Referees
Chiefs (6) 11 / Reds (10) 19 (Final Score)
The Chiefs hosted the Reds at Waikato Stadium, Hamilton at 07:30 SA Time. This was the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
The Reds held on to win, but apart from a very good first 20 minutes did not impres, apart from keeping their defences up well. The Chiefs tried well but finishing let them down.
Rebels (6) 24 / Force (9) 27 (Final Score)
The Melbourne Rebels hosted the Western Force at AAMI Stadium, Melbourne at 11:40 SA Time. This was the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1, SHD & CSN on TV in SA.
In a dour match which only really came alight deep in the second half, the Western Force held on to win by 3 points.
Blues (17) 33 / Highlanders (11) 16 (Final Score)
The Blues hosted the Highlanders at Eden Park, Auckland at 09:35 SA Time. This was the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1, SHD & CSN on TV in SA.
The Blues were clearly the better side, doing the necessary to claim a play-off spot.
Herewith ALL the Super Rugby team sheets as they were announced for week 18 of Super Rugby 2011.
The Sharks play their final pool game this Saturday which should present to be a thrilling encounter between the 2 sides, this derby will no doubt be a match of huge proportions, with the result probably seeing one of the 2 sides not going through to the final stages of the series.
Lions flyhalf Butch James been suspended for four weeks after being found guilty of dangerous play.
The Stormers could suffer a massive blow ahead of their Super Rugby clash against the Cheetahs as Dewaldt Duvenhage is now in doubt for the match.
The Rebels have announced that Rod Macqueen has agreed to extend his role with the club until the end of 2013 but he will be replaced as Head coach, by Damien Hill.
SANZAR has resolved travel challenges that have threatened to disrupt fixtures in the final Round of the Super Rugby regular season this weekend .
We are reaching the end of the line for nine of the 15 teams in the 2011 Super Rugby season. So many if’s and but’s happened this year and with the last week having so many permutations one can call the new format a success. Some teams made a mess of their draw and other exploited it better. Let me sum up what I enjoyed this year and what I did not.
Peter Bills wrote an article in the New Zealand Herald warning (or is he looking for excuses) that the New Zealand S15 Franchises are bashing each other to a pulp just in time for the World Cup.
He writes: “The pace and physicality of the Super 15 since it began in February has to be increasingly draining these guys. For the best, and that means most of the All Blacks, it will go on for the rest of this month. The Super 15 final isn’t until July 9. And then comes … the Tri-Nations. If a side like the Crusaders reach the final, it could be they’ll have to play it in South Africa.
Springbok winger Bryan Habana’s request for a R21-million contract has been turned down by French big spenders, Toulon because he is “too expensive”.
The club, who had no problem hauling out the cash to lure the likes of Sonny Bill Williams, Victor Matfield, Jonny Wilkinson, Gavin Henson and lately Bakkies Botha has withdrawn from negotiations to bring Habana to France after the World Cup because his demands are excessive.
Judgment has been reserved in the Butch James judicial hearing.
Bulls lock Bakkies Botha will play in his 100th Super Rugby match for his team when they take on the Sharks at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
The Stormers have named their team to play the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein with Peter Grant named in the starting line up.
The Bulls have confirmed that scrum half and winger Francois Hougaard will not be leaving the Bulls before October 2012.
The Western Force has withdrawn from talks with James O’Connor’s management after further intensive negotiations failed to find common ground on contract length and remuneration.
The Force will consider taking a train to Melbourne for Friday’s Super Rugby clash with the Rebels if their flight to the Victorian capital is cancelled.
Hougaard gives Bulls a scare
We’ve achieved nothing – Spies
Plumtree: Play full 80 minutes
Baby Bokkies (27) 42 / Ireland (19) 26 (Final Score)
Stadio Comunale di Monigo, Treviso
SANZAR have released the match officials for the 18th Round of the 2011 Super Rugby tournament with Jonathan Kaplan getting the big Bulls vs Sharks clash in SA.
I had to borrow this slogan from the Varsity Cup simply because it best describes why some teams seem to be on the up, and others going down.
The Sharks take on the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld this coming weekend, and having seen the Bulls resurgence it becomes more difficult than ever to see how the Sharks can win this one. I have no doubt as to the ability of the Sharks and that they have the players to beat the in-form Bulls.
The Springboks Rugby World Cup training camp had to be cancelled on Monday as the Springbok team management forgot to account for the busniess end of the Super Rugby competition.
The Sharks will be sweating over the fitness of several key players, as they start their build-up to the Super Rugby crunch match against the Bulls in Pretoria on Saturday.
An ankle injury will bring to an end Nathan Sharpe’s run of 53 consecutive games for the Western Force after club medical staff ruled him out for two weeks.
The Vodacom Bulls are set to bring back two of their big guns – Springboks Bakkies Botha and Fourie du Preez – to face the Sharks in their final Vodacom Super Rugby league match at Loftus on Saturday.
Stormers coach Allister Coetzee has said that Peter Grant will definitely play for the Stormers against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein this week.
Melbourne Rebels coach Rod Macqueen will stand down after the club’s final Super Rugby match against the Western Force at AAMI Park this weekend.
With less than 90 days to go before the Springboks have to defend their title in New Zealand and the squad reduced to 37, the debates will start flowing towards which players are currently out of form and will really need to start showing some willingness and ability to appease the supporters on whether they deserve to go to the World Cup. Continue reading
The Lions’ Springbok flyhalf Butch James is to face a SANZAR judicial hearings after being cited for alleged foul play during his team’s 30-all draw with the Sharks at the weekend.
Have a good look, Butch’s feet are totally off the ground in a flying leap, an arm around Keegan Daniel’s neck… and the result
on the ground was that Daniel was arched on his back, with Butch trying to stretch Keegan Daniel’s neck to new lenghts.
Stormers (3) 16 / Bulls (6) 19 (Final Score)
The DHL Stormers hosted the Vodacom Bulls at Newlands, Cape Town at 18:10 SA Time. This was the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
This game cannot be described as rugby, it was rather trench warfare… and the Bulls won the brutal war, revenging the Stormers win of earlier in the season at Loftus.
The Bulls were just simply better in the set pieces, the rest was all equal.
Lions (20) 30 / Sharks (9) 30 (Final Score)
The MTN Lions hosted the Sharks at Coca-Cola Park, Johannesburg at 16:05 SA Time. This was the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
In a humdinger of a match the MTN Lions and the Sharks drew 30 / 30 but it took a momentous effort for the Sharks to pull back a 21-point deficit and they managed to pull 14 of those points back whilst Butch james was off in the sin bin, yellow carded for a head high flying tackle on Keegan Daniel.