SA Rugby
Nollis Marais
Vodacom Blue Bulls coach Nollis Marais opted for a youthful squad for his ABSA Currie Cup coaching debut on Saturday, when the Vodacom Blue Bulls take on the Toyota Free State Cheetahs in Bloemfontein.
He also named former Free State flanker, Lappies Labuschagne, as captain for the season opener. It will be the flanker’s 1st match with the Barberton daisy on the chest, although he has played for the hosts 44 times before he moved to Pretoria.
The squad is packed with players who represented the Junior Springboks in recent years, while some seasoned Springboks add the needed degree of experience.
Making ABSA Currie Cup debuts in the backline for the Vodacom Blue Bulls are Warrick Gelant and Travis Ismaiel, with Hanro Liebenberg, Marvin Orie and Jaco Visagie also running out as Vodacom Blue Bulls Currie Cup players for the 1st time on Saturday. Amongst the replacements, Nqoba Mxoli, RG Snyman, Ivan van Zyl and Dries Swanepoel will all make a 1st Currie Cup appearance, should they be called upon.
Prop Werner Kruger will play in his 98th match in the competition.
Franco Smith
Toyota Free State Cheetahs coach Franco Smith has named his team for their ABSA Currie Cup opener against the Vodacom Blue Bulls in Bloemfontein on Saturday (14:15 SA Time kick-off).
Francois Uys, who led the team in Super Rugby, has retained the captaincy for the Currie Cup.
It’s a relatively inexperienced Cheetahs line-up, with left wing Raymond Rhule the only Springbok.
Niel Marais, who was a star for Shimlas in this year’s Varsity Cup, starts at flyhalf, with Shaun Venter at scrumhalf.
Up front, the Cheetahs will lean heavily on the experience of flank Boom Prinsloo as well as skipper Uys.
Joe Pietersen
New Cell C Sharks recruit Joe Pietersen will line up at fullback for the Cell C Sharks as they open their ABSA Currie Cup campaign against the Steval Pumas in Nelspruit on Friday.
Pietersen played the pivot role for the Cheetahs in the Super Rugby season but finds himself in the No 15 jersey for the Sharks, whilst Lionel Cronje assumes the No 10 role.
Other new signings Wandile Mjekevu and Philip van der Walt are operating at outside centre and No 8 respectively.
In the forwards, Jean-Luc Du Preez earns a start at blindside flank and he is partnered by Khaya Majola on the openside.
Marco Wentzel will continue his role from Super Rugby and captain the Cell C Sharks team.
Ruhan Nel
Sevens Springbok Ruhan Nel will make his debut for Griquas at centre, when they host DHL Western Province in the Currie Cup season-opener in Kimberley on Friday.
Nel, who mostly plays at wing or fullback in the 15-a-side game, has been named at No 13 after a raft of injuries depleted the ORC Griquas midfield resources.
He was released by the Blitzbokke to play for Griquas, having previously featured in the Currie Cup competition for the Golden Lions – before becoming a full-time member of the national Sevens squad.
Nel will partner another import, former Western Province midfielder Michael van der Spuy – who featured for the Cheetahs in Super Rugby this year.
Veteran utility back Riaan Viljoen, who returned to South Africa this year after 2 seasons in Japan, will make his 1st Currie Cup appearance for Griquas since 2011 when he runs out at flyhalf.
Stefan Watermeyer
Seasoned midfielder Stefan Watermeyer will lead the Steval Pumas in the opening Round of the Currie Cup, when they host the Cell C Sharks in Nelspruit on Friday.
He will be assisted by lock Lubabalo ‘Giant’ Mtyanda, who has been named vice-captain.
Mtyanda is 1 of a handful of players returning from Super Rugby franchises. The lock played for the Cell C Sharks this year during Super Rugby, before returning to Nelspruit for the Currie Cup competition.
Also back is scrumhalf Francois ‘Faf’ de Klerk, who was released from the Springbok training camp on Tuesday – where he had been for the past month, after his impressive Super Rugby season with the Emirates Lions.
Also back from the Emirates Lions is prop Corne Fourie.
SANZAR has named the match officials for the 3rd and last Round of the abbreviated Rugby Championship of 2015.
England’s Wayne Barnes will officiate in the championship decider in Sydney and he will be assisted by Nigel Owens and Frederico Anselmi as Assistant referees. Shaun Veldsman will do TMO duty.
