Super Rugby

Super RugbyIt is Round 12 of Super Rugby 2015 this weekend.

There are 2 games on Friday 1 May and 5 games on Saturday 2 May.

The Reds have a BYE weekend.

There are 2 lip-licking South African derbies on the weekend, between the Toyota Cheetahs vs DHL Stormers in Bloemfontein as well as between the Emirates Lions vs Vodacom Bulls. The Cell C Sharks is on touir and will be in action against the Highlanders in the 1st match of the weekend.

On Friday, the Highlanders host the Cell C Sharks in Dunedin at 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 07:35 GMT) before the Brumbies host the Waratahs, in Canberra, at 11:40 SA Time (19:40 AEST, 09:55 GMT).

On Saturday morning early the Blues host the Western Force in Auckland at 07:30 SA Time (17:30 NZ Time, 13:30 AWST, 05:30 GMT) before the Hurricanes host the Crusaders in Wellington at 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 07:35 GMT), whereafter the Melbourne Rebels host the Chiefs in Melbourne at 11:40 SA Time (19:40 AEST, 21:40 NZ Time, 09:40 GMT).

Over to South Africa and next up, at 17:05 SA Time (15:05 GMT), the Toyota Cheetahs host the DHL Stormers in Bloemfontein, before the Vodacom Bulls host hte Emirates Lions in Pretoria at 19:10 SA Time (17:10 GMT).

The game between the Highlanders and Cell C Sharks is a difficult one to call, equally so the derby between the Brumbies and Waratahs, on Friday.

On Saturday one would be hard-pressed to pick between the Blues and Western Force, as both of them are bottom-dwellers in the overall competition.

Over to another mouthwatering derby where the high-flying Hurricanes should have the measure of the Crusaders, who have been very inconsistent in 2015.

In Australia the Chiefs should easily have the measure of the Melbourne Rebels.

The DHL Stormers, even though they are playing away from home in Bloemfontein, should start as overwhelming favourites over the Toyota Cheetahs. The Trans-Jukskei derby in Pretoria between the Vodacom Bulls and Emirates Lionsis going to be a cracker, where the team with the biggest cahoonas will win… who it will be will remain to be seen!

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Super RugbyAs the Cell C Sharks kick off their Vodacom Super Rugby tour of Australasia, the DHL Stormers and Vodacom Bulls will be involved in 2 derbies which could go a long way in determining the eventual champion of the SA Conference.

The Durbanites will try to improve their winning record in New Zealand when they take to the field in Dunedin on Friday morning – against their 2nd favourite Kiwi opponent away from home.

It’s only against the Blues, where they’ve won 6 out of 8 in New Zealand, that the Cell C Sharks boast a better away winning record than against the team from Otago (4 from 8).

The Cell C Sharks have won 3 from 8 against the Hurricanes away, 3 from 9 against the Chiefs and 1 from 12 against the Crusaders.

2 Exciting local derbies are on the cards for Saturday afternoon and early evening.

1st Up is the Battle of Bloem between the Toyota Cheetahs and the DHL Stormers, where the Capetonians will be looking to improve their lead at the Top of the SA Conference without tripping up at what has become quite a tricky venue for most sides.

Then it’s the 2nd Jukskei Derby of 2015, this time in Pretoria, where the Vodacom Bulls’ aim will be to stay as close to the Top 6 on the Combined Log while at the same time not lose their 1st-ever home game against their neighbours from just south, the Emirates Lions.

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DHL StormersFit-again back Dillyn Leyds has been named in the DHL Stormers’ line-up for Saturday’s Vodacom Super Rugby clash against the Toyota Cheetahs in Bloemfontein (kick-off 17:05 SA Time).

Leyds slots back into the No 11 jersey after missing his team’s hard-fought 15 / 13 win over the Vodacom Bulls last Saturday because of a shoulder injury, with Pat Howard dropping out of the matchday 23 this week.

