New Zealand Rugby
The Chiefs have made eight changes to the team that lost to the Force in Perth for this weekend’s Super Rugby match against the Bulls Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria.
The Chiefs are attempting to win their third straight title – a threepeat – and suffered their first loss of the season last week.
Highlanders head coach Jamie Joseph has named his team to play the Blues at Eden Park in Auckland on Saturday with minimal changes to the one that beat the Hurricanes.
Blues and former All Black halfback Piri Weepu has suffered a minor stroke and is being given some time away from the game to get his health right.
Weepu has been suffering from sustained and intense headaches ever since the Blues left for South Africa at the start of March, and finally undertook scans on Monday to determine what was causing the problem.
Initial thoughts had been the problem was migraine related, but the Blues today confirmed Weepu had suffered a minor stroke and that he would not play in Saturday’s Super Rugby clash against the Highlanders at Eden Park.
The Hurricanes have named midfielder Tim Bateman in their Super Rugby team to play the Crusaders in Christchurch at the AMI Stadium on Friday.
Bateman makes his return to the starting team to partner Conrad Smith after being side-lined with a knee injury for six weeks.
All Black superstar Kieran Read, one of the best players in the world, will feature in his 100 game for the Crusaders when he leads the team out against the Hurricanes on Friday.
The Round Seven Super Rugby fixture will be a momentous occasion for the man rated the best No 8 in the world.
Blues coach Sir John Kirwan believes he has the solution to rugby’s scrum problems and wants changes to be made immediately.
The 63-cap former All Blacks wing wants changes to occur to the scrum law in the middle of the season, in order to solve the issues and thinks that the IRB and SANZAR should work together to ensure the decisions are made.
New Zealand rugby’s financial position improved in 2013 with the national body’s war chest of cash reserves swelling to $63.7 million, while all 14 top-tier provinces returned to surplus after years of turmoil.
The NZRU posted a NZ$2.9 million ($2.48 million) profit in 2013, down slightly from NZ$3.2m a year earlier but on the back of increased disbursements to the country’s provinces and a boost in the contribution to the players’ collective agreement.
Profit had been forecast at only $790 000, the NZRU said.
The Lions and Vodacom Bulls flew the South African flag in Vodacom Super Rugby this weekend when they scored come-from-behind home victories on Saturday.
The side from Johannesburg scored two late tries to deny the Reds by 23-20 after they were still behind by 20-3 shortly before the break at Ellis Park.
In the process, Lions flyhalf and kicking ace Marnitz Boshoff became the first player this season to reach 100 points when he kicked his second penalty goal in the 40th minute of the match.
In the final match of the weekend, the Cell C Sharks lost their first encounter of 2014 when they went down 23-19 to a determined Vodacom Bulls side at Loftus Versfeld.
The South African-based three-time past champions against defending title holders from New Zealand who are on the hunt for a hat-trick in 2014.
That is the appealing clash awaiting the Loftus faithful next Saturday (15:00), when the thoroughly resurgent Bulls – three from three at their home ground this season – entertain the Chiefs.
SANZAR wishes to advise two referee appointment changes for the forthcoming round of Super Rugby.
Nick Briant will officiate Crusaders v Hurricanes on Friday night while Steve Walsh will oversee the Blues v Highlanders clash in Auckland on Saturday night.
The Cheetahs are demanding an explanation from referees boss Lyndon Bray after two controversial decisions in their 40-30 Super 15 loss to the Blues on Saturday.
The Cheetahs’ outrage comes after Bray, the SANZAR referees co-ordinator warned officials they had to be accountable and faced being dropped for making blunders.
Western Force coach Michael Foley said that it is key that his side capitalise on the momentum created by their three consecutive victories.
The Perth side saw off the challenge of defending champions the Chiefs on Saturday, keeping the Hamilton outfit tryless on Australian soil for the first time since 2011.
Force (8) 18 / 15 (9) Chiefs (Final Score)
The Western Force and Chiefs did battle in Super Rugby at
nib Stadium, Perth at 13:00 SA Time (19:00 Perth Time, 11:00 GMT, 00:00 NZ Time).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & SHD on TV in SA.
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Blues (30) 40 / 30 (16) Cheetahs (Final Score)
The Blues and Toyota Cheetahs did battle in Super Rugby at
Eden Park, Auckland at 08:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 06:35 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
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Highlanders (9) 35 / 31 (9) Hurricanes (Final Score)
The Highlanders and Hurricanes did battle in Super Rugby at
Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin at 08:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 06:35 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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It is Round 6 of Super Rugby 2014 this weekend! We have 7 games in Round 5, with 2 games on Friday and 5 games on Saturday.
The Crusaders 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.
We have two incidents from Super Rugby in the last two weeks which are worth looking at, both incidents which caused debate and argument and even acrimony.
We are dealing with decisions by top referees in top matches when speed is an essential ingredient, including the speed match officials need to process the information, even when they have help from the replays provided by the TMO.
There is never a rest from debate and argument when it comes to rugby football, certainly not in the application of the most complex set of laws of any sport – a contact sport played by 30 vigorous young men in physical contact in a confined space.
New Zealand rugby chiefs on Thursday admitted two prominent All Blacks abused prescription sleeping pills during the 2011 Rugby World Cup, but denied the practice was commonplace among professional players.
