It might not be a Super Rugby weekend, but there are still 7 pretty big games of rugby on the go, 6 of them Test matches, one of which has Willie le Roux at fullback …
Tank Lanning
You might write off Japan vs Wales as entertainment, especially after a big Friday night, but do yourself a favour … Put an Energade in the fridge and use it to wash down your toasted cheese and bacon while taking this in. last week made for proper entertainment, with the Japs all over the Welsh for a long time …
Then it is the All Blacks on a gym bike to clear the cobwebs, the Tahs giving the Lions their first real taste of rugby with a smoothie to pave the way forward, a cold beer or 5 as you take in the punch fest that will be Samoa vs Italy, a perfect break to get the fire started, and then the Bok demolition of the Scots with as many beers as you can get into your face before burning the tjoppies as you toast the new Bok dawn …
Argentina vs the purple Poms is a non starter if you have a day described above, and Canada vs Ireland is high on the “Skip one” list … You can get the results right here on the Grunt over brunch on Sunday …
Saturday 15 Jun 2013
07:00 Japan vs Wales, Tokyo
Seriously, this was a good watch last week. Short of the Lions, these Six Nations sides are a bit of a lottery. But one gets the feeling that last week was the Jap’s “Big one” … Bookies and Bru’s do not give them much of a chance (1/4 for a Walsh, 2/1 for a Jap win win) …
My prediction: Wales by 11
Japan: 15 Ayumu Goromaru, 14 Toshiaki Hirose (capt), 13 Male Sau, 12 Craig Wing, 11 Kenki Fukuoka, 10 Harumichi Tatekawa, 9 Fumiaki Tanaka, 8 Takashi Kikutani, 7 Michael Broadhurst, 6 Hendrik Tui, 5 Shoji Ito, 4 Hitoshi Ono, 3 Hiroshi Yamashita, 2 Shota Horie, 1 Masataka Mikami.
Bench: 16 Takeshi Kizu, 17 Yusuke Nagae, 18 Kensuke Hatakeyama, 19 Shinya Makabe, 20 Justin Ives, 21 Atsushi Hiwasa, 22 Yu Tamura, 23 Yoshikazu Fujita
Wales: 15 Liam Williams, 14 Harry Robinson, 13 Owen Williams, 12 Jonathan Spratt, 11 Tom Prydie, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 Andries Pretorius, 7 Josh Navidi, 6 James King 5 Lou Reed, 4 Bradley Davies (Captain), 3 Scott Andrews, 2 Emyr Phillips, 1 Rhys Gill.
Bench: 16 Scott Baldwin, 17 Rhodri Jones, 18 Craig Mitchell, 19 Andrew Coombs, 20 Dan Baker, 21 Tavis Knoyle, 22 Rhys Patchell, 23 Dafydd Howells.
09:35 New Zealand vs France, Addington
Last week the 17 scrums at Eden Park lasted more than a minute each, robbing the Test of 20 minutes’ playing time. 10 scrums ended with a penalty or free kick, 8 of which went to the All Blacks, playing a big part in their 23-13 win. The All Blacks use the speed of the hit to gain ascendancy, while for the French it is more about the battle after contact. Having had a week of knowing what they’re up against, there should be less collapsing of the scrum this weekend, but one has to wonder if the French scrum, once a much vaunted asset, has perhaps suffered as a result of many of the Top14 sides using foreigners up front? The All Blacks looked rusty in their first game last week, and will be a much better side this week, although there must have been a temptation to start the mercurial Rene Ranger. French coach Philippe Saint-Andre will have enjoyed their 38-15 midweek win over the Blues, but might that have been a distraction? He makes the bold call of bringing Frédéric Michalak – not shy to mix brilliance with bad – back into the No 10 jersey, and Nicolas Mas at tighthead will have Wyatt Crockett a little more nervous. But it’s played 52, won 39 for the All Blacks, and I do not see that record changing in Addington.
My prediction: All Blacks by 12
New Zealand: 15 Israel Dagg, 14 Ben Smith, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma’a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read (captain), 7 Sam Cane, 6 Liam Messam, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Wyatt Crockett
Bench: 16 Andrew Hore, 17 Tony Woodcock, 18 Ben Franks, 19 Jeremy Thrush, 20 Victor Vito, 21 Piri Weepu, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Rene Ranger
France: 15 Maxime Médard, 14 Adrien Planté, 13 Florian Fritz, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Yoann Huget, 10 Frédéric Michalak, 9 Maxime Machenaud, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Bernard Le Roux, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c), 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Christophe Samson, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Dimitri Szarzewski, 1 Thomas Domingo.
Bench: 16 Benjamin Kayser, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Luc Ducalcon, 19 Sebastien Vahaamahina, 20 Yannick Nyanga, 21 Brice Dulin, 22 Remi Tales, 23 Mathieu Bastareaud.
