To mark the final World Cup-ometer, let’s take a look at the building blocks already laid down by the Tri Nations contenders over the regular rounds of the competition.
There will be further twists and turns over the coming weeks of finals football – and the opportunity to see how the players cope with the unique pressure of the knockout stages – but there has been ample evidence already presented to make a judgment of how the Wallabies, All Blacks and Springboks are shaping up.
Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder says that he wants his team to “unleash” in the Super Rugby finals which start for them on Saturday against the Sharks in Nelson.
Waratahs Captain Phil Waugh has announced that he will retire from professional Rugby at the end of 2011.
The Waratahs have named a 24-man squad for their Super Rugby Qualifier with the Blues on Friday at Eden Park in Auckland.
The succession battle for the captaincy of the Bulls will begin in earnest in the next few weeks as the former defending Super Rugby champions look for a worthy leader to take over the leadership reins from outgoing Bulls captain, Victor Matfield. Continue reading
Reds prop James Slipper has been ruled out of the Reds Super Rugby Semi-final on the 2nd of July but could make the final if the Reds progress.
Super Rugby matches in the three-week playoffs which start this weekend will be decided by penalty shootouts if the teams remain deadlocked after extra time.
The Blues and Crusaders will have to win the Super Rugby title the hard way but Blues coach Pat Lam doesn’t see that as a bad thing in a World Cup year.
There are no second lives for either New Zealand side under the extended six-team playoffs system.
The All Blacks could face a tricky juggling act with Richie McCaw in the lead up to the World Cup.
With Richie Mccaw still struggling with the screw in the metatarsal bone in his right foot there could be a tug of war over who his
backup is.
Former Hurricanes and Crusaders No 8 Thomas Waldrom has made the first cut in his quest to help England win the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.Waldrom, nicknamed the ‘Tank Engine’ for his exploits in a standout Super Rugby career, has been making headlines since joining the Leicester Tigers in England’s Premiership.
Springbok coach Peter de Villiers probably started it with his cheeky reservations about midfield sensation Sonny Bill Williams a few weeks ago, but now New Zealanders appear to be firing back some verbal arrows of their own ahead of the World Cup.
ALL BLACKS coach Graham Henry is continuing to apply pressure on the referees, arguing that during this year’s Super Rugby tournament they have failed in the most elementary areas.
”You watch the game at the moment; the number of tries being scored from forward passes is ridiculous,” Henry said.
Twenty-one Rugby World Cup winners were among a preliminary Springbok squad of 49 players named for the 2011 tournament by the South African Rugby Union (SARU) on Monday.
The final Rugby World Cup squad of 30 will be named on August 23.
As the euphoria following the weekend’s local derbies subsides, let’s take a moment to acknowledge a truly special effort by a very special team.
Halfway through the first Super XV rugby season if you told me we would have three teams in the top half of the Combined Log, I wouldn’t have believed it.
The Stormers started the season well, The Bulls started off and narrowly beat the Lions and Cheetahs, the Sharks looked like they were trudging through thick mud, and well the Cheetahs and Lions looked like they were once gain going to fill the bottom of the Log.
Sitting and watching this match today under calmer circumstances, one sees so much more in how the match went and how the players responded to the situation.
Not much is available on the Australian leg of the 1956 tour. McLean in his book “Battle for the rugby crown” devout a chapter to this part of the tour but writes very little about the actual matches apart from the table below which is a summary or record of matches played in Aussie. Continue reading
Following the completion of Round 18 of the Super Rugby regular season, the confirmed fixtures for the 2011 Super Rugby Finals Series Qualifiers are:
Date: Friday 24 June 2011
Teams: Blues (4th) vs Waratahs (5th)
Date: Saturday 25 June 2011
Teams: Crusaders (3rd – NZ Conference winners) vs Sharks (6th)
Cheetahs (13) 34 / Stormers (19) 44 (Final Score)
The Toyota Cheetahs hosted the DHL Stormers at Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein at 19:10 SA Time. This was the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
The Stormers booked 2nd spot overall with this good win over the gutsy Cheetahs.
