Springbok Rugby
While the news coming out of the Bok camp seem positive, you have to ask what prompted such drastic changes?
South African rugby has this reputation of having a powerful scrum. In fact the perception is that South African rugby is totally dependent or at least of being over dependent on its scrum to the extend that if you can counter the South African scrum the Springboks are easy to beat.
Heinrich Brüssow, a ball fetcher par excellence, should be named along with team-mate Ashley Johnson when the Springbok team for the Tri-Nations is announced on Saturday.
Brüssow will undergo medical tests when the preliminary World Cup group assembles in Cape Town on Wednesday. He is expected to be fit to face the Wallabies and All Blacks on 23 and 30 July in Sydney and Wellington respectively.
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A lot has been made in recent days on the inclusion of Saracens hooker, Schalk Brits, in the Stormers team for their semi-final clash against the Crusaders this weekend at Newlands.
Canterbury has officially launched their revolutionary new jersey that will be worn by the Springboks at the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand later this year.
(Take note, the picture on the left and the picture on the right are just cartoons and DO NOT APPEAR on the jersey!)
With the Super 15 nearing its conclusion, a lot more clarity has been provided to Springbok coach Peter de Villiers with regard to the make-up of his World Cup squad. The emergence of exciting talents like Coenie Oosthuizen and Bjorn Basson have added to the burgeoning pool of talent, but there are plenty of headaches for “Div”.
I enjoyed this article a lot, the reason why I am sharing it here. I have not read anything of Lungani Zama before, read it and give your opinion.
9 June 1956 – Waikato 14 / South Africa 10
The first match against Waikato is remembered mainly for two reasons; firstly, the massive three and a half hour welcoming procession; secondly, the fact that the Springboks lost the match. Here is a picture of the welcoming procession.
Ricky Januarie has withdrawn from the Springboks’ preliminary Rugby World Cup squad after announcing his retirement from international rugby.
To mark the final World Cup-ometer, let’s take a look at the building blocks already laid down by the Tri Nations contenders over the regular rounds of the competition.
There will be further twists and turns over the coming weeks of finals football – and the opportunity to see how the players cope with the unique pressure of the knockout stages – but there has been ample evidence already presented to make a judgment of how the Wallabies, All Blacks and Springboks are shaping up.
Springbok coach Peter de Villiers probably started it with his cheeky reservations about midfield sensation Sonny Bill Williams a few weeks ago, but now New Zealanders appear to be firing back some verbal arrows of their own ahead of the World Cup.
Not much is available on the Australian leg of the 1956 tour. McLean in his book “Battle for the rugby crown” devout a chapter to this part of the tour but writes very little about the actual matches apart from the table below which is a summary or record of matches played in Aussie. Continue reading
The Springboks Rugby World Cup training camp had to be cancelled on Monday as the Springbok team management forgot to account for the busniess end of the Super Rugby competition.
With less than 90 days to go before the Springboks have to defend their title in New Zealand and the squad reduced to 37, the debates will start flowing towards which players are currently out of form and will really need to start showing some willingness and ability to appease the supporters on whether they deserve to go to the World Cup. Continue reading
The 15th of August 1992 was South Africa’s official return to first class international rugby after 11 years –since the 1981 tour to NZ- of rugby isolation. The Springboks did play two “Test matches” against a world XV in 1989 (6 years prior to 1992) and 4 “Test matches” against the NZ Cavaliers in 1986 and of course there was the two Test matches against a 1984 touring English side but these matches were in all fairness not the real thing.
Springbok loose forward Juan Smith says he’s nearing a return to light training after a torn Achilles’ tendon in February threatened his chances of playing at the Rugby World Cup.
Springbok and Stormers scrumhalf Ricky Januarie is reportedly considering a move to French Top 14 Rugby club Lyon.
Frans Steyn is set to rejoin the Springboks for this year’s TriNations and the Rugby World cup after playing for Top 14 club Racing Metro.
Some players announce themselves on the rugby scene the moment they take the field in front of our television cameras, some take longer, but it is no less worth the wait!
I wrote a piece a few months ago entitled : “Most enjoyable Test against England”. It was an Article about two Test matches South Africa played against England in 1984.
Danie Gerber scored 4 tries in the two Tests; overall South Africa crossed the English goal line 9 times.
“I’m fighting this illness with my faith. And my faith is strong.”
Those were the words of former Springbok hero, Joost van der Westhuizen.
He talked exclusively for the first time about the “death sentence”, which doctors informed him about four weeks ago.
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Damn, double damn!
Bulls fly half Morne Steyn has been linked to a move to English Premiership Club Bath for next season as a replacement for Butch James.
Former Springbok rugby captain Joost van der Westhuizen is fighting for his health after being diagnosed with a motor-neuron muscle disease.
The disease, which is apparently similar to the one that put one of his teammates, Springbok flank André Venter in a wheelchair a few years ago, has been diagnosed as very serious and could have drastic implications for his health.
Ireland forwards and ex Springbok forwards coach, Gert Smal, is on the verge on signing Bok front row legend and former Bok scrum coach, Os Du Randt to coach the Irish scrum for the World Cup.
Motormouth Springboks coach Peter de Villiers has launched another scathing attack on Crusaders star Sonny Bill Williams, describing his flamboyant offloading style as “nonsense” and a poor example for young rugby players.
By Marc Hinton
Peter de Villiers has confirmed that John Smit will captain the Springboks at the World Cup. Rassie Erasmus was appointed as technical adviser.
At a press conference on Monday, Peter de Villiers confirmed the appointments of his captain and management staff. Smit will continue as captain with Victor Matfield named as vice-captain. Erasmus has been brought in as a technical adviser and conditioning coach Derik Coetzee is the other new appointment.
This article was written before this weekends matches by Liam del Carme.
With the gap between form players and his likely World Cup picks widening by the week, Bok coach Peter de Villiers, perhaps understandably, has resorted to cliche. A few of the players mentioned here already started their return to form. Funny how one week later you can see such a big difference.
Interesting article in the New Zealand Herald this morning states that New Zealand Maori rugby side is in line to play a historic series in South Africa later this year.
According to the article Rugby News reports that the Maori will play two matches against a “shadow” Springbok side after the World Cup. The article then further states:
If you read all the Rugby pages and Newspapers you can clearly see the urge to pick a Springbok World Cup squad. It is more than 142 days before the Tournament begins, 144 days before the Springboks play Wales in our first match and 170+ days before the Quarter Finals. But let it out, I know you want to! I constantly read about the teams everyone would pick, all the time.
The Bulls won’t even make it through to the knockout stages in defence of their Super rugby title, says former All Black captain Sean Fitzpatrick. And Fitzpatrick launched a scathing critique of the Pretoria-based team’s failings in this year’s Super 15, as they crashed to defeat against the Western Force in Perth.
It is becoming increasingly obvious that Springbok coach, Peter de Villiers, is starting to push the panic buttons.
The words of Irish international Fergus Slattery echoed perhaps best the general feeling about South African rugby at the end of the 1976 tour. Commenting to Phillip Jones of the Sunday Times before he left South Africa Slattery said: “The first thing I would tell a young player is not to play like the Springboks. They are five years behind the times.”
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.
Former Lions and Springbok prop Brian Mujati is having an exceptional season in Europe with his English club Northampton Saints.
So much so that Peter Bills of the Independent newspaper feels he may be the type of Tighthead Prop that Bok coach de Villiers should be looking to take to New Zealand for Rugby World Cup 2011, but realises that in South Africa, talent alone decides very little at the end of the day.
Herewith the full article. Continue reading