The injury bogey has made another visit to the Cheetahs camp in the aftermath of their impressive 36-32 Super 14 victory over the Blues at the weekend, claiming two of their start players.
Fiery loose forward Frans Viljoen and Springbok flyer Jongi Nokwe have both been ruled out of the last two rounds of the competition.
The latest Tweet from John Smit on social networking site, Twitter, suggests that the Bok captain had an issue with the way Jonathan Kaplan handled the scrums in the game between the Sharks and Bulls on Saturday. As a result, the Bok and Sharks skipper injured his neck in a scrum engagement and will be going in for a precautionary scan on his neck.
On the web site Sport24, Gavin Rich has written a good Article on Bryan Habana’s rib injury, sustained in the match between the Stormers and the Crusaders on Friday evening.
It was a strange but clear phenomenon; the Bulls getting their S14 campaign back on track for three consecutive years the moment they made Morné the first choice no. 10. This was of course in the years when Steyn was still liefling’s understudy. Continue reading
Crusaders add to New Zealand’s woe – Wynne Gray
The sloppy 16-24 loss to the Force at the start of this roadtrip will be looking doubly painful for the Crusaders after they were clubbed 42-14 by the Stormers in Cape Town on Saturday. That will also be another disconcerting note for the All Black selectors.
The entire Crusaders’ pack has played for the All Blacks, but they were bludgeoned by their hosts and savaged by referee Stu Dickinson. Behind those troubles, international five-eighths Daniel Carter played with a continued lack of clout and control.
Too many nice words about our Rugby are spoken from that part of the World lately. I start to feel uneasy. Is it a concerted effort to build us up as favorites? Do they try to earn the underdog tag? Articles like these make me wonder.
OPINION: There are times when the All Blacks coach’s lot must be a happy one. Wins eight times out of 10. Nice seats on the plane. Best suites at the hotel. And the holidays aren’t half bad.
By MARC HINTON – Sunday Star Times
It has been confirmed that Bok hooker Bismark Du Plessis will take 3 months to recover after surgery on his neck.
What will be the minimum points be to make it to the Semi Finals? With the Bulls almost there with 43 points they only need 2 more bonus points to be guaranteed a home semi final. 45 will be the number to guarantee a home semi final.
The battle of the Wooden Spoon, History at the bottom of this article.
Next Games
Crusaders hooker Corey Flynn who made his return to Super 14 rugby against the Stormers on the weekend will miss this weekend’s clash against the Bulls due to injury.
| 5 |  India |
v |  South Africa |
India won by 14 runs | Beausejour Cricket Ground, Gros Islet |
| 6 |  Australia |
v |  Pakistan |
Australia won by 34 runs | Beausejour Cricket Ground, Gros Islet |
Here are the rankings after week 12. Two SA sides back at the top. Well done !!! Continue reading
The Sharks will feel they gave their all but apart from guts, determination and effort, lacked the back line fire power to pull this one through as had been the case for much of the season.
John Plumtree afterwards admitted as much, as he spoke of the Bulls slowly squeezing the breath out of the Sharks and his pride of a Sharks team that showed so much spirit and guts.
An article in the AUCKLAND SUNDAY STAR TIMES indicate that THE ALL BLACKS selection panel are in desperate search for a new and more dynamic scrumhalf. They –the selection panel- appear poised to spring a surprise with confirmation coming yesterday from assistant coach Wayne Smith that he and head coach Graham Henry believe rugby has a new kingpin: the halfback.
Bulls (9) 27 / Sharks (12) 19 (Final Score)
The Bulls hosted The Sharks at Loftus, Pretoria at 19:10 SA Time. This is the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1 on DSTV in SA. For the Bulls it was mission accomplished as they won a tough encounter by 27 / 19. No bonus points were earned either way by the Teams.
Effectively the Sharks are now out of the Super 14 race and the Bulls have achieved a semi-final spot and are 2 games clear of the Crusaders, Reds, Brumbies and Waratahs on the Log.
Lions (12) 12 / Force (19) 33 (Final Score)
The Lions hosted the Western Force at Coka-Cola Park, Johannesburg at 17:05 SA Time, This is the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1 on DSTV in SA. The Force won by 33 / 12 and the Lions recorded their 11th consecutive Super 14 loss of this season.
