Monthly Archives: January 2016

European Rugby Champions CupAs the RBS 6 Nations takes centre stage in the coming weeks, fans of the elite European Rugby Champions Cup game will be able to look forward to even more world-class action in April when the European Rugby Champions Cup and Challenge Cup quarterfinals get underway.

The knockout stages of the tournaments mark the beginning of the end of the journey to the 2016 finals in May when the 2 showcase matches will be staged at the state-of-the-art 59 000-capacity Grand Stade de Lyon.

The Champions Cup quarterfinals kick off on Saturday 9 April with Wasps, the last Aviva Premiership club to win the coveted title in 2007, taking on the Exeter Chiefs at the Ricoh Arena.

That clash of the 2-time champions against the 1st-timers in the knockout stage will be followed by the meeting of No 1 seeds Saracens, who have reached the last 8 for the 5th season in a row, and Northampton Saints at Allianz Park.

On Sunday 10 April, Leicester Tigers host Stade Francais at Welford Road in what promises to be another classic Anglo-French contest. The Tigers have booked their ticket to the quarterfinals for the 13th time – 2 behind the record held jointly by Toulouse and Munster – while Stade are appearing in the last 8 for the 1st time since 2010.

The road to Lyon will be clearer when Racing 92 and reigning champions, RC Toulon, meet at Stade Yves-du-Manoir in an all-French confrontation which could see recent World Cup winners, Dan Carter and Ma’a Nonu going head-to-head.

A major weekend of knockout rugby will commence with the 1st of the Challenge Cup quarterfinals between Sale Sharks and Montpellier at the AJ Bell Stadium on Friday 8 April, with holders Gloucester, who are on a record run of 15 victories in the tournament, up against the Newport Gwent Dragons at Kingsholm the following day.

All 8 quarterfinals will be broadcast live with the coverage shared by BT Sport, Sky Sports, beIN Sports and France Télévisions.

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Heyneke Meyer

Heyneke Meyer

Frans Ludeke

Frans Ludeke

Die Afrikaanse Naweekpers het verskeie rugbyartikels geplaas en ons bespreek so klompie daarvan onder EEN Artikel.

(To our Non-Afrikaans readership, our apologies that you won’t be able to understand this article, however a very large contingent of our readers are Afrikaans, so we unashamedly accommodate them in this article. The News basically relates to Heyneke Meyer and Frans Ludeke possibly heading to Japan for coaching positions, Francois Hougaard being made available for Super Rugby duties at the Bulls during March to May and suggestions of Referee favouratism and blunders against the Blitzbokke in the Final at the Wellington Sevens Tournament this weekend).

Die nuutste aanduidings is dat beide Heyneke Meyer en die voormalige Vodacom Bulls afrigter, Frans Ludeke, nou in lyn is vir afrigtersposte in Japan.

Verder blyk dit ‘n feitlik uitgemaakte saak dat Francois Hougaard gedurende Maart tot Mei nie deel van die Blitzbokke groep sal uitmaak nie maar ‘n bedeling met die Vodacom Bulls gesluit het wat hom vir ongeveer 8 Super Rugby wedstryde gedurende Maart tot Mei beskikbaar sal stel.

Die laaste aspek wat bespreek word is aantuigings dat die Skeidsregter in die Finaal van die Wellington Sewestoernooi in Nieu-Seeland, seker blatante en ooglopende foute begaan het, om sodoende die Blitzbokke te laat verloor ten gunste van Nieu Seeland, wie op tuisbodem die kroon gevat het in die naweek se toernooi.

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Super RugbyJust how the revised Super Rugby format will go down with the South African rugby public is unclear, but we won’t have to wait long to find out.

The new-look tournament gets underway in less than a month, with the Blues and the Highlanders kicking things off in Auckland on Friday 26 February 2016.

From a South African perspective, the road ahead looks a tough one and if local bookmakers are to be believed there is no standout side from within these borders that looks set to challenge for the title.

