TonyM

Heavily involved in the deeper SA Rugby Circles. Tony led the change in corporate identity of South African Airways from the airline of the old South Africa to the flag carrier of the new South Africa. He was a competitive provincial sportsmen in swimming, diving, waterpolo, lifesaving and white water rafting. Rugby was played at Bishops, NW Cape, Maties, van der Stel, UCT, Hamiltons and False Bay. Tony singularly authored the blueprint for the establishment of Soccer City Stadium for the PSL which in 2010 hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the FIFA World Cup and the Finals of the soccer showpiece. He was past CEO of the Southern & Eastern Cape Super 14 Rugby franchise, the Southern Spears.

Romain PoiteAll this hand wringing and cries of foul because the French ref Romain Poite, in this past Saturday’s game, sunk South Africa’s chances of winning in Eden Park Auckland, since 1937 needs a rethink.

As fans whose emotions are fueled by the learned and very emotional commentators and animated in studio television presenters, we need to make a far more calculated observation on this, as South Africa is now playing at the highest level of international sports and all occasions and events need to be anticipated, rehearsed, with a number of options planned to give South Africa the advantage.

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Rugby World Cup 2015Twenty scrum machines will be required for Rugby World Cup 2015 in England
With just over two years to go until Rugby World Cup 2015, tournament organisers England Rugby 2015 and Rugby World Cup Limited are right on track to deliver a spectacular six-week celebration of rugby.

A massive amount of planning goes into the delivery of any major international sporting tournament, and RWC 2015 is no exception.

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Nigel WraySaracens chairman Nigel Wray is thought to have pumped more money into the English club game than any other owner.

Saracens chairman Nigel Wray has added fuel to the debate about the future of the European club rugby landscape by suggesting the Welsh regions could join the Aviva Premiership.

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Super RugbySome thoughts for you to chew on…

I was asked yesterday by someone at Sky what my feeling was on the future of SuperRugby and I said, all three Unions of SANZAR have recently released their year end figures and none of them made any real profit. They are all close to borderline break even.

The current number Super Rugby matches per annum is 125, so any reduction of matches would no doubt mean a reduction in broadcast money.

The talk is about South Africa splitting from SANZAR in terms of Super Rugby only. However the South African time zone goes a long way to pushing up the money that is earned from the broadcast deal.

If SA leave, more matches will be played in New Zealand and Australian time zones (according to the reports). This has no global appeal.

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It is agonising to watch the South African Rugby Union (Saru) wrestle with what might appear a most complex solution to including the Eastern Cape in Super Rugby. Yet the solution to this is extraordinarily simple, delivering a non-conflict remedy that would otherwise decimate South African rugby to the benefit and advantage of the Kiwis, Australians and England (especially England, hosts of the Rugby World Cup in 2015).

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As you read this, Bakkies Botha is back in Pretoria, leaving behind him New Zealand and the next 3 games of the Rugby World Cup which ends on the 23 October.
Cause: “Achilles Tendon injury”.

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And now, from Auckland New Zealand — head quarters of the Rugby World Cup due to start on September 9 and end on the October 23 — here are the 10 essentials the International Rugby Board says teams must aim to get right if they want to lift the Webb Ellis Cup at the Rugby World Cup 2011.

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It is a very distinct possibility that the next time the Springboks meet the All Blacks, following the August 20 game at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium will be at the 60 000-seater Eden Park in Auckland on October 23 at 9pm.

The Rugby World Cup starts in two weeks and all the national sides announce their squads this week and then depart for their bases in New Zealand.

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National rugby coaches are like lightning conductors for raw emotions and there is no such place on earth like the seat of the South African rugby coach, he gets struck multiple times with the intensity of heaven and hell colliding.

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By JOSH RAKIC and CAROLINE WILSON – Sydney Morning Herald

The Melbourne Rebels this morning will announce the immediate departure of Brian Waldron as chief executive as the AFL prepares to re-open investigations into alleged salary-cap evasion at St Kilda under Waldron’s stewardship from late 2001 to 2004.

The Rebels board – which is chaired by Australia’s largest media buyer, Harold Mitchell – met within hours of David Gallop’s press conference and acted swiftly in asking Waldron to stand aside.

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Once again the Northern Hemisphere has taken the initiative and proposed a possible match up of the Heineken Cup winners versus the Super 14 winners.

In an article in today’s Australian, Wayne Smith reports that there is an English proposal to stage the long-proposed “battle of the hemispheres”, the Super 14 champions against the Heineken Cup winners, is likely to be considered by SANZAR.

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by: Tony McKeever

International rugby is really squaring up to a North vs. South battle between the hemispheres, as to who gets to harvest the financial returns or not.

The next 5 years will be particularly challenging for the SANZAR countries in spite of them occupying the top three slots of the IRB international rankings, with little financial returns.

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We all love our game of rugby with varying degrees of passion, from the Taliban like fundamentalism of the painted Bulls bone heads, to the plasma screen couch fans popping salted peanuts in their mouth at home or at bars around the world. Continue reading

On the 5th March 2010, SA Rugby nominations for President, Deputy President and Vice President, must be received in writing, from both the nominees accepting the nomination, as well as those doing the nomination, for the SA Rugby elections that will take place on the 26th March 2010.

It is really quite simple. SA Rugby’s 14 unions each have 2 votes and the individual with a majority of 15 out of 28 votes wins.

Hoskins

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mark Alexander

 

 

 

 

 

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Congratulations to the Australian Rugby Union – who against all odds, have managed (read carefully and meticulously choreographed) to bring the 15th Super Rugby franchise to Melbourne, especially when the ARU has 80,000 registered rugby players and SA Rugby over 500,000, over 5 times the number of players in Australia.

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