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We take a look at Springbok participation in the Tri-Nations (now expanded and renamed The Rugby Championship).
The Springboks took part in the Southern Hemisphere’s premier international competition just five years after being readmitted to international competition in the 90’s.
There were several decisions this last weekend which are worth debating. One of them was the try scored by Chiliboy Ralepelle of the Bulls, a try which took the home team to 25-10 with 13 minutes to play.
Match facts: February 14-18, 2013
Start time: 10:30 local (08:30 GMT)
“The more accolades there are, the more expectation there is on me. I woke up before the Wanderers Test at 4am dreaming I had got a pair.”
With an ace up their sleeve, the Sharks and Stormers will have their greatest chance yet to end their Super Rugby trophy drought this year.
New Zealand’s referees will be stepping out in pink in this year’s Super Rugby tournament thanks to a three-year sponsorship deal with Pink® Batts®.
The South African Rugby Union on Friday expressed its deep sadness at the passing of legendary former Springbok looseforward, Jan Ellis.
The one-time joint record holder for the number of Springbok caps succumbed to cancer at a hospice in Pretoria after suffering from the disease for some time. He celebrated his 71st birthday in January.
Today sees the start of the Varsity Cup Competition, with exciting rugby awaiting us from all the Premier Universities and Tertiary Institutions.
This year Wits replace TUT, TUT having been relegated to the Varsity Shield Competition.
Four matches are played late afternoon and this evening, 1 at 17:00 and 3 at 19:00, of course, only 2 matches are televised live, here are the details:
- Maties v UJ – 17:00, Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch (LIVE ON TV)
- Pukke v Tuks – 19:00, Fanie du Toit Sports Grounds, Potchefstroom (LIVE ON TV)
- UCT v NMMU – 19:00, Groote Schuur Rugby Field, Cape Town
- Wits v Shimlas – 19:00, Wits Rugby Stadium, Johannesburg
This year, the International Rugby Board has introduced 11 law trials that will be implemented from the start of the 2013 season.
Southern Kings captain Luke Watson has said that SARU’s decision to relegate the Lions was unfair and expressed sadness at the Lions’ Super Rugby exit.
Speaking to SportsTalk in a radio interview, Watson sympathised with the Lions’ plight, and said fans had every right to feel aggrieved.
Former Springbok coach Peter de Villiers will make his Varsity Shield debut when his FNB UWC side take on the FNB TUT Vikings in Bellville on Monday. Two games will be Televised on Supersport.
- 16:30 – 18:45 SS1 FNB Varsity Shield – University Of Kwazulu-Natal v University Of Fort Hare
- 18:45 – 21:00 SS1 FNB Varsity Shield – University Of The Western Cape v Tshwane University Of Technology
The 2013 Varsity Rugby season kicked-off in fine style at the Serengeti Wildlife & Golf Estate Clubhouse in Kempton Park on Monday, with an exciting air of unpredictability hanging over the main tournament.
Now in its sixth season, the 2013 FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International remains the headline act of Varsity Rugby, with the three additional competitions – the Varsity Shield, the Varsity Young Guns and the Steinhoff Koshuisrugby Championships – providing a more than able ‘back-up’ to the Cup.
Vernon Philander has closed the gap on countryman Dale Steyn as the pair retained the top two spots in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test rankings for bowlers in the latest global ratings list released on Monday.
I am always nervous of drawing too many conclusions from the annual burst of Autumn Internationals, especially because it’s the final round of games for all the Southern Hemisphere sides at the end of a long season. Nonetheless, there are some fascinating observations to make as many sides rebuild towards the next World Cup.
Can a series of unequals prove to be a contest?
It might be too much to hope that the South Africa-New Zealand Test series is hard fought, but both teams have little and big goals to pursue.
World Cup trophy holders New Zealand will play Argentina, Tonga and two qualifiers after the draw was made for the 2015 rugby World Cup on Monday, but hosts England were handed a tougher task.
Wales will be confirmed in the third band of directly qualified teams for the Rugby World Cup 2015 Pool Allocation Draw when the latest IRB World Rankings are published on Monday 3 December.
It was Dale Steyn’s turn to face up to the media on Wednesday, two days ahead of the start of the crucial final test in Perth. Here’s what he had to say:
Heyneke Meyer’s first year as Springbok coach is over. Having lost only 3 games out of 12 somehow makes it look better than how his real winning percentage reflects. Yes the two draws robbed him of a real satisfactory start, in fact one of the best starts of any recent coach.
