SA Rugby
Craig Joubert
Craig Joubert, is only 36 years old but on Saturday he became the seventh referee in the history of rugby union football to referee 50 Tests, the third one to do so this year.
It’s a long way from the days when the most capped referee had 11 Tests in a seven-year international career. Now with Tests from February to December there are many more chances.
Joubert is the second South African to reach 50, after Jonathan Kaplan who was the first in rugby history to do so. After Kaplan came Chris White of England, Alain Rolland of Ireland and Steve Walsh of New Zealand and then Australia. Then came the 2014 trio – Wayne Barnes of England, Nigel Owens of Wales and Craig Paul Joubert of South Africa.
The Springboks completed a successful first match of their season on Saturday against Nick Mallet’s World XV at Newlands but the first proper international action for them starts this weekend as the Castle Lager Incoming Series gets underway with a Test against Wales in Durban on Saturday.
There often is debate and criticism about the make up of squads that Northern Hemisphere countries send on these mid-year tours which take place after their taxing domestic seasons. This year though the two teams due to play against South Africa have got good reason to be fielding teams which are going to be under strength in certain areas. The Test against Scotland falls outside the international window and so their players who ply their trade outside Scotland will not be making the trip over. The tour for Wales has been made much harder due to numerous injuries, no least to inspirational captain Sam Warburton.
Juan de Jongh
Marnitz Boshoff
Juan de Jongh and Marnitz Boshoff will not be considered for selection for Saturday’s Castle Lager Incoming Series Test against Wales in Durban because of illness and injury.
De Jongh was admitted to a Durban hospital on Sunday evening with a severe chest infection. He will in all likelihood only be discharged by Wednesday and will not be ready to take on Wales this weekend.
Boshoff rolled his right ankle at training in Cape Town last week. He has a grade one ankle sprain and the Springbok medical team are hopeful that he would be able to start training again late this week.
Samoa U20 (8) 8 / 21 (7) Junior Springboks (Final Score)
Samoa Under 20 and South Africa Under 20 did battle in the Junior World Championship at
ECOLight Stadium, Pukekohe at 07:35 SA Time (17:35 NZ Time, 05:35 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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Jesse & Dan Kriel with Dawie Theron
Junior Springboks coach Dawie Theron has selected his strongest available starting line-up for the final Pool C Junior World Championship match against Samoa on Tuesday in Pukekohe.
The match at the Ecolight Stadium will kick off at 07h35 SA time and will be televised live on SuperSport.
Theron has again shuffled his match 23 and retained only six players who outplayed New Zealand 33-24 last Friday in Albany, Auckland.
Warren Gatland
The bookmakers have installed South Africa as overwhelming favourites, but Wales coach Warren Gatland has his eye on a 2-0 sweep for his team.
If Gatland was a betting man he would have jumped at the 18-1 on offer by some SA bookies for a Welsh series win.
It is not surprising for a coach to publicly back his side, but Gatland went further by suggesting that only 2-0 series victory will do when they meet the Springboks in Durban (this Saturday 14 June) and Nelspruit (next week, 21 June).
Chiliboy Ralepelle
Springbok Mahlatse “Chiliboy” Ralepelle faces a two year suspension after reportedly testing positive for a banned substance in France.
Ralepelle, who is currently recovering from a knee injury, was tested out of competition, with his A sample containing traces of Drostanalone, an anabolic steroid that is often used in bodybuilding.
The French daily L’equipe reported Saturday that Ralepelle was now “under investigation” and his club had been informed of the positive test.
Tendai ‘Beast’Mtawarira
Bismarck du Plessis
Jannie du Plessis
Willem Alberts
It seems the Sharks supporters in general are taking serious exception to recent critisism in the media and here on Rugby-Talk, against suggestions that Jake White has overplayed a lot of the Sharks’ Springbok players and candidates.
We are even experiencing a silent boycot by some of the regular Sharks contributors here on Rugby-Talk, for us daring to speak out in the comments against the lack of national interests by Jake White and the Sharks… not that it has negatively impacted on Rugby-Talk at all in any form or by any means.
Friends, this is not a “Hit Out” against the Sharks, this is a worrying trend, which is showing true results at present!
This morning, I had the fortune of meeting and speaking to one of our regular Sharks supporters’ Father-In-Laws, here in my office… so Sharkie_Forever, you have a grand old Father-In-Law, a singular gentleman, even though he also supports the Sharks.
The older gentleman is also in agreement that Jake White is overplaying some of the players, so there you have it, the wisdom of the older generation!
In SA Rugby media circles, there are probably not a more fervant Sharks media man than Rob Howing, the Sport24 reporter, so I thought that adding an article penned by Rob, is probably apt in the circumstances!