Outside of the tournament changes, the majority of the South African franchises have also undergone major alterations with only 2wo sides – the Cell C Sharks and Emirates Lions – heading into 2016 with the same coaches that did the business in 2015.

The Southern Kings, obviously, were not a part of the 2015 competition but they also have a new man at the helm.

Here, we look at the 6 men tasked with bringing success to their respective franchises:

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Jurie Roux

Jurie Roux

On Thursday reports started surfacing that renewed questions are being asked why Jurie Roux, CEO of SA Rugby (SARU), is still ensconsed in the position as CEO of SA Rugby.

Of course, this is not new news to Rugby-Talk.com as we have featured a number of articles, over a number of years, relating to the allegations against Jurie Roux, by the University of Stellenbosh, where Roux was employed prior to his appointment as CEO of SA Rugby and the matter has been discussed at lenght in our comments section on various news aricles.

A lot of “Tap-dancing” is now being done by SARU and SARU President Oregan Hoskins regarding the matter, the latest of which claims that SARU was never aware of investigations against Jurie Roux, at the time of his employment in 2010 and that they also did not even interview Mr Roux at the time of his employment as CEO, as that was supposedly handled by an outsourced entity.

To put it mildly, it is my considered opinion that the matter of the investigations against Jurie Roux has been in the public domain for years, and SARU President Hoskins’ blanket denials about being aware of the investigations simply does not wash… in fact in the past Oregan Hoskins has come out in open and positive support for Jurie Roux, regarding these claims and investigations.

Now that the heat is turned up about the matter, we see this ludicrous distancing from Mr Roux and his appointment and suddenly “Discussing the Matter by the SARU Exco” is envisaged to take place.

The stern question now remains, how can SA Rugby ever have allowed and now still allow Jurie Roux to act in the position of CEO of SA Rugby?

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World Rugby Sevens SeriesThe 3rd leg of the 2015 / 2016 season (1st tournament of 2016) took place in Wellington, New Zealand on 30 & 31 January 2016.

Defending champions New Zealand won the Final, once again against South Africa’s Blitzbokke, by 24 / 21 after trailing till deep into the dying seconds of the match.

It was an epic Final, with New Zealand’s never say die attitude, winning it in the end for them. It was the 2nd time on the weekend that South Africa could not close out a game against New Zealand where they were well in front and deservingly so, near the end.

 

Day 1:

Hosts and defending champions New Zeland won all 3 of their matches on Day 1 of the HSBC Wellington Sevens to march into the quarterfinals after dramatically beating South Africa’s Blitzbokke 19 / 14 in the last match of the day.

HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series leaders Fiji and Australia also maintained 100% records with impressive displays at the Westpac Stadium, as the 3rd Round of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series continued to entertain.

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John Hardie

John Hardie in World Cup action for Scotland

He doesn’t know what possessed him to visit the old Lockhart Hotel that day, but it was an experience John Hardie is never likely to forget.

“The most scared I’ve ever been,” says Scotland’s openside flanker.

The setting is a building in Queenstown on New Zealand’s South Island – a holiday resort about an hour and a half from Dipton, the farming country where Hardie was born and reared.

Legend has it that there was a fire in Lockhart’s place in the late 1800’s. Three generations of the family perished.

Only a girl called Mary survived – and she haunts the place to this day. Many Kiwis have gone there over the years and many talk of the sense of foreboding that exists behind that main door.

Hardie’s now one of them. Chilled to the bone, he says. “Never going back. Never ever.”

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Ricardo Laubscher

Ricardo Laubscher

Former Springbok backline coach Ricardo Loubscher is set to pursue his career further overseas this season.

Loubscher, who served as the Springbok backline coach between 2012 and 2015, ended his association with the South African Rugby Union when his contract expired at the end of last year.

Since then there has been no communication on any future possible plans for him from SARU’s side and without any coaching alternative currently at his disposal, Loubscher has been forced to look outside South Africa for employment.

