Bulls
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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The Toyota Cheetahs have hit the road and will face the Brumbies in Canberra first up on their four-week Australasian Vodacom Super Rugby tour on Saturday.
The men from Bloemfontein are the first to leave South Africa this year as they travel to the Australian capital for a match against a team now coached by former Springbok boss Jake White.
On home soil, The Sharks will be aiming for their first victory of the season when they host the MTN Lions in Durban, before the Vodacom Bulls aim to prolong the Blues’ blues on the Highveld.
Bulls scrum half, Francois Hougaard, has been suspended from all rugby for one week after receiving a RED CARD in the game against the Cheetahs for a tip-tackle on Robert Ebersohn.
Cheetahs (12) 19 / Bulls (31) 51 (Final Score)
The Toyota Cheetahs and Vodacom Bulls did battle in Super Rugby at Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein at 17:05 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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The Hurricanes will continue their tour as the first non-South Africa team to tour the Republic, while the South African Conference derbies continue with a marquee encounter between the Stormers and Sharks, while the Bulls travel to play the Cheetahs.
For a competition which promotes running rugby and rewards teams who score tries, the first round of Super Rugby failed to deliver the goods.
Not one team managed to bag a bonus point for scoring four tries, with a total of just 19 tries being scored in the seven matches that were played. Is this then an indication that defenses are getting better and better?
Bulls flyhalf Morné Steyn is set to become only the third player to amass 1 000 Super Rugby points, but admits it wasn’t high on his agenda.
Every season we muse over the potential changing of the guard, and of all the giants in Super Rugby many would have predicted that the Overlords of the game in the Republic – the Bulls – would have been a team that could have been excused for a season of rebuilding.
Bulls (0) 18 / Sharks (0) 13 (Final Score)
The Vodacom Bulls and The Sharks did battle in the Third Super Rugby game of 2012 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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The South African Rugby Union’s head honchos will come face-to-face with the ‘big five’ at a crucial meeting in Johannesburg on Thursday.
The SARU delegation, headed by CEO Jurie Roux, will meet with officials of the five current SA franchises – Lions, Bulls, Cheetahs, Sharks and Stormers.
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
Here is the Vocacom Bulls team to face the Sharks on Friday night (19:10 SA Time) at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria.
We are including the English and Afrikaans versions of the Official Vodacom Bulls Media Release.
Bulls centre Johann Sadie says he is a “stronger, fitter and mentally tougher” player since joining the Bulls from the Stormers.
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.
After an aging side failed to the defend the Super Rugby title last year, the Bulls have entered a rebuilding phase that is unlikely to bring any silverware in the immediate future.
Vodacom Bulls midfielder Wynand Olivier is in a race against time to be fit for his side’s Vodacom Super Rugby tournament’s season opener against the Sharks on February 24th.
PUMA® has unveiled a dramatic new Away kit that the Vodacom Bulls rugby team will sport in the Vodacom Super Rugby 2012 competition. The striking colour marks a significant image shift for the Vodacom Bulls and is inspired by the purple Jacaranda trees that characterise their hometown Pretoria.
South Africa’s five Super Rugby franchises have threatened to boycott the 2013 Super Rugby season if any of the current five teams are excluded from the competition.
Bulls (16) 39 / Cheetahs (9) 16 (Final Score)
The Vodacom Bulls and Toyota Cheetahs did battle in a Warm-up match in preparation for Super Rugby at the Peter Mokaba Stadium, Polokwane at 17:00 SA Time.
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 2 & CSN on TV in SA.
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Golden Lions Rugby Union president Kevin De Klerk has made it clear that no South African Super Rugby franchises would be prepared to merge ahead of the Southern Kings’ involvement in the tournament in 2013.
In the past, some South Africans may have lamented an uneven balance of power, perhaps suggesting that their Conference was a drie perdewedren (three horse race), but on evidence of the last two months there will be a brutal dogfight amongst the five teams from the Republic this year.
Exciting midfielder Johann Sadie will make his debut for the Vodacom Bulls on Saturday after being named in the side that will play the Cheetahs in a friendly match in the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane.
Some coaches dismiss pre-season matches as insignificant. The Bulls embrace them as a vital part of their campaign.
The 8th and last Article in the set discussing the Vodacom Bulls.
In this Article we look at the contenders for the BACK THREE (Wings & Fullbacks) in the Vodacom Bulls 2012 Super Rugby group, and what their worth will be in Super Rugby terms.
The Bulls’ front row reserves have been boosted after former prop Rayno Gerber signed a deal for the Super Rugby tournament.
The 7th Article in the set discussing the Vodacom Bulls.
In this Article we look at the contenders for CENTRES in the Vodacom Bulls 2012 Super Rugby group, and what their worth will be in Super Rugby terms.
The 6th Article in the set discussing the Vodacom Bulls.
In this Article we look at the contenders for FLYHALVES in the Vodacom Bulls 2012 Super Rugby group, and what their worth will be in Super Rugby terms.
Lock Wilhelm Steenkamp will lead a young and dynamic Bulls team in their first outing of 2012 when they take on the Kings in their compulsory friendly in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.
The 5th Article in the set discussing the Vodacom Bulls.
In this Article we look at the contenders for SCRUMHALVES in the Vodacom Bulls 2012 Super Rugby group, and what their worth will be in Super Rugby terms.
The 4th Article in the set discussing the Vodacom Bulls.
In this Article we look at the contenders for LOOSEFORWARDS in the Vodacom Bulls 2012 Super Rugby group, and what their worth will be in Super Rugby terms.
The 3rd Article in the set discussing the Vodacom Bulls.
In this Article we look at the contenders for LOCKS in the Vodacom Bulls 2012 Super Rugby group, and what their worth will be in Super Rugby terms.
The 2nd Article in the set discussing the Vodacom Bulls.
In this Article we look at the contenders for HOOKERS in the Vodacom Bulls 2012 Super Rugby group, and what their worth will be in Super Rugby terms.
The Cheetahs squad has now been discussed and time to do the same through a range of Articles on the Bulls.
After the Bulls range of Articles, we’ll see ranges of Articles on the remainig 3 Franchises too… but let’s focus on the Bulls for now. I will handle the discussion of players a bit differently from the Articles on Cheetahs contenders, limiting discussion to the 33 players in the Bulls official Super Rugby training group.
In this Article we look at the contenders for PROPS in the Vodacom Bulls 2012 Super Rugby group, and whether they could force their way into Bok contention.
What are the things that Super Rugby fans are anticipating ahead of the new 2012 season?