Monthly Archives: June 2014
Steven Luatua returns to the starting fifteen of the Blues for Saturday’s clash against the Force in Perth.
The 23-year-old blindside flanker has not featured in the run-on side since Round 10 against the Hurricanes after being squeezed out by the in-form Peter Saili, but head coach Sir John Kirwan said it was time to give Luatua an opportunity.
“He’s been away with the All Blacks and he’s come back full of energy and I think he needs an opportunity to push his way back into the side,” Kirwan said.
Dan Carter
Crusaders head coach Todd Blackadder has named his team to play the Hurricanes this weekend. The team will head to Wellington on Friday to prepare for the game at Westpac Stadium on Saturday night.
Eight players have returned from the All Blacks to make the team, including prop Wyatt Crockett who will pack down with Corey Flynn and Nepo Laulala in the front row. Owen Franks will provide front row cover alongside Joe Moody and Ben Funnell on the bench.
Locks Dom Bird and Sam Whitelock will pair up in the second row, and Matt Todd will wear the No 7 jersey with Richie McCaw ruled out with a broken rib. Jordan Taufua and Luke Whitelock join him in the loose forwards with Kieran Read and Jimmy Tupou named in the reserves.
Rebels head coach Tony McGahan has named exciting youngster Sean McMahon in the starting line-up and Jack Debreczeni for his run-on debut as Super Rugby returns to AAMI Park for the final time in 2014 as the Rebels host the Reds on Friday night.
Debreczeni, who has played in the Rebels previous two matches as a replacement, recently re-signed with the club and is part of a backline shuffle that also sees flyer Jason Woodward move to the right wing.
McGahan was excited to unleash the youngster from the first minute against the Reds.
Highlanders head coach Jamie Joseph has named his team to take on the reigning champions in Dunedin on Friday.
All three All Blacks, along with Patrick Osborne, who joined the All Black’s squad as injury cover, have returned to the starting line-up while both Brayden Mitchell and Tom Franklin have played their way into the team after stellar performances in Invercargill against the NZ Barbarians.
Flip van der Merwe
Flip van der Merwe’s season ended with a whimper rather than a bang as the big lock was ruled out for the rest of the year with a knee injury.
Van der Merwe, who hurt himself in the closing minutes of the one-point victory over Wales in Nelspruit this past weekend, underwent a scan and was sent for a specialist opinion by the Springbok management on Monday.
And the news was not good.
The specialist ruled that Van der Merwe had to undergo surgery on his posterior cruciate ligament, and will therefore be out for six months.
Springboks vs Wales June 2014: Alun Wyn Jones & Steve Walsh discuss the Penalty Try incident
There is always something to discuss after a rugby Test match, especially one as thrilling as this.
There are the action and the special moments to discuss, the performance of players and all to frequently the Laws of the Game, the ever-changing, confusing and after controversial Laws of the Game and the demands of applying them accurately.
There were two tries especially discussed after the Nelspruit Test – one a try by the Welsh hooker and the other the definitive penalty try near the end – and penalty tries are rare and always debated.
Teboho Mahoje
The running joke may be that Heyneke Meyer is selecting his best side for the 2007 Rugby World Cup with the number of Springbok veterans in his side, but the inclusion of Teboho “Oupa” Mohoje for Saturday’s Test against Scotland may suggest otherwise.
The versatile loose forward had experienced a meteoric rise in his career and could make his Springbok debut playing off the bench against Scotland in Port Elizabeth only a few months after playing Varsity Cup rugby for Shimlas.
While a patch of grey hair in his primary school years secured him the Afrikaans nickname “oupa”, meaning grandfather, the versatile forward is anything but a geriatric.
Heyneke Meyer
Oregan Hoskins
Tank Lanning
Tank Lanning, former WP tighthead prop and head of Tankman Media has an interesting look at the Springbok team chosen to play against Scotland as well as the words of the uber-opportunist, Oregan Hoskins earlier this week regarding supposed instructions to Bok coach Heyneke Meyer.
This is pretty much they way I feel about it too and for once I am able to agree with something Lanning said, without hesitation!
Good piece, Tank!!
Owen Williams
Wales centre Owen Williams suffered a potential career-ending injury at the weekend.
The player’s club, the Cardiff Blues have confirmed, and the Welsh Rugby Union confirmed that Williams has “significant” neck and spinal injuries – sustained during the inaugural World Club 10s in Singapore.
Williams was hurt on Sunday, while playing for the Blues in a third-place play-off match, but the club waited until Wednesday to confirm his injuries.
