Australian Rugby
Jason Woodward
Jason Woodward will leave the Rebels at season’s end after agreeing terms on a two-year deal to return home and represent the Hurricanes.
Woodward will return to New Zealand, where he will attempt to fulfil his childhood ambition and represent his country as an All Black.
Woodward said although he would be leaving Melbourne with a heavy heart, returning home to be part of the Hurricanes club was an offer he couldn’t turn down.
Stephen Moore
Veteran hooker Stephen Moore will captain the Wallabies in the opening Test against France this coming weekend, coach Ewen McKenzie said Monday.
Moore, 31, is Australia’s most capped hooker with 91 Tests and is in his 10th season with the Wallabies.
“It is a huge personal achievement in being chosen to lead your country,” McKenzie said.
Brumbies (25) 37 / 10 (3) Rebels (Final Score)
The Brumbies and Melbourne Rebels did battle in Super Rugby at
GIO Stadium, Canberra at 11:40 SA Time (19:40 AEST, 09:40 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & SHD on TV in SA.
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Chiefs (3) 17 / 33 (13) Waratahs (Final Score)
The Chiefs and Waratahs did battle in Super Rugby at
Yarrow Stadium, New Plymouth at 06:35 SA Time (16:35 NZ Time, 14:35 AEST, 04:35 GMT).
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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Clyde Rathbone
Forgotten Wallaby wing Clyde Rathbone will retire at the end of the season after being called up by the Brumbies for his first Super Rugby game this year.
Rathbone, 32, who has not featured for the Brumbies since last year’s Final against the Chiefs – as a result of injury and illness – will play on the left wing against the Rebels in Canberra on Saturday.
South African-born Rathbone, who has had a chequered playing career punctuated by serious injuries, said he would be calling it quits.
Reds (21) 38 / 31 (0) Highlanders (Final Score)
The Reds and Highlanders did battle in Super Rugby at
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane at 11:40 SA Time (19:40 AEST, 21:40 NZ Time, 09:40 GMT).
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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Crusaders (16) 30 / 7 (0) Force (Final Score)
The Crusaders and Western Force did battle in Super Rugby at
AMI Stadium, Christchurch at 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 15:35 AWST, 07:35 GMT).
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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It is Round 16 of Super Rugby 2014 this weekend, the last Round before the June Test Break! We have 7 games in Round 16, with 2 game on Friday and 5 games on Saturday.
The Toyota Cheetahs have a BYE weekend.
In June / July 2014 the Antipodian teams will catch up in played games with the South African counterparts, when the South African sides sit out for 1 Round.
The Combined Log will therefore be skewed for the majority of the competition and one has to question why individual countries are allowed to start such a long competition ahead of it’s rivals. In 2013 the Australian sides started a week early, but at least they had the excuse that they needed an extra week in the middle of the year to prepare for the British & Irish Lions series, which they lost.
We are now entering the home stretch of the regular season of Super Rugby, and with over 94 matches played, and just 26 regular season fixtures remaining.
There are a maximum of 20 competition points available to eight teams, 15 for six franchises, while the Cheetahs have just two matches and ten points available, meaning they are at risk of claiming the wooden spoon.
With just eight points between the top six teams, 48 points looks to be the minimum qualifying mark.
But that of course could well change in the final month of the regular campaign.
The Bulls were on top form this past weekend which was reflected in statistics obtained from Round 15 of Super Rugby action.
The Pretoria side turned in possibly their best performance of the season when they convincingly dismantled the Brumbies 44-23 at Loftus Versfeld.
The Bulls players subsequently featured at the top in some of the categories on the Vodacom Rugby Stats App.
Waratahs coach Michael Cheika has named the same team that defeated the Melbourne Rebels for the Super Rugby showdown with the Chiefs in New Plymouth on Saturday.
“I think against the Chiefs, it is the right formula,” said Cheika.
“The team has a good balance: there’s good mobility, good physicality, a bit of hard, straight running, a bit of footwork, a bit of everything and it is important to have a balance to beat the Chiefs.”
Will Genia
Reds scrumhalf Will Genia will earn his 100th cap this Friday in their clash against the Highlanders at Suncorp Stadium.
Genia made his debut for Queensland in 2006 against Japan, before his first Super Rugby appearance the following year. He has since become an integral member of the Reds and was highly influential during their 2011 Super Rugby title-winning season.
