Bullscot
Jacques Burger
If Saturday’s Aviva Premiership final is being billed as “Beauty against the Beast” – the carefree attacking play of Bath’s young backs against the suffocating Saracens defence – then there is little doubt which individual player represents the latter in this analogy.
When Sarries are at their best – when their defence is at its most intense and brutal – flanker Jacques Burger invariably leads from the front.
Bath are looking to end their 19-year wait for a top-flight title as they face Saracens in the Premiership final.
The Blue, Black and Whites have selected the same team that thumped Leicester in the semi-finals last week.
Saracens, winners in 2011 and beaten finalists last season, have reached the final for the fourth time in six years.
Like Bath, Sarries have also named an unchanged side, meaning 18 of England’s World Cup training squad will be in action at Twickenham on Saturday.
Their only change from the squad that won at Northampton Saints – the team that beat them in last year’s final – comes among the replacements, with hooker Schalk Brits returning after illness.
CJ Stander
Munster will face Glasgow Warriors in the Guinness PRO12 final in Ravenhill after an incredible 21 / 18 win over Ospreys at Thomond Park.
Josh Matavesi crossed at the death for what would have been the winning try for the Ospreys but a knock-on in the build-up meant the try was ruled out and Munster progressed to the final.
Bath reached their 1st Premiership final since 2004 with a comfortable play-off semi-final win over Leicester.
A brace from Matt Banahan and a Kyle Eastmond try put the hosts in control, but they ended the 1st half with 13 men as Tom Youngs replied.
2Nd-half tries from Peter Stringer, George Ford and Anthony Watson sealed Bath’s passage to Twickenham as Banahan completed his hat-trick late on.
The Blue, Black and Whites will face Saracens in the final on 30 May.
Owen Farrell produced a nerveless kicking display as Saracens avenged last year’s extra-time defeat to Northampton Saints by booking their place in the Aviva Premiership Rugby Final once more.
David Strettle got Sarries off to a flying start but Northampton’s pack responded to win a Penalty Try, before the 2 sides traded scores early in the 2nd half through Jamie George and Tom Wood.
But it was the battle between England flyhalves Farrell and Stephen Myler that ultimately settled this semi-final, with the Sarries man besting his counterpart by 19 points to 14 from the tee – including an ice-cool 77th minute penalty to take the game out of the defending champions’ reach.
Glasgow Warriors left it late but eventually overcame a huge challenge from Ulster to clinch a PRO12 Grand Final place.
The Irish province had much the better of the opening exchanges and took control midway through the opening period with Chris Henry’s try.
But Glasgow came out fired up for the 2nd half and kept themselves in touch before DTH van der Merwe levelled the scores on his final Scotstoun appearance 5 minutes from time.
The score sent the 10 000 sell-out crowd into ecstasy but there was still work to be done as Finn Russell lined up the decisive conversion.
Sam Burgess
Stuart Lancaster has announced England’s extended training squad for the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
The 50-man group will meet up at Pennyhill Park on Monday 22 June to begin preparing for the tournament, which starts against Fiji, at Twickenham, on Friday 18 September.
England will also face France home and away and Ireland at Twickenham as part of the QBE Internationals as they build towards the World Cup.
Five eye-catching inclusions are Luke Cowan-Dickie, Maro Itoje, Sam Burgess, Elliot Daly and Henry Slade, all of whom featured in an 18 / 9 victory for England Saxons over Ireland Wolfhounds back in January.
Calum Clark and Ed Slater bring the tally of uncapped players to 7. Each of them will be vying for a Test debut.
Sam Burgess
Springbok loose forward Francois Louw is backing his Bath teammate Sam Burgess to make his debut for England on the flank.
Rugby League convert Burgess has impressed since moving to the back row from the centres, and is widely tipped to be included in England’s pre-World Cup training squad – which will be named on Wednesday.
“I don’t think Sam will struggle at international level,” said Louw. “He will hold his own.”
“Stuart Lancaster has his hands full with loose forwards, but it’s not going to be too long before Sam makes his international debut on the flank.”
“Maybe it will be at this year’s World Cup and I’ll see him there.”