11:30 Waratahs vs British and Irish Lions, Sydney
So how good are these Lions? Given the opposition thus far, it’s a fair question, with perhaps the Reds the only team to have offered any form of defence, and even in that game, Quade Cooper looked to be trying just a little too hard. The Lions enjoyed a 64-0 midweek victory over a Combined Country XV so again not learning much! Waratahs captain Dave Dennis and inside centre Rob Horne will join their state side, as will Bernard Foley and Matt Lucas, who have been released from the Australian Sevens side. And given that the Tahs have been the form Aussie side in the latter part of Super Rugby, especially up front we might just see more than a speed bump for the Lions. Jonny Sexton and Mike Phillips, likely starters for the Test side, are the half backs on Saturday, which is captained by tour skipper Sam Warburton. Former Leinster boss Michael Cheika will send out a fired-up Waratahs team, but this is a slick, and well organised machine able to call on the best that Europe has to offer.
My prediction: Lions by 12
Waratahs: 15 Drew Mitchell, 14 Cam Crawford, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Tom Carter, 11 Peter Betham, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Brendan McKibbin; 8 Dave Dennis (capt), 7 Pat McCutcheon, 6 Jed Holloway, 5 Ollie Atkins, 4 Will Skelton, 3 Paddy Ryan, 2 John Ulugia, 1 Jeremy Tilse.
Bench: 16 Luke Holmes, 17 Richard Aho, 18 Sam Talakai, 19 Lopeti Timani, 20 AJ Gilbert, 21 Matt Lucas, 22 Ben Volavola, 23 Tom Kingston.
Lions: Leigh Halfpenny; Sean Maitland, Jonathan Davies, Jamie Roberts, Simon Zebo; Jonny Sexton, Mike Phillips; Jamie Heaslip, Sam Warburton (capt), Tom Croft; Paul O’Connell, Alun Wyn Jones; Adam Jones, Tom Youngs, Mako Vunipola.
Bench: Richard Hibbard, Alex Corbisiero, Dan Cole, Geoff Parling, Dan Lydiate, Ben Youngs, Owen Farrell, Rob Kearney.
14:15 Italy vs Samoa, Nelspruit
Without doubt the toughest of the games to call this weekend. They have played each other only 4 times, with the Samoans winning 3 of them, but in 2001, there were only 8 points in it, and in 2009, the Italians cleaned up 24-6, so the swing is certainly toward the Italians, who have no doubt benefitted from being part of the Six Nations. But the Samoans have added a little structure to their game, which is an extremely physical one, one that some might argue borders on the dirty. Previously being a fairly helter skelter side looking to run from anywhere on the field, they now have a scrum and lineout that held it’s own against the Scots last week. Asked if they Samoans could hold their own in the face of what is a good Italian scrum, former Italian coach Nick Mallett said: “Yes, I think so” … Interestingly, the inclusion of prop Sakaria Taulafo is the only change to the Samoa starting line-up to face Italy, and if he can keep Martin Castrogivanni and company at bay, then Alesana Tuilagi could do to the Italians what he did to the Scots last week!
My prediction: Italy by 5
Italy: 15 Andrea Masi, 14 Giovanbattista Venditti, 13 Gonzalo Canale, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Tommaso Iannone, 10 Luciano Orquera, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Sergio Parisse, 7 Marco Bergamasco, 6 Alessandro Zanni, 5 Marco Bortolami, 4 Valerie Bernabo, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Alberto De Marchi
Bench: 16 Andrea Manici, 17 Michele Rizzo, 18 Lorenzo Cittadini, 19 Antonio Pavanello, 20 Manoa Vosawai, 21 Tobias Botes, 22 Alberto di Bernardo, 23 Luke McLean
Samoa – 15 James Sooialo, 14 Alapati Leiua, 13 Paul Williams (c), 12 John Leota, 11 Alesana Tuilagi, 10 Tusiata Pisi, 9 Jeremy Sua, 8 Taiasina Tuifua, 7 Jack Lam, 6 Ofisa Treviranus, 5 Daniel Leo, 4 Teofilo Paulo, 3 Census Johnston, 2 Wayne Ole Avei, 1 Sakaria Taulafo.
Bench: 16 Ti’i Paulo, 17 Logovii Mulipola, 18 James Johnston, 19 Kane Thompson, 20 Junior Poluleuligaga, 21 Brando Vaaulu, 22 Seilala Mapusua, 23 Piula Faasalele.