Cheetahs (22) 36 / Blues (13) 32 (Final Score)
The Cheetahs hosted the Blues in Bloemfontein at 15:00 SA Time, This is the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1 on DSTV in SA. The Cheetahs won an enthrawling match by 36 / 32, effectively ending the Blues Super 14 run for 2010.
| 3 |  Afghanistan |
v | India |
India won by 7 wickets | Beausejour Cricket Ground, Gros Islet |
| 4 |  Bangladesh |
v | Pakistan |
Pakistan won by 21 runs | Beausejour Cricket Ground, Gros Islet |
Brumbies (14) 32 / Reds (6) 12 (Final Score)
The Brumbies hosted the Reds in Canberra at 11:40 SA Time, This is the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1 on DSTV in SA. The Brumbies won 32 / 12 and earned their bonus point for tries in the process.
No corroberation could be obtained yet after Beeld Newspaper reported that Bismarck du Plessis is out of the rest of the Super 14, due to an operation on a growth on one of his back vertabrae.
The Article is in Afrikaans, here goes:
It may have been Richie McCaw’s 100th Super rugby game, but it was the Stormers doing the celebrating in Cape Town as they completed an historic “Kiwi sweep” with a clinical victory over the Crusaders.
Hurricanes (15) 33 / Chiefs (24) 27 (Final Score)
The Hurricanes hosted the Chiefs at Westpac Stadium, Wellington at 09:35 SA Time, This is the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1 on DSTV in SA. The Hurricanes won the match at the death, scoring their bonus point try, by 33 / 27.
English and Afrikaans newspapers’ reactions to the 2nd Test were slightly varied. English media’s primary response was to give NZ credit for a well deserved win, while the Afrikaans media accused the AB of aggressive, malicious and angry behaviour with emphasis on what they called dirty tactics.
| 1 |  New Zealand |
v |  Sri Lanka |
New Zealand won by 2 wickets | Providence Stadium, Providence |
| 2 |  West Indies |
v |  Ireland |
West Indies won by 70 runs | Providence Stadium, Providence |
Stormers (12) 42 / Crusaders (7) 14 (Final Score)
The Stormers hosted the Crusaders at Newlands, Cape Town at 19:10 SA Time, This is the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast live on SuperSport 1 on DSTV in SA. The Stormers romped over the Crusaders by 42 / 14, but without a 4th try for a bonus point.
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The latest news on BJ Botha and his plans to go and play his rugby in the Cape… Continue reading
Highlanders (12) 26 / Waratahs (10) 10 (Final Score)
The Highlanders hosted the Waratahs in a gale in Invercargill, New Zealand at 09:35 SA Time. This is the match thread for discussion of the game. The game was broadcast live on SuperSport 1 on DSTV in SA. The Highlanders totally outplayed the Waratahs, turning over a lot of Waratahs ball and playing to their strenghts. The Highlanders won by 26 / 10.
I played with the results in the Super 14 competition and came up with these interesting facts. Well, off course because they look so favourable for the Bulls, that’s why I publish them. I realise that this means sweet blue nothing in the next few weeks.
The Waratahs must have wondered what they were wandering into as they sauntered through Invercargill airport. It’s the first time the New South Wales Super 14 franchise has played here and their initial impression might have been that they should have packed flippers and snorkels along with the usual rugby accoutrements of hair product and cellphones as they flew in over flooded Taramoa farmland.
OK, the Naffs and Tik-adicts from the Cape, the Half-cocked Rooinek-poachers from Natal, the Gatgrawers and Damduikers from Sodom & Gemorrah, the Riemrukkers from the Flat Earth Society in the armsalige Freestate as well as those wonderful Dutchmen with the Artificial Balls and hefty wives up North…. here is the opportunity to let off some steam again, with impunity.
The rules are simple and meant for those who can bloody read… here they are:
All 14 teams are involved in games this weekend, 2 games on Friday and 5 games on Saturday. Here are the games and what I think might happen in a very difficult weekend for predictions.
As if a bad run of injuries earlier in the season has not been bad enough, the Cheetahs have been rocked by 2 late withdrawels due to more injury.
The Sharks have changed only 2 for the game against the Bulls, Riaan Swanepoel comes in at No 12 to bolster the Sharks midfield defence and Lwazi Mvovo replaces the injured JP Pietersen on the wing.
I find the current criticism against referees in rugby union to be extremely hypocritical. Continue reading