Handré Pollard
Junior Springbok captain Handré Pollard is one of five uncapped players who have been named in the Springboks’ match-23 for Saturday’s final encounter of the Castle Lager Incoming Series against Scotland in Port Elizabeth.
In total, the Springbok starting team shows six changes from the side which beat Wales by 31-30 in Nelspruit last weekend.
The four uncapped players on a new-look bench are Marcel van der Merwe (prop), Stephan Lewies (lock), Teboho “Oupa” Mohoje (loose forward) and Marnitz Boshoff (flyhalf). Also on the bench are Adriaan Strauss, Trevor Nyakane, Francois Hougaard and Zane Kirchner, none of whom have played any Test rugby yet this season.
Two players, Pollard and Marcell Coetzee, have not yet featured for the Springboks this year, while four of these are replacements who have been promoted to the starting team, namely Lwazi Mvovo, Schalk Burger, Lood de Jager and Coenie Oosthuizen.
Adam Ashe, the 20-year-old Glasgow Warriors No 8, will become the seventh new cap of Scotland’s summer tour when he takes to the field against South Africa in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.
Ashe, a product of the Hillfoots and Stirling County clubs, was preparing for club training at Lincoln University in Christchurch one week ago, having been domiciled for a couple of months in New Zealand’s South Island as recipient of the John Macphail Scholarship.
Others have graduated to full international honours and have cited the “invaluable” experience the scholarship has bequeathed them, for example, John Barclay, Grant Gilchrist, Jonny Gray and Kevin Bryce.
The match is played at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth at 17:00 SA Time, 16:00 BST, 15:00 GMT.
Dan Parks
Former Scotland international flyhalf Dan Parks has announced his retirement from all forms of rugby after retiring from international rugby in 2012.
Australian born Parks played for Scotland over an eight year period in which he won 67 caps.
John Muggleton
Aviva Premiership Rugby club Gloucester have added to their coaching team by signing former Australia defence coach John Muggleton and England Under 20’s coach Nick Walshe.
Muggleton will be taking on the role of Defence Coach. The 54 year old is a former Australian Rugby League international, part of the 1982 touring team which became known as ‘The Invincibles’ when it won all 22 games on its tour of England and France.
Once his playing career was over, Sydney born Muggleton moved into coaching and was Defence Coach with the Wallabies for 10 years. His time in post covered the Rugby World Cup triumph in 1999 and a series victory over the British and Irish Lions.
A two year stint with the Scarlets was followed by a spell coaching Georgia at Rugby World 2011, before taking on the role of Defence Coach with the Melbourne Rebels from 2011 to 2013.
Louis Fouché
Vodacom Bulls flyhalf Louis Fouche has become the latest player to leave Loftus Versfeld after signing a one-year deal with the Ricoh Black Rams in Japan.
Fouche, who had a tough season with the Bulls, being dropped after the second game of this year’s Vodacom Super Rugby, has struggled to get back into the team with the likes of Jacques-Louis Potgieter and Handre Pollard ahead of him in the pecking order.
Since then, Fouche has played just a handful of games in the Vodacom Cup and decided to take up an offer in Japan to further his career there.
Fraser McKenzie
Edinburgh Rugby are pleased to announce that Scotland A lock Fraser McKenzie has returned to the club where he began his professional career.
The lock, who can also play on the blind-side, made his Scotland 7s debut in November 2008, represented Scotland A in 2010 and 2011, and was included in the extended Scotland squad for the 2012 RBS 6 Nations.
Moving from Edinburgh Rugby to Sale Sharks in 2011, McKenzie then joined Newcastle Falcons last summer, making a total of 41 English Premiership appearances before earning a move home.
Samson Lee
Wales prop Samson Lee has been banned for five weeks for a headbutt on Springbok lock Flip van der Merwe.
The incident occurred in the 55th minute of the second Test between Wales and South Africa in Nelspruit last Saturday.
South Africa won the match 31-30.
Tazz Fuzani
The Eastern Province Kings are reportedly interested in luring Western Province lock Tazz Fuzani to Port Elizabeth.
Fuzani, 23, made a promising debut for WP in last year’s Currie Cup, but appears to have fallen out of favour with WP / Stormers coach Allister Coetzee.
The Sharks could potentially slip to third on the overall Super Rugby log following the completion of this weekend’s Round 17 action.
The Super Rugby competition resumes for New Zealand and Australian teams this week following the June international Test window.
No South African teams are taking part this weekend as the Springboks are scheduled to play one extra Test against Scotland, which falls outside the International Rugby Board’s Test window.
Robbie Fruean
Super Rugby resumes following the June Test window with the first of three straight New Zealand derby matches for the Chiefs, and they certainly know what’s at stake.
