Fourie du Preez may be nowhere near his best, but even when playing at less than a third of his capacity he is still better than any other scrumhalf.
Stormers coach Allister Coetzee says that his team won’t change their defensive pattern to try to stop Reds dangerman Quade Cooper, and instead urged his team to produce more of the “good stuff” on attack in Saturday’s Super Rugby clash at Newlands.
Springbok coach Peter de Villiers’s loyalty towards many of his senior soldiers may just come back to haunt him at the World Cup later in 2011.
Richie McCaw? Nah, he can wait.
And if Dan Carter’s sore hamstring is not right, he can forget about suiting up against the Bulls as well.
When England football coach, the Italian Fabio Capello, said he required only a maximum 100-word vocabulary to speak with his players about tactics, he grabbed a few ears.
FNB Maties, the 12-time SAA National Club Champions, firmly closed the book on their disappointing FNB Varsity Cup campaign when they recorded a resounding win on the opening weekend of the Western Province Super League A last Saturday.
Wayne Gray wrote an interesting article (Prelude of things to come in World Cup) in the New Zealand Herald about the Bulls victory over the Hurricanes. Here are some extracts:
Fast forward to October. The All Blacks want to play a fast-paced, ball-in-hand style of rugby at the World Cup.
The Springboks will favour muscular confrontation and an aerial bombardment if they adhere to recent comments from coach Peter de Villiers, who wondered why his side should vary much from the attritional, combative style the Springboks had used with success in annexing two World Cups. Continue reading
The Bulls, last year’s champions, could significantly re-announce themselves in Super Rugby if they upset the Crusaders at the small port town of Timaru on Saturday.
A team comprising star players in the French and English leagues, four Sevens players and six Springboks, will take on the Kings in Port Elizabeth on June 4.
Continue reading
Two wins from a possible four gives the South African team a 50% win result for this weekend. This is how i rate this weekends rugby.
The fixtures, news and scores from the 2011 International Rugby Sevens Adelaide, the sixth leg of the 2010/11 HSBC Sevens World Series.
NZ 28 – 20 SA
Sharks (6) 6 / Stormers (13) 16 (Final Score)
The Sharks hosted the DHL Stormers at Kings Park, Durban 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 hard and brutal battle the Stormers overcame the Sharks on Sharks home turf, resulting in the 3rd successive loss in a row for the Sharks now in the Super Rugby Series of 2011. The Stormers on the other hand stays the only unbeaten side in the Super Rugby Series of 2011.
Lions (14) 25 / Reds (10) 30 (Final Score)
The MTN Lions hosted the Reds at Coca-Cola Park, Johannesburg at 15:00 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 Lions took the early initiative and built up an early lead with the Reds being penalised relentlessly but gradually the Reds came more and more into the game and by Halftime had almost caught up. Then in the second half the Reds started dominating proceedings and eventually took the lead and then extended the lead gradually. Late in the game the Lions came back a bit with 2 penalties of their own, eventually going down to the Reds by a 5-point margin.
Force (15) 25 / Rebels (14) 26 (Final Score)
The Western Force hosted the Melbourne Rebels at NIB Stadium, Perth at 13:05 SA Time. This was the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1 and M-Net on TV in SA.
The Melbourne Rebels came from behind to win a close game, their first away game win.
Hurricanes (3) 14 / Bulls (15) 26 (Final Score)
The Hurricanes hosted the Bulls at McLean Park, Napier at 08:35 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 Bulls started well with the wind and the early penalties as well as 2 Morné Steyn drop goals set up a good early lead. After that the canes were always playing catch-up rugby and eventually the Bulls ground out a 12-point win, in New Zealand.
Blues (14) 29 / Cheetahs (3) 22 (Final Score)
The Blues hosted the Cheetahs at Okara Park, Whangarei at 06:30 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 Blues bagged 5 Log points, with the gutsy Cheetahs coming back hard at them with constructive attacking rugby after the Cheetahs played dumb helter-skelter rugby in the first half.
India wins ICC World Cup
Mahendra Singh Dhoni played a captain’s knock to lead India to 277 for four and a six-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the World Cup final
Sri Lanka 274/6 (50),
India 277/4 ( 48.3 ov)
Saturday will be a long long day for die hard rugby fans. In the early morning we have the Australian leg of the IRB Sevens. Followed by two South African teams playing New Zealand teams in New Zealand. Before the Lions take on the Reds, the gap is filled by an Australian derby. Saturday’s Super Rugby ends with a South African derby between the Sharks and the Stormers in Durban. Wait… thats not all, the second day of the HSBC sevens tournament starts at midnight in Australia.
Waratahs (20) 23 / Chiefs (6) 16 (Final Score)
The Waratahs hosted the Chiefs at Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney at 10:40 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.
The first half belonged to the Waratahs, with most of the ball and doing most of the attacking but the second half was exactly the opposite with the Chiefs attacking hard.
Highlanders (15) 26 / Brumbies (7) 20 (Final Score)
The Highlanders hosted the Brumbies at Rugby Park, Invercargill at 08:35 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 Brumbies had the majority of possession and field position but the Highlanders used their opportunities and ground out a win.
In an official Lions Media release, the Lions have announced that Lions Professional Rugby is now officially called the MTN Lions. This follows the recent signing of a three-year sponsorship deal by the Mobile operator.
… but that’s not all…
John Plumtree has made 2 changes to the Sharks team from last week, seeing JP Pietersen getting a start ahead of Lwazi Mvovo who started the last 3 games and Skipper John Smit dropping to the bench in the place of Beast Mtawarira who was explosive in his last outingwhen comming onto the field as a substitute. Continue reading
John Smit is being done a massive disservice at the moment, one that could spell disaster and cost him the Springbok captaincy for the Rugby World Cup later this year. Continue reading
The Brumbies have made several changes to the team that lost to the Waratahs for their match against the Highlanders in Invercargill.
All Blacks wing Hosea Gear returns from injury in one of just two changes to the struggling Hurricanes for Saturday’s crunch Vodacom Super Rugby match against the Bulls at McLean Park in Napier.
South Africans will know on 2 May whether John Smit will again lead the Springboks at the World Cup.
Perhaps they see the MTN Lions as easy meat, but Red coach Ewen McKenzie has made five changes to his side to face their Johannesburg counterparts at Coca Cola Park on Saturday.
Springbok coach Peter de Villiers says he will speak to the Lions about acquiring the services of fullback Frans Steyn from French club Racing Metro before the end of the Super Rugby season.
Herewith ALL the Super Rugby team sheets as they were announced for week 7 of Super Rugby 2011.
Schalk Burger makes a welcome return to the Stormers side and resumes the captaincy for their Super Rugby encounter the Sharks at Kings Park in Durban on Saturday.
Lock Steven Sykes looks set to become the latest Sharks player to leave the franchise to further his career overseas at the end of the current Super Rugby season.
There were smiles all around with the news that the Vodacom Bulls talisman Francois Hougaard returns to the side for this weekend’s Vodacom Super Rugby clash with the Hurricanes in Napier.
The Sharks are sweating on an injury to replacement fly half Jacques-Louis Potgieter who has been sent for scan on his calf.
The potential injury will be a big blow for the Sharks as they have already lost Patrick Lambie for about three weeks to a finger injury.
Four candidates have been identified by Springbok coach Peter de Villiers to assist the team in retaining their status as world champions in New Zealand later this year.
“I have a few people in mind and at this moment I can think of four,” De Villiers said on Wednesday.
The South African Rugby Union have named a 23 strong group of players that have been contracted to the Springboks for the 2011 season.
Eleven players have more than 50 Test caps and two of those whom have more than a century to their name.