New Zealand Rugby
Israel Dagg
Israel Dagg will make his return to Super Rugby when the Crusaders take on the Highlanders this Saturday.
He is 1 of 5 changes to the starting line-up this week.
Crusaders head coach Todd Blackadder has named Wyatt Crockett to start in the No 1 jersey this week, with Joe Moody and Nepo Laulala providing prop cover from the bench.
Scott Barrett will start at lock for the first time in Super Rugby, pairing up with Luke Romano and with Dominic Bird on the bench.
Colin Slade shifts from fullback to flyhalf, with Daniel Carter recovering from a knock to the leg in last week’s match, and Dagg steps in at No 15.
Malakai Fekitoa
Following his 2014 breakout season for the Highlanders and All Blacks, Malakai Fekitoa has re-signed with New Zealand Rugby for 2 years, extending his contract until at least the end of 2017.
Fekitoa’s commitment is a major coup for both New Zealand Rugby and the Highlanders and he joins a growing list of current All Blacks who have recommitted beyond this year.
He was 1 of only 4 players to play in all 17 Highlanders’ games last year, staking his claim on the No 13 jersey early with his eye-catching performance in the opening round of the 2014 Super Rugby Competition against his old team, the Blues.
He was also 1 of 2 players to play every possible minute for their team last season (1360 across 17 appearances), the other being Michael Hooper who played 1440, including the Final.
Ma’a Nonu
All Black Ma’a Nonu is back at centre for the Hurricanes as they prepare to face the Bulls in a Super Rugby clash at Loftus Versfeld on Friday.
Nonu missed the Hurricanes’ 22 / 8 win over the Lions in Johannesburg last
weekend to attend the birth of his child, but has slotted into the starting fifteen this week.
It will be Nonu’s 145th Super Rugby appearance, and 1st for the Hurricanes since 2011.
The match will also be a significant occasion for Manawatu flank Callum Gibbins, who is set to get his 1st start for the Hurricanes.
Hosea Gear
Aaron Cruden
Liam Messam
The Chiefs have injected some All Black experience for the Round 2 match against the Brumbies on Friday.
All Blacks Liam Messam and Aaron Cruden come into the starting team, as does former international Hosea Gear.
Current New Zealand and World Rugby Player of the Year, Brodie Retallick, will make his 1st appearance of the season from the bench.
In total, Chiefs coach Dave Rennie has made 6 changes to the starting side originally named to face the Blues last week.
Israel Dagg
Dan Carter
Crusaders pivot Dan Carter is set to miss the Christchurch-based team’s clash against the Highlanders in Dunedin on Saturday.
Carter hurt his leg in his side’s 20 / 10 loss to the Melbourne Rebels last weekend and although Crusaders assistant coach Aaron Mauger believes the injury isn’t serious, he said it’s unlikely that the All Blacks flyhalf would be considered to play this weekend.
That means that Colin Slade is expected to start in the No 10 jeresey.
SANZAR has announced Match Official appointments for Round 2 of the 2015 Super Rugby season.
On Friday we have 3 matches, with the Chiefs hosting the Brumbies, the Melbourne Rebels hosting the Waratahs and the Vodacom Bulls hosting the Hurricanes.
On Saturday we have 4 matches, with the Highlanders kicking off their season after an early BYE weekend against the Crusaders, the Reds against the Western Force and followed by 2 games in South Africa, the one between the DHL Stormers against the Blues and the Cell C Sharks against the Emirates Lions.
Dan Carter
Details on Dan Carter’s leg injury are still fuzzy heading towards the Crusaders match against the Highlanders on Saturday.
The official line signalled some improvement when he was assessed by the medical staff and then involved in the squad’s light workout on Monday at their Christchurch headquarters.
During the Crusaders’ opening Super Rugby loss to the Rebels, Carter took a knock to his lower right leg which he then aggravated when he made a hasty clearing kick from his in-goal area.
The limping flyhalf stayed on for a further 15 minutes hoping the discomfort from his “dead leg” would ease. He had to be subbed and when he fronted for interviews later, Carter was optimistic there was no significant issue.
