Daily Archives: 16 July 2015
All Blacks (18) 39 / 18 (6) Los Pumas (Final Score)
The New Zealand All Blacks and Argentinian Pumas did battle in The Rugby Championship at
AMI Stadium, Christchurch, New Zealand at 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 04:35 ARG Time, 17:35 AEST, 07:35 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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It is Round 1 of the abbreviated Rugby Championship of 2015 (Only 1 Round of matches against each side in 2015 as opposed to a double Round of matches against all sides – home and away in non Rugby World Cup years).
There is 1 games on Friday 17 July and 1 game on Saturday 18 July.
The Action of the Round is kicked off in New Zealand, where the All Blacks take on Los Pumas of Argentinia in Christchurch and concludes with the match between the Australian Wallabies against the South African Springboks in Brisbane.
On Friday at AMI Stadium in Christchurch at 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 04:35 ARG Time, 17:35 AEST, 07:35 GMT) referee Craig Joubert is in charge in the All Blacks vs Los Pumas game.
On Saturday at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, at 12:05 SA Time (20:05 AEST, 22:05 NZ Time, 07:05 ARG Time, 10:05 GMT) referee Nigel Owens of Wales is in charge of the Wallabies vs Springboks game.
The game between the All Blacks and Los Pumas should only produce 1 result and that is a comfortable win for the All Blacks. All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has opted for a very experienced run-on side and replacement bench, whereas Argentinian coach Daniel Hourcade has included a number of inexperienced players in a very experimental Pumas side.
The game between the Wallabies and Springboks is extremely difficult to call but Rugby Championship and Tri-Nations history favours the Wallabies greatly at home in Australia against the Springboks. Wallabies coach Michael Cheika has opted to haul back some big guns, 2 from overseas (Matt Giteau and Drew Mitchell) and 2 recent Australian-based Wallabies who missed some of last year’s internationals (Will Genia & Quade Cooper) to bolster his match-day 23. Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer has changed just 1 player from the run-on side which demolished the World XV side last weekend, namely Schalk Burger in place of Warren Whiteley at No 8 and has made 4 further changes on the bench.
One would have to flip a coin or be very bold to nominate a winner here, but I suppose the home side goes in with a slight advantage.
The Rugby Championship’s most successful team kicks off against the least successful when New Zealand’s All Blacks host the Argentinian Pumas on Friday.
In fact the teams’ records in the competition almost exactly mirror each other, with the All Blacks having won 16, drawn 1 and lost 1, while Argentina have won 1, drawn 1 and lost 16.
Even their points for and against are remarkably similar, New Zealand having racked up 543 points, 4 fewer than Argentina have conceded, and the Pumas scoring 273, 1 fewer than the All Blacks have let in.
Those numbers show that the All Blacks’ dominance in the competition has been very similar to Argentina’s struggles and it’s hard to see that changing in Christchurch on Friday.
Pumas coach Daniel Hourcade is using the game as an opportunity to test out some young players, while Steve Hansen is more focused on a few old heads proving their form.
That’s not to say the All Black side is completely devoid of new faces, Waisake Naholo will start for the 1st time, while Codie Taylor should also make his debut off the bench.
However it is the form of the likes of Israel Dagg, Tony Woodcock and Keven Mealamu, which will be of serious interest.
The latter pair should be inked in for the Rugby World Cup squad, despite disappointing seasons for the Blues, but for all Hansen’s protestations, Dagg is surely fighting for a place on the plane to England given the depth of options in the back 3.
In comparison, Hourcade has chosen to rest a number of 1st team regulars, giving Rugby Championship debuts to Facundo Isa, Guido Petti and Santiago Cordero.
The latter has been highly-rated for a while, but has not had many opportunities against top tier opposition. With Manuel Montero ruled out of the Rugby World Cup through injury, this could be Cordero’s chance to shine.
Having said that, Argentina have made it very clear they are solely focused on the World Cup, and it’s hard to imagine them picking up a 1st-ever win over New Zealand.
They did however secure their first Rugby Championship win in their final game of last year’s edition, but the Wallabies at home and the All Blacks away are very different challenges.
The Maori All Blacks team to play the New Zealand Barbarians in Auckland on Saturday features 5 new caps.
