Saturday, 7th July 2007 at 7:59 am

Springbok ‘B’ side ready to go

After a week of particularly petulant behaviour from the Australians, who appear to be absolutely terrified by the prospect of losing to the South African second XV (and thus taking a body blow to their World Cup chances), one very anticipated game of rugby is finally upon us. The Sydney stadium might not be full (half the city is going to the Live Earth concert as it is), but there’s no question that the whole country will be watching the result extremely carefully.

As, of course, will all of South Africa. Feverpitcher will be glued to a big screen in the Sharks marquee at the Vodacom Durban July, and fervently hoping for a Springbok victory that will be one in the eye for a nation that took aggrieved sanctimony to new levels in the past fortnight. You’d have thought South Africa had launched a collective endorsement on whaling, child labour and the dumping of nuclear waste on the Barrier Reef; instead, we’ve had the temerity to send a strong squad that is missing some of the regular starters. Lord forgive us…

Wallabies remain favourites, the performance against the All Blacks still fresh in the memory. But a deceptively well-rounded Springbok side should give the Australians a solid test in Sydney, and a win isn’t out of the question. And what an indescribable delight said victory would be. Oh to read the Sydney Morning Herald tomorrow should the Springboks triumph…

Still, we’re getting ahead of ourselves a little. Enjoy the game, revel in the South African positives, and watch out for Ruan Pienaar’s battle with George Gregan amonst the highlights (Smith and Van Heerden could be interesting as well). And if you’re at the July, drop in at the Sharks marquee and say hello…