Frenchman Romain Poite will referee the Springboks vs Los Pumas game in Durban and will be assited by JP Doyle and Marius Mitrea, with Ben Skeen doing the TMO duties.
Poite is well remembered among Springbok fans for the controvertial sending off of Bismarck du Plessis in a Test against the All Blacks 2 years ago.
Poite harshly and erroneously Yellow-Carded Du Plessis for a tackle on All Black flyhalf Dan Carter before later dishing out another Yellow (which automatically meant a Red Card) to the hooker as the Springboks went on to lose 29 / 15 at Eden Park in Auckland.
Fourie du Preez sits out at training
There is renewed concern over the fitness of Fourie du Preez after the Springbok scrumhalf sat out Tuesday afternoon’s training session at People’s Park in Durban.
Whether or not Du Preez joined the session at a later stage (media were asked to leave after about 20 minutes of the session) is not known, but word from the Springbok camp was the he was in some pain after Monday’s session and that he would continue to be monitored.
Du Preez had been identified as 1 of the players in line to play a part in Saturday’s Rugby Championship clash against the Pumas at Growthpoint Kings Park as he looks to prove his fitness for this year’s Rugby World Cup.
Team doctor Craig Roberts had said on Monday he was happy with Du Preez’s performance at training earlier that day, but that how he recovered from the training would be crucial in his availability for the weekend.
Franco Mostert
Faf de Klerk
Xerox Golden Lions lock Franco Mostert and Steval Pumas scrumhalf Faf de Klerk have been released from the Springbok camp and will be available for their provinces in the ABSA Currie Cup.
Both Mostert and De Klerk joined their provinces late on Tuesday.
In addition, Coenie Oosthuizen, who has not been an official member of the squad, will continue with his rehabilitation away from the camp.
Nick de Jager
The Vodacom Blue Bulls have signed Saracens loose forward Nick de Jager on a 1-year contract with immediate effect.
De Jager, the former Maties No 8 who left South Africa to join Saracens 2 years ago, has been signed as loose forward cover for the ABSA Currie Cup season and joined the team on Monday to start with his new side.
De Jager is a big, powerful ball carrier and is highly rated, with Saracens releasing him to continue his development in Pretoria and hopefully get some game time ahead of next year’s Vodacom Super Rugby season.
John Dobson
New DHL Western Province coach John Dobson has revealed his team for Friday’s 2015 ABSA Currie Cup opener against ORC Griquas in Kimberley (kick-off 15:30 SA Time).
Outside centre Juan de Jongh will lead a starting line-up that includes 2 DHL WP Currie Cup debutants, as well as 5 more on the bench. However, the playing squad includes 13 members of the matchday 22 from last year’s ABSA Currie Cup Final.
“It’s not a totally new team in terms of last season,” explained Dobson, “but this team, mainly the pack, has not played together a lot since last year’s Absa Currie Cup Final.
“That’s the challenge for us, to ensure we get the pack working together as quickly as possible in order to bring our dangerous backline into play.”
Front rowers Bongi Mbonambi and Wilco Louw are the ‘new’ faces in the Province starting XV, despite both having played at Vodacom Super Rugby level for the DHL Stormers already, with Marius Fourie (on loan from the SWD Eagles), Chris van Zyl, Chris Cloete, Jano Vermaak and Johnny Kotze the debutants on the bench.
Franco Mostert
Xerox Golden Lions head coach Johan Ackermann has announced his team to face the EP Kings in Port Elizabeth, in the opening Round of the 2015 ABSA Currie Cup competition, on Saturday.
The team includes a mix of both youth and experience as Ackermann looks to once again bring young talent through into the senior ranks this season.
Springbok squad member Franco Moster, who was today released from the Springbok camp, slots in straight to the starting lineup.
The match will get under way at 14:15 SA Time (12:15 GMT).
Marne Coetzee
The Steval Pumas have made 2 key signings ahead of the start of the Currie Cup competition.
Pumas coach MJ Mentz confirmed that former South African Under 20 prop Marne Coetzee and SA Sevens player Deon Helberg will join the Nelspruit-based outfit for the rest of the season.
Coetzee, a powerful tighthead prop that played SA Schools in 2011 and for the Junior Springboks in 2013, is on loan from the Sharks.
The arrival of the 22-year-old former Glenwood scholar will offset the absence of powerhouse Vincent Koch, who is currently on duty with the Springboks.
