SA Rugby
Sharks coach John Plumtree has made a number of enforced and rotational changes to his team that meets the Chiefs in Hamilton in their Vodacom Super Rugby clash on Saturday, with a number of players set to make their debuts.
The DHL Stormers team has been announced for the Cape outfit’s first Vodacom Super Rugby tour game of the 2013 season – against the Hurricanes in Palmerston North on Friday (kick-off 09:35 SA time).
SANZAR have released the names of the Match officials for Round 11 of Super Rugby 2013. Steve Walsh starts the weekend’s action with the game between the Hurricanes and Stormers, on Friday.
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.
Noticeably, conversation about the 1956 tour always detour to the match against the New Zealand Universities. Historically, it was the first time a New Zealand University team played against an international touring side but this match is synonymous with the 1956 tour for other reasons. The fact that the Universities team won is also not really the main reason why Kiwi’s still rate this match as the best match of the tour. It was the manner in which the Universities team won that delighted the New Zealand rugby fraternity. All the good football came from the home side. The backs demonstrated opportunism, sensible anticipation and application while the pack totally dominated proceedings. The game is nevertheless mostly remembered as the game of the great Ron Jardon ‘try-that-wasn’t’. A great howl went up in protest when Jardon was called back after a spectacular 65 meter run through almost the entire Springbok team (listen to Winston McCarthy highlights of the match here) and old-timers almost without exception still mention the Jardon try to this day whenever the 1956 tour are under discussion.
Vodacom Bulls lock Paul Willemse will be out of action for three months following a knee injury sustained in Saturday’s win over the Southern Kings, but there is a green light to the fitness of Wynand Olivier and Dewald Potgieter.
A MRI scan on Monday revealed a MCL injury to the big lock, ruling him out of action for the next nine weeks. He will undergo an operation on Wednesday.
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.
Sharks’ coach John Plumtree has revealed that their 6-12 loss to the Cheetahs has come with the added cost of losing prop Tendai (the Beast) Mtawarira for a month amongst others.
The Vodacom Bulls jumped from third to first in the South African Vodacom Super Rugby Conference after their bonus-point victory over the Southern Kings in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.
Their fourth try was scored in injury time, but it was enough for the Vodacom Bulls to return to Pretoria with five points which saw them go to 28 log points halfway through the league phase of the competition. They won 34-0.
Kings (0) 0 / 34 (20) Bulls (Final Score)
The Southern Kings and Vodacom Bulls did battle in Super Rugby at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth at 17:05 SA 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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Sharks (3) 6 / 12 (7) Cheetahs (Final Score)
The Sharks and Toyota Cheetahs did battle in Super Rugby at Kings Park, Durban at 17:05 SA 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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Pole position in the South African Conference will be on the line when the Sharks welcome the Cheetahs to Kings Park on Saturday evening.
Crusaders (16) 24 / 8 (0) Highlanders (Final Score)
The Crusaders and Highlanders did battle in Super Rugby at AMI Stadium, Christchurch at 09:35 SA Time.
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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Dawie Theron, the South African Under-20 coach, has made several changes for the team’s final match on Saturday against Argentina Under-20 in Buenos Aires.
The young South Africans will be hoping to bounce back after suffering a 27-42 defeat in their second tour match on Tuesday in Corrientes.
The Sharks have named a mixture of youth and experience in their 26 man touring squad that will depart for their four match Vodacom Super Rugby tour to New Zealand and Australia on Sunday.
SANZAR have released the names of the officials for Round 10 of Super Rugby 2013. Glen Jackson, the ex-player turned referee which has impressed all and sundry gets the big Australian derby between the Reds and the Brumbies.
There are only 6 matches this weekend, 2 on Friday and 4 on Saturday.
Here are the Super Rugby Team Sheets as they were announded for Round 10 of Super Rugby 2013.
Toyota Cheetahs coach, Naka Drotskè is persisting in making only one change to his team, for the vital encounter away versus the Sharks in Durban.
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 Board of Directors of The Sharks (Pty) Ltd are pleased to announce the appointment of Mr John Smit as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of The Sharks (Pty) Ltd, effective 1st July 2013. John takes over the reins from current CEO, Mr Brian van Zyl who will mentor John until his pre-agreed retirement date of 28th February 2014.
The Southern Kings won their first-ever match Down Under as the DHL Stormers and Vodacom Bulls returned to winning ways on an exciting Saturday of Vodacom Super Rugby action.
The Kings ended their Australasian tour in superb fashion, clinching a win in injury time against the Rebels in Melbourne (30-27). It meant the South African dominance over Australia’s newest franchise was extended to 11 matches.
The SA Under-20 training squad to face Argentina Under-20 in their second tour match on Tuesday, 16 April 2013 shows thirteen changes from the starting team that won their tour opener 26-3 on Saturday evening in Corrientes.
Sharks scrumhalf Cobus Reinach has been called up to the Springbok training camp in Cape Town following a slight injury to Jano Vermaak.
There was no serious injury concern following the Vodacom Bulls win over the Toyota Cheetahs on the weekend, but a number of players picked up light strains, team doctor Org Strauss said 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.
Bulls (6) 26 / 20 (9) Cheetahs (Final Score)
The Vodacom Bulls and Toyota Cheetahs did battle in Super Rugby at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria at 19:10 SA Time (17:10 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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Stormers (16) 22 / 15 (6) Sharks (Final Score)
The DHL Stormers and The Sharks did battle in Super Rugby at Newlands Stadium, Cape Town at 17:05 SA Time (05:05 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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Rebels (17) 27 / 30 (17) Kings (Final Score)
The Melbourne Rebels and Southern Kings did battle in Super Rugby at AAMI Stadium, Melbourne at 11:40 SA Time (09:40 GMT, 19:40 Melbourne 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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Here are the Super Rugby Team Sheets as they were announded for Round 9 of Super Rugby 2013. The Western Force side is finally available.
All five South African Vodacom Super Rugby franchises will be in action this weekend, with two mouth-watering derbies set for Cape Town and Pretoria on what amounts to a “Super Saturday”.
Where there is smoke, there is fire!
I remember that quite a few of us wanted John Smit in the Springbok coaching setup, instead of the team, before the 2011 Rugby World Cup, well rumours would have us believe that John Smit could become the next CEO at the Sharks Rugby Union, in place of the retiring Brian van Zyl.
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.
Former Springboks and Italy coach Nick Mallett will coach a South African Barbarians team for their match against Saracens at the Honourable Artillery Company, in the heart of the City of London, on Thursday 16 May.