Daily Archives: 9 September 2014
Our 2 previous previous PUB NIGHTS, the past 2 Tuesday nights, we had great FUN!
This week we AGAIN add the TWIST to PUB NIGHT, where we throw the whole website open so that ANYBODY can comment, Registered AND Unregistered Readers.
So, whether Registered or not, take part tonight!
Registered Subscribers, please note that you LOGIN AS PER USUAL and comment as per normal (If you do not Log in, you will have to fill in a name and E-Mail Address), Unregistered Readers who want to take part, simply supply a Blogging Nickname and your E-Mail Address (must be a valid E-Mail Address), tick the I’m Human checkbox (otherwise spam might get in) and join in the fun.
The idea is to lighten up our dull Tuesday evenings with music, comedy and fun.
Rugby takes a backseat tonight as the clan and fellow rugby nutters gather…
Read the rules below carefully, or you WILL get burnt!
Just for clarity sake, when someone does not adhere to the Rules of the PUB, EVERYBODY jumps on them and pummels them, right… understood?
Here’s how it works:
Jean de Villiers
Jean de Villiers sees the Springboks advancing years as an advantage ahead of his 100th test.
The evergreen midfielder will become just the fifth player to bring up 100 test caps for South Africa during Saturday’s Rugby Championship match against the All Blacks in Wellington.
Two of those players, John Smit and Percy Montgomery, have retired, but Bryan Habana and Victor Matfield will run out alongside de Villiers when he achieves his milestone at Westpac Stadium.
France call-up near: Rory Kockott
Rory Kockott’s wait for a taste of international rugby appears to be over as he meets with Philippe Saint-André this week.
The South African-born scrum-half looks certain to be part of the French squad for the November Tests according to the Midi Olympique, with Saint-André preparing to announce an initial squad on September 21 for a training camp.
Kockott became eligible for Les Bleus in July, and having been overlooked by Heyneke Meyer for the Rugby Championship, despite a scrum-half crisis, the Castres star seems to have settled on playing for France.
He will meet Saint-André this week, with the French coach eager to increase the competition on current scrum-halves Maxime Machenaud and Morgan Parra.
The Cheetahs have rung the changes for their crucial Currie Cup clash with the Sharks in Bloemfontein.
The Free State side lost for the third time in their last game against the Pumas, and now find themselves fifth in the table, with only the top four making the play-offs.
As a result coach Rory Duncan has made drastic changes, with Sarel Pretorius the only player to keep his shirt in the backline from last week.
Man in charge: Brett Gosper
The IRB are looking to close the loophole which could see players switch nationalities according to chief executive Brett Gosper.
With rugby becoming an Olympic sport in 2016, a loophole was opened up for those players who had previously played international rugby for one country and wished to change allegiances in Sevens, which would then have carried over into the 15-man game.
Players with passports for another country and who hadn’t played international rugby in the previous 18 months, simply needed to take part in an Olympic Sevens tournament, including qualifiers, to become eligible for the XVs side of their new country.
Bismarck du Plessis
Their Castle Rugby Championship 2014 hopes having taken a stinging blow with that controversial, late loss to Australia, South Africa need to find an A-game against formidable New Zealand in Wellington on Saturday … and to have the best chance they must employ every A-grade player they can muster.
Bismarck du Plessis is one such character, his pedigree hardly disputed anywhere in the rugby world, and with others like Fourie du Preez and Jaque Fourie currently unavailable in berths where the Springbok are battling, it makes little sense to muzzle this particular pit-bull to a presence among the substitutes again.
Akona Ndungane
Blue Bulls coach Frans Ludeke recalled Springbok wings Akona Ndungane and Bjorn Basson to his team to face the EP Kings at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Friday (19:10 kick-off).
They replace Sampie Mastriet and Jamba Ulengo, who started against the Golden Lions last week. They are two of three changes to the backline for the clash in Port Elizabeth.
In another rotational move, Piet van Zyl will start at scrumhalf, with Rudy Paige moving to the bench.
Reigning champions Leinster were toppled by beaten finalists Glasgow Warriors at Scostoun, with Stuart Hogg slotting over the winning penalty with the last kick of the game.
Warriors stormed to a 19-0 lead with tries from Peter Horne, Josh Strauss and Jonny Gray, but then Leinster staged a late revival.
