Referees
Highly rated Vodacom Blue Bulls coach, Nico Serfontein, has been given permission to join the Guma group, a shareholding company of the Golden Lions Rugby Union, with immediate effect.
Having been on the losing end of two finals in 2010, Stormers coach Allister Coetzee believes his side can win the inaugural Super Rugby tournament.
Its now only 40 days away
The following articles comes from the Afrikaans newspapers, maybe later today or tomorrow it will appear in English. Thanks to Rapport we have a bit of Rugby news.
14 August 1976 – South Africa 9/ New Zealand 15
Test matches is about pressure; the ability to create pressure and to handle pressure. Handling and creating pressure has to do with tactics, key players, and senior players stepping up. This was in essence the difference between NZ and SA in the second test of the 1976 series. NZ had a superior game plan while South Africa’s strategic approach neither created nor alleviated pressure. Continue reading
Springboks Gurthrö Steenkamp, Pierre Spies and Jaco Pretorius are early casualties as the Vodacom Bulls started their preparations for the 2011 Super Rugby season, but there was good news for other test stars like Wynand Olivier, Fourie du Preez and Victor Matfield. Continue reading
10 August 1976 – OFS country XV 6 / All Blacks 31
Frankly, if Springs was bad, this match took the gold cup for agonizing rugby. The All Blacks played excruciating poor rugby against a bunch of terribly ordinary footballers whose only virtue was that they could tackle. Terry McLean in his book “Goodbye to Glory” writes: Continue reading
The Bulls will play warm-up games against the EP Kings and a Premier XV as part of their 2011 Super Rugby preparations, the union announced on Wednesday.
IT IS official. The Beast will be in the black and white colours of the Sharks for the next three years after his employers at the KZN Rugby Union successfully fought off a ferocious bid for his prodigious talents from their Golden Lions counterparts.
Article thanks to Mike Greenway of the Natal Mercury.
Die Cheetahs sal waarskynlik vandeesweek weet of hulle die Super15-rugbyreeks met of sonder die dienste van hul Springbok-flank Heinrich Brüssow gaan begin.
Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder has revealed that just two of his All Blacks will be on prescribed resting plans in the new Super Rugby tournament for the Rugby World cup later this year.
Wallabies skipper Rocky Elsom is fearing that the start of his 2011 season could be hamstrung by injury, although there is hope that he won’t require any major surgery ahead of a busy World Cup year.
7 August 1976 – Eastern Transvaal 12 / All Blacks 26
It was dreary, negative and mediocre; it was the 12th match of the tour, halfway anyway you look at it and the presumptions was that this All Black side was “gatvol” (had their gutsful) playing dreary, negative and mediocre rugby against a team with a knack for bringing opposition down to their own dreary, negative and mediocre way of playing. Continue reading
Not surprising there are no South African back line players chosen. Continue reading
49 48 47 46 45…. Days to Go
Once again New Zealand have been the all-conquering, supremely dominant force in world rugby yet even a Tri-Nations clean sweep and a European grand slam are viewed as a mere warm-up for the ultimate validation in 2011.
Former Blue Bulls flyhalf Jacques-Louis Potgieter says that the Sharks have the right mix of playing style which will help them in the upcoming Super Rugby season.
The former Free State Cheetah left the Bulls earlier this year to join the Sharks and is fitting in well in Durban and says that the Sharks are similar to the Bulls in their set up.
WP has a new sponsor in the freight company DHL. They have just displayed the 2011 Currie Cup jersey, and it looks like an amateur designed it.
DHL / WP
4 August 1976 – South African Universities 9 / All Blacks 21
Terry McLean in his book “goodbye to glory” starts his piece on this match with the following paragraph:
June 25. Jan Smuts Airport. All Blacks arrive. Big crowd. Much cheering (but crowd neither as big nor cheering as loud as it used to be). Danie Craven. Jannie le Roux. Handshaking. “Welcome. Glad you could make it boys. Season wouldn’t have been the same without you.”
Craven again. “South African Rugby is much better than it was when the Lions were here two years ago. You will see. Much, much better. The new Currie Cup competition has stirred everything up. You will see. We will be waiting for you. And don’t forget – there are five tests. Ja, man, five. South African Universities. A great team. You will find them very hard.” Continue reading
It is Christmas Eve, time for the usual… the Christmas message from the Main Monster, the Big Induna who Smiles…
Fewer home Tests, a shortened Tri-Nations and no end of year tours in a Rugby World Cup year means that the three big Southern Hemisphere powers will as a consequence earn less money in 2011.
James broke back into the Springbok squad last season but was injured playing for them in the TriNations.
Now that he is back in the fold for South Africa he stands a chance of playing in the Rugby world cup next year.
31 July 1976 – Transvaal 10 / All Blacks 12
In the end it was the five crocks which cost Transvaal the match. Transvaal started the match with five players not fully fit and that contributed to 1) running out of puff in the last 5 minutes 2) losing a vital line-out in the last minute and 3) Bosch –one of the crocks- botching it up by missing a penalty kick in the last minute. Continue reading
Have a look at these two video clips. It is the highlights of the Australian backline players. If you look at them you will find that there are mostly backs in the back line.
28 July 1976 – Western Transvaal 3 / All Blacks 42
Oliën Park, Potchefstroom.
Fine, cool, light north-east breeze.
Crowd: 24 000.
Referee: Mike Kessel (Natal). Continue reading
Springbok captain John Smit has been given the all clear to return to the playing field and has already been training for a month.
In my previous post I’ve stated that I came to the conclusion that the Springboks are not that far of the pace. In that post I’ve argued that the primary reason why the wheels came off in 2010 is because they’ve lost the plot psychologically.
I also said that some curative work needs to be done in three main areas but after pondering a bit about it I realized there is a bit more to it. So here is what I think need to receive attention in the Springbok team. Continue reading
Crusaders and All Black number eight Kieran Read has been named the Kelvin R. Tremain Memorial rugby player of the year.
Western Force and Wallabies openside flanker David Pocock swept the Australian rugby awards for 2010 by winning the Rugby Union Players Association’s Medal for Excellence.
It being the end of the year it is a good time to review what actually happened this year with the Springboks. Coming last in the Tri-Nations, losing at home against Australia (on the Highveld first time since 1963), losing all three Test matches against New Zealand and then the gut wrenching loss against Scotland was almost too much for this ardent Springbok supporter.
It is all over, done and dusted, now but I have been pondering non-stop (I hope PdV is doing the same thing) about our season.
What exactly went wrong and how bad was it really? Continue reading
New Zealand wrapped up their exceptional year of rugby by adding a Grand Slam tour of Britain and Ireland to a Tri-Nations clean sweep, doubtless sending some All Blacks fans into hiding, one year from the World Cup they will host.
Rory Kockott is “coming home”.
The 24-year-old scrumhalf has signed a new contract with the Xerox Lions, and that after he, in 2006, played a great game for the Lions against the Sharks.
After a successful inaugural tournament, WP Rugby and Club Newlands are delighted to announce the return of the Neo Africa Tri-Series in 2011.
The pre-season series will see the DHL Stormers, the Sharks and the Lions battle it out as they prepare for the Vodacom Super Rugby, which kicks off on 18 February.
Saracens boss Brendan Venter found himself in trouble for saying too little, rather than too much, following the former Springbok’s latest brush with rugby disciplinary procedures on Monday.
Come 2011, the Beast could be hunting with the Lions instead of swimming with the Sharks.
Tendai (Beast) Mtawarira, the Sharks and Springbok prop, has apparently received an offer from the Lions which he may be unable to turn down.