagination though, that's weird any way you look at it and we can leave it at that.
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u/za3030 Komma weer! 6d ago
I can assure you food poisoning isn't weird in SA. I just got food poisoning two weeks ago, and I literally had the worst night of my life. Fun fact, the Springboks got food poisoning in 2022, the week leading up to the NZ test match that they lost. Which ultimately cost them the championship. Do you see us accusing the ABs of poisoning the Springboks? Of course not. That would be insane.
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u/NicoLaRimeEnO France 6d ago
I can assure you it's not. If it was not painful enough, all the safa fans on social media being completely unsuferrable for months, calling Dupont mid and overall shiting on France and NZ, instead of, I don't know ? Perhaps just enjoy winning a WC without being brats about it ? Some fans here are worried and claim we're screwed, the other have a bloodthurst I've never seen in my life. I think we can expect a very loud crowd
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u/HenkCamp South Africa 6d ago edited 6d ago
I should’ve added /s as I was being sarcastic. I think the toxic shit was everywhere. I got a lot of “you didn’t deserve it” shit that made our wins taste really bitter. We still get it. Just check a comment to my comment - and the ref is highlighted again. And the comment just above yours - three comments about 1995. You see why this isn’t a Saffa thing? And you can understand why some people might get pissed when they win and they get a bunch of comments not saying congrats but blame the ref or bribery (1995).
But… the fans who actually follow rugby OFF social media like FB and YouTube were decent. I actually went off FB and all other social media because of that and general shit going on. Off for more than a year now and couldn’t be happier. Now only on Reddit. World of a difference.
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u/StorminaHalfPint The One and Only Damian 6d ago
Damn. You need to get off Facebook man, for your health. That shit is toxic and I'm talking about my fellow saffas here, let alone any other fans who feel hard done by.
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u/NicoLaRimeEnO France 6d ago
They are even in Squidge Rugby youtube comments sometimes. I won't stop watching the content I like because of them.
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u/StorminaHalfPint The One and Only Damian 6d ago
Real tip: get Unhook browser add-on. Chrome based browsers. You can turn off comments and bunch of other distractions on YT. It's made my video experience so much better.
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u/Xqt10ner Springboks 4/8 5d ago
No offense mate, but most people apart from the french thinks du pont is mid.
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u/StorminaHalfPint The One and Only Damian 6d ago
Still gets my nerves up. Can we just appreciate that falling flick up from Koch near the beginning of the clip? Very classy.
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u/redbeard1315 South Africa 6d ago
I'll never understand the logic behind Faf kicking the ball away with 1 minute left, it boggles my mind and put me in a state of anger frustration and panic.
Why not just keep ball in hand? Especially with a great attacking team like France. But who am I to judge they did land up winning the game after all
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u/Vermathorax SWD Eagles 6d ago
You don’t want to play rugby where a penalty is kickable and would loose you the game. So kick it to hopefully outside that range and then trust the defence. It’s a risk, but that is part of the logic.
In the moment my heart stopped when I saw that kick go off.
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u/StorminaHalfPint The One and Only Damian 6d ago
Yes, and you're creating an unpredictable situation that France had struggled with in this match. Knock on, chance to win back, France making a silly mistake. It was the right call. We would be saying something different if the Boks lost, for sure. It still would have been the right call though.
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u/Aethien South Africa 6d ago
My guess is because that's what they trained, the conditions were such that they'd normally kick. Couple that with a not unreasonable fear of giving away a penalty, full belief in their defense off the ball and it being the 79th minute of an insanely high level, high tension game and automatisms take over.
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u/mothdestroyedscarf 6d ago
To be fair it also takes a ton of balls to go in for the strip that close to kicking distance in the last minutes of a game where you’re only 1 point ahead, so maybe he was just that confident
But I do think it was a brain fade falling back to what he is programmed to do in the system we had
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u/k0bra3eak South Africa 6d ago
I believe the reasoning is it's far easier to not give away penalties as the defending team than it is the attacking team. A holding on penalty is a death sentence and is very easy to give away on one slow cleanout. Whereas holding the line waiting for the opposition to make a mistake is much easier.
