Internationals
Springbok flyhalf Johan Goosen has been cleared to take over the kicking duties again in this weekend’s Castle Rugby Championship match against the All Blacks at FNB Stadium.
Ruan Pienaar’s elevation to the Springbok kicking role is likely to continue this weekend despite the fact he was successful with less than half of his kicks at goal against Australia at Loftus Versfeld.
Springbok prop Coenie Oosthuizen has been cleared to play after an examination by a neurosurgeon in Durban on Tuesday.
South Africa bounced back to winning ways in The Rugby Championship with a dominant 31-8 victory over Australia on Saturday to return to second place in the latest IRB World Rankings.
The convincing win of the Springboks on Saturday was followed by news on the injury front.
Most notably Francois Steyn, who rolled his left ankle last Monday morning, will have to undergo an operation to clean the ankle up and will be sidelined for 3 months recovering from the surgery.
What an enjoyable Saturday late afternoon, bar the ridiculous 3G Internet signal at Loftus Versfeld, of course!
The Springboks totally dominated and comprehensively outmuscled and outplayed a very ordinary and injury ravaged Wallabies side, with the Springboks eventual winners by 31 / 8, after also leading at the halftime break by 14 / 3.
I guess 5 tries to 1 tells the story, with Bryan Habana scoring a hat-trick on the day to increase his Springbok all time record to 46 Test tries.
Pumas (8) 15 / 54 (32) All Blacks (Final Score)
The Argentinian Pumas and New Zealand All Blacks did battle in The Rugby Championship at Estadio Ciudad de La Plata, La Plata at 01:10 SA Time (20:10 ARG Time, 23:10 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SH4 & CSN on TV in SA.
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Springboks (14) 31 / 8 (3) Wallabies (Final Score)
The South African Springboks and Australian Wallabies did battle in The Rugby Championship at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria at 17:00 SA Time.
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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The Springbok side to face the Wallabies on Saturday at Loftus, has been announced.
Two late changes have been made to the Springbok 22, with Francois Steyn failing a late fitness test and Coenie Oosthuizen also not fit enough to man the bench. Jean de Villiers moves to inside centre and Jaco Taute will make his Springbok debut at outside centre. PatCilliers replaces Coenie Oosthuizen on the bench.
It took guts and determination from Heyneke Meyer and clearly he has the best interests of Springbok Rugby as well as the individual interests of the players at heart, when making some hard and big decisions.
Johan Goosen starts at flyhalf and Andries Bekker starts at No 5 lock in place of Juandré Kruger. Elton Jantjies is on the bench and Morné Steyn drops out of the match 22 alltogether.
Flip van der Merwe moves down to the bench after a strong game against the New Zealand All Blacks, but one has to mention that Flip is carrying a niggling injury and did not practice with the squad on Monday and Tuesday.
First-choice flyhalf Dan Carter has been cleared to start in his 90th Test, when New Zealand play Argentina in a Rugby Championship match at Estadio Ciudad de La Plata in La Plata on Saturday.
Kurtley Beale will start his first Test at flyhalf on Saturday after Australia coach Robbie Deans chose the fullback to replace the injured Quade Cooper for the Rugby Championship clash with South Africa.
The Australian Rugby Union broke their silence over the public rants of controversial flyhalf Quade Cooper, confirming they have placed the volatile player on notice.
Argentina have named their side to face the All Blacks in this weekend’s Rugby Championship fixture on Saturday in La Plata, retaining the same starting side that put Australia under pressure a fortnight ago.
There was a buzz at Loftus today as thousands gathered to watch the afternoon open practice session on Loftus main field. Fathers, mothers and heaps and heaps of children attended to watch Heyneke Meyer’s squad of 30 go through their paces. My son, BonzaiGBS, was our resident photographer and took hundreds of photographs.
There’s some good news and some bad news, I’m wondering which you want to hear first….
Four players have been called up to the Springbok squad of 30 for the final two Tests of The Rugby Championship, in South Africa against Australia and New Zealand. Continue reading
New Zealand’s All Blacks have named their team to travel to Argentina and South Africa for their last two Rugby Championship matches against the Pumas and Springboks.
Rassie Erasmus says Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer is tweaking his game plan ahead of next weekend’s Rugby Championship clash with the Wallabies in Pretoria.
Pumas coach Santiago Phelan has named a 27-man strong squad for Argentina’s home matches against the All Blacks and the Wallabies in the Rugby Championship.
The Wallabies have named uncapped Waratahs prop Paddy Ryan and Western Force winger Nick Cummins in their 28-man Wallabies squad for The Rugby Championship away leg.
Springbok utility back Patrick Lambie’s unavailability for Currie Cup duty this week has left Sharks coach John Plumtree a frustrated man.
Springbok Rugby coaches have released five players back to their Currie Cup squads from the squad that returned from New Zealand.
Wallabies flyhalf Quade Cooper has been ruled out of the remainder of The Rugby Championship after scans revealed an articular cartilage chip to his right knee.
The Olympic Stadium will stage matches during the 2015 Rugby World Cup if the fog over the venue’s post-Games future clears by the end of the season.
Springbok prop Dean Greyling has been suspended from all forms of Rugby for two weeks after he pleaded guilty for foul play.
Morne Steyn’s indifferent performance against the All Blacks has increased the pressure on Bok coach Heyneke Meyer to start Johan Goosen at flyhalf.
There is a caveat, and given Heyneke Meyer’s insistence that his team employed the right game-plan in Dunedin it is a significant one, but the Springboks have ended the away leg of their Castle Rugby Championship campaign with reason to be encouraged.
Wallabies (3) 23 / 19 (6) Pumas (Final Score)
The Australian Wallabies and Argentina Pumas did battle in The Rugby Championship at Skilled Park, Gold Coast at 12:00 SA Time (20:00 Gold Coast Time).
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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All Blacks (5) 21 / 11 (3) Springboks (Final Score)
The New Zealand All Blacks and South African Springboks did battle in The Rugby Championship at Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin at 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time).
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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Nathan Sharpe has been named as the Wallabies fourth captain this year while fullback Kurtley Beale has been dropped for Australia’s clash with Argentina on Saturday.
Argentina have named their team to play the Wallabies in their Rugby Championship match at the Gold Coast on Saturday with Martin Landajo replacing Nicolas Vergallo at scrumhalf.
The Wallabies injury woes have continued with the news that hooker Stephen Moore and utility back James O’Connor’s return to fitness has been postponed.
The Springboks’ woes are set to continue for the remainder of the year due to the severity of their shortcomings.
Bakkies Botha has been placed on stand-by by Springbok management in case lock Eben Etzebeth loses his hearing into an alleged headbutt during South Africa’s 26-19 Rugby Championship loss to Australia, coach Heyneke Meyer said on Monday in Auckland.
You have to be careful these days not to use performances in the diluted Currie Cup as too big a yardstick toward international credentials.
Flyhalf Dan Carter will not be considered for New Zealand’s Rugby Championship clash with South Africa next week to allow him to recover completely from a calf strain, All Blacks coach Steve Hansen said on Sunday.