All Blacks centre Conrad Smith is out of tomorrow’s Bledisloe Cup test in Sydney after returning home for the birth of his first child.
Smith will join wife Lee-Ann in Wellington, with Canterbury midfielder Ryan Crotty called in as cover and likely to start from the bench. Malakai Fekitoa is expected to take Smith’s spot at centre outside Ma’a Nonu.
Yes, it’s Rugby-Talk.com’s birthday today!
On 28 July 2009 a number of us packed our goodies and left the place where we previously discussed rugby, because it was’nt pleasant to discuss rugby anymore. Our discussions there was marred by terrible fighting between bloggers, by racial slurring and racial abuse and it was a shambles, to say the least.
We had our own “THING” in mind and amongst us there were 2 IT guys, myself and a chap called Ed-The Lion. We immediately started a temporary blog where a few friends continued to discuss rugby, whilst I started constructing our new home, Rugby-Talk.com.
At that stage web design was not my strong point or my expertice, but as an avid and accomplished coder, I set to work and chose the WordPress platform after proper research.
New Zealand Haka
The Haka has been a contentious issue of late, and here, courtesy of Fox Sports, we bring you the top 5 responses to the challenge.
Personally, I feel that the IRB has erred in placing so many restrictions on the opposition sides regarding their response, all it means is that they must meekly stand X amount of yards away without being allowed to properly take up the challenge.
Come on IRB, grow a pair and allow the opposition to give as good as they get. It’s not as if it has an averse effect on the men in black, they still win most of the games.
Damian de Allende will make his Springbok debut next to returning national captain Jean de Villiers when South Africa open their Castle Lager Rugby Championship campaign against Argentina at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday.
Kick-Off is at 17:00 SA Time.
De Villiers is one of three returning Springboks who played no part in the Castle Lager Incoming Series because of injury. The others are Frans Malherbe and Eben Etzebeth, who have both been selected on the bench.
Argentina coach, Daniel Hourcade
Argentina have retained just two players from their last starting line-up when they named a near full-strength side for their opening match of the Rugby Championship against South Africa at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday.
Injured winger Juan Imhoff is the only major absentee from the squad named on Thursday by new coach Daniel Hourcade, who had rested most of his first-choice selections for the June Tests against Ireland and Scotland.
Flyhalf Nicolas Sanchez and winger Manuel Montero are the only players retained from the side that lost 21-19 to Scotland in Cordoba in their last Test on 20 June.
DHL Western Province coach Allister Coetzee has made just one change to his starting line-up for Saturday’s Absa Currie Cup meeting with the Vodacom Blue Bulls at DHL Newlands (kick-off 14:05 SA Time).
The only change to the DHL WP line-up sees Stephan Coetzee named in the No.2 jersey, in his first start at this level, with the injured Tiaan Liebenberg (back) dropping out this week.
The 2014 / 2015 season of Top 14, France’s premier rugby competition, kicks off tomorrow as reported earlier today here on rugby-talk.com. In this day of professional rugby we have become accustomed to the movement of many players between clubs and in a way rugby has seemed to catch up with football regarding the whole transfer market business. For many years we have been used to the constant speculation of football players changing clubs and the rumours about the exorbitant transfer fees and players salaries abound.
Rugby still has some way to go on the financial front to get anywhere near the world’s biggest sport – for example a £75 million price tag has been thrown about in the move of disgraced striker Louis Suarez from Liverpool to Barcelona. However, in terms of sheer volume of players and coaching staff moving about things are advancing at an ever-increasing rate.
Golden Lions head coach Johan Ackermann has opted for consistency in naming his side to play the EP Kings in a Currie Cup Premier division match this weekend
Ackermann has made just one enforced change in the run on 15, where youngster Jaco vd Walt starts at Fly Half in place of injured Springbok Marnitz Boshoff.
On the bench Ackermann has included Sevens Bok Kwagga Smith who, if he gets onto the field will make his Currie Cup debut.
The 2014 edition of the Top 14 kicks off tomorrow with Touloun traveling to Bayonne.
We take a look at the likely positions the teams will finish up at the end of the season.
All Black coach Steve Hanson with captain Richie McCaw
Steve Hansen is “dumbfounded” by Ewen McKenzie’s selection of Kurtley Beale at first-five ahead of Bernard Foley for Saturday’s Bledisloe Cup test in Sydney, suggesting the Wallabies coach might have been told to select him because of an apparent interest by rugby league.
