|
This has been a big decision for me but
perhaps it is time for a change of leadership. A strong
commercial foundation has been established over the past few
years and Sarfu and SA Rugby are in a stable financial
state. Much has been achieved at many levels and I am
satisfied that the new leadership will have a solid basis
from which to move forward.
Rian Oberholzer |
Vol4 Week 1 |
|
I'm embarrassed about the publicity
surrounding 'Kamp Staaldraad' and would like to apologise to
the board and the South Africa public for any offence caused
in the process.
Rudolf Straeuli |
Vol4 Week 1 |
|
The man who heads up the operation has to
take overall responsibility for the performance of the
administration, just as happens in big business
elsewhere. Brian van
Rooyen |
Vol4 Week 1 |
|
There must be accountability. You are running
a company with a turnover of R300 million. You cannot
distance yourself from things that happened, like Kamp
Staadraad. And if you say you did not know about it, then
that is gross negligence. The buck has to stop with you.
Brian van Rooyen |
Vol4 Week 1 |
|
The contracts of the coach of the Springbok
team will be performance driven.
Brian van Rooyen |
Vol4 Week 1 |
|
I can be an arrogant son of a b*tch and maybe
I've been loyal to the wrong people. My time is up, it's
been too long, too hard.
Rian Oberholzer |
Vol4 Week 1 |
|
We have not fallen behind in world rugby;
other countries have got ahead of us.
Rudolf Straeuli |
Vol4 Week 1 |
|
People think I earn a big salary and watch
Test matches all over the world. The truth is that rugby has
f****d up my life.
Rian Oberholzer |
Vol4 Week 1 |
|
Rugby breaks our young players, and it would
be criminal of me to advise parents to let their children
take up the game.
Uli Schmidt |
Vol4 Week 1 |
|
I keep on telling my sons that confidence is
something that needs to be built drop by drop.
Unfortunately, the whole bucket has been kicked over and
we've got to start from scratch to win the confidence of the
rugby public. Morné du
Plessis |
Vol4 Week 1 |
|
I'm surprised it's still in one piece, you've
been carrying it around for several days!
Queen Elizabeth to Martin
Johnson regarding William Webb Ellis trophy |
Vol4 Week 1 |
|
We take full responsibility and if they don't
work, don't fire the coach, fire us.
Brian van Rooyen |
Vol4 Week 1 |
|
I have thoroughly enjoyed playing for the
Springboks and it has been a dream come true to play in the
green and gold and to have captained the team was an
incredible experience.
Corne Krige |
Vol4 Week 1 |
|
Forget the dirty perception, he's just harder
than everyone else. If I went to war, he is the guy I'd want
at my side. Joel
Stransky on Martin Johnson |
Vol4 Week 1 |
|
Everyone wants to be first to beat the World
Champions. Matt
Dawson |
Vol4 Week 1 |
|
Are you guys making a complaint or aren't
you? If you are, fine. If not, then please stop all this
stuff. Letter from
Syd Millar to RFU re Woodwards continuous complaining of
Andre Watson's handling of the RWC final |
Vol4 Week 1 |
|
The Scotland Rugby Union (SRU) have announced
plans to play an alternative national anthem alongside the
traditional 'Flower of Scotland' when Scotland face France
in the RBS Six Nations at Murrayfield in March.
Reported on Planet-rugby.com |
Vol4 Week 1 |
|
After milking them, I came to the following
conclusions: that I knew very little about front-row play
before I spoke to them. That I knew very little about
front-row play after I spoke to them.
Andre Watson after chatting to
Sean Fitzpatrick and Andrew Blades on front row play. |
Vol4 Week 1 |
|
I don't know anything about accounting but
I'm told they are areas where this kind of thing would
normally happen.
SA Rugby deputy MD Songezo Nayo |
Vol4 Week 1 |
|
SA Rugby says their board is looking for 'a
charismatic leader with a strong commercial track record
[and an] unwavering commitment to restoring [Springbok]
pride and passion.
Advertisement for new Sa rugby MD. |
Vol4 Week 1 |
|
I can't accept accountability for that which
I have no influence over, and it's misleading for the rugby
public to think otherwise.
Morne Du Plessis on his
resignation from the SA rugby board |
Vol4 Week 1 |
|
A Lions win in New Zealand would be
outstanding, but don't compare it to England winning the
World Cup. The Lions winning in New Zealand wouldn't scratch
the surface of the sort of excitement and enthusiasm that
came from England's win.
Howard Thomas, Chief Executive
of Premier Rugby |
Vol4 Week 2 |
|
In the world of rugby there is not one person
I genuinely dislike other than Brendan Venter. He is one of
the most hypocritical, cynical, dirty and underhand players
I have ever played against. I can't stand anything about
him. He is a bad loser and a bad winner, an all-round
horrible person.
Matt Dawson |
Vol4 Week 2 |
|
If those words came from somebody in rugby
that I respected I would lie awake in bed unable to sleep,
but they don't and I'm sleeping fine, thank you.
Brendan Venter |
Vol4 Week 2 |
|
I have a problem with governance. The board
is not being allowed to make its own decisions and its
powers are being diminished. The whole process leaves a lot
to be desired and I have better things to do with myself.
Alwyn Martin, another
one of SA Rugby's four independent board members who
resigned |
Vol4 Week 2 |
|
Martin has a massive influence at Welford
Road and none more so than when he speaks on the field. When
he speaks everyone listens. He has an aura, the type that
Joost had at the Blue Bulls.
Jaco van der Westhuyzen |
Vol4 Week 2 |
|
As head of a scratch XV, Woodward would be
forced to dig out his overalls and return to the floor to
deal with the dirty work - and one must question whether he
remembers (or ever learnt) how to do that.
Andy Jackson on Clive
Woodward's 'lack of skills' to coach the Lions |
Vol4 Week 2 |
|
Without the courtesy of communication, how
can we be a partner? Instead our contribution has not been
recognized and we have been treated quite shabbily. There
are a number of issues which we as sponsors would like to
talk about. Raymond
van Niekerk, Gobal Head of Marketing for Investec |
Vol4 Week 2 |
|
Van Rooyen is riding roughshod over the clear
dictates of the Sarfu constitution and flouting company law
in the way he carries out his duties with SA Rugby. This is
unacceptable. And they talked of me as a dictator!
Louis Luyt |
Vol4 Week 2 |
|
It is certainly not a case of my being a
prima donna. Morally I did not feel right about it. I have
been through this kind of thing as a player. I don't want
people thinking I am there because I am black.
Chester Williams |
Vol4 Week 3 |
|
I would like to have my own team as a head
coach - be it in the Currie Cup or Super 12, and get that
experience. My dignity is important in making decisions.
It's not about money. It's about me as a person.
Chester Williams (Why not
withdraw before the selection based on a lack of
experience?? Ed ) |
Vol4 Week 3 |
|
There is a need for focus to return to the
playing of rugby. We want a winning national team and
competitive rugby in the Super 12 and Currie Cup. South
Africans deserve nothing less and I am confident that SARFU
will do everything possible to ensure this.
Ngconde Balfour |
Vol4 Week 3 |
|
I don't think I hate him (Mitchell), I don't
quite share Christian's (Cullen) feelings of being really
aggrieved and all the rest of it, but I don't hold a lot of
respect for the guy.
Anton Oliver on John Mitchell |
Vol4 Week 3 |
|
I haven't had fun the last couple of seasons
really. That's a large part of being under Mains, in his
teams fun was frowned upon.
Anton Oliver on Laurie Mains |
Vol4 Week 3 |
|
I love this game and have an incredible
passion for it and I would like to remain involved and play
a positive role. Rudolf
Straeuli |
Vol4 Week 3 |
|
'Sir Clive wanted Bok job'
Yeah right! - Ed |
Vol4 Week 3 |
|
Controversy is not good for a brand and
certainly not for the Springbok brand. Sponsors must have
confidence in the team they sponsor and the administration
of those codes, be it rugby, cricket or soccer. That would
be a point of departure for any sponsor.
SAB's head of communications,
Michael Farr |
Vol4 Week 3 |
|
Personally, all I would like to see is fair
and consistent selections - based on nothing but play -
clarity and honesty when speaking to the media and, please,
no glowing references to "systems and processes". And, yes,
winning would be good, too. That could also happen. We have
enough talent in the country - let's just hope Jake White
can harness it properly.
Howard Kahn,
www.planet-rugby.com |
Vol4 Week 3 |
|
The players were humiliated because they were
shown naked on television and in newspapers. We want to tell
an exclusive crowd the truth.
Joost, trying to make some $$$
out of 'Kamp Staaldraad' |
Vol4 Week 3 |
|
The Cats have a front row so big the Stormers
would have to play Tenzing Norgay at hooker to get over
it. Ben Kimber on
rugbyheaven |
Vol4 Week 4 |
|
With all respect to Arthrob Petersen
(chairman of the selection committee) he wouldn't know the
difference between a good coach and a bad one.
Corne Krige |
Vol4 Week 4 |
|
I feel it is my duty to highlight issues that
other players are too scared to.
Corne Krige |
Vol4 Week 4 |
|
Only two of the World Cup squad of 30 players
have contracts, we must be the only country in the world
that finds itself in this position. Any player who is
offered a three-year contract overseas should seriously
consider it because it is the only sensible business
decision to make.
Corne Krige |
Vol4 Week 4 |
|
They can call me whatever they bloody like,
as long as they listen!
Jake White to Stephen Nell in a
Cape Times interview on the question what the players should
call him. |
Vol4 Week 4 |
|
Asking how important Woodward's involvement
with British sport could be is a bit like asking how
important Picasso was to art.
Sue Campbell, chair of UK Sport |
Vol4 Week 4 |
|
I take full responsibility.
Rudi Joubert after the Bulls
loss against the Sharks at Loftus |
Vol4 Week 4 |
|
We look like we need a few games to get to
the required level, while the other teams have hit the
ground running. I'm not happy that I can pick a (Bok) 22
right now, he admitted. There hasn't been a player in the
last two nights that has stood out convincingly.
Jake White |
Vol4 Week 4 |
|
Most Springboks receive around R750 000 a
year from their province. Then Sarfu pays R30 000 a month to
every player who plays in the Super 12. If you play in 11
tests in the year, you receive R825 000. We don't mind
paying, but it has to be for achievement.
Brian van Rooyen |
Vol4 Week 4 |
|
When I spoke to him, he spoke to my family. I
won't have it.
Andre Watson's explanation after giving a penalty against
the Blues' Ali Williams |
Vol4 Week 4 |
|
Springboks will never again get full-time
contracts. What for? The rugby they played was a disgrace to
SARFU and the public. They will have to earn respect before
they complain about money.
Brian van Rooyen |
Vol4 Week 4 |
|
I have expressed this concern before: how can
the press get this so comprehensively wrong and further
taint one of our own?
Kevin Putt re Butch James |
Vol4 Week 5 |
|
Personally, I believe a player's loyalty
should lie with his province.
Rob Wagner, CEO of Western
Province |
Vol4 Week 5 |
|
If you work for a company where the systems
are not what they should be, you as individual can try your
best, but if the company doesn't get the basics right, it
will go bankrupt.
Corne Krige |
Vol4 Week 5 |
|
People want to see winning rugby. We have to
put our bodies on the line.
Corne Krige before THAT game |
Vol4 Week 5 |
|
I want to add that my record as Springbok
captain is not something I'm proud of. I'm willing to accept
responsibility for my part but I don't want to be a
scapegoat for things that were out of my control.
Corne Krige |
Vol4 Week 5 |
|
The only people who are continually being
knocked in this country are the players.
Joost |
Vol4 Week 5 |
|
They are doing it to ensure that players know
who the bosses are. They don't realise that at the end of
the day you can make nice speeches, but how do you build
loyalty with players? With this happening, what loyalty is
there for South African players?
