General
Hello folks,
English coach Stuart Lancaster will now be able to remove less than flattering terms such as ‘caretaker’ and ‘interim’ from his title, with the 42-year-old appointed permanent head coach by the Rugby Football Union board.
The International Rugby Board has had a fundamental shake-up of its refereeing structure. Most significantly its manager of referees, Paddy O’Brien, is to move from his present post to run Sevens referees, a job the IRB says is significant with Olympic participation in the offing.
That is still not the end of it. The selection committee have made changes to the IRB’s top panel. Wayne Barnes, Dave Pearson and Bryce Lawrence have been dropped from the IRB’s top panel of referees, while Jaco Peyper of South Africa has been brought onto the panel for the first time.
That is not the end of it. The IRB has also changed the selection process, something O’Brien had put in place, with a four-man selection committee meeting four times a year. The four are Lyndon Bray and Tappe Henning (both SANZAR) and Donal Courtney and Clayton Thomas (both Six Nations and European Rugby Cup). Bray is SANZAR’s game manager which includes looking after referees and Courtney is the ERC’s referees manager. All four are former Test referees who have stayed involved in refereeing administration.
I read an article today in the You Magazine which my wife had purchased after she saw on the cover that young Mark Scott, son of Darren Scott, had been diagnosed with Cancer of the Kidney (Nephroblastoma).
This for me is heart wrenching and I would love to ask all my fellow rugby lovers and bloggers and all who read this to find it in you to please pray for young Mark. I know the Scott family would truly appreciate the thoughts and prayers.
Darren Scott is a rugby man like you and me and his son deserves our support.
Links and details of the Facebook Group regarding Mark is as follows: “Praying for little Mark Scott”
The Bulls and their supporters have certainly copped massive derision about the Pink jerseys the Vodacom Bulls will be wearing in away games where their normal Blue strip clashes with the colours of the Home side.
But here’s one back at you… so, Stormers supporters and those of the other franchises, I’d think TWICE about scoffing at those jerseys again!
…. and here’s the reason why….
Rugby’s most most-capped player and former Wallaby captain George Gregan will join the Board of the Australian Rugby Union.
The Six Nations has run it’s course with an impressive Grand Slam for Wales, worthy champions who beat all comers!
In our first SuperBru Competion to complete for 2012, we now proudly crown our CHAMPION in the Rugby-Talk SIX Nations pool.
Growing up as a Durban boy my only sporting interest and great passion as a school boy was surfing.
What I didn’t fully realize was that I was born with the body of a prop, and so rugby entered my life as a prop forward at Under 13 level and soon thereafter rugby had relegated surfing to second place, and I played my first game at first division level against the then current Springbok tight head at the tender age of Nineteen!!
15 Years later I played my last game at first division level and happily bear the cauliflower ear and aches and pains of being lucky enough to scrum down in this great game with and against the most interesting men I could ever wish to meet.
Scrumming had become a practical education in the skill of a contest that only a few get to experience, and the enjoyment of watching and appreciating the contest between props based on their know how and technique has kept me close to the game that gave me so much enjoyment.
SO WHO HAS STOLEN THE SCRUM FROM RUGBY IN 2012?
The Western Province Rugby Union and the City of Cape Town have enter into “formal talks” about the possibility of the WPRFU moving base from Newlands to the city’s new stadium in Greenpoint.
Michael “Jock” Hobbs, a leading figure in New Zealand rugby who helped secure his country’s bid to host last year’s World Cup, died aged 52 on Tuesday after a long battle with cancer, his family said. Continue reading 
The South African Rugby Union (SARU) has extended its contract with Gilbert Rugby South Africa as the Official Ball and Equipment Supplier to the Springboks.
Two of South Africa’s most successful coaches – Nick Mallett and Jake White – could go head-to-head in the race for the England job.
‘n Paar weke gelede het ons berig oor die manne van Reguit Rugby, wat hulle eie program bymekaarsit, as rugbyondersteuners, om Super Rugby te ontleed en bespreek.
Hierdie week het ons Episode 7, opgedeel in 3 dele, waarna julle gerus kan kyk.
Ondersteun die manne, hulle is rugbyliefhebbers soos ons. Reguit Rugby se webweft kan gevind word by www.reguitrugby.co.za en hulle videos is te sien op www.youtube.com op die Reguit Rugby Channel.
The International Rugby Board Executive Committee, acting in its role as the IRB Trust, has appointed the members of the Rugby World Cup Limited Board who will serve a four-year term to be effective from 15 May 2012.
As previously posted, we have 5 pairs of tickets (10 tickets in total) available, courtesy of the Lions, for every Super Rugby match to be played at Coca Cola Park this season.
Last week we donated the tickets to the SA First Aid League (Noodhulpliga) in recognition of the hard work they do at the Lions club games in the lower leagues.
This week we’re offering them to Rugby-Talk bloggers who would like to go along and see the game.
All you need to do is e-mail the answer to the following question to Rugby-Talk’s Webmaster using the link on the website.
Wales not only secured the Triple Crown for the first time ever at Twickenham following their 19-12 victory over England on Saturday, but have also climbed above their neighbours into fifth in the latest IRB World Rankings.
Voor die rugby met alle erns begin het ek dit goed gedink om die onderstaande storie oor kamp en vuurmaak te plaas. Dit moet vir ons ‘n les wees oor vriende, en as ons vir mekaar kwaad word gedurende die rugby tyd moet ons reflekteer oor die dinge in die lewe wat saak maak.
GENIET HOM!
The Golden Lions Rugby Union has given Rugby-Talk 10 match day tickets for every Super Rugby home game of the Lions for 2012.
