grootblousmile
Glasgow Warriors have signed South African prop Rossouw de Klerk from the Cheetahs, subject to a visa and medical.
The 24-year-old has put pen to paper on a two-year deal at Scotstoun and will join up with Gregor Townsend’s squad for pre-season training at the end of the month.
The 1.85m tighthead began his senior career in Pretoria, making his debut for the Blue Bulls in 2009. He went on to make 41 appearances for them, 14 of which were in Super Rugby.
In 2013 de Klerk joined the Cheetahs and has made 14 appearances in the Vodacom Cup and Currie Cup and has played seven times in Super Rugby this season.
Hi Rugby-Talkers,
Another milestone reached… 11 Million Page Impressions!
We silently slipped past the 11 Million mark on 23 July 2014 in the afternoon some time.
Recently things have been happening quickly on Rugby-Talk.com… it was just the other day when we loudly celebrated the 10 Million Page Impressions mark. These milestones are still very important as we keep growing past these milestones and set the benchmarks for other sites to follow or to admire.
Rugby-Talk.com already proudly boast 9 960 News Articles and a further 219 Web Pages, as well as 350 275 Comments.
Our audience is still growing daily and it remains a pleasure to be involved in Rugby-Talk.com and to serve and enjoy the sport we love.
Once again an ideal opportunity for us to thank all those who subscribe to as well as read Rugby-Talk.com… it is really appreciated. A special word of thanks also goes to our regular Authors here, who supply the content we all enjoy.
Keep reading and keep keep contributing!
Henning van der Merwe
The Eastern Province Kings have signed Henning van der Merwe as their new kicking coach.
EP Rugby CEO, Charl Crous, confirmed that Van der Merwe, 28, had been signed until the end of the 2017 season.
Coenie van Wyk
The Cheetahs have added another exciting backline player to their stocks after securing the services of Pumas fullback Coenie van Wyk.
The 26-year-old, who represented the Lions with aplomb in this year’s Super Rugby competition, will join the Cheetahs after this year’s Currie Cup.
Van Wyk will join the Cheetahs on a two-year deal.
The Waratahs and Crusaders will be heavily favoured to advance to a Sydney final, but the two Vodacom Super Rugby play-off qualifiers played this weekend did breathe some much needed life into a competition that is sometimes accused of being too predictable.
As expected, the home teams did advance to next week’s round of semifinals, but it was a close run thing in both Canberra and Durban. More than that, the quality of rugby produced, and the entertainment value, was just what the doctor would have ordered if the goal of a medical consultation was to find out what could increase interest for the remaining two weeks.
Of the two winning teams, the Brumbies and the Sharks, it is the former who should go into the semifinals feeling most upbeat. They relaxed when they thought they had the game won and the Chiefs showed their championship qualities one last time before eventually conceding their run of success had come to an end by launching a brave, gutsy and classy fightback.
Once condemned to playing catch-up, the Chiefs produced some of their best rugby in a while, and may well have won had they shown just a bit of temperance in their commitment to attack, for it was their tendency to concede penalties in their own half by trying to play too much rugby there that cost them the game.
Richie McCaw
All Black captain Richie McCaw is likely to start for the Crusaders in their Super Rugby Semi-Final against the Sharks in Christchurch on Saturday.
McCaw, who has not played since fracturing a rib while captaining the All Blacks against England last month, took part in the Crusaders’ training session on Monday.
Assistant coach Tabai Matson said that McCaw only needed to emerge unscathed from training over the next two days to confirm his place in the side for the match at AMI Stadium.
Tana Umaga
Former All Black and rugby legend Tana Umaga is open to coaching the Singapore Super Rugby franchise if they win the bid to be one of the expansion teams in 2016.
The Counties Manukau coach has been involved with the Asian country for a few years now, he will coach the Asia Pacific Dragons in there in a game against the Maori All Blacks later this year.
Singapore is currently in a battle with Japan to be one of the teams included in Super Rugby when it increases to an 18-team competition in 2016.
Umaga would be a worthy candidate with his ability to lure players through his name and presence, as such he is already being touted as a front-runner to coach the team.
Sri-Lanka and South Africa battle each other in the 1st 5-Day Cricket Test at Galle International Stadium in Sri-Lanka from 16 to 20 July 2014. Play starts early for SA viewers, as Sri-Lanka is a few hours ahead of South Africa in the time zones, so it is daly from about 06:00 SA Time every day.
South Africa have just won the ODI Series by 2 – 1, their first ever in Sri-Lanka.
The score cards will be updated at regular intervals here on Rugby-Talk.
South Africa won the toss and elected to bat first.