Described as a “a strong and powerful scrummager” who is also very good with ball in hand, he is expected to fit right into the Pumas’ exciting style of play.
Maks van Dyk
The Eastern Province Kings’ stuttering build-up to the Currie Cup season had another wobble on Tuesday.
Despite the players’ outstanding salaries having been paid last week, prop Nicolaas ‘Maks’ van Dyk has abruptly ended his short stint in Port Elizabeth and headed back to Bloemfontein.
In a statement on Tuesday Eastern Province Rugby Union President Cheeky Watson confirmed the union and Van Dyk have mutually agreed to part ways.
The front row forward has decided to rejoin the Cheetahs ahead of the Currie Cup season.
The player’s departure comes just days before the Kings host the Golden Lions, 1 of the pre-tournament favourites, in the opening Round of the Currie Cup competition in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.
Francois Steyn
Francois Steyn, who is also recovering from a long-term injury, was released from the squad with immediate effect following the death of his brother on Monday morning.
“Frans informed me straight after our morning session on Monday and as soon as he heard the sad and tragic news that his brother had passed away,” said Ian Schwartz, Springbok Team Manager.
“We will not take any decisions on his immediate involvement with the squad – his personal situation is now the most important and we will support him and his family wherever we can in this very difficult time. Our thoughts and prayers are with Frans and his entire family in this time of mourning.”
Dr Craig Roberts
Springbok team doctor Craig Roberts was beaming, and for good reason, when he addressed his weekly injury report media conference in Umhlanga Rocks on Monday.
Although a clutch of players are still out injured and there are a few that are unlikely to play before the start of the Rugby World Cup, the experienced duo of skipper Jean de Villiers and scrumhalf Fourie du Preez were joined by the equally influential Willem Alberts in getting safely through what Roberts described as “a great training session” on Monday morning.
“As you know, Jean is a player who took a back seat a bit so that he could get some game time, and the news is good on that front as he looked good in training and should be available for selection for this week’s game,” said Roberts.
“It was also a good work-out for Fourie du Preez. We will obviously monitor how he responds to the training, as we will with Jean, before making a final decision, but he is potentially ready to play against the Pumas this week.
“Willem is also looking good. We’ve been building him up for a while now, and if gets through the training week then he will be ready to play.”
The Springboks face Los Pumas from Argentinia in their final match in this year’s truncated Rugby Championship in Durban on Saturday before travelling to Argentina to play a Rugby World Cup warm-up Test in Buenos Aires. Roberts appears confident that if the aforementioned players can start in Durban.
And the group of available players coming back from injury should be further swollen by young lock Pieter-Steph du Toit.
Cheeky Watson
EP Kings rugby players have received their overdue salary payments.
The cash-strapped union was unable to pay its players in recent months, but according to reports, players were finally compensated.
EP Rugby president Cheeky Watson said his players had been paid up to date and were also compensated for any inconveniences.
Watson would not elaborate further but it is thought that the payment includes the double pay packet promised because of the delays in securing a new sponsor.
There is however still no news on the Kings’ new lucrative sponsorship, believed to be in the region of R 200 Million.
Michael Hooper
A SANZAR Appeals Committee, chaired by Jannie Lubbe SC (South Africa) and comprising Terry Willis (Australia) and Mike Heron QC (New Zealand) unanimously dismissed both appeals brought by SANZAR and the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) on behalf of Michael Hooper.
The Committee dismissed the ARU appeal on behalf of Michael Hooper on the basis that the appellant was unable to show that the Judicial Officer erred in law in finding that Hooper’s striking of Nicolas Sanchez from Argentina was a breach of Law 10.4 (a).
The Committee also dismissed the appeal brought by SANZAR that the Judicial Officer’s sanction of 1 week was unduly lenient. The Committee found the Judicial Officer was correct in the exercise of his discretion that the offending was low-end.
As such, the player’s suspension from all forms of the game for 1 week was confirmed.
The Cell C Sharks scored a 33 / 29 victory over the Xerox Golden Lions in an ABSA Currie Cup warm-up match at Woodburn Stadium in Pietermaritzburg on Friday evening.
More than a win, Cell C Sharks Director of Rugby, Gary Gold, asked for his team to show the necessary determination in this warm-up match, and on that score, he will come away from this match well-pleased with their effort, with a victory thrown in for good measure.