Now in his eighth season of Super Rugby, Genia said running out for his 100th Queensland cap would be his most cherished milestone to date.
Super Rugby is regarded in the Southern Hemisphere as the elite stepping stone towards Test rugby, and while the penultimate year before a Rugby World Cup is rarely considered as an experimentally season, future development and injuries will likely dictate some new faces will appear.
We run the rule over the players who could be heading for the highest honour their national union can bestow upon them.
The All Blacks, Springboks and Wallabies will reveal their final June squads at the conclusion of Super Rugby Round 16.
The Cell C Sharks returned from their Australasian tour at the top of the Vodacom Super Rugby Log while the Vodacom Bulls and DHL Stormers continued their good home form this weekend.
The Durbanites beat the Blues for the 10th consecutive time, by 29-23, in Albany on Friday morning. They won 3 from 4 on tour Down Under, which is equal to their best tour ever in 2009, and bagged 13 Log points in Australasia, firming their grip of the top spot on the standings after 4 tough games abroad.
Later on Friday, the Vodacom Bulls were at their brutal best as they probably recorded their best win of the season when they dismantled the 2013 runners up, the Brumbies, by 44-23 at Loftus Versfeld. The score probably flattered the visitors as the side from Pretoria remained unbeaten at home this season.
On Saturday morning in Perth, the Lions fought very hard to win their final tour match, but ultimately came up short as they were beaten by 29-19 by the Force.
Round 15 came to an exciting end in Cape Town on Saturday evening when the DHL Stormers beat the Toyota Cheetahs by 33-0 in a rather one-sided match.
SANZAR has released the names of the Match Officials for Round 16 of Super Rugby 2014.
Mike Fraser starts the weekend’s action in Christchurch when the Crusaders host the Western Force.
This weekend sees 7 matches, with 2 games on Friday and 5 on Saturday.
The Toyota Cheetahs have a BYE weekend.
James Horwill
Following agreement between the parties, the Misconduct hearing against James Horwill was brought forward to Monday 26 May.
The Judicial Officer Nigel Hampton Hampton QC accepted a guilty plea from Mr Horwill of the Reds on one count of Misconduct brought against him by SANZAR.
The complaint related to comments, ” … once again we were robbed by a stupid refereeing decision,” made by Mr Horwill during an on-field post-match interview following the Reds v Rebels match played at Suncorp Stadium on 17 May 2014 that breached Section 8.3 (3) of the SANZAR Code of Conduct, which reads as follows:
Michael Foley
Western Force coach Michael Foley is angry at the fact that his team will play in three different countries inside the space of 14 days.
Foley has slammed the Super Rugby scheduling which sees the Force play in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand in three consecutive games.
That stretch started on May 17 when the Force lost to the Stormers in Cape Town.
The Chiefs’ two-year reign as Super Rugby champions is under threat after their 45-8 loss to the Hurricanes during the Round 15 clash, in which tournament standings underwent seismic transformation.
South Africa’s Sharks provided an element of stability by beating the Auckland-based Blues 29-23 to remain atop the championships ladder, five points clear of the New South Wales Waratahs.
The Chiefs and ACT Brumbies, who were beaten 44-23 by the Pretoria-based Bulls, not only gave up their places atop the New Zealand and Australian conferences but entirely dropped out of the top six.
It is a measure of the closeness of this season’s playoffs race that a single round can so thoroughly change the leading standings and a single defeat can impinge so heavily on any team’s title hopes.
The Western Force scored their eighth win of the season and moved into second spot on the Australian Vodacom Super Rugby conference but the Lions can feel aggrieved at the circumstances that led to their 29-19 defeat in Perth on Saturday.
That scoreline doesn’t tell you how close it was for most of the way as the Lions simply refused to lie down in the second half against a Western Force team that was given a significant leg up by yet another diabolical TMO decision before halftime.
The Lions, determined to get one win on the road before heading back to Johannesburg, were leading 9-3 and looking well in control after a wet start to the game when loosehead prop Corne Fourie was yellow carded for what the TMO saw as a no arms tackle. The replay suggested it was a dubious call and even the Australian commentators were in agreement that it was a “soft” yellow card.
Force (15) 29 / 19 (9) Lions (Final Score)
The Western Force and Lions did battle in Super Rugby at
nib Stadium, Perth at 11:40 SA Time (17:40 AWST, 09:40 GMT).
