Super Rugby News is now starting to come thick and fast!

Below you can read about the Super Rugby HALFTIME BREAKS being extended to 12 minutes, about Ben Mowen who remains Brumbies Captain, about the Super Rugby Draw for 2013, about Bismarck du Plessis’ injury and Frans Steyn gearing up for the 2013 season and about Wynand Olivier who is still in Japan. Tamati Ellison will miss the majority of the Competition for the Highlanders, due to injury.

And then, if a sub-standard squad was not enough, the Southern Kings lose two key forwards due to injury.

Sport 24

Halftime Break Extended:

SANZAR on Thursday announced that half-time breaks for the 2013 Vodacom Super Rugby season will be extended to 12 minutes.

The 18th year of Super Rugby kicks off on Friday, February 15 with the Rebels hosting the Force in Melbourne.

Only the Australian Conference will be in action in Round 1 (due to the British and Irish Lions Tour), with the New Zealand and South African teams commencing their season in Round 2.

Mowen stays Brumbies Captain:

Ben Mowen will again lead the Brumbies in this season’s Super 15 series ahead of Wallabies David Pocock and Stephen Moore, head coach Jake White said on Thursday.

Pocock, who has captained the Wallabies, joined the Brumbies in the off-season from the Force, where he also led the Perth-based Super 15 side.

White said number eight Mowen had proven himself to be a valuable leader of the Brumbies.

“Ben’s proven above and beyond that he is a quality leader and the right man to be captain of this team into the future,” White said.

“There were numerous times through the (last) season that his leadership proved the difference for the Brumbies and it’s a pleasure to have him back in the same position for 2013.”

Super Rugby Draw 2013:

SANZAR has confirmed the draw and all venues for the 120 regular season matches to be played in the 2013 Super Rugby season.

The 18th year of Super Rugby kicks off on Friday, February 15 with the Rebels hosting the Force in Melbourne.

Only the Australian Conference will be in action in Round 1 (due to the British and Irish Lions Tour), with the New Zealand and South African teams commencing their season in Round 2.

The first match to be played in South Africa will be on Friday, February 22 when the Bulls host the Stormers in a mouth-watering clash at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria. Kick-off is at 19:10.

Bismarck du Plessis injury report:

Springbok hooker Bismarck du Plessis is yet to return to training with the Sharks following knee surgery.

Du Plessis is busy with his rehabilitation after he damaged his knee ligaments playing for the Springboks against Argentina in August last year.

It appears that the 28-year-old’s the injury has not healed as well as initially predicted.

Sharks commercial manager, Rudolf Straeuli, confirmed that Du Plessis will not be ready for the start of the Super Rugby competition.

“Bismarck will be ready to take part in the Super-season, but it won’t be in the first part,” said Straeuli.

Meanwhile, Alan Kourie has been appointed as the Sharks’ new team doctor, replacing Ewoudt van der Linde.

Kourie is the nephew of former Transvaal and South African cricketer, Alan Kourie.

Francois Steyn gears up:

The Sharks have revealed that Springbok back Frans Steyn is on track to play in the opening rounds of Super Rugby.

The Sharks returned to training this week after their Christmas break under the watchful eyes of the conditioning and coaching staff.

“The first week is always really tough as the guys get back into it, there’s a lot of hard work to be done with Super Rugby just around the corner and we obviously want to get out of the starting blocks as quickly as possible,” explains captain Keegan Daniel.

Daniel said that despite the extreme weather conditions (summer heat) and preparatory work everyone returned to the camp excited for the season ahead.

“The mood was good and there’s a buzz with all the guys catching up again, but we all know why we are here and what we want to achieve this season.”

The Sharks have a largely settled squad for the 2013 Super Rugby season but there are a few new but familiar faces who have joined the squad.

“Butch (James) has been around, he’s been here before and will fit back in easily and will add a lot of value and it’s also good to have (Lions lock) Franco (van der Merwe) here, he will add invaluable experience to the second row. ”

“He’s obviously played a big role at the Lions and been in the Springbok squad recently, so it’s good to have someone like that in the tight five.”

Frans Steyn missed the second half of the 2012 Rugby season due to injury but is looking good to start this season while Bismarck du Plessis’ rehab is ongoing.

“Frans ran this morning and is doing pretty well, he’s right on schedule but Bismarck will take a bit longer, he had a big injury, but the medical team is working hard with him.”

The Sharks had one of their best seasons ever in 2012 and played in both finals (Currie Cup and Super Rugby) and Daniel says that they have learnt some lessons from their experience.

