Monthly Archives: February 2015
Jacques du Plessis
Flip van der Merwe
The Blue Bulls Company (Pty) Ltd on Friday confirmed that efforts to keep Vodacom Bulls locks Jacques du Plessis and Flip van der Merwe in Pretoria have been unsuccessful, with both players taking up contracts in France at the end of the domestic 2015 season.
Du Plessis has signed a two year deal with Montpellier and Van der Merwe will join Clermont, also after the completion of the ABSA Currie Cup competition.
The BBC’s High Performance Manager, Xander Janse van Rensburg said talks with both players have been ongoing for some time.
The Golden Lions Rugby Union have announced their 33-man squad which will compete as the Emirates Lions in the 2015 Vodacom Super Rugby tournament.
The Emirates Lions will get their Vodacom Super Rugby campaign under way on Friday 13 February as they take on the Hurricanes at Emirates Airline Park in Johannesburg. Tickets start at just R 40.00 and can be purchased online via Lionsrugby.computicket.com.
Season tickets are also still available for purchase from just R 800.00 and includes tickets to all Vodacom Super Rugby and ABSA Currie Cup home games, as well as the Springboks versus All Blacks Test.
The Emirates Lions boast a strong squad in 2015, with a number of Springboks and Springbok tourists in the squad.
The Springboks are: Marnitz Boshoff, Elton Jantjies, Lionel Mapoe, Julian Redelinghuys & Warren Whiteley.
The Springbok tourists (uncapped) are: Ruan Dreyer & Jaco Kriel.
The Lions improved tremendously during 2014, doing well in Super Rugby and reaching the Final of the ABSA Currie Cup Premier Division and they will want to continue this good form under the leadership of coach Johan Ackermann.
Emirates Lions Super Rugby squad:
16 Teams, split into 2 Sections of 8 each, will contest the 2015 Vodacom Cup, with defending champions GWK Griquas heading up a strong South Section and the Welwitschias from Namibia back in the competition and replacing the Kenyan Tusker Simba XV side who has withdrawn due to financial considerations.
Joining the 5-time champions from Kimberley in the South Section will be winners in 2012, DHL Western Province, as well as the Boland Cavaliers, Border Bulldogs, Cell C Sharks XV, EP Kings, SWD Eagles and Toyota Free State XV.
The Xerox Golden Lions, runners up last year and champions in 2013, are in the North Section with the Assupol Limpopo Blue Bulls, Down Touch Griffons, Leopards XV, Steval Pumas, Valke, Vodacom Blue Bulls and Welwitschias from Namibia.
Italy (3) 3 / 26 (9) Ireland (Final Score)
Italy and Ireland did battle in the RBS 6 Nations at
Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy at 16:30 SA Time (15:30 Italy Time, 14:30 BST & GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 on TV in SA.
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The first Sevens Tournament in the 2015 calendar year for the HSBC Sevens World Series of 2014 / 2015 took place in Wellington, New Zealand at the Westpac Stadium.
The New Zealand Sevens tournament was played over 2 Days, Friday 6 and Saturday 7 February 2015.
Play started in the very early, small hours of the night / morning of 6 & 7 February (01:00 SA Time), with the opening game between the Blitzbokke from South Africa pitted against France.
South Africa’s Blitzbokke survived a scare to eventually progress to the quarters when France beat them 22 / 5 in the first game of the tournament and eventually finished in 3rd spot,beating Scotland by 40 / 7 and keeping their Top of the Log position after the early Rounds.
New Zealand won the Wellington Sevens in style, beating England in the final, by 27 / 21.
Pools:
- Pool A: South Africa, United States, France, Japan
- Pool B: New Zealand, England, Canada, Papua New Guinea
- Pool C: Australia, Fiji, Wales, Portugal
- Pool D: Argentina, Scotland, Kenya, Samoa
Fixtures & Results:
Wales (16) 16 / 21 (8) England (Final Score)
Wales and England did battle in the SIX Nations at
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff at 22:05 SA Time (20:05 BST & GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 on TV in SA.
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Toulon (5) 10 / 12 (9) Sharks (Final Score)
Toulon and the Cell C Sharks did battle in a friendly cross-hemisphere match prior to the
Super Rugby season at Stade Mayol, Toulon at 22:00 SA Time (21:00 French Time, 20:00 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & CSN on TV in SA.
