Australian Rugby
Nick Cummins is confident his team’s steely new attitude and willingness to work for each other will help them overcome a growing injury toll.
The Force can dare to dream of securing a maiden finals berth after Saturday night’s win over the Waratahs propelled them into fourth spot on the Super Rugby table.
However, their latest triumph came at a major cost, with scrumhalf Alby Mathewson (ankle) and wing Luke Morahan (hamstring) set to miss this weekend’s clash with the Melbourne Rebels at AAMI Park.
Force (13) 28 / 16 (9) Waratahs (Final Score)
The Western Force and Waratahs did battle in Super Rugby at
nib Stadium, Perth at 11:40 SA Time (17:40 Perth Time, 19:40 AEST, 09:40 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & SHD on TV in SA.
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Chiefs (19) 22 / 16 (6) Rebels (Final Score)
The Chiefs and Melbourne Rebels did battle in Super Rugby at
Waikato Stadium, Hamilton at 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 17:35 AEST, 07:35 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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Waratahs fullback Israel Folau has been ruled out of Saturday night’s match against the Force in Perth by the Australian Rugby Union, following further medical advice regarding his throat injury.
The decision was made by the Australian Rugby Union’s Chief Medical Officer Dr Warren McDonald, and was based on specialist medical advice.
Reds (10) 20 / 23 (20) Brumbies (Final Score)
The Reds and Brumbies did battle in Super Rugby at
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane at 11:40 SA Time (19:40 AEST, 09:40 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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It is Round 9 of Super Rugby 2014 this weekend! We have 6 games in Round 9, with 2 games on Friday and 4 games on Saturday.
The Blues, Hurricanes & DHL Stormers have bye weekends.
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.
Tom Staniforth will make his Super Rugby debut at lock when the Brumbies head to Brisbane to turn the tables on the Reds on Friday.
The 19-year-old Australian Under-20 representative has been knocking on the door of Super Rugby for the last 18 months, having trained with the main squad since leaving Canberra Grammar in 2012.
The Waratahs will unleash try-scoring machine Israel Folau against the Western Force in their Super Rugby clash in Perth on Saturday following the fullback’s return from a throat injury.
Waratahs coach Michael Cheika faces a judicial hearing over his alleged sideline confrontation with a television cameraman in Durban.
Super Rugby’s governing body, SANZAR, on Thursday announced it completed an investigation into the incident which occurred during the Waratahs’ Super Rugby clash with the Sharks at Kings Park on 29 March.
Reds coach Richard Graham has made two changes to his starting team to face the Brumbies in a Super Rugby clash on Friday, the Reds’ official website reports.
Chris Feauai-Sautia returns on the wing for his first start since injuring his hamstring in against the Lions in Johannesburg three weeks ago, replacing Jamie-Jerry Taulagi who moves to the reserves, while Anthony Fainga’a will start at inside centre in place of Mike Harris.
The Brumbies have been boosted by the return of hooker Stephen Moore and loosehead prop Scott Sio for their trip to Brisbane to play the Reds on Friday.
Hopes of the Brumbies handing the Reds their first back-to-back home defeats since 2009 will have been raised with the return of Wallaby internationals Moore and Sio.
The Reds have lost Wallabies wing Lachie Turner for five weeks due to ankle surgery in a blow ahead of their crunch Super Rugby match against the Brumbies.
Benn Robinson could finally relax.
The Waratahs and Wallabies prop had been on edge for weeks, carrying around a precious piece of Australian and South African rugby history believed lost for decades.
It had brought him to a hotel lobby in Cape Town, where David Malan was waiting to receive the missing Springboks jersey his father, Abie Malan, had worn to captain South Africa against the Wallabies 51 years earlier.
It was a disappointing weekend for South Africa’s Vodacom Super Rugby franchises, with the best result among the four teams that took to the field being a 43-43 draw by the Toyota Cheetahs.
