Nothing sums up the rivalry & the intensity of this weekend's test better than the clash between the respective hardmen of the two packs. Both players pride themself on physicality & let their actions (both seen & unseen) on the park do their talking.
That's why its a bit of surprise to see an interview with Thorn feature as part of the pre-match build up. As usual while all the talk centres around the stars like Carter, McCaw, Steyn & Burger we all know it will be the actions from the men in the engine room who will decide the outcome of this test.
Comment 1
Bakkies Strikes Back
It only took one small tug on the jersey within the first 90 seconds of the match for Bakkies Botha to lose his rag & give Jimmy Cowan a blind Liverpool kiss.
While this act initially went unpunished it undoubtedly contributed to him receiving a yellow card for a ruck infringement later in the first half (as Richie had pointed it out to the referee to watch on the big screen). It also seemed to take some sting out of the Boks as they were forced onto the back foot from that moment on.
Now he has received a 9 week ban which must have been calculated so as to rule him out of the rest of the Tri-Nations. Now the big question for the Bok coaches is whether the liability his reputation carries is now too big for the Boks to take to the World Cup??