SA Rugby
Blue Bulls (6) 15 / 9 (6) Griquas (Final Score)
The Vodacom Blue Bulls and GWK Griquas did battle in the Currie Cup Premier Division at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria at 19:10 SA Time (17:10 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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Sharks (20) 33 / 25 (17) Lions (Final Score)
The Sharks and MTN Golden Lions did battle in the Currie Cup Premier Division at Kings Park, Durban at 17:05 SA Time (15:05 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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The Sharks have secured the services of Griquas prop Lourens Adriaanse from next season.
They may be out of next year’s Super Rugby competition, but the Kings could be given a free ride into the Currie Cup Premier Division.
The Springbok side for Saturday’s Castle Lager Rugby Championship opener against Argentina at Soccer City in Soweto shows four changes from the team which beat Samoa in June.
Two of the changes are in the starting XV, both of them in the forwards, and two on the bench for this Test, which forms part of the Nelson Mandela Sport & Culture Day activities.
The Vodacom Blue Bulls had a late change to their team playing Griquas in an Absa Currie Cup match in Pretoria on Friday.
Prop Frik Kirsten has an ankle strain and will be rested for the clash at Loftus Versfeld. His place will be taken by Werner Kruger.
Willie du Plessis, the University of Pretoria flyhalf, could make his Currie Cup debut for the Free State Cheetahs at Newlands on Saturday.
The inclusion the Varsity Cup star on the bench is the only change to the team that will face defending champions Western Province in a Round Two match on Saturday.
DHL Western Province have announced just one change for Saturday’s Absa Currie Cup, Round Two encounter with the Free State Cheetahs at DHL Newlands (19:15).
Michael Rhodes starts in the No.4 jersey, with youngster Gerbrandt Grobler dropping down to the bench after making his Absa Currie Cup debut in WP’s 24-24 draw against the Blue Bulls last Saturday.
The Sharks have named their squad to host the Golden Lions in the Currie Cup, Premier Division clash on Friday 16 August 2013.
Tim Whitehead is injured and is replaced by Heimar Williams and recent acquisition from the Southern Kings, SP Marais, gets the nod at right wing which in itself seems strange because Odwa Ndungane is a winger preferred at fullback whereas SP Marais is a fullback now getting the start on wing.
The Golden Lions have announced the team to take on the Sharks in Durban on Friday 16 August 2013 at 17:05.
Pote Human has gone “Down Under” to find a replacement for injured lock, Ligtoring Landman. Landman who broke his thumb in the match versus the Sharks will be out until at least the second round of the Currie Cup.
With Martin Muller (Lions), Frikkie Spies (France) and Edwin Hewitt (Sharks) all gone to greener pastures, Landman, Nepgen and Lobberts were the only lock options. Pote has brought in the man mountain Rory Arnold from the Gold Coast Breakers Club in Queenslan Australia, to trial for the Currie Cup season.
Facing a looming wing crisis, coach Naka Drotske has called in some favours. In the past the Cheetahs have often released players for Bok Sevens duty. Now the shoe is on the other foot, with the Sevens team helping the Cheetahs out of a bind.
Felipe Contepomi will captain the Pumas in the Rugby Championship clash against the Springboks in Soweto on Saturday.
Contepomi will lead Argentina in the No.12 jersey in place of regular captain Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, who has been ruled out with a calf injury.
The Golden Lions were dealt a cruel blow with the news that talented midfielder Nicolaas “Stokkies” Hanekom will miss at least a month of Currie Cup action.
Lions coach Johan Ackermann confirmed on Tuesday that Hanekom will be sidelined for at least four weeks, maybe longer – with a shoulder injury and also a knee problem.
Griquas have lost the services of two key players ahead of their Currie Cup trip to Loftus Versfeld on Friday.
Coach Pote Human confirmed that stalwarts Rynhardt Landman and Marnus Schoeman both suffered serious injuries in the 32-30 win over the Sharks in Durban last week and will not travel to Pretoria.