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Coca-ColaCoca-Cola South Africa will remain the title sponsor of SA Rugby’s highly successful Youth Week tournaments and an associate sponsor of the Vodacom Super Rugby competition until 2018.

It was announced on Wednesday that Coca-Cola South Africa, who 1st became involved with SA Rugby as a sponsor in 1997, have extend their partnership with the organisation for a further 3 years, which will stretch their association with rugby in South Africa to 21 years.

As part of the SA Rugby Youth Weeks sponsorship, Coca-Cola South Africa will also continue to fund the Coca-Cola Schools of Excellence programme, which aims to develop skilled rugby players from schools in previously disadvantaged communities across the country.

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JJ Engelbrecht

JJ Engelbrecht

As speculated here on rugby-talk a few weeks ago the former Bulls player JJ Engelbrecht is set to make his debut for Ospreys on Sunday 31 January against Glasgow Warriors. Engelbrecht has been named as player No 23 in the Ospreys match day squad for the hosts in their PRO12 match.

It remains to be seen where the Ospreys will be utilizing his talents for the rest of the season and clarity on this may only be gained once he is listed in any of their starting line ups.  The pacey winger who has spent the bulk of the last few seasons playing at outside centre will at least be sleeping more peacefully for the next few nights than he would have been had he been listed as centre in the starting line up. This ensures that he will be required for less time or may completely avoid having to help the midfield defend against the mammoth Fijian Australian winger Taqele Naiyaravoro who is due to don the No 13 jumper for the reigning champions.

Naiyaravoro has been brought in from the wing with various regular centres unavailable for the match. Alex Dunbar and Richie Vernon have been ruled out due to injury, while Peter Horne and Mark Bennett are with the Scotland squad ahead of the 6 Nations and just last weekend Bennett was ruled out of playing for the Warriors in their European Champions Cup encounter against Racing 92 due to injury.  Loose forward Hugh Blake has helped out at centre earlier this season as well, but he is away with the Scotland 7s team in Wellington New Zealand.

The Ospreys picked another big Fijian, Josh Matavesi, as inside centre possibly with a view to try and keep Naiyaravoro in check. At 1.88m tall and weighing 112kg Matavesi will take some stopping as well and the fans can look forward to some big collisions.

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Cheeky Watson

Cheeky Watson

Embattled Eastern Province Rugby Union President Cheeky Watson has had the first set of legal documents served on him.

The players organisation, MyPlayers, confirmed that an Application for Liquidation was brought – through their trade union SARPA – against the EP Rugby (Pty) Ltd.

This move comes after lengthy consultations with the various stakeholders concerned as well as the exploration of all legal options available.

It follows in the wake of confirmation that EP Rugby last week reached an agreement with 18 players (who did not receive Super Rugby contracts) over outstanding salaries.

EP Rugby needs to come up with 5 Million Rand by Sunday 31 January, or they will also face a Liquidation Application from the lawyer of the aforementioned players – Craig Jessop, a labour lawyer working for the firm Brown Braude and Vlok.

This move forced MyPlayers and SARPA’s hand.

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Franco Smith

Franco Smith

The Toyota Cheetahs know they have an uphill battle in this year’s Vodacom Super Rucompetition, but they have approached their mammoth task with a renewed amount of energy and are hoping they will reap the rewards for their efforts.

Since Franco Smith took over the team in the last 2 games of last season the side has shown some exceptional touches on attack, but their defence at times and their set piece play has often let them down, ensuring that a lot of the good work they do on the field is reduced because of poor defence.

Smith has worked hard on this with the team through the off-season and believes it is one of the biggest priorities for the team to address before the season gets under way.

While he admits the team is still a work-in-progress, the former Springbok playmaker is hopeful that strides made in physical conditioning and the work the management have put in with the side in the off-season will begin to bear fruit when the serious games begin next month.

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DHL StormersDHL Stormers Head Coach Robbie Fleck has named a 30-man squad for their pre-season friendly against the South Western Districts Eagles in George on Saturday.

