End Of Year Tours
Head coach Vern Cotter has shown faith in his winning Scotland formula for this Saturday’s visit of world champions New Zealand to Murrayfield Stadium.
All 15 men that started the national team’s impressive 41-31 win over Argentina last weekend will once again kick off the second Test.
The reselection means that all five of the match-winning try-scorers – locks Jonny and Richie Gray and back-three trio Stuart Hogg, Sean Maitland and Tommy Seymour – all earn a return to the fold.
Man-of-the-match winning captain Greig Laidlaw will once again orchestrate the back division alongside flyhalf Finn Russell and a young midfield partnership of Alex Dunbar and Mark Bennett.
Packing down with the secondrow Gray brothers is the experienced front row trio of Alasdair Dickinson, Ross Ford and Euan Murray, and the promising loose forward combo of Rob Harly, Blair Cowan and Adam Ashe.
Martin Castrogiovanni
Toulon prop Martin Castrogiovanni replaces Dario Chistolini in the only change for Italy as they look to follow up a 24-13 win over Samoa with a win against Argentina this weekend.
But Italy’s second game of their three-test November series, due to be played in Genoa on Saturday, is now hanging in the balance due to heavy flooding in the northern Italian city.
With storms and heavy rain predicted for Saturday, officials said Thursday they have moved the game earlier, to Friday 17:15 Italian Time (18:15 SA Time, 16:15 GMT).
Italy coach Jacques Brunel was forced to leave Castrogiovanni on the sidelines due to suspension last week as Zebre prop Chistolini claimed only his third cap for the Azzurri.
Loose forward Tinus du Plessis will miss Namibia’s match against the French Barbarians this Friday in Toulon after failing to recover from a calf strain.
Du Plessis was injured in training last week in Colwyn Bay, Wales but was included in the starting line-up for the second match on the Namibian Northern Hemisphere Tour – subject to a fitness test.
The 39 test veteran went for a run Tuesday and still had discomfort in his left calf.
It was decided to pull him out of the match 23 and allow him more time to recover ahead of the test against Portugal on the 22 November.
New Zealand All Blacks head coach Steve Hansen has named his team to play Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday with Dan Carter starting and James Parsons making his international debut.
The matchday 23 for Saturday features 11 players from the 23 which played England last week and Daniel Carter makes his first Test start of the year at first five-eighth in his 102nd Test, with TJ Perenara at halfback.
Two of the locks who played against England, Brodie Retallick (shoulder) and Patrick Tuipulotu (shoulder), were not considered for selection, due to injury.
As a result, lock Dominic Bird, who, like Parsons, was called into the All Blacks as injury cover, will start, with Luke Romano coming off the bench. Loose forward Jerome Kaino (knee) was also not considered for selection.
Nemani Nadolo
Crusaders wing Nemani Nadolo will take his place at inside centre for Fiji when they face off against Wales in Cardiff on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the Ospreys’ contingent in Warren Gatland’s Wales selection will come up against a familiar foe in the form of Josh Matavesi, who has been named at flyhalf for the opposition.
It will be Matavesi’s seventh international cap but his first for almost exactly two years, his last international appearance coming at Twickenham in November 2012 when he came off the bench against England.
The 24-year old missed Fiji’s defeat to France last Saturday due to a shoulder injury.
Dan Carter
New Zealand flyhalf Daniel Carter is expected to return to the match day squad for their clash with Scotland on Saturday as he continues to work his way back from a broken leg.
Carter was the highest profile water boy in world rugby last Saturday when the All Blacks beat England 24-21 at Twickenham. The 32-year-old missed out on a place in the playing squad, ostensibly because coach Steve Hansen felt he had not played enough rugby.
Carter has barely played this year after taking a six-month sabbatical and breaking his leg in the Super Rugby final in August.
He came off the bench for 30 minutes against the United States on November 1 and assistant All Blacks coach Ian Foster said he would now get more playing time in their final two matches against Scotland on Saturday and Wales on November 22.
Gethin Jenkins
Cardiff Blues prop Gethin Jenkins will captain a rejigged Wales team for their clash with Fiji at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium on Saturday, head coach Warren Gatland announced on Tuesday.
Gatland has elected to make eight changes to the team beaten 33-28 by Australia last weekend, although there is no place in the starting XV for recalled Gloucester fly-half James Hook.
Jenkins takes over from Paul James in the front row, while Scott Baldwin of Ospreys will make his first Wales start at hooker.
