Argentina Rugby
The draw for the 2016 Super Rugby tournament, which will be an enlarged 18-team format, as well as the new trophy which goes with the format, has been released!
Here are some facts about it:
- Super Rugby to kick off on Friday 26 February with 3 of last season’s 4 semi-finalists meeting in an opening night extravaganza;
- The new Japanese team will play its historic 1st game against the Emirates Lions on Saturday afternoon 27 February in Tokyo;
- Fans won’t have to wait long for a re-match of last year’s epic Super Rugby Final with the Highlanders to host the Hurricanes in Round 2;
- Singapore National Stadium to host matches between the Japanese-based team and the Toyota Cheetahs (Round 3), Bulls (Round 5) and Stormers (Round 12);
- The South African Conference structure formally confirmed;
- Newly-designed chrome and gold plated Super Rugby trophy that captures the prestige, grandeur and resilience of 1 of the world’s toughest sporting titles and;
- Identity of the Argentinean and Japanese-based sides will be formally unveiled in the coming months.
Super Rugby is set for its most significant evolution yet with 4 new conferences, 3 new teams, 2 new countries and 1 new trophy.
Los Pumas (14) 54 / 9 (9) Georgia (Final Score)
The Argentinian Pumas and Georgia did battle in the 2015 Rugby World Cup at
Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester, England at 17:45 SA Time (16:45 BST, 15:45 GMT, 19:45 Georgian Time).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & CSN on TV in SA.
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Mariano Galarza
Rugby World Cup disciplinary chiefs on Wednesday banned Argentina’s Mariano Galarza for 9 weeks, excluding him from the rest of the tournament, after an incident with New Zealand’s Brodie Retallick.
Galarza was found guilty of making “contact with the eye or eye area” of Retallick during the Pumas 26 / 16 defeat by the world champion All Blacks at Wembley on Sunday.
The giant Argentine, 28, denied the charge. He did not get the maximum sentence because of his good disciplinary record up to now.
Richie McCaw
All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw pleaded guilty to a “dumb” moment which saw him sin-binned as his side struggled to beat Argentina in their Rugby World Cup opener.
McCaw, the most capped player in Test rugby, got a Yellow Card for tripping Argentina’s Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe half an hour into the game.
The Pumas took advantage of his 10 minutes of exile and later of the Yellow Card of Conrad Smith to stamp their authority on the Pool C game.
“It was dumb,” McCaw said of the incident.
“It was a reflex thing. It wasn’t the right thing to do and we suffered because of it and put the team under pressure, which you can’t afford to do,” the much respected captain said after.
The sentiment was shared by New Zealand coach Steve Hansen who said: “The 2 Yellow Cards today were pretty dumb.
Agustine Creevy
Good but not good enough was how Argentina captain Agustin Creevy rated his side’s performance in holding the All Blacks until the end of their Rugby World Cup match Sunday.
Argentina led 16 / 12, and an upset was on the cards, until an Aaron Smith try sparked the All Blacks into action and they came from behind to win the Pool C match 26 / 16.
“It was very hard,” Creevy said of the loss in front of 81 000 people at Wembley.
“The 1st-half was excellent, but the 2nd-half the pace was very fast, we made some mistakes and we were not able to recover from them.
“The All Blacks are the best in the world and they know how to score points.”
Creevy could not fault his side’s attitude and said they recognised they were closing on the world’s best teams.
All Blacks (12) 26 / 16 (13) Los Pumas (Final Score)
The New Zealand All Blacks and Argentinian Pumas did battle in the 2015 Rugby World Cup at
Wembley Stadium, London, England at 17:45 SA Time (16:45 BST, 15:45 GMT, 12:45 ARG Time, Monday 01:45 NZ Time).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & M-Net on TV in SA.
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A popular topic of debate heading into the Rugby World Cup is that of eligibility, particularly that resulting from the residency method. We take a look at the foreign-born players in each squad, where they were born and how they are eligible.
An interesting fact – only Argentina can claim that all 31 players in their squad are native to their country. The other 19 teams all have players born abroad, including significant numbers in some of rugby’s most powerful nations.
All told, Rugby World Cup 2015 will have a grand total of 33 countries involved in the tournament. Players born in various African countries – Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria and Zimbabwe join the participating Namibia and South Africa. Zimbabwe has players representing 4 countries, more than any other non-competitor.
