Referees
Hands up if you picked the Highlanders to be two from two with wins over the Hurricanes and Chiefs under their belts after the opening two rounds of the Super Rugby season?
This week we lost great players with injuries in the Super Rugby competition. To make it worse there is long term injuries ending some players World Cup aspirations. National coaches will have sleepless nights over some of their stalwarts injuries.
Another weekend of great rugby. Provincial rivalry made for a competitive and tight weekend. Read on my view of the Player of the week, the try of the week, Biggest blunder, the most disappointing player of the week. Go ahead add your views and many more.
In their opening Super Rugby match of 2011, the Stormers prevailed over a valiant Lions side at Newlands yesterday.
See the famous Joggie Jansen tackle, the Sid Nomis interception, the third test of 1965 which shows Brynard diving over two defenders to score, the Tiny Naude penalty and much more.
A total of 62 video’s can be viewed on the McLook Collection.
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“It was a great result for us against a quality team,” said Sharks captain Stefan Terblanche. “If you’d have given us two wins to kick off the campaign we would have taken it.”
Stormers (9) 19 / Lions (8) 16 (Final Score)
The DHL Stormers hosted the MTN Lions at Newlands, Cape Town at 19:10 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.
The Stormers escaped jail with a very late comeback to eventually win by 3 points and with a number of their old stalwarts not firing. Guys like Bryan Habana, Conrad Jantjes, Ricky Januarie and Andries Bekker seem to be playing on hype and reputation only.
The gutsy Lions tried till 4 minutes into injury time to slowly move upfield and score, which they nearly did, only to be denied by a desperate steal by the Stormers.
Sharks (16) 26 / Blues (9) 12 (Final Score)
The Sharks hosted the Blues at Mr Price Kings Park, Durban at 17:00 SA Time. This was the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1 & M-Net on TV in SA.
The Sharks started fast but then the game became scrappy, all the way through… not a memorable game but won nonetheless by the Sharks, before their trek accross the big waters.
2 Wins from 2 for the Sharks, this is what matters, I suppose.
The Cheetahs’ inspirational captain JUan Smith is set to miss South Africa’s defence of the World Cup, after he tore an Achilles tendon.
Two notably erratic performances on the trot, but the Bulls have shown the mark of champions to gratefully bank away victories each time … and now they embark on a handy little run of fixtures back at Fortress Loftus.
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The DHL Stormers host the MTN Lions this evening, in what for the home side will be their 2011 Super Rugby opener.
The weather for Cape Town today is expected to be hot and dry, peaking at 30°C, and we can expect the Rugby to be just as hot. Continue reading
Waratahs (16) 30 / Reds (6) 6 (Final Score)
The Waratahs hosted the Reds at ANZ Stadium, Sydney at 10:40 SA Time (19:40 AEDT). This was the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcat live on SuperSport 1 & M-Net.
The Waratahs eased past the Reds for a bonus point win and 10 Log Points from 2 games. The Reds were woeful, with a plethera of handling mistakes and wrong options marring their game.
It certainly looks like the Waratahs are the Australian team to watch this season.
Cheetahs (11) 23 / Bulls (8) 25 (Final Score)
The Toyota Cheetahs hosted the Vodacom Bulls at Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein at 19:10 SA Time. This was the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1 and CSN on TV in SA.
Once again a game of two halves for the Bulls, this time extremely lacklustre in the first half and on fire after the break, when they decided to keep more possession.
It was hard, it was brutal, it was close… it was a derby!
Free State Cheetahs (22) 55 / Valke (5) 19 (Final Score)
The Free State Cheetahs hosted the Valke at Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein at 16:45 SA Time. This was the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1 & CSN on TV in SA.
Comfortable win for the Free State Cheetahs, with 8 tries scored by them against 3 tries.
The Crusaders will play their next two home Super rugby matches in Nelson after their stadium was damaged in the deadly Christchurch earthquake.
Rebels (9) 25 / Brumbies (16) 24 (Final Score)
The Melbourne Rebels hosted the Brumbies at AAMI Park, Melbourne at 10:40 SA Time (19:40 AEDT). This was the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1 & CSN on TV in SA.
