Brumbies (24) 52 / 10 (3) Hurricanes (Final Score)
The Brumbies and Hurricanes did battle in Super Rugby 2016 at
Gio Stadium, Canberra at 10:40 SA Time (08:40 GMT, 19:40 Canberra 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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Blues (20) 33 / 31 (24) Highlanders (Final Score)
The Blues and Highlanders did battle in Super Rugby 2016 at
Eden Park, Auckland at 08:35 SA Time (06:35 GMT, 19:35 NZ 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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Hi,
We have 3 NEW SuperBru Pools for all to join!
- The RBS 6 Nations 2016 starts on 6 February 2016, so hurry up and do not delay to register for it!
- The Varsity Cup 2016 starts on 8 February 2016, register for it too, whilst the iron is hot!
- The Super Rugby 2016 starts on 26 February, we are well within time, but do not delay and register for it!
This year we will do it a bit differently and open our Pools up to all readers of Rugby-Talk.com, but we encourage you to register as a subsciber on Rugby-Talk.com anyway, as our banter and commenting about our Pools will mostly take place here on the website and not on the SuperBru banter boards! It is so easy to register and such fun to discuss rugby here.
Elliot Daly could make his England senior debut against Ireland
Wasps centre Elliot Daly is set for his England debut after being named in Eddie Jones’ 23-man squad for Saturday’s match against Ireland.
Daly replaces lock Courtney Lawes in the only change from the squad that beat Italy.
“Elliot Daly has impressed in training and is now ready to be part of the matchday 23,” Jones said.
England won their opening 2 matches and top the table, while Ireland lost to France and drew with Wales.
Daly, 23, has played 4 times for England Saxons and also represented England at Under 18 and Under 20 level.
Ireland could also bring a debutant into midfield, with Ulster’s Stuart McCloskey in contention for a 1st cap if fitness-doubt Jared Payne is ruled out.
Head Coach Vern Cotter has refined his Scotland squad ahead of this Saturday’s RBS 6 Nations match against Italy in Rome, with the return of 6 players to Glasgow Warriors.
Props Gordon Reid and Zander Fagerson, loose forwards Rob Harley and Josh Strauss and halfbacks Grayson Hart and Duncan Weir, all returned to club training today, ahead of tomorrow night’s (Thursday) Guinness PRO12 game against Dragons in Newport.
Cotter will select and announce a final 23-man team to travel to Rome tomorrow morning (Thursday).
Maties (20) 29 / 16 (9) Tuks (Final Score)
Maties (University of Stellenbosch) and UP-Tuks University of Pretoria) did battle in the Varsity Cup 2016 at
Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch at 19:00 SA Time (17:00 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & CSN on TV in SA.
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UJ (14) 14 / 0 (0) CUT (Final Score)
UJ (University of Johannesburg) and CUT (Central University of Technology) did battle in the Varsity Cup 2016 at
UJ Stadium, Johannesburg at 16:45 SA Time (14:45 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & CSN on TV in SA.
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The Jaguares bounced back from last week’s disappointment to beat a young Emirates Lions team 49 / 28 in an 11-try feast in their Super Rugby pre-season outing Johannesburg on Friday.
Following their 14 / 29 loss to the DHL Stormers last week, the Argentinean newcomers to Super Rugby showed the class that 20-odd internationals can bring to a team – running the Lions ragged – outscoring them by 7 tries to 4 at the Wits Stadium.
Some sublime inter-passing and grand angled running by the visitors that expose some major flaws in the Lions’ defensive set-up.
The Emirates Lions – consisting mainly of their back-up squad – played decent only in patches.
Their frontline selections were rested before they start their Super Rugby campaign with a historic match against Japan’s newcomers, the Sunwolves, in Tokyo next week.
Powerful Taqele Naiyaravoro leaves Newport Gwent Dragons players sprawling
There has been a mix of good and bad news for Glasgow Warriors on the player retention front this week. The bad news is that Taqele Naiyarovoro will be evoking an exit clause and leaving at the end of this season, 1 third of the way through his original contract. The good news is that promising young scrumhalf Ali Price as well as loosehead prop Alex Allan and tighthead prop Sila Puafisi have extended their contracts in varying amounts.
The loss of Naiyarovoro is no surprise as the speculation of this happening has been rife all season, in fact from even before he arrived in Glasgow. The detail on the actual timing of his departure is a little sketchy as it has been reported that he will leave at the end of Glasgow’s season but at the same time that he will join the Waratahs for Super Rugby 2016, but this starts before the end of Glasgow’s season. Apparently he is on quite a lucrative package and his departure will at least free up some funds for other players to either be retained or recruited by the club.
