Monthly Archives: March 2011
Chiefs (3) 15 / Sharks (6) 9 (Final Score)
The Chiefs hosted the Sharks at Waikato Stadium, Hamilton at 08:35 SA Time. This was the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
In wet conditions it was never going to be champagne rugby and the Chiefs toughed out a hard win by 15 / 9.
A month into the season and the usual complaints are being tossed around. The moans have once again begun about matches being determined by penalty goals rather than tries, that the scrums are a mess and there are too many dead spots in games.
Brumbies fullback Pat McCabe is the standout attacking player, the Melbourne Rebels are suffering from a missed-tackle epidemic, and Australian teams are not obsessed with the pick and drive as an attacking option.
It has been confirmed by the Sharks and in so doing put an end to it just being a rumour, Yes 31 year old Marius Joubert will be joining the Sharks as soon as his team Clermont Auvergne who are currently leading the standings in the French league complete their season.
Herewith all the Super Rugby team sheets as they are announced for week 5 of Super Rugby 2011.
Allister Coetzee conceded this week that Bryan Habana is “not firing”, but the Stormers coach still believes the Springbok wing will be an important player in the Super Rugby match against the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday night.
Lions fullback James Kamana has been suspended for three weeks after a SANZAR judicial hearing held in Johannesburg on Tuesday found him guilty of dangerous play.
The Sharks have named their team to face the Chiefs in Hamilton with Captain John Smith moving to loosehead in place of Tendai “Beast” Mtawarira who drops to the bench.
Former Lions hooker Ettienne Reynecke will make his debut for the DHL Stormers off the bench in Saturday’s big north/south derby against the Vodacom Bulls at Loftus.
Reynecke joined the Stormers on loan from Saracens last week to help buffer the loss of Tiaan Liebenberg to a knee ligament injury. Liebenberg is expected to be out for another four weeks, which means he should be ready to tour with the Stormers when they leave for overseas in April.
Quake-ravaged Christchurch will lose its Rugby World Cup hosting rights on the back of a new report showing the city’s stadium is unfit for games, British media is reporting.
London’s Daily Telegraph newspaper says it has confirmation from a senior International Rugby Board (IRB) source that the engineers’ structural report will end the city’s hosting chances.
The Crusaders match against the Sharks match at Twickenham has been confirmed for March 27 at 4pm local time.
England’s Rugby Football Union have agreed to host the match on the Sunday as the previous date clashed with Harlequins playing Gloucester at the Twickenham Stoop in the Aviva Premiership.
11 Sept 1976 – Orange Free State 15 / All Blacks 10
Front page news of the Sunday Rapport was a remark by All Black coach JJ Stewart apparently made in aftermath of the Bloemfontein match: “I’ll be glad to get out of this stinking country.” Continue reading
Tight tight battle at the top for a Semi final spot.
The ACT Brumbies problems continued to mount on Sunday with the news that back-row forward Mitchell Chapman fractured his cheekbone and faces up to 10 weeks on the sidelines.
Ireland vs South Africa
Match scheduled to begin at 10:30 Live on SS2 and SABC 3
The Referees and Match Officials have been allotted for all the Super Rugby games of Week 5 to Week 8 (till 9 April 2011), announced by SANZAR.
They are:
The Waratahs are sweating over the availability of several of their top stars ahead of the clash with the Cheetahs on Saturday.
Skipper Phil Waugh (bicep) and hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau (knee) are facing a race against the clock to be fit, while Wallaby duo Wycliff Palu and Berrick Barnes are expected to be back in the starting line-up after recovering from injury.
Vodacom Bulls players Gary Botha and Francois Hougaard will know on Tuesday whether they will be fit to face the Stormers this weekend.
DHL Stormers coach Allister Coetzee has said it is “touch and go” whether regular captain Schalk Burger will be back from injury in time to lead his team in their massive Vodacom Super Rugby challenge against the Vodacom Bulls at Loftus on Saturday.
Injury-plagued Blues lock Ali Williams will miss the next month of Super rugby after sustaining a hamstring injury during Sunday’s 22-22 draw with the Force.
Lions fullback James Kamana will appear at a SANZAR judicial hearing in Johannesburg on Tuesday 15 March after being cited for a dangerous tackle during last Saturday’s Super Rugby clash with the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein.
