Super Rugby
Crusaders (18) 26 / 29 (17) Hurricanes (Final Score)
The Crusaders and Hurricanes did battle in Super Rugby at
AM Park, Christchurch at 08:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 06:35 GMT).
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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The Waratahs received a timely boost ahead of their two-match tour of South Africa, with star back Israel Folau cleared to join them.
Folau stayed behind in Sydney, to see specialist – after suffering a throat injury in last Friday’s win over the Melbourne Rebels.
It will raise some eyebrows, but Sharks Director of Rugby Jake White feels his team selection could be a pointer for Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer.
While some will debate the decision to name young Fred Zeilinga at flyhalf, in the starting XV to face the Waratahs in Durban on Saturday, it is the selection of Lwazi Mvovo at fullback that sparked the most interest.
The Bok wing, Mvovo, who has seven Test caps for South Africa, was shifted to No 15 and SP Marais dropped to the bench.
The Chiefs have made eight changes to the team that lost to the Force in Perth for this weekend’s Super Rugby match against the Bulls Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria.
The Chiefs are attempting to win their third straight title – a threepeat – and suffered their first loss of the season last week.
The Melbourne Rebels have named their Super Rugby team to play the Brumbies at AAMI Park in Melbourne with Jason Woodward and Nic Stirzaker returning to the starting line up.
Jason Woodward has overcome a bruised knee to return after missing one week and is named to start as fullback, while Tom Kingston will start after a knee injury bought a premature end to Foundation Rebel Lachlan Mitchell’s season.
The Reds have named their Super Rugby team to play the Stormers with flanker Beau Robinson making his first start as one of three changes to the starting line up.
Reds coach Richard Graham has promoted three players who were on the replacements bench against the Lions last week and promoted them into the starting team.
Robinson, James Hanson and Dom Shipperley were on the bench but start at Suncorp Stadium as the Reds look to get back to winning ways.
Highlanders head coach Jamie Joseph has named his team to play the Blues at Eden Park in Auckland on Saturday with minimal changes to the one that beat the Hurricanes.
Tevita Kuridrani is back in the Brumbies starting side this Friday, for their Super Rugby showdown with the Rebels.
The Brumbies have made just one change to their staring side which beat the Stormers last weekend, with Tevita Kuridrani named at outside centre after a week off for a family funeral.
Blues and former All Black halfback Piri Weepu has suffered a minor stroke and is being given some time away from the game to get his health right.
Weepu has been suffering from sustained and intense headaches ever since the Blues left for South Africa at the start of March, and finally undertook scans on Monday to determine what was causing the problem.
Initial thoughts had been the problem was migraine related, but the Blues today confirmed Weepu had suffered a minor stroke and that he would not play in Saturday’s Super Rugby clash against the Highlanders at Eden Park.
Springbok and Cheetahs flyhalf Johan Goosen has secretly flown to France to explore possible future career opportunities, the Volksblad website reports.
The Cheetahs have a bye weekend in Super Rugby which enabled the 21-year-old to head abroad.
The Stormers have a plethora of problems right now … an underperforming and often unexciting team, another nightmarish injury plague, under-fire coaches, inevitable supporters’ dissatisfaction.
Just another, and perhaps one that has slipped beneath the radar given deeper issues, is that they face the real danger of experiencing their least profitable overseas tour in Super Rugby since their formation in 1998: it will become a sad reality if they lose their final game of the four-match roster abroad against the Reds in Brisbane on Saturday (10:40 SA Time) to complete a clean sweep of defeats.
That ’98 campaign was also the year when the new Stormers brand-name at Newlands was marked by that infamous, dog’s breakfast of a kit, containing an array of confusing and ill-designed colours.
Vodacom Bulls coach Frans Ludeke made one change to his team to face defending Vodacom Super Rugby champions, the Chiefs, at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday. Akona Ndungane, who missed last week’s win over the Sharks because of compassionate leave, is back in the team in place of Sampie Mastriet and will play in his 101st match of Super Rugby for the franchise.
Mastriet drops out of the match 23 altogether.
Head coach Allister Coetzee has announced a team showing seven changes for the DHL Stormers’ final Vodacom Super Rugby tour match on Saturday – against the Reds in Brisbane (kick-off 10:40 SA Time).
Springbok centre Juan de Jongh has been restored to the starting line-up, following his return from injury via the bench last weekend, whilst WP Under-21 star Jurie van Vuuren will make his first Super Rugby start after being named to partner Michael Rhodes at lock.
The Hurricanes have named midfielder Tim Bateman in their Super Rugby team to play the Crusaders in Christchurch at the AMI Stadium on Friday.
Bateman makes his return to the starting team to partner Conrad Smith after being side-lined with a knee injury for six weeks.
All Black superstar Kieran Read, one of the best players in the world, will feature in his 100 game for the Crusaders when he leads the team out against the Hurricanes on Friday.
The Round Seven Super Rugby fixture will be a momentous occasion for the man rated the best No 8 in the world.
Lions coach Johan Ackermann has given the Stormers a few tips on how to beat the Reds when they meet in a Super Rugby clash in Brisbane on Saturday.
Ackermann’s Lions beat the Reds 23-20 at Ellis Park last week and the Lions mentor says he knows how to floor the Australian side.
The Lions medical staff have released an injury update, following the Vodacom Super Rugby outfit’s 23-20 victory over the Reds at Ellis Park on Saturday evening.
Waratahs coach Michael Cheika has made 6 changes and brought in 4 new faces to his starting line-up to face the top-of-the-table Sharks in Durban on Saturday.
