New Zealand Rugby

Andy Ellis

Andy Ellis

Crusaders scrumhalf Andy Ellis has committed to the Crusaders for 2015, but will first play a season for the Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers rugby club in Japan.

Ellis said he was excited about the opportunity to play in a new environment and a new competition for a season but remained committed to his teams here in New Zealand.

“I love playing for Canterbury and the Crusaders and I would love the chance to represent New Zealand again if the opportunity ever came up.”

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Phil Burleigh

Phil Burleigh

Edinburgh’s backline resources for the new season were boosted with the signing of Highlanders utility back Phil Burleigh.

Burleigh signed a two-year deal with the Scottish outfit.

The 27-year-old playmaker came through the ranks with Bay of Plenty, before becoming a regular star in the Southern Hemisphere’s top flight Super Rugby competition.

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Super RugbyIt is Round 17 of Super Rugby 2014 this weekend, the first Round after the June Test break! We have 5 games in Round 17, with 2 game on Friday and 3 games on Saturday.

All 5 the South African sides sits out this weekend, still in the last week of their June Test window, however this at the same time makes up for the fact that the South African sides started a week earlier than the rest in February.

After this Round it will mean that the Antipodian teams will have caught up in played games with the South African counterparts.

As a result, the Logs and Combined Log will no longer be skewed and will reflect a much more accurate accont of the Super Rugby season thus far.

One has to question why individual countries are allowed to start such a long competition ahead of it’s rivals. In 2013 the Australian sides started a week early, but at least they had the excuse that they needed an extra week in the middle of the year to prepare for the British & Irish Lions series, which they lost.

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HurricanesThe two leading attacking teams of the 2014 Super Rugby season, the Hurricanes and Crusaders are facing off this weekend in what is expected to be a super-charged match at Westpac Stadium.

Statistics suggest a close encounter is on the cards, with both teams averaging 29 points per game. The Hurricanes have managed to score 407 points in 14 matches, while the Crusaders have generated 381 points in 13 fixtures.

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BluesSteven Luatua returns to the starting fifteen of the Blues for Saturday’s clash against the Force in Perth.

The 23-year-old blindside flanker has not featured in the run-on side since Round 10 against the Hurricanes after being squeezed out by the in-form Peter Saili, but head coach Sir John Kirwan said it was time to give Luatua an opportunity.

“He’s been away with the All Blacks and he’s come back full of energy and I think he needs an opportunity to push his way back into the side,” Kirwan said.

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Crusaders

Dan Carter

Dan Carter

Crusaders head coach Todd Blackadder has named his team to play the Hurricanes this weekend. The team will head to Wellington on Friday to prepare for the game at Westpac Stadium on Saturday night.

Eight players have returned from the All Blacks to make the team, including prop Wyatt Crockett who will pack down with Corey Flynn and Nepo Laulala in the front row. Owen Franks will provide front row cover alongside Joe Moody and Ben Funnell on the bench.

Locks Dom Bird and Sam Whitelock will pair up in the second row, and Matt Todd will wear the No 7 jersey with Richie McCaw ruled out with a broken rib. Jordan Taufua and Luke Whitelock join him in the loose forwards with Kieran Read and Jimmy Tupou named in the reserves.

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HighlandersHighlanders head coach Jamie Joseph has named his team to take on the reigning champions in Dunedin on Friday.

All three All Blacks, along with Patrick Osborne, who joined the All Black’s squad as injury cover, have returned to the starting line-up while both Brayden Mitchell and Tom Franklin have played their way into the team after stellar performances in Invercargill against the NZ Barbarians.

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Robbie Fruean

Robbie Fruean

ChiefsSuper Rugby resumes following the June Test window with the first of three straight New Zealand derby matches for the Chiefs, and they certainly know what’s at stake.

The first of these matches is against the Highlanders at Forsyth Barr Stadium on Friday night and head coach Dave Rennie knows his team cannot afford another slip.

“This is a massive game and we have prepared really well,” he said.

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Luke Braid

Luke Braid

Blues openside flanker Luke Braid will have shoulder surgery during Super Rugby’s off-season, which rules him out of Auckland’s ITM Cup campaign.

The 25-year-old has been superb for his team this season but has been feeling pain during his showings, leading to him making the decision.

“It had got to the point where it was hurting more frequently,” Braid said.

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Richie McCaw

Richie McCaw

The Crusaders have confirmed that an x-ray revealed that Richie McCaw has a broken rib.

It is believed the rib injury was sustained in the second All Blacks test against England and is likely to keep McCaw out of contention for the next 3-4 weeks; a bitter blow for the Cantabrians who are pushing for top spot on the Super Rugby table.

Crusaders head coach Todd Blackadder said that while McCaw’s presence will clearly be missed over the next few weeks, the team is fully focussed on the task at hand.

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The Rugby ChampionshipWhistleThe International Rugby Board has named the Match Officials for SANZAR’s The Rugby Championship in August and September. A new face amongst them is John Lacey of Ireland.

