Quotes

“You've got to get your first tackle in early, even if it's late.”

“Following Scotland's accusations of French foulplay - if you can't take a punch, you should play table tennis.”

“In my time, I've had my knee out, broken my collarbone, had my nose smashed, a rib broken, lost a few teeth, and ricked my back; but as soon as I get a bit of bad luck I'm going to quit the game.”

“Rugby football is a game I can't claim absolutely to understand in all its niceties, if you know what I mean. I can follow the broad, general principles, of course. I mean to say, I know that the main scheme is to work the ball down the field somehow and deposit it over the line at the other end and that, in order to squalch this programme, each side is allowed to put in a certain amount of assault and battery and do things to its fellow man which, if done elsewhere, would result in 14 days without the option, coupled with some strong remarks from the Bench.”

“On Jonah Lomu - I've seen a lot of people like him, but they weren't playing on the wing!”

“Former Irish forward Fergus Slattery during the New Zealand v Ireland world cup game. Sean Fitzpatrick was being led from the field injured, the commentator explained, "I think he's broken his nose." Slattery corrected him, "No, I think someone broke it for him."”

“The rules of football at Rugby School, in a state of flux ever since Webb Ellis is said to have caught the ball and then run with it, have finally been codified in a set of decisions on certain disputed points. "Hacking" is permitted, but not above the knee. Holding a player carrying the ball is permitted, but with one arm only. "running in" - the Ellis method - is permitted, but passing with the hands is banned. And if no decision is reached after five afternoons' play, a match will be declared drawn.”

“The advantage law is the best law in rugby, because it lets you ignore all the others for the good of the game.”

“Colin Meads, quintessential All Black great in the final test at Eden Park against the Springboks of 1965 typified his attitude towards game and country in this exchange when his brother lay on the ground in agony: Colin: 'How are you?' Stan: 'No bloody good.' Colin: 'Well, You'd better get yourself right. In one minute's time you and I have to lock a New Zealand scrum together and we're not going backward.'”

“The least successful rugby forward of all time? This dubious distinction belongs to Oliver Jones, who scored only three tries in forty-five years of regular playing for the old Edwardian Exiles. The silver haired prop scored his third try aged sixty.”

“To Princess Anne's son Peter Phillips, Gordonstoun School's rugby captain, for his pre-match coin-toss preference - Grandmother or tails, sir?”

“New Zealand rugby is a colourful game since you get all black... and blue.”

“There is far too much talk about good ball and bad ball. In my opinion, good ball is when you have possession and bad ball is when the opposition have it.”

“After being asked if he has anything to add to an inspiring teamtalk, "Ja, anyone know where I can get an engine for a Toyota Corolla?"”

“Front Row - Without a doubt the manliest men on the pitch. Large, often hairy, beer swilling carnivores that can and will smash anything in their path. Revelling in the violence inherent in the scrum, they are rarely considered "nice" people, and in fact to some they aren't even considered human's at all. Front rowers tolerate this attitude far and wide because they recognise their role at the top of the food chain and are used to suffering the fools that surround them. Accused by some of simply being dumb, I prefer to think of this group as "open to unconventional ways of thinking."”

“Rugby backs can be identified because they generally have clean jerseys and identifiable partings in their hair ... come the revolution the backs will be the first to be lined up against the wall and shot for living parasitically off the work of others.”

“I prefer rugby to soccer. I enjoy the violence in rugby, except when they start biting each other's ears off.”

“On the Munster pack - Mothers keep their photo on the mantlepiece to stop the kids going too near the fire.”

“In 1823, William Webb Ellis first picked up the ball in his arms and ran with it. And for the next 156 years forwards have been trying to work out why.”

“The player who is not honest with himself will not get far. This honesty must, however, not be aimed only at his weakness but also his strongpoints. He must know where he is good or bad or less than good, so that he can maintain his strength and develop it and use it properly, and he can remove his weakness and hide it as long as it is there.”

“On Jonah Lomu - There's no doubt about it, he's a big bastard.”

“The relationship between the Welsh and the English is based on trust and understanding. They don't trust us and we don't understand them.”

“Back Row - These are fine fit fellows who, like a bunch of hermaphrodites, are confused as to what their role in life should be. While they know they are undeniably linked to the forwards, there are those among them who long for the perfect hair and long flowing gowns that come with being a back. Some relish the forward role and will do anything to win the ball and there are others within this group that will break the prime directive of the forward and do anything to prance foolishly with the ball. Generally, these guys are not all bad, but I, personally, have to wonder about any forward who brings a hairbrush and a change of clothes to a game.”

“Locks - Slightly below the front row on the food chain. As with front row players it is advisable to put an appendage you wish to keep near this group's maw when they are in the feeding mode. This group of large, often foul smelling brutes is also more than willing to relish the finer points of stomping on a fallen opponent's body and will gleefully recount the tale ad infinitum. While they tend to take the tag "Powerhouse of the Scrum" a little too seriously, they can be useful if injured with the proper hatred of their fellow man. While members of this proud fraternity like to think of themselves as "open to unconventional ways of thinking" - they are usually just dumb.”

“The lads say my bum is the equivalent of one 'Erica'.”

“After JPR Williams was involved in a road traffic accident - Bloody typical, isn't! The car's a write-off. The tanker's a write-off. But JPR comes out of it all in one piece.”

“Colin Meads is the kind of player you expect to see emerging from a ruck with the remains of a jockstrap between his teeth”

“Coaches are best when people barely know they exist. Not so good when people obey or acclaim them. Worse when they despise them - fail to know people - they fail to honour you. But of good coaches who talk little - when their work is done, their aim fulfilled, their charges will say - ‘we did this ourselves’.”

“On losing - In Wales the half backs, especially the stand off half, always get the blame.”

“On violence - It's the nature of the game to have aggression. Take on people physically and then have a beer with your friends.”

“Look here, I'm afraid being tryless is always totally irrelevant. The object of rugby is just to score more points than the opposition. End of story.”

“On the sending off of Colin Meads for kicking (and missing) the ball or a player, both in close proximity - For one with Mead's world-wide reputation for robust play, this was like sending a burglar to prison for a parking offence.”

“The one handed palmer can always reach higher, they say. They may be right, but the result is that nearly every lineout is like a tropical island - all waving palms.”

“Rugby is a game for the mentally deficient... That is why it was invented by the British. Who else but an Englishman could invent an oval ball?”

“I'm just off for a quiet pint. Followed by fifteen noisy ones.”

“In cricket it seperated Bradman and Sobers from the rest; Pele had it in football, Borg had it in tennis, Ali had it in boxing, Barry John had it in rugby. Those who try to pin down everything in life like so many butterflies to a board would call it genius. I prefer it nameless.”

“The whole of the world is tribal, but when it comes to rugby, New Zealand is much more tribal than most. The All Blacks are the national virility symbol. Their people support them come hail, rain or shine.”

“I decided that if I was going to compete with the best I had to be as aggressive and get the psychological edge on my opponent without going over the top.”

“Rugby football is a game for gentlemen in all classes, but never for a bad sportsman in any class.”

“Foul play and cheating are the two factors that can make the game unplayable... the All Blacks are guilty of both... international rugby players are amongst the most physical yet literate and I believe they know exactly what they are doing.”

“Of all the teams in the world you don't want to lose to, England's top of the list. The English know no humility in victory or defeat... If you beat them, it's because you cheat. If they beat you, it's because they've overcome your cheating. Good teams learn how to win and lose with graciousness and humility. England hasn't learned that lesson yet.”

“Sport and chivalrous competition awakens the best human qualities... it helps to strengthen the bonds of peace between the nations”

“Youngsters need heroes. They need figures like Batman, Tarzan and Naas Botha.”

“Have a go, you mug. That means, don't die wondering whether you were good enough to win; don't wait until you've lost to see if you can win.”

“Genius is great when it is on song. It is more of a nuisance when it goes bad, because it contaminates and destroys what is around it.”

“Nothing can unite a country like South Africa more than a rugby Test match - we become one.”

“These English you're just going out to meet have taken our coal, our water, our steel; they buy our houses and only live in them a fortnight a year... Down the centuries these English have exploited and pillaged us - and we're playing them this afternoon, boys.”

“Statistics are like a bikini. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital.”

“On trying to stop Phil Horrocks-Taylor - Every time I went to tackle him, Horrocks went one way, Taylor went the other, and all I got was the bloody hyphen.”

“The Holy Writ of Gloucester Rugby Club demands: first, that the forwards shall win the ball; second, that the forwards shall keep the ball; and third, the backs shall buy the beer.”

“Dean Richards is nicknamed Warren, as in warren ugly bastard!”

“We've lost seven of our last eight matches. Only team that we've beaten was Western Samoa. Good job we didn't play the whole of Samoa.”

“I favour the Gucci outlook, long after you've forgotten the price, you remember the quality.”

“The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.”

“I've heard of Bread of Heaven, but this was ridiculous.”

“Generally the theories we believe we call facts, and the facts we disbelieve we call theories.”

“Playing rugby at school I once fell on a loose ball and, through ignorance and fear, held on despite a fierce pummelling. After that it took me months to convince my team-mates I was a coward.”

“He had no idea what was going on for half the time. I would not entertain him refereeing my form three at school.”

“The only time you realise you have a reputation is when you fail to live up to it.”

“Jones was brilliant. He was so much quicker than the French back row that he almost had to stop and wait for them. He has the hands of a centre, he jumps like a decathlete and he tackles like a ton of bricks.”

“Our players are selected according to their ability, they always have been and always will be.”

“I think you enjoy the game more if you don't know the rules. Anyway, you're on the same wavelength as the referee.”

“Condom is back in French Pack.”

“Playing the French is like facing 15 Eric Cantonas. They are brilliant but brutal.”

“League is much, much more physical than Union, and that's before anyone starts breaking the rules.”

“In sport, in courage, and in the light of Heaven, all men meet on equal terms.”

“It doesn't matter how quick you are, you can't play rugby without a brain.”

“The greatest professional quality is not money, but attitude.”

“They think we're just a bunch of ignorant paddies from the bog. Let's not disappoint them.”

“When he was rugby football correspondent of The Times, the late V.A. Titley declined to use the first names of players in his reports since in most cases he had not been introduced to them.”

“Success has made failures of many men.”

“They bashed us, basically. And quite frankly, it was embarrassing at times. Some of my players looked a little gun-shy, and that worries me, this is meant to be a body contact sport.”

“There's nothing that a tight forward likes more than a loosie right up his backside.”

“In one match last year eight water-bottle runners ran on the field and gave drinks to the players when someone was injured in the first thirty seconds of the game. Thirty seconds - hell they must have been thirsty. When I played we got a piece of orange at halftime, and if you were quick you got two.”

“You would like to think that everyone would be treated equally, but in this farmyard some pigs are created more equal than others.”

“If the game is run properly as a professional game, you do not need 57 old farts running rugby.”

“The French selectors never do anything by halves; for the first international of the season against Ireland they dropped half the three-quarter line.”

“If I had been a winger, I might have been daydreaming and thinking about how to keep my kit clean for the next week.”

“After biting Sean Fitzpatrick's ear - For an 18-month suspension, I feel I probably should have torn it off. Then at least I could say, 'Look, I've returned to South Africa with the guy's ear.'”

“On his successors in the Oxford University backs - I've seen better centres in a box of Black Magic.”

“I may not have been very tall or very athletic, but one thing I did have was the most effective backside in world rugby.”

“I think Brian Moore's gnashers are the kind you get from a DIY shop and hammer in yourself. He is the only player we have who looks like a French forward.”

“Forwards are the gnarled and scarred creatures who have a propensity for running into and bleeding all over each other.”

“After England had been humbled by the All Blacks in the World Cup Semi-Final - I don't know about us not having a Plan B when things went wrong, we looked like we didn't have a Plan A.”

“Gareth Edwards: The sooner that little so-and-so goes to rugby league, the better it will be for us.”

“After a succession of career-threatening injuries - I played ten injury-free years between the ages of 12 and 22. Then, suddenly, it seemed like I was allergic to the twentieth century.”

“On playing for Wales at Lansdowne Road, Dublin - I didn't know what was going on at the start in the swirling wind. The flags were all pointing in different directions and I thought the Irish had starched them just to fool us.”

“The job of Welsh coach is like a minor part in a Quentin Tarantino film: you stagger on, you hallucinate, nobody seems to understand a word you say, you throw up, you get shot. Poor old Kevin Bowring has come up through the coaching structure so he knows what it takes... 15 more players than Wales have at present.”

“To play rugby league, you need three things: a good pass, a good tackle and a good excuse”

“We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing”

“Before the first scrum in a club match, "mean man" Piet Bester chirped, "welcome to HELL" to a very young Ollie le Roux, Ollie's response? "Yes, and meet the DEVIL!"”

“You're as old as you need to be. As long as you're fit enough, you're young enough.”

“Rugby can be a very violent game if there is £ 1000 per man riding on the result.”

“To be a top sportsman in any field, you need an arrogance; you need to be driven. It can offend people, but you cannot be bothered about that too much. You might regret it later, as I do in a way, but not at the time.”

“There are people who say I have never really done anything wrong in my life; of course they only say it behind my back.”

“A coach is like a winemaker: he must produce the best wine with the grapes available.”

“Serious sport has nothing to do with fair play. It is bound up with hatred jealousy, boastfulness, disregard of all rules and sadistic pleasure in witnessing violence; in other words it is war minus the shooting”

“No leadership no ideas. Not even enough imagination to thump someone in the lineout when the ref wasn't looking”

“I have never been in the situation of running a rugby team but I had been in the situation of controlling 30 players on a rugby field and trying to get those players to perform to the best of their abilities, and that's man management.”

“Was it knocked forward or knocked-on?”

“We want consistency, but we don't want a consistent referee to consistently blow the whistle.”

“I asked a ref if he could give me a technical foul for thinking bad things about him. He said, of course not. I said, well, I think you stink. And he gave me a technical. You can't trust 'em.”

“In the end, it’s extra effort that separates a winner from second place. But winning takes a lot more that that, too. It starts with complete command of the fundamentals. Then it takes desire, determination, discipline, and self-sacrifice. And finally, it takes a great deal of love, fairness and respect for your fellow man. Put all these together, and even if you don’t win, how can you lose?”

“Sportsmanship for me is when a guy walks off the court and you really can't tell whether he won or lost, when he carries himself with pride either way.”

“I would rather win than have good sportsmanship.”

“Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.”

“The problem with referees is that they just don't care which side wins.”

“I don't like this new law, because your first instinct when you see a man on the ground is to go down on him.”

“When we beat the Springboks or France there's a general feeling of 'so you bloody well should', rather than 'that's a really good achievement'.”

“Jonah Lomu's diffused his own bomb!”

“The win was very fortunate, but I will buy Kefs a drink anytime, anywhere, whenever he asks!”

“It has often occurred to me that sport, like sex, is an activity that should either be performed or watched - but not written about.”

“After calling all sports agents vultures - It was a rash statement and I'd like to apologise to every vulture in the sky.”

“If size is all that matters, how come the whale is endangered and the ant continues to do just fine?”

“Opportunities multiply as they are seized.”

“I haven't really read the papers, but if they're going to call you this superhuman rugby player or whatever and you believe it, then you should also believe it when they call you a tosser.”

“You can't have a prop playing hooker, they're not intelligent enough!”

“I've been watching Sven Goran Eriksson. I realise his pond is far bigger than mine, but there are similarities.”

“We've been together three and a half days and we haven't been to the pub yet.”

“The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don't play together, the club won't be worth a dime.”

“I think the French always niggle, grabbing blokes around the balls and the eyes and that sort of thing.”

“We generally make too much of winning. Let's face it, someone always has to win; that is the nature of competition. But the mere fact of winning doesn't make you great.”

“This is Chris Koch. He's a farmer and our champion biltong eater.”

“Adversity causes some men to break; others to break records.”

“To be honest, the rugby's been that awful I haven't really been excited enough to get into it.”

“The mind is the limit. As long as the mind can envision the fact that you can do something, you can do it, as long as you really believe 100 percent.”

“Hell, it's been hard. I never thought it would be this bad. You have to be in it to experience it. I get criticised all the time. It's more difficult than I ever imagined.”

“You know exactly what he's going to do. He's going to come off his right foot at great speed. You also know that there isn't a blind thing you can do about it.”

“The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.”

“For any England side to score six tries against France is an achievement. I can remember getting some real hammerings off them as a player.”

“Sport is quite a simple thing. It is play, and in play, people of all ages find the chance to engage their most profound emotions love, fear, excitement, disappointment, anger and joy.”

“It shows what a hot seat that number 9 jersey has been .”

“Paul Allott drying the wet ball which is a disadvantage in Lancashire's favour.”

“You have to be fairly one dimensional when the crunch comes down.”

“I don't want to sit on the fence, but it could go either way.”

“The Wigan defence allowed him two bites at the shot.”

“A pressure kick for Andrew with Brown breathing down his throat.”

“That could have made it 10-3 and there's a subtle difference between that and 7-3.”

“He's like a needle in a haystack, this man 0 he's everywhere.”

“And there's Kenney, who at times looks almost like his double.”

“If you didn't know him, you wouldn't know who he was.”

“Dusty Hare kicked 19 of the 17 points.”

“Of course they don't play to any sort of pattern and if you're not careful you will start playing to that pattern.”

“An easy kick for George Fairburn now but, as everybody knows, no kicks are easy.”

“Come on, Sean, I've got four million New Zealanders on my back, and now I must carry you around the course as well!”

“I don't like rugby and I work for The Irish Times. It's like being a day trader and working for Pravda.”

“We're going to tear those boys apart.”

“If you think you can win, you can win. Faith is necessary to victory.”

“Maybe it's a good thing just to step back and say, 'Right, I got taught a good rugby lesson this season'.”

“Tiredness and fatigue is a mental thing. The body is capable of much, much more than most people think. I love rugby. I can't wait to play. Stay fresh mentally, work hard at something else, and rugby is a pleasure.”

“The impression I get from the guys is that they are happy to tour Europe, but certainly not Afghanistan or Pakistan.”

“We deserved to lose. I can't believe how many errors we made and I just couldn't believe what I was watching near the end.”

“In the collective memory of this country rugby will always hold a place of pride for the role it played in nation building during those first years of our new democracy.”

“I have no doubt that we have the players, what we've lacked in the last 4 years is a strong, capable Coach. A Coach who is definitely the boss a Coach who MEANS what he says, a Coach who's not afraid to dump a big name player who isn't performing that's the sort of Coach NZ rugby needs. We don't need wimps, we need a MAN!!!!!”

“I thrived only in lineouts, those strange masonic rituals wherein everybody uniformly mistimes their jump for some reason I couldn't initially understand. Clarification wasn't long in coming. After two clean catches, the person opposing you in the lineout would just reach across and pull your hair. Beats gravity every time. Hair-pulling wasn't a very manly thing to do, but neither was weeping: "Ref! Ref! He's pulling my hair." I learned to mistime my jump like everyone else.”

“Individual commitment to a group effort, that is what makes a team work.”

“I want to show Harry that I'm still good enough to play for South Africa. He told me what he wants from me and that he'll pick me if I play good rugby.”

“You gotta lose 'em sometimes. When you do, lose 'em right.”

“The players accept responsibility for the way they played and each one is keen to put it right against Italy and against England the following weekend.”

“As for South Africa, it is impossible to advocate a case for them. Since the emergence of Harry Viljoen as coach, the Springboks have promised a great deal and delivered very little.”

“The Australians have been kings of the world, but time does not stand still. With successive losses, Jones has been handed the latch to the trapdoor. He must pull it.”

“It is an indication of England's powerful run in the past 18 months and of South Africa's current lack of real assurance - let alone their historical arrogance - that England are firm favourites to win with the bookmakers.”

“It was clear that, once the All Blacks had collected their wits and secured their bearings, they are the likely winners of the next World Cup under yet another grim-visaged coach in John Mitchell.”

“The only solution was to tell first-choice players that they wouldn't play for France anymore if they didn't change their ways. Some of them got the message. They now are among the best players in the world.”

“Harry Viljoen makes statements about " The PATH ", look Harry, if we wanted a Star Wars Jedi master we would have gone to George Lucas.”

"Leave that for the forwards!"

