General
Kees Lensing
Former Vodacom Bulls prop and Namibian captain, Kees Lensing, has signed a 2 year contract to become a scrum coach to a leading Japanese club.
Lensing, who has been helping out at the Tuks Academy since retiring as a rugby player, will head abroad to become the scrum coach for Japanese club Canon Eagles in Tokyo.
Canon play in the Japanese top league and have enlisted Lensing as the 1st step to trying to win their league. The club is also likely to target a number of Springboks to join them after the Rugby World Cup.
It’s PUB NIGHT again…
The heading suggests we talk about the South African Super Rugby sides… err I mean about the successful ones on the weekend, after a weekend where 4 South African sides recorded wins in Super Rugby and I think that qualifies as a good weekend of rugby!
Fortunately the DHL Stormers and Toyota Cheetahs also won in Australia, the Lions beat the Sharks and the Bulls monstered the Rubble Reds. Good on Ya all!
This next weekend, Super Rugby will continue, 1 game on Friday and 6 games on Saturday.
I guess this makes for a few good discussions!
It is time to straddle a bar stool and order a drink or 2.
Let’s focus on the PUB tonight…. the idea with PUB NIGHT is to lighten up our dull Tuesday evenings with music, comedy and fun.
Rugby takes a backseat tonight as the clan and fellow rugby nutters gather and wheel in their old friends…
Read the rules below carefully, or you WILL get burnt!
Just for clarity sake, when someone does not adhere to the Rules of the PUB, EVERYBODY jumps on them and pummels them, right… understood?
Here’s how it works:
It’s PUB NIGHT again…
The heading suggests we talk about the Sharks… err I mean about Red Cards & Suspensions in Super Rugby, after a weekend where only 1 South African side recorded a win in Super Rugby and I think that does not qualify as a good weekend of rugby!
Unfortunately the DHL Stormers and Toyota Cheetahs let South Africans down overseas… and the Bulls went down to the Lions, but worst of all was the Sharks who got hammered at home by the Crusaders, sis on you muppits!
This next weekend, Super Rugby will continue, 1 game on Friday and 5 games on Saturday.
I guess this makes for a few good discussions!
It is time to straddle a bar stool and order a drink or 2.
Let’s focus on the PUB tonight…. the idea with PUB NIGHT is to lighten up our dull Tuesday evenings with music, comedy and fun.
Rugby takes a backseat tonight as the clan and fellow rugby nutters gather and wheel in their old friends…
Read the rules below carefully, or you WILL get burnt!
Just for clarity sake, when someone does not adhere to the Rules of the PUB, EVERYBODY jumps on them and pummels them, right… understood?
Here’s how it works:
It’s PUB NIGHT again…
The heading suggests we talk about the past weekend’s rugby, where 3 South African sides recorded wins in Super Rugby and I think that qualifies as a good weekend of rugby!
Unfortunately the DHL Stormers and Toyota Cheetahs let South Africans down… baaadly, sis on you muppits!
This weekend is Easter Weekend, but the rugby will continue, 2 games on Easter Friday and 4 games on Saturday.
I guess this makes for a few good discussions!
It is time to straddle a bar stool and order a drink or 2.
Let’s focus on the PUB tonight…. the idea with PUB NIGHT is to lighten up our dull Tuesday evenings with music, comedy and fun.
Rugby takes a backseat tonight as the clan and fellow rugby nutters gather and wheel in their old friends…
Read the rules below carefully, or you WILL get burnt!
Just for clarity sake, when someone does not adhere to the Rules of the PUB, EVERYBODY jumps on them and pummels them, right… understood?
Here’s how it works:
A Fijian rugby player has died in his sleep aged just 32 midway through a tournament.
Prop Iosefo Bele Tabalala failed to wake up at his team’s hotel room, the Fijian Rugby Union (FRU) said on Saturday.
“His room mate and medical team in camp tried all efforts to revive him,” the FRU said in a statement.