Joost |
Vol4 Week 5 |
|
We just want to apply the money we spend on
the Springboks better. That is an important stance the
players must understand.
Sarvu vice president Keith
Parkinson |
Vol4 Week 5 |
|
For too long the average South African player
has survived on reputation and cash handouts. Those days are
over. The public knows it and it is time our players started
to accept it. Gcobani
Bobo |
Vol4 Week 5 |
|
It's like watching a pack of elephants
wandering around.
Stu Wilson |
Vol4 Week 5 |
|
There are a number of well-known (and also
lesser known) players playing their rugby overseas. Sarfu
knows who they are and recognises their potential. We are
currently working on a system which will address this
situation in a meaningful way.
Brian van Rooyen |
Vol4 Week 6 |
|
If you get all worked up and attach emotional
things like this to the game, it usually doesn't go too
well. Corne Krige,
pre-match comment of his 50th cap for the Stormers. |
Vol4 Week 6 |
|
I feel they are just one result away from it
[being among the top sides] and we don't want to be part of
it. Blues coach Peter
Sloane before the Chiefs match. |
Vol4 Week 6 |
|
Hopefully we can give the prawn sandwich
brigade at Twickenham something to choke on.
Brian O'Driscoll |
Vol4 Week 6 |
|
I am in charge so I take responsibility.
We've lost, we've had a bad day, but I am not going to
over-react to this. Unless we got the ball, we knew it would
be hard. We didn't have a good day and Ireland deserved to
win. Clive Woodward |
Vol4 Week 6 |
|
We make too many basic mistakes - that is
probably the main reason why no South African team could win
a match in the Super 12 this past weekend. Our players must
start thinking on their feet.
Alister Coetzee, assistant Bok
coach |
Vol4 Week 6 |
|
I spoke to Songezo (Nayo, SA Rugby CEO) and
he offered his help. I don't think we need it, unless
they're willing to send someone who can tackle.
Tim Lane |
Vol4 Week 6 |
|
I know what happened at the camp, I know how
unhappy and insulted Quinton felt and how the situation had
upset all the black players in the squad.
Gcobani Bobo |
Vol4 Week 6 |
|
It looks like a bloody strong side to me!
Reds coach Jeff
Miller comments on the Blues |
Vol4 Week 7 |
|
At long last I am involved with a side that
actually enjoys what they are doing and this team of ours
really enjoys putting the work in, enjoys training together,
enjoys every moment of a day and most importantly of all
enjoy each other on and off the field.
John Smit |
Vol4 Week 7 |
|
Pain is weakness leaving the body. So if we
are at the 'House of Pain' ... Let the healing begin!
Sharks prop, BJ Botha |
Vol4 Week 7 |
|
Our aim is just to play better each week,
I've got no convoluted goals or mathematical scenarios.
Waratahs coach Ewen
McKenzie |
Vol4 Week 7 |
|
Speak to the players. Pain is minimal when
you win - people only hurt when they have a heavy heart.
Kevin Putt |
Vol4 Week 7 |
|
In terms of what the team wears on the field
and promotion of rugby, if they want to retain the
springbok, that's their decision.
Sports commission chief
executive Dr Joe Phaahla |
Vol4 Week 7 |
|
It's different for them now. They're in
another realm as World Cup champions. Other teams go up a
gear. And by their own comments, the English have put
themselves on a pedestal.
Eddie Jones |
Vol4 Week 7 |
|
There's been no control. SARFU is rotten to
the core, When I looked at the financial statements, I saw
that people were all money-driven. Some very strange things
went on previously.
Brian van Rooyen |
Vol4 Week 7 |
|
I've often said that you can't win the Super
12 by playing (only) ten-man rugby. But you must also be
able to adapt to specific circumstances.
Rudi Joubert |
Vol4 Week 7 |
|
The Cats combinations and personnel fluctuate
wildly from one year to the next, they have players who are
up against each other in the Currie Cup rather than fighting
side by side in that competition. This to me is the reason
why they invariably don't produce results that match the
talent that they boast on paper.
Corne Krige |
Vol4 Week 8 |
|
Thus it pains me to say that I am not all
that positive about the state of South African rugby because
there are just too many things wrong, too many egos to
please, too little focus on the real goals of sport and too
little genuine talent to smooth over the cracks.
Dan Retief on
www.superrugby.co.za |
Vol4 Week 8 |
|
'Go back to Australia you Aussie
sheep-rooters'
Rian Van Heeerden, public announcer at Loftus |
Vol4 Week 8 |
|
It's not that we are bad losers. I just think
those kind of comments are totally unnecessary. We will be
taking this further. The players and management think it's
totally unacceptable.
NSW team manager Dave Gibson |
Vol4 Week 8 |
|
When I'm at Loftus, my work is to drum up
support for the Bulls. It's all about psychological warfare,
because every visiting team is our enemy. My work is to make
sure the Bulls win.
Rian van Heerden |
Vol4 Week 8 |
|
I'm glad that they are complaining about the
announcer and not about our rugby.
Stephan Pretorius, CEO of the
Blue Bulls company |
Vol4 Week 8 |
|
In spite of the people at home refusing to
believe that the team can still perform, I and the team
believe that we can still come in through the back
door. Tim Lane |
Vol4 Week 8 |
|
They are lacking leadership, they are living
in the past and also trying to play a game they can't
play. Sean
Fitzpatrick's take on England |
Vol4 Week 8 |
|
Every player needs to know they can make a
team on merit and that is why SA Rugby has decided to
demolish it (the quota system).
Brian van Rooyen |
Vol4 Week 8 |
|
All I can say is that a decision has been
taken, there is a media conference in the morning (Thursday)
but I won't be there. Tim Lane |
Vol4 Week 9 |
|
John (Smit) is not a fly-by-night, he has
captained many sides before and he has served his time. I
have full faith that he will pick himself on merit and not
only as captain. Jake White |
Vol4 Week 9 |
|
I've always wanted to play the game because I
get satisfaction out of rugby, but I wasn't a campaigner for
leadership roles. The captaincy and leadership thing has
followed me since I was a young boy. New Springbok captain,
John Smit |
Vol4 Week 9 |
|
It was quite enlightening for me to sit at a
table with management and be asked what I thought.
John Smit |
Vol4 Week 9 |
|
Now Staaldraad is irrelevant. It has been
raped, people have lied and created their own scenarios. So
it makes no difference now. The longer we talk about it the
longer it will hang over us. John Smit |
Vol4 Week 9 |
|
Extra motivation for us is that this match is
on at prime-time viewing back home and we're all looking
forward to it. England-France games are usually feisty
affairs and this one should be no different.
Josh Lewsey |
Vol4 Week 9 |
|
I don't think the Bulls will win many games
on the road. In fact, I don't really rate them at all.
Waratahs lock Justin Harrison |
Vol4 Week 9 |
|
I can't say it was only from alcohol because
he went to the doctor for treatment for a stomach virus, but
alcohol contributed to it, although it was only later in the
week that I became aware alcohol may have been a factor.
Reds coach Jeff Miller on benching Josh Valentine for being
'unfit' to train due to alcohol abuse |
Vol4 Week 9 |
|
Our South African tour from hell
Headline in the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper |
Vol4 Week 9 |
|
If you aren't passionate about rugby, you're
not really from Agen. We're born with oval-shaped brains.
Philippe Robert |
Vol4 Week 9 |
|
It isn't going to be an easy ride. Believe in
yourself and your philosophy and be prepared to listen. Oh
and watch your back. The politics in South African rugby is
ugly and dirty. Tim Lane's advice to Chester Williams |
Vol4 Week 9 |
|
The average person would not understand the
report because of its complexities and let's not forget the
subjectivity in the report.
Freek Burger on why the
referee's assessments are not made public |
Vol4 Week 10 |
|
We embark on the tour with high expectations,
since this team has the character, fighting spirit and
determination of a winner.
Rudy Joubert, Bulls coach |
Vol4 Week 10 |
|
The players are still very positive, they
want to show that they are much better than what the results
say. Chester Williams,
Cats coach |
Vol4 Week 10 |
|
All the top players countrywide are
undergoing special tests at the moment so I will know
exactly who can, for example, jump the highest among the
locks and who among the wings can run the fastest. We will
take all these factors, as well as establishing how well the
players are performing, into consideration when we choose
the team for the first Test.
Jake White |
Vol4 Week 10 |
|
The glories of 2003 are the very undoing of
this side. Sloane says they lack confidence, yet it seems an
overabundance of misplaced confidence is the actual problem.
They will try anything, from anywhere, in every
situation.
Chris Rattue on the Blues |
Vol4 Week 10 |
|
There has been a lot of speculation about how
good we really are. It is fair to ask whether we have
perhaps had the benefit of a bit of luck and to comment that
we are just scraping to victory. There has been no faulting
the team spirit and commitment, but how good are we
really? Kevin
Putt, bound to find out against the Crusaders |
Vol4 Week 10 |
Pasta - 200 kilograms/ day
Fruit juice - 500 litres/ day
Eggs - 2000/ day
Sliced fruit - 100 kg/ day
Meat - 350 kg/ day
Bread - 150 loaves/ dayDAILY
shopping list of the Elangeni hotel in Durban where all the
teams of the U19 world cup is staying |
Vol4 Week 10 |
|
I don't think that New Zealanders, the union
and the public understand what it takes to be a professional
international side. They are all still in a hurry, looking
for an immediate outcome. They also tend to look backwards
too much. John
Mitchell |
Vol4 Week 10 |
|
Perhaps I was a bit ahead of my time for them
in some areas. I always knew that if we missed out on the
Webb Ellis Cup then my future was in doubt. New Zealanders
need to understand that progression doesn't come in large
lumps, that professionalism has seen an equalisation at the
top end and that it takes time to improve.
John Mitchell |
Vol4 Week 10 |
|
Good coaches close the deal.
John Mitchell |
Vol4 Week 10 |
|
I know that to many people this may seem like
a strange decision, but we as a board considered what we
need to take us forward and weve decided not to offer David
Nucifora a further extension of his contract.
ACTRU chief executive, Rob
Clarke |
Vol4 Week 10 |
|
Despite what has gone on and the appalling
way I have been dealt with, I am committed to the success of
the team for the season and will do everything possible to
ensure we win the 2004 Super 12.
David Nucifora |
Vol4 Week 10 |
|
It's my responsibility to get my head back
around football, it's been a tough week but we're all
professional enough to know that we've just got to get on
with it and finish our preparation for a really good
performance on the field tomorrow night.
David Nucifora |
Vol4 Week 11 |
|
Our teams are definitely more disciplined and
are being applauded for their image. It's been a welcome
change Jake White |
Vol4 Week 11 |
|
I cannot see any of the South African coaches
bringing South African rugby back to the top three in the
world game. Yet they have the players to do it. There is a
tremendous amount of scope and talent. Look at schoolboy
rugby in this country and you see thousands of kids playing
this game. But South Africa must improve their scouting
system to give youngsters a chance, not just turf them out
at the first opportunity.
Roger Young, Ireland
international and a British Lion in New Zealand in 1966 |
Vol4 Week 11 |
|
The major difference, though, between the
Heineken Cup and Super 12 is the weather. Conditions make
the Heineken Cup a very physical competition between two
powerful packs with a big emphasis on defence. These factors
do not have as much influence on the Super 12, which
features a lot more running and making use of the width of
the field. Gregor
Townsend |
Vol4 Week 11 |
|
We still believe very strongly that you can't
win the Super 12 if you play 10-man rugby, we want to win
this tournament and in order to do that we have to be able
to use our backs as well.
Victor Matfield |
Vol4 Week 11 |
|
Props are the only people in the world who
can run off head injuries.
