Monthly Archives: November 2012
The Western Cape health department must pay compensation to a paralysed rugby player, the province’s High Court has ruled, the Times reported on Friday.
Springbok captain Jean de Villiers has made himself available this week to answer readers’ questions.
The Springboks are hard at work preparing for this weekend’s clash against England at Twickenham, but Jean was kind enough to put aside some time for this Q & A session.
We selected a number of questions to cover the main themes and Jean answered on subjects ranging from the Springboks’ gameplan through to what it feels like playing in front of the passionate European crowds.
Below are his answers.
Scotland have made a late change to their team for tomorrow’s EMC Test against Tonga at Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen.
The Official Media Release of the Golden Lions Rugby Union, reads as follows regarding former head coach, John Mitchell, who has been redeployed as a technical advisor to the Union, and Johan Ackermann has been appointed as head coach. I hope this long and drawn out saga has finally been resloved and the Lions can concentrate on the Lions Challenge and Currie Cup in their quest to regain Super Rugby status.
George North & Liam Williams
Wales have suffered a big blow ahead of their Test match at the Millennium stadium with New Zealand’s All Blacks as winger George North has been replaced by Liam Williams.
Ireland have named their team to play Argentina at Aviva Stadium with Jamie Heaslip retaining the captaincy for the third straight Test match .
Injuries to key players have forced four changes in the Samoa XV to take on France in a rugby union test match at the Stade de France on Saturday.
Italy coach Jacques Brunel made two changes to the side which suffered a 42-10 defeat to New Zealand ahead of Saturday’s third and final November test against Australia in Florence.
Morgan Parra will start at scrumhalf against Samoa at the Stade de France on Saturday in one of three changes to Philippe Saint Andre’s team who beat Argentina.
Scotland play the last of their three end of year tests on Saturday against Tonga at Pittodrie Football Stadium in Aberdeen. Both teams were announced yesterday with various changes being made by Scotland from the team that played the Springboks while Tonga only made one change to their team that beat the United States last weekend.
Joe Launchbury will make his first Test start as England make six changes for Saturday’s Test against South Africa. The lock, 21, replaces Wasps team-mate Tom Palmer, who drops out of the 23, as one of four changes to the pack.
I am even though I have tried to see this in a positive light, of the opinion that Lambie is being set up here to fail.
Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer continues to prove his doubters wrong, especially those who brand him as a dour, one-dimensional coach.
All Black coach Steve Hansen pulled out the big guns for New Zealand’s encounter with Wales in Cardiff on Saturday.
Hansen named a hugely experienced and in-form All Black side, with 745 caps in the starting XV and 140 on the eight-man bench.
Australia’s Wallabies have named thirty-three-year-old Western Force halfback Brett Sheehan to make Test starting debut against Italy in Florence on Saturday.
The ARU will appeal Wallabies lock Rob Simmons’s eight-week suspension for a lifting tackle on French forward Yannick Nyanga in Paris two weeks ago.
Argentina tighthead Juan Figallo has been suspended for three weeks for head-butting France captain Pascal Pape.
Wings from all corners of the world dominate the four-man shortlist for the International Rugby Players’ Association (IRPA) Try of the Year award after stunning scores in 2012.
The International Rugby Board (IRB) has confirmed that it will appeal what it strongly believes to be an “unduly lenient sanction” handed down to New Zealand forward Adam Thomson for stamping or trampling on the head of an opponent.
The Springbok rugby run-on side to face England on Saturday at 16:30 SA Time (14:30 GMT) is unchanged from last weekend, with Pat Cilliers on the bench in place of CJ van der Linde and Elton Jantjies replacing Morné Steyn.
England have dropped Thomas Waldrom, Tom Johnson and Charlie Sharples for Saturday’s Test against South Africa at Twickenham. Forward Joe Marler is also out after straining medial ligaments in his knee in the 20-14 defeat against Australia.
James Haskell and Ben Morgan have both been included in the squad for the first time this autumn. London Irish centre Jonathan Joseph has taken Sharples’ place in the squad after shaking off an ankle injury.
Springbok lock, Eben Etzebeth has been found Not Guilty of the alleged eye gouging he was cited for after the clash between the Springboks and Scotland. The Judicial Officer ruled that the contact was accidental and therefore did not constitute foul play.
Golden Lions prop JC Janse van Rensburg will fly to London on Tuesday evening to replace the injured CJ van der Linde in the Springbok squad.
Wales coach Warren Gatland has made five changes to the team that lost to Samoa for this week’s Test match against World Champions New Zealand at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday.
Super Rugby newcomers, the Southern Kings, are busy finalising their squad for next year’s tournament.
The Vodacom Bulls on Tuesday confirmed the appointment of Victor Matfield as their new Forwards and Attack Coach for the 2013 Vodacom Super Rugby season, while also naming Derick Hougaard as a skills and kicking coach and Handrè Pollard as part of their extended playing squad for the new season.
Uncapped, Inverness-born stand-off Tom Heathcote has tonight joined the Scotland squad in Aberdeen in preparation for Saturday’s EMC Test against Tonga. Heathcote, 20, who has already featured in the Heineken Cup for Bath Rugby, has previously played age-grade for England but is “delighted” to accept the call-up from the land of his birth.
Scotland head coach Andy Robinson said: “Tom has worked his way into the Bath first team squad from the academy and we’ve been monitoring his progress for the last couple of years.”
Springbok lock Eben Etzebeth has been cited for allegedly making contact with a the eye of a Scotland player in the Test match played at Murrayfield on Saturday.
The Springboks may have to do without one of their few experienced in-form backline players in Saturday’s final test of the year against England at Twickenham.
When Warren Gatland relinquished fulltime coaching duties with Wales in the summer, his side had just won the Six Nations and was still feasting on its run to the World Cup semifinals.
Ian Kirkpatrick, great rugby man, died suddenly at his home in Helderberg Village on Sunday. He was 82. His influence on South African rugby over six decades cannot be overestimated.
On Friday he complained of a ‘stomach upset’ and cancelled a meeting with an overseas company about to make a documentary on the 1974 tour, when Kirkpatrick was a national selector.
His playing career was great. He left Kimberley Boys’ high and at the age of 19 and played for Griquas. The next year he went to the Springbok trials at Newlands when the great Springbok team was chosen for the 1951-52 tour. In 1953 he made his Springbok debut against the Wallabies at Newlands, playing flyhalf.
Kirkie played for South Africa in 13 Tests. Of the 13 two were lost, and on each occasion it was at Newlands (against Australia and France) and he was at flyhalf. In 10 Tests he was at centre in partnership with John Gainsford.
The Cheetahs are doing everything within their powers to try and stop loose forward Juan Smith from moving to France.
Patrick Lambie missed his opportunity to stake a claim for the Springbok No.10 jersey at Murrayfield at the weekend.
This was Lambie’s chance to shine. The wet European conditions had stayed away for the Springboks’ Edinburgh encounter against an ordinary Scottish outfit fresh off a 51-22 hiding from New Zealand.
Controversial Wallaby flyhalf Quade Cooper has reportedly dropped a major bomb by walking out on Australian rugby.
Nick Mallet during his tenure as Springbok coach made himself very unpopular by saying that he is not too concerned about criticism from South African rugby fans because in his opinion they don’t know much about the game anyway.