The new caps include Taranaki’s Sean Wainui in the starting line-up along with Marcel Renata, Joe Edwards, Brad Weber and Codey Rei in the replacements.
Charlie Ngatai will again captain the side after the team’s win over Fiji in Suva last week.
Coach Colin Cooper said he was pleased with how the team had recovered from their trip to Fiji and is confident of another committed performance.
“The team showed true determination and resolve in a challenging contest in Fiji and I am sure they will take that commitment into the match against a strong BaaBaas side,” Cooper said.
“I would love to think we can finish our campaign on a high note and continue the team’s incredible record in a rare performance on home soil, however, we won’t take anything for granted as we are up against a very strong team.
“I am confident it will be a great encounter for the fans with a lot of stake and a number of players on both teams looking to make a case for All Blacks selection.”
The Barbarians were once a regular feature in 1st-class fixtures at Eden Park, but their last big match was in 1985 – losing 31 / 10 to Auckland.
Schalk Burger vs World XV
Schalk Burger is back in the Springboks’ starting line-up for Saturday’s Rugby Championship clash against the Australian Wallabies at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.
Burger’s inclusion at No 8, after a great performance as replacement against the World XV last weekend in Cape Town, is 1 of 5 changes to the Springboks’ match-23 for this match.
The other 4 changes are on the bench, where props Heinke van der Merwe and Frans Malherbe, as well as Lood de Jager (lock) and Lwazi Mvovo (wing) have been included.
Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer said the changes were all part of the plan to rotate players in the build-up to the Rugby World Cup.
“We’re expecting a massive contest for the ball on the ground on Saturday and with Schalk there next to Francois Louw and Marcell Coetzee, as well as Bismarck du Plessis, we’ve got a lot of players who are very good at the breakdowns,” he said.
“Warren Whiteley played very well last weekend, but he knows exactly where he stands and will play again for the Boks this season. For this match though, we decided to go with this specific loose trio.
“I’ve said last week that we will make changes, but it’s also important to keep some form of momentum. Saturday’s match is going to be massive in the context of our season and we have to ensure we tick the right boxes.
“It will be good to see what Heinke, Frans, Lood and Lwazi can do from the bench, while we’ve also opted to keep continuity in the starting team. There will most likely be changes for every match this season as we keep one eye on the World Cup.
Matt Giteau
Matt Giteau, Quade Cooper and Will Genia return to the Wallabies starting line-up for an epic encounter against the Springboks at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday.
Giteau will earn his 93rd Test cap in the No 12 jersey following a 4-year absence from the Wallabies program.
Playing inside Giteau will be the Reds pairing of Will Genia and Quade Cooper, who return to the run-on team together for the 1st time since November 2013.
The returning trio make up 3 of the 4 total changes to the team which ran out against England at Twickenham in the final Test of the 2014 Spring Tour, with the other change being the return of Tevita Kuridrani at outside centre.
Head coach Michael Chieka said, “I could not have been happier with the 1st two weeks of preparation here in Queensland. These players know they represent a squad of over 50 players who will have some involvement within the Wallabies program at different stages of the year.
Argentina head coach, Daniel Hourcade, has confirmed the Pumas team that will tackle New Zealand in Friday’s opener of The Rugby Championship in Christchurch.
The side features 12 changes from the last match against the French Barbarians with just the trio of Guido Pagadizabal Petti, Facundo Isa and Jerónimo De la Fuente retaining their places from the 21 / 9 victory.
Manuel Carizza has been re-called for his 1st match for Argentina since the June 2014 Test against Scotland while Santiago Cordero will line-up for his 1st Rugby Championship match, along with Isa and Petti.
The All Blacks team to play the Argentinian Pumas in The Rugby Championship-opening match has been named, with exciting winger Waisake Naholo to make his Test debut.
Another new All Black, hooker Codie Taylor, is named on the reserves bench for the clash at AMI Stadium in Christchurch.
24-Year-old Naholo comes in for George Moala in 1 of 6 changes from the match-day 23 that played Samoa last week.
In the forwards, lock Brodie Retallick is back in the starting 15, replacing Samuel Whitelock, with Jeremy Thrush coming in as lock reserve; TJ Perenara is at scrumhalf, with Andy Ellis, who played his 250th 1st-class match last week, moving to the bench; while Ma’a Nonu has been named at centre in his 95th Test, and Ryan Crotty moving to the bench. Taylor replaces Hikawera Elliot as reserve hooker and the only other change in the reserves sees loose forward Liam Messam come in for Matt Todd.