South Africa started well on Day 1 and then slightly lost their way towards the end of Day 1. At Stumps on Day 1, South Africa were 268 / 5, after 91 overs. On Day 2 South Africa continued their strong form and declared with 9 wickets down on 455 / 9 after 166.2 overs, leaving Sri-Lanka to field 12 uncomfortable overs before the close of play on Day 2 and with Sri-Lanka ending on 30 / 0 (12 Overs).
On Day 3 Sri-Lanka was steadily losing wickets and after 60 Overs bowled in the Sri-Lankan 1st Innings they were 165 / 4 (60 Overs). At close of play on Day 3 they were reeling at 283 / 9 after 100 Overs.
On Day 4 the Sri-Lankans were all out for 292 after 104.5 Overs and South Africa in their 2nd Innings declared at 206 / 6 (50.2 Overs). The Sri-Lankan 2nd Innings is underway, a target of 370 set.
At Stumps, Day 4, Sri-Lanka was 110 / 1 (32 Overs), 260 runs needed to win the game. One now wonders whether the South Adrican captain, Hashim Amla, declared the South African 2nd Innings too early!
On Day 5 the South African bowling attack and specifically the pace attack, obliterated the Sri-Lankans.
South Africa won the Test comfortably, by 153 runs.
South Africa:
-
First Innings – 455 / 9 Declared (166.2 Overs)
-
Second Innings – 206 / 6 Declared (50.2 Overs)
Sri-Lanka:
-
First Innings – 292 (104.5 Overs)
-
Second Innings – 216 (71.3 Overs)
Sharks (13) 31 / 27 (17) Highlanders (Final Score)
The Cell C Sharks and Highlanders did battle in the Play-Off Round of Super Rugby at
Growthpoint Kings Park, Durban at 17:05 SA Time (15:05 GMT, 03:05 Sunday NZ Time, 01:05 Sunday AEST).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
*******************
Brumbies (22) 32 / 30 (10) Chiefs (Final Score)
The Brumbies and Chiefs did battle in the Play-Off Round of Super Rugby at
GIO Stadium, Canberra at 11:40 SA Time (19:40 AEST, 21:40 NZ Time, 09:40 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
*******************
It is the Play-Off Round of Super Rugby 2014 this weekend! We have only the 2 Play-Off games in this Round, as all teams below Log position 6 has now been dispatched and the Top 2 teams have a nice rest weekend, with both games on Saturday.
This is the final crunch to sort the men from the boys, to sort the teams going forward into the Semi-Finals.
The Waratahs and Crusaders sit comfortably at the Top of the table and the Brumbies, Chiefs, Cell C Sharks and Highlanders compete in this Round.
It is winners take all in these Play-Off games, the losers joing the other 9 Teams who have already been dispatched to also-ran’s.
Bonus points for tries and losses within 7 now does not matter anymore, all that is needed is a win.
Let the games continue….
SASCOC have confirmed enforced late changes to the rugby sevens squad to compete at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.
Cheslin Kolbe, the Western Province and Stormers speedster, has been withdrawn by Western Province due to a knee injury.
Warrick Gelant was due to replace Kolbe but was injured at the weekend and will undergo surgery this week. This sees Mark Richards, a member of the gold-medalling SA sevens team at the World Games in Colombia last year, coming in as a late replacement.
Flip van der Merwe
Springbok and Bulls lock Flip van der Merwe is only expected back on the field next year, but he’s already determined to make a positive return going into the next Rugby World Cup.
Van der Merwe suffered a serious knee injury during the second Springbok Test against Wales in June. He’s set to be sidelined for six months, which means he’ll only make his comeback during next year’s Super Rugby tournament.
The 29-year-old will miss the Springboks’ Rugby Championship campaign and end-of-year European tour, as well as the Blue Bulls’ Currie Cup campiagn.
A midfield match-up, the scrumhalves, the battle between the pilferers on the deck and an arm-wrestle at scrum-time come under focus as Sport24 pinpoints a quartet of areas that could tilt the balance between the Sharks and Highlanders.
The teams meet in a Super Rugby finals series first-round knockout match at Kings Park on Saturday (17:05) and these are the individual contests Rob Houwing highlights for special attention…
South Africa’s fastest growing online retailer takealot.com has signed on as the official headline sponsor of the rapidly growing Cape Town 10’s for 2015. The world’s biggest 10’s tournament, now known as takealot.com Cape Town 10’s will return to Hamilton’s Rugby Club for their seven year anniversary on 6 and 7 February 2015.
