Bullscot
George North
Northampton Saints will face no sanction following the investigation into their treatment of Wales wing George North’s latest head injury.
However, the concussion review panel concluded that the 24-year-old should not have returned to the field of play after he fell in a mid-air tackle against Leicester on 3 December.
The panel’s 17-page report stated that head injury assessment (HIA) protocol was followed correctly, but the Saints medical team have accepted that North may have lost consciousness.
“The CMRG considered the welfare of North was always at the centre of Northampton’s actions, and does not consider that the medical team (or the club) failed to complete the HIA protocol nor intentionally ignored the player’s best interests.”
Josh Strauss
Josh Strauss will make his 100th appearance for Glasgow Warriors in Friday night’s European Rugby Champions Cup match against Racing 92 at Scotstoun.
The Warriors won 23-14 against the French side in Paris last Saturday.
All 7,351 tickets have been sold for the Pool 1 encounter.
Stuart Hogg continues at full-back and Tommy Seymour and Lee Jones complete the back-three.
Alex Dunbar, who scored one of the tries last weekend, links up with Sam Johnson in midfield.
Last week’s Man of the Match Finn Russell is at fly-half and Ali Price, who scored Glasgow’s second try in Paris, starts at scrum-half.
Edinburgh Rugby Acting Head Coach Duncan Hodge has made eight changes to his starting side to face Stade Francais in the second of back-to-back European Challenge cup fixture against the Parisian outfit tonight (Thursday) at Stade Jean Bouin (kick-off 8.45pm local).
The majority of changes come in the pack where five players come in to start following Saturday’s round four 28-23 defeat of the French side.
In the front-row Simon Berghan and Ross Ford – who will captain the side – are promoted from the bench to start, while Fraser McKenzie is named in the pack in place of Grant Gilchrist.
Nasi Manu is set to don the number eight shirt while Cornell Du Preez packs down on the blindside flank.
Tom Brown returns from a groin injury to start on the wing in the only change to the back-three, with Chris Dean coming in at inside centre and Jason Tovey given the nod at stand-off.
Dylan Hartley
England captain Dylan Hartley will be available for their opening fixture of the Six Nations against France after receiving a six-week ban for striking.
The 30-year-old caught flanker Sean O’Brien with a swinging arm during Northampton Saints’ Champions Cup loss to Leinster on Friday and received the third red card of his career.
He has now been suspended for a total of 60 weeks.
Hartley, who pleaded guilty to the charge at an independent disciplinary hearing in London on Wednesday, is able to play again from 23 January.
George North
Northampton will be “frustrated” that an investigation into the management of wing George North’s latest head injury has still to reach a conclusion, says ex-Saints team manager Lennie Newman.
A concussion panel was set up after North, 24, played on after landing on his head in the loss to Leicester.
The review, which is said to be “rigorous”, will now go into next week.
“And, first and foremost, they want to get one of their star signings on the pitch. They’re struggling at the minute and want to be able to select him.”
Players making contact with an opponent’s head in “reckless tackles” will receive a yellow card at least in changes to rules over high tackles.
Players will be punished even if the tackle starts below the shoulders.
If head contact is accidental – for example, if a ball-carrier slips into a tackle – a penalty will be awarded.
A reckless tackle occurs when a player “knew or should have known that there was a risk of making contact with the head of an opponent, but did so anyway”.
In September 2015, World Rugby’s chief medical officer Martin Raftery said that the game’s rules may have to change to reduce concussions.
CJ Stander starred for Munster against Leicester Tigers
When you consider the calibre of opposition, it is perhaps the Guinness PRO12 clubs’ most successful weekend in Europe.
Leicester, two-time European champions and the most successful club in English Premiership history were dismantled by Munster, held to nil for the first time in Europe for 13 years.
Clermont Auvergne lead the Top 14, are packed full of French internationals and have been one of the Champions Cup’s most consistent teams in years gone by, while Ulster put five sterling tries past them.
Glasgow Warriors claimed just their eighth away win in Europe’s top flight against last year’s finalists and Top 14 champions, while Edinburgh turned over French giants Stade Francais from 17 points back.
Here is all you need to know about a stunning weekend of Champions Cup and Challenge Cup action across the continent:
Munster maintained their winning start to the European Champions Cup as they handed Leicester Tigers a record defeat in the competition. Final score: Munster 38/0 Leicester Tigers
The Pool One game was over by half-time after fly-half Tyler Bleyendaal’s 14 points and a Simon Zebo try.
