All Blacks
The South African Rugby Union confirmed its full support for the current Springbok coaching team on Friday and said planning was underway for the end-of-year tour.
Head coach Peter de Villiers and assistant coaches Dick Muir and Gary Gold met SARU president, Mr Oregan Hoskins, in Durban on Thursday evening.
We are kiling ourselves. There are far too many EGO’s in South African Rugby!
They say if you want loyalty, go and buy a dog. It certainly seems to be the case in South African rugby.
The International Rugby Board has announced the Match Official appointments for the schedule of international matches to be played between October 30 and December 4, 2010.
The disharmony between Springbok coach Peter de Villiers and his assistants Dick Muir and Gary Gold has reached a crescendo with De Villiers seemingly in a desperate search for new assistants before the Springboks embark on their end-of-year Grand Slam tour.
After the umpteenth “review” on Pieter de Villiers it is clear the coaching panel is now cast in stone for the upcoming World Cup in New Zealand. It is therefor imperative that we now find within ourselves the passion and patriotism in our character to support our Springbok team and the coaching staff. Our personal feelings in this matter must be set aside as we look towards next year as the Springboks will need our positivity more than ever before and any negativity towards either Pieter de Villiers or anyone else involved will only deter them on focusing on the job at hand. Continue reading
The heads of Springbok coach Peter de Villiers and his two assistants, Dick Muir and Gary Gold, may all roll Today when their performance reviews are done.
Here are the Team sheets for the Currie Cup Premier Division clashes of the coming weekend.
Suddenly there is a crop of younger players making an impression on South African rugby – Elton Jantjes (20), Patrick Lambie (19), Nick Köster (20), Jaco Taute (19) and in his second year of Currie Cup rugby, Wandile Mjekevu (19), Gerhard van den Heever (21) and Martin Bezuidenhout (just 21).
Springbok Sevens coach Paul Treu requested the use of rogue winger Lionel Mapoe for the upcoming Commonwealth Sevens tournament, but was refused by the Free State Rugby Union.
The recent actions by SA Rugby boss, Oregan Hoskins, in his ‘strongly worded letter’ to the big (5) unions on their apparent lack of commitment to transformation is particularly disturbing. Continue reading
Was this year really such a massive failure? What will Peter answer to questions and what plans will he put on the table.
If you were part of the review panel on the 28th of September , what would you ask Peter? Post your questions here.
The South African Rugby Union (SARU) should consider changes to its competition structures to ensure that promising black players, in particular, do not “disappear” between under-21 and senior level.
Archie Henderson: So the Tri-Nations wasn’t as bad as we thought. We might have lost all but one of the six matches against our old enemies and conceded the most tries, but – hell’s bells! – we made a lot of money going about it.
Defending champions Hamilton and three-time Varsity Cup champions Maties moved one step closer to a heavyweight, all-Western Province semi-final clash when they romped to huge victories on the opening day of the 36th SAA National Club Champs at the Danie Craven Stadium in Stellenbosch.
South African Rugby Boss Oregan Hoskins has called for calm amid widespread calls for Springboks coach Peter de Villiers to be sacked.
Pumas (3) 10 / WP (27) 62 (Final Score)
The Pumas hosted WP at Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit at 19:10 SA Time on Friday 17 September. This is the match thread for discussion of the game. The game was broadcast live on SuperSport 1 on DSTV in SA.
WP ran in 8 tries, all of which were converted by Willem de Waal (5) and Gary van Aswegen (3)a gainst the solitary try by Elgar Watts of the Pumas.
The Pumas tried hard but came up against a WP side who were doing everything at blistering pace and who were in the mood for blood.
The Blue Bulls, Lions and Western Province are apparently willing to splash the cash to sign Springbok wing Bjorn Basson from Griquas.
