SA Rugby
Jonathan Kaplan
Retired former Test referee Jonathan Kaplan has taken aim at officialdom he feels are sweeping under the carpet mistakes by under-performing match officials.
Writing in his weekly column on his website, RatetheRef, Kaplan was particularly scathing of Australian referee Angus Gardner, New Zealander Chris Pollock, along with TMO’s Ian Smith (Australia) and Aaron Paterson (New Zealand).
Despite describing Gardner as “one of the best so far this season, Kaplan did not hold back over his performance in the Rebels’ 42 / 22 win over the Blues in Melbourne last Friday.
He felt there was a “critical error” by Gardner at an “important juncture” in the game when he allowed a quick throw-in after the ball was handed to the thrower by the ball boy.
“The TMO (Smith) didn’t seem to be that interested in this misdemeanour either, and incredibly allowed the try even after a number of slomo replays,” Kaplan said.
“This cannot be good enough at this level! At any level.
“The public is being robbed of the contest.
Gio Aplon
South Africa’s Gio Aplon and Australia’s George Smith are among the new additions to the Barbarians squad for this month’s matches against Ireland and England.
Smith, the Lyon flank, is one of 5 players from 5 different countries named as the famous invitation club continues its 125th anniversary celebrations.
Head coach Robbie Deans has also added Springbok Aplon (Grenoble), Tonga prop Soane Tonga’uiha (Oyonnax), Uruguay lock Rodrigo Capo Ortega (Castres) and Japan No 8 Ryu Koliniasi Holani (Panasonic Wild Knights) to his squad.
They join up with the likes of Joe Rokocoko, Adam Jones, Alex Cuthbert and Berrick Barnes for the matches against Ireland at Thomond Park on 28 May and an England XV at Twickenham on 31 May.
Oregan Hoskins
Oregan Hoskins, President of the South African Rugby Union, has applauded the life bans handed down to 3 players of the Fort Beaufort Barbarians Club for physically assaulting a referee.
The trio – Edmund Gunn, Clayton Bantom and Hyron Burgess – were found guilty of assaulting referee Llewellyn Loots at a pre-season tournament in the Eastern Cape town of Bedford on 28 February.
They were sentenced by an Eastern Province Rugby Union disciplinary committee.
The Fort Beaufort Barbarians Club was also suspended from all rugby activities for the rest of the year by the committee.
They were found guilty of bringing the Eastern Province Rugby Union into disrepute by failing to ensure the safety of the match official and by not assisting the union in identifying other players believed to have been a party to the assault.
SANZAR has announced the names of the Match Officials for for Round 14 of the 2015 Super Rugby season.
3 Teams have BYE weekends, namely the Crusaders, Western Force and DHL Stormers.
There are 6 matches on the weekend, 2 on Friday 15 May and 4 on Saturday 16 May.
The action is kicked off in Auckland where the Blues host the Vodacom Bulls at 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 07:35 GMT), officiated by Mike Fraser. Also on Friday at 11:40 SA Time (19:40 AEST, 09:40 GMT) the Reds host the Melbourne Rebels in Brisbane where the game will be controlled by Andrew Lees.
On Saturday first up it will be the Hurricanes vs Chiefs in Wellington, blown by Glen Jackson and the game starts at 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 07:35 GMT). The match is followed by the clash between the Waratahs and Cell C Sharks in Sydney at 11:40 SA Time (19:40 AEST, 09:40 GMT), refereed by Rohan Hoffmann.
Later on Saturday in South Africa the Emirates Lions host the Brumbies in Johannesburg at 17:05 SA Time (15:05 GMT, Sunday 01:05 AEST) and the game will be handled by Jaco Peyper. The last game of the Round is in Bloemfontein at 19:10 SA Time (17:10 GMT, Sunday 05:10 NZ Time) where the Toyota Cheetahs host the Highlanders and the game will be blown by Stuart Berry.
The Junior Springboks were made to fight hard to overcome a courageous Argentina Under 20 rugby team by 25 / 22 in the 1st of 2 matches between the sides late on Tuesday in Santa Fe, Argentina.
