New Zealand Rugby
This past weekend saw the end of the Southern Hemisphere 15-man rugby season… a long and arduous season.
Now only the HSBC Sevens World Series Nelson Mandela Bay Sevens tournament remains, after which we, as proud Southerners, have to rely on the scraps of rugby coming to us from the Northern Hemisphere, and then fill in the gaps with some cricket action to keep our sport addictions alive.
The South African Blitzbokke provide scant hopes for a good result in Port Elizabeth this coming weekend, but the party will continue… and we will party right along.
On the positive side, it was a good season again for Southern Hemisphere rugby, spoilt by the fantastic wins by France against the Wallabies about a month ago and of course the Coup de Grace by the England rugby side against the world number one side, the New Zealand All Blacks, this past weekend – lambasting them by a massive 38 / 21.
Hereafter a quick look at the respective seasons of the BIG BOYS of Southern Hemisphere Rugby:
All Black flyhalf Dan Carter was named the International Rugby Board Player of the Year at the IRB Awards in London on Monday.
All credit to New Zealand for not blaming the virus in the team or end-of-year-tiredness for their loss at the hands of a committed England team.
The All Blacks players looked more than a bit pale and lethargic as they entered the field and even the Haka lacked its normal spark.
Punctiliously I don’t however think it was either the virus or tiredness that saw the All Blacks lose this match. It was the England tactics and their good defence that won them the match.
England (12) 38 / 21 (0) 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 2 Dec NZ Time).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 2 & SH2 on TV in SA.
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Scorers:
England:
- Penalties – Owen Farrell (4), Freddie Burns (2)
- Drop Goals – Owen Farrell (1)
- Tries – Brad Barritt (1), Chris Ashton (1), Manusamoa Tuilagi (1)
- Conversions – Owen Farrell (1)
All Blacks:
- Penalties – 0
- Drop Goals – 0
- Tries – Julian Savea (2), Kieran Read (1)
- Conversions – Daniel Carter (2), Aaron Cruden (1)
Teams:
England: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Manusamoa Tuilagi, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 Mike Brown, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Chris Robshaw (Captain), 6 Tom Wood, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs, 1 Alex Corbisiero.
Replacements: 16 David Paice, 17 David Wilson, 18 Mako Vunipola, 19 Courtney Lawes, 20 James Haskell, 21 Danny Care, 22 Freddie Burns, 23 Jonathan Joseph.
New Zealand: 15 Israel Dagg, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma’a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (captain), 6 Liam Messam, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements: 16 Dane Coles, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Luke Romano, 20 Victor Vito, 21 Piri Weepu, 22 Aaron Cruden, 23 Ben Smith.
Date: Saturday 1 December 2012
Venue: Twickenham, London
Kick-off: 16:30 SA Time (14:30 GMT, 03:30 Sunday 2 December NZ time)
Expected weather: Partly cloudy with a high of 7°C, dropping to -1°C.
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Nigel Owens (Wales), Lourens van der Merwe (South Africa)
TMO: Giulio De Santis (Italy)
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Wales (6) 12 / 14 (9) Wallabies (Final Score)
Wales and the Australian Wallabies did battle in the End Of Year Tours at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff at 16:30 SA Time (14:30 GMT, 01:30 Sunday 2 Dec EAST).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SHD 4 on TV in SA.
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Scorers:
Wales:
- Penalties – Leigh Halpenny (4)
- Drop Goals – 0
- Tries – 0
- Conversions – 0
Wallabies:
- Penalties – Kurtley Beale (3)
- Drop Goals – 0
- Tries – Kurtley Beale (1)
- Conversions – 0
Teams:
Wales: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Liam Williams, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton (captain), 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Luke Charteris, 4 Ian Evans, 3 Scott Andrews, 2 Matthew Rees, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements: 16 Ken Owens, 17 Ryan Bevington, 18 Samson Lee, 19 Ryan Jones, 20 Justin Tipuric, 21 Tavis Knoyle, 22 Dan Biggar, 23 Scott Williams.
