Top 20 rugby quotes of the week

1. “They are banged up enough without me giving them a ‘snorter’ on the scrum machine.”
Graham Rowntree — British & Irish Lions scrumming coach

2. “The Beast was pretty impressive. There was one scrum after nine minutes when we got lifted off the floor and if I was their scrum coach I would have retired and gone to Panama.”
Graham Rowntree — British & Irish Lions scrumming coach

3. “I just worked hard on certain things and did them right.”
Tendai Mtawarira — The 118kg Beast, just 23 and with 10 Test caps

4. “I think we have the secret. He brought his fiancée down [from Zimbabwe] for a short stay and we saw what that did for him. We are going to get her to stay a couple of weeks longer.”
John Smit — Springbok captain on Mtawarira

5. “If I listened to 43 million opinions, I believe I would be lost. I’m not concerned about Ricky’s form. Look, if you go to a black mechanic and he doesn’t fix your car, you don’t go back. If you go to a white mechanic and he doesn’t fix your car, you go back and make sure he fixes the problem. What I am saying is give Ricky a chance.’’
Peter de Villiers — Springbok coach

6. “I have been through some experiences in my rugby life but it is fair to say what happened to me in the Lions scrum during our first Test was among the worst.”
Phil Vickery — British & Irish Lions front-row prop

7. “It is profoundly disappointing for me that my problems had such an adverse effect on everyone else.”
Phil Vickery — British & Irish Lions front-row prop

8. “I think there is an opportunity there to inflict a psychological blow.”
Dick Muir — Springbok assistant coach

9. “I have never been Heinrich and Heinrich has never been me.”
Schalk Burger Jnr — Springbok loose forward on Heinrich Brussow benched as a result of Burger’s return to the squad

10. “I heard the papers went mad. Sorry for them. Do they know we won the match? We‘ve taken 12 years to beat the Lions and if we beat them by one point or 20 points it does not matter.”
Peter de Villiers — Springbok coach following the June 20 Test #1

11. “I was replacing Springboks with Springboks, not with schoolboys. I made the decision to substitute them because I felt we needed to inject some pace and energy into the game. In any rugby match, there is a period where players go to sleep, so you want to inject new energy.”
Peter de Villiers — Springbok coach

12. “It was a potential banana skin that we’ve got through, it was disappointing to give away the try at the end but I thought the attitude was superb and the conditions were always going to be a leveller. There wasn’t a lot of rugby played.” “It was a million miles from what we want at the weekend.”
Ian McGeechan — British & Irish Lions head coach following the 13-all match against the emerging Boks

13. “Saru and its provincial unions are solely responsible for the ticket prices and the Lions management had no input. We are very surprised about the poor attendance. The Lions visit South Africa only every 12 years and it is therefore disappointing that the stadiums aren’t full.”
John Feehan — British & Irish Lions executive head

14. “We maybe tried to play too much rugby in the first half, which is why I called on Willem de Waal in the second half to consolidate with his kicking game.”
Dick Muir — Assistant Springbok coach and coach of the emerging Boks following the 13-ll draw against the Lions

15. “Every Test is different. We can’t therefore rest on our laurels as far as Saturday is concerned. We know how tough it was last weekend. That is why we will have to get the job done on Saturday.”
John Smit — Springbok captain

16. “I was nearly ready for the Durban Test match. What was frustrating for me was that I flew down friends, family and my girlfriend and now I will have to do it again this weekend”
Schalk Burger Jnr — Springbok loose forward on his omission for the first Test and selection for the 2nd Lions Test.

17. “There’s no point in drawing inspiration from the past. We have to live in the here and now.”
Shaun Edwards — British & Irish Lions defence coach

18. “Loftus is the hardest place in the world to play rugby at this moment. Firstly, it’s so because of the altitude, and secondly anybody who went there for the Super 14 final would have seen why it is the hardest place to play rugby.”
Shaun Edwards — British & Irish Lions defence coach

19. “Gethin Jenkins is one of the best loose-head props in the world. He hits up to 40 rucks a game, makes at least 10 carries and even more tackles. Those are amazing statistics for a prop and he is a very intelligent rugby player.”
Warren Gatland — Assistant British & Irish Lions coach

20. “I do not think they have shown every thing at this stage. They tend to play to a same-way pattern and then come back with their penetrative backs.”
Heyneke Meyer — former Blue Bulls coach