Spain is another country not present at the Rugby World Cup who have players representing multiple countries while other countries include Belgium, Israel, Papua New Guinea, Saudi Arabia, and the Netherlands are also all represented.
Australia, England, New Zealand and South Africa lead the way in terms of players representing others at the Rugby World Cup.
Japan Rugby
Japan’s hopes of playing in the 2016 Super Rugby tournament still appear to be doomed but their exit could also force the Southern Kings out of the expanded tournament.
The Japanese Rugby Union formed the Japan Super Rugby Association (JSRA) to run the new Super Rugby team but the JSRA has struggled to sign players for the new team.
Their expectation was that the Japanese Top League teams would release players to the Super Rugby team but they don’t want to do that and instead they want the Top League to be considered at a higher level than Super Rugby.
SANZAR are believed to be so concerned about the situation in Japan that they have started discussing alternate tournament models for the 2016 season and possibly beyond.
Tournament organizers SANZAR gave Japan a deadline on 31 August last month to show a list of 20 contracted players but reports suggest that the standard of players is not at a level that will make the new Asian team competitive.
Reports in Australia say that SANZAR are now considering taking the Super Rugby licence away from Japan indefinitely.
The writing appeared to be on the wall early last month when Japan coach Eddie Jones announced that he would not be re-signing with the national side and he would not be available as the new Japanese team’s Director of Rugby.
While the Japan team’s inclusion seems unlikely it is understood that the 6th South African side, the Southern Kings are also struggling to sign a full squad and in recent months there have been financial problems and player strikes due to wages not being paid.
South Africa moved up to 3rd place in the World Rankings without even kicking a ball.
It means the Springboks have climbed 2 places in the World Rankings since their last match – a win over Argentina in Buenos Aires, last month.
Their rise, despite the team’s inactivity, is the result of Ireland’s dramatic slump – the men from the Emerald Isle having lost to Wales (10 / 16) and England (13 / 21) in the past fortnight.
As a result, Rugby Championship heavyweights New Zealand, Australia and South Africa will go into the Rugby World Cup as the Top 3 nations in the rankings.
Ireland’s rating fell by 0.79 points and resulted in a 3-place drop to 6 for the Six Nations Champions, placing them below the Springboks.
England gained the same amount of points to leapfrog their Pool A opponents Wales into 4th.
Long-time leaders New Zealand remain untouchable – for a fortnight at least – on 92.89 points, with Australia 6.22 points behind in 2nd and South Africa a further 1.52 points back in 3rd.
Australia were unable to make up any ground on their arch rivals, despite being the only one of the 3 in action over the weekend.
Their 47 / 10 win over the USA Eagles in Chicago did not come with any ratings points, given the double-figure difference in rankings positions and rating points between the nations.
Serious injuries to star fullback Leigh Halfpenny and scrumhalf Rhys Webb, made it a day to forget for Wales, who scraped home 23 / 19 against Italy at the Millennium Stadium.
There were some very interesting results on the weekend in the last Rugby World Cup warm-up matches, befor the world showpiece starts on 18 September in England.
- England beat Ireland at Twickenham, by 21 / 13.
- Wales barely beat Italy by 23 / 19 but at the same time suffered 2 huge injury blows, one to Rhys Webb and the other to Leigh Halfpenny.
- France edged a spirited Scotland side at Stade de Framce, by 19 / 16.
- The Australian Wallabies romped past the USA Eagles by 47 / 10 at Soldier Field.
- Fiji put Canada to the sword by 47 / 18.
- Tonga beat Romania by 21 / 16.
- Japan beat Georgia 13 / 10.
- Samoa beat Wasps 25 / 19.
- Argentina beat Leicester 55 / 34.
It is the major results we will focus on however…
From Left to Right: UAR President Carlos Araujo, Juan Martin Hernandez & UAR Secretary Fernando Rizzi
Yet another experienced Test star has pledged his commitment to Super Rugby with Juan Martin Hernandez returning home to join Argentina’s new team.
The 53-cap Pumas veteran has signed for 2 years, just a day after Juan Manuel Leguizamon also said he was returning to Buenos Aires.
“It wasn’t an easy decision, but I am convinced that I want to be part of what’s next for rugby in Argentina,” Hernandez said on Thursday.