Jaco Taute added two second-half tries and also created the late penalty try as he was hauled down by George Worth.
Saturday’s result also brought back memories of the only other time the Tigers were held scoreless in a European Cup game, when they were beaten 33-0 by Ulster in January 2004.
Munster’s win keeps them on top of Pool One as they move to 10 points despite having played a game less than Glasgow and Leicester, with the Tigers now six points behind the leaders.
The curtain has come down on the Autumn Internationals and there can now be little doubt that the gap has closed between the north and south. However, the prevailing question is: Have the Northern Hemisphere teams strengthened or have the Southern sides weakened?
In my book, it’s a 60:40 split. Forty per cent is owing to much better cohesion from Northern Hemisphere teams and continuity in terms of selection under the guidance of astute coaches. However, 60 per cent is due to the fact that Southern Hemisphere rugby has waned. Harsh questions have to be asked around competition structures in the south, as well as eligibility of foreign-based players.
Five years ago on Tuesday Glasgow Warriors made a signing that might not have had the immediate impact in the fans’ consciousness of a Simone Favaro or a Taqele Naiyaravoro but who has surely had more influence over the club’s fortunes than any single player. Nathan Bombrys has successfully managed the Warriors’ budget and commercial and matchday operations during a period in which the club has grown almost beyond recognition.
He may have been born (and raised) in the USA but Nathan has been immersed in rugby for many years. He first discovered the game at Syracuse University (go Hammerheads!) and played for 17 years. He also qualified as a referee – a fact possibly best kept secret given the Scotstoun crowd’s sometimes fractious relationship with match officials! He wasn’t at SU simply for the rugby though, graduating with a BFA in Film Drama of all subjects. Is Nathan’s influence the real reason for all the dramatic slow-mo shots that are a regular feature of Warriors’ HQ?
The best thing to come out of Michigan since the Ford Mustang, Nathan has been the driving force behind the club’s off-field transformation.
Nemani Nadolo
Nemani Nadolo has become one of rugby’s biggest cult stars, possibly because he is one of the biggest men in the game. This weekend he will play for Fiji against England at Twickenham in a match reportedly set to net the RFU approximately £10,000,000. Fijian players will receive £400 each, and the Fiji Rugby Union will receive a £75,000 ‘goodwill gesture’. Most fans of the game think this stinks.
However, in a heartfelt letter, Nemani Nadolo says it is not the players complaining about payments:
Over the last 48 hours a number of news reports have suggested the players in the Fijian team have made complaints about the allowance we receive to play for our country and to honour our people this weekend when we face England at Twickenham. I want to tell you all that this is simply not true.
Holders England will face the USA, Italy and either Scotland or Spain in their opening pool at next year’s Women’s Rugby World Cup in Ireland.
Scotland will book their spot at next August’s tournament if they beat Spain in this month’s play-off over two legs.
Ireland are joined in Pool C by fellow 2014 semi-finalists France, Australia and either Fiji, Hong Kong or Japan.
New Zealand won four successive World Cups between 1998 and 2010 but were knocked out in the pool stage in France two years ago after suffering a surprise defeat by Ireland.
The winners of the Asia/Oceania qualifier between Fiji, Hong Kong and Japan will join 2013 and 2015 Six Nations champions Ireland, plus top seeds France and Australia in Pool C.
The Asia/Oceania runners-up will play in Pool A alongside Canada, New Zealand and Wales.
Italy head coach Conor O’Shea has selected a matchday 23 with youth and experience for their clash against the All Blacks in Rome on Saturday.
For his first Test in charge on home soil, O’Shea has handed Treviso’s Giorgio Bronzini an international debut at scrum as part of an untested halfback partnership with Carlo Canna, who has only 12 caps to his name.
Skipper Sergio Parisse will win his 120th cap in the back row, breaking the appearances record he had shared with prop Martin Castrogiovanni.
Zebre’s player Andries van Schalkwyk has been selected to start alongside Marco Fuser in the second row. This is an interesting selection as the player, who played for many South African unions, normally plays in the back row.
Niko Matawalu
Exeter Chiefs head coach Rob Baxter believes new signing Niko Matawalu can add some real ‘X-Factor’ to his backline after he today agreed a deal until the end of the season.
The Fijian international will head to Sandy Park from Aviva Premiership rivals Bath Rugby and will join up with his new team-mates once the current autumn internationals are concluded.
Equally at home either on the wing or at scrum-half, Baxter believes the 27-year-old is a great addition to the Chiefs make-up and is excited at what he can bring to the club moving forward.
