New Zealand Rugby
The Bulls were on top form this past weekend which was reflected in statistics obtained from Round 15 of Super Rugby action.
The Pretoria side turned in possibly their best performance of the season when they convincingly dismantled the Brumbies 44-23 at Loftus Versfeld.
The Bulls players subsequently featured at the top in some of the categories on the Vodacom Rugby Stats App.
Kieran Read
The Crusaders made just one change to their team to play the Western Force in the opening match of Super Rugby’s Round 16.
The Crusaders captain Kieran has been named to return from a six-week lay-off, after taking a head knock against the Chiefs.
Read will captain the side and play at No 8.
Super Rugby is regarded in the Southern Hemisphere as the elite stepping stone towards Test rugby, and while the penultimate year before a Rugby World Cup is rarely considered as an experimentally season, future development and injuries will likely dictate some new faces will appear.
We run the rule over the players who could be heading for the highest honour their national union can bestow upon them.
The All Blacks, Springboks and Wallabies will reveal their final June squads at the conclusion of Super Rugby Round 16.
Aaron Cruden
Kieran Read
Steve Hansen has put a timer on flyhalf Aaron Cruden and No.8 Kieran Read to get match fit if they are to be slected for the first Test against England after lenghthy lay-offs.
Read is no longer feeling the symptoms of concussion and is fit and ready to play in the Crusaders last game before the international break.
The burly No 8 looked back to his old self as he ran with the national squad and All Blacks coach Steve Hansen indicated his star forward was likely to make his much awaited return for the Crusaders this weekend.
Charlie Ngatai
Chiefs centre Charlie Ngatai has re-signed with the back-to-back champions for the next two years.
The former national age grade sprint champion has played 19 matches for the Chiefs, proving to be quick and versatile, with the ability to play anywhere in the backline.
Riki Flutey
Former British and Irish Lions and England back Riki Flutey hopes to make a comeback in Super Rugby next year, after signing a one year contract with the Wellington Lions.
Thirty-four-year-old Flutey has signed the one year contract with the Wellington Lions with the goal of securing a Hurricanes Super Rugby contract in 2015.
Flutey has spent the last two years playing in Japan after returning from England where he played for London Wasps and he now wants to play local rugby in new Zealand again.
The Cell C Sharks returned from their Australasian tour at the top of the Vodacom Super Rugby Log while the Vodacom Bulls and DHL Stormers continued their good home form this weekend.
The Durbanites beat the Blues for the 10th consecutive time, by 29-23, in Albany on Friday morning. They won 3 from 4 on tour Down Under, which is equal to their best tour ever in 2009, and bagged 13 Log points in Australasia, firming their grip of the top spot on the standings after 4 tough games abroad.
Later on Friday, the Vodacom Bulls were at their brutal best as they probably recorded their best win of the season when they dismantled the 2013 runners up, the Brumbies, by 44-23 at Loftus Versfeld. The score probably flattered the visitors as the side from Pretoria remained unbeaten at home this season.
On Saturday morning in Perth, the Lions fought very hard to win their final tour match, but ultimately came up short as they were beaten by 29-19 by the Force.
Round 15 came to an exciting end in Cape Town on Saturday evening when the DHL Stormers beat the Toyota Cheetahs by 33-0 in a rather one-sided match.
SANZAR has released the names of the Match Officials for Round 16 of Super Rugby 2014.
Mike Fraser starts the weekend’s action in Christchurch when the Crusaders host the Western Force.
This weekend sees 7 matches, with 2 games on Friday and 5 on Saturday.
The Toyota Cheetahs have a BYE weekend.
James Haskell has been included in the England squad, set to tour New Zealand, for the first time since the World Cup in 2011.
Haskell has had a checkered career which has included several foul-play bans as well as being expelled from school for a pornographic incident.
The big loose forward, who knows New Zealand well, had a stint with the Highlanders and was also a member of the England group that were involved in a series of controversial off-field events at the World Cup.
Jerome Kaino
Jerome Kaino always knew that coming back to New Zealand from Japan in an attempt to make the All Blacks again would be tough, not just because of the quality of fellow loose forward contenders.
The rise in intensity from Japan’s top flight to the southern hemisphere’s Super Rugby competition has also been an eye-opener.
“I wouldn’t say it has been easy,” the Auckland Blues forward said at All Blacks’ training in Wellington on Monday.
Dan Bowden
Dan Bowden is coming home after signing with New Zealand Rugby and the Blues for the 2015 and 2016 Super Rugby seasons.
