New Zealand Rugby
The official draw has been held for the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens, round six of the HSBC Sevens World Series to be played on 23-25 March 2012 at the Hong Kong Stadium.
With the event doubling up in 2012 as the HSBC Sevens World Series core team qualifier, the renowned Hong Kong event will play host to two 12-team competitions played side by side at the 40,000-capacity venue.
I looked at the SuperSport TV schedules and I could not see any significant live rugby this weekend. So it seems we have one last break to do this…
But then our lives will be annexed by our beloved game RUGBY.
Every Super Rugby team has its SANZAR judicial atrocity story, writes Rugby Heaven’s Greg Growden.
New Zealand’s Rugby World Cup-winning captain Richie McCaw has begun running again following foot surgery but does not expect to be available for the Crusaders’ Super Rugby campaign until at least April.
2 August 1956, Solway Ground, Masterton: South Arica 19 / Wairarapa-Bush 8
It was another disappointing Springbok performance and although they won by 11 points all the tries came from individual effort rather than from smooth team work as one would expect after 7 weeks and 15 matches on tour (excluding the 3 weeks and 6 matches in Australia).
The warm glow that New Zealand rugby fans hold as they reflect on their status as World Champions will mean that there will be high hopes that the most successful country in the history of Super Rugby will add to their ten titles.
The referees for the first 6 weeks of Super Rugby in 2012 has been announced by SANZAR.
Some interesting appointments indeed.
Let the games begin!
Here’s a Schedule as well as the official Statement, as received via Media Release.
On a dry and mild west coast evening in front of a near capacity crowd of 4000 at Rugby Park, Greymouth, the Crusaders’ 2012 campaign got off to a flying start in front of their faithful.
SANZAR CEO Greg Peters has ruled out the possibility of expanding Super Rugby from 15 to 16 teams from next year after South Africa said that the Southern Kings will play in the tournament from 2013.
SANZAR is to trial new disciplinary rules during the 2012 Super Rugby competition, CEO Greg Peters announced on Thursday.
Ma’a Nonu is expected to make a delayed Super Rugby start for the Blues as he is currently in Japan playing Top League rugby with the Ricoh Black Rams.
The Crusaders have named their first squad of the 2012 season ahead of their pre-Super Rugby season match against the Highlanders on Friday night at 5.45pm at Rugby Park, Greymouth.
With only 3 weeks to go till the start of Super Rugby 2012, the news has arrived that all referees in Super Rugby as well as the Southern Hemisphere test series now to be known as The Rugby Championship (Tri Nations expanded) have powers to put players ‘ON REPORT’ for suspected foul play, under a system whioch will be trialed in rugby union for the first time.
Blues veteran prop Tony Woodcock looks set to make a delayed start to the 2012 Super Rugby season due to injuries which are taking longer to heal.
New Zealand’s top referee Bryce Lawrence will not travel to South Africa to officiate Super Rugby matches after he refereed the Springboks in their Rugby World Cup exit match.
The Crusaders have announced that they will play their first 2012 Super Rugby home game, against the Chiefs, in Napier on March 9.
The Sonny Bill Williams camp, have announced that Sonny Bill Williams will fight Clarence Tillman III in Hamilton on 8 February – two weeks before Super Rugby starts.
Most of the pre-season rounds of matches have now been confirmed after a bit of two-ing and fro-ing and the line-up looks like this:
New Western Force recruit Toby Lynn says that he is stoked about his move from the Chiefs to Perth due to an unusual connection.
Former Chiefs Super Rugby Coach Ian Foster has been named as the new assistant coach of the All Blacks and former All Black great flyhalf Grant Fox has become a selector.
What a year of would-haves, could-haves, should-haves and, ultimately, bitter underachievement for the Springboks in a year when the All Blacks enjoyed the delicious irony of at last winning the World Cup despite being outplayed in the final. After 26 years of being the best team on the planet but failing to land the Webb Ellis Cup because of the wicked vagaries of death-or-glory rugby, the wheel finally turned for the Kiwis at the global showpiece.
Former All Black Rugby World Cup winger Jeff Wilson will join Pat Lam and Bryce Woodward as skills coach for the Blues in the 2012 Super Rugby season.
18 July 1956, Fraser Park, Timaru – Springboks 20 / 8 South-Canterbury & North-Otago & Mid-Canterbury Combined
Craven took a week off –resting at Mount Cook- and under instruction of assistant manager Dan de Villiers the Springbok intentions was to run the ball against a team not likely to front any stiff opposition.
A number of factors combined to derail the effort especially in the last quarter of the second half when the match turned into an extremely scrappy affair. These factors being injuries –before and during the match- poor refereeing, and a general sort of holiday or lack of real application attitude amongst the second stringers. Continue reading
New Chiefs signing Sonny Bill Williams could play his last season of super Rugby in 2012 as he plans to return to playing Rugby League according to reports.
Richie McCaw has turned down a knighthood and Steve Hansen has been appointed new All Black coach.
The New Zealand Prime Minister told Radio Sport he sounded out the All Black Captain on getting a knighthood.
He says he was deadly serious about the offer for the New Year’s honours.
The forgone conclusion has been made official – Steve Hansen is the new All Blacks coach.
Hansen has been announced as Graham Henry’s successor at a media conference in Wellington this afternoon after the New Zealand Rugby Union board met earlier today to consider the appointment.
Hansen was the only candidate recommended by an appointments panel to go through to a full interview with the board, which unanimously voted for him.
The Highlanders have suffered a blow for the first two months of Super Rugby with the loss of lock Jarrad Hoeata.
The Crusaders new temporary home ground at Rugby League Park may not be ready in time for the Crusaders first home match in the 2012 Super Rugby season.
The New Zealand Rugby Union will name the new All Blacks coach ahead of schedule on Friday with Steve Hansen being the most likely successor Graham Henry.
All Blacks and Crusaders winger Zac Guildford will miss one Super Rugby match after being suspended following a New Zealand Rugby Union misconduct hearing into his misbehaviour in the Cook Islands last month.
Air New Zealand’s newest Boeing 777-300ER will receive the biggest All Blacks livery ever seen, continuing the nation’s premier airline’s proud association with New Zealand rugby.
All Blacks loose forward Adam Thomson has had his World Cup jerseys stolen from his apartment in Dunedin, leaving him “heartbroken”.
The Crusaders, who were affected drastically by the earthquake that shook Christchurch earlier this year, have announced a loss of nearly $700 000 for a difficult financial year which ended on 31 August.
Rugby in New Zealand has been slowly but surely working its way toward financial ruin.
Spiralling costs and falling crowds have stretched resources to breaking point.
The NZRU will place advertisements this weekend in newspapers asking for expressions of interest to buy the licences for four of the New Zealand Super Rugby franchises.