Following their successful pre-season match against the Eagles at Outeniqua Park in 2015, Fleck said that the team are keen to return to George where they always enjoy good support.

“We are really looking forward to the game, there was a huge crowd there last year and the people were fantastic. We have always enjoyed playing in George, especially as there are a lot of Stormers fans there.

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Warren Whiteley

Warren Whiteley

Warren Whiteley will be captaining the Emirates Lions for the 3rd consecutive Super Rugby season when he again takes the reigns for 2016.

The experienced Whiteley welcomed the responsibility of the captaincy bestowed upon him. “It is a big honour to again lead the Lions in the Super Rugby competition. I take the task very seriously while I also enjoy making decisions on and off the field.

“While I think nothing has changed it becomes easier. Also because we’ve got such a great core of leaders around me,” Whitely said.

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Vodacom Blue BullsAs the Vodacom Bulls preparations for Super Rugby 2016 gains momentum we focus on some team news.

Rudy Paige has been named as Vice-Captain for the season.

Handré Pollard’s shoulder injury has been confirmed and he will miss the opening weeks of Super Rugby.

Deon Stegmann needs to undergo an operation due to an ankle injury and projections are that he will be out for 9 weeks.

In addition it is believed that Derick Hougaard, also affectionately known as “Liefling”, is going to attempt to make the Bulls team, after years in the wilderness, but he is not in the current Bulls Super Rugby plans… yet.

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Philip du Preez

Philip du Preez

Former South African Schools lock Philip du Preez is 1 of 3 new signings by the Southern Kings.

The Southern Kings, who will return to Super Rugby next month after a 3-year absence, confirmed the singing of the young up and coming lock, Philip du Preez (22), versatile backline player Jurgen Visser (26) and seasoned hooker Martin Bezuidenhout (26).

Kings Chief Operating Officer Charl Crous also confirmed that Sharks player Jaco van Tonder (24) has joined the team on trial this week.

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Super RugbySANZAR is about to introduce a radical new bonus point system to this year’s Super Rugby competition, with teams no longer getting the bonus point for scoring 4 tries.

The radical proposal, which mirrors a system being used in the French top 14, will now see teams needing to score at least 3 more tries than the opposition to score a bonus point.

The change, which is set to be announced on Thursday in Australia, is a tweak to still encourage teams to play attractive rugby in lopsided contests, and give both sides something to play for, while not taking their foot off the pedal if they have established a good lead in their respective games.

Thus if a team scores 4 tries, they will need to limit the opposition to 1 try if they want the bonus point. If the opposition scores twice, then the team will need to score 5 tries in order to claim the bonus point in the competition.

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Varsity CupOne of the exciting announcements to emerge from the launch of the 2016 season of the Varsity Cup on Monday was that in 2017 3 universities will join the existing 13 universities currently taking part in Varsity Rugby.

“When Varsity Cup began in 2008, 8 universities were competing,” said Varsity Cup chairperson, Jurie Roux.

“Then in 2011 we added the Varsity Shield and it grew by 5. Next year there will be 16 universities taking part in Varsity Rugby. The competition is becoming more and more inclusive and to have increased the university participation by 100% in under 10 years is phenomenal.”

The Varsity Cup and Varsity Shield competitions are managed by a board of members who will hold a meeting in May 2016 to decide upon a qualification process, whereafter the three additional universities will be announced.

The 3 new teams will join the Varsity Shield, while 1 Varsity Shield team will be promoted to the Varsity Cup, joining the 8 existing teams.

“We are extremely excited about this next chapter of Varsity Rugby,” said Varsity Cup CEO Duitser Bosman.

“The inclusion of 9 teams in Varsity Cup will allow each team to play 4 home and 4 away matches. In addition to that, each team can look forward to 1 bye week in the competition – a luxury they weren’t afforded in the past.”

Previously the teams’ 7 matches were split between 4 home matches and 3 away, or 3 home matches and 4 away – alternating from season to season.