“We were consistent in the fact that we made finals, but in terms of our performances we probably weren’t as consistent as we would have liked,” he says.

“We slipped up at times in the last competition, which put us under pressure towards the end. We want to be a lot more consistent in the way we perform in the games early on this season.”

Speaking about the Sharks squad depth in 2013 Daniel explained that potential and success are not necessarily inextricably linked.

“You can look at any squad and say it’s a great squad with good depth, but at the end of the day you’ve got to put it all together on the field. But we do have some good young players who’ve come through nicely and spent one or two seasons playing Currie Cup or Super Rugby.

“Then the likes of Butch and Franco are just going to add to that” he added.

Daniel said that the Sharks have the benefit of having a settled squad with many experienced players in the camp.

“It helps immensely,” he admits “it’s easier to come up with strategies and coming up with plans about what you want to achieve when guys have been around a while and understand the way the coaches do things.”

On his personal growth as captain Daniel said that there has been growth, but there is room for more.

“I learnt quite a bit and grew as well, but I continuously want to keep on learning and growing as a leader. A new season comes with new challenges, and I’m keen to meet them head on. ”

“But like Jean (de Villiers) always said, you can’t steer the ship on your own, you need support, and I think there is a good support group below me.

Olivier might miss opening rounds, still in Japan:

Springbok centre Wynand Olivier, currently playing in Japan, could miss the Bulls’ first two Super Rugby games.

Olivier left the Bulls in the middle of last year to join Japanese club, the Ricoh Black Rams. The club had a poor season in Japan’s top league and finished in a lowly 10th spot on the log. They will now feature in playoff games to determine their participation in the All Japan knockout-tournament, which takes place in during February and March.

The Bulls’ Super Rugby campaign starts with a home game against the Stormers on February 22, and the agreement between the Bulls and the Rams is that Olivier only needs to be back in South Africa on March 1 if he still has club commitments. Therefore, should the Rams qualify for the knockout competition, Olivier could miss the Stormers game, as well as the one against the Force the following week.

Bulls coach Frans Ludeke said he will have a chat with Olivier later this week to clear the matter.

“We could even have him back at the end on January, and we talk on a regular basis in order to plan accordingly.”

There is in any case enough depth for the Bulls mentor to pick from at inside centre.

Young guns Francois Venter – who was impressive in last year’s Currie Cup – and Baby Bok hero Jan Serfontein give Ludeke enough options.

Lionel Mapoe, who is on loan from the Lions, is likely to be the favourite for the No 13 jersey.

The Bulls will play two warm-up games before the Super-competition starts. They face the Lions at the Orlando Stadium on 2 February, before locking horns with the Cheetahs in Polokwane the following week.

Highlanders lose Ellison due to injury:

All Black and Highlanders midfielder Tamati Ellison will miss most of the 2013 Super Rugby season as he is still recovering from shoulder surgery in the off-season.

Twenty-nine-year-old Ellison injured his shoulder playing for Otago in the NPC last year but still went on the All Blacks end of year tour.

After returning from the All Blacks tour he had a scan on the shoulder which revealed a dislocation and a break at the top of the shoulder bone so he had surgery.

The loss of Ellison will be a major blow for the Highlanders but if they make the play-offs he could come in for consideration.

The Highlanders are one of the early favourites for the 2013 Super Rugby title as they have made a number of new key signings.

The Highlanders have a number of options in the midfield including All Black midfielder Ma’a Nonu as well as Shaun Treeby, Phil Burleigh and Jason Emery in the squad.

Meanwhile Fairfax have reported that Rookie winger Declan O’Donnell will also miss most of the season with a shoulder injury and the Highlanders are likely to look for a replacement.

Kings lose two key forwards:

The Southern Kings have suffered two injury setbacks ahead of their maiden South Rugby campaign.

Hooker Hannes Franklin and lock Darron Nell both sustained knee injuries during training this week, with Director of Rugby Alan Solomons fearing Franklin could be out for up to 12 weeks after tearing the medial collateral ligament in his left knee on Tuesday.

“We will have a better idea of the extent of the injury and duration of treatment in the next 24 hours,” said Solomons.

The former Lions hooker joined the Kings in 2011 and has been a consistent performer for the Eastern Province outfit over two seasons.

Nell suffered an unconventional injury when his knee collided with a partially exposed sprinkler head on Monday.

The ex-Free State Cheetahs star, however, is expected be ready for the Kings’ historic Super Rugby opener against the Western Force on February 23 in Port Elizabeth.

“Darron has suffered a soft tissue injury, but thankfully there is no fracture. He is expected to be out for about three weeks,” said Solomons.