“This is a new tournament to us and will serve us well as the team matures and grows in confidence. We find it extremely high intensity – more than The Rugby Championship – and will come in handy to see just how far you can go as an Argentine player.”
Beginning his professional career in France in 2003, Hernandez made 123 appearances for Stade Français before stints at Racing Métro and Toulon, where he signed at the beginning of 2015 before deciding to answer the call and return to Argentina.
From Left to Right: UAR President Carlos Araujo, Juan Martin Leguizamon & UAR Secretary Fernando Rizzi
Juan Manuel Leguizamon is set to return to his homeland to represent Argentina’s new Super Rugby franchise after a decade in Europe.
The veteran, who has represented London Irish, Stade Francais and Lyon, signed his contract on Tuesday in the presence of UAR President, Carlos Araujo and Secretary of the Union, Fernando Rizzi.
“This is another important day for Argentine rugby,” Araujo said.
“Juan Manuel has been a strength of the Pumas and 1 of the pillars of a process that has been underway for years and that will peak in 2016 with the inclusion of Argentina in the Super Rugby competition.
Daniel Hourcade
There were no great surprises as Argentina head coach Daniel Hourcade named his 31-man Rugby World Cup squad on Sunday.
Star players Juan Imhoff, Juan Martin Hernandez, Juan Fernandez Lobbe and Marcelo Bosch all took their places in the final squad.
Hourcade ditched 7 players from the squad that participated in The Rugby Championship, ending their campaign last week with a 1st ever victory over South Africa.
Racing Metro lock Manuel Carizza and Saracens prop Juan Figallo were amongst those to miss out.
Los Pumas (9) 12 / 26 (20) Springboks (Final Score)
The Argentinian Pumas and South African Springboks did battle in a Rugby World Cup warm-up match at
Vélez Sarsfield, Buenos Aires at 21:40 SA Time (16:40 ARG Time, 19:40 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & M-Net on TV in SA.
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The Pumas have made 7 changes to the team that humiliated the Springboks last weekend for a Test rematch in Buenos Aires Saturday.
Apart from the personnel alterations, coach Daniel Hourcade has made 2 positional switches as the Pumas seek to build on a stunning 37 / 25 win over the Springboks in Durban.
It was the 1st triumph for Argentina over South Africa after 19 failed attempts since the countries 1st met in 1993 in Buenos Aires.
And it was the 1st Rugby Championship away victory for the South Americans after 10 losses in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa over 4 seasons.
Out of the Durban starting backline go right wing Horacio Agulla, centres Marcelo Bosch, injured Jerónimo De la Fuente and scrumhalf Tomas Cubelli.
They are replaced by Santiago Cordero, Matias Moroni, Nicolas Sanchez and Martin Landajo for the match at the 50 000 capacity Estadio Jose Amalfitani in a western suburb of the Argentine capital.
Veteran Hernández, who was outstanding at flyhalf last weekend, retreats to inside centre to accommodate Sanchez in the pivotal role.
Zane Kirchner
Victor Matfield will captain the Springboks against Los Pumas on Saturday, with Zane Kirchner, Lwazi Mvovo, Pat Lambie, Willem Alberts, Marcel van der Merwe, Adriaan Strauss and Trevor Nyakane all getting their 1st starts of the season.
Jan Serfontein and Schalk Brits have also been included in the match-23 for the 1st time this season.
A total of 28 players will travel to South America on Wednesday to play the Pumas at the Vélez Sarsfield on Saturday evening (SA Time). The match-23 shows numerous changes from the side that lost to Argentina last weekend, many of them injury-enforced.
Kirchner takes over at fullback from the injured Willie le Roux, Jesse Kriel moves from wing to centre for Jean de Villiers, with Lwazi Mvovo getting his 3rd run of the season, in the No 14-jersey. Willem Alberts replaces the injured Marcell Coetzee in what will be his 1st Test in more than a year.
Daniel Hourcade
Los Pumas have retained the squad that stunned the Springboks at the weekend, except for injured centre Jerónimo De la Fuente.
They have also added 6 players for the Test rematch in Buenos Aires on Saturday.
A rib injury rules De la Fuente out of a game which offers the Pumas a chance to prove that a historic 37 / 25 Rugby Championship triumph in Durban 3 days ago was not a fluke.
It was the 1st Pumas victory in 20 Tests against the Springboks from South Africa and their 1st away win in the Southern Hemisphere championship after 10 losses since debuting 3 seasons ago.
