Player Movements
French centre Wesley Fofana is unlikely to play any further part in this season’s Six Nations Championship after suffering a broken rib in the 27-6 defeat in Wales according to Clermont.
There was a mixed bag on the selection front for the Crusaders on Monday – Kieran Read set to return, but Richie McCaw likely to be ruled out.
McCaw is in doubt for Friday’s Round Three encounter against the Blues at Eden Park.
The openside flank is nursing a tender calf, after the Crusaders’ 10-18-10 loss to the Chiefs at Christchurch Stadium at the weekend.
After their humiliating loss to the Lions, the Stormers received more bad news with injuries to two key players.
According to reports, Argentine lock Manuel Carizza and flank Schalk Burger could miss Friday night’s match against the Hurricanes after picking up injuries in their 34-10 loss at Ellis Park on Saturday.
Sharks scrumhalf Charl McLeod has confirmed on Twitter that he’ll be joining Top 14 side Grenoble at the conclusion of the current Super Rugby season.
South African scrumhalf and kicker, Rory Kockott, has committed his future to Castres, with the French champions announcing that he had signed a new three-year deal.
Australia backrow forward George Smith has signed a two-year deal with rising French second division side Lyon, the ProD2 club announced on Friday.
Coach Todd Blackadder has named four Crusader debutants in the match-day squad to face the Chiefs in their Super Rugby opener in Christchurch on Friday.
Loosehead prop Tim Perry, who played his first Super Rugby game last year for the Blues, will make his first start for the Crusaders in the No 1 jersey. Midfielder Rey Lee-Lo is another player who made his Super Rugby debut last year (for the Hurricanes) but will run out for the Crusaders for the first time on Friday.
Top-14 outfit Grenoble are confident that they will have Stormers and Springbok wing Gio Aplon on their books for next season, club sources have said on Wednesday.
The Lions medical staff have released an injury update, following the Lions’ 20 / 21 victory over the Cheetahs on Saturday.
Springbok flyhalf Johan Goosen should be ready to play for the Cheetahs when they host the Bulls in Bloemfontein on Friday night.
Goosen went for a scan after slightly injuring his arm in the Cheetahs’ 21 / 20 home defeat to the Lions at the weekend.
The DHL Stormers have been the South African side to be hit with the most pre-season injuries of all 5 Super Rugby Franchises. It has left them lean at lock and in the backline at wing and fullback.
Jaco Taute is rported to be out for 2 more weeks,as a result of which the Stormers have had to scramble to sign more depth, which now comes in the form of signing Shakes Soyizwapi from the EP Kings.
In addition, speculation is rife around what the constitution of the back three will be to run out against the Lions in Super Rugby on the weekend and the likelyhood is that Allister Coetzee would entrust a midfield spot next to Jean de Villiers to Michael van der Spuy.
Former England and British & Irish Lions prop Matt Stevens has agreed to return home to Durban and play Super Rugby for the Sharks at the end of this season.
Alan Solomons has lured former IRB Junior World Championship-winning Baby Bok prop Allan Dell to Edinburgh.
Educated at Queens College in Eastern Cape, the promising young prop, who can play on both sides of the scrum, qualifies for Scotland through his grandmother, Joan Carmichael, who was born in Paisley and brought up in Edinburgh.
Ulster have signed 26-year-old loosehead prop Ruaidhri Murphy from the Brumbies on a two-year contract.
Injured Wales centre Jonathan Davies has been ruled out of the Six Nations Championship match against France in Cardiff on Friday.
Springbok hooker Chiliboy Ralepelle will be out “for a long time” after suffering a knee injury at the weekend, French club Toulouse have said on Monday.
Edinburgh utility back Jack Cuthbert was called up on Monday into the Scotland squad ahead of this weekend’s potential Six Nations wooden spoon decider against Italy in Rome.
Wallabies flyhalf Quade Cooper is set to start in the Reds’ Super Rugby opener against the Brumbies this weekend despite pain in his neck.