Jack McGrath and Tom Denton found their way over the whitewash to put the Irish province into the lead for the first time, but ill-discipline in the dying minutes led to Hogg’s successful penalty.
It has been widely acknowledged that the standard of refereeing in the Rugby Championship this past weekend was less than stellar. All lovers of the game, from fans through to coaches and players, are justifiably exasperated by such result-affecting calls by refs.
Sadly, this is not the first time and, probably, won’t be the last time the rugby world is incensed by sub-standard refereeing performances – unless something proactive is done to address what is a very real problem.
What is missing in all the blustery huffing and puffing though, are solutions or suggestions that the IRB (or World Rugby) can use to address the problem.
So here are my suggestions. My solutions. As just a passionate lover of the sport. See if you agree or disagree. Pick them apart. Point out their weaknesses. Tell me why they won’t work. No hard feelings. All I ask is that for every criticism, you offer an alternative solution.
Hopefully with all the traffic Rugby Talk.com is attracting these days, someone of influence will read all our comments and maybe… just maybe… do something positive with them.
I believe a three-part solution will sort out most of the issues but, like anything, there has to be the political will to address and sort out the problem instead of worrying about offending egos or apportioning blame.
Chester Williams
Former Springbok wing Chester Williams wants to get involved in transforming rugby in South Africa.
In an interview with the Cape Times, Williams said he supported the SA Rugby Union’s new Transformation Strategic Plan, which aims to bring all of South Africa’s representative rugby teams, along with domestic teams in line with national targets in five years.
SARU wants to make sure that by 2019 at least half the Springbok side consists of players of colour, with 60% of those required to be black African.
Jean De Villiers
Springbok captain Jean de Villiers cannot quite believe that he is about to play his 100th Test match, given he felt he might not even get a second after he destroyed ligaments in his knee, seven minutes into his debut.
The centre spent nine months recuperating after that Test against France in Marseille in November 2002, returned to play a game as the Springboks warmed up for the 2003 World Cup in Australia, then suffered a shoulder injury.
Tony Johnson
There’s work to be done yet, but the All Blacks are in the driver’s seat for the Rugby Championship after the events of Saturday night.
With the Springboks losing in Perth, a New Zealand win in Wellington this weekend will give the All Blacks the chance to wrap up the title in La Plata, ahead of their return clash with South Africa at Ellis Park.
The win in Napier should be put into context – they contained a powerful forward pack that had bossed the Springboks about in two tests and scored the requisite four tries in very tricky conditions. That’s a good night’s work.
South Africa have opted to look internally, rather than focus on and get distracted by external sideshows.
Speaking ahead of the Springboks Rugby Championship Round Four encounter with arch rivals New Zealand, in Wellington on Saturday, assistant coach Ricardo Loubscher said this week is all about themselves – as they look to bounce back from last week’s heartbreaking loss to Australia.
Cosatu’s provincial secretary Tony Ehrenreich.
Trade union federation Cosatu says it wholeheartedly supports the SA Rugby Union’s plans to ensure that half the Springbok team is made up of players of colour by 2019.
SARU on Monday confirmed its Transformation Strategic Plan, which aims to bring all of South Africa’s representative rugby teams, along with domestic teams in line with national targets in five years.
SARU wants to make sure that by 2019 at least half the Springbok side consists of players of colour, with 60% of those required to be black African.
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen is comfortable fielding a potential second-string side in their historic rugby test in Samoa next July.
New Zealand Rugby today confirmed the All Blacks would play in Apia for the first time, in a Wednesday afternoon test on July 8.
That falls four days after the Super Rugby final in World Cup year and Hansen said it would be ”ridiculous” to expect any All Blacks who played the decider to back up in Apia.
Waratahs hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau will play his 50th Test after being named for the Wallabies to start against Argentina in his first match since the Super Rugby final.
Polota-Nau injured the medial ligament in his right knee in the Waratahs’ historic title win five weeks ago and has been gunning for a comeback ever since, joining the Wallabies 10 days ago to finish his rehabilitation in camp.
He made it through a contact session on the weekend, ran with the side at training on Monday before being named to start on Tuesday in his 50th Test appearance and his first Test since the Wallabies’ final triumph against France in June.