28-year-old Bowden, a former Highlander and Crusader, has been playing rugby in England since 2010 and is relishing the opportunity of returning to Auckland where he grew up.
“I’m really excited to be returning home along with my four-month-old baby and wife. I had opportunities to stay in the UK but coming back to be around my family and playing for the Blues is something I’ve always wanted to do,” Bowden said.
The Chiefs’ two-year reign as Super Rugby champions is under threat after their 45-8 loss to the Hurricanes during the Round 15 clash, in which tournament standings underwent seismic transformation.
South Africa’s Sharks provided an element of stability by beating the Auckland-based Blues 29-23 to remain atop the championships ladder, five points clear of the New South Wales Waratahs.
The Chiefs and ACT Brumbies, who were beaten 44-23 by the Pretoria-based Bulls, not only gave up their places atop the New Zealand and Australian conferences but entirely dropped out of the top six.
It is a measure of the closeness of this season’s playoffs race that a single round can so thoroughly change the leading standings and a single defeat can impinge so heavily on any team’s title hopes.
Patrick Osborne’s disallowed try in the final moments of the Crusaders game could have gone either way according to Jamie Josephs.
The Highlanders coach, while not giving it away directly, clearly believes TMO Vinnie Munro’s decision to not allow the try that would give them the victory was wrong.
Hurricanes (21) 45 / 8 (8) Chiefs (Final Score)
The Hurricanes and Chiefs did battle in Super Rugby at
Westpac Stadium, Wellington 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 & CSN on TV in SA.
*******************
Highlanders (12) 30 / 32 (10) Crusaders (Final Score)
The Highlanders and Crusaders did battle in Super Rugby at
Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin at 07:35 SA Time (17:35 NZ Time, 05:35 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & CSN on TV in SA.
*******************
Blues (6) 23 / 29 (16) Sharks (Final Score)
The Blues and Cell C Sharks did battle in Super Rugby at
North Harbour Stadium, Albany 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 & M-Net on TV in SA.
*******************
A full and exciting weekend of Vodacom Super Rugby lies ahead with all five South African franchises in action on Friday and Saturday.
The weekend kicks off with the Cell C Sharks taking on the Blues in Albany, where the team from KwaZulu-Natal will be looking to improve their superb winning run – the best ever by any South African team against overseas opposition – at North Harbour Stadium.
On Friday evening, Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria will host a repeat of last year’s semi-final between the Vodacom Bulls – thus far unbeaten at home – and the Brumbies, who will be looking to avenge their defeat last weekend in Bloemfontein.
On Saturday morning, the Lions will be looking to turn back the clock to 2007 when their Australasian tour concludes with a tricky encounter against the Force in Perth, before the DHL Stormers will be looking to build on their recent home success when host the Toyota Cheetahs in the only derby of the weekend at DHL Newlands in Cape Town.
It is Round 15 of Super Rugby 2014 this weekend! We have 7 games in Round 15, with 3 game on Friday and 4 games on Saturday.
The Reds have a BYE weekend.
In June / July 2014 the Antipodian teams will catch up in played games with the South African counterparts, when the South African sides sit out for 1 Round.
The Combined Log will therefore be skewed for the majority of the competition and 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.
New Zealand Super Rugby Franchise Jerseys with child names
The jerseys of the five New Zealand Super Rugby teams will look slightly different this weekend.
All of the jerseys being worn by the five New Zealand-based Super Rugby squads have been customised for Round 15 with the name of a different child.
It was done as part of a charity initiative run by the BNZ in aid of Plunket – New Zealand’s largest provider of support services for the development, health and well-being of children under the age of 5.
Jonathan Kaplan
Top retired referee Jonathan Kaplan has called on referees to stamp out the illegal tactic of holding players back in rugby games.
Much of the attention these past few days has been focused on the red card given to Sharks flanker Jean Deysel and his three-week ban for making contact with the face of a Crusaders player out of frustration as his leg was being held.
But there has been little attention to the fact that the tactic of illegally tackling players away from the ruck, or holding onto them is the problem that often causes the frustration for players and causes them to lash out.
While not trying to justify Deysel’s actions, there is an increasing tendency for teams in Vodacom Super Rugby – particularly those from New Zealand – to use the tactic of holding players back, or use up the space in front of the ball, allowing the ball carrier to slip in behind. It does seem to be an Australasian tendency that is slowly increasing in Super Rugby this year.