The Brumbies are expected to name Wallabies centre Tevita Kuridrani in their starting line up for Saturday’s Super Rugby opener against the Reds.
The international centre was sent off lifting flanker Peter O’Mahony in the Wallabies Test victory over Ireland and was banned for five matches.
England were dealt a big blow with the news that seasoned prop Dan Cole has been ruled out the rest of the Six Nations tournament.
The England team management said in a statement that Cole will have “a period of rest” to relieve a bulging disc in his neck – which is trapping a nerve.
Springbok fullback Jaco Taute has been ruled out of the Stormers fixture against the Lions in Johannesburg next week.
Taute was an 11th hour withdrawal from the Stormers side which went down 29-24 to Boland in Wellington on Saturday.
French champions Castres’ scrumhalf Rory Kockott told Canal Plus on Saturday he had changed his mind over a move to Heineken Cup champions Toulon and wished to remain at his present club.
The 27-year-old South African – the Top 14 player of last season after finishing leading points scorer – said that despite signing a pre-contract with Toulon he had decided it was a move not in the best interests of him or his family.
Stormers fullback Jaco Taute’s knee is giving him problems again as they prepare to face Boland in a pre-season friendly in Wellington on Saturday.
All Blacks Cory Jane, Israel Dagg and Luke Romano have all signed contract extensions keeping them with the national team beyond the 2015 World Cup, the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) said on Friday.
Victor Vito has become the latest Hurricanes player to be ruled out their tough South African tour after rupturing his posterior cruciate ligament in training on Wednesday.
Italy prop Michele Rizzo and France front row forward Rabah Slimani have both been banned for two weeks for foul play.
The duo were found guilty of head-butting each other during France’s 30-10 victory over Italy on Sunday at a disciplinary hearing on Wednesday.
Wales centre Scott Williams is set to miss the rest of the Six Nations Championship because of a shoulder injury, the Welsh Rugby Union have announced on Wednesday.
The 23-year-old Scarlets back is set to undergo an operation on Thursday and could be out of action for as long as three months.
England head coach Stuart Lancaster has chosen to keep the players in his starting line up for last weekend’s Calcutta Cup clash against Scotland in camp this week rather than releasing them.
While Lancaster has retained his starting side he has released the replacements back to their Premiership clubs.
Big Brumbies loose forward Fotu Auelua has been ruled out for 10-12 weeks with a knee injury that will see him miss eight Super Rugby matches.
The Vodacom Bulls have released a statement about the finess of its players.
Bulls Fitness Update
The Vodacom Bulls will have to face the Cell C Sharks in Saturday’s season opener of the Vodacom Super Rugby competition without Arno Botha, Mornè Mellett and Jesse Kriel, it was announced on Monday.
The last thing the DHL Stormers need ahead of the new Vodacom Super Rugby season is more injuries at lock, so even though coach Allister Coetzee is confident there is nothing to worry about, the squad will nonetheless be waiting with bated breath for results of a scan conducted at the weekend on Rynhardt Elstadt’s ribs.
The powerfully built forward came off at halftime of the 40 / 7 win over the Southern Kings in a warm-up match in Port Elizabeth with sore ribs. According to Coetzee, he was walking comfortably afterwards, but nonetheless he underwent a scan on the affected area, the results of which will be made available on Monday.
The Stormers could lose another frontline player with wing / fullback Gio Aplon linked with a move to France.
The Blues will be short on experience when they start their Super Rugby campaign later this month.
The Crusaders look set to start their 2014 campaign without two of the most influential players in the world – Richie McCaw and Kieran Read.
It has already been confirmed that Read will miss the Crusaders’ Super Rugby opener against the Chiefs on 21 February.
Ireland lock Dan Tuohy suffered a fractured arm during his side’s 26 / 3 win over Wales in the Six Nations Championship in Dublin on Saturday, the Irish Rugby Football Union said on Monday.
No date has been set for his return but he is likely to miss the rest of the tournament.