Super Rugby
Trevor Nyakane
Springbok and Cheetahs prop Trevor Nyakane may be on his way to the Cape to play for Western Province and the Stormers.
The Bulls were also keen to sign Nyakane, but it now seems the Capetonians may have won the battle for his signature.
Carlos Spencer
Southern Kings coach Carlos Spencer has rung the changes for the Super Rugby friendly against a Sharks XV in Port Elizabeth on Friday as he continues to assess his options ahead of the Currie Cup competition.
The Kings had a convincing 66-28 win over a young Bulls side in their last encounter and Spencer made nine changes to the starting line-up for the clash.
Reflecting on the team, Spencer said the Kings squad was well-covered in all positions, but some players still had to cement their positions.
SANZAR has released the names of the Match Officials for Round 18 of Super Rugby 2014.
Nick Briant starts the action at Waikato Stadium when the Chiefs host the Hurricanes on Friday at 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 07:35 GMT) .
This weekend sees 7 matches, with 2 on Friday, 4 on Saturday and 1 game on Sunday.
The Brumbies have a BYE weekend.
After this Round, a full 113 matches would already have been played in Super Rugby 2014.
Franco van der Merwe
Springbok lock forward Franco van der Merwe has recovered fully from the ankle injury that forced him to miss much of the Lions’ Super Rugby campaign, and has been drafted straight in to the starting side by head coach Johan Ackermann for Friday nights clash against the Rebels at Ellis Park.
The big Springbok’s inclusion will add some most welcome steel to the Lions second row for the clash against the team currently 1 place below the home side on the combined log.
In is a game the Johannesburg based outfit will be desperate to win before faceing the Cheetahs in their final round robin game which may well decide the Wooden Spoonists of the SA conference, Ackermann will be hoping for a dispaly at least as intense as that which saw the Lions to victory over Gauteng neighbours the Bulls just ove a month ago.
Eben Etzebeth
Stormers lock Eben Etzebeth will not feature in this year’s Super Rugby tournament after suffering another injury.
The Springbok lock has been sidelined with an ankle injury since late last year, but was looking forward to returning to action during the latter rounds of Super Rugby.
However, an official injury report released by the Stormers on Monday revealed another injury to Etzebeth.
He has a broken toe, which will keep him out of action for another 2-3 weeks.
Jake White
Jake White has hinted at a bold strategy to rest his returning Springboks with the Sharks having sewn up the South African conference and guaranteed some play-off rugby already.
The Sharks have an unassailable hold on the South African Conference and cannot finish the tournament any lower than third.
However, the plan is to finish in the top two and earn a direct route to a home semifinal without having to play a qualifying knock-out match.
White has indicated that if they are to really be competitive when it matters, it may require some tactical selection policies.
Dane Coles
Victor Vito
Alapati Leiua
Motu Matu’u
The Hurricanes will continue to sweat on their long list of injured players, with just two rounds of Super Rugby league action remaining.
Their 16-9 Round 17 win over the Crusaders at the weekend took a heavy toll.
All Black hooker Dane Coles heads a casualty list that includes fellow All Black Victor Vito, Alapati Leiua and Motu Matu’u.
All four players are have scans on their respective injuries on Monday.
Dan Carter
Kieran Read
The stage is set for Dan Carter and Kieran Read to take command of the Crusaders for the final rocky weeks of Super Rugby, but coaching staff are cagey about the duo’s prospects of starting against the resurgent Blues.
All Blacks flyhalf Carter, working his way back after a six-month sabbatical, and number eight Read came off the bench in the second half against the Hurricanes on Saturday but were powerless to stop their side falling to a 16-9 defeat.
The disappointing loss in Wellington has prompted calls for the pair to be thrown straight in against the Blues, who re-ignited their season with a confidence-boosting rout of the Western Force last week.
There is just six competition points separating the five New Zealand Conference teams, but with four intense local derbies to come, there is no chance of the Kiwi teams dominating the 2014 Super Rugby Finals Series.
