Daily Archives: 15 March 2015
The pressure will be on in the penultimate round (Round 6) before the FNB Varsity Cup play-offs the following Monday.
With 6 teams still in the hunt for a place in the semi-finals, Round 6 could have a major influence on the final Log positions and play-off venues this year.
Log-leaders FNB UP-Tuks face 4th-placed FNB UJ in a high-stakes Gauteng derby in Johannesburg, while the other big game will see the unbeaten FNB UFS-Shimlas host defending champions FNB UCT in Bloemfontein.
The other 2 matches will involve teams in the bottom half of the standings, with FNB NWU-Pukke looking to move into the Top 4 with an away win against newcomers FNB CUT and 3-times champions FNB Maties hoping to keep their play-off hopes alive when they host FNB NMMU.
The Stellenbosch side have only missed out on the semi-finals once in 2011, and they will know that defeat to the 7th-placed Madibaz will take their fate out of their hands.
Maties showed good character to fight back and beat UJ for their 1st win of the season in Round 5, but they will face an NMMU side that will be desperate to salvage something from a disappointing campaign.
In Bloemfontein the CUT Ixias will want to be more competitive after suffering 5 heavy defeats so far, but have their work cut out for them against a hungry NWU-Pukke side, while across town UFS-Shimlas will be looking to extend their unbeaten streak against a confident Ikeys team coming off a big win in Potchefstroom.
The final match of the evening will be in Johannesburg where UJ will be out to prove their play-off credentials at home against a rampant UP-Tuks side that has their eye on a home semi-final.
The Cell C Sharks scored an impressive bonus point victory in Bloemfontein as the 3 other South African Vodacom Super Rugby sides in action in Round 5 faltered.
The Emirates Lions could not emulate their win from last weekend as they came up against a Crusaders side hitting their straps in Christchurch on Saturday morning, with the Cantabrians running out comfortable winners (34 / 6).
On a sunny Cape Town afternoon, the DHL Stormers’ impressive 4-match winning run came to a sudden end as they were beaten by 28 / 19 by the Chiefs, who outscored their hosts by 3 tries to 1. The home team dropped from 1st to 3rd on the Combined Log.
In the final match of the weekend, the Cell C Sharks ended a mini-slump with a 27 / 10 victory over the Toyota Cheetahs in Bloemfontein, which saw the team from Durban move into the Top 6 on the Combined Log.
It was the Durbanites’ 1st try-scoring bonus point away from home in a local derby in almost 3 years.
The Vodacom Bulls had a BYE this weekend while there were yet again more away victories (4r) than home wins (3).
The Cell C Sharks picked up their second victory of the Super Rugby campaign as they saw off the Toyota Cheetahs 27 / 10 in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
An improved performance was always on the cards following the defeat the men from Durban suffered against Stormers in their previous outing and the revival particularly at scrum-time will be encouraging for both the Super Rugby team and the Springbok coaching set-up.
The experience Tendai Mtawarira and brothers Bismarck and Jannie du Plessis brought to the game was crucial on the day, but the real winner for the Sharks was their defence against a Cheetahs outfit that was predictably full of running.
The Chiefs inflicted the DHL Stormers’ first defeat of the Super Rugby season, winning 28 / 19 in Cape Town on Saturday.
In a pulsating encounter, the former champions outscored their hosts 3 tries to 1, with flyhalf Aaron Cruden chipping in with 18 points, scoring a try and setting up another along the way.
The result moves the Chiefs level with the Hurricanes at the top of the New Zealand conference, 2 points behind the tournament-leading Brumbies in the overall standings. The Stormers are 2 points further adrift.
In front of a crowd of over 42 000, the Stormers led 16 / 13 at the interval.
The Steval Pumas, Xerox Golden Lions and Vodacom Blue Bulls all recorded good victories in Round 2 of the Vodacom Cup this weekend.
These 3 teams from the North Section are tied on 10 Log points at the top of the standings, with the Steval Pumas in 1st position because of a better points’ difference.
There were only 3 matches in this Round. The action in the South Section will kick off next weekend.
Italy (0) 0 / 29 (9) France (Final Score)
Italy and France did battle in the RBS 6 Nations at
Stadio Olimpico, Rome at 17:00 SA Time (16:00 Italian & French Time, 15:00 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 on TV in SA.
*******************
A resilient Wales side withstood a 2nd half battering to blow the RBS 6 Nations wide open and end holders Ireland’s grand slam hopes with a 23 / 16 victory on Saturday.
After an opening home defeat by England, Wales have hit back with 3 successive wins and by defeating previously undefeated Ireland they have a shot at the title, heading into the final round next week.
Despite losing both props to injury in the 1st half, Wales wobbled but did not wilt in the face of fierce Irish pressure and even a late Penalty Try, which set up a grandstand finale proved insufficient.
“An absolutely unbelievable effort,” Sam Warburton, captaining Wales for a record 34th time, said.
The Western Force has announced its 28-man travelling squad for the 2-match South African leg of Super Rugby.
Flanker Angus Cottrell (ankle), fullback Dane Haylett-Petty (foot) and winger Luke Morahan (hamstring) are set to make their returns from injury and will travel to ‘the Republic’ with the 23 players involved in Friday night’s match against the Melbourne Rebels.
Lock Wilhelm Steenkamp, who started off the bench in last Friday’s match against the Brumbies, has been selected in the Force squad, as has Greater Sydney Rams prop Guy Millar, who will provide additional coverage in the front row, following Francois van Wyk’s season-ending pectoral injury suffered against the Reds a fortnight ago.
Liam Gill of the Reds has been cited for alleged foul play during a Super Rugby match at the weekend.
Gill is alleged to have contravened 10.4 (j) Lifting Tackle, in an incident which occurred in the 47th minute of the Super Rugby match between the Reds and Brumbies at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on 14 March 2015.
The referee for the match, Andrew Lees, referred the incident to the television match official and issued a yellow card. Upon further review of the match footage, the Citing Commissioner deemed in his opinion the incident had met the red card threshold for foul play.
James Broadhurst
James Broadhurst of the Hurricanes has been cited for alleged foul play during a Super Rugby match at the weekend.
Broadhurst is alleged to have contravened 10.4 (a) Punching or striking, in an incident which occurred in the 61st minute of the Super Rugby match between the Hurricanes and Blues at FMG Stadium in Palmerston North on 13 March 2015.
Upon further review of the match footage, the Citing Commissioner deemed in his opinion the incident had met the Red Card threshold for foul play.
Gurthrö Steenkamp
Springbok prop Gurthrö Steenkamp has announced his retirement from international rugby, stating his wish to focus his career at Toulouse.
Steenkamp, many would feel, was still heavily in contention to make the Springbok World Cup squad after featuring through 2014. His retirement may well cause Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer some headaches.
The 33-year-old loosehead prop began his career at the Cheetahs in 2002 and then the Cats in 2004 before moving to the Bulls where he played the bulk of his rugby from 2005 – 2011.
Steenkamp was also selected for the Springboks from 2004 and made 53 appearances, scoring 6 tries.
The burley prop has been a part of the Toulouse setup since 2011 and has made 76 appearances for the French Giants.
Saracens produced another stunning comeback to beat Northampton Saints 24 / 20 in a tense and nervy LV Cup semi-final.
Trailing 13 / 5 at half time, Saracens flew out of the traps to run into a 21 / 13 lead with Mike Ellery’s stunning solo effort a particular highlight as Saracens march on to next weekend’s LV Cup final at Franklin’s Gardens.
Ben Spencer was in typical metronomic form from the kicking tee, kicking 14 points in blustery conditions in north London.