The Rebels bounced back from a horrible start in Week 1 to rack up their first ever win. They will still be concerned that they had very little possession though and the Brumbies will be kicking themselves for not converting so many chances in the Rebels 22m area into solid points.
Herewith the Super Rugby teams, all now announced, for week 2 of Super Rugby 2011. One game, the one between the Hurricanes and the Crusaders, has been called off due to the devastating earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, home of the Crusaders – the official result will be a draw with no bonus points, meaning that both teams get 2 Log points each.
Highlanders (6) 23 / Chiefs (13) 13 (Final Score)
The Highlanders hosted the Chiefs at Carisbrook, Dunedin at 08:35 SA Time. This was the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1 & CSN on TV in SA.
It was the battle between the gritty Highlanders forwards against the star-studded Chiefs backs… and the Chiefs backs just were not on song.
The following Rugby is on TV in SA from Friday morning 25 February till Sunday 27 February 2011. Remember to do your SuperBru picks on time!
This week, SARU’s Manager of Referees, Andre Watson, steps into the Hotseat, dealing with issues ranging from scrums to rucks and more.
Sharks coach John Plumtree has stuck largely with the team that beat the Cheetahs last week for this Saturday’s Vodacom Super Rugby clash with the Blues at Mr Price KINGS PARK.
Keegan Daniel’s inclusion at flank is the only change to the starting lineup after Jacques Botes took a knock to the hip.
Hurricanes second five eighth Ma’a Nonu’s one week ban following a SANZAR judicial hearing this week, will be served out during his team’s next match against the Chiefs on 12 March.
The Melbourne Rebels are looking into an incident at a nightclub last weekend involving former England flyhalf Danny Cipriani, the Super rugby club said on Thursday.
The Crusaders have been forced to move their Vodacom Super Rugby home matches from AMI Stadium following a deadly earthquake this week, but the Christchurch mayor still hopes the city and stadium will be ready to host Rugby World Cup matches in September.
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SANZAR CEO Greg Peters has announced that the Crusaders will withdraw from their Super Rugby match against the Hurricanes in Wellington on Saturday, following the devastating earthquake that struck Christchurch yesterday.
Allister Coetzee, head coach of the DHL Stormers, today named his team to take on the Lions in the Stormers first game of their 2011 Super Rugby campaign. The match is on Saturday 26 February at the DHL Newlands Rugby Stadium.
The Cheetahs received a timely boost ahead of their Super Rugby crunch match with the defending champion Bulls on Friday.
Inspirational captain Juan Smith passed a fitness test and will lead the team out in Bloemfontein.
The death of a Crusaders board member during the Christchurch earthquake hung over a meeting of players tonight to determine the fate of Saturday’s Super Rugby match against the Hurricanes.
The Crusaders are still planning to travel to Wellington for Saturday’s match against the Hurricanes but players will be given the choice of opting out.
The Chiefs have named their team to face the Highlanders this weekend with Isaac Ross earning his first start of the season… and a few surprise dropped players.
4 September 1976 – SA 15 / All Blacks 10
The series was square -one test all- and the third test was therefore of critical significance for both sides. As is often the case with so much at stake it was a brutal affair.
The tempers flared.
Tension related jittery movements caused heaps of unforced errors during the match while tentative decision making and mind boggling unintelligent option taking, incompetence and idiotic mistakes manifested itself at crucial stages before and during the test. Continue reading
Springbok lock Victor Matfield has given his team-mate some sage advice ahead of an impending move to Toulon in France after the World Cup : Learn French quickly.
The Bulls have named their team to face the Cheetahs this weekend with Jaco Pretorius coming in to the starting line up.
Mercurial Frenchman Frederic Michalak looms as a potential reinforcement for a Melbourne Rebels outfit licking their wounds from a forgettable Super Rugby baptism.
The Cheetahs have followed the “correct channels” in order to find an urgent solution for their scrumming problems and eradicate all misunderstandings ahead of Friday’s Super Rugby match against the Bulls.