The Vodacom Bulls faced the Hurricanes in Napier on Saturday in their first tour game with the hope of becoming the first domestic franchise to win in the Antipodes this season, but penalties conceded at crucial times allowed the hosts to come away with a 25-20 victory.
The Toyota Cheetahs, meanwhile, built up an encouraging 34-10 half-time lead against New Zealand conference leaders and defending champions, the Chiefs, in Bloemfontein, but they allowed the visitors to fight back strongly after the break and had to settle for a 43-43 draw.
At Ellis Park, the Lions produced a competitive first-half performance against the Crusaders to trail only 6-0 after 40 minutes, but the home side battled to shut out the seven time Vodacom Super Rugby champions in the second half, and went down 28-7.
In the last match of the weekend, the DHL Stormers’ woes continued in their first home game after their Australasian tour, as they suffered their fifth back-to-back defeat after going down 22-11 against the Waratahs in a physical encounter at DHL Newlands.
SANZAR has released the names of the match officials for Round 8 of Super Rugby 2014.
Rohan Hoffmann starts the action this weekend in Dunedin when the Highlanders take on the Vodacom Bulls.
This weekend sees 6 matches, with 2 games on Friday and 4 games on Saturday.
The Blues, Hurricanes and Stormers have BYE WEEKENDS.
Remember that Daylight Savings Time changes occured all over the Globe on Sunday, so the Time difference between South Africa and their Antipodian counterparts increase bu an hour.
The Waratahs have called utility back Ben Volavola into their squad as emergency injury cover after injuries to wingers Peter Betham and Alofa Alofa.
The Waratahs beat the Stormers 11-22 in Cape Town on Saturday but the victory came at a cost as Betham and Alofa were both injured in the battle.
Waratahs coach Michael Cheika believes that the Australian conference is more competitive this year because the teams have shown more hunger.
Cheika’s team earned a valuable four points on the road against the Stormers at Newlands on Saturday to make it three Australian teams in the top five with the Brumbies and Force also getting up for wins.
The Melbourne Rebels’ loss to the Highlanders in Dunedin continued their dismal record on foreign shores but coach Tony McGahan believes Australia’s Super Rugby strugglers can upset the double-defending champion Chiefs in Hamilton on Saturday.
Stormers (8) 11 / 22 (10) Waratahs (Final Score)
The DHL Stormers and Waratahs did battle in Super Rugby at
Newlands, Cape Town at 19:10 SA Time (17:10 GMT, 02:10 AEST).
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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Reds (17) 29 / 32 (17) Force (Final Score)
The Reds and Western Force did battle in Super Rugby at
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane at 10:40 SA Time (19:40 AEST, 17:40 AWST, 08:40 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & SHD on TV in SA.
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Brumbies (13) 26 / 9 (6) Blues (Final Score)
The Brumbies and Blues did battle in Super Rugby at
Canberra Stadium, Canberra at 10:40 SA Time (19:40 Canberra Time, 08:40 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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Highlanders (20) 33 / 30 (13) Rebels (Final Score)
The Highlanders and Melbourne Rebels did battle in Super Rugby at
Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin at 08:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 06:35 GMT, 17:35 AEST).
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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It is Round 8 of Super Rugby 2014 this weekend! We have 7 games in Round 8, with 2 games on Friday and 5 games on Saturday.
The Cell C Sharks have their 2nd 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.
The Waratahs have announced that Israel Folau will miss this weekend’s Super Rugby match against the Stormers in Cape Town on Saturday.
Folau suffered a throat knock two weeks ago when he was playing against the Rebels and missed last week’s loss to the Sharks.
Rebels head coach Tony McGahan has made four changes to his starting line-up for Friday’s match against the Highlanders at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin.
Following the club’s 32-24 victory over the Brumbies, Colby Fainga’a has failed to recover from a hip injury and will be replaced in the back row by Sean McMahon, while Tom Kingston continues to follow concussion protocols and will not be considered for selection this week.
