I mentioned in my previous articles that 2014 will be a watershed year for Bok rugby. This statement was focused on and aimed at the RWC 2015, which is next year. Yes, next year we will be jetting off to support our Boks to bring back the RWC trophy, the most prestigious trophy in rugby and maybe in the sporting world.
National Coach Heineke Meyer will need to finalise the squad this year and make sure that he can build around the core players. He must focus on younger players to ensure continuity to RWC 2019 as well. This is something the All Blacks do brilliantly. They already have at least 25% of their players for that tournament. Why is that possible? Their national system is integrated with their super rugby structures and they work together as a team. Not against each other like here in SA most of the time.
We must win the “tri-Nations”. This is not to say we win a trophy, but mentally this will place our national pride on a different level. They can also then close the gap between the All Blacks, as I believe that the All Blacks, in winning the previous RWC, now have a major advantage for the RWC 2015. They could win the tournament for the next three times in a row. SA rugby, I believe, are the only real team that can stop the Kiwi’s in their tracks at RWC. We, for some reason, lift our game not only at RWC but also against the Kiwi’s.
Closer to home our five Super teams are training hard for this year’s brutal competition that is facing them in a few weeks. I will focus the next few weeks on the various teams’ strengths and weaknesses. Will a SA team walk away with the Super Rugby Cup or will the Kiwi’s dominate again?
