Australian Rugby
SANZAR wishes to advise two referee appointment changes for the forthcoming round of Super Rugby.
Nick Briant will officiate Crusaders v Hurricanes on Friday night while Steve Walsh will oversee the Blues v Highlanders clash in Auckland on Saturday night.
Israel Folau is doubtful for the Waratahs’ South African tour after taking a knock to the throat in their victory over the Rebels.
The star fullback stayed behind in Australia to see a specialist, and although coach Michael Cheika had initially been confident that he would recover in time, there are now fears that he will not make it.
Reds coach Richard Graham admitted that he felt ‘aggrieved’ at the manner of his team’s 23-20 loss to the Lions at Ellis Park on Saturday.
A late try saw the hosts snatch a dramatic victory from the Reds who finished the match with only 13 players on the field as referee Stuart Berry issued two yellow cards.
Western Force coach Michael Foley said that it is key that his side capitalise on the momentum created by their three consecutive victories.
The Perth side saw off the challenge of defending champions the Chiefs on Saturday, keeping the Hamilton outfit tryless on Australian soil for the first time since 2011.
SANZAR duty judicial officer Adam Casselden has accepted a guilty plea from Alby Mathewson of the Force for contravening Law 10.4 (b) Stamping or trampling, after he was cited during a Super Rugby match at the weekend.
Mathewson has been suspended from all forms of the game for one week up to and including 30 March 2014.
Lions (6) 23 / 20 (20) Reds (Final Score)
The Lions and Reds did battle in Super Rugby at
Ellis Park, Johannesburg at 17:05 SA Time (15:05 GMT, 01:05 Sunday AEST).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
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Force (8) 18 / 15 (9) Chiefs (Final Score)
The Western Force and Chiefs did battle in Super Rugby at
nib Stadium, Perth at 13:00 SA Time (19:00 Perth Time, 11:00 GMT, 00:00 NZ Time).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & SHD on TV in SA.
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Brumbies (13) 25 / 15 (10) Stormers (Final Score)
The Brumbies and DHL Stormers do battle in Super Rugby at
Canberra Stadium, Canberra at 10:40 SA Time (19:40 Canberra Time 08:40 GMT).
This is the live match discussion Article.
The match is broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
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Waratahs (11) 32 / 8 (8) Rebels (Final Score)
The Waratahs and Melbourne Rebels did battle in Super Rugby at
Allianz Stadium, Sydney at 10:40 SA Time (19:40 AEST, 08:40 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD &CSN on TV in SA.
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It is Round 6 of Super Rugby 2014 this weekend! We have 7 games in Round 5, with 2 games on Friday and 5 games on Saturday.
The Crusaders have a bye weekend.
In June / July 2014 the Antipodian teams will catch up in played games with the South African counterparts, when the South African sides sit out for 1 Round.
The Combined Log will therefore be skewed for the majority of the competition and one has to question why individual countries are allowed to start such a long competition ahead of it’s rivals. In 2013 the Australian sides started a week early, but at least they had the excuse that they needed an extra week in the middle of the year to prepare for the British & Irish Lions series, which they lost.
We have two incidents from Super Rugby in the last two weeks which are worth looking at, both incidents which caused debate and argument and even acrimony.
We are dealing with decisions by top referees in top matches when speed is an essential ingredient, including the speed match officials need to process the information, even when they have help from the replays provided by the TMO.
There is never a rest from debate and argument when it comes to rugby football, certainly not in the application of the most complex set of laws of any sport – a contact sport played by 30 vigorous young men in physical contact in a confined space.
The Springboks’ second match in the Castle Lager Rugby Championship against Argentina has been moved to Salta in the north of the country.
The final venues and kick-off times for this four-team Southern Hemisphere competition were confirmed by SANZAR on Thursday.
Cape Town-raised Jean-Pierre Smith will get his first start in Super Rugby when he claims the No 1 jersey for the Brumbies against the Stormers.
Smith makes his way into the starting team via the Brumbies bench where he has featured alongside twin brother, Ruan, since Round 2.
Ben Tapuai is the only change to the Reds starting line-up for their Round Six Super Rugby clash against the Lions on Saturday.
The seven-cap Wallaby Tapuai slots into the starting team at outside centre replacing Chris Feauai-Sautia, who suffered a hamstring injury during training.
Rebels’ coach Tony McGahan has made two changes to the starting line-up that will face the Waratahs in Sydney on Friday.
SANZAR has released the names of the match officials for Round 6 of Super Rugby 2014.
Nick Briant takes care of the 1st match in Dunedin where the Highlanders host the Hurricanes.
7 Matches are played this weekend, 2 on Friday and 5 on Saturday.
The Crusaders have their bye weekend.
The Reds’ hopes of grabbing a win while in South Africa were dealt a blow as two players left for home with injuries, one of them serious.
South African franchises won two of the four matches they were involved in in round-five of the Super Rugby competition over the past weekend.
Cheetahs fullback Willie le Roux and Lions flyhalf Marnitz Boshoff continue to make major contributions for their respective teams, as is evident from statistics taken from the Vodacom Rugby Stats App.
After Round 5 of the Super Rugby season, the Stormers find themselves at the bottom of the try-scoring standings.
Having played 4 matches to date, the Stormers have scored a total of 5 tries – at an average of 1.25 per match.
The Brumbies injury list continues to grow with coach Stephen Larkham ruling out Wallaby prop Scott Sio and lock Leon Power for Saturdays match up with the Stormers.
