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The Brumbies have paid a dear after toppling former coach Jake White’s Sharks at the weekend.
Star wing Joe Tomane’s Super Rugby season may have come to an end, the result of a fractured cheekbone suffered in the 16-9 top-of-the-table win in Canberra.
Highlanders prop Chris King is a very lucky man to get away with a one-week ban for hitting Lions captain Warren Whiteley in the face.
King was cited for the incident, which happened in the 54th minute of Saturday’s Vodacom Super Rugby game between the two sides in Dunedin and received a yellow card from match officials shortly after the incident.
South Africa Under-20 completed a 3-0 series win over Argentina after clinching a 41-36 victory in their final encounter on Saturday afternoon at City Park.
The Junior Springboks led 24-5 at halftime. The three matches were part of the two sides’ preparations for the 2014 Junior World Championship, to be staged during June in Auckland, New Zealand.
Wallaby playmaker Christian Leali’ifano becomes the third Brumbies representative to re-sign with the Australian Rugby Union in the past week, signing a new two-year deal.
His signature follows the recent re-signings of provincial teammates Matt Toomua and Nic White and ensures Leali’ifano will remain in Australia beyond next year’s World Cup – with the talented backline star committing his future to at least the end of 2016.
Crusaders and Canterbury flyhalf Tyler Bleyendaal has become the latest high-profile New Zealand player to head abroad to continue his career.
He announced he will move to Ireland to play for the Munster at the end of this year.
All Blacks utility back Charles Piutau has been ruled out of next month’s Test series against England due to a knee injury.
The Rebels’ two Japanese internationals, Shota Horie and Male Sau, have jetted off to join their national side for the final two matches of their 2014 Asian Five Nations.
The tournament is the first chance for Asian nations to secure qualification for the 2015 Rugby World Cup in England.
Premiership Rugby have confirmed that four Semi-finalists for the 2013 /2014 Aviva Premiership Semi-finals later this month.
Now that the final Round of Premiership league matches have been completed the Semi-finalists have been determined.
Reds (17) 29 / 57 (16) Crusaders (Final Score)
The Reds and Crusaders did battle in Super Rugby at
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane at 08:05 SA Time (16:05 AEST, 18:05 NZ Time, 06:05 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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Bulls (12) 28 / 12 (12) Stormers (Final Score)
The Vodacom Bulls and DHL Stormers did battle in Super Rugby at
Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria 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.
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Cheetahs (6) 16 / 23 (16) Force (Final Score)
The Toyota Cheetahs and Western Force did battle in Super Rugby at
Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein at 17:05 SA Time (23:05 AWST, 15:05 GMT, 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.
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Brumbies (6) 16 / 9 (3) Sharks (Final Score)
The Brumbies and Cell C Sharks did battle in Super Rugby at
GIO Stadium, Canberra 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 & M-Net on TV in SA.
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Highlanders (23) 23 / 22 (0) Lions (Final Score)
The Highlanders and Lions did battle in Super Rugby at
Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin 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 & M-Net on TV in SA.
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This is the last article in the 3-part series where we run the rule over team performances so far and take a look at the chances of teams as we enter the final stretch of the regular season.
We conclude with the South African Conference, who are positioned as the bottom performing country overall, with 4 teams in the bottom 6 at present.
SUMMARY: While the Sharks fly the SA flag and have established the 1st major break at the top of the table, now 5 points clear, only the Bulls have any chance of joining Jake White’s team in the knockout stage of the season.
The Lions’ promising start has been tarnished, the Cheetahs record season last year is a distant memory, while the Stormers haven’t been so far down the table since 1996.
The first edition of ‘Springbok’, a new digital magazine launched by the South African Rugby Union (SARU), went live on Friday.
‘Springbok’ is available free online at http://www.springbokmagazine.com and will be distributed through SARU’s existing and highly successful social media channels on Facebook and Twitter, as well as via e-mail to all members of the Springbok Supporters’ Club.
Pumas (3) 14 / 15 (9) Griquas (Final Score)
The Steval Pumas and GWK Griquas did battle in the 1st Semi-Final of the Vodacom Cup at
Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit 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.
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Junior Springboks coach Dawie Theron has again reshuffled his starting line-up for the third and final match against Argentina Under-20 on Saturday at City Park in Crawford, Cape Town.
The South Africa Under-20’s have already clinched the three-match series between the two countries after posting comprehensive 78-31 and 60-14 victories respectively over the visitors.
Shane Christie has been ruled out of this weekend’s game against the Lions with a back injury that was sustained during training on Thursday.
The Cheetahs have drafted in Boela Serfontein, the older brother of Springbok centre Jan, for their Super Rugby clash against the Force in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
Boela, 25, is four years older than younger brother Jan, and yet to make his Super Rugby debut.
Auckland coach Wayne Pivac has become the latest in a growing number of New Zealamd mentors who are heading to Europe.
The Scarlets announced that Pivac will join them as an assistant coach at Parc y Scarlets next season, to further strengthen the set-up in West Wales.
Schalk Brits says forgotten Springbok lock Alistair Hargreaves has improved a lot as a player since joining English club Saracens.
Hargreaves, 28, played four Tests for the Boks in 2010 and 2011 but was always viewed as being too “lightweight” for the rigours of Test rugby.
Rebels (10) 15 / 25 (12) Hurricanes (Final Score)
The Melbourne Rebels and Hurricanes did battle in Super Rugby at
AAMI Park, Melbourne 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 & CSN on TV in SA.
