All Blacks
Allister Coetzee, head coach of the DHL Stormers, today named a team with a number of changes to the side that beat the Blues 28-26 in Auckland last Friday.
The MTN Lions will be playing the Highlanders this Saturday, 28 May 2011 in Dunedin. Kick off is at 19:35 (New
Zealand time). The team was announced this morning and is:
I wrote a piece a few months ago entitled : “Most enjoyable Test against England”. It was an Article about two Test matches South Africa played against England in 1984.
Danie Gerber scored 4 tries in the two Tests; overall South Africa crossed the English goal line 9 times.
SANZAR have released the match officials for the fifteenth Round of the 2011 Super Rugby tournament and Steve Walsh has the big one on Sunday between the Reds and Crusaders.
This weekend has six matches, one on Friday and four on Saturday and one on Sunday.
The Blues, Chiefs and the Rebels have the bye this weekend.
The Stormers have lost Springbok prop CJ van der Linde but should have Jean de Villiers, Jaque Fourie and Peter Grant back for their match against the Brumbies this weekend.
Young prop Frans Malherbe has been called up to replace Van der Linde.
The Sharks Super Rugby loss to the Bulls in Round 14 came at a cost as at least two players will miss this weekend’s Waratahs clash.
Cheetahs wing Ryno Benjamin has been suspended for two weeks after a SANZAR Judicial Hearing found him guilty of headbutting an opponent during a Super Rugby match at the weekend.
It appears that the injury to Bulls scrumhalf Fourie du Preez is worse than initially thought, with scans revealing a grade 2 tear in the medial ligaments of the knee. This injury will not only keep him out of the weekend’s Super Rugby clash with the Cheetahs, but also for at least the rest of the league stages of the Super Rugby Competition.
Kurt Coleman has flown to Australia and Peter Grant is expected to be fit to play in the next game, but the Stormers have confirmed that they are looking at options from outside of the squad as they look to have flyhalf well covered as the business end of the Vodacom Super Rugby arrives. Continue reading
When looking at the SA conference and ignoring the matches against overseas teams, our conference make for interesting reading.
I thought it would be interesting to have a look at our conference as a unit on its own, comparing our local derbies only. Continue reading
A bit better for me this weekend in terms of the SuperBru picks. Got 4/6 right, with the Sharks and the Stormers (second week in a row!) letting my picks down, although I am extremely happy for getting the Stormers pick wrong! If this is going to be the trend, picking the Stormers game wrong time and again, I will pick them to lose every game from now on!
The prospects of three teams from either New Zealand or South Africa making Super Rugby’s six-team playoffs is firming, as is the embarrassment of Australia having just one.
Sharks (6) 23 / Bulls (23) 32 (Final Score)
The Sharks hosted the Vodacom Bulls at Mr Price Kings Park, Durban at 19:10 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 Bulls controlled the first half and to a large extent bullied the Sharks, only for the Sharks to show a huge amount of guts in the second half to try and claw the deficit back.
In the end, the Bulls won by 9 points, denying the Sharks any Log points, whilst earning 4 Log points.
Cheetahs (21) 41 / Rebels (7) 21 (Final Score)
The Toyota Cheetahs hosted the Melbourne Rebels at Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein 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.
The Cheetahs were too strong for a game Melbourne Rebels side, but the game was eventually marred by an overzealous Refree, dishing out one Red Card and a few yellows, like they were Smarties.
Waratahs (29) 29 / Lions (5) 12 (Final Score)
The Waratahs hosted the MTN Lions at Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney at 11:40 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.
By halftime the Waratahs had done enough for a bonus point win, the only score in the second half coming via a lone converted Lions try.
As we are moving towards the business end of the Super Rugby Conference rounds, the supporters will start to work out what the possible permutations are for teams to reach the play-off rounds, where 15 teams will be reduced to only 6.
Blues (19) 26 / Stormers (3) 28 (Final Score)
The Blues hosted the DHL Stormers 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 Stormers grabbed the game out of the fire, with a last minute penalty… and the conversion won them the game.
Herewith ALL the Super Rugby team sheets as they are announced for week 14 of Super Rugby 2011.
