superBul
On Friday the first two quarter finals were played, the first between Pampas XV and the Free State Cheetahs at Olën Park in Potchefstroom and the second between Griquas and the Pumas at GWK Park in Kimberley. On Saturday the last two matches were between the Golden Lions and the Blue Bulls at Wits University and the last one between Western Province vs the Sharks at Newlands.
The details of the results are listed below.
The Semi Finals are on 7 May 2011, they are as follows:
- Griquas vs Blue Bulls
- Pampas XV vs Sharks XV
This article was written before this weekends matches by Liam del Carme.
With the gap between form players and his likely World Cup picks widening by the week, Bok coach Peter de Villiers, perhaps understandably, has resorted to cliche. A few of the players mentioned here already started their return to form. Funny how one week later you can see such a big difference.
Stormers (22) 32 /Sharks (9) 12 (Final Score)
The DHL Stormers hosted the Sharks at Newlands, Cape Town 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 Stormers comprehensively outplayed the Sharks, for a full bag of 5 Log points…. the Stormers are on fire!
Force (19) 30 / Crusaders (22) 42 (Final Score)
The Western Force hosted the Crusaders at NIB Stadium, Perth at 14:05 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 Force put up a brave fight but the Crusaders were just too powerful at the end.
When we raised the referee issue again here on the blog during the Highlanders vs Blues game, I knew we were onto something. But like this article says there will always be opposing views. My question was, will we ever get consistency? At the end of this article read another article about the fears the Waratahs have for Jonathan Kaplan later today.
If you read all the Rugby pages and Newspapers you can clearly see the urge to pick a Springbok World Cup squad. It is more than 142 days before the Tournament begins, 144 days before the Springboks play Wales in our first match and 170+ days before the Quarter Finals. But let it out, I know you want to! I constantly read about the teams everyone would pick, all the time.
The Bulls won’t even make it through to the knockout stages in defence of their Super rugby title, says former All Black captain Sean Fitzpatrick. And Fitzpatrick launched a scathing critique of the Pretoria-based team’s failings in this year’s Super 15, as they crashed to defeat against the Western Force in Perth.
The South African Rugby Union on Wednesday named 51 players who have been called to a national team planning session at the start of next month. The players will attend two days of meetings and logistical discussions in the first of three national camps in preparation for the international season.
All Blacks coach Graham Henry has taken a swipe at the number of New Zealand rugby players giving up on the dream to become an All Black and choosing money instead.
Scrumhalf Fourie du Preez is one of three players returning to the starting line-up of the Vodacom Bulls for their match against the Western Force in Perth on Saturday.
For years and years rugby laws were adapted to the way players wanted to play. Recent law changes have followed that principle though it may just be that the written laws have lagged somewhat behind accepted practice. I just had to place this article, the most passionate discussions we had here was about this subject. Lets go..
On Rugby-Talk’s live Bulls vs Reds thread I cannot recall anybody complaining about it. Now reading some of the other match reports is see a big uproar about something we never picked up or said a word about. Obstruction or obstructive running.
Port Elizabeth will host the South African leg of the HSBC Sevens World Series, after coming out as clear winners in a competitive tendering process. The announcement was made by the South African Rugby Union in Cape Town on Wednesday after the recommendation of a tender committee was accepted by the SARU Executive Council.
Stormers fans will cringe if they see superBul is writing an article about the Stormers. Although I had to bite hard on my tongue not to have a dig at them during this article, I started this article to prove that this might be their year.
All the Globe Jet-setters might be more qualified to write an article like this. So let me try my hand on a subject I never experienced, in fact I have never left this beautiful country. Mozambique is only 200 kilometers to the East from where I live. Botswana and Zimbabwe not even 400 kilometers away, never been there. So take my words with a pinch of salt.
Bulls supporters and their enemies really climbed into the Super 14 Champion side after their humiliating defeat against the Crusaders since Saturday. The question immediately arises whether they can be back to winning ways again if Frans Ludeke decides to stick with this poor performing team? Can they play a lot better and record a win against the high-flying Reds?