Tabalala, a 32-year-old member of the Brothers Rugby Club in Brisbane, had been playing for the Fiji Warriors in the World Rugby Pacific Challenge.
Edward Griffiths
The Board of Saracens and Edward Griffiths announced that, following seven very successful years with the club, the CEO will be leaving at the end of the season to pursue new opportunities.
“After seven years as CEO Edward is moving on,” Saracens Chairman Nigel Wray said.
“He has created and leaves an outstanding and beautiful new permanent home for Saracens, and a team of people with a real caring and community focus and we will build upon this legacy.
“Edward will forever be a Saracen and always welcome amongst his friends at Allianz Park.”
rugby365
It’s PUB NIGHT again… Tuesdays seem to follow one another quicker and quicker!
The heading suggests we talk about the Cricket World Cup and the Quarter-final between South Africa and Sri Lanka tomorrow moring at 05:30 SA Time. So to put all doubt behind us, yes we are!
I sense that the general expectation is that the Proteas will once again CHOKE… like the Stormers and Sharks do every year!
South Africa’s Proteas have never won a play-off game in the Cricket World Cup, that is the history we face. Tell us, between songs, what you think their chances are this time round.
Will the Top order finally get things right or will they wilt again. Will the bowlers bowl with precision, aggression and finesse and demolish the Sri Lanka batting order?
I guess this makes for a few good discussions!
It is time to bat hard and protect your stumps in the PUB tonight.
Let’s focus on the PUB tonight…. the idea with PUB NIGHT is to lighten up our dull Tuesday evenings with music, comedy and fun.
Rugby takes a backseat tonight as the clan and fellow rugby nutters gather and wheel in their old friends…
Read the rules below carefully, or you WILL get burnt!
Just for clarity sake, when someone does not adhere to the Rules of the PUB, EVERYBODY jumps on them and pummels them, right… understood?
Here’s how it works:
It’s PUB NIGHT again… I have finally shaken off my lazy bones… for tonight!
The heading suggests we talk about Match Officials, Guide Dogs for the blind… and how inept decisions are ruining our beautiful game, but keep it tidy boys or yerrrr might be “Fetching” some Yellow Cards… from this TMO… hahahaha!
Yesterday, during Round 5 of the Varsity Cup, I was absolutely flabbergasted and quite frankly livid about the inept handling of the 1st game between Maties and UJ. Clearly TMO Shaun Veldsman’s recent unfortunate incident where he was attacked and knived somewhere on the N2 (under some strange circumstances, it would appear) has not cleared up his bad eyesight and in fact it might have worsened his case of “selective viewing syndrome”, because he awarded a try to Maties after the scrorer… wait I HAVE TO put that in inverted commas… “SCORER” had fallen short, stretched out, planted the ball way short of the tryline and then proceeded to roll the ball at least half a full revolution forward to get to the line! How THAT could have been construed as a try, is beyond me!
Not even an all-seeing Guide Dog for the blind will save old Veldtie from his fate…
It’s also not as if Maties needed the Match official intervention and they were bound to score a try anyway, with the rugby they were dishing up at the time!
The things is, although this was only Varsity Cup rugby, it was being officiated by seasoned referees and match officials, not you local brand of “Affie-plaas 1-eyed, brandy-guzzling biased numbnuts”.
Officiating like this gets my goat, it mars the game we love and it turns a fair contest into a circus!
It is time to play fair in the PUB tonight, the FIRST PUB NIGHT of March 2015.
Let’s focus on the PUB tonight…. the idea with PUB NIGHT is to lighten up our dull Tuesday evenings with music, comedy and fun.
Rugby takes a backseat tonight as the clan and fellow rugby nutters gather and wheel in their old friends…
Read the rules below carefully, or you WILL get burnt!
Just for clarity sake, when someone does not adhere to the Rules of the PUB, EVERYBODY jumps on them and pummels them, right… understood?
Here’s how it works:
Hi,
We have 4 NEW SuperBru Pools for all to join!
