From the Queensland Reds fairy-tale maiden championship win – defying their devastating floods and years of bottom table finishes – to the Brumbies Annus Horribilis, to the historic inclusion of the Melbourne Rebels; it was certainly a season to remember for the Australian Conference last season.
The warm glow that New Zealand rugby fans hold as they reflect on their status as World Champions will mean that there will be high hopes that the most successful country in the history of Super Rugby will add to their ten titles.
New Zealand Herald recently published their list of 20 All Black greats.
The List referred to above are the players that made All Black rugby what it is or who changed the direction or perception on how the game should be played in New Zealand.
Who are the Springbok legends that formed SA rugby; who made Springbok rugby what it is? Continue reading
Exciting midfielder Johann Sadie will make his debut for the Vodacom Bulls on Saturday after being named in the side that will play the Cheetahs in a friendly match in the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane.
Allister Coetzee has surprised somewhat by naming Bryan Habana to play at outside centre for the DHL Stormers against the Kings this weekend in the compulsory friendly games against the Kings as well as in preparation for Super Rugby 2012.
Jean de Villiers will captain the side in the absense of Schalk Burger, who attended the Laureus Awards in Europe.
All in all not the strongest Stormers side and there should still be a few tweaks before Super Rugby proper starts. Players who should make the final Super Rugby squad still missing includes the likes of Dewaldt Duvenage, Schalk Burger and Juan de Jongh.
Scotland international fly half Dan Parks has announced that he will retire from playing international rugby with immediate effect leaving Scotland without a first choice pivot for the rest of the Six nations.
Lions first-choice hooker Bandise Maku will be sidelined for some time after having surgery on a torn pectoral muscle, leaving Martin Bezuidenhout and Callie Visagie to wrestle over the No.2 jersey.
The referees for the first 6 weeks of Super Rugby in 2012 has been announced by SANZAR.
Some interesting appointments indeed.
Let the games begin!
Here’s a Schedule as well as the official Statement, as received via Media Release.
The Cheetahs will travel to Polokwane, to face an expected full strength Bulls team in the last warm-up.
The match take place on Saturday.
The Cheetahs will look to test a couple of players, who have played more of a role off the bench, as Naka and his merry men, fine tune their team.
This match will be televised on SuperSport, which is a step in the right direction after they got their priorities all wrong in broadcasting the Stormers vs Boland game, but failing to broadcast the much more meaningful warm-up matches between the Lions vs Stormers, and Cheetahs vs Stormers!
Four teams sounded serious warnings in the first round of the 2012 Varsity Cup on Monday night, with Shimlas producing the best performance of the lot.
Tuks (18) 23 / UJ (0) 8 (Final Score)
Tuks and UJ did battle in a Varsity Cup match at the Tuks Rugby Stadium, Pretoria at 19:00 SA Time.
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & CSN on TV in SA.
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Who knows, this comes out after the New Age report from last week. If de Klerk ever loses his job, I strongly suggest he offers his c.v. to the Fire Department, he spends his life at the Lions putting out fires – would fit in perfectly! As to the heading, any guesses to who KdK may be out of the Magic Roundabout gang?
UCT (5) 10 / Shimlas (18) 38 (Final Score)
UCT and Shimlas did battle in the First Varsity Cup match of 2012 at the UCT Rugby Fileds, Cape Town at 17:00 SA Time.
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & CSN on TV in SA.
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There is continuing speculation that he will be part of Heyneke Meyer’s new management team, but Rassie Erasmus would still be involved with Western Province were it not for the interference from elected officials that eventually prompted him to quit as director of rugby in an attempt to ease the pressure on the other coaches.
SuperSport
The fifth edition of the popular FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International kicks-off on Monday and, again, the question on everybody’s lips revolves around the Cape dominance in this tournament thus far.
Ireland (10) 21 / Wales (5) 23 (Final Score)
Ireland and Wales did battle in the Third Six Nations Test of 2012 at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland 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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As per my comment in the live thread, not a great game, but according to both coaches a good day at the office, and preparations for the Start of the Super 15 well on track.