Los Pumitas led 15 / 10 at halftime after they dominated possession and territory while playing with a strong wind in their favour in the 1st half. They scored 2 tries and a penalty to take a deserved lead, while the Junior Springboks answered with a converted try and a penalty to stay within distance despite their many unforced errors.
The young South Africans used their dominance in the scrums and set pieces to much better effect in the 2nd half, adding a penalty and an excellent try to edge out the hosts in front of a passionate crowd.
Sarel Pretorius
Joe Pietersen
The Toyota Cheetahs will be without 2 key players when they take on the Highlanders in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
Star scrumhalf Sarel Pretorius and utility back Joe Pietersen have both been ruled out through injury.
The teams shows several changes from that beat the South African conference leaders, the DHL Stormers, a fortnight ago.
Tian Meyer will be starting at scrumhalf in the place of Pretorius, who hasn’t recovered from his shoulder injury. Shaun Venter comes onto the bench as scrumhalf cover.
Francois Brummer moves up from the bench, replacing Pietersen – who is also sidelined with a shoulder injury. Coenie van Wyk comes onto the bench to fill the void left by Brummer’s promotion.
The only other change to the starting fifteen will see Danie Mienie replacing Caylib Oosthuizen at loosehead prop. Oosthuizen drops out of the matchday 23.
Springbok wing Raymond Rhule also returns from injury and gets a spot on the bench.
Lappies Labuschagne
Pierre Spies
Regular Vodacom Bulls captain Pierre Spies is back at the helm and at No 8 for the Vodacom Bulls team to face the Blues in Auckland on Friday.
Spies played as a replacement in the team’s last Vodacom Super Rugby clash, against the Emirates Lions at Loftus Versfeld, and will replace Arno Botha at the back of the scrum. Botha will move to the side of the scrum, with Jacques du Plessis moving to the bench.
In the only change in the backline, Rudy Paige comes back at scrumhalf in place of injured Piet van Zyl.
There are 4 changes on the bench. Dean Greyling comes in for Morné Mellett and a fit-again Werner Kruger will replace Andrew Beerwinkel. It will be Kruger’s 1st appearance since the opening Round of the tournament when he injured his ankle against the DHL Stormers in February. Amongst the backs, Jacques-Louis Potgieter is fit again following a hamstring strain and replaces Tian Schoeman and Travis Ismaiel comes in for Jurgen Visser.
There appears to be an outside chance that Springbok Sevens flyer Seabelo Senatla may feature for the DHL Stormers in the closing stages of Vodacom Super Rugby.
The Blitzbokke finish off their 2014 / 2015 campaign in London later this week and Stormers coach Allister Coetzee says that he will investigate the option of having the speedy winger available for the last games of the round robin phase.
Senatla will have to play a couple of games to be eligible for the Finals Series that starts late in June, with the Stormers in a 3-way fight at the moment with the Vodacom Bulls and Emirates Lions to get that far.
The product of Welkom was a revelation on the wing for Western Province in last year’s ABSA Currie Cup and with the Stormers struggling to score tries this season – they have just one 4-try bonus point from their 12 matches so far – it would make sense for Coetzee to look at Senatla.
Willie Britz
Toyota Cheetahs loose forward Willie Britz has confirmed that he will join the Shining Arcs in Japan after this year’s Super Rugby competition.
The good news for Cheetahs fans though is that Britz will only be unavailable during the Currie Cup, before returning to play Super Rugby next season.
He is contracted to the Cheetahs until the end of the 2016 season.
Jacobie Adriaanse
Tighthead prop Jacobie Adriaanse is the latest South African set to join Jake White at French club Montpellier.
Adriaanse, 29, will be available for Montpellier from June after ending his stint with Welsh club, Llanelli Scarlets.
Adriaanse has represented the Scarlets 51 times since joining them in November 2012.
His contract with Montpellier is only until after the Rugby World Cup (October 31).
Adriaanse said that he could consider staying longer should things fall in place.
The Golden Lions Rugby Union has secure the services of 4 key players beyond the current season.
The GLRU announced contract extension with star back Andries Coetzee, Ruan Combrinck and Howard Mnisi, as well as forward Luvuyiso ‘MB’ Lusaseni.
