Blues
Two-time defending Super Rugby champions, the Chiefs, hammered the Blues 43 / 19 (half-time 24 / 12) in a pre-season friendly in Rotorua on Friday.
According to reports, tries went to the home side’s Rhys Marshall, Liam Messam, Sam Cane, Nick Crosswell, James Lowe and Robbie Fruean, while Aaron Cruden converted five tries and added a penalty.
The Blues will be short on experience when they start their Super Rugby campaign later this month.
For the second week in succession high-profile Rugby League convert Benji Marshall failed to live up to the pre-match hype.
The spotlight shone brightly on Marshall in the build-up to the game, but it was the New Zealand-born Rugby League convert Alofa Alofa that lit up a Super Rugby trial between the Blues and Waratahs in Sydney on Friday.
Alofa even outshone illustrious teammate Israel Folau as the former Aucklander produced two evasive runs before deservedly nailing the game-sealing try as the Waratahs triumphed 33 / 12.
The Highlanders, Crusaders and Blues have named their squads for this weekend’s warm-up games in preparation for Super Rugby 2014.
The Highlanders have added Clarke Dermody to boost their prop stocks.
The Crusaders coach, Todd Blackadder, has named a new-look 30-=man squad to face the Highlanders on the weekend, including some players who have never played Super Rugby.
Sir John Kirwan has named his squad to face the Waratahs, once again Benji Marshall gets the nod at flyhalf.
Maori lock Hayden Triggs has been called into the Blues squad to replace the injured Culum Retallick.
KFC today announced its sponsorship of the five New Zealand Super Rugby teams in this year’s Investec Super Rugby competition, which kicks off on 15 February.
The headlines were all about Benji Marshall, but the real winners were the Hurricanes.
The Hurricanes spoiled Marshall’s party, his debut in Rugby Union after his conversion from Rugby League, as they came from behind to beat the Blues 38-35 in their pre-season outing in Masterton on Saturday.
The former Kiwi League captain, Marshall, played in the first half and some of the New Zealand media reports raved about his performance.
Star recruit Benji Marshall has been handed the No 10 jersey for the Blues’ opening pre-season match against the Hurricanes in Masterton on Saturday.
The 28-year-old Marshall will play the first 40 minutes at flyhalf, with head coach Sir John Kirwan confirming he had been impressed with the way in which the former Rugby League Wests Tiger player had taken to the playmaker role.
Hurricanes head coach Mark Hammett has named his 27-man team to face the Blues in Masterton this Saturday.
Ma’a Nonu admitted that the Blues fans may not embrace him after his highly publicised walk-out on the franchise in 2012.
The return to action of the veteran midfielder, who re-joined the Blues squad this week along with the rest of the All Blacks, will be delayed by an injury.
He may have a long way to go, but former Rugby League star Benji Marshall has set his sights on eventually playing for the All Blacks.
The talented new Blues recruit is set to take his first steps on that journey when the Auckland franchise face the Hurricanes in a pre-season friendly this weekend, but he has made it clear that the ultimate goal is to play Test rugby for New Zealand.
Blues coach Sir John Kirwan has revealed that his big name new signing Benji Marshall is likely to wear the No 10 jersey.
The excitement in Grant Doorey’s husky Australian voice was palpable, as the Blues assistant coach looked on while the backs ran through their attacking strike moves.
“I said the first time I had the backs group together that there wouldn’t be any backs coach in Super Rugby that was as excited as me in terms of the quality he had in his room so we’ve got real star quality across the park,” Doorey said.
Jackson Willison is the latest player to ink a lucrative contract with an overseas club, signing a two-year deal with Top 14 French outfit Grenoble.
Blues’ high-profile Rugby League recruit Benji Marshall will take time to convert to Rugby Union.
This is the view of New Zealand’s World Cup-winning former All Black coach Graham Henry, who is also assisting John Kirwan at the Blues.
The Blues have withdrawn Culum Retallick from their squad for the upcoming Super Rugby season.
The veteran lock was expected to miss the majority if not all of the season after rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.
Super Rugby teams will step up their preparations for the upcoming season and shake off some rust in pre-season friendlies in the coming weeks.
Preparing for the gruelling Super Rugby tournament, which gets underway on 15 February and culminates on 2 August, is not an exact science.
The Blues have been dealt a significant blow with the loss of experienced lock Culum Retallick for six months.
28-Year old Retallick ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee during a training drill on Tuesday.
The Blues’ Rugby League convert Benji Marshall is counting on the guidance of Graham Henry as he prepares for his first Super Rugby season.
