New Zealand Rugby
Jack Lam
Hurricanes flanker Jack Lam will play his 50th match for the Wellington-based franchise when they host the Chiefs on Saturday.
Lam said clocking up a win in his 50th match would not only be an achievement for him, but the Hurricanes club as a whole.
Tim Nanai-Williams
Dynamic and versatile back, Tim Nanai-Williams, has re-committed to the Super Rugby champions, signing until at least the end of the 2015 season.
The 24-year-old has played 62 matches for the Chiefs and said that re-signing was an easy decision.
The lowest mark for a Super Rugby Finals Series qualifier over recent years has been 53, meaning that this season one can mathematically assume in 2014 at least 45 points gives a team a chance of playing knockout rugby.
Remember 8 less points are on offer in 2014 with nothing awarded for a bye.
The Melbourne Rebels are now out of calculations, for while a potentially brilliant perfect 25 from 25 points in their closing run covers the rudimentary maths, they would need to rely on a perfect maelstrom of losing chaos at the top of the table.
The Blues, although 1oth and in a precarious position on the Log, have 5 games left, but from hereon in it is crunch time for them. They almost need a flawless run from here and a loss to the Sharks, will certainly put them out of the running on the weekend.
For the Vodacom Bulls, it becomes doubly difficult now, they only have 4 games left, compared to 5 by most of the teams above them in the pecking order. One more loss, and you can write them off. They need a near perfect run in their 4 games, earning at least 17 Log points from 4 games, so that means at least one bonus point try win and the rest all wins.
Evaluation in reverse order:
Luke Braid returns from injury to captain the Blues against the Sharks at QBE Stadium in North Harbour on Friday night.
The openside flanker missed the last two games against the Chiefs and Reds with a shoulder injury, but after another week off with the bye Braid is back to full fitness and raring to go.
“It was really important to make sure we gave Luke time to recover from his shoulder,” Blues head coach Sir John Kirwan said.
Talented young scrumhalf Augustine Pulu has committed to the Chiefs for at least the next two years.
The 24-year old has played 31 matches for the Chiefs, including seven so far this season, scoring two tries and assisting another.
Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder said that his team need to take a hard look at themselves after losing at home to a 13-man Sharks side.
The Sharks were reduced to 14 players early in the game when flank Jean Deysel was shown a red card for stomping on Jordan Taufua and they were down to 13 when No.8 Willem Alberts was shown a late yellow card for taking a player out off the ball.
However, the Sharks somehow managed to hang on to record a gritty 30-25 victory – their first-ever in Christchurch – and Blackadder admitted that they have some serious thinking to do with the play-offs looming.
Saturday’s three Vodacom Super Rugby matches involving the Cell C Sharks, DHL Stormers and Toyota Cheetahs ended in a whitewash for the South African teams as they all recorded good victories.
The Cell C Sharks consolidated their spot at the top of the Vodacom Super Rugby log with a superb 30-25 victory over the in-form Crusaders in Christchurch – the first defeat for the team from Canterbury in New Zealand since 2001 against South African opposition and also the maiden victory for a team from the Republic in the Land of the Long White Cloud this season.
The Durbanites became the first South African team to ever in Christchurch since the franchise system was put in place in 1998.
It was only the second time a SA team managed to beat the Crusaders in Christchurch, when Northern Transvaal won there in 1996, and the third time out of 46 matches that the seven-time Vodacom Super Rugby champions lost at home to a team from the Republic – the Cats beat the Crusaders in Nelson in 2001.
The Crusaders also drew twice at home to teams from South Africa in the early years of Super 12, in 1996 against Western Province and in 1997 against the Sharks.
Later on Saturday afternoon, the DHL Stormers won their third successive home game of 2014 when they easily beat the high-flying Force by 24-8 in Cape Town, outscoring their visitors by three tries to one – ironically the same try count as in the Sharks/Crusaders match.
Saturday ended in ecstasy for the Toyota Cheetahs as they managed to beat the Brumbies for the first time since 2011 when they won this replay of their 2013 qualifier by 27-21, thanks mainly to a very good second half performance.