Naiyarovoro arguably played his best match for Glasgow Warriors thus far at home against Scarlets in the European Rugby Champions Cup. He was at his powerful best and steamrollered his way to a hat trick of tries in this match. Hopefully, he can make a big contribution to the Warriors cause for the rest of the season before he departs.
Pukke (12) 31 / 36 (17) UJ (Final Score)
NWU-Pukke (North West University) and UJ (University of Johannesburg) did battle
in the Varsity Cup 2016 at the Fanie du Toit Stadium, Potchefstroom at 19:00 SA Time (17:00 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & CSN on TV in SA.
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NMMU (6) 25 / 27 (12) Maties (Final Score)
NMMU (Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan University) and Maties (University of Stellenbosch) did battle
in the Varsity Cup 2016 at NMMU Stadium, Port Elizabeth at 16:45 SA Time (14:45 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & CSN on TV in SA.
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Italy (9) 9 / 40 (11) England (Final Score)
Italy and England did battle in the RBS 6 Nations 2016 at
Stadio Olimpico, Rome, at 16:00 SA Time (15:00 Italy Time, 14:00 UK Time & GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 on TV in SA.
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Head Coach Vern Cotter today named one change to the Scotland team to start against Wales in Cardiff this Saturday (13 February, kick-off 16:50 UK Time, 18:50 SA Time)
Both teams go into the match seeking their 1st win of the 2016 campaign, after the Scot’s home loss to England (15 / 9), and Wales’ 16 / 16 draw with Ireland in Dublin.
The selection of 26-year-old Saracens centre Duncan Taylor in midfield is 1 of 2 changes to the 23-man squad – promoted from the bench to partner Mark Bennett after Matt Scott injured his quad in training yesterday – with Sean Lamont taking the vacated place among the replacements.
The match will be Taylor’s 5th start in 14 caps for Scotland, and his 1st since the 2014 summer tour win over USA (24 / 6), with an untimely succession of injuries curtailing his involvement for the national team over the past 2 seasons.
Despite missing out on international opportunities, Taylor has excelled for his club side, building on their English Premiership title success last season with stirring performances in the current campaign.
Compassionate players and officials from New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina and Australia are looking for ways to send aid to their beleaguered northern brethren.
After the opening weekend of the 2016 SIX Nations saw standards of play so far below the heights reached by the likes of the All Blacks, Wallabies and Argentina in the World Cup, there is concern for the plight of the home unions, France and Italy.
“Did you see those matches?” said Keith Waters of the New Zealand Rugby Union. “It was so tough to watch. As a rugby man and a human being, how can you stand by and see Scotland trying so hard to score a try and not feel your heart torn asunder?
“Something needs to be done to help those guys. The rugby world can’t stand by and let people play like that.”
Concern was first raised in Auckland at halftime of the France – Italy match, where neither side were able to put together much coordinated, constructed play of any note.
UCT (0) 17 / 23 (7) Shimlas (Final Score)
UCT-Ikeys (Capte Town University) and UFS-Shimlas (University of the Free State) do battle in the
Varsity Cup 2016 at UCT Rugby Fields, Cape Town at 19:00 SA Time (17:00 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & CSN on TV in SA.
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Tuks (3) 15 / 38 (25) Pukke (Final Score)
UP-Tuks (University of Pretoria) and NWU-Pukke (North West University) did battle in the
Varsity Cup 2016 at Tuks Stadium, Pretoria at 16:45 SA Time (14:45 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & CSN on TV in SA.
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The 2016 edition of the Varsity Cup gets underway on Monday 8 February with new laws, try bonus points and some nifty innovations being piloted for the 1st time.
There will no resting on laurels this year as by the end of the tournament, the bottom side will be relegated to the Varsity Shield competition and the 2nd-from-bottom side will enter a promotion / relegation against the Shield’s losing finalist.
The action gets underway in Pretoria where UP-Tuks host NWU-Pukke. Pukke will head into the encounter with a bit of confidence, having beaten Tuks at the Tuks Stadium in the play-offs to book their spot in the 2015 final – their 2nd consecutive appearance in the final.
Pukke fell short at that final hurdle and will be looking to make it 3rd time lucky under new coach, former Springbok Sevens captain Johnathan Mokuena.
With Wellington now but a distant memory, the Sydney leg of the Sevens World Series took place this weekend, with new significance.
