General
Following the Wallabies loss to an average England side and generally 2 poor weeks of Test rugby for them, the Wallabies are looking decidedly frail, a situation which is not helped by the fact that the Wallabie injury list is now fast becomming longer than my arm.
Three key All Blacks were injured in the All Blacks vs Wales game this past Saturday. They are Dan Carter, who had his best Test in a very long time, as well as Israel Dagg and Anthony Boric, who are all likely to miss the second Wales Test.
Wallabies (13) 20 / England (15) 21 (Final Score)
Australian Wallabies hosted England at 12:00 SA Time. This is the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1 on DSTV in SA.
England won by 21 / 20 as Matt Giteau costs Australia the game with no less than 4 misses in going for posts, the last of which was a sitter right in front of the posts.
The 2 Test Series between the Wallabies and England end in a 1-all draw.
All Blacks (15) 42 / Wales (9) 9 (Final Score)
The All Blacks hosted Wales in Hamilton at 09:35 SA Time. This is the match thread for discussion of the game. The game was broadcast live on SuperSport 1 on DSTV in SA.
The All Blacks were slow out of the blocks in the 1st half and only led by 15 / 9 at halftime, but they turned on the pressure and the scores in the 2nd half to win comfortably in the last game at The House of Pain, before it is demolished to make place for a new stadium with a roof over it.
The All Blacks won by 42 / 9.
SA Under-20 coach Eric Sauls on Wednesday made two changes to his starting lineup that suffered a 35-42 defeat against Australia to the team that will play New Zealand in the second semi-final of the 2010 IRB Junior World Championship in Rosario on Thursday.
The changes are both made in the backline where Springbok Sevens back Branco du Preez replace the injured Francois Venter at centre. Venter sustained an ankle injury during Sunday’s Pool C clash in Sante Fe. In the other change, Vodacom Free State utility back Nico Scheepers comes into the side in place of Sampie Mastriet.
England have named their team to face Australia in the second test with two changes from the team that lost last weekend in Perth.
Leicester Tigers scrum-half Ben Youngs and Northampton Saints lock Courtney Lawes will make their first starts for England in the match in Sydney.
Wales have made three changes to the team which lost 34-31 to an under-strength South African side in Cardiff two weeks ago.
Wallabies coach Robbie Deans has made two changes to the starting side that beat England in Perth last week, bringing back centre Matt Giteau and halfback Will Genia for Saturday’s second test in Sydney.
Giteau and Genia were both injured for the first test, won 27-17 by the Wallabies, although Genia sat on the bench as an unused reserve.
| Semi Finals | ||||
| Date | Team A | Score | Team B | Venue |
| 17 June 2010 | Australia | 28-16 | England | Estadio El Coloso del Parque, Rosario |
| 17 June 2010 | New Zealand | 36-7 | South Africa | Estadio El Coloso del Parque, Rosario |
All Blacks Coach Graham Henry and his Assistant Coaches Steve Hansen and Wayne Smith have named their team to play Wales in the second Test and Final ever Test at Carisbrook, Dunedin, on Saturday 19 June.
Times are changing in a once rugby-obsessed nation, writes Paul Rees.
The 4 Teams to advance to the Semi-Finals of the IRB Junior World Championship is Australia, England, New Zealand and South Africa, following the culmination of the third round of pool matches.
Score:- South Africa 35 – 42 Australia
Wallabies (14) 27 / England (0) 17 (Final Score)
The Wallabies hosted England at Subiaco Oval, Perth at 12:00 SA Time. This is the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1 on DSTV in SA.
The Wallabies had the better and more industrious backline, whereas England had by far the superior forwards pack and a dominant scrum as displayed by their 2 penalty tries from repeated scrum infringements.
The wallabies won by 27 / 17.
All Blacks (38) 66 / Ireland (7) 28 (Final Score)
The All Blacks hosted Ireland at Yarrow Stadium, New Plymouth at 09:35 SA Time. This is the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1 on DSTV in SA.
The All Blacks took the lead early with a penalty and then followed up with a try by Conrad Smith to lead 10 / 0. The score just ballooned from there as Irish No 8, Jamie Heaslip received a deserved RED Card for kneeing players in a ruck.
The All Blacks eventually ran in 9 tries, whilst the Irish showed some pluck of their own as well with 4 tries of their own.
The All Blacks won by 66 / 28.
Former New Zealand rugby league international Shontayne Hape will make his test debut at inside center among six changes to the team which played France in the last round of the Six Nations championship.
Hape, 29, played 14 rugby league tests for New Zealand and becomes the third former Kiwi league international to play international rugby league for England after Henry Paul and Lesley Vainikolo.
The SA Under-20s secured their second win in the 2010 IRB Junior World Championship after running in 11 tries as they comprehensively defeated Scotland 73-0 in Sante Fe on Wednesday.
