Singapore clinched a four-year deal to host a leg of the IRB Sevens World Series at its state-of-the-art new National Stadium, starting next year, a media report said.
The Straits Times said the Singapore Rugby Union signed a host union agreement with the International Rugby Board last week.
It will join Vancouver and Paris as new entrants to the nine-nation, eight-month global campaign, with Tokyo, Las Vegas and Glasgow making way, the report said, without naming a source.
Tinus Linee
Former Springbok and Western Province centre Tinus Linee, who was suffering from Motor Neuron Disease (MND), passed away at the age of 45 on Monday morning. Continue reading
USA Eagles (6) 6 / 74 (43) All Blacks (Final Score)
The United States of America’s Eagles and New Zealand All Blacks did battle in the End Of Year Tours at
Soldier Field, Chicago at 22:00 SA Time (15:00 Chicago Time, 20:00 GMT, 09:00 Sunday NZ Time).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 CSN on TV in SA.
*******************
Barbarians (12) 36 / 40 (14) Wallabies (Final Score)
The Barbarians and the Australian Wallabies did battle in the End Of Year Tours at
Twickenham Stadium, London at 16:30 SA Time (14:30 GMT & BST).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & CSN on TV in SA.
*******************
Hi fellow Rugby-Talkers, readers and rugby nutters,
Yesterday we went well over the 12 Million Page Impressions mark here on Rugby-Talk.com, since we started counting on 31 October 2009 (exactly 5 years ago today).
To some it may be irrelevant, but it is a real world indication of how we have grown and how we are capturing the rugby audience all over the globe. It is an indication that we are successful in what we are doing on this wonderful rugby portal and it certainly is indicative that we keep growing… and growing on a serious exponential curve.
The sport we so gladly serve, makes it easier to reach these figures, but as we have seen from recent rivals who have fallen by the wayside, it still indicates that you have to do things right and not just sit back and expect people to access your site because you think that you are somebody or that the rugby world owes you something.
At the end of the 2014 calendar year we should reach a figure of 4.75 Million Page Impressions for the year… or more, a massive increase on the 2013 calendar year.
John McFarand
Conditions in the Northern Hemisphere may differ significantly from those at home but Springbok assistant coach John McFarland believed they favoured the South African players.
“Ellis Park is obviously much quicker and there’s a fatigue factor that always kicks in, whereas in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s a little bit slower and you need bigger guys in terms of the hitting,” McFarland said in Johannesburg on Friday.
“South African players are very successful in the Premiership under those conditions and if you look at how many are playing well in the European clubs, and are valued highly, it’s certainly because those conditions suit us.”
The Springbok squad departs for Dublin on Saturday ahead of their four-Test outgoing tour starting with a clash against Six Nations champions Ireland.
Brendan Venter
John Smit has defined the role that Brendan Venter will play at the Sharks with the former Saracens Director of Rugby coming in once a week as a technical advisor.
Smit’s big appointments since his former World Cup-winning coach Jake White walked out has been to bring in two men who coached the CEO during his playing career – Gary Gold, who was assistant coach to Peter de Villiers and Venter, who coached him at Saracens.
Gold has been installed as the hands-on head coach of the Sharks and will be assisted by the three Currie Cup coaches in Brad Macleod-Henderson, Paul Anthony and Sean Everitt.
Venter will be adding technical support and advice with Smit hoping to tap into his ‘intellectual property’ of how the game works.
“Brendan will provide intellectual property in terms of where the game is going, discussing trends and helping with detail,” Smit told the Sharks website..
“He will come in once a week depending on the emphasis of the skill-set for that week.
Clarke Dermody
Former Southland and All Black prop, Clarke Dermody has been unveiled as the Highlanders’ scrum and assistant forwards’ coach for the 2015 Super Rugby season.
He had a voluntary, part-time role with the Highlanders this year, before serving as an assistant with Southland during the national provincial championships.
Dermody had a remarkable playing career, which included playing for every New Zealand age-group team before playing three Tests in 2006 for the All Blacks and is no stranger to the Highlanders after representing them 44 times.
Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph hopes the fulltime work by Dermody will help shore up a scrum that was put under pressure this season.
