Internationals
JP Pietersen will on Sunday become the 28th player to reach 50 Springbok Test caps when he runs out against Scotland at Murrayfield in Edinburgh in the second match of the Castle Lager Outgoing Tour.
The 27-year-old Pietersen, who will return from Japan to Durban to play for The Sharks in Vodacom Super Rugby next season, made his Test debut on 9 September 2006 against Australia in Johannesburg when he was only 20.
England have made one change to the team that beat Argentina for this weekend’s Test at Twickenham against New Zealand’s All Blacks.
England hooker Dylan Hartley will win 50th England cap this weekend when he faces the country of his birth.
Coach Ewen McKenzie axed veteran prop Ben Alexander as he looks to cure Australia’s scrum ailments ahead of their Test against Ireland.
Philippe Saint Andre has made five changes to the France starting line-up for the test against Tonga in Le Harve on Saturday, the coach opting to overhaul a side that lost 26-19 to New Zealand last week.
All Black coach Steve Hansen made just one change to his starting line-up for Saturday’s revenge mission against England.
As expected, star flyhalf Dan Carter will pick up his 100th Test cap, as New Zealand aim to make amends for a shock loss to England last year – Hansen’s only defeat since taking the reins in 2011.
The announcement of the South African Springboks side to face Scotland is expected this afternoon (Thursday 14 November 2013) and all the noises from the Springbok camp seem to be positive.
Bakkies Botha, affectionately called “Oom Bakkies” by some of the Bokke young guns is having a profound mentoring affect on the young charges in the side, specially on Eben Etzebeth and Pieter-Steph du Toit.
For the 2nd Test of the tour, the Springboks are set to announce a number of changes in the match 23, most notably in the front row, locks & looseforwards.
Australia have dropped to fourth on the IRB world rankings and appear to be a team on the slide.
However, Ireland defence coach Les Kiss believes that the Wallabies are in fact a team making strides in the right direction – or as he put it, a giant awakening after slumbering through a season of discontent.
Teenage lock forward Jonny Gray is the only uncapped player in Scotland’s 23-man squad to face South Africa in the viagogo Autumn Test at Murrayfield on Sunday.
England’s front row crisis worsened afer it was confirmed that Alex Corbisiero has been ruled out of Saturday’s Test against the All Blacks at Twickenham.
England are also without Mako Vunipola, who is nursing a knee injury, while Joe Marler still has to pass a concussion test to prove his fitness.
Samoa centre George Pisi is set to miss the remainder of his country’s matches in November after he was handed a six week ban for a tip tackle on Ireland wing Tommy Bowe during last Saturday’s 40-9 hammering by the Irish at Lansdowne Road.
France’s Jérôme Garcès will referee the Scotland v Springboks Test at Murrayfield in Edinburgh on Sunday.
Kick-off is at 17:00.
Rugby fans can start voting for their own International Player of the Year and World XV of the Year following the release of a 45-strong shortlist of contenders.
Part of the inaugural Ultimate Rugby IRPA Awards, the Fans’ Player of the Year, and World XV of the Year will be decided by votes cast on Ultimate Rugby’s mobile app, and announced in conjunction with other category winners on November 26.
New Zealand’s Kieran Read says his side will be more eager to mark Dan Carter’s 100th cap with a good performance than avenge last year’s loss to England when the teams meet on Saturday.
Carter, 31, will become the fifth All Black to reach a century of caps if he plays at Twickenham.
Wales and Scarlets centre Jonathan Davies has signed a two-year contract with Clermont, the French Top 14 club announced on Tuesday.
Although his passion for Test rugby remains, All Blacks hooker Andrew Hore’s time in the Test arena appears to be drawing to a close.
His legs may be growing weary but the Wallabies are wary of Irish great Brian O’Driscoll’s rugby brain in this weekend’s Test of character in Dublin.
O’Driscoll is into his 15th and final season for Ireland as he prepares for his 135th Test cap and last battle with Australia at the old Lansdowne Road.
Combining a fair bit of Springbok news, as speculation flows…
John McFarland, Springbok defensive coach says the Springbok defences were already better last week compared to the previous game against the All Blacks.
Scribes worry and remind Bakkies Botha to keep his dicipline on field and not to succumb to the “Red Mist” od ill-dicipline and the real threat of Yellow or Red Cards.
It also appears that both the formidable frame of young Pieter-Steph du Toit (lock) and that of Patrick Lambie will be in the run-on side for the Springboks on the weekend, with scribes writing up the virtues of Pieter-Steph du Toit almost non-stop, whilst others consider Lambie the perfect fir for the Scotland game.
Ireland will be without Keith Earls and Chris Henry in Saturday’s Test against Australia in Dublin.
