Internationals
Veteran Lock: Victor Matfield
Victor Matfield can remember the time when he turned the All Blacks lineout into a jellyfish.
The veteran Springboks lock believes those days are over, but says South Africa can beat the All Blacks at Westpac Stadium on Saturday night.
“There was a time when their lineout didn’t fire, and now I think it is almost the best [in the world] to go up against,” the 37-year-old said today.
“I think they probably analyse it more, see it as a facet of its own and put a lot of time into it.
“They contest very well and I think they spend a lot more time at the lineout than they did in those early years.”
The William Webb Ellis Trophy
Organised criminals with links to the arms and drugs trade were on Wednesday night plotting to hijack the Rugby World Cup ticket launch and hold countless ordinary fans to ransom on the secondary market.
Tournament organisers and senior police officers admitted the second biggest sporting event ever held in the UK would definitely be targeted by gangs of touts, who Britain’s leading anti-ticket fraud expert warned stood to make millions illegally from fleecing unsuspecting supporters.
Steve Hansen
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen doesn’t mind having a public pop at the Wallabies, but when it comes to one of world rugby’s enduring rivalries, and South African coach Heyneke Meyer, there is nothing but mutual respect.
“I myself have a huge amount of respect for their coach [Heyneke Meyer]. I think he’s a good man and a good coach,” Hansen said today, ahead of Saturday night’s test against South Africa in Wellington.
“Their captain Jean [de Villiers], having his 100th game [on Saturday] I’d like to congratulate him on that.”
Four months after being berated by coach Steve Hansen for his lack of fitness, the big Auckland loose forward will start a test against South Africa.
Luatua replaces the injured Liam Messam at blindside for Saturday’s Rugby Championship match at Westpac Stadium in one of three changes to the team that started against Argentina in Napier.
A fit-again Aaron Cruden returns as expected in place of Beauden Barrett at first five-eighth, while lock Jeremy Thrush comes in for Sam Whitelock, who is out with a rib injury.
South African captain Jean de Villiers enjoys Wellington’s sunshine during training at the Hutt Recreation Ground this week ahead of his 100th test, against the All Blacks, at Westpac Stadium on Saturday.
It’s when the discussion switches away from rugby that Jean de Villiers is most animated.
Make no mistake, South Africa’s captain is passionate about his code and about winning.
Growing up in Paarl he watched his father Andre play for Western Province and dreamed of following in his sprig-marks.
De Villiers has done that and more in a career that’s seen him win the World Cup, in 2007, beat the All Blacks eight times, score 25 test tries and clock up 99 caps for his country in the process.
And yet, it is a greater calling that seems to drive the 33-year-old midfielder on.
“Giving hope to a lot of people and kids in South Africa,” de Villiers said this week when asked what he hoped his legacy as a Springbok would be.
Springbok captain Jean de Villiers will on Saturday join four other South Africans when he leads the team out in his 100th Test, against New Zealand at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington (kick-off 09:35 SA Time).
The Springbok match-23 to face New Zealand shows only one change from last weekend, with Handré Pollard starting at flyhalf.
The 33-year-old De Villiers will become the 34th Test player to reach this milestone. With him on the field will be two of the four South African centurions – the most-capped Springbok of all time, Victor Matfield (114 caps) and Bryan Habana, who reached this special milestone last weekend against Australia in Perth.
Steven Luatua was the first choice for No 6 against South Africa, once Liam Messam was out of the picture.
Steven Luatua will start his first test of the year on Saturday against the Springboks in Wellington and the origins of his promotion can be found in not only Liam Messam’s injury, but also a searingly painful personal training session in Christchurch in June.
That was after Luatua had been told by the All Blacks’ coaches that he wasn’t fit enough, wasn’t offering enough for the Blues in the Super Rugby competition, and wouldn’t hold his place in the match-day 23 for the upcoming tests against England.
Israel Dagg makes a break against the Springboks at Forsyth Barr Stadium last season.
The All Blacks will face the Springboks for the 88th time in history and the first time this year in Wellington on Saturday. Here are six of the more notable clashes between the two fierce rivals since the year 2000.
Gavin Rich
Heyneke Meyer, as every Springbok coach has before him, will have his year’s work measured by how his side goes against the All Blacks.
That is just the way it is in South Africa and Meyer would have known that before he accepted the job. But if anyone thinks it’s a fair contest, and that he is pitting himself against his All Black adversary Steve Hansen on equal terms, they need to think again.
