Round 2 result: All Blacks 31-17 Springboks

The All Blacks underlined their recent excellent form with another emphatic win over the Springboks on Saturday. They came out and continued from where they left off in the previous match, playing with confidence, enthusiasm and an intensity that the Springboks just couldn't contain at times.

The Springboks were better than last week, but weren't helped when lock Danie Rossouw was sent to the sin bin within the first five minutes for an innocuous tap on the head of Richie McCaw for killing the ball at a ruck. The ref was obviously keen to stamp his authority on the match early on, but the South Africans were clearly unsettled by the event and conceded two tries in the subsequent ten minutes. They can be grateful Dan Carter left his kicking boots at home or the score would have been far worse. As it is they started to come back into the game just before half time, but it was always an uphill battle.

As it was, if anyone deserved to spend some time in the sin bin it was McCaw himself, for repeated infringements at the ruck. At one point he was given an official warning, but the ref failed to back up his threat when McCaw infringed again just a few minutes later. No doubt he's still one of the best open-siders around, but he does seem to get away with a lot.

Although they'll be disappointed with another loss to the All Blacks, the Springboks will take heart from their second half performance. They looked a lot more fluent and threatening, particularly when Ruan Pienaar replaced Ricky Januarie at scrum half - with his snappy service and better kicking game he definitely deserves a start in the next match. But it must be at scrum half, which is his best position - not flyhalf or fullback.

The All Blacks now have a week off, while the Springboks prepare themselves for a must-win encounter with the Wallabies in Brisbane.

Tri Nations Round 2 preview: All Blacks vs Springboks

After last week's lackluster showing by the Springboks in going down 32-12 to the All Blacks, they'll need a much improved performance to get their 2010 campaign on track. And what's more, they'll have to do it without hard man Bakkies Botha who can surely have no complaints about his 9 week ban for blatantly headbutting Jimmy Cowan. His replacement Danie Rossouw has had a great year so far mind you, so they won't lose much in the physicality stakes there.

The All Blacks meanwhile will be quietly confident after comprehensively winning the physical battle at the contact area against their much vaunted opponents. They were dominant both on attack and defence, not giving the Boks any time or space to play with the ball, and forcing them into kicking from where the Kiwis could launch their devastating counter-attack. Whether the Blacks can reproduce the intensity that won them the match last weekend remains to be seen, but they must be firm favourites going into tomorrow's game.

Here are the team lineups:

All Blacks

15. Mils Muliaina
14. Cory Jane
13. Conrad Smith
12. Ma'a Nonu
11. Rene Ranger
10. Daniel Carter
9. Piri Weepu
8. Kieran Read
7. Richie McCaw (captain)
6. Jerome Kaino
5. Tom Donnelly
4. Brad Thorn
3. Owen Franks
2. Keven Mealamu
1. Tony Woodcock

Replacements: Corey Flynn, Ben Franks, Sam Whitelock, Liam Messam, Jimmy Cowan, Aaron Cruden, Israel Dagg

Springboks

15. Zane Kirchner
14. Jean de Villiers
13. Jaque Fourie
12. Wynand Oliver
11. Bryan Habana
10. Morné Steyn
9. Ricky Januarie
8. Pierre Spies
7. Francois Louw
6. Schalk Burger
5. Victor Matfield
4. Danie Rossouw
3. CJ van der Linde
2. John Smit (captain)
1. Gurthrö Steenkamp

Replacements: Chiliboy Ralepelle, BJ Botha, Andries Bekker, Ryan Kankowski, Ruan Pienaar, Butch James, Gio Aplon

Kickoff is at 07:35 GMT. See you there.

Teams for Tri Nations opener: All Blacks vs Springboks

Here are the teams for the Tri Nations clash between the All Blacks and Springboks in Auckland on 10th July 2010.

All Black team

The All Blacks have opted to go with experience over youth for this important match, hoping to end their run of three straight defeats against the Springboks.

15. Mils Muliaina
14. Cory Jane
13. Conrad Smith
12. Ma'a Nonu
11. Joe Rokocoko
10. Dan Carter
9. Jimmy Cowan
8. Kieran Read
7. Richie McCaw (captain)
6. Jerome Kaino
5. Tom Donnelly
4. Brad Thorn
3. Owen Franks
2. Keven Mealamu
1.Tony Woodcock

Replacements: Corey Flynn, Ben Franks, Samuel Whitelock, Liam Messam, Piri Weepu, Aaron Cruden, Richard Kahui

Springbok team

The Springboks also have a very settled look about them, with just a couple of relatively inexperienced players in Zane Kirchner and Francois Louw.

15. Zane Kirchner
14. Jean de Villiers
13. Jaque Fourie
12. Wynand Olivier
11. Bryan Habana
10. Morné Steyn
9. Ricky Januarie
8. Pierre Spies
7. Francois Louw
6. Schalk Burger
5. Victor Matfield
4. Bakkies Botha
3. Jannie du Plessis
2. John Smit (captain)
1. Gurthro Steenkamp.

Replacements: Chiliboy Ralepelle, BJ Botha, Andries Bekker, Danie Rossouw, Ruan Pienaar, Butch James, Gio Aplon

Match Preview

It's always difficult to know what to expect in the first match of a tournament. Both teams have reasserted their dominance over their northern hemisphere opponents in the summer internationals, but expect the intensity to go up a gear on Saturday.

It's an important match for both teams to set the tone for each's Tri Nations campaign, but also in the jostling for pyschological ascendancy in the run-up to next year's World Cup. The Springboks in particular need to build on last year's wins on New Zealand soil to convince themselves that they really can win down there; another loss for the All Blacks though and the pressure from their public will really start to escalate.

Kickoff is at 07:35 GMT. See you there!

Tri Nations 2010 Fixtures

Well, with the Super 14 out of the way for another year and the mid-year south versus north matches almost finished, it's time to start focussing on tri nations 2010. The Springboks, All Blacks and Wallabies have once again confirmed their positions as the top three teams in world rugby, and we can look forward to some hard-fought tussles as the teams continue their preparations for next year's world cup.

Here is the 2010 tri nations fixture list:

Date	Fixture	Venue
10th July	NZ vs SA	Auckland
17th July	NZ vs SA	Wellington
24th July	Aus vs SA	Brisbane
31st July	Aus vs NZ	Melbourne
7th August	NZ vs Aus	Christchurch
21st August	SA vs NZ	Johannesburg
28th August	SA vs Aus	Pretoria
4th September	SA vs Aus	Bloemfontein
11th September	Aus vs NZ	Sydney

After all the thrilling action of 0-0 draws in the football, I for one am looking forward to some decent sporting entertainment again!

(PS: Vuvuzelas are not required, although I suspect they just might make their tri nations debut on the return leg of the competition...)