Argentina took 26 players to South Africa last week and coach Daniel Hourcade has expanded the squad to 31 for the rematch with the Springboks at the 50 000-capacity Estadio Jose Amalfitani.
The 6 additions are fullback Santiago Cordero, centre Matias Moroni, flyhalf Nicolas Sanchez and loose forwards Javier Ortega Desio, Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe and Facundo Isa.
Los Pumas celebrate the win against the Springboks
A hat-trick from Juan Imhoff helped the Argentinian Pumas record their 1st ever win over the Springboks in a 37 / 25 Rugby Championship victory in Durban on Saturday.
It’s taken 20 attempts but the Pumas finally got a positive result against the Springboks after 2 close calls last year. Using their domination at scrum time as a platform, Argentina created the biggest upset in the history of The Rugby Championship on the day that they commemorated 50 years since their 1st tour of South Africa.
The result means the Springboks have now lost 4 consecutive Tests to different countries for the 1st time since 1965.
While the Pumas produced their best game of the year, tackling their hearts out, their disjointed hosts were a pale shadow of the side that troubled the All Blacks 2 weeks prior as they made countless unforced errors and offered very little on attack.
Los Pumas led 27 / 13 at halftime thanks to 3 excellent tries, including 2 for Juan Imhoff, who also helped set up the opening try for Marcelo Bosch.
The Springboks hit back via a try from lock Lood de Jager, but the visitors were well worth their lead against an error-prone Springbok outfit.
Imhoff bagged his hat-trick in controversial circumstances soon after the break and although the Springboks hit back via tries from Willie le Roux and Bryan Habana, they fell well short of saving the result.
Agustín Creevy
Argentinian Pumas skipper Agustin Creevy said the presence of former Pumas in Durban helped inspire a stunning and historic 37 / 25 Rugby Championship triumph over the Springboks on Saturday.
“The presence of these rugby heroes of our nation was a major factor in the success,” the 30-year-old hooker said.
Survivors of the 1965 Pumas – the 1st Argentine rugby team to play in South Africa – celebrated the 50th anniversary of the pioneering trip by watching the Test at the Growthpoint Kings Park stadium.
And when the final whistle blew and the Pumas triumphed for the 1st time against the Springboks after 19 failed attempts and also won away in The Rugby Championship for the 1st time, they moved toward the ‘golden oldies’ and clapped.
The gesture was returned as the group of smartly attired ex-national team players, wearing dark suits, blue ties and white shirts, stood to acknowledge a great day for Argentine rugby.
Springboks (13) 25 / 37 (27) Los Pumas (Final Score)
The South African Springboks and Argentinian Pumas did battle in Round 3 of The Rugby Championship at
Growthpoint Kings Park, Durban at 17:05 SA Time (12:05 ARG Time, 15:05 GMT, Sunday 01:05 AEST, Sunday 03:05 NZ Time).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & M-Net on TV in SA.
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It is the 3rd and final Round 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).
The last 2 games are both on Saturday 8 August.
The Action of the Round is kicked off in Sydney, Australia where the Wallabies and All Blacks dual it out for tournament honours and The Rugby Championship of 2015 concludes with the match between the Springboks against Los Pumas in Durban.
On Saturday at the ANZ Stadium in Sydney at 12:05 SA Time (20:05 AEST, 22:05 NZ Time, 10:05 GMT) referee Wayne Barnes of England is in charge in the Wallabies vs All Blacks game.
On Saturday at Growthpoint Kings Park in Durban at 17:05 SA Time (12:05 ARG Time, 10:05 GMT, Sunday 01:05 AEST, Sunday 03:05 NZ Time) referee Romain Poite of France is in charge of the Springboks vs Los Pumas game.
The game between the Wallabies and All Blacks has all to play for and should be a thriller of note. It is hard to imagine the Wallabies pipping the All Blacks though. All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has opted for a rather large number of changes to the All Blacks side, but the run-on side is a vastly experienced unit… with the return of Julian Savea, Sonny Bill Williams, Dan Carter, Aaron Smith all in the backline alone. The Wallabies see some old hands like Drew Mitchell, Matt Giteau & James Horwill return to the run-on side and also sees the pair of openside flankers of David Pocock and Michael Hooper in the looseforwards to try and dominate the ground ball situations against the All Blacks.
