New Zealand Rugby
Dan Carter
All Blacks flyhalf Dan Carter was unimpressed by his scratchy return in the number 10 shirt against Scotland but grateful just to get through the 24-16 win unscathed.
Starting at flyhalf for the first time in a year after a season blighted by a broken leg, Carter was well below his best at Murrayfield, struggling with handling errors particularly in the opening exchanges before being replaced shortly after halftime.
“That first 20 (minutes) was pretty scratchy and there were a lot of mistakes from me personally which, if I get another chance, I’ll have to improve,” Carter told reporters.
“My option-taking probably wasn’t the best at times. But I was pretty pleased to be back out there playing again and I felt as the game went on I grew in confidence.”
Scotland (10) 16 / 24 (14) All Blacks (Final Score)
Scotland and the New Zealand All Blacks did battle in the End Of Year Tours at
Murrayfield, Edinburgh, Scotland at 19:30 SA Time (17:30 BST & GMT, 06:30 Sunday NZ Time).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & CSN on TV in SA.
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Scotland’s team for Saturday’s test at BT Murrayfield has been announced and no doubt the players and coaching staff will be completely focussed on this match. After all, there is a team from a country called New Zealand who play in black who are in town. However, looking beyond this test would like to discuss the match day squad that would preferably be doing duty at Rugby Park, Kilmarnock, against Tonga next weekend. Rugby Park is the home of Kilmarnock football team, yes that can be confusing but that is not the topic of the this piece.
Scotland’s head coach Vern Cotter has selected the same starting XV that beat Argentina to face the All Blacks , one wonders when last a Scotland coach picked the same XV for consecutive matches. For Tonga though I would suggest wholesale changes to the team for a variety of reasons, the main one being – Glasgow Warriors.
The Scottish Rugby Union (SRU), unlike the case in South Africa, have a direct stake in the two professional clubs here: Edinburgh Rugby and Glasgow Warriors, and it is with this in mind that my suggestion for the Tonga test is made.
Head coach Vern Cotter has shown faith in his winning Scotland formula for this Saturday’s visit of world champions New Zealand to Murrayfield Stadium.
All 15 men that started the national team’s impressive 41-31 win over Argentina last weekend will once again kick off the second Test.
The reselection means that all five of the match-winning try-scorers – locks Jonny and Richie Gray and back-three trio Stuart Hogg, Sean Maitland and Tommy Seymour – all earn a return to the fold.
Man-of-the-match winning captain Greig Laidlaw will once again orchestrate the back division alongside flyhalf Finn Russell and a young midfield partnership of Alex Dunbar and Mark Bennett.
Packing down with the secondrow Gray brothers is the experienced front row trio of Alasdair Dickinson, Ross Ford and Euan Murray, and the promising loose forward combo of Rob Harly, Blair Cowan and Adam Ashe.
Duane Vermeulen
Willie le Roux
Springbok fullback Willie le Roux and No 8 Duane Vermeulen on Wednesday were named among five candidates for the IRB World Rugby Player of the year.
The other nominees were Irish flyhalf Jonathan Sexton, New Zealand lock Brodie Retallick and wing Julian Savea. The winner will be revealed at his team’s final match of the season.
New Zealand All Blacks head coach Steve Hansen has named his team to play Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday with Dan Carter starting and James Parsons making his international debut.
The matchday 23 for Saturday features 11 players from the 23 which played England last week and Daniel Carter makes his first Test start of the year at first five-eighth in his 102nd Test, with TJ Perenara at halfback.
Two of the locks who played against England, Brodie Retallick (shoulder) and Patrick Tuipulotu (shoulder), were not considered for selection, due to injury.
As a result, lock Dominic Bird, who, like Parsons, was called into the All Blacks as injury cover, will start, with Luke Romano coming off the bench. Loose forward Jerome Kaino (knee) was also not considered for selection.
Dan Carter
New Zealand flyhalf Daniel Carter is expected to return to the match day squad for their clash with Scotland on Saturday as he continues to work his way back from a broken leg.
Carter was the highest profile water boy in world rugby last Saturday when the All Blacks beat England 24-21 at Twickenham. The 32-year-old missed out on a place in the playing squad, ostensibly because coach Steve Hansen felt he had not played enough rugby.
