Centre JJ Engelbrecht believes he wouldn’t have made the Springbok side had he continued playing his rugby in the Cape.
Engelbrecht will make his run-on debut for the Boks against Italy at Kings Park in Durban on Saturday after coming on as a replacement against Argentina at Newlands last year.
Bokkies (54) 97 / 0 (0) USA (Final Score)
South Africa Under 20 and USA Under 20 did battle in the IRB Junior World Championship of 2013 at La Roche-sur-Yon at 20:45 SA Time (18:45 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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France (3) 6 / 30 (13) England (Final Score)
France Under 20 and England Under 20 did battle in the IRB Junior World Championship of 2013 at Stade Henri Desgrange at 18:45 SA Time (16:45 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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Five uncapped players, two of them in the starting line-up, have been selected in the Springbok team to face Italy in the opening round of the Castle Lager Incoming Series at Growthpoint Kings Park in Durban on Saturday afternoon.
Willie le Roux (fullback) and Jano Vermaak (scrumhalf) will earn their Springbok debuts in the starting team, while the trio of uncapped players on the bench are Trevor Nyakane (prop), Arno Botha (loose forward) and Jan Serfontein (centre), who was part of the SA Under-20 team that won the Junior World Championships last year.
MTN Golden Lions lock Franco van der Merwe, currently on loan to The Sharks, has been called up to the Springbok squad in the place of the injured Pieter-Steph du Toit.
In-form Melbourne Rebels back row forward Scott Higginbotham has been ruled out of the Test series against the British and Irish Lions with a serious shoulder injury.
Force (3) 17 / 69 (27) Lions (Final Score)
The Western Force and British & Irish Lions did battle as part of the British & Irish Lions tour to Australia in 2013 at Patersons Stadium, Perth
at 12:00 SA Time (18:00 Perth Time, 11:00 BST, 10:00 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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SANZAR has announced the names of the match officials for Round 17 of Super Rugby 2013, with Rohan Hoffmann in charge of Friday’s match and Angus Gardner is in charge of Sunday’s match.
There are just 2 Super Rugby matches this weekend, with only Australian teams playing and with the Reds having a bye weekend.
Defensive coach John McFarland says the Springboks are far better prepared for the 2013 international season compared with 12 months ago.
South Africa face Italy in their season-opener in Durban on Saturday in coach Heyneke Meyer’s first full term in charge, after he and his coaching staff were appointed in early 2012.
The South Africa Under-20 team to face the United States in their first match of the IRB Junior World Championship 2013 has been named.
Vodacom Blue Bulls forward Ruan Steenkamp will captain the side from the back of the scrum in the number eight jersey.
Some very good rugby right througout the week this week… clear your schedules!
Springbok prop Tendai “Beast” Mtawarira has overcome his heart condition and is relishing the opportunity to wear the green and gold again when South Africa tackles Italy at Kings Park on Saturday.
The British and Irish Lions will encounter a weaker than expected Western Force team in their first match in Australia, the Perth-based side naming an inexperienced line-up on Tuesday with an eye on the weekend’s Super Rugby clash.
Wingers Corey Brown and Dane Haylett-Petty, centres Chris Tuatara-Morrison and Ed Stubbs, hooker James Hilterbrand and fullback Sam Christie were all selected to start Wednesday’s clash at the Subiaco Oval, the six combining for just 20 Super Rugby appearances between them.
Scotland will field three new caps in their team for Saturday’s international against Samoa in Durban, the first of their three games in the Castle Lager Incoming Series. The debutants are 24-year-old Edinburgh Rugby full-back Greig Tonks and the Glasgow Warriors duo, centre Alex Dunbar, 23 and hooker Pat MacArthur, 26.
Toyota Free State Cheetahs centre Robert Ebersohn has been called up to the Springbok squad currently preparing for the Castle Lager Incoming Series in Durban.
Ebersohn’s inclusion follows uncertainty over the availability of midfielders Jean de Villiers (mild hamstring strain) and JJ Engelbrecht (quad contusion), while Juan de Jongh has already been ruled out of Saturday’s Test against Italy because of a finger injury.