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The Reds have named their team to play the Crusaders at Ballymore in what will be their final Super Rugby pre-season clash.
As revealed yesterday Reds recent recruit Karmichael Hunt will start at flyhalf in the match as the Queensland side look at ways of filling the gap created by Quade Cooper’s injury.
Reds head coach Richard Graham has announced a 23-man squad for the fixture, with a further three players to be added. In all Graham has made three changes to the starting team from last week’s match.
Hunt’s move to starting flyhalf has shifted 20-year-old Duncan Paia’aua to the reserves bench, Chris Feauai-Sautia has been brought into a starting wing spot and Jamie-Jerry Taulagi has moved to starting fullback.
Dan Carter
Dan Carter will start the Crusaders’ last warm-up match ahead of potentially his final Super Rugby season against the Reds on Friday at flyhalf with team-mate Colin Slade switching to fullback.
The 32-year-old Carter, who will join French side Racing Metro at the conclusion of this year’s World Cup, had played mostly at inside centre last year when he returned to the Crusaders from a sabbatical to accommodate Slade’s good form.
The fact he will play in his preferred flyhalf position suggests he will get the nod from coach Todd Blackadder to start there for the Crusaders’ opening game against the Melbourne Rebels on 13 February in Christchurch.
The Cheetahs ran in 10 tries to the Griffons 1 in what can only be described as a practice match as the men from Bloemfontein tweaked their final preparations.
What this match did allow was for Naka Drotske and his staff to get a clearer picture of the Cheetahs best centre pairing with Francois Venter, Michael van der Spuy and Johann Sadie looking sharp – however, JW Jonker not in action.
Venter looked especially good and was on song against the Griffons as he slipped between inside and outside centre with ease.
A Shoulder injury kept him out of most of the 2014 Super Rugby season but this could be the year for him to step up.
Hawies Fourie, the Cheetahs’ backline coach, has a pleasant problem of who will begin in the centres in next weekend’s Sharks game.
The Melbourne Rebels have completed their pre-season schedule with a 25 / 24 come-from-behind victory over the Highlanders in a thrilling encounter at Harlequin club in Melbourne.
For the first ever time, a Victorian Club ground hosted a Super Rugby trial – as the Highlanders, finalists last season, ventured to Holmesglen Reserve to face the Rebels.
It was a physical clash throughout, with both sides impressive with ball in hand.
Ryan Wilson
Scottish Rugby has suspended Ryan Wilson for three months without pay following his conviction for assault.
It was also decided that the 25-year-old Glasgow Warriors loose forward will not be considered for Scotland selection until late August, meaning he misses the Six Nations.
Last week, Wilson, capped nine times, was found guilty of assaulting a fellow rugby player on a night out.
Wilson, who has been with Glasgow since 2010, has the right to appeal.
Jean de Villiers
A discernible changing of the guard in Springbok playing personnel after a World Cup is an established trend… but national captain Jean de Villiers has some special fears about the expected migration of several leading stars to overseas clubs later this year.
Interviewed while he goes about his rehabilitation from a serious knee injury to try to make the Rugby World Cup 2015 cut in the United Kingdom, De Villiers said the exodus was threatening to be more acute this time – and not just to feature players on the receding end of their careers, as has been the general norm before.
“It does seem that this time around, if you can believe the rumours floating around, that more players are looking to go abroad than after 2011 (the New Zealand-staged tournament).
“Whereas that year we had quite a few guys retiring, finishing up (at Bok level), there weren’t as many switching shores.
Michael Horak
Cell C Sharks defensive coach, Michael Horak, is looking forward to the test an unstructured Toulon team can give the Sharks defensive line ahead of their warm-up match on Thursday.
The Sharks are in the latter stages of their preparation for a Super Rugby campaign that kicks off against the Cheetahs on 14 February.
They will face a Toulon side famous for its big names and dominating style of rugby as a warm-up match in order to get their systems and structures right.
Tomas Cubelli
Pumas scrumhalf, Tomas Cubelli headlines a numer of players to commit to Argentina’s new Super Rugby franchise with Javier Ortega Desio, Thomas Lezana, Gabriel Ascarate and Matias Orlando also signing up.
