SA Rugby
The Springbok side to face the Wallabies on Saturday at Loftus, has been announced.
Two late changes have been made to the Springbok 22, with Francois Steyn failing a late fitness test and Coenie Oosthuizen also not fit enough to man the bench. Jean de Villiers moves to inside centre and Jaco Taute will make his Springbok debut at outside centre. PatCilliers replaces Coenie Oosthuizen on the bench.
It took guts and determination from Heyneke Meyer and clearly he has the best interests of Springbok Rugby as well as the individual interests of the players at heart, when making some hard and big decisions.
Johan Goosen starts at flyhalf and Andries Bekker starts at No 5 lock in place of Juandré Kruger. Elton Jantjies is on the bench and Morné Steyn drops out of the match 22 alltogether.
Flip van der Merwe moves down to the bench after a strong game against the New Zealand All Blacks, but one has to mention that Flip is carrying a niggling injury and did not practice with the squad on Monday and Tuesday.
The South African Rugby Union (SARU) is moving offices after 17 years at the Sports Science Institute of South Africa in Newlands, Cape Town.
Herewith a team by team breakdown of the selected sides for this weekend’s Currie Cup Premier Division matches.
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There was a buzz at Loftus today as thousands gathered to watch the afternoon open practice session on Loftus main field. Fathers, mothers and heaps and heaps of children attended to watch Heyneke Meyer’s squad of 30 go through their paces. My son, BonzaiGBS, was our resident photographer and took hundreds of photographs.
There’s some good news and some bad news, I’m wondering which you want to hear first….
Four players have been called up to the Springbok squad of 30 for the final two Tests of The Rugby Championship, in South Africa against Australia and New Zealand. Continue reading
Lions (6) 28 / 22 (16) Sharks (Final Score)
The MTN Golden Lions and The Sharks did battle in the Currie Cup, Premier Division at Coca-Cola Park, Johannesburg at 19:10 SA Time.
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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Blue Bulls (17) 34 / 30 (9) Cheetahs (Final Score)
The Vodacom Blue Bulls and Toyota Free State Cheetahs did battle in the Currie Cup, Premier Division at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria at 17:05 SA Time.
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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WP (31) 45 / 21 (7) Griquas (Final Score)
DHL Western province and GWK Griquas did battle in the Currie Cup, Premier Division at Newlands, Cape Town at 15:00 SA Time.
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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Rassie Erasmus says Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer is tweaking his game plan ahead of next weekend’s Rugby Championship clash with the Wallabies in Pretoria.
SANZAR has made known the full game schedule for Super Rugby in 2013. Take critical note of the fact that the Australian sides will feature a week earlier than the New Zealand and South African sides, as they feature alone in Round 1 – 15 & 16 February and in the middle of the year, Round 17 – June 7 & 9, the Australian sides will feature alone as well, whilst in Round 18 & Round 19 the New Zealand and South African sides will feature without the Australian sides.
This accomodation is done to assist Australia who hosts the British and Irish Lions touring party in the middle of 2013.
Accordingly the Super Rugby Combined Log will be skewed from the start, then become even more skewed after Round 17 (The Australian sides having played 2 games more by then) and that the Combined Log will only appear realistic and normal after the conclusion of Round 19.
The revival of club rugby in South Africa received a major boost on Thursday with the announcement that a new televised national tournament for non-university clubs would kick off in 2013.
Alan Solomons, the Southern Kings Super Rugby coach, has indicated that controvertial looseforward Luke Watson will be the captain when the team makes their Super Rugby debut in 2013.
Herewith a team by team breakdown of the selected sides for this weekend’s Currie Cup Premier Division matches.
Continue reading
Lions stalwart Wikus van Heerden will retire after Saturday’s Absa Currie Cup match against the Sharks at Coca-Cola Park in Johannesburg.
The South African Rugby Union (SARU) has named a Springbok Sevens squad of 16 players for the warm-up tournament in Middelburg, which gets underway on Friday. The event will be the only pre-season tournament where the Blitzbokke will be in action before they leave for Australia to kick-off the HSBC Sevens World Series at the Gold Coast Sevens.
Springbok utility back Patrick Lambie’s unavailability for Currie Cup duty this week has left Sharks coach John Plumtree a frustrated man.
Springbok Rugby coaches have released five players back to their Currie Cup squads from the squad that returned from New Zealand.