Richie Vernon scores the try which cements the Warriors semi-final spot
In the early minutes of the 2nd half at Scotstoun there was a lineout on the main stand side of the pitch, a routine set-piece that wouldn’t have mattered a damn except for the light it shone on Glasgow’s mindset at the time.
Ulster were in position 1st. Organised and buzzing and in the lead by 10 / 6. Glasgow trooped into line sluggishly.
Glasgow’s Jonny Gray stopped en route to take some instruction from the sideline and then assumed his place, slowly. Their mission to bank a home PRO12 semi-final was always going to be mountainous, but now, in these bleak moments, it had taken on the look of Everest.
Al Kellock
Al Kellock returns to the Glasgow Warriors side for today’s massive Guinness PRO12 match with Ulster at a sold-out Scotstoun Stadium (kick-off 15:00 BST, 16:00 SA Time).
The Warriors captain, who replaces the injured Tim Swinson in the 2nd-row, could be making his final appearance at Scotstoun, following the announcement that he is to retire from rugby at the end of the season.
2nd-placed Glasgow can still secure a home play-off, but Ulster are also playing for home advantage next weekend.
With an increased capacity of around 10 000 it will be the club’s biggest home crowd for a regular season game and tickets for this match sold out in record time.
Manu Tuilagi
England rugby union player Manu Tuilagi will not play in the World Cup after admitting assaulting police officers, head coach Stuart Lancaster has said.
The Leicester Tigers centre, 23, was fined £ 6 205.00 when he appeared before magistrates.
He had been charged with 2 counts of assaulting a police officer, assault by beating and causing criminal damage, the Crown Prosecution Service said.
Lancaster said he would not be considered for England until January.
In a statement released yesterday (14 May 2015) The Board of Scottish Rugby unanimously confirmed that the national 7s team will continue to compete in the HSBC Sevens World Series.
The positive recent results by the team, heritage of the game in Scotland and incentive of contributing to a future Team GB Olympic 7s squad means Scottish Rugby will continue to support a national 7s team.
The current squad and management have been informed of this decision. Discussions will take place with the 7s team and management following the HSBC Sevens World Series tournament in London to plan the structure of the programme for next season.
Euan Murray
Scotland’s most-capped prop Euan Murray announced his retirement from international rugby yesterday.
The 34-year-old brings down the curtain on an international career that began against Romania ten years ago, included the 2009 British & Irish Lions tour of South Africa and the 2008 Calcutta Cup victory over England, and ended with his record-breaking outing against Ireland in the final game of the 2015 RBS 6 Nations.
Springbok Morné Steyn’s long-range kicking capability took centre stage as Stade Francais overcame the early Red Carding of captain Sergio Parisse to beat Parisian rivals Racing-Metro 28 / 19 in Top 14 action on Sunday.
The win leaves Stade in 4th in the table behind leaders Toulon, Clermont and Toulouse, with Oyonnax in 5th above Racing in 6th.
With just 2 games of the regular season to play, the pressure will be on in the fight to nail down a spot in the top 6 for the end-of-season play-offs.
Gloucester’s Ross Moriarty (left) and Bill Meakes (right)
Meakes suspended for 2 weeks:
The Gloucester centre, Bill Meakes, has been suspended for 2 weeks following an independent Disciplinary Hearing in Dublin yesterday (Thursday 7 May) arising from the European Challenge Cup final against Edinburgh at the Twickenham Stoop on Friday 1 May 2015.
Meakes was sent off by referee, Jérôme Garcès (France), in the 64th minute of the match for an alleged dangerous tackle on the Edinburgh centre, Sam Beard (No 13), in contravention of Law 10.4(e).
Stuart Dickinson
Rugby must enhance its laws governing aerial collisions, former elite referee Stuart Dickinson has argued.
Incidents such as that involving Scotland stand-off Finn Russell, who incurred a 2-week suspension for impeding Wales’ Dan Biggar in the air, have drawn intense scrutiny and debate.
Edinburgh welcome fullback Greig Tonks back into their side for tonight’s European Challenge Cup final against Gloucester.