The union also secured the services of a number of up and coming players – Malcolm Marx (hooker), Sevens Springbok Albertus ‘Kwagga’ Smith (flank), Jaco van der Walt (flyhalf), Lourens Erasmus (lock) and Bobby de Wee (lock / flank).
The GLRU, in a statement, said they are aiming to retain and develop top junior players by creating opportunities and an environment that promises growth both on and off the field.
Pieter Rossouw
The Blue Bulls Company (Pty) Ltd on Monday confirmed reports that Vodacom Bulls assistant coach Pieter Rossouw’s contract terminates at the end of the current season.
Rossouw, who has served as assistant coach since 2008, will be pursuing business interests elsewhere.
Vodacom Bulls coach Frans Ludeke said that Rossouw was of great value to the Vodacom Bulls and Vodacom Blue Bulls over many years, with a big number of players graduation to international stars under his tutelage.
Supporters in Johannesburg and Cape Town were made to worry 1st before smiling as the Emirates Lions and DHL Stormers put away their Australasian opponents in an exciting round of Vodacom Super Rugby action.
The Cell C Sharks, in their 2nd match of their tour Down Under, also showed a lot of character and played with vigour, but in the end it wasn’t enough against a fired-up Hurricanes side in Wellington.
The table-toppers from New Zealand beat the Durbanites by 32 / 24 on Saturday morning but with less than 10 minutes to go, the result was still in the balance.
On Saturday afternoon, both the Emirates Lions and DHL Stormers had to fight their way back into contention after listless 1st-half performances.
The Gautengers trialled by 20 / 3 at the break, but played sublime rugby in the 2nd half and in the end beat the Highlanders by 28 / 23 in a very exciting match.
The excitement levels were not as high in Cape Town, where the DHL Stormers overturned a 16 / 9 halftime deficit into a 25 / 24 victory over the Australian Conference leaders, the Brumbies.
The 1st penalty goal of the match by Demetri Catrakilis, who kicked 20 points for the DHL Stormers, saw him move to 28 consecutive successful kicks at goal this season.
However, Catrakilis missed the next one, which would’ve seen him improve the record to 29. As it stands, the DHL Stormers flyhalf now shares the record with former Capetonian pivot Peter Grant (this is since 2002).
The Vodacom Bulls and Toyota Cheetahs had byes this weekend.
It’s PUB NIGHT again…
The heading suggests we talk about the Final Conference Rounds of Super Rugby. The DHL Stormers and Vodacom Bulls are running neck in neck on the SA Conference, followed closely by the Emirates Lions… followed far up the rear by the Cell C Sharks and Toyota Cheetahs.
If you are a Stormers or Lions supporter, you should be happy with the past weekend’s results, if you are a Bulls supporter you will be on your knees every night praying for a Super, Super Rugby tour, starting with the Blues on Friday!
If you are a Sharks or Cheetahs supporter, the past weekend’s Mother’s Day celebreationswill have far more importance than the performance of their rugby sides… if one could call them that… hehehe.
The Stormers are back in the lead in the SA Conference, the Bulls on the same Log points but behind in games won… although they have a game in hand against the Stormers.
The Lions came back from way behind, to shut the Highlanders out on the weekend whereas the Stormers won by a measly 1 point against a niggly Brumbies side.. after Christian Lealiifano managed to duff a final conversion attempt from smack bang in front. The Bulls and Cheetahs rested some weary bodies, whereas the Sharks went done again on the weekend against the Hurricanes.
This next weekend, Super Rugby will continue, 2 games on Friday and 4 games on Saturday.
I guess this makes for a few good discussions!
It is time to straddle a bar stool and order a drink or 2.
Let’s focus on the PUB tonight…. the idea with PUB NIGHT is to lighten up our dull Tuesday evenings with music, comedy and fun.
Rugby takes a backseat tonight as the clan and fellow rugby nutters gather and wheel in their old friends…
Read the rules below carefully, or you WILL get burnt!
Just for clarity sake, when someone does not adhere to the Rules of the PUB, EVERYBODY jumps on them and pummels them, right… understood?
Here’s how it works:
It is a tight race to see who takes the Series in Twickenham with Fiji leading the way, and the pools for the London leg have been confirmed.