The Crusaders and Highlanders destinies are in their own hands, although in a delicious twist of fate those two meet in the final round so that clash could be for a top six berth.
The Hurricanes, just one point behind, do not have their fate completely in their own hands, one of just two teams with only one fixture remaining.
The Blues and Chiefs need results to go their way if they are to survive.
The Waratahs are top of the table, three points clear of the Sharks, with guaranteed Super Rugby Finals Series qualification which sees them placed as Australia’s best hope.
The Brumbies and the Force are not out of it yet.
A win to the two-time champions against the Western Australians in Canberra will give them 44-45 points, right on the threshold of what might be the lowest mark to reach the top six.
Meanwhile the Reds and Rebels play for pride.
Dave Dennis
The Waratahs may have moved to the top of the Super Rugby standings, but they will be withoout the services of captain Dave Dennis for the rest of their campaign.
The hard-working Dennis injured his knee in their emphatic 39-8 bonus-point win over the Brumbies in Sydney on Saturday and has been ruled out with an ACL injury.
Dom Shipperley
Despite triumphing at the Rebels, the Reds won’t be celebrating too much on Friday as Dom Shipperley suffered a fracture dislocation of his ankle.
The 23-year-old, who left AAMI Park in agony early into their solid 36-20 win, was taken to hospital and is set to meet with an orthopedic surgeon.
Stephen Larkham
Stephen Larkham has committed to another three years as Brumbies Head Coach, taking him through to the end of the 2017 Super Rugby season.
The announcement comes as Laurie Fisher confirmed he will finish his tenure as Director of Rugby with the Brumbies at season’s end to pursue opportunities in Europe.
“It’s a huge moment in my career to be extending my position here. I’ve had a long history with the Brumbies with some success, but the idea of new challenges has made this really exciting for me and my family,” Larkham said.
James O’Connor
Eddie Jones
Australia were not “appreciably better” with James O’Connor in the side and the struggling Super Rugby Reds team should look elsewhere in their recruiting, and not at James O’Connor, according to former Wallabies coach Eddie Jones.
Former Western Force and Melbourne Rebels back O’Connor is tipped to play for the Reds next season in a bid to revive his 44-test Wallabies career, which stalled last year when he was kicked out of the team for a string of off-field incidents.
He has bided his time in Europe with a stint for London Irish in the English Premiership and also signed a deal to play with Toulon, the French giants announced in February.
Since winning the 2011 Super Rugby championship under Ewen McKenzie, now head coach of the Wallabies, the Reds have fallen on hard times under Richard Graham, and will miss the playoffs this season.
Force (0) 14 / 40 (26) Blues (Final Score)
The Western Force and Blues did battle in Super Rugby at
nib Stadium, Perth at 13:45 SA Time (19:45 AWST, 23:45 NZ Time, 11:45 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & SHD on TV in SA.
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Waratahs (14) 39 / 8 (5) Brumbies (Final Score)
The Waratahs and Brumbies did battle in Super Rugby at
ANZ Stadium, Sydney at 11:40 SA Time (19:40 AEST, 09:40 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & SHD on TV in SA.
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Hurricanes (11) 16 / 9 (3) Crusaders (Final Score)
The Hurricanes and Crusaders 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, SHD & CSN on TV in SA.
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We run through some key players that went down in action during the June Internationals for Southern Hemisphere nations, that might impact some team’s Super Rugby chances.
South Africa and Australia are severely hit but things look a lot better for the New Zealand Franchises.
It is fast heading to crunch time in Super Rugby, with Round 17 on this weekend. The South African sides are of course excluded from Round 17 due to the fact that they started a week earlier than their Antipodian counterparts.
Including Round 17, there are only 3 weeks of the open Rounds left, before the weekend of Play-Off games ensue for the Top 6 Super Rugby sides and the margins for error is so small, specially for those Franchises still on the fringes of making the Play-Off’s.
