Super Rugby
SANZAR has released the names of the Match Officials for Round 13 of Super Rugby 2014.
We see 7 games this weekend, with 2 on Friday, 4 on Saturday and 1 on Sunday.
Mike Frazer strats the weekend action in the game between the Chiefs and Blues in New Plymouth.
The Waratahs have their BYE weekend.
Experienced flanker Schalk Burger will captain a much-changed and young DHL Stormers team in Saturday’s all-South African Vodacom Super Rugby Derby against the Bulls in Pretoria (kick-off 19:10 SA Time).
Coach Allister Coetzee has been forced into making 6 enforced changes to the starting line-up, with 3 players on debut in the matchday 23 – lock Jean Kleyn in the starting line-up and prop Alistair Vermaak and scrumhalf Dylon Frylinck on the bench.
There are also 6 new faces on the bench, with Steven Kitshoff (knee), Frans Malherbe (concussion), Oli Kebble (concussion), Jurie van Vuuren (shoulder), Michael Rhodes (assortment of knocks), Louis Schreuder (broken thumb), Jean de Villiers (AC Joint) and Kobus van Wyk (wrist) all dropping out with an assortment of injuries after last weekend’s 29-28 win over the Highlanders.
Greyling to play in 50th against Stormers
Vodacom Bulls prop Dean Greyling will play in his 50th Vodacom Super Rugby match for his team on Saturday, when the Pretoria team takes on the DHL Stormers at Loftus Versfeld.
Blues head coach Sir John Kirwan has made just one injury-enforced change to the starting 15 for Friday’s match against reigning champions the Chiefs at Yarrow Stadium in New Plymouth.
With midfielder Francis Saili suffering a high ankle sprain in the lead up to last week’s clash with the Reds and Jackson Willison succumbing to a hamstring strain during the game, George Moala has been promoted from the bench to start at centre.
Hurricanes coach Mark Hammett has given his forward pack a slight reshuffle as the Hurricanes take on the Rebels at AAMI Park on Friday evening.
One of the changes comes in the front row, where Reggie Goodes slots into loosehead prop for Ben Franks, who moves to tighthead in place of Jeffery Toomaga-Allen. Ardie Savea also comes into the line-up, with Jack Lam moving to the bench.
Chiefs coach Dave Rennie has made a number of changes to his team for the Super Rugby crunch match against the Blues.
The Chiefs and Blues go head-to-head in Taranaki on Friday in a game that could have a big bearing on deciding the New Zealand conference.
The Crusaders have made the decision not to play Kieran Read against the Reds in Brisbane this Sunday as he continues to recover from concussion suffered against the Chiefs in Round 10.
Crusaders head coach Todd Blackadder said that, while Read is recovering well, the symptoms have not completely cleared so the coaches decided it would be preferable to make a call early in the week and take him out of contention for the next game.
The Waratahs have signed exciting winger Taqele Naiyaravoro until at least end of the 2015 Super Rugby season from NRL club Wests Tigers.
The Brumbies have re-signed Matt Toomua until the end of the 2017 Super Rugby season after he signed a three-year contract extension
Toomua is one of two players that have been signed to full-time Brumbies contracts from school and his new deal will see him playing for the Brumbies for 10 years.
This is the first of a 3-part Series looking at each team’s chances with each Conference with little more than a third of the regular season remaining.
We kick off with the New Zealand Conference!
SUMMARY: The closest conference so far, there is only 5 Competition Log Points separating the teams and of all the countries, the amount of local derbies will ensure significant cannibalisation.
There are 11 New Zealand derby matches remaining in the last 7 rounds.
Dan Carter has put his jet-setting lifestyle to bed and is back on the training pitch as he prepares himself for a return to rugby.
The experienced All Blacks flyhalf has been using his sabbatical this year to mingle with sports and entertainment celebrities around the planet, from Elton John to Rory McIlroy.
Cheetahs coach Naka Drotske has included two Springbok stalwarts in his run on side for their Super Rugby encounter against the Western Force in Bloemfontein on Saturday afternoon.
Flyhalf Johan Goosen and prop Coenie Oosthuizen are back in the starting line-up after making an impact from the bench against the Bulls in Pretoria last week.
Goosen, who has recovered from a concussion, replaces Elgar Watts, while Oosthuizen comes in for Maks van Dyk at tight head prop. Both Watts and Van Dyk find themselves among the replacements.
The Sharks have suffered another injury setback as on-the-mend flyhalf Fred Zeilinga has been sent home and replaced by Jaco van Tonder.
Zeilinga injured his hamstring against the Lions at Ellis Park in Round Nine after jostling for a position at flyhalf with Tim Swiel and Frans Steyn following Pat Lambie’s departure.
Allister Coetzee says his teams susceptibility to injury this season is purely bad luck and that conditioning and other factors cannot be blamed.
With five high profile injuries coming out of the Stormers’ single point victory over the Highlanders, the Cape side are once again licking their wounds.
Net toe die Cheetahs se diepte begin beter lyk het, het die beseringspook weer in hul kamp toegeslaan.
Dié sentrale streekspan sal Saterdag hier in sy Superrugby-wedstryd teen die Western Force sonder die beseerde flank Jean Cook (skouer) én slot Ligtoring Landman (kuit) moet klaarkom.
Wat die terugslae erger maak, is dat dit in posisies is waar Naka Drotské, die Cheetahs se afrigter, se span reeds uitgedun is.
