Player Movements
We are all well aware of the host of South African rugby players who are plying their trade outside of South Africa. For this article we venture into the land of make belief and choose a squad made up entirely of players with South African connections playing in the current season’s RaboDirect Pro12 competition. – The ‘Raboboks’
Springbok flank Jacques Potgieter is set to leave the Bulls for good after requesting a release from his contract.
A group of 38 players, featuring eight players who were not part of the first camp, will assemble in Durban for the second Springbok training camp before the final squad for the Castle Lager Incoming Series is named early next month.
Andries Bekker’s career at the Stormers may well have come to a premature end as he joined the Cape franchise’s ever-increasing injury list.
Bekker and fellow Springbok Juan de Jongh were the latest additions to the Stormers’ injury list, ahead of Saturday’s clash with the Reds at Newlands.
The Southern Kings team has remained relatively unchanged for the Round 15 Super Rugby encounter with the Cheetahs.
There is just one change in their starting line-up, as SP Marais returns at fullback for the Round 15 game in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.
The Brumbies have received good news on the injuries to flanker George Smith and centre Pat McCabe as their injuries from last week’s Super Rugby match against the Waratahs are not as bad as first thought.
Being officially out of the Vodacom Super Rugby race has not exempted the DHL Stormers from further injuries, with several players on the doubtful list for a clash against the Reds at Newlands on Saturday that is of academic interest only to South African fans.
Of course former Springbok coach Jake White and his Brumbies, and the Waratahs that beat them this past weekend, may have different ideas about the irrelevance of the game.
The Sharks and the Springboks have received a blow with the news that wing JP Pietersen will be sidelined for an extended period.
The return of injured Springboks Bismarck du Plessis and Butch James will bolster The Sharks as they return home from their disasterous tour and as they ready themselves to face the South African Conference Log leaders, the Vodacom Bulls for the tough derby game at Kings Park this Saturday.
The Reds were dealt a cruel blow when Wallaby wing Digby Ioane was sent back home from the Queensland team’s tour of South Africa with a knee injury.
Southern Kings flank Jacques “Vleis” Engelbrecht has been cleared for the game against the Cheetahs on Saturday, while Andries Strauss’ shoulder injury has shown remarkable improvement.
Coach Robbie Deans said troubled star back Kurtley Beale still has a chance of playing against the British and Irish Lions despite missing the initial Wallabies squad.
Brian O’Driscoll ended speculation about his future by signing a new one-year deal to play on for Ireland and Leinster, the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) revealed on Thursday.
With the Stormers experiencing a lukewarm Super Rugby campaign, the news that injured Jaco Taute is considering extending his stay in the Cape will be welcome news to the Cape Town-based franchise.
Munster have announced that current squad captain Doug Howlett will retire from professional rugby at the end of this season.
The Western Province Rugby Football Union (WPRFU) have announced that will be raising funds for former player, Tinus Linee at next week’s Super Rugby match between the Stormers and the Reds at Newlands.
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has named 10 uncapped players in a 38-man training squad ahead of New Zealand’s Test series against France.
Hansen says that he has called up an enlarged squad at first as he wants to assess emerging talent in New Zealand Rugby.
For the second time this year Wallabies playmaker, Kurtley Beale has quit rugby, only this time he has checked himself into a facility to deal with his demons.
The head of New Zealand’s Rugby Players Association says international representative players could take strike action “as a last resort” to press claims for an integrated international season with fewer matches.
The New Zealand Rugby Union has refused permission for the Hamilton-based Chiefs to recruit an overseas player to alleviate a backline injury crisis as they defend their Super Rugby title.
Western Province Vodacom Cup star Gerbrandt Grobler has flown to Australia to bolster the DHL Stormers’ forward resources, with back row stars Rynhardt Elstadt and Duane Vermeulen on their way home with knee injuries.
Troubled Wallaby star Kurtley Beale was Thursday again facing off-field disciplinary issues, raising doubts about his chances of playing in next month’s British and Irish Lions Test series.
Former Springbok coach Nick Mallett believes the reason for the exodus of South Africa’s top players is due to players putting their careers at risk without proper compensation.
Springbok and Bath loose forward Francois Louw is one of three South Africa players included in the Barbarians squad to take on England and the British and Irish Lions.
The other two South Africans included in the squad are Munster prop BJ Botha and London Wasps lock Marco Wentzel.
After two games starting from the bench, loose forward Luke Watson is back to lead the Kings in their Super Rugby match against the Highlanders in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.
Zane Kirchner, Callie Visagie, Jan Serfontein and Marcel van der Merwe should all be available for selection when the Vodacom Bulls take on the Highlanders at Loftus Versfeld in two weeks’ time, after their bye weekend.
Samoa have named a very strong squad – comprising just two locally based players – for their tour of South Africa next month.
The Southern Kings have been dealt a cruel blow with the news that star loose forward Jacques Engelbrecht is out of the game against the Highlanders on Saturday.
The SA Under-20 squad had their first training session at the Green Point Track in Cape Town on Monday afternoon after the 28-man squad and four standby players assembled in the Mother City ahead of their friendly international against Namibia.
The Queensland Rugby Union have confirmed that Super Rugby winning winger Digby Ioane will leave the Reds at the end of the season to play in France.
South African hooker Gary Botha and Australian halfback Luke Burgess are to leave French Top 14 side Toulouse at the end of the season.
Veteran Springbok Schalk Burger is back in hospital and scheduled to go under the knife again.
Southern Kings flyer Sergeal Petersen returns to the starting XV after overcoming a groin strain that kept him out of his side’s loss to the Cheetahs this past weekend.
The Hurricanes have called up Manawatu hooker Rob Foreman after an injuries to Motu Matu’u and Dane Coles.
The Hurricanes only have Ash Dixon as a recognised hooker available but prop Reggie Goodes able to cover the position as back-up.
Coles has a fractured eye socket and Matu’u fractured his forearm playing against the Stormers on the weekend.
Die beseringslysie van die Vodacom Bulls word al korter. Dit is die nuus uit die Bulls kamp na die naweek se wedstryd teen die Waratahs.