The New Zealand Rugby Union have admitted to trying to tempt former All Blacks superstar Sonny Bill Williams back to the 15-a-side code from Rugby League.
Williams left the 15-a-side game earlier this year to return to his first love, league, after a four-year flirtation with union.
Crusaders centre Ryan Crotty was rushed into the All Blacks squad Sunday as injury cover less than a week from their opening Rugby Championship game against Australia in Sydney.
WP (14) 24 / 24 (6) Blue Bulls (Final Score)
DHL Western Province and Vodacom Blue Bulls did battle in the Currie Cup Premier Division at Newlands, Cape Town 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.
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Lions (16) 29 / 30 (13) Cheetahs (Final Score)
The MTN Golden Lions and Toyota Free State Cheetahs did battle in the Currie Cup Premier Division at Ellis Park, Johannesburg at 15:00 SA Time (13:00 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
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Argentina warmed up for their Rugby Championship campaign with an impressive 58-12 demolition of a NSW Barbarians selection.
In chilly conditions in Salta the Pumas recorded a second victory against the touring New South Wales team, producing a much improved performance from the opening encounter of their two-match series.
It’s that time of the year again – RBS Rugby Force weekend is here. This is an initiative by the Scottish Rugby Union to get folk involved with their local rugby clubs.
Sharks (20) 30 / 32 (16) Griquas (Final Score)
The Sharks and GWK Griquas did battle in the Currie Cup Premier Division at Kings Park, Durban at 19:10 SA Time (17:10 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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Veteran prop Benn Robinson and scrumhalf Nick Phipps were among the 10 players cut from the Wallabies squad.
New coach Ewen McKenzie narrowed his selection pool for the opening Rugby Championship Test against New Zealand on August 17 – an encounter which doubles as a Bledisloe Cup contest.
McKenzie, who replaced Robbie Deans as head coach after Australia’s 1-2 series loss to the British and Irish Lions last month, included eight uncapped players in the 30-man squad announced Friday.
He still needs to trim that down to 22 for the Test in Sydney.
New Zealand’s star flyhalf Dan Carter will take an extended break from the game next year to ensure he is fit for the 2015 World Cup.
The 31-year-old, the highest points scorer in international rugby, is under contract with New Zealand until the end of 2015.
However, like All Black captain Richie McCaw – who sat out the first six months of this year – Carter has a clause allowing him to take a sabbatical.
Pat McCutcheon will finally captain a New South Wales team when the NSW Barbarians take on the Pumas in the final leg of their two-match Argentina tour.
Having been named as captain in the Waratahs’ penultimate Super Rugby match against the Force in Perth in June, McCutcheon was forced to withdraw through injury.
With Dave Dennis among six players to have returned to Sydney for the Wallabies training camp, McCutcheon will wear the captain’s armband for the first time this weekend – when he leads out a new-look side against an international team that boasts a combined total of 437 caps in the starting XV, in the second and final match of the two-week tour.
With the six-team strength-against-strength format making each Currie Cup a must win game, the Cheetahs and Golden Lions will be looking for a positive start in their season opener at Ellis Park, in Johannesburg, on Saturday.
The Cheetahs experienced the cruelty of the new format last season, after finishing bottom of the log and having to play in the promotion-relegation matches against the EP Kings.
If the Springboks wonder where they will be tested next week, the answer is surely to come in the scrums.
The International Rugby Board’s decision to change the scrum set laws again will come under scrutiny as South African props have to come to terms pretty quickly with the new regulations at international level, with players not yet being able to trial them at local level.
The open secret which has already done all the rounds, has been confirmed.
Apart from Waylon Murray and Jacques “Vleis” Engelbrecht joining the Blue Bulls, Bandise Maku and David Bullbring (both Kings) and Callie Visagie (Golden Lions) have signed and will join the Blue Bulls with immediate effect, in deals stretching to the end of 2016.
Former Scotland scrum-half and captain Rory Lawson is to retire from all rugby with immediate effect. Lawson (Newcastle Falcons), the 32-year-old son of former Scotland scrum-half and immediate SRU past president Alan Lawson, has been advised to retire on account of a chronic wrist injury.
The Absa Currie Cup has been given the ‘ultimate makeover’ for the 2013 season with the winners set to walk away with a R1,8m cheque and a trophy restored to its 1891 historic glory.
The tournament has been given a major revamp by the South African Rugby Union and sponsors Absa in arguably one of the most exciting developments in the competition’s 122-year history.
All Black back Beauden Barrett revealed he has resisted overtures from the Blues and will stay with the Hurricanes for next year’s Super Rugby season.
Tyrone Holmes is set to make his debut on Thursday for Glasgow Warriors at Rubislaw in Aberdeen. The Warriors are on a two day trip to the city as part of their preseason preparations which include a practice session which will be open to the public to attend as well as a match against local team, Aberdeen Grammar.
Since the Springbok squad for the upcoming Rugby Championship was announced, featuring 10 players who will be applying their trade away from South African shores, speculation has been ongoing whether there has been a shift away from picking South African based players over internationally based South Africans for the Springboks.
This week there has been some mumblings by Jurie Roux, SARU CEO, and the inclusion of Japan-based Fourie du Preez has prompted the question whether Japan’s clubs and our National team setup has moved the goal posts as far as selection of Japanese players are concerned.
Opinion is widely devided on whether the Springboks should allow foreign-based players to be eligible for Springbok selection, with the one lot saying it’s the professional era and where you are based no longer matters, as long as you are the best in your position. The result is the conundrum of player availability well before a Test. At the moment clubs overseas are only obliged to release the players to be available on the Monday preceeding the Test, which allows for very little preparation time.