“They (SA rugby administrators) duck below the parapets heroically avoiding the flak and then Clinton-like emerge anxiously grinning away, shaking each others hands, hoping the public have forgotten the mess they have helped to create.”

“Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all time thing. You don't win once in a while, you don't do things right once in a while, you do them right all the time. Winning is habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.”

“His sidestep was marvellous - like a shaft of lightning. 0”

“The most complete player in his position I have ever seen; in full flight he resembled a comic-strip hero on a field of mere mortals.”

“This will be completely different from last year's. We are much more settled. We will be looking to take our game a step further, especially on attack and the forward momentum of our pack.”

“People do not lack strength; they lack will. Back to the top”

“History shows there is no correlation between Super 12 form and what happens in the international program.”

“The two things you can't give anybody in this game are bravery and enthusiasm.”

“Explaining the Irish links of Hika Reid, former London Irish coach - His grandfather once went out with a Polish girl whose uncle once saw Mike Gibson play. London Irish RFC program note, 1993”

“The All Blacks second-rowers are huge men. They're both over one meter tall ... hang on, that would make them midgets.”

“Rico Gear. What a great-sounding name. He sounds like a drug dealer from Brazil.”

“The medicine to be used to make South Africa a world power again may taste bitter but will eventually bring about a healthy structure.”

“Don't hit him in the honeymoons.”

“Both referees are having bad games - Mr Turner's having a shocker and George Gregan isn't doing much better.”

“Losing to NSW is like masturbating, or losing a golf ball. You feel really remorseful afterwards. But you know it will happen again if you're not careful.”

“Nobody doubts Victor (Matfield) as a line-out forward, even though the line-outs were an abortion at the weekend, but you must first gain control before you can start standing loose.”

“We are going there as CANNON-FODDER and I fear that over the course of two Tests, Wales will concede more than 100 points.”

“We have been assured by everyone in South Africa that Percy is a completely different person to Joost van der Westhuizen.”

“South Africa has nothing to fear. Respect yes, but fear no. After all, New Zealand did not exactly cover themselves in roses this morning.”

“Isn't it time Argentina joined the Tri-Nations? They're obviously a great side but have been left out in the cold, unable to participate in either of the two big tournaments, the Tri-Nations and the Six Nations.”

“The tactical substitution and lineout play in the second half shows Rudolf is not inflexible in his approach and it really did turn the match and he can take great credit for that.”

“Halftime speech at the Six Nations match against Italy. "For those who have turned up here just for the pay cheque, go now and don't ever come back."”

“Why are we insulted with second rate venues?”

“He has become very strong in his religion and I think that has helped him a hell of a lot.”

“In my time we committed 40 percent of our expenditure to development, but you soon realise that you can only spend so much and then your expenditure gets taken up by officials.”

“No-one is really assured of their place now. It is a fantastic situation for the coaches to find themselves in, although maybe not the players.”

“It just seems Wendell has been given a red-carpet ride to Test selection.”

“In the Ireland/All Blacks clash, "Seven Green...., Seven Green........, Seven Green......what is it about Seven that you don't understand?"”

“After a 25-minute barroom brawl in Brive, "It was not possible for my players to turn the other cheek, as that was being punched as well,"”

“Skinstad has been seen as the Anna Kournikova of rugby: talented, nice to look at, but never quite fulfiling the potential that so obviously sits with him.”

“It would be good for them to stick to the tactics of the game and show a little less bias towards Australia.”

“The bottom line is that although losing to South Africa would cause New Zealanders some pain, especially in a home match, far greater pain would be felt losing to Australia and their other big rivals, England.”

“We are again playing for a team and for South Africa and it is no longer about individuals.”

“Nothing is more important to the future of the professional game than the health, welfare and security of our players and the reconciliation of their best interests with the demands of a professional contact sport.”

“It's the last thing that even crosses my mind. I don't think about colour in any form of selection.”

“There's no question the Tri-Nations has taken some of the needle out of the rivalry. So what if we get beaten today . . . we'll get you next week. That seems to be the belief. Tours are the way to go.”

"I'm not so sure I would have wanted to play in this age," said Stanley. "Call me a traditionalist, but tours make players what they are. Tours are about meeting guys, talking and drinking. That doesn't happen any longer. The brotherhood no longer exists."

“David Campese was a magnificent player. There's no record of his being a magnificent selector.”

“I realise that representing state and country and being a high-profile rugby union player means that the public do have a little bit of insight into you as a person, but when it comes to medical issues, I think they've got no real right to be concerned with that type of stuff.”

“He (Ollie Le Roux) was born when meat was cheap!”

“To be honest I got a bit of pleasure out of seen their feckin' agony. Andy Haden was crying afterwards and I went up to him and said: `we're used to this losing, Andy, you're not'. Sure we could write a feckin' thesis on it.”

“Mark - if you can cleanly catch a ball kicked several hundred feet in the air within your own 22 metre line and call 'mark' while the entire other side is pounding towards you intent on doing you damage, you can have a free kick. You deserve it.”

“What exactly did Rudolf Straeuli tell his team during the break and how many expletives did he use?"”

“People forget your good games, but the minute you have a bad game everyone remembers.”

“I'm not sure if Australia deserved to win, we probably lost the game more, but we were helped to lose it obviously. He (Andre Watson) should be more ashamed than some of us should be.”

“I can't be bothered pussyfooting around. You get sick of sitting on the fence.”

“The ruck is born of a desire to get the ball for the backs.”

“It was about par for a rugby dinner... from what I can remember.”

“You have to respect the opposition. Even if you win by 100 points it's not their fault they're on the field. I still want to drink with them afterwards.”

“SA Rugby and all of its supporters apologise to Mr McHugh for this unfortunate incident, that kind of behaviour does not belong at any rugby match.”

“I guarantee that he will never again attend a rugby match in South Africa for the rest of his life.”

“Referees around the world think they are bigger than the game and they're not. Fans like me is what rugby is about.”

“The whole of the stadium was mal (angry) with him (the referee). It's just that I decided to do something about it.”

“Although I'm still seen as public enemy number one, I've been swamped by people congratulating me for crash-tackling the referee.”

“I don't want money. I would rather donate it to a refereeing body to train international referees.”

“For a New Zealand rugby man I don't think there's a greater challenge than playing against the Springboks in South Africa.”

“The match was close but we must not fall into the trap of being happy with playing well and not winning.”

“One of the old golfers (Bobby Locke maybe) once said, ''We drive for show and putt for dough.'' Maybe the rugby equivalent should be, ''We run for show and tackle for dough.''”

“Australian rugby officials should have been in the dock. It was their behaviour after they found out about Tune's treatment that has only underlined the farce that is Australia's stance on drugs in sport.”

“Rugby works in cycles. You need the right players coming through and staying injury-free. Everything has to work together. I can sense an energy in this Springbok team.”

“I am going to control the controllable and I am not going to let the uncontrollable be a factor.”

“We needed this win desperately. As I said during the week, we had had enough of could haves, would haves and should haves. We just had to win.”

“I never thought I'd even play for Western Province let alone the Stormers or Springboks. The way I live my life, I don't believe in long-term plans, I just do my best today and I believe it will look after me for tomorrow.”

“I`ve never seen an orange with the label Castle on it made of glass.”

“Rugby is a wonderful show: dance, opera and, suddenly, the blood of a killing.”

“On his father, Louis Schmidt - "he would give me good advice when I went to him. I'd ask him, 'What must I do if someone hits me on the field' and he told me, 'Make sure you hit him first' - that one has got me in a lot of trouble."”

“I like all the guys in the (Bok) team and I think they have accepted me too. When they get to see that I care about them, they realise that I'm not just this oke that f*cked up Tony Watson in the Currie Cup final back then.”

“I don't think I'm a cheat, but this has undoubtedly tarnished my reputation and that is disappointing. I'd hope people would evaluate me over my career and not just label me for one incident.”

“As Jonah's manager I am saying he will have his wish, If he wants to play, he will play. It will be a real spectacle and how often do you get a chance to play in a match like this?”

“My hope is the public will realise if the idiocy continues they may soon be sitting behind barbed wire and high fences.”

“With defensive lines as tight as they are now, you cannot always break them with brute force, you need speed and agility to unlock them.”

“I wouldn't say South Africa are a dirty team but they are physical and confrontational.”

“It's not about Bob Skinstad or Corné Krige, it's about the Springboks.”

“They were the worst conditions I've ever experienced. When the sleet started to fall, I looked at Kef [Toutai Kefu] and he looked almost white.”

“The only trouble is my legs are not as strong as they were. I can't run any more.”

“It was a real old-fashioned game and there is no doubt that the Bulls bullied us. You don't often see rugby played like that nowadays and it was an important lesson.”

“When it comes to the issue of me retiring, don't believe any crap you read in the papers until I actually make the decision myself.”

“That it was hardest Currie Cup game I have handle in the last two years.”

“We do have the respect of our opposition, but above all, we're bringing the people of South Africa back to rugby.”

“Rugby is a very social sport, and it conjures the image that when the game is over, you roll the keg of beer onto the field and go to drinking right away. Well, that's not a myth. That goes on and has gone on for a very long time at a variety of levels. It's part of the mystique of being involved in club rugby.”

“If Andre Venter is seen as a packhorse doing all the hard graft, then I guess I am a race-horse.”

“Jonah would never criticise his coach. He never criticises his teammates. He never goes down on anybody.”

“Jonah suffers because of the athlete that he is and because of his size and his ability. If he stands there people say, 'well, he's not doing anything'. Of course he's not blo-ody doing anything because we haven't given him the ball.”

“On the criteria for a sport (like rugby) being included in the Olympics. Popularity, universality, that it not cost too much, not hurt athletes` health, and bring necessary diversity.”

“The match commissioner did his job as he saw fit. I would want to tell him how he should do his job as little as I would want him to tell me how I should coach.”

“We are not condoning the taking of any drugs. There was a trace of ephedrine in his sample. We felt his was a genuine mistake and supported him at the disciplinary hearing.”

“I don't think we have a drug problem in the game but there is a street culture of drugs in Wales.”

“As in soccer we do not want to see the day coming when some might go into drugs, like Maradona, or throw their lives away when confronted with the emptiness of retirement. We haven't seen it yet in rugby, but it's coming as one of the pitfalls of professionalism and we need to be prepared for it."”

“I've always said I will play until I am 30 and that is the target. I would rather retire myself than let someone else retire me.”

“My beef with all this burnout buzz is that it is wholly self-induced, brought on by mismanagement, law changes and a surfeit of greed from players and administrators, for which there are no remedies whatsoever.”

“Get rid of André Watson. Whom do you put in his place? Get rid of Paddy O'Brien. Whom do you put in his place? Get rid of Stuart Dickinson. Whom do you put in his place? Get rid of the whole of the top 16 referees in the world. Whom do you replace them with?”

“There is a lot of talk (about the referees) at the moment, which is not necessarily bad. This will hopefully pick up the levels for everyone, and maybe the intensity as well.”

“It was an enjoyable year, but certainly if I was looking to gain anything to bring back to the Brumbies from French rugby, I couldn't really put my finger on much that would be worthwhile.”

“There is no bad blood between us. Such things do happen in the heat of battle.”

“Captain and coach must be seen to be banging the same drum.”

“Referees must stop the idle chatter, familiarity has no role to play on the field.”

“I play every game to win, it is not in my nature to throw a game.”

“The most important thing for me as a youngster is to get game time to show what I can do as a rugby player. It's no use signing a big contract but not getting to play.”

“I thought I knew what 'hard' was before I came here.”

“In the winter we have to train in a stable when they're not using it to train and ride the horses.”

“Geoff Evans, IRB game development officer on new ball technology.”

“I like quick teams - not necessarily quick players but sides that overall are fast.”

“If they (IRB) wanted to stop me playing, I would have thought they would have done that by now. The fact that I haven't heard anything at all at this stage means I've pretty much written it off as any real concern.”

“We do not need a bunch of primadonnas who can't take a tap on the shoulder without wanting to sommer don'ner a guy. I mean, that is really SO uncool.”

“They gave me advice, and I took it. I didn't have to take it but I did. So I have to take responsibility for that as well.”

“World rugby has had a century of Lions tours, of invincible All Blacks and rampaging Springboks and where is the game of rugby in Honduras, Nepal and Egypt? Exactly where it was 100 years ago is probably pretty close to the answer.”

“Andre Watson, the South African referee, may well have a facial resemblance to a certain German dictator of the 1930s and 1940s - or at least he did until he shaved off his moustache - but even he can be endearingly unpompous.”

“It was not Hiroshima, was it?”

“It is no good to talk like Tarzan while playing like Jane. It is time that the Province pack start commanding respect between the chalk lines on the field.”

“Western Province don't bother me or my players. The days of us so-called 'smaller' unions sh*tting ourselves for the 'bigger' guys are over.”

“I think the main message is that world rugby needs New Zealand and New Zealand needs world rugby.”

“It is said in sporting circles that great players leave the game a year too early rather than a year too late.”

“Welsh rugby may be about as healthy as a 40-a-day smoker with a gammy leg and a whisky habit, but Llanelli will be up for this.”

“South Africa showed what they can do at the end of the Tri-nations. They are not evolving but rather have evolved much more than the other two countries.”

“I met Jonah Lomu. I never knew how huge he was. I felt like a peasant in a Godzilla movie. 'Quickly! Tell the other villagers! We go now!'”

“I realised, I could fall out of Jonah's nose, and he wouldn't even notice.”

“Just for once, I hope northern hemisphere rugby chiefs will not allow themselves to be railroaded and have the bottle to tell the South to 'Sod off'.”

“His record is phenomenal and so is his ability. You can see what he means to the Natal pack and he is respected by every top lock in world rugby.”

“He was a truly great Springbok. We had immense battles against him. He was mentally very tough. He broke the Springbok mould for locks because he was athletic as well as physically strong.”

“I want to see what weekends are really about.”

“South African rugby doesn't have to stand back for anyone.”

“I'd rather not say anything about Harry Viljoen.”

“Every time they play our anthem I realise how lucky I have been to be able to be a Springbok and what a privilege it has been to represent millions of people, their dreams and ideals.”

“All those who pick a rugby team for the future never choose their best team for the next match.”

“In September I read a lot of their (England players) columns on websites and newspapers in which they were looking forward to the World Cup. I told them that it was one hell of a presumption to make, and that they might want to try to get a game against the All Blacks this autumn first.”

“Just because you win games doesn't mean you shouldn't look at changing the side. And that's certainly what we're looking at - improving the side all the time.”

“I'm realistic, there's only so much I can do in three weeks with the squad, but it's a great opportunity and I'm determined to enjoy it and hopefully succeed.”

“My plan is to retire from all rugby at the end of next season. I'm a very loyal person, and will finish my career where I started it, with the Blue Bulls in Pretoria.”

“The primary responsibility of this position will be to provide executive leadership of the New Zealand Rugby Union through strategic initiatives, business acumen, rugby empathy and the overall development and management of an effective and efficient organisation that exceeds stakeholder expectations.”

“Chester and I were always very competitive on the rugby field, but I was not aware he harboured such strong feelings towards me.”

“That obscenity on the field did not shock me; I had been called the K-word many times in my rugby life. If I was going to let racial abuse get to me, then I was never going to succeed as a black rugby player in South Africa.”

“F**k you, Laurie! When I come to breakfast first, I end up sitting on my own, but if I come to breakfast later, I'm expected to sit with the white guys. Why do we always have to make concessions?”

“He was not the best flanker in the country and he was not the kind of captain I took to. I had always thought he was too much flash and too little substance.”

“The Springboks, who are professional athletes, should be paid like pros, not like semi-pros. I've got the T-shirt and been there and done that with the contracts. I've had enough. It's a joke.”

“It has caused grown men to cry.”

“Have we got the f*x#! heart? Do you want to see my f*x#! heart?!”

“When I played for the Springboks we had a golden rule: what happens on a Springbok tour, stays on that Springbok tour. I would therefore not be comfortable speaking out.”

“Whether you are black or white, you have to prove yourself to your teammates and gain their respect.”

“There are people in certain quarters who will no doubt call us chokers.”

“I can't see the Bulls winning it.”

“People are sick of waiting for him (Jonah Lomu) to regain his best form. He understands the consequences (if he fails).”

“They didn't give us a sniff. We were up against it. They didn't allow us into the game.”

“We realised that we didn't play good rugby in the first half and it was nice to see the passion out there early in the second half. The Bulls, however, were too good for us.”

“The reason for All Black dominance... violence... no other team except the Springboks have set out to physically intimidate New Zealand. The French have been able to occasionally and the Australians try, but all other teams tacitly admit physical defeat before the match starts. They are not tough enough, and not violent enough. . . in England, there is a public school reticence to knock someone to the ground even if it meant you'd get the ball. We don't suffer from that inhibition.”

“When I played, the All Black flankers and No 8 always had a port and cigar club. After every Test we would get together and drink a couple of bottles of port, smoke cigars and talk not just about the game that had just gone but the great matches of the past. It was a tradition. Those are the things that keep the history of the All Blacks alive.”

“We didn't just go and get tackled: we looked for support. That's how the game was played - communication between the players and keeping the options open. Not just run here, do this, do that.”

“Look he is brilliant. I would go so far as to say that he kicks better than I remember Naas kicking.”

“I'm really looking forward to play under coaches like Gert Smal and Carel du Plessis - two of my childhood heroes - and I will play in any position they want to use me.”

“It's not lost or anything, we just don't exactly know where it is at the moment.”

“It's time to reclaim the sanctity of an international game. More importantly, it's time to reclaim old values. It's time to saw off a large chunk from that substitutes' bench.”

“Three years (of not beating England) is a long time and the supporters deserve for us to go over and do well against England.”

“All three Tests will be televised and I've already re-arranged the loungeroom so my armchair is at the front.”

“Hougaard will play Super 12 for the Bulls next season, maybe not in all the games, but it would be in the interest of South African rugby to look after him, especially since he has a very bright future ahead of him.”

“I am prepared to back David depending on what his views are.”

“All the players (All Blacks) have to do is turn up with their toothbrush and underpants. We take care of the rest.”

“I'm reasonably happy where we're at but if we're brutally honest we've won nothing tangible.”

“You don't get lucky in sport.”

“Five years in the waiting and they send nonentities.”

“Five years ago, many of the England team were sick at half-time - such is the intensity of playing the All Blacks.”

“He is the purest and most ferocious All Black there has ever been.”

“This is our big opportunity.”

“I think the Bok players should hand their R75 000 match fees over to charity.”

“Boetie, I swear that was worse than anything I've ever seen (from the Boks).”

“Yes, Saturday's defeat to Scotland hurt even more than the one to the French did, but there definitely is no crisis. However, what was proved was that there should be a strength versus strength format in the Currie Cup.”

“One should not get too emotional now. The people at home are disappointed and we are not feeling good.”

“It was a very special day as we don't beat South Africa very often. We did it because a group of players raised their game to a new level.”

“Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki, Jan Smuts... Your boys took a hell of a beating! Front page headline in the Scotland on Sunday newspaper.”

“Now their status as as one of the proudest rugby countries in the world is in tatters.”

“It is very disappointing to finish a match like that.”

“The game against England is first and foremost about restoring pride.”

“As long as the guys remember that they are playing for the jersey, I'm sure it will go well.”

“My philosophy on rugby is very similar to that of Tim (Lane). It is no secret that you play well when you get on with management.”

“It'll be a great experience, and I can't wait to get started.”

“In the past England have slipped up in the crucial games and Saturday will be a test for them. They have everything to lose - we have nothing to lose.”

“President Mbeki felt I should come here, so did the cabinet, because our boys have had a rough time and they need to know they have our support.”

“It was a brutal test match and it was disappointing that South Africa approached it the way they did.”

“Do they think that we concussed ourselves. It was hard, it was physical, but it was not just us who were guilty. It was just another really hard test match.”

“I'm not that convinced they (England) can play much better but we can improve by at least 60 percent.”

“It was appalling out there, South Africa were dirty from the start. They should concentrate on playing the game rather than trying to maim everyone. The game's tough enough as it is but they were trying to hurt you purposefully. There's a difference between physicality and cheap shots. Their game was full of cheap shots.”