Joe Pietersen opened the scoring after both sides showed good attacking intent early in the game, each having a chance to score but not closing out, before he successfully chased his deft grubber through the middle, the ball popping up nicely for him to score under the posts.
Canon Eagles vs Blue Bulls
The Vodacom Blue Bulls comprehensively outplayed hosts Canon Eagles in Tokyo on Friday, beating them 50 / 3. The visitors dominated all phases of play and scored 8 tries in total.
Comment from Vodacom Blue Bulls camp after the match:
A special word of gratitude to the Players, staff and management of the Canon Eagles, and especially the friendly people of Machida, for their amazing hospitality. Here’s to great friendships and relationships formed.
Match report from the Japan Times:
South Africa’s Blue Bulls gave Japanese rugby a reminder of just where it stands Friday night as the Currie Cup side hammered Canon Eagles 50 / 3 at Machida Athletic Stadium.
Those in the stadium on a hot and humid evening saw the Eagles play bravely but with their forwards giving away 7 kg and 9 cm per man and their backs 13kg and 9 cm, it was always going to be a long night.
And so it proved as the Blue Bulls dominated possession and territory – though the Eagles, to their credit, did make them work hard in the heat.
Naas Botha
Springbok legend and popular rugby pundit Naas Botha believes South Africa made an important evolutionary change in their game plan in their defeat to the All Blacks in Johannesburg last weekend.
Botha believes Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer needs to persist with the enterprising style adopted – something he believes is long overdue.
“What we saw on Saturday was totally different compared to what we’ve seen over the last couple of years but it should have happened 2 years ago,” Botha said in Midrand on Wednesday.
“I don’t think it is too late, I believe we should build on this now because what we saw over the weekend was quite impressive.
“Yes, we didn’t win and to be honest it is all about winning and they did surprise us with that last lineout.”
Botha was speaking at the launch of Creative Rugby which he co-wrote with Dr Kobus Neethling, a world leader in the field of creativity and whole-brain thinking.
The premise of the book is to promote whole-brain thinking, with modern players now on the same level in terms of fitness and skills.
Vodacom Blue Bulls coach Nollis Marais named flanker Lappies Labuschagne as captain of the Vodacom Blue Bulls team to face Japanese outfit Canon Eagles, in Machida, Tokyo on Friday.
The starting team is packed with players who have played in the Vodacom Super Rugby tournament this year, with only former Springbok Sevens speedsters, Warrick Gelant (fullback), Jamba Ulengo (wing) and former Junior Springbok Dries Swanepoel, who have not played at that level before.
Marais included Springboks Deon Stegmann, Werner Kruger, Arno Botha, Francois Hougaard and Dean Greyling, with Bandise Maku playing off the bench.
6 Weeks after Vodacom Bulls coach Frans Ludeke resigned after failing to take his side to the Vodacom Super Rugby playoffs, the Pretoria franchise are struggling to find a suitable replacement coach for next year’s tournament.
While Nollis Marais has been elevated from the Vodacom Cup to ABSA Currie Cup and is currently preparing the side in Japan ahead of their last friendly match against the Canon Eagles, there is a growing desperation and worry that the Bulls might not find a top quality coach before the preparation for next year’s expanded Super Rugby tournament begins.
It was expected that Springbok assistant coach Johann van Graan would be the favourite, and sources close to the Bulls management say that he was offered the job, but turned the Bulls down, choosing to focus on the Springboks.
While Van Graan hasn’t commented on the move, he is currently concentrating on preparing the Springboks for their Rugby World Cup campaign.
The Springbok assistant coach is highly rated, and has also been linked to the DHL Stormers coaching position, but apparently didn’t feel it was the right time to return to the province where he learnt most of his rugby.
Peter Grant
New Western Force flyhalf Peter Grant says he’s excited to move to Perth where his parents and 2 uncles also live.
The Force on Wednesday officially confirmed the signing of the former Stormers and Springbok flyhalf on a 2-year deal.
Grant, 30, represented the Stormers for 9 seasons and the 5-Test Springbok most recently played a season with French Top 14 club, La Rochelle, having also played 4 seasons with Japanese Top League club, the Kobelco Steelers.
The move to Perth was made easier by Grant’s family connections there.
After a dismal Super Rugby season the Cell C Sharks have gone through a major revamp allowing a new crop of players to step up.