Boonop sukkel die vleuel Raymond Rhule (enkel) ook met ’n besering, maar kan hy volgens Drotské nog betyds herstel.
Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham says his side will add some variations to their game to counter the inside knowledge of former coach Jake White this weekend.
White left the Brumbies last season after two years in charge, having guided them to the Super Rugby Final against the Chiefs, and he returns to Canberra this weekend as coach of the table-topping Sharks.
The struggling Reds have been dealt a triple injury blow, with Liam Gill, Chris Feauai-Sautia and Eddie Quirk all ruled out for multiple weeks.
Three wins and only one defeat against Australasian opposition meant the last round of Vodacom Super Rugby was the best weekend from a South African perspective since round two earlier this year.
However, two of the three wins in the second round were in local derbies. This weekend, only the Vodacom Bulls’ victory over the Toyota Cheetahs was an all-South African affair as the Cell C Sharks and the DHL Stormers clinched victories over Australasian opponents.
In fact, the Cell C Sharks broke a losing run of 13 matches in Australasia for the South African franchises (this includes the Toyota Cheetahs’ defeat in their 2013 Qualifier against the Brumbies in Canberra) when they beat the Rebels by 22-16 in Melbourne on Friday morning.
Following last week’s announcement of the new Super Rugby format set to commence in 2016, SANZAR has started its global search for an 18th team.
Then expression of interest (EOI) pack was forwarded to known interested parties on Monday in what signifies the beginning of an exciting chapter that will find the new franchise to join the Kings and a team based in Argentina in the 2016 competition.
The new format is an evolution of the conference structure that was introduced in 2011, allowing for adaptation and expansion to deliver Super Rugby to new markets, fans and audiences as the world’s premier provincial competition.
The Cell C Sharks have suffered a major blow as Springbok fetcher Marcell Coetzee has been sent home and will play no further part in the tour.
Coetzee returned to Durban after suffering a tour-ending injury on Friday against the Rebels.
After getting back to winning ways on Saturday when the Vodacom Bulls beat the Toyota Cheetahs at Loftus Versfld, by 26 / 21, the Bulls are keen to continue this trend when they meet the injury-decimated DHL Stormers on Saturday at Loftus Versfeld, at 19:10 SA Time.
A traditional North-South derby always makes for excitement and the Bulls will have to be at their best against a Stormers side which has seen some dramatic improvements in recent weeks.
Loosehead prop Oliver Kebble is likely to start for the Stormers in their Super Rugby clash against the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
Reports that Sharks and Springbok utility back Frans Steyn is set to play in Japan after this year’s Super Rugby competition should be seen as a win-win situation.
Local media and even a pay-TV station speculated about the reported move on Friday, but the facts appear to be fuzzy and even squishy.
The Rebels may be able to call upon the services of prop Toby Smith against the Hurricanes this week, but will be without scrumhalf Nic Stirzaker.
Reds prop James Slipper and Highlanders hooker Brayden Mitchell were both handed three-week bans for spear tackles at the weekend.
Kane Douglas is understood to have agreed to a two-year deal with Leinster that would rule him out of contention for the 2015 World Cup.
The 14-Test cap Wallaby locks omission from the World Cup squad due to the Australian’s policy to not pick foreign based players would be a massive blow according to his Warartahs team mates.
The Blues have suffered a double blow in their midfield as both Francis Saili and Jackson Willison have been sidelined for extended periods of time.
Bulls (9) 26 / 21 (18) Cheetahs (Final Score)
The Vodacom Bulls and Toyota Cheetahs did battle in Super Rugby at
Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria at 17:05 SA Time (15:05 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
*******************
Stormers (19) 29 / 28 (14) Highlanders (Final Score)
The DHL Stormers and Highlanders did battle in Super Rugby at
Newlands, Cape Town at 15:00 SA Time (13:00 GMT, 01:00 Sunday NZ Time).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
*******************
Waratahs (24) 39 / 30 (24) Hurricanes (Final Score)
The Waratahs and Hurricanes did battle in Super Rugby at
Allianz Stadium, Sydney at 11:40 SA Time (19:40 AEST, 21:40 NZ Time, 09:40 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & SHD on TV in SA.
*******************
Chiefs (19) 38 / 8 (3) Lions (Final Score)
The Chiefs and Lions did battle in Super Rugby at
Waikato Stadium, Hamilton 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 & M-Net on TV in SA.
*******************
Crusaders (22) 40 / 20 (6) Brumbies (Final Score)
The Crusaders and Brumbies did battle in Super Rugby at
AMI Stadium, Christchurch at 06:35 SA Time (16:35 NZ Time, 14:35 AEST, 04:35 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & CSN on TV in SA.
*******************
Rebels (6) 16 / 22 (15) Sharks (Final Score)
The Melbourne Rebels and Cell C Sharks 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 & M-Net on TV in SA.
*******************
Blues (20) 44 / 14 (0) Reds (Final Score)
The Blues and Reds did battle in Super Rugby at
Eden Park, Auckland at 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 17:35 AEST, 07:35 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & CSN on TV in SA.
*******************
With the announcement of the re-shaping of the Super Rugby, the competition looks likely to expand outside the Southern Hemisphere and could potentially lay the groundwork for a global competition.
The new format already includes a team from Argentina, but there is also talk of including a team from Asia, Europe or even North America in a bid to expand the competition globally.
The reaction from the South African camp is seemingly positive with South African Rugby Union CEO Jurie Roux saying the evolution of the competition ‘ticks all the boxes.’