The group all signed contracts until at least the end of the 2017 season following a Pampas XV training session in Rosario on Tuesday.
These players join Martin Landajo, Guido Petti Pagadizábal, Pablo Matera, Matías Alemanno, Rodrigo Baez, Jerome de la Fuente, Facundo Isa and Manuel Montero who have all committed for three years.
Naka Drotské
Toyota Cheetahs coach Naka Drotské has named a powerful team, including all his available Springboks, to face the Griffons in their final Super Rugby pre-season outing on Wednesday.
Fullback Willie le Roux tops the list of Bok stars that will run out at the Old Greys club in Bloemfontein.
Le Roux has overcome an ankle strain he suffered in last Friday’s loss to the Stormers.
Other Boks having a run include wings Cornal Hendricks and Raymond Rhule, flank Teboho ‘Oupa’ Mohoje, lock Lodewyk ‘Lood’ de Jager and prop Coenie Oosthuizen.
Robert du Preez
Robert du Preez will line up at flyhalf for the Stormers in their pre-season friendly against the Boland Cavaliers at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.
Demetri Catrakilis and Kurt Coleman played flyhalf in last Friday’s 39 / 31 win over the Cheetahs at Newlands.
But Du Preez will get a chance to showcase his skills with a starting role on Saturday, the Stormers announced via their official Facebook page.
David Pocock
Former Wallabies skipper David Pocock escaped conviction on Wednesday over a protest against an Australian coal mine in which he locked himself to a digger.
Pocock was arrested in late November after he attached himself to the machine for 10 hours to protest against the Maules Creek coal mine in a New South Wales state forest.
The 26-year-old flank pleaded guilty at Gunnedah Local Court to hindering a workman in use of property but the charge was dismissed without conviction.
Rugby development in Africa took a heavy blow this week when Kenya withdrew their team from this year’s Vodacom Cup competition.
The Tusker Simba XV that took part in last year’s competition was meant to be involved in the 2015 edition as well, but have had to withdraw from all games as they don’t have the financial resources to field a team in the competition.
The invitation for them to participate came from SA Rugby to help with rugby development in Africa, and was seen as a key part of Kenya’s development as a rugby nation, especially after their success at Sevens level.
The Tusker Simba XV finished second last in last year’s Southern Section, above the Border Bulldogs.
Peter de Villiers
Former Springbok coach Peter de Villiers is eager to again coach rugby at a high level.
De Villiers currently coaches the University of the Western Cape, who compete in the Varsity Shield competition.
He said, after his side lost 16 / 5 to the University of KwaZulu-Natal in their Varsity Shield opener on Monday.
De Villiers said his contract with UWC expires after this year’s Varsity Shield and he would be interested in coaching at Varsity Cup, Currie Cup, Super Rugby, international level or even an overseas club.
Rory Kockott
South African-born scrumhalf Rory Kockott will make his first start for France in their Six Nations opener against Scotland on Saturday in Paris, coach Philippe Saint-Andre announced on Wednesday.
After three substitute appearances for Les Bleus during the November internationals, the 28-year-old Castres half-back will line-up alongside Camille Lopez, who starts at flyhalf.
It will be the 14th different starting half-back pairing aligned by Saint-Andre since taking over the France reins three years ago – in November, Toulon scrumhalf Sebastien Tillous-Borde started all three Tests but was suffering from a knee injury in the build up to the Six Nations.
“It’s logical (to pick Kockott) given our organisation in November,” said Saint-Andre.
Luther Burrell and Jonathan Joseph form a new-look midfield partnership, as England recalled four British and Irish Lions for Friday’s Six Nations opener against Wales at the Millennium Stadium.
Dan Cole starts at tighthead prop, while Leicester Tigers teammates Tom Youngs and Tom Croft, as well as Saracens loosehead Mako Vunipola, are included among the replacements.
All four played some part in England’s 3 / 30 defeat at the same venue two years ago and will be itching to set the record straight.
Cole comes in for David Wilson (Bath) to win a 46th cap in a pack showing four changes from the one that started the final 2014 year-end Test against Australia.
