bad news guys.........jake white has asked clive woodifhecould for advice on beating the all blacks!!!!!!!!! :help:

With Ernie Els out of action for the remainder of the season - it's hardly likely that he will play in the Dunhill Championship, Nedbank Golf Challenge and the South African Airways Open at Fancourt in December - Retief Goosen, ranked No 5 in the world, and world No 18 Tim Clark, who is having a dream year on the US PGA Tour, will have to carry the country's flag on the international circuit.

Ernie had a mishap last week and underwent surgery which has resulted in his withdrawal from golf for the remainder of 2005.

It's sad that we won't see the "Big Easy" at some of the top tournaments - especially at the US PGA Championship which takes place at the Baltusrol Golf Club's lower course in Springfield, New Jersey from August 11-14.

If All Blacks assistant coach Wayne Smith was in charge of the Springboks he would be starting with Lions duo Ricky Januarie and Andre Pretorius as the halfbacks in this weekend's Tri-Nations clash in Cape Town.

Smith, the flyhalf of the rebel New Zealand Cavaliers side who toured South Africa in 1986, has taken note of Januarie and is impressed with the player's cockiness and ability to harass opposition scrumhalves.

Januarie came on as a second half substitute when he replaced Fourie du Preez against the Wallabies at Loftus and his impact was immediate.

"I think he'll definitely start on Saturday at Newlands - he has to, he's electric," said Smith, who handles the All Blacks' backline.

'I think he'll definitely start on Saturday'
Of Pretorius, he said: "I think the player was told to beef up a couple of years ago and he's bulked up nicely.

"Andre tackled superbly against the Wallabies and I think he made 17 tackles. They attacked his channel and he coped well. He handled the pressure, his tactical kicking at Loftus was faultless and I think he's a much better footballer than Jaco (van der Westhuyzen)," said Smith.

The All Blacks are also wary of the edge Jean de Villiers has brought to the Springboks' backline.

"The De Wet Barry and Marius Joubert combination play differently to the De Villiers and (Jaque) Fourie pairing," Smith said.

"Don't get me wrong, they play to the Springboks' pattern, but De Villiers is a fantastic player and is a well-balanced footballer.

'I thought he showed good nous on defence'
"We haven't seen much of Fourie, but from what I could see against the Wallabies, I thought he showed good nous on defence and they combine well," Smith continued.

The assistant said that the Springboks were also looking well organised on defence and were mixing up their defensive patterns well.

In the Tri-Nations opener the Wallabies peppered the Boks with quite a few high cross-kicks because they could not find a chink the South African midfield.

But Bok fullback Percy Montgomery defused the "bombs" as the Aussies went the aerial route.

Smith said that the Wallabies had been developing their kicking game over the past year and their strategy was not a knee-jerk reaction to the South Africans' rush defence.

"The Aussies have tended to do a lot of kicking in the past year. I think the reason they did this was because they weren't receiving clean ball at the rucks and not because of the South African rush defence.

"South Africa did rush them during the match but not all the time, they had a measured defensive strategy and sometimes they stood back and waited. Their defensive alignment is definitely an area they have improved in," he said.

The All Blacks announced a predictable team for the Newlands match, and stronger than the side that did duty during the final Lions Test.

There are five changes, with flank Richie McCaw returning to the fray along with prop Carl Hayman, flyhalf Dan Carter, inside centre Aaron Mauger and fullback Leon MacDonald.

The Blacks did not consider centre Conrad Smith, as he was diagnosed with a mild attack of mumps at the weekend, and wing Sitiveni Sivivatu has not recovered from a calf strain and shoulder injury.

Sivivatu's place goes to Mils Muliaina who moves from fullback to wing.

All Blacks:
15 Leon MacDonald, 14 Rico Gear, 13 Tana Umaga (capt), 12 Aaron Mauger, 11 Mils Muliaina, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Byron Kelleher, 8 Rodney So'oialo, 7 Richie McCaw, 6 Jerry Collins, 5 Ali Williams, 4 Chris Jack, 3 Carl Hayman, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.

Reserves: 16 Derren Witcombe, 17 Greg Somerville, 18 James Ryan, 19 Marty Holah, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Luke McAlister, 22 Joe Rokocoko.

