Australian Rugby
Brumbies (6) 16 / 9 (3) Sharks (Final Score)
The Brumbies and Cell C Sharks 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 & M-Net on TV in SA.
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This is the last article in the 3-part series where we run the rule over team performances so far and take a look at the chances of teams as we enter the final stretch of the regular season.
We conclude with the South African Conference, who are positioned as the bottom performing country overall, with 4 teams in the bottom 6 at present.
SUMMARY: While the Sharks fly the SA flag and have established the 1st major break at the top of the table, now 5 points clear, only the Bulls have any chance of joining Jake White’s team in the knockout stage of the season.
The Lions’ promising start has been tarnished, the Cheetahs record season last year is a distant memory, while the Stormers haven’t been so far down the table since 1996.
Rebels (10) 15 / 25 (12) Hurricanes (Final Score)
The Melbourne Rebels and Hurricanes did battle in Super Rugby at
AAMI Park, Melbourne 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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This article is the 2nd of the series and continues the 3-part series analysing the fortunes so far and what could happen in the future with but several rounds of 2014 Super Rugby remaining.
It is time to look at the rising Australian Conference.
SUMMARY: With 3 teams in the top 6, Wallabies supporters have plenty of reasons to feel confident, the Brumbies and Waratahs are looking like contenders while the Force are arguably the fairy-tale of the campaign.
The Rebels have shown plenty of starch, even if there are few worried brows in Queensland of late.
All 5 South Africa’s Super Rugby franchises will be in action on Saturday, with the North-South derby in Pretoria the cherry on top when the Vodacom Bulls and the DHL Stormers clash at Loftus Versfeld.
The local action starts on Saturday morning at 09:35 SA Time with the Lions’ 2nd tour match in New Zealand, against the Highlanders in Dunedin. Looking back at history, the team based in Johannesburg have reason to be optimistic, but they will have to front up in the deep south of Kiwi-land.
In the 2nd match on Saturday, former Brumbies coach Jake White returns to Canberra where his Cell C Sharks take on the team from the Australian Capital Territories. These 2 sides occupy the top 2 positions on the Combined Log and it promises to be a high-intensity humdinger.
In Bloemfontein on Saturday afternoon, Toyota Cheetahs coach Naka Drotské will become only the 2nd South African coach to reach 100 matches in charge at Super Rugby level when his team takes on the Force.
The Vodacom Bulls’ Frans Ludeke is the most experienced South African Super Rugby coach with 127 matches at the helm at this level (104 for the Bulls and 23 for the Cats), but current Wallaby coach Ewen McKenzie tops the list with 131 matches as coach (66 at the Waratahs and 65 at the Reds).
It is Round 13 of Super Rugby 2014 this weekend! We have 7 games in Round 13, with 2 games on Friday, 4 games on Saturday and 1 game on Sunday.
The Waratahs 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.
Reds flanker Curtis Browning will make his run-on debut this Sunday in one of 6 changes to the starting line-up to face the Crusaders at Suncorp Stadium.
Browning, a former Australian Under-20 captain, has already played 5 games for the Reds, but never in the starting lineup. He will start at blindside flanker, in place of injured loose forward Eddie Quirk.
Fotu Auelua returns to the starting line-up for the first time in 2014 when the Brumbies take on the Sharks in Canberra on Saturday.
Auelua is the only change to the starting side that went down to the Crusaders last weekend, with Jordan Smiler dropping back to the bench and Jack Whetton out of the game-day 23.
The Western Force has named an unchanged squad to tackle the Cheetahs at Bloemfontein’s Free State Stadium on Saturday.
Head Coach Michael Foley has maintained the same 23-man squad that overcame the Bulls, 15-9, in the team’s last match in Perth a fortnight ago.
Nic Stirzaker’s injury sees Luke Burgess retain the No 9 jersey for the Rebels clash with the Hurricanes while Ben Meehan takes the spot on the bench.
