European Rugby
Springbok captain John Smit made the perfect debut for Saracens when he scored Saracens fifth try in their 42-17 hammering of Treviso in Pool 5 of the Heineken Cup at Vicarage Road.
It is Heineken Cup time and today 3 games were broadcast live on TV in SA.
They are:
- Montpellier vs Leinster
- Ulster Rugby vs Asm Clemont Auvergne
- Munster vs Northampton Saints
This was the general discussion thread for these 3 Games.
Saracens boss Edward Griffiths says the South African Rugby Union (SARU) should consider playing its international rugby in the Northern Hemisphere in future.
England Vice Captain Mike Tindall has been fined 25 000 Pounds and removed from the England elite player squad for his conduct during the Rugby World Cup.
Australia’s long injury list from the Rugby World Cup has opened the door for three new Wallaby caps in the Australian rugby squad which will play two matches in Wales and England in late November and December.
Samoan centre Eliota Fuimaono 
Sapolu was ordered to appear before an RFU disicplinary panel on Friday after being hit with three charges of “conduct prejudicial to the interests of the game.”
Newcastle Falcons have bolstered their forward pack with the signing of Stormers and Western Province lock Adriaan Fondse.
New Italy coach Jacques Brunel has said that Italy will have to quickly reach a level of Rugby that will enable them to compete for the Six Nations championship.
Martin Johnson looks set to continue as England Rugby coach but he will have to agree to remove some of his back room staff after England exited the Rugby World Cup early.
French No.8 Imanol Harinordoquy of Biarritz said that the French coach Marc Lièvremont was lost at the World Cup in New Zealand and that the players had taken over the running of the team, ignoring their coach.
Toulon are hoping to sign England veteran lock Simon Shaw as injury cover for South African Bakkies Botha in France’s Top 14.
All Blacks manager Darren Shand says the French rugby team should not have been fined for confronting New Zealand’s Maori haka or ceremonial challenge in the tense moments before kick-off in Sunday’s Rugby World Cup final.
All Blacks (5) 8 / France (0) 7 (Final Score)
The New Zealand All Blacks and France did battle in the Final of Rugby World Cup 2011 at Eden Park, Auckland at 10:00 SA Time (21:00 NZ 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 All Blacks held out a very galant and determined France side… and wins Rugby World Cup 2011 by 1 point.
Yip, that’s right… only 1 point!
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.
While Australia and Wales arrived at the Rugby World Cup with different goals but have ended up with the same intention: To go home with something tangible to show.
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.