Carter has barely played this year after taking a six-month sabbatical and breaking his leg in the Super Rugby final in August.
He came off the bench for 30 minutes against the United States on November 1 and assistant All Blacks coach Ian Foster said he would now get more playing time in their final two matches against Scotland on Saturday and Wales on November 22.
Dominate the collisions and get some big hits in at the tackle. That is Scotland’s recipe for success against New Zealand at Murrayfield on Saturday.
There is an air of confidence in the Scottish camp, following their 41-31 demolition of Argentina last week – a scoreline skewed by two late tries from the Pumas.
New Zealander Vern Cotter’s arrival as coach in Edinburgh has contributed to the country once called Caledonia by the Romans and also referred to as Alba – while they, of course, referee to it as ‘the greatest country on Earth’.
Last week’s victory over the Pumas, who recently tasted success over the Wallabies in the Rugby Championship, has contributed to their growing confidence.
However, captain Greig Laidlaw admitted there are plenty of work ahead before Saturdays showdown with the All Blacks.
Chris Robshaw
England captain Chris Robshaw said his team will look to take their frustrations out on South Africa, after a narrow defeat to New Zealand.
Robshaw was frustrated after England let a winning position ebb away against the All Blacks, losing 21-24.
England led 11-5 in the first half and 14-11 at half-time, a display of intensity and control by the forwards – illuminated by Jonny May’s stunning try, when he weaved past Conrad Smith and Israel Dagg with immaculate balance and searing pace.
Despite a disappointing second-half display in which they allowed the Kiwis to race into a 24-14 lead, before a late rally, Robshaw refused to be downcast.
He said they will target the three remaining Tests on their year-end campaign, starting with the Springboks at Twickenham this coming Saturday.
Conrad Smith
All Blacks centre Conrad Smith will skip Saturday’s Test against Scotland so he can return home to deal with a family matter, reports said Monday.
Coach Steve Hansen said “the 33-year-old Smith, who played his 84th test on Saturday and became a father for the first time in August, would miss the Test in Edinburgh.
However, he will again return in time for the Test against Wales on 22 November.
“It’s not overly serious but it’s serious enough for him to have to go home,” Hansen told reporters.
Steve Hansen
It has been successfully trialled in South Africa and now All Black coach Steve Hansen wants the Varsity Cup initiative to be used worldwide.
Hansen, at the weekend, renewed his call for a challenge system to be bought into the game and it comes on the back of some contentious officiating in their 24-21 win over England.
Steve Hansen said one example of where a challenge could be used, was when his own team got away with a blatant infringement earlier in the year.
“Israel Dagg throwing a forward pass against South Africa and Richie McCaw scoring,” the New Zealand mentor told a media scrum after his team’s win at Twickenham.
Hansen also nominated the apparent forward pass which led to France’s try, when they beat the All Blacks in the 2007 World Cup quarterfinal as a an example of what could be achieved.
“Everybody in the stadium who had a view saw that.
“To me, that’s a clear and obvious case for a coach to say: ‘OK, I want to challenge that try.’
Vern Cotter
Scotland coach, New Zealander Vern Cotter, will be relishing the opportunity of guiding the Scots against New Zealand and has urged his players to embrace playing against the best team in the world.
Cotter has promised “a very positive approach” to the game after handing the national team their first success at home against the Pumas since 1990.
Cotter has made a promising start to his time in charge of the Scots, winning three of four Tests on the road earlier in the year, and beating Argentina 41-31 in Edinburgh on Saturday.
The former Bay of Plenty coach, Crusaders’ assistant coach and Clermont certainly isn’t getting too carried away, especially with what’s immediately in front of him.
Luke Braid
Jayden Spence
Versatile New Zealand back Jayden Spence is to join Bordeaux-Begles as cover while compatriot Luke Braid will arrive next season for two years, the French Top 14 outfit said on Sunday.
Spence, 23, who can play on the wing or in the centre, currently turns out for Otago in the domestic New Zealand league.
The 1.71m, 91kg back joins as cover for a Bordeaux side currently missing injured French international wing Sofiane Guitoune.
Steve Hansen
New Zealand coach Steve Hansen blasted the use of television replays after his world champions beat England 24-21, claiming TV producers were threatening to have a damagingly decisive say at Test level.