“As dark as it seems now I know we can stand up. We didn't get the results we wanted to, but at the end with 14 men the guys showed huge character. A lot of young players have now got their first experience of test rugby and only time will tell whether we're still building to a peak or whether England have peaked too soon.”

“He kicked the ball and on coming down he jumped on my shoulder.”

“Straeuli played in a World Cup team that nearly conceded the title for having a player sent off, surely he doesn't want to have history repeat itself?”

“I've had a good innings and while I'm sad it ended this way (Currie Cup runners-up and a record loss to France) I have no regrets about my career.”

“South Africa were a disgrace, Corne Krige as captain targeted the entire England team. It was all rather Jurassic.”

“There is a lack of international coaches because the authorities insist on the appointment of SA-born coaches at provincial level. As a result there is not the cross-pollination of ideas that takes place in Britain.”

“If you'd played in that Test, you would know we were giving as good as we were getting.”

“Fijian full-back, Waisele Serevi thinks "tackle" is something you take fishing with you.”

“Mark (Andrews) is a very impressive individual and there was so much demand for his services however, he chose to come here because he feels there is a massive potential and he can make a big impression.”

“The English especially showed us how a pack should work together as a unit. Most European countries became stronger physically.”

“I would love to play for the Boks again, but I have been out of rugby for two years, and am taking a conservative approach at the moment.”

“Other referees seemed to take ages to come to grips with the milieu of senior competitive rugby, but I was at home immediately - not much good, but at home.”

“Then the world went mad. From the commencement of the professional era we saw a yearly cycle of over-balance and subsequent correction as referees were bashed (almost) senseless trying to get the balance between flow and structure right.”

“Players want to know how much they are likely to earn the following year.”

“The players are getting fed up with the way rugby in South Africa is being run and the Super 12 tournament. They are not being well-coached and are getting smashed by the other teams and it's no fun.”

“What needs to happen is South African administrators have to go.”

“It was suicide to go on an overseas tour with 20 youngsters in a group of 26. Rather take 20 experienced players and gradually blend six young guys into Test rugby.”

“The Queen did mention that we were having a successful time.”

“All I ask is that when people object to my ways is that they stab me in the front not the back.”

“South Africa is not losing players to Europe because of poor administration. The buying power of the English pound is the reason and it has affected New Zealand and Australia.”

“When passing judgment on South African rugby in the future, perhaps he should analyse his shortcomings in 1999 and 2000 first and offer constructive advice instead of the emotional outbursts of recent weeks.”

“I don't like Mark. As journalist he was always stirring up controversy and now he is the media manager of the Springboks. Back to the top”

“As the Springbok coach you've got to expect to take some flak. Maybe Harry just wasn't enough of a rugby person and he took some of the media comments too personally.”

“I had discussions with London Irish when Harry Viljoen was still the coach and it seemed that despite my best efforts I would not get picked for the Springboks. My first priority at this stage is getting back on the field and I'd certainly never jeopardise the chance to play for my country if I knew I had one.”

“I suppose once upon a time a Test match was something you looked forward to go and watch. It's very hard to get the quality these days because the focus is more on quantity.”

“The Olympics are every four years and I think every athlete who competes in the Olympics wants the gold medal, and I think that's what the World Cup is for a rugby player - it's the gold medal.”

“Mind you, I would not want the pressure of being number one in the world just two years before a World Cup. There is only one way to go and it is not up.”

“I would like to thank the press from the heart of my bottom!”

“Rugby people. Can't live with them. Can't shoot them. Mainly can't live with them. Can't afford to live with them. Haven't the bloodlines to live with them. Haven't the patience to live with them. Haven't the language skills to live with them. Haven't the desire even. Rugby people have always been college scarves and jutting jaws and silly songs I don't know the words of. C-A-N-N-O-T live with them.”

“Things don't happen if you leave them alone...”

“There have been many reasons for this situation, some unavoidable, but as chief executive and coach I have to take full responsibility. It has recently become apparent to me that the team needs a fresh face and a new voice to take it forward.”

“I never thought about losing, but now that it's happened, the only thing is to do it right....We all have to take defeats in life.”

“It was not that Ireland were poor, this was an outstanding performance by any measure. They could have scored another 3-4 tries quite easily had all the chances they created been taken...”

“When he moved away and I saw the blood streaming from the eye, I thought 'Oh God, I could be in trouble here.”

“Physically I am no longer up to Springbok rugby.”

“They are so used to this sort of thing happening I should think they train with 13 men.”

“The Naas Botha Rose 'grows into a neat compact bush covered with healthy leaves and soft pink buds with a silvery reverse'.”

“It's hard to read the writing on the wall when your back is against it.”

“If rugby players focus on the game as much as they do on getting their golf handicap down, all the teams would be doing much better.”

"I pick first my best team, and my captain from that team and I only pick players that are on form."

“Then it was Bruce Reihana, stepping through the Crusaders defence like a ballet dancer on Viagra.”

"These England forwards put the fear of God into me. You see it in their eyes when you walk across for training. They are hungry, they know how much pressure they're under. They want to perform. It's tough and hard out there."

"I want to play rugby because I want to enjoy it. I don't want to be part of someone's plans only when things backfire"

"When these guys tackle you they assault you."

"If the bloke was not showing promise we wouldn't take the punt."

“I look at Colin Meads and see a great big sheep farmer who carried the ball in his hands as though it was an orange pip.”

“When overseas teams tour South Africa we treat them like gods. We seem afraid of upsetting them. But they feel nothing for us when we go overseas.”

“What has happened to the South African sides? It was suggested to me by someone who knows the South African rugby situation well that many of the front-line players have accepted contracts to play in Europe and that other Test players find the Super12 so tough they go on the "injured" list until the end of the tournament.”

“Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising each and every time we fail.”

“Sport is about fielding your best team but long-term gain may be greater than short-term pain for South Africa.”

“I think I've always had the shots. But in the past, I've suffered too many mental lapses. Now, I'm starting to get away from that and my mental discipline and commitment to the game are much better. I think I'm really taking a good luck at the big picture. That's the difference between being around for the final or watching the final from my sofa at home.”

“South African players are spoilt, unprofessional and not mentally and physically tough enough for Super 12 rugby.”

“How can we begin to look at the answers if we don't understand the questions?”

“Some decisions made have been purely for political reasons. "I'll support you if you support me" has been the bane of South African rugby.”

“On South Africa's quota system - There can't be a revolution without bloodshed.”

“There has been an extremely high turnover of coaches at Springbok level. Some changes may have been made too hastily and others were clearly necessary. Looking ahead, however, we must seek to establish consistency, exercise patience, encourage excellence and provide support.”

“SARFU must conduct a brutal assessment of the game in South Africa and then develop a strategic plan - which includes player skills - to reach all levels of the game, just as the ARU did in the 1970s when we finally tired of getting belted by the All Blacks.”

“On the siren that signals half and full time - Hooters in New Zealand Tony? Hooters are what you see on the sidelines!”

“In New Zealand, rugby is a game for the people, in Australia it's a corporate game.”

“It's not so much the money, the notoriety or the fame. I really love playing and to be honest I felt a bit stale in New Zealand. I wasn't enjoying it as much. But I still have this wicked passion for grovelling for the ball on the floor and maybe getting the occasional run.”

“I can understand people's wishes for Bok rugby in this country, but the game doesn't belong to you or me, it belongs to the people.”

“I suppose you can say I am a bit old school. I expect the players to go onto the field expecting to play a full game.”

“I have been a huge admirer of South African rugby and its great teams and players, but I have never seen them so devoid of attacking ambition.”

“Don't ask me about emotions in the Welsh dressing room. I'm someone who cries when he watches 'Little House on the Prairie'.”

“Our success comes from stability.”

“When he was a player Kevin was always influential and now that he is officially the boss he has stamped his authority.”

“Referees are only human, I think.”

“Against Ireland, the English midfield were playing in an aircraft hanger of space. Against France, it was as if they were confined to a space the size of a Cessna cockpit.”

“After a brain scan - It went well. There are no problems, and, as a bonus, it showed that I have a brain!”

“On SA rugby administrators - It's like turkeys voting for Christmas.”

“A member of SARFU's (South African Rugby Football Union) executive management asked me to make myself available as Bok coach again. I thought about it for a millisecond and said no. There are too many things in our rugby that counts against a coach.”

“The game, it seems, have fallen into the hands of MBA cowboys and is not the terrain of former players and patriotic rugby people anymore - those that still sit up straight when a green jersey is talked about.”

“After awarding a try in the very first test match, Scotland vs. England in 1871 - When a referee is in doubt, I think he is justified in deciding against the side that makes the most noise.”

“I feel two teams are like two chemicals and the referee is the catalyst. If you get a good reaction, you get a good product.”

“Refereeing is a balance between tolerance and neo-fascism - I tend to lean towards the latter.”

“Players and spectators at all levels can enjoy sport better if they totally accept two simple rules:Rule 1: The referee is always right. Rule 2: In the event of the referee being obviously wrong, Rule 1 applies.”

“Rule 2: In the event of the referee being obviously wrong, Rule 1 applies.”

“When you live in England you do not pay for things in rands, you pay for everything in pounds.”

“There is frequent changing of coaches at national level. Nothing seems to change.”

“If the making of bags of money is the sole driver of decision makers at international level then I, for one, feel disillusioned.”

“After being tackled by a schoolboy spectator in a match against the Chiefs - Ah, it’s all right mate - he got a good hit on me.”

“If only the Crusaders had declared at halftime.”

“I am embarrassed for the Waratahs, they must be ashamed of themselves. This is the blackest day in NSW rugby history.”

“It was as if they were playing with 20 men out there.”

“There was just nothing there, no fire. There was no real intensity or effort from them. So we kept hammering away and the tries kept coming.”

“It is always disappointing when a player is not prepared to stick it out and fight for his place in a national team.”

“We can never allow ourselves to get to a situation where players see it as a right to play for the Springboks. Playing for your country is something that is earned.”

“I thought Straeuli said he was going to pick players that are on form. Skinstad is definitely not on form and that points to a serious case of double-standards.”

“Asked if he would think of coaching - Hennie Le Roux said he preferred golf. "I'd rather hit the ball than be the ball,"”

“To tell the honest truth, I would've preferred a hooker with a perfect throw, the fighting spirit of a fox terrier, who knows the laws inside out, and decent enough to take my 16 year old daughter (if I had one) out at night.”

“I'm not going to have a gun held to my head and I'm not going to communicate through agents. I'll speak to the players, their chief executives and coaches.”

“Before his team's record 96-19 defeat - We really don't want to put on a below-par performance against the Crusaders because they can wipe away opponents.”

“On Rudolf Straeuli - He knows that is what it takes to be successful in Test rugby.”

“I'm just shattered, it will take some time to get over. You know, when you're in the 22 for almost every game, then how come you're not good enough suddenly?”

“With many players I had nothing in common but we believed in the same thing on the rugby field and that made all the difference.”

“I made the mistake of playing a round (golf) with Tim, my agent, and when I missed a shot I got annoyed with myself and had to hit around 15 (shots) before I was happy enough to move on.”

“We have been made aware of allegations that Lukas (van Biljon) was involved in a fracas. He has been removed from the training camp pending an investigation into the allegations.”

“Geo Cronje axed over racism row.”

“Our position is a simple one that is dealt with in the South African Rugby constitution. We have zero tolerance for racism in rugby and feel very strongly about this issue. We will remove the player from the camp, the allegations will be investigated to establish whether we should have a judicial hearing and, if necessary, the player will be offered counseling.”

“The management of SARFU hardly covered themselves in glory with their handling of the crisis. By omitting Cronjé from the Bok training camp they lend unnecessary impetus to the allegations, which now seem to be infamous lies. The rule is: investigate first, then act. Not the other way round.”

“We need to find out who the source of these allegations was, now that they have been proven untrue, and the person who has brought SA Rugby's name into disrepute will need to say why these allegations were made.”

“I am back at the Blue Bulls where I would like to focus all my time and energy on my rugby. That is all that's important to me at this stage. Rugby has always been my passion and any opportunity to represent my country or my province is an honour.”

“Davids and Geo Lieth ?”

“My decision to resign is a moral one as I can no longer be part of a squad in which prejudice is tolerated, wished away and excused.”

“Club rugby is dying. Stadium numbers are down. We've got to ask ourselves why. Like it or not, the professional era has had a negative impact. We've got to get a model in place to ensure we get back on track.”

“He is as entitled as any captain to ask a reasonable question.”

“The situation "is causing damage to rugby and Sarfu needs to sort itself out.”

“Mr Nkanunu is rated more highly internationally than he is in South Africa. He commands huge respect at the International Rugby Board and serves on their executive, which consists of only five people.”

“Sometimes it's a question of misunderstanding because of cultural differences and cultural differences are mis-interpreted as racism.”

“Keohane is trying to look like an angel now.”

“Throw in the fact that he is the fiercest tackling fly-half the game has seen.”

“Straeuli asked me last Friday morning, when he accused me of leaking the story, if I felt he was a racist. I answered 'no'. But I told him he was culturally much too close to the incident and it had clouded his judgment.”

“What we're trying to do is eliminate as much of the "if onlys" and give this group of players every chance of winning, and I think that's what we've done. It's not just myself, it's the whole game that is supporting this team.”

“I am the one who makes the decisions about who gets hired and fired in SA Rugby.”

“I'm just carrying on with the job . . . I've got nothing to hide. In any team I coach, I handle things fairly. I don't accept racism, I wouldn't allow it and would deal with it. I hope the answers come out.”

“Rian told me if there was evidence of a biter in their team he would out him. And now that Keohane's claims have been dumped in the public arena I'm duly obliged to ask the question.”

“Let's get one thing straight, I am a bas'tard when it comes to racism. Let me state it here today - rugby will never be 'business as usual' again.”

“I don't know yet how we're going to bind (in the scrums), since it's difficult to get a good grip on the jerseys.”

“We are desperate to do well. If we play to our potential, we are capable of beating any team but we have a healthy fear of the threat posed by others France, New Zealand, Ireland, Australia.”

“The appalling lack of ability of Sarfu's top management structures has been the root cause of all rugby's problems.”

“The two warm-up games will give us the chance to have a look at all of the guys.”

“We will probably try to injure them and soften them up so it will make life easier for the Wallabies.”

“The way we handled that shows that not only rugby officials but the whole country is in denial about racism.”

“We had a lot of fun and it wasn't the end of the world if we lost. Now things are a bit different.”

“It's apparent that the players are afraid that Sarfu will act against them in terms of its highly controversial rule that players may not bring the game into disrepute.”

“Certain individuals are trying to create the impression that South African rugby is not being properly managed. Whilst SA Rugby is currently involved in a crisis that affects one part of its business this does not automatically make everything it does defective. People need to get their facts straight before they shoot from the hip. Anonymous "senior SA rugby official" in”

“I think they can win it, I'm not going to say I'm confident they're going to win it.”

“Our preparation is chaotic to be blunt.”

“Jean is a special talent, a league above the other players. I really reckon he could do just about anything, and that includes play outside centre.”

“I treat life as a journey, and this is just part of the journey. I will deal with it and come back.”

“the pressure is nothing compared with the pressure within the team room none of us want to let down anyone else in that room. What other people think of us doesn't really bother us.”

“We are holding back a number of things. We need the element of surprise at the World Cup.”

“Whatever has happened, they will still be fired up - Perth will be a massive game.”

“He's the only "fair dinkum" captain in world rugby and makes a huge difference whenever he plays.”

“I happen to think that in certain positions - not many, just one or two - the All Black selectors have gone light. And the consequences of that could be huge.”

“Springbok coach Rudolf Straeuli has escaped absolute condemnation with a "judge us at the World Cup" clause.”

“England will have to beat themselves.”

“At this stage I see myself as a New Zealander.”

“I used to watch the big unions on television and I thought to myself it must be quite difficult to play against such huge guys, but when I faced them during this year's Currie Cup Premier Division matches I realised that they weren't as strong as they appeared to be on TV.”

“I don't believe New Zealand are mentally ready to win this World Cup.”

“If Rugby World Cup was properly structured, the players, who are the only ones generating the revenue, would be paid. It's still structured on an amateur basis, the players play for nothing.”

“There were signs in Bloemfontein that he is looking more like the Joost of old rather than just an old Joost.”

“I think they're very competitive so they'll do whatever it takes to win, If that means playing dirty then I'm sure they'll resort to those tactics.”

“People take ownership of a sports team or an individual competing on foreign soil. There are few things as exciting as watching your team's achievements on television. It doesn't matter whether it's Baby Jake Matlala, Hestrie Cloete or the Springboks.”

“He pretended to be a backpacker and got in. He returned having seen the whole training session and actually drank some of the management's beer. He told us which strike moves they were practising.”

“The World Cup is not about good rugby - it is about winning. You have to go out and win seven successive games and if you do that you win the World Cup - there is no other way.”

“What we've got to do is build momentum and that's not to say that everyone won't play a game but it's not to say that everyone will.”

“I don't believe it's good for the tournament to play a weakened side so I'll just balance it out.”

“I think we will win all the matches.”

“The Lord gave me the talent and the forwards gave me the ball.”

“You have to go through something like that in order to learn the difference between what's important and what's not.”

“You don't value what you have until you lose it. With just a place to sleep and eat you are really very well off.”

“Martin Johnson is one of the dirtiest captains in world rugby.”

“He is a good player and he gets his team behind him. For that you have to respect him.”

“I've no doubt it will be the best-ever World Cup.”

“Just like in 1995 with our first game against Australia, meeting England in the pools represents a high road, low road scenario and there are no magic formulas - you just have to go out and do it.”

“Turn them over. Smash 'em. Simple as that. Relish this game. Relish it. Shut their crowd up, shut their players up. Win the match.”

“England is the big one. That is what we have been focusing on a lot for the last two or three weeks. Not a single tackle will be slipped. We're going to throw everything at it. We are super fit. There will be no weak links on the day.”

“You might see some pommies running around in sandshoes rather than studded boots.”

“He made it clear that no matter what I did he would not select me. Initially it was tough for me to come to terms with, it took some time, but I've since dealt with and I've come to terms with it.”

“It is the occasion for a month-long orgy of chauvinism and mime-show of war among nations.”

“Bok Incentives: R1,2-million each if tournament is won.”

“Defences are too sophisticated to wear down now. We conducted a study last year involving two sides who got to seven phases or more on 18 occasions and only two tries were scored. If you recycle and recycle you end up with fewer attackers than defenders because generally you need four blokes to win the ball and three to contest it.”

“It will not be a Boer war, nor any other war.”

“It is about winning test matches, it is not about style.”

“I think that the Springboks have the capacity, well maybe not in terms of pure rugby, to beat England, I just think they have what might be described as old fashioned character. B”

“This match is bigger and more intense than any since the last World Cup.”

“Saturday will require a cool head, not a hot head. The Boks can win, but it will require an extraordinary effort.”

“In the build-up to the match, Mike Catt had made the mistake of saying that Francois Pienaar was an average player. Pienaar screamed at him in Afrikaans from the back of every lineout, and you didn't need to be a linguist to catch his drift. We were well beaten that day.”

“You know in Bloemfontein Os (du Randt) is just below the mayor so people have really rubbed it in, but we'll meet again.”

“He's (Straeuli) trying to coach the way he was coached. Subdue and penetrate rugby - rape rugby. You're not going to beat the rest of the world like that. You have to use your head and we're not thinking. It's blunderbuss and Ox-Wagon stuff.”

“While I certainly don't want to be picked on reputation, I think I have done enough to earn respect.”

“To Cullen, I'd say: get over it.”

“We kicked too much possession away.”

“Well, I don't think that the All Blacks are setting this tournament alight at the moment and the Springboks have got to go down to Melbourne and believe that they can win ...which they can.”

“He (Delport) had his hand in my face. So I gave him a bit of a slap.”

“The tragedy is that if you're a referee and you want the big appointments, you have to lick the backsides of the top nations.”

“If your wife gets into bed wearing a Springbok jersey, what is she trying to tell you? You are not scoring tonight!”

“They (IRB officials) need to show courage over England’s extra-man scandal and strip the Poms of their points.”

“The Sharks have better players than the Bulls, but they are the worst-coached side in the competition.”

“I'll have no hesitation in picking Derick for any team. He will surpass Jonny Wilkinson as the world's best flyhalf. He's very special.”

