The Springboks took a major pasting in front of a packed house at Newlands last week when the All Blacks got their revenge for the maiden Dunedin win at the front end of the Tri Nations schedule. It wasn’t so much that they lost; it was how they lost - with absolutely no points on the board to the All Blacks 19!

One of the Springbok’s biggest failures was their inability to control the ball at the breakdowns and this was largely due to the awesome display by arguably the best fetcher in the modern game, Richie McCaw and this week’s battle for possession will not be made any easier when the main protagonist is the Wallaby’s stellar performer, George Smith.

Jantjies to start at Full Back
The South Africans have to win the game in Durban on Saturday if they want to remain in contention and coach, Pieter du Plessis, has already made a couple of unforced changes to the starting line up - Conrad Jantjies will run on at full back in place of the veteran of 100 tests, Percy Montgomery and Ricky Januarie has been replaced by Fourie du Preez at scrum half. Jantjies’ inclusion could well add a bit of potency to a back line that is missing the scintillating pace of Brian Habana, who is injured.

Jongi Nokwe will win his second cap on the wing and if he can get the ball in hand, he, too, has blistering pace. Hopefully we will see a lot less of the poor kicking game the Springboks have employed in the past couple of games!

Sports bookmaker, betfred, is offering the following odds on an outright win - South Africa 4/9; Draw 20/1 and Australia 7/4.

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The Springboks had a ripper of a game against the Pumas last week-end and will be entering the Tri Nations home run at Newlands against the Kiwis with plenty of confidence. It was enlightening to watch new coach, Pieter du Plessis’ vision of a new, fast-paced style of rugby put into practice and if the ‘Bokke’ can keep up the intensity for the Cape Town clash it could prove to be one of the highlights of the current season!

No rain is forecast for the showdown on Saturday and this will surely affect both team’s game plans - hopefully we will see more of the expansive style of rugby that has epitomised the mighty All Blacks over the years and has recently been firmly embraced by the incumbent ‘Bok’ coach and his charges.

Montgomery Aims for 100th Test Cap
Premier full back, Percy Montgomery, will run out for his 100th test at his home ground, with his very adept back-up, Conrad Jantjies, on the bench but one of the most exciting inclusions into the current Springbok side is that of the awesomely talented scrum half, Fourie du Preez, tipped as the very best in the world. He has been out of rugby for some time due to injury but when he was given some game time against Argentina last week, he was clearly back to his blistering best!

Bookmaker Straddles the Fence
Bookmaker, sportingbet, is clearly unsure of which team will claim the kudos in South Africa and have both New Zealand and the Homeboyz at 19/20, with a draw at 14/1!

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The third clash of the current TriNations betting season takes place on Saturday in Sydney and it will be a battle of contrition between the Wallabies and their traditional rivals, the omnipotent All Blacks. The men from New Zealand will want to redeem themselves ‘big time’ after losing out to 2007 world champions, the Springboks, a fortnight ago in Dunedin, but their task is not going to be an easy one!

Both Captains out of the Cup
All Black captain, Richie McCaw, has been ruled out of this week-end’s match and he will be sorely missed at the breakdown, an area the Wallabies surprisingly dominated in their triumphant match against the South Africans last week. McCaw will be ably replaced by Daniel Braid with stand-in captain, Rodney So’oialo, getting the nod from embattled coach, Graham Henry, yet again.

The Wallabies will also be without one of their main playmakers and incumbent captain, inside centre, Stirling Mortlock. He has failed to recover in time from a bad concussion picked up in last week’s game but all is not gloom and doom for the Australians - Robbie Deans is set to blood the talented Ryan Cross at centre and George Smith will take over the captaincy.

Wallabies Can Dominate the Lineout
The one area Australia could dominate are the lineouts - the All Blacks battled against the world-class Bok lineout and with the much publicised return of premier lock, Dan Vickerman, to bolster the current lock combination of Nathan Sharpe and James Horwill, odds are Australia could steal possession here and there!

Bookmaker, bluesq, is currently offering the following odds on a win for Saturday’s Bledisloe Cup clash - Australia 13/8, Draw 20/1 and New Zealand 1/2

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Now that the dust has settled and the celebration has been tempered, the Springboks, together with coach, Pieter de Villiers, will have a lot of tactical planning to do ahead of their maiden Tri Nations clash against the Australian fifteen at Perth on Saturday.

Over the past two weeks the South Africans have had to rely on attrition and brute force to combat the battering strength of the All Black tight five but this week-end will be a totally different ball-game.

Traditionally, the Wallabies’ strength is to play expansive, attacking rugby at pace and this could well mean that De villiers will have to consider making a couple of changes to the team that heroically beat the omnipotent All Blacks in their own back yard, the notorious ‘House of Pain’, for the first time in recent history!

Francois Steyn at Centre?
There are whispers from the Springbok camp that centre, Adrian Jacobs, will be a non-starter on Saturday due to a hamstring injury and that will mean the precocious talent of Francois Steyn will be paired up with the very accomplished and experienced Jean de Villiers.

Fly half, Butch James, has been mediocre at best and it may just be the right time to bring back Stormers’ playmaker, Peter Grant, who is rock steady and has had a more than impressive outing for the WP franchise this season. All in all, the Springboks will have to inject pace into their game to come away wth two wins on the road!

Bookmaker, totesport, has both New Zealand and South Africa as favourites to win the Tri Nations at 11/10, with the Wallabies lagging behind at 11/2.

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The All Blacks may have shattered South Africa’s image of omnipotent world beaters at Westpac Stadium last week but an injured Springbok is a dangerous animal and the talented bunch of players from Africa will be fighting to restore some national pride at Dunedin on Saturday.

South African coach, Pieter de Villiers, was outspoken about the host’s dubious scrumming techniques this week and he faces an even more trying scenario with captain and first choice hooker, John Smit, back home for treatment after a dangerous spear tackle by Brad Thorn in the opening salvos of the first test. Smit will be replaced by Bismarck du Plessis who has battled to find form in recent times and has had a problem finding his man in the lineout - the one area where the South Africans could dominate!

More Fire Power for All Black’s Scrum
Even though the All Blacks had the upper hand in the scrums, New Zealand coach, Graham Henry, has opted to start with John Afoa at tight-head prop at the expense of the experienced Greg Somerville and Anthony Boric replaces the banned Thorn.

Hopefull the weather will be kinder to the combatants this week and if this is the case then we could all be in for a more exciting, expansive game - the kind of game Pieter du Plessis is dying for his prodigies to adopt. With the raw talent of Habana, Jean de Villiers and Montgomery at the back, it could prove exactly what the ‘Boks‘ need to temper the formidable All Blacks and the House of Pain!

Sports bookmaker, bet365, has South Africa as the underdogs at 3/1, New Zealand at 1/4 and a draw 22/1.

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