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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Bulls (23) 44 / 23 (6) Brumbies (Final Score)
The Vodacom Bulls and Brumbies did battle in Super Rugby at
Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria at 19:10 SA Time (17:10 GMT, 03:10 Saturday AEST).
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 (9) 19 / 41 (16) Waratahs (Final Score)
The Melbourne Rebels and Waratahs did battle in Super Rugby at
AAMI Park, Melbourne at 11:40 SA Time (19:40 AEST, 09:40 GMT).
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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A full and exciting weekend of Vodacom Super Rugby lies ahead with all five South African franchises in action on Friday and Saturday.
The weekend kicks off with the Cell C Sharks taking on the Blues in Albany, where the team from KwaZulu-Natal will be looking to improve their superb winning run – the best ever by any South African team against overseas opposition – at North Harbour Stadium.
On Friday evening, Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria will host a repeat of last year’s semi-final between the Vodacom Bulls – thus far unbeaten at home – and the Brumbies, who will be looking to avenge their defeat last weekend in Bloemfontein.
On Saturday morning, the Lions will be looking to turn back the clock to 2007 when their Australasian tour concludes with a tricky encounter against the Force in Perth, before the DHL Stormers will be looking to build on their recent home success when host the Toyota Cheetahs in the only derby of the weekend at DHL Newlands in Cape Town.
It is Round 15 of Super Rugby 2014 this weekend! We have 7 games in Round 15, with 3 game on Friday and 4 games on Saturday.
The Reds have a BYE weekend.
In June / July 2014 the Antipodian teams will catch up in played games with the South African counterparts, when the South African sides sit out for 1 Round.
The Combined Log will therefore be skewed for the majority of the competition and one has to question why individual countries are allowed to start such a long competition ahead of it’s rivals. In 2013 the Australian sides started a week early, but at least they had the excuse that they needed an extra week in the middle of the year to prepare for the British & Irish Lions series, which they lost.
Australia coach Ewen McKenzie on Thursday named four uncapped players in a 32-man squad for next month’s three-Test tour by France.
They included Western Force hooker Nathan Charles and three locks – the Brumbies’ Sam Carter, Melbourne Rebels’ Luke Jones and Will Skelton of the Waratahs.
The uncapped locks have been called up following the loss of Ireland-bound Kane Douglas, France-based Sitaleki Timani and Melbourne Rebels’ Hugh Pyle to overseas clubs.
“We’ve made a decision that we need to look forward and we’ve made an investment in guys that are going to be around (in Australia),” McKenzie said.
Jonathan Kaplan
Top retired referee Jonathan Kaplan has called on referees to stamp out the illegal tactic of holding players back in rugby games.
Much of the attention these past few days has been focused on the red card given to Sharks flanker Jean Deysel and his three-week ban for making contact with the face of a Crusaders player out of frustration as his leg was being held.
But there has been little attention to the fact that the tactic of illegally tackling players away from the ruck, or holding onto them is the problem that often causes the frustration for players and causes them to lash out.
While not trying to justify Deysel’s actions, there is an increasing tendency for teams in Vodacom Super Rugby – particularly those from New Zealand – to use the tactic of holding players back, or use up the space in front of the ball, allowing the ball carrier to slip in behind. It does seem to be an Australasian tendency that is slowly increasing in Super Rugby this year.
The lowest mark for a Super Rugby Finals Series qualifier over recent years has been 53, meaning that this season one can mathematically assume in 2014 at least 45 points gives a team a chance of playing knockout rugby.
Remember 8 less points are on offer in 2014 with nothing awarded for a bye.
The Melbourne Rebels are now out of calculations, for while a potentially brilliant perfect 25 from 25 points in their closing run covers the rudimentary maths, they would need to rely on a perfect maelstrom of losing chaos at the top of the table.
The Blues, although 1oth and in a precarious position on the Log, have 5 games left, but from hereon in it is crunch time for them. They almost need a flawless run from here and a loss to the Sharks, will certainly put them out of the running on the weekend.
For the Vodacom Bulls, it becomes doubly difficult now, they only have 4 games left, compared to 5 by most of the teams above them in the pecking order. One more loss, and you can write them off. They need a near perfect run in their 4 games, earning at least 17 Log points from 4 games, so that means at least one bonus point try win and the rest all wins.
Evaluation in reverse order:
Frans Ludeke
The Bulls won’t have revenge on their minds when they face the Brumbies in a Super Rugby clash at Loftus Versfeld on Friday night.