Jack Lam
Hurricanes flanker Jack Lam will play his 50th match for the Wellington-based franchise when they host the Chiefs on Saturday.
Lam said clocking up a win in his 50th match would not only be an achievement for him, but the Hurricanes club as a whole.
Tim Nanai-Williams
Dynamic and versatile back, Tim Nanai-Williams, has re-committed to the Super Rugby champions, signing until at least the end of the 2015 season.
The 24-year-old has played 62 matches for the Chiefs and said that re-signing was an easy decision.
The lowest mark for a Super Rugby Finals Series qualifier over recent years has been 53, meaning that this season one can mathematically assume in 2014 at least 45 points gives a team a chance of playing knockout rugby.
Remember 8 less points are on offer in 2014 with nothing awarded for a bye.
The Melbourne Rebels are now out of calculations, for while a potentially brilliant perfect 25 from 25 points in their closing run covers the rudimentary maths, they would need to rely on a perfect maelstrom of losing chaos at the top of the table.
The Blues, although 1oth and in a precarious position on the Log, have 5 games left, but from hereon in it is crunch time for them. They almost need a flawless run from here and a loss to the Sharks, will certainly put them out of the running on the weekend.
For the Vodacom Bulls, it becomes doubly difficult now, they only have 4 games left, compared to 5 by most of the teams above them in the pecking order. One more loss, and you can write them off. They need a near perfect run in their 4 games, earning at least 17 Log points from 4 games, so that means at least one bonus point try win and the rest all wins.
Evaluation in reverse order:
Talented young scrumhalf Augustine Pulu has committed to the Chiefs for at least the next two years.
The 24-year old has played 31 matches for the Chiefs, including seven so far this season, scoring two tries and assisting another.
Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder said that his team need to take a hard look at themselves after losing at home to a 13-man Sharks side.
The Sharks were reduced to 14 players early in the game when flank Jean Deysel was shown a red card for stomping on Jordan Taufua and they were down to 13 when No.8 Willem Alberts was shown a late yellow card for taking a player out off the ball.
However, the Sharks somehow managed to hang on to record a gritty 30-25 victory – their first-ever in Christchurch – and Blackadder admitted that they have some serious thinking to do with the play-offs looming.
Saturday’s three Vodacom Super Rugby matches involving the Cell C Sharks, DHL Stormers and Toyota Cheetahs ended in a whitewash for the South African teams as they all recorded good victories.
The Cell C Sharks consolidated their spot at the top of the Vodacom Super Rugby log with a superb 30-25 victory over the in-form Crusaders in Christchurch – the first defeat for the team from Canterbury in New Zealand since 2001 against South African opposition and also the maiden victory for a team from the Republic in the Land of the Long White Cloud this season.
The Durbanites became the first South African team to ever in Christchurch since the franchise system was put in place in 1998.
It was only the second time a SA team managed to beat the Crusaders in Christchurch, when Northern Transvaal won there in 1996, and the third time out of 46 matches that the seven-time Vodacom Super Rugby champions lost at home to a team from the Republic – the Cats beat the Crusaders in Nelson in 2001.
The Crusaders also drew twice at home to teams from South Africa in the early years of Super 12, in 1996 against Western Province and in 1997 against the Sharks.
Later on Saturday afternoon, the DHL Stormers won their third successive home game of 2014 when they easily beat the high-flying Force by 24-8 in Cape Town, outscoring their visitors by three tries to one – ironically the same try count as in the Sharks/Crusaders match.
Saturday ended in ecstasy for the Toyota Cheetahs as they managed to beat the Brumbies for the first time since 2011 when they won this replay of their 2013 qualifier by 27-21, thanks mainly to a very good second half performance.
On Sunday morning, the Lions started very well against the Waratahs in Sydney, but the home team had too much left in the second half and eventually won this match by 41-13.
The Vodacom Bulls, currently second in the South African Conference behind the Cell C Sharks, had a bye this weekend.
The Chiefs have been given a big boost for this week’s Super Rugby match against the Hurricanes as Aaron Cruden has been cleared to make his return this week.
Cruden’s return will be a big boost for the Chiefs as well as the All Blacks who face England in a three Test series next month.
First-five Cruden has been training with the All Blacks in Christchurch but has not featured for the Chiefs since the beginning of April.
Jean Deysel of the Sharks received a red card for foul play during a Super Rugby match at the weekend.
He was cited following the game.
