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The warm glow that New Zealand rugby fans hold as they reflect on their status as World Champions will mean that there will be high hopes that the most successful country in the history of Super Rugby will add to their ten titles.
There is continuing speculation that he will be part of Heyneke Meyer’s new management team, but Rassie Erasmus would still be involved with Western Province were it not for the interference from elected officials that eventually prompted him to quit as director of rugby in an attempt to ease the pressure on the other coaches.
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The fifth edition of the popular FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International kicks-off on Monday and, again, the question on everybody’s lips revolves around the Cape dominance in this tournament thus far.
SANZAR is to trial new disciplinary rules during the 2012 Super Rugby competition, CEO Greg Peters announced on Thursday.
With the Six Nations looming large it might be time to have a look at what we can expect from the tournament the players, coaches and of course the referees.
South Africa’s top referees scrummed against each and were given master classes from top coaches as part of a recently completed four-day training camp prior to the start of the 2012 rugby season.
Wales came from nowhere to win it in 2008 with a Grand Slam to boot. Ireland emulated them twelve months later, France followed suit in 2010 and last year England made it to the top of the pile before their World Cup implosion.
There is nothing to beat the RBS 6 Nations and not merely because of its capacity to spread the title around. Four different champions in successive years had last happened long before the Five became Six, a sequence completed in 1982 when Ollie Campbell’s fusillade of seven goals swamped a lone Scottish try to guarantee Ireland the Triple Crown and, ultimately, the championship.
Controversial New Zealand referee Bryce Lawrence will undergo a “rehabilitation” and reports that he will not referee in South Africa this year are simply not true.
SANZAR Referees boss Lyndon Bray says there is “absolutely no truth” in reports that Lawrence will not referee in South Africa this year as a counter to the backlash from his poor refereeing performance in the Rugby World Cup quarter-final where the Springboks lost against the Wallabies. Continue reading
Saru said it would not discuss the issue of Bok coach and that its next comment on the matter would be the announcement of the man for the job at an extraordinary meeting of the general
council.
Not much that Peter de Villiers says in this Article can be disputed. He had a hard task to guide Jake White’s glory boys. With the massive amount of senior player power and his introduction to the coaching job, he was always on the receiving end. Yes, he was not the best technical coach but he kept the politicians off our backs and the team together.
Good luck to the next coach!
It is my impression that politcs will play a major role again and if the new coach is not from the previously disadvantaged group, his task will be most difficult.
Enough opinionating, here is the actual Article: Continue reading
Almost time for the Six Nations competition. First games will be played in four weeks time. Here is some History of the Championship.
Played annually, the format of the Championship is simple: each team plays every other team once, with home field advantage alternating from one year to the next.
Two points are awarded for a win, one for a draw and none for a loss and unlike most other rugby union competitions the bonus point system is not used.
Wesley Fofana (photo) and Yoann Maestri are in line to make their international debuts after being picked for France’s RBS 6 Nations squad by new head coach Philippe Saint-André.
Clermont centre Fofana has impressed both domestically and in Europe and could start alongside club colleague Aurélien Rougerie while Toulouse’s 23-year-old man mountain Maestri is one of four second rows named.
Centre Steven Shingler is the surprise inclusion as one of six new faces in Scotland’s squad for the opening two matches of the 2012 RBS 6 Nations.
Despite being born in Swansea and playing for Wales Under-20s, Shingler qualifies for Scotland through his mother Jeanette and his impressive form for English side London Irish has prompted Andy Robinson to include him in the 36-man squad.
An era of unprecedented success – a ten-year period where they won five Currie Cup titles (one shared) and three Super Rugby crowns – now gives way to a time of rebuilding.
This is primarily (although not exclusively) due to the crippling effect of departures, mostly of senior players.
When I read this ‘oldish’ article I decided that our resident scrum gurus would love it. Here it is courtesy of the Rugby Site’s Waterboy, Brendon Ratcliffe.
While the All Blacks finish the year as the world champions, the ranks of the refereeing fraternity also boast something of a ‘winner’ with South African official Craig Joubert overseeing the 8-7 win over France.