With the exodus of a number of the Sharks’ Springbok players to overseas contracts, and many of their big-name players plying their trade at The Rugby Championship and Rugby World Cup for the Springboks, a next generation of Sharks players both young and new need to man-up to the big stage.
Sibusiso ‘S’bura’ Sithole is 1 of those players that will be a key element to their success and he acknowledges that although not a senior player, he does bring a wealth of experience and knows that he has a big role to play.
Jannie du Plessis
Francois Louw
The Springboks will be without tighthead prop Jannie du Plessis and flanker Francois Louw when they face Argentina’s Los Pumas in Durban next Saturday, but the Springboks could have Jean de Villiers, Fourie du Preez and Willem Alberts back while at this stage their medical team is optimistic of delivering a fully fit squad to the selectors for the Rugby World Cup, it was announced on Tuesday.
De Villiers, Du Preez and Alberts are 3 of 7 players whose fitness will be assessed on Monday as they complete the final phase of rehabilitation while players such as Duane Vermeulen and Coenie Oosthuizen are progressing well with their rehabilitation.
Although Du Plessis (knee) and Louw (rotator cuff), along with Victor Matfield and JP Pietersen (both hamstring injuries) will miss the Tests against the Pumas, none of these injuries will put their Rugby World Cup participation at risk. Saturday’s other injury victims, Vincent Koch and Warren Whiteley (rib cartilages) should be fit and available for selection next weekend.
Jan Serfontein (hip and knee), Marcell Coetzee (knee), Pieter-Steph du Toit (knee) and Steven Kitshoff (knee) will also be assessed on Monday with a view to being available to selection against the Pumas.
This weekend saw Round 2 of The Rugby Championship.
In johannesburg, South Africa it was heart-break for the Springboks again, 2nd week in a row, this time losing in the dying minutes against a better conditiond and fitter All Blacks side, by 20 / 27, with All Blacks capatin Richie McCaw doing the damage to snatch the lead from the South Africans with only 6 minutes to go in the match.
In Mendoza, Argentinia, the Wallabies led 8 / 6 at halftime before tuning in all the screws and beating Los Pumas comfortably by 34 / 9, also earning their bonus point for tries in the process.
As a result of the Round 2 results, the All Blacks and Wallabies are joint leaders of The Rugby Championship Log, with 2 wins apiece, whereas the Springboks and Los Pumas are still winless in the Competition, with the Springboks on a paltry 2 Log points and Los Pumas still not out of the starting gates, on 0 Log Points.
In 2015 there is of course only 3 Rounds in total, in the abbreviated version of the prime Southern Hemisphere international competition due to this year being a Rugby World Cup year. In this shortened version of the competition, where in stead of the normal double Round of matches by every side against the other sides, there is only a single Round of matches by every side against each of the other nations.
Round 3 is only in a fortnight, where the focus will be on the Bledisloe clash between the Wallabies and All Blacks for this year’s overall title.
The Springboks dominated most of the 1st half but at the break the scores were still tied on 10 / 10 and later on 17 / 17 before South Africa took a slender 20 / 17 lead and held that lead untill 6 minutes from time, whereafter the All Blacks showed their class and superior fitness and better bench selections to add 10 further points and running out 7-point winners.
All is not lost for the Springboks and one feels that they showed some quality rugby 2 weeks in a row, but they will surely now realize that their overall conditioning, fitness as well as the impact their bench is supposed to have in the vital Rugby World Cup during September and October still need a massive amount of work if they are to stand a proper chance of winning the world showpiece in 2015.
The All Blacks once again appear to be massive favourites to not only win theis year’s Rugby Championship but to also go on to clinch the Rugby World Cup title in October.
Argentina seem to be dogged by the same “Illness” that the Springboks are suffering from, as they also seem incapable of ending games strong enough and also tend to kick tactically poorly, which invariably results in scores against them in the latter stages of games when defences are no longer as tight as in the beginning of matches.
The Wallabies are building up nicely towards the Rugby World Cup, having first narrowly dispatched the Springboks week before last and now comforably beating Los Pumas on the weekend. They managed to score 2 quick-fire tries towards the end of the clash in Argentina, first by Tevita Kuridrani and then barely 3 minutes later one by Adam Ashley-Cooper (to earn them the bonus point for tries) to hammer the nails in properly against the Pumas.
