All Blacks (17) 30 / Wallabies (0) 14 (Final Score)
The New Zealand All Blacks hosted the Australian Wallabies at Eden Park, Auckland at 09:35 SA Time. This was the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
The All Blacks sailed to a commanding lead early on against a Wallaby side which was unusually error-prone. In the second half the Wallabies tried hard but it was always going to be nigh on impossible to come back from so far behind.
Springbok coach Peter de Villiers on Friday named a 24-man squad featuring several players returning from injury rehabilitation for the home leg of the Tri-Nations series.
Griquas (14) 43 / Sharks (16) 22 (Final Score)
GWK Griquas hosted The Sharks at GWK Park, Kimberley at 19:10. This was the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1, SHD & CSN on TV in SA.
GWK Griquas eserved their bonus point win, scoring 4 tries to 1.
Springbok “coach” Peter De Villiers has announced his squad for the home leg of the 3N. Continue reading
Allister Coetzee, head coach of DHL WP, today named his team to take on the Cheetahs at Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein on Saturday 6 August.
The All Blacks will field the oldest side in their test history against the Wallabies at Eden Park on Saturday.
Coach Graham Henry has nailed his World Cup colours to the mast by naming a team of veterans that will closely mirror the starting side in the knockout phase of the World Cup.
Not only will “Ted’s Army” be the most ancient starting XV in the All Blacks’ 477 tests dating back to 1903, they are also the most test-hardened team in rugby history.
The Cheetahs have recalled their big guns for the game against Western Province in Bloemfontein this weekend.
Sharks coach John Plumtree has chosen to stick with his players who have kept the Sharks unbeaten in this year’s Currie Cup instead of bringing back a raft of Springboks.
Twenty year old Francois Venter is set to make his first Absa Currie Cup start for the Vodacom Blue Bulls in their fixture against the Golden Lions at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
The log leading MTN Golden Lions have made 3 changes from the side that defeated the Leopards last week for the clash against the Vodacom Blue Bulls this weekend.
Following two Rugby World Cup victories and a uniting of a Rainbow Nation, rugby is now a universal sport, appealing to the masses, supported by millions and played by all walks of life.
As a move towards becoming one of the most effectively run rugby unions in the Southern Hemisphere, The Blue Bulls Company recently employed the experienced Richard Papo as Marketing Manager.
The Sharks are apparently without a Springbok hooker on their list of contracted players for the 2012 season.
The Blue Bulls have hauled out the chequebook to increase the depth at the union for 2012 and onwards.
Springbok coach Peter de Villiers believes that he deserves a medal after his four years as the helm of a job that produces the most hostile environment imaginable.
De Villiers, together with SA Rugby Union (SARU) CEO Jurie Roux addressed the portfolio committee on sport and recreation about the World Cup plans in parliament on Tuesday.
In a move to replace the soon to be departed Fourie Du Preez, the Bulls have signed the Lions scrumhalf with a contract from the beginning of 2012 until the end of the Currie Cup in 2013.
Tim Noakes, foremost Sports Scientist in South Africa has something to share with us…
This follows a request by Ashley, a blogger on our web site, regarding the resting senior Springboks.
Similar to the Jane Austen classic, South African Rugby is a mixture of misplaced pride, shady characters with delusions of grandeur and the inability to focus on the obvious, all of which leads to the degradation and ultimate destruction of that which really matters. Continue reading
Sharks coach John Plumtree says he may not pick some of his Springboks returning for this weekend’s Currie Cup action.
The Sharks take on Griquas in Kimberley on Friday.
England’s Joe Worsley and New Zealander Thomas Waldrom will miss the World Cup after being named as two of the five players dropped from Martin Johnson’s training squad for the tournament in New Zealand.
Barely one third of New Zealanders are enthusiastic about the Rugby World Cup, a mere five weeks out from the sport’s global showpiece, said a survey released on Tuesday.
The Wallaby squad is without veteran lock and Force Captain Nathan Sharpe.