On Sunday morning, the Lions started very well against the Waratahs in Sydney, but the home team had too much left in the second half and eventually won this match by 41-13.
The Vodacom Bulls, currently second in the South African Conference behind the Cell C Sharks, had a bye this weekend.
The Chiefs have been given a big boost for this week’s Super Rugby match against the Hurricanes as Aaron Cruden has been cleared to make his return this week.
Cruden’s return will be a big boost for the Chiefs as well as the All Blacks who face England in a three Test series next month.
First-five Cruden has been training with the All Blacks in Christchurch but has not featured for the Chiefs since the beginning of April.
Cardiff Blues have appointed former New Zealand international hooker, Mark Hammett, as their Director Of Rugby.
The 41-year-old, currently head coach of the Hurricanes, replaces Phil Davies, who left the post in March.
Hammett has agreed a three-year deal and will join up with Cardiff at the end of the Super Rugby season.
Jean Deysel of the Sharks received a red card for foul play during a Super Rugby match at the weekend.
He was cited following the game.
Deysel is alleged to have contravened Law 10.4 (b) Stamping or trampling. The incident occurred during the match between the Crusaders and Sharks at AMI Stadium, Addington in Christchurch on Saturday 17 May 2014. The referee for the match, Rohan Hoffman, issued a red card for the incident which occurred in the 16th minute.
Sharks captain Bismarck du Plessis praised the character of his team, after overcoming an early red card to beat the Crusaders on New Zealand soil for the first time.
Replacement Kyle Cooper scored a 75th-minute try to lift a Sharks team – reduced to 14 men for 63 minutes and to 13 during the second half – to a 30-25 win – the first win by South African team over the Crusaders in New Zealand since the Cats last did so in Nelson in 2001.
Cooper’s try forced the fifth and final lead change of the second half, clinching the Shark’s ninth win in 12 matches.
Flank Jean Deysel was shown a red card in the 17th minute for a vicious, off-the-ball stomp on the face of Crusaders back row forward Jordan Taufua – who, at the time was holding back the Sharks player, a tactic that went unpunished, despite continuously being employed by the Kiwi players throughout the match.
Jean Deysel stomping Jordan Taufua
Crusaders (13) 25 / 30 (1) Sharks (Final Score)
The Crusaders and Cell C Sharks did battle in Super Rugby at
AMI Stadium, Christchurch at 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 07:35 GMT).
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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Hurricanes (13) 16 / 18 (9) Highlanders (Final Score)
The Hurricanes and Highlanders did battle in Super Rugby at
Westpac Stadium, Wellington at 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 07:35 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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Three Australian sides and the most successful team of all time stand in the way of the four South African franchises in action in Vodacom Super Rugby, as a number of players celebrate personal milestones this weekend.
First up, in Christchurch, the Cell C Sharks will have their work cut out for them against the in-form Crusaders on Saturday morning in what will be a special occasion for the Durbanites’ two Springbok props, Tendai Mtawarira and Jannie du Plessis.
Later on Saturday, the DHL Stormers and the Toyota Cheetahs have home games against the Force and Brumbies respectively, and in Cape Town veteran flyhalf Peter Grant will lead his team out.
On Sunday morning, the Lions will aim for their first ever win over the Waratahs when they take on the team from New South Wales in Sydney in their third tour game.
Tendai “Beast” Mtawarira, who has been anchoring the Cell C Sharks’ scrum since for seven years, will be the first this weekend to reach 100 when the KwaZulu-Natalians take on the Crusaders in Christchurch. He made his debut in Durban on 9 February 2007, when he replaced John Smit late in the match against the Waratahs.
What makes Mtawarira’s 100th Vodacom Super Rugby cap special, is that he will “share” it with fellow Springbok prop Jannie du Plessis, who will play in his 100th Vodacom Super Rugby match for the Cell C Sharks.
