South Africa’s star flank, Bath-based openside Francois Louw, has been cleared on a punching charge by a Rugby Football Union disciplinary hearing.
Ireland captain Brian O’Driscoll has revealed that he will not take part in the 2015 World Cup in England as it is “18 months too far.”
England Rugby 2015 (ER 2015), tournament organisers of the 2015 World Cup, has appointed Neil Snowball to the new role of Rugby Operations Director.
Leading South African referee Marius Jonker has announced his retirement from international match officiating, although he will continue to referee in South Africa’s domestic competitions.
As I was perusing Facebook, I came across the comment below.
While I applaud the Golden Lions Rugby Union (GLRU) for appointing a businessman as new pemanent CEO, one who has played club rugby, and is involved in school rugby, I do feel for the outgoing Acting CEO, Ruben Moggee. He took over from Manie Reynecke under very trying circumstances, and along with Kevin De Klerk, had to oversee many crises that came to head during his tenure. One only has think of the GUMA TAC debacle, the Pumas and Leopards suing the union for unpaid fees and the biggest humiliation of them all, being kicked out of Super Rugby.
With the 5 South African Super Rugby franchises, or should I rather say the 5 participating Super Rugby franchis in 2013, all busy with pre-season preparations already, I suppose it would be wise to list the Fixtures for 2013 (although they have been up under Super Rugby, 2013 under the top menu for some time already now).
In addition, I am going to delve lightly into the games in the month of February, giving my very, very early views on what might transpire.
Springbok and Bath flank Francois Louw will attend an RFU disciplinary hearing following his red card for punching against Leicester on Saturday.
Louw was not the only Bath player in hot water and will be joined by teammates Matt Banahan and Lee Mears at the hearing.
This past weekend saw the end of the Southern Hemisphere 15-man rugby season… a long and arduous season.
Now only the HSBC Sevens World Series Nelson Mandela Bay Sevens tournament remains, after which we, as proud Southerners, have to rely on the scraps of rugby coming to us from the Northern Hemisphere, and then fill in the gaps with some cricket action to keep our sport addictions alive.
The South African Blitzbokke provide scant hopes for a good result in Port Elizabeth this coming weekend, but the party will continue… and we will party right along.
On the positive side, it was a good season again for Southern Hemisphere rugby, spoilt by the fantastic wins by France against the Wallabies about a month ago and of course the Coup de Grace by the England rugby side against the world number one side, the New Zealand All Blacks, this past weekend – lambasting them by a massive 38 / 21.
Hereafter a quick look at the respective seasons of the BIG BOYS of Southern Hemisphere Rugby:
All Black flyhalf Dan Carter was named the International Rugby Board Player of the Year at the IRB Awards in London on Monday.
Springbok Sevens playmaker Cecil Afrika is one of three players who joined the squad on Monday for the Cell C Nelson Mandela Bay Sevens this weekend in Port Elizabeth.
Springbok hooker Bismarck du Plessis has been named as tournament ambassador for the inaugural NBM Sevens Premier League rugby (7sPL) tournament in George next week.
Du Plessis will also work as technical advisor to the Kaizer Chiefs team, after the soccer giants recently entered a rugby team into the event.
World Cup trophy holders New Zealand will play Argentina, Tonga and two qualifiers after the draw was made for the 2015 rugby World Cup on Monday, but hosts England were handed a tougher task.
Australia and the South African Proteas did battle in the 3rd & final Test of the Series in Australia at the Western Australia Cricket Association ground (WACA), Perth.
The game took place mostly in the middle of the night for South Africans, so live updates was given in the mornings.
Some thought it strange when South Africa chose to bat first after winning the toss, considering the batting surface, but in hind sight it proved the perfect decision. After only posting a modest 225 by South Africa in the first innings, they took the Australian batsment apart with regularity in Australia’s first innings, reducing them to only 163 all out.
Then came the master class of the South African second innings, amassing 569 runs in double quick fashion and with an hour to go in Day 3, the Australians went in to bat. No wickets fell in that last hour of Day 3, but Day 4 was the clincher, with Australian wickets falling at regular intervals.
Michael Starc hung on, frustrating the South African bowlers and South African spectators alike, but in the end South Africa won the Test by 309 runs, more than a full Day early, and thus winning the Test Series 1 / 0 to retain their World No 1 Test ranking.
Former Bulls flank CJ Stander scored two tries in his run-on debut in the Pro12 for Munster to help the Irish province topple Glasgow Warriors 31-3 on Saturday.