Sharks name a strong team as they go into battle with the ever improving Vodacom Bulls in Durban.
I was browsing for rugby news, and nearly swallowed my coffee cup… as I read on Sport24… then I just laughed.
Luke Watson was presented to the media in Cape Town by Highbury Safika Media (HSM – publishers of SA Rugby magazine and www.keo.co.za amongst others).
Damn, double damn!
Bulls fly half Morne Steyn has been linked to a move to English Premiership Club Bath for next season as a replacement for Butch James.
With the Superugby season getting into the business end of the season, every weekend you will have major deciding clashes. Everyone might differ which one is the most important and this article is written from a South African perspective.
This weekend’s action starts with one of the biggies, the Blues and the Stormers, on Friday, and ends with the Sharks versus the Bulls in Durban on Saturday evening.
The MTN Lions have announced their team to front up to the Waratahs on Saturday. A surprise choice is Butch James at flyhalf in place of Elton Jantjies, who had a brilliant game against the Brumbies.
The Cheetahs have paid a price for their 33-20 victory over the Crusaders as two core players have ruled out due to injury.
SANZAR have released the match officials for the fourteenth Round of the 2011 Super Rugby tournament and Steve Walsh has been replaced.
I found this website on News24 and all Peter de Villiers fans are invited to listen to this interview with Peter. Take your time , it is in three parts and is 31 minutes long.
Listen to Peter when he is calm and not under pressure.
All the overawed Sonny Bill Williams fans Peter, has a point! Watch these videos with an open mind.
Cheetahs (16) 33 / Crusaders (17) 20 (Final Score)
The Cheetahs hosted the Crusaders at Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein, at 19:10 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 Cheetahs recorded a masterful win over serious title contenders, the Crusaders…. and on top of it all kept the Crusaders from recording a single Log poin advance, well done Cheetahs!
Bulls (40) 47 / Rebels (3) 10 (Final Score)
The Bulls hosted the Melbourne Rebels at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, 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.
The Bulls blitzed the Melbourne Rebels in the first half, scoring 6 tries to none, but the second half was a dour affair with lots of replacements disrupting all rythm in the game and therefor the second half only produced 7 points for each of the 2 sides.
Job done and mission accomplished by the Bulls, 5 Log points in the bag.
Brumbies (10) 20 / MTN Lions (12) 29 (Final Score)
The Brumbies hosted the MTN Lions at Canberra Stadium, Canberra, at 11:40 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.
For once the MTN Lions played clever and constuctive rugby, doing the right things at te right time! Better defence, good and solid all round performance by the Lions.
Chiefs (3) 30 / Stormers (20) 23 (Final Score)
The Chiefs hosted the Stormers at Waikato Stadium, Hamilton, 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.
In a game of two different halves, the Stormers raced to a 20 / 3 Halftime lead, only to let the Chiefs score 27 points to 3 in the Second half.
Pampas XV (8) 14 / Blue Bulls (0) 9 (Final Score)
The Pampas XV, the only undefeated team in this year’s Vodacom Cup, will be hoping for one more victory in 2011 when they host the defending champions, the Vodacom Blue Bulls, at Profert Olën Park in Potchefstroom on Friday at 19h00.
Herewith ALL the Super Rugby team sheets as they were announced for week 13 of Super Rugby 2011.
The game sees the return of Brok Harris, Ricky Januarie, Peter Grant and Brian Habana to the run-on 15.
Ireland forwards and ex Springbok forwards coach, Gert Smal, is on the verge on signing Bok front row legend and former Bok scrum coach, Os Du Randt to coach the Irish scrum for the World Cup.
Allister Coetzee has named his squad for a 4 game tour to Australasia. The team leaves on Sunday and travels to Auckland where they will prepare for their first game against the Chiefs.
Upon arrival back in South Africa, other fixtures include the Vodacom Bulls at DHL Newlands on 11 June and the Cheetahs on 18 June in Bloemfontein.
The Stormers remain top of the Log in the South African Conference, after losing against the Crusaders, but the Sharks have now considerably narrowed the gap on them. The difference is that the Sharks have already toured to Australasia, whereas this Stormers tour will test their real mettle.