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A Springbok training squad for a Durban camp from 25 to 28 May will be named after Round 14 of Vodacom Super Rugby as the national team kicks off their preparations for the Castle Lager Incoming Series.
The Springboks will be in action for the first time in 2014 when they take on the Samsung-sponsored World XV at DHL Newlands in Cape Town on Saturday 7 June.
Making an international debut in your 30s is rare, but South African-born Saracens flank Justin Melck is relishing his chance to help minnows Germany qualify for the Rugby World Cup.
When his Saracens team-mates take on Clermont Auvergne in Saturday’s European Cup semi-final, Melck has been released to pull on the jersey of his ancestors in a test against Sweden in the unlikely rugby outpost of Stockholm.
Cape Town-born Melck, 31, who has a German passport and whose mother hails from Gondelsheim, near Karlsruhe, admits he knows little about his new team-mates and has taken some teasing from within the Saracens squad.
Brumbies (13) 41 / 23 (6) Chiefs (Final Score)
The Brumbies and Chiefs did battle in Super Rugby at
GIO Stadium, Canberra at 09:40 SA Time (17:40 AEST, 19:40 NZ Time, 07:40 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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Blues (8) 21 / 13 (3) Waratahs (Final Score)
The Blues and Waratahs did battle in Super Rugby at
Eden Park, Auckland at 07:35 SA Time (17:35 NZ Time, 15:35 AEST, 05:35 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & CSN on TV in SA.
*******************
A cutting-edge new Springbok jersey, manufactured by new official technical kit sponsors ASICS which will be used for the first time in June, was revealed in Cape Town on Thursday.
Jurie Roux, CEO of the South African Rugby Union (SARU), said this new sponsorship ushered in an exciting new era for the Springboks and all other national teams as they aim to continuously raise the bar in performance.
It is Round 11 of Super Rugby 2014 this weekend! We have 6 games in Round 11, with 3 games on Friday and 3 games on Saturday.
The Crusaders, Lions & Melbourne Rebels have bye weekends.
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.
One-time Springbok Franco van der Merwe has already played his last game for the Lions.
Golden Lions Rugby Union CEO Manie Booysen confirmed to this website that they have released the veteran lock, who will join up with Irish province Ulster later this year.
Versatile back Mark Richards has replaced Cecil Afrika in the Springbok Sevens squad for the penultimate HSBC Sevens World Series tournament next weekend in Glasgow, the South African Rugby Union (SARU) confirmed on Thursday.
Afrika was not considered for the Blitzboks’ 12-man squad to Scotland because he is still completing his rehabilitation at Stellenbosch following the groin strain he suffered in Hong Kong.
Depending on his progress, he might be considered for selection should the need arise to call up a player for the London Sevens (10 – 11 May).
Cell C Sharks Director of Rugby Jake White has named a 27 man touring squad that will travel to Australia and New Zealand for the month-long overseas leg of their tournament commitments.
The Cell C Sharks will leave for Australia on Saturday, following Friday night’s Vodacom Super Rugby clash with the Highlanders at Growthpoint KINGS PARK.
Cell C Sharks director of rugby Jake White has hinted that he will start rotating his selections more than he has so far this season once his squad reaches Australasia for the overseas leg of their Vodacom Super Rugby campaign.
Reds captain James Horwill will earn a milestone 100th cap for his side this weekend as they take on the Hurricanes in an Anzac Round clash in Wellington.
The Reds’ skipper made his debut for the club back in 2006 against the Waratahs and first captained the side in 2008.
Sam Carter returns to the starting side this Friday when the Brumbies take on the Chiefs in a Super Rugby Final rematch, Anzac Day showdown at GIO Stadium.
Two of the competition’s leading sides over the last two years go head to head in Canberra for the first time since 2011, with Carter one of just two adjustments to the side which also sees a return to the starting side of Christian Lealiifano at inside centre.
Pat McCabe moves back to the bench, while Tom Staniforth drops out of the match-day 23.
Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph has made three changes to his team to face the Sharks at Growthpoint KINGS PARK Kings Park in Durban on Saturday.
Joseph has made just two personnel and one positional change to team which beat the Bulls a fortnight ago as they kick of their South African tour.