Bulls (13) 23 / Sharks (16) 26 (Final Score)
The Vodacom Bulls hosted the Sharks at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria at 17:05 SA Time. This was the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
In a battle royal, the Sharks were victorious, snatching a place in the play-off’s with a 3-point win.
This match was an advertisement for rugby!
Waratahs (10) 41 / Brumbies (0) 7 (Final Score)
The Waratahs hosted the Brumbies at ANZ Stadium, Sydney at 11:40 SA Time. This was the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
The Waratahs were full value for their money as they dominated and demolished the Brumbies, getting a full haul of 5 Log points, now ahhead of both the Sharks and the Bulls, into 5th spot overall.
Crusaders (6) 16 / Hurricanes (6) 9 (Final Score)
The Crusaders hosted the Hurricanes at Westpac tadium, Wellington at 09:35 SA Time. This was the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
The Crusaders finish top of the New Zealand Conference.
Chiefs (6) 11 / Reds (10) 19 (Final Score)
The Chiefs hosted the Reds at Waikato Stadium, Hamilton at 07:30 SA Time. This was the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
The Reds held on to win, but apart from a very good first 20 minutes did not impres, apart from keeping their defences up well. The Chiefs tried well but finishing let them down.
Rebels (6) 24 / Force (9) 27 (Final Score)
The Melbourne Rebels hosted the Western Force at AAMI Stadium, Melbourne at 11:40 SA Time. This was the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1, SHD & CSN on TV in SA.
In a dour match which only really came alight deep in the second half, the Western Force held on to win by 3 points.
Blues (17) 33 / Highlanders (11) 16 (Final Score)
The Blues hosted the Highlanders at Eden Park, Auckland at 09:35 SA Time. This was the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1, SHD & CSN on TV in SA.
The Blues were clearly the better side, doing the necessary to claim a play-off spot.
Herewith ALL the Super Rugby team sheets as they were announced for week 18 of Super Rugby 2011.
All Black and Blues midfield back Luke McAlister has confirmed that he has signed a three-year deal with French rugby club, Toulouse.
The Sharks play their final pool game this Saturday which should present to be a thrilling encounter between the 2 sides, this derby will no doubt be a match of huge proportions, with the result probably seeing one of the 2 sides not going through to the final stages of the series.
Lions flyhalf Butch James been suspended for four weeks after being found guilty of dangerous play.
The Stormers could suffer a massive blow ahead of their Super Rugby clash against the Cheetahs as Dewaldt Duvenhage is now in doubt for the match.
The Rebels have announced that Rod Macqueen has agreed to extend his role with the club until the end of 2013 but he will be replaced as Head coach, by Damien Hill.
SANZAR has resolved travel challenges that have threatened to disrupt fixtures in the final Round of the Super Rugby regular season this weekend .
We are reaching the end of the line for nine of the 15 teams in the 2011 Super Rugby season. So many if’s and but’s happened this year and with the last week having so many permutations one can call the new format a success. Some teams made a mess of their draw and other exploited it better. Let me sum up what I enjoyed this year and what I did not.
Peter Bills wrote an article in the New Zealand Herald warning (or is he looking for excuses) that the New Zealand S15 Franchises are bashing each other to a pulp just in time for the World Cup.
He writes: “The pace and physicality of the Super 15 since it began in February has to be increasingly draining these guys. For the best, and that means most of the All Blacks, it will go on for the rest of this month. The Super 15 final isn’t until July 9. And then comes … the Tri-Nations. If a side like the Crusaders reach the final, it could be they’ll have to play it in South Africa.
Springbok winger Bryan Habana’s request for a R21-million contract has been turned down by French big spenders, Toulon because he is “too expensive”.
The club, who had no problem hauling out the cash to lure the likes of Sonny Bill Williams, Victor Matfield, Jonny Wilkinson, Gavin Henson and lately Bakkies Botha has withdrawn from negotiations to bring Habana to France after the World Cup because his demands are excessive.