Super Rugby
An era of unprecedented success – a ten-year period where they won five Currie Cup titles (one shared) and three Super Rugby crowns – now gives way to a time of rebuilding.
This is primarily (although not exclusively) due to the crippling effect of departures, mostly of senior players.
The Brumbies have been hit with financial issues after their naming rights sponsor Huawei withdrew from a four-year $4 million-plus sponsorship of the Super Rugby club.
SIX years ago, Oregan Hoskins took over the reins as South African Rugby Union (Saru) president, tasked with the huge responsibility of converting the organisation plagued by infighting and back-stabbing into a respectable and ethical body — and there is no doubt he has achieved that.
Former All Black Rugby World Cup winger Jeff Wilson will join Pat Lam and Bryce Woodward as skills coach for the Blues in the 2012 Super Rugby season.
Rob Houwing imagines what the country’s five Super Rugby Franchises may wish for as main presents in their stockings on December 25 …
Add your wish list in the comments.
The Highlanders have suffered a blow for the first two months of Super Rugby with the loss of lock Jarrad Hoeata.
Former Blue Bulls flyhalf Francois Brummer is searching for a new rugby team after he failed to obtain a contract at the Eastern Province Kings.
The Crusaders new temporary home ground at Rugby League Park may not be ready in time for the Crusaders first home match in the 2012 Super Rugby season.
While Pat McCabe may have finished the Rugby World Cup as the Wallaby No.12 he may be overlooked in Super Rugby by new Brumbies coach in favour of Christian Lealiifano.
All Blacks and Crusaders winger Zac Guildford will miss one Super Rugby match after being suspended following a New Zealand Rugby Union misconduct hearing into his misbehaviour in the Cook Islands last month.
The Waratahs will kick off their Super Rugby 2012 preparations with the first of two trial matches against Samoa in Tamworth on Friday February 10, 2012.
A second match will take place at the Sydney Football Stadium the following week with full details due to be confirmed shortly.
News from Newlands is that the WP / Stormers have signed U21 centre JP du Plessis.
Former Springbok & Sharks centre Adrian Jacobs is unlikely to play Super Rugby for the Stormers in 2012 after he snubbed an offer to train with them.
The Stormers pre-season training squad for the 2012 Super Rugby season has finally been named and is listed below, noting that the squad is not finalised for the 2012 season and players may be added at any time. Continue reading
The Super Rugby side may be at a low ebb but optimism is plentiful, writes Josh Rakic.
YOU get the sense World Cup-winning Springboks coach Jake White did his homework on Australia before agreeing to a four-year deal with the Brumbies. After all, he was a Johannesburg school teacher.
Rugby in New Zealand has been slowly but surely working its way toward financial ruin.
Spiralling costs and falling crowds have stretched resources to breaking point.
Vodacom Bulls prop Rossouw de Klerk will miss the start of the 2012 Vodacom Super Rugby season due to a foot injury.
Former Springboks and Vodacom Bulls legend Victor Matfield will join the Vodacom Bulls on a consultancy basis for the 2012 Super Rugby season.
All Blacks and now Chiefs star Sonny Bill Williams has announced that he will enter the boxing ring again next year just weeks before the Super Rugby season starts.
Centres Wandile Mjekevu and Morgan Newman has joined the Sharks for trials on Monday as they prepare for the 2012 Super Rugby tournament.
The NZRU will place advertisements this weekend in newspapers asking for expressions of interest to buy the licences for four of the New Zealand Super Rugby franchises.
The Sharks have started their pre-season preparations ahead of next year’s Super Rugby tournament and assistant coach Grant Bashford has warned there will be no place to hide for unfit players.
Carlos Spencer: Armed and Dangerous!
New Zealand rugby legend, Carlos Spencer has revealed that he has no immediate plans to return to his home town of Auckland in New Zealand.
The Wider Training Groups for the Blues, Chiefs, Hurricanes, Crusaders and Highlanders Super Rugby squads have been confirmed for the 2012 season.
President of the Free State Cheetahs, Harold Verster, says it is unlikely that the Cheetahs and the Southern Kings will merge at the start of the 2013 Super Rugby season.
Stormers coach Allister Coetzee says centre Adrian Jacobs is welcome to join his squad in their pre-season preparations.
Vodacom Bulls vice-captain for the 2012 season Wynand Olivier is encouraging his troops from the side lines at the moment.
In news hot off the press, reports from the WP / Stormers High Performance Institute is that Schalk Ferreira has come out of retirement to play for the Franchise.
All Blacks and Crusaders captain Richie McCaw has undergone surgery on the injured foot that hampered him during the Rugby World Cup and has begun a rehabilitation which takes him out of the start of next season’s Super 15 Rugby tournament.
In news just in, Ex Bulls and Lions flyhalf, Burton Francis, is set to sign for the Stormers
Sonny Bill Williams has withdrawn from the Baa-Baas and is replaced by Richard Kahui.
Drew Mitchel is injured again and expected to miss the opening Rounds of Super Rugby.
Conrad Smith is named as Hurricanes Captain for 2012.
Derick Hougaard could be back at the Bulls.
Bolla Conradie, Elgar Watts & Clemen Lewis, all from Boland, as well as Burton Francis are included in Stormers plans for 2012.
Graham Henry rules out England coaching job.
GBS just contacted me from the Media Day at the Bulls with the following news:
The Bulls started their preparations for next season’s Super Rugby competition at Loftus Versfeld’s B-field in Pretoria on Monday. It is scary when you read the list of players that are not Bulls anymore. The 4 most used captains are all in that list.
South African prop Eugene Van Staden returned to French club rugby for a second spell on Tuesday when Top 14 tailenders Biarritz signed him as a replacement for the retired Eduard Coetzee.
Sanzar will move to close the “Stormers loophole” in Vodacom Super Rugby’s regulations that allowed Schalk Britz to fly in from the United Kingdom and play in the Super Rugby semi for the Stormers earlier this year.