Du Plessis though also played 26 times for the Toyota Cheetahs earlier in his career. This weekend he will become the second-most experienced Vodacom Super Rugby player from South Africa as he passes former team-mates John Smit and AJ Venter, who both played 125 times at this level.
Following hot on Mtawarira’s heels, DHL Stormers inside back Peter Grant will run out for his 100th Vodacom Super Rugby match at DHL Newlands when they host the Force on Saturday afternoon.
It is Round 14 of Super Rugby 2014 this weekend! We have 6 games in Round 14, with 1 game on Friday, 4 games on Saturday and 1 game on Sunday.
The Blues, Vodacom Bulls & Chiefs have BYE weekends.
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.
With four teams in the bottom seven of 2014 Super Rugby, South African teams have had what is equating to be the worst Australasian collective touring record since the tournament begun.
The Republic has only two matches left on New Zealand soil to try and avoid what would be the first time in Super Rugby history that one of their franchises hasn’t beaten a Kiwi team in their own backyard during a regular season – while the win record on Australian soil stands at 1-7.
With only four matches remaining in total overseas for South African outfits, a host of contests in front of their daunting coliseums could see the ledger become more favourable.
One cannot doubt that the Australian Conference always serves up a surprise or two every season, a few years ago there was that electric championship season in Queensland, and lately the Brumbies have transformed into one of the leading outfits.
This year the centre of excitement is way out west, with the Force on the verge of a historic maiden final’s appearance, there is a stirring in Sydney while the Reds are revisiting days they thought they had left behind.
After an almost traditional slow start, the New Zealand Conference is now the form group in 2014 Super Rugby.
While this points towards a typically formidable squad for the All Blacks in the coming weeks, the Kiwis will not have it all their own way in the closing stages of the regular season.
The 7-time champions Canterbury Crusaders have slowly quietened the doubters of their Super Rugby title credentials in the past month and a victory over the table-topping Sharks in Christchurch on Saturday should silence them for good.
The Crusaders are the form team of the competition at the moment, having won their last 5 games, racking up 22 tries and 195 points in the process and moved from 13th on the table to 4th.
Kieran Read and Israel Dagg will be on the sidelines when the Crusaders take on Super Rugby leaders the Sharks in Christchurch on Saturday.
The All Black No 8 Read has missed the Crusaders’ past two matches, including last weekend’s 57-29 win over the Reds in Brisbane, after his second head knock in a month forced him off the field against the Chiefs in mid-April.
SANZAR has released the names of the Match Officials for Round 14 of Super Rugby 2014.
Garratt Williamson starts the weekend action in Wellington when the Hurricanes plays the Highlanders.
This weekend sees 6 matches, with 1 on Friday, 4 on Saturday and 1 on Sunday.
The Blues, Vodacom Bulls and the Chiefs have BYE weekends.
Tim Bateman has announced he will head to Japan at the end of the Super Rugby season to take up a two-year deal with the West Red Sparks.
Bateman’s decision to leave New Zealand has nothing to do with rugby and everything to do with family.
Sadly, Bateman’s second stint in the Fukuoka region, is because his wife Laura was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis last year.
Hurricanes coach Mark Hammett was forced to make changes to his starting line-up for Friday’s all-New Zealand Super Rugby derby against the Highlanders.
Injured All Black hooker Dane Coles will miss his first Hurricanes match of the season.
Coles injured his lower back against the Rebels and the status of the injury is unclear.
The newest addition to Vodacom Super Rugby in 2016 will not be a team of “mercenaries” put together with a big budget.
That’s the word of Sanzar chief executive Greg Peters, who said the 18th team that will go out to tender to join the Southern Hemisphere competition will need to be sustainable, and have the support of the market it bases itself in.
So far Sanzar has received interest from Spain, Singapore, Japan and the USA, but it is doubtful if any of these countries could put together a team that could be competitive over 17 weeks of the competition in 2016.
A year from the Rugby World Cup, defending champions the All Blacks face a depleted talent pool to select from, as a wealth of players opt for lucrative overseas contracts.