Flanker Sam Warburton, the regular captain, is being rested, but there are recalls in the backs for fit-again centre Scott Williams, fly-half Rhys Priestland and scrum-half Mike Phillips.
Marland Yarde
Semesa Rokoduguni is out of England’s international against South Africa at Twickenham on Saturday, with Marland Yarde replacing the Bath wing in the squad, head coach Stuart Lancaster announced on Tuesday.
Rokoduguni, who made his debut in last week’s 24-21 defeat by New Zealand, injured his thigh and Lancaster believes there is not enough time for him to recover to face the Springboks.
That is the only change to the 23 players selected to face the All Blacks, although James Haskell is added to the squad as cover for Tom Wood, who was unable to take a full part in Tuesday’s training.
Agustín Creevy
Argentina will be without their captain Agustín Creevy for the clash with Italy after the hooker sustained a thigh injury.
After leaving the field after just 20 minutes in the Pumas 31-41 loss to Scotland on the weekend, it now looks set that the hooker will not recover in time.
Creevy, who took over the Argentinean captaincy this year, underwent medical tests where it was revealed that he had suffered a grade one tear of his thigh.
Dominate the collisions and get some big hits in at the tackle. That is Scotland’s recipe for success against New Zealand at Murrayfield on Saturday.
There is an air of confidence in the Scottish camp, following their 41-31 demolition of Argentina last week – a scoreline skewed by two late tries from the Pumas.
New Zealander Vern Cotter’s arrival as coach in Edinburgh has contributed to the country once called Caledonia by the Romans and also referred to as Alba – while they, of course, referee to it as ‘the greatest country on Earth’.
Last week’s victory over the Pumas, who recently tasted success over the Wallabies in the Rugby Championship, has contributed to their growing confidence.
However, captain Greig Laidlaw admitted there are plenty of work ahead before Saturdays showdown with the All Blacks.
Johann van Graan
South Africa, after a solid session of introspection, realised they need to do what works for them and not worry too much about the opposition.
Springbok assistant coach Johann van Graan, speaking ahead of the Springboks’ trip to Twickenham and an encounter with England on Saturday, made it clear that they are rapidly moving on from their disappointing 15-29 loss to Ireland at the weekend.
Having done the necessary soul-searching and pin-pointed their mistakes in Dublin, Van Graan said they are “very excited” about the next match on their year-end tour.
“Pretty good,” was his blunt assessment of an England team that ran New Zealand very close (losing just 21-24) and even scoring a penalty try with their powerful scrum.
Joe Marler
England prop Joe Marler has urged the 2015 World Cup hosts to channel the frustration, following their defeat by New Zealand, when they face South Africa in the second of four November internationals at Twickenham on Saturday.
England established a 14-11 half-time lead against World Cup champions New Zealand, but the All Blacks won 24-21 as they beat Stuart Lancaster’s side for the fifth successive match.
“Our levels of frustration are high and the game review was very honest. I can’t really use the words that I’d like to use!” Marler said.
“We knew what we had to do in that second half. We spoke about it at half-time. And then we came out and did the opposite. Now we expect a reaction from ourselves,” the Harlequins captain added.
“We’ll take the frustration into this weekend. From a personal point of view it’s important to use that frustration to spur you on that little bit more.”
Japan have risen two places to an all-time high of ninth in the rugby world rankings after an impressive streak of 10 test match victories, but coach Eddie Jones has no intention of resting on his laurels.
The ‘Brave Blossoms’ are emerging as a true force in global rugby and the game is set to grow further in Japan as it hosts the 2019 rugby World Cup and has been named as the preferred location of Super Rugby’s 18th team.
The Japanese are currently in Europe, where they will face Romania on Saturday and Georgia on 23 November.
Jean de Villiers
This coming weekend’s trip to Twickenham will determine whether Saturday’s unexpected defeat to Ireland was just a small bump for the Springboks on their rise to the top of world rugby, or whether it was a significant setback to the progress that has been made by Heyneke Meyer’s team since 2012.
The England game was always going to be the one that would define the four-match tour. As the 2010 team discovered, when they suffered the ignominy of losing to Scotland but still returned home as heroes because they beat England in the last game. If you win at Twickenham your tour is seen as a success.