“Initially Niko’s joining until the end of the season,” said Baxter. “Initially we want to have a good look at him and then we’ll see if there is an opportunity beyond that.
“As a club we’re really looking forward to bringing him here. We had a good look at him previously when he first decided to move on from Glasgow to Bath, but now the opportunity has arisen for us to sign him and it’s come at the right time for us.
We’re not expecting him to be 100 per cent straight away as he has had a relatively lengthy injury, but he’s fully fit now, he’s ready to play, and we’re hoping he will get some good game time during these autumn internationals to help get him right up to speed.”
Currie Cup
Although the Currie Cup has been treated like an unwanted stepchild this year, the competition has still produced quality matches and some exceptional players have emerged.
The South African Rugby Union has been marketing and pushing the Springbok brand so exclusively that traditional derby games like the Blue Bulls versus Western Province have been played on Friday afternoons at 17.00!
Who in the world thought it fit to play such a big derby game on a day and at a time like that?
It’s no secret that the Golden Lions repeatedly asked that the deciding pool match between them and the Sharks be moved away from the Friday 17.00 time slot.
SARU wanted nothing of it.
Because the Lions had no big derby match on a Saturday during this year’s Currie Cup competition, the biggest crowd attendance was just on 8,000.
I will let you do the sums.
Eben Etzebeth
Springbok lock Eben Etzebeth could earn substantial amounts during a short stint in England.
Bok coach Allister Coetzee told the media in London on Monday that the Stormers lock was set to sign a short-term deal with a Premiership club in England.
Etzebeth, 25, was earlier linked with a move to Saracens, a club which boasts a rich tradition of fielding South African players.
That move failed to materialise, but according to Netwerk24, the lock enforcer is now being linked to Bristol.
According to the Afrikaans publication, rumours are doing the rounds that Etzebeth could earn up to £40 000 (about R665 200) per game.
The Western Province Rugby Football Union confirmed on Monday that it had applied for, and obtained, an order for the provisional liquidation of Western Province Rugby (Pty) Ltd, in which it is a 75% shareholder.
President Thelo Wakefield and Group CEO Paul Zacks said that the union had retained expert legal and accounting advice and had fully explored all options before applying for liquidation of its commercial trading entity.
As Rory Best declared in his on-field post-match interview at a rowdy Soldier Field in Chicago, it’s been a long time coming. Just the 111 years, that’s all. But at last, that black stain in Irish rugby has been removed, with a first ever victory over the All Blacks in 29 attempts.
Fully deserved it was too. Soldier Field crackled with atmosphere, vast swathes of the 63,300 bedecked in green watched Ireland dominate vast swathes of the first-half and kept counter-punching in a riotous rollercoaster of a second half, ultimately outscoring the back-to-back world champions and runaway winners of the Rugby Championship by five tries to four, and thus end their world record 18-match sequence of test wins.
Eben Etzebeth
Saracens are in advanced talks to sign South Africa lock Eben Etzebeth on a short-term deal.
Etzebeth is set to move to England following his international matches in November.
The 24-year-old is contracted to the Stormers and the South African Rugby Union, but last year had a three-month spell in Japan during the southern hemisphere off-season.
South African sources have indicated a similar deal is expected with Saracens.
Etzebeth, who has 53 Springbok caps, is regarded as one of the best forwards in world rugby, and the deal would be one of the biggest signings in Premiership history.
The deal would have to be approved by SA Rugby and, if it is completed, Etzebeth would act as injury dispensation for Saracens’ former club captain Alistair Hargreaves, who was forced to retire this month because of concussion.
Faf de Klerk and Damian de Allende were included in Springbok starting line-up to face the All Blacks in Durban on Saturday in the final Test of the 2016 Castle Lager Rugby Championship.
The two personnel changes are both due to injuries – scrumhalf De Klerk comes into the starting team again as a replacement for Rudy Paige, who suffered a concussion in the victory over the Wallabies in Pretoria, while De Allende replaces Jesse Kriel, who was ruled out of action as a result of his groin injury.
In a positional change in midfield, Juan de Jongh moves from inside to outside centre, with De Allende now wearing the No 12 jersey. The two wings, Bryan Habana and Francois Hougaard, will swap jerseys for this Test.
The rest of the match-day squad was kept unchanged from the line-up that defeated the Wallabies by 18-10 last Saturday.