“At half time I was thinking of going to Eddie Jones box and asking him if he had any ideas.”

“My performances are based on the collective game. It’s thanks to the other members that I play well.”

“I want to be remembered as the second All Black captain to win the World Cup.”

“SA rugby is just about completely at the mercy of the government. It is merely a matter of time before they take total charge of the game.”

“Samoa really are an example to all of us. You had one team that had spent 350-million preparing to be here and the other nothing - yet Samoa showed what you can do with heart.”

“The England game was probably the biggest any of our boys have been involved in but this one against South Africa is even bigger, the biggest game in their lives.”

“I AM sorry to have to say so - I'm not really - but last weekend's games have highlighted the dreadful standards of rugby in Scotland, Wales, Ireland and, to a certain extent, England.”

“I could easily replicate in cricket what I've done in rugby, or football, or any sport.”

“Players having to back up for four games in 14 days is totally ludicrous.”

“The All Blacks look like Chairman Mao in their severe black numbers.”

“Our baggage master does our analysis.”

“We don't have an 'A' team or development tours so we have to look to give experience to some of the players who will come back next time.”

“One day I can see us having a meeting of all of the teams and because there are too many penalties deciding to scrap scrums altogether.”

“I had doubts I'd ever say this, but the rugby produced by the Springboks yesterday had a smile on its face.”

“That's the hardest I've ever been hit. But I suppose the fact that I'm still breathing is a good sign.”

“I am sure we will win the quarter-final. Our team is better than theirs.”

“This is what I have been aiming for and to get a start ahead of someone like Roffy is a great compliment and I have to repay that with a big performance this week.”

“This is a professional game, players are highly paid, they're trained as well as we can possibly provide for them, George Gregan's said it, Eddie Jones is saying it and now as CEO I'm reinforcing it: it's time to actually put it together.”

“I won't not take calls from Eddie Jones. If there is something to discuss, we'll discuss it. We might have the odd disagreement.”

“I don't want to make the same mistakes of coming into the tournament slowly and not quite ready. I am determined the team will all be fully fit, injury free and ready to hit the Super 12 running.”

“We won the world cup in 1999 & we're still playing the same style, thinking its going to work. Obviously the Rod McQueen era was successful at the time, but long term, its been very damaging because you lose Larkham & you really haven't got anybody.”

“We've become a bit of a joke following our recent results. They (New Zealand 7 Australia) don't see us as a threat.”

“Speak to the like of Naas Botha and Danie Gerber, both of whom were world-beaters in their position, and they will tell you that what coaches did for their careers was maybe 20% compared to the work they put in themselves.”

“He deserved it!”

“In the previous two games we had a very good car but not enough petrol. Today we had a very good car and plenty of petrol.”

“He holds the thing together for England; he's the glue in their back-line. He would be a big chunk to take out, so England need him to stay fit.”

“The award is a huge honour - hopefully I will get some respect from the grandchildren now!”

“I have seen so many Afrikaner coaches turn to aggression and brutality to make up for their lack of technical skills.”

“We had the arrogance of people like the former SA rugby boss Louis Luyt who told the world that they missed South Africa more than we missed them during the apartheid years. Absolute rubbish! Now we are losing matches, but we are never humble about it and we refuse to learn the lessons from it. We are letting our players down because they are coached poorly and they don't know why their opponents run them ragged.”

“I'm negative at the moment, very disappointed and it looks like unless there is a miracle improvement my Test career is over.”

“It is not the end of the world. I fear Iraq more than England.”

“There are lots more examples, and I don't want this to be seen to be as a finger-pointing exercise, but when you're expected to put your whole life and heart into playing for Scotland, and others appear to be taking the p*** it's hard to cope with.”

“The Russians, bless them, haven't got 75 roubles to rub together. They overcome major difficulties just to play the game and then suffer the harshest disciplinary treatment in the sport's history. Trying to pay the fine will destroy rugby in Russia.”

“I'm aware of talk over Robbie (Kempson) and me and I have spoken to one or two agents to try and glean more information. I'm no spring chicken and my future plans should also make financial sense.”

“Dixie (Stormers hooker Pieter Dixon) has already told me not to try and go down the blindside as he will smash me, my response to that was simple. He has to catch me first!”

“It's up to the Super 12 coaches how they play their players. There's no compulsion to follow my suggestions, I'm not going to be a hypocrite.”

“The only memories I have of England and the English are unpleasant ones.”

“They are chauvinistic and arrogant, they look down on everybody.”

“The only rule was never to retaliate when the ref could see.”

“Time and again I heard the sweet sound of booing in Paris. This was a sure sign that all was well.”

“He was an idiot, that cannot be overlooked - but it can be understood. We do not have to bury him because he slipped up. Although, of course, we will wait for the disciplinary procedures to run their course.”

“The supporters shouldn’t be disenchanted, they should be concerned. The truth of it is though there were no log points on offer, there was no bonus point for scoring tries and hence “Let’s run the ball”. Don’t judge the team and coach on the training field. It would be more appropriate to do so after the first Super 12 game.”

“John’s philosophy was if you got pushed a metre back, then start a fight. At least it detracts from the fact that you were beaten in the scrum.”

“I drank a lot of beers in several pubs. I was sick as never before. Maybe I was trapped...”

“He's a lovely person, as a player and a bloke, he is a star.”

“We have decided not to retain De Villiers against England as a precaution for both the player and the French team, because it would not be good for such a problem to interfere with our preparation for the game.”

“It's not smart mentioning the Canterbury Crusaders around NSW headquarters, as the Waratah hierarchy immediately start twitching and turning a sickly colour.”

“The commentator's Holding, the third umpire's Willey.”

“So, how do I think our (SA) teams will go in the Super 12? Well I'm 'swartgallig'. Very 'swartgallig'.”

“It is good to know that my performances were being monitored in South Africa. Each week I have gone out and given my best for Ulster. I had not given the World Cup much thought, given the regulation in place in South Africa regarding foreign-based players representing the Springboks.”

“Look, one always regrets it afterwards when your aggression boiled over, but rugby is a physical game that depends on intimidation. You always have to push the frontiers. The only difference this year will be that I will try not to cross the boundaries. Controlled aggression will be my motto this year.”

“There is much to work on this week, and we must maintain our humility.”

“There may still be unanswered questions about England's ability to secure big victories on their travels but at home they are virtually unbeatable.”

“These are the best 32 players in Wales, like it or not. We have to come together after this. Nobody is going to give us a chance against England.”

“To be sent to the sin-bin moments after I'd come on wasn't exactly planned. It was probably Guinness Book of Records stuff.”

“France endlessly talk of discipline. Concentration is not such a bad word for their backs to learn either. They will need it in Dublin.”

“In the past three years, England have set out on the Six Nations trail like a juggernaut, only to find an accident waiting along the road.”

“We just want to win a few games overseas to raise the morale of the South African public. That is extremely important, it is not just about the Stormers, it is about getting the national confidence up.”

“We want to understand their decisions. We want to be ready to face their reading of the rules because we have discovered a lot of discrepancies and we want them to help us.”

“It was on the line.........are you blind!”

“It's an expensive one, because we didn't get anything out of the game at all in terms of points, but at least we got something out of it.”

“F*&^%$# Duckworth/Lewis system!!!”

“The players do have a responsibility to check with the doctors that what they are taking is not going to get them into trouble.”

“You couldn't find a better note to finish on than playing - and winning - a World Cup on home soil. What could possibly be left after that?”

“We'll take the win, thank you!”

“Such decisions can only be based on insensibility, arrogance and incompetence. People don't realise that this is important on a worldwide level. It shows a fatal lack of culture. Unfortunately in Italy the important decisions are often entrusted to the wrong people.”

“If someone calls me a black **** I'll call him a white **** back. But that's in the heat of the moment and that's where it ends.”

“The players are doing everything with a lot of passion and they now know what it is all about and good it feels to be part of a winning team.”

“I told the players it is respect for one another that stops them making mistakes, however when you watch the match it is clear there is no respect. I pull the shirt, I put in an elbow, I do this, I do that and baff there's a penalty.”

“Penalties are not as a result of the referee's application but due to the players' application of discipline and respect for the game and it's laws in playing a game. The more they infringe, the more their team will suffer.”

“We read too much into defeats. We must look at the manner of defeat.”

“You must still have the right ingredients to bake the cake and that is respect for yourself, your teammate, your supporter and your country.”

“The weather in England is so bad that they (his family) can hardly go outside.”

“As he's always said to us, he's paid to play not train. He looks like death warmed up at the moment.”

“I don't think there is the same aura of invincibility about the Crusaders in the Super 12 any more.”

“I think the way the whole thing (Tuilevu's case) was handled by the South African judiciary was a disgrace what it has done is cast a huge amount of doubt on the credibility and integrity of the South African judicial system.”

“He's a great bloke. A very passive bloke. You can niggle him on the field and he won't react. Off the field you can torment him and he won't bite.”

“Auckland rugby hadn't been successful for some time, I think for a combination of reasons, and one reason for a change of fortune may have been my return.”

“Mate, they should follow my example, go stand on the wing and never tackle!”

“That was probably the gutsiest team effort I've had the privilege to be a part of.”

“I don't smoke weed, you don't have to to be a Rasta. I'm getting paid for what I love doing and rugby comes first. So my priority is playing within the laws of rugby, which means making sacrifices and being sincere and responsible.”

“Stuart Dickenson lost control of this match the moment he blew the opening whistle.”

“How long will Rian Oberholzer put up with the reign of terror being conducted against South African rugby teams? It's high time the managing director of SA rugby puts a stop to it.”

“We can understand that rugby supporters are unhappy with the performance of some referees in the Super 12 and we will look into it at the Sanzar meeting.”

“I think it is a myth that England are not so good away.”

“He is a fine referee, renowned for his impartiality.”

“To see the number of black players that are coming up - even though the media has been hitting me left and right (on the quota question) - means that we are winning the damn battle, we are getting there.”

“South Africa have a great chance of going all the way in the World Cup We have brilliant talent in this country and we have a great chance of turning things around.”

“The market is down with English clubs, some of whom are experiencing financial difficulties. So the big money of the past is no longer available which bodes well for the South African market.”

“The only thing NSW rugby can beat Queensland is in the number of former chief executive officers, presidents, coaches and bankruptcies.”

“And what's all this 'our house' rubbish NSW go on with? They've had their home at the Sydney Sports Ground, T.G. Millner Field, Concord, and now they're calling Aussie Stadium 'our house'. They're a f------ renter.”

“All the top refs think they are number one on the field, not number 31 as they should be.”

“Super 12 form is not a good indication of how a national team will go.”

“You learn quickly that there is no recipe in this game, no trigger you can pull to turn a team around in a week. I wish I knew what it is that makes a team click.”

“I was annoyed with myself at how soft we had become. We could have dealt with the persistent trouble in numbers and afterwards I felt like I had let the country down.”

“It's been coming all season, it's as if somebody switched the lights off.”

“I know a lot of South Africans, read a ton of South African commentary on rugby, and am still amazed by the negativity that pervades the vast majority of personal attitude and journalistic output about the Springboks, no matter whether they win or lose. Winning the World Cup in 1995 has set the bar impossibly high and no amount of real world intrusion can lessen sky high expectations and demands for perfection. I now understand why being the Springbok Coach might be the most taxing job in all of sport.”

“I am not in this for the fame game.”

“There are players who cost us points who will not be going to the World Cup.”

“The Argentines weren't better than us, they were just less stupid.”

“It feels great, we've taken a lot of crap since we've been over here, a lot of people criticising the way we play. Well, we've come out and won three tries to one.”

“What you will see at Wellington on Wednesday will be a good match. There are certain players there that really want to play in the World Cup. So I think you can expect South African rugby to start showing what it has to offer pretty soon.”

“I'm filthy, I'm really disappointed. I thought I might have done enough to at least remain in the Wallaby squad.”

“The Boks were lucky, they played like cabbages!”

“We made all the play and they lived off our mistakes.”

“At times we played some really good rugby, even though we made some mistakes.”

“I didn't think the [expletive deleted] would have the bottle to send two off within two minutes.”

“We train with 14 men, We try to think what we will do when certain players get a yellow card. That doesn't happen by luck, but by experience and practice.”

“However he [Rudolf Straeuli] tries to massage yesterday's performance against the luckless Argentine Pumas, the barely palatable truth is that South Africa were reckless, clumsy and extremely fortunate to escape by the skin of their teeth. Straeuli had been at pains this week to dismiss talk that the Boks' aura of invincibility had been lost. But that's bollocks. A succession of teams have played South Africa in recent months and paid scant respect to the weight of history. Great teams are revered - this lot are not great. Yesterday, they were even below ordinary... Truth be told, the Boks didn't deserve to win.”

“We know exactly where we stand.”

“The scrum is an important part of French rugby. In each game in our championship, it is an honour to win the scrums.”

“He is a great player who went the extra mile for SA rugby. Now SA Rugby will go the extra mile for him.”

“We were a family. We knew exactly what to expect ... our angles of running and how to keep defensive lines.”

“We've got so many laws there at the moment that we really do need to look at the whole thing, not make any knee-jerk decisions, but make some decisions that are going to bring the game into the modern era.”

“I've got huge respect for players like my captain [Corné Krige] and Joost [van der Westhuizen], along with the rest of the team. I hope you have the same respect for them.”

“Our performance just wasn't good enough.”

“Barry's tackling forced at least five turnovers, and left his opposite number, Steve Kefu, in a shell-shocked state. However, probably not half as shell-shocked as Straeuli, who had stumbled on a winning formula more by accident than design.”

“I don't put any unnecessary pressure on myself, I just play like I always play no matter what the situation is.”

“It is about tradition and respect. There is enormous respect between the two teams and each time I have played them it has been an enjoyable experience.”

“I don't want to tempt fate, but I have never lost a match - Super 12 or international - in which Louis Koen and I have been partners.”

“It's not as big as it used to be, there is a bit of a gap now and they [New Zealand] seem to have the upper hand.”

“We won't read too much into this score, we just couldn't hang onto the ball for long enough and when their back three got hold of it they punished us.”

“It was just one of those games where everything went well for us.”

“Yes, it's time to panic. THIS was the rugby equivalent of a car wreck.”

“Stefan Terblanche is depriving a circus somewhere of a clown.”

“That's weird,I just can't understand why he would suddenly mention my name. It's bullsh*t!”

“Is Straeuli on laughing gas?”

“Sid Nomis, the greatest Jew since Moses!”

“But it's not how many Tests you play ... it's always the next one you play that's important.”

“You tend to learn more about your game when you lose.”

“I have played against all the leading Australian and New Zealand players in the Super 12, and while I respect them, I have lost my admiration for them.”

“After four weeks waiting for them it boils down to nothing. From my point of view I see it as very unprofessional and very disappointing. I still don't know why I didn't get a fair chance.”

“Rugby isn't our game . . . we'll always court defeat if we play New Zealanders.”

“We may be small, isolated, lonely and not very confident but by God we bow to nobody when it comes to rugby.”

“You know, when you actually opened up the cupboard in 1979 to put the Bledisloe in there for the first time in 30 years, three Japanese prisoners of war jumped out!”

“It is impossible to win every match you play but, win or lose, there are two types of player in this world: those who know they can win, and those who think they might win (those who think they might lose already have).”

“It is not my job to motivate the players after last week's performance, if they can't motivate themselves after that then they shouldn't be here.”

“As for the World Cup, sure we'll hack it with Ireland and Argentina. Maybe we'll even hack it with South Africa. But we won't hack it with New Zealand, England and France the way we are going.”

“Sometimes it's better to be not coached than badly coached.”

“It wasn't so long ago when they (Wallabies) were the most sparkling combination in international rugby. Today, the opposition reads George like a book. Make that a short story. Make that a Fantales wrapper.”

“And if their players are going to get stuck into ours, then we are obviously going to get stuck into theirs. It will be a very fiery Test, because Australia are down, and we're down. Wounded animals are dangerous when they're down. You can expect a lot of niggle.”

“The Afrikaner wants to bully you so you have to get into them first before they get into you.”

“They don't kick or eye-gouge but they are pretty borderline. Mind you, you have to be at that level.”

“We're going into a country that understands tough rugby and that's what we talk about, we play tough rugby. We're never going to play like a bunch of sissies.”

“Ideally, though, critics should heed the instruction of St Augustine: love the sinner, hate the sin.”

“The great Colin Meads, "Pinetree", would probably have spent half his career suspended with today's cameras. Name me a rugby player fan who doesn't admire the man.”

“It seems strange to think that there is a generation of Kiwi youngsters out there who have grown up with no real fear of South African rugby.”

“The mongrel comes out when you're on the back foot, and it makes for an ugly sight to anyone who still regards rugby as a beautiful game.”

“It is always nice to hand off a flyhalf and bump off a centre and it was sweet revenge because they always beat you with their feet.”

“Heard during the game on Saturday, Murray Mexted - "Naas Botha would turn in his grave if he saw a kick like that!" Grant Nisbett, questioningly, "Is he dead?" Mexted, "Uhhh... sorry Naas!" in”

“Yesterday I said that there were just far too many Afrikaners in the rugby squad. I did a count. Of the 15 players taking to the park tomorrow at Carisbrook, 10 out of the 15 players are Afrikaans. What we need to do is we need to get rid of these thick Dutchmen within the squad. Seriously.”

“We should never be satisfied with defeat (11-19), but at least a foundation has been laid upon which we can build for the World Cup.”

“They restored honour and pride to Bok rugby. I've got the greatest respect for them.”

“I might make myself unpopular for saying this, but it has to be said: It appears that players have lost passion for the game. I cannot generalise, as the players did put their bodies on the line in Cape Town (against Australia), but the question over why there is no passion in the game anymore comes back to money.”

“I would also like to think another reason they will stamp out illegal play is out of respect for the game, their teammates, their sponsors and the fans. They have an image to portray.”

“If he really sold his soul commercially, the rugby might suffer. That's why we manage his time very closely. Tim Buttimore, Jonny Wilkinson's agent Vol3 Week 28Joost van der Westhuizen has rendered sterling service to South African rugby over a number of years, but it's become clear during the past few months that his basic skills are no longer good enough at international level.”

“Other coaches say that we are predictable, that they know how we are going to play, good for them, because even I don't know how we are going to play as yet. We will go into every game with different things up our sleeves, different ways to try to win the match.”

“We don't play like [South Africa] and we're not equipped to play like that. For us to copy that sort of style would be quite foolhardy.”

“And, in fact, had South Africa kicked their goals, they could have won. But then if my aunty had balls, she'd be my uncle.”

“For me French rugby is full of inspiration, movement and natural feel. It is attractive to me because it's not what we practise in South Africa, and it will allow me to discover a whole new world of rugby, which is a new challenge for me.”

“Georgie, he's always talking.”

“From ecstasy to agony.”

“The World Cup is just there now, it seems you can almost touch it. But think ahead like that and everything falls apart. You don't think ahead to the result of the next game, you think ahead to the start of it.”

“Ten years after my retirement from the game, I want to be among the select few when people pick their all-time dream team. Or, if I don't make that side, I want to be a strong contender, at least.”

“I don't think I'm obsessed with stats at all. But I think what you have to go off is objective data. Rugby is a game where you do have objective data.”

“The myth of Wilkinson being rugby's "best" player has been rightly buried in this World Cup. His passing from his left is weak, he's not fast, and he's not even the best five-eighth in his own team. That's why they need dear old Mike Catt.”

“That sort of camp is nothing new. We did things that were in the interests of the team, and that's all that matters.”

“Passion, courage and commitment are not enough to win matches. Players must also be taught to remain calm under pressure. We believed we could beat New Zealand, but when things went wrong and they took us on up front, we did not know how to respond.”

“We've got a completely different side that played (England) in June. Maybe only six of the team are the same. We've got a young pack and they have no fear. They've got nothing to be frightened of. They'll play with a lot of aggression and if we're good enough we'll get on top of them and if we're not good enough, we won't. We've got no fear at all.”

“One of the hardest thing about being an All Black is that nothing you do ever seems to be good enough. People always want more. If we win, they want us to win better. The hardest thing about being an All Black is trying to live up to it.”

“I don't give a sh*t.”

