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While rugby supporters in the Eastern Cape are eagerly awaiting the first SA Sevens tournament to be staged in the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium next month, the South African Rugby Union has urged those fans without tickets to book their seats so that they don’t miss out on the most exciting rugby event to be staged in the region.
The Nelson Mandela Bay South Africa Sevens will take place on 9-10 December and fans can enjoy the action for as little as R80 on the first day and R100 on the final day.
It was too early to scrap quotas in South African sport, Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula said on Tuesday.
On the final day of the National Sport and Recreation Indaba in Midrand, during discussions on transformation in the plenary, it was decided that the quota system could not be scrapped while the transformation charter and the transformation scorecard would be adopted into the Nation Sports Plan.
South Africa:
- First Innings – 266 all out (71 overs)
- Second Innings – 339 all out (110 overs)
Australia:
- First Innings – 296 all out (76.4 overs)
- Second Innings – 310 / 8 (86.5 overs)
South Africa won the toss and elected to bat
Sport quotas are exhausted and have generally been counter-productive, Sport and Recreation Minister Fikile Mbalula said on Wednesday.
The Bulls started their preparations for next season’s Super Rugby competition at Loftus Versfeld’s B-field in Pretoria on Monday. It is scary when you read the list of players that are not Bulls anymore. The 4 most used captains are all in that list.
Former cricketers paid tribute to renowned cricket writer Peter Roebuck who committed suicide in his hotel room in South Africa on Sunday. Read one of his last articles at the bottom “Can South Africa keep it going?”
Former Springbok loose forward Solly Tyibilika has been shot dead here, according to reports.
With the rugby season for the 15-man code taking a break in the Southern Hemisphere, the upcoming Sevens Series gives rugby players the opportunity to remain sharp and competitive.
One of the players who jumped at this opportunity is Cheetahs centre, Robert Ebersohn, who, instead of opting for a break after a long season, was called up to the Blitzbokke squad for the first three events in the World Sevens Tour.
The ceremony was broadcast live on Supersport, LIVE ON SS
The nominees were (in alphabetical order):
SARU Rugby Player of the Year:
1. Schalk Burger
2. Bismarck du Plessis
3. Francois Hougaard
4. Pat Lambie
5. Victor Matfield
A squad of more than 100 players have been invited to Kimberley for a first round of SA Under-20 trials next week.
The camp will run from November 6 to 11 during which time the players will compete in a series of trial matches, to be held on November 8 and 10 at GWK Park in Kimberley.
Respected sport scientist and long standing friend of RuggaWorld, Dr. Ross Tucker, offers his views on the Rugby World Cup and specifically referees and how their performance is damaging the game’s credibility.
Article originally published on The Science of Sport website
Thanks Morne & RuggaWorld. Some of the responses will be brought over to appear under the comments. I found this article to be one of the very best I have ever read. Warning it is long, take your time and read the comments too.
South Africa 222/6 (50 ov)
Australia 227/7 (47.3 ov)
Australia won by 3 wickets (with 15 balls remaining)
As the most capped Springbok ever, Victor Matfield is a national hero who transcends rugby provincialism and has fans across the world. His rugby exploits and achievements are numerous: he was an instrumental part of the team that won the 2007 Rugby World Cup, he helped win two Tri Nations tournaments for the Boks, he has lifted the Super 14 trophy three times with the Bulls and he has enjoyed Currie Cup glory.
The South African Rugby Union has congratulated Springbok Sevens player Cecil Afrika on capturing the IRB Sevens Player of the Year Award for the 2010/11 season.
The experienced Bryce Lawrence will referee the Absa Currie Cup Final when he takes charge of the match between the MTN Golden Lions and The Sharks in Johannesburg on Saturday.
This is it. Eight teams worked hard during the 2011 season to reach this stage, but only four – the MTN Golden Lions, The Sharks, Toyota Free State Cheetahs and DHL Western Province – have qualified for the Absa Currie Cup semi-finals.
New Zealand coach Graham Henry on Friday named his team to play New Zealand in their Rugby World Cup 2011 Final against France at Eden Park, Auckland on Sunday 23 October at 10:00 SA Time, 21:00 NZ Time.
Rugby fans will be able to watch a full day of high-octane international Sevens rugby from as little as R 80.00 at South African rugby’s biggest party at Nelson Mandela Bay South Africa Sevens Tournament later this year.