It’s another hugely experienced All Blacks team for the Rugby Championship opener, with prop Tony Woodcock to make his 100th Test start in his outstanding career. The match-day 23 boasts 1068 caps worth of experience and an average age of 28 years.
ORC Griquas and Leopards, the 2 front runners on the ABSA Currie Cup qualifying log, face crunch matches this coming Saturday which could potentially have a huge impact on their promotion ambitions to the ABSA Currie Cup Premier Division.
1st-Placed ORC Griquas (16 points) travel to the Barnard Stadium in Kempton Park, Johannesburg, to face the Hino Valke. Leopards (2nd on 15 points) host 3rd-placed Boland Cavaliers in Potchefstroom. As things stand, it is currently a straight shoot-out between Griquas and Leopards for that vital promotional spot and with just 1 more Round remaining after Saturday’s Round of games, neither one can afford a slip up.
5 Of the 7 sides will play their penultimate fixtures of the qualifying campaign this weekend. Boland Cavaliers and SWD Eagles have both already played 5 matches to date while the rest of the sides have played 1 less encounter.
Boland complete their schedule on Saturday when they travel to Potch to take on the Leopards, while SWD have a bye.
Leopards moved to within a point of Griquas last weekend thanks to a hard-fought 24 / 20 win over a resilient Down Touch Griffons in Welkom.
While the Potch side are the favourites on their home ground against Boland, they know that nothing but a bonus-point win will keep them in the race. Boland will be no pushovers and last weekend they were deserved winners over the Hino Valke.
Griquas visit 2nd from bottom Hino Valke in Kempton Park and the Log leaders, who enjoyed a rest last weekend, should be favourites to add another win to their tally of 3 from 4 outings so far.
Down Touch Griffons are rooted at the bottom of the Log with 1 win from 4 and only 5 league points to show and they host the Border Bulldogs (4th) in the remaining Saturday fixture. Border showed good form during the early Rounds, however, 2 successive defeats have shattered their ambitious promotional hopes.
The 3 final fixtures take place next Saturday (25 July) and the winner of the qualifying Round will compete in the ABSA Currie Cup Premier Division, which kicks off on 7 August.
Andrew Strawbridge
Waikato Chiefs assistant coach Andrew Strawbridge has woken up and is communicating with his family but remains in a serious condition in hospital, the Super Rugby team said on Thursday.
Strawbridge, who is also a technical advisor to the Samoa national rugby team, was admitted to an Apia hospital last week with an infection in his right eye after taking ill on a flight from New Zealand before his condition “deteriorated rapidly”.
He arrived back in New Zealand in an air ambulance last Friday and was taken to Waikato Hospital in Hamilton, where he had been listed as being in a critical but stable condition since his arrival.
“Andrew Strawbridge is awake and in a serious, stable condition in the Waikato Hospital Intensive Care Unit,” the Chiefs said in a statement.
Kenyan Sevens
Chaos has erupted in Kenyan rugby that threatens to engulf their highly-successful Sevens programme and could end their hopes of qualifying for the Rio Olympics next year.
With players not having been paid for 3 months now, an attempt by the South African management members to resolve the impasse has been met with anger from the Kenyan Rugby Union, with officials trying to boot assistant coach Vuyo Zangqa and conditioning coach Graham Bentz from the country without resolving the crisis.
Kenya has been the beacon of African rugby and a shining light on World Rugby’s international Sevens circuit, but internal politics – the same problems that saw former Blitzbok coach Paul Treu sever his relationship with them last year – are now tearing the team apart.
There is currently a breakdown in the structures that have been put in place, with players not able to train properly, little or no support coming from the KRU, high-performance equipment breaking down. But it is the players not being paid that has brough the situation to a breaking point, with the KRU either unwilling, or unable to sort out the mess.
Their reaction to the South African management’s plea for help was to arrive at their training base on Tuesday, hand them plane tickets and tell them to “pack up and go.”
Following their official affiliation into the SARU fold last year, the SA Deaf National Rugby team are set to play a historic 1st ever Test series against the current deaf World Champions, Wales during August.