Australia: 15 Berrick Barnes, 14 Nick Cummins, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Kurtley Beale, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 David Pocock, 6 Scott Higginbotham, 5 Nathan Sharpe (captain), 4 Kane Douglas, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Tatafu Polota Nau, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements: 16 Stephen Moore, 17 James Slipper, 18 Sekope Kepu, 19 Dave Dennis, 20 Michael Hooper, 21 Brendan McKibbin, 22 Mike Harris, 23 Digby Ioane.
Date: Saturday 1 December 2012
Venue: Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Kick-off: 16:30 SA Time (14:30 GMT, 01:30 Sunday 2 December AEDST)
Expected weather: There is a chance of rain, but with the roof set to be closed it should not be an issue. However, as we have seen, the surface cuts up badly regardless. It will be a high of 7°C and a low of 1°C
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees: Romain Poite, Greg Garner (England)
TMO: Marshall Kilgore (Ireland)
The Southern Hemisphere Rugby season is fast approaching a welcome close for players , administrators and coaching staff, but at the same time some of us are are a bit despondant that we would have to watch cricket & golf as substitute in place of our crazy rugby addiction…. oh and lest we forget those things in and around the house we failed to have time for in the year.
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However, tomorrow and on Saturday there is still the HSBC Sevens World Series Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens, and on Saturday we get our last brief fix of full Test match rugby when England meet the All Blacks and Wales host the Wallabies (pity these two games are on at the same time again) at the End Of Year Tours to the Northern Hemisphere. PLUS of course we get a sprinkling of Northern Hemisphere Club Rugby to view too.
So, what’s in stall for us as far as TV rugby viewing is concerned this weekend?
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Herewith the viewing schedule:
Flyhalf Dan Carter has recovered from a calf injury and will start for New Zealand in their final test of the year against England at Twickenham on Saturday.
New Zealand hooker Andrew Hore apologised on Thursday for a hit from behind on Wales lock Bradley Davies that resulted in a five-match ban, saying he had let down his team and the entire country.
This week there was two important citings for Southern Hemisphere teams who still have to play this coming weekend, that of Andrew Hore the New Zealand hooker and the other one that of Sitaleki Timani the Australian lock.
Both were found guilty and Andrew Hore received an effective 5-week suspension whereas Sitaleki Timani received a 1-week suspension.
The latest news regarding Player Movements, the appointment of coaches and player movement miths set straight.
Some players are definately moving, some are extending their stay, some refute rumours of possible movement, whilst on the coaching side of things the John Mitchell saga carries on. The Crusaders also appoint 2 vital Assistant coaches for 2013.
You will find the news, item by item below:
Andy Farrell has called on his “fearless” young England side to record a significant milestone in their development by beating world champions New Zealand on Saturday.
I suspect that more important offenses are missed in rugby than any other sport. But don’t blame the refs – or not too much, wouldn’t want to spoil all the fun. The problem is so many things are happening at the same time on and off the ball, it is almost impossible for one man to pick up.
New Zealand hooker Andrew Hore has been cited by the IRB’s independent Citing Commissioner for allegedly striking an opponent during the match between Wales and New Zealand at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday.
Wales (0) 10 / 33 (23) All Blacks (Final Score)
Wales and the New Zealand All Blacks did battle in the End Of Year Tours at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff at 19:15 SA Time (17:15 GMT, 06:15 Sunday 25 Nov NZ Time).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & CSN on TV in SA.
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All Black flyhalf Dan Carter has been ruled out of Saturday’s clash with Wales at the Millennium Stadium due to a leg injury.
All Black coach Steve Hansen pulled out the big guns for New Zealand’s encounter with Wales in Cardiff on Saturday.
Hansen named a hugely experienced and in-form All Black side, with 745 caps in the starting XV and 140 on the eight-man bench.
The International Rugby Board (IRB) has confirmed that it will appeal what it strongly believes to be an “unduly lenient sanction” handed down to New Zealand forward Adam Thomson for stamping or trampling on the head of an opponent.
Seems that the planners of the End Of Year Tours all colluded to make it as difficult as possible for us to see all the games. This afternoon no less than 3 important Tests takes place at the same time, being Italy vs All Blacks (16:00 SA Time), England vs Wallabies (16:30 SA Time) and Scotland vs Springboks (16:30 SA Time). The other matches following are the Ireland vs Fiji (19:30 SA Time) and France vs Pumas (22:00 SA Time) matches.