- The RBS SIX Nations 2015 starts on 6 February 2015, so hurry up and do not delay to register for it!
- The FNB Varsity Cup 2015 starts on 9 February 2015, register for it too, whilst the iron is hot!
- The Vodacom Super Rugby 2015 starts on 13 February 2015 and the first warm-up games in preparation of the season start this weekend… can’t wait… you HAVE TO register for this SuperBru Pool!
- The Cricket World Cup 2015 starts on 14 February 2015 and although Rugby-Talk.com is primarily about rugby, we dabble a bit in the devious art of cricket too… join us!
As is usual, Rugby-Talk.com’s SuperBru Pools are open for ALL REGISTERED SUBSCRIBERS of Rugby-Talk.com, so if you are not yet registered here on Rugby-Talk.com, do so without delay! It is so easy to register and such fun to discuss rugby here.
Gary Gold
Gary Gold and Andries Bekker’s Kobe Kobelco Steelers have crashed out of the Japanese Top League with a 43-12 semi-final defeat to Yamaha Júbilo on Saturday.
According to reports, Bekker made little impact in the game and failed to take control of the lineouts, while Jaque Fourie did not play because of injury.
Kobe coach – and new Sharks Director of Rugby, Gary Gold – cut a dejected figure in the stands as his team, who had topped the log, were taken apart by a side they had beaten by a similar margin during the group stage.
It’s PUB NIGHT again… I have finally shaken off my lazy bones!
The heading suggests we talk about “Fetchers”… and “Maklike Girls”, but keep it tidy boys or yerrrr might be “Fetching” some ban time… hahahaha!
I cannot get past the need of a true fetcher in rugby and in the absense of such fetcher the need to contract 2 more quality fetchers, post haste!
Last year’s Super Rugby and International rugby yet again underligned the value of players like Michael Hooper, Richie McCaw, Marcell Coetzee, Heinrich Brussow, Deon Stegmann and their ilk and the teams who played without classic “Fetchers” had to dig deep to make alternative plans to fill that void.
Filling that void can be done, but it is my considered opinion that those plans are contrived measures, rather than the natural order of things.
I’m not saying the “fetcher” role is the most important role in rugby, but it ranks right up there with the other absolutes!
“Maklike Girls” on the other hand is not a requirement… just a blessing… oh-oh… now I’ve stepped into it… I retract what I have just said… totally!
Talking about filling voids… and I mean it in a “Fetcher” type of way, not in the “Maklike Girls” kind off way… behave yourselves, please!
It is time to fill your voids in the PUB tonight, the FIRST PUB NIGHT of 2015.
Let’s focus on the PUB tonight…. the idea with PUB NIGHT is to lighten up our dull Tuesday evenings with music, comedy and fun.
Rugby takes a backseat tonight as the clan and fellow rugby nutters gather and wheel in their old friends…
Read the rules below carefully, or you WILL get burnt!
Just for clarity sake, when someone does not adhere to the Rules of the PUB, EVERYBODY jumps on them and pummels them, right… understood?
Here’s how it works:
Wow, just saw… sometime this afternoon Rugby-Talk.com went past the magical 13 Million Page Impressions marker, since we started measuring on 31 October 2009 (the website started a few months earlier).
The year 2014 was a remarkable year though, Rugby-Talk.com was elevated to a massive degree by this remarkable year in which Rugby-Talk.com started reaching that critical tipping point or critical mass, if one wants to call it that.
The exponential growth reached that stage in 2014, where it is becoming a self-propelling force to be reconed with, with the sky now the next limit.
Rugby-Talk’s fingerprint runs worldwide but obviously a big amount of the readership favours the South African aspects of rugby, the sport we love so much!
I thought I would share this with you special people, the readers, subscribers, contributors and rugby-loving individuals, who make this place what it is!
Some facts and figures:
Hi Rugby-Talkers,
First working day of the New Year!
Just saying we’re open, not that we ever closed over the Festive Season.
