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The Blue Bulls have further bolstered their ranks with the signing of Kings loose forward Jacques “Vleis” Engelbrecht who joins them on a three-year deal.
The hard-working Engelbrecht impressed for the Kings in their debut Super Rugby season this year, and he joins teammate Waylon Murray in heading to Loftus Versveld following the Eastern Cape side’s relegation from Super Rugby.
Kings flyhalf Demetri Catrakilis has confirmed that he will be heading back to Cape Town to play for Western Province in the Currie Cup.
The newly promoted Golden Lions will formally sit down with prop Jacobus (Bees) Roux on Tuesday to see if they can sign him on a short-term Currie Cup contract.
Roux, better known as ‘Bees’, hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons in August 2010 – when he was arrested in connection with the death of a South African police officer in Pretoria.
Roux was given a five-year suspended jail sentence in 2011 over the beating to death of Tshwane metro police officer Johannes Mogale the year before.
Springbok and Bulls flank Jacques Potgieter has signed a two-year deal with the Waratahs.
Potgieter will this week join Japanese outfit Fukuoka Sanix Blues on a six-month sabbatical, but was expected to return to the Pretoria-based franchise for next year’s Super Rugby tournament.
New Sharks director of rugby Brendan Venter is “very impressed” with the set-up at the rugby union, he said on Monday.
Coenie Oosthuizen has an ideal opportunity to cement a permanent place for himself in the Springbok squad heading towards the 2015 Rugby World Cup as coach Heyneke Meyer looks desperately for a back-up for Jannie du Plessis.
The Bok coach made his intentions quite clear this past week when he selected Oosthuizen as the back-up tighthead.
This Friday, 9th August 2013, The Sharks host Griquas at Growthpoint KINGS PARK in their first pool match of the 2013 Absa Currie Cup competition.
Friday is also Women’s Day and The Sharks would like to acknowledge and celebrate their female fans by rewarding them with free entry to the match.
The Springbok selectors have opted for continuity when they named a 30-man squad for the opening two rounds of The Castle Lager Rugby Championship later this month against Argentina.
Only three players who were not part of the Springbok squad which won the Castle Lager Incoming Series in June have been added to the squad.
They are experienced scrumhalf Fourie du Preez, who has been selected for the Springboks for the first time since the Rugby World Cup in 2011, Gurthrö Steenkamp (prop) and Duane Vermeulen (No 8), who last played for the Springboks in November 2012.
As the Southern Kings lick their wounds after their narrow exit from Vodacom Super Rugby they will now face a massive exit as players and coaches look to greener pastures both locally and abroad.
EP Kings president Cheeky Watson has played down the exit, focusing on the glass-half-full scenario, but up to 10 Kings players are likely to announce moves to other franchises and abroad in the next few days.
The Wallabies finalised their coaching team for this month’s Rugby Championship with Jim McKay to be the attack coach under Ewen McKenzie.
England Sevens Head Coach Ben Ryan has announced that after than six years in charge of the national side he will stand down.
The 41 year-old will help ensure a smooth transition takes place during the build-up to the new Sevens World Series and the recruitment process to identify his successor will be under way shortly.
The Pumas snatched a dramatic 29-27 victory over a New South Wales Barbarians team with the last kick of their match in La Plata.
Two Sekope Kepu tries at either end of the first half gave the visitors a two-point advantage going into the break.
Veteran scrumhalf Piri Weepu has been dumped from the All Blacks for the Rugby Championship, but captain Richie McCaw returns.
All Black utility back Rene Ranger has pulled out of the upcoming Rugby Championship series, citing family reasons.
Lions (8) 18 / 23 (9) Kings (Final Score)
The MTN Lions and Southern Kings did battle in the 2nd and last Super Rugby
Promotion / Relegation game at Ellis Park, Johannesburg at 17:0 SA Time (15:00 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 (9) 27 / 22 (16) Brumbies (Final Score)
The Chiefs and Brumbies did battle in the Final of Super Rugby 2013 at Waikato Stadium, Hamilton at 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 07:35 GMT, 17:35 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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Here are the Super Rugby team sheets for the two teams contesting the Final of Super Rugby 2013, as they were announded.
The Wallabies may have lost the series but Australia did very well financially out of the recent rugby tour by the British and Irish Lions, a tourism industry body said Friday.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the five-week tour generated an estimated Aus$150 million ($134 million) for the economy.
Brumbies coach Jake White has named an unchanged team for this Saturday’s Super Rugby Final showdown against the Chiefs at Waikato Stadium.
It’s the third week straight White has named the same 22 and the first time that’s happened since he took over the coaching reigns, two and a half years ago.