Doppies la Grange
Gideon “Doppies” la Grange has brought the curtain down on his career after a short return stint in the Currie Cup for the Griquas.
The 32-year-old returned to South Africa via Kimberley after playing in Italy for Benetton Treviso in 2013 where he only made nine appearances.
La Grange states the reason for his retirement is that his body was sending him signals.
Wallabies backrower Matt Hodgson will be given the honour of captaining Australia in Saturday’s opening match of the 2014 Spring Tour against the Barbarians at Twickenham.
New head coach Michael Cheika has given Hodgson the responsibility of leading a team which boasts 495 Test caps in the starting line-up, and which also includes four players who will wear the green and gold jersey for the first time in 2014.
The clash against the Barbarians is an uncapped international, although will see playmakers Quade Cooper and Will Genia, winger Henry Speight and backrower Sean McMahon receive their first opportunities for Australia this year.
An extended nine-man bench has also been named for the clash with one player to be omitted following Thursday afternoon’s training session in London.
Cheika said the team was looking forward to the opportunity on Saturday.
Craig Joubert
South Africa’s Craig Joubert will be in Chicago this Saturday when he referees the Test between the United States and New Zealand.
Joubert was the referee in last weekend’s Currie Cup final between Western Province and the Golden Lions at Newlands. He received high praise for the way in which he handled the game and this week his reward is a trip to the United States.
The Eagles play the All Blacks at the Soldiers Field, the home ground of gridiron club Chicago Bears, which seats 61 500 and is sold out.
Meanwhile, other South African referee in action this weekend is Jaco Peyper, who will take charge of the Barbarians v Australia game at Twickenham in London.
The All Blacks team to play the United States has been named with selectors unveiling a team combining young talent and experienced heads for the historic match at Soldier Field, Chicago.
The match this Saturday 1 November is a 61 500 capacity sell-out, with the All Blacks playing in front of a record attendance for a rugby match in the USA.
All Blacks: 15 Israel Dagg, 14, Cory Jane, 13 Ryan Crotty, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Charles Piutau, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Kieran Read (Captain), 7 Sam Cane, 6 Victor Vito, 5 Patrick Tuipulotu, 4 Jeremy Thrush, 3 Charlie Faumuina, 2 Nathan Harris, 1 Joe Moody
Replacements: 16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Ben Franks, 19 Brodie Retallick, 20 Liam Messam, 21 Augustine Pulu, 22 Daniel Carter, 23 Julian Savea.
Todd Clever
Making his 60th appearance in an Eagles shirt, Todd Clever will captain the side from No.6 alongside Scott Lavalla. The flanks will go up against Victor Vito and Sam Cane from the All Blacks.
Three English Premiership stars – Eric Fry, Samu Manoa, and Hayden Smith – make up the tight five.
Phil Thiel, who spent time with Saracens earlier this year before being chosen for the Eagles Select XV in the 2014 IRB Americas Rugby Championship, will sit between Fry and Olive Kilifi in the scrum.
Danny Barrett will make his third start and earn his fourth Eagles cap at No.8 in front of veteran Mike Petri at scrum half.
The Maori All Blacks team to take on Japan in Kobe in the first match of its 2014 tour has been named and features 10 new caps.
Coach Colin Cooper said he was pleased with how quickly the team had gelled given the short assembly time with most of the 27 strong squad only coming together last weekend.
“Many players have come off a pretty intense few weekends of rugby so we’ve been mindful to not over-burden them,” he said.
Marius Jonker
South African referee Marius Jonker has announced his retirement from top-level refereeing.
The 46-year-old refereed a Test between Namibia and Germany in Windhoek on Wednesday night and after the final whistle confirmed that he had retired from first class refereeing and that it was his last match in charge.
Wilco Louw
DHL Western Province and the DHL Stormers will be losing an entire, highly rated, front row but they already have an exciting replacement trio lined up.
The three front row forwards that have brought down the curtain on their careers in the Western Cape are Pat Cilliers and Brok Harris, who are heading abroad, and Tiaan Liebenberg who has retired from the game.
