The big beard Lions captain Joshua Strauss had grown while he waited for his girlfriend to relocate from Cape Town was forcefully removed by teammate Wikus van Heerden after Saturday’s Currie Cup Final victory against the Sharks.
All Blacks midfield back Sonny Bill Williams will play Super Rugby for the Chiefs in 2012 after he signed a one year extension to his contract with the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU).
A group of 23 Springbok Sevens players including four new players has been announced and will start soon with full preparations at their base in Stellenbosch for the upcoming Sevens World Series.
The Melbourne Rebels have named their 30 strong Super Rugby squad for the 2012 Super Rugby season which includes several new signings including James O’Connor and Kurtley Beale.
French No.8 Imanol Harinordoquy of Biarritz said that the French coach Marc Lièvremont was lost at the World Cup in New Zealand and that the players had taken over the running of the team, ignoring their coach.
Toulon are hoping to sign England veteran lock Simon Shaw as injury cover for South African Bakkies Botha in France’s Top 14.
Shane Williams has confirmed that he plans to end his international rugby career with Wales against Australia in Cardiff on December the 3rd.
Respected sport scientist and long standing friend of RuggaWorld, Dr. Ross Tucker, offers his views on the Rugby World Cup and specifically referees and how their performance is damaging the game’s credibility.
Article originally published on The Science of Sport website
Thanks Morne & RuggaWorld. Some of the responses will be brought over to appear under the comments. I found this article to be one of the very best I have ever read. Warning it is long, take your time and read the comments too.
Springboks 22 / Poverty Bay-East Coast Combined 0
The Springboks travelled by plane -for the first time on tour- from Wellington to Gisborne to play a combined Poverty Bay-East Coach team.
Gisborne was a lovely town (now a city) nestling amid the hills and woods which fringe Poverty Bay, where Captain Cook made his first landing in Aotearoa. Continue reading
Lions (19) 42 / Sharks (6) 16 (Final Score)
The MTN Golden Lions hosted The Sharks at Coca-Cola Park, Johannesburg at 17:30 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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The MTN Golden Lions are the Currie Cup champions for 2011.
The MTN Golden Lions was clearly more fired up, from the word go and already led by 19 / 6 at Halftime.
It was after halftime though that they really put foot on the pedal and eventually demolished The Sharks by 26 points, the final score being 42 / 16.
Well done and a hearty congratulations go out to the MTN Golden Lions and their supporters.
U/19 Lions (3) 20 / U/19 Blue Bulls (6) 19 (Final Score)
The MTN Golden Lions u/19 team hosts the Vodacom Blue Bulls u/19 team at Coca-Cola Park, Johannesburg at 12:30 SA Time.
This is the live match discussion Article.
The match is broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
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U/21 Blue Bulls (22) 46 / U/21 Sharks (10) 30 (Final Score)
The Vodacom Blue Bulls u/21 team do battle with The Sharks u/21 team at Coca-Cola Park, Johannesburg at 14:30 SA Time.
This is the live match discussion Article.
The match is broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
South Africa 222/6 (50 ov)
Australia 227/7 (47.3 ov)
Australia won by 3 wickets (with 15 balls remaining)
After some careful thought about the repercussions a team has to face, due to foul play by individuals in a team, who in most cases really aren’t dirty players and what it actually means for a team to play with 14 men for either 10 minutes and in some cases anything up to 80 minutes, it is clear in my opinion that it needs to be re-assessed.
Sharks coach John Plumtree has made one change to his team for the Currie Cup final on Saturday against the Lions at Coca-Cola Park.
Vodacom Blue Bulls and Vodacom Bulls player Stephan Dippenaar has been released by the Blue Bulls Company (Pty) Ltd to take up a contract with SA Rugby’s sevens team.
New Zealand’s Rugby World Cup winning coach Graham Henry has indicated that he would be interested in working with the RFU in England in the future.
As a neutral in this game, I have been wondering.
