Springboks
It would seem Springbok fans don’t allow too much margin for error when it comes to rugby.
Are Springbok fans putting too much pressure on rugby players to perform at 150%, week in and week out.
Wallabies (6) 12 / 38 (16) Springboks (Final Score)
The Australian Wallabies and South African Springboks did battle in The Rugby Championship at
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, Australia at 12:05 SA Time (20:05 AEST, 10:05 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
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On Wednesday last week SARU announced that ASICS will be the new apparel sponsor of the Springboks as well as other associated national teams.
A six year deal was signed running from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2019, spanning over the world cup in England 2015 and in Japan 2019.
Scrumhalf Will Genia will captain Australia against South Africa in their Rugby Championship match on Saturday, after James Horwill was ruled out through injury.
Regular skipper Horwill will miss Saturday Round Three encounter in this Southern Hemisphere showpiece in Brisbane, after scans revealed he had strained his left hamstring during Tuesday’s training.
In anticipation for this weekend’s clash between the Springboks and the Wallabies is a head to head breakdown of how the two teams compare.
These teams have met on 76 previous occasions with the Springboks winning 55% of these clashes and these teams have only once played a match that ended in a draw.
Since 2010 the Wallabies have managed to beat the Springboks in 6 out of 8 games. This is building up to be a big clash once more as the Springboks haven’t lost a game in The Rugby Championship this year, whilst the Wallabies haven’t managed any wins.
What makes this clash even more interesting is that the Springboks have never beaten the Wallabies at Suncorp Stadium, so it would seem that the Wallabies have the edge in this clash. Having said that, the Springboks are coming off two wins, so maybe they can end their losing streak at Suncorp Stadium.
Quade Cooper returns to the Wallaby starting line-up for Saturday’s Rugby Championship clash with the Springboks, an indication that Australia will unleash a running game on the Boks.
Coach Ewen McKenzie gave further indication of his intentions by shifting Israel Folau from wing to fullback – to make the best use of his attacking potential.
Springbok lock Eben Etzebeth will be given time to recover from illness as the team prepares to face the Wallabies in Brisbane on Saturday.
Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer on Wednesday announced a Springbok line-up showing three changes and two positional switches from the team that played in Mendoza for their third Castle Lager Rugby Championship Test of 2013, against Australia at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.
Irish referee Alain Rolland has withdrawn from Saturday’s Rugby Championship Test between the Wallabies and Springboks in Brisbane due to injury and has been replaced by compatriot George Clancy.
It was a balmy Brisbane which greeted the Springboks on Sunday evening (Australian time) after a trip of more than 20 hours that started in Johannesburg on Saturday afternoon, included a stopover in Sydney and ended at their hotel in the Queensland capital.
The Springboks face Australia in the third round of The Castle Lager Rugby Championship at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday. Although the South Africans have not beaten the hosts at this venue in a Test, they will approach the game with a quiet confidence after two good wins over Argentina last month.
Springboks coach Heyneke Meyer and Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie are both expected to make changes to their starting line ups for this week’s Rugby Championship match.
Stade Francais marked their return to the refurbished Jean Bouin stadium with a crushing 38-3 victory over Biarritz on Friday, as they provisionally moved to the summit of the fledgling Top 14 table.
There was much annoyance among Springbok fans when it was announced not long before South Africa’s test match against Argentina in the Rugby Championship that the release of Bryan Habana was required by his new club Toulon. This increased even more when it came to light that five of the players in the current Springbok Squad for the Rugby Championship were being ‘released’ to go back to their clubs in France while the rest of the players would return for a break to South Africa.
A SANZAR judicial officer has found Pumas No 8 Leonardo Senatore guilty of biting Springbok lock Eben Etzebeth and suspended him for nine weeks.
The incident occurred in the 61st minute of the match between Argentina and South Africa at Estadio Malvinas Argentinas in Mendoza.
South African international flyhalf Morne Steyn revealed he would only start on the bench for Stade Francais in Friday’s Top 14 clash with Biarritz.
The 29-year-old – capped 47 times – only arrived from Argentina on Monday after helping the Springboks beat the Pumas 22-17 in a Four Nations Test.
Zane Kirchner and Chiliboy Ralepelle have been selected to travel with the Springboks to Australia and New Zealand for the next two Tests in The Castle Lager Rugby Championship.
The squad of 26 players who returned from Argentina on Monday was retained, with Kirchner (fullback) and Ralepelle (hooker) the only additions.
I do think the SA rugby public is sometimes a little unrealistic if not arrogant with their expectations regarding Springbok rugby.
Part of the Springbok success story is certainly the high expectations so one does not want to make excuses for average performances.
Make no mistake the Pumas is a handful at home. Not only passionate but they also have a very destructive style. There is a lot of niggle; a lot of in your face; substantial clever obstruction and push and shove stuff off the ball. A few years back the All Blacks almost lost a match against the Pumas in South America.
Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie insists his team will not drastically alter their approach for their next Rugby Championship match against the Springboks in Brisbane.
McKenzie’s first two Tests in charge of the Australian side have yielded consecutive defeats to the All Blacks, but that has not deterred him from his goal of using possession more effectively.
The Wallaby coach made it clear that his team will continue to play to their strengths by holding on to the ball and using their ‘skill’ to put pressure on the opposition’s defence.
The Springboks’ decision to continue with their overseas-based players had its first impact as the team arrived back in South Africa on Monday with no fewer than six members of the 26-man squad having to fly back to France to represent their clubs this weekend.
Argentina loose forwards Leonardo Senatore and Pablo Matera have been cited for alleged foul play against South Africa.
