SA Rugby
Stormers (18) 18 / 3 (0) Lions (Final Score)
The Dhl Stormers and Lions did battle in Super Rugby at
Newlands, Cape Town at 17:05 SA Time (15:05 GMT).
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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Sharks (3) 19 / 8 (3) Cheetahs (Final Score)
The Cell C Sharks and Toyota Cheetahs did battle in Super Rugby at
Growthpoint Kings Park at 15:00 SA Time (13:00 GMT).
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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Waratahs (13) 19 / 12 (6) Bulls (Final Score)
The Waratahs and Vodacom Bulls did battle in Super Rugby at
Allianz Stadium, Sydney at 11:40 SA Time (19:40 AEST, 09:40 GMT).
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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Ospreys flanker Justin Tipuric is a doubt for Wales’ summer tour of South Africa, says coach Warren Gatland.
The British and Irish Lions flanker has a shoulder problem and there is a possibility he will miss the tour to have an operation.
Lions head coach Johan Ackermann has named his 23-man team to take on the DHL Stormers at DHL Newlands on Saturday.
In the forwards, Robbie Coetzee will start at hooker, in place of Willie Wepener. Jaco Kriel returns to the starting line-up at flank.
Meanwhile, in the backline, Ross Cronje will start at scrumhalf, Anthony Volmink makes his first Vodacom Super Rugby start of the year at left wing and Chrysander Botha will start at fullback.
The Cell C Sharks backline shows two injury-enforced changes for this Saturday’s Vodacom Super Rugby derby clash against the visiting Cheetahs at Growthpoint KINGS PARK.
Odwa Ndungane’s upper shoulder knock sustained against the Lions in their victory over the Joburg side last week sees him replaced by Tonderai Chavhanga who has been getting game time for the Cell C Sharks XV in the Vodacom Cup following his return from injury and makes his debut for the Cell C Sharks at this level.
Demetri Catrakilis – and not Peter Grant – will be entrusted with the goal-kicking duties when the Stormers tackle the Lions in a Super Rugby game at Newlands on Saturday.
Coach Allister Coetzee on Wednesday picked Grant at fullback for the clash with Catrakilis taking the No 10 jersey.
Vodacom Bulls lock Flip van der Merwe has been passed fit to face the Waratahs in Sydney on Saturday and will lead the team for their third tour match to Australasia.
This will be the first of two matches the Vodacom Bulls will play in Australia as part of their Vodacom Super Rugby tour.
Van der Merwe got injured in last weekend’s bonus point loss to the Highlanders in Dunedin, but has recovered sufficiently from his arm injury to lead the team.
Cell C Sharks loose-forward Jean Deysel will depart the franchise at the end of the Vodacom Super Rugby season to join Japanese top league club, Toyota Verblitz on a two-year deal.
Lions coach Johan Ackermann may be forced to change a third of his team as mounting injuries and a looming four week Vodacom Super Rugby tour compound his headaches ahead of Saturday’s clash against the DHL Stormers at Newlands.
Ackermann has already lost fullback Andries Coetzee (knee) and midfielder Alwyn Hollenbach (lip) and could lose another three players before he names his team on Thursday.
While some of the players are on the borderline whether or not they can play, Ackermann will need to weigh up whether or not to risk them this week or give them a rest to ensure they are ready for the team’s tour in a fortnight.
The Western Province Rugby Union (WPRU) is open to again discuss a possible move away from Newlands to Cape Town Stadium.
This comes after the union suspended talks in February this year after it was upset when then-Mayoral Committee Member Grant Pascoe said talks ‘were taking place behind closed doors’ to secure WP as the anchor tenant for the stadium.
Former Springbok flyhalf Braam van Straaten has given struggling Stormers goal-kicker Peter Grant a few kicking tips.
Grant’s goal-kicking has been way off line this season, with the pivot missing six out of 14 attempts at goal in 2014.