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Chiefs (20) 32 / 20 (13) Blues (Final Score)
The Chiefs and Blues did battle in Super Rugby at
Yarrow Stadium, Taranaki 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 & CSN on TV in SA.
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This article is the 2nd of the series and continues the 3-part series analysing the fortunes so far and what could happen in the future with but several rounds of 2014 Super Rugby remaining.
It is time to look at the rising Australian Conference.
SUMMARY: With 3 teams in the top 6, Wallabies supporters have plenty of reasons to feel confident, the Brumbies and Waratahs are looking like contenders while the Force are arguably the fairy-tale of the campaign.
The Rebels have shown plenty of starch, even if there are few worried brows in Queensland of late.
All 5 South Africa’s Super Rugby franchises will be in action on Saturday, with the North-South derby in Pretoria the cherry on top when the Vodacom Bulls and the DHL Stormers clash at Loftus Versfeld.
The local action starts on Saturday morning at 09:35 SA Time with the Lions’ 2nd tour match in New Zealand, against the Highlanders in Dunedin. Looking back at history, the team based in Johannesburg have reason to be optimistic, but they will have to front up in the deep south of Kiwi-land.
In the 2nd match on Saturday, former Brumbies coach Jake White returns to Canberra where his Cell C Sharks take on the team from the Australian Capital Territories. These 2 sides occupy the top 2 positions on the Combined Log and it promises to be a high-intensity humdinger.
In Bloemfontein on Saturday afternoon, Toyota Cheetahs coach Naka Drotské will become only the 2nd South African coach to reach 100 matches in charge at Super Rugby level when his team takes on the Force.
The Vodacom Bulls’ Frans Ludeke is the most experienced South African Super Rugby coach with 127 matches at the helm at this level (104 for the Bulls and 23 for the Cats), but current Wallaby coach Ewen McKenzie tops the list with 131 matches as coach (66 at the Waratahs and 65 at the Reds).
The Welsh Rugby Union have revealed on Thursday that they will stage their first full trial match in 14 years ahead of next month’s two-Test South Africa tour.
Rob Howley will coach the Probables, with his fellow Wales assistant Robin McBryde in charge of the Possibles for a game that will take place at Swansea’s Liberty Stadium on 30 May.
It is Round 13 of Super Rugby 2014 this weekend! We have 7 games in Round 13, with 2 games on Friday, 4 games on Saturday and 1 game on Sunday.
The Waratahs have a bye weekend.
In June / July 2014 the Antipodian teams will catch up in played games with the South African counterparts, when the South African sides sit out for 1 Round.
The Combined Log will therefore be skewed for the majority of the competition and one has to question why individual countries are allowed to start such a long competition ahead of it’s rivals. In 2013 the Australian sides started a week early, but at least they had the excuse that they needed an extra week in the middle of the year to prepare for the British & Irish Lions series, which they lost.
While the Vodacom Cup heads towards two very competitive semifinals this weekend, one small story that will go unnoticed will be the rise of a top young new coach in Peter Engledow, who will take Griquas into their big showdown with the Pumas in Nelspruit confident of victory.
England have lost Billy Twelvetrees for most of their tour of New Zealand after he sustained an ankle injury that will keep him out of action for 6 weeks.
Gloucester centre Twelvetrees sustained the ankle injury playing for his Premiership club in the first half of last week’s match against London Irish.
Former Springbok loose forward Pedrie Wannenburg has moved from French club Castres to fellow Top 14 side Oyonnax.
Aviva Premiership Rugby club Newcastle Falcons have signed Tuilagi brothers Alesana “Alex” and Anitelea “Andy” on two-year deals ahead of the 2014-15 Aviva Premiership season.
Samoan internationals Alesana, 33, and Anitelea, 27, who both play at either wing or centre, bring the Falcons’ tally of new signings up to eight as Dean Richards continues to mould his side for next term.
Lions coach Johan Ackermann has decided to “rotate” a number of players ahead of his team’s second tour match.
The Lions take on the Highlanders in Dunedin on Saturday in a Super Rugby Round 13 encounter and the side shows a number of changes from that which lost 8-38 to the Chiefs last week.
The most significant change is at flyhalf, where Marnitz Boshoff returns at No 10 in place of Springbok Elton Jantjies – whop drops down to the replacement bench.
Head coach Todd Blackadder has named a side with 5 changes as the Crusaders head to Brisbane on Friday to face the Reds on Sunday afternoon.
Corey Flynn will be the starting hooker this week and Ben Funnell will take a spot on the reserve bench. Lock Luke Romano has come off the pine to start at No 4 alongside Sam Whitelock.
Highlanders head coach Jamie Joseph, has named the team to play the Lions at Forsyth Barr Stadium on Saturday night.
The squad returned home to Dunedin after claiming seven points from a possible 10 following a one-point loss to the Stormers in Round 12.
Lima Sopoaga has been ruled out of this week’s clash with an ankle sprain and is anticipated to be sidelined until Round 15.
Reds flanker Curtis Browning will make his run-on debut this Sunday in one of 6 changes to the starting line-up to face the Crusaders at Suncorp Stadium.
Browning, a former Australian Under-20 captain, has already played 5 games for the Reds, but never in the starting lineup. He will start at blindside flanker, in place of injured loose forward Eddie Quirk.