Although there is an overflow of quality among the loose forwards and outside backs, in other areas there are looming shortages – particularly at hooker, where there is a struggle to find three of international standard for next month’s tour by England.
The reluctance of the Home Unions to come to the party is what is preventing a more acceptable global season to be implemented.
It has long been suggested that the selfish nature of Home Union officials – those from England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland – has been at the heart of the troubled and scattered international and domestic calendars.
The New Zealand Rugby Union confirmed on Tuesday the All Blacks will travel to take on the USA in Chicago on 1 November.
The world’s best will take on their American counterparts at the 61,000-seater Solider Field stadium, home to the NFL’s Chicago Bears.
Though rumours and speculation regarding this fixture have bubbled away for nearly six months, it was only on Tuesday that the match was publicly announced as the Kiwis’ newest overseas initiative, with the purposes of drawing on the developing market – boasting huge potential – in the USA, generating a ballpark figure of at least $1 million NZ dollars for the NZRU, and offering the Test side important preparation for the subsequent fixtures in Europe.
Five uncapped players were included in the All Blacks 35-man training squad named Monday, ahead of the three-Test series against England in June.
The squad, which will be whittled down to 31 on 1 June, also marks the return of Jerome Kaino to All Blacks consideration – while flyhalf Dan Carter is a notable omission as he continues a sabbatical before returning to the game in August.
Blindside flank Kaino, now back in New Zealand with the Blues, last played for the All Blacks in the 2011 World Cup Final victory against France before moving to Japan.
New Zealander Chris Pollock will be the referee when the Stormers host the Western Force in a Super Rugby clash at Newlands this Saturday (17:05 SA Time).
Pollock will be assisted by South Africans Marius Jonker and Quinton Immelman, with Shaun Veldsman on television match official (TMO) duty.
Corey Flynn has signed a two year contract with Toulouse in France starting after the current Crusaders season.
This announcement comes on the same day as the All Blacks training squad was released.
The Vodacom Bulls flew the South African flag in Vodacom Super Rugby this weekend as the other four teams all lost their matches on Saturday.
The team from Pretoria won their traditional North-South derby against the DHL Stormers by 28-12 on Saturday evening and had to dig deep early on when the Capetonians scored two very good tries in the first 20 minutes.
It was the Vodacom Bulls’ biggest victory over the DHL Stormers since round 11 in 2007, when they won by 49-12 in Pretoria.
Earlier on Saturday, the Lions almost caused a massive upset in Dunedin when they came back from 23-0 down at half-time to lose 23-22 after scoring four great second-half tries against the Highlanders.
Had their kicking been better – the visitors’ kickers missed three conversions – the Lions could easily have become the first South African team to win in New Zealand this year.
The Cell C Sharks went down by 16-9 to the Brumbies in a top-of-the-table clash in a very wet Canberra, but managed to hold on to their first position on the log thanks to a losing bonus-point.
And on Saturday afternoon, the Force won in South Africa for the first time since March 2011 and beat the Toyota Cheetahs for the first time in three years when they won by 23-16 in Bloemfontein, putting a dampener on Naka Drotské’s 100th match in charge of the team from Central South Africa.
Highlanders prop Chris King is a very lucky man to get away with a one-week ban for hitting Lions captain Warren Whiteley in the face.
King was cited for the incident, which happened in the 54th minute of Saturday’s Vodacom Super Rugby game between the two sides in Dunedin and received a yellow card from match officials shortly after the incident.
Crusaders and Canterbury flyhalf Tyler Bleyendaal has become the latest high-profile New Zealand player to head abroad to continue his career.
He announced he will move to Ireland to play for the Munster at the end of this year.
All Blacks utility back Charles Piutau has been ruled out of next month’s Test series against England due to a knee injury.
Reds (17) 29 / 57 (16) Crusaders (Final Score)
The Reds and Crusaders did battle in Super Rugby at
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane at 08:05 SA Time (16:05 AEST, 18:05 NZ Time, 06:05 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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