Hello Rugby-Talkers,
No time to make videos today, just relaxing and taking it easy.
I spent the day and evening with my closest family and on old year’s eve we had a family fondu dinner and a general relax.
Tomorrow, 1 January 2015, we head to Mpumalanga for the day and night for a big New Year’s bash with friends and a heap of people, so do not expect ANY rugby news on 1 January 2015.
All the preparations on the site has been done for a flawless transfer into the New Year… so enjoy it and the last few Hooker Articles I did on the SA Super Rugby franchises… 10 Articles now gone and only 30 to go for the Super Rugby Contenders for positions in the SA franchises.
Here’s hoping you are all resting well and spending quality time with your loved-ones and the people closest to you in the world.
South Africa and the West Indies battle each other in the 2nd 5-Day Cricket Test at St Georges Park, Port Elizabeth. The Test is supposed to run from 26 to 30 December 2014.
Overcast weather is expected for all 5 days of the Test.
Play started on schedule on Day 1, at 10:30 SA Time (08:30 GMT).
The score cards will be updated at regular intervals here on Rugby-Talk.com.
The West Indies won the toss and elected to bowl, to exploit the weather conditions.
The South Africans started fast and the first wicket fell on 47 runs. At Lunch on Day 1 the Proteas had only lost one wicket but the West Indies bowling attack were pegging them back and many maiden overs were bowled. The Proteas went on to punish the Windies on Day 1, for the loss of only 1 more wicket.
At Stumps on Day 1, Faf du Plessis was on 99 not out and Hashim Amla on 17 not out and the New Ball had been taken for just 1 over.
Day 2 was delayed for an hour due to early morning rain and Faf du Plessis got his TON, but persihed on 103, early in the day. After only 6 Overs in Day 2 the rain came down and delayed the match for the rest of Day 2.
Day 2 was meant to start half an hour early due to time lost on Day 2, but rain also forced a delay on Day 3, with play only starting at 11:00 SA Time. The Proteas steadily lost wickets and started accellerating run scoring before Lunch on Day 3, so that a declaration can be made, with enough runs on the board. At Lunch on Day 3, the Proteas were 369 / 7 with 117 Overs bowled in the Test. South Africa declared for 418 / 8 off 122 Overs. At Stumps on Day 3 the West Indies were 147 / 2 afyer 44 Overs.
The start of Day 4 once again rain delayed, in this wet-weather Test! It certainly looks like a result in the Test is unlikely. Play eventually started, then rain delayed play again… and the pace of the game seems to be like watching paint dry on Day 4. Later in Day 4, 7 quick wickets fell and suddenly all life seemed to be back in the match. Another rain interruption followed and no more play ensued on Day 4.
On Day 5 the match was eventually abandoned and called a draw after a wet outfield nver recovered sufficiently to warrent further play on Day 5.
All in all a very disapointing Test, considering the first innings of the West Indies were not even done and dusted, by the time the match was called.
South Africa: First Innings – 417 / 8 declared (122 Overs)
West Indies: First Innings – 275 / 9 (79 Overs)
Michael Hooper
Wallaby captain Michael Hooper has allegedly been involved in an incident with a friend whist at the New South Wales coastal Town of Byron Bay, where the police were called out, and Hooper’s friend charged.
The latest incident is just another in a long list involving Wallaby players that is perhaps indicative of the deep rooted problems facing the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) in terms of player discipline off the field.
The ARU seem either uncapable, or unwilling to take the matters to heart and sort the issue (with their top players) out. A fact which must surely have an influence on Rugby Union’s endeavours to have the sport taken more seriously in a country where the sport lags far behing Aussie Rules, and Rugby League in terms of spectator support, and is battling to keep up with or ahead of Association Football (soccer) for bums on seats on a weekly basis.
Australia’s Nine Network
From us here at Rugby-Talk.com,
Have a very Merry Christmas!
Dang, it is not easy to look good on a SELFIE VIDEO!
