Yearly Archives: 2011
Griquas will be playing for Currie Cup survival while the Blue Bulls will not want to lose touch with the top four teams on the log when these two sides clash in Kimberley on Saturday.
Sharks coach John Plumtree announced four changes to the side that will play the Leopards in Saturday’s Currie Cup rugby match in Phokeng, near Rustenburg.
Springboks lock Bakkies Botha has been ruled out of the rugby world cup due to an Achilles tendon injury and will return to South Africa on Friday.
Wales coach Warren Gatland has made five changes to the team that beat Fiji 66-0 with Rhys Priestland keeping Stephen Jones out of the squad entirely and James Hook on the bench.
Jonny Wilkinson and Toby Flood will start for in England in one of four changes to Martin Johnson’s side for the Rugby World Cup quarter final against France at Eden Park on Saturday.
JP Pietersen trained with the Springboks as they continued their build-up to the World Cup quarterfinal in Wellington on Thursday morning.
Samoa’s controversial midfielder Eliota Fuimaono Sapolu may be facing a life ban from the game, but he refuses to go quietly.
The Blue Bulls Copany have made a short statement regarding the outcome of the Diciplinary Hearing of Bees Roux.
It reads as follows:
Rugby’s equivalent of Hollywood’s famous “Brat Pack” went on show before a packed media contingent in downtown Wellington this morning, and while best mates James O’Connor, Kurtley Beale and Tatafu Polota-Nau attracted their share of interest, the spotlight was drawn to Quade Cooper, arguably the biggest gun in the World Cup west and certainly the Most Wanted.
All Blacks assistant coach Steve Hansen says Richie McCaw will play against Argentina this weekend, despite fears that a troublesome foot injury could keep the New Zealand captain on the sidelines for the quarter-final at Eden Park.
“He’s great,” Hansen told a press conference at the team hotel. “He’s going to play on Sunday.”
South Africa on Thursday in New Zealand named the most experienced team in Springbok history for their Rugby World Cup 2011 quarterfinal against Australia in Wellington on Sunday.
Griquas named their team on Wednesday to square up against the Blue Bulls in a Currie Cup encounter in Kimberley on Saturday.
Saracens have been given permission to move their Heineken Cup match against Biarritz Olympique in Cape Town South Africa on Saturday January 14th, 2012.
Springboks Akona Ndungane, Deon Stegmann and Dean Greyling are back in the Vodacom Blue Bulls team to play Griquas in an Absa Currie Cup match in Kimberley on Saturday.
Allister Coetzee today named his team to take on the Lions at Coca-Cola Park on Saturday (17:05).
MTN Golden Lions coach, John Mitchell has made one injury enforced changed to his line up to Face DHL Western Province on Saturday.
The Cheetahs will have to make do without dynamic front row star Coenie Oosthuizen for the rest of their 2011 Currie Cup campaign as he has had to undergo neck surgery and will not play for the rest of the year.
Springbok wing JP Pietersen faces a race against time to be fit for South Africa’s Rugby World Cup quarter final against Australia on Sunday.
New Zealand winger Zac Guildford has joined All Blacks injury list after he pulled a hamstring at training just as the team welcomed back captain Richie McCaw.
Ireland coach Declan Kidney has named an unchanged team to play Wales in a Rugby World Cup quarter final match with hooker Rory Best hvaing to undergo a late fitness test.
I have raised this point before , here is a article that supports my view. We have spend many hours debating the time frame of the crouch, pause , engage calls by refs. I have asked many times , what did we gain in safety after all of this? Referees claim that they took control of the scrum engagement but with most penalties or free kicks the teams still opt for ANOTHER scrum.
The point i raised before was, how difficult is it for a prop to get a good grip on these skin tight jerseys? Read this article to see how the top players feel about it. At the end some of the comments already made about this article
Italy’s Leonardo Ghiraldini has been given a 15 week ban from rugby after he was found guilty of ‘gouging’ the eyes of Ireland prop Cian Healy during the teams’ World Cup pool match last weekend.
France forward Imanol Harinordoquy has slammed his coach Marc Lievremont for criticising the French players in public after they were beaten last weekend by Tonga in the Rugby World Cup.
Western Province outside back Heinrich Steyl became the latest player to fall to the curse of the blue and white hooped jersey when it was confirmed that he will be out of action for nine months with a broken leg.
The Sharks have been dealt another blow in their quest to defend the Currie Cup title after scrumhalf Charl McLeod was ruled out of the competition with a fractured hip.
Samoa’s Eliota Fuimaono Sapolu has been banned from playing rugby at all levels after calling Welsh referee Nigel Owens “racist” in a Twitter message following the team’s Rugby World Cup exit.
The centre, who in an earlier post said tournament organisers were guilty of “slavery” for the way they treated teams like Samoa, failed to attend a disciplinary hearing in Auckland on Tuesday.
I have been pondering the possibility of the Springboks being able to win this world cup, and after having seen the amount of criticism they have received (which is par for the course) I started to falter in my belief.
Five Kiwis, three Irishmen, three South africans, two Welshmen, a Samoan and an Anglo-Samoan. No, it’s not the England team, but RugbyHeaven’s (AUS) best XV for the pool stages as selected by Paul Cully.
We always love to pick our own teams, chop and change.
What do you think of this team?
Who would you pick? Go ahead , have your say in the comments.
If the old cliche about“Defence wins World Cups” applies, then the Wallabies and the All Blacks have cause for concern.
The Golden Lions booked their place in the top four of the Currie Cup when they fought back to clinch an unlikely draw against the Free State Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Saturday. By moving up to 45 log points, the Golden Lions ensured they will play in their first semi-final in the Premier Division for the first time since 2008.
Later on Saturday, Western Province moved back into the top four on the log with a well-deserved 15-10 victory over The Sharks in a scrappy match in Durban.
The Blue Bulls and Griquas have both kept their play-off aspirations alive with bonus point victories over the Pumas and Leopards respectively.
French utility back Fabrice Estebanez has been suspended for 3 weeks after admitting to a ‘dangerous tip tackle’ in the match against Tonga.
Georgia winger Lekso Gugava was on Monday suspended for five weeks after being found guilty of making a ‘dangerous tip tackle’ in his team’s final World Cup pool game against Argentina.
England winger Delon Armitage has been suspended for this weekend’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final with France but will be available for the Semi-final if England progress.
Armitage was cited for making a dangerous tackle in England’s 16-12 Pool B match against Scotland at Auckland’s Eden Park last Saturday.
Winger Digby Ioane looks set to make a dramatic comeback for the Wallabies in their Rugby World Cup quarter-final against South Africa after fracturing his thumb last month.
When a player works four years to get in prime condition for the World Cup it is very sad when they get injured. The way a player handles his disappointment shows his metal. There are disappointments in your career and adversity makes you a better person. There might be many more disappointed players at this stage but the three Southern Hemisphere partners each lost one or more of their best players.
Here is the Dan Carter story.
Frans Steyn, Drew Mitchell and Wycliff Palu can be added as big losses.