RéDAN SPORTS BLOGGING

 "What's in your head, in your head? Rassie! Rassie! Rassie!"  Yes, your eyes are not lying to you. These famous lyrics have become quite popular, especially amongst Irish rugby fans. Why? Well, for the simple reason that Rassie is well-known among Irish fans as he has coached there a few years ago and he is just a rugby genius. The first coach ever to come up with the 6 - 2 split on the bench as well as that famous 7 - 1 split that South Africa utilized during their World Cup Final against New Zealand in 2023.  With the new international season set to get underway, officially, next weekend, Dr. Rassie Erasmus, as he is now known, has announced his first official squad for the upcoming series against Ireland and Portugal.  Looking at the squad, I have to say I am quite pleased with the squad. In my personal opinion, though, I would rather have left out Manie Libbok simply because I don't feel that he was at his best during the last few rounds of the United Rugby Champ

  BULLS FALL SHORT, AGAIN The Bulls had the perfect season. Only losing once on home soil against Munster. Perhaps this was due to the fact that Head Coach Jake White opted for continuity.  In the first 37 seconds Glasgow immediately concedes a penalty through Number 8 Jack Dempsey for not releasing the player in the tackle. Johan Goosen makes no mistake off the kicking tee.  After 13 good phases of play, I really thought Glasgow would keep on playing and wait for the Bulls to make a mistake. Instead, number 13, Huw Jones put a little grubber through which allowed Kurt-Lee Arendse to put the ball safely into touch 10 metres from the halfway line. an opportunity wasted by the Warriors.  The first scrum. The Bulls get the throw-in and with Gerhard Steenekamp, Johan Grobbelaar and Wilco Louw leading from the front, the Bulls absolutely overpowered the Warriors pack to get a penalty which Devon Williams puts safely into touch just outside the 22m of Glasgow.  With 14 minutes gone and the s

SPRINGBOKS' SEASON GETS UNDERWAY  Eight months since becoming the first team in rugby history to win their fourth World Cup title, South Africa got their international season underway with a one-off test against Wales at the home of English rugby, Twickenham. With the match falling outside of World Rugby's international window, several players were not considered. There were also other reasons for omissions such as players from the Vodacom Bulls that were not considered due to their participation in the final of the United Rugby Championship against the Glasgow Warriors.  The match started off quite "normally" with the Springboks kicking off onto Welsh inside Centre Mason Grady after which Wales put up one more phase before debutant Ellis Bevan sent the ball high into the London sky onto Aphelele Fassi. The Boks carried up the ball just past the Welsh 10m line before Welsh Number eight Aaron Wainwright was penalized for not rolling away in the tackle. Immediately capt