Rudy Paige will make his starting debut for the Springboks on Saturday at Loftus Versfeld in the team’s penultimate Castle Lager Rugby Championship fixture of the year.
The inclusion of Paige at scrumhalf is one of three changes made to the Springbok line-up that started the match against the All Blacks two weeks ago in Christchurch.
Paige, who has made four Test appearances from the Bok bench, will partner the experienced Morné Steyn in the halfbacks. They take over from Faf de Klerk and Elton Jantjies respectively, both of whom started in the last six Tests of the year.
The only other change to the starting line-up sees Pat Lambie return to the team for the first time since he suffered concussion in the series opener against Ireland in June. Lambie will play fullback, where he is preferred over Johan Goosen. The Cell C Sharks player, who will earn his 52nd Springbok cap, has already scored 137 Test points in the Green and Gold jersey.
The Springbok forward pack that played against the All Blacks in Christchurch was kept unchanged, with hooker Adriaan Strauss again leading out the team after he suffered a knock to the lower back in New Zealand.
Alan Solomons
Langilangi Haupeakui
There were some big news announcements yesterday from both of Scotland’s professional clubs. The one from Edinburgh Rugby was about a departure while the one from Glasgow Warriors was about an arrival. Sticking one’s neck out it would seem that both announcements were seen as positive news by the clubs’ fans.
Edinburgh Rugby announced that Head Coach Alan Solomons was leaving and would be replaced in the interim by Duncan Hodge while Glasgow Warriors announced the acquisition of powerhouse player Langilangi Haupeakui from US PRO Rugby outfit Sacramento Express.
Alan Solomons vacates his post before completing his contract which would have taken him to the end of the current season. His previous contract expired at the end of last season and he had signed to stay on for one more year in Edinburgh.
There has always seemed to a bit of mixed feelings between the Edinburgh fans with some rather more supportive of Solomons than others. He took over at a time were really struggling and for some he has brought stability to the club and a measure of success, taking Edinburgh to a European Cup final, albeit in the second tier of Europe, and claiming back the 1872 Cup from bitter rivals Glasgow Warriors.
His critics feel that he has not done anymore with Edinburgh than a local coach could given the same level of investment and felt that his game plan was far too prescriptive and conservative and stifled his team, now where have we heard that before? It would seem that he didn’t have the copyright on this as far as many South African coaches go in the eyes of the various sets of fans.
Chris Ashton
Saracens and England winger Chris Ashton has been banned for 13 weeks after being found guilty of biting Northampton prop Alex Waller.
After a six-hour hearing, a disciplinary panel found the 29-year-old bit Waller on the arm at a ruck during Saracens’ 27-12 Premiership victory at Allianz Park on Saturday.
The panel looked at two counts of biting but dismissed the second charge.
Ashton, who denied both offences, can play again on 19 December.
Saracens will receive a full written judgment from the disciplinary panel on Thursday, then have 24 hours to decide whether to appeal.
The minimum suspension for a guilty verdict was 12 weeks, with a more serious offence potentially carrying a punishment of up to 208 weeks.
Toulouse let Florian Fritz play on in the match after this head knock
“It’s definitely a game of how big can we get them, how quickly, and let’s see if they can cope – otherwise, we’ll move them on.”
Shaun Longstaff, the former Scotland wing turned international rugby agent, might be talking about broiler chickens or beef cattle, livestock and commodities, rather than professional sportsmen.
But this is the ruthless business of modern rugby at the elite end – and the source of Longstaff’s alarm.
Longstaff, 44, has seen the game change, watched players pump themselves bigger and stronger. He’s observed the physical toll – the enforced retirements, the frightening and lingering symptoms of concussion.
He seeks the counsel of surgeons and scientists, and finds himself holding increasingly frank exchanges with his players about their quality of life after rugby.
And he worries about his role in it all, the path his sport is treading, and what might become of those whose careers and well-being he oversees.
Head coach Alan Solomons says criticism of Edinburgh’s playing style is ‘manifestly unfair’.
Solomons watched his team register their first win of the Pro12 season against Scarlets at Murrayfield, but some have criticised the side’s lack of attacking ambition under his stewardship.
“Personally I think the criticism is unfair,” Solomons said. “This talk they are under instruction not to run the ball is nonsense.”
Solomons is adamant that Edinburgh’s attacking prowess has developed under his assistant Duncan Hodge.
“We have worked very hard on our attack, Hodgy is doing a good job and it is a question of playing the conditions correctly and getting the result. It is professional sport and it is about winning.