But after the Dublin defeat there is a lot more on the line than just passing this immediate examination. The work they have done and the progress they have made through the entire year is now at stake, with the words of skipper Jean de Villiers ahead of the tour during a training session in Stellenbosch sure to be repeated in the build-up week: “This tour will decide if we’ve had a good year or not.”
Steve Walsh
While Springboks fans will be relieved to see the back of French referee Romain Poite, Steve Walsh lies in wait at Twickenham next Saturday…
Poite raised the ire of several Bok fans during Saturday’s 29-15 defeat to Ireland at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, although it must be said, the Boks were the masters of their own demise.
Australian Walsh will handle matters in Saturday’s Test against an England side which went down 24-21 to the All Blacks.
Chris Robshaw
England captain Chris Robshaw said his team will look to take their frustrations out on South Africa, after a narrow defeat to New Zealand.
Robshaw was frustrated after England let a winning position ebb away against the All Blacks, losing 21-24.
England led 11-5 in the first half and 14-11 at half-time, a display of intensity and control by the forwards – illuminated by Jonny May’s stunning try, when he weaved past Conrad Smith and Israel Dagg with immaculate balance and searing pace.
Despite a disappointing second-half display in which they allowed the Kiwis to race into a 24-14 lead, before a late rally, Robshaw refused to be downcast.
He said they will target the three remaining Tests on their year-end campaign, starting with the Springboks at Twickenham this coming Saturday.
James Hook
Gloucester flyhalf James Hook was called into Wales’s squad for their remaining November internationals on Sunday after fellow No 10 Dan Biggar suffered a groin strain in the 33-28 defeat by Australia.
The 29-year-old Hook has won 76 caps but has rarely enjoyed the full confidence of Wales coach Warren Gatland, with the New Zealander seemingly mistrustful of the playmaker’s talent.
Meanwhile Hook’s versatility – he has also played Test rugby at fullback and centre – has proved as much a hindrance as a help in establishing himself as a first-choice plyer while Gatland has been in charge of Wales.
However, Biggar’s injury means Hook could be called upon for the Millennium Stadium clash with Fiji on Saturday.
“Hook will link up with the squad tomorrow (Monday) when they gather to prepare for Saturday’s clash against Fiji,” said a Welsh Rugby Union statement issued Sunday.
“No players have been released from the squad.”
Conrad Smith
All Blacks centre Conrad Smith will skip Saturday’s Test against Scotland so he can return home to deal with a family matter, reports said Monday.
Coach Steve Hansen said “the 33-year-old Smith, who played his 84th test on Saturday and became a father for the first time in August, would miss the Test in Edinburgh.
However, he will again return in time for the Test against Wales on 22 November.
“It’s not overly serious but it’s serious enough for him to have to go home,” Hansen told reporters.
Steve Hansen
It has been successfully trialled in South Africa and now All Black coach Steve Hansen wants the Varsity Cup initiative to be used worldwide.
Hansen, at the weekend, renewed his call for a challenge system to be bought into the game and it comes on the back of some contentious officiating in their 24-21 win over England.
Steve Hansen said one example of where a challenge could be used, was when his own team got away with a blatant infringement earlier in the year.
“Israel Dagg throwing a forward pass against South Africa and Richie McCaw scoring,” the New Zealand mentor told a media scrum after his team’s win at Twickenham.
Hansen also nominated the apparent forward pass which led to France’s try, when they beat the All Blacks in the 2007 World Cup quarterfinal as a an example of what could be achieved.
“Everybody in the stadium who had a view saw that.
“To me, that’s a clear and obvious case for a coach to say: ‘OK, I want to challenge that try.’
Philippe Saint-Andre
France have “revenge” on their minds ahead of Saturday’s international Test against Australia.
Philippe Saint-Andre’s team suffered three straight defeats by the Wallabies on their June tour Down Under, and two of those were humiliating.
Either side of a dour 0-6 reverse in Melbourne, France were thumped 50-23 in Brisbane and 39-13 in Sydney.
“We have to take a revenge three times over,” said Saint-Andre – after Les Bleus cruised to a 40-15 success over Fiji in Marseille at the weekend, while Australia triumphed 33-28 in Cardiff for their 10th successive victory over Wales.
Vern Cotter
Scotland coach, New Zealander Vern Cotter, will be relishing the opportunity of guiding the Scots against New Zealand and has urged his players to embrace playing against the best team in the world.
Cotter has promised “a very positive approach” to the game after handing the national team their first success at home against the Pumas since 1990.