Pukke (31) 57 /NMMU (6) 6 (Final Score)
Scoring:
Pukke : 1 Try & 6 Conversions Cecil du Mond, 1 Try Philip de Wet, 1 Penalty Try, 2 Tries Ligtoring Landman, 2 Tries Schalk Oosthuizen, 1 Try Tiaan Dorfling, 1 Try Snoepie Coetzee
NMMU: 2 Penalties Marius Muller
Tukkies (17) 27/ Maties (10) 13 (Final Score)
Scoring:
Tuks: 5 Penalties & 1 Conversion Wesley Dunlop, 1 Try Deon Helberg, 1 Try Franco Mostert
Maties: 2 Penalties & 1 Conversion Donald Stevens, 1 Penalty Try
The Champion, Blue Bulls suffered their third consecutive defeat of the season. Four teams, The Sharks , Griquas, Pampas XV and EP Kings are still unbeaten. The EP Kings had to forfeit the Log points of their first two games because they used illegitimate players in both matches. Read on for the match reports from Supersport
Correct me if i am wrong but is Jonathan Kaplan more in the news for the wrong reasons lately? The South African referee awarded a controversial try to Wales that left Ireland captain Brian O’Driscoll seething.
England (9) 22 / Scotland (9) 16 (Final score)
England edged closer to their first Six Nations title and grand slam for eight years when they beat Scotland 22-16 on Sunday but they were made to work hard for their fourth successive victory.
Italy’s historic 22-21 victory over France.
Italy’s rugby players woke up on Sunday to find themselves making a rare appearance on the front pages of sport newspapers.
And they were lauded as “heroes” for securing their place in history with a “dream” victory.
In the last Super Rugby match of the weekend, the Toyota Cheetahs hosted the Lions in a bottom of the table clash in Bloemfontein.
In what was effectively a make or break game for both sides, it was the visitors from Johannesburg who emerged with the points that they hope will ressurect their Super Rugby season.
Cheetahs (14) 20 / Lions (16) 25 (Final Score)
The Cheetahs hosted the Lions at Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein at 17:05. This was the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1, HD & M-Net on TV in SA.
The Lions finally managed to break their 17 game Super Rugby duck, winning by 25 / 20.
Force (16) 22 / Blues (9) 22 (Final Score)
The Western Force hosted the Blues at nib Stadium, Perth at 13:05 SA Time. This was the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1, SHD & CSN on TV in SA.
A penalty to the Blues after the hooter equalled the scores, a draw, 22 / 22.
Hurricanes (10) 29 / Chiefs (13) 26 (Final Score)
The Hurricanes hosted the Chiefs at the Westpac Stadium, Wellington at 08:35 SA Time. This was the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1, SHD and CSN on TV in SA.
A chilly wind greeted the Highlanders and DHL Stormers at Newlands on Friday night which saw the home side walk of with a boring 18-6 win.
Although the Highlanders enjoyed a fair amount of possession, they found themselves idle by not converting the positive momentum they created into points, and rather made unnecessary errors.
Stormers (12) 18 / Highlanders (6) 6 (Final Score)
The Stormers hosted the Highlanders at Newlands, Cape Town at 19:10 SA Time. This was the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1, SHD and M-Net on TV in SA.
In a very hard battle where the Stormers had to make more than double the tackles compared to the Highlanders, the Stormers toughed out an ugly win.
Rather an ugly win though than a spectacular loss!
Rebels (18) 32 / Sharks (13) 34 (Final Score)
The Melbourne Rebels hosted the Sharks at AAMI Park, Melbourne at 10:40 SA Time. This was the game thread for discussion of the match. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1, SHD and M-Net on TV in SA.
The Sharks won by the skin of their teeth, 34 / 32, but in the process managed to get their bonus point for tries scored.
The worrying thing for the Sharks will be that they conceded 4 tries in return, after not giving a single try away before this match.
Crusaders (19) 52 / Brumbies (10) 10 (Final Score)
The Crusaders hosted the Brumbies at Travalgar Park, Nelson at 08:35 SA Time. This was the game thread for discussion of the match. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1, SHD and M-Net on TV in SA.
The Crusaders started slowly and by Halftime were only 9 points in the lead but after Halftime they let rip in the first 9 minutes and scored try after try, demolishing the Brumbies.
Sean Maitland scored an impressive 4 tries on the night.
The Bulls may have been given the week off, but the team’s brains trust has still been mulling over a few important issues in the wake of their defeat to the Highlanders. Continue reading