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Finally the Currie Cup is starting and all South African rugby fans have a team to support.
What an interesting season awaits, with the playing field levelled to a great extent with the exclusion of the chosen Springboks not taking part in the Currie Cup until at least the semi-finals.
Who will win this competition? Will the Bulls be able to defend their title successfully?
Here is a quick run-down of the 1st week’s games and how it will most likely pan out.
Legendary retired Springbok Percy Montgomery took a leap of faith ahead of Saturday’s Tri-Nations Test against the All Blacks, by jumping off Auckland’s SkyTower on Wednesday.
The match officials for the 2010 TriNations have been released by SANZAR with Alan Lewis of Ire blowing the whistle for the opening match.
The 2010 TriNations match officials are as follows.
The Springboks have delayed naming their match 22 for the opening Tri Nations Test against the All Blacks in Auckland on Saturday until Thursday.
Reading on some web sites and in the press, there seems to be some confusion regarding the possible move of the Test on 21 August 2010 between the Springboks and All Blacks, from Coca-Cola Park (Ellis Park) to the National Stadium (Soccer City).
Some pundits believe the move is a forced move under presssure from SARU, forcing the GLRU (Gauteng Lions Rugby Union) to move the game in an attempt to recover the outstanding British and Irish Lions debt owing by the GLRU to SARU, some believe it is a new and exciting initiative by the GLRU to revive rugby in their region and a possible pre-curser to moving the home base of the GLRU permanently to the National Stadium.
Whatever the case, here is an insight from someone high up in the Club Scene in the GLRU structures.
There is a valid reason why the Currie Cup is divided into a Premier Division and a First Division, with the top sides this past weekend showing in no uncertain terms their differences in strength.
In the six compulsory fixtures – including the one between the Natal Sharks and the Valke a week ago – the Premier Division teams scored 273 points to 67 by the First Division sides, an average score of 47-11.
Springbok rugby coach Peter de Villiers says that he has had enough of the football world cup which is taking place in his country and wants to get on with the TriNations.
De Villiers’ Springboks wants his South African team to to focus on the defense of the Tri-Nations title they won last year and he says the world cup is a distraction.
Argentina 0-4 Germany, Paraguay 0-1 Spain
Netherlands 2 – 0 Brazil, Uruguay 1 – 1 Ghana
Uruguay won penalty shootout 4-2
Superbu Updated
The South African Schools Association on Saturday announced the SA Schools team for 2010 after the Free State Cheetahs defeated Western Province 42-21in the final game at the Coca-Cola Under-18 Craven Week in Welkom.
Free State Cheetahs and Western Province will once again play compete in the finale at the Coca-Cola Under-18 Craven Week following their 30-20 victory over Kwazulu Natal in Welkom on Thursday.
WP defeated the Bloemfontein side 19-17 during last year’s Coca-Cola Under-18 Craven Week in East London.
Flank Pieter Louw scored a hat-trick for Western Province against the Griffons in their Currie Cup compulsory friendly in Welkom.
The Springboks most valuable players will undertake a phased conditioning programme after the Tri-Nations campaign as part of the South African Rugby Union’s long-term planning for 2011, it was confirmed on Friday.
Twenty contracted Springboks will be placed on tailored programmes for a four-week period to manage their workload in the middle of a busy 2010 season and in preparation for the Rugby World Cup campaign.
The yearly U/18 Craven Week is underway from Monday 28 June 2010.
With this Article we look at RESULTS, LOGS & FIXTURES.
Results:
| 3 | Free State | 42 | – | 21 | WP | North West Stadium, Welkom | Info |
| 3 | Border CD | 5 | – | 65 | Leopards | Welkom THS | Info |
| 3 | Namibia | 21 | – | 30 | Zimbabwe | North West Stadium B | Info |
| 3 | Griquas | 29 | – | 7 | Griffons | North West Stadium, Welkom | Info |
| 3 | EP | 34 | – | 20 | Border | Welkom THS | Info |
| 3 | Blue Bulls | 38 | – | 15 | Valke | North West Stadium B | Info |
| 3 | Lions | 28 | – | 11 | Pumas | North West Stadium, Welkom | Info |
New Zealand will be at full strength when they face South Africa in the opening match of the Tri-Nations competition in Auckland next Saturday.
All Black coach Graham Henry on Friday removed any doubt over the availability of his big guns, including the first-choice centre pairing of Conrad Smith and Ma’a Nonu.