Cotter has made a promising start to his time in charge of the Scots, winning three of four Tests on the road earlier in the year, and beating Argentina 41-31 in Edinburgh on Saturday.
The former Bay of Plenty coach, Crusaders’ assistant coach and Clermont certainly isn’t getting too carried away, especially with what’s immediately in front of him.
Namibia coach Danie Vermeulen has named an exciting squad for their second match of the November tour to take on the French Barbarians in Toulon on Friday.
Fullback Russell van Wyk and centre JC Greyling will get their first opportunity of the tour, after missing out on Namibia’s 13-17 defeat to Canada in Wales. The starting XV shows 6 changes and one positional switch.
Loose forward Tinus du Plessis has been included in the starting line-up, subject to a fitness test he will undergo on Wednesday, after he injured a calf muscle before the Canada match. If he is unable to play, the back row will be reshuffled with Morné Blom moving from lock to flank, Stefan Neustädt will come in from the bench to partner Tjiuee Uanive at lock, and hooker DG Wiese will be on the bench.
Joe Schmidt
Ireland coach Joe Schmidt woke up to headlines singing his praises after he masterminded a superb 29-15 victory over Southern Hemisphere heavyweights South Africa at the weekend.
The 49-year-old New Zealander – who in his maiden Six Nations campaign guided the Irish to the title earlier this year – has proved a master at preparing the team for different challenges, wrote former Ireland lock turned journalist Neil Francis in the Sunday Independent.
“He may have the air of a headmaster but with the conscience of a rattlesnake his team was a personification of their head coach’s mindset,” wrote the 50-year-old Francis, who was capped 36 times.
Heyneke Meyer & Jean de Villiers
Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer said that his team’s defeat to Ireland taught them some valuable lessons about what it takes to win in Europe.
Despite dominating the set-pieces, the Boks could not find a way to turn that pressure into points as a stream of basic errors saw them slump to a 29-15 defeat in Dublin on Saturday.
It was their first defeat in the Northern Hemisphere since going down to Scotland in 2010, and although he was disappointed with the result, Meyer said that there were some positives for his team to take from the match a year out from the World Cup.
“We are sorry that we let our country and our supporters down with that performance. Every single defeat hurts.
“However, I’d rather lose one now and see where we’re at for the World Cup next year than it to happen then because now I can see where we can adapt and improve,” he said.
Michael Cheika
Australia coach Michael Cheika insisted that defeat by Wales never crossed his mind despite his side trailing by a point going into the final eight minutes of a game the Wallabies eventually edged 33-28.
The teams had been level at 21-all after a see-saw first-half, but Wales were awarded a penalty try in the second half which saw them regain the lead after a Bernard Foley penalty.
But the Wallabies stuck to their task and the flawless Foley struck a sweet drop-goal to retake the lead and then a late penalty to extend his team’s winning streak over Wales to 10.
Yannick Nyanga
Flanker Yannick Nyanga will replace his Toulouse clubmate Yacouba Camara in France’s squad for next weekend’s international against Australia, manager Philippe Saint-Andre has said on Sunday.
“Yacouba Camara is a young player with huge potential,” said Saint-Andre.
“But Yannick Nyanga has had great performances with Toulouse, he has lived and has experience at the highest level and we also know his mindset.”
Steve Hansen
New Zealand coach Steve Hansen blasted the use of television replays after his world champions beat England 24-21, claiming TV producers were threatening to have a damagingly decisive say at Test level.
The All Blacks were rocked when they fell behind in just the fourth minute at Twickenham on Saturday to England wing Jonny May’s first international try.
But with flyhalf Aaron Cruden crossing they were just 14-11 behind at half-time.
They then stepped up the pace in the second half with skipper Richie McCaw scoring a try before replacement forward Charlie Faumuina went over nine minutes from time.
England’s late penalty try could not disguise a fifth straight defeat by the All Blacks.
Stuart Lancaster
Although his side suffered their fifth consecutive defeat to the All Blacks, coach Stuart Lancaster feels his side is not far off the world’s best team.
Having been whitewashed in New Zealand earlier this year, England pushed New Zealand at Twickenham on Saturday but found themselves coming up short once again.
But Lancaster, without seven British and Irish Lions, was encouraged by the way his injury-hit side performed.
Wales captain Sam Warburton insists that it is just a question of when, and not if, they beat a leading southern hemisphere side.