The return of Leyds is 1 of just 3 changes to the line-up that started against the Bulls, with prop Steven Kitshoff and lock Eben Etzebeth both being rested – the latter as part of the SA Franchise teams’ agreements with SA Rugby.

Oli Kebble will start in Kitshoff’s place (in his 1st start at this level, after 16 caps from the bench), whilst Jean Kleyn will make his 12th appearance in a DHL Stormers jersey when he lines up alongside Ruan Botha.

Prop Ali Vermaak and lock Manuel Carizza return to the matchday 23 this week (on the bench), whilst starting tighthead prop Frans Malherbe and replacement scrumhalf Louis Schreuder are both set to win their 50th caps for the DHL Stormers.

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BullsThe Blue Bulls Company (Pty) Ltd on Thursday confirmed that 3 players, Dean Greyling, Basil Short and Hencus van Wyk, were withdrawn from this weekend’s matches for the Vodacom Bulls and Vodacom Blue Bulls after suffering minor injuries in a car crash on Wednesday.

Greyling (knee) and Van Wyk (scrape wounds) were due to play for the Vodacom Bulls against the Emirates Lions and Short (neck) for the Vodacom Blue Bulls against the Limpopo Blue Bulls on Saturday.

They will be replaced by Morné Mellett, Dayan van der Westhuizen and Nqoba Mxoli respectively.

According to Xander Janse van Rensburg, High Performance Manager of the Blue Bulls Company, the trio were returning home from a quick hunting trip just outside Pretoria when their vehicle overturned.

“We are grateful that they did not sustain any serious injuries. Dean injured his knee, Hencus suffered some burns and Basil injured his neck, which resulted in him spending the night in hospital for observation. We wish them a speedy recovery.”

Greyling and Van Wyk is still due to travel with the Bulls on their overseas leg of the Vodacom Super Rugby competition, departing Sunday.

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Emirates LionsEmirates Lions head coach Johan Ackermann has announced his team for Saturday’s clash with the Vodacom Bulls, taking place at Loftus Versfeld.

In the only forward changes, Robbie Coetzee and Julian Redelinghuys will return to the front row for this encounter.

Meanwhile, in the backline there have been 2 positional changes with Andries Coetzee shifting to left wing and Harold Vorster moving across to outside centre. As a result, Marnitz Boshoff will start at fullback and Howard Mnisi will slot into the inside centre berth.

Alwyn Hollenbach has been drafted in to the match day side after Lionel Mapoe failed a late fitness test. Mapoe sustained a minor knock to the knee and has not yet recovered fully.

Kick-Off is at 19:10 SA Time on Saturday.

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Joe Wheeler

Joe Wheeler

The Highlanders have been dealt a blow with the news that 2nd row Joe Wheeler is out for the rest of the season.

The powerful lock has made 8 starts for the Highlanders this season, but had to come off in last week’s defeat to the Brumbies.

Scans have shown he ruptured ligaments during the game, and as a result he faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

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Wyatt Crockett

Wyatt Crockett

Head coach Todd Blackadder has made just 2 changes to the starting line-up for the clash against the Hurricanes with Wyatt Crockett reaching his 150th game.

Matt Todd will start at No 7 this week, after Richie McCaw was ruled out following a head knock in the game against the Blues.

That sees Luke Whitelock come onto the bench as loose forward cover.

Scrumhalf Andy Ellis steps back into the starting line-up with Mitchell Drummond moving to the reserves.

The game will mark an impressive milestone for prop Crockett, as he brings up his 150th game for the Crusaders.

Blackadder said the team will be keen to make this a game to remember for their good mate.

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Reds6 Of the Reds most promising young players have committed themselves to the franchise for the 2016 season beyond after signing new contact extensions.

Prop Sef Fa’agase, hooker Andrew Ready and loose forwards Michael Gunn and Adam Korczyk have committed to the club for 3 years, while prop Sam Talakai and outside back Jamie-Jerry Taulagi have signed for 2 years.

All 6 have made their Super Rugby debut for Queensland over the last 2 seasons and have been identified as future stars of the club.

