Vodacom Bulls midfielder Wynand Olivier is in a race against time to be fit for his side’s Vodacom Super Rugby tournament’s season opener against the Sharks on February 24th.
The Blue Bulls Vodacom Cup side to play the Leopards in die friendly match in Mahikeng on Saturday has been named.
Sharks coach John Plumtree has been forced to make changes to his team to face the Southern Kings this Friday evening at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth.
Former Springbok prop Robbie Kempson is worried that the Stormers’ front row doesn’t instil enough fear into opponents ahead of the Super Rugby tournament.
I looked at the SuperSport TV schedules and I could not see any significant live rugby this weekend. So it seems we have one last break to do this…
But then our lives will be annexed by our beloved game RUGBY.
Every Super Rugby team has its SANZAR judicial atrocity story, writes Rugby Heaven’s Greg Growden.
Hooker Deon Fourie broke a bone in his hand in the Stormers’ pre-season warm-up fixture against the Southern Kings in Port Elizabeth and will be out for longer than it was initially expected.
John Plumtree, the coach of the Sharks, has named his squad to take on the Southern Kings.
This side is starting to look more and more like the likely starting lineup with wich the Sharks plan to launch their Super Rugby campaign of 2012.
The only notable variances WILL come at looseforward, where the Sharks regular captain of the season, Keegan Daniel, is only playing from the bench.
In Keegan’s absense, fiery hooker, Bismarck du Plessis leads the side as captain for the day.
Former France international Sebastien Chabal has announced that he will play Super Rugby for an Australian team in the very near future.
Lions coach John Mitchell has included playmaker flyhalf Elton Jantjies in the team to take on the Southern Kings in a warm-up match in George on Tuesday.
It is agonising to watch the South African Rugby Union (Saru) wrestle with what might appear a most complex solution to including the Eastern Cape in Super Rugby. Yet the solution to this is extraordinarily simple, delivering a non-conflict remedy that would otherwise decimate South African rugby to the benefit and advantage of the Kiwis, Australians and England (especially England, hosts of the Rugby World Cup in 2015).
New Zealand’s Rugby World Cup-winning captain Richie McCaw has begun running again following foot surgery but does not expect to be available for the Crusaders’ Super Rugby campaign until at least April.
PUMA® has unveiled a dramatic new Away kit that the Vodacom Bulls rugby team will sport in the Vodacom Super Rugby 2012 competition. The striking colour marks a significant image shift for the Vodacom Bulls and is inspired by the purple Jacaranda trees that characterise their hometown Pretoria.
There were surprises aplenty as Naka Drotske announced his 30 man squad, for the 2012 Super Rugby tournament.
The biggest surprise will no doubt be the ommission of veteran stalwart Ryno Barnes, the Griquas hooker, he was surprisingly usurped by Hercu Liebenberg, younger brother of Stormers hooker, Tiaan.
Other surprise ommissions were Johan Wessels, with Justin Downey doing enough to get the nod. Riaan “True Blue” Smit, makes way for Boland import Willie le Roux, and not surprisingly, Phillip Burger makes way for Cameron Jacobs.
Pukke (12) 12 / Maties (9) 14 (Final Score)
Pukke and Maties (University of Stellenbosch) did battle in the Varsity Cup of 2012 at the Fanie du Toit Sports Grounds in Potchefstroom at 19:00 SA Time.
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 on TV in SA.
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TUT (0) 0 / TUKS (8) 40 (Final Score)
Tswane University of Technology (TUT) and the University of Pretoria (TUKS) did battle in the Varsity Cup of 2012 at TUT Stadium, Pretoria at 17:00 SA Time.
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 on TV in SA.
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This is the 1st Article dealing with the MTN Lions Super Rugby squad contenders for Super Rugby 2012.
With the commencement of the Super Rugby competition less that 2 weeks away, it’s time to take a look at the Lions squad and the players we can expect to see, as well as those that are on the fringes.
Today, the Props.
The 1st and Article in the set discussing the Sharks Super Rugby players for 2012.
In this Article we look at the contenders for PROPS in the Sharks 2012 Super Rugby group, and what their worth will be in Super Rugby terms.
