Player Movements
Bill Pulver
Australian Rugby Union chief Bill Pulver on Thursday ruled out introducing player sabbaticals, preventing stars such as Israel Folau taking up lucrative short-term overseas deals.
Folau this week joined Test greats including ex-captains John Eales, George Gregan and Stirling Mortlock in calling for playing stints overseas to be allowed without losing eligibility to represent the Wallabies.
Folau, 24, is hot property across the two rugby codes and comes off contract next year, with French champions Toulon reportedly expressing an interest in the dual rugby international back.
ARU rules stipulate that players must complete a full season of domestic rugby in Australia to be eligible for national team selection.
England coach Stuart Lancaster has made a number of changes to his team ahead of the third and final Test against New Zealand at the Waikato Stadium, Hamilton, on Saturday.
Most notably was the decision to move Manu Tuilagi’s back to midfield, making his transition to a Test wing a very shortlived affair.
Tuilagi, who caused trouble for New Zealand from his preferred centre position in the first Test in Auckland, was largely anonymous on the right wing for the second Test in Dunedin last week.
He will be joined in midfield by his first Test centre partner Kyle Eastmond.
Four of France’s leading players, including scrum-half Morgan Parra and centre Mathieu Bastareaud, are struggling to be fit for their final Test against Australia.
Team officials said lock Yoann Maestri and prop Nicolas Mas, who is on the bench after captaining the tourists in the opening Test, are also in doubt as France seek their first win in Australia since 1990.
Maestri pulled out of training early on Thursday with a left knee injury.
Paul Willemse
French Top 14 club Grenoble are reportedly hunting the services of promising Bulls lock Paul Willemse.
According to reports, there are rumours that he could leave the Bulls after the completion of this year’s Super Rugby competition.
The Bulls though insisted that the 21-year-old Willemse would play for them in the Currie Cup later this year.
Johannes ‘Boom’ Prinsloo
Die Cheetahs agsteman, Johannes ‘Boom’ Prinsloo, het sy betrokkenheid met die Bloemfontein-gebasseerde eenheid verleng tot aan die einde van 2015.
Die 25-jarige wat ‘n uitnemende en vooraanstaande verhouding en geskiedenis met die SA Sewes Blitzbokke gehad het, het gesê hy is gelukkig by die Cheetahs en sien geen rede om daaraan te verander nie.
Sam Beard (left) and Carl Bezuidenhout (right)
Edinburgh have extended the contracts of trialists Sam Beard and Carl Bezuidenhout.
Beard, who has made 13 appearances since arriving from Bay of Plenty in November, has signed a deal until 2016.
South African Carl Bezuidenhout has penned a contract until 2015.
Kieran Read
Kieran Read will play in his first Test of the year, after finally overcoming the concussion issues that has sidelined him for months.
Read’s inclusion in the starting 15 is one of two changes to the team hat will play England in the third and final Test of the June series at Waikato Stadium, Hamilton, on Saturday.
The All Blacks made just the two changes, injecting Read and Malakai Fekitoa to the starting line up as they chase a clean sweep in the series.
Coach Steve Hansen said he’d decided not to try new combinations with the series already won, as he looks to develop his preferred run-on side – who were far from perfect in winning the first two Tests 20-15 and 28-27.
Grant Gilchrist will captain an inexperienced Scotland side against Argentina in Cordoba on Friday.
The 23-year-old Edinburgh lock will be playing in his seventh international, having scored a try in last Saturday’s 19-17 win over Canada.
Stuart Hogg, Sean Maitland and Peter Horne also keep their places as 13 new faces joined the tour party this week.
Scrum-half Grayson Hart, lock Jonny Gray and back-row forward Kieran Low all make their first starts.
With scrum-half Greig Laidlaw among those returning home after victories against USA and Canada, Gilchrist becomes Scotland’s youngest captain since Gregor Townsend led the team against Australia 18 years ago.
Waratahs enforcer Will Skelton will make his Test debut for the Wallabies as they target a clean sweep of the French in Sydney on Saturday.
With Australia entering the match with an insurmountable 2-0 series lead, coach Ewen McKenzie has opted to give the 203cm, 140kg lock an opportunity in the starting side in his home state.
His inclusion represents one of the two changes made to the starting XV, with Skelton’s Waratahs teammate Wycliff Palu returning at No 8 after missing the second Test in Melbourne with a minor ankle injury.