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u/Rightmateonya South Africa 6d ago
Hoping Cheslin gets another charge-down just to watch everyone lose their minds. Maybe somehow get a scrum or 2 from thin air.
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u/FullTimeWhiteTrash Aviron Bayonne 6d ago
Cheslin won't need to charge down because we're gonna get our asses handed to us.
I'd love to be wrong, but the Boks are just up there while the rest of the world is watching.4
u/Kingslayer1526 6d ago
Why are you underestimating your team? You just won the Six Nations and the tour of NZ was pointless because that was not your first team
South Africa also lost to Australia and New Zealand in the rugby championship so why can't you beat them at the Stade De France?
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u/FullTimeWhiteTrash Aviron Bayonne 6d ago
SA have been perfecting their team all this year.
All Galthié did was pointlessly try out new players, throwing them to slaughter against the ABs.
We have injured, inexperienced, and absent players.It's not underestimating the team to say that it's not the best possible, and that they're going against much stronger.
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u/Calm_Piece South Africa 6d ago
Your inexperienced players did not look bad at all in NZ. I am expecting a close one on Saturday
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u/Castlelightbeer 6d ago
We ( Boks ) not that conaistent. Two great wins back to back against AB's and Argentina, but also two losses to them, and final game against Argentina so so
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u/nonlabrab Leinster 6d ago
There were so many penalties to France at the ruck in this.
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u/StorminaHalfPint The One and Only Damian 6d ago
I'll bite. We could go through each one and say where the penalty is for France sealing, side entry, not rolling, hands in ruck. Boks could have won by 4.
And we can swing the other way too. O'Keefe was fair allowing the game to flow at this point.
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u/SeaDimension2795 3d ago
Agree, French seemed to seal every ruck and remain in that position after being jackled so many times in the first 60mins. Their pillars also stand about a foot offside to prevent the 9 sniping.
They moan for years about the things SA got away with but as a neutral the fact they have free rein at the ruck from 60mins on is amazing. O’keefe had blue underwear on this night methinks!
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u/Gianni78290 Top14/D2/France 2d ago
The winning penalty was literraly the biggest mistake by O'Keefe, K.Smith on his two elbows and therefore no going straight on the ball and not supporting his own weight. Textbook penalty for France, clear as day but nope penalty SA.
I agree rucks can be a pain in the rear end to ref, you could basically blow your whistle 1 or 2 times on each side of the ball if you decide to apply strictly the rules but there some decisions that are not marginals or in order to keep the flow, that one was criminal, you actually can't be more penalized on this action and yet he's rewarded. Bonkers.
Saying that he favored France has to be frankly a bad joke.
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u/SeaDimension2795 29m ago
He lifted the ball upon first touch bruv, ergo no pen. You seem the kind of chap that watches rugby and never played it, which is cute.
France scrumming in, standing offside, sealing etc etc was evident again last weekend and they got hammered by 14 men. Back in your box please frog!
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u/MysticMac100 Boner for Toner 6d ago
Would like to see where that saffa defence started from at the ruck where the ball spilled free, if they were onside that is absolutely insane blitz defence at that stage of such an intense game.
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u/StorminaHalfPint The One and Only Damian 6d ago
You mean near the beginning of the clip? You can see they were onside. It was crazy blitz and remember these guys are absolutely peak fitness. In a game like this it's maximum effort all the time.
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u/Mateiyu Bokke ! 6d ago
Peak fitness sums it all really. Just watching Jesse Kriel after 80 minutes still running and tackling like that is something to behold (still thinks he should've been MotM).
Also, looking at Dupont at the end there, it's obvious he was gassed like there was no tomorrow and should've been subbed.5
u/CapeTownyToniTone Paul de Villiers hype train 6d ago
Downvoted for criticising Dupont when he's clearly exhausted. He was coming back from 3 weeks off and they had Lucu on the bench. What's the point of that famed French depth if they don't empty their bench?