The All Blacks were rocked when they fell behind in just the fourth minute at Twickenham on Saturday to England wing Jonny May’s first international try.
But with flyhalf Aaron Cruden crossing they were just 14-11 behind at half-time.
They then stepped up the pace in the second half with skipper Richie McCaw scoring a try before replacement forward Charlie Faumuina went over nine minutes from time.
England’s late penalty try could not disguise a fifth straight defeat by the All Blacks.
Nine International Test matches as well as the cross-hemisphere club / provincial match between Saracens and DHL Western Province, took place this weekend.
Well, it was not a good weekend for South African interests in these games, as both the Springboks and Western Province were compprehensively beaten in the space of 2 days.
In addition South African neighbours, Namibia, probably put up the best fight amongst the Southern African sides, but still going down to Canada, by 17 / 13.
On Saturday the Springboks came tumbling down to earth after a few weeks ago beating the New Zealand All Blacks, when they fell havily against Ireland, by 29 / 15 and on Sunday the Currie Cup champions, DHL Western Province was outplayed and put to the sword by Saracens in Londen, badly beaten by 6 tries to 3 and a total score of 46 / 22.
It appears that the Northern Hemisphere rugby countries have all crept closer to the Southern Hemisphere rivals, as the Wallabies barely won against Wales and the All Blacks only scraped home against England by a measly 3 points.
Scotland beat Argentina and France romped over Fiji, whilst Italy beat Samoa.
The results of the weekend are as follows:
England (14) 21 / 24 (11) All Blacks (Final Score)
England and the New Zealand All Blacks did battle in the End Of Year Tours at
Twickenham, London at 16:30 SA Time (14:30 GMT, 03:30 Sunday NZ Time).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & CSN on TV in SA.
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For England to beat New Zealand on Saturday, they must not just defeat 15 men but also logic, precedent and expectation.
You think that’s hyperbole or a cruel lack of faith? The men in black have lost only twice in 46 Tests since the start of the last World Cup. They have 1,023 caps in their match-day squad to England’s 437.
The men in white are missing six British Lions from their pack, have a debutant on one wing and a centre partnership that has never played together before.
Under Stuart Lancaster, England have only won two of their 11 matches against the three southern hemisphere heavyweights of New Zealand, South Africa and Australia. Since the beginning of 2012 the All Blacks have scored an average of 31.5 points per game; England 24.
Intimidating? Maybe. But maybe, just maybe, self-belief and raw promise and some unholy coming together of atmosphere and occasion and ability can surmount it all. Maybe.
Fijian-born winger Semesa Rokoduguni was named in the England team on Thursday and will make his international debut in Saturday’s test against New Zealand at Twickenham.
Kyle Eastmond and Brad Barritt form a new-look centre partnership, while Dave Attwood replaces the injured Joe Launchbury in the second row after returning to the squad following the birth of his first child.
“I am delighted for Roko,” England coach Stuart Lancaster said on the RFU website of the 27-year-old soldier.
“Wing is an extremely competitive position but he has pushed himself forward with his form this season and it’s great to be able to give him this opportunity.”
Sonny Bill Williams and Aaron Cruden have been reunited, this time in the New Zealand team to play Sonny Bill Williams England at Twickenham on Saturday.
The former Chiefs teammates are the major selection decisions made by All Black coach Steve Hansen, who named an extremely experienced team for the second match on their year-end tour.
As expected there are a number of changes, after Hansen gave the less experienced squad members an opportunity against the United States last week – with 13 of the squad from that matchday 23 boosted by the return of some experienced players.
The matchday squad that takes the field against England has 1,029 Test caps between them and an average age of 27 years.
No 8 Kieran Read, flyhalf Cruden, inside centre Williams and fullback Israel Dagg retain their starting spots from the US Test.
Two reserves, lock Brodie Retallick and wing Julian Savea, are back in the starting XV.
Sam Cane
New Zealand’s build-up to their Test encounter with England on Saturday has not gone as smoothly as they would have hoped.
Flank Sam Cane has become the latest injury concern in a camp already scrambling to cover some setbacks.
Cane took a heavy knock in a body on body collision at training on Tuesday and received assistance on what looked to be his back or shoulder.