He is 1 of 2 changes made by head coach Alan Solomons, who also brings Cornell Du Preez in at eighthman.
Greig Laidlaw, who was 1 of a number of players rested for Gloucester’s Premiership fixture against Newcastle, returns to face his former club.
Billy Twelvetrees captains the Cherry and Whites, while Richard Hibbard and James Hook also come back in.
Sam Johnson (left) and Greg Peterson will be joining Glasgow Warriors next season
Glasgow Warriors have signed Australian centre Sam Johnson from the Reds and USA international lock Greg Peterson from Leicester Tigers, with the duo set to be at Scotstoun until at least May 2017.
Both players have signed 2-year contracts with the Guiness PRO12 side, subject to visas and medicals.
21-year-old Johnson 1st played schoolboy rugby for Australia ‘A’ after winning the Associated Independent Colleges competition with St Edmund’s College in 2011.
He played Rugby League for the Gold Coast Titans Under 20’s after school, before returning to Rugby Union at the end of 2013, when he joined the Reds wider training squad and returned to his former club GPS.
A government drive to boost participation in rugby in English schools is ill-conceived and risks children getting seriously hurt, public health doctors have warned.
Prof Allyson Pollock and colleagues at Queen Mary University of London say the contact sport is too dangerous.
They do not want an outright ban but say the sport must change and safeguards are needed.
The Rugby Football Union said steps had been taken to make the sport safer.
WP Nel
At the end of a trying season of provincial rugby under the sweltering South African sun, Willem Petrus Nel trudged exhausted from the field.
He turned to his coach and mentor, Pierre Ribbens, a distinguished ex-prop for the Bulls in what is now the Super 15 competition, the cream of the Southern Hemisphere game.
“I think I’m done with rugby – I don’t want to play anymore,” he said.
In late 2008, the 22-year-old tight-head had completed his agricultural studies, his certificate signed and stamped. From university some 250 miles to the south, the pull of home, the sheep farm he had been raised tending and the rolling mountains of the Northern Cape was strong.
“Give me a week,” replied Ribbens.
Sam Hidalgo-Clyne
Edinburgh clinched a place in the European Challenge Cup Final in emphatic style at BT Murrayfield to make history as the 1st Scottish side to reach a European final.
The Scottish capital side stormed to their largest victory in Europe with a rousing 45 / 16 triumph over Newport Gwent Dragons with scrumhalf Sam Hidalgo-Clyne helping himself to another record 25 points. Now they go on to face either Gloucester or Exeter Chiefs at the Twickenham Stoop on Friday 1 May.
Hidalgo-Clyne once again proved their star-turn with a try in his club record 25-point haul that took his tally in Europe this season to 91 points. That makes him the highest scorer in the tournament.
Glasgow Warriors have won the Ladies Cup for the 2nd year in a row after battling back from behind against fellow guest side, Germany in the final to lift the coveted trophy.
After beating Dundee, Gala and Jed Forest en route to the final, the side coached by Kenny Murray were behind 21 / 12 against the Germans but showed grit and determination to run out 36 / 21 winners!
The Warriors kick-started their Melrose 7’s defence with a 2nd round tie against Dundee who beat Stirling County earlier in the day.
Top guest teams North West University (RSA), Germany, Glasgow Warriors and Wasps will join 20 Scottish club sides to contest the Aberdeen Asset Management Melrose Sevens on Saturday.
Warriors, who last year featured Borders duo Scott Wight and Lee Jones, return to defend their title and, following the success of last summer’s Commonwealth Games tournament, organisers have hinted that an influx of new generation sevens players and supporters could be heading to the Borders this weekend.
Melrose Sevens convener Ian Cooper says he is delighted with the calibre of the sides his committee has been able to attract this year.
Edinburgh Rugby’s players are in open revolt against their managing director, David Davies, after he sacked the long-serving team manager. Lynsey Dingwall was a popular and efficient member of the backroom staff at Edinburgh Rugby yet she was given an hour to clear her desk after working at the club for 14 years.
The players sent an email to the board and the council of the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) which Scotland on Sunday has seen. In the missive, sent on 23 March, the players offer their full support to Dingwall.
