Daily Archives: 22 February 2015
Round 3 of the FNB Varsity Cup on Monday will feature 4 intense rivalries.
The action will get underway with the 1st-ever Varsity Cup Bloemfontein derby as newcomers FNB CUT host their cross-town rivals the FNB UFS-Shimlas in the 1st match to be televised live on Supersport 1.
The Monte Taljaard trophy will be up for grabs once again as coastal sides FNB NMMU and FNB UCT square off on the Green Mile in Cape Town, whilst in Johannesburg FNB UJ will take on FNB NWU-Pukke before the big North-South showdown between FNB UP-Tuks and FNB Maties in Pretoria.
All 4 Varsity Rugby competitions will be up and running on Monday, with the 1st fixtures in the FNB Varsity Young Guns and Steinhoff Koshuisrugby Championships kicking off as well.
Although CUT and UFS-Shimlas have never faced each other in the Varsity Cup, there is plenty of history between the 2 sides, so Bloemfontein is likely to come to a standstill when the game kicks off at 16:45 SA Time.
Newly-promoted Varsity Shield champions CUT are still looking for their 1st win of the competition, and would dearly love to make UFS-Shimlas their 1st scalp.
UCT won 2 trophies last year, picking up the Monte Taljaard trophy against the Madibaz in Port Elizabeth before going on to lift the Varsity Cup trophy at the end of the season, and having lost to UP-Tuks in Pretoria last week, they will be desperate to bounce back in front of their fans and keep the trophy in Cape Town for another year.
The trophy is played in memory of star Grey High School and UCT flank Monte Taljaard who was tragically killed in a car accident in 2008, with the match between the Ikeys and the Madibaz doubling as a celebration of his life every year.
After going down at home to UFS-Shimlas last week, UJ will be determined to put things right against a NWU-Pukke side that will still be smarting after seeing a win against Maties in Stellenbosch slip through their hands in Round 2, with a draw.
The late match will see 2 powerhouses of the competition cross swords, with 2-time champions UP-Tuks up against 3-time champions Maties, in Pretoria.
UP-Tuks currently top the standings on points difference ahead of NWU-Pukke, and will want to maintain that position, whilst Maties will be out to break the cycle of stalemates following consecutive draws in their first 2 games.
The Vodacom Bulls lost their 2nd successive home match when the Hurricanes caused a minor upset by winning 17 / 13 at Loftus Versfeld on Friday evening.
The last time the 3-time champions lost consecutive matches at home was in Rounds 2 and 3 in 2008. Incidentally, that was also the last year the Hurricanes won in Pretoria before this weekend.
The home team could not get into gear and were heavily penalised by referee Andre Lees. These and other errors proved very costly in the end.
Springbok flyhalf Handré Pollard scored all the Vodacom Bulls’ points through a try, conversion and 2 penalty goals.
In the aftermath to the match, the Bulls and Hurricanes Press Conferences were a sight to behold!
Bulls coach Frans Ludeke, wide-eyed as ever, seemed more strained than usual and once again underlined what he perceived as positives to be taken from the game. Captain Pierre Spies could not hide the shame and it appeared that he was deliberately looking down to avoid eye-contact with menbers of the Media.
On the other hand, Hurricanes Coach Chris Boys was in a juvial mode, making an early joke during the Press Conference, yet also stating that although they achieved to come “take Points” in South Africa, that he was not yet satisfied and felt that the Hurricans should improve.
Here are the Audio streams of the After Match Press Conferences:
Bulls after match Press Conference:
Hurricanes after match Press Conference:
Marcell Coetzee
Springbok forward Marcell Coetzee scored 2 tries as the Cell C Sharks defeated the Emirates Lions 29 / 12 at a drenched Growthpoint Kings Park in Durban.
Kick-off was very nearly delayed thanks to the torrential rain that hit Durban throughout Saturday, with only the most dedicated of fans remaining in the Kings Park stands.
The natural expectation therefore was an error-strewn contest with knock-ons galore, but to credit both sides the standard of their handling and execution was better than predicted.
The Lions grew in confidence and stature as the match progressed, doing their damage off the tee through Marnitz Boshoff, but ultimately came up significantly short.
A test of tactical nous in the wet, Springbok halfbacks Cobus Reinach and Pat Lambie both showed real intelligence in their decision-making, a fine example being the build-up to Odwa Ndungane’s try.
The DHL Stormers got their 2nd win of the season, a 27 / 16 triumph over the Blues at a sun-bathed Newlands on Saturday.
It is a win that will be both celebrated and loathed.
The celebration will be for the 4 points on the standings. The negative side will be because the Blues were reduced to 14 men for 55 minutes and the home team should have won by a much larger margin.
The game was turned on its head in the 25th minute, when veteran Blues lock Hayden Triggs was spotted punching Stormers captain Duane Vermeulen – not once, but twice – and Red-carded, leaving his team a man down for a large chunk of the match.
Hayden Triggs Red Carded for punching Duane Vermeulen
Veteran Blues lock Hayden Triggs will front up to a SANZAR disciplinary hearing, after he received a Red Card for punching during his team’s Super Rugby loss to the Stormers.
Triggs stands accused of having contravened Law 10.4 (a): Punching or striking.
It follows an incident that occurred in the 24th minute of the match between the DHL Stormers and Blues at Newlands in Cape Town on Saturday.
The case is to be considered in the first instance by SANZAR duty judicial officer Robert Stelzner.
Owen Franks
Kane Hames
Crusaders prop Owen Franks and his Highlanders counterpart Kane Hames were both cited for foul play after their teams’ clash in Dunedin on Saturday.
Both players are alleged to have contravened Law 10.4 (a) Punching or striking.
Owens’ incident occurred in the 10th minute of the match while Hames’ incident took place in the 74th minute.
Upon further review of the match footage, the citing commissioner deemed in his opinion the incidents had met the Red Card threshold for foul play.
Grant Jarrold
Grant Jarrold has been elected the new Chairman of the Crusaders.
Jarrold said he was looking forward to stepping up to the role of Crusaders Chairman and continuing to contribute to the organisation.
“I am passionate about this team and have enjoyed being involved as a Board member since 2012.
“This is a Board, a team and an organisation full of quality, committed people, so it is an honour to assume the role of Chairman for the Crusaders,” Jarrold said.
Jarrold continued: “There are plenty of new opportunities for the Crusaders this season and in the future.