The expectations of South Africans do not match the rugby realities of the two countries. New Zealand’s centralised system, with Super Rugby coaches and players contracted to the NZRFU and everything geared towards making the All Blacks excellent, gives Hansen a leg up that Meyer doesn’t have.
Brendan Venter
Having suffered defeat to the Wallabies this past Saturday, even the most die-hard Springbok supporters must be wondering if their team can win in New Zealand for the first time in five years.
Since taking the reins in 2012, Steve Hansen has forged a well-organised unit that plays with pride and purpose.
However, what makes the All Blacks most difficult to beat is their ball-in-hand threat.
To offer an example, in the final play of the first stanza against Argentina in Napier, the home side won a tighthead. Subsequently Beauden Barrett took the ball to the line, used his quick feet and evasiveness to pierce the defence and fed the lightening-quick Liam Messam, who scored the try.
Argentina have dumped both their starting wingers as they aim for a maiden Rugby Championship victory on Saturday night against the Wallabies on the Gold Coast.
The Pumas have made three changes to the run-on side which fell 28-9 to the All Blacks last weekend, with suspended lock Tomas Lavanini replaced by the youthful Matias Alemanno in the only alteration to their powerful forward pack.
Handré Pollard
Saturday’s Rugby Championship Test between New Zealand and South Africa in Wellington could be a significant one in the career of Springbok flyhalf Handré Pollard.
The 20-year-old was on Wednesday included in the Bok starting team at the expense of the experienced Morné Steyn, who seemed to pay the price for his late kicking blunder against Australia in Perth last weekend.
Tony Johnson
The Rugby Championship is, many would argue, the pre-eminent event of its type outside the World Cup.
It may lack the history, and maybe even some of the ingrained tribalism of the Six Nations, but more often than not since 1996 it has featured the top three ranked teams in the world, and many of the best players on the planet.
It has produced some of the most thrilling, spectacular matches ever played, in front of some of the biggest crowds ever to watch the sport.
It is an elite showcase of the game, and it deserves better than what we saw at the weekend.
Bok coach Heyneke Meyer
South Africa have handed the controls to 20-year-old first five-eighth Handré Pollard as they look for an attacking spark to end their three-year drought against the All Blacks.
Pollard is the only change to the Springbok side that lost narrowly to Australia in Perth last week, but signals a major shift from coach Heyneke Meyer as he looks forward toward next year’s World Cup.
Significantly, Pollard, in what will be just his fourth test, pushes the more traditional South African veteran Morné Steyn out of the squad for what is South Africa’s biggest test of The Rugby Championship so far this year.
Jean de Villiers
Jean de Villiers sees the Springboks advancing years as an advantage ahead of his 100th test.
The evergreen midfielder will become just the fifth player to bring up 100 test caps for South Africa during Saturday’s Rugby Championship match against the All Blacks in Wellington.
Two of those players, John Smit and Percy Montgomery, have retired, but Bryan Habana and Victor Matfield will run out alongside de Villiers when he achieves his milestone at Westpac Stadium.
Bismarck du Plessis
Their Castle Rugby Championship 2014 hopes having taken a stinging blow with that controversial, late loss to Australia, South Africa need to find an A-game against formidable New Zealand in Wellington on Saturday … and to have the best chance they must employ every A-grade player they can muster.
Bismarck du Plessis is one such character, his pedigree hardly disputed anywhere in the rugby world, and with others like Fourie du Preez and Jaque Fourie currently unavailable in berths where the Springbok are battling, it makes little sense to muzzle this particular pit-bull to a presence among the substitutes again.
It has been widely acknowledged that the standard of refereeing in the Rugby Championship this past weekend was less than stellar. All lovers of the game, from fans through to coaches and players, are justifiably exasperated by such result-affecting calls by refs.
Sadly, this is not the first time and, probably, won’t be the last time the rugby world is incensed by sub-standard refereeing performances – unless something proactive is done to address what is a very real problem.
What is missing in all the blustery huffing and puffing though, are solutions or suggestions that the IRB (or World Rugby) can use to address the problem.
So here are my suggestions. My solutions. As just a passionate lover of the sport. See if you agree or disagree. Pick them apart. Point out their weaknesses. Tell me why they won’t work. No hard feelings. All I ask is that for every criticism, you offer an alternative solution.
