Internationals

Dan CarterNew Zealand’s star flyhalf Dan Carter will take an extended break from the game next year to ensure he is fit for the 2015 World Cup.

The 31-year-old, the highest points scorer in international rugby, is under contract with New Zealand until the end of 2015.

However, like All Black captain Richie McCaw – who sat out the first six months of this year – Carter has a clause allowing him to take a sabbatical.

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ArgentinaNSW RugbyPat McCutcheon will finally captain a New South Wales team when the NSW Barbarians take on the Pumas in the final leg of their two-match Argentina tour.

Having been named as captain in the Waratahs’ penultimate Super Rugby match against the Force in Perth in June, McCutcheon was forced to withdraw through injury.

With Dave Dennis among six players to have returned to Sydney for the Wallabies training camp, McCutcheon will wear the captain’s armband for the first time this weekend – when he leads out a new-look side against an international team that boasts a combined total of 437 caps in the starting XV, in the second and final match of the two-week tour.

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South AfricaSince the Springbok squad for the upcoming Rugby Championship was announced, featuring 10 players who will be applying their trade away from South African shores, speculation has been ongoing whether there has been a shift away from picking South African based players over internationally based South Africans for the Springboks.

This week there has been some mumblings by Jurie Roux, SARU CEO, and the inclusion of Japan-based Fourie du Preez has prompted the question whether Japan’s clubs and our National team setup has moved the goal posts as far as selection of Japanese players are concerned.

Opinion is widely devided on whether the Springboks should allow foreign-based players to be eligible for Springbok selection, with the one lot saying it’s the professional era and where you are based no longer matters, as long as you are the best in your position. The result is the conundrum of player availability well before a Test. At the moment clubs overseas are only obliged to release the players to be available on the Monday preceeding the Test, which allows for very little preparation time.

On the other hand there has been the stance that overseas-based players should not be picked for the Springboks, in order to firstly discourage players leaving the SA shores for lucrative deals elsewhere, having chosen to apply their trade elsewhere and thus voluntarily choosing not to be considered for the Springboks. I was a serious proponent of this stance, but I’ve had somewhat of a mind shift, I must admit.

Certainly for the upcoming Rugby Championship, it would have been foolhardy not to pick the Springboks who have recently decided to go overseas, after all there are 6 regular starting Springboks amongst those recent departees.

I now find myself in the middle somewhere, hoping players could stay in South Africa if they aspire to continue or start their Springbok careers, yet seeing the inevitability of the lure of the stronger currencies abroad.

The solution would have been simple…. institute a CENTRALLY CONTRACTED SYSTEM here in South Africa (very similar to the New Zealand system), where SARU takes charge of the contracts of the frontline Springbok players, but that remains a pipe dream and clearly is beyond the capabilities of the inept bunch at SARU. In stead we can rely on SARU to muck things up even more and I’m afraid but I would not want their grubby hands to touch Central Contrating under those circumstances.

Another solution could be to impliment a CLEAR OVERSEAS QUOTA SYSTEM in the selection policy, where SARU regulates to the players and national coach that only 2 or 3 overseas-based players may be included in a 30-man squad. This would have put the Springboks in a conundrum situation right now before the start of The Rugby Championship, but maybe with an eye on the End Of Year Tours and beyond, that system must be applied, unless it can be negotiated that overseas-based players are available earlier and for every Test of the year, no exceptions allowed.

Below some of the news and speculation in this regard, taken from what was available in the press.

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Coenie OosthuizenCoenie Oosthuizen has an ideal opportunity to cement a permanent place for himself in the Springbok squad heading towards the 2015 Rugby World Cup as coach Heyneke Meyer looks desperately for a back-up for Jannie du Plessis.

The Bok coach made his intentions quite clear this past week when he selected Oosthuizen as the back-up tighthead.

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South AfricaFourie du PreezGurthro SteenkampDuane VermeulenThe Springbok selectors have opted for continuity when they named a 30-man squad for the opening two rounds of The Castle Lager Rugby Championship later this month against Argentina.

Only three players who were not part of the Springbok squad which won the Castle Lager Incoming Series in June have been added to the squad.

They are experienced scrumhalf Fourie du Preez, who has been selected for the Springboks for the first time since the Rugby World Cup in 2011, Gurthrö Steenkamp (prop) and Duane Vermeulen (No 8), who last played for the Springboks in November 2012.

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Ben RyanEngland Sevens Head Coach Ben Ryan has announced that after than six years in charge of the national side he will stand down.

The 41 year-old will help ensure a smooth transition takes place during the build-up to the new Sevens World Series and the recruitment process to identify his successor will be under way shortly.

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MoneyThe Wallabies may have lost the series but Australia did very well financially out of the recent rugby tour by the British and Irish Lions, a tourism industry body said Friday.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the five-week tour generated an estimated Aus$150 million ($134 million) for the economy.

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New ZealandUncapped Hurricanes loose forward Brad Shields has been included in a 30-man All Black training squad who will gather in Auckland this week ahead of the Rugby Championship.

Blues utility back Francis Saili is the second uncapped player included in the squad by All Black coach Steve Hansen, who has as expected welcomed back captain Richie McCaw.

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SA RugbyThe South African Rugby Union (SARU) on Saturday announced the 28-man Coca-Cola SA Schools squad that will feature in an Under-18 International series in August.

The squad was chosen by a panel featuring national selectors Peter Jooste and Ian McIntosh, the SA Schools selectors led by convener Henkie Green, and SA under-20 coach Dawie Theron following the conclusion of the 50th Coca-Cola Craven Week in Polokwane.

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The Rugby ChampionshipSouth Africa’s Craig Joubert, who was in charge of the Rugby World Cup 2011 Final, will referee the first Test under the scrum engagement trial sequence when he takes charge of the Castle Lager Rugby Championship match between Australia and New Zealand in Sydney on 17 August.

The International Rugby Board on Wednesday announced the names of the 12 referees for The Castle Rugby Championship. These appointments were made by the IRB Match Official Selection Committee following a detailed review of recent performances during the June Tests.

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Robbie DeansEwen McKenzieAustralian rugby chiefs are to fire national coach Robbie Deans and replace him with the Reds’ Ewen McKenzie on Tuesday, reports said on Monday following the Wallabies’ series loss to the British and Irish Lions.

Deans will be sacked six months before his contract ends, as the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) seeks to rebuild after the national team’s 41-16 thrashing by the Lions in Saturday’s series-deciding third Test, the Sydney Morning Herald said.

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AustraliaBritish & Irish Lions 2013Wallabies (10) 16 / 41 (19) Lions (Final Score)

The Australian Wallabies and British & Irish Lions did battle in the British & Irish Lions series of 2013 at

ANZ Stadium, Sydney at 12:00 SA Time (20:00 AEST, 10:00 GMT, 11:00 BST).

This was the live match discussion Article.

The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & SHD on TV in SA.

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British & Irish Lions 2013British and Irish Lions tour manager Andy Irvine says that he still has hope that three key injured players will be available for the deciding Test against the Wallabies.

While Irvine is positive about the Lions hopes he admits that the loss of captain Sam Warburton is a “serious blow” to the team.

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