Tony Johnson |
Vol4 Week 11 |
|
He's having some real fun with the Bulls
forwards! Ian Smith
on Carlos Spencer |
Vol4 Week 11 |
|
If you play correctly against the Blues they
can be beaten.
Gert Smal, pre-match comment |
Vol4 Week 11 |
|
They're [the Stormers] a side that likes to
take teams on, and if you do that often you get results to
go your way. It's going to be a really fascinating match out
there, because both teams play a similar style of game, both
teams have got game-breakers and I think we're going to see
a pretty electric sort of game.
Xavier Rush |
Vol4 Week 11 |
|
It was always an ambition of mine, but I
never expected to be an All Black at such a young age.
Dan Carter |
Vol4 Week 11 |
|
We knew that we had to be prepared for
anything when playing against South Africa - even genitals
aren't safe. Stephen
Larkham in a new book, Stephen Larkham's World Cup Diary |
Vol4 Week 11 |
|
They're good enough players, but at the
moment they're not hungry enough. It is time to feed them
some rugby perspective and starve them of the political
propaganda that has them believing being black guarantees
them five seats on the Bok bus.
Mark Keohane on the weak
performances of SA's top 'black' players |
Vol4 Week 11 |
|
It was totally unacceptable and every single
Reds player would like to apologise to the Queensland fans.
Queensland coach Jeff
Miller after the 23-17 defeat to the Bulls at Ballymore. |
Vol4 Week 11 |
|
A school of thought says that the arrogance
and attitude of former All Black coach John Mitchell has
stayed with many of last year's World Cup squad. Combined
with being the defending Super 12 champions and widely
tipped |
Vol4 Week 11 |
|
pre-season to repeat this year, it's
suspected to have contributed to a self-destructive
attitude. Chris
Mirams in New Zealand's Sunday Star-Times |
Vol4 Week 11 |
|
There are no bloody forwards in Auckland
anymore. Bryan
Williams |
Vol4 Week 11 |
|
Super 12 game plans are very similar, whereas
in the Heineken Cup there is variety in terms of attacks,
defences and refereeing. That variety prepares you for Test
rugby far better than the Super 12, and, like the
international game, the 'shutdown' comes very quickly in
terms of the contest at the breakdown and the speed with
which defences press.
John Mitchell |
Vol4 Week 11 |
|
Obviously we are expecting a tough game and I
know it will take 80 minutes of quality rugby, but I have
faith in their abilities. We have prepared for a massive
game and are very focused.
Gert Smal, pre Chiefs match |
Vol4 Week 12 |
|
It was a great scrap for us we were a bit
hungrier. We respected possession and tried not to give too
much ball away. Jonno
Gibbes |
Vol4 Week 12 |
|
There is a history in recent years for the
Sharks, after a loss, when they get a bit of a smack, to go
into a bit of a downward spiral.
Kevin Putt |
Vol4 Week 12 |
|
I think the best test will come this week.
We've had a loss, even though we haven't played too much
different to any other week. It's now a matter of checking
that the mentality and desire stays completely in place and
then make sure that it manifests itself on the playing
field. Kevin Putt |
Vol4 Week 12 |
|
I don't know how my Japanese is going - I
haven't mastered English yet!
Toutai Kefu |
Vol4 Week 12 |
|
My birthday was actually quite good this year
because the news [of Nucifora's sacking] came through about
the same time.
Justin Harrison |
Vol4 Week 12 |
|
I didn’t think Munster always had the best
players, but when they put that jersey on and played at
home, they seemed to grow a few inches, put on a few pounds.
It’s a quality you can’t buy — it makes them special.
Warren Gatland |
Vol4 Week 12 |
|
I am gutted. I cannot believe what went on
here today. I do not believe I was guilty of any malicious
behaviour. AJ Venter |
Vol4 Week 12 |
|
It's a shame really because he's always been
such a big part of the Stormers since I can recall, he's a
massive competitor and off the track he's a great bloke -
what impact that has on them, who knows?
Robbie Deans |
Vol4 Week 13 |
|
Psychologically, it has been good for our
players to realise that we can win in New Zealand and
Australia. The importance of the Stormers' 50-point win at
Eden Park in Auckland cannot be over emphasised.
Jake White |
Vol4 Week 13 |
|
We don't want second-rate journeymen coming
in and picking up good contracts while quality England
talent that's marginalised is eventually lost to the game
because they can't get first-team rugby.
Damian Hopley |
Vol4 Week 13 |
|
I've made it clear to the players this week
that they cannot afford another slip-up.
Gert Smal, pre-Crusaders game |
Vol4 Week 13 |
|
He's just not up to it. I'm afraid it's as
simple as that.
John Drake on Derick Hougaard. |
Vol4 Week 13 |
|
I told the judiciary I wasn't wanting to
continue the altercation after the game, I didn't know it
was a Highlander until I was shoved from behind, I thought
it was a member of the crowd.
Justin Harrison |
Vol4 Week 13 |
|
This latest ruling (by an ARU tribunal) is
astounding, unacceptable and laughable.
Brian van Zyl, CEO of the
Sharks |
Vol4 Week 13 |
|
We may still speculate for years about what
exactly went wrong, but in my heart I feel that we were
over-confident.
Kevin Putt on the game against the Reds |
Vol4 Week 13 |
|
You can't have enough players of his (Jaco
van der Westhuyzen) quality. They don't come around that
often. Leicester Chief
executive Peter Wheeler |
Vol4 Week 14 |
|
We've got to make sure that what we did in
the World Cup we build on, and our challenge has got to be
to play well every game.
Eddie Jones |
Vol4 Week 14 |
|
In terms of the 2007 World Cup there's
definitely two two-year cycles between World Cups ... and
these next two years are about picking your best players and
about playing consistently high-level rugby.
Eddie Jones |
Vol4 Week 14 |
|
There's a lot of respect for England here.
It's 50-50 whether they or the All Blacks will win.
Grant Fox |
Vol4 Week 14 |
|
At central control is the greatest pairing of
halves in recent rugby history - the incomparable George
Gregan and Larkham.
Chris Rattue |
Vol4 Week 14 |
|
The All Blacks are blessed with lots of
talent, but not experience, and that is the key ingredient
that wins you games and allows you to handle the
pressure. Jonah Lomu |
Vol4 Week 14 |
|
Well, call me stupid, but I'll never succumb
to even thinking about NSW beating Queensland, they could
play this one with a leg chopped off and still win. Never
underestimate a Queenslander, especially a wounded one and
this, for them, is the biggest game of the year.
Sam Scott-Young |
Vol4 Week 14 |
|
Don't be too worried - this English side that
comes out here [New Zealand] this year won't be that
great. John Mitchell |
Vol4 Week 14 |
|
Carlos is a wonderful talent but he has shown
at the highest level a tendency to premeditate his attack
and I don't think you could train that out of him.
John Mitchell |
Vol4 Week 14 |
|
The underachievers tag that NSW were so
desperate to shed is stuck with us yet again. I can't begin
to tell you how angry and upset that makes me feel on behalf
of all the boys. There is no worse tag to be stuck with than
that of underachievers.
Matt Rogers |
Vol4 Week 14 |
|
In the four years I've been involved in South
African rugby, there hasn't been a quota system for the Boks.
We definitely believe in transformation, but there are
enough black players who can be chosen on merit - quotas are
not necessary.
Songezo Nayo, MD of SA Rugby |
Vol4 Week 14 |
|
The only team capable of halting the
Brumbies' drive for a second Super 12 title would appear to
be the Brumbies themselves.
Wayne Smith |
Vol4 Week 14 |
|
I am gutted for the kid ... he has been
outstanding for the Sharks this year.
Kevin Putt on Butch James'
season ending injury |
Vol4 Week 14 |
|
I always will have strong ties to South
Africa but my future is in Australia, I love living in
Australia. The combination of great rugby and lifestyle is
hard to beat.
Clyde Rathbone |
Vol4 Week 14 |
|
Scoring more air points than your opponent is
not a recommended way of winning a semifinal.
Wynne Gray on the Stormers
traveling problem |
Vol4 Week 14 |
|
It's about his record. Just look at what he
has achieved - a grand slam, a World Cup, his country's
greatest points-scorer. The man is different class. He is a
unique human being, absolutely unique. In world rugby today
there is Wilko, there are a few more below him a bit, and
then there are the rest.
Brian O'Driscoll |
Vol4 Week 15 |
|
I'm now coming to the realisation that I
won't be playing rugby in Australia next year and, sure,
that's very disappointing.
Matt Burke |
Vol4 Week 15 |
|
The Zurich Premiership is seen, accurately,
as the most fierce rugby competition in the world. There are
22 lung-bursting games and rarely a soft one.
Stephen Jones |
Vol4 Week 15 |
|
I didn't get the best co-operation from the
Super 12 coaches, because when I was appointed in March,
they were already immersed in the series.
Jake White |
Vol4 Week 15 |
|
I'm convinced that I've grown as a player. It
was an adventure and I learnt a lot. I will recommend it to
any player who wants to broaden his rugby horizon.
Jaco van der Westhuyzen |
Vol4 Week 15 |
|
I've watched Super 12 this year and have been
disappointed, everyone is picking and going from stationary
ball and they're getting absolutely nowhere. It's really
boring rugby. Over here we've got forwards who are actually
running on to the ball. The collisions are a lot harder and
it's a more flowing game.
Craig Dowd |
Vol4 Week 15 |
|
Everyone in rugby looks at New Zealand and
learns from them, whereas we tend not to look anywhere else
and learn from them. It's quite backward thinking.
Craig Dowd |
Vol4 Week 15 |
|
Matt Dawson seems more interested in his
burgeoning media career than his rugby - he's like Anna
Kournikova without the looks.
Andy Jackson |
Vol4 Week 15 |
|
Jake and I had an incident when he was
assistant coach but I don't want to go into details. Since
then he has bad-mouthed me over the years. I had hoped to
see some maturity and a change over the years. Unfortunately
leopards don't change their spots.
Craig Davidson |
Vol4 Week 15 |
|
I know I will be spoiling my future
opportunities, but I believe I need to speak out in the best
interests of South African rugby.
Craig Davidson |
Vol4 Week 15 |
|
I'm satisfied with what I've seen. There's a
few players whose fitness levels could improve, but everyone
will be ready before the Test.
Jake White |
Vol4 Week 16 |
|
It doesn't matter if you're playing your
first or your 51st Test, because it remains an honour to
represent your country.
Percy Montgomery |
Vol4 Week 16 |
|
I would like to spend time with my family,
experience life without rugby, a braai on a Saturday
afternoon and to teach my son how to fish. I would love to
make a contribution to help the Springboks get back among
the top teams in the world - but not with coaching.
Mark Andrews on retirement from rugby |
Vol4 Week 16 |
|
There is no certainty about this game. We do
know there's going to be a lot of surprises. It's certainly
going to be dramatic.
Crusaders' coach Robbie Deans
before the final |
Vol4 Week 16 |
|
I'm enjoying my rugby again. Carel du Plessis
of Western Province has a lot to do with that. He means a
lot to me and did wonders for my self-confidence.
Gaffie du Toit |
Vol4 Week 16 |
|
He took up an abnormal chunk of our medical
and management team's time. He was very high maintenance,
not just with injuries but across the board.
Blues chief executive David
White on Rupeni Caucaunibuca |
Vol4 Week 16 |
|
It's really a shame we didn't win because a
win would really kick this team along and it's probably the
first time I can say I've felt we deserved to win.
Matt Williams, Scotland
coach after the defeat against the Barbarians |
Vol4 Week 16 |
|
We talk in psychology of getting into the
zone - our players don't know how. They have so much
passion, but aren't good in their execution. I'll definitely
focus on that.
Henning Gericke, Springbok psychologist |
Vol4 Week 16 |
|
The results of the fitness tests opened a lot
of players' eyes. They have seen just how far behind they
are when compared, for example, with England's players.