Hopefully with all the traffic Rugby Talk.com is attracting these days, someone of influence will read all our comments and maybe… just maybe… do something positive with them.
I believe a three-part solution will sort out most of the issues but, like anything, there has to be the political will to address and sort out the problem instead of worrying about offending egos or apportioning blame.
Chester Williams
Former Springbok wing Chester Williams wants to get involved in transforming rugby in South Africa.
In an interview with the Cape Times, Williams said he supported the SA Rugby Union’s new Transformation Strategic Plan, which aims to bring all of South Africa’s representative rugby teams, along with domestic teams in line with national targets in five years.
SARU wants to make sure that by 2019 at least half the Springbok side consists of players of colour, with 60% of those required to be black African.
Jean De Villiers
Springbok captain Jean de Villiers cannot quite believe that he is about to play his 100th Test match, given he felt he might not even get a second after he destroyed ligaments in his knee, seven minutes into his debut.
The centre spent nine months recuperating after that Test against France in Marseille in November 2002, returned to play a game as the Springboks warmed up for the 2003 World Cup in Australia, then suffered a shoulder injury.
Tony Johnson
There’s work to be done yet, but the All Blacks are in the driver’s seat for the Rugby Championship after the events of Saturday night.
With the Springboks losing in Perth, a New Zealand win in Wellington this weekend will give the All Blacks the chance to wrap up the title in La Plata, ahead of their return clash with South Africa at Ellis Park.
The win in Napier should be put into context – they contained a powerful forward pack that had bossed the Springboks about in two tests and scored the requisite four tries in very tricky conditions. That’s a good night’s work.
South Africa have opted to look internally, rather than focus on and get distracted by external sideshows.
Speaking ahead of the Springboks Rugby Championship Round Four encounter with arch rivals New Zealand, in Wellington on Saturday, assistant coach Ricardo Loubscher said this week is all about themselves – as they look to bounce back from last week’s heartbreaking loss to Australia.
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen is comfortable fielding a potential second-string side in their historic rugby test in Samoa next July.
New Zealand Rugby today confirmed the All Blacks would play in Apia for the first time, in a Wednesday afternoon test on July 8.
That falls four days after the Super Rugby final in World Cup year and Hansen said it would be ”ridiculous” to expect any All Blacks who played the decider to back up in Apia.
Waratahs hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau will play his 50th Test after being named for the Wallabies to start against Argentina in his first match since the Super Rugby final.
Polota-Nau injured the medial ligament in his right knee in the Waratahs’ historic title win five weeks ago and has been gunning for a comeback ever since, joining the Wallabies 10 days ago to finish his rehabilitation in camp.
He made it through a contact session on the weekend, ran with the side at training on Monday before being named to start on Tuesday in his 50th Test appearance and his first Test since the Wallabies’ final triumph against France in June.
Spiro Zavos
When Rob Horne cut inside the Springboks covering defence and headed for the line to score the Wallabies’ last try I almost jumped out of my chair.
Then I started to rage that he had dived early rather than run round to create an easy conversion that would give the Test to the Wallabies 24-23.
Andrew Mehrtens
When there was so much positive to come from the two tests at the weekend and with the Wellington test holding all sorts of intrigue, I’m sorry to start this week’s column with a bleat.
But I can’t help myself.
Why, of all the major sports around the world, does our game have the worst standard of international refereeing? And by a long shot.
OK, I accept that rugby is a complicated game with a lot of rules, and a lot to watch. But where are the referees with a feel for the game?
Jerome Garces
France’s Jérôme Garcès will referee the All Blacks v Springboks Rugby Championship clash in Wellington on Saturday.
Following a weekend of highly debatable referee, assistant referee and TMO decisions, Heyneke Meyer will be hoping Saturday’s crucial clash is free of controversy.
The Springboks’ remaining Rugby Championship matches will be refereed by Wales’ Nigel Owens (v Australia at Newlands on 27 September) and by England’s Wayne Barnes (v New Zealand at Ellis Park on 4 October).
OLD RULES: Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele has attacked rugby’s antiquated revenue-sharing system.
Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele has attacked rugby’s antiquated governance and revenue-sharing system as the island powerhouse announced a major sponsorship aimed at taking them to a new level at next year’s World Cup.
Tuilaepa also doubles as chairman of the Samoan Rugby Union, traditionally a cash-strapped organisation with its top players at the mercy of rich clubs and rival countries.
