Fiji
Round 5 of the End Of Year Tours is the last Round of the tour and also signals the end of the Southern Hemisphere season as well as the welcome rest period for Southern Hemisphere teams.
This weekend does not see quite as much rugby, compared to to the previous 4 Rounds as it only has 2 matches, but it is going to be two great clashes. Any weekend with rugby is all in all still a good weekend.
Here are some head to head statistics and predictions.
Fiji coach Inoke Male faces a nightmare to ensure he can field a competitive team against the Barbarians at Twickenham on Saturday.
There are 6 Springboks in the starting 15 and a further 2 on the bench for the Barbarians’ clash with Fiji at Twickenham on Saturday. It would have been 7 Springbok starters as the initial side was named including Flip van der Merwe as No 4 lock, but he has been withdrawn from the squad after the Blue Bulls said NO under such short notice. Flip is directly replaced by Mick O’Driscoll of Ireland.
The season may have ended for International sides like the South African Springboks and the New Zealand All Blacks, but we still officially have one Test weekend left on the End Of Year Tours in 2013, and it is this weekend!
The Barbarians take on Fiji at Twickenham on Saturday afternoon at 16:30 SA Time (14:30 GMT), with a number of prominent Springboks and All Blacks in the Barbarians side and Wales host the Wallabies from Australia at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff at 19:00 SA Time (17:00 GMT).
But that’s not all folks, we have some quality Sevens Rugby on Friday and Saturday (HSBC Sevens World Series, Dubai Tournament) and we also have the Varsity Sevens on Friday, Saturday and Sunday… all broadcast live. In addition we have Aviva Pemiership Round 9 rugby betwwen Gloucester vs Leicester Tigers and French Top 14 Round 13 rugby between Perpignon vs Clermont Auvergne on Friday night and an Aviva Premiershpi Round 9 rugby match between Newcastle Falcons vs Harlequins on Sunday
Here are the broadcast times for Friday, Saturday and Sunday:
Springbok skipper Jean de Villiers will captain the Barbarians in Saturday’s clash against Fiji at Twickenham.
This weekend sees Round 4 of the 2013 End Of Year Tours. It is the last weekend on tour for the Springboks from South Africa, with their last game on tour probably the most difficult one. A a win over France will see the Springboks ending with what can be called a great season.
All in all a good weekend of rugby lies ahead and it will be enjoyed the world over, like always. Here are the head to head stats to help you with your SuperBru picks. Good luck to all sides.
England’s Wayne Barnes will referee the Boks’ final end of year Test against France in Paris on Saturday.
Barnes will be the Boks’ third northern hemisphere referee in as many matches on their tour after Ireland’s Alain Rolland took control of their 24-15 win over Wales in Cardiff, while France’s Jérôme Garcès was the man in the middle in their 28-0 victory over Scotland in Edinburgh last Sunday.
South Africa captain Jean de Villiers was one of nine Springboks included Tuesday in a 23-man Barbarians squad to play Fiji at Twickenham on November 30.
The squad contains eight members of the South Africa squad who have already beaten Wales and Scotland on their current tour of Europe, as well as legendary Springbok flanker Schalk Burger.
England (16) 22 / 30 (20) All Blacks (Final Score)
England and the New Zealand All Blacks did battle in the End Of Year Tours at
Twickenham, London at 16:30 SA Time (14:30 GMT, 03:30 Sunday NZ Time).
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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Meanwhile, other Internationals were in progress at the same time, here are the scores:
Italy (20) 37 / 24 (5) Fiji (Final Score)
Wales (23) 40 / 6 (3) Argentina (Final Score)
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Ting Ting… Round 3 of the End Of Year Tours and it is another weekend filled with lots of rugby. This weekend has a total of 11 clashes and some great ones to predict.
When the Southern teams go North, every match is hyped up as both hemispheres want to prove a point and claim global domination. The big games this weekend to look forward to is England vs New Zealand, Ireland vs Australia and finally Scotland vs South Africa. All in all a good weekend ahead for rugby and it should be enjoyed the world over.