The inclusion of 7 Varsity Shield teams in 2017 will allow each team to play 6 matches.

Promotion and relegation matches will be played again in 2018 for the 2019 season.

The 2016 Varsity Rugby season kicks off on 1 February 2016 with the 1st Round of Varsity Shield matches taking place.

 

Sport24

Varsity Cup 2016 Launch

 

Rugby World Cup-winning former Springbok captain Francois Pienaar explained the new Varsity Cup innovations is an attempt at getting the coaches to change their mindset and take more risks.

Speaking at the launch of the 2016 Varsity Cup and Shield competitions, Pienaar gave an insight into the reasoning behind the bonus point system, which could lead to a maximum of 9 points being awarded for a try.

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Richie Gray, new Scotland Contact Specialist coach

Richie Gray, new Scotland defensive contact specialist coach

Scotland head coach Vern Cotter has appointed defensive contact specialist Richie Gray on a consultancy basis for the forthcoming RBS 6 Nations Championship.

Gray joins the Scotland set-up following a 3-season spell as South Africa’s specialist breakdown coach during Heyneke Meyer’s tenure, which culminated in their bronze medal finish at 2015 World Cup.

Gray’s contract with the South African Rugby Union was not renewed after Meyer’s resignation late last year.

Gray also assisted the Springbok Sevens side.

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Dylan Hartley

Dylan Hartley has been appointed England captain and will lead the team during their Six Nations campaign despite having one of the worst disciplinary records in English rugby.

Hartley has spent a total of 54 weeks on sidelines through suspension over the years. Some of the offences he served suspensions for include eye-gouging, biting, punching and head-butting.

Despite these blemishes, England head coach Eddie Jones said he has faith in Hartley’s abilities as a leader.

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Sergio Parisse, Sam Warburton, Rory Best, Dylan Hartley, Greg Laidlaw and Guilhem Guirado (from left to right)

Sergio Parisse, Sam Warburton, Rory Best, Dylan Hartley, Greg Laidlaw and Guilhem Guirado (from left to right) at yesterday’s RBS 6 Nations 2016 launch

The 2016 RBS 6 Nations launched in style on Wednesday morning at the Hurlingham Club and the 6 captains present an intriguing mix of the old and the new.

There are 3 brand new skippers for this year’s Championship, which gets underway in 10 days’ time on Saturday 6 February when France welcome Italy to the Stade de France – and they are all hookers.

Rory Best takes the armband for 2-time defending champions Ireland after Paul O’Connell’s retirement, Eddie Jones’ England have Dylan Hartley at the helm and France under Guy Noves will be led by Guilhem Guirado.

Those 3 were joined by Scotland’s Greig Laidlaw, Wales’ Sam Warburton and Italy’s Sergio Parisse on Wednesday – 3 captains that have led their country with great distinction for many years.

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European Rugby Champions CupSaracens, Northampton, Exeter, Wasps and Leicester have joined 3 French teams in the European Rugby Champions Cup last 8.

Premiership title holders Sarries will host Saints, and Wasps will welcome Exeter to the Ricoh Arena.

Leicester face Stade Francais at home, having already played them twice in the pool stages, and Racing 92 will play reigning European champions Toulon.

It is the 1st time there is no Pro12 representation in the last 8 of the competition.

Sarries, Leicester and Racing 92 guaranteed themselves a home tie in the quarterfinals last weekend, while Wasps joined them after winning Pool 5 on Saturday, with 3-time defending champions and Toulon joining them as one of the best runners-up.

Stade Francais were confirmed as 1 of the 3 best runners-up after they beat the Tigers with a bonus point on Sunday, but the other 2 places went down to the wire.

Northampton’s win over Scarlets on Saturday was enough to see them through as runners-up in Pool 3, and Exeter came through as winners of Pool 2 on points difference after beating Ospreys.

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Todd Blackadder

Todd Blackadder

Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder has taken a swipe at the SANZAR brains trust over their proposed Super Rugby innovations.

