superBul
We are reaching the end of the line for nine of the 15 teams in the 2011 Super Rugby season. So many if’s and but’s happened this year and with the last week having so many permutations one can call the new format a success. Some teams made a mess of their draw and other exploited it better. Let me sum up what I enjoyed this year and what I did not.
Springbok winger Bryan Habana’s request for a R21-million contract has been turned down by French big spenders, Toulon because he is “too expensive”.
The club, who had no problem hauling out the cash to lure the likes of Sonny Bill Williams, Victor Matfield, Jonny Wilkinson, Gavin Henson and lately Bakkies Botha has withdrawn from negotiations to bring Habana to France after the World Cup because his demands are excessive.
Hougaard gives Bulls a scare
We’ve achieved nothing – Spies
Plumtree: Play full 80 minutes
Baby Bokkies (27) 42 / Ireland (19) 26 (Final Score)
Stadio Comunale di Monigo, Treviso
Bulls (11) 32 / Cheetahs (0) 21 (Final Score)
The Vodacom Bulls hosted the Toyota Cheetahs at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria. The Bulls won in spectacular fashion but took a great risk at the end to go for the 4 try bonus point at all costs, leading with only 4 points at the time. In the 84th minute Francios Hougaart crashed over for the 4th try. The final score gives one the impression that it was an easy win, the fact are that if it went wrong the Cheetahs would have won this well contested match.
The Bulls have now moved to No 7 on the Combined Log, playing the Waratahs next, who is in No 6th spot, one point ahead of the Bulls.
Sharks (13) 26 / Waratahs (11) 21 (Final Score)
The Sharks hosted the Waratahs at Mr Price Kings Park, Durban at 17:05 SA Time. This was the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
The Sharks left it late but ground out the necessary win, moving them to No 5 on the Combined Log.
The Bulls have a scrumhalf crisis ahead of Saturday’s Super Rugby match against the Cheetahs at Loftus Versfeld.
Having had their their first-choice No 9 Fourie du Preez ruled out for four weeks with a knee injury at the beginning of the week, the Bulls suffered a further blow when Francois Hougaard hurt his ankle in training on Tuesday.
The prospects of three teams from either New Zealand or South Africa making Super Rugby’s six-team playoffs is firming, as is the embarrassment of Australia having just one.
Fiji (14) 14 / (10) 24 South Africa (Final Score)
South Africa’s Blitzbokke beat Fiji in the 2011 Emirates Airline London Sevens Cup final, a repeat of the USA Sevens final, after Fiji had beaten New Zealand 42-17 and Wales 21-19 respectively in the semi finals.
“I’m fighting this illness with my faith. And my faith is strong.”
Those were the words of former Springbok hero, Joost van der Westhuizen.
He talked exclusively for the first time about the “death sentence”, which doctors informed him about four weeks ago.
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Jaque Fourie was always going to be doubtful for this game as coach Allister 
Coetzee was concerned about his condition immediately after the loss to the Chiefs in Hamilton last weekend. Fourie has predictably been ruled out of the match, but he has been joined on the sidelines by his regular midfield partner Jean de Villiers.
Brumbies punished with icy night drill
Tony Rea’s post-match verbal attack was nothing compared to what he put his players through last night.
Waratahs out to rediscover their ‘beautiful’ game
Coach Chris Hickey believes his team can rekindle their expansive style of play as the finals approach.
Ioane becomes new focus
Wallabies fear they will lose spectacular utility back Digby Ioane
Jake White says four-year term is key
Jake negotiated another 4 year deal
Daniel Carter to announce playing future
Dan Carter is expected to announce his playing future at a press conference in Christchurch today. LATEST: He’s staying
‘We are at war’ in NZ conference: Joseph
Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph says the difference between the New Zealand and Australian Super Rugby conferences is like “war and school stuff”.
Blues work on Stormers maul busting
It’s not like the Blues don’t know it’s coming. It’s just how effective they are in dealing with the Stormers potent rolling maul that’s the tricky part.
With the Superugby season getting into the business end of the season, every weekend you will have major deciding clashes. Everyone might differ which one is the most important and this article is written from a South African perspective.
This weekend’s action starts with one of the biggies, the Blues and the Stormers, on Friday, and ends with the Sharks versus the Bulls in Durban on Saturday evening.
The Crusaders blew a chance to go top of the New Zealand conference when they lost 33-20 to an Ashley Johnson-inspired Cheetahs for their second consecutive defeat in Bloemfontein this morning.
Richie McCaw’s men dominated territory and possession but Johnson, who scored the match-clinching try, and his fellow forwards produced a Herculean defensive effort to put the Crusaders under pressure and force them into costly errors.
I found this website on News24 and all Peter de Villiers fans are invited to listen to this interview with Peter. Take your time , it is in three parts and is 31 minutes long.
Listen to Peter when he is calm and not under pressure.
All the overawed Sonny Bill Williams fans Peter, has a point! Watch these videos with an open mind.
Cheetahs (16) 33 / Crusaders (17) 20 (Final Score)
The Cheetahs hosted the Crusaders at Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein, at 19:10 SA Time. This was the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
The Cheetahs recorded a masterful win over serious title contenders, the Crusaders…. and on top of it all kept the Crusaders from recording a single Log poin advance, well done Cheetahs!