Jonno Lance will make his Waratahs debut in the light blue No 15 jersey, deputising for the injured Israel Folau.
Blues coach Sir John Kirwan believes he has the solution to rugby’s scrum problems and wants changes to be made immediately.
The 63-cap former All Blacks wing wants changes to occur to the scrum law in the middle of the season, in order to solve the issues and thinks that the IRB and SANZAR should work together to ensure the decisions are made.
Brumbies inside centre Christian Lealiifano will return from an ankle injury against the Rebels, but doesn’t want the goal kicking duties just yet.
Lealiifano had surgery on his ankle late last year and is now ready to return to action.
Waratahs fullback, Israel Folau, will be unable to add to his remarkable season tally of eight tries this weekend after being ruled out of the Super Rugby clash against the Sharks with a bruised throat.
After eight scores in his first four matches, it looked like only injury could prevent Folau from breaking the single season Super Rugby record of 15, which is jointly held by Joe Roff (1997) and Rico Gear (2005).
Lions coach Johan Ackermann will be enjoying the fact his team has a bye this week but you could almost hear the relief in his voice when he said “the bye couldn’t come at a better time.”
According to reports, Ackermann’s team have surprised all in the competition with their four wins in six games thus far and their fourth spot on the Vodacom Super Rugby log, and while many don’t expect them to be there when the competition reaches its business end, for now the Lions are simply enjoying themselves.
They know they got the rub of the green with refereeing decisions in the last two games, but the luck they created for themselves also plays a major part in the self-belief of a team that everyone has written off thus far this season.
Saturday’s game against the Reds was a special win for Ackermann and his sidekick Swys de Bruin.
The Lions and Vodacom Bulls flew the South African flag in Vodacom Super Rugby this weekend when they scored come-from-behind home victories on Saturday.
The side from Johannesburg scored two late tries to deny the Reds by 23-20 after they were still behind by 20-3 shortly before the break at Ellis Park.
In the process, Lions flyhalf and kicking ace Marnitz Boshoff became the first player this season to reach 100 points when he kicked his second penalty goal in the 40th minute of the match.
In the final match of the weekend, the Cell C Sharks lost their first encounter of 2014 when they went down 23-19 to a determined Vodacom Bulls side at Loftus Versfeld.
The Cell C Sharks half-back pairing of Pat Lambie and Cobus Reinach will not feature in the near future of the Vodacom Super Rugby tournament after sustaining injuries against the Bulls on Saturday night.
Gert Smal is set to be installed as the Western Province director of rugby as the union prepares to overhaul the much maligned Stormers management team.
According to reports, it is understood that Smal, who is a big favourite of Wakefield and was first sounded out about the role last August, could be announced in his new position as early as next week, with Wakefield now assured of the ratification of his proposal by the board, who he says support him 100%.
DHL Stormers hooker Tiaan Liebenberg has also flown home from his team’s Vodacom Super Rugby tour of Australia, joining Schalk Burger who returned to Cape Town on Sunday.
Victor Matfield is still valuable, but definitely not the player he was, says Sharks director of rugby Jake White.
White was speaking after his side lost 23-19 to the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday night.
Jake White has never been one of those coaches who makes excuses, and he refused to use injuries as an excuse for his Cell C Sharks team’s defeat to the Vodacom Bulls as an excuse, but if he was honest he would probably agree that the disruption has come in the area he can least afford it as his team heads into a critical stage of the Vodacom Super Rugby campaign.
Before the season kicked off, White could well have pinpointed flyhalf and No 5 lock as the areas where depth was a concern. He needed Patrick Lambie to be fit for as many games as possible, and Pieter-Steph du Toit was so far ahead of the rest when it came to leading the lineout and posing a threat to opposition ball that he was near to indispensable.
Vodacom Bulls lock Flip van der Merwe’s hamstring strain will keep him out of Saturday’s Vodacom Super Rugby match against the Chiefs at Loftus Versfeld, team doctor Org Strauss confirmed on Monday.
The South African-based three-time past champions against defending title holders from New Zealand who are on the hunt for a hat-trick in 2014.
That is the appealing clash awaiting the Loftus faithful next Saturday (15:00), when the thoroughly resurgent Bulls – three from three at their home ground this season – entertain the Chiefs.
Lions coach Johan Ackermann was left speechless after his side came from behind to beat the Reds 23-20 at Ellis Park on Saturday.
The Lions scored right at the death to secure victory against a Reds team reduced to 13 players after two yellow cards from referee Stuart Berry.
“What makes this one (victory) special is the fight and the comeback, the composure the guys showed,” Ackermann said after the match.
It is being widely reported that the Stormers coaching team of Allister Coetzee, Robbie Fleck and Matthew Proudfoot may be under threat of losing their positions following a meeting between Thelo Wakefield and the coaching team over the weekend.
Reds flank Liam Gill and fullback Aidan Toua were injured in the loss to the Lions in Johannesburg.
Both players had to be replaced during the match, with Toua injuring his chest after being tackled just short of the line early in the first half and Gill injuring his hamstring in a ruck in the second half.
SANZAR wishes to advise two referee appointment changes for the forthcoming round of Super Rugby.
Nick Briant will officiate Crusaders v Hurricanes on Friday night while Steve Walsh will oversee the Blues v Highlanders clash in Auckland on Saturday night.
Veteran DHL WP and DHL Stormers wing/fullback Gio Aplon will further his career abroad at the end of the 2014 Vodacom Super Rugby season, but two young backline talents have been signed to make up for his departure