SA Rugby
After their hammering of 51-19 at the hands of the Bulls in a Super Rugby match on Saturday, the Cheetahs boarded their plane for Australasia knowing that they have to make some sort of mind shift.
Bulls scrum half, Francois Hougaard, has been suspended from all rugby for one week after receiving a RED CARD in the game against the Cheetahs for a tip-tackle on Robert Ebersohn.
Stormers (6) 15 / Sharks (9) 12 (Final Score)
The DHL Stormers and the Sharks did battle in Super Rugby at Newlands, Cape Town at 19:10 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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Cheetahs (12) 19 / Bulls (31) 51 (Final Score)
The Toyota Cheetahs and Vodacom Bulls did battle in Super Rugby at Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein 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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Lions (8) 28 / Hurricanes (14) 30 (Final Score)
The MTN Lions and the Hurricanes did battle in Super Rugby at Coca-Cola Park, Johannesburg at 19:10 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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The Hurricanes will continue their tour as the first non-South Africa team to tour the Republic, while the South African Conference derbies continue with a marquee encounter between the Stormers and Sharks, while the Bulls travel to play the Cheetahs.
For a competition which promotes running rugby and rewards teams who score tries, the first round of Super Rugby failed to deliver the goods.
Not one team managed to bag a bonus point for scoring four tries, with a total of just 19 tries being scored in the seven matches that were played. Is this then an indication that defenses are getting better and better?
Here are the Super Rugby Team Sheets as they are announced for Week 2 of Super Rugby 2012.
All the teams are now out and available, here and under the TOP MENU, Super Rugby, 2012, Super Rugby – Weekend Teams.
Bulls flyhalf Morné Steyn is set to become only the third player to amass 1 000 Super Rugby points, but admits it wasn’t high on his agenda.
The latest news on the INJURY front in Super Rugby (apart from those reported already) is as follows:
SANZAR have released the match officials for the second Round in the 2012 Super Rugby tournament and Keith Brown starts the action on Friday and Mark Lawrence brings it to a close.
This weekend has seven matches with three on Friday and four on Saturday. This weekend the Brumbies have the bye.
The Golden Lions Rugby Union announced the MTN Lions team to play in their second match of the 2012 Vodacom Super Rugby competition against the Hurricanes on Friday, 2 March 2012 at a press conference this afternoon.
Johann Sadie - 3 Weeks
Wynand Olivier - Fit
Lionel Cronjé - Crocked
We all know rugby is not a sport for sissies, and so it was on Friday for Johan Sadie too, when he sustained an AC Jojnt injury after barely 11 minutes in the Super Rugby game against the Sharks, which will keep him out injured for about 3 weeks. The good news though is that Wynand Olivier is ready again to step into the fold again.
Lionel Cronjé, another of the signings from down South, is not so lucky though, he sustained a pectoral muscle tear which will have to be operated on, in the friendly game between the Vodacom Blue Bulls against the Sharks XV side.
Other Bulls still recovering include Arno Botha, Morné Mellett, Dewald Potgieter & Rossouw de Klerk.
Juan de Jongh - Fit again
Schalk Burger - Crocked
Some good news, tempered with some bad news…
Juan de Jongh returns to the fold this week in preparation for the Stormers game against the Sharks, but the initial assessment of Schalk Burger’s injury was further compounded by news now that Schalk Burger, their mercurial captain and one-man wrecking machine, will be out for at least 6 weeks if not more, with damaged medial knee ligaments.
Andries Bekker and Jean de Villiers have some injury niggles, Rynhardt Elstadt is on his way back… and Peter Grant joins the Stormers this week from Japan.
The Sharks have been given a boost with the news that flank Willem Alberts has been cleared to play after having extensive rehabilitation during the off-season.
Springbok and Sharks prop Tendai “‘Beast” Mtawarira has been admitted to a private hospital in Cape Town suffering from heart palpitations.
We have done it before and maybe we should pick a panel of Bloggers and pick our own team of the week.
Wales not only secured the Triple Crown for the first time ever at Twickenham following their 19-12 victory over England on Saturday, but have also climbed above their neighbours into fifth in the latest IRB World Rankings.
Every season we muse over the potential changing of the guard, and of all the giants in Super Rugby many would have predicted that the Overlords of the game in the Republic – the Bulls – would have been a team that could have been excused for a season of rebuilding.
Shimlas (10) 18 / UJ (21) 50 (Final Score)
Shimlas and UJ did battle in the Varsity Cup in Bloemfontein at 19:00 SA Time.
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & CSN on TV in SA.
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NMMU (13) 23 / UCT (13) 21 (Final Score)
NMMU and UCT did battle in the Varsity Cup in Port Elizabeth at 17:00 SA Time.
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & CSN on TV in SA.
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Stormers grind out a 13 point margin win against the Hurricanes at Newlands.
Stormers captain Schalk Burger’s knee injury would appear to be less serious than was initially feared when he left the field in the first half of his team’s match against the Hurricanes at Newlands on Saturday.
Cheetahs centre Andries Strauss has been cited and suspended for 2 weeks for foul play in the Super Rugby match between the Lions and the Cheetahs in Johannesburg on Saturday.
Lions (12) 27 Cheetahs (19) 25 (Final Score)
The MTN Lions and the Toyota Cheetahs did battle in Week 1 of Super Rugby 2012 at Coca-Cola Park, Johannesburg at 19:10 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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Stormers (23) 39 / Hurricanes (16) 26
(Final Score)
The DHL Stormers and Hurricanes did battle in Week 1 of Super Rugby 2012 at Newlands, Cape Town 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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Bulls (0) 18 / Sharks (0) 13 (Final Score)
The Vodacom Bulls and The Sharks did battle in the Third Super Rugby game of 2012 at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria at 19:10 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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Here are the Super Rugby Team Sheets as they were announced for Week 1 of Super Rugby 2012.
The last of the team sheets, that of the Highlanders, came in this morning as they waited till the last minute due to some serious possible injury concerns.
Tomorrow they’ll be bitter enemies, but today Springbok hookers Bismarck du Plessis and Chiliboy Ralepelle were elected to lead the South African Rugby Players Association (SARPA).
Following today’s metting between SARU and the “Big Five” SA Super Rugby Franchises, SARU released the following:
Representatives of the South African Vodacom Super Rugby franchises will accompany the delegates of the South African Rugby Union (SARU) to present a case for competition expansion in 2013 to SANZAR partners next month.
In the final episode covering the Lions Super Rugby contenders, we look at the men tasked with both the last line of defence, as well as what is often the last point of attack, the Back Three.
The Speedsters.
In this the next episode of the Lions Super Rugby Contenders, we will look at the Centres that have been included in the squad.
In the next, and final episode, we’ll cover the back three.
With time creeping up on us very fast, we have received our first allottment of Super Rugby tickets, 10 in total, for the game between the MTN Lions and Toyota Cheetahs, which takes place on Saturday at 19:10 SA Time.
Scrumdown, one of our Lions reporters collected them today and phoned me.
He left a very good suggestion that we could give a couple of tickets to some of the unsung medics and helpers who work at the games in the Lions region… and he seems to have just the right people in mind.
The South African Rugby Union’s head honchos will come face-to-face with the ‘big five’ at a crucial meeting in Johannesburg on Thursday.
The SARU delegation, headed by CEO Jurie Roux, will meet with officials of the five current SA franchises – Lions, Bulls, Cheetahs, Sharks and Stormers.