Springbok coach Jake White on Wednesday announced the Springbok team to face the All Blacks in their second Tri-Nations Test match of the season to be played at Newlands on Saturday.

Veteran loosehead prop Os du Randt has been declared fit to play after suffering a knock during training on Tuesday. Du Randt replaces Gurthro Steenkamp.

Other changes see Lions scrumhalf Enrico Januarie in place of Fourie du Preez and Schalk Burger back on the side of the scrum with Joe van Niekerk moving to eighthman in place of Jacques Cronje who drops to the bench.

The Springbok team is:
15. Percy Montgomery
14. Breyton Paulse
13. Jaque Fourie
12. Jean de Villiers
11. Bryan Habana
10. Andre Pretorius
9. Enrico Januarie
8. Joe van Niekerk
7. Juan Smith
6. Schalk Burger
5. Victor Matfield
4. Bakkies Botha
3. CJ van der Linde
2. John Smit (captain)
1. Os du Randt

Reserves
16. Hanyani Shimange
17. Gurthro Steenkamp
18. Albert van den Berg
19. Jacques Cronje
20. Fourie du Preez
21. Wayne Julies
22. Jaco van der Westhuyzen - Sapa

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's rand trended firmer on Tuesday, cheered by a stronger euro, but struggled to make a clear break through the key 6.50/dollar mark as corporates snapped up the greenback, analysts said.

The rand firmed almost 1 percent to 6.6875 -- its strongest level since May 25, according to Reuters data. It was trading around 6.5275 per dollar by 1435 GMT compared to 6.55 at close in New York on Monday.

"Some good early interest out of London, including a U.S. bank, helped the rand back below the 6.50/dollar before local corporate buyers moved in to defend support at 6.48," said Nicholas Kennedy, an analyst at 4Cast in London.

Analysts said the rand was being driven by the euro, the currency of South Africa's main trade partner. They expected the currency to eventually break through 6.50/dollar in the short-term.

"There is a big chance it is going to break lower. It looks like the dollar is coming a bit under pressure and looks it will hold above $1.22 or break higher. The local currency market still follows the euro," said Jacques Potgieter, an analyst at Sanlam Securities.

The rand has battled to break through 6.50/dlr, coming close on a number of occasions over the past couple of months only to fail, suggesting that it is a key technical level.

"Everybody is waiting for the break. It looks like some stop-losses are being protected there. Once we see a break below that (6.50/dlr) we could go down to 6.38 and maybe back to 6.30," said Potgieter.

One factor seen boding well for the rand's advance was Monday's rating upgrade by Standard & Poor's. Standard & Poor's raised its long-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on the country to BBB+ from BBB and to A+ from A respectively.

The rand has trimmed its losses versus the dollar so far this year to 13.5 percent. The euro was around $1.2202 compared to $1.2174 at close in New York.

South African government bonds were a touch firmer. Traders said the market was watching lacklustre U.S. Treasuries. There was also an element of profit-taking, traders said.

The yield on the benchmark R153 bond due 2010 was down 1.5 basis point at 7.48 percent.

Bonds rallied last week as tame inflation data rekindled hopes on an interest rate cut by October this year. The central bank has slashed the main repo rate by 6.5 percentage points to 7 percent between June 2003 and April this year.

Imagine there is a bank that credits your account each morning with $86,400. It carries over no balance from day to day. Every evening the
bank deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day. What would you do? Draw out every cent, of course!

Each of us has such a bank. Its name is TIME. Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose. It carries over no balance. It allows no overdraft. Each day it opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the remains of the day. If you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours. There is no going back. There is no drawing against the "tomorrow." You must live in the present on today's deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness, and success!

The clock is running. Make the most of today.

To realize the value of ONE YEAR, ask a student who failed a grade
To realize the value of ONE MONTH, ask a mother who gave birth to a premature baby.
To realize the value of ONE WEEK, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper.
To realize the value of ONE HOUR, ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.
To realize the value of ONE MINUTE, ask a person who missed the train.
To realize the value of ONE-SECOND, ask a person who just avoided an accident.
To realize the value of ONE MILLISECOND, ask the person who won a silver
medal in the Olympics.

