Daily Archives: 16 March 2015
SANZAR has announced the Match Official appointments for Round 6 of the 2015 Super Rugby season.
This weekend once again only sees 6 games in stead of the usual 7 games.
The Blues, Reds and DHL Stormers all have a BYE weekend.
There will be 2 games on Friday 20 March, 3 games on Saturday 21 March and 1 game on Sunday 22 March 2015.
The weekend’s action is kicked off by Ben O’Keeffe, when the Highlanders host the Hurricanes in Dunedin on Friday, 08:35 SA Time, whereafter Mike Fraser takes charge of the game between the Melbourne Rebels and the Emirates Lions at 10:40 SA Time, also on Friday.
On Saturday Andrew Lees will referee the game between the Crusaders and the Toyota Cheetahs at 08:35 SA Time, well before Nick Briant takes charge of the game between the Vodacom Bulls against the Western Force at 17:05 SA Time. At 19:10 SA Time on Saturday evening the Cell C Sharks take on the rampant Chiefs, refereed by Angus Gardner.
On Sunday we have one lone match between the Waratahs and Brumbies, where Craig Joubert will be in charge, at 07:05 SA Time.
3 Games are of particular interest this weekend, namely the derby between the giant killing Highlanders vs Hurricanes who is the only unbeaten side in 2015. Thereafter on Saturday evening, the Cell C Sharks are up against the Chiefs who is in superb nick and on Sunday we have the tasty Aussie derbie between the Waratahs and Brumbies.
Callie Visagie
Akona Ndungane
Vodacom Bulls hooker Callie Visagie and wing Akona Ndungane has been ruled of out action for this weekend’s VodacomSuper Rugby match against the Western Force at Loftus Versfeld, it was confirmed on Monday.
Ndungane has in fact been ruled out for a month after he broke his hand, while Visagie will miss the clash against the Perth side due to a chest injury.
Jacques-Louis Potgieter, who missed the last match against the Toyota Cheetahs due to a hamstring strain, will train on Tuesday and should be fit to be considered for the weekend.
UJ (0) 0 / 34 (5) Tuks (Final Score)
FNB UJ (University of Johannesburg) and FNB UP-Tuks (University of Pretoria) did
battle in the Varsity Cup at UJ Stadium, Johannesburg at 19:00 SA Time (17:00 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & CSN on TV in SA.
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Shimlas (34) 44 / 24 (8) UCT (Final Score)
FNB UFS-Shimlas (University of the Free State) and FNB UCT (University of Cape Town) did
battle in the Varsity Cup at Shimla Park, Bloemfontein at 16:45 SA Time (14:45 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & CSN on TV in SA.
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Duane Vermeulen
Stormers captain Duane Vermeulen will not play in the team’s next Super Rugby match, against the Highlanders in Dunedin on 28 March.
Vermeulen played his 5th consecutive match for the Stormers when they hosted the Chiefs at Newlands this past weekend.
According an agreement between the SA Rugby Union and the Super Rugby franchises, key Springboks will not be allowed to play more than 5 games on the trot in this year’s competition, in order to keep them fresh for the Rugby World Cup later in the year.
This means centre Juan de Jongh will take over the captaincy for the game against the Highlanders, with Schalk Burger likely to be included in the starting team.
Pieter-Steph du Toit
Cell C Sharks lock Pieter-Steph du Toit has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a knee injury sustained in his side’s win over the Toyota Cheetahs on Saturday.
Du Toit’s injury is a huge blow to the Sharks and the Springboks as it means he is almost certainly ruled out of the World Cup in England later this year.
Du Toit left the field during the first half after he twisted his knee during a tackle. The 22-year-old tore his anterior cruciate ligament on the same knee where a similary injury kept him on the sidelines for most of the 2014 season.
He hopped on a plane to Cape Town to see a surgeon while there were mixed emotions among his team-mates, who headed to Durban after their 29-10 victory over the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein.