Blues (9) 18 / 23 (20) Chiefs (Final Score)
The Blues and Chiefs did battle in Super Rugby at
QBE Stadium, Albany 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 & CSN on TV in SA.
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Lions (8) 8 / 22 (11) Hurricanes (Final Score)
The Emirates Lions and Hurricanes did battle in Super Rugby at
Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg at 19:10 SA Time (17:10 GMT, Saturday 06:10 NZ Time).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & M-Net on TV in SA.
*******************
Dan Carter
All Blacks flyhalf Daniel Carter’s final Super Rugby season began with a rocky start as the 32-year-old suffered another leg injury in the Crusaders’ surprise 20 / 10 loss to the Melbourne Rebels on Friday.
Carter, who has also already said he will leave New Zealand rugby after the conclusion of this year’s World Cup to take up a three-year contract with France’s Racing Metro, allayed any early jitters about the All Blacks’ world title defence.
“I got a whack in the side of the leg, similar to a spot that I got it last year. It was just a knee and gave me a bit of a dead leg,” Carter told reporters. “I’m sure it’s nothing serious.”
It is Round 1 of Super Rugby 2014 this weekend, at last the season gets underway for us poor, suffering rugby degenerates in the Southern Hemisphere.
There are 3 games on Friday 13 February, 3 games on Saturday 14 February and 1 game on Sunday 15 February.
The Highlanders from New Zealand have an immediate BYE weekend.
Unlike in 2013 and 2014, all countries start Super Rugby in the same weekend, so we will not have skewed Logs to deal with. A team also does not pick up ANY POINTS during a BYE weekend, which is very refreshing for a change!
Super Rugby has no June break either in an attempt to make it finish early enough to fit in an abridged Rugby Championship before Rugby World Cup 2015 kicks off on 18 September 2015.
The season starts with a weekend of some great derbies and some great cross conference battles. The first up season game will be between the Crusaders and Melbourne Rebels, followed by the big Aussie derby between the Brumbies and Reds and a humdinger of running rugby between the Emirates Lions and the star-studded Hurricans side. On Saturday it’s the Blues vs Chiefs followed by 2 South African derbies, the first in Durban between the Cell C Sharks and the Toyota Cheetahs, followed by my choice of match of the weekend, the derby clash between the Vodacom Bulls and the DHL Stormers at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria. Sunday sees a lone match between the Waratahs and Western Force to finish off Round 1.
Crusaders (10) 10 / 20 (13) Rebels (Final Score)
The Crusaders and Melbourne Rebels did battle in Super Rugby at
AMI Stadium, Christchurch at 08:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 21:35 AEDT, 06:35 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & CSN on TV in SA.
*******************
Blues centurion and World Cup hero, Tony Woodcock, returns to Super Rugby for the first time in 8 months for Saturday’s opening round of the 2015 season against the Chiefs at North Harbour’s QBE Stadium.
Woodcock, who has played 110 times for the All Blacks, will earn his 140th cap for the Blues as he starts at loosehead prop.
The Blues will be led by new captain Jerome Kaino, with the All Black loose forward to play his first match since the winning northern tour late last year.
The Chiefs have announced their team to play the Blues on Saturday night in their first Super Rugby match for 2015.
The match that will be played at QBE Stadium has caused the Chiefs coaches selection challenges.
“There has been some difficult decisions with a lot of competition for places. We’re rapt with the side we have picked but realise it will be a big challenge at North Harbour,” said head coach Dave Rennie.
In the front row Hika Elliot makes his return to Super Rugby and is joined by props Pauliasi Manu and Ben Tameifuna.
All fit and available All Blacks in the Hurricanes’ squad are set to suit up against the Lions in Round 1 of the 2015 Super Rugby season.
A calf injury has ended Jeremy Thrush’s hopes of getting his season underway this week however, with the lock returning to New Zealand on Wednesday. He is expected to be available for selection in 4 to 6 weeks, depending on his recovery.
Thrush’s injury has made way for Mark Abbott to grab a starting spot, while his Hawke’s Bay teammate, Geoff Cridge, has flown over to join the team in Johannesburg.