So, here goes:
Heyneke Meyer
Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer was pleased with his team’s 47-13 win over a star-studded World XV at DHL Newlands on Saturday.
The Springboks scored six tries and gained a lot of momentum in the second half of the match, going into the second 40 minutes leading 18-13. This bodes well for next week’s test match against Wales in the Castle Lager Incoming Series.
Meyer warned that the test match in Durban will be another big step-up for his team, as Wales are a settled team after playing together during the Six Nations.
Trevor Nyakane
Toyota Cheetahs prop Trevor Nyakane will link up with the Springboks in Durban on Sunday as an additional member in the squad for the Castle Lager Incoming Series.
Nyakane played all three of his Tests for South Africa last June but was not part of the squad for the Castle Lager Rugby Championship.
Arno van Wyk
Vodacom Blue Bulls Under 21 hooker Arno van Wyk has joined the Junior Springboks in Auckland after a knee injury forced Malcolm Marx (Golden Lions) out of the IRB Junior World Championship.
Marx might be out of action for up to six weeks after he sustained the injury during a training session earlier in the week.
The burly Johannesburg-based hooker became the second Junior Bok to be ruled out of Junior World Championship 2014 after centre Rohan Janse van Rensburg returned home with an ankle injury.
Jean Luc du Preez, who received a nasty blow to the head against New Zealand Under-20 on Friday night, was meanwhile released from hospital during the early hours of Saturday morning.
Dan Lydiate
Dan Lydiate will captain Wales in their opening game in South Africa against Eastern Province Kings in Port Elizabeth on Tuesday.
The British and Irish Lions flanker has recovered from a hamstring injury to lead a match day squad that includes all four uncapped players who have made the journey to South Africa.
Three of those players are named in Warren Gatland’s starting XV with Matthew Morgan lining up at full-back, Steven Shingler at inside centre and Jordan Williams on the wing.
They are joined in the backline by Cardiff Blues duo Alex Cuthbert and Cory Allen as well as James Hook and Rhodri Williams at half back.
Springboks (18) 47 / 13 (13) World XV (Final Score)
The South African Springboks and a World XV team did battle in the June Internationals at
Newlands, Cape Town at 17:00 SA Time (15:00 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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Peter Grant
Jason Eaton
Alofa Alofa
Promoted Top 14 side La Rochelle announced on Friday the signing of former All Black Jason Eaton along with Australian Alofa Alofa and ex-Springbok Peter Grant on two-year deals.
Francois Steyn
Tanerau Latimer
Japanese Rugby club Toshiba Brave Lupus have announced that Springbok Frans Steyn and All Black flanker Tanerau Latimer have signed with the club.
The club have won the Japanese Top league four times and already have the likes of Richard Kahui and Cooper Vuna on their books.
We’ve already seen the matches of Round 2 of the 2014 Junior World Championships on TV on Friday 6 June, but Saturdat 7 June sees the proper start of the June Internationals, with 4 of those international Tests broadcast live on TV in South Africa.
These Fixtures will of course also be handled as Live Game Articles right here on your favourite rugby website, Rugby-Talk.
The action is kicked off at 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 08:40 BST, 07:35 GMT) between the All Blacks vs England, followed by the Wallabies vs France at 11:40 SA Time (19:40 AEST, 09:40 France Time & GMT).
The Springboks vs the World XV side follows at 17:00 SA Time (15:00 GMT).
At 20:40 SA Time (15:40 ARG Time, 19:40 BST, 18:40 GMT) we see Argentina vs Ireland.
Junior All Blacks (17) 24 / 33 (14) Junior Springboks (Final Score)
New Zealand Under 20 and South Africa Under 20 did battle in the 2014 Junior World Championships at
QBE Stadium, Albany, Auckland at 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 07:35 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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The Springboks are likely to be beneficiaries of a favourable programme, including playing the All Blacks on South African turf only, when a slashed Castle Rugby Championship is contested in 2015.
Given the global priority of the World Cup towards the end of the year, hosted by England, the Championship will be reduced by half to a single round of matches, making it more like the northern hemisphere’s Six Nations for once in character.
The Boks, currently second to World Cup holders New Zealand on the International Rugby Board rankings, play only four games next year ahead of RWC 2015, in stark contrast to this year’s much more cluttered programme of 14.
It gives coach Heyneke Meyer 18 games in total – starting with the World XV clash at Newlands this Saturday – to fine-tune his game-plan and resources for the global get-together: South Africa will kick off their World Cup campaign against Japan at Brighton’s Community Stadium on September 19 next year.
Morné Steyn
Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer is not worried about the lack of game time flyhalf Morné Steyn recently got in France.
