Just a short excerpt from Ballz Radio on their thoughts about the weekend matches, it is very funny
The Olympic Stadium will stage matches during the 2015 Rugby World Cup if the fog over the venue’s post-Games future clears by the end of the season.
Here’s a review of the Judicial hearings and citings following a weekend of ill-diciplined rugby in South Africa.
As we all know by now, in a water logged match in the ABSA Currie Cup between The Sharks and DHL Western Province, four players were carded in Durban, Sharks losse forward Jean Deysel received a Yellow Card, Jebb Sinclair and Tyrone Holmes from Province both received Red Cards for punching, whilst Wilhelm van der Sluys from Province received a Yellow Card.
From about 5 minutes before the end of the match, Western Province was forced to play with only 12 players on the pitch, effectively resulting in an eventual Penalty Try to the Sharks just before the end of the game.
Springbok prop Dean Greyling has been suspended from all forms of Rugby for two weeks after he pleaded guilty for foul play.
Western Province coach Allister Coetzee is determined to snuff out the ill-discipline that saw his team reduced to 12 players against the Sharks.
Morne Steyn’s indifferent performance against the All Blacks has increased the pressure on Bok coach Heyneke Meyer to start Johan Goosen at flyhalf.
There is a caveat, and given Heyneke Meyer’s insistence that his team employed the right game-plan in Dunedin it is a significant one, but the Springboks have ended the away leg of their Castle Rugby Championship campaign with reason to be encouraged.
Sharks (16) 43 / 27 (12) WP (Final Score)
The Sharks and DHL Western Province did battle in the Currie Cup, Premier Division at Mr Price Kings Park, Durban at 19:10 SA Time.
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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Cheetahs (16) 23 / 38 (20) Golden Lions (Final Score)
The Toyota Free State Cheetahs and MTN Golden Lions did battle in the Currie Cup, Premier Division at Free State Stadium at 17:05 SA Time.
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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Griquas (29) 49 / 34 (14) Blue Bulls (Final Score)
GWK Griquas and the Vodacom Blue Bulls did battle in the Currie Cup, Premier Division at GWK Park, Kimberley at 15:00 SA Time.
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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Wallabies (3) 23 / 19 (6) Pumas (Final Score)
The Australian Wallabies and Argentina Pumas did battle in The Rugby Championship at Skilled Park, Gold Coast at 12:00 SA Time (20:00 Gold Coast Time).
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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All Blacks (5) 21 / 11 (3) Springboks (Final Score)
The New Zealand All Blacks and South African Springboks did battle in The Rugby Championship at Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin at 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time).
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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Champions Harlequins will be out to extend their unbeaten start to the English Premiership when they take on Sale Sharks this weekend. Quins currently head the standings after two rounds, but with five teams still unbeaten there is plenty of pressure to continue their winning ways.
After just two rounds there are only three teams left with 100 percent winning records in the Pro12, namely, Munster, Scarlets and Ulster. One of those will go this weekend, as Ulster host Munster at Ravenhill on Friday. Whilst Munster have the better record in this fixture, Ulster have had the better of their opponents at home, so it really is anyone’s game.
The Southern Kings are looking “far and wide” for players to make them competitive when they debut in Super Rugby next year.
The latest reported players to apparently have signed for 2013 includes centre Andries Strauss from the Cheetahs and lock Steven Sykes from the Sharks.
It was reported earlier in the week that telecommunications company BT had secured the exclusive broadcast rights for the English Premiership rugby starting from the 2013/14 season in a complex deal involving rights to broadcast various other rugby matches. The contract is set to run to the 2015/16 season and was reported to have been worth up to a whopping £152m.
Former Blue Bulls, and now Northampton Saints, number eight Gerrit-Jan van Velze has been handed a four weeks ban for a ‘tip tackle’ having been cited after Northampton’s game against Exeter Chiefs last weekend.
Aaron Smith has had an early reminder of the standards that go along with being an All Black, the young Manawatu halfback benched for Saturday’s test against the Springboks for breaking a team recovery protocol.
Like last week and probably the weeks to come a condensed version, team by team of the selected sides for this weekend’s Currie Cup Premier Division matches.
Continue reading
Toyota Free State Coach Naka Drotske, continues to pull rabbits out of the hat. He has taken the bold step of dropping embattled flyhalf, Sias Ebersohn to the bench, and has put Tewis de Bruyn in the 10 jersey. Tewis is not unfamiliar in the position, and has performed admirably in the crucial flyhalf channel before. In last years Currie Cup match vs Griquas, in Kimberely, he delivered a match winning performance. This could just be the catalyst, to get the exciting Cheetahs backs going again. The Cheetahs have battled to be an attacking force, eversince Johan Goosen was injured, during the match vs the Highlanders, back in April.
In other changes, veteran Hendro Scholtz gets a start at 8, displacing Davon Raubenheimer, who drops to the bench. Francois Uys, replaces Andries Ferreira at 4. The Cheetahs have decided to have Ferreira’s knee operated on, and so he is out for the season.
The Springbok team that will face New Zealand in the fourth Test in The Rugby Championship in Dunedin on Saturday shows two changes from the side that played Australia last weekend.
Both changes are in the forwards, where lock Flip van der Merwe replaces the suspended Eben Etzebeth while Francois Louw comes in for Marcell Coetzee at flank.
Nathan Sharpe has been named as the Wallabies fourth captain this year while fullback Kurtley Beale has been dropped for Australia’s clash with Argentina on Saturday.
Argentina have named their team to play the Wallabies in their Rugby Championship match at the Gold Coast on Saturday with Martin Landajo replacing Nicolas Vergallo at scrumhalf.
Sharks centre Paul Jordaan has been ruled out of this week’s Currie Cup match against Western Province in Durban. Jordaan suffered concussion when the Sharks were beaten by the Griquas at the weekend. He also has a facial injury.
The Wallabies injury woes have continued with the news that hooker Stephen Moore and utility back James O’Connor’s return to fitness has been postponed.
Western Province coach Allister Coetzee may have let Burton Francis go, but he will fight a little harder to keep the services of Demetri Catrakilis.
The disciplinary hearing into allegations of misconduct against the Lions’ suspended coach John Mitchell has been postponed until next week, Golden Lions Rugby Union (GLRU) president Kevin de Klerk said on Tuesday.
“It was postponed until next week after the chairperson of the hearing had taken ill,” De Klerk said.
The GLRU have announced in a media release that former talsimatic captain Joshua Strauss is to leave the Lions and play for the Glasgow Warriors until May 2015.
He will depart for Scotland in the next 2 weeks.
The full press release reads:
Cheetahs scrumhalf Sarel Pretorius has confirmed that he will play for the central franchise in next year’s Super Rugby competition.
Coaches should know everything, right? And shouldn’t the players do what the coach wants without question? No, I disagree. I think that the players should know more than the coach and that they should be making the decisions. Here’s why……
Wondering about all the law changes? Heres a ‘Dummies Guide’ to the to the latest trials.
The Springboks’ woes are set to continue for the remainder of the year due to the severity of their shortcomings.
Bakkies Botha has been placed on stand-by by Springbok management in case lock Eben Etzebeth loses his hearing into an alleged headbutt during South Africa’s 26-19 Rugby Championship loss to Australia, coach Heyneke Meyer said on Monday in Auckland.
You have to be careful these days not to use performances in the diluted Currie Cup as too big a yardstick toward international credentials.
Flyhalf Dan Carter will not be considered for New Zealand’s Rugby Championship clash with South Africa next week to allow him to recover completely from a calf strain, All Blacks coach Steve Hansen said on Sunday.