Player Movements
The Southern Kings team has remained relatively unchanged for the Round 15 Super Rugby encounter with the Cheetahs.
There is just one change in their starting line-up, as SP Marais returns at fullback for the Round 15 game in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.
The return of injured Springboks Bismarck du Plessis and Butch James will bolster The Sharks as they return home from their disasterous tour and as they ready themselves to face the South African Conference Log leaders, the Vodacom Bulls for the tough derby game at Kings Park this Saturday.
The Reds were dealt a cruel blow when Wallaby wing Digby Ioane was sent back home from the Queensland team’s tour of South Africa with a knee injury.
Southern Kings flank Jacques “Vleis” Engelbrecht has been cleared for the game against the Cheetahs on Saturday, while Andries Strauss’ shoulder injury has shown remarkable improvement.
Brian O’Driscoll ended speculation about his future by signing a new one-year deal to play on for Ireland and Leinster, the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) revealed on Thursday.
With the Stormers experiencing a lukewarm Super Rugby campaign, the news that injured Jaco Taute is considering extending his stay in the Cape will be welcome news to the Cape Town-based franchise.
Western Province Vodacom Cup star Gerbrandt Grobler has flown to Australia to bolster the DHL Stormers’ forward resources, with back row stars Rynhardt Elstadt and Duane Vermeulen on their way home with knee injuries.
Former Springbok coach Nick Mallett believes the reason for the exodus of South Africa’s top players is due to players putting their careers at risk without proper compensation.
The Queensland Rugby Union have confirmed that Super Rugby winning winger Digby Ioane will leave the Reds at the end of the season to play in France.
South African hooker Gary Botha and Australian halfback Luke Burgess are to leave French Top 14 side Toulouse at the end of the season.
Veteran Springbok Schalk Burger is back in hospital and scheduled to go under the knife again.
Southern Kings flyer Sergeal Petersen returns to the starting XV after overcoming a groin strain that kept him out of his side’s loss to the Cheetahs this past weekend.
The Hurricanes have called up Manawatu hooker Rob Foreman after an injuries to Motu Matu’u and Dane Coles.
The Hurricanes only have Ash Dixon as a recognised hooker available but prop Reggie Goodes able to cover the position as back-up.
Coles has a fractured eye socket and Matu’u fractured his forearm playing against the Stormers on the weekend.
Andries Strauss will captain the Kings in their clash with the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein this weekend with Luke Watson relegated to the bench.
The Sharks have been dealt another cruel injury blow as centre Paul Jordaan suffered a season ending injury during a training session in Sydney early this week.
Wallabies and Reds winger Digby Ioane says that he had “no choice” but to quit the Reds following a long-running dispute over third-party payments.
All Blacks and Crusaders winger Zac Guildford could be playing his last Super Rugby season in New Zealand.
Lions captain JC Janse van Rensburg has answered a Sharks AOS and will join them on tour in Australasia.
The Sharks flew out of Durban at the weekend as their injury toll mounted – seasoned Springbok prop Tendai Mtawarira ruled out with a calf injury, while Lions loan player Andries Coetzee stayed behind with a suspected dislocated shoulder.
Springbok winger JP Pietersen will head to Japan for the next two seasons but will still be available to play for the Springbok team for a large part of the international season.
Cheetahs and Bok pivot Johan Goosen’s knee operation to repair damage to his knee ligament was a success, and he was present at the Cheetahs training session on Monday.
The Stormers will welcome back a host of injured players including Boks Eben Etzebeth, Bryan Habana and Elton Jantjies on their overseas tour.
The Vodacom Bulls team to play the Toyota Cheetahs at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday has been bolstered by the return of two experienced campaigners, with Akona Ndungane and Flip van der Merwe back in the starting line-up.
The Vodacom Bulls have called for two replacements for their last match of their Australasian tour against the Brumbies on Saturday.
Wynand Olivier, Francois Hougaard and Akona Ndungane will all be returning home following injuries in the Vodacom Bulls defeat at the hands of the Crusaders on Saturday.
Crusaders front row forward Ben Funnell has been suspended for one week for an act of foul play.
The Sharks Springbok brothers Bismarck and Jannie du Plessis are considering a move away from Super Rugby in France where they would play in the Top14.
Bulls and Springbok flyhalf Morne Steyn has agreed to leave the Pretoria Super Rugby franchise and join Stade Francais.
Ireland have named a 32-man training squad for their Six Nations Championship match against France at the Aviva Stadium with Ronan O’Gara being left out of the group.
All Black and Chiefs midfielder has announced he will leave New Zealand rugby to play rugby in Japan after the current Super Rugby season.
Hy het die afgelope twee jaar ondanks vier operasies moedig vir sy ondersteuners probeer terugveg.
Maar die Springbok-flank Juan Smith het Maandag weens ’n hakseningbesering geen ander keuse gehad as om finaal die gordyn oor sy suksesvolle rugbyloopbaan te laat sak nie.
Springbok and Bulls flyhalf Morné Steyn says he has not received a formal offer from Top 14 club Stade Francais.
Former Crusaders wing Sean Maitland has expressed his pride in his Scottish roots after being named in Scotland’s Six Nations squad.
New Cheetahs prop Caylib Oosthuizen says the prospect of being coached by his childhood hero, Os du Randt, played a big role in his move to Bloemfontein.
It seems as if the Bulls and Springbok flyhalf has made a deal to leave South Africa after Super Rugby to continue his career in France.
It has officially been confirmed that Bryan Habana penned the deal with the French side in the last few days.