PS! Leave all your Christmas messages here and send all your gifts to me at Rugby-Talk Central!!
Regards,
Rudi Geldenhuys
(Webmaster grootblousmile)
Liam Messam – the boxer
Fiery All Black loose forward Liam Messam will return to the growing ranks of Rugby Union players dabbling in boxing as a pre-season pastime.
Messam, known for his abrasive approach to the game, will be on the undercard when superstars Sonny Bill Williams and Quade Cooper headline the action at the inaugural Footy Show Fight Night in Sydney next month.
Rugby League star Paul Gallen and rising Australian boxer Willis Meehan will also feature in the 31 January event.
Messam’s last entry into the square ring was a points defeat to Gallen in December last year, after he had also beaten Wendell Sailor in 2011.
It is officially the dreaded OFF-SEASON for Southern Hemisphere rugby, so it means under normal circumstances that we would be going into withdrawal system mode very, very soon… but NEVER here on Rugby-Talk.com.
As from this week (sometime), we will be starting IN DEPTH DISCUSSIONS on the INDIVIDUAL POSITIONS and the PLAYERS who will be filling these positions for the 5 South African Super Rugby Franchises.
That alone means 40 Articles to feast on (8 per Franchise), at a rate of 2 per midweek day, therefor roughly 10 per week, and subsequently it will take us roughly 4 weeks to complete… which basically covers most of the off-season.
But, that is not all folks, we will also be covering INTERNATIONAL CRICKET and some of the NORTHERN HEMISPHERE RUGBY.
In addition we will have a Christmas and New Year’s message, which has also proven popular over the years.
So, lots to look forward to, hold on to your boots!
It’s PUB NIGHT!
I attended another funeral today, yeah, had one last Tuesday too!
It showed me today how fleeting life is and how quickly things could change… the lady had an embolism and died in the Supermarket, at only 66…. not that it will make me drink less condensed milk!
Well it teaches us not to take things for granted, live life to the full every moment and to appreciate those close to us even more, like one of our friends here tell us “Tell those you love that you do, today!”
Now to our pet pieve of the last few weeks here in South Africa… Eskom’s (Electricity Supply Commission) ineptness and rolling blackouts…
Are’nt you lot also starting to despise them intensely, like I do?
And things are bound to continue in December, through January and even into February!
The Blitzbokke was a bright spark in Eskom’s dark world this past weekend, were they not… well done Blitzies, for winning the Dubai Tournament AND for MOERRING (if the newspaper billboards can say it, so can I) the New Zealands Sevens side, 28 / ZIPPPP in the Quarter Finals.
Now don’t be complacent in Port Elizabeth this weekend, Blitzbokke!!
OK, let’s focus on the PUB tonight…. the idea with PUB NIGHT is to lighten up our dull Tuesday evenings with music, comedy and fun.
Rugby takes a backseat tonight as the clan and fellow rugby nutters gather and wheel in their old friends…
Read the rules below carefully, or you WILL get burnt!
Just for clarity sake, when someone does not adhere to the Rules of the PUB, EVERYBODY jumps on them and pummels them, right… understood?
Here’s how it works:
The Springboks (rugby side) took on the Proteas in a T20 celebration match, for the Nelson Mandela Legacy Cup, at Wanderers, Johannesburg on Friday 5 December 2014.
The Springbok side was made up of current and recent Springboks, whereas the Proteas have chosen a strong T20 National lineup.
The match started at 18:00 SA Time.
The score cards were be updated at regular intervals here on Rugby-Talk.com.
The Springboks put one over their Cricket counterparts, with 7 balls spare, Willem Alberts, the capatin on the day, bringing the Bokke home with a 4.
The Springboks win by 5 wickets.
Proteas: 181 / 10 (20 Overs)
Springboks: 185 / 5 (18.5 Overs)
Hannes Strydom
Former Springbok lock Hannes Strydom says he fought back after six men tried to hijack his vehicle in Pretoria on Monday.