We now suddenly find more positive articles in the media. The 16-15 win against England not only changed the whole perception of Heyneke Meyer in our minds, but it also seems to have changed some of the more experienced rugby scribes in this country’s minds regarding how they now perceive Heyneke Meyer. Here is some excerpts from 3 articles yesterday by Jacques van der Westhuizen, – “Boks’ three out of three aint bad”, Zelim Nel, – “New Zealand looms large in Boks’ sights” and Gavin Rich – with “Boks’ will flourish in 2013”
I suspect that more important offenses are missed in rugby than any other sport. But don’t blame the refs – or not too much, wouldn’t want to spoil all the fun. The problem is so many things are happening at the same time on and off the ball, it is almost impossible for one man to pick up.
Springbok captain Jean de Villiers has made himself available this week to answer readers’ questions.
The Springboks are hard at work preparing for this weekend’s clash against England at Twickenham, but Jean was kind enough to put aside some time for this Q & A session.
We selected a number of questions to cover the main themes and Jean answered on subjects ranging from the Springboks’ gameplan through to what it feels like playing in front of the passionate European crowds.
Below are his answers.
Good second half against Ireland, good first half against Scotland … warts and all, the Springboks continue unbeaten on their season-ending tour of the northern hemisphere.
ESPN Classic has produced two original one-hour documentaries focusing on the careers of ex-Springbok rugby captains, John Smit and Victor Matfield.
While not everybody’s cup of tea, the fact remains that next year established Springbok No 8 and known occasional game-breaker Pierre Spies will return to contention for the national team.
Australia and the South African Proteas did battle in the 1st Test of the Series in Australia at Brisbane Cricket Ground, Woolloongabba, Brisbane.
The game took place in the middle of the night for South Africans, so live updates was not be given accross the board, but updates were done in the mornings.
On a belter pitch, South Africa posted a good First Innings total of 450, followed by Australia with a massive 565 / 5 declared, before putting South Africa in on the final day to see if Australia could bowl South Africa out cheaply. The South African batsmen hung on and forced a draw, scoring 166 / 5 in 68 overs.
The Springboks took part in a scrum study conducted by the International Rugby Board (IRB) in conjunction with the University of Bath in Dublin on Tuesday.
‘n Rugbylegende is volksbesit; iemand wat ver buite die grense van provinsialisme aanvaar en bewonder word. Noord-Transvaal en die Blou Bulle het van die wêreld se grootste rugbylegendes opgelewer.
Springbok winger Bryan Habana was on Thursday named South African Rugby Player of the Year for the third time, while DHL Western Province picked up a brace of awards as their Absa Currie Cup and Vodacom Cup success was recognised at a glittering ceremony at the Cape Town International Airport. The Sharks also scored off the field, with three awards heading to Durban.
Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer on Wednesday defended himself against allegations that he been too conservative during his up-and-down first few months in charge of the national team.
He also confessed to having made “a lot of mistakes; I’ll take that on the chin” and said that he was “not a guy who knows everything”.
The South African Rugby Union’s “watershed” Transformation Indaba concluded on Wednesday with delegates signing a Declaration confirming rugby’s commitment to promote and develop the game among all South Africans.
It may be a Neanderthal thought, but perhaps the answer is to bring back good old-fashioned rucking. The question, of course, is what to do about players who are persistently offside.
Rugby fans across the country will be given a voice for the first time in the selection of winners in the SARU Rugby Player of the Year awards, SARU announced on Monday.
The Springbok Sevens get their new HSBC Sevens World Series season underway on Saturday morning (SA time) when they run out against Canada in their first Pool A match at the Gold Coast Sevens at Skilled Park.
It is quite amazing that the IRB still permits referees to conduct tutorials during international rugby matches. The refs jabber on incessantly, telling players to release, roll away, get onside, wash the dishes, pick up the kids from school. But such a stream of communication creates a clear inequity that the IRB seems willfully oblivious to.
It was written on their faces. The Boks, to a man, left Soccer City in despair last night, their 2012 Championship ending on the most depressing note.
The All Blacks, the trend-setters in the modern game, were beaming and edging ever closer to a world-record run of victories, after a game that only required one half of a puff from them.
Lungani Zama – Sunday Tribune
The Springbok team that will face New Zealand in the fourth Test in The Rugby Championship in Dunedin on Saturday shows two changes from the side that played Australia last weekend.
Both changes are in the forwards, where lock Flip van der Merwe replaces the suspended Eben Etzebeth while Francois Louw comes in for Marcell Coetzee at flank.