He called the proposed changes to the Super Rugby bonus point system “bizarre” and suggested there was a lack of consultation with franchises on the matter.

The SANZAR initiative, that is expected to formally unveiled early next week, also include a number of minor law variations for the 2016 Super Rugby season.

While some of the expected law innovations still require World Rugby approval, the biggest innovation – a change to the try-scoring bonus points – is what has caused the biggest stir.

The SANZAR change will see the bonus point awarded to teams who score 4 tries or more in a game scrapped and replaced by 1 for teams that score 3 tries more than their opponents.

Blackadder called the proposed change “bizarre” and queried the lack of consultation with franchises on the matter.

The mooted change, widely reported by media in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand on Thursday, is a copy of the system used in the French Top 14 league and aimed at keeping lopsided games alive for longer periods.

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SpringboksOn Tuesday SA Rugby announced a new structure to the 2016 Coca-Cola Youth Weeks, with the junior tournaments being hosted concurrently in Paarl and the Under 18 tournaments in Durban. In the past all the tournaments were hosted at different venues.

The Under 13 Coca-Cola Craven Week and Under 16 Coca-Cola Grant Khomo Week will be hosted simultaneously at Paarl Gymnasium from 4 to 8 July, and the Coca-Cola Academy Week and Under 18 Coca-Cola Craven Week will be hosted between 11 and 16 July at Kearsney College in Durban.

The Learners with Special Education Needs (LSEN) Week, meanwhile, will be hosted at the Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool (Affies) in Pretoria from 27 to 30 June.

“The new structure of our Youth Weeks will have several benefits, the biggest of which is that we will be able to ensure that the Mobi-Unit coaches, the national selectors, our High Performance staff and the SA Rugby Academy Coaches will be able to attend all the tournaments,” said SA Rugby CEO Jurie Roux.

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Southern KingsThe Southern Kings have confirmed a number of new signings following a week of intensive training with the SA Rugby Mobi Unit.

Chief Operating Officer, Charl Crous, confirmed that Pumas flanker, Chris Cloete, (24) and Sharks Lock John-Charles (JC) Astle (25) had been secured on loan for the season.

Following initial trials, Crous also confirmed the Southern Kings have also retained the talent of SWD utility back Leighton Eksteen (21) who has played at Scrumhalf, Flyhalf and Fullback, as well as SWD’s Luzuko Vulindlu (28) who has played at Centre and Wing. Both have been secured on loan from SWD for the season.

Sharks Centre Lukhanyo Am (22) has also secured a position in the squad on loan.

Crous said Sharks hooker, Monde Hadebe (25) would be returning to the Sharks for rehab following a slight back sprain that will see him out of action for between 4 to 5 weeks.

Crous also confirmed hooker Martin Ferreira (26) and lock, Tazz Fuzani (25) had been secured on contract for the Southern Kings season for 2016.

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Cell C SharksThe Cell C Sharks’ 5 missing international players — away in Japan completing their club duties — are expected back in Durban before the end of the month.

New vice-captain Marcell Coetzee, JP Pietersen, Namibian backrower Renaldo Bothma and new signings Willie le Roux and Jacques Potgieter will join the Sharks squad a week before they leave on their pre-season tour of France early in February.

A member of the Sharks management yesterday said that the squad to travel to France would be announced next week and a decision on whether the Japan-based players would be included for the 2 friendlies has still to be made.

The Sharks will play 2-time European champs Toulon on Friday 5 February, before taking on Toulouse 6 days later.

New Cell C Sharks captain Pat Lambie said that it was likely that all the tour members would be given an airing during the 2 games but added that taking on the 2 Top 14 French clubs would be a major challenge.

Head coach Gary Gold said he wanted tough opposition for his young charges ahead of a fresh season.

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StormersThe DHL Stormers had a very productive defensive session against the Steinhoff UCT Ikey Tigers in Stellenbosch on Tuesday.

In sweltering heat on the Markötter field at Paul Roos, the teams played 2 chukkas of 20 minutes each at a high intensity.

