Australia
Australians are today mourning the death of a legend.
Edward Heinrich, who is considered a classic Wallaby, has passed away last night at the age of 73.
With only 730 days till World Cup 2015 the pools and qualifying teams are starting to take shape.
There is still quite a few qualifying matches ahead and still a playoff series to fill all open spots.
Bad news in the Wallaby camp seems to be at the order of the day.
This is turning into a year that Australia will never want to relive.
The Rugby Chamionship match between the Australian Wallabies and Argentinian Pumas is was a strange old battle to basically decide who was not going to receive the wooden spoon in the competition, a clash with it’s own merits and demerits. Neither team had won in the competition for the year and were desperate to pick up the first win and the game went right down to the wire.
A former NRL player has been banned for 8 matches for biting an opponents penis in a club match last week.
In 6 games played this year in The Rugby Championship these teams have combined only managed to get 1 Log point. Here is a head to head breakdown of how the two teams compare.
These teams have met each other 19 times in the past, with the Wallabies winning 14 and the Puma’s winning 4 and only 1 draw. With the current form of these sides, a draw could not be a far fetched result in this case.
The Wallabies have scored a total of 493 against the Pumas compared to the Puma’s 287. This leaves a average score line of 26-15 in favour of the Wallabies.
Neither team has manged any wins this year, but the Pumas did manage a to get a bonus point against the Springboks in Mendoza.
The Pumas will be backing themselves for a win in Australia, coming off 2 good performances against the Springboks and All Blacks respectively.
Australia is playing their final home game in this year’s Rugby Championship before touring to South Africa and Argentina and at this stage a win is non negotiable for the Wallabies. They will attempt to trash the Pumas to earn back some respect from the Australian rugby public, as this is one their worst years in rugby history.
England and Australia meet on Wednesday at Edgebaston, Birmingham, in the third One Day International (ODI) of the current five match series. The match will be a day night affair with play scheduled to start at 15.00 South African Time.
The Wallabies have brought in two Waratahs forwards to bolster the squad, in the form of Dave Dennis and Sitaleki Timani.
They have been called up as replacements for the injured James Horwill and Jake Schatz, who will be sidelined for six weeks with injuries.
The hype building up to this match was big and the result as well especially if you support the Springboks. They dominated from the word go and also built the lead from early on. The match started at a huge tempo and held that most of the match, giving fans a great match to watch. The scoring of the match started slow with the Springboks scoring a early try but the Wallabies stayed in touch with penalties.
The end result of 38 – 12 in favour of the Springboks and a bonus point to boot has moved the Springboks 1 Log point clear at the top of the Log, 1 point ahead of the All Blacks, who they will be facing next weekend.
In anticipation for this weekend’s clash between the Springboks and the Wallabies is a head to head breakdown of how the two teams compare.
These teams have met on 76 previous occasions with the Springboks winning 55% of these clashes and these teams have only once played a match that ended in a draw.
Since 2010 the Wallabies have managed to beat the Springboks in 6 out of 8 games. This is building up to be a big clash once more as the Springboks haven’t lost a game in The Rugby Championship this year, whilst the Wallabies haven’t managed any wins.
What makes this clash even more interesting is that the Springboks have never beaten the Wallabies at Suncorp Stadium, so it would seem that the Wallabies have the edge in this clash. Having said that, the Springboks are coming off two wins, so maybe they can end their losing streak at Suncorp Stadium.
New Zealand coach Steve Hansen has put his faith in the fitness and mental toughness of Richie McCaw by naming him to lead the world champions in their opening Rugby Championship clash against Australia on Saturday.
The 32-year-old has only recently returned to rugby after a six-month sabbatical from the game, playing 80 minutes of a lower level club match and making cameo appearances off the bench for the Crusaders in the Super Rugby playoffs.
England won the toss and elected to bat at a cloudy, but dry Chester-Le-Street with an unchanged side. With the Ashes in their pockets, thanks to the draw in Manchester, England were hoping to keep the Australians winless in the series. The Australians made one change in the quickie, Jackson Bird, who came in for Mitchell Starc. The pitch was hard and dry and swing was expected.
England put up a first innings score of 238 runs, all out and Australia replied with 270 all out. England’s second innings delivered 330 runs, all out.
On Day 4 the target set for Australia in their 2nd innings was 299 to win the match. Australia started well and with over a third of the runs in the bag, they lost their 1st wicket, then in the early 170’s they lost the plot and lost a number of wickets in the space of a few runs. After that the wickets kept falling in regular intervals and almost at close of play on Day 4 England bagged the last wicket to win by 74 runs.
Australia won the toss and chose to bat first against England in the 3rd Ashes Test at Old Trafford. Australia made three changes to their side with David Warner, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon who came into the side. The England side was unchanged.
The pitch wass dry and hard to start with, which supplied a bit of bounce first up and spin was forecast reasonably soon. Atmospheric conditions on the 1st day was conducive to swing early on before temperatures rose too much.
The match ended in a dull draw with a lot of rain delaying play in the last days, forcing Australie to declare their 2nd innings at 172 / 7, setting England the ungettable target of 332 runs off just over 20 overs remaining in the match. England were 37 / 3 when the game was stopped and the draw announced.
The Wallabies may have lost the series but Australia did very well financially out of the recent rugby tour by the British and Irish Lions, a tourism industry body said Friday.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the five-week tour generated an estimated Aus$150 million ($134 million) for the economy.