“If we aren't good enough then we won't win the game. If we are good enough, we will win. There is no fear of failure here.”

“Of 300 players tested during the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia, none tested positive for a banned substance.”

“No one I know of did anything against his will. Everyone wanted to take part in the activities. Some of the exercises were difficult, yes, but not everything in life is easy.”

“The only way I'll be disappointed is if I haven't done my job, not made the right calls, not fought for something. If we win it'll be because we deserved it. If we don't it'll be because Australia played better. If that happens, we'll shake hands and move on.”

“It takes 15 players, the whole team was brilliant. I'm speechless. It's been an awesome night here. I'll never forget this.”

“I'm just happy for the players you know, they put so much into it, they put their heart and soul into it and the fans who have come out here are just fantastic... Credit to Australia, it's been a great World Cup, they've had an absolutely brilliant tournament, they've got here to the Final themselves and played great. It couldn't have been any closer and I'm just happy to be on the right side.”

“They're the best team in the world by one minute.”

“It was a massive final, wasn't it? It went into extra time, two world class teams going at it hammer and tongs. You know, congratulations must be extended to the English team. They delivered under pressure and they delivered when it counted. But I'm so proud of my guys, we gutsed it out, we fought back, we were down 14-5, we brought it back to extra time. To all the support here both English fans and Australian fans, for us as players it's a highlight of our career and thank you for making it such a wonderful night.”

“When we came into the airport it was something very special. It's starting to sink in, what we've actually done - it's a massive credit to Martin and the team for what they've done.”

“The proposals were accepted. Nothing changed from what we proposed to what happened at the camp. They all knew what was going to happen, including Rian Oberholzer, Songezo Nayo, Bok coach Rudolf Straeuli and team manager Gideon Sam.”

“The coach has a contract until 2005 and we have a duty to give him a chance.”

“Mike was looking around the field and realised he didn't know anybody.”

“In many ways sitting here in New Zealand it was almost like my employers didn't support me in these situations.”

“I don't think we were out-thought and outcoached, We had our particular way we wanted to play and we just weren't able to execute. It was just a bad day at the office. It was just like waking up from a bad nightmare.”

“Straeuli kept telling us that we should judge him on the World Cup. The World Cup has now come and gone and it was a mess. If he was a decent man he would resign now for the good of our rugby.”

“Scottish Rugby Union chief executive Bill Watson was sacked on Monday as the first step in an attempt to overhaul the game in Scotland.”

“In the interests of accuracy and to slice through all the hype and sensation, I would like to point out that the South African National Defence Force does not train its people naked, neither, to the best of my knowledge, do any other military organisations. Hard training, yes. Deprivation training, perhaps. But naked, definitely not! Conditions in the field are not generally kind to the naked human form.”

“On the basis of what he has done, Mitchell's overall results so far are second to none in the modern era.”

“Negotiations have begun between SA Rugby and Rudolf for him to stand down. I can't provide finer details of the talks, but discussions are definitely taking place. Back to the top”

“Colin Meads is the kind of player you expect to see emerging from a ruck with the remains of a jockstrap between his teeth.”

“It's hard to read the writing on the wall when your back is against it.”

“In South Africa and Australia there are fewer top players and they deliberately kept their powder dry in the Super 12. They're faking it - trying not to get injured or too hyper at the start of a long season..”

“I think South African rugby is ultra-poor at the moment. They've got no coaches. And if you take Eddie Jones out of Australia, they're pretty ratsh*t as well.”

“If a player (of ours) who is overseas is decidedly better than a player in the country I will do anything to get him back in the country.”

“We were ordered to walk away from the aircraft. On seeing that the pilot was already standing in the veld, we realised this was very serious.”

“When you look at the overseas teams compared to a lot of our players they are far more professional.”

“I've been trying all year to stop my forwards from drop-kicking it. Guess I'm buggered now.”

“The [New Zealand] Rugby Union wants to parade us but we have to pay for the honour.”

“To me criticism is part of the game. But it always hurts, it's like a dagger to the heart. Most times it's opinionated, but sometimes you deserve it and you must take it to heart and try to minimise (the error) next time.”

“He (Van der Westhuizen) was a bit arrogant at times, but with good reason, Joost is definitely the best South African player of the past number of years.”

“You'd have thought that after representing your country 87 times it would be easy to let go, but it isn't. It's a huge gap to fill.”

"An All Black on the 1965 tour of New Zealand said, 'You have to be wide awake when you play against (Mannetjies) Roux.' And Corneels Cronje, a northern Transvaal wing, replied, 'And when you play with him you have to be twice as wide awake."

“No doubt more will be revealed this weekend in Rapport, Pravda to the SA Rugby Soviet.”

“The most powerful athlete in the world is the bobsleigh athlete, because he's powerful, heavy and fast for 60m. That's what you want your rugby player to be like.”

“Rudolf believes he and Tim have contrasting coaching philosophies which impact on player selection and playing style.”

“The feeling is incredible. I was in front of the TV. When I saw my name, I jumped up, my knees went weak and my heart closed up. It was one of the best feelings in my life.”

“We must just work on defence and discipline. If those things are right, the thing is won.”

“It is like the first day at school, or any other institution. They get their new school bags, and uniforms, and meet their new teachers and learn a few of the rules.”

“It seems like 7.8% of sports media is about women, 8% is about dogs and horses - and the rest is about men.”

“I'll keep a spare pair of boots for a Golden Oldies game in Bermuda.”

“If you are going for international status, there is a lot more to making it here than back home.”

“A new coach doesn't charge in with his machine gun and panga and start chopping off everyone; you've got to respect people in positions while you learn about the environment.”

“The fearsome Lurch-like Martin Johnson was chosen by Fran Cotton as captain of the successful 1997 Lions in South Africa for one reason only - he would terrify the opposition when he went in for the coin toss. On those grounds Geo Cronje is clearly the man for the Springbok job.”

“What's going on? We have more sporting talent than Australia, but nowadays we hardly win anything.”

“Rugby is my life. I've never even received a yellow card, and I can't recall ever having punched someone on the field.”

“In the past there has been no process in place and it's just been a shambles.”

“How draconian is that? Everything in life is about balance. You have to understand that these guys are not just rugby players, and they have to have a life outside rugby.”

“No In the famous Barbarians v All Blacks game [in the early 1970s] there were 97 kicks. These days the average is about 50. There were also more errors then, and more turnovers.”

“England aren't as good as they are made out to be. If they were, they would not rely so heavily on Wilkinson.”

“We want to bring the crowds back in before us and we want them to get behind us, to be proud of us. It does not take much to turn the negativity around - we must just go out and produce.”

“It's like a sprinter having to find a new pair of running spikes just minutes before the final heat of a big race. It's unsettling.”

“A win is a win.”

“Saturday's game was the most pathetic Test match that I have ever seen. There was no fire, there were missed line-outs, poor kicks and our defensive lines were shocking. A Bok side should not play like that.”

“There is so much talent in New Zealand. If they don't win the World Cup there should be an inquiry.”

“The teams that will win the big tournaments in the modern era will have aerobic fitness, athleticism, high skill levels, intelligence and resilience. On the evidence of the weekend, the Springboks are headed in the wrong direction. The life-embracing Wallabies are on track.”

“Coming over to France, winning the championship in my first season and becoming the first foreign coach to do so in a season where we never lost a home game ranks right up with anything I have achieved as a coach.”

“We don't expect people to start booing in our stadium. We believe the fans in Johannesburg love and understand their sport and that there will be no need to resort to booing.”

“I think the invincibility of the Boks may have gone.”

“You never beat the All Blacks, you just score more points than them.”

“If you want to stay in the starting line-up, you have to produce the goods. And the way we played last week, we do not have a foot to stand on. The only way to stay in the frame is to perform well on Saturday.”

“They have this impression of English rugby that we all play in Wellington boots and we play in grass that is two foot long.”

“The Wallabies have a strict disciplinary code, failure to comply with that code can lead to the type of action we have taken with Elton.”

“Good on you pasty-faced, transparent legged geriatric Poms. Your bunch of doddery old geezers showed us how test matches are won, and we showed you how test matches are lost.”

“England were not the only side to disappoint me. One try in the France-Argentina match, two in the South Africa-Scotland game. Are we going to witness a World Cup kickfest?”

“The second Test against was slightly better. But there is still quite a bit of work to be done for the Boks. The guys must just stop being so edgy and just play, and then they will perform better.”

“I'd like to get into coaching. Then I can drop a few players.”

“That is all I went to school for when I was young ... to play rugby at lunchtime.”

“Geez, this fitness thing has got complicated, I just run my blokes till they spew and then take 'em down the pub.”

“We used to be beer-swilling idiots in my early days of the game, and you'd get as pissed as possible after games.”

“No, I haven't been back to Ballymore. In fact I didn't even get invited to the end-of-season ball last year. They rang and invited us at 9am on the day of the ball - how's that for a slap in the face?”

“I think the only ones who didn't score a try for the Brumbies were the two ball-boys. Even the Ref looked threatening at times, as I'm sure he'd have liked to have a go at this lot.”

“I also hope my honest appraisal on the eve of the Crusaders game was not a motivating force for the Waratahs. If it was, it can only be a sad reflection on their standing as professional footballers. They are paid to play at their best every week, not rise only when they get needled in the press.”

“Rugby people are wondering whether he may be the answer for the Springboks. Has Derick Hougaard got what it takes? We need to know.”

“With the current way the game is played, you've got to have players in the team who can break up games. But it's a very rare commodity. The other guys haven't got that commodity as much as he has and it's extremely valuable to any rugby team. He's got something special.”

“Looking at South African rugby, one wonders who the next great leader will be after Gary Teichmann.”

“South African teams performed disappointingly during the past number of years. They are just too inconsistent.”

“I'm not just trying to cause political problems here, but the way our fixtures have been drawn is both unsafe and unfair.”

“An immense festival of rugby awaits for the sixth edition of this formidable competition. A whole world of rugby in France. This result is a dream.”

“It's an attitude-adjustment "klap". The Super 12 humiliates you if you are not up there week in and week out.”

“We can't play like we did against the Hurricanes because a class side like the Brumbies will beat us. Actually, anyone would beat us if we continue playing the way we did last week.”

“When you have been to the top and you have played in front of huge crowds, it can become a little difficult to motivate yourself to play in front of stands that are nearly empty and I don't think I could have carried on playing Vodacom Cup indefinitely.”

“They did not win the match. We threw it away.”

“The difference between South African and New Zealand teams is patience. We tend to take it through 2-3 phases and then kick it, but they have the patience to keep the ball through 10 or more phases.”

“The picture is not as dark as everyone seems to be painting at the moment.”

“Some of the referees hardly need encouragement. Stuart Dickinson again marred what was a world class refereeing performance in the Crusaders-Sharks match by handing out three unwarranted yellow cards.”

“I think some alarm bells should be ringing. The national team hasn't played well for 12 months now, they've been inconsistent.”

“Stuart Dickinson has been handing out more cards than a used car salesman.”

“Why would I ever do something that could destroy my career? But I believe God will carry me through this. Everything happens for a reason.”

“My dad spent six-to seven months in prison following a court case in which we were accused of burning our own house down, can you believe it!”

“Bob has had a lot of criticism lately, but maybe we should also look at the players around him.”

“I like rugby because it is fun. When you play rugby you exercise your body by running and tackling. I like tackling because it enables you to get wet and muddy. I also like the thrill of scoring. When the crowd is cheering and screaming you on, it makes me want to try harder. After the game I enjoy the hot dog and sweets which make me feel a whole lot better inside.”

“That is a marketing ploy and it doesn't mean much to the players.”

“He had a brilliant mind and a great love for rugby. He will be sorely missed by the rugby world, but especially here in Wales.”

“In New Zealand we are notorious for living in the past. It's not the past we're dealing with, it's what we see now. What happened last year is irrelevant, the game has moved on.”

“He was telling everyone what to do out there, but he must have been fresh himself because he was standing out in the backs all the time. I've got a lot of respect for his talent. Right now, it's as if he's just waiting around for the World Cup to start, which is pretty unprofessional.”

“Bob has been below his best and he maybe does need to concentrate more on his own game. The tour has been very frustrating and disappointing for Bob. He has been trying very hard to inspire the guys but maybe he should focus more on himself.”

“The pitch at Twickenham is done to my specifications.”

“You've got to get your first tackle in early, even if it's late.”

“Youngsters need heroes. They need figures like Batman, Tarzan and Naas Botha.”

“After last game for his club - I'm just off for a quiet pint. Followed by fifteen noisy ones.”

“In my time, I've had my knee out, broken my collarbone, had my nose smashed, a rib broken, lost a few teeth, and ricked my back; but as soon as I get a bit of bad luck I'm going to quit the game.”

“I think you enjoy the game more if you don't know the rules. Anyway, you're on the same wavelength as the referee.”

“Rico Gear. What a great-sounding name. He sounds like a drug dealer from Brazil.”

“On trying to stop Phil Horrocks-Taylor - Every time I went to tackle him, Horrocks went one way, Taylor went the other, and all I got was the bloody hyphen.”

“In 1823, William Webb Ellis first picked up the ball in his arms and ran with it. And for the next 156 years forwards have been trying to work out why.”

“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.”

“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'.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“Sponsors are coming in because they get good bang for their buck.”

“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.”

“The players are definitely not happy at the moment . . . the attitude. . . from the powers that be is astounding: it dates back to the 1960s.”

“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!”

“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.”

“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.”

“You know, when we were playing together, we thought we were immortal.”

“'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.'”

“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.”

“If South African rugby is ever united, they will be a force.”

“No player or team likes to play against (AJ) Venter and (Bakkies) Botha.”

“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.”

“Years of waiting patiently for the IRB to decide on your case without anything happening ruins you mentally.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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].”

“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. 3”

“Kaiyava Salusalu travelled by dugout canoe and horseback to get to the assembly place. He was an astonishing centre - powerful, high-stepping.”

“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 mauls and rucks.”

“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.”

“They [the players] wanted to show that they will not be pushed around. This is a great, great show of player power.”

“You have look at the video. You tell me what happened. Have a look how Brendan Cannon got split and you tell me.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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!”

“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 24This isn't a look of relief on my face, it's a look of pride.”

“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.”

“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.”

“THE bruisers of world rugby are back.”

“Their defence was immaculate and they scored three tries to one so they deserve a big pat on the back.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“I am still a little bit surprised, because at lineout time they are going to be more vulnerable.”

“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.”

“I thought it was a high quality game. Both teams went out to play positive rugby and there was a high skill level.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“I wouldn't say we missed him against the All Blacks and Wallabies, but his experience in the lineouts would definitely have helped.”

“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.”

“THE baby is due in mid-December. We're still not sure if it will end up playing for the Springboks or Wallabies.”

“You are going to have a lot of fun not having to blow George Gregan anymore.....”

“You're never ready for Carlos's surprises. He's one of the greatest attacking players of this time.”

“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.”

“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!”

“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.”

“Just tell Eddie we're going to change our calls at halftime.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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 survives on nuisance value and has the physical presence of a twig.”

“The spirit (within the squad) is unbelievable and I'm just looking forward to pulling on that jersey. I'm ready.”

“He will bring a defensive quality to the team that was lacking against Australia.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“A well-drilled, hardened team, well coached. The win was just reward for a lot of hard work and a lot of effort.”

“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.”

“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.”

“We had no doubt the Springboks would win.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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).”

“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”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“The last three years have been a treadmill on which I could not get off.”

“I never had that passion for rugby I have for football. I never got into rugby in the same way.”

“I believe this is the biggest job in world rugby - bigger than the All Blacks.”

“People said I hadn't even coached a professional football (soccer) team. Thanks for that, but I did realise that without being told.”

“We don't have a rugby problem in New Zealand, we have an experience problem.”

“The No 1 reason players are leaving is the lack of financial security in the (New Zealand) Rugby Union's contracts.”

“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.”

“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.”

“Our teams are definitely more disciplined and are being applauded for their image. It's been a welcome change”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“Props are the only people in the world who can run off head injuries.”

“He's having some real fun with the Bulls forwards!”

“If you play correctly against the Blues they can be beaten.”

“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.”

“It was always an ambition of mine, but I never expected to be an All Black at such a young age.”

“We knew that we had to be prepared for anything when playing against South Africa - even genitals aren't safe.”

“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.”

“It was totally unacceptable and every single Reds player would like to apologise to the Queensland fans.”

“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”

“pre-season to repeat this year, it's suspected to have contributed to a self-destructive attitude.”

“There are no bloody forwards in Auckland anymore.”

“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.”

“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.”

“It was a great scrap for us we were a bit hungrier. We respected possession and tried not to give too much ball away.”

“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.”

“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.”

“I don't know how my Japanese is going - I haven't mastered English yet!”

“My birthday was actually quite good this year because the news [of Nucifora's sacking] came through about the same time.”

“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.”

“I am gutted. I cannot believe what went on here today. I do not believe I was guilty of any malicious behaviour.”

“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?”

“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.”

“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.”

“I've made it clear to the players this week that they cannot afford another slip-up.”

“He's just not up to it. I'm afraid it's as simple as that.”

“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.”

“This latest ruling (by an ARU tribunal) is astounding, unacceptable and laughable.”

“We may still speculate for years about what exactly went wrong, but in my heart I feel that we were over-confident.”

“You can't have enough players of his (Jaco van der Westhuyzen) quality. They don't come around that often.”

“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.”

“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.”

“There's a lot of respect for England here. It's 50-50 whether they or the All Blacks will win.”

“At central control is the greatest pairing of halves in recent rugby history - the incomparable George Gregan and Larkham.”

“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.”

“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.”

“Don't be too worried - this English side that comes out here [New Zealand] this year won't be that great.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“The only team capable of halting the Brumbies' drive for a second Super 12 title would appear to be the Brumbies themselves.”

“I am gutted for the kid ... he has been outstanding for the Sharks this year.”

“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.”

“Scoring more air points than your opponent is not a recommended way of winning a semifinal. Wynne Gray on the Stormers traveling problem”

“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.”

“I'm now coming to the realisation that I won't be playing rugby in Australia next year and, sure, that's very disappointing.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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”

“Matt Dawson seems more interested in his burgeoning media career than his rugby - he's like Anna Kournikova without the looks.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“The contracts of the coach of the Springbok team will be performance driven.”

“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.”

“We have not fallen behind in world rugby; other countries have got ahead of us.”

“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.”

“Rugby breaks our young players, and it would be criminal of me to advise parents to let their children take up the game.”

“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.”

“I'm surprised it's still in one piece, you've been carrying it around for several days!”

“We take full responsibility and if they don't work, don't fire the coach, fire us.”

“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.”

“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.”

“Everyone wants to be first to beat the World Champions.”

“Are you guys making a complaint or aren't you? If you are, fine. If not, then please stop all this stuff.”

“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.”

“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.”

“I don't know anything about accounting but I'm told they are areas where this kind of thing would normally happen.”

“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.”

“I can't accept accountability for that which I have no influence over, and it's misleading for the rugby public to think otherwise.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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!”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“I love this game and have an incredible passion for it and I would like to remain involved and play a positive role.”

“'Sir Clive wanted Bok job'”

“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.”

“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.”

“The players were humiliated because they were shown naked on television and in newspapers. We want to tell an exclusive crowd the truth.”

“The Cats have a front row so big the Stormers would have to play Tenzing Norgay at hooker to get over it.”

“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.”

“I feel it is my duty to highlight issues that other players are too scared to.”

“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.”

“They can call me whatever they bloody like, as long as they listen!”

“Asking how important Woodward's involvement with British sport could be is a bit like asking how important Picasso was to art.”

“I take full responsibility.”

“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.”

“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.”

“When I spoke to him, he spoke to my family. I won't have it.”

“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.”

“I have expressed this concern before: how can the press get this so comprehensively wrong and further taint one of our own?”

“Personally, I believe a player's loyalty should lie with his province.”

“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.”

“People want to see winning rugby. We have to put our bodies on the line.”

“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.”

“The only people who are continually being knocked in this country are the players.”

“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?”

“We just want to apply the money we spend on the Springboks better. That is an important stance the players must understand.”

“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.”

“It's like watching a pack of elephants wandering around.”

“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.”

“If you get all worked up and attach emotional things like this to the game, it usually doesn't go too well.”