The comments by the All Blacks coach came this afternoon ahead of the test at ANZ Stadium where Australian confidence will be high following the Waratahs’ recent Super Rugby triumph at the same venue.
Canada will face former champions England in the final of Women’s Rugby World Cup 2014 on Sunday at the Stade Jean Bouin after they enjoyed contrasting semi-final victories in the French capital.
England booked their place in a sixth Women’s Rugby World Cup final after an emphatic 40-7 victory over first-time semi-finalists Ireland, the Red Roses finally producing the all-round performance they had been craving.
SARU CEO, Jurie Roux
SARU’s General Council has unanimously approved the extension of the contract of Jurie Roux as the Chief Executive Officer of the organisation on Wednesday.
The council accepted the recommendation of the SARU Executive Council (Exco) to a five-year extension of Roux’s contract, which was scheduled to expire in September 2015.
“Jurie Roux has been an outstanding CEO of SARU and we are very happy to have extended his contract with the organisation,” said Oregan Hoskins, SARU President.
Steve Hansen has sprung a Bledisloe selection surprise of his own, picking the in-form Ben Smith at fullback and dropping a fully fit Israel Dagg for the first time since he became the first-choice All Blacks No 15 three years ago.
The All Blacks coach has decided to stick with the back three that played the last two tests against England in June, which means there’s no room for Dagg in the squad of 23 to open the Rugby Championship against the Wallabies in Sydney on Saturday night.
Patrick Lambie
Cell C Sharks Coach Brad Macleod-Henderson has stuck largely with the same team that defeated Griquas for this Friday night’s ABSA Currie Cup clash against the Pumas at Growthpoint Kings Park.
“We’ve taken a lot of confidence out of our away win last week and we’re very excited about being back home, it’s fantastic to play at Growthpoint Kings Park,” he explains.
The big news is the surprise availability of Pat Lambie who has been released to the Cell C Sharks to get some game time under the belt (much like the case of Eben Etzebeth who represented Western Province last weekend). He will play off the bench with Fred Zeilinga looking to put in the same kind of dominant performance he delivered last week.
Oregan Hoskin
The South African Rugby Union (SARU) has reportedly broken a confidentiality clause after CEO Jurie Roux was shown a forensic report which implicates him in fraud.
According to reports, this comes after SARU president Oregan Hoskins promised not to show the report, which belongs to the University of Stellenbosch, to any party.
The university had requested the forensic investigation after suspicious transactions between the Maties Rugby Club and the university were found.
Coach under siege: Frans Ludeke
Vodacom Blue Bulls coach Frans Ludeke named fit-again flank Jacques du Plessis in his starting line-up to face DHL Western Province at DHL Newlands on Saturday.
This round two match in the Absa Currie Cup Premier Division will see two new faces in the Blue Bulls starting pack that lost their season opener against the Xerox Golden Lions in Johannesburg last weekend.
Du Plessis comes in at flank after recovering from a broken jaw sustained in a pre-season match, with Jono Ross moving to no 8 and replacing Jacques Engelbrecht, who moves to the bench with Wiaan Liebenberg dropping out of the match 22.
Canterbury will be looking to seal a magnificent seven straight ITM Cup titles when New Zealand’s provincial competition kicks-off this Thursday.
For the third time, the red and blacks defeated Wellington for the 2013 silverware at the final hurdle as they ran out 29-13 at Westpac Stadium.
But will they triumph in 2014? Here we look at the runners and riders this season, with Auckland and Wellington set to be their challengers.
Following a successful return to the Currie Cup Premier Division last weekend, Pumas coach Jimmy Stonehouse has opted for continuity in his selections for Friday’s match against defending champions the Sharks in Durban.
Stonehouse made a single change to the run-on side that beat the Free State Cheetahs 28-21 in Mbombela over the weekend.
Twickenham will play host to its fifth European final.
The final of the inaugural 2014-15 European Rugby Champions Cup will be played at Twickenham.
Had the Heineken Cup still been in existence, that final would have taken place in Milan but the new tournament organisers European Professional Club Rugby, who replace European Rugby Cup Ltd, have opted to take the match to Twickenham on 2 May.