Expectations were certainly high prior to the Rugby Championship Test between the Argentinian Pumas and South Africa’s Springboks on Saturday evening, specially in light of the fact that the Springboks demolished the Pumas the week before, by beating them 73 / 13 at Soccer City. However, the cautious amongst us warned that it would not be that easy this past weekend at Estadio Malvinas Argentinas in Mendoza, Argentina.
We still expected a comfortable win by the Springboks and demanded that the Springboks also score 4 tries in the process.
Well, neither was the win comfortable nor did the Springboks score 4 tries, in fact they were outscored by 2 tries to 1 by a very brutal and difficult Pumas side, yet the Springboks still showed composure to go on and win the encounter by 22 / 17.
As a result the South African Springboks still top the Log in The Rugby Championship, with 9 out of a possible 10 Log points and a larger points difference than the New Zealand All Blacks who also stand on 9 Log points. Argentina has 1 Log point and Australia’s Wallabies have none after 2 games.
Pumas (17) 17 / 22 (13) Springboks (Final Score)
The Argentinian Pumas and South African Springboks did battle in The Rugby Championship at
Estadio Malvinas Argentinas, Mendoza at 21:10 SA Time (16:10 Arg Time, 19:10 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
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Bismarck du Plessis will play in his 50th Test for South Africa off the bench against Argentina in Mendoza on Saturday.
The experienced hooker has been selected on the bench after Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer decided to select an unchanged starting 15 for the second round of The Castle Lager Rugby Championship, with Adriaan Strauss starting in the No 2 jersey.
The match 23 shows only one change from the team that beat the Pumas by 73-13 last weekend – Jano Vermaak comes onto the bench as replacement scrumhalf for Fourie du Preez.
Argentina coach Santiago Phelan has made five changes to his Rugby Championship team to play South Africa in Mendoza on Saturday.
Springbok assistant coach John McFarland says the manner in which they scored was the most pleasing aspect of Saturday’s Soweto hammering.
The Springboks scored nine tries as they got their Rugby Championship campaign off to a perfect start with a 73-13 victory over Argentina at Soccer City.
However, it’s how they scored their tries rather than how many that showed the improvement the team have made over the past 12 months, according to McFarland.
Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer is likely to keep his starting XV unchanged for their Rugby Championship Test against Argentina in Mendoza on Saturday (21:10 SA time kick-off).
The Boks annihilated the Pumas 73-13 at FNB Stadium last week and it is expected that Meyer will opt for continuity this week.
Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer said rookie Trevor Nyakane must learn his lesson and come back a better player.
Nyakane was dropped from the South African squad, ahead of the trip to Mendoza and the return match against Argentina, for “repeated breaches of team protocol”.
The South African Rugby Union (SARU) wants Jaque Fourie to again be available for Springbok selection.
Trevor Nyakane has been dropped from the national squad for “repeated breaches of team protocol”.
It was announced on Sunday that Lourens Adriaanse and Piet van Zyl, who made his Test debut in June against Scotland in Nelspruit, have been added to the Springbok squad of 26 players that travelled to Argentina on Sunday.
Argentina captain Felipe Contepomi is looking for a big response from his team when they face the Springboks on home soil this weekend.
The Pumas were blown away by the Boks in Soweto on Saturday, conceding nine tries to one in a resounding 73-13 defeat, so they will have everything to prove in the return fixture in Mendoza.
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Finally I have managed to get the time to set up SuperBru Pools for Rugby-Talk for the Currie Cup and The Rugby Championship!
Both Pools have been upgraded to Super Pools, giving us the added benefit and advantage to show a bit more than usual, like our SuperBru Widgets for these two competitions on the right hand sidebar.
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To all our recently added Users / Subscribers, this counts for you lot muppits, moepels and mopkoppe as well, you can now join in the fun!
Invitations have been sent to our regular Pool members, but in case I missed you, register for these Pools too… this of course counts for our new and recently registered Users / Subscribers too.
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Springboks (26) 73 / 13 (6) Pumas (Final Score)
The South African Springboks and Argentinian Pumas did battle in The Rugby Championship at
Soccer City (FNB Stadium), Soweto at 17:00 SA Time (15:00 GMT, 12:00 Arg Time.
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SS4, SLSA, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
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The Springbok side for Saturday’s Castle Lager Rugby Championship opener against Argentina at Soccer City in Soweto shows four changes from the team which beat Samoa in June.
Two of the changes are in the starting XV, both of them in the forwards, and two on the bench for this Test, which forms part of the Nelson Mandela Sport & Culture Day activities.
Felipe Contepomi will captain the Pumas in the Rugby Championship clash against the Springboks in Soweto on Saturday.
Contepomi will lead Argentina in the No.12 jersey in place of regular captain Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, who has been ruled out with a calf injury.
This Monday morning the overseas contingent of the Springboks joined the squad in preparation for The Rugby Championship and this weekend’s game against Argentina. This after the Pumas have already been in camp for a month and having just completed 2 vital warm-up games against a strong New South Wales Barbarians touring side, just winning the first encounter and then doing a real demolition job on the NSW Barbarians side on the weekend, winning 58 / 12.
Of course the Springboks firstly have to come to grips with the new scrum engagement sequence, something we saw this past weekend in The Currie Cup Premier Division matches, which caused quite a stir.
During last week Tendai “Beast” Mtawarira sat out with a hamstring twinge, Coenie Oosthuizen had the flu and Jannie du Plessis was nursing a light calf strain, so it’s fair to assume not a great deal of scrum preparation work could be done.