Examination of The Rugby Championship table with just 1 Round to go hardly suggests the Springboks may be inching spiritedly toward a prosperous new era.
South Africa lie 3rd, winless, and already out of the running: when they tackle Argentina in Durban in just under a fortnight it will simply be a battle to avoid the wooden spoon as the Wallabies and All Blacks slug it out for title glory a few hours earlier in Sydney.
Fortunately it had been widely accepted by the most astute of rugby observers before the 2015 tournament even began that its bragging rights are of secondary importance this year, given the scheduling just a few weeks shy of the 8th World Cup in the United Kingdom.
Local enthusiasts prepared to prioritise the bigger picture will also be fully aware that the Springboks could so easily be lying at the top of The Rugby Championship pile right now, as they bossed the Wallabies for 50 minutes in Brisbane and then the All Blacks for considerably closer to 70 minutes in Johannesburg on Saturday.
If rugby is a game of inches, then Tevita Kuridrani’s debated, last-gasp try made the critical difference 2 weeks back and Lood de Jager not being able to stretch his lunging arm just a couple of centimetres further against the All Blacks for a 55th-minute Springbok touchdown possibly denied them in the latest instance.
In the final analysis, lack of composure and 1 or 2 errors in tactical decision-making at vital times by a rookie-laden team thwarted them more than anything else on Saturday – it was not as though the Springboks looked light years behind for pure competence and skill in either instance, and that is a firm plus to bank in the run-up to the Rugby World Cup.
Perhaps also, a cranked-up emphasis on conditioning and durability will work wonders over the next couple of months as Heyneke Meyer’s charges get progressively used to the new ball-in-hand culture they are embracing with some gusto and swelling promise.
Jérôme Garcès
South Africa’s Springboks fell foul of a law that was introduced for player safety, when they lost 20 / 27 to the New Zealand All Blacks in their Rugby Championship encounter at the weekend.
For the 2nd week in a row the Springboks snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, after All Blacks captain Richie McCaw scored a clever try 6 minutes from time to secure the victory over their arch-rivals at Emirates Airline Park on Saturday.
The defeat came 1 week after the Springboks conceded an even later try, in the 80th minute, to fall 20 / 24 against Australia’s Wallabies in Brisbane.
However, it was the question of why there were uncontested scrums in the final quarter – when the Springboks still had 3 ‘qualified’ front row forwards on the field – that puzzled most observers.
It came at a crucial point in the game and had a material effect on the outcome.
The dominant Springbok scrum, which had already earned a couple of penalties and free kicks in the 1st hour, was reduced to uncontested restarts – after Vincent Koch, who had replaced the injured Jannie du Plessis at halftime, was forced from the field in the 61st minute.
Even though Trevor Nyakane, who can play on both sides of the scrum, took to the field, French referee Jérôme Garcès ruled that there should be uncontested scrums.
Not only did it eliminate one of the Springboks’ strengths, but it came at a crucial time.
DHL Western Province edged the EP Kings 21 / 18 in their friendly clash at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday night.
In an exciting finish, the Kings, who trailed 14 / 13 at halftime, stormed on to the attack in the closing minutes but the WP defence held firm for the victory as the sides completed their match preparations for the Currie Cup starting on 8 August.
After a try by WP centre and captain Juan de Jongh gave the visitors a 21 / 13 lead in the 55th minute, the Kings gave themselves a chance at victory when left wing Luther Obi shot through a gap to narrow the margin to 3 points with 6 minutes remaining.
In the 1st half the Kings took a 7 / 0 lead after a try by prop Maks van Dyk, converted by fullback Scott van Breda, who also added 2 penalties.
WP hit back with tries by wings Kobus van Wyk and Seabelo Senatla, both converted by flyhalf Demetri Catrakilis.
The ORC Griquas secured their place in the 2015 ABSA Currie Cup Premier Division with a hard-fought 41 / 21 victory over the SWD Eagles on Saturday in Kimberley in their final Qualifier match.
Griquas were made to work extremely hard for their win and the much-sought after 5 Log points as the Eagles went into the break with a 14 / 12 lead. The win secured them the Top spot on the Qualifier Log, 1 point ahead of the Leopards who won their final qualifying tie 33 / 8 against Border Bulldogs in East London.
Griquas will now play defending champions, the DHL Western Province, in Kimberley in the opening Round of the Premier Division on Friday 7 August. They recovered well from their 1st Round shock loss to the Bulldogs (20-13), winning their five remaining matches with a full house of points.