There had been 3 different champions in the 3 tournaments prior to this weekend – Fiji in Dubai, South Africa in Cape Town and New Zealand in Wellington.
South Africa started the weekend with a 2-point advantage over Fiji on top of the World Rugby Sevens Series Log standings.
New Zealand won the Final of the Sydney Sevens, beating hosts Australia by 27 / 24, again in the dying seconds of the game, to take the Title and earn back to back wins in the World Rugby Sevens Series.
Three teams are now equal on the Points Log for the World Rugby Sevens Series 2015 – 2016, namely South Africa, Fiji and New Zealand, all on 69 Log Points. In 4th and 5th places on the Log are Australia and Argentina, both on 54 Log Points.
With only 6 Series tournaments left before the teams head to the Olympic Games, a lot of talk, understandably, are on Rio.
Ireland (13) 16 / 16 (10) Wales (Final Score)
Ireland and Wales did battle in the RBS 6 Nations 2016 at
Aviva Stadium, Dublin, at 17:00 SA Time (15:00 UK Time & GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 on TV in SA.
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Scotland (3) 9 / 15 (7) England (Final Score)
Scotland and England did battle in the RBS 6 Nations 2016 at
Murrayfield, Edinburgh, at 18:50 SA Time (16:50 UK Time & GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 on TV in SA.
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France (10) 23 / 21 (8) Italy (Final Score)
France and Italy did battle in the RBS 6 Nations 2016 at
Stade de France, Paris, at 16:25 SA Time (15:25 French Time & 14:25 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 on TV in SA.
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Toulon (0) 21 / 29 (17) Sharks (Final Score)
Toulon and the Cell C Sharks did battle in a Super Rugby 2016 warm-up match at
Stade Mayol, Toulon, France at 21:45 SA Time (20:45 French Time, 19:45 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 on TV in SA.
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The Under 20 SIX Nations, not as glamorous as the SIX Nations for the senior teams, is intensely contested.
Last year England were the unbeaten winners followed, in order, by France, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Italy.
Like their senior team, England’s Under 20 captain is a hooker – Jack Walker, whose brother Chris captained the 2012 side which retained the championship.
Coach John Callard said: “The 1st game of any Championship is always tough, especially playing away in Scotland, but the players are excited about getting started.
“We’ re looking for them to use this competition to continue developing their all-round game. For example, we want functionally fit forwards who, as well as having a strong set piece, are ball handlers and good decision makers right across the field.
“You can always come back to a tighter game but we want players to see this as an opportunity to express themselves and enjoy playing for their country.”
I found the article below on a website called rugbybetting.com (See the Link to the original Article by clicking HERE). The article is actually not about betting. It put the racial policy of SA rugby within context of the World Rugby rule book. Interesting perspectives. I thought the rugby-talk readers might enjoy this.
The World Rugby (formerly known as the IRB) rule book on racial discrimination reads as follows:
In terms of By-Law 3 of the IRB rules and regulations, the IRB is compelled to prevent any form of racial discrimination in rugby. IRB Regulation 20 also stipulates that any action which may be construed as racial discrimination will be regarded as misconduct. In terms of By-Law 7, not only is a country’s international team bound to this; the provincial rugby unions resorting under a country’s board must adhere to these principles as well. In terms of By-Law 9.4(r) the IRB may institute disciplinary steps against any rugby body that violates these rules.
Rosko Specman
Latest news on the Wellington Sevens Final is that referee Matt O’Brein has now apologized for his officiating during the Final. Too little too late, one feels. On the positive side it can only be good for the game if referee’s man up after the match. I also like Neil Powell’s handling of the situation, in terms of his communication with the referee, players and media.
The article below was published on stuff.co.nz earlier today.
Matt O’Brien during the Wellington Sevens final
In a recent article published on stuff.co.nz, sport scribe Mark Reason ripped into referee Matt O’Brien’s officiating during the Wellington Sevens Final between South Africa and New Zealand.
The article below was published on stuff.co.nz yesterday.
New Zealand won the Wellington leg of the Sevens championship, after a nail biting finish, beating South Africa 24 / 21 in the Final.
OPINION: Brendan Venter, the former Springbok centre and current technical director of Saracens, has called for an investigation. And it is not cricket in Mumbai or tennis in St Petersburg that Venter is concerned about, but rugby in Wellington, the home of the New Zealand Rugby Union.
