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Crusaders (26) 33 / Waratahs (13) 18 (Final Score)
The Crusaders hosted the Waratahs at Travalgar Park, Nelson (not in Christchurch due to the massive earthquake) at 08:35 SA Time. This was the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1 and CSN on TV in SA.
The Crusaders won comfortably in the end but the nail in the Waratahs coffin were the 2 fast scores before halftime and the fast try just after halftime to give the Saders the buffer they needed.
We can look forward to the following rugby on TV this weekend in SA:
Melbourne Rebels star flyhalf has been fined one match payment for his role in a nightclub incident involving a bottle of Vodka.
Cipriani allegedly reached over and helped himself to a bottle of Vodka in a Melbourne nightclub and was then asked to leave the club.
The Waratahs have lost Berrick Barnes in the run up to their clash against the Crusaders in Nelson on Friday but Phil Waugh has been named in the team.
Phil Waugh will take his place in the team after sustaining a biceps injury against the Reds, and in doing so will become the first player to captain NSW 50 times at Super Rugby level.
The ACT Brumbies have sensationally sacked coach Andy Friend after only two matches of the season.The Canberra Times understands Friend has just been told he no longer has the club’s support.
Defence coach Tony Rea will take over as coach immediately.
Hands up if you picked the Highlanders to be two from two with wins over the Hurricanes and Chiefs under their belts after the opening two rounds of the Super Rugby season?
Waratahs (16) 30 / Reds (6) 6 (Final Score)
The Waratahs hosted the Reds at ANZ Stadium, Sydney at 10:40 SA Time (19:40 AEDT). This was the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcat live on SuperSport 1 & M-Net.
The Waratahs eased past the Reds for a bonus point win and 10 Log Points from 2 games. The Reds were woeful, with a plethera of handling mistakes and wrong options marring their game.
It certainly looks like the Waratahs are the Australian team to watch this season.
Rebels (9) 25 / Brumbies (16) 24 (Final Score)
The Melbourne Rebels hosted the Brumbies at AAMI Park, Melbourne at 10:40 SA Time (19:40 AEDT). This was the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1 & CSN on TV in SA.
The Rebels bounced back from a horrible start in Week 1 to rack up their first ever win. They will still be concerned that they had very little possession though and the Brumbies will be kicking themselves for not converting so many chances in the Rebels 22m area into solid points.
Herewith the Super Rugby teams, all now announced, for week 2 of Super Rugby 2011. One game, the one between the Hurricanes and the Crusaders, has been called off due to the devastating earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, home of the Crusaders – the official result will be a draw with no bonus points, meaning that both teams get 2 Log points each.
The following Rugby is on TV in SA from Friday morning 25 February till Sunday 27 February 2011. Remember to do your SuperBru picks on time!
The Melbourne Rebels are looking into an incident at a nightclub last weekend involving former England flyhalf Danny Cipriani, the Super rugby club said on Thursday.
ROBBIE DEANS is expected to be reappointed Wallabies coach before the World Cup in September for at least two more seasons.
Mercurial Frenchman Frederic Michalak looms as a potential reinforcement for a Melbourne Rebels outfit licking their wounds from a forgettable Super Rugby baptism.
Reds (6) 21 / Force (12) 20 (Final Score)
THE Reds broke out of jail in a scrappy Super Rugby opener against the Western Force, thanks to a late try by hooker James Hanson.
Brumbies (18) 28 / Chiefs (3) 20 (Final Score)
The Brumbies hosted the Chiefs at Canberra Stadium, Canberra at 19:40 (10:40 SA Time). This was the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1 & M-Net on TV in SA.
Bonus point-less win for the Brumbies and the Chiefs get no bonus point as the last kick of the match, an attemted conversion, hits the upright and bounces away.
Brumbies win by 28 / 20.
Rebels (0) 0 / Waratahs (10) 43 (Final Score)
The Melbourne Rebels, the debutant team of the Super Rugby Series, hosted the Waratahs at AAMI Park, Melbourne at 19:40 AEDT (10:40 SA Time). This was the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1, SHD & CSN on TV in SA.
After a slow start by the Waratahs they just got better and better… or is it that the Rebels fell away more and more…. resulting in a scoreless sheet for the Rebels against 7 tries by the Waratahs.
Not a good debut for the Rebels at all.
Wallabies inside back Matt Giteau will leave Australia following the World Cup after signing with French Top 14 club Toulon.
Melbourne Rebels coach Rod Macqueen says that his new Super rugby team must be a competitive franchise from day one.
The Rebels are Super rugby’s newest franchise and they will need to build support and a fan base quickly as he most gruelling provincial rugby competition will quickly any weaknesses.
South African concerns that the expanded Super Rugby tournament will lead to players suffering from exhaustion at this year’s World Cup have been laughed off by their Australian counterparts.
The Waratahs won their first trial match of the season against the Fiji Warriors 41-13 at the Sydney Football Stadium.
The Reds enjoyed another succesful pre-Super Rugby season victory when they beat the Brumbies by 38 points to 5.
The Melbourne Rebels have confirmed that former Wallaby captain Stirling Mortlock will skipper the side in its debut year in Super Rugby, supported by vice captain Gareth Delve.
Queensland Reds coach Ewan Mckenzie has selected a strong squad for his team’s first pre-season match against the Crusaders on Saturday, January 29 in Cairns.
Analysis of the new Super Rugby format shows that the new format could favour Australia as they have two of the newest Super rugby teams in the Rebels and the Force.
The new Super Rugby format has the 15 teams split into conferences which are geographically based. In short, the teams have been split into three pools – one for each country.
The Brumbies have effectively told Matt Giteau that he should pack his bags at the end of the season. They regard Adam Ashley-Cooper as far more valuable.
This is the gist of the message from Brumbies boss Andrew Fagan, who made it clear that they will be working very hard on retaining Ashley-Cooper.
Western Force captain Nathan Sharpe could be ruled out for the start of the new Super Rugby season, the first big blow for new head coach Richard Graham.
The two-time champion Brumbies were dealt a cruel blow, both to their player resources and leadership corps, with Wallaby captain Rocky Elsom ruled out of the early rounds of the expanded Super Rugby competition.
IT WAS expected the Melbourne Rebels would be rusty and somewhat disjointed when they took on Tonga in their first trial game last night at Olympic Park. They certainly were, but in between the clumsy periods, there were some promising stanzas during their 43-13 romp.
Matt Giteau will wait to see if he needs “something fresh” before deciding where he will play beyond the end of 2011.
Wallabies skipper Rocky Elsom is fearing that the start of his 2011 season could be hamstrung by injury, although there is hope that he won’t require any major surgery ahead of a busy World Cup year.
Have a look at these two video clips. It is the highlights of the Australian backline players. If you look at them you will find that there are mostly backs in the back line.
Western Force and Wallabies openside flanker David Pocock swept the Australian rugby awards for 2010 by winning the Rugby Union Players Association’s Medal for Excellence.
France (13) 16 / Wallabies (13) 59 (Final Score)
France hosted the Wallabies at Stade de France at 21:45 SA Time. This is the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1 & CSN on TV in SA.
With the halftime score still indicating 13 / 13 and the Wallabies scrum in trouble in the first half, the Wallabies opened the taps and put a sorry French side to the sword in the second half, raining in the tries and giving the French their biggest ever defeat against the Wallabies, with a 43 point winning margin.
Fianl score Wallabies 59 / 16.
The Wallabies scored 7 tries against one penalty try.