Im still reeling after Dick Muirs so brilliantly said – this will be a very tight affair – you wont see last weeks antics at Loftus with open big scoring type of play – WELL DONE DICK YOU GOT IT SPOT ON!

Most people came from Saturdays game saying what a spectacle and we were so close etc etc when in fact they should have been saying holy sh*t how have we gone from being the greatest Springbok team ever to getting pipped by a young defenseless Aussie team? Last week at STM we already started saying there is no defensive pattern no cohesion and absolutely no confidence between team mates and saturdays first 30 minutes was complete evidence of that – we went down so far so quick it was almost irrecoverable! Lest we forget this is the MOST CAPPED SPRINGBOK SIDE EVER – i guess that was shown in the strength of character to come back BUT how did we get so far down!

While i was reading the Sunday paper si came across the article in the independant by Etienne someone or other that actually made us cringe – there are a large portion of fans and journos that think we almost did it – we almost won – the bottom line is a year out from the world cup New Zealand would tear us and Australia apart in seconds and we think its ok to be comparing ourselves to Australia?

Mark Keohane said it so well when he said De villiers is still living on another planet! His answer to the shocking run off results is we have systems in place to win the world cup – now lets be fair Jake said the same thing in his tri nations disasters but if you have taken the greatest talent – most experienced team and turned them into a bunch scared defenseless idiots – THIS IS CAUSE TO BE CONCERNED!

I took alot of abuse over the weekend about being cynical and criticizing too much but have we not deserved to expect more? I mean had this team not  reached the highs that it had we would have called for all their heads which would be wrong but thats how fickle fans can be and i think we have the right to be! WE WANT TO WIN – SIMPLE! We put our faith, money and hearts into these guys – they get paid a fortune for what they do AND THEY NEED TO WIN – so when a run of 5 (should have been 6) defeats comes this type of abuse and cricism!

On the good news side – Hougaard is beginning to look like Fourie Du Preez which is saying a hell of a lot for the young man but he could be one of the greatest talents to start shining! Guthro has probably been the best Springbok this tri nations and Juan Smith has brought back some great defense and open play running that we have been sorely missing!

But bottom line is im more nervous now as a supporter than i have been in a long time and what makes matters worse is this team should be calm, settled and taking rugby as a game to the next level when instead they are wallowing around marginal victories or defeats to a young inconsistent Aussie team!

We all know what a superb advert for the country the world cup was etc etc (its been said to death) but the question is what has it done for South African soccer? The short answer is right now nothing really – i mean yes its gotten alot more of us to watch and support and i guess itll take a long time for all the ‘grass roots’ initiatives that FIFA and the like have setup BUT what about here and now – what about the players??

Well here is one story of talent that will hopefully be handpicked by one of Englands biggest and best . . .

SuperSport United captain and Bafana Bafana star defender Bongani Khumalo is expected to join leading English Premiership club Tottenham Hotspur in the January transfer window.

Khumalo’s business manager Glyn Binkin confirmed on Tuesday that the 23-year-old central defender who shone for Bafana in the Word Cup, that a deal would be concluded with Spurs by end of business on Tuesday.

But the talented defender would not be moving to White Hart Lane by the end of the transfer window on Tuesday (August 31) as had been speculated.

“The deal is on going at present. The plan is for Khumalo to play as many matches this year for Bafana and get more caps and join Spurs in January,” Binkin said.

GO HERE FOR THE FULL ARTICLE . . .

SO the day started out like any other test match day! Calm lunch in the normality of Melrose Arch in JHB before trekking to the boerewors curtain for what normally becomes and afternoon of tredding in a bucket of brandy and coke (IT DIDNT HAPPEN THIS TIME its was spiced gold and coke !!)

Nevertheless it was really cool to see the Soweto Marimba band rocking the entrance to the stadium – they were simply superb and i urge you all to go check out their site!

This did seem a little out of place at Loftus but then through the clearing we heard ‘kaptein’ booming from the stage with a mass amount of Castle branding – now we were in  it!

Nevertheless to get to the game (at this point to be fair we were a few beers and 2 spice and coke in – and for some reason HENNIE who runs the box doesnt go lower than a 50 / 50 ration split) so my commentary may be slightly sparse!