In a specialised session designed to test the evolution of their defensive system in the off-season, the DHL Stormers were made to work hard by an Ikeys side renowned for their attacking prowess

A total of 30 DHL Stormers players took to the field as Head Coach Robbie Fleck made wholesale changes at the changeover.

This proved a valuable outing, giving the coaches further opportunity to look at which areas of their defensive game need further attention.

Fleck was very happy with the outcome of what was a demanding session.

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ScotlandHead Coach Vern Cotter  named uncapped props Zander Fagerson and Rory Sutherland in a 35-man Scotland squad for the 2016 RBS 6 Nations.

Glasgow Warriors’ tighthead prop Fagerson turned 20 yesterday (Tuesday 19 January) meaning he could become the 4th youngest prop in Scottish history, and the youngest to represent Scotland for more than half a century (since Bill Black debuted against France at Murrayfield 1948).

Fellow propping prospect Sutherland (23) plies his trade at the opposite end of the M8 and earns selection through his increasingly impressive showings for Edinburgh since signing from Gala last season.

The young pair are among 4 changes to Scotland’s front row options originally named for Rugby World Cup 2015, with 29-times capped Exeter Chiefs tighthead, Moray Low, and 6-times capped Glasgow Warriors hooker, Pat MacArthur, earning selection for the 1st time since the summer of 2014.

Scotland Head Coach Vern Cotter, said: “We’ve selected a mixture of experience with some exciting young players coming through, some of whom have experienced the Rugby World Cup and are eager to move forward, take the RBS 6 Nations head on and show that we can develop our game and be competitive.”

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WhistleRound 5 of the European Champions Cup produced an odd assortment of transgressions that resulted in citings – including abuse of a match official, eye-gouging, biting and testicle grabbing.

 

Viktor Kolelishvili:

Clermont Auvergne flank Viktor Kolelishvili heads the lengthy list of citings.

Kolelishvili was cited for his ill-advised decision to lay his hands on a referee in the match against the Ospreys at the Liberty Stadium last Friday, January 15.

Kolelishvili pushed the match referee, Wayne Barnes (England), in the 17th minute of the match in contravention of Law 10.4 (m).

The complaint was made by the citing commissioner Mike Rafter (England).

David Martin (Ireland) has been appointed as the judicial officer for the disciplinary hearing, which will take place in Paris on Tuesday.

Under Law 10.4 (m) – Physical abuse of match officials – a player could be banned for life, although low-end entry range is 24 weeks.

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CJ Stander

CJ Stander in Champions Cup action

Munster captain and Man of the Match, CJ Stander, felt his side had restored pride as they produced a superb display to claim a bonus-point 26 / 13 victory over Stade Francais in Pool 4 of the European Rugby Champions Cup.

The French side were chasing a quarterfinal berth but had no response to a tremendous Munster effort as Mike Sherry, Keith Earls, Simon Zebo and Stander himself scored tries, with flyhalf Ian Keatley kicking 6 points.

The Irish side, 2-time European champions, had no chance of advancing from the pool after being humbled by a 14-man Stade side in Paris just a week previously.

Stander admits there has been a lot of hurt within the Munster camp and he hopes an impressive win was a step back in the right direction for a team who have traditionally been one of the competition’s major players.

“We said we were playing for nothing but pride and that shows the character we have here in Munster,” said Stander. “There was a lot of hurt last week but a lot of the boys stepped up and we are very proud.”

“The fans stood behind us and made an unbelievable noise. We knew it was all about our actions and getting pride back into the place and we showed a lot of characters.”

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Eddie Jones

Eddie Jones

England boss Eddie Jones admits an afternoon spent watching rugby fan Pep Guardiola conduct a training session at Bayern Munich left him embarrassed about his own coaching ability.

Jones met Guardiola soon after overseeing Japan’s greatest World Cup performance in hope of learning from the most in-demand manager in football, who is to step down from his post at the German champions at the end of the season.

