Australian Rugby
Both Springboks coach and captain, Heyneke Meyer and Jean de Villiers were very pleased following their convincing 28-8 win over the Wallabies at DHL Newlands on Saturday night.
The Springboks scored three tries, but neither the coach nor captain dwelled on a fourth try that would have resulted in a bonus point win.
The vital Springbok win temporarily placed them on equal terms with the New Zealand All Blacks on The Rugby Championship Log, till the All Blacks beat the Pumas from Argentina later in the night, by 33-15 and in the process scoring a 4th try on the final hooter. This now leaves the All Blacks (23 Log Points) 5 Log Points clear of the Springboks (18 Log Points) prior to the finale at Ellis Park in Johannesburg on 5 October. The Springboks would have to achieve a full haul of 5 Log Points whilst also beating the All Blacks by more than 7 points and at the same time not conceeding 4 tries in the last match to clinch The Rugby Championship. In anybody’s language THAT is a tall order against the No 1 team in the world, but at least the Springboks are in with a fighting chance.
Springboks (23) 28 / 8 (3) Wallabies (Final Score)
The South African Springboks and Australian Wallabies did battle in The Rugby Championship at
Newlands, Cape Town at 17:00 SA Time (15:0 GMT, 01:00 Sunday AEST).
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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Stephen Larkham has been named in a caretaker coaching duo for the Brumbies with fellow assistant Laurie Fisher in the wake of Jake White’s sudden resignation, but the former Australia flyhalf would like to take on the head role fulltime.
Larkham, who formed one of rugby’s most successful halves partnerships with fellow Brumbies’ player George Gregan, has been the team’s attack coach for the past three seasons, helping the Canberra-based side to the final of this year’s Super Rugby competition.
A win in this match is crucial for the Springboks if they are to still have a chance of winning the tounament at the conclusion of the Test against the All Blacks next weekend, a loss could mean season over as far as silver wear goes.
The Wallabies are battling under new coaching staff and winning has become an extinct species down under.
They managed their first win this year in The Rugby Championship in their last encounter against the Pumas, with one solitary point, having scored zero points in the second half.
All in all it is doubtful that the Wallabies will walk away with a win in this match, having said that, they will not make it easy for the Springboks, in a must win match.
Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer has named his team to face the Wallabies at Newlands on Saturday.
Fourie du Preez makes a welcome return to the starting lineup at scrumhalf and Adriaan Strauss gets the nod at hooker, with Bismarck du Plessis set on the bench.
Ewen McKenzie, Wallabies coach, has announced his team to play South Africa’s Springboks at Newlands in Cape Town this weekend, with James Horwill returning to the starting line up and captaining the side.
Nic White and Quade Cooper retains the halfback berths, with scrumhalf Will Genia and replacement flyhalf Matt Toomua on the bench.
Adam Ashley-Cooper moves to the wing in place of suspended James O’Connor and Tevita Kuridrani is brought in at outside centre, for his starting debut.
Brumbies coach Jake White has quit his job as head coach of Super Rugby finalists the Brumbies for personal reasons.
According to reports White has quit the Brumbies and is rumoured to have been upset that he was overlooked for the Wallabies job which was given to Ewen McKenzie.
The Springboks are once again likely to field a match-day squad on Saturday liberally sprinkled with overseas-based players … but SARU has reiterated its green light for coach Heyneke Meyer’s approach to the matter.
South Africa tackle Australia in The Rugby Championship at Newlands (17:00) and the Springbok match 23, to be revealed later on Wednesday, is likely to feature at least seven players already based with foreign clubs and another, Zane Kirchner, who very shortly dons a Leinster jersey.
Springbok prop Jannie du Plessis is set to play his 50th Test which will see him and brother Bismarck achieve a special milestone.
Jannie du Plessis and flyhalf Morné Steyn will play their 50th Tests for the Springboks when they tackle Australia’s Wallabies at Newlands on Saturday.
Probably the most biased rugby writer in world rugby, Spiro Zavos (writes for the Sydney Morning Herald), has described Springbok Rugby as “Thugby”.
Come on Spiros, I have a special toffee that I would like to show you in person… this is a family website, after all.