Jake White |
Vol4 Week 16 |
|
I am very unhappy with the way that this has
been dealt with, if I hadn't spoken to Songezo Nayo this
morning, the first I would have heard would have been this
morning through the media release. I still have not been
given any reasons for why these steps have been taken.
Springbok Media liaison,
Anthony Mackaiser on being 'relieved' from his position |
Vol4 Week 16 |
|
SA Rugby are not doing their work. Songezo
Nayo, as MD, must take responsibility. I told Theunie (Lategan),
who is at a Sanzar meeting in Australia, that his MD is not
doing his work and will have an urgent meeting when he gets
back. I can’t live with this (non-performance) and in
consultation with the chairman (Theunie Lategan of SA Rugby
(Pty) Ltd) decided to take over (the running of the
Springbok side).
Brian van Rooyen |
Vol4 Week 16 |
|
My response is that if he (Van Rooyen) blames
me he should have raised his objections with me directly. He
should put to me what he is aggrieved about. I still do not
know what it is that I did not do or was supposed to have
done and I would have expected it to be raised with me.
Songezo Nayo |
Vol4 Week 16 |
|
It was a tall order for guys who are just
embarking on their international careers to face a side with
hundreds of caps. On the positive side of things it has
given them a taste of what it takes to be an
international. Baa
Baas coach Bob Dwyer |
Vol4 Week 17 |
|
I simply could not continue in that kind of
environment, working with a man who is economical with the
truth and who lied to the public about me without even
asking me about the situation. He never once picked up a
phone to ask me what was going on with regards to the
management contracts.
SA Rugby (Pty) Ltd. MD Songezo
Nayo |
Vol4 Week 17 |
|
I wanted to create superstar players in rugby
like Jonny - and we have done that.
Clive Woodward |
Vol4 Week 17 |
|
Van Rooyen seems incapable of a measured
statement, and since he has been in charge he has blamed
everyone but himself for the mess that his organisation
keeps landing itself in. It is time for the culture of blame
to stop and for Van Rooyen to start acting by the standards
he demands of others.
Brian van Rooyen |
Vol4 Week 17 |
|
It's dangerous starting at a big team. You
have to serve your apprenticeship. This is the right time
for me to take the next step in my career and coaching is a
new challenge that I'm really looking forward to.
Retired Springbok, Pieter
Muller on taking up coaching |
Vol4 Week 17 |
|
I've grown up with farming, I was always
going to be a farmer, and that's what I'll do after rugby
when the coaches don't pick me any more.
Andrew Hore, All Black trialist |
Vol4 Week 17 |
|
He has all the experience you want, he knows
what it is like in the trenches, he is back to playing very
good rugby with Wasps and like all good footballers, he is a
good cheat. John
Mitchell on Lawrence Dallaglio |
Vol4 Week 17 |
|
I sometimes wish our management would learn
how to handle young players' development.
Gaffie du Toit |
Vol4 Week 17 |
|
It definitely made my rugby take a dip
because the guy at the top - and you work your whole life to
get to the top - had just written me off.
Gaffie du Toit on Nick
Mallett's famous accusations |
Vol4 Week 17 |
|
It must be a difficult time for him but he
handled it with dignity. He has a huge respect for the All
Blacks shirt and what it means.
Graham Henry on disposed
captain, Reuben Thorne |
Vol4 Week 17 |
|
The current contract negotiation process is
akin to a mosh-pit at a rock concert.
Australian Rugby Union Players'
Association president Tony Dempsey |
Vol4 Week 18 |
|
We're the No.1 team in the world, we hold the
World Cup and we don't want to go there and get beat.
Clive Woodward |
Vol4 Week 18 |
|
At the international level you come across
very physical people and Finegan is a person people are wary
of. He encourages the opposition to be sensible.
Alec Evans, former assistant
coach of the Wallabies |
Vol4 Week 18 |
|
I know that everyone is tired of the overpaid
and under-delivered scen-ario, but I'll still repeat that
it's time for the players to say 'Let's show them we are
better players and play a better brand of rugby'. And if
they do that, they will certainly reap the rewards.
Naas Botha |
Vol4 Week 18 |
|
Will the new-look Kiwis be able to punch
their way out of a wet paper bag, let alone knock out
England? Stephen Jones |
Vol4 Week 18 |
|
You can't build a future for SA rugby if you
have someone like [Sarfu president] Brian van Rooyen running
the show, his behaviour is inexcusable. How can he expect
players to be dedicated, |
Vol4 Week 18 |
|
committed and loyal?
Hennie Le Roux |
Vol4 Week 18 |
|
It's the liars leading the blind, and the
blind are in control of rugby.
Hennie Le Roux |
Vol4 Week 18 |
|
I am sick and tired of the artificial use of
sport quotas as window dressing.
Sports Minister Makhenkesi
Stofile |
Vol4 Week 18 |
|
I am sure it's going to be very taxing
against the Springboks, but we look forward to that
challenge. Playing in these big games and having difficult
situations in front of you is what you play rugby for.
Brian O'Driscoll |
Vol4 Week 18 |
|
I know the Irish centres are very good. I'm
going to play the best I can and see what happens.
Wayne Julies |
Vol4 Week 18 |
|
We have heard they (Ireland) have told the
media that they expect a really physical approach from us
and I would like to think that we won't disappoint them.
Bakkies Botha |
Vol4 Week 18 |
|
Size is no good if you can't use it, timing,
good lifting, there are techniques that can combat that. I'm
not sure about the size of them (England) or anything like
that. I know they're world champions and we'll see on
Saturday night how big they are.
Keith Robinson |
Vol4 Week 18 |
|
I want them to play well and win. At the end
of the day, I'd like to start the season off with a win. I
think the players know that and they know the Springbok side
is going to get more exposure tomorrow (Saturday) than
they've had the last couple of years.
Jake White |
Vol4 Week 18 |
|
We have got to front up, look in the mirror,
re-group and try and play better next Saturday.
Clive Woodward |
Vol4 Week 18 |
|
We'll take something from this game. We feel
we didn't perform in any shape or form. We will just have to
perform next week. There is one game to go in the series and
we having nothing to loose, so we'll go all out for
it. Brian
O'Driscoll |
Vol4 Week 18 |
|
When you have a guy behind you kicking the
ball that distance it makes it so much easier for the
forwards to stay on the front foot and after this game we
all like Gaffie very much.
John Smit |
Vol4 Week 18 |
|
If we don't win on Saturday, people will ask
if the team has gone backwards. Now, I doubt it, but we may
not have gone as far forward as we thought.
Eddie O'Sullivan |
Vol4 Week 19 |
|
Maybe I didn't pick on form last weekend, we
made errors in selection but we needed that game to find it
out. Clive Woodward |
Vol4 Week 19 |
|
I would rather have won the World Cup and be
getting a few hammerings now than the other way round. The
fallout since the World Cup has been more dramatic than I
thought it would be but it's not something I'll lose sleep
over. Either we front up or we stay in our rooms and lock
the door. Clive
Woodward |
Vol4 Week 19 |
|
As long as this team learns from these sort
of tests and leave New Zealand with some respect as to how
we play rugby then I'll be happy. At the moment I don't
believe we can walk around saying we have that respect
because we haven't earned it here.
Lawrence Dallaglio |
Vol4 Week 19 |
|
Nobody takes any prisoners over here (New
Zealand). We know we're not incredibly popular, and we
accept that, people are entitled to their opinion. What I
find very unpopular is us not playing to a level that I
believe we should do every time we pull on a shirt.
Lawrence Dallaglio |
Vol4 Week 19 |
|
Outmuscled is not a word I like to use for a
forward pack I've been involved with but you have to accept
that, that was what happened.
Lawrence Dallaglio |
Vol4 Week 19 |
|
Government support is vital. I'm just a dumb
Dutchman and a forward so we need to get more expertise on
board. Francois
Pienaar on being appointed as RWC bid CEO |
Vol4 Week 19 |
|
I'd say his goal-kicking is now in the same
league as that of a Braam van Straaten.
Andy Marinos on Percy
Montgomery (pre test) |
Vol4 Week 19 |
|
It doesn't matter what I say, because one of
the teams will want to shoot me. However, I know it's going
to be a very tough and very tense Test.
Dion O'Cuinneagain |
Vol4 Week 19 |
|
It is not for me to comment, but I do not
think a boxer after 12 rounds should fight another who has
just had two rounds.
Eddie O'Sullivan on the long
season |
Vol4 Week 19 |
|
They are a quality side and deserved to take
this series, we rested on our laurels a bit after getting
that early try and they made us pay.
Brian O'Driscoll |
Vol4 Week 19 |
|
Shaw is not a dirty player ... he is clumsy.
It was a poor call [by referee Williams] and it ruined the
game. Clive Woodward |
Vol4 Week 19 |
|
Shaw couldn't get his leg high enough to
stand on him so he put his knee between his shoulder blades
to make him know he was there. Anyone who knows Simon Shaw
knows he's not a dirty player.
Clive Woodward |
Vol4 Week 19 |
|
I don't know where I got the strength (to
tackle Humphreys). I just wanted to show people I could play
80 minutes. Os du
Randt |
Vol4 Week 19 |
|
I'd be lying if I said I never get scared in
this job. I get scared of failing because if you fail as
Springbok coach your profile is so high that you tend to
fail big. I've always said, though, that if you're going to
buy a rugby nation then this would be the one you'd look
at. Jake White |
Vol4 Week 19 |
|
You had a referee and a touch judge who are
both world-class officials, they decided it was serious
enough to warrant the guy being sent off. Yet the judiciary
take a contrary stance. I mean, they ask coaches not to
criticise refs. They ask players not criticise refs. And
you've got a judiciary system that does exactly the
opposite. Eddie Jones |
Vol4 Week 19 |
|
Sir Clive received his knighthood for
services to rugby. The way England have played so far on
tour, it should be amended to services to thugby.
Spiro Zavos |
Vol4 Week 19 |
|
There has been too much emphasis on the
professional arm of rugby in this country at the expense of
the amateur game, this has resulted in the decline of our
rugby. The game has been neglected at many levels.
Brian van Rooyen |
Vol4 Week 20 |
|
There is a nice culture in the squad. The
spirit is very good because there is freedom for the players
to express themselves. It is definitely affecting the way we
play. A happy team makes winning easier to achieve.
Gert Smal |
Vol4 Week 20 |
|
We are not a team that throws cheap shots
around. We are a team that tries to be physically
intimidating and dominate a match. We have been successful
in achieving that against Australia recently and we are
going to set out to do it again.
Lawrence Dallaglio |
Vol4 Week 20 |
|
He is the sort of bloke that when he's
winning, he's on top of the world, he's your best mate, and
when he's losing, he's always looking for excuses.
Eddie Jones on Clive
Woodward |
Vol4 Week 20 |
|
They win two games and they think they're
world-beaters.
Wales manager Alan Phillips |
Vol4 Week 20 |
|
You can trace [suspensions] over how many
years since rugby has been professional and there is no real
consistency with what an infringement equals in terms of
time away from the game or a penalty in terms of money.
Players are aware of that.
George Gregan |
Vol4 Week 20 |
|
We've only won two tests and we aren't really
in a position to be c*cky just yet. But it is good that the
public is beginning to have more confidence in us. It gives
us faith to continue what we are doing.
John Smit |
Vol4 Week 20 |
|
I suppose when you win a Test match by 50
points, you should enjoy it a lot more.
Jake White |
Vol4 Week 20 |
|
We've been found out, you have to accept
that, take your hidings and walk away.
