Monthly Archives: February 2013
Much needed good news for Cheetahs fans came from the Cheetahs camp, following the shock retirement of star bok flanker Juan Smith. Coenie Osthuizen, who has been recovering from back and neck injuries, was cleared for scrummaging sessions and came through unscathed. Furthermore, flyhalf sensation Johan Goosen has also been cleared to start after receiving treatment for a troublesome heel. Word is that he could have played against the Bulls but the coaches opted to rather rest him.
Edinburgh Rugby are beginning the search today for a new coaching team to steer the club from the 2013/14 season.
Defence coach Billy McGinty today resigned from his post, while the club confirmed that head coach Michael Bradley will not have his contract renewed at the end of this season.
World Cup-winning Springbok midfielder Frans Steyn will take over the captaincy of the Sharks.
Sharks coach John Plumtree confirmed that the 25-year-old will fill the void left by the absence of regular skipper Keegan Daniel through injury.
Super Rugby Fantasy League
Record-breaking South African test referee Jonathan Kaplan will retire from professional refereeing at the end of the 2013 South African season.
All Blacks and Hurricanes winger Cory Jane says that he is resigned to missing the entires 2013 Super Rugby season and he could also miss New Zealand’s end-of-year tour due to a ligament injury.
The Southern Kings have named all five of their foreign players in their final 35-man Super Rugby squad despite SARU’s ruling that they are only allowed two.
With an ace up their sleeve, the Sharks and Stormers will have their greatest chance yet to end their Super Rugby trophy drought this year.
New Zealand’s referees will be stepping out in pink in this year’s Super Rugby tournament thanks to a three-year sponsorship deal with Pink® Batts®.
South African-born flanker Antonie Claassen on Monday was called up by coach Philippe Saint-Andre for the 23-strong French squad to prepare for the Six Nations match against England at Twickenham on February 23.
Claassen, 28, was one of five changes to the squad that went down 16-6 to Wales at the Stade de France on Saturday leaving France winless after two games and bottom of the Six Nations standings.
Hy het die afgelope twee jaar ondanks vier operasies moedig vir sy ondersteuners probeer terugveg.
Maar die Springbok-flank Juan Smith het Maandag weens ’n hakseningbesering geen ander keuse gehad as om finaal die gordyn oor sy suksesvolle rugbyloopbaan te laat sak nie.
NMMU (8) 24 / 16 (16) Wits (Final Score)
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) and the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) did battle in the Varsity Cup, at NMMU Stadium, Port Elizabeth at 19:00 SA Time.
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & SHD on TV in SA.
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GWK Griquas have named a strong and experienced team to play against the Southern Kings in their final warm-up match on Wednesday 12 February, 19h00 at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth. This will surely be another stern examination of the Southern Kings preparedness for the ardous Super Rugby series which lies ahead.
Some of the Griquas players will want to show the Cheetahs’ coaches that they are able replacements, should injuries occur.
new viral Bulls campaign, “Stand by Me”
Tuks (8) 24 / 16 (0) UCT (Final Score)
The University of Pretoria (Tuks) and University of Cape Town (UCT) did battle in the Varsity Cup at Tuks Rugby Stadium at 16:45 SA Time.
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & CSN on TV in SA.
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So the long awaited “non-grudge” game between South Africa’s newest Super Rugby franchise and the team they displaced has come and gone, with the Lions winning the game on the score board.
But who were the real winners on the day and why?
Here’s my personal take on it all:
South Africa’s Blitzbokke did their nation proud!
Going into the semi-final, they faced Samoa, who took them all the way to extra time before the golden goal by the Blitzbokke put South Africa in the final against New Zealand who was also taken into extra time by Fiji in their semi-final.
The final was a total demolition job by the Blitzbokke on New Zealand, with the Blitzbokke romping to 28 / 0 (4 converted tries) by halftime.
They kept their composure, scoring again after halftime, leading 35 / 0, before New Zealand scored 3 times in a gutsy effort to pull the score back to respectable levels against 1 final score by South Africa.
South Africa won in fine style, by 40 / 21.
DHL Stormers lock Eben Etzebeth will miss the start of his team’s 2013 Vodacom Super Rugby campaign, after being ruled out of action for six to eight weeks.
Ireland (0) 6 / 12 (6) England (Final Score)
Ireland and England did battle in the Six Nations tournament at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin at 17:00 SA Time (15:00 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & SHD on TV in SA.