Commenting on the decision to sponsor the event, Kim Reid, CEO of takealot.com said, “We are very excited to be associated with the Cape Town 10’s. It’s an event that shares similar brand characteristics to our own, being fun, young, innovative, dynamic and most importantly customer focused.”
Frik Kirsten
Bulls prop Frik Kirsten has been advised by doctors to call time on his rugby career due to a serious neck injury.
Kirsten, 25, has been out of action since March after injuring his neck in the Super Rugby competition.
According to reports, the injury is so serious that doctors have advised Kirsten to never play rugby again.
Ben Daley
Ben Lucas
Reds prop Ben Daley and flyhalf Ben Lucas face lengthy rehabilitation periods after both suffered injuries in their team’s loss to the Waratahs.
Daley dislocated his shoulder in a scrum collapse in the late stages of the game, with scans yesterday revealing damage to his rotator cuff. He will have exploratory surgery next week to determine the full extent of the damage.
Lucas suffered an articular defect in his right knee joint during the opening stages of the match and had surgery today. He will be out of action for eight weeks.
The Queensland Rugby Union will field two teams in the inaugural Australian National Rugby Championship this year.
Brisbane City and Queensland Country will compete in the competition and the schedule was unveiled by the Australian Rugby Union on Wednesday.
Brisbane City will host the Sydney Stars in a first-round blockbuster at Ballymore Stadium in Brisbane on Thursday 21 August.
Bill Pulver
Australian Rugby Union (ARU) CEO Bill Pulver believes that the new National Rugby Championship (NRC) will provide the ‘missing link’ in Australian rugby.
The nine-round championship, plus two weeks of finals, will feature all non-Test-playing Super Rugby players plus club players in a 10-team competition which Pulver believes has the potential to be a major developmental boost for the sport in Australia.
“I believe we now have a comprehensive development pathway probably for the first time in Australian rugby,” Pulver said.
Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph denies his side is lacking energy heading into the play-offs and says it is time to get excited about playing in the finals.
After a poor outing against the Crusaders in their last pool game the Highlanders know they will have to play much better if they are to be competitive in their long-awaited play-off match against the Sharks.
They never fired in Christchurch on Saturday, the 34-8 defeat from the Crusaders ensured they finished sixth in the competition and have to head to Durban to take on the Sharks.
Earlier this season, the Highlanders beat the Sharks 34-18 in Durban. The Sharks are not looking as impressive as they were at the start of the season, when they led the table for a long period of time.
The Golden Lions Rugby Union has named their CONTRACTED SQUAD for 2015. They also boast 4 Ex-Springboks amongst the Management and Coaching staff.
Kevin de Klerk, Rudolf Staeuli, Ashwin Willemse and Johan Ackerman, all Ex-Springboks are all in important positions at the Golden Lions Rugby Union, from President down to Head Coach.
Contracted Players:
The Golden Lions Rugby Union (GLRU) has announced its new contracted player list for the 2015 season.
While financial constraints remain a challenge for the Lions, retaining talent remains their main priority. This is not unheard of as all South African unions have suffered financial constraints and must content with increasing pressure from the lucrative European and Japanese markets.
With the GLRU not yet covered by a title sponsor, the union has secured the input of several valuable partners to assist in the procurement process. Through building stronger relationships with stakeholders, the Lions put on a record-breaking Super Rugby showing, after the franchise’s return to top flight competition in 2014.
They finished the Super Rugby season in 12th spot, but surprised many pundits with their seven victories, capped by a 60-25 thrashing of the Cheetahs last weekend.
An established buy-in value system from coaching staff, players and management has seen the Lions secure the services of both top-class experienced and up-and-coming players.
The Brumbies are determined to avoid getting into a ‘brutal arm-wrestle’ with the two-time defending champion Chiefs.
The two sides meet in Canberra on Saturday in the first match of the 2014 Super Rugby play-offs, a preliminary qualifier.
Having found some late-season form – with victories over the Blues (11-8 this past weekend) and Hurricanes (24-16 the week before) – the Chiefs muscled their way from ninth to fifth on the table in the past fortnight.
As we head into the Super Rugby Finals Series, here is an overview of what happens should the scores be level at full time in any of our remaining matches.
(a) Extra Time – the procedure will be:
After a five minute rest period, the extra time is played in two 10-minute periods with a two minute half time;
Before extra time begins, the referee will do a coin toss with the two captains one minute before the new kick-off. The winner of the coin toss decides if his team wants to kick-off or if his team wants to choose the side of the pitch it wants to play on for the first 10 minute period;
For the second 10 minute period, the teams change sides and the team that did not kick off in the first period does so;
Coaches are not permitted on the field during the rest period or half time.
Teams and match officials must remain on the field during the rest period and at half time.
