Earls take central role ahead of Munster’s star recruit
MUNSTER could spring a major selection surprise today by leaving South African centre Jean de Villiers out of their team to face Perpignan in tomorrow night’s critical Heineken Cup clash at Thomond Park.
Teams representing Argentina and Namibia were confirmed as competitors in the 2010 Vodacom Cup competition at a meeting of the South African Rugby Union (SARU) Interim Executive Council (Exco) in George on Thursday.
Ryno Benjamin was withdrawn from the Springbok Sevens team because of disciplinary reasons, the South African team management announced on Thursday.
Jacques Kallis is using an oxygen chamber to try and speed his recovery from the fractured rib that has threatened his participation in the opening Test against England at Centurion Park. Continue reading
Rugby 7’s is an unpredictable beast. What we do know is that the top Teams in the world, New Zealand, South Africa, England and Fiji can each win tournaments or the overall title in a specific year. This is what makes 7’s rugby so appealing.
Super Rugby finals could soon be played at neutral venues or at the southern hemisphere city which bids the most to host the final from 2011.
Frans Steyn has lost 7kg during his stint with French club side Racing Metro.
The web site RUGBYHEAVEN reports as follows: WALLABIES and Reds star Quade Cooper will tell authorities he can’t remember parts of the night he was arrested and charged with allegedly burgling a residence at Surfers Paradise. Cooper went to ground yesterday as the Australian and Queensland rugby unions began their own investigations into the bizarre incident, which occurred shortly before 4am on Sunday.
We, the rugby mad community, have all given our impressions, solutions and cures for the fatigue factor and player burn-out suffered by players…. but would ONE GLOBAL SEASON not alleviate all these concerns?
After the last Test of the Springbok End of Year Tour I found it necessary to get into contact with Professor Tim Noakes, SA’s leading Sports Scientist and also a blogger on this web site, raising the issues of player fatigue and knowing that he has been shouting and warning from the rooftops that SA Players will suffer burnout if not managed properly. Maybe it is best if I share the full sequence of the discussions with you lot nosy muppits….
The IRB (International Rugby Board) has disclosed the official prices for tickets for the Rugby World Cup 2011. Take into account that the New Zealand Dollar roughly equates to R 5.00 per NZ Dollar.
Springbok wing Bryan Habana is South Africa’s favourite sports star, beating the likes of Makhaya Ntini, Teko Modise, Graeme Smith and Morné Steyn to the number one spot in 2009.
And rugby continues to outpace both soccer and cricket in terms of growing interest for a fifth year running.
While the limelight was on other Springboks like Fourie du Preez, undoubtedly the planets best rugby player in 2009 (IRB panel sucks), John Smit breaking the World Record as captain, Bryan Habana, Morne Steyn and Heinrich Brussow, Victor Matfield quietly achieved the Big double as captain, winning the Super14 and Currie Cup as Captain. This weekends match against the All Blacks was the cherry on top of it all for our unsung hero.
Good morning muppits, moepels & mopkoppe. The Final results are out for the Rugby-Talk End of Year SuperBru Competition.
The Leaderboard looks as follows for the Nedbank Golf Challange, held at Sun City.
The Barbarians XV (containing a host of Springboks) take on the All Blacks in a festival match at Twickenham, London. This is the match thread for discussion of the game.
Points:
Barbarians: 25 (Try – Bryan Habana, Conversion – Matt Giteau, Try 2 – Bryan Habana, Conversion 2 – Matt Giteau, Penalty – Matt Giteau, Try 3 – Bryan Habana, Penalty – Morné Steyn)
All Blacks: 18 (Penalty – Stephen Donald, Try – Ben Smith, Conversion – Stephen Donald, Try – Anthony Boric, Penalty – Mike Delany)
The designated Members of the IRB’s Rugby Committee have, in response to a request from Scotland, given a ruling on the possibility of obstruction when a team hopes to form a maul.
For Rugby Union fans of a certain age, especially in Britain and Ireland, the Barbarians’ 23-11 win over New Zealand in Cardiff in 1973 remains, quite simply, the greatest game they’ve seen.
Match scheduled to begin at 14:30 local time (12:30 GMT)
5pm That’s it, nothing left to see here. The umpires have done a lap of the ground, but it’s all a bit futile. The match has been abandoned, and England have won the series 2-1. Continue reading
Article from the “RugbyIQ Coaching Blog with Gary Gold”
Facing the real problems
Good day to you, rugbyiq.com friends! What a year we’ve had… Unfortunately, it didn’t end too well for us with a defeat to Ireland, and there seem to be a few question marks over our side – in particular our scrum. This week, as promised, I will attempt to show you just where the Springbok scrum stands in relation to our opposition from 2009. Continue reading
Here follows the Schedule for Today’s Matches in Dubai. This is the Thread for discussion of the matches, as the day progresses.
The culprit was never ‘fingered’ and the citing was subsequently not upheld, but visual evidence has emerged that the face of Springbok flank Heinrich Brüssow was indeed attacked during his team’s 10-15 loss to Ireland last Saturday.
SANZAR has announced the eight Super 14 referees for the 2010 Super 14. Half of them are South Africans. Continue reading
NZ’s proposal to the IRB of an amendment to eligibility rules that would enable players to switch National allegiance late in their careers has been rejected by the International Rugby Board.
Continue reading
Springbok World Cup winning lock Victor Matfield will captain a powerful Barbarians XV side, containing uncapped young prop WP Nel, in this weekend big clash with the All Blacks at Twickenham.
The Southern Kings may tour Argentina during the course of next year. Continue reading
Ulster hangs on tightly to BJ Botha’s contract with them, following rumours that BJ Botha was interested in returning to SA.
Richie McCaw will lead the All Blacks for their last match of 2009 and will not get the break he so desires, when they face the Barbarians XV at Twickenham on Saturday.
The Vodacom Blue Bulls’ Springbok lock Bakkies Botha is going to be on the sideline for three months following an achilles injury.
I am getting so sick and tired of rugby experts bitching about the laws of the game in the mainstream press. Continue reading
The 7’s Springboks are ready for Dubai, says Paul Treu.
Balie Swart, a World Cup-winning Springbok in 1995, has been given an innovative new role by SA Rugby to assist coaches and referees in the proper application of scrum law.
SixNations officials have confirmed to the Irish Rugby Football Union that none of a number of referrals made by South Africa against Ireland players have been upheld by the independent citing commissioner that was present at the game between Ireland and South Africa in Croke Park on Saturday 28 November.
South Africa’s player of the year Fourie du Preez has revealed that he came close to retiring this year, but that the Springbok management’s handling of the players convinced him not to throw in the towel.
When even the staid Brits have decided that the safety-first, kick, and whistle-dominated style of test rugby has become just too boring, clearly we have a problem.
By MARC HINTON in London