Clive Woodward |
Vol4 Week 20 |
|
It was a massive embarrassment. I look at
some of the players that I know are champion players and
that wasn't a fair reflection of the players that I
know. England's
defence coach Phil Larder |
Vol4 Week 20 |
|
When we train it works so well, looks so
good, but then the 15 other guys turn up on a Saturday and
spoil our party.
Jake White |
Vol4 Week 20 |
|
The youngsters must follow (me). But I'm just
happy to be in a position where I can lead and be of worth
and do something that the youngsters can look up to.
Os Du Randt |
Vol4 Week 20 |
|
It would definitely be to the benefit of the
South African system if there were no links or ties between
the selectors and provinces. It would kill off any talk of
bias. Carel Du
Plessis |
Vol4 Week 21 |
|
We will not have a gun put to our head. It is
unfortunate for AJ, but it is time we put a marker down and
say, 'Enough'. Andre
Markgraaff |
Vol4 Week 21 |
|
England don't actually have a pattern. They
play patternless rugby, while the Islanders actually have a
pattern. They have some structure, but within that
structure, because of the large range of skills, they are a
far more dangerous attacking side.
Eddie Jones on the Pacific
Islanders |
Vol4 Week 21 |
|
I don't know if that was a game of rugby
tonight or a game of rugby league, AFL, minkyball or
speedball. I don't know what it was. But I've got nothing to
say about them. You make your own judgment.
Eddie Jones after the match
against the Pacific Islanders |
Vol4 Week 21 |
|
I just think the business about the hard
tackling or whatever has been blown out of all proportion. I
think it was just another typical international rugby game
in which there was good, hard tackling on both sides.
Graham Henry |
Vol4 Week 21 |
|
Sponsors are coming in because they get good
bang for their buck.
George Rautenbach, executive
chairman of Megapro re Springbok sponsorships. |
Vol4 Week 21 |
|
My one worry is not having out-and-out pace
in the backs you can't compensate for that. When it comes
down to a footrace, as Kitch Christie said, there's no
substitute for pace.
Jake White |
Vol4 Week 21 |
|
The players are definitely not happy at the
moment . . . the attitude. . . from the powers that be is
astounding: it dates back to the 1960s.
Hennie Le Roux |
Vol4 Week 21 |
|
He's a hell of a nice boy. I don't think he
will ever change because his dad will donner him! His dad
knows what it's about!
Jake White on Schalk Burger Jnr |
Vol4 Week 21 |
|
The one who would take the icing on the cake
would be George Gregan. He's like a parasite. He gives it to
you and you just can't seem to get rid of him. He disappears
and then he pops up in the weirdest places and he causes
havoc. He's only half my size, but mate, he brought me down.
He does really, really well and he's a feisty character. He
is a great leader and an awesome player.
Jonah Lomu on his 'toughest
Wallaby competitor' |
Vol4 Week 21 |
|
Maybe it would be better for me to first
start on the bench, for the Boks, and ease my way back into
it. But whatever the coach wants from me is what I'll
do. Joe van Niekerk |
Vol4 Week 22 |
|
You know, when we were playing together, we
thought we were immortal.
Howard 'Sparkle' Watt (93) only
surviving member of the 1937 Springbok team |
Vol4 Week 22 |
|
'We had a number of tremendous characters. I
recall going into a shop with Boy Louw. He asked to buy a
cake of soap. The shopkeeper asked if he wanted it scented.
"No, you just wraps it up and I will take it with me," he
said in his thick Afrikaans accent.'
Howard Watt |
Vol4 Week 22 |
|
My aim is to be a better player and to come
back bigger, better, fitter and stronger - I can now say
'fitter', I can say 'stronger', 'bigger' in a sort of mental
presence. But 'better'? We'll have to wait and see.
Jonnie Wilkinson |
Vol4 Week 22 |
|
If South African rugby is ever united, they
will be a force.
Former Queensland coach John Connolly |
Vol4 Week 22 |
|
No player or team likes to play against (AJ)
Venter and (Bakkies) Botha.
Jake White |
Vol4 Week 22 |
|
I'm not that gutted because he's a menace to
play against but it would have been nice for him to have
played his 100th test match on an occasion like this.
Justin Marshall on
George Gregan |
Vol4 Week 22 |
|
Years of waiting patiently for the IRB to
decide on your case without anything happening ruins you
mentally. Kennedy Tsimba |
Vol4 Week 22 |
|
Having sensible debate on the issue though is
almost impossible, with the pair serving as metaphors for
the provinces they represent. To Crusaders loyalists,
Spencer is nothing more than an arrogant show pony,
pitomising the worst excesses of Auckland. To Blues
supporters, Mehrtens is too fat, too old, too soft, and
guilty of bottling it on big occasions.
Gregor Paul in Rugby News
Magazine |
Vol4 Week 22 |
|
You can't stand still, you either go forward
or backward and we've got to make another step. If we can
make another step up, we've got a chance.
Pacific Islanders coach John
Boe |
Vol4 Week 22 |
|
The law is quite clear that you can clean out
a coffee table [size area around the tackler], it's not a
boardroom table - seems most coffee tables are a bit bigger
over here [in New Zealand].
Eddie Jones about the All
Blacks clearing out methods. |
Vol4 Week 23 |
|
When New Zealand played England, England got
involved in fisticuffs. We're certainly not going to endorse
that sort of approach but we'll have to deal with it.
Eddie again.... enter
Brendan Cannon.... |
Vol4 Week 23 |
|
Kaiyava Salusalu travelled by dugout canoe
and horseback to get to the assembly place. He was an
astonishing centre - powerful, high-stepping.
rugbyrugby.com's take on one of
the players from the South Sea Baa-baas of 1987, pre-deseccors
to the Pacific Islanders |
Vol4 Week 23 |
|
It's an honour to meet them and we have a
huge respect for them. Those who are playing them for the
first time will have some nervous jitters about the
legendary size of the South Africans and how brutal they are
in |
Vol4 Week 23 |
|
mauls and rucks.
Islanders captain Inoke Afeaki |
Vol4 Week 23 |
|
All the negative publicity and criticism does
get to you, no matter how much you try and cut it off or
pretend otherwise. That was the biggest influence in my
decision not to play for the Boks again.
Corne Krige |
Vol4 Week 23 |
|
They [the players] wanted to show that they
will not be pushed around. This is a great, great show of
player power. Piet
Heymans on the Springboks white armbands |
Vol4 Week 23 |
|
You have look at the video. You tell me what
happened. Have a look how Brendan Cannon got split and you
tell me. Eddie Jones |
Vol4 Week 23 |
|
We've had three test matches involving New
Zealand (twice against England last month and Australia)
with similar incidents - I think someone else can make the
judgment. Eddie
Jones |
Vol4 Week 23 |
|
The first 50 minutes was exactly the way we
wanted to play and after being 33-0 up most sides would have
probably laid down and died, but all credit to the Islanders
because they definitely didn't lie down, they kept coming at
us. Jake White |
Vol4 Week 23 |
|
It is a huge honour and not an opportunity
that comes along too often for coaches - only a select few -
it is a huge honour and remains the dream of every coach to
try and beat the ABs in NZ.
Jake White |
Vol4 Week 23 |
|
Having unfortunately lost confidence, trust
and some respect in the leadership of SA Rugby, I am now
merely doing what I believe is the right and honorable thing
to do in the circumstances. - resign!
Keith Parkinson |
Vol4 Week 24 |
|
There is more to a good forward pack then
being big fat bas.tards - otherwise I'd be an All Black...
The BartMan on
www.thesilverfern.co.nz |
Vol4 Week 24 |
|
This isn't a look of relief on my face, it's
a look of pride.
Tana Umaga |
Vol4 Week 24 |
|
I think the biggest disappointment for us is
that we didn't lift ourselves in this game as much as we
have in our other games this season.
John Smit |
Vol4 Week 24 |
|
Obviously we've got to be realistic - we
didn't have much ball. What hurts the most is being 10
seconds away from winning. You don't have much to say when
that happens because it hurts, but the message I've conveyed
is that we've got to learn from those things.
Jake White |
Vol4 Week 24 |
|
THE bruisers of world rugby are back.
Jeremy Guscott in the
Sunday Times |
Vol4 Week 24 |
|
Their defence was immaculate and they scored
three tries to one so they deserve a big pat on the back.
Graham Henry |
Vol4 Week 24 |
|
For my generation, South Africa have always
been our No.1 rivals. But for those in their late 20s and
under, Australia are clearly regarded as the All Blacks'
main rivals. Ian
Jones |
Vol4 Week 24 |
|
The Springboks had a Test against the All
Blacks where every bounce of the ball went their way. They
still couldn't win. This sort of luck comes around once
every 100 or so Tests. My guess is that it won't be there to
save them against the Wallabies in Perth.
Spiro Zavos |
Vol4 Week 24 |
|
He (Marius Joubert) is feeling a lot better
and was playing table tennis last night, we'd only pick him
if he is 100 percent and with two days complete rest I'm
sure he'll be fine.
Jake White discloses his
'fitness selection criteria' against the Aussies |
Vol4 Week 24 |
|
As for the late charge of the replacements
that seems to happen in almost every match these days, I'm
sick of it. And I'm quite sure the fans and the armchair
viewers have had enough of it as well. Some matches are in
danger of being turned into a shambles because of the number
of substitutions. I would love to see this area of the game
tightened up because there are consequences all
round. Chris
White |
Vol4 Week 25 |
|
I am still a little bit surprised, because at
lineout time they are going to be more vulnerable.
Jake White before the match on Australia playing two
fetchers..... |
Vol4 Week 25 |
|
We know that a lot of Australia's attacking
play comes from their lineouts. With this pack of forwards
we obviously back ourselves in all first phases.
Jake White.....
again....... |
Vol4 Week 25 |
|
I thought it was a high quality game. Both
teams went out to play positive rugby and there was a high
skill level. George
Gregan |
Vol4 Week 25 |
|
You get an ex-player who dives in the corner
and takes the game away from you. He played well, ran hard
and it probably hurts more like that.
Jake White on Clyde Rathbone's
try |
Vol4 Week 25 |
|
I'm now an Australian and my home is here. I
will remain here for the rest of my life I know the anthem
has three languages, but I can't remember it anymore,
because I haven't sung it for ages.
Clyde Rathbone |
Vol4 Week 25 |
|
You could never accuse Campo of engaging his
brain before speaking, and some of us were kind enough to
point out to him that his own company helped represent
Gregan. Jeremy
Guscott |
Vol4 Week 25 |
|
I wouldn't say we missed him against the All
Blacks and Wallabies, but his experience in the lineouts
would definitely have helped.
Jake White on Victor Matfield |
Vol4 Week 25 |
|
Did the Boks miss Matfield? I don't think so.
Gerrie Britz did a good job. We don't necessarily need the
athleticism of a Matfield. The Boks probably have 35 lineout
combinations but what you need against a team as
well-organised as the Wallabies is 70 or 80 so that you go
into Tests with combinations the opposition hasn't
seen. Nick Mallett |
Vol4 Week 25 |
|
THE baby is due in mid-December. We're still
not sure if it will end up playing for the Springboks or
Wallabies. David Campese,
whose wife Lara is SA-born. |
Vol4 Week 25 |
|
You are going to have a lot of fun not having
to blow George Gregan anymore.....
Joel Stransky to Andre Watson
on Inside Rugby |
Vol4 Week 25 |
|
You're never ready for Carlos's surprises.
He's one of the greatest attacking players of this time.
Eddie Jones |
Vol4 Week 26 |
|
I think he is one of the best players in
world rugby, he is unique in that I believe he could play
anywhere from one to 15, he has all the skills.