Chris Rattue, one of the well-known New Zealand Rugby Journalists, wants Dan Carter not to be selected for the England clash and he believes Dan does not have the magic of old anymore.
England claimed yet another southern hemisphere scalp with a 31-12 victory over Argentina but it was a case of two steps forward and one back for Stuart Lancaster’s side.
What were the keys to their victory and will anything have New Zealand worried ahead of their return to Twickenham next weekend?
International news is flowing like a river in flood today, seems I have been updating all day, today… but we like it that way, don’t we!
Reviews of the Fourie du Preez try, clearly shows that Jaque Fourie was ahead of Fourie du Preez when he kicked, did not retreat and the subsequent try, however well-worked, should not have been awarded. Another blemish on refereeing in 2013!
Looking ahead at this weekend’s clash against Scotland, it appears at this stage if Bakkies Botha might get a starting berth at lock and it looks likely that Patrick Lambie will get the nod at flyhalf.
Meanwhile Morné Steyn is responding well to treatment for his back spasm injury and it looks likely that he’ll also be ready for Sunday’s match.
The Springboks’ victory over Wales on Saturday has slightly narrowed the gap between them and the All Blacks at the top of the IRB world rankings.
Scotland coach Scott Johnson was struggling to evaluate his side’s win over Japan as he looked ahead to the sterner tests that South Africa and Australia are sure to pose at Murrayfield on the next two weekends.
It was not the perfect weekend for the All Blacks, with France running them close. This begs the question whether Daniel Carter is still the flyhalf maestro he once was.
All Blacks coach, Steve Hansen, says the All Blacks will be better against England compared to how they went against France.
On the weekend, one of the clasheds we most look forward to is the battle between England and the All Blacks.
England have been hard hit by the injury to Mako Vunipola though, who is out of the clash.
The war of words have also started and it seems that England contend that they are not afraid of the mighty All Blacks
Two players have been cited for alleged foul play, following the weekend’s round of Test matches.
All Black captain Richie McCaw added another accolade to his unrivalled résumé in the 26-19 win over France at the Stade de France on Saturday.
Wales were badly hit by injuries on the weekend, in the clash with the Springboks from South Africa.
Wales coach Warren Gatland was left lamenting the disparity in differing regional rugby after seeing his team go down 24-15 to South Africa on Saturday.
The Springboks, coming into their autumn internationals on the back of an impressive second place in the Rugby Championship, outscored Wales by three tries to nil.
The Springboks have veered off from their normal schedule on Sunday to visit the iconic Old Trafford in Manchester for the English Premiership clash between Manchester United and Arsenal.
The South African team was invited by Richard Arnold, Group CEO of Manchester United, when he met Springbok captain Jean de Villiers at a rugby match in Cape Town earlier this season.
France, or Les Misrables, as they should be called in 2013, is desperate for a win – with a 2013 season record of 9 Tests played, 1 win, 1 draw and 7 losses!
France next play Tonga and veterans Frederic Michalak and Fulgence Quedraogo have been called up to boots the French.
That said, France was the side in 2013 to give the world’s No 1 team, the New Zealand All Blacks, their toughest run yet in 2013!
A barrage of news and speculation greets us early on a Monday morning after a power game against Wales by the Springboks, this past weekend.
Firstly, the match analysis… reports indicating that Team Management and leaders in the side are lauding Fourie du Preez for his Man Of The Match performance against Wales.
Secondly, it appears that the injury to Bok flyhalf Morné Steyn, who had to leave the field after only 18 minutes in the game is not serious, with a troublesome back spasm picked up in the pre-game warm-up blamed and the player taken off to prevent real injury.
Thirdly, with 1 win under the belt and 2 games remaining, the next one being against Scotland on Sunday, speculation is rife whether Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer will rest some weary players and pick a hand full of other players, to test new combinations against what should be South Africa’s weakest opposition on tour.
We will discuss the above under seperate headings below:
Ground staff at Murrayfield have been spraying the home of Scottish rugby with garlic in a bid to eradicate a turf parasite. Nematodes are roundworms that damage the grass root structure.
Wales (12) 15 / 24 (17) Springboks (Final Score)
Wales and the South African Springboks did battle in the End Of Year Tours at
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff at 19:30 SA Time (17:30 GMT).
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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Meanwhile, another International in progress at the same time, here is the score:
Ireland 40 / 9 Samoa (Final Score)
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England (24) 31 / 12 (6) Pumas (Final Score)
England and the Argentinian Pumas did battle in the End Of Year Tours at
Twickenham, London at 16:30 SA Time (14:30 GMT).
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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Meanwhile, other Internationals in progress at the same time, here are the scores:
Italy (10) 20 / 50 (19) Wallabies (Final Score)
Scotland (11) 42 / 17 (3) Japan (Final Score)
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