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Scotland’s Stuart Hogg made a public apology after being sent off during his side’s record Six Nations defeat by Wales in Cardiff on Saturday.
The full-back was given his marching orders at the Millennium Stadium by French referee Jerome Garces in the 22nd minute following a late shoulder charge into the face of Wales fly-half Dan Biggar.
Garces intially produced a yellow card but, after viewing replays on the stadium’s giant screen, changed it to a red.
Wales captain Sam Warburton is set to miss the rest of the European season and the tour of South Africa after suffering a suspected dislocated shoulder injury against Scotland.
Back-row forward Warburton completed Wales’ record 51-3 rout of Scotland in their Six Nations finale at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium.
France (13) 20 / 22 (12) Ireland (Final Score)
France and Ireland did battle in the Six Nations tournament at
Stade de France, Paris at 19:00 SA Time (18:00 French Time, 17:00 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 5 & SH5 on TV in SA.
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Sharks (25) 35 / 20 (6) Reds (Final Score)
The Cell C Sharks and Reds did battle in Super Rugby at
Growthpoint Kings Park, Durban at 17:05 SA Time (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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Lions (17) 39 / 36 (0) Blues (Final Score)
The Lions and Blues did battle in Super Rugby at
Ellis Park, Johannesburg at 15:00 SA Time (13:00 GMT, 02:00 Sunday NZ Time).
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 (20) 28 / 23 (9) Waratahs (Final Score)
The Brumbies and Waratahs did battle in Super Rugby at
Canberra Stadium, Canberra at 10:40 SA Time (19:40 Canberra Time, 08:40 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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Highlanders (16) 29 / 31 (21) Force (Final Score)
The Highlanders and Western Force did battle in Super Rugby at
Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin at 08:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 06:35 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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Hurricanes (29) 60 / 27 (20) Cheetahs (Final Score)
The Hurricanes and Toyota Cheetahs did battle in Super Rugby at
Westpac Stadium, Wellington at 05:35 SA Time (16:35 NZ Time, 03:35 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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De Kock Steenkamp has become the Stormers latest casualty, as the struggling team’s second row resources are stretched to the limit.
Steenkamp suffered groin injury in his team’s 20-36 loss to the Chiefs in Hamilton on Friday – a result that saw the men from Cape Town drop to second from last on the standings, just above the winless Hurricanes.
South Africa and Australia battled each other in the 3rd and last T20 Cricket International at SuperSport Park, Centurion, from 18:00 SA Time on Friday 14 March.
This was the last game for the 2 sides, before departing for the T20 International World Cup, starting on Sunday.
Australia won the match and the T20 Seires by 2 / 0, after the 1st game in the series was rained out and abandoned and after the 2nd game was reduced to 7 overs a side, where Australia won earlier in the week.
Australia won with 5 full overs to spare and by 6 wickets.
The score cards was updated at regular intervals here on Rugby-Talk.
South Africa: 128 / 7 (20 Overs)
Australia: 129 / 4 (15 Overs)
Highlanders’ wing Buxton Popoali’i has announced his retirement from all rugby.
The popular Highlanders and Otago wing has recently undergone heart surgery to fix a heart valve.
Pieter-Steph du Toit underwent a scan to his knee yesterday with the disappointing news that he sustained an ACL injury and will be out for the remainder of the year.
Rebels (9) 19 / 25 (12) Crusaders (Final Score)
The Melbourne Rebels and Crusaders did battle in Super Rugby at
AAMI Park, Melbourne at 10:40 SA Time (19:40 Melbourne Time, 21:40 NZ Time, 08:40 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 (17) 36 / 20 (6) Stormers (Final Score)
The Chiefs and DHL Stormers did battle in Super Rugby at
Waikato Stadium, Hamilton at 08:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 06:35 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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It is Round 5 of Super Rugby 2014 this weekend! We have 7 games in Round 5, with 2 games on Friday and 5 games on Saturday.
The Vodacom Bulls have a bye weekend.
In June / July 2014 the Antipion 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.
The Sharks were dealt a cruel blow in the build-up top their Super Rugby encounter with the Reds on Saturday.
Springbok lock Pieter-Steph du Toit has been ruled out of the Round Five clash, following a training ground mishap on Thursday.
Wales, France, Ireland, England, Scotland and Italy have named thie teams for the weekend’s Six Nations action.
Wales named 6 changes in their side for the clash against Scotland.
France made 4 changes to their side, including bringing back Gael Fickou, for their clash against Ireland on the weekend.
Ireland made just 1 change to their side to face France.
England made no changes to their starting side and has made only 1 change on the bench, bringing back Manusamoa Tuilagi in the place of Alex Goode, for their clash with Italy in Rome.
After initially only naming the forwards and sweating over the composition of his backline, Scotland coach, Scott Johnson, has named his backline, with Edinburgh winger Dougie Fife winning his first cap.
Italy coach, Jacques Brunel, has made 3 changes to the Italy side, to face England, with Sergio Parisse returning to the fold and leading the team.
The Blues and Highlanders of New Zealand have named their teams for this weekend’s Super Rugby clashes.
The Blues play against the Lions in Johannesburg.
The Highlanders play the Western Force in Dunedin.
The Western Force, Melbourne Rebels and Reds have announced their Super Rugby teams for this weekend’s clashes.
The Western Force play the Highlanders in Dunedin.
The Melbourne Rebels play the Crusaders in Melbourne.
The Reds play the Cell C Sharks in Durban.