“We feel the dismissal of Lynsey Dingwall was unfair and unjustified,” the e-mail reads. “Lynsey was part of Edinburgh Rugby for 14 years. Over that period she worked tirelessly with and for the players and was hugely respected within the organisation. Numerous past coaches and players have commented that she was the best team manager that they have ever worked with. We feel she has been the victim of a personal attack.”
With 7 Rounds of this years Super Rugby competition completed and much discussion in the various media regarding disciplinary hearings, we thought it would be interesting to look at the players’ records so far in conceding penalties.
The scrums have become an absolute lottery and so it is no surprise that front rowers will be giving away many penalties while loose forwards can also tend to ‘live life on the edge’. However, what is surprising, according to the stats, is that as many as 6 props names appear in the Top 10 list of serial transgressors thus far this season.
2 Players who have been discussed quite a lot lately, Bismarck du Plessis and Liam Messam also appear on the list, which is disappointing considering they are the captains of their teams. Perhaps it is no surprise then that the match between the Sharks and Chiefs turned out to be such a nasty affair. Interestingly though a 3rd player who has been discussed over and over again, Francois Steyn, is not in this Top 10.
Glasgow Warriors captain Al Kellock will retire from rugby at the end of the season.
Kellock, who has been the Warriors captain for the past nine seasons, has played 154 games for the club and captained the team for the 150th time in the 34-34 draw with Leinster in Dublin on Friday.
The 33-year-old has led the club to the PRO12 Play-Offs four times since they were introduced in the 2009/10 campaign and last year skippered the team to the PRO12 Final for the first time.
At the end of the season Kellock will take up an ambassadorial role with Scottish Rugby, as well as helping to continue the development of Glasgow Warriors. The main focus of his role will be engaging with the rugby and business communities and learning more about the commercial aspect of sport, enabling him to stay connected with the Warriors.
Francois Steyn
SANZAR, the controlling body for Southern Hemisphere rugby, moved swiftly to defuse the storm that erupted in the wake of Springbok Francois Steyn’s 5-week ban.
A SANZAR appeals committee – chaired by Terry Willis (Australia), who was assisted by Nigel Hampton (New Zealand) and Robert Stelzner (South Africa) – slapped the ban on the Sharks utility back after a hearing earlier this week.
Steyn, who was Red-Carded for his lifting tackle on Aaron Cruden in the Sharks’ 12 / 11 win over the Chiefs on 21 March, was cleared by South African judicial officer Jannie Lubbe at the original hearing on 23 Match. He also expunged Steyn’s Red Card.
However, SANZAR felt strongly about the message sent out by the result of the original hearing and appealed.
That hearing, which took place on Tuesday this week, found Steyn guilty and suspended him up to, and including 3 May.
In reaction to the fall-out to their appeal and subsequent ban of Steyn, SANZAR said they felt Lubbe made a ‘clear error of fact and law’.
Glasgow Warriors ambitious plans for Scotstoun Stadium cover
Glasgow Warriors have today revealed plans for a revolutionary new temporary stadium cover for their Scotstoun Stadium home in the west end of the city.
The club have been working closely with Scottish architecture firm Kettle Collective, to develop the radical new system and it will be in place from the start of next season.
The design was inspired by fishing nets, similar to the Yas Island Hotel at the Abu Dhabi Formula 1 resort.
The stadium roof will be the first of its kind in the world and is an organic form that will enclose the stadium from the elements.
The Warriors moved to Scotstoun in 2012 having previously played at Hughenden and Firhill and with crowds exceeding 6,000 a decision has been made to put a roof over the existing stadium for all home matches from next season.
Louis Ludik’s pair of tries helped Ulster to resist a 2nd-half fightback from Cardiff Blues and strengthen their position in the Guinness PRO12 Top 4.
Fullback Ludik scored a try in either half to supplement finishes from Craig Gilroy and Paul Marshall as the hosts picked up what could prove to be a very valuable try bonus point.
Tom Isaacs and Alex Cuthbert crossed for the Blues as they showed real resilience after the break, but the 18 / 0 halftime deficit ultimately proved too much.