However, whilst three warhorses depart Cape Town, the Stormers had already announced the signing of powerful Bulls hooker Bongi Mbonambi earlier this year, with highly-rated SA Under-20 tighthead prop Wilco Louw also making the move down to the Cape from Pretoria ahead of next year.
A team normally consists of 15 players, sometimes of 14, but often of 16. Here follows a short description of the different playing positions:
PROPS:
No’s 1 & 3. These guys are more or less as tall as they are broad, without necks, and very strong. They are supposed to push in the scrums. Previously it was not essential for them to touch a rugby ball, and there are quite a number of cases known of props who have completed successfull international careers without ever touching the ball. Nowadays it is required of them to handle like flyhalves and run like centers, which results in them being hopeless in the scrums.
Fergus Scott and Finn Russell join Callum Forrester’s (centre) coaching team.
Glasgow Warriors’ stand-off Finn Russell and hooker Fergus Scott have been officially named to head coach Calum Forrester’s coaching team at Glasgow University Rugby Football Club.
Former Glasgow Warriors’ flanker Calum, who took the reigns at the club last year, believes the young duo can be crucial in helping his team become Scotland’s premier student rugby team.
The 27-year-old Scotland sevens’ cap said: “To be able to learn from two professionals of their calibre is a dream come true for our students. They will bring added professionalism and specialist coaching to sessions.
“For a young half-back to learn from Finn, or a developing front-row to be given advice from Fergus, that is priceless for a teenager.
“This coaching and expertise is what sets the University apart. One on one coaching is crucial for our players and the coaching assistance from Glasgow Hawks has already been of huge benefit.
“The added input of Finn and Fergus, two young players who the boys will relate to, will help create a unique and enviable coaching environment. It will also help them as they develop as coaches and get an early start on their post rugby career.”
Alastair Kellock will lead the Barbarians against Australia at Twickenham on Saturday.
The former Scotland captain takes charge of a cosmopolitan squad, coached by Sir John Kirwan, for the Killik Cup match.
In the starting side are Australia wing Nick Cummins, who lines up against his former team-mates, with New Zealand’s Bledisloe Cup match winner Colin Slade at flyhalf.
Hi,
We have NEW SuperBru Pools for all to join!
The HSBC Sevens World Series of 2014 / 2015 starts this weekend on Saturday, so hurry up and do not delay to register for it, and after registering, make your picks for this weekend’s games!
The End Of Year Tours or November Internationals as it is also known is a few weeks away still, nevertheless register now, while the iron is hot!
As is usual, Rugby-Talk.com’s SuperBru Pools are open for ALL REGISTERED SUBSCRIBERS of Rugby-Talk.com, so if you are not yet registered here on Rugby-Talk.com, do so without delay! It is so easy to register and such fun to discuss rugby here.
Heyneke Meyer
Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer has warned his team they will need to be at their best if they are to keep their unbeaten record under his management in the Northern Hemisphere intact.
Meyer singled out the team’s first fixture against Ireland as a crucial one to kick off the team’s four week tour, and one which is the most tricky of all their fixtures.
While England has been singled out before as the fixture the Boks are likely to hold in the highest esteem, especially with next year’s Rugby World Cup being played there, the Boks know they cannot focus on the Twickenham showdown before getting past the tricky Irish, who have been a team that has plagued them at this time of year under previous coaches.
The Boks didn’t play Ireland when they went north last year, but the Irish will still be smarting from coming amazingly close to beating the All Blacks in Dublin last year, as the New Zealanders snatched the game away from them in the dying seconds to end their season unbeaten.
In preparation for Super Rugby in 2015, all 5 New Zealand Super Rugby franchises have named their squads for the tournament.
In the meantime, South African franchises will ponder about their squads and in December we at Rugby-Talk.com will speculate what the South African franchises will look like, as final squads will only be known in January 2015.
The same happens every year, New Zealand and Australia get their ducks in a row before the December break, whereas the South Africans seem to focus on December holidays, going to the beach, having Christmas and generally geting fat and lazy.
When can we ever expect the South African Rugby Union (SARU) and the South African Super Rugby franchises to ever catch up to the more professional attitudes displayed primarily by New Zealand… but also closely followed by their Antipodion counterparts, Australia?
