Gavin Smith

@FrontRowGrunt Isn’t money money money what it’s all about. It helps keep players in SA, keeps the franchise competitive, allows the fans to have a better experience and so on…

What relationship does this football jersey have to do with the Sharks? And the Maties socks? Guess it has a lot to do with money, money, money ...

@PeterEdge7 Peter you are so right! Italy, Wales and Scotland should each have won a World Cup. I’m amazed they haven’t. I’m sure the next World Cup will be won by a Northern hemisphere team. The talent up north is just so superior. Just look at the great Henry Pollock.

@GavinTSmith1 Anyone who actually knows what they are talking about knows that it is a borderline miracle that a northern hemisphere team has won one RWC and that it happened south of the equator is actually a miracle

Hasn't tweeted since 🤣

@PeterEdge7 Poor come back! 🤣🤣🤣🤣

@GavinTSmith1 Congratulations on going for the low IQ response instead on the intellectual response 👍

@roscobigfulla As a Bok supporter I can just imagine how frustrating it must be. But the AB’s will bounce back. Fix the defensive system first and foremost. Get the guys running off each other like they used to.

I’m a faithful AB’s supporter & always will be, but shit that faith has been tested this season. Either the gameplans are not right or the execution is not right. Take nothing away from Englands performance, but that was a limp game from the AB’s

One decent performance in 5 years! 👏

I really do hope the @AllBlacks absolutely smash this arrogant bunch from @EnglandRugby led by Henry Pollock!

@rugbyontnt He is a proper arrogant pr!ck. has done nothing to justify his arrogance!!!!

😛 Henry Pollock vs the Haka. Made for the big stage 🍿

I can’t wait for a Henry Pollock to come face to face with Eben, Marx, Wiese, du Toit et al….

@mark_keohane That’s a very very long shot Mark. You clutching at straws

Ramos stopped De Jager’s left arm from the wrap by blocking the arm with his left arm.

@PARKTOWN_BOYS Well done gents. Great work for a great cause

Well done to all our Daredevil runners - proud of the boys and staff who ran in support of creating awareness for testicular cancer last week! Great to see such a positive turnout! #ARISE #PBHS27

The Americans were a disgrace! I would be ashamed!

@Kookie_Kuhle Great experience. One of the best ever. Who was the announcer? Felt like he was shouting at us though.

Kings Park was rocking last night! Haven’t heard that loud in a long time.

@T2Rugby Why bizarre? What happens if Sacha gets injured? Depth is what he is trying to achieve.

Bizarre that Rassie has been messing about rotating his #10 all year when he has a player who has potential to be SA's first World XV level fly half in the professional era.

@scrumming_ten Like who?

Today could be the last test match that 1 or 2 Springbok players ever play in South Africa 🥲

@rugbyphilosophy I must say I think his behaviour is a disgrace. Celebrating mistakes of others is just low. Especially when he is far from Perfect. Rather celebrate when you or a team Mate have done something extraordinary not on others mistakes…

The All Blacks’ performance wasn't embarrassing. What’s embarrassing is Vaa’i clapping when the Boks made a mistake. Vaa’i may not realise it, but his clapping reveals a deeper tension within the All Black environment. At its core, it’s overcompensation for a question no All Black ever wants to ask, let alone admit: “What if we aren’t good enough?” When we do something to hurt someone, it’s usually because we were hurt in a similar way. When I want to hurt you, I will turn to the actions that most hurt me—because I believe they are the most hurtful, even if they are not. It’s a pain response. In the heat of the moment, when we want to hurt someone, we reach for the same weapon that once cut us. Even if it’s blunt. Even if it looks ridiculous. That kind of over-the-top reaction isn't a mark of dominance. It’s a mirror of the moments Vaa’i’s been on the other negative of making a mistake. It’s about soothing a wound. When a rival falters, it’s common for people to feel a flash of satisfaction. Psychologists call it schadenfreude (literally “harm-joy” in German) the pleasure at another’s misfortune. This kind of malicious joy goes beyond simple competitiveness. It’s a deeper emotional response, an attempt to offset shame or fear of failure by asserting dominance in the moment. In Aristotle’s analysis, the “pleasure in hubris” comes from a belief that by belittling others, you make your own superiority greater. So, Tupou Vaa’i’s over-the-top clapping might subconsciously stem from insecurity and internalised pressure. Psychologists Wilco van Dijk found that people with lower self-esteem tend to feel more schadenfreude toward a high-achieving rival, especially if that rival made them feel inferior by comparison. And therein lies my point. Vaa’i may not realise it, but his clapping reveals a deeper tension within the All Black environment. At its core, it’s overcompensation for a question no All Black ever wants to ask, let alone admit: “What if we aren’t good enough?” It’s a question most All Blacks teams have refused to ask, and one they’ve rarely been forced to. Because usually it was easy to blame a referee, a dubious call, a bounce of the ball, an injury, or a World Cup cycle. But this is the first time in a long time that an All Blacks team has been consistently beaten, consistently dominated, over the span of years and across different tournaments. For the first time, we’re seeing cracks where it seems like our boys are subconsciously asking questions never posed to legends of old. For the first time there's genuine fear of not being good enough. And the pain of having to face the question that your greatest fear might actually be true. The Springboks are a better team than us. But in the past, they’ve only been just as good. They’ve had playoff wins, World Cups, Rugby Championships, one-off victories. But in general, the contest felt 50-50. Now, for what feels like the first time in a long time, it’s not. Here’s the key: the All Blacks need to find belief somewhere. Like Dan Carter said, pressure is a privilege. Walk towards it. Face it. Embrace it. Feel the pain. Feel the fear. That's the only way to ensure it doesn't control you. But that’s a question for another article—where are the All Blacks at mentally? What caused them to lose their killer edge, their belief, the aura of the jersey? Something has shifted. The over-the-top overcompensation reveals what they actually believe about themselves, and the doubt they are fighting to keep at bay. Scoreboards don’t embarrass us. Vaa’i’s nonsense did. The defeat didn’t cheapen the jersey. That clap did. Respect is lost in moments like that. Clapping reveals relief. Not dominance. #rugby #NZLvRSA

Hey @bensmithrugby let’s see what cr@p you can dish up now

@FrontRowGrunt I’m struggling 2 understand selection decisions for Saturday. I get it that Willie & Pollard are dropped. But how does Marx justify his selection after what was a diabolical game for him. for Jessie to be dropped is even a bigger question. I’m not sure I get what Rassie is doing

To my mind, Wilco starts every Test for which he is available. Probably the same for RG, but I do see value in him coming on to finish a game. He never misses out on the 23, though. Sacha is a 10, and probably heads the list of those available to the Boks

@FrontRowGrunt TdT a big worry for me. As is Siya (injury) and who knows which Willie will arrive on the day…

That is a PROPER Bok side ... Good mix of brute force and scintillating skill & pace, together with a bomb squad that could either survive a tight one, or put the hammer down

@CaptSpringbok You are correct. He should be there. We need a specialist 8 to play against the AB’s. This is not Italy or Aus (😉)…

Roos should’ve been on this tour. With all the injuries & guys playing out of position, he deserved a shot. The “discipline” excuse doesn’t hold - Kwagga & Marco have given away plenty of penalties, and Jasper’s sitting out a 4-week ban. #springboks #NZLvRSA