Wales outscored the Wallabies by four tries to three, but faultless flyhalf Bernard Foley kicked 18 points to guide Australia to a 10th consecutive victory over the Welsh.
Since taking charge of Wales in 2007, coach Warren Gatland has won only one of 26 matches against the three southern hemisphere giants, a 21-18 victory over Australia in 2008.
But he and Warburton were keen to focus on the positives following a ninth successive defeat by the Wallabies in single figures.
“It’s the best game we’ve started in November internationals or Six Nations in a quite a long while,” Warburton said after Rhys Webb opened the scoring in just the second minute of a first-half that saw each team notch up three converted tries.
Nine International Test matches as well as the cross-hemisphere club / provincial match between Saracens and DHL Western Province, took place this weekend.
Well, it was not a good weekend for South African interests in these games, as both the Springboks and Western Province were compprehensively beaten in the space of 2 days.
In addition South African neighbours, Namibia, probably put up the best fight amongst the Southern African sides, but still going down to Canada, by 17 / 13.
On Saturday the Springboks came tumbling down to earth after a few weeks ago beating the New Zealand All Blacks, when they fell havily against Ireland, by 29 / 15 and on Sunday the Currie Cup champions, DHL Western Province was outplayed and put to the sword by Saracens in Londen, badly beaten by 6 tries to 3 and a total score of 46 / 22.
It appears that the Northern Hemisphere rugby countries have all crept closer to the Southern Hemisphere rivals, as the Wallabies barely won against Wales and the All Blacks only scraped home against England by a measly 3 points.
Scotland beat Argentina and France romped over Fiji, whilst Italy beat Samoa.
The results of the weekend are as follows:
Siyabonga “Scarra” Ntubeni
Western Province hooker Siyabonga “Scarra” Ntubeni has been called up to the South African touring squad in place of the injured Robbie Coetzee.
It will be Ntubeni’s second stint withy the natiobnal team, as he was a Springbok tourist in November last year – without getting a cap.
Ntubeni, who is currently in London with Province, will join the Bok squad in the English capital after their match against Saracens on Sunday.
Coetzee will return to South Africa in the coming days.
Ahead of this match, head coach Vern Cotter asked his players to play with a smile on their collective face and the entire BT Murrayfield crowd was sporting one at the conclusion of the Kiwi coach’s home debut. His side saw off Argentina in a five-try romp and the manner in which they did so will create real belief in the Scotland camp and among their tartan-clad fans.
Scotland were cohesive, tough, inventive and played with pace throughout. The forwards produced quick ball and the Glasgow back line demonstrated that they could reproduce their club form at the next level. At times, the home side were inspirational. They rarely dropped below the efficient. All they lacked on occasion was the clinical finishing required or this match could have been over by half time.
Instead, it was six minutes into the second half before Scotland scored their fourth try, which finally killed off any hopes of an Argentine revival. The crowd was understandably wowed; what a pity the stadium wasn’t full.
The two Gray boys were a huge presence, grabbing a try each and, while it is insidious to separate them, Jonny was utterly outstanding, carrying the fight to the Pumas relentlessly and winning one important turnover.
Ireland (6) 29 / 15 (3) Springboks (Final Score)
Ireland and the South African Springboks did battle in the End Of Year Tours Division at
Aviva Stadium, Dublin at 19:30 SA Time (17:30 GMT & BST).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & M-Net on TV in SA.
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England (14) 21 / 24 (11) All Blacks (Final Score)
England and the New Zealand All Blacks did battle in the End Of Year Tours at
Twickenham, London at 16:30 SA Time (14:30 GMT, 03:30 Sunday 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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For England to beat New Zealand on Saturday, they must not just defeat 15 men but also logic, precedent and expectation.
You think that’s hyperbole or a cruel lack of faith? The men in black have lost only twice in 46 Tests since the start of the last World Cup. They have 1,023 caps in their match-day squad to England’s 437.
The men in white are missing six British Lions from their pack, have a debutant on one wing and a centre partnership that has never played together before.
Under Stuart Lancaster, England have only won two of their 11 matches against the three southern hemisphere heavyweights of New Zealand, South Africa and Australia. Since the beginning of 2012 the All Blacks have scored an average of 31.5 points per game; England 24.
Intimidating? Maybe. But maybe, just maybe, self-belief and raw promise and some unholy coming together of atmosphere and occasion and ability can surmount it all. Maybe.