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Brodie Retallick

Brodie Retallick

The Chiefs have made a number of changes to their team to play the Melbourne Rebels, with All Black Brodie Retallick ruled out for 4 weeks with a shoulder injury.

Pauliasi Manu and Ben Tameifuna take over the duties in the front row, with lock Michael Fitzgerald starting in the second row.

Retallick is out for 4 weeks with a left shoulder injury. This is the opposite shoulder to the one injured earlier this year.

Captain Liam Messam comes back into the side and Andrew Horrell gets his chance in the No 10 jersey.

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Bakkies Botha

Bakkies Botha

He will soon return home to South Africa to focus on his family and his livestock farm, but life after rugby can wait a few more weeks. Bakkies Botha wants to go out in a blaze of glory with Toulon.

With a Rugby World Cup triumph in 2007, 3 Super Rugby championships with the Bulls and 2 European titles with Toulon, not to mention Tri-Nations, Currie Cup and Top 14 honours – few can match the Springbok 2nd row enforcer’s illustrious achievements.

But in the twilight of his career and savouring the prospect ahead of the “calmness of the bush”, Botha, perhaps befitting a deeply religious man, prefers to focus on the team, rather than his individual contribution.

Toulon, the Mediterranean port city he has called home since 2011, hope to be crowned kings of Europe for a 3rd successive year when they take on French rivals Clermont in the European Rugby Champions Cup final at Twickenham on Saturday.

“I’m really happy that I came to Europe to test myself in this league and I want to end my career hopefully making it into 2 finals (Champions Cup and Top 14),” said the 36-year-old lock.

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Victor Matfield

Victor Matfield

The Vodacom Bulls, fresh off a narrow loss to the DHL Stormers this past weekend, next face the ever-improving Emirates Lions, at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday in the last Super Rugby match of the weekend.

It appears as though regular captain Pierre Spies is under the weather and will therefor sit out of the clash, with Victor Matfield back from Springbok rest and injury recovery set to take over the captaince helm for the vital match.

Meanwhile head coach Frans Ludeke is still moaning and groaning about the difficult laws and interpreations of those laws by the Super Rugby Referees.

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Johann Sadie

Johann Sadie

Toyota Cheetahs head coach, Naka Drotske, has named his team to tackle the DHL Stormers in Bloemfontein on Saturday.

Drotske has made several changes to his backline from the team that went down 34 / 29 to the Emirates Lions in Johannesburg last weekend.

Scrumhalf Sarel Pretorius is the only player who retains his spot, while Joe Pietersen moves back to flyhalf after wearing the No 15 jersey last weekend.

Clayton Blommetjies moves from the bench into the No 15 jersey, while there is also a new midfield partnership as Michael van der Spuy comes in at inside centre, with Francois Venter shifting to his outside.

Regular centre Johann Sadie is sidelined with a knee injury.

Sergeal Petersen will make his debut for the franchise on the left wing, with Rayno Benjamin moving to right wing, as Cornal Hendricks is rested in line with an agreement to rest top Springbok players.

Up front, Caylib Oosthuizen replaces Danie Minnie at loosehead prop, while Coenie Oosthuizen is bracketed with Maks van Dyk at tighthead.

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Cell C SharksThe Cell C Sharks tackle the Highlanders in Dunedin on Friday morning (09:35 SA Time) in the 1st of 4 overseas assignments in their Vodacom Super Rugby tour to New Zealand and Australia.

They enjoyed their 1st BYE last weekend after 10 Rounds of consecutive games and a refreshed squad is ready for the challenge that lies ahead.

Director of Rugby Gary Gold warns that the 6th-placed Highlanders, current qualifiers (and hopeful of remaining that way) and a dangerous attacking side, are worthy of strong respect.

“They have real game-breakers and it’s going to be a huge challenge for us on Friday,” he admits.

“I don’t think it gets much tougher than what we have coming on Friday.”