South African rugby fans need not worry about securing match tickets for Springbok matches at Rugby World Cup 2015 in England following the establishment of SA Rugby Travel, it was announced on Tuesday.
The new company – a joint venture between the South African Rugby Union and Tourvest Destination Management – has secured thousands of tickets for likely Springbok matches and tailored packages to suit a wide range of fans’ pockets and experience choices.
Waratahs star Kurtley Beale admits he has extra motivation for the game against the Rebels on Friday – the team that got rid of him last year.
While Beale says his rematch against his old side does mean more to him than a regular Super Rugby match, he vowed not to get caught up in settling scores with the Rebels.
The 39-cap Wallaby says he’s moved on from being released by the Rebels, and expects his former teammates have done the same.
The Waratahs have made four changes to their starting forward pack for this Friday’s home clash against the Melbourne Rebels in Sydney.
Coach Michael Cheika has selected Sekope Kepu to start at loosehead prop. New South Wale’s biggest ever player, Will Skelton, returns at lock, pushing Jacques Potgieter to flank and Dave Dennis to No 8.
Benn Robinson slips back to the bench to allow Wallaby prop Kepu his first run on start of 2014.
Wallabies backrower Ben McCalman’s birthday celebrations were soured on Tuesday when he received a two-week ban for a dangerous tackle in the Super Rugby competition.
The inspirational Western Force No 8 was cited for a spear, or ‘tip’, tackle on Otago Highlanders prop Kame Hames in the 73rd minute of his team’s 31-29 victory in Dunedin on Saturday.
The Brumbies were left counting the cost of their impressive 28-23 win over the Waratahs in an all-Australian Super Rugby derby at the weekend.
Wing Henry Speight is facing six weeks on the sideline with a fractured jaw and lock Leon Power is also in doubt of being a long-term absenmtee after injuring his knee.
The Cell C Sharks stretched their winning streak in the Vodacom Super Rugby competition to four matches, while the Lions bounced back strongly from back-to-back defeats to overpower the Blues and force their way into fourth place on the combined log table.
South Africa’s touring teams, the DHL Stormers and Toyota Cheetahs, however, continued to struggle in Australasia as they suffered another round of defeats leaving them both winless on their tours so far.
A strong first half by the Cell C Sharks and a flawless kicking performance by flyhalf Pat Lambie and centre Frans Steyn set up the Durban-based side for their 35-20 victory against the Reds at Growthpoint Kings Park.
In Johannesburg the Lions started their match against the Blues with a bang and took advantage of the visitors’ ill-discipline to secure their 39-36 victory. The win nudged them back on track following defeats against the Cell C Sharks and Vodacom Bulls.
The Reds bemoaned a number of calls made by South African referee Lourens van der Merwe in their 20-35 loss to the Sharks at the weekend.
Despite an impressive second-half fight back at Kings Park, the reds left Durban empty handed.
Having finally secured back-to-back victories for the first time in nearly three years on Saturday, perennial Super Rugby cellar dwellers the Western Force have a mountain to climb if they are to make it three in a row.
Not only do the Force welcome the Waikato Chiefs to Perth next weekend but they are almost certain to take on the Super Rugby champions without their inspirational No 8 Ben McCalman.
McCalman was cited for a spear tackle on Otago Highlanders prop Kame Hames in the 72nd minute of the Force’s 31-29 victory in Dunedin on Saturday.
Sharks (25) 35 / 20 (6) Reds (Final Score)
The Cell C Sharks and Reds did battle in Super Rugby at
Growthpoint Kings Park, Durban at 17:05 SA Time (15:05 GMT, 01:05 Sunday AEST).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
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Brumbies (20) 28 / 23 (9) Waratahs (Final Score)
The Brumbies and Waratahs did battle in Super Rugby at
Canberra Stadium, Canberra at 10:40 SA Time (19:40 Canberra Time, 08:40 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & SHD on TV in SA.
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Highlanders (16) 29 / 31 (21) Force (Final Score)
The Highlanders and Western Force did battle in Super Rugby at
Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin at 08:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 06:35 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & CSN on TV in SA.
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Rebels (9) 19 / 25 (12) Crusaders (Final Score)
The Melbourne Rebels and Crusaders did battle in Super Rugby at
AAMI Park, Melbourne at 10:40 SA Time (19:40 Melbourne Time, 21:40 NZ Time, 08:40 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & CSN on TV in SA.
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It is Round 5 of Super Rugby 2014 this weekend! We have 7 games in Round 5, with 2 games on Friday and 5 games on Saturday.
The Vodacom Bulls have a bye weekend.
In June / July 2014 the Antipion teams will catch up in played games with the South African counterparts, when the South African sides sit out for 1 Round.
The Combined Log will therefore be skewed for the majority of the competition and one has to question why individual countries are allowed to start such a long competition ahead of it’s rivals. In 2013 the Australian sides started a week early, but at least they had the excuse that they needed an extra week in the middle of the year to prepare for the British & Irish Lions series, which they lost.
The Western Force, Melbourne Rebels and Reds have announced their Super Rugby teams for this weekend’s clashes.
The Western Force play the Highlanders in Dunedin.
The Melbourne Rebels play the Crusaders in Melbourne.
The Reds play the Cell C Sharks in Durban.
SANZAR has released the names of the officials for Round 5 of Super Rugby 2014. Craig Joubert starts the action this weekend in Hamilton when the Chiefs host the DHL Stormers.
This weekend has 7 games, with 2 games on Friday and 5 on Saturday.
The Vodacom Bulls have a bye weekend.