The Australian was enthralled by the sight of Guardiola making some of the game’s biggest stars toil in freezing conditions, confirming his own view on the capacity of players to be pushed to their limits.

“I talk to a lot of people. I try to meet people who are smarter than me. Last year in November was one of the best meetings I had,” Jones said.

I went to Bayern Munich and met Pep Guardiola. It was absolutely fascinating.

“I watched him taking a training session and it made me embarrassed by my coaching – he was so bloody brilliant.”

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JJ Engelbrecht

JJ Engelbrecht

The Blue Bulls Company (Pty) Ltd on Thursday confirmed the release of JJ Engelbrecht to the Ospreys in Wales.

Engelbrecht, who played 65 times in the Vodacom Bulls jersey since joining the team in 2012, was due to link up with his Pretoria team mates upon returning from Japan, where he is playing for Toyota Industries Shuttles.

The Ospreys offer resulted in a release request by Engelbrecht, which has been granted by the BBC with immediate effect.

According to the BBC High Performance Manager, Xander Janse van Rensburg, the decision to release Engelbrecht was based on the depth they have in the midfield, where the likes of Jesse Kriel, Dan Kriel, Burger Odendaal, Jan Serfontein and Dries Swanepoel will be contesting starting spots.

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Rugby Park

Rugby Park in Kilmarnock

Glasgow Warriors have moved this month’s European Rugby Champions Cup fixture with Racing 92 to Rugby Park stadium in Kilmarnock, due to a high risk of the Scotstoun pitch being unplayable next weekend.

The club, in consultation with EPCR, has moved to find an alternative venue for the match in the West of Scotland, following unprecedented rainfall and flooding over the past few weeks. It will also give the Scotstoun pitch the best possible chance of recovering ahead of the next scheduled home game after the European Rugby Champions Cup fixture in 5 weeks time.

The Pool 3 encounter vs Racing 92 will be played on Saturday 23 January (kick-off 17:30 UK Time).

The 18 128 all-seater Rugby Park stadium, which is home to Kilmarnock Football Club, has a World Rugby compliant 3G pitch and hosted the 1st ever Tier 1 rugby international on an artificial surface in November 2014 when Scotland beat Tonga 37 / 12.

Around 6 650 tickets have already been sold for the clash with the Top 14 leaders and an additional 7 500 match tickets will become available tomorrow (Thursday 14 January).

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EnglandDanny Cipriani will be overlooked when England head coach Eddie Jones names his first elite player squad before next month’s Six Nations Championship.

Jones will name a 33-man squad on Wednesday, but is not set to reveal his captain for another 2 weeks.

Northampton hooker Dylan Hartley is a leading contender to replace Harlequins flanker Chris Robshaw as skipper, despite a poor disciplinary record.

Jones, 55, recently said he will select players who “express themselves”.

However, Sale flyhalf Cipriani is not expected to be a part of the Australian’s initial plans.

The 28-year-old, who has won 14 caps since making his debut in 2008, missed out to Saracens’ Owen Farrell and Bath’s George Ford in England’s doomed World Cup squad.

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Eye Gouging

Josaia Raisuqe was sent off for this incident against CJ Stander

Here are the disciplinary hearings following last weekend’s rescheduled matches in the Challenge Cup and Champions Cup.

 

RED CARDS:

Josaia Raisuqe (Stade Français Paris):

The Stade Francais Paris wing, Josaia Raisuqe (No 11), was issued with a Red Card during the European Rugby Champions Cup rescheduled Round 2 match against Munster Rugby on Saturday, 9 January 2016.

Raisuqe was sent off by referee, Nigel Owens (Wales), in the 41st minute of the match at Stade Jean Bouin for allegedly making contact with the eye(s) and / or eye area of the Munster Rugby loose forward, CJ Stander (No 8), in contravention of Law 10.4 (m).

Simon Thomas (Wales) has been appointed as the independent Judicial Officer for the disciplinary hearing which will take place in Paris today (Wednesday, 13 January).

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