Both the Springboks and Los Pumas have made a number of changes to their run-on sides.
For the Springboks we see a return of Captain Jean de Villiers at No 13, with Jesse Kriel moving 1 wide to the right wing berth. Vincent Koch comes in for injured Jannie du Plessis at tighthead prop and Marcell Coetzee takes over at blindside flank from the injured Francois Louw. On the bench we see the return of Pieter-Steph du Toit from injury, as well as the return of Marcel van der Merwe, Siya Kolisi and Lwazi Mvovo.
The game between the Springboks should logically only go 1 way and that is with a comfortable win against Los Pumas.
Morné Steyn
Flyhalf Morné Steyn has been ruled out of the Springboks’ trip to Argentina next week, as his wife is due to give birth.
The Springboks will play the Pumas in a non-championship Test at the Estadio Jose Amalfitani in Buenos Aires on Saturday 15 August at 21:40 SA time.
The Test will also be the Springboks’ final run-out ahead of the Rugby World Cup starting on 18 September.
The fact that Steyn won’t be available means that he will not have played any Test rugby in 2015, giving coach Heyneke Meyer something of a headache.
Heyneke Meyer
Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer has admitted that a combination of injuries and the 2 narrow defeats in the opening part of The Rugby Championship have changed his plans slightly, but he is still committed to making conditioning the priority after this week’s clash with Los Pumas at Growthpoint Kings Park.
Meyer said after announcing his team for the match that several 1st choice players will stay behind in Durban when the playing squad travels to Buenos Aires next week for what has the status of a return ‘friendly’ international against the Pumas. However, because he is coaching the South African national team and knows how important winning is to the nation, he’s not going to make changes to quite the extent that he intended to when he did his planning for the Rugby World Cup build-up.
“I’ve always said that I haven’t been happy with the fitness and conditioning and the last 2 matches when we lost in the last few minutes proved that we still have a lot of work to do in that regard,” said Meyer.
“My plan has always been to implement a very intense 3 week conditioning programme after The Rugby Championship is completed and that will mean that some of the top players will be staying behind in Durban next week rather than going to Argentina. If we are going to win the World Cup it is imperative that we get our conditioning right and the players can look forward to a really tough camp.
“The players who do travel to Argentina will slot into that fitness camp after they return. We are going to make an all-out effort to get the conditioning right. It is something that has improved gradually over the past few years, but we need the 3 week conditioning top up that is planned in order to get it totally right.”
SANZAR has named the match officials for the 3rd and last Round of the abbreviated Rugby Championship of 2015.
England’s Wayne Barnes will officiate in the championship decider in Sydney and he will be assisted by Nigel Owens and Frederico Anselmi as Assistant referees. Shaun Veldsman will do TMO duty.
Frenchman Romain Poite will referee the Springboks vs Los Pumas game in Durban and will be assited by JP Doyle and Marius Mitrea, with Ben Skeen doing the TMO duties.
Poite is well remembered among Springbok fans for the controvertial sending off of Bismarck du Plessis in a Test against the All Blacks 2 years ago.
Poite harshly and erroneously Yellow-Carded Du Plessis for a tackle on All Black flyhalf Dan Carter before later dishing out another Yellow (which automatically meant a Red Card) to the hooker as the Springboks went on to lose 29 / 15 at Eden Park in Auckland.
Ramiro Herrera
Argentina arrived in South Africa on Sunday without powerful tighthead prop Ramiro Herrera.
The 26-year-old front row forward has ruptured medial ligaments in his knee and has undergone surgery.
Team doctor Guillermo Botto said Herrera will require between about 4 to 6 weeks to recover, playing him in doubt for the Rugby World Cup – which gets underway on 18 September.
He has been replaced in the 26-man squad – for The Rugby Championship Test against South Africa’s Springboks in Durban on Saturday – by veteran prop Juan Pablo Orlandi, who last played for Los Pumas against England in November 2013.
The 32-year-old Orlandi played in 15 Tests for his country before being axed. He has now been thrown a World Cup lifeline.
Pumas coach Daniel Hourcade said they will continue to “evaluate” players ahead of next month’s World Cup – when they face the Springboks in Durban this week and Buenos Aires a week later.
Michael Hooper
A SANZAR Appeals Committee, chaired by Jannie Lubbe SC (South Africa) and comprising Terry Willis (Australia) and Mike Heron QC (New Zealand) unanimously dismissed both appeals brought by SANZAR and the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) on behalf of Michael Hooper.