After the 2 Play-Off games, featuring No 3 against No 6 and No 4 against No 5, there is one weekend of Semi-Finals (2 games) and a week later the Final.
Andy Ellis
Crusaders scrumhalf Andy Ellis has committed to the Crusaders for 2015, but will first play a season for the Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers rugby club in Japan.
Ellis said he was excited about the opportunity to play in a new environment and a new competition for a season but remained committed to his teams here in New Zealand.
“I love playing for Canterbury and the Crusaders and I would love the chance to represent New Zealand again if the opportunity ever came up.”
Rebels (3) 20 / 36 (22) Reds (Final Score)
The Melbourne Rebels and Reds did battle in Super Rugby at
AAMI Park, Melbourne at 11:40 SA Time (19:40 AEST, 09:40 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & CSN on TV in SA.
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Highlanders (10) 29 / 25 (13) Chiefs (Final Score)
The Highlanders and Chiefs did battle in Super Rugby at
Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin 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, SHD & CSN on TV in SA.
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Johann Sadie
The Cheetahs were hit by another massive blow when they lost their ninth player of the season, with midfielder Johann Sadie heading to Japan to join the NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes at the end of the current Super Rugby season.
Sadie will make the move to the Japanese club, which also has South Africans Heinrich Brüssow and Riaan Viljoen on their books, after again missing on the Springbok training squad.
The Cheetahs midfielder has had a good season despite his team’s poor form in this year’s competition and will definitely be able to use his attacking skills in the pacy Japanese league.
Joe Tomane
Wallaby coach Ewen McKenzie believes Joe Tomane will soon be back in the selection frame for the national team.
The Wallaby and Brumbies wing, Tomane, signed a new two-year deal with the Australia Rugby Union that will take him through until at least the end of 2016.
His signature further bolsters the rich talent available to the Wallabies in the outside backs with Tomane determined to add to the nine caps he has earned since making his debut in 2012.
Phil Burleigh
Edinburgh’s backline resources for the new season were boosted with the signing of Highlanders utility back Phil Burleigh.
Burleigh signed a two-year deal with the Scottish outfit.
The 27-year-old playmaker came through the ranks with Bay of Plenty, before becoming a regular star in the Southern Hemisphere’s top flight Super Rugby competition.
It is Round 17 of Super Rugby 2014 this weekend, the first Round after the June Test break! We have 5 games in Round 17, with 2 game on Friday and 3 games on Saturday.
All 5 the South African sides sits out this weekend, still in the last week of their June Test window, however this at the same time makes up for the fact that the South African sides started a week earlier than the rest in February.
After this Round it will mean that the Antipodian teams will have caught up in played games with the South African counterparts.
As a result, the Logs and Combined Log will no longer be skewed and will reflect a much more accurate accont of the Super Rugby season thus far.
One has to question why individual countries are allowed to start such a long competition ahead of it’s rivals. In 2013 the Australian sides started a week early, but at least they had the excuse that they needed an extra week in the middle of the year to prepare for the British & Irish Lions series, which they lost.
The Brumbies have named their team to play the Waratahs in Sydney with Robbie Coleman winning his 50th cap and prop Ruaidhri Murphy making his first start at hooker.
In the backs Robbie Coleman will celebrate his 50th game on the wing after making his debut against the Reds back in 2010 and has since gone on to cement a spot in the top squad in 2014.
Ruaidhri Murphy will make his first appearance as a hooker on Saturday when the Brumbies travel to Sydney to take on the Waratahs.
The Western Force have named their team to play the Blues at the ‘Force Field’ (nib Stadium) including six players who have all returned from injury to start this weekend.
Hugh McMeniman (collarbone), Ben McCalman (groin), Alby Mathewson (ankle), Marcel Brache (ankle), Tetera Faulkner (back) and Solomoni Rasolea (wrist) will all return to the Western Force line-up in the club’s first match back following the three-week Test break.
