Super Rugby
The Southern Kings’ place in the Vodacom Super Rugby competition in 2013 was reaffirmed at a Special Council Meeting of the South African Rugby Union (SARU) in Cape Town on Friday. Proposals on mechanisms to identity the four other South African entrants will be considered at a SARU Special General Meeting on March 30.
In the left corner, wearing black trunks with orange trim…
… and in the right corner wearing a loin cloth and ostrich feathers…
The referee for this bout will be the circus clown SARU!!
News from the City Of Roses is that, one of the leading contenders to Captain the Springboks in 2012, Juan Smith, has not recovered from his injury and is on crutches once again.
Controversial New Zealand referee Bryce Lawrence will undergo a “rehabilitation” and reports that he will not referee in South Africa this year are simply not true.
SANZAR Referees boss Lyndon Bray says there is “absolutely no truth” in reports that Lawrence will not referee in South Africa this year as a counter to the backlash from his poor refereeing performance in the Rugby World Cup quarter-final where the Springboks lost against the Wallabies. Continue reading
2012 is the year that the Stormers will try to one further than the semi-finals for the 3rd time in a row. If the last two years are anything to go by, and the squad build up that Rassie Erasmus and Allister Coetzee have been trying to achieve, than going all the way should be a given.
The Cheetahs squad has now been discussed and time to do the same through a range of Articles on the Bulls.
After the Bulls range of Articles, we’ll see ranges of Articles on the remainig 3 Franchises too… but let’s focus on the Bulls for now. I will handle the discussion of players a bit differently from the Articles on Cheetahs contenders, limiting discussion to the 33 players in the Bulls official Super Rugby training group.
In this Article we look at the contenders for PROPS in the Vodacom Bulls 2012 Super Rugby group, and whether they could force their way into Bok contention.
Former Springbok and Bulls captain Victor Matfield could come out of retirement, but only if Heyneke Meyer is unveiled as the new Springbok coach on Friday.
The Cheetahs say they feel ‘cheated’ after it was revealed they will not be facing the Kings, but a Border Bulldogs/SWD Eagles combination in their pre-season match on Saturday.
In this final edition of the series of articles, dissecting the contenders for the Cheetahs squad, we are going to look at the players vying for the fullback berth. GBS has been putting the pressure on, for me to finish, in the vain hope that the Breezers, Guppies, Pink Nulle, and Kitties get their contenders on the table.
It is almost time, but still almost a month before the first salvos in this years Super Rugby competition gets fired.
Enough time methinks for these scribes to put fingers to keyboards!
Without further ado, here are the Cheetahs contenders for the Last Outpost:
The Blue Bulls Company has just released an official Media Release regarding their stance on Heyneke Meyer’s possible appointment as Springbok rugby coach, by SARU.
The plot thickens…
The Sharks have confirmed the extension of several prominent players’ contracts ahead of the upcoming Super Rugby season.
The Cheetahs have pulled out all their big guns for their pre-season clash with the EP Kings in East London on Saturday.
The MTN Lions will be playing the DHL Stormers in their first warm up match of the 2012 season on Friday, 27 January 2012 at DHL Newlands Stadium in Cape Town. Kick off is at 7pm.
In the next round of preparation fixtures for Super Rugby 2012, the DHL Stormers this week take on the MTN Lions and then the Toyota Cheetahs in the DHL Pre-Season Series.
Blues veteran prop Tony Woodcock looks set to make a delayed start to the 2012 Super Rugby season due to injuries which are taking longer to heal.
The Cheetahs’ Springbok flank Juan Smith has not been included in their pre-season training camp to Jeffreys Bay after experiencing further discomfort in training.
Stormers coach Allister Coetzee says he wants Gio Aplon to establish himself at wing this season with Joe Pietersen playing fullback.
Lock Steven Sykes has opted to return to the Sharks ahead of their Super Rugby campaign, following a short stint at Leinster.
The Lions, already renowned for their exciting brand of attacking rugby, plan to add a “refreshing” twist to the style that won them the Currie Cup in 2011.
As we continue to wait in anticipation of Super Rugby to start proper, here are the contenders for the glory boys out wide. Here I have a concern, with the players available. While all of them are speedsters, they aren’t in the same league as the likes of Guildford, and co. That said, they fit well into the Cheetahs pattern, where there is often space created out wide.
I see that most supporters believe that this is their teams year lol, normally this has been the sole preserve of the “Drizzlers” as GBS rfers to the Stormers.
Be it as it may, I am impatient for it all to start! Bring it on!!
Time running out for the opposition scribes to name their teams GBS? How about getting your slaves to work!
Let’s join in the fun, Heyneke Meyer’s touted as being a sure ting now for appointment as Springbok coach!
Australian Super Rugby teams will attempt to hold on to their momentum and keep their players match fit in June with friendly matches against Scotland, Wales and a South African Currie Cup team.
Stormers (28) 45 / Boland (7) 14 (Final Score)
The Stormers and Boland Cavaliers did battle in a Super Rugby warm-up match for the Stormers at 15:45 SA Time.
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 6 & on CSN on TV in SA.
*******************
New Zealand’s top referee Bryce Lawrence will not travel to South Africa to officiate Super Rugby matches after he refereed the Springboks in their Rugby World Cup exit match.
Reds Super Rugby winning coach Ewen McKenzie has extended his contract with Queensland Rugby until the 2014 season.
The Cheetahs, determined to make the Super Rugby play-offs for the first time, are engaged in an enormous internal battle for places in the team.
Lions coach John Mitchell has confirmed that No 8 Josh Strauss will captain the Lions in the upcoming Super Rugby tournament and centre Doppies la Grange will be vice-captain.
First my commiserations to all who suffered losses during the terrible floods in Limpopo, and Mpumalanga! The power of nature, though beautiful to behold, is humbling indeed. I hope that all affected, will soon have their lives returned to normal. Especially guys like Superbul in Hoedspruit.
In this, the penultimate article in the series that looks at contenders for the Cheetahs Super Rugby squad of 2012, I am going to look at the midfield. Things have been a tad quiet on Rugby-Talk. Come on people bring out the handbags!
Must say the Cheetahs seem to have more than useful cover in this position too.
The Crusaders have announced that they will play their first 2012 Super Rugby home game, against the Chiefs, in Napier on March 9.
What are the things that Super Rugby fans are anticipating ahead of the new 2012 season?
Welcome back to some of the regulars, like sharky_forever, Loosehead and Lion4ever… and to Webmonster GBS, recover quickly! The excitement and anticipation is building as we near the practice runs. It is thus fitting, that we look at the position, in which we are all of a sudden blessed with numerous contenders for the Bok 10 jumper. The Cheetahs are very lucky to have some exciting players in this position. A welcome change indeed!
The Cheetahs have produced a number of Springboks in this position, and some, it could be argued should have gotten more chances to play. Guys like Jannie de Beer, that only played a handful of test matches could have contributed more. Ironically, the Cheetahs are the SA franchise with arguably the most talent and depth in the flyhalf channel heading into the 2012 Super Rugby Competition.
The multi-talented flyhalf and center is set to leave Durban and further his career at Bayonne.
The Sharks, rather than last year’s best-performing South African franchise the Stormers, represent South Africa’s best chance of success in the 2012 Super Rugby season.
Wallabies Nathan Sharpe, David Pocock and Ben McCalman have been welcomed back to full training this week as the Western Force continues preparations for the 2012 season.
The Queensland Reds squad has been given a boost by the return of all of their remaining Wallabies representatives from annual leave to rejoin the squad at Ballymore.