It was widely reported that Steyn had struggled for form at his French club, Stade Francais, which led to him spending the majority of the past season on their bench.
However, Meyer says Steyn did not fall out of favour with the Paris-based club’s coaches.
“The overseas clubs manage our players carefully and most of them have a rotation policy,” Meyer was quoted as saying.
Matt Giteau
Wallaby wizard Matt Giteau will lead a powerful World XV against South African at Newlands on Saturday.
The non-cap international fixture is the first of the Springboks’ June outings.
The World selection includes five Springboks and two other South Africans.
Giteau will play at flyhalf and will partner one of the two South Africans who are not Springboks, scrumhalf Rory Kockott, at halfback.
Simon Hickey
New Zealand Under 20 head coach Chris Boyd has made three changes to the starting line-up to face South Africa on Friday.
Boyd said that the match against Samoa proved a good confidence booster for the start of their JWC campaign but there had been areas of their game with which they were not happy.
“We’ve had a good review of that game, and we know what worked well, and what didn’t work as well as it was supposed to,” said Boyd.
Jesse & Dan Kriel with Dawie Theron
Powerfully built twins Jesse and Dan Kriel will play alongside each other in the midfield for the Baby Boks against the New Zealand Under 20’s.
Injury to four players has forced Theron to reshuffle his match 23 after the Junior Boks scored a convincing 61-5 win over Scotland.
Midfielders Rohan Janse van Rensburg (ankle), Andre Esterhuizen (head blow) and flank Jacques Vermeulen (ankle) were all ruled out of selection because of injuries sustained against the Scots.
On Thursday, Golden Lions hooker Malcolm Marx was also ruled out of action for several weeks after he had suffered a knee injury during a training session.
Darron Nell
Darron Nell will captain an EP Kings side eager to prove themselves when they meet Wales in an international rugby friendly at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Tuesday.
Although Kings coach Carlos Spencer said the match came at an early stage in terms of their Currie Cup preparations, the players were keen to get on to the field after several months of a conditioning and fitness programme.
The Kings, who will play in the Currie Cup premier division this season, starting in August, host Wales in the opening match of their South African tour. Tuesday’s game will be followed by Tests on 14 June and 21 June.
Rory Duncan
Naka Drotské
The Free State Cheetahs will tackle this year’s Currie Cup competition under a new head coach, the Free State Rugby Union said on Thursday.
Super Rugby coach Naka Drotské hands over the reins for the coming domestic competition to the coach of this year’s Free State Vodacom Cup side, Rory Duncan.
Drotské, who would be heading off to the UK to expand his coaching knowledge abroad, remained the head coach for the Cheetahs Super Rugby campaign next year. Griquas coach Hawies Fourie and former Springbok prop Os du Randt would be his assistants for the 2015 competition.
Cornal Hendricks
Ruan Pienaar
JP Pietersen
South Africa’s Sevens Player of 2013, Cornal Hendricks, will make his debut for South Africa in the 15-man code next to ten players who started in the Springboks’ final Test of 2013 when they face a star-studded World XV, sponsored by Samsung, at DHL Newlands in Cape Town on Saturday (kick-off at 17:00 SA Time).
The speedy Hendricks is the only newcomer in the team as Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer opted for continuity in his team’s first match of the year.
The old firm of Bakkies Botha and interim captain Victor Matfield are re-united in the second row. JP Pietersen moves to outside centre. Schalk Burger makes a return to the side for the first time in two and a half years while Frans Steyn, Schalk Brits, Lwazi Mvovo and Johan Goosen are also back after playing no Test rugby last year.
Nick Mallett
The Nick Mallett-coached World XV players have been warned to have the right attitude when they run out against the Springboks in Saturday’s international friendly at Newlands.
Speaking n Cape Town on Tuesday, Mallett, a former Springbok coach, said he told his players at a de-briefing that they would be in for a “very unpleasant afternoon” if they did not approach the match in the right frame of mind.
Mallett said sound preparation was a hallmark of Heyneke Meyer’s coaching career over the years.
Nick Mallett
Heinrich Brüssow
World XV coach Nick Mallett says he was keen to include Cheetahs flank Heinrich Brüssow in his squad to face the Springboks.
The teams clash at Newlands on Saturday in what will be the Boks’ first international outing of the year.
Mallett requested to include the Cheetahs flank in his squad to face the Boks but he was already earmarked for the first Bok training camp of the year, which took place in Durban last week.
Brüssow was not included in Bok coach Heyneke Meyer’s final squad named last Saturday, but because he was part of the Bok training camp earlier in the week, he became ineligible for the World XV side.
