It’s week three of the Rugby World Cup in France — A week in which we are likely to gain a clearer picture of who the likely quarterfinalists are.
No real surprises in the last burst of pool games, barring Fiji’s remarkable 22-15 victory over the Wallabies.
This week is a crunch week for the Springboks as they take on the current No 1-ranked team Ireland in Saint Denis on Saturday night (9pm SA time). The Bok match-23 has stirred another hornet’s nest as coach Jacques Nienaber and puppet master Rassie Erasmus opted for a controversial 7-1 forward-loaded bench.
Love him or hate him, Rassie (Erasmus) is not only a tactical rugby genius but is a master at unsettling opposing teams, has the ability to baffle and very rarely sidesteps controversy.
Host Trevor Cramer is joined by senior Citizen sports journalist Ross Roche on this week’s instalment of Talking Point as they try attempt to figure Rassie out, put the flyhalf debate under the microscope, potential reasons for retaining just a single specialist hooker and the all-important quarterfinal permutations.
Trevor and Ross also pad up and talk Proteas cricket following their all-important come-from-behind morale-boosting ODI Series victory over the Aussies and its significance ahead of next month’s 50-over World Cup in India.
Plus – the weekly FLOP and GOLD STAR awards
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