You said it yourself - a completely one-eyed view of the match. I was a neutral viewer and saw nothing untoward, only a back row that stood up to (and got the better of) the All Blacks. Granted your team is not used to such a challenge at the breakdown, but they looked vulnerable to the (legal) Springbok ferocity. And don't get me started on the Brian O'Driscoll spear tackle.

If you saw nothing untoward then you must have been taking some very long blinks at various points of the game. I was astounded at the number of times that players were clearly taken out of the game off the ball without comment or penalty from either ref or linesmen - and while this happened on both sides around the ruck it was illegal interference and not ferocity that saw SA putting the AB's on their backfoot. Well done AB's for weathering the subversive sneakiness and showing that superior fitness and skill will still win the game

Lots of players resort to cheap when faced with the AB hard, uncompromising but fair game. The AB's are no angels. SA on the other hand owes part of its historical for and against record to cheap shots with one eyed SA refs. Since international refs the AB have blasted past them. Check the record yourself. This disease still affects some in SA rugby. But they lost, again, and will continue to do so against the AB more often than not.

I don't know what game you were watching Rugby Blog. To say that the Springbok loose forward trio got the better of the All Blacks is laughable. Did you miss Soioalo's blistering runs? The amount of ball McCaw and co turned over because we couldn't win lineouts with our third string locks? The O'Driscoll tackle was an unfortunate incident as part of the clean up at the breakdown, it stops slowing the ball down because us in New Zealand like to use quick phase possession to unleash our backs. The cheap shots I am talking about were face rubbing into the ground, Bakkies Botha getting up off Kelleher by pressing a forearm to his throat. The shocker after the Burger try was obvious from SKinstad. I applaud aggressive legal play, but that was off the ball nonsense.

I would like to see the AB's have Tealata & Collins tasked to redress the Springboc forwards who take cheap shots - it's all very well having a go when a player is locked in and cant respond - and I think the AB's should appoint some enforcers in the forward pack and deal with the problem

Boo-hoo is all I have to say here. Try telling arch rivals, pent up on adrenalin and playing a hotly contested game of rugby to stop and think in the heat of the game? Don't be such a nonce, the Blacks came up against a South African wall and considering the Boks absentees they can be happy with the slim losing margin. The Kiwis themselves are no strangers to underhanded tactics and 'cheap shots', particularly when things do not go their way. Fair play to the Boks, about time the All Blacks and their multi-national side got some of their own

Thanks for that fairy. It is hardly surprising that the Springboks don't think during their matches. That also explains their lack of innovation on attack. It is also how Australia has done so well, thinking is a large part of the game. It is funny you should mention multi-national side. It shows what a great place it is to visit. No one wants to move to South Africa for obvious reasons. There are very few foreign players in the All Blacks. Many players of Polynesian descent are actually considered New Zealanders because they were either born here or brought up here as a child. Only Sitiveni Sivivatu and Joe Rokocoko come under the poached label, but most countries have that. It is all part of the global game. English players like Henry Paul and Mark Van Gisbergen are prime examples. Wait until the World Cup when there will be so many players who are considered born and breed kiwis playing for Tonga and Fiji. New Zealand born players Glen and Tony Marsh were Japan and France representatives.

The irony of your statement is laughable and proved the point I was making. I notice that when someone rips into the Springboks I am an uncivilised four letter word but the role reversed and I am still an uncivilised four letter word. FYI I rate the Springboks. I believe they are World CUp contenders especially once they get their players back. I just don't agree with their off the ball tactics. Jake White is a fine coach yet for some reason he always faces such opposition from above. I wasn't the one who raised issues of culture and society. South Africa has too many political problems with so many people in general, players and coaches leaving. If you looked down the posts you would see cheap shots at the multicultural nature of the All Blacks. All I can say is South Africans are known for their cheap shots. I am not the only one with concerns. Check this out from New Zealand's top Sports Media site.http://www.stuff.co.nz/4110163a1823.html

Another point - the thing that irks me about this is that they give Macaw a hard time because they can - why not try Jerry Collins? or maybe Troy Flavell? - Pick up Troy and drop him on his head! Grab Jerry and smack him around abit- what a joke Burger would be then (he'd be ham"burger" mate!)

South Africa are no show of winning the world cup they lack intelligence and i doubt they will handle the pressure. South Africa play like grubs becuase its what comes natural to them without it they wouldnt be much of a team. I believe it will be an NZvs Aus final or thats what im hoping. The reason they dont grab jerry collins is because they fear him and rightly so i believe he is much underated i think he is better than McCaw.