Is there something brewing in the corridors of the Free State Rugby Union?
Remember that one of the reasons Adriaan Strauss gave for taking the offer at the Bulls was due to the fact that he and the board of the Free State Rugby could not come to an agreement regarding an independent audit.
According to Volksblad, the breakdown in negotiations is said to have surrounded a clause involving an independent investigation into Cheetahs rugby.
While Strauss had advocated that a fresh perspective was required to move the team forward, the move was refused by the Cheetahs.
“Cheers vir eers!” Derick Minnie op pad vorentoe Saterdag teen die Bloubulle op Ellispark.
Niemand wil dit hard sê nie, maar almal weet dit: Suid-Afrikaanse rugby is in die #2%$.
Vir diegene wat onlangs uit ’n diep slaap uit ontwaak het, hier is die feite: Net een Suid-Afrikaanse span kon dit tot in ’n Super Rugby semi-finaal maak. En daar het hulle ook in die pomp geduik. Die ander klomp – die Bulle, Stormers, Leeus en Cheetahs het redelik swak gedoen.
Hoe kan ’n land soos Suid-Afrika, wat meer spelers as Nieu-Seeland en Australië saam het, so sleg uit die bus uit bliksem?
Om daardie vraag te beantwoord, moet ons teruggaan tot ons terugkeer tot internasionale rugby in 1992.
Dan sal ons sien dat ons intussen nooit pasaangeërs was nie. Nie met taktiek nie en nie met afrigting nie.
Rugby-Talk.com bring u nie net die nuus en besprekingspunte nie, ons verskaf ook advies oor nuus wat breek en vermaan mense in en om Pretoria om die volgende waarskuwing ernstig op te neem!
Paul Goze
The president of the Top 14 Paul Goze has revealed there will be harsher financial penalties handed out to those who violate the various rules and regulations of the league.
Goze, who presides over the Top 14’s organisational body Ligue National de Rugby, spoke to Midi Olympique about a variety of issues facing the French domestic game and confirmed there will be rule changes for the forthcoming season with defensive bonus points now awarded to those teams who are within five points of the victor rather than seven.
The league competition which features teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales, the Pro12, has had something of a makeover between last season and the upcoming one. The previous version of the Pro12 had been sponsored by RabboDirect for the last few years, but their deal came to an end and the competition needed a new sponsor. Up stepped Guinness to fill the vacuum to become the title sponsor. There have also been some changes on the broadcasting front with subscription television Sky Sports joining the likes of regular broadcasters BBC Wales, BBC ALBA, S4C and TG4 this season in a shared deal to show the games.
To add to the makeover there has been a fair amount of movement of players both away from and to the Pro12 with various South African players joining up with Pro12 clubs in the closed season – Former Free State Cheetahs and Blue Bulls prop Rossouw de Klerk has moved to Glasgow Warriors, ex Sharks player Anton Bresler has signed up with Edinburgh where he will join a host of South Africans to play under Alan Solomons and will team up with former team mate Allan Dell who signed back in February but has yet to feature for the team from the capital due to injury. Fullback Hennie Daniller and lock Andries Ferreira will make their appearance for Italian club Zebre for the first time in the new season.
Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie has announced a revamped line-up for the opening Investec Rugby Championship and Bledisloe Cup clash against New Zealand at ANZ Stadium on Saturday night.
McKenzie said the changes were based on three key components – strong individual form since Australia’s successful series clean sweep over France; a reflection of the style of Rugby the Wallabies want to play against the All Blacks; and those forced through injury.
Dr Craig Roberts
Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer has been given a massive boost with the news that he should be able to pick as close to his strongest side for this weekend’s Castle Lager Rugby Championship opener against Argentina at Loftus Versfeld.
Team doctor Craig Roberts cleared props Frans Malherbe, Tendai “Beast” Mtawarira and lock Eben Etzebeth for action and crucially also gave captain Jean de Villiers the all-clear to play this weekend after spending the last few months on the sidelines with injury.
The Vodacom Blue Bulls are already in crisis mode – and it’s only the first round of the Absa Currie Cup season.
Coach Frans Ludeke called in the players to Loftus Versfeld on Sunday night for an emergency meeting – following their humiliating 41-13 opening loss to the Xerox Golden Lions at Ellis Park on Saturday – where players were read the riot act.