As the Springboks gather in Johannesburg before making their way to the Northern Hemisphere, Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt is well aware of the challenge he faces against the 2007 World Champions.
“South Africa do loom large,” he said.
“I don’t know if there’s been a better player in the world this year than Duane Vermeulen. I think he’s been unbelievable and we know so many of their other players.
“I was down at the Junior World Cup and watched flyhalf Handre Pollard, as a young fella playing in that final against England and he is an impressive young player, an impressive physical ball-carrier, he’s a big kid.
“So, there’s the new and old there and they have got a great mix and they’ll be very tough.”
Michael Cheika
New Wallaby defence coach Nathan Grey believes Australia can turn around their disastrous 2014 campaign if they get it right in the top six inches.
The Wallabies get their five-match year-end tour underway when they take on the Barbarians at Twickenham on Saturday.
While the emphasis is often on entertainment in BaaBaas games, it is when they take on Wales, France, Ireland and England in the following weeks that the heat will be turned up on a Wallaby team in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.
Grey said the challenge for the Wallabies was to have a winning mentality.
England suffered another injury blow on Tuesday when head coach Stuart Lancaster confirmed centre Luther Burrell is unlikely to be fit for the upcoming test against New Zealand after sustaining a hand injury.
Northampton centre Burrell suffered an injury to his right hand during his side’s European Champions Cup victory over the Ospreys last weekend and will see a specialist ahead of New Zealand’s visit to Twickenham on November 8.
“I think it would be tight for New Zealand, if I’m being honest,” Lancaster told a news conference.
“He’s not been in camp this week at all. He’s seeing the specialist and it will probably unfold over the weekend.
Tim Swiel
Cell C Sharks back, Tim Swiel will play for Harlequins Rugby Club in the UK on loan for four months. He joined the team on Saturday and will return to Durban at the end of February 2015.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for Tim and I am certain that this experience at a top club will provide him with great memories and will bode well for him in the future”, said The Sharks CEO, John Smit.
Tim Swiel added: “I am looking forward to playing for Harlequins Rugby Club for a few months during the Cell C Sharks off-season.
Julian Redelinghuys
Robbie Coetzee
Jaco Kriel
Nizaam Carr
Seabelo Senatla
Five newcomers and two returnees have been added to the bulk of the Springboks’ Castle Lager Rugby Championship squad as the national selectors opted for continuity and rewarding form in naming a 36-man squad for next month’s tour to the Northern Hemisphere.
Twenty-nine of the 36 players named for the Castle Lager Outgoing Tour were part of the Rugby Championship squad. They will be joined by the uncapped quintet of Robbie Coetzee, Julian Redelinghuys, Nizaam Carr, Jaco Kriel and Seabelo Senatla, while Coenie Oosthuizen and Johan Goosen have been recalled to the squad for the tour of four Tests.
“It’s wonderful to have this kind of continuity in selection, while the five uncapped players in the squad have all been rewarded for superb form throughout the season,” said Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer.
“Many of the selected players were at our training camp in Stellenbosch last week where we put in a lot of very hard work. We’ll have to hit the ground running when we assemble in Johannesburg on Wednesday before we depart on what will be a challenging tour.
It’s PUB NIGHT again… and what a shocking start to the week for me it was, have not even had time to change my mind, let alone put deserved news on Rugby-Talk.
Tonight it changes, I WILL catch up on the rugby news, even if it is the last thing I do!
Rugby-Talk.cm quietly reaches milestone after milestone and today Bullscot officially took us over the 11 000 mark, as far as news articles are concerned!
Tomorrow will see us reach 12 Million Page Impressions since we started counting on 31 October 2009 and at year end in 2014 we should stand at over 12.75 Million Page Impressions.
The ABSA Currie Cup concluded this past weekend, with DHL Western Province walking away with the spoils fopr 2014. Congratulations to Province, deserved winners after a stellar Currie Cup season. Heartfelt congratulations also goes out to the Xerox Golden Lions who came oh so close to forcing the game into overtime. All in all a good final!
OK, 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…
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:
South Africa has set themselves the ultimate benchmark, beating none other than the All Blacks during their last outing, and the pieces very much seem to be falling into place for Heyneke Meyer’s Springboks.
