Daily Archives: 12 August 2015
Vern Cotter
Scottish Rugby is delighted to announce that Scotland Head Coach Vern Cotter has committed to the national team by extending his contract to 2017.
Since he took the reins in the summer of 2014, Cotter has brought a confident, attack-minded mentality to Scotland’s on-field approach that has sought to connect with the traditional culture of Scottish play.
He said: “I’m really happy to be able to continue working with the players, the organisation, the Board, and everyone involved.
“There are some talented players with some things to develop, and together we are focused on facing that challenge in what I think are exciting times for Scottish rugby all over.
“There’s a generation of players coming all the way from the new BT Sport Scottish Rugby Academies, Scotland under-20s and the pro clubs into the national team and I’m pleased to be part of that.”
Heyneke Meyer
The South African Rugby Union (SARU) has reportedly agreed to extend Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer’s contract.
Local media reports on Wednesday indicated that Meyer’s contract has already been extended by another 4 years until after the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan.
When these reports surfaced, SARU responded with the following statement:
“It is SARU policy to only make announcements on the contractual arrangements of key employees when there is something to announce. The contractual position of the Springbok coach is unchanged,” said a SARU spokesperson.
Meyer was also reluctant to comment when probed on the matter after naming his team for this weekend’s Test against Los Pumas.
“I said I want to serve and make a difference. If you ask every single guy on the street they would say I make a difference but in a negative way. The only thing I worry about is not the next 4 years, it’s the next 4 minutes,” he said at a press conference in Durban on Wednesday.
Waisake Naholo
All Blacks wing sensation Waisake Naholo declared himself back in the running for a Rugby World Cup berth after a rapid recovery from a broken leg using traditional Fijian medicine.
The miracle cure was attributed to “a gift from God”, the Fiji Times reported.
Naholo cracked a fibia during his All Blacks debut against Argentina last month, and after initial treatment in New Zealand, the Fiji-born flyer was told he would be sidelined for 3 months, putting him out of World Cup contention.
The 24-year-old then turned his back on Western medicine and contacted an uncle in Fiji who specialises in traditional medicine and was told to return to the Pacific island, the Times said.
“If you want to play in the World Cup, get on the plane and come here,” the uncle, Isei Naiova, said he told Naholo from his home in Nadroumai village, which is renowned among indigenous communities for the healing powers of certain families.
Toyota Free State Cheetahs coach Franco Smith has named his team for their Currie Cup clash against DHL Western Province at Newlands on Saturday (15:00 SA Time kick-off).
Smith made 5 changes to his starting team from the one which lost 57 / 19 to the Vodacom Blue Bulls in Bloemfontein last weekend.
Fred Zeilinga, who was recently recruited from the Cell C Sharks, will start at flyhalf in place of Niel Marais, while AJ Coertzen replaces Coenie van Wyk at fullback.
Up front, Neil Jordaan will start at No 8, sending Gerhard Olivier to the bench.
Armandt Koster also replaces Willem Serfontein at lock, while Jacques du Toit comes in for Niel Raubenheimer at hooker.
Meanwhile, Elandre Hugget, Tertius Kruger and Sias Ebersohn are newcomers on the bench.
Ebersohn is back in Bloemfontein having spent the last few years at Australian franchise, the Western Force.
Vodacom Blue Bulls coach Nollis Marais on Wednesday named the same run-on side that played in Bloemfontein last weekend for Friday’s Absa Currie Cup clash against ORC Griquas at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.
Marais only made one change on the bench, where a fit-again Dayan van der Westhuizen will replace Nqoba Mxoli, who will return to the Under-21 side.
Even though the side will have the benefit of a solid performance against the Toyota Free State Cheetahs behind them, Marais will be keen to see more improvement in their first home match of the competition.
Steval Pumas coach MJ Mentz has named an unchanged side to face the Xerox Golden Lions on Saturday in Round 2 of the Currie Cup at Emirates Airline Park.
Mentz has stuck with his troops that pulled off a 33 / 24 victory over the Cell C Sharks in Nelspruit last weekend.
In last year’s fixture between the 2 sides the Golden Lions defeated the Pumas 29 / 15 in Johannesburg.
Lock Rudi Mathee was a late withdrawal ahead of last week’s match against the Sharks after suffering a shoulder injury, which will keep him sidelined for 3 weeks.
Jaco Bouwer slots onto the bench as cover in the loose forward and lock area.
Eastern Province Kings coach Brent Janse van Rensburg has kept the changes to a minimum as his team prepare for their second Currie Cup game against the Cell C Sharks in Durban on Saturday.
The EP Kings went down 51 / 14 to the Lions in Port Elizabeth on Saturday but Janse van Rensburg said on Tuesday he did not think it would be appropriate to make wholesale changes at this stage.
The only change in the team sees Siyanda Grey, who was on the bench last week, replacing Sylvian Mahuza. Janse van Rensburg has also included prop Lizo Gqoboka on the bench in going for a five-two split.
We desperately try to stay clear of political content here on Rugby-Talk.com, however this week, after the loss by the Springboks to Los Pumas in Durban, it appears that another mini-storm has been brewing regarding the inclusion or non-inclusion of non-white players (such an ugly term in a new and supposedly democratic South Africa) in the Springboks.
Firstly it was reported that 5 Black Springboks (yet another unfortunate term in the new South Africa) have apporached trade union Cosatu about being sidelined in Test matches for the Springboks.
Then of course Cosatu, as we have come to know their standard methodology, responded about the supposedly racist choices of SA Rugby, condemning it and shouting from the rooftops.
Then there was the logical retort from SARU… not that it cleared matters up at all.
The Minister of Sport & Recreation, Fikile Mbalula, also jumped on board this discussion and seemed to be “the voice of reason” in this rather unfortunate circumstance, saying that South Africans must be patient with the pace of transformation in rugby in South Africa. From my side a small thank you to the Minister – good on you!
These political shannanigans always build on the discourse in South African traditional politics and fuel the devide, in stead of bringing harmony to this nation with so many possibilities.
I guess what I am asking myself, through all of this, is which other logical first choice Black Springboks merited 1st choice selection above their not so black peers?
Do we want the best team out there or do we want transformation tokens in our Springbok side?
To me it’s simple… do the transformation thing, but for goodness sakes, allow the Springbok coach to select the best Springbok squad out there, based on merit and merit alone, whether that squad only consists of White Springboks or only of Black Springboks or of a smattering of one and the other… the rest is immaterial to me!