Glasgow Warriors’ draw at Leinster means Neil Doak’s side stay second, but they will be pleased to have forged a bit of a buffer between themselves and the chasing pack
The Warriors have announced that hooker Dougie Hall will retire from rugby at the end of the season, while prop Jon Welsh and assistant coach Shade Munro will also leave the club.
Shade has been part of the coaching staff at the Warriors since 2003 and will leave his role this summer when his contract expires.
Dougie arrived from Edinburgh in 2007 and has gone on to make 141 appearances for the PRO12 side over an 8-year spell. In the summer he will join one of the club’s sponsors, McCrea Financial Services.
Jon, who joined Glasgow in 2008 and has gone on to make 106 appearances, will join Newcastle Falcons for next season.
A Fijian rugby player has died in his sleep aged just 32 midway through a tournament.
Prop Iosefo Bele Tabalala failed to wake up at his team’s hotel room, the Fijian Rugby Union (FRU) said on Saturday.
“His room mate and medical team in camp tried all efforts to revive him,” the FRU said in a statement.
Tabalala, a 32-year-old member of the Brothers Rugby Club in Brisbane, had been playing for the Fiji Warriors in the World Rugby Pacific Challenge.
Saracens, LV Cup champions
Ben Spencer kicked a last-ditch penalty to win the LV Cup for Saracens.
After a pulsating second half which saw 5 tries scored, Spencer had the kick with the scores at 20 / 20 with time up on the clock and the scrumhalf kept his nerve to win the trophy for the 1st time in the club’s history.
Somewhere, shaking his cauliflower ears in dismay, a grizzled old retired prop was probably secretly wishing someone would just stick the ball up his jumper and make a cautious 3 inches.
For everyone else watching this was surely the most thrilling day that 5 or 6 Nations rugby has seen: a fantasy finale, a chest-squeezer and knee-knocker, a day to fall back in love.
There are the stats: 221 points scored across the 3 matches, the most in a single weekend – 27 tries, run in from deep and wide and everywhere in between.
There was England’s record score against France, Ireland’s biggest away win, the most tries Wales have scored in 1 championship half.
Then there was the style. This was rugby we thought had died and been laid to rest, killed by detailed analysis and the professional urge to be sensible.
Sensible? This was glorious chaos, March madness to put a spring in every watcher’s step and an ulcer in the stomach of every defence coach.
It should be a 3-way fight between England, Ireland and Wales for the Six Nations title on Saturday, although France still have an outside chance.
The Top 3 are locked on 6 Points with 3 wins apiece, while England’s points difference of +37 puts them 1st, ahead of Ireland’s +33 and Wales’ +12.
France are 4th with 4 Points and a points difference of +22.
Philippe Saint-Andre’s side could still steal the title if Wales and Ireland lose and Les Bleus then beat England by a margin of 8 points or more, but it looks a remote possibility.
If teams are level on points, and match-points difference, then England are likely to win the Championship on tries scored, having crossed 11 times to Ireland’s 4 and Wales’ 5. In the highly unlikely event this was also level come Saturday night, the trophy would be shared.
Wales are in action 1st away to Italy in Rome (14:30 SA Time, 12:30 GMT), before Ireland take on Scotland at Murrayfield (16:30 SA Time, 14:30 GMT), ahead of England’s home match against France at Twickenham (19:00 SA Time, 17:00 GMT).
With the Six Nations wide open, we assess the 4 teams’ chances.
Premiership Rugby’s bid to increase the size of the top flight to 14 clubs and suspend relegation for an unspecified number of seasons, forms a cornerstone of its negotiations with Twickenham over a new elite-player agreement.
Any change to replace the deal that runs out next year would have to be agreed by the Rugby Football Union’s 60-strong council.
The Premiership has resisted calls in the past decade to go up from 12 to 14, not least because each club’s share of central funds would drop, but the change in the way the European Cup is organised has had a significant effect. Other factors to be considered include a new television deal with BT Sport, which kicks in from the 2016 / 2017 season and is worth significantly more than the present contract, together with the extra income that will come with the new elite-player agreement. This will lead to considerably more money for all, even with 2 extra sides.