Strydom, 49, was admitted to the intensive care unit of the Little Company of Mary hospital in Groenkloof after surviving the attempted hijacking.
The incident occurred in Aries street in Pretoria’s Waterkloof Ridge suburb.
According to Strydom’s wife, Nikolie, the skull around his left eye socket was fractured after one of the hijackers threw a “rock”.
But the former Springbok and Golden Lions star has since recovered and was moved out of ICU on Tuesday afternoon.
It’s PUB NIGHT!
I attended a funeral today, my late dad’s wife… my Stepmom… but she was way more than that!
My dad used to say, “They are cutting from my forest now”, meaning that his generation was in the firing line and the ones going one by one… well today a slender old tree with a very kind shadow was layed to rest… may she rest in peace.
I think it would be apt to dedicate PUB NIGHT tonight to memories, so that is exactly what we will do!
The End Of Year Tours are a thing of the past and not the brightest end to the season for the Springboks, not a good End Of Year Tour in fact. What was clear though, is that the Southern Hemisphere players are all tired and quite spent after a long season and that the top Northern Hemisphere countries have crept closer to the biggies of the Southern Hemisphere.
What remains for 2014? Only a month left of the year and only 2 HSBC Sevens World Series tournaments to go, the one in Dubai and the one at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. Then it is that aweful lull in the Southern Hemisphere season, where we have to make do with only some Northern Hemisphere rugby, some cricket and a heap of news in preparation for Super Rugby 2015.
OK, let’s focus on the PUB tonight…. the idea with PUB NIGHT is to lighten up our dull Tuesday evenings with music, comedy and fun.
Rugby takes a backseat tonight as the clan and fellow rugby nutters gather and wheel in their old timer friends…
Read the rules below carefully, or you WILL get burnt!
Just for clarity sake, when someone does not adhere to the Rules of the PUB, EVERYBODY jumps on them and pummels them, right… understood?
Here’s how it works:
It’s PUB NIGHT!
The week started on a heavy note, my 2nd mom in ICU… and as “deurmekaar” as your regular Sharks supporter!
The PUB also celebrates old timers tonight, Ryecatcher, Angostura… and the softy, which is my stepmom, Nora Geldenhuys, a descendant of one of the big Ground Barons of the original Pretoria – General Opperman (who was a Boer General and closest neighbour of General Jan Smuts).
Of course we also received news this week of the retirement of a Springbok Old Timer and lock legend, Bakkies Botha!
What’s better than wishing these old folgies well and capping it off in the PUB?
This coming weekend the Springboks take on the last enemy on tour for 2014, Wales, who held the All Blacks till the 69th minute, this past weekend! One more BIG push for the Springboks, after a year filled with Super Rugby and a very busy International window.
The Springboks overseas contingent is now gone… back to their Clubs, as the International Window is already officially a thing of the past.
OK, let’s focus on the PUB tonight…. the idea with PUB NIGHT is to lighten up our dull Tuesday evenings with music, comedy and fun.
Rugby takes a backseat tonight as the clan and fellow rugby nutters gather and wheel in their old timer friends…
Read the rules below carefully, or you WILL get burnt!
Just for clarity sake, when someone does not adhere to the Rules of the PUB, EVERYBODY jumps on them and pummels them, right… understood?
Here’s how it works:
It’s PUB NIGHT!
Was a lady day for me, I did not do much and did not WANT to do much… one needs to be lazy sometimes… it is part of the rejuvenation process!
What’s better than capping it off in the pub!
This coming weekend the Springboks take on the old enemy, England, at Twickenham. Question is, will the “Rooinekke” also beat the Bokke, or will the Bokke bounce back from the Irish disaster and once again get one over the “Bleekbene”?
The Springboks controlled the set pieces against Ireland, but did not finish off their opportunities, allowing Ireland to eventually trounce them and to end the shitty weekend off, Saracens really put DHL Western Province to the sword on Sunday… 6 tries to 3.
