Daily Archives: 6 April 2015
Arno Botha
Flip van der Merwe
Springboks Flip van der Merwe and Arno Botha have returned to full training following a pectoral and hamstring injury respectively and will be considered for Saturday’s Vodacom Super Rugby match against the Reds at Loftus Versfeld.
They will join the likes of Jan Serfontein and Handré Pollard, who missed last weekend’s clash against the Emirates Lions, but Victor Matfield will only know on Tuesday when he will play again. The lock, who has a meniscal knee strain, will see knee specialist Dr Daan du Plessis on Tuesday to determine how long he will be out of action.
Jesse Kriel (ribs), Burger Odendaal (arm), JJ Engelbrecht (pectoral), Trevor Nyakane (shoulder) and Jacques du Plessis (muscle spasm) all picked up light niggles on the weekend and sat out training on Monday, team doctor Org Strauss said.
All of them will be back in action on Tuesday, as well as Basil Short, who recovered from concussion.
The Emirates Lions scored a dramatic late try at Emirates Airlines Park to beat the Vodacom Bulls on a weekend where the Johannesburg-based side was the only South African team to register a win in Round 8 of the Vodacom Super Rugby competition.
The losing bonus point secured by the Vodacom Bulls did push them to the top of the South African Conference standings though as they moved past the Cell C Sharks who lost heavily to the Crusaders in Durban.
Both sides have 19 log points, but things are tight in the conference, with the DHL Stormers who were edged out by the Hurricanes in Wellington and the Emirates Lions both on 17 points. The Toyota Cheetahs, who lost to the Brumbies in Canberra, props up the local conference with only 9 Log points.
There was plenty of drama in Durban on Saturday, where a plethora of cards almost made a mockery of the 15’s code. The Crusaders at one stage had 3 players in the bin with Yellow Cards, before Jean Deysel was shown a Red for using his knee on an opponent’s head.
This was the 2nd biggest defeat suffered by the Cell C Sharks in the competition, as this 42 point deficit is 1 less than the 43 points difference they suffered against the Crusaders in 2005, when the home side won 77 / 34 in Christchurch.
The Toyota Cheetahs found little comfort in Canberra, a venue they have never won at.
2 Early tries in the beginning of each half helped the Brumbies to beat the Cheetahs, who failed to cross their opponent’s tryline, with a lone Joe Pietersen penalty the only reward to the central franchise team.
On Friday the DHL Stormers found the home side too slick in the 1st half and could not overhaul the 25 / 3 deficit in the 2nd 40 minutes of play. The Cape side dropped to a 5th consecutive defeat to a New Zealand opponent, the 1st time they have lost 5 in a row in New Zealand since 1998.
Gary Gold
Cell C Sharks coach Gary Gold has taken full accountability after his team’s dismal 10 / 52 loss against the Crusaders in Durban at the weekend.
In a game that saw the Durban team booed off the field, and a 3rd Red Card in 3 matches handed out to one of their team leaders, Gold could do little else but ask for mercy.
At the conclusion of the match, amidst the jeers and spectators streaming from the park, newest captain Pat Lambie apologised directly to the fans at the stadium.
This set the tone for Gold, who echoed similar sentiments.
James Slipper
Reds captain James Slipper is hoping to use the nightmares of previous visits to Loftus Versfeld to charge up his team this week.
Slipper, speaking to the media following the team’s arrival in Johannesburg after 14-hour flight from Brisbane, said they are determined to turn around their faltering season.
The Reds, 2nd from last on the standings, have only 1 win from 7 starts – a Round 2 victory over the equally dismal Western Force, who also have just 1 win in 7 matches.
The Reds, having lost their last 5 matches, are looking to win at Loftus for the 1st time since 2001.
Kieran Read
Crusaders captain Kieran Read has said, despite his teams emphatic victory over the Sharks in Durban, some of his players need lessons in fair play.
The Crusaders were shown 3 Yellow Cards, that all overlapped, in the 1st half, but little damage was done as the Sharks squandered any advantage by receiving a Red Card of their own.