After their Cup win at the 8th Round of the Series in Glasgow, Fiji are top seeds and head Pool A, while runners-up New Zealand, 3rd-placed England and the 4th semifinalist USA head the remaining pools.
The 2014 / 2015 season carries added significance because the top-ranked sides in the series qualify directly for the Olympic Games in Rio in 2016. Following their performances in Glasgow, South Africa, Fiji and New Zealand have all confirmed their place in Rio, with just the 4th and final spot still be decided.
The Glasgow Sevens, the 2nd last leg of the HSBC Sevens World Series takes place this weekend in Glasgow, Scotland at Scotstoun.
The Tournament is held over 2 days, with Saturday 9 May the 1st Day and the tournament concluding on Sunday 10 May.
The 3 leading sides in the World Series are South Africa (129 Log Points), Fiji (125 Log Points) and New Zealand (120 Log Points). England follows some distance behind in 3rd spot on 100 Log Points, with Australia 9 points behind them on 91 Log Points and the rest of the field far up the rear.
The Top 4 Teams in the standings at the end of the 2015 HSBC Sevens World Series, which concludes next weekend in London, England, automatically qualify for spots at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, so for England and Australia there is all to play for in this tournament and next weekend.
For the Top 3 sides in the series, who have already made sure of Olympic qualification (bar the almost impossible preventing it in these 2 last tournaments) this weekend and the next is all about winning the HSBC World Series. South Africa are only 4 Points ahead of the Fijians, who have raised the bar and upped the ante substantially in the last few tournaments. New Zealand, who are last year’s champions are also within reach and will be desperate to beat Fiji and South Africa convincingly, in order to retain the crown.
The weekend’s action kicked off at 11:30 SA Time (10:30 BST, 09:30 GMT) and all the action was broadcast live on SuperSport 6, on TV in South Africa.
South Africa played Samoa at 12:58 SA Time (11:58 BST, 10:58 GMT), then they played Kenya at 16:04 SA Time (15:04 BST, 14:04 GMT) and their 3rd and last game of Day 1 was against New Zealand at 19:37 SA Time (18:37 BST, 17:37 GMT).
On Day 1 the traditionally big Sevens Nations of South Africa, New Zealand and Fiji all advanced to the quarters, joined by England, Canada, Scotland, Australia and the United States in the quarters.
Day 2’s action started at 12:30 SA Time (11:30 BST, 10:30 GMT) on Sunday and the action was broadcast on SuperSport 1 on TV in South Africa. The tournament concluded with the Cup Final which took place at 20:50 SA Time (19:50 BST, 18:50 GMT).
South Africa’s Blitzbokke lost their quarter-final game against Fiji by 0 / 15 and Fiji and New Zealand went on to contest the Cup Final.
Fiji managed to beat New Zealand in the Cup Final by 24 / 17, to take the Glasgow title.
Fiji has now moved to the Top of the 2015 HSBC Sevens World Series points table, 5 points above South Africa, who have moved down into 2nd spot. New Zealand have also crept closer to South Africa on the Log and only 8 points now seperate the Top 3 teams, going into the Final Round of the 2015 HSBC Sevens World Series next weekend in London, England.
Stormers (9) 25 / 24 (16) Brumbies (Final Score)
The DHL Stormers and Brumbies did battle in Super Rugby at
DHL Newlands, Cape Town at 17:05 SA Time (15:05 GMT, 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.
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Lions (3) 28 / 23 (20) Highlanders (Final Score)
The Emirates Lions and Highlanders did battle in Super Rugby at
Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg at 15:00 SA Time (13:00 GMT, Sunday 01:00 NZ Time).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & M-Net on TV in SA.
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Hurricanes (14) 32 / 24 (10) Sharks (Final Score)
The Hurricanes and Cell C Sharks did battle in Super Rugby at
Westpac Stadium, Wellington at 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 07:35 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & M-Net on TV in SA.
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Naka Drotske
The Toyota Cheetahs todat announced that Naka Drotske has will step down as Toyota Cheetahs Super Rugby coach at the end of this Super Rugby Season in order to persue business interests.
In addition, scrum coach Os du Randt has indicated that he will also be leaving the Cheetahs to go overseas and to persue coaching career opportunities abroad after completing his stint in Super Rugby this year. The whereabouts of his overseas tenure has not been made known yet.