It has been heady stuff for the second ranked Test nation, playing impressive attack, while their relentless carpet bombing of the ruck contest has been driven by the Meyer tendency to pick giants in the back row – and this has been a key area of their ability to match New Zealand.
This is a template that the team will only look to develop, while their squad balance is remarkably similar to their great rivals, with Meyer introducing new talent to complement some of the most experienced players in his country’s history.
The World Champions head to America and the United Kingdom in what is the ultimate live fire training run, for in less than 12 months the All Blacks will re-tread the same soil as they seek to defend the Webb Ellis Cup.
The paradox for New Zealand is that their first Test, against USA in Chicago next up, is followed by World Cup host’s England a week later.
This mirrors the fears that the All Blacks ‘soft pool’ in the 2015 tournament, an immense insult to Argentina, may be ill preparation for the knockout stages, something that caused some issues for the side in 2007.
The Rugby Championship winners play the United States, England, Scotland and Wales to round out their 2014 international schedule.
Australia embarks on a difficult trip to Europe, playing the busiest schedule of any Southern Hemisphere power, clashing with Sir John Kirwan’s Barbarians to open November for the Wallabies before four straight Tests against the best the old continent has to offer.
Michael Cheika is the newest Test coach on the highest stage, and the successful coach, the only mentor in rugby history to record a Super Rugby / Heineken Cup double, will relish the immediate challenge which has seen him get ready for departure without even trying on his Wallabies gear.
From an on field perspective, to suggest the men in gold are in crisis is ludicrous, after they made the All Blacks look decisively mortal for long periods in Brisbane.
Daniel Hourcade has worked wonders for Los Pumas so far, but the obvious progress seen throughout The Rugby Championship will need to continue if Argentina is to lay a marker in Europe.
After all, the Rugby World Cup will be played on the same soil next year, with the South Americans alongside the All Blacks in the same group.
The last time Los Pumas played the quadrennial tournament in the old continent, they defeated hosts France twice to finish third overall, an achievement that many believe was the genesis for their eventual inclusion into the South’s premier international competition.
Nizaam Carr
Nizaam Carr has realised his dream of becoming a Springbok after the No 8 was included in the year-end squad that will travel to the Northern Hemisphere.
His selection is warranted after being the stand-out player in the Stormers’ Super Rugby campaign as well as being pivotal to the success of Western Province winning the Currie Cup.
An emotional Carr said he rushed to the television at 11.30 on Monday morning for the announcement of the squad and, when he saw he had cracked the nod in Heyneke Meyer’s year-end squad, he nearly jumped a hole in floor.
Sir Ian McGeechan
The Springboks’ recent evolution from a kicking strategy to a more ball-in-hand approach has been noted in the Northern Hemisphere.
Heyneke Meyer’s Springboks are set to play four Tests there next month, starting with a clash against Ireland in Dublin on 8 November. After that, they will face England (London 15 November), Italy (Padova 22 November) and Wales (Cardiff 29 November) in consecutive weeks.
The Boks have shown more attacking intent in recent times after been criticised for playing a one-dimensional, kicking game.
The change in strategy has caught the eye for former British and Irish Lions coach Ian McGeechan.
Sampie Mastriet
Lohan Jacobs
Marvin Orie
Rohan Janse van Rensburg
The Xerox Golden Lions have snapped up a quartet of Vodacom Blue Bulls players – including two SA under-20 stars and a Springbok Sevens player for the upcoming season as more discontent sets in in Pretoria.
Already the Bulls lost one of their rising stars, hooker Bongi Mbonambi, to Western Province earlier this year, while snapping up Boks Trevor Nyakane and Adriaan Strauss for the upcoming season as well as Toyota Cheetahs flanker Lappies Labuschagne.
But now the cross-Jukskei trek has seen the Bulls lose not only Springbok Sevens flyer Sampie Mastriet to the Lions, but also top young players Marvin Orie, Rohan Janse van Rensburg and Lohan Jacobs.
The quartet have signed for the Lions after failing to find any meaningful game time at the Bulls as the bottleneck at the top continues.