“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.”

“Hopefully we can give the prawn sandwich brigade at Twickenham something to choke on.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“It looks like a bloody strong side to me! Reds coach”

“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.”

“Pain is weakness leaving the body. So if we are at the 'House of Pain' ... Let the healing begin!”

“Our aim is just to play better each week, I've got no convoluted goals or mathematical scenarios.”

“Speak to the players. Pain is minimal when you win - people only hurt when they have a heavy heart.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“'Go back to Australia you Aussie sheep-rooters'”

“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.”

“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.”

“I'm glad that they are complaining about the announcer and not about our rugby.”

“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.”

“They are lacking leadership, they are living in the past and also trying to play a game they can't play.”

“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).”

“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.”

“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.”

“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. __ATTR__New Springbok captain, John Smit Vol4 Week 9”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“I think that . . . the help that New Zealand gave us in the revival of Australian rugby should never be forgotten.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“Luke (Watson) has been released with immediate effect and will no longer form part of the squad in 2004.”

“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.”

“The question we are asking ourselves is whether WP don't have their own development programme?”

“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.”

“Some guys just talk the whole time, we don't want War and Peace from them, just the Readers Digest version.”

“Sometimes the thoroughbred is not as strong as the mongrel.”

“Campo has no credibility among the modern-day players. They regard him as a joke.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“The players never thought they'd get f****d up, but the smiling stopped as soon as things started.”

“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.”

“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:”

“I don't really like them and I know for a fact that the Bulls hate me. It motivates me.”

“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.”

“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.”

“Our season in the northern hemisphere is a real dog's dinner - we simply don't have the right structure.”

“Whatever team we send out, it will definitely be good enough to beat Province.”

“I think accountability, for your own performance and for the team, is a massive thing.”

“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.”

“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'.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“Ballroom dancing is a contact sport, rugby not. Rugby is a collision sport.”

“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.”

“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.”

“I do love Australia and the Australian people, although I'm not sure they feel the same way about me.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“It was quite enlightening for me to sit at a table with management and be asked what I thought.”

“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.”

“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.”

“I don't think the Bulls will win many games on the road. In fact, I don't really rate them at all.”

“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.”

“Our South African tour from hell”

“If you aren't passionate about rugby, you're not really from Agen. We're born with oval-shaped brains.”

“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.”

“The average person would not understand the report because of its complexities and let's not forget the subjectivity in the report.”

“We embark on the tour with high expectations, since this team has the character, fighting spirit and determination of a winner.”

“The players are still very positive, they want to show that they are much better than what the results say.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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?”

“Pasta - 200 kilograms/ dayFruit juice - 500 litres/ dayEggs - 2000/ daySliced fruit - 100 kg/ dayMeat - 350 kg/ dayBread - 150 loaves/ day”

“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.”

“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.”

“Good coaches close the deal.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“It doesn't matter if you're playing your first or your 51st Test, because it remains an honour to represent your country.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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).”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“I wanted to create superstar players in rugby like Jonny - and we have done that.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“I sometimes wish our management would learn how to handle young players' development.”

“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.”

“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.”

“The current contract negotiation process is akin to a mosh-pit at a rock concert.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“Will the new-look Kiwis be able to punch their way out of a wet paper bag, let alone knock out England?”

“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,committed and loyal?”

“It's the liars leading the blind, and the blind are in control of rugby.”

“I am sick and tired of the artificial use of sport quotas as window dressing.”

“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.”

“I know the Irish centres are very good. I'm going to play the best I can and see what happens.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“We have got to front up, look in the mirror, re-group and try and play better next Saturday.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“Maybe I didn't pick on form last weekend, we made errors in selection but we needed that game to find it out.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“Government support is vital. I'm just a dumb Dutchman and a forward so we need to get more expertise on board.”

“I'd say his goal-kicking is now in the same league as that of a Braam van Straaten.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“Shaw is not a dirty player ... he is clumsy. It was a poor call [by referee Williams] and it ruined the game.”

“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.”

“I don't know where I got the strength (to tackle Humphreys). I just wanted to show people I could play 80 minutes.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“They win two games and they think they're world-beaters.”

“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.”

“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.”

“I suppose when you win a Test match by 50 points, you should enjoy it a lot more.”

“We've been found out, you have to accept that, take your hidings and walk away.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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 through for us.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“They certainly take us a lot more seriously. We will be targeted because of our new status as Tri-Nations champions. J”

“Well, those compulsory two-hour lunch breaks, they really take their toll.”

“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!”

“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.”

“Fellows, hit and kick if you must but in heaven's name stop the blasphemy!”

“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.”

“I don't know what else to do.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“I want to ask the public not to get confused with transformation and quotas.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“Overall, and I am not being arrogant in any way, I can't see how they can beat the Springboks.”

“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.”

“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.”

“I like having pressure on me, people talking me up. That's when I perform best. It's ideal for me.”

“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.”

“Custom House will write Rugby Canada a cheque for $100,000 when Canada defeats England on November 13, 2004.”

“To win the World Cup again, I think New Zealand are going to have to be tougher. Tougher and wiser.”

“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.”

“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?”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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?”

“My long-term goal is to put on an All Black jersey for the 2007 World Cup.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“Of course I am angry, there was five points in it at the end and that try got them five points.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“That's Mike Tindall, who has gained fame recently because he dates the Queen's grandmother, Zara.”

“And still South Africa cannot win at Wimbledon... um, Twickenham.”

“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.”

“We did not realise how soft and wet the field would be and not all the Boks wore 21mm studs.”

“We believe it was an oversight on our part not to do a recce tour of the UK to see the conditions.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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?”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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'.”

“Attitude was everything.”

“For Giteau to move to No 10 was a big effort. He is a very, very good footballer.”

“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.”

“What an experience it will be - not a lot of All Blacks can say they have been on both sides of the Haka. J”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

"Time to stop grilling Burger, says coach"

“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.”

“More than anything, I've got to improve my physique to keep up with and pass the Rokocokos and Umagas of this world. Back to the top”

“For me this tour is just as big if not bigger than the World Cup. This has to be the best-ever prepared Lions squad if we are to have an chance of winning in New Zealand.”

“When I look back over the last 10 years of my playing career in New Zealand I feel incredibly satisfied all I have experienced and achieved.”

“The unions want to manage the Super 12 teams themselves, but this kind of childishness shows there is a still a long way to go.”

“It could drive me insane not being able to practice the kicking, but I have accepted that this is the case and am trying to keep it in the back of my mind.”

“The gloves are off. I know that Van Rooyen has been talking to all the provinces, getting them to rally around him.”

“There is no place for Africans in SA Rugby, in administration or on the field.”

“SA Rugby will not be dictated to as to how it runs its business. No political interference will be tolerated, not in the selection of teams, not in rugby decisions and not in any management decisions.”

“A Welsh rugby fan cut off his own testicles to celebrate Wales beating world champions England at rugby in Cardiff for the first time in 12 years.”

“In essence it will be my job to take on all rugby decisions in Western Province.”

“It's a step in the right direction. If a guy is coming down for business and he wants to attend a game he can buy his ticket at a Shoprite Checkers store in Sandton for example. This system is going to be introduced nationwide.”

“The ability to get pissed and fall down is regarded as rite of passage both in New Zealand and Australia.”

“I reckon we should have at least one import per Super 14 side, I remember the days of Ian Botham and Viv Richards playing cricket for Queensland, and how that worked. You've got to keep creating something.”

“You have to write last week off. England could not play as badly again if they tried. We didn't dominate any facet of the game (against Wales), but I've not been one to sulk for too long. For me it's a distant memory, you have to look forward.”

“I'm not a homosexual but I realise now that I loved Clive Woodward.”

“We showed some ambition, what did France create today? They didn't create anything against a well-organized defense.”

“We created a victory.”

“Charlie Hodgson had six place-kicks at goal and hit five perfectly. Three of his six goalkicks went over, three did not. A blustery day affected the flight of the ball. That's true for Olly too.”

“I have had enough of hearing about the Martin Johnson era - as much as I love him - and the World Cup era.”

“With the exception of slipping or the ball being sent off course by a gust of wind, there is no excuse why he cannot be successful.”

“If SA Rugby are serious about transforming and growing the game, they must award the franchise to the Southern and Eastern Cape.”

“It feels that I don't belong there. It's nothing personal, I have no problems with the coaches or the players, but the whole system and style of play doesn't suit me.”

“I don't know about any KGB-type undercover correspondence or dead-letter drops with the media, but I think a few people might be worried about what websites they've been surfing during office hours.”

“After 621 Super 12 games, the competition has produced 3793 tries at an average of more than six a match.”

“It is chiefly because of the line-out throwing that I am keeping Dixie as my first choice hooker at the moment, but I am committed to giving Shimmie as much game time as possible.”

“I don't want tokenism - it's an insult to everybody. And there are so many occasions when it seems that black players are there in order to satisfy the demands for transformation. That is not good for the morale of the individual or the team.”

“There are 25 matches left before the World Cup so we must see as many players as possible - the competition is very high and open.”

“It would be highly unprofessional, and even childish, of me if I was to go out in this game to settle a personal grudge.”

“SA Rugby is aware of certain measurables that they need to adhere to for our support of their bid (2011 RWC) to continue. To that end the ministry has informed them of our choice for the new South African Super 14 franchise.”

“I don't like his attitude, but I won't say that we want to see him ousted. Democracy will take its shape there. Others will see his shortcomings in due course.”

“The way I see it you have to make sure you get a home semifinal if you have serious designs on the Super 12 trophy.”

“They [the IRB] just need to get off their backsides and start employing new concepts to be able to develop the game. By the looks of it, the richer countries get stronger and stronger while the weaker ones stay as they are.”

“It's six-and-a-half of the one and a dozen of the other, wasn't it.”

“In the second half we seemed to go to sleep but the Cats deserve credit, they were certainly very strong on defence.”

“We will focus on the positive aspect of the match against the Stormers, such as our excellent defence. We do not accept losing, but have already forgotten about the match.”

“It was great, that is a night we will really enjoy for some time.”

“I don't think I've been called a 'Fat F***ing Hamburger Eating C**t as many times in my career as happened in an hour on Saturday. I just told them to keep on looking at the scoreboard.”

“We are upset now, but the referee is in charge and he has called it his way and we have got to be able to cope with that. We did everything we could have done to win the game. I am very proud of my players and, with a couple of decisions, this could have been a very famous victory.”

“I want to speak to the IRB about it. I think only one side was refereed.”

“Jonathan Kaplan is in the top 20 in the world but that wasn't an international performance. It would not have been acceptable in the Zurich Premiership. If one of my referees had done that, I would have had my backside kicked for making the appointment. If any English referee refereed like that in a European match, there would be an inquest. No question about that. If someone had performed like that, he would have been pulled from the next game.”

“I understand it, Andy is a reasonable coach and it is out of character for him to do something like this. I wish him well for the rest of his Six Nations campaign.”

“I have watched the footage, and I would have been the first to put my hand up if it was clear that I had made a mistake.”

“Robinson is living up to England's reputation as whingeing Poms. Stop going on about it as who really cares? They're acting like they're the first team to be cheated of a win.”

“You used to have quality players queuing and begging to sign for the Sharks and a core of guys at Kings Park that stuck together, whatever the circumstances, Now you have all these new guys who are just covering their backsides and, if the rumours are to be believed, they don't trust the coach.”

“I do not like it when age is mentioned. If the guy is good enough, he should play.”

“When you look at the timing of the game, it's not ideal. I'm under pressure back home to earn my place back in the Crusaders so a week away doesn't help that. But, at the end of the day this is a great opportunity, and to be invited is a huge honour and a big thrill. I may never play in this sort of game again.”

“We shouldn't put too many [game plan] restraints on our players which can kill their skills and initiatives. If you become a one-dimensional team you will be found out very quickly.”

“They are big and angry. I know that about them.”

“I don't think Andy said anything any team official wouldn't have said.”

“I get the feeling that with Tappe (Henning) if you haven't got clean boots he'll penalise you.”

“I don't know what to make of the Sharks.”

“We are disappointed with the performance of Derick (Hougaard), because we could have won against the Cats and the Brumbies if he was accurate with his kicking.”

“It adds up to nearly 120 weeks, and two-and-a-half years spent in squad sessions preparing for matches!”

“He is a referee we like but I sincerely believe that he had a bad day and was completely wrong.”

“I don't expect to win the game by a mile.”

“Apart from the facilities, South Africa has the climate and outstanding, top class accommodation. Together with our rugby culture, we are in a position to stage the biggest party ever.”

“Discipline cost us the game and I'm very disappointed. I told the players as much. Despite only having 14 players for 20 minutes, we had opportunities to finish it off, but we let ourselves down.”

“Ever since the (2003) World Cup, where I did so well, I've thought that was the pinnacle and I wanted to go being remembered as a good referee, not a slow one.”

“Yes, he is not playing well, but a change to the fly-half will only be considered if it would lead to a significant improvement.”

“Botha is playing on last year's newspaper headlines, he's far too individualistic and needs to become more of a team man.”

“It's pretty desperate stuff when a touch judge gets involved and can't tell you who or where it was.”

“If you look at the performances of some of the other South African teams it probably means that the depth is not there. Particularly in a competition such as the Super 12 where South African teams travel as much as they do, I think that team would really, really struggle. At this stage I just think it is pretty unrealistic to expect them to be competitive.”

“It (Barry's tackle) was definitely a high shot but these things happen and I don't think there was a lot of malice in it, I think probably more was made of it than was actually the case.”

“I was so concerned that I approached Chris Whitaker after the match and told him that I was greatly appalled at what I'd heard.”

“You are really naive if you think 7.5 defeats in the last 8 Super 12 matches are not proof that South African rugby is pathetic.”

“Only players good enough should earn millions a year.”

“I'm extremely disappointed for any grief and hurt that I have caused Chumani Booi over a comment I made during the match. I offer a public apology to Chumani, the Cats, Nathan Grey, my team-mates and the community for what I said. I'm also disappointed that Nathan's name has been dragged through the press when he is innocent.”

“Chris (Rossouw) will take over the kicking duties. Gaffie has been working on some new techniques, and once he's used to them his percentage will go up.”

“Rather than to catch people out, it was for the coaching staff to have a better idea of who needed extra tuition or work on the plays, who needed to go through them more at training.”

“They're an older, ageing team while we are a lot younger, so we're hoping for a fast, open game - and may the best side win.”

“Players train physically where the levels of fitness and strength are comparable at optimum levels, but it's the mental side of things where you can still expose weaknesses. They might still run as fast but they might not run at someone if they know they're going to cop a mouthful. It's not vindictive; you can remind players of things they may not want to do and force them into doing it.”

“I am certainly getting a lot of advice from my friends in Wales now but that is what makes it such a fascinating job.”

“I think if the referees play their part in keeping Richie on his feet and off the ball on the ground then some of the temptation would be avoided.”

“The Sharks need a Freddy Kruger at flyhalf, instead they've got Herkie Kruger.”

“The Stormers are not Chelsea and Smal is not Jose Mourinho, he can't afford to rotate players like that and expect to win. Paulse is the Stormers best wing and he's got to play.”

“It is unacceptable to concede tries from first phase moves at Super 12 level.”

“I am not satisfied and I am very disappointed with our teams' performances, especially those of some individuals - among them some of our top players.”

“They (English internationals at Northampton) worked against him and in all my time in professional rugby I have never experienced influential players working as hard to get a coach out as they did with Solly (Allan Solomons)”

“As I said to my mates, if you're disappointed at having watched that, know how we feel, we actually produced that.”

“I am demanding wins. I don't want anything less. Players must realise that they have to deliver for the paying customer. We have an obligation to the spectators.”

“It's going to make all the loosies around the world, and McCaw is probably the best, think `well I'm going to get away with this.”

“I thought Ali Williams was fortunate to only get six weeks. It was blatant stomping. He was frustrated and he took it out on McCaw. The other two Blues players were also guilty of stomping. Go and look at the motion. It wasn't one of a ruck.”

“I spoke to him (Kevin Putt) and he had just been informed that the board had met and his contract had been terminated. Dick Muir will step into the role as of Wednesday night.”

“As a coach, one is always aware that the time to move on will arrive, but my heart and soul has, and always will be with the Sharks and if the board believe that this move is in the best interests of the team and our supporters, then I will gracefully make way for someone else to take over. I wish the new coach and players all the very best and offer my full support.”

“'I have never had that feeling on the pitch of "oh my gosh, these guys are enormous". I see them as obstacles to get around.”

“I played under the Sharks and they were the best brand in the world. It is sad that a brand that is so powerful and so strong could have been damaged by one individual. What is even more disturbing is that there is no accountability.”

“It was tough. The Sharks had plenty to play for, they had a disturbing week, and they played pretty well. They pretty much outplayed us today, but we love South Africa.”

“It was a total team effort and I think we can build from this win. It is going to be tough overseas, and thanks to the fans for their support. At half-time we realised the Brumbies would come back at us. But all the guys pulled together, the foundation has been laid by those people not here coaching, and we thank them for that. The main thing is attitude, defense is about attitude and it's fantastic to have a want to win like we have in this team.”

“If South African players tackled all their opponents the way they tackle Clyde Rathbone they'd never lose a game.”

“Establishing a Super 14 team in Western Australia is one of the most exciting developments in Australian Rugby since the game went professional in 1996, so it is great to be a part of it.”

“We've got a pretty strong resolve within this year's squad and I'm confident we can see off Perth's recruitment side show during this important period.”

“Sometimes the best way to learn scrummaging is to have your head shoved up your backside a couple of times.”

“You are not Anglo American, you are not [Raymond] Ackerman, transformation is your core duty. Not a social aspect of your activities.”

“We are nice guys and they (the referees) go for us.”

“We all thought the r@pe and pillaging was over when rugby went professional and rugby league stopped raiding the ranks.”

“As far as I am concerned, an unfortunate combination of circumstances was the biggest cause for four defeats in our away matches.”

“I thought my head was going to burst when our heads collided. Richard Bands after accidentally knocking Richie McCaw unconscious Vol5 Week 9People say the easiest thing is being picked (for the squad), but now it is about getting a Test place. With Brian O'Driscoll as captain, there is only one centre spot up for grabs, which makes it even more difficult.”

“Players have been picked on merit, it wasn't about divvying up from each country, that would be a recipe for disaster.”

“It was a superb semi-final that had everything, except the right result for us.”

“The tour is not about winning the provincial games, important though they are, but the Test series and that will be our total focus.”

“You feel when you at the ground (Canberra Stadium) that you are destined to play well.”

“Too many teams treat Canberra like Johannesburg. They fly in and fly out as quick as they can. But we're certainly not frightened about going down there.”

“A panel that knows nothing about rugby cannot take a decision regarding development. It should have been a rugby decision and not a panel decision.”

“Saru has given the growth of soccer in the eastern Cape a major push. They should wake up. A major opportunity has now gone to waste.”

“Talent is not enough to be an elite rugby player, it hasn't been for some time. The other essential elements are conditioning, the nutrition to support that conditioning, hydration, rest and recovery techniques and a bit of luck. And, apart from luck, all are measurable.”

“I cried when I heard the news, I don't mind admitting it. It was a very emotional moment. The Lions are a big thing. A huge thing.”

“It's sad the way we target schoolkids and that they go straight into academies. In doing so, we run the risk of developing a generation of players who have no outside interests, no career and who can't solve their own problems, and we didn't want that to happen.”

“It is naive to think that transformation equals giving (the southern and eastern Cape) a franchise. You must look at their management, infrastructure and financial sustainability. Both Border and Eastern Province are interminably in disputes. They have been disappointing on (on-field) transformation - they don't have a majority of black players in their provincial teams. The fact that the region's bid did not have significant black African representation was another weakness.”

“We recognise the strong views that have been expressed in recent days, particularly those of the minister of sport. Out of respect for him and his position, I believe this matter merits further debate.”

“I've almost come back down to earth again and am starting to settle back into real life. But Sunday's win is still there in the back of my mind.”

“We've had some changes with management, but it's all been good, the guys have all accepted it. Although it was sad to lose the old coach [Kevin Putt], it's all been positive, and everything that has happened in the past stays there. We are looking forward now.”