So Victor ran on for what should have been an earth shattering 100th appearence yet the stadium was but half full and those in seats seemed not to be too excited until DIE STEM started which is always about right for Loftus crowds (this still sickens me that the Dutch cant seem to learn the anthem 15 years on)

VICTOR RUNS ON FOR HIS 100th CAP

HE RAN ON TO THIS PATHETIC CROWD!

SO on to the actual game! Im not sure how to comment on this game other than to say this is the strangest test match ive ever seen!! To go down two tries then two one then three one etc etc all in like the first 20 minutes had us staring at each other asking WTF just happened!

In fact when Juan Smith dove over to score the crowd was so confused at what had just happened that it was almost quiet!

We werent confused as to why we were scoring – we were confused because ive never seen a more disorganized Springbok side in my life! We are just lucky the wallabies are so crap currently! Our defensive line was more like a defensive CLUMP and our attack looked like u14f players all just trying to get the ball so they could wave at their moms!

Our assistant coaching staff should be shot – they have consistently for a year depreciated that team / made the wrong subs at the wrong time and managed to take one of the greatest Springbok teams ive ever seen and turn them into a bunch of nervous, organisationless fools (al be it very strong very talented fools!)

I took two sad things out of Saturdays game!

One was for Vic Matfield who is a true legend and for him to play hiss 100th at Loftus and not pack out the stadium just shows how stupid South African rugby fans are (i suppose you could have seen that from the inability to learn the anthem)

The second is that the players and the coaches will now get some reprieve for their efforts when in fact we should be at our most nervous about this team right now! There are shades of brilliance no question in fact Hougaard may even become better than Fourie one day, Juan is back with a vengeance and John Smit is showing some form again (nobody mention Bryan Habana – i dont give a fk how tired he is he almost cost us the game himself) but all in all ive never seen this side look worse!

A few positives – we may have drunk all the spice gold pretoria has! Second i saw this in the bathroom at half time which made me laugh so hard the guy next to me almost clapped me . . .

Thank you too all the people in the box who put up with us – thank you to whatever after party club we were at for not getting upset when we jumped over the bar and stole your ice buckets and thank you to Pretoria for a good outing in general!

This must be one of the greatest motivational speeches of all time!

I hope you’re fired up enough to help us in the battle that is the Blog Awards. If you haven’t already done so, vote for us and help us gain the inches. There are only two days to go!

You may have seen how we reported on MTN making it onto Manchester Uniteds website as an official sponsor - well hot on the heels SPURS have just announced their new sponsor and low and behold another South African company is hitting big!

The two-year shirt sponsorship, effective from Season 2010/2011, will see the Investec brand feature on the Tottenham Hotspur shirts in all cup competition matches including European club competitions, FA Cup and League Cup. Investec will become the first brand to appear exclusively on the Club’s cup competition shirts.

FOR THE REST OF THE ARTICLE!

. . . NO THIS IS NOT OUR name for the game but we thought it just cheesy enough to keep it for the review!

The day was perfect -- as the sun started to cool and after a full warm up of Radium Beer Hall to get going we entered the hospitality suites of the stadium (must say best boxes i have been to in this country -- space / well laid out / cool decor!) and as John Smit took the field and 90 000 fans began to sing Nkosi i got a perfect combination of Goosebumps and Tears in my eyes! Its was one of the greatest sporting moments i have ever experienced live (that includes 95 and 07 RWC finals)

The day seemed like it was going to run into a milestone 100th test for Smit and the birth of a new rugby strong hold for South Africa! Needless to say both where not destined to happen!

The Boks managed to control long periods of the game, Hougard showed just how fat and slow Ricky Januarie has been for us, Jean De Jong showed why he is such class in the midfield (didnt miss a tack WYNAND!) and Schalk is returning to the best form of his life with Jaun Smith on the other side of the scrum thankfully back to his best as well!

On the sad side the centurion missed some key throws (and the last tackle that cost us the game), the coaching staff once again showed what absolutely shocking rugby game knowledge and vision they have by taking off the three most critical players as the crux of the game!