Tickets went on sale today for the SA leg of the hugely popular international HSBC Sevens World Series tournament, which this year moves to an exciting new venue at the Nelson Mandela Bay stadium in Port Elizabeth.
Former All Black coach Laurie Mains has not been happy with the standard of refereeing at the Rugby World Cup.
“I’ve been appalled by the refereeing, especially how they have decided games with scrum penalties,” Mains said.
“Games have been won and lost from scrum penalties when the wrong decision was made. You should not have a situation in rugby where games are won and lost by the referee’s guess,” he said. Continue reading
Australia head coach Robbie Deans and Wales head coach Warren Gatland on Wednesday named their teams to play their Bronze Final of Rugby World Cup 2011 at Eden Park, Auckland, on Saturday 22 October at 09:30 SA Time.
The Proteas’ Castle Lager squad came up with a dynamic new approach to limited overs cricket during the 2011 ICC World Cup in India earlier this year.
Now they have a fresh challenge in adapting to the significant changes that have been made to the playing conditions for ODI cricket. That starts with the three-match series against Australia, the first contest of which is at SuperSport Park on Wednesday (2.30pm).
South African referee Craig Joubert will referee Sunday’s World Cup final between the All Blacks and France. It will be his first World Cup final.
Joubert, who controlled yesterday’s semifinal between the All Blacks and Wallabies at Eden Park, becomes only the second South African to take charge of a final after Andre Watson who has controlled two.
Though long have our Kiwi cousins walked in the shadow of the Valley of Death, through World Cup loss after World Cup loss, as an entire people plumbed the depths of despair, now, nowthe hour is upon them. The promised land is now just up ahead around the bend…
Australia 147/8 (20/20 ov)
South Africa 148/7 (19.1/20 ov)
South Africa won by 3 wickets (with 5 balls remaining)
All Blacks (14) 20 / Wallabies (6) 6 (Final Score)
The New Zealand All Blacks and Australian Wallabies did battle in the First Semi-Final of Rugby World Cup 2011 at Eden Park, Auckland 10:00 SA Time (21:00 NZ Time).
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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The All Blacks were ruthless and commited and deserve their place in next Sunday’s Final. It was however a brave effort by Australia but Quade Cooper should have clicked earlier for them to have any chance.
It began, again, somewhere around the 70th minute.
Jean-Baptiste Elissalde had just converted a Yannick Jauzion try, scored off a missed forward pass, giving the French a 20-18 lead in their 2007 Rugby World Cup quarterfinal against the All Blacks in front of a packed Millenium Stadium in Cardiff.
The All Blacks were the best team in the world. All they needed was a penalty, a drop goal, a try. Momentum, that age-old All Blacks’ drive.
WP (24) 43 / Pumas (8) 18 ( Final Score)
DHL Western Province hosted the Ford Pumas at Newlands, Cape Town at 17:05 SA Time.
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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Cheetahs (20) 49 / Griquas (10) 39 (Final Score)
The Toyota Free State Cheetahs hosted the GWK Griquas at Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein at 15:00 SA Time.
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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Wales (3) 8 / France (6) 9 (Final Score)
Wales and France did battle in the First Semi-Final of Rugby World Cup 2011 at Eden Park, Auckland 10:00 SA Time (21:00 NZ Time).
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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France squeeked past a galant Welsch side who had to play for about 60 minutes with only 14 men after their captain, Sam Warburton, was Red Carded.
Tim Noakes has denied accusing anyone of match fixing or any claims that the Springboks’ quarterfinal match against Australia officiated by Bryce Lawrence was either ‘fixed’ or ‘bent’, as has been reported.
In a letter to Sport24, Noakes claimed that his statements had been misconstrued and taken out of context. Continue reading
The French know their three straight victories over Wales will not matter one bit when the long-time rivals meet in the World Cup semi-final at Eden Park on Saturday. Continue reading
All Blacks assistant coach Steve Hansen has hosed down any speculation on Richie McCaw’s ability to play in New Zealand’s semi-final against Australia at Eden Park on Sunday. Continue reading
In this week’s exclusive column, former Springbok prop Cobus Visagie discusses refereeing decisions and key match-ups.
I promise this is the last article I will publish about this subject. Cobus said it all, I cannot add any more. This is a good analysis by a Professional player with many years of experience.