General
Hi,
After an Off-season which certainly drove me slightly more batty than I already was, the new Rugby Season is now close at hand.
The coming weekend sees some of Super Rugby’s warm-up matches, with the Lions playing the Leopards on Friday evening 24 January, the Cheetahs playing against NMMU and again against the Kings on Saturday and of course the Sharks playing Saracens on Saturday 25 January in London. In addition there is the HSBC Sevens World Series Las Vegas tournament on the weekend, Saturday and Sunday and slightly into Monday very early morning.
Samurai beat giant-killers the Unlimited Titans 33-17 in the Cup Final on Sunday to secure back-to-back George Premier League Sevens titles.
Samurai were in a league of their own and stormed through the competition unbeaten to retain their crown and pick up the R1-million cheque.
The IRB made the following statement:
The International Rugby Board has confirmed that it is to suspend all direct financial support to the Fiji Rugby Union (FRU) with immediate effect until the Union adopts key financial reporting, administration and governance reforms.
The Fiji Rugby Union are yet to pay new head coach Ben Ryan any of his salary since he took over the national side this season.
The International Rugby Board (IRB) is considering stricter protocols to prevent players with possible concussion from returning to the field during matches.
According to a current protocol being tested in some tournaments, a player can return to the playing field if he passes a cognitive test within five minutes. It is called the Pitch Side Concussion Assessment (PSCA) trial – or ‘five-minute test’.
The International Rugby Board (IRB) is set to ditch the ‘YES NINE’ scrum call in favour of a non-verbal, pre-agreed instruction.
The change will take place with immediate effect, and will be introduced at all levels of the game.
Referees will no longer give a verbal instruction of ‘YES NINE’, and instead will issue a non-verbal instruction to the scrumhalf when he considers the scrum to be square and stable.
The non-verbal instruction must be agreed by the referee and both scrumhalves prior to the start of the game and could be in the form of a tap on the back while the referee is on the side of the put-in, or an agreed signal (nod of the head or hand signal) by the referee while he is on the other side of the scrum.
Samoan legend Brian Lima has resigned as defence coach of his country’s national team after his arrest for assault on his former wife.
This is Published Article 8 002 on Rugby-Talk as we silently went over the magical 8 000 mark with the Stormers Locks Article earlier today!
On top of it, it is 1 January 2014, the start of a brand new year, which promises so much.
Here’s to a HAPPY and PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR to all the readers, subscribers, contributors, authors and webmasters of Rugby-Talk!
The year has flown by, the rugby has come and gone, it is time for family and friends to bond and share in the holidays.
From Rugby-Talk to all it’s readers, subscribers, contributors & Authors… and to all their family members, a very Merry & bledded Christmas is wished.
May your family time be a welcome time of rest, recuperation and may Christmas spirit fill your souls.
No video message this year, I am simply too lazy and need my own time of rest and recuperation.
The year was full of spectacular moments and performances as well as disappointing lows and infamous incidents; we name and shame the best and worst in our 2013 Awards.
New Zealand and Wales ruled their respective hemispheres for the second successive year, the All Blacks enjoying a flawless 2013 campaign.
Samoa rugby legend Brian Lima faces criminal charges after allegedly assaulting his ex-wife in public last week, leaving her with serious facial injuries, reports said on Thursday.
It is mid December 2013, 14 days till we welcome the new year.
Tell us about your holiday plans and / or your plans for the Festive season, coming up!
Rugby-Talk’s holiday plans and Festive season plans include keeping you up to date on the doings and screwings in the rugby world, but we acknowledge that Southern Hemisphere rugby news is in short supply.
In light of the above we’ll also focus on a bit of cricket in the lean times and most importantly we’ll start this week with detailed discussions on the SQUAD MEMBERS of the different South African Super Rugby sides for 2014. For each player position we’ll have a seperate article for each franchise, for instance there will be 5 seperate articles discussing the props, same with hookers, locks, looseforwards, scrumhalves, flyhalves, midfield & back 3. That equates to 10 new Super Rugby articles a week for 4 weeks, thus 40 new Super Rugby articles in total to feast on.
English Rugby Football Union (RFU) CEO Ian Ritchie is confident that the game has not been affected by spot-fixing.
Ritchie was speaking at a conference where ministers and MPs were discussing corruption in sport.
The South African Rugby Union (SARU) has paid tribute to the extraordinary life and unselfish contribution to the establishment of a united South Africa, of former President, Nelson Mandela.
Mr Mandela passed away peacefully at his home on Thursday. He was 95.
Former Southern Kings utility forward Daniel Adongo has earned a place on the Indianapolis Colts roster and could make his NFL debut in Cincinnati on Sunday.
Japan head coach Eddie Jones has been released from hospital nearly 40 days after suffering a stroke while preparing his squad for their clash with the All Blacks. The 53-year-old Australian, a former Brumbies and Wallabies coach, left the Tokyo hospital on Saturday, the Japan Rugby Football Union said in a statement.