Steve Hansen on George Smith |
Vol4 Week 26 |
|
So, if you'll forgive the French, personally
I find the very idea that the Wallabies should employ a
third-party code-cracker sweating away in a dimly-lit bunker
to decode the opposition lineout calls in the first half,
and bring them a cheat-sheet at halftime an absolute fu..ing
anathema! Paul
Waite on www.haka.co.nz |
Vol4 Week 26 |
|
We want the points for the victory and
nothing less. Once you say that you will be satisfied with
two log points out of the match, you start budgeting for
failure and that is not something the Blue Bulls do.
Heyneke Meyer |
Vol4 Week 26 |
|
Just tell Eddie we're going to change our
calls at halftime.
Graham Henry |
Vol4 Week 26 |
|
Richard (Loe) was a dirty, mean bas.tard that
I enjoyed playing against because I knew that if I was
playing against him, the rule book was thrown out the
window. Sam
Scott-Young |
Vol4 Week 26 |
|
Whatever they put in that kid's biltong I
wish I'd had some of it when I was growing up. I wish I had
some of it now.
Matt Rogers on Clyde Rathbone |
Vol4 Week 26 |
|
We'll definitely be listening to their calls
and have a good look at their variations, but we'll have to
ensure we win our ball first before focusing on them.
Gert Smal |
Vol4 Week 26 |
|
It's hard to say whether somebody goes out
there intentionally to do something to someone, but he
(Justin Harrison) has got a history of being one of those
niggly, annoying players.
Justin Marshall |
Vol4 Week 26 |
|
People who know me know of my honesty and
integrity. My teammates support me as does my coach, and at
the end of the day that's all that matters.
Justin Harrison |
Vol4 Week 26 |
|
Justin Harrison survives on nuisance value
and has the physical presence of a twig.
Chris Rattue |
Vol4 Week 26 |
|
The spirit (within the squad) is unbelievable
and I'm just looking forward to pulling on that jersey. I'm
ready. Joe van Niekerk |
Vol4 Week 27 |
|
He will bring a defensive quality to the team
that was lacking against Australia.
Former All Blacks selector
Peter Thorburn on Andrew Mehrtens |
Vol4 Week 27 |
|
I'm striving to become a Springbok, but my
first responsibility is to give my best to the Bulls. If I
don't become a Springbok, I may be instrumental helping some
of my team-mates to get their colours.
Gary Botha |
Vol4 Week 27 |
|
Eddie and his team, rightly so, get these
things out in the open when it happens to them (Accusations
of eye gouging). When the opposition does the same they need
the same balance.
Graham Henry |
Vol4 Week 27 |
|
Just because they're not executing it right
doesn't mean the idea is wrong.
Wayne Smith on the 'flat line'
system |
Vol4 Week 27 |
|
This week was our most important game, but
now next week is.
Jake White |
Vol4 Week 27 |
|
I hadn't been great in the past six Tests, I
was average. I wanted to prove a point after the coach
pulled me aside and simply said I must run hard and score
tries. Marius
Joubert |
Vol4 Week 27 |
|
A well-drilled, hardened team, well coached.
The win was just reward for a lot of hard work and a lot of
effort. Nick Mallett |
Vol4 Week 27 |
|
That's the world we live in - you go from
first to last in 80 minutes. So our motto for this week will
be all or nothing.
Jake White |
Vol4 Week 27 |
|
When we call in people to help it does not
mean we cannot do it or cannot coach that aspect of play. It
is just that no-one knows the intricacies of scrumming
better than someone who has played there. They say a flyhalf
reads a game, well a prop or hooker feels the game.
Gert Smal |
Vol4 Week 27 |
|
We had no doubt the Springboks would win.
Nelson Mandela |
Vol4 Week 27 |
|
The jewel which shone through, was that every
Bok on the ground (except perhaps Percy) started to feel
they had the measure of their opposites, and they hoed into
them, and bested them with frightening regularity. So here
we have the Boks in full flight, and supremely confident of
giving these AB’s a first class lesson in playing dashing,
running, but more importantly, winning rugby.
Patrick Innes |
Vol4 Week 27 |
|
I know people may not think much of me over
there [in England] but I would like to prove to them the
kind of player that I am and show them. I hope they'll
realise I'm a person of character and integrity.
Corne Krige |
Vol4 Week 27 |
|
It seems that too often the public take All
Black wins for granted. Those expectations, and the adverse
reaction that can follow defeat, are inhibiting the
players. Graham
Henry |
Vol4 Week 27 |
|
Physical doesn't mean dirty play. It also
doesn't mean that my players will get involved in off the
ball incidents. By playing physical rugby, it means you make
your presence known and felt.
Jake White |
Vol4 Week 28 |
|
Going back to when I played, you would look
around the room and there would be three or four guys that,
when you see them pulling on your jersey, you think - thank
God they are pulling on a gold jersey and not a black one. I
am sure that Gregan has that sort of influence among the
team, especially the young guys.
Nick Far-Jones |
Vol4 Week 28 |
|
I think it is fair to say Australians enjoy
coming to Durban above all the other stadiums in South
Africa as it is most like what they are used to back home.
We won here in 2000, the last time we achieved success in
South Africa, and maybe that is a good omen for us.
Eddie Jones |
Vol4 Week 28 |
|
England won the World Cup, so they are No.1
for four years. That's what you get for winning. All we want
to do is take home the Tri-Nations and announce to the rugby
world that the Boks are back.
Jake White |
Vol4 Week 28 |
|
I found and still find their banter before
and after games a bit tiresome, to say the least. That
sometimes makes them a pain. Yet I would also say they were
one of the nice teams to play against in world rugby.
Corne Krige on the
Aussies |
Vol4 Week 28 |
|
I just don't believe the quota system here
works. I don't believe it is fair for anyone. I believe in
transformation, but that's another issue. The way SARFU has
gone about transformation is completely wrong... You don't
start at the top and say we want five black players in a
team. You instead start at primary schools and get kids from
disadvantaged communities into the best schools, where they
are exposed to proper nutrition, coaching and that sort of
thing. Then the process takes care of itself.
Clyde Rathbone |
Vol4 Week 28 |
|
It's unfortunate he's said some negative
things about South Africa, because they (South Africans)
have a negative impression of him right now so there will be
some comments from the side of the field, for sure.
Tiaan Strauss |
Vol4 Week 28 |
|
We did not have an Afrikaans linguist in our
coaching box contrary to belief. Most sides don't break
lineout calls, it is one of the great furphies of the sport.
But it's a good way of explaining your lineout hasn't gone
as well as you (wanted).
Eddie Jones |
Vol4 Week 28 |
|
No doubt, the sound of booing is offensive to
many but there are others - including myself - who rather
enjoyed it. If international rugby is to mean anything,
trans-nations marauders seeking higher wages really should
be stopped.
Stephen Jones from The Times on the Durban crowd booing
Clyde Rathbone |
Vol4 Week 28 |
|
It was certainly the worst 20 minutes we have
played all season. We probably made more mistakes in those
20 minutes than in the previous three Tests. The reasons for
that - I don't know.
Eddie Jones |
Vol4 Week 28 |
|
A great rugby nation is back at the top of
the sport and this morning, the heartbeat of everyone in the
game will be racing as a result.
Jeremy Guscott |
Vol4 Week 28 |
|
Honesty and candour are the best options...
When I am in doubt, I choose to be upfront, when I've made a
mistake, I'm man enough to own up. If I'm mad at something I
say so, when I'm disappointed I let people know. That's my
style and I make no excuses for it.
Brian van Rooyen |
Vol4 Week 29 |
|
The last three years have been a treadmill on
which I could not get off.
Lawrence Dallaglio |
Vol4 Week 29 |
|
I never had that passion for rugby I have for
football. I never got into rugby in the same way.
Clive Woodward |
Vol4 Week 29 |
|
I believe this is the biggest job in world
rugby - bigger than the All Blacks.
Clive Woodward |
Vol4 Week 29 |
|
People said I hadn't even coached a
professional football (soccer) team. Thanks for that, but I
did realise that without being told.
Clive Woodward |
Vol4 Week 29 |
|
We don't have a rugby problem in New Zealand,
we have an experience problem.
Frank Bunce |
Vol4 Week 29 |
|
The No 1 reason players are leaving is the
lack of financial security in the (New Zealand) Rugby
Union's contracts.
Rob Brady |
Vol4 Week 29 |
|
We fire one d***head, then hire another one
in Brian van Rooyen. If ever there was a blo.ody racist,
it's that oke.
Robbie Fleck in an interview with SA Sports Illustrated,
Dave Moseley |
Vol4 Week 29 |
|
The police will arrest him there [in Bath].
That is for sure. I have also brought a civil action against
Moseley and Fleck, and I have also reported it to the Human
Rights Commission.
Brian van Rooyen's response to Fleck's comments |
Vol4 Week 29 |
|
Apart from playing for the Springboks,
winning the Currie Cup will be the highlight for me. Winning
it will give me more pleasure than winning the Super
12. Gaffie Du Toit |
Vol4 Week 30 |
|
London Tribe would also be ideal for players
just out of school to learn the game in a different country,
experience the different fields and conditions. Also for men
coming to the end of their careers, they'd be able to teach
something to the youngsters. They'd then be able to go back
to South Africa in better shape for international
rugby. Dale
Jackson of Prosport International, the project managers of
London Tribe |
Vol4 Week 30 |
|
If you really wanted to have that kind of
backline you need a five-eighth like Stephen Larkham, who I
feel is the best running five-eighth in the world at the
moment. Tana
Umaga on the All Blacks 'flat attack' |
Vol4 Week 30 |
|
I think that . . . the help that New Zealand
gave us in the revival of Australian rugby should never be
forgotten. John O'Neill |
Vol4 Week 30 |
|
A Pacific Islands team would have added
another dimension to the competition, it could have provided
another level of excitement. It would have been a fantastic
opportunity to draw new viewers to appreciate the game of
rugby. But in the end the decision came down to
money. PIRA
chairman Peter Schuster |
Vol4 Week 30 |
|
The game is played with 15 on a side, not 14
against 15. When it happens to you that 14 play 15 and you
lose, then there can be an impact of millions. So I am
asking you players, we pay you well, please make it possible
for us to do what we want to do.
Koos Basson, president of WPRFU |
Vol4 Week 30 |
|
In 31 years of being in rugby receptions I
have never heard such a diabolical speech. If that is the
president's point of view, obviously there is no way he
(Schalk) can stay in a province like this.
Schalk Burger Snr. |
Vol4 Week 30 |
|
Luke (Watson) has been released with
immediate effect and will no longer form part of the squad
in 2004. Sharks chief
executive Brian van Zyl |
Vol4 Week 30 |
|
He has the ability to take over from me and I
just hope, if that happens, that he finds someone as good as
I had to be his No2.
Clive Woodward on Andy Robinson |
Vol4 Week 32 |
|
The question we are asking ourselves is
whether WP don't have their own development programme?
Harold Verster,
president of the Free State Rugby Union |
Vol4 Week 32 |
|
Schalk (Burger) is neither a skelm nor a
serial infringer. He is a fantastic player with all the
makings of a legend. But he needs to learn when to back off
or he is going to find himself in trouble with referees.
Andre Watson |
Vol4 Week 32 |
|
Some guys just talk the whole time, we don't
want War and Peace from them, just the Readers Digest
version. Sky TV's
director of rugby, Andy Fyfe on turning the sound off on
referee's comments during NPC matches |
Vol4 Week 32 |
|
Sometimes the thoroughbred is not as strong
as the mongrel. Alan
Solomons |
Vol4 Week 32 |
|
Campo has no credibility among the modern-day
players. They regard him as a joke.
Matt Rogers |
Vol4 Week 32 |
|
The players are taking over again and they
are finding out they don't know as much as they thought they
did. There is a small group there that do not want to be
coached, they want to run the team themselves.