Reds (27) 37/Blues (14) 31 (Final Score)
The Reds host the Blues at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane at 11:40 SA Time. This is the match thread for discussion of the game. The match is broadcast live on SuperSport 1, SHD en CSN on TV in SA.
Pampas XV (8) 14 / Blue Bulls (0) 9 (Final Score)
The Pampas XV, the only undefeated team in this year’s Vodacom Cup, will be hoping for one more victory in 2011 when they host the defending champions, the Vodacom Blue Bulls, at Profert Olën Park in Potchefstroom on Friday at 19h00.
Highlanders (10) 13 / Huricannes (3) 6 (Final Score)
The Highlanders hosted the Hurricanes at Rugby Park, Invercargill. They won the game with brilliant discipline in defense. One try was scored just before half time after a brilliant cross kick by Jimmy Cowan to Ben Smith.
Former Springbok rugby captain Joost van der Westhuizen is fighting for his health after being diagnosed with a motor-neuron muscle disease.
The disease, which is apparently similar to the one that put one of his teammates, Springbok flank André Venter in a wheelchair a few years ago, has been diagnosed as very serious and could have drastic implications for his health.
The Cheetahs’ penchant for all-out attack has the heroic Crusaders worried about this weekend’s Super Rugby assignment in Bloemfontein.
What looked like a match featuring two teams from different spectrums of the championship has suddenly been transformed by the Cheetahs’ results over the last phase of the competition.
Motormouth Springboks coach Peter de Villiers has launched another scathing attack on Crusaders star Sonny Bill Williams, describing his flamboyant offloading style as “nonsense” and a poor example for young rugby players.
By Marc Hinton
Who’s hot and who’s not… and who’s not injured?
Every Tuesday until the All Blacks’ World Cup squad unveiling in late August, Fairfax digital sport editor Dan Gilhooly will assess the status of players in the selection frame.
Who are the certainties to make the cut for coach Graham Henry’s squad of 30? Who are battling for contentious spots and what are their odds of selection?
Blues coach Pat Lam puts a horror injury toll in Super Rugby down to a mix of bad luck and big collisions.
And he has urged the game’s decision-makers to revisit the thorny issue of the length of the off-season as all five New Zealand franchises deal with mounting injuries that are testing the depth of their resources.
With six games left for the Bulls there is no room for another loss. But with so many permutations possible in this last six weeks of the league there might be a lifeline left , even if you lose a 6th game. Is that wishful thinking? Not really. Let me leave the jokes, the Bulls are now in a sudden death playoff.
Springbok Sevens newcomers Paul Jordaan and Tshotsho Mbovane were on Friday included in the South Africa Under-20 squad that was announced by the South African Rugby Union (SARU) to compete in next month’s IRB Junior World Championship in Italy.
Rebels (8) 18 / Reds (26) 33 (Final Score)
The Melbourne Rebels hosted the Reds at AAMI Stadium, Melbourne at 11:40 SA Time. This was the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1, SHD & CSN on TV in SA.
The Reds bagged 4 tries for their bonus point win.
Hurricanes (3) 11 / Blues (9) 17 (Final Score)
The Hurricanes hosted the Blues at Westpac Stadium, Wellington at 09:35 SA Time. This was the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1, SHD and CSN on TV in SA.
In a bland game where both sides scored a try each, the Blues continued their march towards title hopes.
In a landmark judgment in the Western Cape High Court yesterday, a former school rugby player won his case against an opposing player who injured him so severely during a scrum that it left him with a broken neck.
The ruling could serve as a legal precedent for civil claims against players of any sport found to have deliberately injured a player during a game.
Decision-making and discipline will be crucial differences when the Stormers meet the Crusaders in a warmly-anticipated Investec Super Rugby clash in Cape Town on Saturday, 17:05. Match shown live on Supersports various channels.
Crusaders second five-eighth Sonny Bill Williams will come up against a host of Springboks in the Stormers backline, in a match that could be last year’s newest All Black biggest test of his rugby career.
It’s Super Rugby’s game of the year – make no bones about that.
It’s fitting then that Richie McCaw returns to his familiar No 7 jersey for the first time this season for the Crusaders’ visit to the high-flying Stormers in Cape Town on Saturday . Game starts at 17:05.
SANZAR have admitted that they have ‘a little bit of a way to go yet’ before there is enough consistency in their Super Rugby judicial process.
This is a old article and many more contentious rulings followed this weekend. Is there more leniency or a softer approach before the World Cup. In tonights Superugby program Kobus Wiese said that the citing officer asked for video evidence in the Stormers vs Sharks game , but nothing came from it.
Peter de Villiers has confirmed that John Smit will captain the Springboks at the World Cup. Rassie Erasmus was appointed as technical adviser.
At a press conference on Monday, Peter de Villiers confirmed the appointments of his captain and management staff. Smit will continue as captain with Victor Matfield named as vice-captain. Erasmus has been brought in as a technical adviser and conditioning coach Derik Coetzee is the other new appointment.