“No-one has given them any instruction on how to play. They have all the options available to take under our game management plan. That criticism is manifestly unfair.
“We are improving year on year. We are carrying a number of injuries [Al Dickinson, Anton Bresler, Nasi Manu, Jason Tovey, Will Helu and Damien Hoyland are all currently unavailable] and we are not a big budget squad.
“We are not Toulon. We don’t have a massive amount of money but I think we have a good group of players.”
Warren Gatland and John Spencer
The 1971 and 1974 Lions were the greatest touring teams that have departed these shores, but the monopoly they appear to have on key positions in the Four Home Unions is now coming under scrutiny. The appointment of John Spencer, the 1971 Lions and England centre, as manager of the 2017 Lions is a case in point.
Spencer’s installation was not greeted with unanimous approval, and the same was true when Tom Grace, the 1974 Lions and Ireland wing, was appointed as Lions chairman.
The 1971 and 1974 Lions have rightfully had a major influence on the future of the touring side, and that has been recognised with luminaries from those sides being awarded the majority of the management, coaching and administrative roles in the intervening 40 plus years.
However, exactly how appointments are made in Lions rugby has always been shrouded in fog.
Four Home Unions appointments have always had a whiff of the clandestine about them, with vested national interests and horse-trading to the fore. As a result, in the professional era they have been a mixed bag.
Rugby administrators worldwide are nearing an agreement on a new rugby union calendar, which will come into effect after the World Cup in 2019.
It has been learned there will be fewer international matches, with summer tours set to be scrapped at least once per four-year cycle.
The Six Nations will not move from its traditional February to March slot.
The Lions are set to tour in July and August in 2021.
Gregor Townsend has named his team to play Leinster in the 1st home game of the new season tomorrow afternoon (kick-off 15:00 BST, 14:00 GMT, 16:00 SA Time).
The Warriors will run out on the new artificial pitch at Scotstoun Stadium for the 1st time in front of a crowd in excess of 7 000.
Following last Saturday’s 41 / 5 win over Connacht in Galway, Fraser Brown replaces Pat MacArthur at hooker and Sila Puafisi comes in for Zander Fagerson at tighthead prop.
After his man of the match display last weekend, Stuart Hogg once again starts at fullback, with Leonardo Sarto named on the right wing and Tommy Seymour lining up on the opposite side.
Alex Dunbar and Sam Johnson form the centre partnership, with Peter Horne and co-captain Henry Pyrgos continuing at flyhalf and scrumhalf respectively.
Gordon Reid is once again named at loosehead prop and he’ll pack down in the front row alongside Brown and Puafisi.
Tim Swinson and co-captain Jonny Gray start their 2nd consecutive game together in the engine room.
It’s also the same loose forwards which started in Galway last Saturday, with Rob Harley, Simone Favaro and Ryan Wilson combining.
Alex Allan and Lee Jones come onto the bench, with Ryan Grant and Sean Lamont not involved this weekend. Allan could make his 1irst appearance in a Warriors shirt since February.
Springbok coach Allister Coetzee has included Francois Hougaard, Juan de Jongh and Jesse Kriel in a revamped backline for the Castle Lager Rugby Championship Test against the Wallabies at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Saturday.
In the only change amongst the forwards, tighthead prop Lourens Adriaanse will earn his first start for the Springboks in place of Vincent Koch, while Eben Etzebeth will become the youngest player ever to reach the milestone of 50 Tests for South Africa this weekend.
Coetzee made four changes in total to the back division which featured in the loss to Argentina in Salta two week ago. One of them is because of injury while another is a positional switch.
Hougaard comes into the side as replacement for Ruan Combrinck, who suffered a fractured leg against the Pumas, and he will play on the left wing, meaning the experienced Bryan Habana moves over to the right.
The new centre combination of De Jongh and Jesse Kriel gets a run in the place of Damian de Allende and Lionel Mapoe, who has been included on the replacements bench. De Jongh and Kriel both featured as replacements for South Africa in the first two Tests against Argentina, in Nelspruit and Salta.
Warren Gatland
Warren Gatland has been named British and Irish Lions coach for the 2nd time and will lead them on the 2017 tour of New Zealand.
The Kiwi will step down from his job with Wales and be replaced on a temporary basis by Rob Howley.
“It’s a huge honour when you get offered probably the biggest job in world rugby against the best opposition in world rugby,” said Gatland.
The Lions have not won a series against New Zealand since 1971.
