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Rob Houwing, Sport24 chief writer
Cape Town – Win in Wellington and South Africa will have firmly re-announced themselves in the 2010 Vodacom Tri-Nations title race. Lose, and the writing may be on this year’s wall ludicrously early.
That is quite probably the scenario despite the fact that the third team in the competition, Australia, haven’t even opened their account yet.
But at least Sport24 readers have not quite given up yet on a Bok comeback this Saturday, according to a poll on the site this week.
Scoff all you like, considering that we’re a mere one match down in nine, but if the All Blacks repeat their thumping Eden Park success against the Springboks at Westpac Stadium – especially if it is with another full house of log points – bookies are likely to pronounce them overwhelming favourites to snatch back a title they had held for a record four years prior to South Africa’s triumph last year.
Richie McCaw’s side certainly appear to be back on the “up”, ahead of the 2011 World Cup, and a second successive victory over the arch-enemy would put them in the position of knowing that even a reverse in the sole clash with the Boks on our soil this year is unlikely to trip up their march to the title.
Perhaps that is being disrespectful to Australia’s challenge, but there is little in recent history to suggest that they are ready to stand too imposingly in the way of the All Blacks, in particular.
The Wallabies have not actually dominated their trans-Tasman foes in the Tri-Nations since 2001, when they last claimed the title, including successive victories over the All Blacks at Dunedin and Sydney.
Since then, New Zealand have earned 12 wins to Australia’s four in bilateral Tri-Nations meetings, and you will find few educated takers for the Wallabies getting the better of the All Blacks in 2010, despite the advantage of two of the three meetings being on Aussie turf.
There are some rumblings in Australia about the Wallabies’ not-yet-evident revival under their Kiwi coach Robbie Deans, with rumours that ARU boss John O’Neill “called in” Deans recently to discuss an unsatisfactory win-loss ratio for the team, even if there was official insistence it was a routine chinwag.
But what if the Boks win in Wellington? It would suddenly make the defending champions seem well back on course to retain the Tri-Nations, having completed arguably their hardest yards of the 2010 fixture list.
There would doubtless also be the hope then of “momentum” sweeping John Smit’s team past Australia in the hoodoo city of Brisbane, where they have been whipped every time in seven post-isolation encounters.
Sport24 readers are divided on the prospect of a Bok bounce-back this week, with 51 percent of respondents thus far opting for the most positive of our three poll choices: “Never write off a Bok team; Smit’s troops to snatch victory.”
But a still-meaty 39 percent chose: “Boks will lose, but it will be a closer affair” while another 10 percent of doom-mongers suggested: “Similar to last week: All Blacks by 20 or more”.
Cape Town – Win in Wellington and South Africa will have firmly re-announced themselves in the 2010 Vodacom Tri-Nations title race. Lose, and the writing may be on this year’s wall ludicrously early.
That is quite probably the scenario despite the fact that the third team in the competition, Australia, haven’t even opened their account yet.
But at least Sport24 readers have not quite given up yet on a Bok comeback this Saturday, according to a poll on the site this week.
Scoff all you like, considering that we’re a mere one match down in nine, but if the All Blacks repeat their thumping Eden Park success against the Springboks at Westpac Stadium – especially if it is with another full house of log points – bookies are likely to pronounce them overwhelming favourites to snatch back a title they had held for a record four years prior to South Africa’s triumph last year.
Richie McCaw’s side certainly appear to be back on the “up”, ahead of the 2011 World Cup, and a second successive victory over the arch-enemy would put them in the position of knowing that even a reverse in the sole clash with the Boks on our soil this year is unlikely to trip up their march to the title.
Perhaps that is being disrespectful to Australia’s challenge, but there is little in recent history to suggest that they are ready to stand too imposingly in the way of the All Blacks, in particular.
The Wallabies have not actually dominated their trans-Tasman foes in the Tri-Nations since 2001, when they last claimed the title, including successive victories over the All Blacks at Dunedin and Sydney.
Since then, New Zealand have earned 12 wins to Australia’s four in bilateral Tri-Nations meetings, and you will find few educated takers for the Wallabies getting the better of the All Blacks in 2010, despite the advantage of two of the three meetings being on Aussie turf.
There are some rumblings in Australia about the Wallabies’ not-yet-evident revival under their Kiwi coach Robbie Deans, with rumours that ARU boss John O’Neill “called in” Deans recently to discuss an unsatisfactory win-loss ratio for the team, even if there was official insistence it was a routine chinwag.
But what if the Boks win in Wellington? It would suddenly make the defending champions seem well back on course to retain the Tri-Nations, having completed arguably their hardest yards of the 2010 fixture list.
There would doubtless also be the hope then of “momentum” sweeping John Smit’s team past Australia in the hoodoo city of Brisbane, where they have been whipped every time in seven post-isolation encounters.
Sport24 readers are divided on the prospect of a Bok bounce-back this week, with 51 percent of respondents thus far opting for the most positive of our three poll choices: “Never write off a Bok team; Smit’s troops to snatch victory.”
But a still-meaty 39 percent chose: “Boks will lose, but it will be a closer affair” while another 10 percent of doom-mongers suggested: “Similar to last week: All Blacks by 20 or more”.