Laurie Mains on Otago |
Vol4 Week 32 |
|
I sincerely apologise to Mr Van Rooyen and
his family for any distress or embarrassment that I have
caused as a result of my comments. I now realise that my
comments have not only offended Mr van Rooyen, but a lot of
people. Robbie
Fleck |
Vol4 Week 32 |
|
I love touring South Africa. It's always
hostile, the atmosphere is fantastic and Newlands is a great
place to play. I suppose it's a bit old-fashioned by today's
standards, but then so am I.
Lawrence Dallaglio |
Vol4 Week 32 |
|
Tempers flared and Johnno and I had a little
coming together. He gave me a little dink and I gave him a
little dink - but his hurt a lot more than mine I'm
sure. Lewis Moody
after a 'fight' with Martin Johnson at training |
Vol4 Week 32 |
|
I want enough time to work with the players
and a fair chance to coach the squad. Then I can be judged.
This was not the case last time.
Chester Williams on coaching
the Cats |
Vol4 Week 33 |
|
I suppose one can say if you're in the
spotlight you will face more criticism, but I think everyone
who now gets on the bandwagon to criticise the Bulls, is
jealous of our success. It's so ironic - they live in glass
houses and they still throw stones.
Heyneke Meyer |
Vol4 Week 33 |
|
I don't foresee that the numerous changes
(six) in the pack will have any influence on our
performance. In actual fact, it's virtually the same pack,
with a few changes, that beat the Cheetahs in the first
round at Loftus.
Andries Human, Bulls prop |
Vol4 Week 33 |
|
They have to show the appetite for wanting to
host the event, if the government doesn't endorse the bid it
will be difficult for me to go on as chief executive.
Francois Pienaar |
Vol4 Week 33 |
|
The players never thought they'd get f****d
up, but the smiling stopped as soon as things started.
Dale McDermott
(cameraman who leaked the Kamp Staaldraad pictures) |
Vol4 Week 33 |
|
I couldn't believe guys could get that f****d
up ... I didn't know a human body could go so long. Guys
couldn't even mouth the words to the anthem they were so
f****d. I had a new respect for them.
Dale McDermott |
Vol4 Week 33 |
|
Do you want this tour to be remembered as the
biggest boozing and sh@gging tour of all time, or do you
want it to be remembered for your achievements on the
field? Peter
Rossborough, manager of the 1995 England A touring team to
Australia in an extract from Will: The Autobiography of Will
Greenwood |
Vol4 Week 33 |
|
I don't really like them and I know for a
fact that the Bulls hate me. It motivates me.
Quinton Davids |
Vol4 Week 33 |
|
There are several players in the squad I
would feel comfortable upon to be England captain but for me
Jonny is in every way the right player to take on this
challenge. Acting
England coach Andy Robinson |
Vol4 Week 33 |
|
The first legal point we are considering is
that the GLRU can no longer keep Stoltz's husband in its
service because we believe his lifestyle is not in the
public interest. Secondly, we are considering taking the
GRLU to task because rugby players are public figures who
are subjected to a lot of female attention from which rugby
unions should protect the players, their marriages and their
spouses. Louis
Shapiro, lawyer for Lions lock Willem Stoltz's wife, Monya,
who filed for divorce |
Vol4 Week 33 |
|
Our season in the northern hemisphere is a
real dog's dinner - we simply don't have the right
structure. WRU chief
executive David Moffett |
Vol4 Week 34 |
|
Whatever team we send out, it will definitely
be good enough to beat Province.
Heyneke Meyer |
Vol4 Week 34 |
|
I think accountability, for your own
performance and for the team, is a massive thing.
Jonny Wilkinson |
Vol4 Week 34 |
|
Every rugby player in South Africa dreams of
the green-and-gold, that's what kept me here, there's so
much pride and so much that's special in that green-and-gold
jersey. It was tempting (offers from Aus), especially when
you see what they did for Clyde Rathbone, but I wanted to go
for Springbok.
Bryan Habana |
Vol4 Week 34 |
|
You can't underestimate them - they (Eagles)
gave the Pumas a pump on the weekend. They're what might be
termed a 'disruptively productive team'.
Kevin Putt |
Vol4 Week 34 |
|
Cracks are emerging on and off the field.
Local rugby politics has again become an uncontrollable
octopus. It is up to the Wallabies to at least get the
flagship floating and sailing properly.
Greg Gowden |
Vol4 Week 34 |
|
We are not capable of hosting a World Cup any
longer. Losing part-ownership of the last World Cup
postponed the harsh reality. We don't have the
infra-structure to handle it in terms of hotels or
transport. This country can't cope and even the Lions tour
next year looks haphazard with some visitors staying on
boats. I don't think the World Cup will ever come back to
New Zealand. Andy
Haden |
Vol4 Week 34 |
|
Now that I'm not linked to a single team I'm
able to take an even broader view, but it's also true that
there hasn't been a massive amount of movement in the game
lately. Ironically, the changes are happening here, with the
SA team catching up under Jake after two years of
stagnation. Nick
Mallett |
Vol4 Week 34 |
|
I'm thinking long term. I'm not getting any
younger and it's all about No 1 at the moment and that's
myself. Carlos Spencer
on his withdrawal from the end of year tour. |
Vol4 Week 34 |
|
Ballroom dancing is a contact sport, rugby
not. Rugby is a collision sport.
Heyneke Meyer |
Vol4 Week 34 |
|
That is a joke. Have any of them earned the
right to do this? This flies in the face of everything that
Jake White has been trying to do by giving the Springbok
emblem and the jersey back its value by not dishing it out
to every Tom, Dick and Harry.
Former Springbok flank Rob Louw
on administrators being wearing the Springbok emblem on
their jackets. |
Vol4 Week 35 |
|
The challenges in English club rugby are
different. It is a financial challenge to keep clubs moving
forward. You have to cut your cloth according to your
finances. Rudolf
Straeuli |
Vol4 Week 35 |
|
I do love Australia and the Australian
people, although I'm not sure they feel the same way about
me. Clive Woodward |
Vol4 Week 35 |
|
Harry Viljoen dropped me in 2001 because he
did not rate me as a player, and to be honest, I did not
rate him as a coach.
Rassie Erasmus |
Vol4 Week 35 |
|
The guys are confident, especially after the
win over Province (in the semi-final) and I believe we are
better prepared than ever before. We have a few senior guys
that we are counting on to pull it |
Vol4 Week 35 |
|
through for us.
Os du Randt |
Vol4 Week 35 |
|
Our preparation is going well and the guys
are working hard to rectify the mistakes we made against the
Lions, I'm confident we will be ready for the final.
Heyneke Meyer |
Vol4 Week 35 |
|
I am absolutely shocked and extremely
disappointed at missing out (on both the semifinals and the
final)," said Kaplan. I've had higher marks than ever before
in the Currie Cup. To be rewarded with a touch-judge
appointment is bitterly disappointing. To end off such a
successful campaign on a bitter note ... I am very upset.
Jonathan Kaplan |
Vol4 Week 35 |
|
I was going to finish my career in England,
but came back here to give the Currie Cup one last go.
Winning this trophy is important to a lot of people,
including me, and we've now got the chance.
Naka Drotske |
Vol4 Week 35 |
|
They certainly take us a lot more seriously.
We will be targeted because of our new status as Tri-Nations
champions. Jake
white |
Vol4 Week 36 |
|
Well, those compulsory two-hour lunch breaks,
they really take their toll.
Dean Richard on his post as
coach of Grenoble in France where a 35 hour working week is
compulsory.... |
Vol4 Week 36 |
|
I'm not the greatest Bulls supporter ever,
and I honestly want Free State to win, but I can't see it
happening. There will be a great battle upfront, especially
with the likes of Os and CJ van der Linde. I reckon the
score will be 34-26 to the Bulls, but I really don't want
them to win!
Johann Muller from the Sharks |
Vol4 Week 36 |
|
Records don't win Currie Cup Finals. It's
what you do on the day that counts and there is every
possibility that Free State could put together the better
performance. Johan
Heunis |
Vol4 Week 36 |
|
Fellows, hit and kick if you must but in
heaven's name stop the blasphemy!
George Daneel in a test against
Wales in 1931 |
Vol4 Week 36 |
|
Being a new cap on tour doesn't mean they're
going to run on and play. It is also an opportunity for
coaches to work with these players and see what we have in
them. Jake White |
Vol4 Week 36 |
|
I don't know what else to do.
Ettienne Botha about his
exclusion from the Springbok squad |
Vol4 Week 36 |
|
We won the Currie Cup the third consecutive
year on Saturday, lost just one match this season, but we
have just five representatives in the Bok squad.
Dolf van Huysteen |
Vol4 Week 36 |
|
I choose not to get involved in the way in
which national teams are put together. It is the right of
the Bok coach and the national selectors to choose whom they
want, just as I as a provincial coach do not want to be told
how to compile my team.
Heyneke Meyer |
Vol4 Week 36 |
|
If New Zealand's endangered species were to
be updated today, tt would be a fair bet that that Andrew
Mehrtens would become the most recent addition, to be ranked
right up there with the Kakapo and the Yellow-eyed
Penguin. Richard
Boock (as quoted in Patrick on Rugby) |
Vol4 Week 36 |
|
Clive Woodward would call his 26 strong Lions
Management team, the ultimate collection of the Home Nations
great rugby minds. I call it ridiculous and a complete waste
of money. Colin
Meads (as quoted in Patrick on Rugby) |
Vol4 Week 36 |
|
I want to ask the public not to get confused
with transformation and quotas.
Brian van Rooyen |
Vol4 Week 36 |
|
I am not a racist, but I feel that there is
too much politics in South African rugby. I want to be able
to pick the team on merit.
Uli Schmidt after resigning the post of Falcons coach within
2 weeks of his appointment |
Vol4 Week 36 |
|
Deep down in my stomach, I feel an All Blacks
jersey is earned and not given. To earn it you have to put
in the performances and earn the right to play rather than
just be given it and seeing whether or not you can do it.
Justin Marshall |
Vol4 Week 37 |
|
It's amazing to play for the All Blacks for
10 years but I have never known what it was like to play
against them. It's a professional sport and these sorts of
things don't come up very often.
Justin Marshall on playing for
the Barbarians |
Vol4 Week 37 |
|
Transformation is an integral part of South
African life. Let's get on with it. And I wouldn't be much
of a coach if I didn't back myself to make these guys better
players by the end of a six-week tour.
Jake White |
Vol4 Week 37 |
|
We have decided beforehand that we are going
to pick the strongest team for all the games. If we can
field some new players we will, but if not they will
understand. Jake
White |
Vol4 Week 37 |
|
South African rugby does not always welcome
opinions. I see life as a big learning curve. If you are not
open for other opinions, you won't experience growth as a
person. Brendan
Venter |
Vol4 Week 37 |
|
We play 80 per cent of our rugby on hard,
fast tracks. We play 20 per cent on tracks of different
conditions. I don't think there's any comfort in that. It's
about executing your technique better, about performing
skills better and being adaptable and flexible.
Eddie Jones |
Vol4 Week 37 |
|
I regard transformation as the process which
will enable an unlimited number of black players to get
exposure at the highest level. But they should be players
who can play at the highest level.
Andre Markgraaff |
Vol4 Week 37 |
|
People make a lot about the weather and the
conditions, but it's no different to playing on the
Platteland at 7.30am with no shoes. A lot of these kids have
done that so they'll be fine.
Jake White |
Vol4 Week 37 |
|
South African rugby followers are never slow
to recover their decades-old assumption of Springbok
omnipotence. Usually, it takes only two consecutive
victories to persuade them that their team is again
dominating the world.
Stephen Jones from The Times |
Vol4 Week 37 |
|
He's a quiet man off the field, but on it,
he's our talisman. He sparks us. He doesn't wear white boots
any more, but he's still got a lot of hair. He can get away
with it because he produces every week.