The Springboks are outraged by both the refereeing of their Pool match and their Final against New Zealand at the Wellington Sevens and while it may go against the grain to feel empathy with a South African rugby supporter, they have a point. Continue reading
Women’s 6 Nations Team Captains
It will be a campaign brimming with sub-plots. New talent will emerge, reputations will need to be restored and everyone will need to put on a show as the 15-a-side game fights for attention in an Olympic year.
With the gaps between teams ever decreasing, this year’s Women’s 6 Nations is expected to be the most open we have seen.
Defending champions Ireland will fight to retain their title, although France and England will severely test their grit.
Last season the Red Roses faltered, with the world champions finishing 4th, and the combination of retirements and a number of their players focusing on the Sevens for Rio 2016 means they will have much to prove.
But it is not only England who must adjust and discover new talent, because most nations have withdrawn their Sevens players to focus on this summer’s Olympics.
Amid such uncertainty, who will prevail?
The Cell C Sharks received a timely boost with confirmation that seasoned Springbok loose forward Keegan Daniel is returning to Durban.
Daniel, who has spent 2 seasons with Kubota in Japan, will be playing for the Sharks in the 2016 Super Rugby season.
With 199 caps for the Sharks, 59 of those as captain, he also led the team to Currie Cup glory in 2013.
Daniel, 30, played the last of his 5 Tests for the Springboks against Argentina at Estadio Malvinas Argentinas, Mendoza, in August 2012.
Always a fierce competitor, he will bring strong leadership and experience to the team environment – which will greatly benefit the youngsters in the Sharks squad.
As the RBS 6 Nations takes centre stage in the coming weeks, fans of the elite European Rugby Champions Cup game will be able to look forward to even more world-class action in April when the European Rugby Champions Cup and Challenge Cup quarterfinals get underway.
The knockout stages of the tournaments mark the beginning of the end of the journey to the 2016 finals in May when the 2 showcase matches will be staged at the state-of-the-art 59 000-capacity Grand Stade de Lyon.
The Champions Cup quarterfinals kick off on Saturday 9 April with Wasps, the last Aviva Premiership club to win the coveted title in 2007, taking on the Exeter Chiefs at the Ricoh Arena.
That clash of the 2-time champions against the 1st-timers in the knockout stage will be followed by the meeting of No 1 seeds Saracens, who have reached the last 8 for the 5th season in a row, and Northampton Saints at Allianz Park.
On Sunday 10 April, Leicester Tigers host Stade Francais at Welford Road in what promises to be another classic Anglo-French contest. The Tigers have booked their ticket to the quarterfinals for the 13th time – 2 behind the record held jointly by Toulouse and Munster – while Stade are appearing in the last 8 for the 1st time since 2010.
The road to Lyon will be clearer when Racing 92 and reigning champions, RC Toulon, meet at Stade Yves-du-Manoir in an all-French confrontation which could see recent World Cup winners, Dan Carter and Ma’a Nonu going head-to-head.
A major weekend of knockout rugby will commence with the 1st of the Challenge Cup quarterfinals between Sale Sharks and Montpellier at the AJ Bell Stadium on Friday 8 April, with holders Gloucester, who are on a record run of 15 victories in the tournament, up against the Newport Gwent Dragons at Kingsholm the following day.
All 8 quarterfinals will be broadcast live with the coverage shared by BT Sport, Sky Sports, beIN Sports and France Télévisions.
Heyneke Meyer
Frans Ludeke
Die Afrikaanse Naweekpers het verskeie rugbyartikels geplaas en ons bespreek so klompie daarvan onder EEN Artikel.
(To our Non-Afrikaans readership, our apologies that you won’t be able to understand this article, however a very large contingent of our readers are Afrikaans, so we unashamedly accommodate them in this article. The News basically relates to Heyneke Meyer and Frans Ludeke possibly heading to Japan for coaching positions, Francois Hougaard being made available for Super Rugby duties at the Bulls during March to May and suggestions of Referee favouratism and blunders against the Blitzbokke in the Final at the Wellington Sevens Tournament this weekend).
Die nuutste aanduidings is dat beide Heyneke Meyer en die voormalige Vodacom Bulls afrigter, Frans Ludeke, nou in lyn is vir afrigtersposte in Japan.
Verder blyk dit ‘n feitlik uitgemaakte saak dat Francois Hougaard gedurende Maart tot Mei nie deel van die Blitzbokke groep sal uitmaak nie maar ‘n bedeling met die Vodacom Bulls gesluit het wat hom vir ongeveer 8 Super Rugby wedstryde gedurende Maart tot Mei beskikbaar sal stel.