Let us have a look at the team:
This article by JJ Harmse of News24 , a well known reporter accused many times for biased Bulls reports, about sums up how we should view the Bulls performance on Saturday. I feel much stronger than he does about the issue, he says it very mildly compared to my feelings about the sad state of affairs and this horrible debacle.
The Bulls played their worst game ever after promises of upping their game in recent weeks.
It’s the penultimate round of Vodacom Cup league matches and while a few teams will struggle to make the quarter-finals, it’s make or break for seven provinces.
The Cheetahs are hoping to achieve a second victory on tour when they take on the Highlanders in a Super Rugby match between the so-called banana peel teams on Friday. Continue reading
Surprise promotions to abrasive hooker James Hanson and powerhouse forward Radike Samo have signalled that the Reds will muscle up and throw everything at the Stormers’ defence at Newlands.
Stormers coach Allister Coetzee says that his team won’t change their defensive pattern to try to stop Reds dangerman Quade Cooper, and instead urged his team to produce more of the “good stuff” on attack in Saturday’s Super Rugby clash at Newlands.
Springbok coach Peter de Villiers’s loyalty towards many of his senior soldiers may just come back to haunt him at the World Cup later in 2011.
Richie McCaw? Nah, he can wait.
And if Dan Carter’s sore hamstring is not right, he can forget about suiting up against the Bulls as well.
When England football coach, the Italian Fabio Capello, said he required only a maximum 100-word vocabulary to speak with his players about tactics, he grabbed a few ears.
FNB Maties, the 12-time SAA National Club Champions, firmly closed the book on their disappointing FNB Varsity Cup campaign when they recorded a resounding win on the opening weekend of the Western Province Super League A last Saturday.
The Bulls, last year’s champions, could significantly re-announce themselves in Super Rugby if they upset the Crusaders at the small port town of Timaru on Saturday.
A team comprising star players in the French and English leagues, four Sevens players and six Springboks, will take on the Kings in Port Elizabeth on June 4.
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Two wins from a possible four gives the South African team a 50% win result for this weekend. This is how i rate this weekends rugby.
The fixtures, news and scores from the 2011 International Rugby Sevens Adelaide, the sixth leg of the 2010/11 HSBC Sevens World Series.
NZ 28 – 20 SA
Sharks (6) 6 / Stormers (13) 16 (Final Score)
The Sharks hosted the DHL Stormers at 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.
In a hard and brutal battle the Stormers overcame the Sharks on Sharks home turf, resulting in the 3rd successive loss in a row for the Sharks now in the Super Rugby Series of 2011. The Stormers on the other hand stays the only unbeaten side in the Super Rugby Series of 2011.
India wins ICC World Cup
Mahendra Singh Dhoni played a captain’s knock to lead India to 277 for four and a six-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the World Cup final
Sri Lanka 274/6 (50),
India 277/4 ( 48.3 ov)
Saturday will be a long long day for die hard rugby fans. In the early morning we have the Australian leg of the IRB Sevens. Followed by two South African teams playing New Zealand teams in New Zealand. Before the Lions take on the Reds, the gap is filled by an Australian derby. Saturday’s Super Rugby ends with a South African derby between the Sharks and the Stormers in Durban. Wait… thats not all, the second day of the HSBC sevens tournament starts at midnight in Australia.
Ikey Tigers blow Shimlas away
FNB UCT produced a sensational first-half performance to put FNB Shimlas away 57-20 in their semifinal meeting in Cape Town, as they booked a place in the 2011 Varsity Cup Final for the third time in four years.
Tuks spoil UJ’s semifinal party
Speaking ahead of the Varsity Cup semifinals, FNB Tuks described their Last Four meeting with FNB UJ as a David v Goliath-type contest. Well, David – once again – felled Goliath as the fourth-placed Tuks beat the top-of-the-log UJ side by 25-11.
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New Zealand: 221 / 8 after their 50 overs
South Africa: 172 after 43.1 overs
New Zealand won by 49 runs
South Africa may be maintaining that they don’t care about the identity of their quarter-final opponent at the Cricket World Cup, but New Zealand are delighted that they are crossing swords with the Proteas.
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