There have been two further changes made on the bench with Brumbies prop Scott Sio and Waratahs outside back Rob Horne getting their first opportunities in the match day squad for 2014.
David Denton
The already depleted Scotland team suffered another big blow, with back row forward David Denton out of their mid-year tour.
The 24-year-old Edinburgh player, Denton, will play no part in the tour matches against Argentina in Cordoba on Friday and for the closing match against South Africa in Port Elizabeth a week on Saturday.
Scotland team doctor James Robson explained that Denton suffered a concussion in his last game of the season for Edinburgh against Leinster in the Pro12 last month.
Philip van der Walt
The Cheetahs have announced that eighthman Philip van der Walt will leave the Bloemfontein Super Rugby franchise in order to play in France.
The Free-state franchise have released Van der Walt from his contract so that he can join French club Biarritz.
Deon Stegmann
Deon Stegmann may make his long-awaited return to action when the Vodacom Bulls head for Windhoek for a friendly match against the Namibian national team this weekend.
While Stegmann was only expected to make a return to Currie Cup action later, his inclusion in a team for the breakaway trip may well mean that he will get some game time. It also means he could be back for the last few games in this year’s Vodacom Super Rugby series.
Patrick Cilliers
Brok Harris
Western Province and the Stormers look likely to lose the services of props Pat Cilliers and Brok Harris.
According to reports, Cilliers is heading to French club Montpellier, while Welsh club Newport are believed to be hunting the signature of Harris.
Aaron Cruden
New Zealand rugby has secured a major commitment from one of its key players, with All Blacks and Chiefs flyhalf Aaron Cruden signing on for a further three years.
The 25-year-old Cruden, who played his 31st Test in the All Blacks victory over England on the weekend, has signed with New Zealand Rugby and the Chiefs through until 2017. He has also re-signed with his Manawatu Turbos provincial side for the same period.
Cruden said it was an easy decision for him to make.
Cam Crawford
In the wake of acquiring Mike Harris and Jonah Placid, the Rebels’ recruiting drive has secured another key talent with Cam Crawford signing for the next two Super Rugby seasons.
The 25-year-old had to make it to Super Rugby the hard way, with a number of injuries preventing him from making a long-awaited debut until the 2012 season.
Playing for the Brumbies, Crawford featured in one Super Rugby game and also against the touring Welsh.
Gary van Aswegen
Western Province flyhalf Gary van Aswegen is set to join the Eastern Province Kings for a trial period.
Van Aswegen joined up with the Port Elizabeth-based team on Tuesday.
The trial period will be for one month, but if all goes well, the 24-year-old could represent the EP Kings in this year’s Currie Cup.
Luke Watson
After a lengthy layoff through a foot injury, Luke Watson is excited to be back in the EP Kings team to face the Bulls in a Super Rugby friendly at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Friday.
The 30-year-old loose forward was named by coach Carlos Spencer as captain of the team and would lead the side from the back of the scrum.
Watson has been out of rugby since the Super Rugby competition last year, having been hampered by a broken foot bone.
Izak van der Westhuizen when he first arrived in Edinburgh
Lock Izak van der Westhuizen has not passed his medical fitness tests and as such will not be joining the EP Kings for their Currie Cup campaign.
The second row forward started his professional career with the Cheetahs and moved to Edinburgh in 2012 before joining up with the Kings this year.
EP Rugby CEO Charl Crous said the three year contract with the 28-year-old lock out of Kimberley, was subject to his passing his medical fitness tests, and as such the contract would not be coming into effect, effectively releasing Van der Westhuizen.
Marnitz Boshoff
The win his Junior Springbok team scored in Sunday’s exciting age-group semifinal in New Zealand may have prevented Handre Pollard from making his senior debut much quicker than he may have anticipated.
Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer has made no secret of how highly he regards Pollard and has indicated that the Bulls pivot is definitely under consideration for next year’s World Cup. There were whispers earlier this month that Pollard could find himself getting an opportunity for the Boks as early as sometime during the June series if the Junior Boks got knocked out early, with everything hinging on their pool game against the Kiwis 10 days ago.
Had the Junior Boks made an early exit, Pollard could have been the solution to a potential flyhalf crisis in the squad now that Johan Goosen is doubtful for the rest of the series because of a knee injury sustained in this past weekend’s 38-16 win over Wales in Durban. Goosen limped off not long after coming onto the field and Meyer admitted afterwards that Goosen was the big concern looking ahead to next week’s second test in Nelspruit.