MTN Lions head coach Johan Ackermann has announced his side to face the Southern Kings in the second leg of the Super Rugby promotion / relegation series.
The match will take place on Saturday 3 August at 17:00.
The defending Super Rugby champions, the Chiefs, were on Thursday sweating on the fitness of star wing Lelia Masaga in the countdown to Saturday’s Final against the Brumbies.
One of the guys who sit with us in the Press Box at Loftus, calls Deon Stegmann, “STEGMONSTER”, well Koos excuse me for using the same expression.
The Blue Bulls have received another blow with the news that flank Deon Stegmann will miss the 2013 Absa Currie Cup season.
It is the time of the year I always dread the most. This is the time where every Player Agent licks his lips and rubs his grubby little hands at the prospect of selling his wares to the highest bidder, with no regard to the welfare of the rugby of any Player, Country, Club, Union or Franchise.
It is the time of the year that the greedy pigs grin!
It is reported that the Stormers are chasing the signature of the mercenary called Lionel Mapoe, who’s been about everywhere now, Cheetahs, Sharks, Lions, Bulls… and possibly now heading for his 5th SA Super Rugby Franchise.
The Western Force announced today that they have signed 2 more South Africans, WP’s Marcel Brache and Chris Heiberg.
The Bulls seem to be investing, or rather re-investing in another ton of Young Guns, to replace the loss of 8 Springboks in one heap but seemingly giving no heed to the warning sirens that seriously flawed players like Dean Greyling and Werner Kruger now seem to be their most experienced players! The Blue Bulls have re-signed players like Paul Willemse (lock) and Under 20 SA star, Jacques du Plessis (looseforward) as well as a host of others… and the name Lood de Jager jumped at me, with me initially thinking that it might be the Cheetahs Super Rugby lock but alas it is the junior Blue Bulls centre who has suffered quite an injury run. See the details below on the rest of the Blue Bulls signings. In the last 3 years the Bulls have lost the services of 18 Senior Springbok players, whilst purchasing only 4 senior players from elsewhere.
The Chiefs will play the Brumbies at home in Hamilton in front of a sold out Waikato Stadium as the fixture is officially sold out.
Anything you can do, we can do better! This is the message, loud and clear, from Lions fans to their Southern Kings rivals.
The Kings have been praised for their good crowd attendances at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth, but the Lions will well and truly upstage them.
The South African Rugby Union’s (Saru’s) policy of favouring local players over overseas-based stars could be under threat, especially when the Springboks name their squad for the Castle Rugby Championship at the end of the week.
Saru have been firm that there has been no change in the policy regarding players based overseas, but a recent exodus of Boks stars may make that policy shift when the Bok squad is chosen for the November tour of Europe.
Lions president Kevin de Klerk is confident that his team will take what he believes is their rightful place in Super Rugby.
New Zealand’s front row resources have been reduced ahead of the starts of the Rugby Championship.
Springbok scrumhalf Francois Hougaard will not play again this year and will undergo surgery next week.
Australia centre Anthony Faingaa has been ruled out of the remainder of the 2013 international rugby season due to left shoulder reconstruction surgery.
South African Rugby player Bryan Habana pushed himself to new heights as he went up against British Airways’ brand new superjumbo, the Airbus A380.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P66ISniQCqY[/youtube]
The Blue Bulls Company (Pty) Ltd is pleased to announce that Piet van Zyl has agreed terms and will join the Vodacom Bulls on a two year contract from November 1st, 2013.
The Pretoria-born 23 year old scrumhalf made his Springbok debut in 2013 following some very good performances for his Super Rugby franchise, the Toyota Cheetahs.
JC Janse van Rensburg will ‘ride off’ into the proverbial sunset soon, but the long-standing captain is determined to leave the Lions with a perfect parting gift.
The 27-year-old uncapped Springbok prop wants to ensure he plays part in the Johannesburg-based franchise regaining their Super Rugby status.
Having captained the Lions to a 26-19 win over the Southern Kings in the first of the two promotion-relegation matches in Port Elizabeth last week, Janse van Rensburg will run out in front for the last time in the return match at Ellis Park on Saturday – before heading to French team Bayonne, where he signed a to-year deal.
Who remembers the old movie, King Solomon’s mines? Well, The Southern Kings, own Solomons… Alan Solomons, is off to dig for gold elsewhere. We’ve known about it, it has been denied, but still came to pass.
Kings Director of Rugby Alan Solomons will part ways with the Eastern Cape franchise after being appointed head coach of Edinburgh.
Springbok wing JP Pietersen has bid farewell to South Africa as he prepares to head to Japan to take up his contract with the Panasonic Wild Knights.