Monthly Archives: August 2013
The Absa Currie Cup has been given the ‘ultimate makeover’ for the 2013 season with the winners set to walk away with a R1,8m cheque and a trophy restored to its 1891 historic glory.
The tournament has been given a major revamp by the South African Rugby Union and sponsors Absa in arguably one of the most exciting developments in the competition’s 122-year history.
All Black back Beauden Barrett revealed he has resisted overtures from the Blues and will stay with the Hurricanes for next year’s Super Rugby season.
Tyrone Holmes is set to make his debut on Thursday for Glasgow Warriors at Rubislaw in Aberdeen. The Warriors are on a two day trip to the city as part of their preseason preparations which include a practice session which will be open to the public to attend as well as a match against local team, Aberdeen Grammar.
Since the Springbok squad for the upcoming Rugby Championship was announced, featuring 10 players who will be applying their trade away from South African shores, speculation has been ongoing whether there has been a shift away from picking South African based players over internationally based South Africans for the Springboks.
This week there has been some mumblings by Jurie Roux, SARU CEO, and the inclusion of Japan-based Fourie du Preez has prompted the question whether Japan’s clubs and our National team setup has moved the goal posts as far as selection of Japanese players are concerned.
Opinion is widely devided on whether the Springboks should allow foreign-based players to be eligible for Springbok selection, with the one lot saying it’s the professional era and where you are based no longer matters, as long as you are the best in your position. The result is the conundrum of player availability well before a Test. At the moment clubs overseas are only obliged to release the players to be available on the Monday preceeding the Test, which allows for very little preparation time.
On the other hand there has been the stance that overseas-based players should not be picked for the Springboks, in order to firstly discourage players leaving the SA shores for lucrative deals elsewhere, having chosen to apply their trade elsewhere and thus voluntarily choosing not to be considered for the Springboks. I was a serious proponent of this stance, but I’ve had somewhat of a mind shift, I must admit.
Certainly for the upcoming Rugby Championship, it would have been foolhardy not to pick the Springboks who have recently decided to go overseas, after all there are 6 regular starting Springboks amongst those recent departees.
I now find myself in the middle somewhere, hoping players could stay in South Africa if they aspire to continue or start their Springbok careers, yet seeing the inevitability of the lure of the stronger currencies abroad.
The solution would have been simple…. institute a CENTRALLY CONTRACTED SYSTEM here in South Africa (very similar to the New Zealand system), where SARU takes charge of the contracts of the frontline Springbok players, but that remains a pipe dream and clearly is beyond the capabilities of the inept bunch at SARU. In stead we can rely on SARU to muck things up even more and I’m afraid but I would not want their grubby hands to touch Central Contrating under those circumstances.
Another solution could be to impliment a CLEAR OVERSEAS QUOTA SYSTEM in the selection policy, where SARU regulates to the players and national coach that only 2 or 3 overseas-based players may be included in a 30-man squad. This would have put the Springboks in a conundrum situation right now before the start of The Rugby Championship, but maybe with an eye on the End Of Year Tours and beyond, that system must be applied, unless it can be negotiated that overseas-based players are available earlier and for every Test of the year, no exceptions allowed.
Below some of the news and speculation in this regard, taken from what was available in the press.
Argentina head coach Santiago Phelan has confirmed a twenty-six man squad to travel to South Africa and play the Springboks at Soccer City on Saturday 17 August 2013.
The team will play a warm-up match against New South Wales in Salta on Friday before they travel to South Africa.
Boom Prinsloo has been named as captain of the Toyota Free State Cheetahs for their opening Currie Cup encounter against the MTN Golden Lions in Johannesburg on Saturday.
Omar Mouneimne has become the latest member of the Southern Kings squad to walk away from the relegated Super Rugby franchise.
Mouneimne, the Kings’ defence coach, has joined Alan Solomons on the Edinburgh coaching panel.
SA Schools coach Chris October on Wednesday announced his squad to face England in their opening International Under-18 Series clash on Friday at the City Park Stadium in Cape Town.
Western Province and Paarl Gym No8 Rikus Bothma will lead the squad which features seven players who took part of the victorious SA Schools team last season. These players are the Du Preez twins, Daniel and Jean-Luc, Ox Nche, Justin Philips, Duhan van der Merwe, Warrik Gelant, Abongile Nonkontwana and Jurie Linde.
Vodacom Blue Bulls coach Pine Pienaar included four Absa Currie Cup novices in his team to play defending champions DHL Western Province in Cape Town on Saturday in his team’s opening match of the 2013 competition.
Travis Ismaiel, Tony Jantjies, Jacques du Plessis and Wiaan Liebenberg all return to the venue of massive significance to them.
The ABSA Currie Cup is once again upon us and MTN Golden Lions coach Johan Ackermann has named his side for this Saturday’s opening match against the Toyota Free State Cheetahs.
DHL Western Province will kick-off their Absa Currie Cup title defence with three starting debutants in the team to face the Blue Bulls at DHL Newlands on Saturday (17:05).
Experienced hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau and lock Peter Kimlin are out of the Wallabies’ extended squad for the Rugby Championship because of injury and will miss the opener against New Zealand.
The player exodus at the Southern Kings is continuing, with Kings scrumhalf Shaun Venter the latest player to secure a contract with a Super Rugby franchise. Venter has signed a two year deal with the Cheetahs, commencing on the 1st November 2013.
Demetri Catrakilis wants to use the upcoming Currie Cup season to play open a spot in the Springbok squad for the end-of-year tour to Europe.