Australian lock Rob Simmons and New Zealand flanker Adam Thomson who both played for the their countries last weekend and were cited following acts of foul play will both be missing from their respective teams’ lineups this weekend. However, that is where the similarities end as Thomson received a one week ban for his stamp on Scotland’s Strokosch’s head, while Simmons received an eight week ban for a ‘tip/spear’ tackle on France’s Yannick Nyanga.
The All Blacks have named Kieran Read as captain of the team to face Italy at Stadio Olimpico in Rome on Saturday as coach Steve Hansen makes sweeping changes.
Scotland forward David Denton today looked ahead to the next round of the EMC Autumn Test rugby series and insisted it is a case of “bring on the Boks”.
Undeterred by the fact that Scotland opened their programme with a 51-22 home defeat by New Zealand, the 22-year-old Edinburgh back rower insisted a bucketload of rust has come out of the team’s system.
All Blacks centre Sonny Bill Williams has confirmed his return to Rugby League by agreeing a one-year deal with the Sydney Roosters in Australia’s National Rugby League.
The All Blacks and coach Steve Hansen are anxiously awaiting a decision on whether flanker Adam Thomson will be ruled out of the rest of their European tour for disciplinary reasons.
Private investors have been granted the licences to run two of New Zealand’s Super Rugby teams from 2013, the New Zealand Rugby Union said on Monday, in a move aimed at better exploiting the commercial potential of the franchises.
The Springboks have moved into second spot on the International Rugby Board’s rankings after their 16-12 win over Ireland in Dublin on Saturday.
A sold out Murrayfield witnessed nine tries as the world champions, New Zealand, saw off the challenge of Scotland in the first of the EMC Tests.
Two tries from Tim Visser and one from Geoff Cross were not enough to hold off the might of the visitors, with head coach Andy Robinson immediately turning to the challenge of South Africa, the second in the November series.
Scotland (17) 22 / 51 (34) All Blacks (Final Score)
Scotland and the New Zealand All Blacks did battle in the End Of Year Tours at Murrayfield, Edinburgh at 16:30 SA Time (14:30 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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It’s SuperBru time again, this time for the End Of Year Tours!
This competition’s FIRST matches kick off this coming weekend, in fact on Saturday 10 November 2012.
Get your BUTTS into gear and register!
We have registered a Super Pool with the following details:
Pool Name: Rugby-Talk EOYT 2012
Pool Code: grabgage
Scotland and the World Champions New Zealand clash in the first match of New Zeland’s Northern Hemisphere tour on Sunday at Murrayfield. This is shaping up to be a memorable occasion in spite of the best efforts of a certain journalist from New Zealand’s shameful disrespectful attempt at mocking the hosts in an article earlier this week.
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has made ten changes to the team that drew with Australia for this weekend’s Test against Scotland with Piri Weepu returning to the starting line up and a new midfield pairing.
The customary time of the year when Southern Hemisphere International teams descend on the Northern Hemisphere is now upon us. We can look forward to four action packed weekends with twenty matches involving the various international teams (nineteen of which will be test matches).
The Scotland team to face the All Blacks at Murrayfield on Saturday was announced today. Scotland have never beaten the world’s number one team and reigning World Cup champions so will be going all out to try and make history on Saturday.
Third Test – Lancaster Park, Christchurch, 18 August 1956
New Zealand 17 / South Africa 10
Skinner: “From what I’ve read over the years you’d have thought the fighting in that third test lasted the entire game, but that simply wasn’t true. There were only two punches – one that floored Koch and the one that stopped Bekker.”
Don Clarke: “Kevin Skinner is quite a modest man but I saw his knuckles after the match.”
The New Zealand Rugby Union have released the dates and venues for their 2013 International Rugby season which includes three Tests in June against France.
Who is the greatest All Black of all time? A survey has found 56% of rugby-mad Kiwis believe Richie McCaw deserves to take the title.
The five New Zealand Super Rugby franchises have announced their squads for the 2013 Super Rugby season with 43 debutants being named in the 159 listed players.