But that’s not all, folks, Hawies Fourie, the Toyota Cheetahs backline coach wil also return to GWK Griquas to take up the Head Coaching position at the end of Super Rugby.
Franco Smith, who was named the Toyota Free State Cheetahs Currie Cup coach for 2015 earlier this week, will take up the position as Super Rugby head coach at the Toyota Cheetahs in the place of Naka Drotske.
It is Round 13 of Super Rugby 2015 this weekend.
There are 2 games on Friday 8 May and 4 games on Saturday 9 May.
The Vodacom Bulls, Toyota Cheetahs and Chiefs have BYE weekends.
There are 2 lip-licking South African games against overseas teams on the weekend, between the Emirates Lions vs Highlanders in Johannesburg as well as between the DHL Stormers vs Brumbies in Cape Town. The battling Cell C Sharks is on tour and will be in action in their 2nd tour match against the table-topping Hurricanes in Wellington on Saturday morning.
On Friday, the Crusaders host the Reds in Christchurch at 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 17:35 AEST, 07:35 GMT) before the Melbourne Rebels host the Blues, in Melbourne, at 11:40 SA Time (19:40 AEST, 21:40 NZ Time, 09:40 GMT).
On Saturday morning the Hurricanes host the Cell C Sharks in Wellington at 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 07:35 GMT), whereafter the Western Force host the Waratahs in Perth at 11:40 SA Time (17:40 AWST, 19:40 AEST, 09:40 GMT).
Over to South Africa and next up, at 15:00 SA Time (13:00 GMT, Sunday 01:00 NZ Time), the Emirates Lions host the Highlanders in Johannesburg, before the DHL Stormers host the Brumbies in Cape Town at 17:05 SA Time (15:05 GMT, Sunday 01:05 AEST).
The Crusaders should dispatch the Reds on Friday, but the Melbourne Rebels vs Blues is a difficult game to pick.
The game between the Hurricanes and Cell C Sharks is one where the Hurricanes are firm favourites, although the Hurricanes are resting some players whereas the Sharks have tried to pick their strongest possible combination. The Waratahs should take the game away from home against the Western Force.
The 2 games in South Africa could easily be seen as the games of the weekend and the Emirates Lions would have to play hell-for-leather to beat a very strong Highlanders team. In Cape Town, the DHL Stormers vs Brumbies game could also go either way, with both teams having aspirations to finish top of their respective Conferences… accordingly it is a difficult one to pick and one supposes that the home team therefor has the advantage.
The Cell C Sharks, Emirates Lions and DHL Stormers will all be looking to return to winning ways in Round 13 Vodacom Super Rugby this weekend.
The KwaZulu-Natalians probably face the toughest task when they take on the table-topping Hurricanes in Wellington on Saturday morning – a team they should know well. The Kiwis’ head coach Chris Boyd and assistant coach John Plumtree were involved with the Cell C Sharks previously, although it was in reversed roles.
2 Matches are scheduled in South Africa on Saturday afternoon.
All-out attack will probably be the order of the day when the Emirates Lions host the 5th-placed Highlanders in Johannesburg on Saturday afternoon, with both sides not shy to throw the ball around.
The DHL Stormers host the Australian Conference leading Brumbies in Cape Town on Saturday afternoon – both these teams lost last week and will want to clinch a victory to keep them in the playoff race. A bonus-point victory will see the Capetonians move back to the top of the SA Conference.
The Vodacom Bulls and Toyota Cheetahs have BYES this week. The team from Pretoria leave on their Australasian tour over the weekend.
Vodacom Bulls tour squad is: Jesse Kriel, Bjorn Basson, JJ Engelbrecht, Travis Ismaiel, Jan Serfontein, Burger Odendaal, Handré Pollard, Jacques-Louis Potgieter, Rudy Paige, Francois Hougaard, Andre Warner, Arno Botha, Jacques du Plessis, Pierre Spies, Deon Stegmann, Lappies Labuschagne, Victor Matfield, Grant Hattingh, Flip van der Merwe, Werner Kruger, Marcel van der Merwe, Trevor Nyakane, Dean Greyling, Morné Mellett, Adriaan Strauss, Callie Visagie, Jaco Visagie.