Japanese international Male Sau replaces Kingston on the right wing, with Jordy Reid and Alex Rokobaro injected into the match day squad as reserves for the first time in 2014.
The Brumbies have made just one change to their starting side with Siliva Siliva given an opportunity in the No 2 jumper for Friday night’s clash with the Blues.
Stephen Moore will miss his first Brumbies game through injury since 2011 after the champion hooker was given a week to recover from a niggling knee concern.
Ben McCalman will return to the starting line-up when the Force takes on the Reds at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night.
McCalman, who returns from a two-week suspension incurred from his side’s 31-29 win over the Highlanders, has been named at the back of the Force scrum, while Angus Cottrell reverts back to the blindside flank in the only changes to the Force line-up.
Livewire Jamie-Jerry Taulagi will make his Super Rugby debut this weekend after being named on the wing for the Reds’ match against the Force.
Taulagi’s addition is one of two changes to the starting side that defeated the Stormers last weekend, with injuries to Dom Shipperley (hip flexor) and Lachie Turner (ankle) forcing a shuffle in the back three.
Taulagi will play on the wing, while Ben Lucas will earn his first start of the season at fullback.
SANZAR has released the names of the Match Officials for Round 8 of Super Rugby 2014.
Chris Pollock starts the action this weekend in Dunedin when the Highlanders host the Melbourne Rebels.
This weekend sees 7 games, with 2 on Friday and 5 on Saturday.
The Cell C Sharks have a BYE weekend again, their 2nd one.
SuperSport have lodged a complaint with SANZAR regarding an altercation between one of their camera operators and Waratahs coach, Michael Cheika.
According to reports that Cheika had been verbally aggressive with the camera operator during the ‘Tahs 32-10 loss to the Sharksat Kings Park on Saturday.
Rebels lock Hugh Pyle will leave the club at the end of the season to continue his rugby career in Europe, following an announcement to his teammates at training on Tuesday.
Despite consistent strong Super Rugby performances, the foundation Rebel lock has executed a clause in his contract to pursue his playing career abroad.
SANZAR has released and updated the official injury list of all the particpating Super Rugby franchises in 2014.
Updated 31 March:
Return dates are best estimates and subject to change.
The Cell C Sharks continued to stamp their authority in the Vodacom Super Rugby competition this weekend as they secured their fifth victory of the season, while the Vodacom Bulls allowed a fourth successive victory to slip through their fingers and the DHL Stormers stumbled in their final tour match.
A strong second-half showing by the Cell C Sharks combined with a flawless kicking performance by flyhalf Fred Zeilinga, who punished the Waratahs indiscipline, earned the team a 32-10 victory at Growthpoint Kings Park.
The victory allowed the team to remain in pole position on the combined log table.
The Vodacom Bulls, meanwhile, had their fourth consecutive victory in their sights until the last minute of their clash against defending champions, the Chiefs, at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, but a last-minute try by Chiefs captain Aaron Cruden and successful conversion by Gareth Anscombe forced them to settle for a disappointing 34-34 draw.
The team departs for their Australasian tour knowing that their defence, in particular, needs attention after allowing a 31-15 lead to slip against the Chiefs.
In Brisbane, the DHL Stormers were unsuccessful in their mission to complete their Australasian tour with a victory against the Reds as they went down 22-17 following defeats against the Crusaders, Chiefs and Brumbies.
SANZAR has handed out two one-week bans to players for foul play, while the Sharks’ Springbok centre Frans Steyn was given an off-field yellow card.
Jannie Lubbe, the SANZAR judicial officer, accepted a guilty plea from Waratahs midfielder Rob Horne for contravening Law 10.4 (e): Dangerous tackling.
Waratahs coach Michael Cheika may have spat the dummy about refereeing perceptions, but captain Dave Dennis admitted their own lack of discipline cost them.
The table-topping Sharks overcame a determined Waratahs side in a fiery and often spiteful encounter at Kings Park Stadium in Durban at the weekend.