The World Cup-winning All Blacks coach is now a technical adviser with the Blues, and Marshall said that he has been a valuable sounding board in pre-season.
Auckland based Super Rugby franchise the Blues have made two new key appointments to their management team ahead of the 2014 Super Rugby season.
Richard Fry has been appointed manager of rugby, while former Blues star Isa Nacewa will assume the role of mental skills coach.
The five New Zealand Super Rugby franchises have named their squads for the 2014 Super Rugby season including their Wider Training Groups.
New Zealand Rugby (NZR) and the Blues have confirmed that All Blacks midfielder Ma’a Nonu has signed with NZR and the Blues for 2014 and 2015.
One more Super Rugby door closed on All Blacks centre Ma’a Nonu on Friday when the Waikato Chiefs confirmed fullback Mils Muliaina and centre Robbie Fruean would be joining them for next year.
Nonu’s final chance of securing a Super Rugby contract in New Zealand now lies with the Auckland Blues after the Otago Highlanders, Canterbury Crusaders and Wellington Hurricanes all passed up the chance to sign him.
Local media reports this week said the Blues were talking to Nonu, although a decision is not expected until after the third Bledisloe Cup test against Australia in Dunedin on Saturday.
Rugby World Cup winning All Black prop Tony Woodcock has agreed to re-join his former Super Rugby team the Blues for the 2014 season.
South Africa will be kicking off the the 2014 Super Rugby season with 4 of their 5 teams playing in the first weekend.
The Toyota Cheetahs will be hosting MTN Lions on Saturday 15 February at 17:05 whilst The Sharks will host the Vodacom Bulls at 19:10. The Stormers find themselves with a bye in the first week.
World Cup-winning All Blacks blindside flank Jerome Kaino will return to the Blues next year after signing a two-year deal with the Auckland franchise.
The 48-Test All Black has been contracted to play with the Blues and be available for the All Blacks in 2014 and 2015.
Veteran All Black hooker Keven Mealamu has re-signed with the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) and the Blues.
34-year-old Mealamu has so far played 105 Tests for the All Blacks and is New Zealand’s most-capped Super Rugby player with more than 150 games.
All Black back Beauden Barrett revealed he has resisted overtures from the Blues and will stay with the Hurricanes for next year’s Super Rugby season.
Blues (13) 16 / 26 (13) Chiefs (Final Score)
The Blues and Chiefs did battle in Super Rugby at Eden Park, Auckland at 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 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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Cheetahs (19) 34 / 13 (10) Blues (Final Score)
The Toyota Cheetahs and Blues did battle in Super Rugby at Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein at 14:50 SA Time (12:50 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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It’s been a dramatic weekend in Super Rugby with a number of players being cited, banned, injured and more.
Where does one start…
Ma’a Nonu of the Highlanders has been banned for 3 weeks for a Red Card tackle on Crusaders Tom Marshall, and is therefore out of the rest of Super Rugby in 2013. Jarrad Hoeata also of the Highlanders received a 1-week ban following 3 Yellow Cards.
Stormers and Springbok loose forward, Siya Koilisi is out injured for 6 weeks with torn ankle ligaments. Louis Fouché of the Bulls has injured knee ligaments requiring surgery and will be out for 6 months. The Blues have received a double hit with Chris Noakes and Piri Weepu out injured.
At the Cheetahs, Coenie Oosthuizen and Elgar Watts were casualties from the disasterous Cheetahs game against the Stormers and the Cheetahs will be sweating this week on their readyness to face the Blues on the coming weekend.
Meanwhile it is reported that the Stormers heavy guns who missed out on the past weekend’s game, Jean de Villiers, Rynhardt Elstadt and PatCilliers will be ready and available on the weekend for the Stormers.
The Vodacom Bulls secured first place in the South African Conference and booked their place in the Vodacom Super Rugby Finals Series with an emphatic win over the Southern Kings at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday.
At the same time, The Sharks and the DHL Stormers kept alive their slim mathematical chances of reaching the playoffs when they beat the Blues and the Toyota Cheetahs respectively.
Sharks (17) 22 / 20 (5) Blues (Final Score)
The Sharks and Blues did battle in Super Rugby at Kings Park, Durban at 14:50 SA Time (12:50 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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Blues lock Ali Williams will make his 100th appearance for the Blues when they tackle the Sharks at Kings Park on Saturday.
The skipper is set to join an illustrious group of players featuring Keven Mealamu, John Afoa and Tony Woodcock who have played 100 games for the Blues.
All Black wing Rene Ranger confirmed he was quitting his international career and would head to France at the end of the year on a lucrative contract with Montpellier.