Lacey has become increasingly prominent this year and last Friday refereed the Test in Cordoba between Argentina and Scotland.

He is an e at -player – a wing or fullback for Munster and Ireland A. His debut for Munster was in 1995 against Transvaal. He played till 2007 when he retired and then became a referee. In 2008 he was refereeing club rugby in the Amlin Cup and the Magners League. In 2009 the IRB chose him as an international assistant referee. In 2010 he replaced injured Greg Gardner at the Junior World Championship where he refereed a semifinal. The next year he was on the international panel as a referee. Now he is going to Loftus Versfeld to referee a Test between the Springboks and the Pumas.

The last Championship matches are on 4 October 2014, the Bledisloe Cup match a fortnight later.

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Super RugbyWhistleSANZAR has released the names of the Match Officials for Round 17 of Super Rugby 2014.

Garratt Williamson starts the action in Dunedin when the Highlanders host local rivals the Chiefs.

This weekend sees 5 games, with 2 on Friday and 3 on Saturday.

All 5 the South African Franchises sit out this weekend, after they started a week early in February.

After completion of this Round, the Logs will be put in proper perspective, with Conferences on the same number of WEEKS in the 2014 competition.

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Crusaders

Kieran Read

Kieran Read

All Blacks coach Steve Hansen says that he expects the Crusaders to ease captain Kieran Read back into Super Rugby.

Read made his return to playing, after battling to recover from concussion, on Saturday for the All Blacks against England.

The IRB player of the year managed to play for 40-minutes and was then replaced by Liam Messam at halftime.

Hansen has now predicted that the No 8 will gradually increase his game time with the Crusaders in the coming weeks.

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Dan Carter

Dan Carter

Dan Carter has played barely 120 minutes of club rugby since embarking on his sabbatical last November, but he has declared himself available for selection against the Hurricanes.

It is unlikely that the super-star flyhalf will be thrown straight into the mix. If selected, Carter would probably start off the bench.

Colin Slade, who was a member of the All Blacks squad for the recent series against England, is tipped to start at flyhalf Wellington as the Crusaders look to consolidate their position at the head of the New Zealand conference.

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Robbie Fruean

Robbie Fruean

Robbie Fruean is set to return for the Chiefs’ must-win battle with the Highlanders after recovering from an astounding three heart surgeries.

The 25-year old has seen some action in the past few weeks playing local club rugby after fearing that he may never return to the sport at all.

“It’ll be awesome, the past couple of weeks I’ve been playing a bit of club rugby,” said the block-busting centre.

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Quentin MacDonald

Quentin MacDonald

Brad Weber

Brad Weber

The Chiefs have signed former Crusaders and Tasman hooker Quentin MacDonald as well as Waikato captain Brad Weber.

Tasman hooker Quentin MacDonald has returned to New Zealand after playing for Munster in Ireland. MacDonald will join the Chiefs for the 2015 Super Rugby Season after this years ITM Cup season.

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AustraliaNew ZealandThe Wallabies have set their sights on the all-conquering All Blacks and retrieving the Bledisloe Cup after sweeping their three-Test series against France this weekend.

The Australians had too much firepower for Les Bleus, winning 39-13 in Sydney on Saturday for their seventh consecutive Test win under coach Ewen McKenzie.

It has been 12 years since the Wallabies last held the Bledisloe Cup, the symbol of trans-Tasman supremacy, but McKenzie said there was every reason for Australia to believe that a slice of history could be within their reach against the world champions.

“There’s no mortgage on these sorts of things,” McKenzie told reporters on Sunday.

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New ZealandNew Zealand rugby writers have hailed the All Blacks record-equalling performance to trounce England in the third Test on Saturday, seeing it as a set-back for England’s World Cup hopes.

The “muscularity” of the All Blacks forwards was given as much credit as the flair of the backs who scored all five tries and ran England ragged, particularly in the first half.

“As good as it gets” said Fairfax Media, echoing the thoughts of All Blacks coach Steve Hansen, while the Herald on Sunday praised the “well-oiled All Black machine”.

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EnglandEngland came in for scathing criticism from their coaches after failing to measure up to the intensity of the All Blacks, who won the third Test in Hamilton 36-13 on Saturday.

“We started poor and it got worse,” assistant coach Andy Farrell said, referring to a Freddie Burns opening kick-off a that failed to go the required 10 metres, setting the All Blacks up for a first-half rout in which they led 29-6 at half-time.

In the first two Tests, the All Blacks had to come from behind in the second half to win, but in Hamilton they seized control from the start.

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New ZealandEnglandAll Blacks (29) 36 / 13 (6) England (Final Score)

The New Zealand All Blacks and England did battle in the 3rd Test of the June Internationals at

Waikato Stadium, Hamilton at 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 08:35 BST, 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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Geoff Parling

Geoff Parling

EnglandEngland were on Friday forced into a forward reshuffle on the eve of the third Test against the All Blacks in Hamilton with Joe Launchbury replacing injured lock Geoff Parling.

Launchbury will partner Courtney Lawes to re-establish England’s Six Nations middle-row pairing in what becomes the eighth change to the side that lost the second Test in Dunedin 28-27.