Nick Mallett
Former Springbok coach Nick Mallett says the DHL Stormers made wrong substitutions in their loss to the Chiefs at Newlands last Saturday.
The Stormers annihilated the Chiefs at scrum time, with Steven Kitshoff and Vincent Koch wrecking havoc.
The home side led 13 / 3 at one stage, but let things slip, eventually going down 28 / 19.
Alistair Vermaak and Frans Malherbe replaced Kitshoff and Koch in the 61st minute of the match, while Neil Rautenbach also replaced Scarra Ntubeni at hooker in the 63rd minute. These substitutions gave the Chiefs breathing room up front and enabled them to take control of proceedings.
James Broadhurst
The SANZAR Duty Judicial Officer Robert Stelzner SC has accepted a guilty plea from James Broadhurst of the Hurricanes for contravening Law 10.4 (a) Punching or striking, after he was cited following a Super Rugby match at the weekend.
Broadhurst has been suspended from all forms of the game for 1 week up to and including 20 March 2015.
The incident occurred in the 61st minute of the match between the Hurricanes and Blues played at FMG Stadium in Palmerston North on 13 March 2015.
Liam Gill
The SANZAR Duty Judicial Officer Robert Stelzner SC has accepted a guilty plea from Liam Gill of the Reds for contravening Law 10.4 (j) Lifting Tackle, after he was cited following a Super Rugby match at the weekend.
Gill has been suspended from all forms of the game for 2 weeks up to and including 28 March 2015.
Joe Wheeler
Patrick Osborne
Highlanders wing Patrick Osborne and lock Joe Wheeler have signed new contracts with the Dunedin-based franchise until the end of the 2016 season.
Osborne was happy to sign a new deal and said he was enjoying his stint with the Highlanders since joining them in 2014.
“I guess I had a few options to consider before deciding my future, in the end the lifestyle my family has down here and the rugby I have been playing, pretty much made up my mind that the Highlanders was the best option for me,” he said.
Wales ended Ireland’s hopes of a Six Nations Grand Slam and in the process climb above Australia to 5th in the World Rugby Rankings.
Wales have climbed 1 place to 5th in the latest World Rugby Rankings after their 23 / 16 victory over Ireland, setting up a thrilling climax to the RBS 6 Nations with 3 sides tied on 6 Log points.
The Welsh victory, in a match which saw Sam Warburton surpass Ryan Jones’s record for the most tests as captain, leaves them, Ireland and England battling for the title this coming Saturday.
Wales’ climb comes at the expense of Australia, who have now fallen to their lowest ever position since the World Rugby Rankings were introduced in October 2003.
Scotland’s coaching staff and players remain upbeat, despite having a growing injury list heading into their final Six Nations match of the season.
Scotland, without a win and stuck at the bottom of the standings, host title-chasing Ireland in Edinburgh on Saturday.
Matt Scott (thigh), Jim Hamilton (back spasm), Tommy Seymour (elbow), Blair Cowan (calf) and Alasdair Dickinson (leg) all suffered injuries in the 13 / 25 loss to England Twickenham this past weekend – setbacks that put them on the doubtful list for the final match of the season.
Mark Bennett insisted Scottish team morale is not at rock-bottom, despite a fourth consecutive Six Nations defeat in the Calcutta Cup clash at the weekend.
The television broadcast rights for the English (Aviva) Premiership over the next 6 years have been snapped up by current broadcaster BT Sport.
The new deal means that Aviva Premiership Rugby will be broadcast live on BT Sport until at least the end of the 2020 / 2021 campaign.
Mark McCafferty, the chief executive of Premiership Rugby, said,”BT Sport has been a fantastic partner for English club rugby so we are delighted that we have been able to extend our relationship with them for a further 4 years. This is the longest TV agreement in the history of Premiership Rugby.
“In the 18 months we have been on-air with them our live TV audiences have grown by 50% so it is clear that the partnership is going from strength to strength.