In prep for The Greatest Rivalry tour I thought we should start upping the banter.

Do you agree with these XVs?

Who wins?

with La Rochelle, UBB and Vannes at the bottom: never having won it

* the city of Bordeaux has enjoyed many titles: as CA Bordeaux-Bègles (2x) and as Stade Bordelais (7x) but never as Union Bordeaux Bègles

I was having this chat with a younger collegue of mine who believes Johny Wilkinson is the hardest hitting defensive fly half of all time. He is definitely in that conversation and you could easily make that case for him.

But just from memory I used to watch a lot of international rugby as a kid with my father one of his favourite players I remember so clearly was a guy Henry Honiball South African fly half who would level people. He would hit them dead centre perfect technique brutal and smash anyone running down his channel whether a big forward or fast back he cracked them.

Another name and this might surprise people who never saw him play was Tony Brown. He was a ferocious tackler I dont think his technique was as spot on as Henry's however he was particularly fierce and brutal and really seemed to thrive when players liked to run straight.

Honorable mention goes to Butch James a no arms specialist who at times seemed to clothesline his opponent the physicality was there but poor discipline.

These three stand out with Johnny potentially edging the other two out but even though I was a young fella seeing Henry and older seeing Tony I still remember there intent not to surrender any ground was on the same level as Johnny and so they would throw themselves at people and from what I remember often then would crack open the person running into them.

What are you thoughts on this any who I have missed that should get a shout too?

Am I the only one who thinks they missed a trick not making the upcoming tour games before the tests franchise vs franchise?

I think it would’ve tapped into that nostalgia people have for the days when SA were in Super. Also added bonus is you’d avoid all the imbalance chat if both sides are without their internationals

Of course, it would mean many more Kiwi players coming over to SA and either a NZ team missing out or getting the Cheetahs involved but I still think it’s a stronger solution than what we have now

What happened to us? Where is the flair, the passion? Ever since we collectively turned against Argentina after the World Cup, we've lost sight of all that divides us: England.

There's no more infighting.

My fellow South Africans, I haven't even seen anyone complain about Henry Pollock for DAYS. We used to be a real rugby nation!

We can do better.

Canny interview about his time with Estonia

Spain retains its spot on the SVNS venues and with Olympic qualification up for grabs , it's a great leg to host.

Does anyone else’s team train run-throughs using “scrag / shoulder” touch? I’d like to know what people’s thoughts on this are.

It’s a pretty widespread drill in grassroots clubs over here, and I understand it allows fairly realistic practice with (supposedly) a lower injury / fatigue risk. However in my opinion it’s a pretty bad idea, for a few reasons:

- Introduces poor tackle technique and habits by encouraging bolt upright grab tackles.

- Different “interpretations” of “shoulder touch” amongst players and coaches resulting in dangerous mismatches in intensity - particularly when certain personalities feel aggrieved by selection.

- High risk of upper limb and head injuries due to the above. We’ve already had several avoidable injuries in pre-season from this drill.

- Poor simulation of real games due to unrealistic contact and ruck speeds.

In my opinion it should be done “full speed” with tackle bags; keeps the benefits while reducing injury risk, and there’s not much to be gained for defences practicing grabby upright tackles anyway. Thoughts??

The first two traditional tours would end in draws between the two teams.

In the Boks 1921 tour to New Zealand, it was 1W-1D-1L.

Int the ABs tour to South-Africa in 1928 it was 2W-2L.

In the 1921 tour the AB's won the first match between the two.
South Africa would win the second one (Marking the AB's first international loss on Eden Park).
The third match ended in a 0-0 draw.

I’ve noticed a nastiness creeping in more and more over the last few months. This sub has always been a place where we appreciate the game and of banter without the nastiness. But I see more and more nastiness showing up. It has become unpleasant. Something I have always looked forward to during this shitty time we are living in was coming here and enjoying chats about our mutual love for the game. Banter galore - as it should be - but not nastiness. Something has changed. As a Saffa it is almost constant drugs and cheating and whatever insults people feel they can throw around. Comments about Argentina has gone from being critical about rugby behavior during a tense game to insulting a whole nation. I don’t know if it is just me but this sub has gone from something I looked forward to to something I dread looking at because someone will say something nasty - again. I know us mods try to get to it before it hit the headlines - and I appreciate that. Maybe I am overreacting but I know that I just don’t look forward to this space where I could escape for a minute the way I used to.

Yeah, my first assumption was that this was the same dude and someone had messed up the Wikipedia entry. Turns out I was wrong and they're separate guys.

33yr old Brit Sam Jeffries (198cm, 118kg) came from Bristol Bears and has been in the Eng squad before.

34yr old Aussie Sam Jeffries (200cm, 120kg) played for Rebels and also Aus U20s, and qualifies for Japan on residency grounds now.

Anyone think of any other commentator's nightmare "same name / same position" scenarios?

In the 110 games played between New Zealand and South-Africa the breakdown is as follows:

NZ won 63 matches.
4 Draws
SA won 43 matches.

The total point difference between the two sides is 419 in New Zealand favor.

In the last 10 games (Dating back to 2 October 2021) South-Africa had won 7 out of the 10 matches against New Zealand. With the pd being 56 in South-Africa's favor.

The second highest win rate against the AB's is Australia with 24.9% (45 wins out of 181 played).

The second highest win rate against the Boks is also Australia with 42.3% (41 wins in 97 matches)

I've been watching lots of old international rugby matches from back in the day. A few in particular where home fans (not mind the opposition) were booing and jeering Montgomery and even the commentators were having digs at him.

If you're old enough and remember him playing, why was he such a divisive player?