Anybody who takes Spiros’ ramblings with more than a pinch of salt, lowers him or herself to the lowest COMMON (pun intended) denominator. The man is a legend… in his own mind only!
Come on Spiros, surely you are better than that…
Australia will arrive in South Africa on Monday for the start of what has been described as the road-trip from hell.
Not only will they play back-to-back Rugby Championships – against the Springboks at Newlands this coming Saturday (September 28) and the Pumas in Rosario a week later – but the Wallabies then head to New Zealand for the third and final Bledisloe Cup encounter of the year.
Wallaby James O’Connor has now been dropped from the Wallaby squad, indefinately, due to his recent escapade at the Perth airport.
Australians are today mourning the death of a legend.
Edward Heinrich, who is considered a classic Wallaby, has passed away last night at the age of 73.
James O’Connor, one of Australia’s most notorious bad boys, may have put his career in jeopardy with another drunken escapade.
The Australian media reported that the Wallaby wing, O’Connor, was ‘escorted’ from the Perth airport just hours after last Saturday’s 14-13 Test win over Argentina.
The Springboks face potentially more French referee heartache with the realisation that Jérôme Garcès has been appointed to take charge of their next Rugby Championship match against Australia at Newlands on Saturday, September 28.
Kick-off is at 17:00.
The recall of Waratahs prop Benn Robinson is one of the main features of a 28-man Wallaby squad for their two-match tour to South Africa and Argentina.
Australia tackle the Springboks in Cape Town on Septemver 28 and the Pumas in Rossario a week later.
Ewen McKenzie has not had the start he wanted in his first 10 weeks as Australia coach but, rejecting any talk of crisis, the former test prop is busy plotting a first win over South Africa in Cape Town in two decades.
McKenzie’s appointment in the wake of the British and Irish Lions series defeat provoked a wave of optimism in Australia but that was quickly dissipated by two defeats at the hands of New Zealand and a humbling 38-12 home loss to the Springboks.
With only 730 days till World Cup 2015 the pools and qualifying teams are starting to take shape.
There is still quite a few qualifying matches ahead and still a playoff series to fill all open spots.
Bad news in the Wallaby camp seems to be at the order of the day.
This is turning into a year that Australia will never want to relive.
The Springboks, who lost over the weekend to the All Blacks, will feel a little undone by the result, but not all hope is lost.
It will take a big push to ensure they still win The Rugby Championship.
Australian coach Ewen McKenzie will give regular captain Horwill till Saturday to prove his fitness, ahead of a two-match Rugby Championship tour.
Horwill, who missed the last two Tests with a hamstring strain, is given a good chance of being passed fit for the Tests against South Africa (in Cape Town on September 28) and Argentina (in Rosario a week later).
The Rugby Chamionship match between the Australian Wallabies and Argentinian Pumas is was a strange old battle to basically decide who was not going to receive the wooden spoon in the competition, a clash with it’s own merits and demerits. Neither team had won in the competition for the year and were desperate to pick up the first win and the game went right down to the wire.
Wallabies (14) 14 / 13 (3) Pumas (Final Score)
The Australian Wallabies and Argentinian Pumas did battle in The Rugby Championship at
Patersons Stadium, Perth, Australia at 12:05 SA Time (18:00 Perth Time, 07:05 Arg Time, 10:05 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & SHD on TV in SA.
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A former NRL player has been banned for 8 matches for biting an opponents penis in a club match last week.
In 6 games played this year in The Rugby Championship these teams have combined only managed to get 1 Log point. Here is a head to head breakdown of how the two teams compare.
These teams have met each other 19 times in the past, with the Wallabies winning 14 and the Puma’s winning 4 and only 1 draw. With the current form of these sides, a draw could not be a far fetched result in this case.
The Wallabies have scored a total of 493 against the Pumas compared to the Puma’s 287. This leaves a average score line of 26-15 in favour of the Wallabies.
Neither team has manged any wins this year, but the Pumas did manage a to get a bonus point against the Springboks in Mendoza.
The Pumas will be backing themselves for a win in Australia, coming off 2 good performances against the Springboks and All Blacks respectively.
Australia is playing their final home game in this year’s Rugby Championship before touring to South Africa and Argentina and at this stage a win is non negotiable for the Wallabies. They will attempt to trash the Pumas to earn back some respect from the Australian rugby public, as this is one their worst years in rugby history.