On the other hand there has been the stance that overseas-based players should not be picked for the Springboks, in order to firstly discourage players leaving the SA shores for lucrative deals elsewhere, having chosen to apply their trade elsewhere and thus voluntarily choosing not to be considered for the Springboks. I was a serious proponent of this stance, but I’ve had somewhat of a mind shift, I must admit.
Certainly for the upcoming Rugby Championship, it would have been foolhardy not to pick the Springboks who have recently decided to go overseas, after all there are 6 regular starting Springboks amongst those recent departees.
I now find myself in the middle somewhere, hoping players could stay in South Africa if they aspire to continue or start their Springbok careers, yet seeing the inevitability of the lure of the stronger currencies abroad.
The solution would have been simple…. institute a CENTRALLY CONTRACTED SYSTEM here in South Africa (very similar to the New Zealand system), where SARU takes charge of the contracts of the frontline Springbok players, but that remains a pipe dream and clearly is beyond the capabilities of the inept bunch at SARU. In stead we can rely on SARU to muck things up even more and I’m afraid but I would not want their grubby hands to touch Central Contrating under those circumstances.
Another solution could be to impliment a CLEAR OVERSEAS QUOTA SYSTEM in the selection policy, where SARU regulates to the players and national coach that only 2 or 3 overseas-based players may be included in a 30-man squad. This would have put the Springboks in a conundrum situation right now before the start of The Rugby Championship, but maybe with an eye on the End Of Year Tours and beyond, that system must be applied, unless it can be negotiated that overseas-based players are available earlier and for every Test of the year, no exceptions allowed.
Below some of the news and speculation in this regard, taken from what was available in the press.
Argentina head coach Santiago Phelan has confirmed a twenty-six man squad to travel to South Africa and play the Springboks at Soccer City on Saturday 17 August 2013.
The team will play a warm-up match against New South Wales in Salta on Friday before they travel to South Africa.
Boom Prinsloo has been named as captain of the Toyota Free State Cheetahs for their opening Currie Cup encounter against the MTN Golden Lions in Johannesburg on Saturday.
Omar Mouneimne has become the latest member of the Southern Kings squad to walk away from the relegated Super Rugby franchise.
Mouneimne, the Kings’ defence coach, has joined Alan Solomons on the Edinburgh coaching panel.
SA Schools coach Chris October on Wednesday announced his squad to face England in their opening International Under-18 Series clash on Friday at the City Park Stadium in Cape Town.
Western Province and Paarl Gym No8 Rikus Bothma will lead the squad which features seven players who took part of the victorious SA Schools team last season. These players are the Du Preez twins, Daniel and Jean-Luc, Ox Nche, Justin Philips, Duhan van der Merwe, Warrik Gelant, Abongile Nonkontwana and Jurie Linde.
Vodacom Blue Bulls coach Pine Pienaar included four Absa Currie Cup novices in his team to play defending champions DHL Western Province in Cape Town on Saturday in his team’s opening match of the 2013 competition.
Travis Ismaiel, Tony Jantjies, Jacques du Plessis and Wiaan Liebenberg all return to the venue of massive significance to them.
The ABSA Currie Cup is once again upon us and MTN Golden Lions coach Johan Ackermann has named his side for this Saturday’s opening match against the Toyota Free State Cheetahs.
DHL Western Province will kick-off their Absa Currie Cup title defence with three starting debutants in the team to face the Blue Bulls at DHL Newlands on Saturday (17:05).
Experienced hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau and lock Peter Kimlin are out of the Wallabies’ extended squad for the Rugby Championship because of injury and will miss the opener against New Zealand.
The player exodus at the Southern Kings is continuing, with Kings scrumhalf Shaun Venter the latest player to secure a contract with a Super Rugby franchise. Venter has signed a two year deal with the Cheetahs, commencing on the 1st November 2013.
Demetri Catrakilis wants to use the upcoming Currie Cup season to play open a spot in the Springbok squad for the end-of-year tour to Europe.
The Absa Currie Cup competition starts this Friday evening with The Sharks hosting Griquas at Growthpoint KINGS PARK in a Women’s Day spectacular for this opening clash.
Ballz Visual Radio recorded a very, very interesting interview with Xander Janse van Rensburg, Blue Bulls High Performance Manager, discussing and detailing how young talent is identified ranging from as early as 12 years of age upwards. It details how relationships are formed with them and how they are drawn into junior high performance structures at the Bulls, how scouting is done and ultimately how these players are brought into the Blue Bulls fold.
You would be doing yourself an injustice not to view and listen to the whole interview.
The Blue Bulls have further bolstered their ranks with the signing of Kings loose forward Jacques “Vleis” Engelbrecht who joins them on a three-year deal.
The hard-working Engelbrecht impressed for the Kings in their debut Super Rugby season this year, and he joins teammate Waylon Murray in heading to Loftus Versveld following the Eastern Cape side’s relegation from Super Rugby.
Kings flyhalf Demetri Catrakilis has confirmed that he will be heading back to Cape Town to play for Western Province in the Currie Cup.
The newly promoted Golden Lions will formally sit down with prop Jacobus (Bees) Roux on Tuesday to see if they can sign him on a short-term Currie Cup contract.
Roux, better known as ‘Bees’, hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons in August 2010 – when he was arrested in connection with the death of a South African police officer in Pretoria.
Roux was given a five-year suspended jail sentence in 2011 over the beating to death of Tshwane metro police officer Johannes Mogale the year before.
Springbok and Bulls flank Jacques Potgieter has signed a two-year deal with the Waratahs.
Potgieter will this week join Japanese outfit Fukuoka Sanix Blues on a six-month sabbatical, but was expected to return to the Pretoria-based franchise for next year’s Super Rugby tournament.
New Sharks director of rugby Brendan Venter is “very impressed” with the set-up at the rugby union, he said on Monday.