The Sharks have high aspirations for 2012 and it appears they have the squad and depth to match those aspirations.
The Lions have announced their team to face the Southern Kings in a compulsory friendly in Port Elizabeth Tuesday evening at 18h00.
Whilst the backline has a familiar ring to it, there a couple of surprises in the pack and on the bench.
This is the 2nd last warm-up game the Lions will play prior to the start of Super Rugby 2012, the next being a warm-up against the Cheetahs this weekend.
A 0 / B 0
A and B do battle in the Second Quarter Final in Wellington at 09:30 SA Time (20:30 NZ Time).
This is the live match discussion Article.
The match is broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
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It’s Varsity Cup Monday again!
Herewith the Teams & Fixtures for the week, therefore for today.
Only 2 games are broadcast LIVE on TV in SA, therefore we will host live game Articles for those 2 games only, but the scores for the other 2 matches are more than likely to feature in the Comments Sections of the live game articles.
The Las Vegas leg of the HSBC Sevens World Series took place this weekend, unfortunately at very odd times, on TV in South Africa.
Samoa beat New Zealand in an all action-packed Final, by 26 / 19.
All the Results are detailed below.
The Las Vegas leg takes place between 10 – 12 February 2012.
All times are given in Local Las Vegas times.
This despite on Thursday announcing a three-year multimillion-rand sponsorship deal from property firm Redefine.
Wales (3) 27 / Scotland (3) 13 (Final Score)
Wales and Scotland did battle in week 2 of the Six Nations of 2012 at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff at 17:00 SA Time (15:00 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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South Africa’s five Super Rugby franchises have threatened to boycott the 2013 Super Rugby season if any of the current five teams are excluded from the competition.
2 August 1956, Solway Ground, Masterton: South Arica 19 / Wairarapa-Bush 8
It was another disappointing Springbok performance and although they won by 11 points all the tries came from individual effort rather than from smooth team work as one would expect after 7 weeks and 15 matches on tour (excluding the 3 weeks and 6 matches in Australia).
France / Ireland (Game Postponed)
France and Ireland were supposed to do battle in week 2 of the Six Nations of 2012 at Stade de France, Paris at 22:00 SA Time (20:00 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was supposed to be broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & SHD on TV in SA.
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Italy (12) 15 / England (6) 19 (Final Score)
Italy and England did battle in week 2 of the Six Nations of 2012 at the Stadio Olimpico, Rome at 18:00 SA Time (16:00 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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Bulls (16) 39 / Cheetahs (9) 16 (Final Score)
The Vodacom Bulls and Toyota Cheetahs did battle in a Warm-up match in preparation for Super Rugby at the Peter Mokaba Stadium, Polokwane at 17:00 SA Time.
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 2 & CSN on TV in SA.
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Former Springboks Rugby World Cup-winning coach Jake White has suddenly discovered why Australian teams have only occasionally won the Super Rugby tournament. It adds up to a shortage of numbers and an uneven playing field.
Veteran Wallaby lock Nathan Sharpe announced on Friday he will quit all competitive rugby at the end of the season, bringing down the curtain on a career that has seen him play 101 times for Australia.
Golden Lions Rugby Union president Kevin De Klerk has made it clear that no South African Super Rugby franchises would be prepared to merge ahead of the Southern Kings’ involvement in the tournament in 2013.
Sharks coach, John Plumtree, has named his team to take on the Boland Kavaliers on Friday evening 10 February 2012 at 19:00.
Again JP Pietersen is used at outside centre whilst Frederic Michalak is used as scrumhalf.
The Golden Lions Rugby Union made their “Major Announcement”, at a Media Briefing at the Auditorium at Coca-Cola Park, this afternoon.
Redefine Properties, the Second largest property company in South Africa, a listed entity on the Johannesburg, is going to be MTN’s co-sponsor for the Golden Lions Rugby Union in a 3-year deal with the Golden Lions Rugby Union!
In the past, some South Africans may have lamented an uneven balance of power, perhaps suggesting that their Conference was a drie perdewedren (three horse race), but on evidence of the last two months there will be a brutal dogfight amongst the five teams from the Republic this year.