Wallabies scrumhalf Will Genia has been dropped for Australia’s crucial Rugby Championship clash against Argentina here on Saturday with Ben Mowen taking over the captaincy.
Genia is considered to be one of the best No 9s in world rugby but has struggled for consistency and paid the price for last weekend’s 38-12 drubbing at the hands of South Africa in Brisbane.
He drops to the bench for the must-win match against the Pumas in Perth, with Nic White replacing him in the starting line-up.
With the victory by the Springboks over Australia at the weekend, the gap between the Springboks and the All Blacks on the IRB World Rankings has been closed to only 2.7 points.
At the start of last week the points gap was 4.35 and after the match on Saturday only 2.7.
The desperation in Australia to turn around a four-match losing streak has reached such a dire stage even their best players are now in the firing line.
The Wallabies have failed to fire in three losses since Ewen McKenzie took over as coach, with the team copping plenty of heat following last week’s record 12-38 belting by South Africa in Brisbane.
Scrumhalf Will Genia, who aside from South Africa’s Fourie du Preez is regarded as the game’s foremost No.9, is in the cross hairs of critics looking to find a scapegoat for the team’s dismal run.
Former Wallaby Lote Tuqiri will return to Rugby Union, with Irish province Leinster, after three years playing for Wests Tigers in Australia’s National Rugby League.
The 33-year-old wing was a huge star in League before switching codes to Union and enjoying seven successful years with the Waratahs and the Wallabies, before joining the Tigers in 2010.
The Wallabies have brought in two Waratahs forwards to bolster the squad, in the form of Dave Dennis and Sitaleki Timani.
They have been called up as replacements for the injured James Horwill and Jake Schatz, who will be sidelined for six weeks with injuries.
After every Tom, Dick & Harry and every Australian journalist really lay into the Wallabies, they are busy regrouping and trying to circle the wagons around themselves.
The Wallabies face the Pumas from Argentina this coming weekend, after the New Zealand All Blacks and South African Springboks face off in the battle of the two best sides on the planet.
Australian players and coaching staff spoke of remaining unified and circling the wagons, as they look to end a four-match losing streak and avoid their worst run in recent years.
On a bright Monday morning, I look back on a weekend where the rugby gods smiled on me and the teams I support.
On Saturday morning at 09:35 SA Time, the New Zealand All Blacks and Argentinian Pumas met at the Waikato Stadium, Hamilton in wether which was never going to suit high-scoring running rugby, with wind and rain pelting down. The All Blacks won a tough encounter against a spirited Pumas side by 28 / 13.
A bit later, at 12:05 SA Time the Australian Wallabies and South African Springboks met in Brisbane, in perfect weather for rugby. By the end of this game the Wallabies would have given anything to rather have played in attrocious weather conditions, because the Springboks hammered, destroyed… and educated the Wallabies, setting up the biggest win against the Wallabies by a Springbok team in Australia of all time, the final score Springboks 38 / 12, a margin of 26 points!
Last week I lamented about the lack of presence, urgency and innovation in the Springbok team when they played the Pumas in Mendoza. I concluded that on evidence of the lack of presence of the tight five and the slowness of the back row, I can’t see them winning in Brisbane.
The Springboks corrected all those shortcomings this weekend in Brisbane. The result – the greatest ever victory in Australia and the first win in Brisbane in 41 years.
Here is my list of things that really impressed me in this Test followed by a list of things I think they need to work on before they tackle the All Blacks at Edenpark.
The hype building up to this match was big and the result as well especially if you support the Springboks. They dominated from the word go and also built the lead from early on. The match started at a huge tempo and held that most of the match, giving fans a great match to watch. The scoring of the match started slow with the Springboks scoring a early try but the Wallabies stayed in touch with penalties.
The end result of 38 – 12 in favour of the Springboks and a bonus point to boot has moved the Springboks 1 Log point clear at the top of the Log, 1 point ahead of the All Blacks, who they will be facing next weekend.
Pat McCabe is looking to make a return to Super Rugby next year and get back on the test radar.
After re-fracturing his C1 vertebra in June and the second time since November last year he has been cleared to start running and will most likely join the Brumbies in their pre-season training.