Ed Slater
England have named a team of fringe players to face the Crusaders on Tuesday, with coach Stuart Lancaster looking to ensure all his touring party receive game-time in New Zealand.
Debutant Ed Slater will captain a starting XV against the seven-time Super Rugby champions which features only one player, flank James Haskell, who has started a Test during the New Zealand tour.
While Lancaster insisted “we are treating this as like an additional Test”, the selection indicates he is aiming to develop depth in his squad for the 2015 Rugby World Cup while retaining his first-choice players for the final Test in Hamilton on Saturday.
Sonny Bill Williams
Tana Umaga
Code-hopping star Sonny Bill Williams will reunite with his former Toulon coach Tana Umaga when he returns to New Zealand rugby next year from rugby league.
Williams, who has played for New Zealand at both rugby and league World Cups, has signed a two year deal to play for Counties Manukau, coached by Umaga, in New Zealand’s National Provincial Championships. He has previously signed to play Super Rugby for the Hamilton-based Chiefs.
Israel Folau
In-demand Wallabies star Israel Folau has ruled out any move to Europe or a switch back to league in Australia before next year’s World Cup.
Folau is hot property across the two codes and comes off contract next year, with French champions Toulon reportedly expressing an interest in the dual rugby international back.
Toulon, the reigning European Cup and Top 14 champions, are one of the wealthiest clubs in the world, boasting a star-studded roster including former Wallabies backs Matt Giteau, Drew Mitchell and the newly signed James O’Connor.
But Folau, 25, said he would not decide his future before rugby’s showpiece event which starts in England in September next year.
Conrad Smith
All Blacks centre Conrad Smith will miss the 3rd and final Test against England after breaking his thumb in the 2nd Test win on the weekend, coach Steve Hansen said.
He said the in-form Smith would be sidelined for at least a month after being injured in the 28-27 victory in Dunedin.
The Crusaders will host an historic mid-week match against England this Tuesday night at AMI Stadium (Addington). Head Coach Todd Blackadder has named his team to take on the touring side. Packing down in the front row will be Tim Perry, Corey Flynn and Nepo Laulala. Prop Joe Moody has been named in the reserves for his first game since he broke his leg in last year’s ITM Cup final. Another prop, Siate Tokolahi, has been called into the squad for this game and will also take a place on the bench.
Joel Everson is set to make his Crusaders debut at lock alongside Jimmy Tupou, and another player called into the squad could make his debut if he comes off the bench – lock Scott Barrett, younger brother of All Black first five Beauden Barrett. Flanker Matt Todd has been released by the All Blacks to join the team and will take a place in the reserves to provide cover for Whitelock brothers George and Luke and Jordan Taufua in the loose forwards.
Will Genia
Senior Wallabies scrumhalf Will Genia faces ankle surgery and will be out of rugby for eight weeks, the Australian Rugby Union said on Sunday.
Genia’s troubled season took another downward turn when it was revealed he has had ligament damage in his right ankle since playing for the Reds against the Hurricanes in Wellington on 26 April.
Scans have shown he needs an operation to fix the worsening problem and the 55-Test scrumhalf will undergo surgery on Tuesday.
Paul Jordaan
Wynand Olivier
Paul Jordaan and Wynand Olivier have been called up to the Springbok squad in the places of Juan de Jongh and Frans Steyn.
The uncapped Jordaan, a former star for the SA Under 20 and Springbok Sevens teams, has impressed for the Sharks this season.
Olivier is a veteran of 37 Tests for the Springboks. He made his Test debut in 2006 and his last match in the Green and Gold was in 2012 against England in Port Elizabeth.
Brett Gosper
IRB chief executive Brett Gosper has revealed that while an IRB committee is working on it a global season is unlikely to happen before 2019.
Super Rugby and Rugby Championship organisers SANZAR have requested that the IRB move the current June Test window to July in order to allow their Super Rugby tournament to run without a break for internationals.
July does not currenly fit in with the European season as the climax of the Northern Hemisphere tournaments take place in May and the June Internationals follow on.
Moving the mid-year internationals to July would therefore not work for Northern Hemisphere teams as the players would not get sufficient rest and the season would have a “dead” month in June.
Juan de Jongh
Springbok centre Juan de Jongh was on Friday ruled out of the three tests in the Castle Lager Incoming Series this month following a severe chest infection which saw him being hospitalised for four nights.