Die laaste aspek wat bespreek word is aantuigings dat die Skeidsregter in die Finaal van die Wellington Sewestoernooi in Nieu-Seeland, seker blatante en ooglopende foute begaan het, om sodoende die Blitzbokke te laat verloor ten gunste van Nieu Seeland, wie op tuisbodem die kroon gevat het in die naweek se toernooi.
Just how the revised Super Rugby format will go down with the South African rugby public is unclear, but we won’t have to wait long to find out.
The new-look tournament gets underway in less than a month, with the Blues and the Highlanders kicking things off in Auckland on Friday 26 February 2016.
From a South African perspective, the road ahead looks a tough one and if local bookmakers are to be believed there is no standout side from within these borders that looks set to challenge for the title.
Outside of the tournament changes, the majority of the South African franchises have also undergone major alterations with only 2wo sides – the Cell C Sharks and Emirates Lions – heading into 2016 with the same coaches that did the business in 2015.
The Southern Kings, obviously, were not a part of the 2015 competition but they also have a new man at the helm.
Here, we look at the 6 men tasked with bringing success to their respective franchises:
Jurie Roux
On Thursday reports started surfacing that renewed questions are being asked why Jurie Roux, CEO of SA Rugby (SARU), is still ensconsed in the position as CEO of SA Rugby.
Of course, this is not new news to Rugby-Talk.com as we have featured a number of articles, over a number of years, relating to the allegations against Jurie Roux, by the University of Stellenbosh, where Roux was employed prior to his appointment as CEO of SA Rugby and the matter has been discussed at lenght in our comments section on various news aricles.
A lot of “Tap-dancing” is now being done by SARU and SARU President Oregan Hoskins regarding the matter, the latest of which claims that SARU was never aware of investigations against Jurie Roux, at the time of his employment in 2010 and that they also did not even interview Mr Roux at the time of his employment as CEO, as that was supposedly handled by an outsourced entity.
To put it mildly, it is my considered opinion that the matter of the investigations against Jurie Roux has been in the public domain for years, and SARU President Hoskins’ blanket denials about being aware of the investigations simply does not wash… in fact in the past Oregan Hoskins has come out in open and positive support for Jurie Roux, regarding these claims and investigations.
Now that the heat is turned up about the matter, we see this ludicrous distancing from Mr Roux and his appointment and suddenly “Discussing the Matter by the SARU Exco” is envisaged to take place.
The stern question now remains, how can SA Rugby ever have allowed and now still allow Jurie Roux to act in the position of CEO of SA Rugby?
The 3rd leg of the 2015 / 2016 season (1st tournament of 2016) took place in Wellington, New Zealand on 30 & 31 January 2016.
Defending champions New Zealand won the Final, once again against South Africa’s Blitzbokke, by 24 / 21 after trailing till deep into the dying seconds of the match.
It was an epic Final, with New Zealand’s never say die attitude, winning it in the end for them. It was the 2nd time on the weekend that South Africa could not close out a game against New Zealand where they were well in front and deservingly so, near the end.
Day 1:
Hosts and defending champions New Zeland won all 3 of their matches on Day 1 of the HSBC Wellington Sevens to march into the quarterfinals after dramatically beating South Africa’s Blitzbokke 19 / 14 in the last match of the day.
HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series leaders Fiji and Australia also maintained 100% records with impressive displays at the Westpac Stadium, as the 3rd Round of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series continued to entertain.
John Hardie in World Cup action for Scotland
He doesn’t know what possessed him to visit the old Lockhart Hotel that day, but it was an experience John Hardie is never likely to forget.
“The most scared I’ve ever been,” says Scotland’s openside flanker.
The setting is a building in Queenstown on New Zealand’s South Island – a holiday resort about an hour and a half from Dipton, the farming country where Hardie was born and reared.
Legend has it that there was a fire in Lockhart’s place in the late 1800’s. Three generations of the family perished.
Only a girl called Mary survived – and she haunts the place to this day. Many Kiwis have gone there over the years and many talk of the sense of foreboding that exists behind that main door.
Hardie’s now one of them. Chilled to the bone, he says. “Never going back. Never ever.”
Ricardo Laubscher
Former Springbok backline coach Ricardo Loubscher is set to pursue his career further overseas this season.
Loubscher, who served as the Springbok backline coach between 2012 and 2015, ended his association with the South African Rugby Union when his contract expired at the end of last year.
Since then there has been no communication on any future possible plans for him from SARU’s side and without any coaching alternative currently at his disposal, Loubscher has been forced to look outside South Africa for employment.