Ben Meehan returns to the matchday 23 for the first time since Round Six in one of two changes made by Head Coach Tony McGahan.
Pat Leafa, who scored his first try for the Club in the 16-22 defeat to the Sharks last Friday, replaces Shota Horie in the starting lineup.
SANZAR has released the names of the Match Officials for Round 13 of Super Rugby 2014.
We see 7 games this weekend, with 2 on Friday, 4 on Saturday and 1 on Sunday.
Mike Frazer strats the weekend action in the game between the Chiefs and Blues in New Plymouth.
The Waratahs have their BYE weekend.
The Waratahs have signed exciting winger Taqele Naiyaravoro until at least end of the 2015 Super Rugby season from NRL club Wests Tigers.
The Brumbies have re-signed Matt Toomua until the end of the 2017 Super Rugby season after he signed a three-year contract extension
Toomua is one of two players that have been signed to full-time Brumbies contracts from school and his new deal will see him playing for the Brumbies for 10 years.
France will travel to Australia eyeing a successful three-test tour ahead of next year’s World Cup, coach Phillippe Saint-Andre said Tuesday.
Les Bleus could only finish fourth in this year’s Six Nations, with three victories in their five matches, but Saint-Andre was quick to proclaim his team as potential World Cup winners on English soil in 2015.
The first step in that mission was a testing tour of Australia.
Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham says his side will add some variations to their game to counter the inside knowledge of former coach Jake White this weekend.
White left the Brumbies last season after two years in charge, having guided them to the Super Rugby Final against the Chiefs, and he returns to Canberra this weekend as coach of the table-topping Sharks.
The struggling Reds have been dealt a triple injury blow, with Liam Gill, Chris Feauai-Sautia and Eddie Quirk all ruled out for multiple weeks.
Three wins and only one defeat against Australasian opposition meant the last round of Vodacom Super Rugby was the best weekend from a South African perspective since round two earlier this year.
However, two of the three wins in the second round were in local derbies. This weekend, only the Vodacom Bulls’ victory over the Toyota Cheetahs was an all-South African affair as the Cell C Sharks and the DHL Stormers clinched victories over Australasian opponents.
In fact, the Cell C Sharks broke a losing run of 13 matches in Australasia for the South African franchises (this includes the Toyota Cheetahs’ defeat in their 2013 Qualifier against the Brumbies in Canberra) when they beat the Rebels by 22-16 in Melbourne on Friday morning.
Following last week’s announcement of the new Super Rugby format set to commence in 2016, SANZAR has started its global search for an 18th team.
Then expression of interest (EOI) pack was forwarded to known interested parties on Monday in what signifies the beginning of an exciting chapter that will find the new franchise to join the Kings and a team based in Argentina in the 2016 competition.
The new format is an evolution of the conference structure that was introduced in 2011, allowing for adaptation and expansion to deliver Super Rugby to new markets, fans and audiences as the world’s premier provincial competition.
The Rebels may be able to call upon the services of prop Toby Smith against the Hurricanes this week, but will be without scrumhalf Nic Stirzaker.
Reds prop James Slipper and Highlanders hooker Brayden Mitchell were both handed three-week bans for spear tackles at the weekend.
Kane Douglas is understood to have agreed to a two-year deal with Leinster that would rule him out of contention for the 2015 World Cup.
The 14-Test cap Wallaby locks omission from the World Cup squad due to the Australian’s policy to not pick foreign based players would be a massive blow according to his Warartahs team mates.
Melbourne Rebels flank, Sean McMahon has been selected to lead the Australian Under 20’s at the Junior World Championships in Auckland next month.
The Australian squad will include seven players with Super Rugby experience.
Waratahs (24) 39 / 30 (24) Hurricanes (Final Score)
The Waratahs and Hurricanes did battle in Super Rugby at
Allianz Stadium, Sydney 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 on TV in SA.
