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The Free State Cheetahs suffered a cruel blow ahead of their Currie Cup crunch match against Griquas in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
Prop Caylib Oosthuizen is a doubtful starter for the Round Four encounter after injuring his shoulder in a freak training ground mishap on Monday.
Cheetahs assistant coach Hawies Fourie confirmed to this website that the injury is a “big worry” and that the powerful prop is going for scans to determine the full extent of the damaged.
Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie insists his team will not drastically alter their approach for their next Rugby Championship match against the Springboks in Brisbane.
McKenzie’s first two Tests in charge of the Australian side have yielded consecutive defeats to the All Blacks, but that has not deterred him from his goal of using possession more effectively.
The Wallaby coach made it clear that his team will continue to play to their strengths by holding on to the ball and using their ‘skill’ to put pressure on the opposition’s defence.
Flyhalf Demetri Catrakilis has reportedly signed a two-year deal with Western Province.
Bay of Plenty lock Culum Retallick has been suspended from rugby for two weeks, following a judicial hearing on a charge of foul play from his team’s NPC match against Hawke’s Bay last weekend.
Griquas lock Jonathan Adendorf is lucky to be alive, after being attacked at the weekend.
Heinrich Brüssow says the quality of club rugby in Japan can be compared with that of the Currie Cup in South Africa.
A rugby fan beaten to death outside Durban’s Kings Park Stadium may have been involved in more than two fights on the fatal night, the Durban Magistrate’s Court heard on Tuesday.
Prosecutor Krishen Shah said information had been received that former Royal Marine Brett Williams might have been involved in another altercation prior to the two clashes he had with the five men accused of beating him to death.
This information needed to be investigated, he said.
All Black coach Steven Hansen released 10 players from the national team to play for their national provincial championship teams in the next week.
The Springboks’ decision to continue with their overseas-based players had its first impact as the team arrived back in South Africa on Monday with no fewer than six members of the 26-man squad having to fly back to France to represent their clubs this weekend.
DHL Western Province could have the option of three top flyhalves for Friday’s Absa Currie Cup showdown against the MTN Golden Lions in Johannesburg.
Gary van Aswegen, who missed the narrow win over GWK Griquas, was back in training at the HPC in Bellville on Monday and looks likely to return to the side for the match at Ellis Park.
The Absa Currie Cup Premier Division delivered another thrilling round of action this weekend as the home teams all failed to capitalise on their advantage, resulting in a full-house of away-wins.
The Sharks pipped the Toyota Free State Cheetahs 18-15 in Bloemfontein on Friday, and on Saturday DHL Western Province edged GWK Griquas 20-19 in Kimberly, while the MTN Golden Lions hammered the Vodacom Blue Bulls 62-23 at Loftus Versfeld.
Argentina loose forwards Leonardo Senatore and Pablo Matera have been cited for alleged foul play against South Africa.
Expectations were certainly high prior to the Rugby Championship Test between the Argentinian Pumas and South Africa’s Springboks on Saturday evening, specially in light of the fact that the Springboks demolished the Pumas the week before, by beating them 73 / 13 at Soccer City. However, the cautious amongst us warned that it would not be that easy this past weekend at Estadio Malvinas Argentinas in Mendoza, Argentina.
We still expected a comfortable win by the Springboks and demanded that the Springboks also score 4 tries in the process.
Well, neither was the win comfortable nor did the Springboks score 4 tries, in fact they were outscored by 2 tries to 1 by a very brutal and difficult Pumas side, yet the Springboks still showed composure to go on and win the encounter by 22 / 17.
As a result the South African Springboks still top the Log in The Rugby Championship, with 9 out of a possible 10 Log points and a larger points difference than the New Zealand All Blacks who also stand on 9 Log points. Argentina has 1 Log point and Australia’s Wallabies have none after 2 games.
The latest flyhalf injury to hit the All Blacks seems a minor setback for coach Steve Hansen whose major issue appears to be who to cut when all players are fit.
Tom Taylor, New Zealand’s fourth-ranked flyhalf, has been sidelined for three weeks with a rib injury suffered late in Saturday’s 27-16 win over Australia where he made his Test debut with a confident display.
Canada booked their 2015 World Cup berth on Saturday with a 13-11 victory over the United States.
Pumas (17) 17 / 22 (13) Springboks (Final Score)
The Argentinian Pumas and South African Springboks did battle in The Rugby Championship at
Estadio Malvinas Argentinas, Mendoza at 21:10 SA Time (16:10 Arg Time, 19:10 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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Blue Bulls (16) 23 / 62 (20) Golden Lions (Final Score)
The Vodacom Blue Bulls and MTN Golden Lions did battle in the Currie Cup Premier Division at
Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria 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.
