Blues
Hurricanes (16) 35 / Blues (12) 19 (Final Score)
The Hurricanes and Blues did battle in Super Rugby at Westpac Stadium, Wellington at 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & SCN on TV in SA.
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Blues (8) 11 / Reds (15) 23 (Final Score)
The Blues and Reds did battle in Super Rugby at Eden Park, Auckland at 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time).
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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Highlanders (16) 30 / Blues (14) 27 (Final Score)
The Highlander and Blues did battle in Super Rugby at Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin at 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time).
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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Generally speaking it was a much improved performance by the Sharks though it against an embattled Blues team. The main difference, this week, being the greater urgency on defence and on attack. The blues are not a happy bunch with coach Pat Lam this week burtsing into tears on national television when questioned about his opinion regarding remarks that the blues problems relate to the high number of Maori and Pacific Islanders in the team. There was also Kevin Muliamu who opinionated his unhappiness with Weepu’s physical condition. So this victory need to be considered against that back drop whether the Sharks like it or not.
Blues (13) 23 / Sharks (15) 29 (Final Score)
The Blues and The Sharks did battle in Super Rugby at Eden Park, Auckland at 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & CSN on TV in SA.
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The completed weekend of action saw the Highlanders dethroned at home, which meant the Chiefs headed to the top of the New Zealand Conference table courtesy of winning their first match on the road in Perth.
Rebels (11) 34 / Blues (9) 23 (Final Score)
The Melbourne Rebels and Blues did battle in Super Rugby at AAMI Park, Melbourne at 11:40 SA Time (19:40 Melbourne Time).
This was a live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & CSN on TV in SA.
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Blues (16) 25 / Hurricanes (19) 26 (Final Score)
The Blues and Hurricanes did battle in Super Rugby at Eden Park, Aucland at 08:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & CSN on TV in SA.
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Blues flanker Luke Braid has been suspended for three weeks of Super Rugby after he pleaded guilty to striking a Stormers play in his team’s 27-17 loss.
The Blues could be dealt a double blow this week as they have already lost flanker Luke Braid and might lose captain Keven Mealamu to injury.
I was pleasantly surprised and much impressed with the Stormers this weekend. The Blues showed just how dangerous they can be against the Bulls last week. They confirmed that for about 10 minutes in the second half when the Stormers got a bit complacent and took the foot of the pedal after establishing a 17 point lead.
That sense of complacency as result of feeling secure with their 17 point lead saw the Stormers deviating from their success formula and they paid for it by getting two tries scored against them in seven minutes. Credit to them for rectifying the neglect and going back to the formula.
The Stormers used a well-established formula to beat NZ but added some new dimensions to the pattern. These new strategies employed by the Stormers countered the typical offensive measures NZ sides have been using over the last couple of years to overcome the proven South African recipe to beat them.
Three things struck me about yesterday’s game – The Stormers didn’t succumb to the Blues mind games, the tight five finally seemed to strike a chord, and the manners of the Newlands crowd are despicable.
Stormers (17) 27 / Blues (3) 17 (Final Score)
The DHL Stormers and Blues did battle in Super Rugby at Newlands, Cape Town at 19:10 SA Time.
This was a live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & CSN on TV in SA.
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The Stormers team to play the Blues was announced and sees only one positional change – Peter Grant slots into the No. 10 jersey, at the expense of Gary van Aswegen who drops the bench for the game on Friday night at 19:10 at Newlands, Cape Town.
Blues winger Rene Ranger will face a Sanzar tribunal for his dive on Bulls winger Bjorn Basson in the last minute of the game at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
Bulls (8) 23 / Blues (20) 29 (Final Score)
The Vodacom Bulls and Blues did battle in Super Rugby at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria at 19:10 SA Time.
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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Chiefs (29) 29 / Blues (6) 14 (Final Score)
The Chiefs and Blues did battle in Super Rugby at Waikato Stadium, Hamilton at 08:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time).
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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Patient Crusaders hold off dangerous Blues
Blues (12) 18 / Crusaders (16) 19 (Final Score)
The Blues and Crusaders did battle in the FIRST Super Rugby game of 2012 in Wellington at 08:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time).
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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Although we have seven games and only the Melbourne Rebels have a bye, my personal three Big games involve the top teams of each Conference. Crusaders vs Blues, Bulls vs Sharks and Waratahs vs Reds. Continue reading
Following on the theme of other ‘experts’ insights,Tony O’Sullivan from rugbydump has put together his thoughts on the teams competing in the upcoming Super Rugby series.
I will post them per country, as he has done.
The First installment deals with the Teams from the Land of the Long White Cloud, New Zealand.
They are the Crusaders, Blues, Highlanders, Hurricanes and Chiefs.
Picked up this piece on the net at a website called sportbilly.co.za
The man is some kind of biased New Zealand supporter of sorts… and obviously oblivious of what is really happening here in South Africa at present.
This Article of course does not necessarily reflect my own views or that of Rugby-Talk, but at least someone was willing to nail his beliefs to the wall!
Here it is:
Super Rugby previews are more numerous than Whitney Houston tributes at the moment. In both cases time is wasted. There seems to be a reluctance amongst sports writers in general to spare one’s balls from the impending pain and climb down off the fence. So lets now seperate the poop from the champagne when it comes to the teams.
I am not going to bore you with in depth analysis of the no-hopers. I’m looking at potential champions here. To win this thing you have got to finish top of your conference. Bottom line. The ‘extended playoff’ scenario gives the ‘also rans’ a cruel illusion of hope but their chances remain slimmer than a Somalian hunger striker.
Here is how I see it.
The warm glow that New Zealand rugby fans hold as they reflect on their status as World Champions will mean that there will be high hopes that the most successful country in the history of Super Rugby will add to their ten titles.
Ma’a Nonu is expected to make a delayed Super Rugby start for the Blues as he is currently in Japan playing Top League rugby with the Ricoh Black Rams.
Blues veteran prop Tony Woodcock looks set to make a delayed start to the 2012 Super Rugby season due to injuries which are taking longer to heal.
Former All Black Rugby World Cup winger Jeff Wilson will join Pat Lam and Bryce Woodward as skills coach for the Blues in the 2012 Super Rugby season.
The NZRU will place advertisements this weekend in newspapers asking for expressions of interest to buy the licences for four of the New Zealand Super Rugby franchises.
The Wider Training Groups for the Blues, Chiefs, Hurricanes, Crusaders and Highlanders Super Rugby squads have been confirmed for the 2012 season.
The New Zealand Super Rugby squads have been announced for 2012.
Licences to operate New Zealand’s five Super Rugby franchises could be put on the market by the end of this year but they will only be on offer to New Zealand teams.
Baby Bok coach, Dawie Theron, has his work cut out following his team’s hammering at the hands of Vodacom WP. Continue reading
South Africa Under-20 coach Dawie Theron on Saturday said that South African junior rugby is in a healthy state and added that there is talent and depth to consistently excel on the international stage in the future.
The scales are unfairly tipped against the smaller unions in South Africa to such an extent that the current status quo will never change. Continue reading