A good performance at the Glasgow Sevens will not only ensure that the Springbok Sevens stay in the hunt for the coveted HSBC Sevens World Series title, it would also clinch their spot as 1 of the 4 automatic qualifiers for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.
With the Top 3 teams in the Series separated by just 12 points, they will have everything to play for with an eye on the 16th Series title.
South Africa is currently in the Top Spot on the Log with 129 points and is the only side to have advanced to every Cup semi-final so far this season, while Fiji (125) and New Zealand (120) are hot on their heels.
The South Africans this week returned to Glasgow, where last year they experienced 1 of their greatest achievements by clinching the gold medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, and Springbok Sevens coach Neil Powell said his team would draw inspiration from the triumph at the Ibrox Stadium.
The Leopards XV and Hino Valke will have all to play for when they travel to Windhoek and Polokwane respectively in the final Round of Vodacom Cup pool action.
These 2 sides will be competing to be the final team in the Top 4 of the tightly-contested North Section, with the Xerox Golden Lions, Vodacom Blue Bulls and Steval Pumas already assured of the Top 3 spots on the log.
The Xerox Golden Lions need 2 Log Points to go Top of the North Section and would like to keep their unbeaten record in-tact when they travel to Welkom to take on the Down Touch Griffons.
It won’t be easy as the Northern Free Staters can still sneak into the Top 4, but it’s going to take a big win over the Johannesburgers and some other results to go their way.
A bonus-point win on Friday evening in Namibia will be enough to see the Leopards XV through to the Top 4, but anything less could still leave the door open ever so slightly for the Hino Valke, who will know exactly where they stand when their game against the Assupol Limpopo Blue Bulls kicks off in Polokwane on Saturday afternoon.
On the contrary, the South Section is basically decided, with the Top 4 playing against each other as they jockey for final positions – only 7 Points separate them at the moment.
DHL Western Province, 1st on 27 points, are at home to the plucky SWD Eagles in Cape Town on Saturday. The 2012 champions will look to stay unbeaten as the quarter-finals loom.
In the other crucial match in the South Section, the Toyota Free State XV can move up to 2nd position if they can beat neighbouring GWK Griquas in Kimberley on Saturday afternoon.
Pride is all that is at stake in the final 2 matches of the season for the EP Kings, at home in Port Elizabeth against the Cell C Sharks XV on Friday evening, and the Border Bulldogs, who host the Boland Cavaliers in Alice on Saturday afternoon.
Steven Kitshoff
Eben Etzebeth
Lock Eben Etzebeth is back from his enforced week of Springbok rest and he will be joined in the DHL Stormers pack by loosehead prop Steven Kitshoff for Saturday’s Vodacom Super Rugby clash against the Brumbies at DHL Newlands (Kick-Off 17:05 SA Time).
Etzebeth was rested from last week’s defeat to the Toyota Cheetahs in Bloemfontein as part of the South African Franchises’ agreement with SA Rugby, whilst Kitshoff was given a break as part of the DHL Stormers’ rotation policy.
Etzebeth will wear the No 4 shirt this weekend, with Kitshoff lining up at loosehead prop. Jean Kleyn drops down to bench after starting against the Cheetahs, whilst Manuel Carizza will start at No 5 in the absence of the injured Ruan Botha (ankle). Kitshoff, meanwhile, replaces Oli Kebble in the No 1 shirt with Alistair Vermaak remaining on the bench.
Vice-captain Juan de Jongh has been named at outside centre, but he has been bracketed with Huw Jones after suffering a hip pointer injury against the Cheetahs.
De Jongh has made a better recovery than initially anticipated, but will still be given until kick-off on Saturday. Jones will start at No 13 should De Jongh not be available, with Pat Howard set to come onto the bench.
Jean de Villiers, Springbok captain, with knee dislocation injury against Wales
Springbok captain Jean de Villiers has revealed he has targeted the beginning of July to be back on the field.
If he achieves his aim, it will be an exceptional recovery from a total knee reconstruction after the painful injury he suffered in the match against Wales at the end of last season.