Parling has not fully recovered from a hamstring injury suffered in the Dunedin clash.

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Kieran Read

Kieran Read

Kieran Read will play in his first Test of the year, after finally overcoming the concussion issues that has sidelined him for months.

Read’s inclusion in the starting 15 is one of two changes to the team hat will play England in the third and final Test of the June series at Waikato Stadium, Hamilton, on Saturday.

The All Blacks made just the two changes, injecting Read and Malakai Fekitoa to the starting line up as they chase a clean sweep in the series.

Coach Steve Hansen said he’d decided not to try new combinations with the series already won, as he looks to develop his preferred run-on side – who were far from perfect in winning the first two Tests 20-15 and 28-27.

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Owen Farrell

Owen Farrell

England flyhalf Owen Farrell has been ruled out of the third Test against New Zealand on Saturday after straining the medial ligament in his left knee.

Farrell, who was a late arrival in New Zealand due to the English club final, played in the second test at Dunedin, won 28-27 by the All Blacks to clinch an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

The England team said he would remain with the squad until the end of their tour, which concludes following the third Test in Hamilton on Saturday.

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Aaron Cruden

Aaron Cruden

New Zealand rugby has secured a major commitment from one of its key players, with All Blacks and Chiefs flyhalf Aaron Cruden signing on for a further three years.

The 25-year-old Cruden, who played his 31st Test in the All Blacks victory over England on the weekend, has signed with New Zealand Rugby and the Chiefs through until 2017. He has also re-signed with his Manawatu Turbos provincial side for the same period.

Cruden said it was an easy decision for him to make.

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Danny Cipriani in action for England against the Crusaders

Danny Cipriani in action for England against the Crusaders

England outscored the Crusaders by six tries to one to cruise to a comfortable 38-7 victory in Christchurch on Tuesday.

It was their first win on their tour of New Zealand in their first-ever clash with the seven-time Super Rugby champions following narrow defeats in both Tests against the All Blacks so far.

The fluent performance against a Crusaders side boasting six All Blacks will certainly give England coach Stuart Lancaster some interesting food for thought ahead of the final Test in Hamilton this weekend.

Flyhalf Danny Cipriani staked a claim for inclusion in England’s side for the third Test with a brief but influential performance.

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Ed Slater

Ed Slater

EnglandEngland have named a team of fringe players to face the Crusaders on Tuesday, with coach Stuart Lancaster looking to ensure all his touring party receive game-time in New Zealand.

Debutant Ed Slater will captain a starting XV against the seven-time Super Rugby champions which features only one player, flank James Haskell, who has started a Test during the New Zealand tour.

While Lancaster insisted “we are treating this as like an additional Test”, the selection indicates he is aiming to develop depth in his squad for the 2015 Rugby World Cup while retaining his first-choice players for the final Test in Hamilton on Saturday.

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New ZealandThe All Blacks will get another crack at matching the record for consecutive Tier One Test victories when they face England in Hamilton this weekend.

The record of 17 victories has been reached by the All Blacks side of the late 1960’s and Nick Mallett’s Springbok team of the lates 1990’s, and Richie McCaw will have his third shot as captain at joining them on Saturday.

The Wallabies have twice ended an All Blacks winning streak on 16 victories in recent years, springing a surprise in Hong Kong back in 2010 and then earning a draw in Brisbane in 2012.

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Sonny Bill Williams

Sonny Bill Williams

Tana Umaga

Tana Umaga

Code-hopping star Sonny Bill Williams will reunite with his former Toulon coach Tana Umaga when he returns to New Zealand rugby next year from rugby league.

Williams, who has played for New Zealand at both rugby and league World Cups, has signed a two year deal to play for Counties Manukau, coached by Umaga, in New Zealand’s National Provincial Championships. He has previously signed to play Super Rugby for the Hamilton-based Chiefs.

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CrusadersThe Crusaders will host an historic mid-week match against England this Tuesday night at AMI Stadium (Addington). Head Coach Todd Blackadder has named his team to take on the touring side. Packing down in the front row will be Tim Perry, Corey Flynn and Nepo Laulala. Prop Joe Moody has been named in the reserves for his first game since he broke his leg in last year’s ITM Cup final. Another prop, Siate Tokolahi, has been called into the squad for this game and will also take a place on the bench.

Joel Everson is set to make his Crusaders debut at lock alongside Jimmy Tupou, and another player called into the squad could make his debut if he comes off the bench – lock Scott Barrett, younger brother of All Black first five Beauden Barrett. Flanker Matt Todd has been released by the All Blacks to join the team and will take a place in the reserves to provide cover for Whitelock brothers George and Luke and Jordan Taufua in the loose forwards.

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South AfricaNew ZealandSouth Africa U20 (10) 32 / 25 (15) New Zealand U 20 (Final Score)

The Junior Springboks and Baby Blacks did battle in the one semi-final of the 2014 Junior World Championship at

QBE Stadium, Albany, 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 on TV in SA.

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