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The Vodacom Bulls sounded a stern warning ahead of their Super Rugby campaign as they demolished the Toyota Cheetahs 32-10 in their pre-season friendly at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane.
With the news this week that Springbok great, Jan Ellis, passed away at the age of 71, I just had to write this tribute to Jan.
Jan Ellis personifies Springbok rugby for me. It has been said that as humans we think in pictures. When we think of something we see a picture of some sorts and this picture can differ from one person to the next, which is why we sometimes voice the same words but come up with different understanding or meaning. The best communicators are those who can create clear and vivid pictures in the mind of his listeners.
When I think of Springbok rugby I see Jan Ellis. Hard, uncompromising, fast with a touch of artistic moodiness and flair but with relentless motivation to succeed based on a staunch work ethic and absolute conviction of what is right and wrong – that is Jan Ellis in a nutshell, for me.
So, I don’t see all that, I just see pictures of Jan Ellis flashing through my mind.
(see the photo gallery I’ve created of Jan Ellis here).
The analogy between the Springboks and Jan Ellis, for me, came along probably because I had so many pictures of Jan Ellis when I started with my sampling of rugby pictures in 1970. I was born in Windhoek, South West Africa (now Namibia) and Jan was SWA’s second Springbok, the first being Sias Swart.
France (3) 6 / 16 (3) Wales (Final Score)
France and Wales did battle in the Six Nations Competition at Stade de France, Paris at 19:00 SA Time (17:00 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & SHD on TV in SA.
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Scotland (13) 34 / 10 (3) Italy (Final Score)
Scotland and Italy did battle in the Six Nations Competition at Murrayfield, Edinburgh at 16:30 SA Time (14:30 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & SHD on TV in SA.
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Stormers (17) 57 / 0 (0) Boland (Final Score)
The DHL Stormers beat the Boland Kavaliers in their warm-up match in preparation for Super Rugby at Cape Town Stadium. Match report to follow.
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 2 on TV in SA.
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South Africa made a solid start on day one of the USA Sevens in Las Vegas on Saturday morning (SA time) by winning both of their pool matches against Uruguay and Canada to qualify for the Cup quarterfinals with a match to spare.
The Sharks scored 11 tries on their way to beating the Leopards 71-8 in a Super Rugby warm up match at Woodburn Stadium in Pietermaritzburg on Friday.
The Sharks ooutscored the Leopards by 11 tries to one but the victory may have come at a cost as captain Keegan Daniel injured his knee while Tim Whitehead has a suspected broken arm.
A try to Peter Saili in extra time snatched a thrilling 40-36 victory for the Blues over the Waratahs in their pre-season match in Whangarei on Saturday.
Lions (22) 41 / 31 (7) Kings (Final Score)
The MTN Lions and Southern Kings did battle in the MTN Lions Challenge at Ellis Park, Johannesburg at 14:15 SA Time.
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & SHD on TV in SA.
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With an exciting weekend of Premiership rugby the focus seems to be on the clash between table-topping Harlequins and fourth placed London Wasps.
The South African Rugby Union on Friday expressed its deep sadness at the passing of legendary former Springbok looseforward, Jan Ellis.
The one-time joint record holder for the number of Springbok caps succumbed to cancer at a hospice in Pretoria after suffering from the disease for some time. He celebrated his 71st birthday in January.
While most of the attention up north should be on the internationals with this being weekend two of the 2013 RBS 6 Nations let us not forget that we also have round fourteen of the RaboDirect Pro12 competition to look forward to.
The Ireland team to play England in the RBS 6 Nations Championship on Sunday has been named with Ireland head coach Declan Kidney naming an unchanged side from the one that beat Wales in Cardiff last week.
Billy Twelvetrees has kept his place in England’s starting XV for Sunday’s match against Ireland in Dublin, while James Haskell makes his first start in the Six Nations since 2011.
The Cheetahs have announced their group of 35 players for this year’s Super Rugby tournament. It differs substantially from last year’s squad, with numerous players having pursued careers overseas. Considering that ten of last year’s squad’s names don’t appear, one could be forgiven for expecting a weaker squad but it looks like a good squad overall.
Wales have made three changes to their starting line-up for their RBS 6 Nations clash against France with Ryan Jones returning to lead the side.