The Committee dismissed the ARU appeal on behalf of Michael Hooper on the basis that the appellant was unable to show that the Judicial Officer erred in law in finding that Hooper’s striking of Nicolas Sanchez from Argentina was a breach of Law 10.4 (a).
The Committee also dismissed the appeal brought by SANZAR that the Judicial Officer’s sanction of 1 week was unduly lenient. The Committee found the Judicial Officer was correct in the exercise of his discretion that the offending was low-end.
As such, the player’s suspension from all forms of the game for 1 week was confirmed.
This weekend saw Round 2 of The Rugby Championship.
In johannesburg, South Africa it was heart-break for the Springboks again, 2nd week in a row, this time losing in the dying minutes against a better conditiond and fitter All Blacks side, by 20 / 27, with All Blacks capatin Richie McCaw doing the damage to snatch the lead from the South Africans with only 6 minutes to go in the match.
In Mendoza, Argentinia, the Wallabies led 8 / 6 at halftime before tuning in all the screws and beating Los Pumas comfortably by 34 / 9, also earning their bonus point for tries in the process.
As a result of the Round 2 results, the All Blacks and Wallabies are joint leaders of The Rugby Championship Log, with 2 wins apiece, whereas the Springboks and Los Pumas are still winless in the Competition, with the Springboks on a paltry 2 Log points and Los Pumas still not out of the starting gates, on 0 Log Points.
In 2015 there is of course only 3 Rounds in total, in the abbreviated version of the prime Southern Hemisphere international competition due to this year being a Rugby World Cup year. In this shortened version of the competition, where in stead of the normal double Round of matches by every side against the other sides, there is only a single Round of matches by every side against each of the other nations.
Round 3 is only in a fortnight, where the focus will be on the Bledisloe clash between the Wallabies and All Blacks for this year’s overall title.
The Springboks dominated most of the 1st half but at the break the scores were still tied on 10 / 10 and later on 17 / 17 before South Africa took a slender 20 / 17 lead and held that lead untill 6 minutes from time, whereafter the All Blacks showed their class and superior fitness and better bench selections to add 10 further points and running out 7-point winners.
All is not lost for the Springboks and one feels that they showed some quality rugby 2 weeks in a row, but they will surely now realize that their overall conditioning, fitness as well as the impact their bench is supposed to have in the vital Rugby World Cup during September and October still need a massive amount of work if they are to stand a proper chance of winning the world showpiece in 2015.
The All Blacks once again appear to be massive favourites to not only win theis year’s Rugby Championship but to also go on to clinch the Rugby World Cup title in October.
Argentina seem to be dogged by the same “Illness” that the Springboks are suffering from, as they also seem incapable of ending games strong enough and also tend to kick tactically poorly, which invariably results in scores against them in the latter stages of games when defences are no longer as tight as in the beginning of matches.
The Wallabies are building up nicely towards the Rugby World Cup, having first narrowly dispatched the Springboks week before last and now comforably beating Los Pumas on the weekend. They managed to score 2 quick-fire tries towards the end of the clash in Argentina, first by Tevita Kuridrani and then barely 3 minutes later one by Adam Ashley-Cooper (to earn them the bonus point for tries) to hammer the nails in properly against the Pumas.
Los Pumas (6) 9 / 34 (8) Wallabies (Final Score)
The Argentinian Pumas and Australian Wallabies did battle in Round 2 of The Rugby
Championship at Estadio Malvinas, Mendoza at Sunday 00:40 SA Time (19:40 Arg Time, 22:40
GMT, Sunday 08:40 AEST, Sunday 10:40 NZ Time). 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 2 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 are 2 games on Saturday 25 July.
The Action of the Round is kicked off in South Africa, where the Springboks take on the old foe, the All Blacks in Johannesburg and concludes with the late night match between the Argentinian Pumas against the Australian Wallabies in Mendoza.
On Saturday at Emirates Airline Park (Ellis Park) in Johannesburg at 17:05 SA Time (15:05 GMT, 12:05 Arg Time, Sunday 03:05 NZ Time, Sunday 01:05 AEST) referee Jérôme Garcès is in charge in the Springboks vs All Blacks game.