At the end of the day two very soft tries and lapses in concentration from the Boks cost us the game and THAT IS JUST NOT GOOD ENOUGH! As it stands right now we cannot win the world cup with the current coaching staff and we have an aging crop of players that are being milked for everything by their local unions and the national setup! WE HAVE A SERIOUS PROBLEM!

It was a great day all in all and an honour to be in that stadium to watch John Smit run out for his 100th test! The result didnt go our way on the day for various reasons (mostly our own) and we have to accept that but if you cannot appreciate how special the day was regardless of the result then you have issues!

See you at LOFTUS TO WATCH VICTORS 100th TEST!

AND if you were at the GAME go find yourself on the 360 PHOTO TAKEN!

Go here FOR MORE ARTICLES!

As tomorrow marks John Smits 100th cap for our beloved Boks we thought it only right to write something about our fearless leader!

Unfortunately in life generally leadership is judged on number of successes rather than on substance of a leader – not just in sport but in general. Sometimes in life or in sport the obstacles we face are too large to overcome and this is when the greatest leaders show their true strength! Leadership in success is far easier but comes with its own challenges of keeping people grounded and focussed to ensure continued and ongoing success!

In John Smits case he has been tested in both extremes of these circumstances and everything in between! He has forcefully yet graciously led our national rugby side through the lowest times and back to the very pinnacle of sporting achievement and for a leader to show true strength and courage through each of these really shows the measure of the man!

As he brings up 100 tests tomorrow we need to thank him – not only for being one of the greatest leaders rugby has known but also because he has been a spokesman and ambassador for our country which goes above and beyond his on field leadership! He is always humble in his acceptance of praise and open when criticism rains down (which is unfortunately more often due to the nature of the fickle sports fan / writer). We as South Africans and rugby supporters worldwide owe John and his family a great deal of thanks for the years of work and sacrifice for all of us!

The sad thing about sport is that no matter how great the player or leader – the fan is far more fickle! As soon as we sense a dip in success we immediately find someone to blame and we disregard any history – sometimes its not a bad thing – it keeps our teams at the pinnacle of what they do which is the aim isn’t it? Unfortunately this is a very fine line to play with and far more often than not the sports writer / fan / spectator does not base their forever changing views on fact but rather on daily emotion!

Never the less we hope that John is allowed to bow out on his own watch in his own time and when he does so he will be applauded as certainly the greatest on field leader we have ever had and one of rugby unions true greats!

John regardless of tomorrows result you have without question earned the right to be massively proud of what you have achieved – you are a role model, an inspiration and a true hero at the highest level! Congratulations on this phenomenal achievement – we look forward to being there Saturday to applaud you  alongside 92 000 other people and we wish you all the best for it!

Enjoy every minute of it as you have earned the right to do so – and only a handful of people in history can say that!

100 UP AND STM APPLAUDS YOU!

Taken from ‘behind-the-scenes‘ footage while Federer was in Switzerland on a photoshoot for one of his main sponsors Gillette, the tennis star sets up his trick by asking one of the crew to put a bottle on his head.

The clip has already seen Federer dubbed ‘the new William Tell’, after the famous Swiss folk hero who shot an apple off his son’s head with a crossbow.

It’s a far better shot than this one. It really didn’t end well!

I suspect they’re both fake.

I wont bore you about what a special tournament it was however the hangover of the games is now getting bad -- we thought we would give you something special to remember what a magical time it actually was

Well there will no doubt be controversy (maybe thats a bit strong) but there will be certainly some serious discussion around the new United kit! The  bottom line is they will be in this for the next season and i think on the players it looks damn cool – its simple clean and has a nice feel of old school about it! I must say it is far better than the old chevron shirt and also our new sponsor didnt almost destroy the entire financial world as we know it – either way love or hate the new shirt is here and its back to beautiful sunday afternoon football and wednesday night Champions league! STMs is already on order!

GO READ ABOUT IT – THEN GO ORDER IT!

Go see the rest of the pics to remember this great month through superb images!

I remember it like it was yesterday – which is surprising because i was standing in the middle of the German Schools annual beerfest which meant i was surrounded by close to 100 000 people and a massive amount of beer – we stood all around big screens waiting for the envelope to open and praying that the words SOUTH AFRICA would be written on them!

As you can recall Sepp Blatter pulled the page out and a nation began to celebrate – albeit nervously so!