Deysel is alleged to have contravened Law 10.4 (b) Stamping or trampling. The incident occurred during the match between the Crusaders and Sharks at AMI Stadium, Addington in Christchurch on Saturday 17 May 2014. The referee for the match, Rohan Hoffman, issued a red card for the incident which occurred in the 16th minute.
Sharks captain Bismarck du Plessis praised the character of his team, after overcoming an early red card to beat the Crusaders on New Zealand soil for the first time.
Replacement Kyle Cooper scored a 75th-minute try to lift a Sharks team – reduced to 14 men for 63 minutes and to 13 during the second half – to a 30-25 win – the first win by South African team over the Crusaders in New Zealand since the Cats last did so in Nelson in 2001.
Cooper’s try forced the fifth and final lead change of the second half, clinching the Shark’s ninth win in 12 matches.
Flank Jean Deysel was shown a red card in the 17th minute for a vicious, off-the-ball stomp on the face of Crusaders back row forward Jordan Taufua – who, at the time was holding back the Sharks player, a tactic that went unpunished, despite continuously being employed by the Kiwi players throughout the match.
Jean Deysel stomping Jordan Taufua
Crusaders (13) 25 / 30 (1) Sharks (Final Score)
The Crusaders and Cell C Sharks did battle in Super Rugby at
AMI Stadium, Christchurch 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 & M-Net on TV in SA.
*******************
Hurricanes (13) 16 / 18 (9) Highlanders (Final Score)
The Hurricanes and Highlanders did battle in Super Rugby at
Westpac Stadium, Wellington 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 & CSN on TV in SA.
*******************
Three Australian sides and the most successful team of all time stand in the way of the four South African franchises in action in Vodacom Super Rugby, as a number of players celebrate personal milestones this weekend.
First up, in Christchurch, the Cell C Sharks will have their work cut out for them against the in-form Crusaders on Saturday morning in what will be a special occasion for the Durbanites’ two Springbok props, Tendai Mtawarira and Jannie du Plessis.
Later on Saturday, the DHL Stormers and the Toyota Cheetahs have home games against the Force and Brumbies respectively, and in Cape Town veteran flyhalf Peter Grant will lead his team out.
On Sunday morning, the Lions will aim for their first ever win over the Waratahs when they take on the team from New South Wales in Sydney in their third tour game.
Tendai “Beast” Mtawarira, who has been anchoring the Cell C Sharks’ scrum since for seven years, will be the first this weekend to reach 100 when the KwaZulu-Natalians take on the Crusaders in Christchurch. He made his debut in Durban on 9 February 2007, when he replaced John Smit late in the match against the Waratahs.
What makes Mtawarira’s 100th Vodacom Super Rugby cap special, is that he will “share” it with fellow Springbok prop Jannie du Plessis, who will play in his 100th Vodacom Super Rugby match for the Cell C Sharks.
Du Plessis though also played 26 times for the Toyota Cheetahs earlier in his career. This weekend he will become the second-most experienced Vodacom Super Rugby player from South Africa as he passes former team-mates John Smit and AJ Venter, who both played 125 times at this level.
Following hot on Mtawarira’s heels, DHL Stormers inside back Peter Grant will run out for his 100th Vodacom Super Rugby match at DHL Newlands when they host the Force on Saturday afternoon.
It is Round 14 of Super Rugby 2014 this weekend! We have 6 games in Round 14, with 1 game on Friday, 4 games on Saturday and 1 game on Sunday.
The Blues, Vodacom Bulls & Chiefs have BYE weekends.
In June / July 2014 the Antipodian teams will catch up in played games with the South African counterparts, when the South African sides sit out for 1 Round.
The Combined Log will therefore be skewed for the majority of the competition and 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.
With four teams in the bottom seven of 2014 Super Rugby, South African teams have had what is equating to be the worst Australasian collective touring record since the tournament begun.
The Republic has only two matches left on New Zealand soil to try and avoid what would be the first time in Super Rugby history that one of their franchises hasn’t beaten a Kiwi team in their own backyard during a regular season – while the win record on Australian soil stands at 1-7.
With only four matches remaining in total overseas for South African outfits, a host of contests in front of their daunting coliseums could see the ledger become more favourable.
One cannot doubt that the Australian Conference always serves up a surprise or two every season, a few years ago there was that electric championship season in Queensland, and lately the Brumbies have transformed into one of the leading outfits.
This year the centre of excitement is way out west, with the Force on the verge of a historic maiden final’s appearance, there is a stirring in Sydney while the Reds are revisiting days they thought they had left behind.