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Griquas (3) 19 / 20 (10) WP (Final Score)
GWK Griquas and DHL Western Province did battle in the Currie Cup Premier Division at
GWK Park, Kimberley at 15:00 SA Time (13:00 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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All Blacks (15) 27 / 16 (6) Wallabies (Final Score)
The New Zealand All Blacks and Australian Wallabies did battle in The Rugby Championship at
Westpac Stadium, Wellington 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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FS Cheetahs (15) 15 / 18 (13) Sharks (Final Score)
The Toyota Free State Cheetahs and Sharks did battle in the Currie Cup Premier Division at
Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein at 19:10 SA Time (17:10 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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Bismarck du Plessis will play in his 50th Test for South Africa off the bench against Argentina in Mendoza on Saturday.
The experienced hooker has been selected on the bench after Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer decided to select an unchanged starting 15 for the second round of The Castle Lager Rugby Championship, with Adriaan Strauss starting in the No 2 jersey.
The match 23 shows only one change from the team that beat the Pumas by 73-13 last weekend – Jano Vermaak comes onto the bench as replacement scrumhalf for Fourie du Preez.
Argentina coach Santiago Phelan has made five changes to his Rugby Championship team to play South Africa in Mendoza on Saturday.
Wallabies and former Melbourne Rebels fullback has agreed to return to New South Wales and play Super Rugby for the Waratahs in 2014.
Twenty-four-year-old Beale has signed a one year contract with his former Super Rugby team the Waratahs and the Australian Rugby Union.
Former Australia winger Digby Ioane has avoided conviction over an assault charge in an incident at a Melbourne bar when he was in the city with the Queensland Reds in March, local media reported on Thursday.
The 28-year-old, who is undergoing rehabilitation after sustaining a shoulder injury in the first test against the British and Irish Lions in June, was involved in a scuffle over a mobile phone.
MTN Golden Lions head coach Johan Ackermann has announced his team to face the Blue Bulls, in round three of the 2013 ABSA Currie Cup, at Loftus on Saturday evening.
Ackermann has made several changes to his side which narrowly lost 33-25 to The Sharks in Durban last weekend.
Wallaby back row forward Scott Fardy will make his run-on debut for Australia in the sole change made to the starting line-up for Saturday’s second Rugby Championship clash against New Zealand.
The encounter in Wellington also doubles up as a must-win for the Wallabies in the Wallabies if they are to have any hope of wrestling the Bledisloe Cup from the All Blacks.
Coach Ewen McKenzie has backed his new-look squad to respond to their opening loss against the All Blacks by giving them a chance to atone while continuing to develop as a group.
Springbok flank Juan Smith is set to make his return to the rugby field after passing a medical at French club, Toulon.
Smith, 32, earlier this year retired from rugby after an ongoing Achilles injury which plagued him since the start of 2011, but – as reported earlier this week – he left for France on Sunday with the aim of reviving his career.
Tom Taylor will make his All Black debut at flyhalf against Australia in the second Bledisloe Cup Test in the Rugby Championship in Wellington on Saturday
The starting 15 features two injury-enforced changes from the team that started last week’s Bledisloe Cup Test, with lock Brodie Retallick coming in for Luke Romano and Taylor slotting in at No.10 for Aaron Cruden.
Griquas coach Pote Human has made four changes to his side for their first Currie Cup home game against Western Province in Kimberley on Saturday.
Human also made a number of positional switches to the side that lost a lacklustre game against the Blue Bulls in Pretoria last weekend.
Springbok centre Juan de Jongh has been drafted straight back into the DHL Western Province starting line-up for Saturday’s Absa Currie Cup meeting with GWK Griquas in Kimberley (kick-off 15:00).
De Jongh, who was released from the Bok squad at the weekend, replaces Pat Howard in the No.13 jersey, the latter dropping out with a slight hamstring strain.
The Vodacom Blue Bulls team to face the MTN Golden Lions in Pretoria on Saturday sees two changes from the one that beat GWK-Griquas at Loftus Versfeld last weekend.
At scrumhalf, Ruan Snyman will earn his first start, swopping places with Rudy Paige (who drops to the bench) and Bongi Mbonambi who will start at hooker in place of the injured Callie Visagie.
Springbok assistant coach John McFarland says the manner in which they scored was the most pleasing aspect of Saturday’s Soweto hammering.
The Springboks scored nine tries as they got their Rugby Championship campaign off to a perfect start with a 73-13 victory over Argentina at Soccer City.
However, it’s how they scored their tries rather than how many that showed the improvement the team have made over the past 12 months, according to McFarland.
Wallaby coach Ewen McKenzie looks set to resist the temptation to dump his rookies after one bad performance.
There has been a clamour for McKenzie to make changes – with fullback Jesse Mogg and Matt Toomua the two players most in the firing line of the Australian critics.
GBS, Wynie Strydom & Snorrie in Soweto
Change isn’t a word that comes easily at Loftus Versfeld but a big changing of the guard is set to be announced on Wednesday as long standing team manager Wynie Strydom stands down.
Sevens looks to be the big winner as New Zealand’s professional rugby players are set to receive a significant pay increase through the new collective employment agreement.
The New Zealand Rugby Union and the New Zealand Rugby Players’ Association said today they had signed an agreement covering the professional game through to 2015.