Treasure every moment that you have! And treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time. And remember that time waits for no one

Once upon a time there was a wise man who used to go to
the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.
One day he was walking along the shore. As he looked
down the beach, he saw a human figure moving like a dancer.
He smiled to himself to think of someone who would dance to the day. So he began to walk faster to catch up.
As he got closer, he saw that it was a young man and the
young man wasn't dancing, but instead he was reaching
down to the shore, picking up something and very gently
throwing it into the ocean.
As he got closer he called out,
"Good morning! What are you doing?"
The young man paused, looked up and replied,
"Throwing starfish in the ocean."
"I guess I should have asked, why are you throwing
starfish in the ocean?"
"The sun is up, and the tide is going out. And if I don't
throw them in they'll die."
"But, young man, don't you realize that there are miles and
miles of beach, and starfish all along it. You can't possibly make a difference!"
The young man listened politely. Then bent down, picked
another starfish and threw it into the sea, past the breaking
waves and said,
"It made a difference for that one."

There is something very special in each and every one of us.
We have all been gifted with the ability to make a difference.
And if we can become aware of that gift, we gain through the
strength of our visions the power to shape the future.
We must each find our starfish. And if we throw our stars
wisely and well, the world will be blessed

A little boy is telling his Grandma how "everything" is going wrong...school, family problems, severe health problems, etc. Meanwhile, Grandma is baking a cake. She asks the child if he would like a snack, which of course he does.

"Here. Have some cooking oil."

"Yuck," says the boy.

"How about a couple of raw eggs?"

"Gross, Grandma."

"Would you like some flour then? Or maybe baking soda?"

"Grandma, those are all yucky!"

To which the Grandma replies: "Yes, all those things seem bad all by themselves. But when they are put together in the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake!

" God works the same way. Many times we wonder why he would let us go through such bad and difficult times, but, God knows that, when He puts these things all in His order, they always work for good! We just have to trust Him and, eventually they will all make something wonderful!"

Author unknown

You can be a total winner
Even if you're a beginner
If you think you can, you can
If you think you can, you can
Raise that C up to an A
Get in the school play
If you think you can

It's not your talent or the gift at birth
It's not your bankbook that determines worth
It's not the color or texture of your skin
It's your attitude that lets you win

You can ride your own black stallion
You can wear a gold medallion
If you think you can, you can
If you think you can, you can

You can learn to ride a bike
Up a mountain, you can hike
You can wear a diamond crown
You can get back up, when you've been down
If you think you can

It doesn't matter if you've won before
It makes no difference what the halftime score
It isn't 'til the final gun if there were one
So keep on trying and you'll find what you've won
You grab your dream, and you believe it
Go out and work, and you'll achieve it
If you think you can, you can
If you think you can, you can

Author Unknown

Springbok coach Jake White is not the only person who retained faith in John Smit as the best player to captain South Africa and the man to lead the Boks out against New Zealand in the Tri-Nations Test at Newlands on Saturday.

White's choice of skipper is backed by Morné du Plessis, the last man to captain South Africa to a series win over the British Lions in 1980 and who just happens to be the most successful Springbok skipper of all time with an 86 percent winning ratio in Test matches.

Smit's value to South Africa's cause was emphasised in the Springbok dressing room at Loftus after South Africa's 22-16 win over Australia on Saturday. Officially flyhalf André Pretorius was named man-of-the-match, but the Springbok hierarchy begged to differ.

For the second week in succession Smit led from the front to record back to back victories over Australia and without hesitation he got the unanimous choice of the Bok players and coaches as their man-of-the-match.

Smit led from the front
Vindication for White, who stuck by his captain even after stirrings from up north after the Sharks' poor Super 12 campaign that had called not only for Smit to be removed as captain, but dropped as first-choice hooker.

Those voices, quick to forget the leadership qualities Smit had exhibited in steering the Boks to only their second Tri-Nations triumph in nine years last August, have been silenced by a Test record that speaks for itself.