The Bulls are reportedly eager to attain the services of Springbok and Cheetahs flyhalf Johan Goosen.
The 21-year-old’s contract with the Cheetahs expires on 31 October this year and it appears the Cheetahs will have their hands full to convince him to stay in Bloemfontein.
The International Rugby Board clamped down on foul play in the Pacific Cup tournament this week.
Four players from Samoa were handed bans for various acts of foul play.
Five players from the Samoa A team were cited, following the Pacific Cup match between Argentina Pampas and Samoa A in Canberra on Tuesday (11 March).
Lions coach Johan Ackermann has formally asked for “clarity” on certainly questionable rulings made by referee Jaco Peyper in their encounter with the Sharks last week.
Ackermann – who made it clear he is not blaming the match officials for the 23-37 loss in Durban, he laid at the door of a “poor start” by his side and “a lack of discipline” – has written to SANZAR Games Manager Lyndon Bray and South African referees’ boss Andrew Watson.
Cheetahs coach Naka Drotské has named his side to take on the Hurricanes in Wellington on Saturday.
The coach made a few changes to his backline after last week’s 43-33 loss to the Reds in Brisbane.
Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder has named his team to play the Rebels with several players being retained from last week but wearing different numbers on their backs.
Blackadder has kept 19 of the 23 players that beat the Stormers 14-13 last weekend but moved several of them to new positions.
New Zealand flyhalf Dan Carter is hoping to bring an end to his sabbatical and make his Super Rugby return for the Crusaders in July.
The 32-year-old, the highest points scorer in test rugby, is hoping the six-month rest will help extend his international career through New Zealand’s defence of the World Cup in 2015.
SANZAR has released the names of the officials for Round 5 of Super Rugby 2014. Craig Joubert starts the action this weekend in Hamilton when the Chiefs host the DHL Stormers.
This weekend has 7 games, with 2 games on Friday and 5 on Saturday.
The Vodacom Bulls have a bye weekend.
The coastal teams made a charge up the standings at the conclusion of Round 6 of the 2014 FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International on Monday night.
There were important wins for FNB UCT, FNB NMMU and FNB Maties in an enthralling penultimate round of matches before the play-offs, leaving the competition wide open heading into the final week of league action.
The Ikey Tigers ran in four tries against FNB UFS-Shimlas to secure their first victory at home on the Green Mile this season and move into second place, just four log points behind pace-setters FNB NWU-Pukke.
The Cape team scored three tries playing into the wind in the first half and then went on to claim the bonus point after half-time as they romped to a 25-5 victory. This result leaves UFS-Shimlas down in sixth place after starting the round in third position.
Torrential rain in the northern part of the country had a big say in the other three matches, as FNB UJ and FNB UP-Tuks slumped to defeats at home, whilst NWU-Pukke were forced to work hard for their victory over FNB Wits in Potchefstroom.
Defending champions UP-Tuks suffered their second consecutive defeat at home, as the Madibaz ground out a crucial 19-9 win which saw them move past the Pretoria side into third place on the standings. It was NMMU’s second big scalp of 2014, having beaten the Maties back in Round 1.
The fixtures for the Absa Currie Cup Qualifying Competition and the new eight-team Premier Division were released by the South African Rugby Union (SARU) on Tuesday.
The Qualifying Competition, which will be contested by GWK Griquas, the Leopards, SWD Eagles, Boland Cavaliers, Down Touch Griffons, Border Bulldogs and Valke, will kick off on the first weekend of June and run until 19 July, when the top team on the log will be granted entry into the Absa Currie Cup Premier Division.
The Cell C Sharks will lose one player but are expected to get back another one or even two for this Saturday’s Vodacom Super Rugby clash with the Reds at Growthpoint KINGS PARK.
The DHL Stormers side has suffered some injuries whilst on tour, with Scarra Ntubeni and Patrick Cilliers sent back to South Africa.
As a result, the Stormers are looking for suitable replacements to join them on tour.
In addition they have tried to obtain the services of Griquas hooker on loan, Martin Bezuidenhot, which have apparently been unuccessful.
Jake White has indicated that any kind of honeymoon period is over for his Cell C Sharks team, with the next three weeks of Vodacom Super Rugby presenting a significant step up from what has gone before for his log-leading side.
The good news for Sharks fans is that their team will be going into the sequence of matches described by White as a massive challenge – against the Reds (home), Vodacom Bulls (away) and Waratahs (home) – with the significant presence of JP Pietersen back in the mix.
Wales coach Warren Gatland has revealed that his star fullback Leigh Halfpenny will miss the rest of the season after dislocating his shoulder in the 29-18 loss to England at Twickenham.
Former All Black Brad Thorn has a chance of returning to Super Rugby this weekend and playing for the Highlanders against the Western Force.
The thirty-nine-year-old damaged some cartilage playing for the Highlanders in their season opening match against the Blues.
Waratahs coach Michael Cheika has made just one change to his starting lineup for Saturday’s showdown with the Brumbies, with skipper Dave Dennis returning to the side.
Dennis takes over from Stephen Hoiles on the side of the scrum after recovering from the knee injury that sidelined him from the win against the Reds two weeks ago.
Blues hooker Keven Mealamu has been forced to return home early from South Africa with a calf injury that is likely to cause Steve Hansen some concern as the All Blacks coach finalises his planning for the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
The veteran forward has battled calf injuries for the last three seasons and sustained another strain to his left leg ahead of the Super Rugby match against the Bulls in Pretoria last week.