The first of these matches is against the Highlanders at Forsyth Barr Stadium on Friday night and head coach Dave Rennie knows his team cannot afford another slip.
“This is a massive game and we have prepared really well,” he said.
Head coach Richard Graham has announced his team to face the Rebels in Melbourne this Friday, making just one change to the starting 15 that defeated the Highlanders in the Reds’ last match before the June Test window.
The forward pack remains unchanged from that match, with the Reds’ Wallabies contingent of James Horwill, Rob Simmons and James Slipper in good health and named in the starting XV for Friday’s clash.
Just one change has been made to the backline that started the Highlanders match, with Nick Frisby named at scrumhalf in place of the injured Will Genia, who is out for the remainder of the Super Rugby season after undergoing ankle surgery last week.
Luke Braid
Blues openside flanker Luke Braid will have shoulder surgery during Super Rugby’s off-season, which rules him out of Auckland’s ITM Cup campaign.
The 25-year-old has been superb for his team this season but has been feeling pain during his showings, leading to him making the decision.
“It had got to the point where it was hurting more frequently,” Braid said.
Springbok defence coach John McFarland says they have taken note of the dangerous back three of Scotland ahead of their Test in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.
Scotland head into the Test on the back of three consecutive away wins – against Argentina (21-19), Canada (19-17) and America (24-6).
They also have a new coach in Vern Cotter, but it was in particular the performances of Stuart Hogg (fullback), Sean Maitland (wing) and Tommy Seymour (wing) that caught the eye of the Springbok management.
Lood de Jager
Handré Pollard
As the announcement of the Springbok squad is awaited on Wednesday, speculation as to the possible composition of the side is gathering momentum.
At this stage it would appear that Johan Goosen is not over his injury worries and that Handré Pollard would leapfrog into the starting berth at flyhalf.
At lock Lood de Jager should get the nod and a 1st start at No 4 lock, in the absense of Flip van der Merwe, who is out with a longer term injury.
Gerrie Sonnekus
Two men were arrested on Tuesday for the robbery and attack on three fishermen, including former Springbok Gerrie Sonnekus, in Port Alfred, Eastern Cape police said.
“After following leads, Port Alfred detectives in collaboration with crime intelligence officers, arrested two men aged 34 in Nemato Township in the early hours of Tuesday morning,” police spokesperson Luvuyo Mjekula said.
“Police are looking to make more arrests as two more suspects are still at large.”
Heyneke Meyer
The Springbok team to face Scotland in Port Elizabeth will be markedly different from the one that edged Wales in Nelspruit, by necessity rather than design.
With seven European-based players unavailable for selection and at least another two starters ruled through injury Heyneke Meyer’s hand will be forced when he names his team to face an under-strength Scotland.
However, the idea that Meyer should completely overhaul the team and give promising youngsters a shot because the match falls outside the June Test window and Scotland will not have their best team on the park is a little bit misguided.
Richie McCaw
The Crusaders have confirmed that an x-ray revealed that Richie McCaw has a broken rib.
It is believed the rib injury was sustained in the second All Blacks test against England and is likely to keep McCaw out of contention for the next 3-4 weeks; a bitter blow for the Cantabrians who are pushing for top spot on the Super Rugby table.
Crusaders head coach Todd Blackadder said that while McCaw’s presence will clearly be missed over the next few weeks, the team is fully focussed on the task at hand.
Benn Robinson
Benn Robinson will make Waratahs history on Saturday night when he runs out against the Brumbies at ANZ Stadium in the crunch match for top spot in the Australian Conference.
Named in the starting XV on Tuesday, Robinson will earn his 130th New South Wales cap and join fellow NSW legend Al Baxter as the state’s second most capped player of all time, behind former captain Phil Waugh (136).
Head coach Michael Cheika has made just one change to the starting side that beat defending champions the Chiefs in their last outing back in Round 16, with Wallaby prop Sekope Kepu starting at tighthead in place of the hard-hitting Paddy Ryan.
Internationals Jacques Potgieter and Kane Douglas will wear the number four and five jerseys respectively, with Wallaby debutant Will Skelton expected to make an impact from the bench.
Patrick Lambie
Francois Steyn
The Cell C Sharks players not in the Springbok camp all returned to Kings Park this week as they start preparing for the final stages of the Super Rugby tournament, Sharks website editor Michael Marnewick reports.
In two weeks’ time, they will resume duty against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein, followed by their final pool match, against the Stormers in Cape Town. The knockout stages follow with the Sharks already guaranteed a place in the top three, having already secured the South African Conference.