“When I was offered the position, it was definitely a ‘yes’ straightaway,” added Gatland. “To challenge yourself against the best, there is no bigger challenge.”
Howley took over from Gatland the last time the 52-year-old took on the Lions role in 2013, when they went to Australia and claimed a 2-1 series win.
Gatland intends to travel to New Zealand on Thursday with tour manager and former England captain John Spencer to start planning.
The Lions face 10 games on what will be an extremely challenging trip, which includes 3 Tests against the All Blacks – unbeaten on home soil since 2009.
It was a challenge to keep up with the fast moving events surrounding Scottish rugby last week.
It was announced Gregor Townsend would succeed Vern Cotter as head coach of Scotland and just 24 hours later Dave Rennie was unveiled as the man who will take charge at of the Warriors at the start of next season.
Speaking in the Herald Gregor said: “It all happened very quickly. I was involved in the [Warriors] strip launch, then, one hour later, I was given the Scotland job. I had barely had time to digest that, when I was speaking to Dave Rennie about the succession at Glasgow.
“However, Glasgow will remain my No 1 priority this season. We have a huge season coming up and I want to leave a positive legacy for Dave to work with.
“I have known Dave for four or five years, over which we have kept in touch. I feel there is a great similarity in our approach to coaching, we both look for the same skills sets in players, the clubs have a similar culture in how we want to play rugby and Dave is a good fit for Glasgow.
“We will work together in player recruitment and so on, I expect he will be over here in November once the Super Rugby season is over and we will be working to make the transition as smooth as possible.
“Once it was announced I was leaving, the players opened a sweepstake as to my successor, and one of them guessed. They seem happy at the choice the SRU have made.”
Julian Redelinghuys will earn his 1st start for the Springboks against Argentina in Nelspruit on Saturday, while Bryan Habana, Johan Goosen, Oupa Mohoje and Lood de Jager all return to the side for the 1st Castle Lager Rugby Championship Test at the Mbombela Stadium. Redelinghuys, capped 4 times, comes in at tighthead as replacement for the injured Frans Malherbe, who is struggling with a neck injury.
Lock De Jager has recovered from the calf injury he sustained against Ireland in June and takes over the No 5 jersey from Pieter-Steph du Toit, who will provide cover from the bench.
The 3rd change in the pack sees the return to the starting line-up of Mohoje as replacement for Siya Kolisi, who recently underwent ankle surgery.
In the back division, Springbok record try scorer Bryan Habana will run out in his 118th Test after he was named as left wing, while he was also confirmed as the Springbok vice-captain.
The versatile Goosen, who is equally at home at flyhalf and centre, has been entrusted with the fullback duties, the same position where he played in his previous outing for the Springboks, in 2014 against Italy.
Former South African Rugby Union president Oregan Hoskins (Photo by Luke Walker/Gallo Images)
Mr Oregan Hoskins announced on Wednesday that he was stepping down as president of the South African Rugby Union (SARU) after a decade of service and achievement.
Mr Hoskins advised the membership of SA Rugby at a meeting of the General Council in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
“I have enjoyed a remarkable ten and a half years in one of the most high-profile roles in South African sport and have enjoyed some incredible highs,” said Mr Hoskins. “It has been a pleasure and a privilege and I want to thank everyone involved in South African rugby for the fantastic journey we have shared.
“There have also been plenty of challenges to confront but I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way – it’s an indication of how much our sport matters in this country.
South Africa Sevens bronze winning team
It is the most gutting of stories, and it could not have happened to a more influential player.
Seabelo Senatla has been the superstar in the Blitzboks set-up since 2013 and a fundamental part of the build-up to Rio 2016.
His finishing and raw pace have combined to make him one of the most feared players on the world circuit.
If South Africa were going to succeed at the Olympics, nobody would have deserved it more than Senatla.
But tragedy struck on Wednesday when, in South Africa’s quarter-final against Australia, he injured his wrist.
Speaking after that match, Senatla was confident that he would be okay to play in Thursday’s semi-final against the Australians.
But those who were there and saw the way he was nursing his right hand had their doubts.
Australia’s women beat New Zealand 24-17 to win the first ever Olympic rugby sevens gold medal, after Great Britain lost to Canada in the bronze match.
Favourites Australia outscored the Black Ferns four tries to three, with two of those coming while New Zealand’s Portia Woodman was in the sin bin.
Meanwhile, Britain’s women missed out on Olympic medal as they lost 33-10.
Canada – who lost to GB in the pool game between the two – led throughout in the bronze medal match.