As the most capped Springbok ever, Victor Matfield is a national hero who transcends rugby provincialism and has fans across the world. His rugby exploits and achievements are numerous: he was an instrumental part of the team that won the 2007 Rugby World Cup, he helped win two Tri Nations tournaments for the Boks, he has lifted the Super 14 trophy three times with the Bulls and he has enjoyed Currie Cup glory.
The MTN Golden Lions have retained the same run on side that beat DHL Western Province last Saturday, to face the Sharks this coming Saturday.
When last was Coka-Cola Park SOLD OUT for a rugby match?
Well, I can’t remember that far back!
This Saturday however, the Stadium is SOLD OUT for the Currie Cup Final between the MTN Golden Lions and The Sharks.
The first Currie Cup Final was played in 1939 (before that the Currie Cup did not have a Final Game), at Newlands when Transvaal beat Western Province. The Sharks (a.k.a. Natal) are back in the Final for the second year in a row and will be playing the Golden Lions (a.k.a. Transvaal) for the fourth time in a Currie Cup Final.
Samoan captain Mahroni Schwalger has blamed his team’s World Cup failure on a lack of professionalism and a culture of alcohol abuse in the team management.
The South African Rugby Union has congratulated Springbok Sevens player Cecil Afrika on capturing the IRB Sevens Player of the Year Award for the 2010/11 season.
The experienced Bryce Lawrence will referee the Absa Currie Cup Final when he takes charge of the match between the MTN Golden Lions and The Sharks in Johannesburg on Saturday.
John Smit and Victor Matfield have been vital cogs in the engine room of the Springbok team for more than a decade; will their contributions in the Green and Gold jersey ever be matched?
Former Springbok flyhalf legend Naas Botha will join Hoërskool Waterkloof’s coaching staff for 2012.
New Zealand media have accused a French player of head-butting and eye gouging All Black captain Richie McCaw in the Rugby World Cup final.
Vodacom Bulls stalwart Jaco Pretorius has retired from rugby. The 32 year old outside centre has been battling a back injury all season and acting on medical advice, decided to call it a day.
Ian Jones made an interesting remark the other night on TV during pre-match run-up to the RWC final. The panel were debating Graham Henry’s tenure as All Black coach and what makes him so successful. Jake White over emphasized –for understandable reasons- the fact that NZRU stuck with Henry and gave him another change, which brought that experience of having been there and knowing what it’s all about into the team environment. Jake has a good point to which I’ll return a little later in my dialogue, but Ian Jones took a different angle.
Rugby World Cup winning coach Graham Henry and his assistant Steve Hansen have accepted invitations to coach the Barbarians against Australia at Twickenham on Saturday 26 November.
Despite a trophy cabinet which has remained empty for a full decade and after the Western Province pack’s reputation took another battering against the Golden Lions in the Currie Cup semi-final on Saturday, Western Province Rugby’s Senior Professional Coach Rassie Erasmus has already indicated he is not of the intention to buy a single forward player.
The New Zealand Rugby Union is already inviting applications for All Blacks coach, though Rugby World Cup-winning head coach Graham Henry remains tight-lipped about his future.
All Blacks manager Darren Shand says the French rugby team should not have been fined for confronting New Zealand’s Maori haka or ceremonial challenge in the tense moments before kick-off in Sunday’s Rugby World Cup final.
Modern rugby with all its complexities and the number of people involved with the game today can be compared to modern society in many ways.
Each year I dread the Rugby Off-season at the end of the year!
We are almost at the end of an arduous, yet much shorter rugby season here in the Southern Hemisphere for 2011.
We can still look forward to the Currie Cup Final, the finals of the two junior groups (Under 21 and Under 19), the Barbarians game on 26 November (if memory serves me well) and a Wallaby / Wales game around the same time.
In addition we have the scraps of the first IRB Sevens Tournament of the new season, in South Africa, to be held in Port Elizabeth in the beginning of December.
… but that is about it…