McMeniman will return at blindside flanker in place of Angus Cottrell, who suffered a season-ending ankle injury in the Western Australian club’s last match against the Crusaders in Christchurch.
The two leading attacking teams of the 2014 Super Rugby season, the Hurricanes and Crusaders are facing off this weekend in what is expected to be a super-charged match at Westpac Stadium.
Statistics suggest a close encounter is on the cards, with both teams averaging 29 points per game. The Hurricanes have managed to score 407 points in 14 matches, while the Crusaders have generated 381 points in 13 fixtures.
Steven Luatua returns to the starting fifteen of the Blues for Saturday’s clash against the Force in Perth.
The 23-year-old blindside flanker has not featured in the run-on side since Round 10 against the Hurricanes after being squeezed out by the in-form Peter Saili, but head coach Sir John Kirwan said it was time to give Luatua an opportunity.
“He’s been away with the All Blacks and he’s come back full of energy and I think he needs an opportunity to push his way back into the side,” Kirwan said.
Dan Carter
Crusaders head coach Todd Blackadder has named his team to play the Hurricanes this weekend. The team will head to Wellington on Friday to prepare for the game at Westpac Stadium on Saturday night.
Eight players have returned from the All Blacks to make the team, including prop Wyatt Crockett who will pack down with Corey Flynn and Nepo Laulala in the front row. Owen Franks will provide front row cover alongside Joe Moody and Ben Funnell on the bench.
Locks Dom Bird and Sam Whitelock will pair up in the second row, and Matt Todd will wear the No 7 jersey with Richie McCaw ruled out with a broken rib. Jordan Taufua and Luke Whitelock join him in the loose forwards with Kieran Read and Jimmy Tupou named in the reserves.
Rebels head coach Tony McGahan has named exciting youngster Sean McMahon in the starting line-up and Jack Debreczeni for his run-on debut as Super Rugby returns to AAMI Park for the final time in 2014 as the Rebels host the Reds on Friday night.
Debreczeni, who has played in the Rebels previous two matches as a replacement, recently re-signed with the club and is part of a backline shuffle that also sees flyer Jason Woodward move to the right wing.
McGahan was excited to unleash the youngster from the first minute against the Reds.
Highlanders head coach Jamie Joseph has named his team to take on the reigning champions in Dunedin on Friday.
All three All Blacks, along with Patrick Osborne, who joined the All Black’s squad as injury cover, have returned to the starting line-up while both Brayden Mitchell and Tom Franklin have played their way into the team after stellar performances in Invercargill against the NZ Barbarians.
Flip van der Merwe
Flip van der Merwe’s season ended with a whimper rather than a bang as the big lock was ruled out for the rest of the year with a knee injury.
Van der Merwe, who hurt himself in the closing minutes of the one-point victory over Wales in Nelspruit this past weekend, underwent a scan and was sent for a specialist opinion by the Springbok management on Monday.
And the news was not good.
The specialist ruled that Van der Merwe had to undergo surgery on his posterior cruciate ligament, and will therefore be out for six months.
Louis Fouché
Vodacom Bulls flyhalf Louis Fouche has become the latest player to leave Loftus Versfeld after signing a one-year deal with the Ricoh Black Rams in Japan.
Fouche, who had a tough season with the Bulls, being dropped after the second game of this year’s Vodacom Super Rugby, has struggled to get back into the team with the likes of Jacques-Louis Potgieter and Handre Pollard ahead of him in the pecking order.
Since then, Fouche has played just a handful of games in the Vodacom Cup and decided to take up an offer in Japan to further his career there.
Tazz Fuzani
The Eastern Province Kings are reportedly interested in luring Western Province lock Tazz Fuzani to Port Elizabeth.
Fuzani, 23, made a promising debut for WP in last year’s Currie Cup, but appears to have fallen out of favour with WP / Stormers coach Allister Coetzee.