Australian Rugby
Rocky Elsom will be unveiled as the captain of the Waratahs on Tuesday, capping off a spectacular return to the NSW franchise where he started his Super Rugby career and first captained the side in 2007.
International forward David Pocock will become just the second full-time captain of the Western Force after he was selected to lead the team during their 2012 Super Rugby campaign.
With only 3 weeks to go till the start of Super Rugby 2012, the news has arrived that all referees in Super Rugby as well as the Southern Hemisphere test series now to be known as The Rugby Championship (Tri Nations expanded) have powers to put players ‘ON REPORT’ for suspected foul play, under a system whioch will be trialed in rugby union for the first time.
17 July 1971 – Sydney Oval, Sydney
South Africa 19 / Australia 11
Not much is available about this Test apart from some Gerhard Viviers commentary (see video below) and brief descriptions of the Springbok tries. There were two changes to the South African team who played against France earlier the season at home.
Morné du Plessis and Hannes Viljoen got their first caps in the places of the injured Tommy Bedford and Gert Muller. The South African team can be seen in the table below.
Australian Super Rugby teams will attempt to hold on to their momentum and keep their players match fit in June with friendly matches against Scotland, Wales and a South African Currie Cup team.
New Zealand’s top referee Bryce Lawrence will not travel to South Africa to officiate Super Rugby matches after he refereed the Springboks in their Rugby World Cup exit match.
Reds Super Rugby winning coach Ewen McKenzie has extended his contract with Queensland Rugby until the 2014 season.
Wallabies Nathan Sharpe, David Pocock and Ben McCalman have been welcomed back to full training this week as the Western Force continues preparations for the 2012 season.
The Queensland Reds squad has been given a boost by the return of all of their remaining Wallabies representatives from annual leave to rejoin the squad at Ballymore.
Most of the pre-season rounds of matches have now been confirmed after a bit of two-ing and fro-ing and the line-up looks like this:
The Western Force have dumped their New Zealand import Willie Ripia, despite a full year remaining on his contract, because of a ‘serious breach of team protocols’.
New Western Force recruit Toby Lynn says that he is stoked about his move from the Chiefs to Perth due to an unusual connection.
Wayward and capricious Wallaby star Quade Cooper has landed in hot water again, but the Queensland Rugby Union moved swiftly to dispel rumours that other Reds players were involved in the latest incident.
The Brumbies have been hit with financial issues after their naming rights sponsor Huawei withdrew from a four-year $4 million-plus sponsorship of the Super Rugby club.
The Australian Rugby Union Friday have announced that assistant coach Jim Williams will leave his position after completing his contract term with the Wallabies.
What a year of would-haves, could-haves, should-haves and, ultimately, bitter underachievement for the Springboks in a year when the All Blacks enjoyed the delicious irony of at last winning the World Cup despite being outplayed in the final. After 26 years of being the best team on the planet but failing to land the Webb Ellis Cup because of the wicked vagaries of death-or-glory rugby, the wheel finally turned for the Kiwis at the global showpiece.
While Pat McCabe may have finished the Rugby World Cup as the Wallaby No.12 he may be overlooked in Super Rugby by new Brumbies coach in favour of Christian Lealiifano.
The Waratahs will kick off their Super Rugby 2012 preparations with the first of two trial matches against Samoa in Tamworth on Friday February 10, 2012.
A second match will take place at the Sydney Football Stadium the following week with full details due to be confirmed shortly.
Sporting fans from across Australia have paid Reds maestro Ewen McKenzie the ultimate honour by selecting him as the nation’s best coach for 2011.
Wales (6) 18 / Wallabies (3) 24 (Final Score)
Wales and the Australian Wallabies did battle at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff at 16:30 SA Time.
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was NOT broadcast LIVE on TV in SA. There will be a recorded broadcast from about 18:00 SA Time.
*******************
Twenty-one-year-old James O’Connor will start his maiden Test as a fly-half after today being named in the number 10 jersey for the Wallabies for Saturday’s game against Wales in Cardiff.
With the international season taking a bit of a breather, I thought some informative statistics would be interesting. I am looking at the home record of the top nations, seeing when was the last time they lost a home test to each of the other nations.
I would think any nation would expect at least a 75% home win record as the minimm standard to attain. anything less would mean your home ground advantage counts for very little and travelling teams do not find it a daunting task to tour.
Barbarians (3) 11 / Wallabies (18) 60 (Final Score)
The Barbarians took on the Australian Wallabies at Twickenham at 16:35 SA Time (14:35 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
*******************
Western Force flanker David Pocock has been named as Wallabies captain for Australia’s match against the Barbarians at Twickenham Stadium in London.
World Cup winning coach Graham Henry has chosen 2007 World Cup winning player Victor Matfield to lead the Barbarians in the game against Australia this weekend.
Sonny Bill Williams has withdrawn from the Baa-Baas and is replaced by Richard Kahui.
Drew Mitchel is injured again and expected to miss the opening Rounds of Super Rugby.
Conrad Smith is named as Hurricanes Captain for 2012.
Derick Hougaard could be back at the Bulls.
Bolla Conradie, Elgar Watts & Clemen Lewis, all from Boland, as well as Burton Francis are included in Stormers plans for 2012.
Graham Henry rules out England coaching job.
With Rugby news now a bit scrappy and few and far between for Southern Hemisphere Rugby interests, at least we can look forward to some Rugby participation by the Southern Hemisphere this weekend.
There is the HSBC Sevens World Series Gold Coast Tournament, the first IRB Sevens Tournament for the 2011 – 2012 Season, on Friday and Saturday as well as the Wallabies vs Barbarians game on Saturday, where Springbok legend Victor Matfield bids his final farewell in any form of competative rugby, finally retiring after a wonderful playing career.
SANZAR have announced the ten-man Merit Panel of referees for the 2012 Super Rugby competition with South Africans making up half of the positions.
Wallabies and Reds star winger Digby Ioane looks set to give the cold shoulder a lucrative Japanese contract offer in order to help the Reds with their Super Rugby title defence.
The Springboks will kick-off the new format competition against the Pumas when the all-new “The Castle Rugby Championship” launches in 2012 – the replacement for the Tri-Nations series, SANZAR announced on Tuesday.
An agreement confirming Argentina’s participation was signed in Auckland recently by the SANZAR Joint Venture partners after several months of negotiations with the Unión Argentina de Rugby (UAR) and the International Rugby Board (IRB).
AUSTRALIA will defend their southern hemisphere title next year in an expanded competition called The Rugby Championship – and will meet new boys Argentina on the Gold Coast.
Australia’s long injury list from the Rugby World Cup has opened the door for three new Wallaby caps in the Australian rugby squad which will play two matches in Wales and England in late November and December.
The Crusaders and Melbourne Rebels will play a pre-season Super Rugby match in Singapore in order to take advantage of the growing Asian market.
The Brumbies have added towering lock Leon Power for the 2012 Super Rugby season from Bay of Plenty in New Zealand’s ITM Cup.
The Melbourne Rebels have named their 30 strong Super Rugby squad for the 2012 Super Rugby season which includes several new signings including James O’Connor and Kurtley Beale.