Following a disappointing Vodacom Super Rugby season, and this start to a much-vaunted Currie Cup campaign, the players were told to either shape up or ship out as Ludeke vented his anger after the loss.
Heyneke Meyer
The question to be asked is: How does Heyneke Meyer compare with South Africa’s most successful coaches?
For this exercise, I decided to take two former coaches – the World Cup-winner, Jake White and Nick Mallett, who is currently the co-holder of the record for most consecutive Test victories – to draw a comparison with Meyer’s first two years in the hotseat.
The cold statistics will tell us only part of the story, but it is certainly important that we take them into account – or at least use it as a starting point.
Marnitz Boshoff
The Lions have been dealt a huge blow with Springbok flyhalf Marnitz Boshoff ruled out of the entire Currie Cup season with a fractured arm.
The Lions, against all injury odds, put on the performance of the opening round when they defeated the Bulls 41-13 in Johannesburg on Saturday.
However, coach Johan Ackermann will have more injury headaches other than Boshoff who is due to undergo surgery on Monday and is expected to be out for 12 weeks.
Both Anthony Volmink (shoulder) and Lloyd Greeff (knee) are also expected to be out of action for the remainder of the Currie Cup tournament.
Jacques Du Plessis
Blue Bulls loose forward Jacques du Plessis has recovered from his broken jaw and will be available for selection for the remainder of the Currie Cup.
Du Plessis trained on Monday, as a small numbers of players sat out with minor ailments.
Sampie Mastriet (hip contusion) and JJ Engelbrecht (rib contusion) will again train on Tuesday, but prop Dean Greyling will have to pass a fitness test on Thursday is he is to play against Western Province on Saturday in Cape Town.
Tiaan Liebenberg’s back problem has flared up again but that blow to DHL Western Province’s build-up to Saturday’s north/south Absa Currie Cup showdown with the Vodacom Blue Bulls has been offset by the news that as many as six top players will be returning to action this week.
Scarra Ntubeni is among those that will be assessed on Monday, and he will be an obvious replacement for Liebenberg at hooker should he be declared fit. Liebenberg is to undergo a scan to assess the severity of his injury but he will definitely miss the Bulls game.
The other players coming back into the system are Rynhardt Elstadt, who has been out since the early stages of Super Rugby, Brok Harris, Kurt Coleman, Jaco Taute and Ruan Botha. The latter should come in at No 5 lock, with Manuel Carizza moving to the front of the lineout as Eben Etzebeth will be the with the Boks this week.
Stuart Lancaster
England head coach Stuart Lancaster has called together a group of 55 players for a four-day training camp in Loughborough.
The squad will report to the university this afternoon for strength and conditioning assessments as well as rugby training before departing at lunchtime on Wednesday.
This is the first time the players have met since the three Test tour to New Zealand last June, with the majority of the travelling party attending.
Experienced campaigner, Saia Fainga’a.
Australia have been dealt yet another front row injury blow with the news that Tolu Latu has become their third hooker to be sidelined.
Experienced Reds rake Saia Fainga’a has been called into the Wallabies squad as a replacement after Latu broke an arm in a Sydney club game on the weekend.
Ewen McKenzie’s squad has already been deprived of Australia’s two most senior hookers – Stephen Moore and Tatafu Polota-Nau – ahead of Saturday’s opening Rugby Championship game against New Zealand in Sydney.
However, in Fainga’a they have an excellent replacement. Although the 27-year-old will be third-choice player in his position, he has far more Test caps – 29 – than the combined total of the players ahead of him.
Darren Lehmann, coach of the Australian Cricket team.
The man who dismantled England’s Ashes dominance believes a similar template of aggression and self-confidence can help the Wallabies’ quest to end the All Blacks’ Bledisloe Cup reign.
Australian cricket coach Darren Lehmann gave his appraisal yesterday ahead of a bromantic dinner between his team and the Wallabies squad in Sydney last night.
Hosea Gear
Former All Blacks wing Hosea Gear is quitting northern hemisphere rugby and heading to the Chiefs in a bid to play in the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
Gear, 30, has signed a one-year contract with the Chiefs to play in next year’s Super Rugby competition as he makes a bid to return to the international stage and challenges again for a World Cup wing spot.