A medical study claims protective skull caps like those worn by Rugby World Cup winner Victor Vito do nothing to protect against concussion.
William Small-Smith and Craig Barry, who are both contracted to the Springbok Sevens team, have been included in a squad of 33 players for the South African Under-20 training camp in Stellenbosch in January.
The latest development in the rugby wheel is the evolution of the second row forward – the left lock or enforcer lock in particular. Traditionally a bulky, abrasive character, the enforcer lock does the donkey work in the tight-loose, bashes opposition forwards into submission and beefs up the set pieces.
Rob Houwing imagines what the country’s five Super Rugby Franchises may wish for as main presents in their stockings on December 25 …
Add your wish list in the comments.
The forgone conclusion has been made official – Steve Hansen is the new All Blacks coach.
Hansen has been announced as Graham Henry’s successor at a media conference in Wellington this afternoon after the New Zealand Rugby Union board met earlier today to consider the appointment.
Hansen was the only candidate recommended by an appointments panel to go through to a full interview with the board, which unanimously voted for him.
All Blacks and Crusaders winger Zac Guildford will miss one Super Rugby match after being suspended following a New Zealand Rugby Union misconduct hearing into his misbehaviour in the Cook Islands last month.
Welcome to the latest edition of Ask John where renowned rugby historian John Griffiths will answer any rugby-related query you have!
The Super Rugby side may be at a low ebb but optimism is plentiful, writes Josh Rakic.
YOU get the sense World Cup-winning Springboks coach Jake White did his homework on Australia before agreeing to a four-year deal with the Brumbies. After all, he was a Johannesburg school teacher.
Rugby in New Zealand has been slowly but surely working its way toward financial ruin.
Spiralling costs and falling crowds have stretched resources to breaking point.
All Blacks captain Richie McCaw has admitted he was “surprised” the International Rugby Board did not cite French player Aurelien Rougerie for the infamous eye gouge in the Rugby World Cup final.
Speaking for the first time about the incident, McCaw said the final against the French got “filthy” when he was eye-gouged.
Springbok Sevens coach Paul Treu says star playmaker Cecil Afrika’s return will be a major boost at the Nelson Mandela Bay Sevens.
I just read this blog called Sore Eye. Some of the reactions are posted at the bottom of the article. What do YOU think?
Allister Coetzee is a talker, a great talker, but perhaps an interminable talker. Funny, articulate, intelligent, passionate, the kind of talker who silences the braai with one-man entertainment. He’s the leading contender, they say, for Bok coach. Who knows what SARU will do, but I reckon Allister Coetzee is not the man. Continue reading
There is no denying the amount of young talent that was on show at Rugby World Cup 2011. And while we can no doubt look forward to the likes of David Pocock and Toby Faletau playing even better in 2015, there are many stars of the global Game who have seemingly taken part in their last Rugby World Cup match.
Here are some of the top players who will almost certainly find the tournament in England might be a step too far for them.
With fewer set pieces, a substantial reduction in kicks from hand and many more passes, Rugby World Cup 2011 saw a renewed emphasis on running Rugby.
The names are in the hat, with Steve Hansen set to be handed an early Christmas present when the New Zealand Rugby Union confirms him as the new All Blacks coach in a matter of weeks.
The IRB has confirmed the pool draw for round 2 of the HSBC Sevens World Series, the Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens on 2-3 December 2011.
The draw was made live on television before the Cup final of the Gold Coast Sevens, the opening round of the 2011/12 season.
Former Springbok scrumhalf Joost van der Westhuizen, 40, has said he may be confined to a wheelchair within six months.
Barbarians (3) 11 / Wallabies (18) 60 (Final Score)
The Barbarians took on the Australian Wallabies at Twickenham at 16:35 SA Time (14:35 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
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South Africa ended the 2010/11 HSBC Sevens World Series by winning the final two tournaments in London and Edinburgh and finishing second overall behind champions New Zealand.
With only four days to go until the first leg of the 2011/12 Series, head coach Paul Treu is looking for his side to pick up where they left off, when the Series begins on 25 November on the Australian Gold Coast.