The players have had a mixed programme over the June break, alternating rest with gym work and field training to balance the needs to break from the game, without losing strength and fitness.
The International Rugby Board has named the Match Officials for SANZAR’s The Rugby Championship in August and September. A new face amongst them is John Lacey of Ireland.
Lacey has become increasingly prominent this year and last Friday refereed the Test in Cordoba between Argentina and Scotland.
He is an e at -player – a wing or fullback for Munster and Ireland A. His debut for Munster was in 1995 against Transvaal. He played till 2007 when he retired and then became a referee. In 2008 he was refereeing club rugby in the Amlin Cup and the Magners League. In 2009 the IRB chose him as an international assistant referee. In 2010 he replaced injured Greg Gardner at the Junior World Championship where he refereed a semifinal. The next year he was on the international panel as a referee. Now he is going to Loftus Versfeld to referee a Test between the Springboks and the Pumas.
The last Championship matches are on 4 October 2014, the Bledisloe Cup match a fortnight later.
SANZAR has released the names of the Match Officials for Round 17 of Super Rugby 2014.
Garratt Williamson starts the action in Dunedin when the Highlanders host local rivals the Chiefs.
This weekend sees 5 games, with 2 on Friday and 3 on Saturday.
All 5 the South African Franchises sit out this weekend, after they started a week early in February.
After completion of this Round, the Logs will be put in proper perspective, with Conferences on the same number of WEEKS in the 2014 competition.
Lourens Adriaanse
Stephan Lewies
Flip van der Merwe
Tendai ‘Beast’ Mtawarira
Lourens Adriaanse (prop) and Stephan Lewies (lock) of the Cell C Sharks have been called up to the Springbok squad in Port Elizabeth, where they face Scotland in the final Test of the Castle Lager Incoming Series on Saturday.
Adriaanse replaces his provincial team-mate Tendai Mtawarira, who sustained an injury to his neck in last Saturday’s 31-30 victory over Wales in Nelspruit.
Lewies comes into the squad for Flip van der Merwe, who injured knee ligaments late in the Welsh Test.
Both Mtawarira and Van der Merwe underwent scans in Port Elizabeth on Monday.
Dumb and Dumber
I hope you guys have a taste for parody and a tongue-in-cheek look at events of the week!
Another episode or 3 in a new serial called Dumb and Dumberer – the SARU Story, is playing out right in front of our eyes this week again.
In Episode 1, one of the lead actors, let’s call him “Hoss”… short for Hoskins… opens his mouth, sticks both feet firmly in… and then continues to look stupid.
In Episode 2, “Kallie Karnallie”… short for Kallie Kriel… puts Hoss in his place, treats him like a school child, leaving Hoss in the fetal position and sucking his thumb in the corner.
In Episode 3, the knight on a white horse arrives… errrr sorry the script was changed to a “Brommer op ‘n Drol”… He tries to rip both of Hoss’ feet out of his mouth and declares that the feet did not belong there in the first place, yet acknowledging that foot in mouth disease, has flash-back effects much like Malaria does.
Like all soapies, this is a lot of tripe, to be followed by the brainless masses…
Well, if you can’t beat them, join them I say! If they can all talk the biggest load of bollocks, then surely I can paint them into a corner and twist the knife for good effect, can’t I?
(PS! Folks, take this with a pinch of salt, no a heap of salt, this is just an attempt to bring mirth to a subject which normally peeves off the average Joe in South Africa!)
Neil Powell
Springbok Sevens coach Neil Powell expressed his satisfaction following the successful defence by his team of the Roma Sevens tournament in Rome, Italy over the weekend.
The South Africans won the tournament in convincing fashion to retain the title they won as part of their 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens preparations last year.
Participation this time around was in anticipation of the Commonwealth Games in Scotland next month.
Vlok Cilliers
Paul Willemse
Jacques du Plessis
News from the Bulls camp, prior to joining Super Rugby action again after the June Test break has not been so good!
Jacques du Plessis, Blindside flank of the Bulls broke his jaw in the warm-up match over the weekend against namibia and is set to miss the rest of the Bulls Super Rugby campaign.
In addition, the Bulls have confirmed that lock Paul Willemse, has signed a 2-year deal with French Club, Grenoble and they have also confirmed that the Bulls kicking consultant, Vlok Cilliers will join the WP as from July 2014.
Brian van Zyl
The Sharks face allegations of maladministration from a report set to be presented to a senior employee on Monday.
The report was conducted by the Durban franchise’s auditing company, KPMG, and has been labelled as “potentially explosive”.
The allegations are believed to revolve around unauthorised benefits being handed to at least one senior staff member, but could spill over into other areas of the company.