Bok coach Peter de Villiers got thrown a few curve balls this week – on the selection of Ricky and Chiliboy as well as management of players leading up to RWC 2011.
All Blacks coach Graham Henry has inadvertently revealed that South Africa and New Zealand will will play their Tri-Nations rugby match next month at the Soccer City stadium in Soweto.
Reds and Wallaby scrumhalf Will Genia has won his first prestigious Pilecki Medal as “the players’ player” of the Reds’ 2010 season and was also voted the fans’ favourite.
The Western Force have revealed that current ARU Skills Coach Richard Graham will succeed John Mitchell as coach of the Force from 2012.
Gary Botha is back at the helm of the Blue Bulls and will lead the team onto the field when they take on the Eastern Province Elephants in a compulsory friendly in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.
The Lions will be without regular captain Cobus Grobbelaar for their Currie Cup campaign.
The All Blacks have been offered big cash bonuses if they can win the Rugby World Cup which is to be held in New Zealand next year.
The All Blacks have consistently been rated as one of the world’s top teams but have failed to win the World Cup since the inaugural event in New Zealand in 1987.
The South African duo of Nick Mallett and Alan Solomons will once again take charge of the Barbarian squad’s preparation for the fixture against South Africa at Twickenham on Saturday 4th December 2010.
Vodacom WP coach Allister Coetzee today announced his team to take on the Griffons in a SARU compulsory friendly in Welkom on Friday 2 July 2010. Kick-off is at 6pm.
Vuvuzelas might be a major part of this year’s Soccer World Cup, but they will play no part in rugby’s showpiece event next year in New Zealand.
It’s virtually an all-new Eastern Province rugby team that will take on the Blue Bulls in a friendly match at the EPRFU Stadium on Saturday.
New coach Alan Solomons picked only a handful of the players that represented the Elephants in the Vodacom Cup.
Wing Bryan Habana equalled former scrumhalf Joost van der Westhuizen’s all-time Springbok try scoring record in the Test against Italy in East London.
Wallaby wing Lachie Turner will join the Australian Sevens squad in camp on Sunday, as preparations get underway for the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in October.
Coach Michael O’Connor has selected a 14-man training squad which will assemble at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra from July 4 to 7 and has bolstered his side with the inclusion of the Wallaby wing, Turner, and also 2009 tourist Luke Morahan.
It seems the the Bookies, around the world have made the Springboks slight favourites to win the Tri-Nations over the All Blacks and the Wallabies trailing way behind in the backgroud.
Australian Rugby Boss John O’Neill will demand that the Wallabies become more ruthless when he meets Wallaby coach Robbie Deans.
The Wallabies have promised much under Deans but delivered little and Deans’ success with the Crusaders in Super Rugby has raised expectation.
All Blacks hooker Corey Flynn has been given the all-clear to assemble with the All Blacks after a medical check–up with medical staff in Christchurch.
Less than a month ago the Springboks lost out in the Butch James club-versus-country battle. Now, on the eve of South Africa’s Tri-Nations tour to Australasia the roles are reversed.
This time the Boks, on the back of a clause in James’ contract with his club, can hold onto the 2007 World Cup winner and Bath has to find a replacement for the star flyhalf.
Springbok wing Jongi Nokwe is ready for action and will get the opportunity in Free State’s first warm-up game before the Currie Cup to stake his claim for national selection again.
Nokwe was included by Free State coach Naka Drotské in his strongest possible team for the friendly match against Border in East London.
Two games in the Super 16’s are played today, 28th.
Netherlands 2-1 Slovakia
Brazil 3-0 Chile
Cricket (Stumps – Day 3)
West Indies 231 & 134/7 (57.0 ov)
South Africa 346
West Indies lead by 19 runs with 3 wickets remaining
The Winter Tours in the Southern Hemisphere is a thing of the past, with a clear advantage to the Southern Hemisphere in the results, except for an Australian hickup against England in the 2nd Test and 2 results for Scotland against Argentina. The rest of the results all went the way of the Southern Hemisphere.
I am still not fully happy though with the Springbok run-up to the Tri-Nations and think our National coach missed some opportunities in selecting or establishing the true pecking order in a few positions.
Wallabies and Reds flyhalf Quade Cooper has been fined and disqualified from driving after he pleaded guilty to a charge of driving while on a suspended license.