This past weekend saw the end of the Southern Hemisphere 15-man rugby season… a long and arduous season.
Now only the HSBC Sevens World Series Nelson Mandela Bay Sevens tournament remains, after which we, as proud Southerners, have to rely on the scraps of rugby coming to us from the Northern Hemisphere, and then fill in the gaps with some cricket action to keep our sport addictions alive.
The South African Blitzbokke provide scant hopes for a good result in Port Elizabeth this coming weekend, but the party will continue… and we will party right along.
On the positive side, it was a good season again for Southern Hemisphere rugby, spoilt by the fantastic wins by France against the Wallabies about a month ago and of course the Coup de Grace by the England rugby side against the world number one side, the New Zealand All Blacks, this past weekend – lambasting them by a massive 38 / 21.
Hereafter a quick look at the respective seasons of the BIG BOYS of Southern Hemisphere Rugby:
All Black flyhalf Dan Carter was named the International Rugby Board Player of the Year at the IRB Awards in London on Monday.
Springbok Sevens playmaker Cecil Afrika is one of three players who joined the squad on Monday for the Cell C Nelson Mandela Bay Sevens this weekend in Port Elizabeth.
Springbok hooker Bismarck du Plessis has been named as tournament ambassador for the inaugural NBM Sevens Premier League rugby (7sPL) tournament in George next week.
World Cup trophy holders New Zealand will play Argentina, Tonga and two qualifiers after the draw was made for the 2015 rugby World Cup on Monday, but hosts England were handed a tougher task.
Australia and the South African Proteas did battle in the 3rd & final Test of the Series in Australia at the Western Australia Cricket Association ground (WACA), Perth.