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Crusaders (22) 40 / 20 (6) Brumbies (Final Score)
The Crusaders and Brumbies did battle in Super Rugby at
AMI Stadium, Christchurch 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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Rebels (6) 16 / 22 (15) Sharks (Final Score)
The Melbourne Rebels and Cell C Sharks 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 & M-Net on TV in SA.
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Blues (20) 44 / 14 (0) Reds (Final Score)
The Blues and Reds did battle in Super Rugby at
Eden Park, Auckland at 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 17:35 AEST, 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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With the announcement of the re-shaping of the Super Rugby, the competition looks likely to expand outside the Southern Hemisphere and could potentially lay the groundwork for a global competition.
The new format already includes a team from Argentina, but there is also talk of including a team from Asia, Europe or even North America in a bid to expand the competition globally.
The reaction from the South African camp is seemingly positive with South African Rugby Union CEO Jurie Roux saying the evolution of the competition ‘ticks all the boxes.’
It is Round 12 of Super Rugby 2014 this weekend! We have 7 games in Round 12, with 2 games on Friday and 5 games on Saturday.
The Western Force 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.
The Brumbies have made just one change to the matchday squad ahead of the Super Rugby crunch encounter with the Crusaders.
Ruaidhri Murphy comes onto the bench for JP Smith ahead of Saturday’s trip to Christchurch.
The Queensland Reds have rushed Liam Gill back into the starting side for Friday’s Super Rugby clash against the Blues after five trying weeks without the talented Wallabies flanker.
The Reds’ play-offs hopes were all but extinguished by the Hurricanes on Saturday, but a win at Eden Park would see the 2011 champions restore some badly needed credibility and ease the pressure on under-fire coach Richard Graham.
Super Rugby is poised to move forward with a four-conference model in 2016 – with two based in South Africa.
Australian Rugby Union boss Bill Pulver has revealed the announcement of an expanded and restructured model to take to broadcasters is only a fortnight away.
The Waratahs have named a team with several changes to the one that lost to the Blues in Auckland for this week’s Super Rugby match against the Hurricanes.
The Waratahs host the Hurricanes who are Super Rugby’s form team currently as they have won their last four matches and now top the New Zealand Conference.
Inspirational No 8 Wycliff Palu returns for the match at Allianz Stadium this Saturday in which the Waratahs say that they are determined to keep their 100% Allianz Stadium 2014 record alive and record their first win over the Hurricanes since 2010.
“We are aiming for consistency every week and will be looking to fix up our handling errors and our commitment to detail in finishing off the chances we make,” said assistant coach Nathan Grey.
SANZAR has released the names of the Match Officials for Round 12 of Super Rugby 2014.
Nick Briant starts the weekend action on Friday in Auckland when the Blues host the Reds.
This weekend sees 7 matches, with 2 on Friday and 5 on Saturday.
The Western Force have a BYE weekend, ahead of their tour of South Africa.
The Toyota Cheetahs delivered their best performance of the Vodacom Super Rugby season when they won comfortably against the DHL Stormers in an exciting local derby, but the Vodacom Bulls and Cell C Sharks were kept try-less as they ended up on the losing side in Round 11.
The team from Central South Africa and the Capetonians were involved in an thrilling derby where the most tries were scored this season. The Toyota Cheetahs won this encounter in Bloemfontein on Saturday afternoon by 35-22, outscoring the visitors by five tries to three.
It was the most tries scored against the DHL Stormers in a local derby since the Cell C Sharks and Vodacom Bulls put five and seven respectively past them in 2007.
Earlier on Saturday, the Vodacom Bulls had to battle the elements and Sias Ebersohn’s boot in Perth. The Force beat the visitors from Pretoria by 15-9 in a kick-fest where no tries were scored.
Rebels lock Hugh Pyle says his side must muscle-up and top the Sharks’ physicality if they are to emerge victorious when they meet in Melbourne on Friday.
The Sharks are recognised for having one of the most physical forward packs in Super Rugby, and Pyle knows that the Rebels need to bring the physicality when they take on the combined conference leaders.