Springboks
Five members of the Springboks’ World Cup squad have been nominated for the SA Rugby Player of the Year Award, with the winner due to be announced at a function at Gold Reef City on November 3.
It may be New Zealand’s moment in the limelight, but the Springbok victories in 1995 and 2007 will be honoured as the captains and coaches of World Cup winning teams are inducted into the International Rugby Board’s Hall of Fame tonight.
So the world cup is over, and what have we learnt?There were some controversial issues, some very close matches and some really angry fans.
The concept of the X-factor actually comes from racehorses, specifically from a horse called Eclipse. An extremely large heart is a trait that occasionally occurs in Thoroughbreds, linked to a genetic condition passed down via the dam line, known as the “x-factor”.
Eclipse, the horse, was necropsied after his death in 1789. Because Eclipse’s heart appeared to be much larger than other horses, it was weighed, and found to be 14 pounds (6.4 kg), almost twice the normal weight. Eclipse is believed to have passed the trait on via his daughters, and pedigree research verified that arguably the best racehorse ever, namely Secretariat can trace in his dam line to a daughter of Eclipse.
In the 20th century, the heart of Phar Lap was weighed and also documented to be 6.35 kilograms (14.0 lb), or essentially the same size as that of Eclipse.
Now you might ask what this has got to do with the All Blacks and the Rugby World Cup final.
I still just can’t get over that quarter final loss.
The more I think about it the more I feel we were robbed. Yes, the referee was bad and wrong and yes we contributed to our demise with how we approached the game and by the appointment of a puppet as Springbok coach 4 years ago. However, all of that (poor referee, game plan, coach selection) and the Pool construction process at this year’s Rugby World Cup is part of an insidious virus, in my opinion, which is destroying Rugby Union as we know it. It is this virus which orchestrated our demise in the Rugby World Cup quarter final match against Australia.
The MTN Golden Lions will be playing the DHL Western Province this Saturday, 22 October 2011 at Coca-Cola Park in the first home semi final in 12 years. Kick off is at 5:00pm.
The Lions will be back to their full compliment of players after John Mitchell had rested certain jkey players for the match against the Sharks a few days ago.
The last time the Lions and Western Province met was barely a few weeka ago, in a game where the Lions brutally punished Western Province.
Western Province have revealed that they are in the process of finalising Springbok centre Jaque Fourie’s contract and the move to Japan is off.
Springbok duo Gurthro Steenkamp and Gary Botha’s arrival at French club Toulouse has been held up by visa problems, the Top 14 club’s forwards coach Yannick Bru said on Wednesday.
Jaco Peyper and Marius Jonker have been appointed to referee the two Currie Cup semi-finals this weekend.
Springbok flank forward Schalk Burger was cited for a dangerous tackle in the Currie Cup match between Western Province and the Pumas at Newlands on Saturday evening but he was cleared of foul play.
From a South African perspective the rugby calendar makes little sense. The way the international fixtures are currently set out does not really allow for any competition to run its course to completion, it has therefor been proposed that there will be a break in the Super Rugby competition next year to allow the June tour window, and then the Super Rugby competition will resume. In between all this, there is a Currie Cup that will now take a further step back to accommodate the Super Rugby and International fixtures.
The Sharks sent out a strong warning that they are not going to let go of their Currie Cup crown without a fight when they comprehensively beat the log-leading Golden Lions to clinch a home semi-final next week.
Western Province booked their tickets to Johannesburg next week with a solid 43-18 victory over the Pumas, ruling the Blue Bulls out of the playoffs for the first time since 2001.
After much debate and investigation, the Golden Lions and the Lions Super Rugby teams, under the guises of the GLRU and Lions Rugby (PTY) LTD have decided that their futures’ remain at their historical home Coca-Cola (Ellis) Park.
The stadium was rebuilt in the early 1980’s and was given another major facelift for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
The full media releases from the various parties reads:
Sharks 53 / Lions 9 (Final score)
The Sharks hosted the MTN Golden Lions at Kings Park, Durban at 19:10 SA Time.
This was the live match discussion Article.
The sharks totally outclassed a lethargic and error ridden Lions side to book a home semi final against the Free state Cheetahs next week, where they will certainly carry all of the momentum.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
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WP (24) 43 / Pumas (8) 18 ( Final Score)
DHL Western Province hosted the Ford Pumas 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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Cheetahs (20) 49 / Griquas (10) 39 (Final Score)
The Toyota Free State Cheetahs hosted the GWK Griquas at Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein at 15:00 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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Blue Bulls (35) 92 / Leopards (21) 21 (Final Score)
The Vodacom Blue Bulls hosted the Platinum Leopards 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 & CSN on TV in SA.
