New Zealand Rugby
Lions (8) 28 / Hurricanes (14) 30 (Final Score)
The MTN Lions and the Hurricanes did battle in Super Rugby at Coca-Cola Park, Johannesburg at 19:10 SA 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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Chiefs (29) 29 / Blues (6) 14 (Final Score)
The Chiefs and Blues did battle in Super Rugby at Waikato Stadium, Hamilton at 08:35 SA Time (19:35 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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For a competition which promotes running rugby and rewards teams who score tries, the first round of Super Rugby failed to deliver the goods.
Not one team managed to bag a bonus point for scoring four tries, with a total of just 19 tries being scored in the seven matches that were played. Is this then an indication that defenses are getting better and better?
Here are the Super Rugby Team Sheets as they are announced for Week 2 of Super Rugby 2012.
All the teams are now out and available, here and under the TOP MENU, Super Rugby, 2012, Super Rugby – Weekend Teams.
The latest news on the INJURY front in Super Rugby (apart from those reported already) is as follows:
SANZAR have released the match officials for the second Round in the 2012 Super Rugby tournament and Keith Brown starts the action on Friday and Mark Lawrence brings it to a close.
This weekend has seven matches with three on Friday and four on Saturday. This weekend the Brumbies have the bye.
Chris Smylie - Out
Reg Goodes - 6 weeks
The Hurricanes have suffered a double blow with the news that half back Chris Smylie has been ruled out for the season and loosehead prop Reg Goodes for six weeks at least.
We have done it before and maybe we should pick a panel of Bloggers and pick our own team of the week.
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.
There would have been much head shaking by those in the North, as the Crusaders and Highlanders recorded opening wins in the New Zealand Conference, and while the losers hardly shamed themselves – it is easy to see how the patient and uncompromising rugby of the South eventually subjugated their rivals.
The Otago Rugby Union will be placed in liquidation on Friday, potentially winding up one of New Zealand’s strongest provincial teams – which has produced 156 All Blacks in 131 years.
New Chiefs coach Dave Rennie had a harsh introduction into Super Rugby in Round 1 as he lost his first match at home and four of his players to injury.
Blues flyhalf Michael Hobbs has been issued with the Super Rugby’s first off-field yellow card after being accused of a dangerous tackle in their opening match against the Crusaders.
Stormers (23) 39 / Hurricanes (16) 26
(Final Score)
The DHL Stormers and Hurricanes did battle in Week 1 of Super Rugby 2012 at Newlands, Cape Town at 17:05 SA 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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Chiefs (16) 19 / Highlanders (9) 23 (Final Score)
The Chiefs and Highlanders did battle in Week 1 of Super Rugby 2012 at Waikato Stadium, Hamilton at 08:35 SA Time (19:35 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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Patient Crusaders hold off dangerous Blues
Blues (12) 18 / Crusaders (16) 19 (Final Score)
The Blues and Crusaders did battle in the FIRST Super Rugby game of 2012 in Wellington at 08:35 SA Time (19:35 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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Here are the Super Rugby Team Sheets as they were announced for Week 1 of Super Rugby 2012.
The last of the team sheets, that of the Highlanders, came in this morning as they waited till the last minute due to some serious possible injury concerns.
Following today’s metting between SARU and the “Big Five” SA Super Rugby Franchises, SARU released the following:
Representatives of the South African Vodacom Super Rugby franchises will accompany the delegates of the South African Rugby Union (SARU) to present a case for competition expansion in 2013 to SANZAR partners next month.
Although we have seven games and only the Melbourne Rebels have a bye, my personal three Big games involve the top teams of each Conference. Crusaders vs Blues, Bulls vs Sharks and Waratahs vs Reds. Continue reading
Following on the theme of other ‘experts’ insights,Tony O’Sullivan from rugbydump has put together his thoughts on the teams competing in the upcoming Super Rugby series.
I will post them per country, as he has done.
The First installment deals with the Teams from the Land of the Long White Cloud, New Zealand.
They are the Crusaders, Blues, Highlanders, Hurricanes and Chiefs.
Picked up this piece on the net at a website called sportbilly.co.za
The man is some kind of biased New Zealand supporter of sorts… and obviously oblivious of what is really happening here in South Africa at present.
This Article of course does not necessarily reflect my own views or that of Rugby-Talk, but at least someone was willing to nail his beliefs to the wall!
Here it is:
Super Rugby previews are more numerous than Whitney Houston tributes at the moment. In both cases time is wasted. There seems to be a reluctance amongst sports writers in general to spare one’s balls from the impending pain and climb down off the fence. So lets now seperate the poop from the champagne when it comes to the teams.
I am not going to bore you with in depth analysis of the no-hopers. I’m looking at potential champions here. To win this thing you have got to finish top of your conference. Bottom line. The ‘extended playoff’ scenario gives the ‘also rans’ a cruel illusion of hope but their chances remain slimmer than a Somalian hunger striker.
Here is how I see it.
Before The Rugby Championship kicks off in August, the All Blacks and Wallabies will entertain Ireland and Wales respectively, in the June International test window that will take place between round 15 and 16 of the 2012 Super Rugby season.
The New Zealand television audience has the most potential for growth based on numbers last season in Super Rugby, and local officials and SANZAR chief executive Greg Peters said a brilliant Rugby World Cup last year could provide impetus for some increased viewing.
The chance to tap into the massive economies and population of North America and Asia, primarily US and Japanese markets, is something SANZAR will explore, with the former American broadcasting landscape boggling the mind with astronomical numbers.
It is a simple edict – aim to have at least 70 percent of ball available out of the ruck within three seconds – and this will be one of the crucial areas where referees will turn their attention to in the 2012 Super Rugby season.
I looked at the SuperSport TV schedules and I could not see any significant live rugby this weekend. So it seems we have one last break to do this…
But then our lives will be annexed by our beloved game RUGBY.
Every Super Rugby team has its SANZAR judicial atrocity story, writes Rugby Heaven’s Greg Growden.
New Zealand’s Rugby World Cup-winning captain Richie McCaw has begun running again following foot surgery but does not expect to be available for the Crusaders’ Super Rugby campaign until at least April.
2 August 1956, Solway Ground, Masterton: South Arica 19 / Wairarapa-Bush 8
It was another disappointing Springbok performance and although they won by 11 points all the tries came from individual effort rather than from smooth team work as one would expect after 7 weeks and 15 matches on tour (excluding the 3 weeks and 6 matches in Australia).
The warm glow that New Zealand rugby fans hold as they reflect on their status as World Champions will mean that there will be high hopes that the most successful country in the history of Super Rugby will add to their ten titles.
The referees for the first 6 weeks of Super Rugby in 2012 has been announced by SANZAR.
Some interesting appointments indeed.
Let the games begin!
Here’s a Schedule as well as the official Statement, as received via Media Release.
The Wellington leg in New Zealand of the HSBC Sevens World Series comes to a close as New Zealand scored an emphatic win by 24 / 7 over Fiji to claim the Cup.
On a dry and mild west coast evening in front of a near capacity crowd of 4000 at Rugby Park, Greymouth, the Crusaders’ 2012 campaign got off to a flying start in front of their faithful.
SANZAR CEO Greg Peters has ruled out the possibility of expanding Super Rugby from 15 to 16 teams from next year after South Africa said that the Southern Kings will play in the tournament from 2013.