The Absa Currie Cup competition starts this Friday evening with The Sharks hosting Griquas at Growthpoint KINGS PARK in a Women’s Day spectacular for this opening clash.
Ballz Visual Radio recorded a very, very interesting interview with Xander Janse van Rensburg, Blue Bulls High Performance Manager, discussing and detailing how young talent is identified ranging from as early as 12 years of age upwards. It details how relationships are formed with them and how they are drawn into junior high performance structures at the Bulls, how scouting is done and ultimately how these players are brought into the Blue Bulls fold.
You would be doing yourself an injustice not to view and listen to the whole interview.
The Blue Bulls have further bolstered their ranks with the signing of Kings loose forward Jacques “Vleis” Engelbrecht who joins them on a three-year deal.
The hard-working Engelbrecht impressed for the Kings in their debut Super Rugby season this year, and he joins teammate Waylon Murray in heading to Loftus Versveld following the Eastern Cape side’s relegation from Super Rugby.
Kings flyhalf Demetri Catrakilis has confirmed that he will be heading back to Cape Town to play for Western Province in the Currie Cup.
The newly promoted Golden Lions will formally sit down with prop Jacobus (Bees) Roux on Tuesday to see if they can sign him on a short-term Currie Cup contract.
Roux, better known as ‘Bees’, hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons in August 2010 – when he was arrested in connection with the death of a South African police officer in Pretoria.
Roux was given a five-year suspended jail sentence in 2011 over the beating to death of Tshwane metro police officer Johannes Mogale the year before.
Springbok and Bulls flank Jacques Potgieter has signed a two-year deal with the Waratahs.
Potgieter will this week join Japanese outfit Fukuoka Sanix Blues on a six-month sabbatical, but was expected to return to the Pretoria-based franchise for next year’s Super Rugby tournament.
New Sharks director of rugby Brendan Venter is “very impressed” with the set-up at the rugby union, he said on Monday.
Coenie Oosthuizen has an ideal opportunity to cement a permanent place for himself in the Springbok squad heading towards the 2015 Rugby World Cup as coach Heyneke Meyer looks desperately for a back-up for Jannie du Plessis.
The Bok coach made his intentions quite clear this past week when he selected Oosthuizen as the back-up tighthead.
The new scrum laws will wind the clock back, says Dan Cron. Hookers actually hooking, halfbacks putting the ball in straight – it won’t be scrummaging as we’ve come to know it.
The Springboks will utilize the skills of Richie Gray as breakdown consultant for the remainder of the Test season in 2013.
Australia won the toss and chose to bat first against England in the 3rd Ashes Test at Old Trafford. Australia made three changes to their side with David Warner, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon who came into the side. The England side was unchanged.
The pitch wass dry and hard to start with, which supplied a bit of bounce first up and spin was forecast reasonably soon. Atmospheric conditions on the 1st day was conducive to swing early on before temperatures rose too much.
The match ended in a dull draw with a lot of rain delaying play in the last days, forcing Australie to declare their 2nd innings at 172 / 7, setting England the ungettable target of 332 runs off just over 20 overs remaining in the match. England were 37 / 3 when the game was stopped and the draw announced.
DHL Western Province coach Allister Coetzee has released a 26-man squad ahead of this weekend’s Absa Currie Cup opener against the Blue Bulls at DHL Newlands.
This Friday, 9th August 2013, The Sharks host Griquas at Growthpoint KINGS PARK in their first pool match of the 2013 Absa Currie Cup competition.
Friday is also Women’s Day and The Sharks would like to acknowledge and celebrate their female fans by rewarding them with free entry to the match.
The Springbok selectors have opted for continuity when they named a 30-man squad for the opening two rounds of The Castle Lager Rugby Championship later this month against Argentina.
Only three players who were not part of the Springbok squad which won the Castle Lager Incoming Series in June have been added to the squad.
They are experienced scrumhalf Fourie du Preez, who has been selected for the Springboks for the first time since the Rugby World Cup in 2011, Gurthrö Steenkamp (prop) and Duane Vermeulen (No 8), who last played for the Springboks in November 2012.
As the Southern Kings lick their wounds after their narrow exit from Vodacom Super Rugby they will now face a massive exit as players and coaches look to greener pastures both locally and abroad.
EP Kings president Cheeky Watson has played down the exit, focusing on the glass-half-full scenario, but up to 10 Kings players are likely to announce moves to other franchises and abroad in the next few days.
The Wallabies finalised their coaching team for this month’s Rugby Championship with Jim McKay to be the attack coach under Ewen McKenzie.
England Sevens Head Coach Ben Ryan has announced that after than six years in charge of the national side he will stand down.
The 41 year-old will help ensure a smooth transition takes place during the build-up to the new Sevens World Series and the recruitment process to identify his successor will be under way shortly.
The Pumas snatched a dramatic 29-27 victory over a New South Wales Barbarians team with the last kick of their match in La Plata.
Two Sekope Kepu tries at either end of the first half gave the visitors a two-point advantage going into the break.
Veteran scrumhalf Piri Weepu has been dumped from the All Blacks for the Rugby Championship, but captain Richie McCaw returns.
All Black utility back Rene Ranger has pulled out of the upcoming Rugby Championship series, citing family reasons.
Lions (8) 18 / 23 (9) Kings (Final Score)
The MTN Lions and Southern Kings did battle in the 2nd and last Super Rugby
Promotion / Relegation game at Ellis Park, Johannesburg at 17:0 SA Time (15:00 GMT).
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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