Sam Wykes and Jayden Hayward will return to the starting line-up when the Force tackles the Bulls at nib Stadium on Saturday evening.
Wykes has recovered from a rib injury and returns to the starting pack, alongside second-rower Adam Coleman, who was impressive in his starting debut for the Force against the Rebels last weekend.
Lock Wilhelm Steenkamp will provide coverage from the bench in his first appearance against his former club since joining the Force ahead of the 2014 Super Rugby season.
The Hurricanes and the Reds will have the Anzac legacy at the forefront of their minds when they take the field this weekend.
Hurricanes captain Conrad Smith will lead his team out wearing a limited edition, poppy-embroidered jersey, which will be auctioned off to raise funds for the Returned Services Association.
Smith said playing the match on Anzac weekend was a huge honour and he was proud to represent the Hurricanes club on such an important day.
Kurtley Beale needs surgery to remove a bone spur from his foot but the Australia utility back plans to delay the operation and keep on playing until he gets some off from rugby or the pain becomes unbearable.
The 25-year-old limped off during last week’s Waratahs’ 19-12 victory over South Africa’s Bulls with what many suspected was an ankle injury that forced him to miss training on Tuesday.
There was a sudden burst of school activity over the Easter Weekend when seven school festivals were held around the country – Benoni, Grahamstown, Botha’s Hill, Port Elizabeth and three in Johannesburg.
These Easter results produced some surprises and have had a seismic effect on our Top 20, as one would expect.
Vodacom Bulls coach Frans Ludeke made five changes to his starting line-up to face the Force in Perth on Saturday, with suspension, rotation and injury forcing his hand.
Three changes are at the back.
Jurgen Visser has recovered from the foot injury that ruled him out of the Waratahs clash shortly before kick-off and slots in at fullback, where he replaces Ulrich Beyers. Francois Hougaard moves back to the base of the scrum following the knee-injury sustained by Piet van Zyl and a fit-again Akona Ndungane returns to his regular spot on the wing.
Flip van der Merwe has been suspended for 3 weeks, following a Judicial Hearing, following a punch on the weekend, against the Waratahs!
Hearing Details: Wednesday 23 April 2014 at 08:00 SA Time, 16:00 AEST, 18:00 NZ Time
Judicial Hearing Chairman: Adam Casselden
Player: Flip van der Merwe
Team: Bulls
Position: Lock
Date of Incident: 19 April 2014
Nature of Offence: Law 10.4 (a) Punching or Striking. A player must not strike an opponent with the fist or arm, including the elbow,shoulder, head or knee(s).
Elapsed time in match when incident occurred: 75th minute
Director of Rugby Jake White has been forced to make changes to the Cell C Sharks backline, but welcomes back two players from injury for Friday night’s Vodacom Super Rugby clash with the Highlanders.
This is their final home game ahead of their four match tour to Australia and New Zealand and along with the desire to maintain their 100% success record at home is hopping on the plane on Saturday in a positive frame of mind, something victory on Friday night would ensure.
The South African Rugby Union will discuss the reintroduction of the quota system into the local game as soon as next month in order to align itself with the demands made by the Minister of Sport surrounding transformation in the game.
SARU president Oregan Hoskins said that the sport will need to make “radical, drastic, immediate changes” to comply with the pressure being brought upon it by the Sports Ministry after Saru and other federations met with the government regarding the proposed changes, including a possible reintroduction of quotas into the Absa Currie Cup and Vodacom Super Rugby competitions.
But Hoskins has committed rugby to embracing the changes, and will see them as ‘a positive’ – even though they may not be ideal in the short term.
Cheetahs flyhalf Johan Goosen will not play against the Stormers in Bloemfontein this weekend after failing a concussion test.
The Bok playmaker took a knock against the Crusaders in Round Nine and has still not recovered fully after sitting out the defeat to the Sharks in Durban last week.
Stormers eighthman Nizaam Carr has tweeted a picture of himself at the dentist – missing a front tooth!
Blues flyhalf Simon Hickey will captain New Zealand at the 2014 IRB Junior World Championship to be held in New Zealand in June.
Hickey, who has played six Super Rugby games for the Blues, scoring 78 points, returns having played in last year’s JWC in France.
A number of promising, young Super Rugby players have opted to leave New Zealand for bigger money deals abroad.