Cane started in last Saturday’s 74-6 win over the United States, but is unlikely to feature in the match against England this weekend.
Wyatt Crockett and Jerome Kaino, who are recovering from shin and foot injuries respectively, both came through training unscathed.
The latest setback comes after both wing Cory Jane and hooker Nathan Harris were ruled out of the tour after being injured against the US Eagles.
USA Eagles (6) 6 / 74 (43) All Blacks (Final Score)
The United States of America’s Eagles and New Zealand All Blacks did battle in the End Of Year Tours at
Soldier Field, Chicago at 22:00 SA Time (15:00 Chicago Time, 20:00 GMT, 09:00 Sunday NZ Time).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 CSN on TV in SA.
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Clarke Dermody
Former Southland and All Black prop, Clarke Dermody has been unveiled as the Highlanders’ scrum and assistant forwards’ coach for the 2015 Super Rugby season.
He had a voluntary, part-time role with the Highlanders this year, before serving as an assistant with Southland during the national provincial championships.
Dermody had a remarkable playing career, which included playing for every New Zealand age-group team before playing three Tests in 2006 for the All Blacks and is no stranger to the Highlanders after representing them 44 times.
Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph hopes the fulltime work by Dermody will help shore up a scrum that was put under pressure this season.
Craig Joubert
South Africa’s Craig Joubert will be in Chicago this Saturday when he referees the Test between the United States and New Zealand.
Joubert was the referee in last weekend’s Currie Cup final between Western Province and the Golden Lions at Newlands. He received high praise for the way in which he handled the game and this week his reward is a trip to the United States.
The Eagles play the All Blacks at the Soldiers Field, the home ground of gridiron club Chicago Bears, which seats 61 500 and is sold out.
Meanwhile, other South African referee in action this weekend is Jaco Peyper, who will take charge of the Barbarians v Australia game at Twickenham in London.
The All Blacks team to play the United States has been named with selectors unveiling a team combining young talent and experienced heads for the historic match at Soldier Field, Chicago.
The match this Saturday 1 November is a 61 500 capacity sell-out, with the All Blacks playing in front of a record attendance for a rugby match in the USA.
All Blacks: 15 Israel Dagg, 14, Cory Jane, 13 Ryan Crotty, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Charles Piutau, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Kieran Read (Captain), 7 Sam Cane, 6 Victor Vito, 5 Patrick Tuipulotu, 4 Jeremy Thrush, 3 Charlie Faumuina, 2 Nathan Harris, 1 Joe Moody
Replacements: 16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Ben Franks, 19 Brodie Retallick, 20 Liam Messam, 21 Augustine Pulu, 22 Daniel Carter, 23 Julian Savea.
Todd Clever
Making his 60th appearance in an Eagles shirt, Todd Clever will captain the side from No.6 alongside Scott Lavalla. The flanks will go up against Victor Vito and Sam Cane from the All Blacks.
Three English Premiership stars – Eric Fry, Samu Manoa, and Hayden Smith – make up the tight five.
Phil Thiel, who spent time with Saracens earlier this year before being chosen for the Eagles Select XV in the 2014 IRB Americas Rugby Championship, will sit between Fry and Olive Kilifi in the scrum.
Danny Barrett will make his third start and earn his fourth Eagles cap at No.8 in front of veteran Mike Petri at scrum half.
The Maori All Blacks team to take on Japan in Kobe in the first match of its 2014 tour has been named and features 10 new caps.
Coach Colin Cooper said he was pleased with how quickly the team had gelled given the short assembly time with most of the 27 strong squad only coming together last weekend.
“Many players have come off a pretty intense few weekends of rugby so we’ve been mindful to not over-burden them,” he said.
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In preparation for Super Rugby in 2015, all 5 New Zealand Super Rugby franchises have named their squads for the tournament.
In the meantime, South African franchises will ponder about their squads and in December we at Rugby-Talk.com will speculate what the South African franchises will look like, as final squads will only be known in January 2015.
The same happens every year, New Zealand and Australia get their ducks in a row before the December break, whereas the South Africans seem to focus on December holidays, going to the beach, having Christmas and generally geting fat and lazy.
When can we ever expect the South African Rugby Union (SARU) and the South African Super Rugby franchises to ever catch up to the more professional attitudes displayed primarily by New Zealand… but also closely followed by their Antipodion counterparts, Australia?