Italy captain Sergio Parisse and Martin Castrogiovanni will make their 100th international appearances for Italy in Saturday’s match against Fiji.
Jacques Brunel has made eight changes from the side that was thumped 50-20 by Australia in Turin last weekend.
France’s Jérôme Garcès will referee the Scotland v Springboks Test at Murrayfield in Edinburgh on Sunday.
Kick-off is at 17:00.
In Round 2 of the End Of Year Tours of 2013 there will be a lot more games on the weekend, compared to Round 1, last week. This weekend almost gives the impression of a Mini World Cup, as virtually all the top teams in the world are somehow involved in rugby this weekend.
Some teams are playing their first games on tour whilst others started their tours last weekend already. This weekend will feature quite a few games that has been hyped up to be classic clashes on the yearly calendar. Wales vs the Springboks from South Africa and France vs the New Zealand All Blacks are the two clashes most talked and speculated about during the week. Here are some head to head stats to help you pick your winners.
New Zealand’s Super Rugby coaches are pushing for a team of Pacific island players to be included in the Southern Hemisphere competition when it expands in 2016.
The team, based in Auckland, would be part of an 18-team competition under a proposal from the head coaches of New Zealand’s five existing Super Rugby teams, the New Zealand Herald reported.
Steve Hansen will be taking charge of the Barbarian side that will face Fiji at Twickenham later this year.
Ireland (14) 46 / 3 (3) Fiji (Final Score)
Ireland Under 20 and Fiji Under 20 did battle in the IRB Junior World Championship at Stade de la Rabine, Vannes at 18:45 SA Time.
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 6 & SHD on TV in SA.
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New Fiji Rugby Union chairman Filimone Waqabaca said he is determined to clean up the organisation’s finances after it posted a FJ$600,000 (US$325,000) loss last year.
The European climax of the HSBC Sevens World Series kicked off in Scotland with Round Eight this weekend, the Glasgow Sevens at Scotstoun Stadium. The Tournament ran from Saturday 4 to Sunday 5 May.
With ONE more game to go, who will take the CUP, South Africa or New Zealand?
Well, that question was answered in Green and Gold… Blitzbokke take the Glasgow title, with a win by 28 / 21.
Fiji successfully defended its Hong Kong Sevens rugby title by coming from 19-0 down at halftime to beat Wales 26-19 in the final on Sunday.
Any expansion of Super Rugby in the near future is likely to leave the Pacific Islands out in the cold in favour of the United States or Canada.
SANZAR chief executive Greg Peters stated earlier this month that they are looking at United States and Canada after they were included in the Pacific Nations Cup.
Ireland (29) 53 / 0 (0) Fiji (Final Score)
Ireland and Fiji did battle in the End Of Year Tours at Thomond Park, Limerick at 19:30 SA Time (17:30 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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Seems that the planners of the End Of Year Tours all colluded to make it as difficult as possible for us to see all the games. This afternoon no less than 3 important Tests takes place at the same time, being Italy vs All Blacks (16:00 SA Time), England vs Wallabies (16:30 SA Time) and Scotland vs Springboks (16:30 SA Time). The other matches following are the Ireland vs Fiji (19:30 SA Time) and France vs Pumas (22:00 SA Time) matches.
The customary time of the year when Southern Hemisphere International teams descend on the Northern Hemisphere is now upon us. We can look forward to four action packed weekends with twenty matches involving the various international teams (nineteen of which will be test matches).
The scores from the various matches will be updated here as a live thread. All the games are live on SS1 and SS5
The IRB Pacific Nations Cup 2012 gets underway on Tuesday, June 5 at Nagoya’s Mizuho Park Rugby Ground, one of three venues for this year’s tournament.
Samoa play Tonga in the opening game of the double-header match day, followed by hosts Japan who start their title defence against Fiji.
The England tour of South Africa has already been given a considerable amount of ‘air time’ on this site, and no doubt will continue to feature heavily in the coverage over the coming weeks. This article provides some information on the tours down south of Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Wales (3) 44 / (12) 18 Fiji (Final Score)
Wales and Fiji did battle in th IRB Junior World Championships at Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch at 14:45 SA Time.
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 on TV in SA.
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