Daily Archives: 17 February 2015
FNB UP-Tuks beat defending champions FNB UCT to move to the top of the FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International standings.
The Pretoria side have not lost to the Ikeys since the 2011 final, and they continued their dominance over the Cape side by scoring 6 tries to hand UCT their first away defeat since 2013.
They are separated from FNB NWU-Pukke on points difference after the Potchefstroom outfit was held to a dramatic 26 / 26 draw by FNB Maties in Stellenbosch.
NWU-Pukke looked set to record their first victory over Maties since the inaugural competition in 2008, but a late try from lock Ian Groenewald saw the 3-time champions fight back for their 2nd bonus point draw in as many weeks.
Both teams scored 4 tries in windy conditions at the Danie Craven Stadium in Stellenbosch, with Maties forced to fight back for the draw after having the same done to them by the Ikeys on the Green Mile last week.
In Johannesburg FNB UFS-Shimlas showed impressive discipline to shut FNB UJ out and record a valuable 24 / 0 win on the road, whilst the top 4 is rounded off by FNB NMMU who secured a comfortable 34 / 13 victory over newcomers FNB CUT despite being shown 5 Yellow cards.
Jesse Kriel
Regular captain and No 8 Pierre Spies is back at the helm of the Vodacom Bulls when they take on the Hurricanes at Loftus Versfeld on Friday in Round 2 of the Vodacom Super Rugby competition.
Spies takes over the captaincy from Victor Matfield and the No 8 jumper from Arno Botha, who picked up an injury in the Vodacom Bulls tournament opener last weekend against the DHL Stormers.
The regular Bulls leader was eased back into action off the bench, but is now fit to start in a team that shows 4 changes to the starting line-up and 6 all-together from the one that started their campaign with a disappointing loss against the Cape side.
Spies comes in for Botha, with his place on the bench taken by rookie loose forward Hanro Liebenberg, who could earn a first start should he take to the field.
The injury to Werner Kruger also resulted in a front row shuffle. Trevor Nyakane will move from the left side of the front row to the right and Morné Mellett off the bench into the No 1 jersey.
A fit-again Dean Greyling will take Mellett’s place on the bench.
The other unforced change is at fullback where Jesse Kriel will start, with Jurgen Visser moving down to the bench in a straight swop with the Junior Springbok player.
SANZAR has announced Match Official appointments for Round 2 of the 2015 Super Rugby season.
On Friday we have 3 matches, with the Chiefs hosting the Brumbies, the Melbourne Rebels hosting the Waratahs and the Vodacom Bulls hosting the Hurricanes.
On Saturday we have 4 matches, with the Highlanders kicking off their season after an early BYE weekend against the Crusaders, the Reds against the Western Force and followed by 2 games in South Africa, the one between the DHL Stormers against the Blues and the Cell C Sharks against the Emirates Lions.
Michael Cheika
Michael Cheika has insisted that he will be able to juggle his jobs as Wallabies and Waratahs coach throughout the 2015 Super Rugby season.
The Waratahs went unbeaten at home last year on their way to winning their first Super Rugby title which led to Cheika being appointed as Wallabies coach after Ewen McKenzie stepped down.
Cheika will step down as Waratahs coach at the end of the 2015 Super Rugby season but as they lost their first match since he took on the dual role questions would inevitably follow about whether he would be able to concentrate fully on both roles.
Tendai ‘Beast’ Mtawarira
The Sharks suffered a major injury scare on Saturday when Tendai Mtawarira left the field in pain, with the early diagnosis indicating a severe injury.
However, after undergoing scans on Monday, a calf tear was downgraded to a calf strain and although he will not be considered for selection for a few weeks, this does not constitute a long term injury.
“Losing an international is a big loss to any team, obviously we aren’t happy about losing Tendai, but there’s nothing we can do, we have to move on,” said assistant coach Sean Everitt.
Dan Carter
Details on Dan Carter’s leg injury are still fuzzy heading towards the Crusaders match against the Highlanders on Saturday.
The official line signalled some improvement when he was assessed by the medical staff and then involved in the squad’s light workout on Monday at their Christchurch headquarters.
During the Crusaders’ opening Super Rugby loss to the Rebels, Carter took a knock to his lower right leg which he then aggravated when he made a hasty clearing kick from his in-goal area.
The limping flyhalf stayed on for a further 15 minutes hoping the discomfort from his “dead leg” would ease. He had to be subbed and when he fronted for interviews later, Carter was optimistic there was no significant issue.
The Waratahs have named an unchanged starting line-up for their match against the Melbourne Rebels in Melbourne on Friday.
Pat McCutcheon and Peter Betham are added to a list of reserves that will travel south, with coach Michael Cheika naming his bench closer to the game.
Flyhalf Bernard Foley will celebrate his 50th Super Rugby cap this week, while teammates Adam Ashley-Cooper and Stephen Hoiles will notch their 50th Waratahs Super Rugby caps in the same match.