Springbok captain Jean de Villiers is back in the DHL Stormers line-up in one five changes to the team for Saturday’s Vodacom Super Rugby clash against the Lions at DHL Newlands (kick-off 17h05).
SANZAR has released the names of the match officials for Round 10 of Super Rugby 2014.
Nick Bryant starts off proceedings this weekend in the game between the Hurricanes and Blues on Friday at 09:35 SA Time.
This weekend sees 6 games, with 2 games on Friday and 4 games on Saturday.
The Brumbies, Highlanders and Reds have BYE weekends.
The Eastern Province Kings are chasing the signature of Springbok prop Brian Mujati ahead of the start of the Currie Cup.
The Kings have already been bolstered by the recent signings of lock Izak van der Westhuizen (Edinburgh), hooker Michael van Vuuren (Stade Français), centre Tim Whitehead (Sharks), scrumhalf Kevin Luiters (Cheetahs) and wing Paul Perez (Samoa).
The Toyota Cheetah Head Coach, Naka Drotske, has named his starting 15 to take on the Sharks on Saturday 19 April at Growthpoint Kings Park in Durban.
There are a number of changes to the team from last week.
Allister Coetzee believes the Stormer’s gameplan does not need adjusting and in fact, a return to the basics will give them some winning momentum.
The Cape Town-based team have lost five games in a row, including all four tour games as well as their opening match against upcoming opponents, the Lions.
The Stormers have never been miles away from a win in any of these games, making Coetzee believe that small tweaks in the basics of the game is what is needed to turn around their fortunes.
A visit to the HPC in Bellville on a cool and blustery April afternoon would have brought some much needed warmth to the hearts of DHL Stormers supporters on Monday.
If confirmation was needed that new Western Province director of rugby Gert Smal will add his coaching expertise to the Stormers management group it was provided as he helped out the forwards and added his considerable presence to the lineout drills.
Super Rugby strugglers, the Stormers, have confirmed the appointment of psychologist Henning Gericke.
Heinrich Brüssow will be back in the Cheetahs starting team for their Super Rugby clash against the Sharks in Durban on Saturday.
Lappies Labuschagné has groin injury which paves the way for Brüssow’s return.
Johan Ackermann is looking for his team to eliminate the ‘soft moments’ from their game that have cost them two games in a row, as he prepares for the match against the Stormers.
In the Lions’ past two games, coach Ackermann has been quick to point out ‘soft moments’ and poor decision making as the major contributors to his team’s demise.
A turnover try from the Sharks’ Lwazi Mvovo last weekend, and mistakes at the back against the Crusaders cost the Lions critical points and potentially halted their chances of winning those matches.
The Lions will be without the services of fullback Andries Coetzee and utility back Alwyn Hollenbach for their Super Rugby clash against the Stormers at Newlands on Saturday.
Coetzee, who recently returned to the playing field after injuring his left knee in pre-season, injured it again against the Sharks last weekend.
Sharks Director of Rugby Jake White is yet to decide whether Frans Steyn or Tim Swiel will start at flyhalf against the Cheetahs this weekend.
Fred Zeilinga injured his hamstring in the victory over the Lions at Ellis Park last Saturday and was replaced by Steyn who shifted from inside centre and performed well at pivot.
Zeilinga joins first-choice flyhalf Pat Lambie on the sidelines, with his injury expected to rule him out for a couple of weeks, which leaves White with an interesting decision.
Highlanders flank TJ Ioane has been ruled out of his team’s two-match tour of South Africa due to a calf strain.
The explosive loose forward has been sidelined for the two home wins against the Rebels and Bulls, and has since been ruled out of their South African trip which features clashes against the Stormers and Sharks.
As Super Rugby nears its 20th year, I wonder if it’s time to shake things up and maybe take a step back from South Africa.
I got up in the early hours of the morning at the weekend and watched my old Crusaders team battle the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein – but I’m sure I was in the minority.
I can’t help thinking we might have lost a little interest in playing South African teams, and that ultimately the future of this competition might be more localised round time zones.