Vodacom Bulls player Lionel Mapoe will miss the remainder of the Vodacom Super Rugby season due to a shoulder injury. The versatile outside back sustained the injury on Saturday during his side’s 30-25 win over the Toyota Cheetahs in Bloemfontein.
Former Varsity Cup-winning Maties head coach and a current member of SARU’s High Performance Mobi-unit, Chean Roux, has been added to the Springbok Team Management in the role of Performance Analyst.
It won’t all be plain sailing for Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer as on Monday he begins the buildup to Saturday’s first test match of the season against Italy in Durban.
Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer has announced his Springbok squad for the 2013 June Internationals.
The surprise inclusions are Lourens Adriaanse, Trevor Nyakane and Bjorn Basson.
The surprise omissions are Raymond Rhule, Robert Ebersohn, Ryan Kankowski and Elton Jantjies.
Nine uncapped players, six of whom have not been part of the national set-up before, have been included in a 34-man Springbok squad for the Castle Lager Incoming Series involving Italy, Samoa and Scotland later this month.
Ireland’s Brian O’Driscoll will captain the British and Irish Lions in their first tour game in Australia, against Western Force in Perth on Wednesday.
The 23-man team contains eight new Lions.
Dan Carter heads a string of injured All Blacks less than a week from the first Test against France, with coach Steve Hansen unable to confirm Monday if his star playmaker would take the field.
X-rays have revealed Carter cracked a bone in his right hand during the Crusaders’ 23-22 win over the Waratahs in a Super Rugby match last Friday.
It may not be a squad of superstars, but Springbok Sevens coach Paul Treu can announce a squad of virtual allsorts to mould into a World Cup-winning team on Monday.
Out of favour Sharks No 8, Ryan Kankowski may leave South Africa after playing for the SA Sevens team at the upcoming World Cup.
Chiefs scrumhalf Brendon Leonard will head off shore at the end of the Super Rugby season to continue his rugby career in Italy.
Billy Vunipola scored a six-minute hat-trick as England completed their preparations for the Test series against Argentina with 41-21 victory over a South American XV.
The Vodacom Bulls firmed their grip on the top position of the South African conference on Saturday by beating closet rivals, the Toyota Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Saturday, while the DHL Stormers kept their outside change of a play-off spot alive with a bruising win over the Southern Kings on a drenched DHL Newlands pitch in Cape Town.
The other South African team, The Sharks, enjoyed a bye.
Kieran Read was named as the captain of a 32-man All Blacks squad including six new faces to face France in the upcoming series.
Injuries to key players have forced Wallabies coach Robbie Deans to make three changes to his preliminary squad to play the the British and Irish Lions.
Deans had to seek replacements following injuries to wing Digby Ioane, lock Sitaleki Timani and flank Scott Higginbotham.
Saracens and Barbarians hooker Schalk Brits has been slapped with a three week ban for punching his Saracens team mate Owen Farrell in the British & Irish Lions’ tour opener in Hong Kong.
Cheetahs (10) 25 / 30 (17) Bulls (Final Score)
The Toyota Cheetahs and Vodacom Bulls did battle in Super Rugby at Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein at 19:10 SA Time (17:10 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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Stormers (6) 19 / 11 (3) Kings (Final Score)
The DHL Stormers and Southern Kings did battle in Super Rugby 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 (23) 59 / 8 (3) Barbarians (Final Score)
The British & Irish Lions and Barbarians did battle in the 1st game of the B & I Lions Tour 2013 at Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong
at 13:30 SA Time (19:30 Hong Kong Time, 12:30 UK Time, 11:30 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 5 & SHD 3 on TV in SA.
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Reds (13) 33 / 20 (17) Rebels (Final Score)
The Reds and Melbourne Rebels did battle in Super Rugby at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane at 11:40 SA Time (19:40 Brisbane Time, 09:40 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport & SHD on TV in SA.
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With the break in Super Rugby we might just as well suffer with the Proteas and see if Gary Kirsten did indeed teach them a way to win the bigger games, the ones that really counts.
Seven players will make their first senior starts for England against the Sudamerica XV in Montevideo, Uruguay, on Sunday (19:30 BST – British Summer Time; 20:30 South African Time).