The Vodacom Bulls scored the first four-try bonus point of the season on local soil in Bloemfontein on Saturday as they beat the Toyota Cheetahs 51-19 to move to the top of the table after two weeks of Vodacom Super Rugby action.
Two from two and a bye next week for the Stormers, thats 12 points in the bag, and thats what counts. The Stormers used their ‘get out of jail free’ card this weekend, and between now and the Blues in 2 weeks, there’s a lot of work to be done.
For the Sharks it is 0 from 2 with 2 meagre bonus points.
Melbourne Rebels lock Adam Byrnes has been slapped with a 10 week ban from playing Super Rugby after he was found guilty of eye gouging.
After their hammering of 51-19 at the hands of the Bulls in a Super Rugby match on Saturday, the Cheetahs boarded their plane for Australasia knowing that they have to make some sort of mind shift.
Bulls scrum half, Francois Hougaard, has been suspended from all rugby for one week after receiving a RED CARD in the game against the Cheetahs for a tip-tackle on Robert Ebersohn.
Stormers (6) 15 / Sharks (9) 12 (Final Score)
The DHL Stormers and the Sharks did battle in Super Rugby at Newlands, Cape Town 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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Cheetahs (12) 19 / Bulls (31) 51 (Final Score)
The Toyota Cheetahs and Vodacom Bulls did battle in Super Rugby at Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein 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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Reds (23) 35 / Force (6) 20 (Final Score)
The Reds and Western Force did battle in Super Rugby at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane at 10:40 SA Time (19:40 NZ Time).
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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Highlanders (20) 27 / Crusaders (10) 24 (Final Score)
The Highlanders and Crusaders did battle in Super Rugby at the Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin 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 & CSN on TV in SA.
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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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Rebels (6) 19 / Waratahs (22) 35 (Final Score)
The Melbourne Rebels and the Waratahs did battle in Super Rugby at AAMI Stadium, Melbourne at 10:40 SA Time (19:40 Melbourne 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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The Hurricanes will continue their tour as the first non-South Africa team to tour the Republic, while the South African Conference derbies continue with a marquee encounter between the Stormers and Sharks, while the Bulls travel to play the Cheetahs.
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.
Bulls flyhalf Morné Steyn is set to become only the third player to amass 1 000 Super Rugby points, but admits it wasn’t high on his agenda.
The latest news on the INJURY front in Super Rugby (apart from those reported already) is as follows:
As previously posted, we have 5 pairs of tickets (10 tickets in total) available, courtesy of the Lions, for every Super Rugby match to be played at Coca Cola Park this season.
Last week we donated the tickets to the SA First Aid League (Noodhulpliga) in recognition of the hard work they do at the Lions club games in the lower leagues.
This week we’re offering them to Rugby-Talk bloggers who would like to go along and see the game.
All you need to do is e-mail the answer to the following question to Rugby-Talk’s Webmaster using the link on the website.
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.
The Golden Lions Rugby Union announced the MTN Lions team to play in their second match of the 2012 Vodacom Super Rugby competition against the Hurricanes on Friday, 2 March 2012 at a press conference this afternoon.
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.
Johann Sadie - 3 Weeks
Wynand Olivier - Fit
Lionel Cronjé - Crocked
We all know rugby is not a sport for sissies, and so it was on Friday for Johan Sadie too, when he sustained an AC Jojnt injury after barely 11 minutes in the Super Rugby game against the Sharks, which will keep him out injured for about 3 weeks. The good news though is that Wynand Olivier is ready again to step into the fold again.
Lionel Cronjé, another of the signings from down South, is not so lucky though, he sustained a pectoral muscle tear which will have to be operated on, in the friendly game between the Vodacom Blue Bulls against the Sharks XV side.
Other Bulls still recovering include Arno Botha, Morné Mellett, Dewald Potgieter & Rossouw de Klerk.
Juan de Jongh - Fit again
Schalk Burger - Crocked
Some good news, tempered with some bad news…
Juan de Jongh returns to the fold this week in preparation for the Stormers game against the Sharks, but the initial assessment of Schalk Burger’s injury was further compounded by news now that Schalk Burger, their mercurial captain and one-man wrecking machine, will be out for at least 6 weeks if not more, with damaged medial knee ligaments.
Andries Bekker and Jean de Villiers have some injury niggles, Rynhardt Elstadt is on his way back… and Peter Grant joins the Stormers this week from Japan.
The Sharks have been given a boost with the news that flank Willem Alberts has been cleared to play after having extensive rehabilitation during the off-season.
Springbok and Sharks prop Tendai “‘Beast” Mtawarira has been admitted to a private hospital in Cape Town suffering from heart palpitations.
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.
Every season we muse over the potential changing of the guard, and of all the giants in Super Rugby many would have predicted that the Overlords of the game in the Republic – the Bulls – would have been a team that could have been excused for a season of rebuilding.
One could argue that the one coach who should be most sated after round one of Super Rugby was Michael Foley, who watched his Waratahs come within the brink of upsetting the defending champions – and finally ensure a NSW season begins with the amount of hype and expectation attached to Australia’s most prolific rugby state.
Shimlas (10) 18 / UJ (21) 50 (Final Score)
Shimlas and UJ did battle in the Varsity Cup in Bloemfontein at 19:00 SA Time.
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & CSN on TV in SA.
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NMMU (13) 23 / UCT (13) 21 (Final Score)
NMMU and UCT did battle in the Varsity Cup in Port Elizabeth at 17:00 SA Time.
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & CSN on TV in SA.
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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.
Stormers grind out a 13 point margin win against the Hurricanes at Newlands.