Ben Whittaker
New signing Ben Whittaker will make his first appearance for the Rebels they host the Highlanders in a Super Rugby pre-season outing in Melbourne on Thursday.
Coach Tony McGahan named a 26-man squad for the outing at the Harlequin club.
Whittaker will be joined by Lopeti Timani, who will feature for the first time this pre-season.
McGahan said he was looking forward to the franchise’s second trial game, against strong opposition.
Shane Christie
Shane Christie will captain the Highlanders as they complete their two-match preseason tour of Australia – against the Melbourne Rebels in Melbourne on Thursday.
Looking for their third win of the pre-season, the Highlanders will again employ a squad of 28 for the match.
Fumiaka Tanaka will rejoin the Highlanders for his first pre-season game, after meeting the team in Melbourne on his way back to New Zealand – following the completion of the Japanese Top League.
Sale Sharks flyhalf Danny Cipriani has been named in the England squad for the Six Nations opener against Wales. The 27-year-old, who has not featured since last June’s tour of New Zealand, is set to start on the bench.
Harlequins No 8 eight Nick Easter, 36, returns for the first time since the 2011 World Cup.
Leicester Tigers trio Dan Cole, Tom Croft and Tom Youngs and Saracens prop Mako Vunipola are also named in Stuart Lancaster’s 25-man party.
Bath centre Jonathan Joseph returns to the squad for the first time since the 2013 tour to Argentina.
Super Rugby is just more than a week away and most if not all Super Rugby Franchises have instructed their Kit Sponsors to come up with new designs for the 2015 Season.
All the Franchises are sponsored by BIG Kit sponsors.
Of the Australian Franchises the Brumbies are sponsored by CLASSIC, whereas the Western Force, Melbourne Rebels and Reds are sponsored by BLK, and the Waratahs are sponsored by CANTERBURY.
In New Zealand all 5 Super Rugby Franchises are sponsored by ADIDAS.
In South Africa, there is a mix of sponsors, with both the Vodacom Bulls and Toyota Cheetahs are sponsored by PUMA, whereas the rest all have their own sponsors. The Emirates Lions are sponsored by CANTERBURY, The Cell C Sharks by BLK and the DHL Stormers are sponsored by ADIDAS.
For a change the Vodacom Bulls have moved away from a radical Pink or Cammo approach to a more traditional approach and it seems only the Chiefs and to a lesser extent the Blues have somewhat pictorial designs on their Home Kit.
But… the Kit is not what makes a team, so although you might like or dislike a particular Franchise’s Kit, the proof of the pudding still lies in how the teams perform on the field of play.
Gerbrandt Grobler
Western Province and Stormers lock Gerbrandt Grobler has received a 2-year ban after testing positive for an anabolic steroid.
According to reports, the test was done last October during the Currie Cup.
When Grobler, 22, was informed of the result, he admitted his guilt and made a settlement agreement with the South African Institute for Drug Free Sport (SAIDS). He therefore gave up the right to have a hearing.
Allister Coetzee
Long-serving DHL Stormers and DHL Western Province coach Allister Coetzee has chosen not to extend his contract at Western Province Rugby and will, instead, take up an opportunity abroad at the end of this year.
Coetzee, 51, will join Japanese club, Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers, having decided to put pen to paper this week.
“I have always said that I would make an announcement once I had made a decision about my future and my decision has now been made and communicated properly,” said Coetzee on the official DHL Stormers website.
Nick Briant will officially get the 2015 Super Rugby season underway in Christchurch when he takes the whistle for the Crusaders vs Melbourne Rebels clash on 13 February.
Angus Gardner will oversee the Brumbies vs Reds which follows immediately afterwards in Canberra, with the Australian duo of Rohan Hoffmann and Andrew Lees sharing duties in South Africa for the Emirates Lions vs Hurricanes and Cell C Sharks vs Toyota Cheetahs matches.
The highly-experienced Chris Pollock and Jaco Peyper get the whistle for much-anticipated Round 1 derbies in Auckland and Pretoria respectively with new additions to the 2015 squad, Ben O’Keeffe and Jaco van Heerden assisting on the line in those matches.
Finally, Steve Walsh will be in the middle as the Waratahs get their title defence underway at Sydney’s Allianz Stadium against the Western Force on Sunday 15 February.