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The Blue Bulls managed their objective of winning by more than 59 points, in fact they won by 71 and it is now all in the hands of Western Province and the Pumas, whether the Blue Bulls go through to the final 4 or not.
At the moment the Blue Bulls temporarily moves into 4th spot on the Log.
The Blue Bulls ran in 14 tries to the 3 from the Leopards.
The Sharks coach, John Plumtree, has named his side to play the MTN Lions at Kings Park, Durban at 19:10 on Saturday.
The Sharks have obviously chosen a very strong side, compared to the Lions who are resting about six players, because the Sharks are still aiming to get a home semi-final, whereas the lions are firmly in first spot, even if they lose this game.
Three teams will fight it out this weekend for the final spot in the Currie Cup Premier Division semi-finals, with Western Province best placed to qualify for the playoffs.The Blue Bulls – at home against the Leopards – and Griquas – away to the Free State Cheetahs – linger in fifth and sixth position on the log and have a mathematical chance of making it through to the semi-finals, but they don’t have their destiny in their own hands.
A bit higher on the log, The Sharks, who take on the first-placed Golden Lions in Durban, and the Free State Cheetahs are in a race to second position on the log.
Semi-final permutations:
Allister Coetzee today announced the DHL WP team to take on the Ford Pumas at DHL Newlands on Saturday. All the Province returning Springboks are featured in a strong match 22.
Lock Wikus van Heerden returns to the Golden Lions starting line up and Butch James has been named on the bench for the Lions Currie Cup match against the Sharks in Durban on Saturday.
Griquas coach Abre Minnie has named an unchanged line-up from the team that beat the Blue Bulls last week for his side’s crucial Currie Cup showdown with the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
The Sharks will field several of their returning Springboks in this week’s crucial Currie Cup rugby encounter against the Lions in Durban, coach John Plumtree confirmed on Tuesday.
Leopards (0) 14 / Sharks (15) 41 (Final Score)
The Platinum Leopards hosted The Sharks in Rustenburg 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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What a dreary game!
The Sharks scrored twice right at the end, making it look as if the won handsomely, but that would be untrue.
The match was marred by a plethera of errors, from both sides but none more so than the Leopards, when the tryline was begging for them to score.
Job done for the Sharks though, 5 Log points in the bag.
Lions (20) 42 / WP (9) 25 (Final Score)
The MTN Golden Lions host DHL Western Province at Coka-Cola Park, Johannesburg at 17:05 SA Time.
This is the live match discussion Article.
The match is broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
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The Lions were full value for their 5 tries to 1 win over a Western Province side who had to try and stay in touch via the solid boot of Demetri Catrakilis.
Griquas (27) 48 / Blue Bulls (22) 44 (Final Score)
GWK Griquas and the Vodacom Blue Bulls did battle at GWK Park, Kimberley at 15:00 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 Griquas effectively ended the Blue Bulls aspirations to make the final four in the race for the Currie Cup, with this 4-point win.
Pumas (13) 23 / Cheetahs (7) 29 (Final Score)
The Ford Pumas and the Toyota Free State Cheetahs did battle in Witbank at 19:10 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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The Toyota Free State Cheetahs trailed for most of the match, with the Ford Pumas rising to the occasion. In the final minutes the Cheetahs scored 2 tries to eventually win by 6 points, earning their bonus point in the process.
Griquas will be playing for Currie Cup survival while the Blue Bulls will not want to lose touch with the top four teams on the log when these two sides clash in Kimberley on Saturday.
Sharks coach John Plumtree announced four changes to the side that will play the Leopards in Saturday’s Currie Cup rugby match in Phokeng, near Rustenburg.
Griquas named their team on Wednesday to square up against the Blue Bulls in a Currie Cup encounter in Kimberley on Saturday.
Springboks Akona Ndungane, Deon Stegmann and Dean Greyling are back in the Vodacom Blue Bulls team to play Griquas in an Absa Currie Cup match in Kimberley on Saturday.
Allister Coetzee today named his team to take on the Lions at Coca-Cola Park on Saturday (17:05).
MTN Golden Lions coach, John Mitchell has made one injury enforced changed to his line up to Face DHL Western Province on Saturday.
The Cheetahs will have to make do without dynamic front row star Coenie Oosthuizen for the rest of their 2011 Currie Cup campaign as he has had to undergo neck surgery and will not play for the rest of the year.
Western Province outside back Heinrich Steyl became the latest player to fall to the curse of the blue and white hooped jersey when it was confirmed that he will be out of action for nine months with a broken leg.