He has welcomed back hooker Bismarck du Plessis, lock Stephan Lewies and JP Pietersen into the starting line-up, all 3 Springboks bolstering the side.

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DHL StormersThe DHL Stormers are up against the Toyota Cheetahs on the weekend, after narrowly beating the Vodacom Bulls this past weekend. They will be feeling the pinch of a bad run of lineout steals against them by the Bulls, but they have laid down a serious marker in beating the Bulls and again going Top of the South African Confernce, from where they have an excellent chance of winning the Conference.

They want to show serious intent on attack against the Cheetahs and score some tries, a thing which has been worryingly few and far between.

A number of their key players have stepped up nicely in 2015, none more so probably than Damian de Allende, who is being touted as the logical Springbok inside centre option at the Rugby World Cup, should Jean de Villiers not recover properly in time for the big showpiece. Duane Vermeulen is another key Stormers player and captain, and it appears that he is somewhat frustrated by the enforced Springbok rest schedule, agreed to between SARU, Springbok Management and the South African Super Rugby franchises.

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Lionel Mapoe

Lionel Mapoe

The high-flying Emirates Lions are running the risk of being without one of their star players, Springbok training squad member Lionel Mapoe.

Mapoe is struggling with a knee injury and is in a race against time to be fit for his team’s trans-Jukskei Super Rugby derby with the Vodacom Bulls at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

Lions coach Johan Ackermann said that for the most part his team suffered only “bumps and bruises” in their 34 / 29 win over the Cheetahs last week.

However, the centre, Mapoe, remains a concern.

Ackermann said they will give him till Thursday’s team announcement before making a call on his availability.

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Lionel MapoeLions coach Johan Ackermann says centre Lionel Mapoe would be a valuable asset to the Springboks at the Rugby World Cup later this year.

The midfielder has been on song for the Lions in Super Rugby this year and his form has been recognised by Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer, who included him in both Bok training squads named over the weekend.

“If you’re looking for an outside centre with X-factor, then Lionel is definitely your man,” said Ackermann.

“In terms of enterprise, you don’t need to look any further than him and Juan de Jongh (Stormers centre) as your candidates for the No 13 jersey. Lionel’s performances in this (2015) Super Rugby competition have been outstanding and it’s notable how hard he’s worked on his conditioning.

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Cadeyrn Neville

Cadeyrn Neville

The Reds have signed Melbourne Rebels lock Cadeyrn Neville for 2 years, as they look to find a replacement for the departing James Horwill.

The 26-year-old will join the Reds at the conclusion of the 2015 Super Rugby season, whilst Horwill makes is way north to join Premiership side Harlequins after the the World Cup.

Originally from Manly in Sydney and a former rower with the Australian Institute of Sport, Neville has spent the past 4 seasons in Melbourne and played more than 40 Super Rugby games for the Rebels.

At 2.02m and 123kg, Reds head coach Richard Graham believes the developing Neville will make a suitable replacement for departing Wallabies lock Horwill.

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Rugby-TalkIt’s PUB NIGHT again…

The heading suggests we talk about music and not about the weekend’s rugby, unless you’re a Stormer or a Lion of course… hehehe

Notwithstanding the rugby results, I think we can say that it was a good rugby weekend anyway!

The Stormers are back in the lead in the SA Conference, the Bulls only 1 Log Point behind them and the Lions are knocking hard on the door for the play-offs.

One derby saw marvelous running rugby in a fast-paced game, the other a quality and hard-fought battle between old foes. Good on Ya all!

This next weekend, Super Rugby will continue, 2 games on Friday and 5 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:

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Bismarck du Plessis

Bismarck du Plessis

The Cell C Harks website reports that Bismarck du Plessis returns to the Cell C Sharks this weekend after serving a period of time away from the game, but, by his own noble request, will not be selected as captain for the match against the Highlanders.

“The situation is this,” explains Director of Rugby Gary Gold: “Bismarck has shown incredible humility about his personal situation over the past month and he feels that he just wants to get back into the Cell C Sharks team and make as big an impact as he can.