I dont remember what i felt that day – i was excited – i was proud and i couldnt understand the impact then of what this tournament would have on us come June 2010 but i knew something big was on its way and we had the ability to advertsie our country like never before!

As the tournament drew closer and the years ticked away i certainly was not scared – i was not one of those who bitched and moaned because my bags took too long at the airport or the wind was howling against the Cape town internationals make shift terminal – i knew SOMETHING was coming – something that would change us all for the good!

When the jets flew over and the World Cup was opened i stood in the Calabash tears streaming down my face for no other reason than we were filled with a pride in our nation that we havent had in a long time! A pride that probably only comes with the unity of sport because it allows all other issues to dwindle in the background! We had done it – the world was in our home towns and we were ready to show them the beauty of our people and of our country!

Last night as the fireworks went off around my head and i sat between a multitude of nationalities again tears ran down my face and i couldnt believe i had been in that seat a month ago – but this time it was a combination – a combination of pride, love for a nation who we are all so impressed by and we have finally FINALLY showcased to the world but also relief – relief that we ticked every box! We hosted a stellar tournament without incident! Because lets be fair – one bad thing and this world cup and our country would have been forever tainted and bet your bottom dollar that the press globally were just waiting to pounce – but instead we melted the global populations hearts!

Today as i try survive a hangover that may end me i am tremendously proud of our nation. To perform when you have belief behind you is hard but when every one believes you cannot do it and cant wait until you slip up so they can tell you so is close to impossible! Once again we have shown our strength as Africans – we have shown our metal and our self belief when no one else around us thought we could!

Well done South Africa – thank you for this month of pain, heartache, ecstasy, glory and emotion that happens so seldom in ones life! Thank you for opening your arms to the world and letting them fall in love with you – i pray they reward us by going back to whichever nation and telling them over and over what a magnificent place we call home!

This day just keeps getting better – at first we brought you the naked runs and the sadness when the naked runs were no longer up for grabs – but it seems that a Dutch porn-star has gone one better! She has put her mouth on the line for national pride and offered a blwojob to every follower she has on twitter if the dutch win the world cup!

So if you were on the fence and didnt have a reason to support – become a follower on Twitter and buy some cloggs!

Here it is straight from the . . . uh . . porn stars mouth

“I know exactly zero about the World Cup and said that on Twitter one day. People told me to get behind the USA. I figured it would be funny to tell my 25,000-odd fans that I would give them a, err, BJ if the USA pulled off a win at the World Cup. The response was so huge I was shocked. Tons of people said they were getting into the World Cup for the first time wanting to know the score just in case they were entitled to my promised reward.”

“The USA lost but my followers Tweeted me asking that I pick another team. A friend of mine, Miss Hybrid, is English so we picked them to win. Of course, that was a disaster but the Tweets I was getting were hilarious…from people all around the globe. I figured we could not let #teambj end.

“I am friends with Bobbi Eden who is Dutch. Bobbi suggested we continue on with ‘#teambj‘ and support Holland. I told her I would give her a ‘hand’ so to speak. I like Gabby Quinteros as a friend and thought she could have some fun with it too. When Holland ended up beating Brazil, the buzz on the net exploded. Even Brazilian fans are supporting #teambj. I was shocked to see it in Playboy and all around the globe on various sites. I think Bobbi today has been getting something like 1,000 new people an hour.

“People have asked what we are going to do if Holland wins? All I can say is that I have stocked up on my handy wipes and you are going to have to follow to find out! As with all things in adult…we intend to give our followers a very ‘happy ending’.”

Prior to the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Diego Maradona promised to run through the streets naked if Argentina won it all.  Many people were appalled by even the remote possibility of that happening.  Don’t expect the same reaction once word spreads about Larissa Riquelme’s similar celebration plans should Paraguay take home the World Cup.

According to Larissa Riquelme the chesty Paraguayan supporter, who has used her low-cut tops and strategically placed cell phone to make a name for herself in South Africa, she would be more than willing to follow in the footsteps of the great Maradona should her country succeed on the world’s biggest stage.  When asked whether she would be willing to bear it all in a championship celebration, Larissa Riquelme replied, “Of course, but with my body painted with the colors of Paraguay.”