The iafrica.com sports team was tempted to rename this week’s sports quotes to ‘Div’s Quotes of the Week’ with the Bok coach again delivering some absolute pearlers — including what seems to be a gripe about his mechanic…

Of course, Div is not alone in this week’s quotes — although he does dominate the collection. There is also some material coming out of the Lions camp with Adam Jones, Brian O’Driscoll and Mike Phillips having plenty to say.

Finally we pick apart the sound bites coming out of Wimbledon, which are always good for a laugh…

DIV’s corner

Peter de Villiers, bless him, is a riot even when he is not trying to be. The jury is still out in the iafrica.com newsroom over his coaching abilities, but we all agree that he should be given a lesson in dealing with the media before he says something really damaging… um, too late on that. I suppose.

"We were in control [on the scoreboard], but they were looking flat. I made a mistake. I thought we would inject enthusiasm and speed, but maybe I made too many [replacements] too soon." – Div, immediately after the game, admits to making an error regarding the much-talked about Springbok replacements last weekend.

"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."

"Looking back, I maybe took too long to make the changes as we had already gone into a defensive mode. I could have put two new guys on straight away, and then a few more a bit later. But again, I'm very happy we won the game." – The Bok coach makes a sudden about-turn at the beginning of the week…

Well, which is it? It is obvious he made a mistake, he admitted as much, so why the change of heart? Hell, it makes great copy, but somebody should remind Div that everything he says is recorded.

"What I learned in South Africa is if you take your car to a garage and the owner is a black man and they mess it up, you never go back to that garage.

"If the owner is white, you say 'ag, sorry', they made a mistake and you go back again. That is how some people live their lives in this country."

"I am 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." - Div reacts to comments over the poor form of Ricky Januarie.

Come on! The race card is getting a little tiresome now. Remember how Percy used to get booed by the chaps at Loftus? I am not saying racism no longer exists, but geez, it is pretty clear that Ricky’s form has dropped off, while his body shape has ballooned since last year as well. Never mind the fact that Div has now dropped the guy… it seems he made all those comments for absolutely no reason at all!

THESE LIONS ARE FUNNY BUGGERS

I had to laugh at how the Lions talked themselves up after the Durban Test. Much like their supporters, who admirably support their team win or lose, the Lions have come to believe they are consistently on top… even when they clearly are not.

"What you have to do against South Africa is stand up to them."

"They look to bully and intimidate you, always talking and sniffing for weakness. Bakkies Botha had me on the floor in the first half and Bismark du Plessis in the second.

"It was hardly the most pleasant position to be in, but you have to look them in the eye and not be cowed. Du Plessis pulled his right fist back and said he was going to knock me out.

"I told him to go ahead.

"He wanted me to flinch and show weakness, but he had no chance." – Lions centre Brian O’Driscoll reveals his tough side after the Test.

Sorry BoD, but not only did we see you flinch, you actually covered your face with your hands as well. And a source even said you squealed a little… although granted that source is not very reliable.

"There was a bit of banter out there on Saturday - nothing wrong with it. I enjoy the confrontation, I enjoy the chat and it just gets me even more up for it to be honest.

"I think he [Botha] fancies me - he's brought on by my blue eyes, I didn't know what he was on about. He was just trying to put me off my game I think, I got a little worried a couple of times but generally I think the respect was there for each other after the game." – Lions scrumhalf Mike Phillips has a joke at the expense of Bok lock Bakkies Botha.

Asked what exactly Botha had said in their exchange, Phillips joked that the powerful second row had only had nice things to say; 'something about my sexy blue eyes.'

Hmm, while hilarious, I am not sure Bakkies will find all that too funny… Phillips may not have much to laugh about on Saturday if Bakkies gets hold of him at Loftus.

GRUNTS, SCREAMS AND MOANS

The big talk coming out of Wimbledon this week has been the screaming, grunting and shrieking – not by the fans, but by the female players. Now, I couldn’t care less how much noise they make. If the tennis is good, I will continue to watch, but the uptight blazers at the All England Club are kicking up a right old stink about it. How do the players feel? Well, they couldn’t give a stuff…

"Definitely if the matches are going to be tougher obviously I'm going to start grunting. I'm just here for myself. I'm not here really to be quiet for anybody.

"I'm here to win. If people don't like my grunting they can always leave." – Portuguese star Michelle Larcher de Brito tells her critics where to get off.

"I just keep playing. People will do whatever they want. I just hope they can respect all the players who grunt, which is 70 percent of the whole tour." - Wimbledon eighth seed Victoria Azarenka, another player to be criticised for her noise levels, puts things into perspective…

Personally, I want to know why nobody is commenting on Venus Williams’ shrieks? It’s standard fare on the WTA, and really, who cares? I would rather somebody asked Lleyton Hewitt to quit with the fist pumps and constant shouts of ‘Come on!’ than stop the woman ‘grunting’…

SEX? WE’RE EGYPTIAN

"It is completely out of track... we come from a very religious country and our players are very disciplined and religious," Mahmoud Taher, Egypt's head of delegations, reacts to reports that Egyptian football players cavorted with prostitutes, who later allegedly robbed their hotel rooms during the Confed Cup.

"The reports were published before the game and the players had to hear about them from people back home. Due to our culture in Egypt they [the players] have been subjected to a very bad image. The reports affected the game... the players." - Taher on the repercussions back home.

Hmm, I am not about to make any sweeping statements because nobody knows what happened yet, but I know footballers, and where they come from seldom makes a difference.


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