Firstly I have to thank Krystle Geach at the Lions for this kind gesture and consideration, it is appreciated, and we’ll put the tickets to good use.
This set me thinking… in addition to the Lions tickets, maybe I should approach the other 4 Super Rugby Franchises for match day tickets as well, and here’s why!
I thought I would start to post titbits picked up during the week, but probably don’t deserve a full article.
Yesterday speculation was rife that Newlands and possibly Kings Park would not be used in future for rugby events, and more specifically for Test Rugby.
This follows from New Safety Regulations governing Sports events, in the process of being passed into law.
As often happens, only part of the story was reported, by overzealous journalism.
Here’s the happy sequel to the story….
Hello folks and fellow SuperBru players.
Today is D-Day for 2 of the 3 Rugby-Talk SuperBru pools. Later today I have to decide, who stays and who gets booted out of the Rugby-Talk Six Nations pool as well as out of the Rugby-Talk Varsity Cup 2012 pool.
Here’s a list of players not accepted in those 2 pools yet:
We’ve received an official request from the Golden Lions Rugby Union (with which we have extremely good working relations) to help advertise for them to fill the vacant post of CEO of the Union.
Manie Reyneke, the previous CEO, vacated the position late last year, and a new appointment has not been made.
I’m sure there are some of our readers who might just qualify for the position!
Be assured, with all the rumours and innuendo going around about the Lions, that it WILL NOT be the easiest of jobs to do, one would need a skin thicker than that of a rhino!
Herewith the full Advert:
It’s late on Friday night, and it’s been a hard week… far too hard…
But there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, tomorrow there’s good rugby on… and on Sunday too.. and as an added bonus Monday is Varsity Cup time!
The question is, are you prepared?
Is the biltong bought?
Is the beers, or in my case the Jerepico and sletsappies, cold?
Is your SuperBru picks done, and have you seen to it that you have been approved in your Pools?
In the case of the latter, make sure you are a registered Rugby-Talker, otherwise I cannot approve you in the Rugby-Talk SIX Nations SuperBru pool, or in the Rugby-Talk Varsity Cup 2012 pool.. or for that matter in the Rugby-Talk Super Rugby 2012 pool.
Come on, get cracking!
People in the Rugby-Talk SIX Nations pool who have not made their picks yet are: KingPaul, SuperBul, Bono, Blue Bird, Mayhem & Loosehead
People in the Rugby-Talk SIX Nations pool who have not yet been accepted in the pool due to non-registration at Rugby-Talk are: Stormy, Johnny Walker & Geniusboywonder
Canberra – Brumbies coach Jake White wants to use a new alliance with the University of Canberra as the extra bait to lure South Africa’s most talented juniors to the capital.
I read this yesterday, and wasn’t going to post it, but on reflection, decided to, for no greater reason than he asked to do so. No one knew the hardships he went through, and it just goes to show, that we shouldn’t be too quick to ‘judge a book by it’s cover’, it could happen to anyone. Read this honest account in his own words.
The All Blacks’ Rugby World Cup-winning coach Graham Henry has described England as “world champions at wasting talent” and as playing a game based on fear.
It is Sunday 29 January 2012 and it has just hit me that this was the last weekend of the year (till deep into December) where we would not have either quality Southern Hemisphere rugby or good International rugby to look forward to.
Friends, Romans, Countrymen.. and ladies, lend me your ears… or in Rugby-Talk’s case, eyes!
Rugby-Talk has registered 3 Pools for 3 of the various SuperBru Rugby competitions so far in 2012.
Come on, join up… and if you’re not registered with Rugby-Talk, just do it!
Registered Users of Rugby-Talk and selective invitees will be allowed to participate in these competitions, and your Captain and Poolmaster will be none other than grootblousmile for these competitions.
The Pool names and codes are as follows:
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Rugby-Talk SIX Nations, pool code: semipage
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Rugby-Talk Super Rugby 2012, pool code: darkruts
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Rugby-Talk Varsity Cup 2012, pool code: dutydeck
(Just Click on the links above, it’ll take you straight to the respective pool applications)
2012 is the year that the Stormers will try to one further than the semi-finals for the 3rd time in a row. If the last two years are anything to go by, and the squad build up that Rassie Erasmus and Allister Coetzee have been trying to achieve, than going all the way should be a given.
Like sands through the hourglass… so are the Rugby Days of Our Lives…
The saga of the appointment of a new Springbok coach in South Africa has almost singlehandedly made up for the lack of Southern Hemisphere rugby news in recent weeks!
In today’s Episode of this Soap Opera, “Rugby Days Of Our Lives“, the following:
- SARU big shots seen hanging around Loftus
- Speculation continues about who will be his support staff package
- Will Victor Matfield become part of the Bokke coaching staff?
- Who was snubbed, why they were snubbed…
- Who slept with whom
OK I admit, the last one was taking it a bit far… we really don’t want to know too much about Stormers bedroom business, do we!
With the Internet, or Interweb making the world already smaller than it is, rugby supporters from all over the globe are gravitating to the point where they want to receive their rugby news on privately driven websites like Rugby-Talk, ruggaworld & sharksworld, to name only a few.
… and now 3 brave South Africans have decided to make their own rugby video shows and to broadcast their shows on the popular Facebook platform.
French referees said they were suing Toulon president Mourad Boudjellal for defamation after he made lurid accusations in the wake of a Top 14 defeat.
The International Rugby Board’s Chief Executive Officer and Rugby World Cup Limited Managing Director Mike Miller will step down at the end of January.
The South African Rugby Union (SARU) has asked media to assist in alerting local businesses to the activities of a Western Cape-based conman who has been attempting to defraud local restaurants.
Declan Kidney has named a 24-man squad for the 2012 Six Nations with six additional players added to their training camp.