Samoa revealed on Monday a new deal with Australian-based company Cromwell Property Group that should ensure a well-resourced squad for next year’s tournament in England.
The base sponsorship is “significant” but also includes major incentives – $250,000 for reaching the semifinals, $500,000 for making the final and $1m for winning the tournament.
Yes, Irish referee George Clancy made some howlers at the weekend, but the Springboks should really have no excuses for losing to Australia in Perth.
The Wallabies sneaked a 24-23 victory after at one stage trailing 23-14 in the second half.
The performance of Clancy was no doubt below par, but the decision-making and poor execution of skills of the Springboks should also be highlighted.
Here are FIVE key moments which cost the Springboks in their Rugby Championship Test against the Wallabies in Perth:
Tatafu Polota-Nau
Injury-plagued hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau is set for a shock Wallabies starting return to quell an improved Argentinian outfit closing in on a maiden Rugby Championship victory.
Polota-Nau, without a game for six weeks, will Tuesday be named as one of three changes to Australia’s line-up for Saturday night’s clash on the Gold Coast.
While coach Ewen McKenzie is poised to promote winger Peter Betham and back-rower Ben McCalman, to replace injured stalwarts Adam Ashley-Cooper and Wycliff Palu, he could have easily eased Polota-Nau back on the bench.
Jonathan Kaplan
Do I really need to confirm what everyone else already knows… This was not a good weekend for referees!
We are operating in a system where I have said that these type of weekends are not avoidable and until key elements of the system are exposed, and then adequately addressed, this will continue into the future.
The referees are not getting it right, and it is pointless saying after the fact, that things need to be looked at, when the writing was on the wall from the get go.
Greg Growden
The Wallabies have at last beaten someone perched above them in the world rankings.
It has taken awhile.
But if the Australian players and management seriously start believing they are back on track then it’s time for them to take some ‘truth pills’.
Their one-point win over the Springboks was deeply flawed, exposed many of their inherent weaknesses including a lack of discipline, and showed their fundamental skills are at best average.
The Wallabies can also no longer carry on about being a luckless team, as they received the benefit of a string of dreadful decisions from referee George Clancy, who should have his whistle confiscated after such a diabolical performance. The Springboks have every right to cry foul as they were victims of numerous Clancy blunders.
Springbok captain Jean de Villiers will play in his 100th test against the All Blacks this coming Saturday.
It is fast becoming the “100 hoodoo” … and it is a trend South Africa must fight grimly to snap when they take on the might of New Zealand in the Castle Rugby Championship on Saturday (Wellington, 09:35 SA time).
Three of four Springboks to have earned the milestone for caps – Percy Montgomery, John Smit and now Bryan Habana – have had the big day soured to a significant extent by ending it in Test defeat.
In the cases of the first-named two, the reverses came at the hands of the very All Blacks, so there’s a potential hat-trick of heartbreak in the offing at the “Cake Tin”, because Bok captain Jean de Villiers hits the landmark then as fifth recipient for the country.
ROSE KUPA: Expected a ‘harsher rap’.
The streaker who disrupted Napier’s first All Blacks test in almost two decades sparked security concerns and soured an otherwise “outstanding” event the city’s leaders hope to repeat.
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen labelled 25-year-old streaker Rose Kupa’s antics “a pain in the backside” after Saturday’s test match, while Israel Dagg laughed off the slap on the bum Kupa gave him as she dashed past.
Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer
The Springboks will need a monumental effort to down the All Blacks, but coach Heyneke Meyer believes South Africa can win for the first time in New Zealand in five years.
South Africa face to the world champions in Wellington next Saturday trailing by three points on the Rugby Championship standings after a last-gasp 24-23 loss to the Wallabies in Perth on Saturday.
It was the Springboks’ first defeat in this year’s four-nation tournament after winning back-to-back against Argentina, but they face their supreme test away to the All Blacks.
(Revised)
Will Genia and Joe Tomane will join the Wallabies but Henry Speight’s Test start will have to wait, as Australia begin preparations to face an improved Argentina on the Gold Coast this week.
It is understood Genia is some way off his Test return but will be brought into the training squad this week, along with Tomane and Rebels centre Tom English, after playing in the National Rugby Championship on Saturday.
But in a disappointing development over the weekend, Speight will remain in Canberra after pulling out of an expected NRC appearance with a sore hamstring.