Since then De Villiers has been working tirelessly at rehabilitating the knee in order to meet the deadline, with things going a lot better than initially expected.
The Bok captain is already running again and hopes next month to resume team training before getting onto the field in early July.
Speaking at the Supersport Networking lunch at the Johannesburg Country Club, De Villiers was an optimistic man, and said if all goes to plan he will be fit and on the field again long before the final Rugby World Cup squad was picked.
“The recovery has gone very well. These days whenever I meet someone it’s always the 1st question,” De Villiers said.
Marnitz Boshoff
Emirates Lions head coach Johan Ackermann has named his side to take on the Highlanders at Emirates Airline Park in Johannesburg on Saturday.
Ackermann has made 2 changes to the forwards and both changes are to the starting front row. Schalk van der Merwe will start at loosehead and Robbie Coetzee, having made a full recovery this week, has been included at hooker.
In the backline, Ross Cronje will start at scrumhalf and will link up with Marnitz Boshoff who shifts to flyhalf for this game. Courtnall Skosan returns at left wing and Andries Coetzee shifts back to fullback. Alwyn Hollenbach has also earned a starting position at inside centre.
Stefan Ungerer
Cell C Sharks Director of Rugby, Gary Gold, has welcomed back a number of players to the team named to play the Hurricanes at Westpac Stadium in Wellington in Saturday’s 2nd Super Rugby tour match for the Sharks.
Gold has been able to select his Springbok front row for the 1st time in 6 weeks to bolster the pack upfront, while also returning Francois Steyn and Renaldo Bothma back to the starting line-up. The big, physical players are expected to play a big role on the weekend against the log-leaders.
“The Hurricanes are a team on an absolute high at the moment, their performance against the Crusaders was outstanding and this is probably going to be a big challenge for our players at this moment in time, with our backs against the wall,” explains Gold.
“We’re playing the best team in the competition, it’s going to be an unbelievable challenge, but one that’s going to make us grow as a group.”
Lwazi Mvovo has been moved to fullback, a straight swap with Odwa Ndungane while Lionel Cronje wears the No 10 jersey, partnering Stefan Ungerer who gets his 1st start at scrumhalf.
Rudy Paige
Burger Odendaal
Apart from welcoming back Rudy Paige and Burger Odendaal, the Vodacom Bulls named Werner Kruger, Jacques-Louis Potgieter and Dean Greyling in their touring squad for the overseas leg of their Vodacom Super Rugby tour to Australasia.
Kruger has recovered from an ankle injury after several weeks on the sidelines, while Potgieter (hamstring) and Greyling (leg) was also declared fit along with Rudy Paige (knee) and Burger Odendaal (ankle).
With Piet van Zyl out for the rest of the season, Andre Warner will tour as 3rd scrumhalf, the Vodacom Blue Bulls and UP-Tuks’ scrumhalf’s 1st participation in the squad. Travis Ismaiel will also tour as the extra outside back.
Flip van der Merwe
It has emerged that a contractual dispute with the South African Rugby Union (SARU) is the reason behind Vodacom Bulls lock Flip van der Merwe making himself unavailable for Springbok selection.
Bok coach Heyneke Meyer earlier this week said Van der Merwe was “unavailable for international rugby at the moment”.
The reasons behind Van der Merwe’s unavailability were described as “personal”.
However, Van der Merwe and SARU are at loggerheads because the player feels he was done an injustice when Springbok contacts were awarded.
Unlike lock partners Eben Etzebeth, Victor Matfield and Pieter-Steph du Toit, Van der Merwe apparently did not receive a similar national contract.
Jacques Potgieter
Joe Pietersen
The Cell C Sharks, often in the news in recent times for the wrong reasons as well as for their dismal Super Rugby form in 2015, have confirmed the signing of Jacques Potgieter, from the Waratahs for the 2016 season onwards.
In addition local media report that the Toyota Cheetahs pivot, Joe Pietersen will also move to the Cell C Sharks and will start playing there in the 2015 ABSA Currie Cup campaign already.
Jacques Potgieter:
The Cell C Sharks Media release reads as follows:
We are pleased to announce the signing of Waratahs loose-forward Jacques Potgieter on a two-year contract with the Cell C Sharks.
