Francois Pienaar
French Top 14 Rugby club Toulouse have revealed that they have signed All Black centre Luke McAlister, Wallaby scrumhalf Luke Burgess and Springbok prop Gurthro Steenkamp for next season.
Western Province senior professional coach Rassie Erasmus will be part of the Springboks management team at the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand later this year.
The South African Rugby Union on Wednesday named 51 players who have been called to a national team planning session at the start of next month. The players will attend two days of meetings and logistical discussions in the first of three national camps in preparation for the international season.
Martial arts have quite a number of fascinating or secret fighting strategies which are made known to the experienced or deserved practitioner. Continue reading
For the last 7 months I have not been very active on Rugby Talk so I thought I after all this time I would frustrate you all with this article.
Fourie du Preez may be nowhere near his best, but even when playing at less than a third of his capacity he is still better than any other scrumhalf.
A team comprising star players in the French and English leagues, four Sevens players and six Springboks, will take on the Kings in Port Elizabeth on June 4.
Continue reading
South Africans will know on 2 May whether John Smit will again lead the Springboks at the World Cup.
Springbok coach Peter de Villiers says he will speak to the Lions about acquiring the services of fullback Frans Steyn from French club Racing Metro before the end of the Super Rugby season.
Four candidates have been identified by Springbok coach Peter de Villiers to assist the team in retaining their status as world champions in New Zealand later this year.
“I have a few people in mind and at this moment I can think of four,” De Villiers said on Wednesday.
The World Cup is looming, competitions gone by teaches us, that experience wins World Cups, how that is applicable to 1995 is a mystery though, but that is beside the point. Pundits in South Africa and here on Rugby-Talk, says we can’t win without the old guard, being Fourie, Victor, John Smit, Bakkies, Pakslae and the like, all this while Tim Noakes says, the old guard is overplayed and under rested, and therefore unable to live up to their expected form come NZ 2011. This begs the question: “Can we win the World Cup without our Senior Boks?”
Cheetahs captain Juan Smith will miss the rest of the Super rugby season but could play for the Springboks at the Rugby World cup.
The Bok flank had surgery on his Achilles on Monday after he injured it playing in the Cheetahs second round clash against the Bulls.
The Cheetahs’ inspirational captain JUan Smith is set to miss South Africa’s defence of the World Cup, after he tore an Achilles tendon.
There is no guarantee that Os du Randt will be the Springboks’ scrum coach during this year’s World Cup in New Zealand.
Yet another of the Springboks of yesteryear, Dirk de Vos who represented South Africa in the 1960’s and 70’s has passed away.
Fewer home Tests, a shortened Tri-Nations and no end of year tours in a Rugby World Cup year means that the three big Southern Hemisphere powers will as a consequence earn less money in 2011.
James broke back into the Springbok squad last season but was injured playing for them in the TriNations.
Now that he is back in the fold for South Africa he stands a chance of playing in the Rugby world cup next 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.
It being the end of the year it is a good time to review what actually happened this year with the Springboks. Coming last in the Tri-Nations, losing at home against Australia (on the Highveld first time since 1963), losing all three Test matches against New Zealand and then the gut wrenching loss against Scotland was almost too much for this ardent Springbok supporter.
It is all over, done and dusted, now but I have been pondering non-stop (I hope PdV is doing the same thing) about our season.
What exactly went wrong and how bad was it really? Continue reading
The South African Rugby Union have revealed that the Springbok duo of Chiliboy Ralepelle and Bjorn Basson will face a anti-doping tribunal after their B samples also tested positive.
Barbarians (19) 26 / Springboks (3) 20 (Final Score)
The Barbarians and the Springboks met at Twickenham, North London, at 16:30 SA Time on Saturday in the last match for Southern Hemisphere rugby interest for 2010. This is the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 2, M-Net and SuperSport HD on TV in SA.
It was an error-ridden match with lots of penalties by the French referee and most of the excitement came from the Barbarians in the first 20 minutes.
The Barbarians scored 4 tries, the Springboks 3.
Kicking to posts by Elton Jantjies was abysmal.
The Springboks and Barbarians goes toe to toe on Saturday 4 December 2010 at Twickenham, London at 16:30 SA Time.
This game is difficult to judge, it is a festival game and we should see a very different playing style from a Springbok team which shows 12 changes from last week’s side. All the youngsters and “Fringe-Bokke” gets game time this week.
Nick Mallett does not share the pessimism about South African rugby, and believes Peter de Villiers’s Springboks are headed for next year’s World Cup semi-finals with New Zealand and Australia.
The international between the Barbarians and South Africa will go ahead as scheduled at Twickenham on Saturday, despite the current cold weather.
With a host of domestic club games, scheduled for this weekend, already called off because of the frosty conditions and heavy snowfall, there were fears the Twickenham encounter may also fall foul of the weather.
I hope this is a joke. No seriously, I hope that Peter de Villiers was sarcastic in his interview in the build up to the Baa-baa’s test.
Don’t know what I am referring to?
Let me help.
First Andries Strauss, Sharks centre, and now Werner Kruger, Bulls tight head prop, answered the Springbok S.O.S. call to join the Springboks in the UK for the last match of the season against the Barbarians at Twickenham, this Saturday.
Lambie will start at 15 and Janjties will start at 10 for Saturdays game against the Barbarians. Continue reading
In London to cover the last two games of the Springbok tour to the UK, it seems I am part of an ever shrinking group of people that not only believe in, but love the Barbarians concept.
In this professional era it seems we are happy (or forced) to let the once legendary traditions of rugby past just to slide into ignominy…
Wow! I don’t know what game some of the reporters were watching, but I thought it was an excellent rugby match and classic Test match stuff! Hard, bruising tackles, rock solid defenses, no one giving an inch, and men dying for their inches…well amost. Continue reading
Cheetahs flanker Juan Smith has been named as captain of the Springbok squad for Saturday’s season-ending finale against the Barbarians at Twickenham.
England (6) 11 / Springboks (6) 21 (Final Score)
England hosted the Springboks at Twickenham at 16:30 SA Time. This is the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1, SuperSport HD & M-Net on TV in SA.
The Springboks came out firing in the forwards, dominating the forwards battle and scored 2 tries in the process, one a wonderful break by Lwazi Mvovo who gets his first international try.
The Springboks showed some guts and grit and determination and deserved their win, well done Bokke.
The handing out of Springbok jerseys, a pre-matchday tradition in the South African team, has a new member in their club.
Fikile Mbalula, the minister for Sport and Recreation, presented the team with their match jerseys in London on Friday – ahead of the Boks’ encounter with England at Twickenham on Saturday.
After two Springboks had two players tested positive for banned substances in Chiliboy Ralapelle and Bjorn Basson the Six Nations Rugby Limited increased the normal number of two players tested to six.
The Grand Slam dream is over. The one thing that could have redeemed the Boks and its management came to an embarrassing end on Saturday as the Springboks went down to the Scots, and as my three-year old would say; ‘Now what now?” Continue reading
Springbok coach Peter de Villiers has made just two changes to his side to face England, as Pierre Spies and Ruan Pienaar return to the starting line-up for the final Test match of the tour.