De Jongh was admitted to hospital on Sunday evening, treated for pneumonia and discharged on Thursday morning.
According to Springbok team doctor Craig Roberts, the decision to withdraw the DHL Stormers midfielder was in consultation with specialists and with the player’s own wellbeing in mind.
Francois Steyn
The SA Rugby Union (Saru) has denied reports that it had reneged on a contractual promise made to Springbok fullback Frans Steyn which led to his sudden withdrawal from the national squad on Tuesday evening.
“I can confirm that there was a dispute over mechanisms by which one element of Frans’s Springbok remuneration was to be paid,” Saru chief executive Jurie Roux said in a statement on Thursday.
“That issue was addressed. Some minor details remain to be sorted out, but they are not of such a scale as to be a cause for a major upheaval.”
Simon Hickey injured
New Zealand’s Under 20 side has been dealt a blow with captain Simon Hickey out for the remainder of the Junior World Championship.
The play-maker has been instrumental for the Under 20 host nation along side his Blues Super Rugby team-mate, Tevita Li.
Hickey came off in the second half of New Zealand’s final pool match against Scotland on Tuesday with an ankle pain.
Brett Gosper
International Rugby Board Chief Executive Brett Gosper urged international unions to play their star names at the Rio Olympics Sevens to maximise the sport’s opportunity on the world stage.
Gosper said that while the value of having regular Sevens players must be properly respected, Rugby Union’s chances of becoming a permanent Olympic sport may rely on an injection of star power from the traditional, more high-profile 15-a-side game.
“In 2017, straight after Rio, they’ll decide if Rugby continues to be a core sport at the Olympics. We will be in Japan in 2020 as well, but that may be it,” Gosper told reporters in Sydney.
Lood de Jager
The value of having veteran Bakkies Botha in the Springbok squad could be measured by how much time it takes new cap Lood de Jager to settle and become comfortable at international level.
The influence that the likes of Botha and now Victor Matfield could have on the development of the young players in the squad has often been referred to as one of the main reasons for having them in the mix.
It was when he saw the awe with which the youngsters regarded Botha when he joined the Boks in Wales last year that coach Heyneke Meyer made the decision to get the one half of the legendary “Blood Brother” combination into the mix more regularly.
But there is nothing quite like hearing it direct from the horse’s mouth, and De Jager left little doubt after his announcement in the match day 23 for Saturday’s first test against Wales here in Durban on Saturday that the presence of both Botha and Matfield has added even greater impetus to what has already been a special time for him.
Gurthrö Steenkamp
South Africa’s Player of the Year in 2010, Gurthrö Steenkamp, will make his 50th Test appearance for the Springboks when they take on Wales at Growthpoint Kings Park in Durban on Saturday (kick-off 17:00 SA Time, 15:00 GMT).
Steenkamp has been included in the starting line-up for the first Welsh Test in one of six changes to the match-day squad from the team which comprehensively beat the World XV last weekend in Cape Town, four of which are positional shifts.
Cornal Hendricks, who shone for the Springboks last weekend at DHL Newlands, will make his Test debut on Saturday, while his provincial team mate from the Toyota Free State Cheetahs, the uncapped Lood de Jager, has been selected on the bench.
The two changes in the backline are at inside centre, where Jan Serfontein will earn his first Test start for South Africa, and scrumhalf, where Fourie du Preez will start with Ruan Pienaar on the bench alongside Tendai Mtawarira, who has swapped places with Steenkamp.
Luke Watson
Luke Watson is eyeing a return to rugby when the Kings tackle the Bulls in a friendly in Port Elizabeth next Saturday.
The 30-year-old loose forward has been beset by injuries in the last year, and hasn’t played any competitive rugby since last year’s Super Rugby competition.
Watson’s injury woes started when he fractured a bone in his ankle towards the latter part of the 2012 season. He returned to play for the Kings in their debut Super Rugby season last year, but was immediately sidelined after taking a blow to the throat in their first game against the Western Force.
Nathan Charles
Wallaby hooker Nathan Charles says he wants to be judged on his performance rather than a genetic disease he has defied to make the national team.
Charles, who is poised to make his Test debut when he starts on the replacements bench against France in Melbourne on Saturday, is a cystic fibrosis sufferer.
He is believed to be the only athlete with the condition in the world who is playing a professional contact sport.
Cystic fibrosis is a life-threatening genetic disease that primarily affects the lungs and digestive system.