The Crusaders will open the 2015 Super Rugby season this Friday night when they host the Melbourne Rebels in Christchurch.
Richie McCaw will start for the Crusaders for the first time in 2015, in one of 3 changes that head coach Todd Blackadder has made to the starting line-up that played a warm-up game against the Reds in Brisbane last week.
The other changes are Joe Moody starting at No 1 and Ben Funnell at hooker.
Nemani Nadolo
Crusaders winger Nemani Nadolo could be back in Super Rugby sooner than expected but he is unlikely to play in the Super Rugby opener against the Rebels in Christchurch on Friday.
Nadolo has completed his commitments with the NEC Green Rockets after they suffered a shock loss to Teikyo University in their All-Japan Championship knockout so he is free to return to the Crusaders.
The Fijian winger was joint top try scorer in 2014 – on 12 tries with the Waratahs’ Israel Folau – but despite his value he is unlikely to be rushed into action this week at Christchurch’s AMI Stadium.
Rieko Ioane
Akira Ioane
Teenage star Akira Ioane and 17-year old teenage brother Rieko who was outstanding in the recent Wellington Sevens for New Zealand, have both been signed by the Blues.
Akira, the loose forward, a star of Sir Gordon Tiejens’ All Black Sevens team last year, could make his debut in Saturday’s opening game of the Super Rugby for the Blues who are at home against the Chiefs.
Ioane, who has been a trainee with the Blues for the past few weeks, was named as the fulltime replacement for Peter Saili who is now playing in Europe.
Akira, who was born in Japan, has rugby in his blood with his father Eddie a former Samoan international while mother Sandra played for the Black Ferns.
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A strong second half saw Rugby World Cup 2015 hosts England storm back to beat Wales 21 / 16 in their Six Nations opener in Cardiff, a result which lifted them above Ireland back to 3rd in the latest World Rugby rankings.
According to the World Rugby (previously IRB), the victory sees England regain the mantle as the leading northern hemisphere nation in the rankings behind New Zealand and South Africa and they now sit 0.35 points above Ireland after their 26 / 3 victory over Italy in Rome had no impact due to the 11 places separating the teams.
In some of the Super Rugby warm-up action of the weekend, these were the results:
- Bues 32 / 29 Hurricanes
- Waratahs 38 / 36 Chiefs
- Reds 35 / 12 Crusaders
- DHL Stormers 45 / 7 Boland
The first Sevens Tournament in the 2015 calendar year for the HSBC Sevens World Series of 2014 / 2015 took place in Wellington, New Zealand at the Westpac Stadium.
The New Zealand Sevens tournament was played over 2 Days, Friday 6 and Saturday 7 February 2015.
Play started in the very early, small hours of the night / morning of 6 & 7 February (01:00 SA Time), with the opening game between the Blitzbokke from South Africa pitted against France.
South Africa’s Blitzbokke survived a scare to eventually progress to the quarters when France beat them 22 / 5 in the first game of the tournament and eventually finished in 3rd spot,beating Scotland by 40 / 7 and keeping their Top of the Log position after the early Rounds.
New Zealand won the Wellington Sevens in style, beating England in the final, by 27 / 21.
Pools:
- Pool A: South Africa, United States, France, Japan
- Pool B: New Zealand, England, Canada, Papua New Guinea
- Pool C: Australia, Fiji, Wales, Portugal
- Pool D: Argentina, Scotland, Kenya, Samoa
Fixtures & Results:
The Reds have named their team to play the Crusaders at Ballymore in what will be their final Super Rugby pre-season clash.
As revealed yesterday Reds recent recruit Karmichael Hunt will start at flyhalf in the match as the Queensland side look at ways of filling the gap created by Quade Cooper’s injury.
Reds head coach Richard Graham has announced a 23-man squad for the fixture, with a further three players to be added. In all Graham has made three changes to the starting team from last week’s match.
Hunt’s move to starting flyhalf has shifted 20-year-old Duncan Paia’aua to the reserves bench, Chris Feauai-Sautia has been brought into a starting wing spot and Jamie-Jerry Taulagi has moved to starting fullback.