The Sharks match against Toulon will see 2014’s best European team take on the last year’s best South African team, but will it be rust versus readiness?
The men from Durban, bar a brief hit-out against Rovers last Thursday, have not seen competitive rugby in over 3 months, while their opponents, Toulon, are in the business end of their season.
There is bound to be some rustiness from the South Africans admits former Sharks prop Eduard Coetzee as he discusses what it will be like for them to face the Galácticos of rugby.
Coetzee is well versed in both countries’ rugby having spent 5 years with the Sharks before finishing off his career in France with Bayonne and finally Biarritz where he made 125 appearances.
“It is clear that for us that this meeting will be something special,” Coetzee said.
“We will assess our ability while facing the best team in the Northern Hemisphere.
Conrad Smith
Will Genia
Reports from France seem to suggest that Wallaby Will Genia will finally make his much anticipated move to France along with the latest in the All Black post-World Cup exodus, Conrad Smith.
Genia, who for a peroid was heavily linked with English Premiership side Bath, now looks more likely to join Parisian side Stade Fancais on a 3-year deal.
It seems that Genia’s deal with Bath eventually fell through due to the Premiership’s salary cap restrictions and the English club’s existing deal with Rugby League convert Sam Burgess.
Luther Obi
Sylvian Mahuza
SA Rugby’s lenient rugby agent laws may come under the spotlight after 2 highly promising players seem to have signed for the EP Kings while they had valid contracts with the Leopards Rugby Union.
The Leopards Rugby Union are set to lay a complaint at SA Rugby and have consulted legal advice after 2 of their players – highly rated wingers Luther Obi, who played for the SA Under 20 side last year and Sylvian Mahuza, apparently signed with the Kings while still having valid contracts with the Leopards until 31 October 2015.
Now the player agent Jaco du Plessis is facing both legal action and a complaint at SA Rugby about his conduct, as the Kings have claimed they acted in good faith and knew nothing about the prior contracts the 2 players had.
The Kings claim they were told the players had no binding contracts and therefore snapped them up.
Both players were set to make their debut for the Lions in Vodacom Super Rugby this season through the agreement between the Lions and the Leopards, but then did not turn up for practice sessions as instructed to.
Marcel van der Merwe
Vodacom Bulls prop Marcel van der Merwe will miss the opening week of the Vodacom Super Rugby season due to a medial knee ligament injury, it was confirmed on Monday.
The injury occurred on Saturday in London, when the Blue Bulls played against English club side Saracens in a warm-up friendly.
Van der Merwe injured his knee and pulled his hamstring in the second half and will be out for 3 to 4 weeks, team doctor Org Strauss confirmed on Monday.
The Springbok prop was the only casualty in the match and Vodacom Bulls coach Frans Ludeke should have a fairly fit squad to pick from for their first match, against the DHL Stormers at Loftus Versfeld on 14 February.
Captain Sam Warburton will win his 50th cap against England on Friday as he leads a Wales side that contains 2 changes from the one that beat South Africa in their last outing.
Warren Gatland has named his team 48 hours ahead of schedule and it sees the return of British and Irish Lions Richard Hibbard and George North to the starting line-up for the Six Nations tournament opener.
Hibbard will line-up in the front row with Gethin Jenkins and Samson Lee, with Jake Ball and Alun Wyn Jones packing down behind.
Warburton is named in a familiar back row with Dan Lydiate and Taulupe Faletau.
The Bulls are the South African team to have laid down the early marker ahead of the Vodacom Super Rugby season that kicks off in a fortnight and after watching the Pretoria team deal with Saracens, the Sharks will aim at a quality performance when they play Toulon in France on Thursday.
In direct contrast to last season, when Jake White’s arrival as director of rugby created much hype and a few bold predictions about the Sharks’ chances long before the competition had started, the Durban franchise has been operating under the radar during the off-season.
The low key end to 2014, with the Currie Cup team bowing out in the semifinal stage as opposed to going all the way to the trophy the year before, has probably contributed to the low key build-up, as has the fact that the new director of rugby, Gary Gold, has until late last week been based in Japan. Consultant Brendan Venter has been overseeing the preparations for Super Rugby, but he is not known for making bold assertions to the media.