Scotland (6) 6 / England (3) 13 (Final Score)
Scotland and England did battle in the Second Six Nations encounter of 2012 at Murrayfield, Edinburgh at 19:00 SA Time (17:00 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & M-Net on TV in SA.
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Stormers 14 / Cheetahs 22 (Final Score)
The DHL Stormers and Toyota Cheetahs did battle in a warm-up game in preparation for the impending Super Rugby competition of 2012 at Newlands, Cape Town at 17:00 SA Time.
This was the live match discussion Article, our man in the Press Box for the match was Just For Kicks.
(The match was NOT BROADCAST on TV)
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France (15) 30 / Italy (6) 12 (Final Score)
France and Italy did battle in the First Six Nations encounter of 2012 at Stade De France, Paris at 16:30 SA Time (14:30 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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The Wellington leg in New Zealand of the HSBC Sevens World Series comes to a close as New Zealand scored an emphatic win by 24 / 7 over Fiji to claim the Cup.
On a dry and mild west coast evening in front of a near capacity crowd of 4000 at Rugby Park, Greymouth, the Crusaders’ 2012 campaign got off to a flying start in front of their faithful.
It’s late on Friday night, and it’s been a hard week… far too hard…
But there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, tomorrow there’s good rugby on… and on Sunday too.. and as an added bonus Monday is Varsity Cup time!
The question is, are you prepared?
Is the biltong bought?
Is the beers, or in my case the Jerepico and sletsappies, cold?
Is your SuperBru picks done, and have you seen to it that you have been approved in your Pools?
In the case of the latter, make sure you are a registered Rugby-Talker, otherwise I cannot approve you in the Rugby-Talk SIX Nations SuperBru pool, or in the Rugby-Talk Varsity Cup 2012 pool.. or for that matter in the Rugby-Talk Super Rugby 2012 pool.
Come on, get cracking!
People in the Rugby-Talk SIX Nations pool who have not made their picks yet are: KingPaul, SuperBul, Bono, Blue Bird, Mayhem & Loosehead
People in the Rugby-Talk SIX Nations pool who have not yet been accepted in the pool due to non-registration at Rugby-Talk are: Stormy, Johnny Walker & Geniusboywonder
Old hurts and new hopes will all be in the air when Scotland and England start their Six Nations campaign with the latest edition of international rugby union’s oldest match on Saturday.
World Cup finalists France will bid to get their Six Nations campaign off with a resounding bang when they host Italy at the Stade de France on Saturday.
Some coaches dismiss pre-season matches as insignificant. The Bulls embrace them as a vital part of their campaign.
The Springbok Sevens team won’t be looking for revenge when they head into this weekend’s Wellington Sevens tournament, the latest leg on the HSBC World Series.
The Stormers and Cheetahs will enter the next, crucial phase of their Super Rugby pre-season build-up when they meet at Newlands on Saturday.
The 8th and last Article in the set discussing the Vodacom Bulls.
In this Article we look at the contenders for the BACK THREE (Wings & Fullbacks) in the Vodacom Bulls 2012 Super Rugby group, and what their worth will be in Super Rugby terms.
England caretaker coach Stuart Lancaster has named his team to face Scotland with three new caps in the starting line up for Saturday’s Six Nations match at Murrayfield.
The Bulls’ front row reserves have been boosted after former prop Rayno Gerber signed a deal for the Super Rugby tournament.
SANZAR CEO Greg Peters has ruled out the possibility of expanding Super Rugby from 15 to 16 teams from next year after South Africa said that the Southern Kings will play in the tournament from 2013.
For better or worse, the Pieter de Villiers era has come to an end. Many felt at the time of his appointment that Heyneke Meyer was the best candidate, and now four years later he will get his opportunity to prove them wrong.
Coach Naka Drotske has announced a strong team to take on the Stormers in Cape Town on Saturday.
SANZAR is to trial new disciplinary rules during the 2012 Super Rugby competition, CEO Greg Peters announced on Thursday.