Potgieter is no stranger to the Cell C Sharks, having played his junior rugby in Durban. Over the last few years he has made steady progress up the ranks with his sheer physical presence and explosiveness, which resulted in a Springbok call-up in 2012. In 2014, he was instrumental in the Waratahs victorious Super Rugby campaign.
John Smit
With the franchise struggling in year’s Super Rugby competition, Sharks CEO John Smit has written an open letter to their fans.
The Durbanites are currently 11th on the overall Super Rugby log, having won just 4 out of 11 matches.
Their players have also been punished for ill-discipline, with Bismarck du Plessis (4 weeks), Frans Steyn (5 weeks) and Jean Deysel (7 weeks) all copping bans during the current campaign.
Fans have expressed their disappointment via several social media platforms, with many blaming new Director of Rugby Gary Gold for the team’s performances, while others also hit out at Smit.
Smit on Wednesday opted for the unusual route of writing a letter to the concerned fans.
The Sharks shared Smit’s letter via their official Facebook page:
Dick Muir
Former Lions head coach and Springbok assistant coach Dick Muir is suing the Golden Lions Rugby Union over alleged breach of contract.
According to reports, Muir is claiming R 4.6 Million from the union, after his 3-year contract was allegedly ended after only 1 year in 2010.
In court documents submitted to the labour court in Johannesburg, the GLRU denies the claim and said Muir was paid R 900 000.00 too much during his time with the union.
Muir, who helped the Springboks prepare for the 2011 Rugby World Cup, was at times absent for as long as a month.
The GLRU claims “wrongful payments” for all those months Muir was absent.
SANZAR has announced the names of the Match Officials for Round 13 of the 2015 Super Rugby season.
There are only 6 matches on the weekend and 3 Teams have their BYE wekkend, namely the Vodacom Bulls, Toyota Cheetahs and Chiefs.
It therefore also means that only 3 South African franchises are in action on the weekend.
We have 2 matches on Friday 8 May and 4 matches on Saturday 9 May.
The Weekend’s action is kicked off on Friday by Mike Fraser who will be in charge of the Crusaders vs Reds game in Christchurch at 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 17:35 AEST, 07:35 GMT). The Melbourne Rebels host the Blues in Melbourne on Friday at 11:40 SA Time (19:40 AEST, 21:40 NZ Time, 09:40 GMT), where Angus Gardner will wield the whistle.
On Saturday at 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 07:35 GMT) the Hurricanes host the battling Cell C Sharks in Wellington, officiated by Chris Pollock, whereafter the Western Force tackle the Waratahs in Perth at 11:40 SA Time (17:40 AWST, 19:40 AEST, 09:40 GMT), blown by Rohan Hoffmann.
The 2 matches in South Africa then follow, with the Emirates Lions hosting the Highlanders in Johannesburg at 15:00 SA Time (13:00 GMT, 01:00 NZ Time), officiated by Craig Joubert, followed by Stuart Berry in the match between the DHL Stormers vs Brumbies in cape Town at 17:05 SA Time (15:05 GMT, 23:00 AEST).
Heyneke Meyer
Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer is clear – the best 31 players need to go to this year’s Rugby World Cup.
Meyer began his 1st Springbok training camp with a bit of a stutter as no less than 19 of the 44 players invited to the camp couldn’t train with the Bok management. Add to that the Sharks who are overseas on tour, and there wasn’t too much training that could get done.
But despite that, the Bok coach used the time to reveal his World Cup plans to players, tell individuals what he expected of them and will use the remainder of the time to share calls, plays and get down to technical nuances for the players to take home as “homework” before they meet again in the 2nd camp in a few weeks’ time.
The final squad is only set to be selected at the end of August, when the chosen 31 will be revealed to the country for the showpiece tournament in England. But 1 thing is clear, while competition will be tough between players, only the best 31 in Meyer’s mind will be selected, meaning a number of top players may well miss out.
However Meyer has admitted that he hasn’t made up his mind yet, giving players the chance in the remainder of the Vodacom Super Rugby competition as well as the camps, to make an indelible impression on him.
And with that in mind, he may have an idea of the starting line-up, but Meyer believes beyond the starting 15, the other 16 places are still up for grabs.