If South Africa can maintain an unbeaten run of home wins - now standing at 10 Tests - on Saturday, they will break a 22-year-old mark and White's record as coach will stretch to 14 wins in 20 tests with one draw - a 76 percent winning record that leaves him adrift of only the late Kitch Christie, the World Cup winning coach whose 100 percent record from 14 Tests will probably never be beaten.

Smit, however, set to play his 46th Test on Saturday will record his 15th Test victory as captain if South Africa beat New Zealand. This would give him a 77 percent winning return in his 20th test as skipper - closing the gap on second placed Joost van der Westhuizen, who retired with eight wins in 10 Tests as captain.

Du Plessis, probably the most respected man ever to captain the Springboks, said: "I thought he was excellent last week (against Australia).

'He has my full backing and I think people should get off his back'
"I met John at a young age as I had a nephew at Pretoria Boys High who knew him and from the start he was an exceptional boy with fine leadership qualities. This year I was very fortunate to get to know him at the Tsunami match (Du Plessis managed the South team in the charity match against the North side) featuring three dynamic captains two of whom (New Zealand captain Tana Umaga and Australia skipper George Gregan) were quite senior to him.

"Gregan was made captain of the side due to his seniority, but it was revealing to see the huge respect senior players in the side had for John. He deals with leadership naturally and right now he is taking the side with Jake to where they deserve to be.

"He has my full backing and I think people should get off his back and let him take the side forward. Things could have gone wrong on Saturday at Loftus, but he steadied the ship and it has been great seeing his game improve and reaching a level where people will be forced to forget the criticism."

White said the last two Test wins against Australia had vindicated his faith in Smit.

"He has almost an 80 percent win ratio as a captain and he can play hooker or prop on both sides of the scrum. His value to the front row is immense and he has just come off two great Test matches and is getting better as he matures.

"But most important was the way he captained the side over the weekend. His half-time talk was right on the button when we were 13-6 down. The players needed to hear something special to lift them and he said it.

"We've got five athletes in our pack in Victor (Matfield), Albert (van den Berg), Joe (van Niekerk), Juan (Smith) and Jacques (Cronjé) and you need someone like John to do the basics so they can run around. He might not be flashy and stand out on the wing like others, but he does his job and thus allows others to shine.

"(Former Bok coach) Nick Mallett said even if John was not good enough as a player he would make him captain. Captaining South Africa is a tough task because you have such diversity in religion, culture and creed in a team of black, white, English and Afrikaans from north and south. It takes someone special to mould that all together," said White.

Smit has already moved on from Loftus to focus on Saturday's test, one he regards as the most critical of his 18-month term as skipper.

"We said the (first) Test against Ireland last year would be critical to putting us on the right track and again when we played New Zealand at Ellis Park. This game will also be one of those tests that is critical to putting us on a new level."

During the break at Loftus Smit told his players that they did not want to suffer the ignominy of becoming the first Springbok side to lose a test to Australia in Pretoria and that the Wallabies would come out firing in the second half.

"I am fortunate to have a whole bunch of guys I can rely on who communicate the same things. We were on the same wavelength in the second half when we knew we had to drive from the lineouts and buy time to close out the win."

Smit said good advice had helped him to cope with criticism: "Captains who went before me, guys like André (Vos), Bob (Skinstad), Gary (Teichmann) and Corné (Krige) told me you can never please everyone as Springbok captain, so it was best not to react to criticism and get bogged down.

"I have managed to fall back on the confidence Jake shows in me as captain and in the team. I do not try too hard to be a captain, but I do rely on the players to back me up and the support I get makes my life easier," said the Bok skipper.


Winning percentage of Springbok captains (10 or more tests as captain)

Played Won Drawn Lost Win percentage
Morné du Plessis 15 13 0 2 86.6%
Joost van der Westhuizen 10 8 0 2 80%
John Smit 19 14 1 4 76%
Gary Teichmann 36 26 0 10 72%
François Pienaar 29 19 2 8 65.2%
Dawie de Villiers 22 13 4 5 59%
André Vos 16 9 0 7 56%
Hannes Marais 11 6 2 3 54%
Avril Malan 10 5 2 3 50%
Bob Skinstad 10 5 1 4 50%
Corné Krige 18 7 0 11 38.8%