The prospect of two rival European club tournaments next season grew on Thursday when the four RaboDirect unions and France announced the Heineken Cup would continue and the English and French clubs insisted their Rugby Champions Cup would go ahead regardless.
Former Springbok wing Chester Williams is back in the country after a coaching stint in Romania and eager to coach a South African team.
In another significant development regarding the ongoing impasses over the future of European club rugby, representatives from the French, Irish, Welsh, Scottish and Italian unions will meet in Dublin on Thursday in an attempt to break the current logjam, and to that end will begin drawing up plans for a Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup without the English clubs.
Idly going through Facebook (and let’s face it I am no Facebook fan), waiting for Computers to finish some downloads, I came accros this video…
I am blown away by this positive story and the spirit of south Africans.
You have to understand Afrikaans to appreciate this to it’s fullest.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXKAc5n3lJ0[/youtube]
I love this beautiful country… hope you do too.
Kindly share this with EVERYBODY you know… Facebook it, Twiter it!
A World Cup winning rugby star is joining forces with leading researchers in a new partnership to tackle motor neurone disease (MND).
South African Joost van der Westhuizen – part of the victorious Springboks team of 1995 – will launch the collaboration with scientists from the University of Edinburgh today (Friday, 15 November).
The former home of Eastern Province rugby, the Boet Erasmus Stadium, is currently in a state of ruin.
Western Province Rugby can confirm that one of its players was arrested on suspicion that his blood alcohol content exceeded the legal limit.
Helllooooooooooo!
The Currie Cup is done and dusted, The Rugby Championship is done… but we have a NEW COMPETITION to join.
The End Of Year Tours or Autumn Internationals as it is known up north, starts this weekend, so hurry up and join our new Pool!
To be a member of a Rugby-Talk.com SuperBru pool is easy as pie, all that you have to do is see to it that you are a REGISTERED SUBSCRIBER TO RUGBY-TALK.
The details are as follows:
Pool Name: Rugby-Talk EOYT 2013
Pool Code: bowssago
CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE POOL LEADERBOARD
The precinct around ‘Fortress’ Loftus will undergo a major facelift over the next two years. Loftus Park, which may best be described as an exclusive shopping and office precinct, valued at R1,2 Billion on completion, is expected to be fully functional and operational by the beginning of 2016, with actual construction starting towards the middle of 2014.
53 year old Japanese coach Eddie Jones has been hospitalized after showing signs of a stroke.
This ahead of the Japanese clash against the All Blacks on 2 November.
Rugby-Talk has had a change of clothes, but we’re still the same beast!
Over the weekend, I have made some radical changes to the website, some of which appear at first glance to the naked eye, with a bit of a new look and feel, and some run under the radar to make the site perform as it should and also adding valuable added functionality.
Was it strange to open your favourite rugby wensite, Rugby-Talk, and be confronted with a new look?
Tell us what you think of the new look and feel!
As we enter Round 8 of the 2013 Currie Cup, the Sharks and Western Province are setting the pace at the top of the Log, with 24 Log points each. The Griquas find themselves in last place with only 10 Log points.
With only 2 rounds remaining after this weekend the Sharks and Western Province have probably already booked their places in the semi-finals. The Blue Bulls find themselves in a must win scenario this weekend as a loss this weekend could see them end last on the Log and totally miss out in the race for a semi final place, they now already find themselves 5 Log points behind the 4th placed Free State Cheetahs.
As we enter Round 7 of the 2013 Currie Cup, WP is setting the pace at the top of the Log, with 20 Log points. The Griquas find themselves in last place with 9 Log points.
A win for the Shark and Western Province this weekend could almost assure them of a semi final spot, in this scenario the Free State Cheetahs, Golden Lions and Blue Bulls are still fighting for the last two spots. A loss for the Griquas this weekend could see them remain in last position.
A former NRL player has been banned for 8 matches for biting an opponents penis in a club match last week.
The Blue Bulls have confirmed that scrumhalf Ruan Snyman has been released with immediate effect to join his new club Racing Metro in France.
The transfer fee has already been paid and Snyman will be able to play as soon as he is selected.
Edenpark Rugby Club have recently moved from the Golden Lions provincial structures, to the Falcons in order to conform with the Provincial sports boundaries as set down by the Gauteng Provincial Government.
As a result of the red tape and hence late registration with the Falcons, Edenpark were not able to compete in the Falcons league structures, and had to make do with only a handfull of friendlies throughout the season.
A man who disrupted the final game of the State of Origin rugby league series in Australia by running naked onto the field for a dare was jailed for three months on Thursday.
PRO12 chief executive John Feehan has shrugged off the loss of title sponsor RaboDirect and insists the competition is thriving. Dutch banking group RaboDirect announced earlier this month that they would not be extending their support of the Celtic and Italian league beyond this season – their third as the main title sponsor having succeeded Magners in 2010.
Former Wales and British and Irish Lions flyhalf Cliff Morgan has died at the age of 83, the Welsh Rugby Union announced on Thursday.