All Black's day and on to Australia

I was disappointed that the Springboks didn't beat New Zealand in their Tri-Nations encounter at Newlands last Saturday. Everything was set up for the win with Dan Carter missing 4 kickable penalties to leave us only trailing 0-5 at the break.

That is not a bad position to be in with twenty minutes to go, the pressure on the All Blacks and only 5 points in it. Unfortunately for us there were two turning points. Firstly Bryan Habana's foot finding the touchline and then Percy Montgomery missing two vital kicks during his 100th Test match which he would normally have slotted on any other day. Either of the two would have had us ahead or level at worst.

It was not to be.

In terms of our defence I believe that Schalk Burger proved how valuable he is to the Springboks in covering the inside. As soon as he was replaced Dan Carter got through and scored right under the poles.

Despite everything that Test was within our grasp and in the last quarter things could have turned out so differently.

That is all in the past and the guys must now focus on the Test against Australia on Saturday.

The Springboks need to get back to their strengths - their physicality and their powerful set of forwards. The danger in terms of the Wallabies will come from their backline and it is vital to the cause that we keep clean possession to them down to a minimum.

Once again Schalk will be essential to ensuring that we defend well on the inside. The Aussie backs are highly innovative while the team as a whole plays the multiple-phase game exceedingly well. The breakdowns will be vital and Schalk will help to slow the game down.

If the Springboks want to score tries this weekend then they are going to have to play the game in the Wallabies half of the field as much as possible. Field position could well be a major factor in this one.

In terms of defence the Wallabies are exceptional, owing much to the fact that they don't commit numbers to the breakdowns. This makes it harder to break their defence down.

In terms of lineouts we are going to have to improve on last Saturday's performance where we let ourselves down a bit.

Here's hoping we can bounce back this week.

Jake White speaking to Mike Trapido of the Mail & Guardian

On to Cape Town and the All Blacks

The Springboks will return to the Tri-Nations at Newlands on
Saturday. As I said last week if the Boks could keep up a
high tempo throughout the match, they would overcome Argentina.
Nine unanswered tries is emphatic in anyone's book.

This week they entertain the All Blacks in what I believe
is going to be a very close encounter. Having said that I
still take the Springboks to edge it.

The coaching staff have selected a very strong team and while
there are always going to be those who believe that certain
players should be in ahead of others, this is a quality side.
In the return of Fourie Du Preez I believe you will see the
best of Butch James. Du Preez relieves a lot of the kicking
pressure off James and together they form an outstanding
partnership.

A major advantage for the Springboks is going to be their
height in the lineouts with the All Black locks and hooker
coming in for a lot of pressure.

The return of Percy Montgomery at fullback for his record
breaking 100th cap will not only strengthen the kicking game
but add a quality point's scorer to the side.

All in all like any Springboks, All Blacks match-up, this
is one not to be missed.

Jake White speaking to the Mail & Guardian's Mike Trapido