The World Champions head to America and the United Kingdom in what is the ultimate live fire training run, for in less than 12 months the All Blacks will re-tread the same soil as they seek to defend the Webb Ellis Cup.
The paradox for New Zealand is that their first Test, against USA in Chicago next up, is followed by World Cup host’s England a week later.
This mirrors the fears that the All Blacks ‘soft pool’ in the 2015 tournament, an immense insult to Argentina, may be ill preparation for the knockout stages, something that caused some issues for the side in 2007.
The Rugby Championship winners play the United States, England, Scotland and Wales to round out their 2014 international schedule.
All Blacks centre Conrad Smith expressed his excitement ahead of their historic match against the United States, which will be the first time New Zealand has played on American soil in 34 years.
Smith stated that the All Blacks are enjoying anonymity in the city of Chicago, Illinois as they were free to walk about largely unrecognised by the local population, as they explored the Windy City.
“We enjoyed the walk, the different sites and playing in a place we haven’t played at before. For old guys like myself, it’s a bit of a novelty but I think the guys will enjoy the week.
Greg Peters
Japan has beaten out Singapore as the preferred host for the 18th team in the expanded Super Rugby competition, governing body Sanzar said on Friday.
The southern hemisphere provincial competition will increase from 15 to 18 teams in 2016, with one team from South Africa and another from Argentina already awarded places.
Japan and Singapore were vying against each other for the last available spot with Japan getting the vote after a meeting of the South African, New Zealand and Australian Rugby (Sanzar) executive board.
“Compelling proposals were put forth by Japan and Singapore in what was a very competitive tender process and we thank both parties for their passion in sharing our vision to expand the competition to new fans, territories and commercial markets,” Sanzar chief executive Greg Peters said in a statement.
Singapore Sports Hub – National Stadium
Singapore has effectively conceded it has lost out to Japan to become the 18th Super Rugby side.
Although the South African, New Zealand and Australian Rugby (Sanzar) has not officially announced which Asian country would host the new team in an expanded competition, it has already been widely reported that Japan has won the bid ahead of Singapore.
Singapore’s bidders released a statement on Thursday, seemingly acknowledging that Japan had been selected as the winner.
“Clearly Japan is a mature, established rugby market, while Singapore is new to the global rugby scene,” said Eric Series, the financial backer of the proposed Singapore bid.
Singapore Sports Hub – National Stadium
The maligned pitch at Singapore’s expensive new National Stadium has forced the cancellation of next month’s Maori All Blacks clash with the invitational Asia-Pacific Barbarians, which could have ramifications for the team’s Super Rugby bid.
The Maori All Blacks were scheduled to play the Tana Umaga-coached side at the stadium, the centrepiece of a $1 billion Sports Hub, on November 15 after two matches in Japan.
The New Zealand Rugby Union, however, said on Tuesday the match had been cancelled due to the poor quality of the pitch that has drawn numerous complaints from sporting teams.
Sonny Bill Williams
Dan Carter
New Zealand welcomed back superstars Dan Carter and Sonny Bill Williams for next month’s Northern Hemisphere tour, but dropped pivot Colin Slade, despite his heroics against Australia at the weekend.
Flyhalf Carter, the world’s most prolific international points scorer, has not played since breaking his leg in the Super Rugby Final in August, while Williams returns to the All Blacks after two seasons playing Rugby League in Australia.
There is also a return for Aaron Cruden, who has finally been forgiven for his late-night indiscretion in the latter stages of the Rugby Championship.
Coach Steve Hansen also recalled flank Victor Vito at the expense of Steven Luatua, and included promising scrumhalf Augustine Pulu as the only uncapped player in the squad for the four-Test tour.
The United States has reached an agreement that will allow it to include leading players based in Britain, France and Japan in its team to play New Zealand in a rugby Test in Chicago on 1 November.
Under the agreement, US players in the English Premiership, second-tier IPA Championships, France’s Top 14, Japan’s Top League and Scotland’s Guinness PRO12 will be released for the match at Soldier Field.
The US Eagles’ Test against New Zealand falls outside the International Rugby Board’s window for international matches and clubs are not obliged to release players.