Australia took on England at the home of cricket, Lords, in the 2nd of 5 Test matches. England won the first Test and therefore were 1 / 0 up in the series at the start of the game.
England demolished the Australians in the 2nd Test, winning by 347 runs, one full day early.
Wales lock Alun Wyn Jones will captain the Lions in the final Test against Australia on Saturday after Brian O’Driscoll was dropped from the squad. Irishman O’Driscoll was favourite to replace injured skipper Sam Warburton.
Australia have named three debutants for Saturday’s first Test against the British and Irish Lions in Brisbane.
England centre Billy Twelvetrees is joining the British and Irish Lions’ tour of Australia as cover for the tourists’ injury-affected backline. Twelvetrees, 24, has been on England duty in Argentina, scoring a try in the 32-3 win over the Pumas at the weekend.
Baby Blacks (14) 14 / 10 (3) Wallababies (Final Score)
The New Zealand Under 20 and Australian Under 20 sides did battle in the IRB Junior World Championship of 2013 at Stade de la Rabine, Vannes at 20:45 SA Time (18:45 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 6 & SHD on TV in SA.
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Scotland prop Ryan Grant has been called into the British and Irish Lions squad ahead of the clash with Queensland Reds. The Glasgow loose-head had been in South Africa with Scotland for a quadrangular tournament.
British and Irish Lions tour manager Andy Irvine has announced the squad of 37 players for the upcoming tour of Australia which starts at the beginning of June. The squad will be captained by Sam Warburton who was introduced to the media, gathered in London for the announcement, by head coach Warren Gatland.
The 2013 British and Irish Lions squad to tour Australia this year is due to be announced tomorrow, Tuesday 30 April. The squad of 36 or 37 players will stop off in Hong Kong en route to Australia where they will kick start their tour with a game against the Barbarians on Saturday 1 June.
Former Wallabies and Brumbies coach Eddie Jones believes Jake White is the man to take Australia to the next Rugby World Cup.
British and Irish Lions coach Warren Gatland says that he is wary of selecting too many English players for the Lions tour to Australia in June.
Australia and the South African Proteas did battle in the 3rd & final Test of the Series in Australia at the Western Australia Cricket Association ground (WACA), Perth.
The game took place mostly in the middle of the night for South Africans, so live updates was given in the mornings.
Some thought it strange when South Africa chose to bat first after winning the toss, considering the batting surface, but in hind sight it proved the perfect decision. After only posting a modest 225 by South Africa in the first innings, they took the Australian batsment apart with regularity in Australia’s first innings, reducing them to only 163 all out.
Then came the master class of the South African second innings, amassing 569 runs in double quick fashion and with an hour to go in Day 3, the Australians went in to bat. No wickets fell in that last hour of Day 3, but Day 4 was the clincher, with Australian wickets falling at regular intervals.
Michael Starc hung on, frustrating the South African bowlers and South African spectators alike, but in the end South Africa won the Test by 309 runs, more than a full Day early, and thus winning the Test Series 1 / 0 to retain their World No 1 Test ranking.
Australia and the South African Proteas do battle in the 2nd Test of the Series in Australia at the Adelaide Oval, Adelaide.
The game takes place mostly in the middle of the night for South Africans, so live updates will not be given accross the board, but updates will be done in the mornings.
On a belter pitch, Australia won the toss and elected to bat first. After a massive start by Australia with the bat on Day 1, hitting close to 500 runs, South Africa was always going to be on the back foot. A super fight back followed by South Africa and on Day 5 of the Test South Africa’s Faf du Plessis and AB de Villiers still had a mountain to climb to save the match with South Africa on 77 / 4, still 355 runs short and only 6 wickets in hand. Each batsman pitched in, dug deep, and Faf du Plessis (playing in his maiden Test) held out right until the end, seeing 4 wickets fall around him.
The match ended in a draw, well saved by South Africa.
Australia and the South African Proteas did battle in the 1st Test of the Series in Australia at Brisbane Cricket Ground, Woolloongabba, Brisbane.
The game took place in the middle of the night for South Africans, so live updates was not be given accross the board, but updates were done in the mornings.
On a belter pitch, South Africa posted a good First Innings total of 450, followed by Australia with a massive 565 / 5 declared, before putting South Africa in on the final day to see if Australia could bowl South Africa out cheaply. The South African batsmen hung on and forced a draw, scoring 166 / 5 in 68 overs.
The Springboks have moved into second spot on the International Rugby Board’s rankings after their 16-12 win over Ireland in Dublin on Saturday.
New British and Irish Lions coach Warren Gatland is on his way to France on Wednesday (today) to chat to a number of potential tourists for his squad for next Northern Hemisphere summer’s tour of Australia.
New Zealander Warren Gatland was appointed coach of the British and Irish Lions on Tuesday for their tour of Australia next year. The role is the most prestigious in northern hemisphere rugby but comes with numerous challenges.
Robbie Deans has brought in five players to an extended Australia squad for the Rugby Championship clash with South Africa.
Captain Jean de Villiers says the Springboks need to learn from their mistakes as they prepare for the Australasia leg of their Rugby Championship campaign.
The scores from the various matches will be updated here as a live thread. All the games are live on SS1 and SS5
Wales have made four changes to the team that won the Six Nations Grand Slam for the first test against Australia on Saturday with Scott Williams coming at centre.
Wallabies coach Robbie Deans has responded to his side’s shock loss to Scotland, making eight changes to the starting line-up for the first Test against Wales in Brisbane.