Australian Rugby
The Brumbies injury list continues to grow with coach Stephen Larkham ruling out Wallaby prop Scott Sio and lock Leon Power for Saturdays match up with the Stormers.
South African rugby fans need not worry about securing match tickets for Springbok matches at Rugby World Cup 2015 in England following the establishment of SA Rugby Travel, it was announced on Tuesday.
The new company – a joint venture between the South African Rugby Union and Tourvest Destination Management – has secured thousands of tickets for likely Springbok matches and tailored packages to suit a wide range of fans’ pockets and experience choices.
Waratahs star Kurtley Beale admits he has extra motivation for the game against the Rebels on Friday – the team that got rid of him last year.
While Beale says his rematch against his old side does mean more to him than a regular Super Rugby match, he vowed not to get caught up in settling scores with the Rebels.
The 39-cap Wallaby says he’s moved on from being released by the Rebels, and expects his former teammates have done the same.
The Waratahs have made four changes to their starting forward pack for this Friday’s home clash against the Melbourne Rebels in Sydney.
Coach Michael Cheika has selected Sekope Kepu to start at loosehead prop. New South Wale’s biggest ever player, Will Skelton, returns at lock, pushing Jacques Potgieter to flank and Dave Dennis to No 8.
Benn Robinson slips back to the bench to allow Wallaby prop Kepu his first run on start of 2014.
Wallabies backrower Ben McCalman’s birthday celebrations were soured on Tuesday when he received a two-week ban for a dangerous tackle in the Super Rugby competition.
The inspirational Western Force No 8 was cited for a spear, or ‘tip’, tackle on Otago Highlanders prop Kame Hames in the 73rd minute of his team’s 31-29 victory in Dunedin on Saturday.
The Brumbies were left counting the cost of their impressive 28-23 win over the Waratahs in an all-Australian Super Rugby derby at the weekend.
Wing Henry Speight is facing six weeks on the sideline with a fractured jaw and lock Leon Power is also in doubt of being a long-term absenmtee after injuring his knee.
The Cell C Sharks stretched their winning streak in the Vodacom Super Rugby competition to four matches, while the Lions bounced back strongly from back-to-back defeats to overpower the Blues and force their way into fourth place on the combined log table.
South Africa’s touring teams, the DHL Stormers and Toyota Cheetahs, however, continued to struggle in Australasia as they suffered another round of defeats leaving them both winless on their tours so far.
A strong first half by the Cell C Sharks and a flawless kicking performance by flyhalf Pat Lambie and centre Frans Steyn set up the Durban-based side for their 35-20 victory against the Reds at Growthpoint Kings Park.
In Johannesburg the Lions started their match against the Blues with a bang and took advantage of the visitors’ ill-discipline to secure their 39-36 victory. The win nudged them back on track following defeats against the Cell C Sharks and Vodacom Bulls.
The Reds bemoaned a number of calls made by South African referee Lourens van der Merwe in their 20-35 loss to the Sharks at the weekend.
Despite an impressive second-half fight back at Kings Park, the reds left Durban empty handed.
Having finally secured back-to-back victories for the first time in nearly three years on Saturday, perennial Super Rugby cellar dwellers the Western Force have a mountain to climb if they are to make it three in a row.
Not only do the Force welcome the Waikato Chiefs to Perth next weekend but they are almost certain to take on the Super Rugby champions without their inspirational No 8 Ben McCalman.
McCalman was cited for a spear tackle on Otago Highlanders prop Kame Hames in the 72nd minute of the Force’s 31-29 victory in Dunedin on Saturday.
Sharks (25) 35 / 20 (6) Reds (Final Score)
The Cell C Sharks and Reds did battle in Super Rugby at
Growthpoint Kings Park, Durban at 17:05 SA Time (15:05 GMT, 01:05 Sunday 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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Brumbies (20) 28 / 23 (9) Waratahs (Final Score)
The Brumbies and Waratahs 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 on TV in SA.
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Highlanders (16) 29 / 31 (21) Force (Final Score)
The Highlanders and Western Force did battle in Super Rugby at
Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin at 08:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 06:35 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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Rebels (9) 19 / 25 (12) Crusaders (Final Score)
The Melbourne Rebels and Crusaders did battle in Super Rugby at
AAMI Park, Melbourne at 10:40 SA Time (19:40 Melbourne Time, 21:40 NZ 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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It is Round 5 of Super Rugby 2014 this weekend! We have 7 games in Round 5, with 2 games on Friday and 5 games on Saturday.
The Vodacom Bulls have a bye weekend.
In June / July 2014 the Antipion 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 Western Force, Melbourne Rebels and Reds have announced their Super Rugby teams for this weekend’s clashes.
The Western Force play the Highlanders in Dunedin.
The Melbourne Rebels play the Crusaders in Melbourne.
The Reds play the Cell C Sharks in Durban.
SANZAR has released the names of the officials for Round 5 of Super Rugby 2014. Craig Joubert starts the action this weekend in Hamilton when the Chiefs host the DHL Stormers.
This weekend has 7 games, with 2 games on Friday and 5 on Saturday.
The Vodacom Bulls have a bye weekend.
Waratahs coach Michael Cheika has made just one change to his starting lineup for Saturday’s showdown with the Brumbies, with skipper Dave Dennis returning to the side.
Dennis takes over from Stephen Hoiles on the side of the scrum after recovering from the knee injury that sidelined him from the win against the Reds two weeks ago.
The Vodacom Bulls delivered their best performance of the season as the Cell C Sharks kept their grip on the top of the Vodacom Super Rugby table.