Injury time is added to the two 10 minute periods.
Schalk Burger
He didn’t get what he wanted from the last game of the Vodacom Super Rugby season, which was for his DHL Stormers team to buck the trend of failure in marquee matches, but typically that did not place a massive dent in Schalk Burger’s good humour afterwards.
“I’m not going to see you guys for a while. It would be nice to have you staying over with us in Japan sometime. Get an excuse to come and write about the South Africans playing in Japan and we will be happy to host you,” was the Stormers captain’s grinning parting statement as he left the Newlands boardroom following the post-match press conference after the defeat to the Sharks.
The amiable Burger that we saw after the game was a stark contrast to the angry and frustrated player we saw on the field during the game. The match was brutal at times, and Burger was at the heart of the tempestuous physical exchanges. It was also evident that he allowed the referee Jaco Peyper to get under his skin for what the Stormers may have seen as his inability to stop dubious Sharks tactics at the breakdown.
Jimmy Cowan
Veteran All Black scrumhalf Jimmy Cowan will return to New Zealand after two seasons in the English Premiership.
The 32-year-old Cowan has signed to play for the Tasman Makos in the NPC.
The Tasman Rugby Union confirmed he has signed a one-year deal, after seeing out two injury-affected seasons at Premiership club Gloucester.
The FIFA Football World Cup 2014 ends this weekend in Brazil.
The only games remaining are the 3rd Place Play-off on Saturday 12 July 2014 and the Final on Sunday 13 July 2014!
In the 3rd Place Play-off game, Brazil face Netherlands
In the grand Final, it is Germany vs Argentina.
Who will be crowned Football World Champion in 2014?
All of the games are live on TV in SA on SS3 HD, SS3 & Maximo.
Stormers (10) 10 / 34 (19) Sharks (Final Score)
The DHL Stormers and Cell C Sharks did battle in Super Rugby at
Newlands, Cape Town at 19:10 SA Time (17:10 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
*******************
Lions (27) 60 / 25 (13) Cheetahs (Final Score)
The Lions and Toyota Cheetahs did battle in Super Rugby at
Ellis Park, Johannesburg at 17:05 SA Time (15:05 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
*******************
Reds (3) 3 / 34 (17) Waratahs (Final Score)
The Reds and Waratahs did battle in Super Rugby at
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane at 11:40 SA Time (19:40 AEST, 09:40 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & SHD on TV in SA.
*******************
Crusaders (17) 34 / 8 (3) Highlanders (Final Score)
The Crusaders and Highlanders did battle in Super Rugby at
AMI Stadium, Christchurch at 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 07:35 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & SHD on TV in SA.
*******************
Bulls (12) 40 / 7 (7) Rebels (Final Score)
The Vodacom Bulls and Melbourne Rebels did battle in Super Rugby at
Loftus Versveld, Pretoria at 19:10 SA Time (03:10 Saturday AEST, 17:10 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
*******************
Brumbies (21) 47 / 25 (6) Force (Final Score)
The Brumbies and Western Force did battle in Super Rugby at
GIO Stadium, Canberra at 11:40 SA Time (19:40 AEST, 17:40 AWST, 09:40 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & SHD on TV in SA.
*******************
Blues (0) 8 / 11 (3) Chiefs (Final Score)
The Blues and Chiefs did battle in Super Rugby at
Eden Park, Auckland at 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 07:35 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & SHD on TV in SA.
*******************
It is Round 19 of Super Rugby 2014 this weekend, the last Round of the ‘Open Rounds’ of 2014! We have 7 games in Round 19, with 3 game on Friday and 4 games on Saturday.
This is the final crunch to sort the men from the boys, to sort the teams going forward and those who have run their course.
Ten teams remain in the race for play-off spots.
It has already been established that the Waratahs will stay at the sought after No 1 spot on the Combined Log, but the other positions are largely up for grabs.
The Hurricanes have a Bye weekend and will have to rely on other results to see them finish in the Top 6.
This is the weekend where some results become critical and where certain sides can open up doors for themselves, whilst burrying some of those teams around and in close proximity to them on the Logs.
Let the games continue….
Super Rugby’s reputation as perhaps the toughest rugby tournament has in turn led to a number of historic factors that can enhance title success.
The Waratahs, by sheer percentage, will be 66.6 percent to win the title, based on 12 of the 18 Super Rugby winners coming from the illustrious group that has finished a regular season of tough combat top of table.
This has always led to the hosting of a Final, and now a week off – both significant advantages in a tournament such as this.
However while New South Wales looks impressive, do they tick all the boxes that history has noted when a franchise wins Super Rugby?