Lions tackled the Boks

The Lions finally sunk their teeth into the Boks this weekend past winning a respectable 23-9. Springboks coach Peter De Villiers said that they learnt something from this weekend even though they lost. I'm confused, what did they learn exactly? That it's ok to make ten changes to a team who had previously won, or fail to recognise that the starting team this past Saturday was not as strong as they should be. At this point I can honestly say South African rugby misses Jake White!

By Marcello-Calvin Adams

6 Jul 2009

“How do you know (that we have the right team) if you do not take those kind of chances. I thought we did a good thing for ourselves, we learned how to go forward into the Tri-Nations, we learned a good thing today,” said De Villiers.

So if I understand correctly, what Peter De Villiers is saying is that it's ok to lose. Even though we are world champs and we have some of the best players in the world! Surely we will gain more experience if we win. S.A.R.U. will probably be asking questions sooner or later because South Africa is asking questions about the competence of our “new” rugby coach!

Why include a player in the Bok side and play him in a match where you know the other team are looking for revenge. If you are going to include a “new” player to the side make sure there is a Bakkies Botha or a Skulk Burger there to help the “newbie” move through the ranks. Don't send a new Bok to face a revenge seeking pride of Lions. The outcome will be exactly as it was this weekend.

So now what happens with the upcoming Tri-Nations? Are we ready? Now the media hype of the Confed Cup is over all focus will be on The Springboks and even more so, on Peter De Villiers!

Source:supersport.com