France
For the Springboks this is the last weekend of competative rugby in 2013, bar of course the 9 Springboks who have been chosen to represent the Barbarians next weekend.
So, apart from some HSBC Sevens action and a weekend without the Springboks next weekend, the Southern Hemisphere season is fast approaching it’s end.
Just imagine all the Northern Hemisphere rugby and all the cricket we’ll have to get by on in December and Juanuary!
So, this weekend I’m stuck in front of the TVand watching every game I possibly can.
5 Tests will be broadcast live on TV in South Africa this weekend, 1 on Friday, 3 on Saturday and the last 1 on Sunday.
The 2013 year has been a good year for Springbok Rugby and the cherry on the cake could be placed on the season should the Springboks manage to beat France in their last Test of the year.
Heyneke Meyer is however frustrated about the amount of Cards as well as the amount of penalties his Bok charges have conceded in 2013 and is constantly striving to better Springbok dicipline as he goes along, something (dicipline) he values intensely.
Pieter de Villiers, the former France prop, who is a South African born and bred specimen and current scrumming guru of the Springboks is plotting and working towards Springbok domination in the scrums against his erstwhile team. Pieter knows the French systems and some of the French key players for the weekend well, the question is, can he strike benefit from that in favour of the Springboks.
South African-born loose forwards Antonie Claassen and Bernard le Roux won’t line up against their countrymen when France face the Springboks on Saturday.
World Cup-winning Springbok Danie Rossouw may be forced to retire as a result of the onset of arthritis.
The core of the Springbok team that has played in 2013 has been selected to start in the final match of the season, marking 100 years of Test rugby against France in Paris on Saturday evening.
Tendai Mtawarira, Bismarck du Plessis, Eben Etzebeth and Morné Steyn all return to the starting line-up after last weekend’s 28-0 win over Scotland in Edinburgh, for the last match of the Castle Lager Outgoing Tour.
Tevita Kuridrani, Australian outside centre was banned for 5 weeks for his tip-tackle on Peter O’Mahony on the weekend in the match between Ireland and the Wallabies.
Sona Taumalolo of Tonga was banned for 4 weeks and Yoann Maestri’s Red Card was deemed sufficient punishment for their involvement in striking each other in the match between France and Tonga on the weekend, which effectively means Yoann Maestri is free to resume play and to face the Springboks on the weekend.
South Africa defence coach Richie Gray – whose namesake plays in the Scotland second row – said the Springboks’ win on Sunday saw them destroy a “myth” about their breakdown play.
One more Test match remains for the South African Springboks of Heyneke Meyer on the End Of Year Tour, probably the biggest of the 3 Tests, against the unpredictable team of France. Nick Mallett was still Springboks coach when last the Springboks won IN France, against France.
On the injury front, Francois Louw looks likely to be good to go on the weekend, with the injury he suffered not so bad and recovery going well.
France is always difficult to curb when their backline gets going, so Jaque Fourie at outside centre is under pressure to play well, both on defence and attack, where he has not really impressed on tour so far since he has re-joined from his stint in Japan.
Heyneke Meyer’s biggest quandry is probably who to pick as his starting tighthead prop for the weekend. Will it be Coenie Oosthuizen who has been the bench tighthead option in the last 2 Test or will Lourens Adriaanse supercede Coenie because Lourens is a recognised tighthead?
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.
Following the game between Scotland and the South African Springboks, there has been some movements amongst the Springbok player corps.
Fourie du Preez is on his way back to Japan and won’t be available for the France game, in his place Jano Vermaak has been recalled to the Springbok side, from France itself, where he has been in great form.
Injured Frans Malherbe will be replaced by Frik Kirsten who has been called up by Heyneke Meyer.
Francois Louw, who left the field on a stretcher in the Scotland clash with an apparent neck injury looks to be OK for the coming weekend.
France have recalled prop Thomas Domingo and No 8 Louis Picamoles to their squad for this weekend’s Test against the Springboks.
Ireland (12) 15 / 32 (15) Wallabies (Final Score)
Ireland and the Australian Wallabies did battle in the End Of Year Tours at
Aviva Stadium, Dublin at 19:45 SA Time (17:45 GMT, 04:45 Sunday 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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Meanwhile, another International will is in progress at the same time, here is the score:
France (21) 38 / 18 (6) Tonga (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.
Philippe Saint Andre has made five changes to the France starting line-up for the test against Tonga in Le Harve on Saturday, the coach opting to overhaul a side that lost 26-19 to New Zealand last week.
Australian international wing Digby Ioane is still waiting for the medical staff of his Top 14 club Stade Francais to give him permission to start playing again, he said on Wednesday.
France’s Jérôme Garcès will referee the Scotland v Springboks Test at Murrayfield in Edinburgh on Sunday.
Kick-off is at 17:00.