OK, let’s focus on the PUB tonight…. the idea with PUB NIGHT is to lighten up our dull Tuesday evenings with music, comedy and fun.
Rugby takes a backseat tonight as the clan and fellow rugby nutters gather…
Read the rules below carefully, or you WILL get burnt!
Just for clarity sake, when someone does not adhere to the Rules of the PUB, EVERYBODY jumps on them and pummels them, right… understood?
Here’s how it works:
Sports medicine experts, school heads and sports administrators are hailing a breakthrough week in their battle against school pupils using steroids and illegal performance enhancing drugs after Parliament discussed key draft amendments that will pave the way for improved testing and sanctions.
Representatives from the Basic Education Department joined forces with the Department of Sport and Recreation to brief Parliament on draft changes to the South African Schools Act that will facilitate random drug testing at schools, with recommended sanctions for those caught using steroids and banned stimulants.
South Africa will become the first country in the world where random steroids testing of minors in schools is allowed.
“These proposed changes to the current legislation are essential,” said Glen Hagemann, the director of the Discovery SharkSmart program that has driven a strong anti-steroid message into its 23 partner high schools in KwaZulu-Natal for more than a decade, under the mantra ‘Play Safe Play Fair’.
It’s PUB NIGHT!
Whooopie!
it’s been a better start to the week for me, but still bloody busy… need some serious R & R tonight!
The End Of Year Tours, or in South Africa’s case, The Castle Outgoing Tour, starts this weekend… against Ireland, the SIX Nations champions.
The Springboks have had a good chance to get all their ducks in a row this time round and proper preparation time, with the contracted Springboks out of the latter stages of the Currie Cup, so no excuses, we want some good performances on tour!
OK, let’s focus on the PUB tonight…. the idea with PUB NIGHT is to lighten up our dull Tuesday evenings with music, comedy and fun.
Rugby takes a backseat tonight as the clan and fellow rugby nutters gather…
Read the rules below carefully, or you WILL get burnt!
Just for clarity sake, when someone does not adhere to the Rules of the PUB, EVERYBODY jumps on them and pummels them, right… understood?
Here’s how it works:
Bryan & Bernie Habana
Bernie Habana, the father of Springbok wing Bryan, is reported to be causing his landlord problems by not paying his rent.
According to the Times Live website, Habana snr has not paid his rent for months and is now refusing to leave the R2.4m house he is occupying in Johannesburg’s northern suburbs, according to his landlord, Thorsten Weiss.
Weiss is taking Habana to the Gauteng Rental Housing Tribunal this week to get an eviction order.
Tinus Linee
Former Springbok and Western Province centre Tinus Linee, who was suffering from Motor Neuron Disease (MND), passed away at the age of 45 on Monday morning. Continue reading
Hi fellow Rugby-Talkers, readers and rugby nutters,
Yesterday we went well over the 12 Million Page Impressions mark here on Rugby-Talk.com, since we started counting on 31 October 2009 (exactly 5 years ago today).
To some it may be irrelevant, but it is a real world indication of how we have grown and how we are capturing the rugby audience all over the globe. It is an indication that we are successful in what we are doing on this wonderful rugby portal and it certainly is indicative that we keep growing… and growing on a serious exponential curve.
The sport we so gladly serve, makes it easier to reach these figures, but as we have seen from recent rivals who have fallen by the wayside, it still indicates that you have to do things right and not just sit back and expect people to access your site because you think that you are somebody or that the rugby world owes you something.
At the end of the 2014 calendar year we should reach a figure of 4.75 Million Page Impressions for the year… or more, a massive increase on the 2013 calendar year.
It’s PUB NIGHT again… and what a shocking start to the week for me it was, have not even had time to change my mind, let alone put deserved news on Rugby-Talk.
Tonight it changes, I WILL catch up on the rugby news, even if it is the last thing I do!
Rugby-Talk.cm quietly reaches milestone after milestone and today Bullscot officially took us over the 11 000 mark, as far as news articles are concerned!