Die Vodacom Blou Bulle-afrigter, Pine Pienaar, het slegs een verandering aan sy span gemaak wat Vrydag op Loftus Versfeld in ‘n Absa Curriebekerwedstryd teen Griekwas speel.
Callie Visagie begin as haker in die plek van Willie Wepener, met Bongi Mbonambi wat Van Wyk se plek op die plaasvervangerbank inneem in die Blou Bulle se eerste tuiswedstryd van die kompetisie. Dit sal ook Mbonambi se eerste verskyning in vanjaar se kompetisie wees.
Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer welcomed the calming effect Fourie du Preez brought to the team ahead of their Rugby Championship opener against Argentina at the FNB Stadium on Saturday.
The veteran of 62 Tests has been called into the Springbok squad for the first time since the Springboks’ quarter-final defeat to Australia at the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.
“I was very impressed with Fourie du Preez today (Monday), I always knew he was a world-class player and it’s been an honour for me to coach him since he was 19-years-old,” Meyer said.
“He hasn’t lost anything.
The Free State Cheetahs could be without the services of their only specialist fullback for a while, with Hennie Daniller struggling with a suspected hand fracture.
SA Under-20 fullback Cheslin Kolbe has signed a long-term deal with Western Province Rugby, whilst flyhalf Demetri Catrakilis is back in the Cape for the 2013 Absa Currie Cup.
Cheetahs coach Naka Drotske has moved swiftly to alleviate a pending backline crisis. Regular fullback Hennie Daniller has a suspected hand fracture that could rule him out for the Currie Cup season. The Volksblad reported that Naka has signed the Varsity Cup champions, Tukkies, pivot Willie du Plessis, who can play flyhalf, centre and fullback.
Allister Coetzee, the DHL Western Province head coach, has released an injury report ahead of this week’s Absa Currie Cup, Round Two preparations.
This Monday morning the overseas contingent of the Springboks joined the squad in preparation for The Rugby Championship and this weekend’s game against Argentina. This after the Pumas have already been in camp for a month and having just completed 2 vital warm-up games against a strong New South Wales Barbarians touring side, just winning the first encounter and then doing a real demolition job on the NSW Barbarians side on the weekend, winning 58 / 12.
Of course the Springboks firstly have to come to grips with the new scrum engagement sequence, something we saw this past weekend in The Currie Cup Premier Division matches, which caused quite a stir.
During last week Tendai “Beast” Mtawarira sat out with a hamstring twinge, Coenie Oosthuizen had the flu and Jannie du Plessis was nursing a light calf strain, so it’s fair to assume not a great deal of scrum preparation work could be done.
The Absa Currie Cup Premier Division lived up to its billing as SA’s premier domestic competition this weekend as the opening round delivered a series of nail-biting encounters, which set the scene for a gripping competition.
GWK Griquas and the Toyota Free State Cheetahs got their campaigns off to positive starts as they registered invaluable away victories, while DHL Western Province and the Vodacom Blue Bulls played to a draw in an epic clash in Cape Town.
Aviva Premiership Rugby club Bath have announced that Springbok flanker Francois Louw has signed a new long term deal with the Club.
WP (14) 24 / 24 (6) Blue Bulls (Final Score)
DHL Western Province and Vodacom Blue Bulls did battle in the Currie Cup Premier Division at Newlands, Cape Town at 17:05 SA Time (15:05 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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Lions (16) 29 / 30 (13) Cheetahs (Final Score)
The MTN Golden Lions and Toyota Free State Cheetahs did battle in the Currie Cup Premier Division at Ellis Park, Johannesburg at 15:00 SA Time (13:00 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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Sharks (20) 30 / 32 (16) Griquas (Final Score)
The Sharks and GWK Griquas did battle in the Currie Cup Premier Division at Kings Park, Durban at 19:10 SA Time (17:10 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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With the six-team strength-against-strength format making each Currie Cup a must win game, the Cheetahs and Golden Lions will be looking for a positive start in their season opener at Ellis Park, in Johannesburg, on Saturday.
The Cheetahs experienced the cruelty of the new format last season, after finishing bottom of the log and having to play in the promotion-relegation matches against the EP Kings.
