The Voice From the Stands

Monday 16th June 2008

Another weekend on the road and another South African experience, albeit a very different one from Bloemfontein.

What struck me though, and it is not the first time, is how one-eyed and arrogant the South African fans can be, not to mention the tactics employed by their team. Wales may have been in the game after sixty minutes, but that could have been so different had the Springboks taken the game seriously.

Such was their belief that they would win that they approached the game as if it was a training run, turning down several kickable penalties early on. You can't blame them for their attitude, especially after the first Test, but when there are bigger fish to fry in a few weeks one would expect a more professional approach.

Walking around the ground prior to kick-off there was not a single fan who did not think it would be another easy Springbok victory, that is except those with the three feathers on their shirts! Now I am all for a confident approach but this was pure arrogance and did not afford Wales any respect at all.

Another player who will be lacking in respect, not to mention self-confidence, after this weekend is Charlie Hodgson. I have never been the biggest fan of Hodgson but I had to feel sorry for him as endless All Black runners targeted him.

As if that was not enough Rob Andrew joined in and seemingly made the Sale fly-half the scapegoat for England's defeat. The truth is he should never have been in a position to be so brutally exposed in defence, and attack come to think of it. There was a time, albeit only about three weeks, where Hodgson was once good enough to play for England, whereas now he is not the right man to take the side forward.

Surely in the second Test Olly Barkley and Mike Tindall will both move in one slot, allowing Mathew Tait to come in at thirteen. Tindall is an out and out inside centre, leaving most confused at his selection at thirteen with Tait on the bench. Lets hope Jonno gets on the phone to Rob Andrew in the next few days and injects some adventure into the side.

Although if Rob Andrew had his way it would be Richie McCaw he injected into the side. Between Hodgson's inability and McCaw's 'constant cheating' England's victory is explained, so it would seem the solution is to drop Hodgson and give McCaw a white shirt. There is no doubt Hodgson has to go, he was at fault for three of the four tries, as for McCaw, England should rather get behind Tom Rees who outplayed McCaw on the ground.

Andrew would also be better advised to stop moaning about his side's deficiencies and actually do something about them. After all the 37-20 score-line flattered them and it could have easily been a lot more one-sided. Topsy Ojo took his tries well but both came against the run of play and made England look better than they were.

The truth is had New Zealand not taken their foot of the gas it could have been a fifty-point drubbing for England. Something tells me it is going to be a lot worse for them in the second Test, especially given that Andrew Sheridan has been 'cut out' of the Christchurch clash- there goes England's scrum and chief ball carrier.

A mention too for Scotland, who ended an 18 year drought against Argentina with a fine 26-14 victory in Buenos Aires. The Lions tour to South Africa may be twelve months away yet but Mike Blair has to be there or thereabouts for the Test team. He has grown as a player since taking over the captaincy and Ian McGeechan will want to keep an eye on him as he looks to build a balanced squad to take on the Springboks.

Looking ahead to this weekend and just the two internationals, and both should be won by at least thirty-point margins. South Africa may experiment but will still have too much for a young Italy side, while England could be run ragged in the latter stages of their second Test.



By Marcus Leach