All credit to New Zealand for not blaming the virus in the team or end-of-year-tiredness for their loss at the hands of a committed England team.
The All Blacks players looked more than a bit pale and lethargic as they entered the field and even the Haka lacked its normal spark.
Punctiliously I don’t however think it was either the virus or tiredness that saw the All Blacks lose this match. It was the England tactics and their good defence that won them the match.
Wales will be confirmed in the third band of directly qualified teams for the Rugby World Cup 2015 Pool Allocation Draw when the latest IRB World Rankings are published on Monday 3 December.
England (12) 38 / 21 (0) All Blacks (Final Score)
England and the New Zealand All Blacks did battle in the End Of Year Tours at Twickenham, London at 16:30 SA Time (14:30 GMT, 03:30 Sunday 2 Dec NZ Time).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 2 & SH2 on TV in SA.
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Scorers:
England:
- Penalties – Owen Farrell (4), Freddie Burns (2)
- Drop Goals – Owen Farrell (1)
- Tries – Brad Barritt (1), Chris Ashton (1), Manusamoa Tuilagi (1)
- Conversions – Owen Farrell (1)
All Blacks:
- Penalties – 0
- Drop Goals – 0
- Tries – Julian Savea (2), Kieran Read (1)
- Conversions – Daniel Carter (2), Aaron Cruden (1)
Teams:
England: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Manusamoa Tuilagi, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 Mike Brown, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Chris Robshaw (Captain), 6 Tom Wood, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs, 1 Alex Corbisiero.
Replacements: 16 David Paice, 17 David Wilson, 18 Mako Vunipola, 19 Courtney Lawes, 20 James Haskell, 21 Danny Care, 22 Freddie Burns, 23 Jonathan Joseph.
New Zealand: 15 Israel Dagg, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma’a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (captain), 6 Liam Messam, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements: 16 Dane Coles, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Luke Romano, 20 Victor Vito, 21 Piri Weepu, 22 Aaron Cruden, 23 Ben Smith.
Date: Saturday 1 December 2012
Venue: Twickenham, London
Kick-off: 16:30 SA Time (14:30 GMT, 03:30 Sunday 2 December NZ time)
Expected weather: Partly cloudy with a high of 7°C, dropping to -1°C.
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Nigel Owens (Wales), Lourens van der Merwe (South Africa)
TMO: Giulio De Santis (Italy)
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Wales (6) 12 / 14 (9) Wallabies (Final Score)
Wales and the Australian Wallabies did battle in the End Of Year Tours at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff at 16:30 SA Time (14:30 GMT, 01:30 Sunday 2 Dec EAST).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SHD 4 on TV in SA.
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Scorers:
Wales:
- Penalties – Leigh Halpenny (4)
- Drop Goals – 0
- Tries – 0
- Conversions – 0
Wallabies:
- Penalties – Kurtley Beale (3)
- Drop Goals – 0
- Tries – Kurtley Beale (1)
- Conversions – 0
Teams:
Wales: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Liam Williams, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton (captain), 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Luke Charteris, 4 Ian Evans, 3 Scott Andrews, 2 Matthew Rees, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements: 16 Ken Owens, 17 Ryan Bevington, 18 Samson Lee, 19 Ryan Jones, 20 Justin Tipuric, 21 Tavis Knoyle, 22 Dan Biggar, 23 Scott Williams.
Australia: 15 Berrick Barnes, 14 Nick Cummins, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Kurtley Beale, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 David Pocock, 6 Scott Higginbotham, 5 Nathan Sharpe (captain), 4 Kane Douglas, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Tatafu Polota Nau, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements: 16 Stephen Moore, 17 James Slipper, 18 Sekope Kepu, 19 Dave Dennis, 20 Michael Hooper, 21 Brendan McKibbin, 22 Mike Harris, 23 Digby Ioane.
Date: Saturday 1 December 2012
Venue: Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Kick-off: 16:30 SA Time (14:30 GMT, 01:30 Sunday 2 December AEDST)
Expected weather: There is a chance of rain, but with the roof set to be closed it should not be an issue. However, as we have seen, the surface cuts up badly regardless. It will be a high of 7°C and a low of 1°C
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees: Romain Poite, Greg Garner (England)
TMO: Marshall Kilgore (Ireland)
The pick of the games in the Pro12 Round 10 will not take place until Sunday, when second placed Scarlets welcome table-topping Ulster to Llanelli.
Table-topping Harlequins will look to return to winning ways when they welcome Worcester Warriors to Twickenham Stoop in the opening Round 10 fixture on Friday.