Ireland’s star centre Brian O’Driscoll will miss at least the first two matches of Ireland’s Rugby World Cup warm up matches with a neck/shoulder injury which is restricting his ability to train.
A group of 23 players involved in the Springboks’ preliminary World Cup squad have been released back to their clubs and provinces to be available for Currie Cup selection this weekend.
The list includes 15 of the 29 players who were part of the squad for the away leg of the Tri-Nations Series.
Wallabies half back Luke Burgess has been given the all clear to return to rugby to face the All Blacks this weekend in the Tri-Nations.
Peter de Villiers was in a buoyant mood despite back-to-back defeats for the Springboks over the past two weeks on the away leg of the Tri-Nations in Australasia.
Thirty seven tries were scored during a high action weekend of Currie Cup Premier Division action as Western Province, The Sharks, the Golden Lions and Griquas all recorded bonus point victories.
Adding the 33 tries scored in the three Currie Cup First Division matches on Friday, a total of 70 tries were scored across the country this weekend, amounting to an average of a staggering 10 tries per match.
The Rugby Football Union have unveiled the England Rugby team playing kits for the 2011-12 season which includes the Rugby World Cup.
England will play in an all white home kit and will be worn for the first time against Wales on Saturday then again on August 13 and Ireland on August 27.
WP (21) 35 / Blue Bulls (7) 7 (Final Score)
DHL Western Province hosted the Vodacom Blue Bulls at Newlands, Cape Town at 17:05 SA Time. This was the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
DHL Western Province was full value for their fans, scoring the vital bonus point try and keeping their defence nearly impecable, making it almost impossible for the Blue Bulls to score.
Well done DHL Western Province, back to the drawing board, Vodacom Blue Bulls!
Sharks (31) 43 / Cheetahs (17) 34 (Final Score)
The Sharks hosted the Free State Cheetahs at Mr Price Kings Park, Durban at 15:00 SA Time. This was the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
The Sharks raced to their 4 try bonus point, took just outside 20 minutes to achieve it, then scored some more and it looked like quite a rout…
… But the Cheetahs were not done yet and clawed their way back with some great tries of their own, eventually losing by only 9 points.
All Blacks (18) 40 / Springboks (7) 7 (Final Score)
The New Zealand All Blacks hosted the South African Springboks at Westpac Stadium, Wellington, New Zealand at 09:35 SA Time. This was the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
6 Tries to 1… what else can one say…
The world expects the Springboks to lose. More than they expect the All Blacks to win they expect the Springboks to lose.
Many hope that they will lose just to chastise them for this ‘weakened team’ on tour.
Pumas (7) 33 / Griquas (34) 37 (Final Score)
The Ford Pumas hosted the GWK Griquas at Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit at 19:10 SA Time. This was the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1 & CSN on TV in SA.
The GWK Griquas started like a house on fire and by halftime had built up a 27-point lead, then the Ford Pumas came hard and fast at them, eventually ending only 7 points away from a draw.
Good entertaining and hard running rugby played by both sides.
Springbok coach Peter de Villiers has made one positional change to his starting line-up for their Tri-Nations clash against the All Blacks in Wellington.
The 21-year old Patrick Lambie will now slot into the flyhalf position, with Morné Steyn moving to fullback.
De Villiers earlier named Steyn at flyhalf and Lambie at fullback.
The latest Springbok soap opera has sparked a whole lot of conflict between the pundits of New Zealand and Australia against the South Africans.
At the centre of the storm is Springbok coach, Peter de Villiers.
The Springboks have made four changes to their starting team to face the All Blacks in the Tri-Nations in Wellington on Saturday.
Uncapped lock Gerhard Mostert(photo left) replaces Flip van der Merwe (rib), Sharks flanker Jean Deysel comes in for a benched Ashley Johnson, centre Adi Jacobs is promoted from the bench for Wynand Olivier who drops to the reserves, and fullback Patrick Lambie replaces the injured Gio Aplon (back/shoulder).