Western Province loose forwards Jebb Sinclair and Tyrone Holmes have almost completely escaped further punishment for the punches they threw at Kings Park on Saturday.
Here’s a review of the Judicial hearings and citings following a weekend of ill-diciplined rugby in South Africa.
As we all know by now, in a water logged match in the ABSA Currie Cup between The Sharks and DHL Western Province, four players were carded in Durban, Sharks losse forward Jean Deysel received a Yellow Card, Jebb Sinclair and Tyrone Holmes from Province both received Red Cards for punching, whilst Wilhelm van der Sluys from Province received a Yellow Card.
From about 5 minutes before the end of the match, Western Province was forced to play with only 12 players on the pitch, effectively resulting in an eventual Penalty Try to the Sharks just before the end of the game.
Springbok prop Dean Greyling has been suspended from all forms of Rugby for two weeks after he pleaded guilty for foul play.
Western Province coach Allister Coetzee is determined to snuff out the ill-discipline that saw his team reduced to 12 players against the Sharks.
Morne Steyn’s indifferent performance against the All Blacks has increased the pressure on Bok coach Heyneke Meyer to start Johan Goosen at flyhalf.
There is a caveat, and given Heyneke Meyer’s insistence that his team employed the right game-plan in Dunedin it is a significant one, but the Springboks have ended the away leg of their Castle Rugby Championship campaign with reason to be encouraged.
Sharks (16) 43 / 27 (12) WP (Final Score)
The Sharks and DHL Western Province did battle in the Currie Cup, Premier Division at Mr Price Kings Park, Durban at 19:10 SA Time.
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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Cheetahs (16) 23 / 38 (20) Golden Lions (Final Score)
The Toyota Free State Cheetahs and MTN Golden Lions did battle in the Currie Cup, Premier Division at Free State Stadium at 17:05 SA Time.
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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Griquas (29) 49 / 34 (14) Blue Bulls (Final Score)
GWK Griquas and the Vodacom Blue Bulls did battle in the Currie Cup, Premier Division at GWK Park, Kimberley at 15:00 SA Time.
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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All Blacks (5) 21 / 11 (3) Springboks (Final Score)
The New Zealand All Blacks and South African Springboks did battle in The Rugby Championship at Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin at 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time).
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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The Southern Kings are looking “far and wide” for players to make them competitive when they debut in Super Rugby next year.
The latest reported players to apparently have signed for 2013 includes centre Andries Strauss from the Cheetahs and lock Steven Sykes from the Sharks.
Toyota Free State Coach Naka Drotske, continues to pull rabbits out of the hat. He has taken the bold step of dropping embattled flyhalf, Sias Ebersohn to the bench, and has put Tewis de Bruyn in the 10 jersey. Tewis is not unfamiliar in the position, and has performed admirably in the crucial flyhalf channel before. In last years Currie Cup match vs Griquas, in Kimberely, he delivered a match winning performance. This could just be the catalyst, to get the exciting Cheetahs backs going again. The Cheetahs have battled to be an attacking force, eversince Johan Goosen was injured, during the match vs the Highlanders, back in April.
In other changes, veteran Hendro Scholtz gets a start at 8, displacing Davon Raubenheimer, who drops to the bench. Francois Uys, replaces Andries Ferreira at 4. The Cheetahs have decided to have Ferreira’s knee operated on, and so he is out for the season.
The Springbok team that will face New Zealand in the fourth Test in The Rugby Championship in Dunedin on Saturday shows two changes from the side that played Australia last weekend.
Both changes are in the forwards, where lock Flip van der Merwe replaces the suspended Eben Etzebeth while Francois Louw comes in for Marcell Coetzee at flank.
Sharks centre Paul Jordaan has been ruled out of this week’s Currie Cup match against Western Province in Durban. Jordaan suffered concussion when the Sharks were beaten by the Griquas at the weekend. He also has a facial injury.
Western Province coach Allister Coetzee may have let Burton Francis go, but he will fight a little harder to keep the services of Demetri Catrakilis.
The disciplinary hearing into allegations of misconduct against the Lions’ suspended coach John Mitchell has been postponed until next week, Golden Lions Rugby Union (GLRU) president Kevin de Klerk said on Tuesday.
“It was postponed until next week after the chairperson of the hearing had taken ill,” De Klerk said.
The Springboks’ woes are set to continue for the remainder of the year due to the severity of their shortcomings.