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WhistleSANZAR has announced the names of the Match Officials for Round 12 of the 2015 Super Rugby season.

There are once again 7 matches on the weekend, and only 1 team will on a BYE weekend, the Reds.

The Weekend sees 2 matches on Friday 1 May and 5 matches on Saturday 2 May.

On Friday referee Angus Gardner kicks off the action in the game between the Highlanders vs Cell C Sharks in Dunedin, at 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 07:35 GMT), followed by the Brumbies vs Waratahs clash in Canberra at 11:40 SA Time (19:40 AEST, 09:40 GMT) which will be controlled by Glen Jackson.

On Saturday the action starts early, at 07:30 SA Time (17:30 NZ Time, 15:30 AEST, 13:30 AWST, 05:30 GMT), with Ben O’Keeffe at the helm in the game between the Blues vs Western force in Auckland. This is followed by another match in New Zealand, at 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 07:35 GMT) with the Hurricanes hosting the Crusaders in Wellington, with Mike Fraser in charge of the whistle.

In Australia at 11:40 SA Time (19:40 AEST, 21:40 NZ Time, 09:40 GMT), referee Andrew Lees will officiate in the game between the Melbourne Rebels vs Chiefs, in Melbourne.

2 Mouthwatering derbies follow on South African soil, with the Toyota Cheetahs hosting the DHL Stormers in Bloemfontein at 17:05 SA Time (15:05 GMT), where Craig Joubert will be in charge of procedings, followed by the final Round 12 game in Protoria where the Vodacom Bulls host their trans-jukskei rivals, the Emirates Lions at 19:10 SA Time (17:10 GMT) with Marius van der Westhuizen will wield the whistle.

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Eben Etzebeth

Eben Etzebeth

Steven Kitshoff

Steven Kitshoff

The DHL Stormers look likely to travel to Bloemfontein for their Vodacom Super Rugby clash with the Toyota Cheetahs without star forwards Eben Etzebeth and Steven Kitshoff.

Etzebeth is due a rest related to the agreement between the South African Rugby Union and franchise chief executives, and after playing 4 consecutive games, this is the time to do it.

Kitshoff has started every one of the 10 games that the Stormers have played this season and coach Allister Coetzee has for a while now been talking about the need to manage him, particularly now that the Stormers’ participation in the play-off stages is starting to look more likely.

“It will be a good thing to give Kitshoff a bit of a breather and get him ready for the rest of the competition,” said Coetzee.

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Deon Stegmann

Deon Stegmann

Dean Greyling

Dean Greyling

The Vodacom Bulls, need a complete rethink of their game approach and selection criteria, after a loss on the weekend against the DHL Stormers once again exposed why the Bulls will keep struggling.

The answer is simple… scrum penalties are destrying Bulls chances left, right and centre – and 1 prop in particular, Dean Greyling, cost the Bulls the difference between a win and a loss on the weekend.

No less than 9 easy penalty points can directly be ascribed to Dean Greyling’s inability to scrum correctly and legally. It is not a new thing either, he has picked up a plethera of scrum penalties in the last number of seasons and his general scrumming technique at loosehead prop has always been severely flawed. He is simply put, a scrumming liability, and is exploited at scrum time week after week by every Tom, Dick and Harry who plays against him!

Dean picked up 4 crucial scrum penalties on the weekend, but Marcel van der Merwe also picked up an additional 3 scrum penalties. That means 7 scrum penallties, which were either put into points against the Bulls or which robbed them of valuable possession and territory.

In anybody’s book, bar maybe in the crumpled “Book of Fools & Favourites” of Bulls coach Frans Ludeke, it is seen as a HUGE problem!

Things looked radically better in the 2nd half, when Morné Mellett was at loosehead prop and Trevor Nyakane at tighthead prop.