Dan Carter
Dan Carter will start the Crusaders’ last warm-up match ahead of potentially his final Super Rugby season against the Reds on Friday at flyhalf with team-mate Colin Slade switching to fullback.
The 32-year-old Carter, who will join French side Racing Metro at the conclusion of this year’s World Cup, had played mostly at inside centre last year when he returned to the Crusaders from a sabbatical to accommodate Slade’s good form.
The fact he will play in his preferred flyhalf position suggests he will get the nod from coach Todd Blackadder to start there for the Crusaders’ opening game against the Melbourne Rebels on 13 February in Christchurch.
The Melbourne Rebels have completed their pre-season schedule with a 25 / 24 come-from-behind victory over the Highlanders in a thrilling encounter at Harlequin club in Melbourne.
For the first ever time, a Victorian Club ground hosted a Super Rugby trial – as the Highlanders, finalists last season, ventured to Holmesglen Reserve to face the Rebels.
It was a physical clash throughout, with both sides impressive with ball in hand.
Shane Christie
Shane Christie will captain the Highlanders as they complete their two-match preseason tour of Australia – against the Melbourne Rebels in Melbourne on Thursday.
Looking for their third win of the pre-season, the Highlanders will again employ a squad of 28 for the match.
Fumiaka Tanaka will rejoin the Highlanders for his first pre-season game, after meeting the team in Melbourne on his way back to New Zealand – following the completion of the Japanese Top League.
Super Rugby is just more than a week away and most if not all Super Rugby Franchises have instructed their Kit Sponsors to come up with new designs for the 2015 Season.
All the Franchises are sponsored by BIG Kit sponsors.
Of the Australian Franchises the Brumbies are sponsored by CLASSIC, whereas the Western Force, Melbourne Rebels and Reds are sponsored by BLK, and the Waratahs are sponsored by CANTERBURY.
In New Zealand all 5 Super Rugby Franchises are sponsored by ADIDAS.
In South Africa, there is a mix of sponsors, with both the Vodacom Bulls and Toyota Cheetahs are sponsored by PUMA, whereas the rest all have their own sponsors. The Emirates Lions are sponsored by CANTERBURY, The Cell C Sharks by BLK and the DHL Stormers are sponsored by ADIDAS.
For a change the Vodacom Bulls have moved away from a radical Pink or Cammo approach to a more traditional approach and it seems only the Chiefs and to a lesser extent the Blues have somewhat pictorial designs on their Home Kit.
But… the Kit is not what makes a team, so although you might like or dislike a particular Franchise’s Kit, the proof of the pudding still lies in how the teams perform on the field of play.
Nick Briant will officially get the 2015 Super Rugby season underway in Christchurch when he takes the whistle for the Crusaders vs Melbourne Rebels clash on 13 February.
Angus Gardner will oversee the Brumbies vs Reds which follows immediately afterwards in Canberra, with the Australian duo of Rohan Hoffmann and Andrew Lees sharing duties in South Africa for the Emirates Lions vs Hurricanes and Cell C Sharks vs Toyota Cheetahs matches.
The highly-experienced Chris Pollock and Jaco Peyper get the whistle for much-anticipated Round 1 derbies in Auckland and Pretoria respectively with new additions to the 2015 squad, Ben O’Keeffe and Jaco van Heerden assisting on the line in those matches.
Finally, Steve Walsh will be in the middle as the Waratahs get their title defence underway at Sydney’s Allianz Stadium against the Western Force on Sunday 15 February.
Conrad Smith
Will Genia
Reports from France seem to suggest that Wallaby Will Genia will finally make his much anticipated move to France along with the latest in the All Black post-World Cup exodus, Conrad Smith.
Genia, who for a peroid was heavily linked with English Premiership side Bath, now looks more likely to join Parisian side Stade Fancais on a 3-year deal.
It seems that Genia’s deal with Bath eventually fell through due to the Premiership’s salary cap restrictions and the English club’s existing deal with Rugby League convert Sam Burgess.
Dave Rennie
Chiefs head coach Dave Rennie has extended his contract with the dual Super Rugby champions for another 2 years.
