SA Rugby

Super RugbyWith the announcement of the re-shaping of the Super Rugby, the competition looks likely to expand outside the Southern Hemisphere and could potentially lay the groundwork for a global competition.

The new format already includes a team from Argentina, but there is also talk of including a team from Asia, Europe or even North America in a bid to expand the competition globally.

The reaction from the South African camp is seemingly positive with South African Rugby Union CEO Jurie Roux saying the evolution of the competition ‘ticks all the boxes.’

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Super RugbyIt is Round 12 of Super Rugby 2014 this weekend! We have 7 games in Round 12, with 2 games on Friday and 5 games on Saturday.

The Western Force have a bye weekend.

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.

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Cheetahscoenie_oosthuizenJohan GoosenCheetahs coach Naka Drotské has included two Springboks on his replacement bench in an otherwise unchanged line up for his side’s Super Rugby encounter against the Bulls in Pretoria on Saturday.

Springbok flyhalf Johan Goosen and Bok prop Coenie Oosthuizen have both been cleared to play after recovering from injuries. Goosen was sidelined for a couple of weeks with concussion, while Oosthuizen has finally recovered from a lengthy neck injury he sustained during the Cheetahs’ overseas tour to Australasia.

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Handré PollardWilliam Small-SmithBullsVodacom Bulls coach Frans Ludeke tweaked his backline with a new midfield combination for their Vodacom Super Rugby match against the Toyota Cheetahs and changed his front row, but stuck with almost the same match 23 that came up short against the Force in Perth last weekend.

Ludeke included Junior World Cup winning players William Small-Smith and Handre Pollard in the starting team for the first time this season and also gave prop Marcel van der Merwe a first start for the match at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

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Super RugbySuper Rugby is poised to move forward with a four-conference model in 2016 – with two based in South Africa.

Australian Rugby Union boss Bill Pulver has revealed the announcement of an expanded and restructured model to take to broadcasters is only a fortnight away.

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Lions Super RugbyLions Head Coach Johann Ackermann has anounced a side that includes a plethora of backline changes from that defeated by the Stormers to take on the Chiefs this weekend.

Elton Jantjies returns at the expense of the tounaments leading points scorer, Marnitz Boshoff, who drops to the bench and in the forwards Warren Whiteley returns to captain the side.

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Super RugbyWhistleSANZAR has released the names of the Match Officials for Round 12 of Super Rugby 2014.

Nick Briant starts the weekend action on Friday in Auckland when the Blues host the Reds.

This weekend sees 7 matches, with 2 on Friday and 5 on Saturday.

The Western Force have a BYE weekend, ahead of their tour of South Africa.

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Super RugbyThe Toyota Cheetahs delivered their best performance of the Vodacom Super Rugby season when they won comfortably against the DHL Stormers in an exciting local derby, but the Vodacom Bulls and Cell C Sharks were kept try-less as they ended up on the losing side in Round 11.

The team from Central South Africa and the Capetonians were involved in an thrilling derby where the most tries were scored this season. The Toyota Cheetahs won this encounter in Bloemfontein on Saturday afternoon by 35-22, outscoring the visitors by five tries to three.

It was the most tries scored against the DHL Stormers in a local derby since the Cell C Sharks and Vodacom Bulls put five and seven respectively past them in 2007.

Earlier on Saturday, the Vodacom Bulls had to battle the elements and Sias Ebersohn’s boot in Perth. The Force beat the visitors from Pretoria by 15-9 in a kick-fest where no tries were scored.

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Vodacom CupThe Steval Pumas, Cell C Sharks XV, GWK Griquas and Toyota Free State XV will host the four Vodacom Cup quarter-finals after the pool phase of the competition came to an exciting conclusion this weekend.

It was an exciting end to the competition in 2014, with a total of 75 tries scored in the eight pool matches at an average of just over nine per match, or one try every eight or so minutes.

While the North Section went pretty much as expected and the Steval Pumas managed the become the only team to go through their pool matches unbeaten, the last round in the South Section saw the log getting a proper overhaul following upsets in Durban and George on Friday evening.

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Melbourne RebelsCell C SharksRebels lock Hugh Pyle says his side must muscle-up and top the Sharks’ physicality if they are to emerge victorious when they meet in Melbourne on Friday.

The Sharks are recognised for having one of the most physical forward packs in Super Rugby, and Pyle knows that the Rebels need to bring the physicality when they take on the combined conference leaders.

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DHL StormersThe DHL Stormers are searching for a lock from outside the region to help them through the current crisis.

But just who the Stormers will target to come in to provide a temporary solution to the problems that have been caused by injuries and the departure for Japan of Andries Bekker is difficult to ascertain for there is not a lot out there and an approach to former Western Province lock Quinn Roux, now playing in Ireland, never went anywhere.

EP Kings lock Steve Sykes, a former Sharks stalwart, has also turned down the Stormers on the basis that he wants to commit himself fully to his province’s entry into the Premier Division of the Absa Currie Cup later in the year.

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Scarra NtubeniSailosi TagicakibauDHL StormersHooker Scarra Ntubeni and wing Sailosi Tagicakibau are back in the selection frame for the Stormers ahead of this coming weekend’s home Super Rugby clash against the Highlanders, the Stormers’ official website reports.

Ntubeni has not featured for the Stormers since their tour-opener against the Crusaders back in early March, but his return – along with Tagicakibau’s – will be a major boost to his team.

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Piet van ZylBullsPiet van Zyl will not be able to take on his former Toyota Cheetahs team mates at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday as the Vodacom Bulls scrumhalf still suffers from a knee injury picked up on the Australasian tour.

The player will miss another week of Vodacom Super Rugby action as he recovers from his MCL injury, Vodacom Bulls team doctor Org Strauss confirmed.

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Victor MatfieldBullsHe may not be as dynamic all over the park as in days gone by, but Bulls lock Victor Matfield remains the lineout king in Super Rugby.

The Springbok captained the Bulls in their final tour match against the Force in Perth last week after regular skipper Flip van der Merwe was suspended for punching.

Matfield did not succeed in spurring his team-mates to a first victory on tour, but one area in which they dominated, was at lineout time.

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BrumbiesChiefsCrusadersCell C SharksThe Brumbies will be crowned 2014 Vodacom Super Rugby champions – if bookmakers are to be believed…

The Brumbies, currently atop the Australian Conference and in second place in the Overall standings, have been installed as 33/10 favourites to add to their titles from 2001 and 2004, by SA bookies BetXchange.

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Jake WhiteCell C SharksThe Sharks were outplayed and outsmarted by the Highlanders on their way to a shock Super Rugby defeat in Durban on Friday night, director of rugby Jake White said after the game.

“We weren’t at our best and they played really well against us – take nothing away from this performance by the Highlanders,” White said.

“Sometimes when we needed to kick we ran, and sometimes when we needed to run we kicked.”

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Michael KillianAfter an impressive professional rugby career that has spanned over a decade, the dynamic winger, Michael Killian, will be hanging up his boots to take on new challenges in the corporate sector.

EP Rugby CEO, Charl Crous, on Monday confirmed Killian’s retirement.

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