In addition to the clear prop and scrumming conundrum at the Bulls, one needs to start questioning the validity of continuing with Deon Stegmann at openside flank, as he is also a huge penalty offender! When Lappies Labuschagne replaced Stegmann at openside flank and Arno Botha replaced Jacques du Plessis at blindside flank, the Bulls suddenly entered their most productive and least penalized period of the match and the ground ball and breakdown situation control swung nicely in favour of the Bulls, so much so that the Bulls effectively ‘WON’ the 2nd half battle on the scoreboard, by 10 points to 3 and coming within a whisker of stealing the honours at the end of the game.

If these basic and fundamental aspects are not fixed, and immediately so, one can already start writing “Also-Runs 2015” on the shirt of every Bulls player and on every Bulls supporter’s jersey, alongside that tag which is already emblazened there for 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014!

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Luke Jones

Luke Jones

Telusa Veainu

Telusa Veainu

The Melbourne Rebels are hopeful that Wallaby lock Luke Jones and powerhouse wing Telusa Veainu will be in contention for selection this week against the Chiefs.

Jones missed the narrow defeat against the Waratahs on Saturday due to a delayed concussion.

While the Club expects Jones to be available, they will prioritise his wellbeing alongside teammate Telusa Veainu, who sustained a head knock in a Man Of The Match performance for Melbourne Unicorns in Round 5 of the Dewar Shield.

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Super RugbyIt was a weekend of drama and excitement in South Africa as the DHL Stormers moved to the Top of the local Super Rugby Conference and the Emirates Lions kept alive their dream of reaching the Top 6.

The Emirates Lions beat the Toyota Cheetahs by 34 / 29 in an 8-try humdinger on Saturday afternoon to record their 6th victory of the season, making 2015 their 2nd best yet but with 6 Rounds to go.

Last year, the Emirates Lions finished with 7 wins, 2 better than their 5 from 2007, but they are on track to better their best in the coming weeks.

The Toyota Cheetahs also deserve a lot of credit for never giving up as they returned to Bloemfontein with 2 bonus points.

The 2nd local match on Saturday delivered heaps of drama and the result was in the balance right until the end, but the DHL Stormers hung on for their 2nd victory over the Vodacom Bulls this season as they won by 15 / 13.

The visitors from Pretoria scored the only try of the match when Bjorn Basson went over early in the 2nd half, but the match-clinching moment came at the death when Duane Vermeulen charged down an attempted drop-goal by Handré Pollard to lead his side to their 7th win of the season.

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Ian Prior

Ian Prior

The SANZAR Duty Judicial Officer Nigel Hampton QC has accepted a guilty plea from Ian Prior of the Force for contravening Law 10.4 (j) Lifting Tackle, after he was sent off following a Super Rugby match at the weekend.

Prior has been suspended from all forms of the game for 3 weeks up to and including Sunday 17 May 2015.

The incident occurred in the 28th minute of the match between the Chiefs and Force at Waikato Stadium in Hamilton on 24 April 2015.

SANZAR Duty Judicial Officer Nigel Hampton QC assessed the case.

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James Broadhurst

James Broadhurst

James Broadhurst of the Hurricanes has been issued with a Citing Commissioner Warning for contravening Law 10.4 (g) Dangerous charging, during a Super Rugby match at the weekend.

The incident occurred in the 50th minute of the match between the Reds and Hurricanes played at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on 26 April 2015.

A Citing Commissioner Warning may be issued by the SANZAR Citing Commissioner for foul play incidents that are very close to, but in his opinion do not meet the red card threshold for citings.

Upon further review of the match footage the Citing Commissioner deemed a Citing Commissioner Warning was appropriate.

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Richie McCaw, struggling to get up

Richie McCaw, struggling to get up

All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw is “unlikely” to feature for the Crusaders in Saturday’s Super Rugby show down with the Hurricanes.

The Crusaders flanker was concussed in his team’s 14-point win over the Blues in Round 11 and will undergo tests over the coming days to determine his availability for the game against the competition leaders.

But Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder said no risks would be taken, and with the World Cup 4 months away, McCaw is likely to be given a week off.

“If he’s not right, there’s no way he will play, Richie,” Blackadder said.

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