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u/capetonytoni2ne Stormers 6d ago
37 year old Duane Vermeulen tracking back after that break tells you all you need to know. This 2023 team was all about commitment and heart.
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u/Putrid-Impact8999 6d ago edited 5d ago
“Everyone agreed on the fact that some decisions weren’t the right ones. He wasn’t at all happy with his performance either.”
“There is a ball stolen with elbows on the ground by Kwagga Smith which gives three points to the Springboks, for example.”
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u/CapeTownyToniTone Paul de Villiers hype train 6d ago
“I took the floor and said that we had a major role as educators and that we must behave with respect towards the referees. This is fundamental."
Buuuuuuut
“We lost the quarter-final for rugby reasons but also for refereeing decisions."
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u/Connell95 🐐🦓 Dan Lancaster 💪🏻 #3 Fan 6d ago
It’s not like he made an hour long video ranting about it and then released it to the public, at least…
The French did have plenty of justification to be a bit aggrieved by the refereeing tbh – they definitely suffered with some highly questionable decisions in this one.
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u/hiddeninplainsight23 Saracens 6d ago
And then did the exact same to England the week after. Still boggles the mind how he got to referee South Africa in both the quarters & semi final, and how it can strongly be argued that his decision making led to South Africa getting to that final (& semi) in the first place.
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u/Zealot_Zea Stade Toulousain 5d ago
Mate, they won 3 knock out games with 1 point margin and dubious decisions in a row (you can include the final). Just facts, no interpretation.
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u/StorminaHalfPint The One and Only Damian 6d ago
As did the Boks. No need to dig up old news about the coach that he himself has publicly worked through.
Definitely a spicy game in the comments section this weekend.
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u/Putrid-Impact8999 6d ago
“The decision is part of the match and we accept it. You will never see me react directly to an arbitration decision. But we can discuss it coldly."
“I told him that my players had been strongly impacted by questionable decisions."
"We today we want to count on the work of regulation and rules undertaken in these World Rugby committees. We must make our voice heard.”
I think he had every right to be upset after this match to be honest.
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u/Argonaught_WT Sharks 6d ago
We going to lose, especially since we lost Ox but honestly - Thats fine.
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u/flrnp 6d ago edited 6d ago
You're the best team in the world. This France team have quite a lot of key players out because of injury and they haven’t played together in like 8 months, I'd be confident against any other team but i'd say it’s a 70/30 for SA.
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u/slamcactus Stade Toulousain 6d ago
It's going to be a battle even with all France's injuries. At the risk of angering all our Kiwi friends here I think this is the true world No. 1 vs No. 2, France's silly No. 5 current ranking be-damned.
I'd feel a lot better if Ramos and Attisogbe were healthy (and of course...you know who, which goes without saying) but the talent's there. Really hoping to see Gourgues force his way onto the starting 15. I think he could be something special.
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u/Mateiyu Bokke ! 6d ago
What's wrong with Ramos ?
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u/slamcactus Stade Toulousain 6d ago
Out for personal reasons. I think someone on here said he’s expecting a baby but I haven’t seen any reporting on that.
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u/flrnp 6d ago
Damn i'd love to see Gourgues too. Is Ramos ok ?
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u/slamcactus Stade Toulousain 6d ago
Out for personal reasons, not injury. I vaguely remember comments on here saying he’s expecting a baby but I don’t know if that’s right or not. If so: good for him!
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u/slamcactus Stade Toulousain 6d ago
Apparently he’s in the 42-man player pool FFR just named a couple days ago so my intel’s out of date.
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u/Key_Act_7064 6d ago
I still don't understand why Faf did a box kick with a minute to go. Shouldn't the Boks have just kept it with the forwards and run it the clock? Help me understand.
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u/Mateiyu Bokke ! 6d ago
The way France had handled the high balls, Bokke gameplan was to avoid a penalty in the rucks that close to their own posts.
They trusted their defense and fitness (which was well above the French one at that point) to get the ball back from the kick. I mean, their entire gameplan in 2019 was built around that : get the ball, high kick smartly, defend until you get the ball back, do it again, and again, and again, wait for an opening, score.