Although there was no damage done to the scoreboard while the Crusaders were down to 12 men, in fact, points were picked up, Read is still not happy with the those individual’s actions.
It was not ideal,” Read said after the match.
“We have to learn a few lessons, those individuals especially,”
However, the captain was happy to see that those loss of personnel allowed the team to galvanize rather than fall apart.
A bumper weekend of European cup action saw the semifinalists for the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup decided across 3 days.
After an enthralling set of games on Sunday, we now know that Clermont will play Saracens in Saint-Etienne, while Toulon will face Leinster in Marseille in what are set to be 2 titanic battles.
Champions Toulon remain in the hunt for what would be a 3rd successive European title. No side has ever achieved that before but Toulon unquestionably have the players to do so.
They were too smart and too strong for a stubborn Wasps outfit at the Stade Mayol on Sunday, winning with Juan Smith and Bryan Habana watching on from the stands due to injuries. Both are expected however to be in contention for the semifinals.
Bakkies Botha did start in the second row as Toulon won 14 out of 15 lineouts, contributing to their success. Another trophy or 2 for the cabinet remain on the horizon for the Springbok legend ahead of his retirement. Michael Claassens was on the bench.
Defeat for Wasps of course also meant defeat for Ashley Johnson, as the former Cheetahs back rower’s side fell short despite a late rally in the 2nd half. Twice European champions in the past, Wasps are certainly on the up again.
Toulon will face Leinster in the semifinals after Zane Kirchner’s side knocked out Francois Louw’s Bath in Dublin. The former Bulls back was called from the bench early on at the Aviva Stadium and nearly scored a try in the corner not long after his arrival.
Mils Muliaina
All Black Mils Muliaina is “distressed” and in shock over a sexual assault allegation levelled against him in Wales, his agent says.
The 34-year-old spent about 20 hours at Cardiff Bay Police station after being taken away by officers following a rugby game at Kingsholm Stadium. Police had 24 hours to charge him.
His agent, Simon Porter, says the arrest came as a “complete shock”.
Muliaina thought he was being taken in for random drug testing, Porter says.
“He had a night in the police cells, he’s pretty distressed, trying to deal with it, and it came as an absolute shock to him.”
Porter says Muliani will fight to clear his name.
Stephen Moore
Australian veteran hooker Stephan Moore, has backed the trend of foreign league sabbaticals as a way of keeping the Wallabies’s best talent in the country.
With the Australian Rugby Union allowing some Wallabies to take overseas sabbaticals, it could see some international players enjoying an almost constant season – playing Super Rugby, then playing for Australia, then heading to a foreign league like Japan before returning for the next Super Rugby season.
The Brumbies skipper said it was then up to the player himself to ensure he is not indulging in too much rugby, running the risk of burning-out in a long-winded never-ending season.
He had confidence it was something Wallabies coach Michael Cheika would keep an eye on.
Francis Saili
Munster confirmed today the signing of Blues centre Francis Saili on a 2-year contract.
The 24 year-old has made 33 Super Rugby appearances for the Blues, scoring 5 tries, and represented Auckland in the NPC on 31 occasions.
Saili made his debut for the All Blacks against Argentina in September 2013 at Hamilton, and was part of the New Zealand Under 20 team that won the Junior World Championship in Italy in 2011.
Last November the Auckland native also featured for the Barbarians, scoring a try against Australia in Twickenham.
Edinburgh Rugby’s players are in open revolt against their managing director, David Davies, after he sacked the long-serving team manager. Lynsey Dingwall was a popular and efficient member of the backroom staff at Edinburgh Rugby yet she was given an hour to clear her desk after working at the club for 14 years.
The players sent an email to the board and the council of the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) which Scotland on Sunday has seen. In the missive, sent on 23 March, the players offer their full support to Dingwall.
“We feel the dismissal of Lynsey Dingwall was unfair and unjustified,” the e-mail reads. “Lynsey was part of Edinburgh Rugby for 14 years. Over that period she worked tirelessly with and for the players and was hugely respected within the organisation. Numerous past coaches and players have commented that she was the best team manager that they have ever worked with. We feel she has been the victim of a personal attack.”