Rennie led the Chiefs to back-to-back Super Rugby titles in 2012 and 2013 as well as the Finals Series in 2014, where they fell to the Brumbies.
In addition to 7 new Chiefs making the All Blacks and another 2 earning re-calls, Rennie has introduced 39 new players to a Chiefs jersey.
Before joining the Chiefs he was Head Coach of the Manawatu NPC side. As the New Zealand Under 20 Coach, his side won 3 consecutive World Championship titles from 2008-2010. He also coached Wellington from 1999 – 2002 winning the NPC in 2000. In his playing days he played 59 games as a midfield back for the Wellington Lions from 1986.
A second week of pre-season games sees a much fuller schedule with the match of the weekend being the Bulls traveling to London to take on the Saracens.
During the week there is time for the Blues and the Chiefs to get their preparations underway in Whangarei on Thursday.
The weekend kicks off with the Cheetahs taking on another South African Conference rival in the Stormers at Newlands on Friday after they succumbed 13 / 30 to the Bulls in Polokwane last week.
The Cheetahs will also have a B-team at home in Bloemfontein getting ready to face the Griffons the following day.
On Saturday, the New Zealanders have a go at each other as the Hurricanes host the Crusaders in Manawatu before the champion Waratahs play a mixed club and University side.
The Western Force will be looking to back up their good showing against the Brumbies when they take on an Asia Pacific Dragons team.
Meanwhile, the Reds will look to unleash the likes of James O’Connor and Karmichael Hunt against the Melbourne Rebels.
The Brumbies then cross their conference to face the Highlanders as one of the New Zealanders 4 warm-up matches, this before the Lions test their squad in 2 games against the Leopards and the Pukke.
Finally, the big match sees the Vodacom Bulls at Allianz Park to take on Saracens, with the men from South Africa hoping to succeed where the Sharks and Western Province could not.
Jerome Kaino
All Black flank Jerome Kaino is in the process of weighing up his post World Cup future and is looking to make a decision by the start of Super Rugby.
The Blues captain has confirmed that he has received a number of high profile offers from overseas, including a lucrative one from French club Toulouse.
Dan Carter
Dan Carter has dismissed concerns about a calf strain and told the Crusaders coaches he wants to play the Super Rugby pre-season match against the Hurricanes in Eketahuna on Saturday.
Following the frustrations of last year, when he suffered a small fracture in his lower leg in the Super Rugby Final against the Waratahs and failed to reclaim his All Blacks flyhalf spot on the November tour of Chicago and Britain, Carter is eager to quickly get things going in World Cup year.
SANZAR has announced its referee squad for the forthcoming Super Rugby season with Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand) and Jaco van Heerden (South Africa) promoted and in line for debut during 2015.
O’Keeffe started refereeing whilst at medical school in Dunedin and quickly progressed through the ranks. He has featured in the Heartland Championship, ITM Cup, as a Super Rugby assistant and at the 2014 Junior World Championship where he earned appointment to the final between England and South Africa.
His father Peter also refereed at provincial level and when he’s not in the middle, O’Keeffe practices as an eye doctor in Wellington, New Zealand.
Pretoria-born Van Heerden meanwhile is an Advocate to the High Court of South Africa and joins Super Rugby ranks having made rapid progress applying law on rugby fields throughout his home country.
The 32-year old handled himself with aplomb in his first Currie Cup match during the 2014 season and it was no surprise that he was awarded a semi final later in the year.
A University of Pretoria Law Graduate, Van Heerden played rugby for his university before later turning his attention to refereeing.
Billy Guyton
Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder will have to put his faith in some young and inexperienced scrumhalves for the start of the Super Rugby season with Andy Ellis involved in Japan and Willi Heinz out with a broken leg.
A season-ending leg injury to Willi Heinz has propelled former Hurricane Billy Guyton into the Super Rugby spotlight for the Canterbury team.
There was a collective groan around Timaru’s Alpine Energy Stadium as Heinz broke his left fibula attempting a tackle in the second quarter of the Crusaders pre-season hitout against the Highlanders on Saturday.