Tomorrow will see us reach 12 Million Page Impressions since we started counting on 31 October 2009 and at year end in 2014 we should stand at over 12.75 Million Page Impressions.
The ABSA Currie Cup concluded this past weekend, with DHL Western Province walking away with the spoils fopr 2014. Congratulations to Province, deserved winners after a stellar Currie Cup season. Heartfelt congratulations also goes out to the Xerox Golden Lions who came oh so close to forcing the game into overtime. All in all a good final!
OK, let’s focus on the PUB tonight…. the idea with PUB NIGHT is to lighten up our dull Tuesday evenings with music, comedy and fun.
Rugby takes a backseat tonight as the clan and fellow rugby nutters gather…
Read the rules below carefully, or you WILL get burnt!
Just for clarity sake, when someone does not adhere to the Rules of the PUB, EVERYBODY jumps on them and pummels them, right… understood?
Here’s how it works:
It’s PUB NIGHT again… sneeked up on me a bit… forgot it was freegin Tuesday already!
Tonight no really, really special theme… I mean my Bully Boys are out of the Currie Cup and all…
To be fair though, the 2 best provincial sides are in the Currie Cup Final of 2014, DHL Western Province and the Xerox Golden Lions.
The idea with PUB NIGHT is to lighten up our dull Tuesday evenings with music, comedy and fun.
Last week we added some new Functionality to Rugby-Talk.com… commentors can now add Pictures of their own in Comments… but more than that, we can exchange Word & Excel documents, PDF Documents and also Post MP3 songs.
Above the Comment Form, there is now an Upload Line with a Browse Button on the right… to enable you to upload something FROM your PC, Pad, Tablet, Mobile Phone. See the file types allowed in that description.
There is a proviso though… files may not exceed 5Mb!
When you add a file and submit your comment, it’ll naturally take longer to load that comment, as the Attached file must also be uploaded. Normal comments are unaffected.
Rugby takes a backseat tonight as the clan and fellow rugby nutters gather…
Read the rules below carefully, or you WILL get burnt!
Just for clarity sake, when someone does not adhere to the Rules of the PUB, EVERYBODY jumps on them and pummels them, right… understood?
Here’s how it works:
Leigh Heard, Sharks chief operations officer, has been dismissed for gross misconduct.
A disciplinary hearing into allegations of “serious misconduct” by a senior staff member of the KZN Sharks rugby administration has exposed a number of alleged breaches in the financial management of the globally revered sport franchise.
A 47-page report described as “highly sensitive” and leaked to the Tribune this week details a litany of apparent unethical financial practice, spanning more than a decade.
Claims of irregular payments for “deserving” staff members, gifts and bonuses, free luxury stadium suites, inflated bonuses, free cars, nepotism, poor accounting and large unauthorised handouts were all part of the mix.
Mourad Boudjellal
Mourad Boudjellal is planning to take the IRB to court over payments to players on international duty in a groundbreaking move.
The outspoken Toulon president had already made his feelings clear erlier this season when he complained about having to pay the likes of Bryan Habana, Juán Martín Fernández-Lobbe and Bakkies Botha while they were away at the Rugby Championship.
And he has now revealed that he has the support of Premiership bosses in England ahead of a legal battle with the game’s governing body, who he has accused of an ‘abuse of power’.
“We’re in the process of speaking to our lawyers in Paris to see if we go to commercial or administrative court,” he told Var Matin.
“The IRB rules have no provisions for unions to pay the clubs for their internationals. Yet the IRB is made up of the unions.
The career trajectory of the professional rugby player – indeed, of any professional sportsman or woman – is a strange one. Your peak earning potential is in your mid to late twenties, and by the time you reach your mid thirties your career as a player is essentially over.
And then, of course, there is the danger that it could all be brought to an end at any moment – one mistimed tackle, one wrong body position in a ruck, and your livelihood is brought to an end by an injury. There is no other profession in the world in which this scenario repeats itself.