17:15 South Africa vs Scotland, Nelspruit
And still the Boks continue with 2 loosehead props on the bench, even when the increased squad of 23 encourages a full front row. Against a second string Scotland, surely a chance to have a look at what is in the still very bare tighthead prop cupboard? Not that it will matter too much. The Boks will miss Francois Louw, but I like the fact that they have replaced like with like, and will continue having a fetcher in the mix in the second half, with Siya Kolisi on the bench. Jano Vermaak is the big loss. He is a scrumhalf that looks to make his backline look good via a crisp pass and giving them the best ball, rather than using it himself. Ruan Pienaar has been known to take a step or two before passing, and this might set Morne Steyn, so good with Vermaak servicing him, back. South Africa and Scotland have played each other 22 times since 1906, with the Boks winning 17 and losing 5. The Boks have scored 539 points and 68 tries and conceded 247 points and 25 tries for an average score of 25-11. The 2 teams last met in November 2012 in Edinburgh, where the Boks won 21-10. It will be a lot bigger than that on Saturday.
My prediction: Boks by 26
Springboks: 15. Willie le Roux, 14. Bryan Habana, 13. JJ Engelbrecht, 12. Jean de Villiers (captain), 11. Bjorn Basson, 10. Morné Steyn, 9. Ruan Pienaar, 8. Pierre Spies, 7. Arno Botha, 6. Marcell Coetzee, 5. Juandré Kruger, 4. Eben Etzebeth, 3. Jannie du Plessis, 2. Adriaan Strauss, 1. Tendai Mtawarira
Bench: 16. Bismarck du Plessis, 17. Trevor Nyakane, 18. Coenie Oosthuizen, 19. Flip van der Merwe, 20. Siya Kolisi, 21. Piet van Zyl, 22. Pat Lambie, 23. Jan Serfontein
Scotland: 15 Peter Murchie, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Alex Dunbar, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Sean Lamont, 10 Ruaridh Jackson, 9 Greig Laidlaw (captain), 8 Johnnie Beattie, 7 Ryan Wilson, 6 Alasdair Strokosch, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Tim Swinson, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Scott Lawson, 1 Alasdair Dickinson
Bench: 16 Stevie Lawrie, 17 Jon Welsh, 18 Moray Low, 19 Alastair Kellock, 20 David Denton, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Peter Horne, 23 Duncan Taylor
21:10 Argentina vs England, Buenos Aires
Seriously, who plays in purple? Argentina will be smarting after last week’s pakslae, but I am not sure they have what it takes to tame what is clearly a well drilled, fit and feisty young English side, even without Billy Twelvetrees and their other host of Lions …
My prediction: England by 14
Argentina: 15 Martin Bustos Moyano, 14 Belisario Agulla, 13 Gonzalo Tiesi, 12 Gabriel Ascárate, 11 Manuel Montero, 10 Felipe Contepomi (captain), 9 Martin Landajo, 8 Tomas Leonardi, 7 Rodrigo Báez, 6 Julio Farias Cabello, 5 Julio Farías, 4 Mariano Galarza, 3 Maximiliano Bustos, 2 Martin Garcia Veiga, 1 Guillermo Roan.
Bench: 16 Francisco Gómez Kodela, 17 Pablo Henn, 18 Esteban Lozada, 19 Tomás De La Vega, 20 Tomás Cubelli, 21 Benjamín Madero, 22 Matías Orlando.
England: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Kyle Eastmond, 11 Marland Yarde, 10 Freddie Burns, 9 Lee Dickson, 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Matt Kvesic, 6 Tom Wood (c), 5 Dave Attwood, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 David Wilson, 2 Rob Webber, 1 Joe Marler.
Bench: 16 David Paice, 17 Paul Doran Jones, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 Courtney Lawes, 20 Billy Vunipola, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Stephen Myler, 23 Ben Foden.
Sunday 16 Jun 2013
05:00 Canada vs Ireland, Toronto
Ireland beat the US Eagles 15-12 in Houston last Saturday, while the Canadians overcame Tonga in a bad-tempered encounter. The sides have played each other 5 times, with Ireland winning 4, and there being a 27 all draw in 2000. The average score across all 5 games is 37-13 to Ireland. The Irish, though, lost Simon Zebo to the Lions. On the Canadian side, coach Kieran Crowley has had to delay the finalising his team as he counts the toll left by an extremely physical encounter with the Tongans. Three players are recovering from concussion! It seems the North Americans are fired up for some rugby though, there being a record crowd at the BBVA Compass Stadium last weekend, and the same expected this week in Toronto. Expect the Irish to be pushed hard, but sneak it in the end.
My prediction: Ireland by 5
Canada: TBA
Ireland: 15 Felix Jones, 14 Fergus McFadden, 13 Darren Cave, 12 James Downey, 11 Andrew Trimble, 10 Ian Madigan, 9 Isaac Boss, 8 Peter O’Mahony, 7 Tommy O’Donnell, 6 Kevin McLaughlin, 5 Devin Toner, 4 Dan Tuohy , 3 Mike Ross, 2 Richardt Strauss, 1 Tom Court.
Bench: 16 Sean Cronin, 17 David Kilcoyne, 18 Declan Fitzpatrick, 19 Mike McCarthy, 20 Chris Henry, 21 Paul Marshall, 22 Paddy Jackson, 23 Robbie Henshaw,