Friday 30 November & Saturday 1 December 2012 sees the HSBC Sevens World Series Emirates Airlines Dubai Sevens Rugby Tournament take place.
Herewith the Results, times given in Dubai time (2 hours ahead of SA Time).
Samoa took the overall title, winning the Cup by 26 / 15 against New Zealand.
In the Womans final, New Zealand trounced the South African woman’s side by 41 / 10.
The Southern Hemisphere Rugby season is fast approaching a welcome close for players , administrators and coaching staff, but at the same time some of us are are a bit despondant that we would have to watch cricket & golf as substitute in place of our crazy rugby addiction…. oh and lest we forget those things in and around the house we failed to have time for in the year.
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However, tomorrow and on Saturday there is still the HSBC Sevens World Series Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens, and on Saturday we get our last brief fix of full Test match rugby when England meet the All Blacks and Wales host the Wallabies (pity these two games are on at the same time again) at the End Of Year Tours to the Northern Hemisphere. PLUS of course we get a sprinkling of Northern Hemisphere Club Rugby to view too.
So, what’s in stall for us as far as TV rugby viewing is concerned this weekend?
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Herewith the viewing schedule:
The All Blacks side has already been known and reported about, herewith the remaining 3 sides for this weekend’s End Of Year Toursgames on Saturday.
The Wales rugby player flattened by a swinging arm from New Zealand hooker Andrew Hore suffered three-day memory loss as a result of the incident.
Bryan Habana’s spectacular score against New Zealand in the inaugural Rugby Championship has been named Try of the Year for 2012 by the International Rugby Players’ Association.
Flyhalf Dan Carter has recovered from a calf injury and will start for New Zealand in their final test of the year against England at Twickenham on Saturday.
New Zealand hooker Andrew Hore apologised on Thursday for a hit from behind on Wales lock Bradley Davies that resulted in a five-match ban, saying he had let down his team and the entire country.
It was Dale Steyn’s turn to face up to the media on Wednesday, two days ahead of the start of the crucial final test in Perth. Here’s what he had to say:
The Sharks announced changes to the board of directors which would take effect immediately. Mr Stephen Saad and Mr Terry Rosenberg were appointed to the board at the annual shareholders AGM held in Johannesburg on 4 October, 2012. Stephen Saad assumes the role of Chairman, previously held by John Swain who now becomes an independent director alongside Terry Rosenberg.
This week there was two important citings for Southern Hemisphere teams who still have to play this coming weekend, that of Andrew Hore the New Zealand hooker and the other one that of Sitaleki Timani the Australian lock.
Both were found guilty and Andrew Hore received an effective 5-week suspension whereas Sitaleki Timani received a 1-week suspension.
Courtney Lawes was on Tuesday included in England’s 23-man squad for Saturday’s Twickenham Test against world champions New Zealand as coach Stuart Lancaster promised to meet the All Blacks’ challenge “head-on”.
Australian lock Rob Simmons had his ban for a dangerous tip-tackle during the Wallabies defeat by France this month cut from eight weeks to five weeks, following an International Rugby Board appeal hearing in Bristol, south-west England.
The latest news regarding Player Movements, the appointment of coaches and player movement miths set straight.
Some players are definately moving, some are extending their stay, some refute rumours of possible movement, whilst on the coaching side of things the John Mitchell saga carries on. The Crusaders also appoint 2 vital Assistant coaches for 2013.
You will find the news, item by item below:
Andy Farrell has called on his “fearless” young England side to record a significant milestone in their development by beating world champions New Zealand on Saturday.
Former Glasgow Warriors boss Lineen, a member of the Scotland Grand Slam winning side of 1990, is one of the favourites to take over from Robinson who quit after Saturday’s humiliating defeat to Tonga.
Heyneke Meyer’s first year as Springbok coach is over. Having lost only 3 games out of 12 somehow makes it look better than how his real winning percentage reflects. Yes the two draws robbed him of a real satisfactory start, in fact one of the best starts of any recent coach.
We now suddenly find more positive articles in the media. The 16-15 win against England not only changed the whole perception of Heyneke Meyer in our minds, but it also seems to have changed some of the more experienced rugby scribes in this country’s minds regarding how they now perceive Heyneke Meyer. Here is some excerpts from 3 articles yesterday by Jacques van der Westhuizen, – “Boks’ three out of three aint bad”, Zelim Nel, – “New Zealand looms large in Boks’ sights” and Gavin Rich – with “Boks’ will flourish in 2013”