Dawie Theron
The Junior Springboks suffered a huge injury setback on Tuesday with the news that three players were ruled out of their vital IRB Junior World Championship Pool C clash against New Zealand this coming Friday.
Midfielder Rohan Janse van Rensburg, who came on as second half replacement against Scotland in the JWC opener at the QBE Stadium in North Harbour on Monday, will return home after he sustained an ankle injury in the match. He will be replaced by Duhan van der Merwe, a SA Sevens contracted player and a member of the Baby Boks’ training group.
Powerful inside centre Andre Esterhuizen was ruled out of action for the next couple of days after receiving a blow to the head in the second half against the Scots. He will not be considered for the New Zealand clash. The team’s medical staff is currently managing him according to the Graduated Return to Play Protocol (GRTP).
The third casualty is flank Jacques Vermeulen. The Cape-based loose forward is also suffering from an ankle injury and has been ruled out of Friday’s encounter.
Tobias Botes
Steve Cummins
Tom Botha
South African-born Italian international Tobias Botes and Australian U20 lock Steve Cummins have joined the EP Kings until the end of the 2014.
Tighthead prop, Tom Botha, has also joined the Eastern Province team as their preparations for re-entry into Currie Cup steps up a gear.
Francois Steyn
The good news is that the chronic knee injury that Frans Steyn is currently playing with won’t get worse and stop him from playing, but the bad news is that it is going to have to be managed for the rest of his playing career.
Steyn was the subject of quite a lot of consternation when Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer said he was concerned about his condition during last week’s national training camp in Durban. However, the Bok management denied suggestions in some media forums that they were unhappy with the Sharks for playing Steyn through the injury, and it now appears the Boks might manage Steyn in the same way the Sharks have – by limiting the load placed on his affected knee in training.
Deon Fourie
DHL Stormers and WP player Deon Fourie has signed a 2 year deal with newly promoted French club Lyon.
Victor Matfield & Bakkies Botha
Victor Matfield will captain the Springboks in the Castle Lager Incoming Series this month in the absence of the injured Jean de Villiers – and he will lead them out for the first time since his return to rugby in Saturday’s match against a star-studded World XV, sponsored by Samsung, at Newlands (kick off 17:00 SA Time).
Damian de Allende with crutches
DHL Stormers midfielder Damian de Allende was forced to withdraw from the Springbok squad on Monday and will be replaced by Marnitz Boshoff, flyhalf of the Golden Lions.
De Allende, one of seven uncapped players in the Springbok squad, suffered a medial knee ligament injury in the DHL Stormers’ last Vodacom Super Rugby match, against the Cell C Sharks in Durban on Saturday.
The 22-year-old centre was taken for scans by the Springboks’ medical team on Monday morning and will be sidelined for between four and six weeks, ruling him out of the Castle Lager Incoming Series.
Jake White
Heyneke Meyer
On Rugby-Talk recently, debate in the comments sections between Sharks supporters and other South African supporters often turned and revolved around Jake White’s management or mismanagement of his core players and around the players who will have to do duty for the national side, the Springboks.
The argument often used by Sharks supporters were that the June Internationals are less important, against weakened sides and that Jake White needed to do exactly like he did, play his players week after week and arguably into the ground.
Players like Tendai ‘Beast’ Mtawarira, Bismarck du Plessis, Jannie du Plessis, Willem Albers and more pertinetly Francois Steyn have looked increasingly jaded and this past weekend’s Sharks loss against the Stormers was a stark reminder of the situation.
One of the regular journalists I share the Press Box at Loftus Versfeld with, Brenden Nel, of SuperSport, penned an interesting article on this same matter. I think he nails this one on the head, here is what he says:
The Lions secured their first-ever Vodacom Super Rugby victory over the Vodacom Bulls on Saturday, just before the DHL Stormers won their first away game of the season when they beat the Cell C Sharks in Durban.
On a weekend where the Vodacom Bulls had a superb opportunity to move into the top six, following defeats by the Highlanders, Hurricanes and Chiefs, the men from Pretoria lost for the first time to the spirited Lions at Ellis Park.
The home team deserve a lot of credit for the way in which they never gave up despite being on the back foot from time to time. The visitors let themselves down with bad execution, but that does not take anything away from the Lions’ 32-21 victory.
Shortly after the Lions’ stunning victory, the Cell C Sharks lost their second home game of the season but clung onto the top spot on the log when Jaco Taute slotted an injury-time drop-goal to see the DHL Stormers through by 21-19.
It was the first and only time during the match that the team from Cape Town took the lead for probably their best win of the season.
Vodacom Super Rugby resumes for the five South African franchises in the first weekend of July. All of them have completed 14 matches and have two left before the playoffs start. The Toyota Cheetahs had a bye this week.