The Hino Valke turned in a strong 1st-half performance as they came out on top of the Down Touch Griffons in a high-scoring 57 / 41 (halftime 33 / 15) victory in their fixture at the Barnard Stadium in Kempton Park on Friday. The win allowed the Valke to jump into 3rd place. Boland (4th) finished their fixtures last weekend.
We look at the key statistics from yesterday’s game and discuss some of the more telling moments of the match. Statistics are courtesy of Vodacom, opinion is this writer’s own. Where at all possible, blame will be placed squarely at the feet of non-WP players and / or the match officials, pitch conditions and Jan van Riebeeck.
They say you get lies, damn lies and statistics and when you look at the comparisons, it would appear to be a very close game, and indeed it was, with the All Blacks making decisive scoring breaks in injury time in the 1st half as well as the last 10 minutes of the game to sneak the victory. They clearly have higher fitness levels than the Springboks, both physically and mentally and managed to out last as well as out think the Springboks, the try scored by Richie McCaw being a prime example of excellent tactical superiority.
The statistic that is most interesting is the breakdown of meters run. When you analyze which positions made the most meters the following is apparent:
Springboks (10) 20 / 27 (10) All Blacks (Final Score)
The South African Springboks and New Zealand All Blacks did battle in Round 2 of The Rugby
Championship at Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg at 17:05 SA Time (15:05 GMT, 12:05 Arg Time,
Sunday 03:05 NZ Time, Sunday 01:05 AEST). This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & M-Net on TV in SA.
*******************
It is Round 2 of the abbreviated Rugby Championship of 2015 (Only 1 Round of matches against each side in 2015 as opposed to a double Round of matches against all sides – home and away in non Rugby World Cup years).
There are 2 games on Saturday 25 July.
The Action of the Round is kicked off in South Africa, where the Springboks take on the old foe, the All Blacks in Johannesburg and concludes with the late night match between the Argentinian Pumas against the Australian Wallabies in Mendoza.
On Saturday at Emirates Airline Park (Ellis Park) in Johannesburg at 17:05 SA Time (15:05 GMT, 12:05 Arg Time, Sunday 03:05 NZ Time, Sunday 01:05 AEST) referee Jérôme Garcès is in charge in the Springboks vs All Blacks game.
On Saturday at Estadio Malvinas in Mendoza, at Sunday 00:40 SA Time (19:40 Arg Time, 22:40 GMT, Sunday 08:40 AEST, Sunday 10:40 NZ Time) referee Jaco Peyper of South Africa is in charge of the Pumas vs Wallabies game.
The game between the Springboks and the All Blacks should be a humdinger of note and the result could go either way. Last time these 2 sides met, also at the same venue, the Springboks won by a measly 2 points. Both sides have made some bold selections, with 2 debutants on the All Blacks side and on the Springbok side we see the return of Heinrich Brüssow, who makes his 1st Springbok appearance since November 2011. One cannot help but feel that the All Blacks have ironed out most if not almost all the chinks in their armour, whereas the Springboks still seem to be a work in progress.
The Pumas and the Wallabies have each made 7 changes to their starting line-ups and the question begs whether Los Pumas could repeat their win over the Wallabies of last year in Mendoza. The Wallabies came back very strongly against the Springboks last week, so I quite fancy them for a win against the Pumas… in Argentina.
In a shortened version of The Rugby Championship, the 2 losers of Round 1 are practically in last chance saloon while victories for Round 1’s winners would set up a winner-takes-all Bledisloe Cup clash in Round 3.
It makes for a must-see weekend of action.
Springboks vs All Blacks:
It’s been 6 years since South Africa managed back-to-back wins over New Zealand and Saturday’s clash between the world’s top 2 teams represents an important chance to lay down a marker.
Last year’s last-minute victory for the Springboks in Johannesburg – only their 2nd win over the All Blacks since 2009 – ended a 3-year losing streak against their great rivals.
The Golden Lions Rugby Union has paid tribute to a former stalwart of the union, Charles Pieterse, who has passed away.
Pieterse played 50 games for the then Transvaal in the 1980s. He also represented the SA Barbarians and played all of his club rugby for Randfontein Rugby Club.
GLRU President Kevin de Klerk expressed his deepest sympathy to Pieterse’s family, on behalf of the union.