According to the Radio New Zealand website, Hurricanes fullback Andre Taylor has signed a two-year deal with Japanese club, Kintetsu Liners.
He joins team-mates Jarrad Hoeata (lock) and flank Jack Lam, Blues prop Tom McCartney and Chiefs centre Bundee Aki in recently accepting big overseas offers, while former All Black flank Tanerau Latimer is reportedly also heading to Japan next year.
Heinrich Brüssow is not just hype, he is the ultimate openside flank.
The 27-year-old Cheetahs star, who played the last of his 20 Tests in the 2011 World Cup quarterfinal, returned to Super Rugby for the Cheetahs against the Sharks last week after missing the first half of the season with a fractured toe – suffered while playing for his Japanese club.
And while the Cheetahs lost 8-19, the influence and value of Brüssow was there for all to see.
Cheetahs lock Lood de Jager says he’ll be ready should Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer call on his services for the June Test matches.
De Jager, 21, broke his finger in the Cheetahs’ 19-8 loss to the Sharks in Durban at the weekend.
New Zealand Rugby and the Blues have agreed and confirmed the terms of Benji Marshall’s release from his Super Rugby contract.
Following Friday night’s match against the Hurricanes, Blues head coach Sir John Kirwan and Benji Marshall had some frank and honest discussions and mutually agreed the best path forward was for Marshall to return to rugby league.
After notching up an important away against the Stormers in South Africa three weeks ago, Waratahs coach Michael Cheika is now looking to add a second, naming an unchanged starting 15 for the Anzac Day clash against the Blues in Auckland.
Although the ‘Tahs won the last encounter between the sides, it’s four years since their last win, a narrow 27-22 Phil Waugh-led victory at Eden Park back in March 2009. The only other two contests to be played in Auckland since then both came in 2011, when the Blues recorded back-to-back wins, with the latter (a 26-13 Super Rugby qualifying final result) ending the Tahs’ finals hopes.
The Chiefs have announced their team to play the Brumbies in what looms as a tantalising re-match of the 2013 Super Rugby Final at GIO Stadium Canberra on Friday afternoon.
“It is special to be playing a match against an Australian team on Anzac Day,” said Chiefs head coach Dave Rennie.
Blues head coach Sir John Kirwan has made four changes to the starting XV for Friday’s Anzac day clash with the Waratahs at Eden Park.
In the only change to the forward pack, Peter Saili makes his first start since Round 6 at No 8 in place of Steven Luatua as Kirwan looks to inject more physicality into the Blues’ game.
“We wanted to pick a pack that was really physical,” Kirwan said.
The Brumbies will play in a one-off, Anzac Commemorative jersey next Friday when the ACT-based side takes on the Chiefs in an Anzac Day, Super Rugby Final replay at GIO Stadium.
Celebrating the contributions of both Soldier On (Match Day Charity) and the Australian War Memorial, the Brumbies strip will feature iconic images on both the front and back of the jersey with the gold trim replaced by sky-blue for one night only.
Former Springbok coach Nick Mallett has said that South Africa’s Super Rugby conference is significantly weaker than their Australasian rivals.
In his role of guest speaker on SuperSport, Mallett said he had been disappointed by South Africa’s poor performance in the tournament thus far, particularly their lack of ability to create opportunities on attack and score tries.
“Our conference is definitely the weakest and our teams aren’t performing,” Mallett said.
As we head into Round 11 of Super Rugby 2014, an alarming stat for South African fans is the lack of tries on display from teams from these shores.
Four South African teams currently comprise the bottom six in the tries scored category.
A Junior Springbok squad bolstered by several players with Vodacom Super Rugby experience was named by SARU in Cape Town on Tuesday for the 2014 IRB Junior World Championship to be hosted by New Zealand from June 2 to 22.
Handré Pollard (flyhalf, Vodacom Bulls), André Esterhuizen (centre, Cell C Sharks), Sergeal Petersen and Aidon Davis (both Southern Kings) as well as Malcolm Marx (hooker, Lions) have all either played Vodacom Super Rugby or have been part of their respective franchise’s Super Rugby training groups.
The squad also sees the return of several players who did duty for the South Africa Under-20’s in France last year, where they claimed the bronze medal.