If the Springboks wonder where they will be tested next week, the answer is surely to come in the scrums.
The International Rugby Board’s decision to change the scrum set laws again will come under scrutiny as South African props have to come to terms pretty quickly with the new regulations at international level, with players not yet being able to trial them at local level.
The open secret which has already done all the rounds, has been confirmed.
Apart from Waylon Murray and Jacques “Vleis” Engelbrecht joining the Blue Bulls, Bandise Maku and David Bullbring (both Kings) and Callie Visagie (Golden Lions) have signed and will join the Blue Bulls with immediate effect, in deals stretching to the end of 2016.
The Absa Currie Cup has been given the ‘ultimate makeover’ for the 2013 season with the winners set to walk away with a R1,8m cheque and a trophy restored to its 1891 historic glory.
The tournament has been given a major revamp by the South African Rugby Union and sponsors Absa in arguably one of the most exciting developments in the competition’s 122-year history.
Tyrone Holmes is set to make his debut on Thursday for Glasgow Warriors at Rubislaw in Aberdeen. The Warriors are on a two day trip to the city as part of their preseason preparations which include a practice session which will be open to the public to attend as well as a match against local team, Aberdeen Grammar.
Since the Springbok squad for the upcoming Rugby Championship was announced, featuring 10 players who will be applying their trade away from South African shores, speculation has been ongoing whether there has been a shift away from picking South African based players over internationally based South Africans for the Springboks.
This week there has been some mumblings by Jurie Roux, SARU CEO, and the inclusion of Japan-based Fourie du Preez has prompted the question whether Japan’s clubs and our National team setup has moved the goal posts as far as selection of Japanese players are concerned.
Opinion is widely devided on whether the Springboks should allow foreign-based players to be eligible for Springbok selection, with the one lot saying it’s the professional era and where you are based no longer matters, as long as you are the best in your position. The result is the conundrum of player availability well before a Test. At the moment clubs overseas are only obliged to release the players to be available on the Monday preceeding the Test, which allows for very little preparation time.
On the other hand there has been the stance that overseas-based players should not be picked for the Springboks, in order to firstly discourage players leaving the SA shores for lucrative deals elsewhere, having chosen to apply their trade elsewhere and thus voluntarily choosing not to be considered for the Springboks. I was a serious proponent of this stance, but I’ve had somewhat of a mind shift, I must admit.
Certainly for the upcoming Rugby Championship, it would have been foolhardy not to pick the Springboks who have recently decided to go overseas, after all there are 6 regular starting Springboks amongst those recent departees.
I now find myself in the middle somewhere, hoping players could stay in South Africa if they aspire to continue or start their Springbok careers, yet seeing the inevitability of the lure of the stronger currencies abroad.
The solution would have been simple…. institute a CENTRALLY CONTRACTED SYSTEM here in South Africa (very similar to the New Zealand system), where SARU takes charge of the contracts of the frontline Springbok players, but that remains a pipe dream and clearly is beyond the capabilities of the inept bunch at SARU. In stead we can rely on SARU to muck things up even more and I’m afraid but I would not want their grubby hands to touch Central Contrating under those circumstances.
Another solution could be to impliment a CLEAR OVERSEAS QUOTA SYSTEM in the selection policy, where SARU regulates to the players and national coach that only 2 or 3 overseas-based players may be included in a 30-man squad. This would have put the Springboks in a conundrum situation right now before the start of The Rugby Championship, but maybe with an eye on the End Of Year Tours and beyond, that system must be applied, unless it can be negotiated that overseas-based players are available earlier and for every Test of the year, no exceptions allowed.
Below some of the news and speculation in this regard, taken from what was available in the press.
Boom Prinsloo has been named as captain of the Toyota Free State Cheetahs for their opening Currie Cup encounter against the MTN Golden Lions in Johannesburg on Saturday.
Omar Mouneimne has become the latest member of the Southern Kings squad to walk away from the relegated Super Rugby franchise.
Mouneimne, the Kings’ defence coach, has joined Alan Solomons on the Edinburgh coaching panel.