The following matches will be broadcast this weekend:
This weekend we see the following 4 matches:
| 17 | GWK Griquas | v | Platinum Leopards | GWK Park, Kimberley | 19:00 |
| 17 | Pumas | v | Vodacom Western Province | Puma Stadium, Witbank | 19:10 |
| 18 | Sharks | v | Vodacom Free State Cheetahs | The Absa Stadium Durban | 15:00 |
| 18 | Vodacom Blue Bulls | v | Xerox Lions | Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria | 17:05 |
The two most interesting clashes both take place on Saturday 18 September, those between the Sharks and Cheetahs and the Blue Bulls against the Lions.
Here are the team sheets for this weekend’s Currie Cup Premier Division action, all have been announced.
Springbok rugby fans can look forward to a mid-morning World Cup after the International Rugby Board released the kick-off times for next year’s World Cup in New Zealand.
The Boks will need to get used to playing night games, as most of their pool matches have been scheduled for a late (in South African terms) 8:30pm kick-off.
Having had a look at the new look Super 15 schedule for 2011 and reviewing the results of this year’s Tri-Nations and going back all the way to the End Of Year Tour last November it is becoming increasingly clear that our top rugby players are playing way too much rugby. Injuries have also taken it’ s toll on a number of Springboks and a few had to take care of long standing injuries such as Fourie Du Preez with his shoulder. Continue reading
The likely absence of Butch James could open the door to a Springbok return for Peter Grant at flyhalf on the Grand Slam tour at the end of the year.
Mmmm, where have we heard these lies before?
According to SARU, the Absa Currie Cup remains the top priority for the South African Rugby Union and it will never be allowed to be “watered-down” by any other competition.
This is the message from the chairperson of SARU’s Executive Committee, Dr Jan Marais, who also rejected claims in some quarters that SARU was killing off the Currie Cup in a deal that only favoured Australia.
The Super 15 can be tantamount to a SANZAR suicide if players from South Africa, New Zealand and Australia are not managed carefully to enable them to perform optimally at next year’s World Cup.
How do we ensure South African rugby can still put forward a quality domestic competition to guarantee the long term survival of the game in this country? Continue reading
So for all intents and purposes the Currie Cup as we know it will be gone in the near future thanks to the new Super rugby format. Questions will now be asked whether this is a good or bad thing, and whether SA Rugby must now explore alternative options to ensure our feeder systems stay in place. Continue reading
It is clear that SARU is using window dressing to appease Springbok supporters. The next instalment of a “review” with PDV is most likely to add more frustration and disillusionment to loyal Springbok supporters. Continue reading
September 28 is D-Day for Peter de Villiers.
The Complete format and draw for next year’s Super 15 and the official Super 15 Logo has been announced.
Cheetahs (10) 20 / Blue Bulls (11) 14 (Final Score)
The Cheetahs hosted the Blue Bulls at Vodacom Park, Bloemfontein at 17:05 SA Time. This is the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1 on DSTV in SA.
In one of the hardest matches of the season, the Cheetahs held out to win by 6 points, with the Blue Bulls camping on their line.
Cheetahs get 4 Log points, Blue Bulls 1.
Lions (23) 40 / Griquas (15) 29 (Final Score)
The Xerox Lions hosted the GWK Griquas at Coca-Cola Park, Johannesburg at 15:00 SA Time. This is the match thread for discussion of the game. The game was broadcast live on SuperSport 1 on DSTV in SA.
The Lions and Griquas both scored 4 tries each but the boot of Elton Jantjies proved to be the difference in the scores, Lions winning by 40 / 29.
We have 1 match on Friday 10 September and 3 matches on Saturday 11 September, with only the match between WP and the Leopards not broadcast on TV in SA.
The games are:
- Pumas vs Sharks – Witbank at 19:10 SA Time on 10 September
- Lions vs Griquas – Coca-Cola Park, Johannesburg at 15:00 SA Time on 11 September
- WP vs Leopards – Newlands, Cape Town at 17:00 SA Time on 11 September
- Cheetahs vs Blue Bulls – Vodacom Park, Bloemfontein at 17:05 SA Time on 11 September
Here are the Teams for week 10 of the Currie Cup!
No matter which way you paint this, SA Rugby lacks leadership. Continue reading