The Baby Boks were in rampant form on attack and were equally superb on defence in this Pool C clash played at the Estadio CA Colon stadium.
Queensland prop Ben Daley will face a baptism of fire in his Wallabies debut against England at Subiaco Oval on Saturday night.
Daley, 21, will make his Test debut as one of four changes to Australia’s starting 15, which defeated Fiji 49-3 in Canberra last weekend.
Hooker Saia Faingaa, fullback James O’Connor and winger Drew Mitchell have also been promoted by coach Robbie Deans.
Securing a sustainable and profitable future as a union or franchise depends on your ability to apply the same principles you require for your business, to your resources and assets. Continue reading
All Blacks captain Richie McCaw says he has never had an easy game against Ireland and expects nothing to change when the two sides clash in New Plymouth on Saturday night.
SA Under-20 coach Eric Sauls on Tuesday made three changes and one positional switch to his side that will play Scotland in Sante Fe on Wednesday at 19h00 (RSA time).
Centre Branco du Preez who made his debut for the Springbok Sevens during this year’s IRB Sevens World Series, winger Sibusiso Sithole (Sharks) and forward Mlungisi Bali (Blue Bulls) have all been elevated to the starting lineup for this crucial Pool C clash.
Young Wallaby fullback James O’Connor scored a hat-trick of tries as the Australian Barbarians drew with England 28-28 in Perth on Tuesday.
The All Blacks have handed Test debuts to three new All Blacks for their match this weekend against Ireland at Yarrow Stadium, New Plymouth, on Saturday the 12th of June.
Graham Henry and his Assistant Coaches Steve Hansen and Wayne Smith have named three players to make their Test debuts and three other new All Blacks on the bench.
The Ireland team to play New Zealand this Saturday has been named and shows ten changes to the starting XV that played against the Barbarians in the opening game of the tour.
In the backline Tommy Bowe, Gordon D’Arcy, Tomas O’Leary will all start the game, as does Captain Brian O’Driscoll in the centre to win his 102nd cap.
The Australian way: get the best talent, however young into a Test jersey, writes Sunday Telegraph columnist Paul Ackford
Pool A
New Zealand 44 – 11 Fiji , Wales 22 – 13 Samoa
Pool B
Argentina 22 – 48 England , France 25 – 22 Ireland
Pool C
South Africa 40 – 14 Tonga , Australia 58 – 13 Scotland
With thanks to the IRB
| 19:00 – 20:55 | SS1 | IRB Junior World Championship France v Ireland |  |
| 20:55 – 22:55 | SS1 | IRB Junior World Championship Argentina v England | |
On Supersport 1
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The FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International will expand its
involvement in South African university rugby, with the creation of a new second tier competition from 2011 onwards.
As a result, five ‘B-Section’ universities will compete against each other in a double round competition starting next year, called the Varsity Shield – a decision that was officially ratified at the special general meeting of the Varsity Cup (Pty) Ltd in Sandton on Friday.
Australia (14) 49 / Fiji (3) 3 (Final Score)
The Wallabies hosted Fiji at Canberra Stadium, Canberra at 11:40 SA Time. This is the match thread for discussion of the game. The game was broadcast live on SuperSport 1 on DSTV in SA.
The Wallabies won, like expected, by 49 / 3, scoring 7 tries in he process.
Ireland (10) 23 / Barbarians (21) 29 (Final Score)
Ireland hosted the Barbarians at Thomond Park at 20:45 SA Time. This is the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1 on DSTV in SA.
The Barbarians beat a decidedly ordinary Irish team, by going ahead early on and piling on the pressure and points, whereafter it was catch-up rugby for the Irish, who although clawing their way back, just could not haul the Barbarians in.
The opposition may only be Fiji, but the Canberra Stadium on Saturday will provide a glimpse of the future of Australian rugby.
Following the impressive, and much-improved, form of the exciting Reds, the at times dour determination of the Waratahs, the glimpses of brilliance from the Brumbies and the individual flashes from the Western Force, there is no doubt the Wallabies have enough talent to make a real fist of it at next year’s World Cup.
Ireland will use the clash with the Barbarians as a warm up before their tough tour to New Zealand, with Irish coach Declan Kidney experimenting with some new combinations.
After a disappointing Six Nations campaign, Ireland will want to come away with some good results during the mid-year Test schedule, with a Barbarians match a good way to test the depth of the squad.
There has been a lot of debate on South Africa’s policy around the selection of foreign based players of late, but Peter de Villiers may just have it spot on. Continue reading
Johannesburg – In the immediate aftermath of Samoa’s dramatic first IRB Sevens World Series victory, the International Rugby Board has moved quickly to announce the dates for the eight events in the 2010/11 World Series, starting once again with the two events in Dubai and George, South Africa, in December 2010.
Sydney – Quade Cooper has displaced Matt Giteau at flyhalf in the starting line-up for Australia’s opening Test of the season against Fiji. Continue reading