New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) chief executive Steve Tew said Cory Jane and Israel Dagg “let themselves down” when they took pills on a night out in Auckland just before the All Blacks’ quarter-final against Argentina.
The Chiefs have announced their team to play the Western Force in Perth on Saturday.
It will be the the first match of their overseas Super Rugby tour, with game against the Bulls and Cheetahs to follow.
The Springboks’ second match in the Castle Lager Rugby Championship against Argentina has been moved to Salta in the north of the country.
The final venues and kick-off times for this four-team Southern Hemisphere competition were confirmed by SANZAR on Thursday.
Blues coach John Kirwan has dropped flyhalf Chris Noakes and brought back the impressive Simon Hickey for Saturday’s Vodacom Super Rugby match against the Toyota Cheetahs on Saturday.
Hickey is one of two changes to the Blues for the game, the other being Charles Piutau moving from left wing to fullback, meaning league convert Benji Marshall will drop to the bench.
SANZAR has released the names of the match officials for Round 6 of Super Rugby 2014.
Nick Briant takes care of the 1st match in Dunedin where the Highlanders host the Hurricanes.
7 Matches are played this weekend, 2 on Friday and 5 on Saturday.
The Crusaders have their bye weekend.
The return of uncompromising All Black lock Brad Thorn has boosted the Highlanders ahead of their Super Rugby clash with the Hurricanes in Dunedin.
Thorn is back from a rib injury to start at lock in place of fellow All Black Jarrad Hoeata.
South African franchises won two of the four matches they were involved in in round-five of the Super Rugby competition over the past weekend.
Cheetahs fullback Willie le Roux and Lions flyhalf Marnitz Boshoff continue to make major contributions for their respective teams, as is evident from statistics taken from the Vodacom Rugby Stats App.
After Round 5 of the Super Rugby season, the Stormers find themselves at the bottom of the try-scoring standings.
Having played 4 matches to date, the Stormers have scored a total of 5 tries – at an average of 1.25 per match.
South African rugby fans need not worry about securing match tickets for Springbok matches at Rugby World Cup 2015 in England following the establishment of SA Rugby Travel, it was announced on Tuesday.
The new company – a joint venture between the South African Rugby Union and Tourvest Destination Management – has secured thousands of tickets for likely Springbok matches and tailored packages to suit a wide range of fans’ pockets and experience choices.
Former All Blacks captain Frank Oliver has died at the age of 65, his old provincial club Manawatu said on Tuesday, describing him as “a truly great rugby man”.
Oliver played for the All Blacks 43 times from 1976-81, including 17 Tests, captaining the New Zealanders to a series win over Australia in 1978. His son Anton Oliver was also an All Blacks captain.
Chiefs centre Robbie Fruean will undergo a third heart procedure and be sidelined from Super Rugby for up to eight weeks.
The 25-year-old, who has come close to All Blacks selection in recent seasons, underwent open heart surgery in 2009 after a bout of rheumatic fever caused pancarditis, or inflammation of the heart.
The Blues are expect to welcome back a couple of All Blacks for their return home, when they face the Cheetahs in a Super Rugby Round Six match on Saturday.
Midfielder Ma’a Nonu is expected to be available, while loose forward Jerome Kaino is also due to be ready.
The Cell C Sharks stretched their winning streak in the Vodacom Super Rugby competition to four matches, while the Lions bounced back strongly from back-to-back defeats to overpower the Blues and force their way into fourth place on the combined log table.
South Africa’s touring teams, the DHL Stormers and Toyota Cheetahs, however, continued to struggle in Australasia as they suffered another round of defeats leaving them both winless on their tours so far.
A strong first half by the Cell C Sharks and a flawless kicking performance by flyhalf Pat Lambie and centre Frans Steyn set up the Durban-based side for their 35-20 victory against the Reds at Growthpoint Kings Park.
In Johannesburg the Lions started their match against the Blues with a bang and took advantage of the visitors’ ill-discipline to secure their 39-36 victory. The win nudged them back on track following defeats against the Cell C Sharks and Vodacom Bulls.
Blues coach John Kirwan is going to ask SANZAR for ‘clarity’ on a controversial TMO decision made in his team’s 36-39 loss to the Lions in Johannesburg at the weekend.
While Kirwan conceded the Lions were “deserved winners”, he still felt the need to raise the issue of the TMO decision.
Wellington Hurricanes coach Mark Hammett was delighted to be talking about rugby rather than his own precarious position after his team broke an eight-match Super Rugby losing streak with a victory over South Africa’s Cheetahs.
Three straight defeats to start the season, including a 29-21 home loss to the ACT Brumbies last weekend, had led to calls in the New Zealand media for Hammett’s head to roll.
Lions (17) 39 / 36 (0) Blues (Final Score)
The Lions and Blues did battle in Super Rugby at
Ellis Park, Johannesburg at 15:00 SA Time (13:00 GMT, 02:00 Sunday NZ Time).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
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Highlanders (16) 29 / 31 (21) Force (Final Score)
The Highlanders and Western Force did battle in Super Rugby at
Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin at 08:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 06:35 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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Hurricanes (29) 60 / 27 (20) Cheetahs (Final Score)
The Hurricanes and Toyota Cheetahs did battle in Super Rugby at
Westpac Stadium, Wellington at 05:35 SA Time (16:35 NZ Time, 03:35 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
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