On Saturday at Estadio Malvinas in Mendoza, at Sunday 00:40 SA Time (19:40 Arg Time, 22:40 GMT, Sunday 08:40 AEST, Sunday 10:40 NZ Time) referee Jaco Peyper of South Africa is in charge of the Pumas vs Wallabies game.
The game between the Springboks and the All Blacks should be a humdinger of note and the result could go either way. Last time these 2 sides met, also at the same venue, the Springboks won by a measly 2 points. Both sides have made some bold selections, with 2 debutants on the All Blacks side and on the Springbok side we see the return of Heinrich Brüssow, who makes his 1st Springbok appearance since November 2011. One cannot help but feel that the All Blacks have ironed out most if not almost all the chinks in their armour, whereas the Springboks still seem to be a work in progress.
The Pumas and the Wallabies have each made 7 changes to their starting line-ups and the question begs whether Los Pumas could repeat their win over the Wallabies of last year in Mendoza. The Wallabies came back very strongly against the Springboks last week, so I quite fancy them for a win against the Pumas… in Argentina.
In a shortened version of The Rugby Championship, the 2 losers of Round 1 are practically in last chance saloon while victories for Round 1’s winners would set up a winner-takes-all Bledisloe Cup clash in Round 3.
It makes for a must-see weekend of action.
Springboks vs All Blacks:
It’s been 6 years since South Africa managed back-to-back wins over New Zealand and Saturday’s clash between the world’s top 2 teams represents an important chance to lay down a marker.
Last year’s last-minute victory for the Springboks in Johannesburg – only their 2nd win over the All Blacks since 2009 – ended a 3-year losing streak against their great rivals.
Daniel Hourcade
The Argentinian Pumas head coach, Daniel Hourcade, has made several changes to his starting line-up that will face Australia’s Wallabies at Estadio Malvinas in Mendoza on Saturday.
There is a new-look back-3 as Santiago Cordero moves to fullback in place of Joaquin Tuculet while Gonzalo Camacho and Juan Imhoff start as wings.
Matías Moroni and Juan Pablo Socino are the centres, coming in for Marcelo Bosch and Jeronimo De la Fuente, while the other change to the backline sees the experienced Martín Landajo replace Tomás Cubelli at scrumhalf.
In the pack there is a start for Javier Ortega Desio on the flank and Tomás Lavanini in the 2nd-row, which are the Pumas’ only changes up front.
SANZAR has released the names of the Match Officials for Round 2 of The Rugby Championship.
Jerome Garces starts the action this weekend in Johannesburg when South Africa’s Springboks host the All Blacks from New Zealand.
In the 2nd match of this Round, Argentina’s Los Pumas host the Wallabies from Australia in Mendoza and the referee is Jaco Peyper.
Kieran Read on the rampage
New Zealand kicked off their Rugby Championship campaign with a comfortable 39 / 18 win over Argentina in Christchurch on Friday.
Impressive at scrum time, the All Blacks showed their power in defence and attack in the 1st half, running in 2 tries through Richie McCaw and Ma’a Nonu, allowing them to take an 18 / 6 halftime lead.
Despite 2 2nd-half tries from Agustin Creevy, it was the All Blacks who controlled things, running in 3 more scores through Charles Piutau, Kieran Read and debutant Codie Taylor.
The key to the game was the difference in defence, with New Zealand able to knock back runners all day long, while the Pumas were constantly on the back foot.
With quick ball, they created plenty of opportunities and were never really in danger, giving McCaw and Dan Carter a fitting farewell for their final international games in Christchurch.
Argentina had rested a number of experienced players, putting in faith in the likes of Guido Petti and Facundo Isa, who impressed last November, as well as promising winger Santiago Cordero.
In contrast New Zealand were playing the most experienced side in Test history, despite the absence of the likes of Conrad Smith, Julian Savea and Sam Whitelock. There was an All Black debut for Waisake Naholo, the Highlanders winger who topped the try-scoring charts in Super Rugby this season.
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- An abbreviated version of The Rugby Championship 2015 starts on 17 July 2015, so hurry up and do not delay to register for it!
- The ABSA Currie Cup 2015 starts on 7 August 2015, register for it too, whilst the iron is hot!
- The Rugby World Cup 2015 starts on 18 September 2015, however, there is no provision for Pools for it yet on SuperBru… hang in there, soon we’ll have a Pool for that one too!
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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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