The Brumbies broke the Bulls hearts when they beat the men from Pretoria 26-23 in last year’s semi-final at Loftus, with centre Tevita Kuridrani’s late try sealing the win for the men from Canberra.
While it would be important to have a look at what cost them in that game, coach Frans Ludeke said revenge would not be on their minds.
Jacques Potgieter in action for the Waratahs
The Waratahs have made two changes to the starting line-up that will battle to retain the Weary Dunlop Shield against the Rebels in Melbourne on Friday night.
Abrasive lock Jacques Potgieter returns to the tight five, whilst Alofa Alofa is named to start on the wing.
Pat Leafa
Rebels Hooker Pat Leafa has committed his future to the club, signing a deal which will see him remain in Melbourne until the end of the 2016 season.
Leafa was born in Auckland, however will qualify to represent Australia if selected as of January 2015. The popular hooker joined the Rebels from the Brumbies’ Academy and the Canberra club competition as a member of the Extended Playing Squad (EPS) in 2012, managing two appearances as he patiently waited behind Ged Robinson and Shota Horie in the pecking order.
The Brumbies have taken to the courts in an attempt to get A$25 000 (R 240 000.00) from Jake White for walking out on them half-way through his contract.
According to reports, White was served papers in Canberra the day before the Sharks clashed with the Brumbies on 10 May.
According to documents lodged in the ACT Magistrates Court, the amount is understood to be the final portion of an estimated A$200 000 (about R1.93m) White owed the Brumbies after violating a non-compete clause in his contract with them.
Former Heineken Cup champions Leinster have announced that they have signed Wallabies and Waratahs lock Kane Douglas after his Australian Rugby Union contract expires later in the year.
The 24 year old, who made his Australian debut in 2012 against Argentina and has gone on to win 13 further caps since then, will join a roster that already includes Irish internationals Devin Toner and Mike McCarthy.
Reds lock Ed O’Donoghue has been found not guilty of alleged eye-gouging in his side’s Super Rugby loss to the Rebels at the weekend.
O’Donoghue was sent off following the intervention of the television match official (TMO) for an incident with Rebels skipper Scott Higginbotham.
Television replays appeared to show O’Donoghue running his fingers over Higginbotham’s eyes as both players wrestled with each other on the ground.
Wallaby flyhalf Quade Cooper faces a 16-week recovery after MRI scans confirmed he requires surgery to heal an AC joint injury suffered against the Melbourne Rebels.
Cooper will undergo surgery on his shoulder on Tuesday to repair a Grade Three AC joint injury in his left shoulder after he fell on it awkwardly in a tackle.
Saturday’s three Vodacom Super Rugby matches involving the Cell C Sharks, DHL Stormers and Toyota Cheetahs ended in a whitewash for the South African teams as they all recorded good victories.
The Cell C Sharks consolidated their spot at the top of the Vodacom Super Rugby log with a superb 30-25 victory over the in-form Crusaders in Christchurch – the first defeat for the team from Canterbury in New Zealand since 2001 against South African opposition and also the maiden victory for a team from the Republic in the Land of the Long White Cloud this season.
The Durbanites became the first South African team to ever in Christchurch since the franchise system was put in place in 1998.
It was only the second time a SA team managed to beat the Crusaders in Christchurch, when Northern Transvaal won there in 1996, and the third time out of 46 matches that the seven-time Vodacom Super Rugby champions lost at home to a team from the Republic – the Cats beat the Crusaders in Nelson in 2001.
The Crusaders also drew twice at home to teams from South Africa in the early years of Super 12, in 1996 against Western Province and in 1997 against the Sharks.
Later on Saturday afternoon, the DHL Stormers won their third successive home game of 2014 when they easily beat the high-flying Force by 24-8 in Cape Town, outscoring their visitors by three tries to one – ironically the same try count as in the Sharks/Crusaders match.
Saturday ended in ecstasy for the Toyota Cheetahs as they managed to beat the Brumbies for the first time since 2011 when they won this replay of their 2013 qualifier by 27-21, thanks mainly to a very good second half performance.
On Sunday morning, the Lions started very well against the Waratahs in Sydney, but the home team had too much left in the second half and eventually won this match by 41-13.
The Vodacom Bulls, currently second in the South African Conference behind the Cell C Sharks, had a bye this weekend.