“I've been involved with the team (NZ Maori) since 1994 and we've never had all our All Blacks available, although we are still close to a 90% win record in that time.”

“I could live with no World Cup, but I couldn't live without giving it a go. My soul is free and I can carry on with life.”

“I want to apologise to the South African rugby public for what happened last week. It makes South Africa the laughing stock of world rugby, and we can't afford that.”

“The game plan is too robotic, too textbook. We're not able to play what's in front of us on the football field.”

“Perth is being seen as a cure-all," he said. "There is frustration in the squad at the moment because we're losing and there's a new team in the marketplace that's selling a rosy picture. John Mitchell (the Force coach) is selling a great story.”

“We started achieving success after our return from overseas because we play good rugby. We won't deviate from what has worked against the Crusaders, Reds and Chiefs.”

“I haven't seen him [Woodward] on the training field yet, but he's pretty keen on his meetings, so that's something I'll have to get used to.”

“He asked us to be quiet until the end of the Super 12 tournament. But unfortunately, if you go into the club shop, buy a few Saints shirts and have Carlos and number 10 put on the back, then go down to a bar in town showing your Maori tattoos off, it's obvious what is happening! It's not a done deal yet, but it is 99%.”

“The way Queensland have played rugby the past two years has given sleep therapists a unique weapon in their fight against insomnia, all they have to do is use a tape of any Queensland game and it provides a quick fix.”

“Our selection policy is based on consistency and continuity. Last year we put a solid selection framework in place and the result of that speaks for itself. I want to reiterate that we will not change our approach.”

“Of course, each person has his own opinion on what the Springbok team or squad must look like. Rugby evokes powerful emotions in our proud sporting nation. Whilst we appreciate this, I think that it is important for people to understand that we do not base our selection criteria on emotion.”

“A merger between the Bulls and Lions can't work. We need a rugby solution. Right now everyone is worried about holding onto his piece of the jigsaw. We need to improve our rugby, uplift our clubs and produce black talent.”

“I've never been a flashy prop. Coaches know that they get the basics from me. I scrum, help in the lineouts and do my support play... as long as you try to do your best.”

“It is great for us. Jonny is a world-class player and has been for a number of years. It is a big boost to the side.”

“It reflects some of the attitudes which compelled me to step down from the England job in the first place.”

“I just think the Lions are bringing far too many players for a few games, to me, this is ridiculous. I heard they wanted to bring 52 (players) at one stage.”

“It is not long now before players will be able to walk into a team on merit, regardless of the colour of their skin. Hopefully within the next year or two.”

“Who is Schalk Brits? He has never even played SA under-21, has played one Super 12 season, his team is second from bottom on the log and, from what I hear, he is one of those players that don't train on Mondays. He can phone Elmaré (in the travel office) and indicate whether he wants to fly BA or SAA. I won't be bullied by players saying that they will go if I don't pick them.”

“Honesty is what every rugby player wants from a coach. If a player is going to be third choice in his position then tell him that's the case and what he needs to do. Coaches want to retain the players and consequently aren't always honest with them.”

“We may be the current favourites but we're assuming nothing. We want to fire the silver bullet at Twickenham. And the military analogy suits us - well-drilled heavy armour striking at the heart of the Navy's defence with infantry skirmishing on the flanks, surging forward in wave after wave.”

“I believe we use him in the right way. He is never going to be a ball carrier, so we've allowed him to adapt to his more natural skill.”

“If the best is in this country, then so be it, but I believe we have a problem with coaching and we have to look everywhere to make the right appointment.”

“Off the footie field, Kiwis are notoriously hard to stir up and be motivated to do something en masse. But somebody has to say it, the haka is well past its use-by date.”

“It's groping in a sense - it's like a blind man in a brothel.”

“The haka has been part and parcel of the All Black team for as long as I can remember. It's not menacing and players who face it either face up to it or just don't look. It would be sad if it went.”

“I thought we got our selection spot on last year and nine wins from 13 matches tends to vindicate this. I said last year that the core of the 2007 World Cup squad has been identified and they will over the next two seasons hopefully continue to achieve success and grow as a squad.”

“It was a fantastic victory, but we all know the party is over. The Waratahs will be much more demanding than the Stormers, who were especially vulnerable on defence.”

“Clive is going to be remembered as the coach who lost the Lions series after telling everyone it was going to be the best prepared side, I don't necessarily think they WEREN'T the best prepared side. So I don't think he has pulled the wool over everyone's eyes in that area. But I think he has got it wrong in the way he has used Alastair Campbell. I think he would have been far better off leaving him at home.”

“That was clearly wrong in my opinion. What you want, is your Welshmen bunking with your Scots, your Irish bunking with your English et cetera. That's how tours are always done, isn't it, with room-mates? That's how a big bunch of guys bonds together in a short space of time. I think that was one of Clive's biggest mistakes.”

“I don't worry about (the future), I just worry about winning. That's up to the coaches, they look 3-4 years down the track. As a captain I'm just about making sure we get the performance on the day.”

“I don't have any thoughts about referees other than they're fantastic, we're not going to comment on any referees' decisions this year. For us the referee's not part of the equation. Whatever the referee does on the field we've got to be good enough to cope with it. There has to be an acknowledgement along the lines they're refereeing the hardest game in the world. Every time they have got to make a decision, because we've got a good contest for the ball, they are going to get some right and they are going to get some wrong.”

“Yes, they (SARU) were elected but believe you me, the real direction in sport in this country, and I don't care who says what, does not come from the elected officials, it comes from sponsors.”

“Personally, I believe it has been a successful trip. I’ve lost a lot of games (in his coaching career), yet just because you lose, you haven’t got to be down on yourself. I think from the Lions’ point of view, behind the scenes, the players have been fantastic. In four years’ time (South Africa), I look forward to seeing how my successor will handle this. You have to juggle a lot of things, but I have absolutely no regrets the way I have gone about this trip.”

“I don’t intend to defend myself. We are who we are and we made decisions. I wouldn’t change anything we have done.”

“I wouldn't say they are a better team than us but they are an outstanding team.”

“South Africa is a completely different kettle of fish to every other Test-playing nation, so we have to play well against South Africa, they defend in a very different way than the French, they attack in a much different way, they run through you, they don't run around you.”

“If he [Bill Young] rocked up at Stellenbosch [University] and said he played rugby, they'd send him to the fourths and if he said he was a prop, they'd probably send him straight to the seventh team.”

“I don't know how many blokes play in World Cup finals, win Bledisloe Cups, play in Tri Nations championships, manage to retain the No.1 spot for over six years, play over 40 Tests and can only make seventh grade in Stellenbosch. But that's his opinion, that's fine and now we'll see how things progress on Saturday night. I look forward to the challenge against a few dinosaurs.”

“Look at what Bill Young has done in Australian rugby, having played in World Cup finals and won Super 12 trophies. His achievements are unbelievable, and he has definitely batted above his weight. But in South Africa, where we have a perception you have to be big and strong to be a prop forward, had he come along with his togs to a training session, he probably would have been told to go to the top field and train with the fourth grade.”

“I'll let Jake make the sideshow this week. Jake will do enough talking for both of us, so we'll just worry about preparing well.”

“Larkham is an extraordinary player but he isn't a great flyhalf. Scratch below the surface of the man's aura and there is a tedious list of times when he's cracked under pressure in Test matches.”

“I'm used to media pressure from New Zealand and Australia, indeed I thrive on it which probably comes from being English. You learn a lot about yourself and it's very challenging. That's why I set up the tour the way I did and I have no regrets.”

“My gut feel was that the South Africans may have their nose in front of the Australians at this point in time. I just wonder what the significance of these two games will be when it comes to the Tri-Nations. I think some teams might be keeping their powder dry. I wouldn't read too much into the [Sydney] result.”

“You can think up a lot of excuses, but we are not going to. We know our defence was bad and our tactical game in the first half was not up to standard. You simply can't miss that number of tackles at this level. Those are things we will have to work on before the next Test.”

“We were always going to make changes for this test and it has nothing to do with the way we let ourselves down with our tackling and kicking in Sydney. We will obviously address those problems, which were disappointing and times unforgivable, but there was no way we could have got through a programme like the one facing us with the same team.”

“You would expect the match officials to see these things. When the same team transgresses, there should be a more detailed analysis. You see players suspended for poor technique, but there are players who get away with serious misdemeanours. Something will have to be done before someone is seriously injured.”

“We do not believe that buying a team is the answer and we are trying to build a team from within.”

“The main thing was their defence was so soft, I mean really soft. They've been known as a very good defensive team, and I thought they'd really bustle them in defence so I was very surprised.”

“It's a ready-made excuse if they get beaten. I mean, they're playing for a trophy named after one of the founders of their new nation. It would seem peculiar to me that they wouldn't be picking their best team.”

“There is no crisis. The coaching staff decided some time ago that the other players in the group should also get time on the field. Some players have, for the past few weeks, been holding up the tackle bags for those who were playing. They should now get the opportunity of playing themselves.”

“He (Nelson Mandela) changed the history of the world. And if we get to meet him, we're going to be equally as excited as the South Africans.”

“Last year we weren't quite there and lost by a point, but we've won the Grand Slam since then and are a lot better side. The question is how much have the All Blacks improved? Wales have had the same team together for three or four years and only now are we hitting our straps. Our way of playing didn't come overnight, but we seem to be moving in the same direction as New Zealand and I can't wait to get back at them.”

“Today's announcement is a special one for me. I said 18 months ago that there are black playrs who are good enough to play for south africa. To pick a squad to play against the wallabies containing 9 players makes me feel very good. There might be times, though, when I pick 3 black players. I don't want to be asked when i have one black player finishing the Test, because i am preparing a squad for the world cup and that is my primary concern.”

“There are certain parameters in which a player has to work and he can only do so much. I have said often before that I believe what is happening off the field (in terms of administration and politics) has a massive impact on how the players perform. This is why we struggle to become consistent. We have flashes where everything goes well, but then it all collapses again. Until we sort out our problems off the field we are going to struggle to be consistently successful.”

“We thought we were really well prepared - everything we did in the lead-up to the game was good, the warm-up was pretty sharp and then we get on the field and we are on the back foot. It's just one of those mysteries.”

“It was a huge change. If these two countries had been race horses, I would have asked the stewards to investigate why there had been such a huge shift.”

“We do not have curfews, but we do have team standards, and we feel these team standards have been breached.”

“The scrum as far as I'm concerned is not being properly refereed and not being managed within the laws, so I'm going to keep talking about it until someone listens.”

“Generally speaking, New Zealanders are pretty arrogant about their feelings about the All Blacks and think they're the best team in the world, that's not the case, especially since the game has gone professional.”

“My wife and I sat down and made some serious decisions, we decided we couldn't stay in South Africa any more. I had a complete lack of faith in the rugby system in South Africa. My wife has been hurt so much by what happened over there that I'm not convinced I want to immediately get back into coaching but we'll see.”

“I don't think we're close to where we can be as a team. I get excited every time we run out.”

“It's going to be absolutely huge. By Kick-off, I am going to be beside myself. Taking on a Springbok team on a roll at a sold-out Newlands is going to be electrifying. We play because of these big occasions.”

“They just need to keep developing the pride that has always been there, so that players just want to represent the Springboks.”

“I analysed the Lions' tight phases and I believe the were not well prepared.”

“He (John Smit) has my full backing and I think people should get off his back.”

“I have managed to fall back on the confidence Jake shows in me as captain and in the team. I do not try too hard to be a captain, but I do rely on the players to back me up and the support I get makes my life easier.”

“The Loftus match was what we expected. It was typical Tri Nations stuff. We thought the Boks might win and they outlasted the Australians with a couple of useful goals at the end. Yes, Australia did have a chance to close out the match, but they didn't, did they? I think the Boks showed good character to get on top in the second half because the Wallabies were playing good rugby in that first half.”

“I don't think we would regard it as disrespectful if opponents did turn their backs on us. For an All Black the haka is about what we do before going into battle and how we perform it. It is not about what others might do. It is something special for us as All Blacks.”

“They said the Lions didn't turn up for the first Test. They certainly turned up for the second game. The pressure just did not stop. It was intense and a lot was off the ball. It became a tough job to keep perspective and still let the players play. It would have been no good to keep blowing the whistle. I had to find a balance between keeping control and keeping the play going.”

“I want to stress that I find this lack of support and continued criticism, of both the national team and myself, by Mr Markgraaff unprofessional, very disturbing and totally against the spirit of the game.”

“The Springboks snatched an astonishing 13-point lead in the first nine minutes and set out a marker for the physical contest to come. Byron Kelleher was smashed out of the game by Victor Matfield and high-octane tackles proliferated. This was legalised violence.”

“I think we compliment each other very well, Victor is brilliant in the line-outs and is an outstanding athlete. He covers his ground well, is intelligent in all that he does and makes some telling tackles. Compared to him, I am much more of an in-your-face guy. I am probably more involved in other areas, simply because it suits my style of play.”

“Rugby has been awesome to me and it is something I will miss. I have been through both good and bad times, but I loved every minute of my time in the game.”

“I did not hit Byron with the forearm. I connected him with my shoulder in going for the tackle. That's the way the judiciary also saw it. It was not malicious. I am not a malicious player and my track record during my test career indicates this.”

“It is not necessarily a system that would work for everyone. The principle is high risk. So you'd have to have the players to implement. The system was pretty much designed around defensively protecting the wingers in the Bok team. We have quick wingers who are very good on attack, but they're not the biggest and by using the press defence, where you go up and in aggressively, you cut off the threat of their big winger running at your smaller winger.”

“David Giffin to Ali Williams in the 2003 Sydney test, 'Williams, I thought they brought you in to help the f---ing lineout . . . you're making it go worse.' Williams turned around and said: 'Yeah, but I've got seven backs kicking your ar--, so it's going all right'.”

“Yes, we've won one and drawn one in seven years in Perth, but it certainly does not represent a success story. Perth is still home to Australia. It is a part of Australia and they remain the home team in Perth.”

“The experience I've had with the Wallabies, it doesn't matter who's on the field, when you think they're down, they come back and burn you, I guess 2003 [World Cup semi-final] was a classic example.”

“They'll be hurting after a couple of losses over in South Africa so we're expecting a Wallaby team that's the same as always, bloody tough.”

“Quite rightly, I am the villain of the piece. I had been on this rugby show in New Zealand to give my opinion on the Springbok victory (at Newlands) last week. When asked about the Kelleher incident, I suggested that the tackle was not late. When pressed, I suggested that if they were to look for any fault, the only question would be about the 'steel plate' in his arm. This was a gaffe by me because I meant to say 'fibreglass', not steel, which he wears as protection for an old injury. The slip obviously has had a huge impact. Thankfully it was immediately dismissed as laughable by both the Boks and Kiwis and, quite rightly, the only person with egg on his face is me. Apologies again.”

“We look forward to them giving each other a good few 'klaps', while we relax with a quiet beer and watch on the big screen.”

“We've got two matches to go in the Tri Nations tournament and this is the time when our coaching staff needs our full support. And they are getting it.”

“All I'm concerned about is coaching the side as well as I can. When someone makes the decision that I'm not the right person, I'll happily step aside. If someone tells me I'm not in the job, I'm not going to sit in my seat and not move.”

“I wasn't surprised by New Zealand's performance and how they got up tonight, but I think it puts our win last week in perspective because we have seen just how good they are. They beat the Lions 3-0 and now have recorded a convincing away win.”

“I wouldn't want to play for England under the current management because I don't believe they are right for the team. What has happened is that Clive Woodward was so good that they all still believe that is the right way to go now. They have almost become clones of Clive in the way they approach coaching. There are just no new ideas in there.”

“Every single day there are issues. There is not a week that goes by without the organization being plagued by in-fighting and it tears you apart. And, as much as the staff try to keep independent of the politics and backstabbing, you are forced to chose sides.”

“We have applied to host the Rugby World Cup in 2011, and we must be able to reassure the international rugby community that South Africa is capable of doing things right.”

“There is huge emotion and pressure with the Springboks. It's nice to be back, to be able to make coffee, have breakfast and crack eggs - even if they don't come out that nicely - in your own home.”

“Any team would have lost against the Bulls on Saturday. We were totally outmuscled, very poor in the lineouts and under pressure at the breakdowns.”

“There have been comparisons in the rugby media between Brian van Rooyen, the embattled president of SA Rugby, and Mugabe. Such comparisons are baseless: one is an autocratic dictator, ruling with no accountability and complete disregard for due process, and the other is the president of Zimbabwe.”

“I'll just say what comes to me, I'm not going to suddenly turn into Winston Churchill now that I'm the captain.”

“The size of a country should not preclude a country like New Zealand or Wales, for that matter from getting the World Cup. The IRB has to be careful they don't develop a view that the World Cup can only be held in three or four countries. That would not be good for the game.”

“We had several young men in the team and I thought, 'we are teaching them that this is what it is to be an All Black to drink a lot of booze'.”

“The essence of international coaching is that you are not a club coach, you can't have the same amount of time. You have to be very clear in objectives, gameplan and tactics. Build up the core understanding, core thinking, core players that generate the momentum, so when the team comes together it is not always starting from square one.”

“The scrum is a huge psychological area in the French game, and it's rare that you win if you don't go well there. It's about attitude and passion, something in the blood. It's macho, a trial of strength. When it's time to scrum, everyone gives it everything. There's no magic formula, you just do it.”

“It's a shame that there is no more rugby for about 6 months, but the Cape Town summer and babes will do for now.”

“Personally I think I'm playing pretty well, and I'm coming to grips with the style of game that's being played over here. My biggest challenge when I got over here was getting to know how different teams and different individuals play, and I'll be a lot better for the three games I've played so far. It's only once you get out there and get a feeling for the way the players play that you can learn.”

“I am very excited, and look forward to assisting Sharks coach Dick Muir, and Sharks CEO Brian van Zyl, and the Sharks Rugby Union. I am delighted to be home, as my family are all settled here.”

“Physically, I know I still have a lot to offer England, so in many ways this was a hard decision for me to make. I didn't want to let Andy or any of the England guys down, but the pull of my family proved greater. The time has arrived to put my family and my wife before the England team. My children want their Daddy, not some so-called superstar.”

“It would be presumptuous of me to think I could just come back and play for England, I can't just say, 'I want to play another game'. You have got to make a long-term commitment and the next stage is the World Cup in 2007. We will see what happens but I can't make that sort of decision until I am back on a rugby pitch playing for Wasps.”

“I would not have put myself through the week I have just been through if I was considering retirement. Retirement is something that is always around the corner. I am not starting my career, I am aware of that, but it is not something I have not faced in terms of setting time aside for it. I am aware of what I have to do to make a decision at the time.”

“We simply told them the truth. There is no money at present to contract any players. While we have managed to meet our current financial obligations, we do not have any guarantees that we will have money to contract players for next year. It was the honourable thing to inform the players of the state of affairs and allow them to make their own decisions, whether they want to leave or not.”

“It's not a bad thing to go to South Africa first, traditionally you'd rather catch the South African teams early on.”

“In Australia it seems you've got to be in that little inner circle to get a coaching job, maybe it helps if you want to be a yes man. Perhaps that improves your chances of getting selected.”

“I have been approached by the sponsors of SA Rugby to represent them on the board. We are still having discussions and, if and when there is finality, an appropriate announcement will be made by the sponsors.”

“I don't go out there to do things illegally. I know what I'm doing at the breakdown and do things to win the ball back.”

“I hope all the new guys have got tucked away somewhere a piece of paper which says that their goal for this tour is to make the Test squad.”

“I have unfinished business with international rugby. I have never shirked a challenge or gone into anything half-heartedly before, and I don't intend starting now.”

“Sorry boys, I'm very camera shy . But this has all been so awesome, awesome, awesome.”

“We proved our capability, both operationally and in terms of infrastructure ... even though it is a significant expansion on the Lions, we are confident we will be in good shape.”

“Stade Français became the first team to defeat Toulouse since the Top 16 semi-final between the two teams last May, winning 29-15 on a magnificent night in front of 79,454 people in the Stade de France on Saturday.”

“Rugby is a Greek game, it is fast, it is physical, it needs strong minds and bodies. It is perfectly suited to the Greek character.”