Dragon and Wales lock Michael
Owen on Percy Montgomery |
Vol4 Week 37 |
|
I think he was brilliant for Welsh rugby when
he arrived in Wales. It really put Welsh rugby on the map
and I think he's been superb for the Dragons.
Wales captain, Gareth Thomas on
Percy Montgomery |
Vol4 Week 38 |
|
Overall, and I am not being arrogant in any
way, I can't see how they can beat the Springboks.
Kobus Wiese on Wales
chances before the test |
Vol4 Week 38 |
|
I have been blessed with success in my rugby
career and I am grateful for that. But when new challenges
such as the captaincy come along, I have no hesitation in
accepting. Jason
Robinson on the England captaincy |
Vol4 Week 38 |
|
De Wet and Marius are powerful men. They have
come through the same teams and played alongside each other
so often they are like a husband and wife. They know each
other's game inside out.
Kobus Wiese |
Vol4 Week 38 |
|
I like having pressure on me, people talking
me up. That's when I perform best. It's ideal for me.
Gavin Henson |
Vol4 Week 38 |
|
We have got a lot of confident youngsters and
we don't fear the Springboks. If we achieve 50-50 parity in
the set-pieces we will be good enough to win because we have
one of the better back-lines going.
Gavin Henson |
Vol4 Week 38 |
|
Custom House will write Rugby Canada a cheque
for $100,000 when Canada defeats England on November 13,
2004. Ian Taylor,
Senior Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing for
Custom House |
Vol4 Week 38 |
|
To win the World Cup again, I think New
Zealand are going to have to be tougher. Tougher and
wiser. Bruce Reihana |
Vol4 Week 38 |
|
It's a multi-million pound stadium. It said
80 minutes on the clock and there were still eight minutes
to go. I was a bit amazed by that. The roof was open, the
clock wrong but other than that it was fine.
Jake White |
Vol4 Week 38 |
|
Burger doesn't play. He storms, he rampages,
he destroys, he tackles. He gives away plenty of penalties
as well but why pillory one weakness when it is possible to
celebrate so many other areas of prowess?
Paul Ackford |
Vol4 Week 38 |
|
Schalk will have to learn to listen when the
referee talks to him. If the referee warns him to stop doing
something, he must stop immediately.
Jake White |
Vol4 Week 38 |
|
I think that if I had to pick from the Irish
team, maybe the locks and Brian O'Driscoll would probably be
the three players now.
Jake White, pre match comment on which Irish players are
good enough for Springbok selection. |
Vol4 Week 39 |
|
if you look at the records between Ireland
and South Africa, they wouldn't be considered as one of the
teams that have knocked us over that many times. Same as the
Welsh. You know the Welsh have got a rugby history and
they're a proud nation about rugby. But they've only beaten
us once in 18 Test matches. Look, if we prepare properly and
play properly, we've beaten Ireland twice this year already.
So, it wouldn't be seen as a fluke if we do it again on
Saturday.
Jake White, pre match comment |
Vol4 Week 39 |
|
We've developed as a team since we first
played Ireland, a lot of these guys didn't play back then -
Joe [van Niekerk] didn't play, AJ [Venter] didn't play,
Bakkies Botha didn't play, De Wet Barry didn't play, Ashwin
Willemse didn't play. So, we've probably got a stronger team
now. Jake White,
pre match comment |
Vol4 Week 39 |
|
I suppose it's one thing to say them when
you're 7,000 miles away in your own homeland. But, when
you're visiting a country, to say it about your hosts is
very ungracious. In fact, as well as being ungracious and
derogatory, it insults Irish rugby. Which is not very
pleasant. Eddie
O'Sullivan on Jake White's comments |
Vol4 Week 39 |
|
Put it this way, if we're such a mediocre
rugby nation, why has he picked his best Test side to start
against us? Why not put out three or four of his Test side
and the balance of his squad if he's that confident?
Eddie O'Sullivan on Jake
White's comments |
Vol4 Week 39 |
|
My long-term goal is to put on an All Black
jersey for the 2007 World Cup.
Jonah Lomu |
Vol4 Week 39 |
|
I am not obsessed about rugby and perhaps
that is interpreted as not caring. But I care about the Boks
and I care about my performance.
Victor Matfield |
Vol4 Week 39 |
|
Our defence was solid all day. We never
leaked and although they got close to scoring a few times we
never felt under serious pressure when they attacked.
Malcolm O'Kelly |
Vol4 Week 39 |
|
Bob was a legend before he became a legend,
and the difficulty with being up there is that when you
fall, it's a long way down. It only takes one bad injury.
I've already had one, and it helps keep you humble.
Joe van Niekerk |
Vol4 Week 39 |
|
Of course I am angry, there was five points
in it at the end and that try got them five points.
John Smit |
Vol4 Week 39 |
|
There were about six or seven clear chances
that we wasted. At this level chances do not come that
often, so to waste so many was fatal and we could not expect
to win from there.
Jake White |
Vol4 Week 39 |
|
When he blew the whistle the first time for
the contravention and told John to talk to his players, it
was to stop play. He should have blown the whistle a second
time and indicated again he had awarded the penalty to allow
play to start. It is quite clear in rule 6.9(d). The rule
says: "When he (the referee) stops play for a contravention
under rule 1.26(3) before the player is sent off or is
warned, he should blow the whistle a second time when he
awards a penalty try (not applicable on Saturday), or a
penalty. Tappe
Henning |
Vol4 Week 39 |
|
In hindsight, the management of the team felt
it was better all-round that Breyton plays. Both from a
transformation point of view and from the experience he
brings to the team.
Arthob Peterson, Springbok manager |
Vol4 Week 40 |
|
Off the pitch I'm a really easy-going guy. On
the pitch I'm not going to try to hurt you but I'll do
everything within the laws of the game. I'll ruck you if
you're on the wrong side. I'll really take it hard to you. I
don't show any mercy.
Os Du Randt |
Vol4 Week 40 |
|
Their confidence will be very high, after
their big win over Australia last week. And they have the
added incentive that they have never lost in Marseille. But
maybe we can take advantage if they are overconfident.
Pumas flanker Lucas
Ostiglia |
Vol4 Week 40 |
|
We cannot keep on doing this. We beat
Australia one week and then lost to Argentina the next... it
is not good enough and we must stop making excuses.
Bernard Laporte |
Vol4 Week 40 |
|
That's Mike Tindall, who has gained fame
recently because he dates the Queen's grandmother, Zara.
Hugh Bladen during test
match commentary.... |
Vol4 Week 40 |
|
And still South Africa cannot win at
Wimbledon... um, Twickenham.
Hugh Bladen, again... |
Vol4 Week 40 |
|
This is the best team in the world at the
moment. It is the best team we have played all year. It is
the most physical team. They beat us up today. Physically,
my side was like a bunch of Std 8 schoolboys out there. They
tried but they were not strong enough to handle the English.
This defeat had nothing to do with a lack of skill on our
side. We just could not cope with the physical
beating. Jake
White |
Vol4 Week 40 |
|
We did not realise how soft and wet the field
would be and not all the Boks wore 21mm studs.
Gert Smal |
Vol4 Week 40 |
|
We believe it was an oversight on our part
not to do a recce tour of the UK to see the conditions.
Arthob Peterson |
Vol4 Week 40 |
|
South Africa are a good team - Tri-Nations
champions - and will be a big challenge, but if we can live
with Australia for large parts of the game, then we can live
with South Africa. I feel we can look forward to that game
with optimism and a bit of confidence because we are playing
good rugby at times.
Chris Cusiter, Scottish no 9 |
Vol4 Week 40 |
|
You can't build weight and muscle if you are
playing every Saturday. We need to address this now. You've
got to fix the roof while the sun is shining, not wait until
there is a disaster.
Jake White |
Vol4 Week 40 |
|
Winning both these awards is a great honour,
especially as they are voted for by professional players
from all over the world. It has been a fantastic season,
with South Africa winning the Tri-Nations, and now this caps
an incredible year for me.
Schalk Burger |
Vol4 Week 40 |
|
I don't know what the French psyche will be
like. It's a bit different from ours - I assume that if we
got stuffed we'd be harder to beat the following week. And I
assume that is what they will be like, but who knows?
Graham Henry |
Vol4 Week 40 |
|
Rugby is a physical game. We will be just as
brutal as England are aiming to be at us. There is a
physical part of the game and we are not shying away from
that. We will take the physicality of England and hopefully
we will be able to use our skills.
Eddie Jones |
Vol4 Week 41 |
|
I thought England played quite well but I
don't think South Africa played to the best of their
ability. England were very strong in most aspects of their
performance but I don't think South Africa were.
Elton Flatley |
Vol4 Week 41 |
|
You get one chance. I've now got it. The
coach can pick me, but he can't play for me. I've shown him
in training this past month how hungry I am to play test
rugby and how much being here means to me.
Solly Tyibilika |
Vol4 Week 41 |
|
It is not a case of showing Scotland a lack
of respect. Under the circumstances I am comfortable this is
the team to do the job. I have always preached continuity in
selection, but I couldn't ignore the fatigue factor.
Jake White |
Vol4 Week 41 |
|
There were a lot of things that played a
part. Perhaps we were in a comfort zone and some
overconfidence crept in. Perhaps we thought we were better
than we are. You always learn to expect the unexpected and
we didn't follow that rule.
Springbok sports psychologist
Henning Gericke |
Vol4 Week 41 |
|
I felt powerless. I had the feeling that we
could play for hours and hours and not finding our way to
the line. The All Blacks are well and truly a better
side. Bernard
Laporte |
Vol4 Week 41 |
|
We knew them inside out, if somebody had told
me that something like that was going to happen, I would
have said 'no way, mate'.
Bernard Laporte |
Vol4 Week 41 |
|
Attitude was everything.
Graham Henry |
Vol4 Week 41 |
|
For Giteau to move to No 10 was a big effort.
He is a very, very good footballer.
Eddie Jones |
Vol4 Week 41 |
|
It is no surprise Australia did well against
England. How come every year they are the only country who
can compete on the end-of-year tours? That is because there
is no rugby for them when we play our Currie Cup.
Jake White |
Vol4 Week 41 |
|
What an experience it will be - not a lot of
All Blacks can say they have been on both sides of the Haka.
Justin Marshall |
Vol4 Week 41 |
|
The statement that the more games there are,
the more money there is, is a fallacy. The players cannot be
used as mere fodder to fill the coffers. It's a short-term
route to riches and a long-term route to ruin. The public
want quality, not quantity, at all levels.
Western Province rugby
president Koos Basson |
Vol4 Week 42 |
|
He is definitely a talent. When talking to
the Barbarians about the make-up of the squad, I didn't have
any hesitation that Matt Giteau was worth approaching. He is
potentially the best scrumhalf in Australia, he is the best
inside centre and potentially the best flyhalf in
Australia. Bob
Dwyer |
Vol4 Week 42 |
|
New guys in Super 12 invariably start to
struggle after about six games. Schalk has managed to go a
lot, lot further than that. He is a phenomenal athlete, he's
a big guy and a freak athlete. But to be quite frank, I
think he needs a rest.
Bob Dwyer |
Vol4 Week 42 |
|
I have had a bit of everything over the last
few weeks, a couple of yellow cards, a couple of awards and
now a game for the Barbarians. Some of these guys are like
my heroes so this is unbelievable.
Schalk Burger |
Vol4 Week 42 |
|
"Time to stop grilling Burger, says
coach" Evening
Standard headline |
Vol4 Week 42 |
|
There is a great deal that can be done off
the field. I must say the administrators have been great
this far. They have given me everything I have asked for.
But then the players have also got to do their bit.
Jake White |
Vol4 Week 42 |
|
More than anything, I've got to improve my
physique to keep up with and pass the Rokocokos and Umagas
of this world.
Bryan Habana |
Vol4 Week 42 |
