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Cheetahs flanker Heinrich Brüssow will miss the first few weeks of Super 15 Rugby and is only expected back in March this year.
Whilst most of you were slaving away in 2011, it was time for the holiday of a lifetime. You probably wondered where I was, well it would be cruel not to share in a bit of the fun.
Bombs AWAY!
Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph has named Jamie Mackintosh as captain of New Zealand’s southern most franchise for the 2011 Super Rugby season.
Queensland Reds coach Ewan Mckenzie has selected a strong squad for his team’s first pre-season match against the Crusaders on Saturday, January 29 in Cairns.
The Lions will head to Cape Town for the Neo Africa Tri-series against the Stormers and Sharks without Springbok flyhalf Elton Jantjies.
Bulls flanker Derick Kuün will captain the Bulls in their 1st pre-season friendly against the Southern Kings in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.
Springboks Bjorn Basson and Chiliboy Ralepelle will have to wait a while longer before they know their fate in the ongoing doping saga.
Analysis of the new Super Rugby format shows that the new format could favour Australia as they have two of the newest Super rugby teams in the Rebels and the Force.
The new Super Rugby format has the 15 teams split into conferences which are geographically based. In short, the teams have been split into three pools – one for each country.
He may not be ready for the warm-up fixture against the Lions at Newlands on Friday week, but the chances are good that Jaque Fourie will be opposing the same opponents when the Stormers start their Super Rugby campaign on 26 February.
The Brumbies have effectively told Matt Giteau that he should pack his bags at the end of the season. They regard Adam Ashley-Cooper as far more valuable.
This is the gist of the message from Brumbies boss Andrew Fagan, who made it clear that they will be working very hard on retaining Ashley-Cooper.
Stormers coach Allister Coetzee may already know the answer, but he is not about to make public his choice as back-up flyhalf to Springbok Peter Grant.
Western Force captain Nathan Sharpe could be ruled out for the start of the new Super Rugby season, the first big blow for new head coach Richard Graham.
Businessman and now part owner of the Lions rugby union, Robert Gumede, spoke to Jacques van der Westhuyzen about his vision for the Lions.
232 SAFFAS PLAYED ABROAD IN 2010!
New Super Rugby franchise The Melbourne Rebels are ready to unleash former Western Province and South African under-18 player JP du Plessis onto the world stage during this year’s tournament.
The Vodacom Bulls will continue to play matches in stadiums built for the 2010 Soccer World Cup in South Africa.
Vodacom Bulls scrumhalf, Francois Hougaard, will be out of action for four weeks after picking up a foot injury in training.
Player management in this, a World Cup year, is once again in the spotlight. And the three-time defending champion Bulls seem to have the perfect blueprint on the subject.
The two-time champion Brumbies were dealt a cruel blow, both to their player resources and leadership corps, with Wallaby captain Rocky Elsom ruled out of the early rounds of the expanded Super Rugby competition.
Former Springbok assistant and Bulls coach Heyneke Meyer has warned of an impending catastrophe if teams do not get their planning right for this year’s Super Rugby competition.
Matt Giteau will wait to see if he needs “something fresh” before deciding where he will play beyond the end of 2011.
A national lottery organised to fund Fiji’s participation at this year’s Rugby World Cup in New Zealand could instead deepen its financial problems as it faces a fine of F$125,000 (US$82,500) for discounting tickets.
Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder has revealed that just two of his All Blacks will be on prescribed resting plans in the new Super Rugby tournament for the Rugby World cup later this year.
The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) have said that they will not negotiate for player release with England’s Premier Rugby Limited but only with England’s Rugby Football Union. This applies to Welsh internationals playing for Premiership clubs in England.
Wallabies skipper Rocky Elsom is fearing that the start of his 2011 season could be hamstrung by injury, although there is hope that he won’t require any major surgery ahead of a busy World Cup year.
Former Blue Bulls flyhalf Jacques-Louis Potgieter says that the Sharks have the right mix of playing style which will help them in the upcoming Super Rugby season.
The former Free State Cheetah left the Bulls earlier this year to join the Sharks and is fitting in well in Durban and says that the Sharks are similar to the Bulls in their set up.
All Blacks lock Ali Williams has been familiarising himself with his new temporary home in England, the Nottingham Rugby Club.
According to the allblacks.com website, Williams, who is recovering from a second Achilles tendon rupture, is to play up to four games for the side as he attempts his recovery ahead of the Super 15 season in New Zealand.
The fixtures for the fourth-ever FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International have been announced; with the 2011 tournament kicking-off in Bloemfontein in February when Shimlas play host to UCT in a repeat of one of last season’s semifinals.
It is Christmas Eve, time for the usual… the Christmas message from the Main Monster, the Big Induna who Smiles…
Former All Black Doug Howlett was arrested on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly at the Munster Christmas party in the Irish city of Kilkenny.
Danré Gerber, son of the great Springbok centre Danie Gerber, is off to ambitious Bayonne as a ‘medical joker’ – a replacement allowed in a Top 14 squad, in France, in the case of injury.
Fewer home Tests, a shortened Tri-Nations and no end of year tours in a Rugby World Cup year means that the three big Southern Hemisphere powers will as a consequence earn less money in 2011.
James broke back into the Springbok squad last season but was injured playing for them in the TriNations.
Now that he is back in the fold for South Africa he stands a chance of playing in the Rugby world cup next year.
Cardiff Blues eighthman Xavier Rush has beeen suspended for one week for a dangerous tackle on Northampton Saints lock Courtney Lawes.
Springbok captain John Smit has been given the all clear to return to the playing field and has already been training for a month.
The Lions and Sharks have both upped the ante as the tug-of-war for the services of iconic Springbok prop Tendai Mtawarira drags on into the festive season.