“As I was on the ground, (Brian) O'Driscoll came in and tried to 'jackal' me - a term we use to mean stealing the ball from your opponent on the ground but instead of trying to rip the ball clear of my grasp, he also decided to pull my hair and tried to gouge my eye for good measure, saying: 'How do you like that, you cocky little f***er?”

“No one is giving us a chance, but I believe we can win, we know what to expect of the Bulls, because they don't have any secrets.”

“Rassie (Erasmus) has made a huge impression in his first season as Cheetahs coach. He showed, among other things, one doesn't need big names to qualify for the final.”

“New Zealand are lucky they have natural ball-runners, we don't probably have many natural ball-runners, so we have to work hard at improving that skill in terms of ball-running.”

“The atmosphere at Western Province just wasn't good for a youngster wanting to play rugby. There was an atmosphere of fear in that dressing room this season. No one in that team can go against Mallett. Players can't speak out or say what's worrying them. They're all afraid of him.”

“I can't do anything about it if these players are scared of me. You may not like what you hear, but I have never been unapproachable.”

“I cannot believe that it is a year already, the time as a coach seems to fly by a lot quicker than when you are a player. I feel I have answered those who said that I was too young and not ready. I believe you either know this game or you don't. The players know if you know your stuff, and that is what is important.”

“I wouldn't say we have mediocre players, because we are not a mediocre team, but we do not have all the big name Boks like some other provinces do. That has been what has been most rewarding for me this season. Getting to where we are without a team of stars has been a huge challenge, and meeting that challenge has been fulfilling.”

“I haven't thought of it like this - that I've already won the World Cup and the Tri-Nations. I did know, however, that it was possibly my last chance to win the Currie Cup. I was very emotional.”

“I've never seen Os so emotional. He cried like a baby. It just showed you how the guys played for one another. Rassie Erasmus Vol5 Week 35”

“The best team won. There are no sour grapes, we must pick our heads up and take it on the chin.”

“Then, and I still can't believe this, the nurse asked me if she could have my Lions shirt! Mother of God, what was she thinking? I've been speared off the blo-ody pitch after just 40 seconds of a test series and she wants the shirt off my back as well. What is wrong with this blo-ody country? Just start treating me like a human being, will you!”

“I think they (players) realised that we just can't afford to offer contracts to a large group, because we don't have enough money. You have to be realistic about these matters.”

“We don't play for bonus points. If you lose, it's the end of the story and if you win, one point is more than enough. A penalty kick in Europe, as a matter of fact, is nearly just as valuable as a try, because the outcome of matches is often decided by kicks. It's very similar to the knock-out rounds in the RWC tournament, where it's just about winning or losing. I consider this tour a good trial run for the RWC (to be decided in France).”

“It would liberate the game and, if we are going to be a global sport, how we can ignore Asia, with two-thirds of the world's population, is beyond me.”

“We have never done anything like this before in terms of shifting our Sunday service to make way for anything - let alone the rugby.”

“When I told Meyer (Bosman) that he was going on tour with us, both he and his father burst into tears. This just summed up how important it is for players to be a part of this team.”

“The direction of the All Blacks that we've created since last year's tour is about getting along with one another for the best of the team, and to grow the team rather than looking at the individual aspect and saying: 'That's my position'. As long as you say 'this is my jersey' it's a more selfish thing.”

“I made several terrible mistakes. They were not only dangerous, but dumb, because they made the English team see red and they skinned us. I either went in boots or head first into the rucks in that Test. I didn't worry about my or anyone else's safety. I think you can safely say I lost reason and lost it totally.”

“The French are going to be physical, play with the ball off the ground and we're prepared for that. They are strong at the set piece and we've already seen that they like to maul the ball as much as possible. We've got to be physical, out-muscle them and then use our skill.”

“We know that the South Africans are faster and stronger, therefore I believe that it will be vital for us to try to surprise them on attack.”

“Win, win, win and win again is our only goal this month, we now need to build a foundation of wins which will give us a well of confidence.”

“Keep an eye on Dimitri Szarzewski - the man with a Bond villain's name and a Bond girl's mane.”

“I felt Jean was extremely unlucky. He managed to get hold of the player's ankle, and this prevented him from falling on his head down a drop along the side of the advertising boarding, the ground there was very hard, like concrete, so a serious injury could have been done to him had he landed on his head. He could have broken his neck or even died. I think he knew that too for the players tell me he was screaming like a distressed pig.”

“We expect this week's team to be as strong as last week's, our goal is to have two or more players at every position who are proven at the international level. We are developing strength in numbers.”

“Eddie's got a contract until 2007 ... but we'll sit down and have a review when the tour comes back.”

“At the moment, Australia have a pair of flying second rows and a fast back row, but they are predictable. Matt Giteau and Mat Rogers attack the line but they don't have that smoothness that sets Stephen Larkham apart.”

“All I want now is to forget about it, the book's out there, there's nothing more I can do about that.”

“The most disappointing thing is that we know we are better than this. We are performing at training the best I have ever seen any Australia squad train. We have some of the most talented individuals in world rugby in one team and it is small things that are losing us test matches. Behind all the frustration there is a lot of confidence, there is a belief we are not that far off. We could easily click.”

“This autumn we have to lay down a marker so the rest of the world remembers what English rugby is all bout. We have to develop very, very quickly because we only have 18 months. At the moment, I don't think its too out of order for me to say that we wouldn't be winning the World Cup, so we have got a lot of work to do in the next 18 months, that's for sure.”

“I do wake up in the middle of the night wondering whether we are putting the right cards on the table in some or other aspect of our presentation.”

“We're going through a learning curve in professional rugby and no one has any exit strategies for players. These guys are highly paid, they're not going to roll over and give up their income, they're going to stay as long as they can.”

“We certainly weren't up to it today, I'm enormously concerned. It was quite evident there was not only a size factor but a technique factor as well.”

“Scotland have some very good players, and in the ruck situation they were much better than South Africa, there is no doubt about that. Against South Africa I think we only lost two or three balls in the contact area, and they have Schalk Burger - one of the best back row players in the world.”

“It's important that the whole team understands it's not their right to play. Players must appreciate that there is accountability and responsibility when they are picked. It is a honour and a privilege.”

“I categorically say that England are not involved in any way in terms of espionage. It is not true, so we move on. The game is going to be won this weekend on the pitch, so that is the key for us.”

“New Zealand fans will be over the moon. There are four million people in New Zealand and every one of them feels they have a share of the All Blacks. They love their rugby union and will do everything to make sure the event is one to remember.”

“You have to play well enough but I will be playing Super 14 next year and if the selectors see fit, Test football as well. I still feel I am contributing and still enjoying it. It's a new season jn 2006 and a new start, so I'll start afresh.”

“It'd have to rate right up there for us. There's been a lot of talk about the scrum and we're very happy with how it went, Carl scrummed amazingly for the size of the man he was against. He was technically sound and I take my hat off to him.”

“The whole team played really well. The key for us was to get in the faces of New Zealand and the defensive effort was absolutely immense. We are disappointed but I think the courage and passion the team showed throughout was massive. We did match New Zealand throughout the whole match.”

“To me it's like the underarm incident - it'll go away, but it's so unnecessary ... It's not helped the sentiment between the two countries. The New Zealand Rugby Union believed if they didn't win this time they might never win it. Not being able to count on your partner (Australia), I think, is very disappointing.”

“Quotas are no longer part of our requirements, however, it is expected of each Province to take serious cognisance of the issue of representativity of players on the field of play, to support our roader transformation objectives. These objectives are in line with the ethos in the country that supports inclusivity. This will be closely monitored while we are awaiting the finalisation of the Transformation Charter, which will have clearer guidelines and scorecards.”

“If the haka and its correctness arouses so much sensitivity and acrimony, perhaps it is time, sadly, to disregard it altogether.”

“I must congratulate Jake and the Boks for how they've turned South African rugby around. I know I was critical of Jake's appointment at the time, but I must admit I was wrong about him. He's done extremely well, is always calm and sticks to his decisions. He doesn't allow the pressures of the job to sidetrack him and he deserves everything that comes his way.”

“Trust me, being captain of the Boks is not any easy job. John's a great captain and the right man for the job. He's a superb leader and a very good player. You won't believe how many things a Bok captain has to think about, on and off the field. He's handling it superbly.”

“The failure was not the front row, the failure was coaching. And there's no such thing as a front row in rugby, there's a pack, and the pack were very loose and they exerted no pressure and there was no timing and it was very hard for the props and the hooker.”

“We're at the crossroads, and shortly, if not now, the issue is the board of Australian Rugby. Are they going to preside over this, are they going to continue with it and pretend there's not a problem? There's a major problem here. Eddie Jones has had his go, he's done his best, and his best now is not good enough. Back to the top”

“All I can say is that I think we've been outplayed by most probably the best Bulls team that I've seen in my career. This is one of the best, if not the best, Bulls sides in history and you could see the experience, especially in the pack.”

“I think they've already stated we were their preferred option and I guess travel-wise it makes sense. I don't think we're unhappy and I don't think they are unhappy so it is probably the best situation.”

“Even allowing for the fact the Stormers were all at sea on the weekend, what the Bulls did to them in Pretoria was downright scary. Small wonder the television director kept interrupting the live action to cut to the bare midriffs of the Bulls' cheerleaders as they pranced and danced on the sideline because there is only so much footage of butt-ugly front-rowers on the rampage that the average viewer can stomach.”

“Please tell me - who is the strongest - Bands or Hurter? I want to compare apples with apples. I have data - about fitness, body fat and weight, stamina etc - about virtually every player in my squad, but not for other players. I just do not get that information from the Super 12 teams.”

“I want to change the way hookers play, I believe a hooker is a multi-dimensional player. He's not just there to throw in the ball, scrum and hit the rucks. I believe the hooker can hit the blind more often. He's got so much more space - there are so many dimensions.”

“You can get seven per cent extra work output from taking these tablets, so that's a big increase at this end of sport.”

“I told them (WP contracted players) individually what I thought of their performances in the Super 12 series, and believe me, I did not dish out a lot of compliments.”

“Son, in this world there are scrums, and those scrums have to be manned by men called props.Who's gonna do it? You? As a prop, I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. We use words like 'loose-head', 'blind side' and 'scrum pox'; we use those words as the backbone of a life spent defending something - you use them as a punchline. You weep for your wingers and centres, and you curse the prop. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know: that the front row, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, wins these games you play. Truth? You can't handle the truth, because deep down in places you don't talk about in your wingers ballet classes, you want me in that scrum; you need me in that scrum. I neither have the time nor inclination to explain myself to a sissy back who manages to score on and off the field under the very blanket of ball retention that I provide, and then QUESTIONS the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just bought me a beer and a pie with sauce and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you crawl into that scrum and get dirty. Either way, I don't give a damn!!!!”

“You can't play just with your forwards. We have to create opportunities for the backline, and the best way to do that is for the pack to get the ascendancy and then create the space and opportunities for our dangerous backs to do their stuff.”

“I can say a lot of things about the ref (Steve Walsh) but it isn't really my style. We weren't good enough on the evening and it wasn't meant to be.”

“They were too classy. We had to hang onto the ball and take it to the opposition. We tried to put them under pressure but were never able to do it. They taught us how to look after the ball and how to support the ball-carrier. They lifted to another level. For us it was not through a lack of trying and no-one gave up but we were outclassed.”

“I am very, very upset and angry. All I was trying to do was reach my son at the front of the audience to take him on to the pitch with me to see my players being presented with the cup. The security people and the police did not understand and they were quite rough with me. They took me to a small room and kept me there for more than 15 minutes. I calmed down and kept trying to tell them that I was the Toulouse coach and what I had been trying to do. Eventually, they understood. This experience has spoiled what should have been one of the greatest days of my life. I am upset, my family is upset and the Toulouse supporters are upset. This kind of thing would not have happened in France.”

“We want to see how people handle this one-off pressure because we need players who can step up to the mark on the day.”

“We have to move on and not react either way. It was a difficult game.”

“We are not a project, we are a reality.”

“If that's how he plays after only two hours' game-time in almost two years, look out!”

“I know if we lose one game peole call us chokers so if you lose two finals. I don't know what that equates to. But obviously they are under a fair bit of pressure in that respect.”

“We won't beat them (Crusaders) if we play like we did in the semifinal.”

“It's the greatest sporting event New Zealand will have had in the last 20 years. As far as Tests in New Zealand are concerned, the Lions and the Springboks were always the ultimate. We only have the Lions left.”

“It is abundantly clear that this is the worst Lions team to arrive in New Zealand that I can remember.”

“The problem was we wanted to be bigger than the game. Egos got involved from all of us.”

“I've resigned unconditionally, if they ask me to come back, I won't.”

“I have had a long chat to him about the Super 12. I was straight with him. I have expectations of him and he now has to deliver.”

“It's the closest thing to a test match that you'll encounter without a doubt. The intensity is up a notch from a round-robin fixture - and similar to a Test match as there is no next week.”

“At the age of 29 it was a difficult decision to retire from rugby, but the opportunity to work with Nick mallett, who has so much experience, was something I could simply not refuse.”

“We don't experiment with Test caps but we do understand the importance of developing a strong squad of talented players towards France in 2007.”

“South Africans, generally, don't know too much about the French players. I can assure you this is no understrength or second-string side. This is the best around in France and this is the squad that is being moulded to host the World Cup in 2007.”

“If any stuff happens in the game ... we'll dish it out back to them. I'm expecting them [Lions] to be pretty physical, so there's going to be a big contest up front and you can't afford to take a backward step.”

“It's robbed the tour of a personality, it's robbed the tour of a great player. Although he's in the opposition, I really feel for the bloke.”

“It wasn't that I was making myself unavailable. I just wanted to make sure I was 100% committed to play. I am proud to be an All Black and if given the chance to play against the Lions they will get 100% out of me.”

“The decision is purely financial.”

“Reading a game is a skill that some do better than others, but my work has shown that it's a trainable skill.”

“The way he's recovered is a fantastic story. It's going to be great to see the big guy again. Most guys would have called it quits and just been happy to get well again, but he wants to go on and do as much as he can. Who's to say he can't do it?”

“The Lions are very special, the only major tour left in rugby, even if it is just 11 games these days. My gut feeling is that it will be close and well-contested, but history is against the Lions - they have only won 10 per”

“I enjoyed it. This was the stepping stone for me. I'm starting again and I want to reach the top again. You have to start from somewhere and this is the start for me. I'm pleased with where I'm at but there's a long way to go.”

“I've never been surer that I'm doing the right thing. I'm absolutely positive. I'll walk away and won't be doing a George Foreman, although maybe I'll be selling toasters in four years' time!”

“We are working on becoming much more professional, but we are mostly students, with a couple of lawyers, veterinarians and doctors thrown in.”

“I think we (Province and the Stormers) have the potential to play just as well as the Crusaders. The infrastructure is in place, there is a support base and the number of talented players coming through the system from schools and tertiary level is enormous.”

“The nice thing about all this is that we have got a bit of competitive tension for selection. In some positions, it's red hot. In other positions, it's warm. But that's good.”

“South Africans have forgotten what it is like to win. When I was a young boy, winning was the norm.”

“We've got to use the hurt from this game and make sure we don't feel it again.”

“I know pretty clearly now where we are heading and who the players are I need to see come in now.”

“We are going to adopt the same philosophy as we did in 2001 and that is to develop some young talent.”

“He got the surprise of his life.”

“I mean, if I do six good things and two bad things, then it will be the two bad things that get all the attention. All in all, it has been very disappointing.”

“I don't aim to shine, if I do my job properly I should not be noticed; as long as I get my backline over the advantage line and into gaps.”

“I believe that, conditioning-wise, we are still behind other nations, not because of the structure but because of the age of the players we have.”

“It was awesome: there was an eerie silence and I could feel the atmosphere. In hindsight, I should have walked then. It would have been perfect.”

“I am beginning to wonder if Sir Clive Woodward knows what he is doing, I want to be supportive of the Lions. I want them to do to the All Blacks what we did in 1971. But I just can't figure out what Woodward's plan is - if there is a plan.”

“We are definitely not scared of New Zealand. We played them twice last year and learnt a lot. We are not afraid anymore because we play them so often. The players are more at ease now.”

“I wouldn't say there is anything political in it, but I obviously do have to pick a team that is in the interests of the nation as a whole. From my point of view, given the guidelines, this is the strongest team I could have picked.”

“I guess we're expected to win, and win playing the kind of rugby people are accustomed to seeing from us, but speaking personally, I don't care how we win, just so long as we do.”

“He knows I support him as coach and I have given him constant backing since his appointment. But as president of SA Rugby Union I do answer to a variety of stakeholders. And that is what I had to emphasise to the coach.”

“Fourie du Preez is highly rated and not just by me, but by lots of people, he is still my first choice. This is about who is second best - it's either Ricky Januarie or Bolla Conradie and it's about time to find out.”

“In my opinion, it is a pretty horrendous tackle that has put Brian out for a long time. It took half an hour to put his shoulder back in, and after watching it he was pretty lucky, if we are honest.”

“I am in no doubt whatever that it was deliberate foul play, a double spearing. It was a cheap shot which has put me out of the tour.”

“It is an unbelievable honour for me to be named captain for the rest of the Tour. And the New Zealanders better understand I will be around a lot longer than a couple of minutes. This is a squad of great players with a lot of fight in them and we are going to put disappointment behind us and show the world what we are made of.”

“I understand and accept that we need to meet certain criteria, but we need to know what those criteria are, and I need to be able to communicate it to the players.”

“The Lions proved what I have been saying since they first touched down. They are the worst Lions team to come here. In the first Test they were fortunate it wasn't dry. If it had been it would have been a rout. The Lions offered nothing on attack, but of more concern to Clive - I refuse to call him Sir Clive because he just doesn't strike me as a knight in shining armour - was the way the All Blacks dominated the forward confrontations. He did the Lions jersey a disservice by not giving his first 15 a run before the Test. I'm amazed by his 'spin'. As a coach I put my credibility on the line whenever I spoke. That honesty is important because the rugby public know what they are looking at.”

“As a player Clive Woodward was mediocre - as a coach, judging on his performance in the last few weeks, you have to say he is less than that.”

“They aren't shooting themselves because of what has happened ... they realise that it was an accident. We have just got to move on.”

“As a rugby spectacle, the Tri Nations is the height, right now, of international rugby. The teams that are playing are the best in the world. If you asked the players to compare South Africa and Australia with the recent Lions, there'll be no comparison.”

“I think it gets easier and easier to lead this team because of the consistency in selection, For the last 18 months we have had consistency within the squad and in the way we train. I have got to know the guys better and better and it makes by job easier because I don't have to manage so many different people all the time. Consistency is a big factor in the improvement of this team and the longer we carry on together the better things will get.”

“We have restructured the contracts and made them market-related and incentive driven. If a player performs he earns. If he doesn't, we're not going to throw cash at mediocrity.”

“The team's confidence is up, and coach Dick Muir has made some important changes to the way we operate. He wants us to keep the ball in hand, play expansively, and only kick when we really have to. But more importantly he has been consistent with his team selection, and allowed the team to gel and get to know each other. I really think that is showing with every match we play.”

“Entertainment is a huge part of it. That is the reason why I play the game, I love it so much. I get excited about playing, and pulling off tricks and being cheeky is a big part of my game. It always has been and always will be until the day I give up.”

“Our defensive pattern is a bit risky because we are in the face of the opponents all the time. We saw both Australia and New Zealand try to kick behind us and expose us that way in the last two tests. But that is where the second part of our defensive plan kicks in, which is the 'scrambling' defence. All the players, especially the loose trio, know that once the opposition has beaten the rush, or put the ball in behind the rush, then they have to cover, or scramble if you like. That's the secret for us because that line has held beautifully as well.”

“We'd like to believe that the game is evolving into a contest where size and strength are the key elements because those have always been our strengths and if it does go that way it will suite us. But whatever rules the lawmakers have decided for the current way the game is played we must make sure that we adapt and play according to them. Is it favouring us? I think rugby union is favouring teams that can play to the way the laws have been made.”

“I have never gone to a match where South Africa have played New Zealand because I don't know what will happen... whom I will support.”

“That was some sort of a test match, period. It was brutal. It was breath-taking. It was dramatic. And, even better, it ended with an Australian team losing a heart-breaker.”