Premiership battlers Worcester Warriors have signed 22-year-old tighthead prop Nick Schonert from the Cheetahs.
Schonert, who was part of South Africa’s IRB Junior World Championships side in 2011, is known for his physical presence and technique at the set-piece.
Springbok and Toulon lock Bakkies Botha has tweeted an X-ray showing nine steel pins inserted into a plate in his broken arm.
The Springbok and Toulon lock successfully underwent an operation to have a plate inserted in his arm after he broke it in Toulon’s 23-10 Top 14 defeat against Brive.
Botha is expected be out for two-and-a-half months, and he has indicated that his rehabilitation is on track.
The Cell C Sharks ground out their sixth win of the Vodacom Super Rugby season to stay at the top of the standings, but for the other three South African teams in action this weekend, the ninth round wasn’t a happy one.
The KwaZulu-Natalians beat a plucky Lions side by 25-12 in front of more than 30,000 people at Ellis Park in Johannesburg on Saturday evening. It was a battle of attrition and the visitors from Durban scored the only try of the match.
Earlier on Saturday, the Toyota Cheetahs put up a brave fight, but for a second successive week they fell off the pace in the final 10 minutes as they lost by 52-31 to the Crusaders in Bloemfontein – the team from Canterbury’s first win in the Free State Stadium for seven years.
On Friday morning, the Vodacom Bulls could not put an end to a seven-year drought in Dunedin as they paid the price for making way too many errors with ball in hand and on defence as they went down by 27-20 to the Highlanders.
Squad captain Jean de Villiers, prop Pat Cilliers and lock / flank Jurie van Vuuren are all back on deck this week, and available for selection against the Lions.
Hookers Scarra Ntubeni and Tiaan Liebenberg and wing Kobus van Wyk are not available for selection as yet, whilst flank Schalk Burger and winger Cheslin Kolbe will be given until later in the week to see if they are available.
Andries Coetzee has been sent to a surgeon to reassess his knee which may require a clean up, potentially ruling him out for a week or two.
Coetzee suffered knee ligament damage in the Lions pre-season warm up match against the Eastern Province Kings and has not featured in the Lions campaign until last weekend’s 25-12 loss to the Sharks.
They are strong, generally popular characters of the international rugby landscape and that is never a bad thing … but do brothers Bismarck and Jannie du Plessis take interaction with referees a bit too far?
The voices of the two Sharks front-rankers have been among the most consistently audible to mass audiences this season as far as spirited dialogue with Super Rugby officials is concerned.
Shrinks (and may I cheekily add, at the risk of generalisation, wives and girlfriends?) will tell you that communication is healthy.
“We haven’t lost hope.”
The hard words of Toyota Cheetahs captain Adriaan Strauss after his side’s loss at the hands of the Crusaders in their Vodacom Super Rugby match this past weekend.
While the four teams who will contest the Vodacom Cup quarter-finals from the South Section have been decided, the race to get into the playoffs in the North Section is not over yet after the penultimate round of pool action.
And to add some spice, in the final round (in two weeks’ time) four of the top five teams in the North Section take on each other in two highly anticipated clashes. The defending champion Golden Lions (currently fourth on the log) host 2013’s runners-up the Steval Pumas (first), while GWK Griquas (second) have to travel to North West province to take on the Leopards XV (fifth).
The Vodacom Blue Bulls (third) host their neighbours to the north, the Assupol Limpopo Blue Bulls, in Pretoria and a likely win should cement their place in the quarter-finals.
The South African Rugby Union will on Monday get a better idea of the government’s new ‘adapt or die’ transformation policy.
Speaking at a general meeting of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee recently Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula revealed that the minimum requirement for the number of blacks in teams have been increased to 60 percent.
Stuart Berry will be the referee in the South African Super Rugby derby between the Stormers and Lions at Newlands on Saturday (17:05 kick-off).
Berry will be assisted by Marius van der Westhuizen and Quinton Immelman, with Shaun Veldsman on Television Match Official (TMO) duty.