The three-time champions from Pretoria scored four tries to one in their impressive victory over the Blues at Loftus Versfeld – their first try-scoring bonus-point of 2014 in a 38-22 win.
The Cell C Sharks’ score over the Lions was similar – 37-23 – and they also got a bonus-point for four tries which, as in the Vodacom Bulls’ case, was scored very late in the match.
The two South African teams currently touring Down Under both lost – the Toyota Cheetahs by 43-33 against the Reds in Brisbane, while the DHL Stormers put in a very spirited performance in Christchurch, but ultimately lost by 14-13 against the Crusaders – their 33rd successive home win over teams from the Republic.
Force (32) 32 / 7 (0) Rebels (Final Score)
The Western Force and Melbourne Rebels did battle in Super Rugby at
nib Stadium, Perth at 10:40 SA Time (16:40 Perth Time, 19:40 ACT Time, 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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Reds (29) 43 / 33 (20) Toyota Cheetahs (Final Score)
The Reds and Toyota Cheetahs did battle in Super Rugby at
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane at 10:40 SA Time (18:40 Brisbane Time, 08:40 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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Hurricanes (13) 21 / 29 (15) Brumbies (Final Score)
The Hurricanes and Brumbies did battle in Super Rugby at
Westpac Stadium, Wellington at 08:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 06:35 GMT, 17:35 AEDT).
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 4 of Super Rugby 2014 this weekend! We have 6 games in Round 4, with 2 games on Friday and 4 games on Saturday.
The Chiefs, Highlanders and Waratahs have bye weekends..
In June / July 2014 the Antipion 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 Western Force have named captain Matt Hodgson to become the first player to represent the franchis in 100 Super Rugby matches when they host the Rebels at the ‘Force Field’ (nib Stadium) on Saturday.
Hodgson started at openside flanker in the Force’s inaugural match against the Brumbies in 2006, and has played in 99 of the club’s 115 matches over the past nine seasons.
Rebels head coach Tony McGahan has made six changes to the team that beat the Cheetahs in their Super Rugby opener for this week’s clash against the Western Force at nib Stadium in Perth on Saturday.
Third-year Rebels second rower Cadeyrn Neville replaces Luke Jones and Max Lahiff is named for his first Melbourne Rebels start alongside Pat Leafa and Paul Alo-Emile in a new-look front row.
The Brumbies have named Leon Power at lock in the team to face the Hurricanes on Friday, as part of a forwards re-shuffle to account for the injury to David Pocock.
Power moves into the position Scott Fardy vacated – he moves from lock to blindside flank.
Wallabies flanker David Pocock will miss the rest of the Super Rugby after undergoing left knee surgery on Wednesday for the second time in a year.
Singapore has emerged as the favourite Asian region to be included in an expanded 18 team Super Rugby tournament from 2016.
SANZAR are looking at proposals to expand Super Rugby after the current broadcast deal expires at the end of 2015.
A sixth South African team the Southern Kings has been promised and SANZAR are looking at ways to include Argentina.
Read this and see if you understand it. This was copied by me, nothing changed, no spelling corections made, from the Official SA Rugby Referee website.
The incident we have today must be the most bizarre in the whole of the time the TMO has been implemented to help referees get to the right decision.
SANZAR has released the names of the match officials for Round 4 of Super Rugby 2014. Craig Joubert starts the action this weekend in Wellington with the Hurricanes vs Brumbies match.
This weekend has 6 matches, with 2 on Friday and 4 on Saturday.
The Chiefs, Highlanders and Waratahs have bye weekends.
Reds head coach Richard Graham has named his team to face the Cheetahs this Friday, with five changes to the side that lost to the Waratahs.
The match will see four players earn their first start of 2014 Super Rugby season.
The Waratahs bye came at exactly the right time for Israel Folau who rolled his ankle this past weekend, but will be available for the clash with the Brumbies next Saturday.
The prolific fullback who has scored five tries in the Waratahs’ two games so far this season is to be rested this week in training to give him the best possible chance to fully recover for their Australian conference match-up in Canberra on Saturday week.
The Reds have earmarked their encounter with a misfiring Cheetahs team as the game in which to bounce back.
The Reds suffered a disappointing 5 / 32 loss to the Waratahs in Sydney at the weekend, and are one from two after a 10-point win over the Brumbies the previous week.
The Vodacom Bulls and DHL Stormers returned to winning ways on a weekend of Vodacom Super Rugby where 6 from 7 home teams were victorious.
Ironically both the teams from Pretoria and Cape Town were outscored by 2 tries to 1 in their respective matches against the Lions and the Hurricanes, but won mainly because of pin-point goal-kicking accuracy.
On Friday evening the DHL Stormers snuck through by 19 / 18 against the Hurricanes at DHL Newlands, while the Vodacom Bulls beat the Lions by 25 / 17 in the first Gauteng-derby at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday afternoon.
It wasn’t a happy weekend for the Toyota Cheetahs though, as they lost their first tour match of the season by 35 / 14 to the Rebels in Melbourne.
The Cell C Sharks had a bye.
Force (0) 14 / 27 (24) Brumbies (Final Score)
The Western Force and Brumbies did battle in Super Rugby at
NIB Stadium, Perth at 13:00 SA Time (15:05 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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Waratahs (19) 32 / 5 (5) Reds (Final Score)
The Waratahs and Reds did battle in Super Rugby at
ANZ Stadium, Sydney at 10:40 SA Time (19:40 AEST, 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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