France, or Les Misrables, as they should be called in 2013, is desperate for a win – with a 2013 season record of 9 Tests played, 1 win, 1 draw and 7 losses!
France next play Tonga and veterans Frederic Michalak and Fulgence Quedraogo have been called up to boots the French.
That said, France was the side in 2013 to give the world’s No 1 team, the New Zealand All Blacks, their toughest run yet in 2013!
France (9) 19 / 26 (9) All Blacks (Final Score)
France and the New Zealand All Blacks did battle in the End Of Year Tours at
Stade de France, Paris at 22:00 SA Time (21:00 France Time, 20:05 GMT, 09:00 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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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.
France manager Philippe Saint-Andre took a gamble on Thursday when he picked the inexperienced flyhalf Remi Tales in an untested halfback pairing with Morgan Parra to face world champions New Zealand on Saturday.
The most experienced team in All Blacks’ history will face France this weekend, after New Zealand coach Steve Hansen recalled his big guns for the Paris clash.
Hansen’s run-on team announced on Thursday has 853 caps, with a further 112 available on the bench for a combined record of 965, in a sign the world champions are not taking the mercurial French lightly.
Former New Zealand international wing Rene Ranger and South African centre Robert Ebersohn on Monday arrived to significantly bolster Top 14 highflyers Montpellier’s ranks.
France and Toulouse No 8 Louis Picamoles has been ruled out of a French training camp due to heavy bruising – but is relieved not to have suffered a recurrence of a hip injury.
A familiar question hangs in the air ahead of the start of this year’s November internationals – who can defeat New Zealand?
The world champions have been in especially scintillating form of late, winning all six of their matches in the southern hemisphere rugby championship.
In a media release,the RRW (Regional Rugby Wales), the 4 Welsh Regions have put their weight behind the break away by the Anglo-French Clubs from the current format of the ERC (European Rugby Cahampionship). The ERC currently run the Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup tournaments.
This now adds added impetus to the newly proposed Rugby Champions Cup competition, initiated by English and French Clubs after unhappiness with the format for qualification of the ERC competitions and the distribution of income in the competitions. The Celtic League, Irish, Scotish and Welsh clubs qualify easier than the English and French Clubs at present.
Clermont scrum-half Morgan Parra will miss France’s opening November test against world champions New Zealand after he was handed a four-week ban by the French League on Wednesday.
Parra was punished for having punched Bordeaux-Begles’s Gautier Gibouin several times during a Top 14 league match on September 29.
Whilst it is already old news that Craig Burden was planning a move to French giants, Toulon, it has now been confirmed that he has been signed by European champions Toulon as cover for the injured Sebastien Bruno.
The 28-year-old uncapped Springbok, who has played at the Sharks since 2006, could make his debut in the European Cup next weekend.
The IRB has cast its net further in making its appointment to the November Tests, mostly in Europe.
There are several of the tried and tested – Craig Joubert, Jaco Peyper, Nigel Owens, Steve Walsh, Alain Rolland, George Clancy, Jérôme Graces, Romain Poite, Wayne Barnes, for example. There are those finding their feet like Lourens van der Merwe, Glen Jackson, JP Doyle, Pascal Gauzère, Leighton Hodges, Greg Garner, Ian Davies, John Lacey and Francisco Pastrana. Then there are those who are just standing up and taking their first steps – Stuart Berry, Chris Assmus, Mike Fraser, Dudley Phillips, Federico Anselmi, Luke Pearce, Marius Mitrea, Joaquin Montes, Juan Sylvestre and Claudio Antonio.
Ali Williams says he enjoyed being on the same side as South African Bakkies Botha for a change, having locked horns with the giant former Springbok on numerous occasions for club and country.
English and French clubs on Sunday announced the formation of a new competition called the Rugby Champions Cup for the 2014 / 15 season.
Anglo-French clubs have threatened to pull out of the European Cup if organisers ERC failed to find a solution to their concerns over the current competition’s format.
Rugby World Cup winning South African forward Juan Smith has signed a one year deal with Top 14 Rugby club Toulon.
South African international flyhalf Morne Steyn revealed he would only start on the bench for Stade Francais in Friday’s Top 14 clash with Biarritz.
The 29-year-old – capped 47 times – only arrived from Argentina on Monday after helping the Springboks beat the Pumas 22-17 in a Four Nations Test.
The Springboks’ decision to continue with their overseas-based players had its first impact as the team arrived back in South Africa on Monday with no fewer than six members of the 26-man squad having to fly back to France to represent their clubs this weekend.
All Blacks (8) 24 / 9 (6) France (Final Score)
The New Zealand All Blacks and France did battle in the June Internationals at Yarrow Stadium, New Plymouth at 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 09:35 French 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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France coach Philippe Saint-Andre has replaced more than half the side that caved in against the All Blacks (0-30) last week, in a desperate attempt to avoid a series whitewash in the final Test in New Plymouth on Saturday.