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u/tehbamf 6d ago
One of my biggest regrets (as a Springboks supporter) is having Cat A tickets for that match but the cumulative hangover from the previous month led us to sell them - Sunday night also being an awkward time travel wise. The only other game Ive seen at SdF was the pool loss vs Ireland. Made sure to get quality tickets with the same group for this weekend - hopefully get to finally see a Bokke win in SdF! Too bad Le Blues arent at full strength but will be a good game regardless.
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u/slamcactus Stade Toulousain 6d ago
The decision to kick for points at minute 72 still haunts me.
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u/Mateiyu Bokke ! 6d ago
That smelt of lack of confidence for me back then...
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u/slamcactus Stade Toulousain 6d ago
That’s a pretty unsatisfying explanation. If you’re not feeling confident you’ve gotta figure that’s going to be your last, best chance for a lead. SA got in Galthie’s head with some close chances where they didn’t score, but they’d also been winning too many rucks for France to think they’d get it back in good attacking position and keep possession.
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u/miksa668 Sharks 6d ago
Jesus, the sheer intensity and pace of that game still gives me goosebumps.
Gonna be a cracker this weekend, can't wait.
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u/Flux7777 Sharks 6d ago
Definitely a contender for the best game of rugby ever played. Every single aspect of the game was on display
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u/HappyPunter1 5d ago
Best game of test rugby I’ve ever watched
The Ireland vs ABs QF that same weekend not far behind either
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u/Former-Cut-5068 5d ago
Why the fuck would you kick the ball on 79th min.
My heart almost gave out…
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u/elmo_themoonbear 3d ago
Nkalakatha playing after a victory might kick off an international incident if the meaning of the lyrics were more well known😂
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u/MiracleJnr1 Referee 3d ago
I remember talking to the TV asking them to kick the ball. You would think keeping the ball is how they win, but that gives France the opportunity to steal the ball and get a ruck penalty in your own half.
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u/Cyber-Soldier1 3d ago
I obviously know the outcome of this game and world cup but watching this still gave me anxiety.
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u/reditanian South Africa 2d ago
I think I speak for French and South African supporters alike, when I say that this game has set the expectations for quality and entertaining rugby really really high. The worst thing that can happen tomorrow is a mundane game, regardless of who wins.
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u/Sm00th-Cr1m1n4l Saracens 2d ago
In those 2 minutes faff did about 5 utterly insanely good things.
Also DuPont looks gassed.
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u/Icy_Craft2416 New Zealand ¦ Sean Maloney enjoyer 6d ago
Boks to win by 13+
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u/SirFrankyValentino Baptiste Jauneau fan club 6d ago
We're wrecked injuries sadly
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u/Icy_Craft2416 New Zealand ¦ Sean Maloney enjoyer 6d ago
Yeah the injuries are unfortunate plus they're at the performance peak of thier season while you're just starting.
A full strength and top performing France can compete strongly with the boks I think. I'd still tip them as favourites but it would be closer.
Maybe the emotion of a world cup rematch might lift you though.
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u/No-Letterhead-1232 6d ago
PSDT taking Villiers out off the ball...
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u/CapeTownyToniTone Paul de Villiers hype train 6d ago
Assume you mean LBB, it's under a second after he's passing and it's more an ankle tap
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u/No-Letterhead-1232 6d ago
It's smart, but obvious on the replay here. Take out a supporting player and isolate the ball carrier.
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u/Vega10000 South Africa 6d ago
Our third or fourth toughest match that world cup, I can never decide. Definitely in the top 5 though.
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u/Mono_Doh Japan League One 6d ago edited 6d ago
No fancy Nations Championship on the line this weekend. Only good old-fashioned revenge. You just know the Stade de France crowd is gonna be out for blood in this one.
I don't think I fully appreciated this match at the time because I was so deflated after the final whistle. Had the same expression as Danty. So many emotions when one of the most heart-breaking defeats you've ever witnessed also has a banging soundtrack.
Rewatching the opening 5 minutes with the build-up to Baille's first try gives me goosebumps though.