superBul
Most even of battlegrounds?
One aspect that has been touted since Super Rugby introduced the Conference system was that some countries may have easier routes to glory within their own borders.
The big north/south Vodacom Super Rugby derby between the DHL Stormers and the Vodacom Bulls in Cape Town has made a lot of headlines this week and it’s probably the biggest match of the weekend.
Rassie Erasmus is set to be named as a high performance manager by the South African Rugby Union (SARU).
Those who saw an injury depleted Bulls team train on Monday, fear not, as all players not in action were on the sidelines as a precautionary measure.
The Sharks won their first Vodacom Super Rugby match of 2012 while the Vodacom Bulls let slip a great opportunity to remain top of the log as they lost at home to the Blues.
Blues winger Rene Ranger will face a Sanzar tribunal for his dive on Bulls winger Bjorn Basson in the last minute of the game at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
Tons by Greame Smith and Jacques Kallis seems to have given South Africa control of the game.
A 200-run stand and hundreds to South Africa’s two most experienced hands put the visitors in command in Dunedin, after New Zealand had begun the day strongly with bat and ball. South Africa held a 233-run lead at stumps, with seven wickets in hand and Jacques Kallis at the crease on 107.
The Toyota Cheetahs have hit the road and will face the Brumbies in Canberra first up on their four-week Australasian Vodacom Super Rugby tour on Saturday.
The men from Bloemfontein are the first to leave South Africa this year as they travel to the Australian capital for a match against a team now coached by former Springbok boss Jake White.
On home soil, The Sharks will be aiming for their first victory of the season when they host the MTN Lions in Durban, before the Vodacom Bulls aim to prolong the Blues’ blues on the Highveld.
Some interesting snippets from various other rugby websites
The International Rugby Board Executive Committee, acting in its role as the IRB Trust, has appointed the members of the Rugby World Cup Limited Board who will serve a four-year term to be effective from 15 May 2012.
The University of Johannesburg (UJ) recorded the biggest ever Varsity Cup victory in the five-year history of the tournament, as they beat the TUT Vikings by a whopping 93-0 in Round Five action in Johannesburg on Monday evening.
The Hurricanes will continue their tour as the first non-South Africa team to tour the Republic, while the South African Conference derbies continue with a marquee encounter between the Stormers and Sharks, while the Bulls travel to play the Cheetahs.
For a competition which promotes running rugby and rewards teams who score tries, the first round of Super Rugby failed to deliver the goods.
Not one team managed to bag a bonus point for scoring four tries, with a total of just 19 tries being scored in the seven matches that were played. Is this then an indication that defenses are getting better and better?
We have done it before and maybe we should pick a panel of Bloggers and pick our own team of the week.
Wales not only secured the Triple Crown for the first time ever at Twickenham following their 19-12 victory over England on Saturday, but have also climbed above their neighbours into fifth in the latest IRB World Rankings.
There would have been much head shaking by those in the North, as the Crusaders and Highlanders recorded opening wins in the New Zealand Conference, and while the losers hardly shamed themselves – it is easy to see how the patient and uncompromising rugby of the South eventually subjugated their rivals.
Every season we muse over the potential changing of the guard, and of all the giants in Super Rugby many would have predicted that the Overlords of the game in the Republic – the Bulls – would have been a team that could have been excused for a season of rebuilding.
One could argue that the one coach who should be most sated after round one of Super Rugby was Michael Foley, who watched his Waratahs come within the brink of upsetting the defending champions – and finally ensure a NSW season begins with the amount of hype and expectation attached to Australia’s most prolific rugby state.
Brumbies hold on for victory against Western Force
Patient Crusaders hold off dangerous Blues
Although we have seven games and only the Melbourne Rebels have a bye, my personal three Big games involve the top teams of each Conference. Crusaders vs Blues, Bulls vs Sharks and Waratahs vs Reds. Continue reading
Heyneke Meyer was appointed four weeks ago as Springbok coach and still there is no clarity as to who will be on his management team in 2012.
After a runner-up spot in the South African conference and a bruising defeat to the Crusaders in the play offs, the Sharks will be hoping to put a bit more bite into the 2012 season.
After an aging side failed to the defend the Super Rugby title last year, the Bulls have entered a rebuilding phase that is unlikely to bring any silverware in the immediate future.
Before The Rugby Championship kicks off in August, the All Blacks and Wallabies will entertain Ireland and Wales respectively, in the June International test window that will take place between round 15 and 16 of the 2012 Super Rugby season.
The New Zealand television audience has the most potential for growth based on numbers last season in Super Rugby, and local officials and SANZAR chief executive Greg Peters said a brilliant Rugby World Cup last year could provide impetus for some increased viewing.
The chance to tap into the massive economies and population of North America and Asia, primarily US and Japanese markets, is something SANZAR will explore, with the former American broadcasting landscape boggling the mind with astronomical numbers.
It is a simple edict – aim to have at least 70 percent of ball available out of the ruck within three seconds – and this will be one of the crucial areas where referees will turn their attention to in the 2012 Super Rugby season.
The official draw has been held for the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens, round six of the HSBC Sevens World Series to be played on 23-25 March 2012 at the Hong Kong Stadium.
With the event doubling up in 2012 as the HSBC Sevens World Series core team qualifier, the renowned Hong Kong event will play host to two 12-team competitions played side by side at the 40,000-capacity venue.
Former Springbok prop Robbie Kempson is worried that the Stormers’ front row doesn’t instil enough fear into opponents ahead of the Super Rugby tournament.
I looked at the SuperSport TV schedules and I could not see any significant live rugby this weekend. So it seems we have one last break to do this…
But then our lives will be annexed by our beloved game RUGBY.
Every Super Rugby team has its SANZAR judicial atrocity story, writes Rugby Heaven’s Greg Growden.
This despite on Thursday announcing a three-year multimillion-rand sponsorship deal from property firm Redefine.
In the past, some South Africans may have lamented an uneven balance of power, perhaps suggesting that their Conference was a drie perdewedren (three horse race), but on evidence of the last two months there will be a brutal dogfight amongst the five teams from the Republic this year.
From the Queensland Reds fairy-tale maiden championship win – defying their devastating floods and years of bottom table finishes – to the Brumbies Annus Horribilis, to the historic inclusion of the Melbourne Rebels; it was certainly a season to remember for the Australian Conference last season.