Dan Carter
Crusaders and All Black No 10 Dan Carter has returned home from South Africa on paternity leave to await the birth of his 2nd child.
This means Carter will miss the Crusaders’ Super Rugby clash against the Cell C Sharks in Durban this Saturday (15:00 SA Time kick-off).
Eben Etzebeth
Duane Vermeulen
Duane Vermeulen will assume the DHL Stormers captaincy, as well as the No 8 jersey, for Friday’s Vodacom Super Rugby clash against the top of the table – and unbeaten – Hurricanes team in Wellington (kick-off 08:35 SA Time).
The influential No 8 missed last week’s 21 / 39 loss to the Highlanders in Dunedin as part of the SA franchises’ rest agreement with SA Rugby, but he returns this week in 1 of 2 changes to the DHL Stormers 15.
The 2nd change, also up front, sees fellow Springbok hardman Eben Etzebeth take over the No 4 jersey from Jean Kleyn, the latter dropping out of the matchday squad altogether – along with Nizaam Carr, who did duty at No 8 last week.
On the bench, meanwhile, lock Ruan Botha will take over the No 19 jersey vacated by Etzebeth in an otherwise unchanged replacements’ unit.
Carel Greeff
The Toyota Cheetahs have called up loose forward Carel Greeff as they prepare for their Super Rugby tour match against the Brumbies in Canberra on Saturday.
Greeff, who played for Griquas in the Vodacom Cup at the weekend, will replace Jean Cook.
Cook injured his groin in the warm-up prior to last weekend’s 37 / 27 loss to the Chiefs in Hamilton.
Laurie Weeks
Laurie Weeks has avoided surgery after injuring his knee in Friday’s loss to the Hurricanes, however the foundation Rebel will be sidelined for 6 to 8 weeks after scans confirmed a fracture of his left tibial plateau.
The news was bitter-sweet for the club, pleased he had avoided a season-ending injury but also disappointed to lose Laurie for an extended period.
“We call Laurie ‘Mr Rebel’,” Head of Athletic Performance Bryce Cavanagh explained. “He is a wonderful, positive influence on the group, and his experience is invaluable; we’ll miss that on the field.
Jerome Kaino
Inspirational loose forward Jerome Kaino has committed himself for the next 3 years to New Zealand Rugby, the Blues and Auckland Rugby.
Kaino today announced he has re-signed to play his rugby in New Zealand until 2018.
It’s a major announcement for New Zealand Rugby, with Kaino the 1st current All Black to commit through to 2018. The news is also a significant fillip for the Blues following the announcement earlier this year that fellow All Black Charlie Faumuina has re-signed through to the end of 2017.
Kaino, 31, has been a powerhouse loose forward on the international and Super Rugby stage for many years. He was New Zealand Rugby’s Player of the Year and nominee for World Rugby Player in 2011 and played in every game of the All Blacks’ Rugby World Cup victory that year. Kaino played 2 seasons in Japan before returning to play for the Blues last year and regained his place in the All Blacks.
Schalk Burger receives a Highlanders No 7 jersey after his 100th Super Rugby game
DHL Stormers flank Schalk Burger received a special gift from the Highlanders after playing his 100th Super Rugby game.
Burger reached the milestone during the Stormers’ clash with the Highlanders at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin last Saturday.
Despite the Stormers going down 39 / 21, Burger will have fond memories of the occasion.
Steve Tew
Creating time and space in attack, and clarity at the breakdown are at the top of the New Zealand Rugby Union’s(NZRU) early wish-list as it ponders how to improve the game for fans and players.
Current NZRU CEO Steve Tew said that “there is clearly a growing frustration on the over-emphasis on defence. We are looking at ways to create more time and space for the ball.”
World Rugby, rugby’s global governing body, is conducting a law review process which could see trials of new or revised rules in place as early as next year.
The NZRU has been gathering information from stakeholders about what is perceived to be right and wrong about the game and, more importantly, what could make it better.
Chiefs coach Dave Rennie will sit on the World Rugby’s Laws Representation Group that will consider recommendations from around the globe in the middle of the year.
NZRU chief executive Steve Tew said the NZRU was in the early stages of consultation, but that a recent workshop had indicated a desire to see the pendulum swing back toward the attacking side.
Carel du Preez
The Springbok Sevens have called up uncapped Carel du Preez to replace injured forward Philip Snyman for the Tokyo Sevens tournament which take place this coming weekend.
The versatile Snyman sustained a knee ligament injury while playing for the Springbok Sevens on Saturday in Hong Kong.
Du Preez is currently contracted to the SA Sevens Academy and he has already played a couple of times for the Academy at tournaments in George, Dubai and Harare.
The tall loose forward represented DHL Western Province in the Under 21 ABSA Currie Cup competition last year and he has impressed the SA Sevens coaching staff since his fulltime switch to the shorter code at the end of last year.
South African lock, George Earle, has extended his contract with the Scarlets after joining the region from the Cheetahs in 2012.
An experienced player, Earle played previously with the Golden Lions, Western Province, Boland and the Griquas in the Currie Cup.
The lock will become Welsh-qualified in June after being with the Scarlets for 3 years.
Earle was attracted to playing rugby in Wales because of the Welsh style of play, making his Scarlets debut in a pre-season friendly against Narbonne in August 2012.
Tuks (10) 28 / 29 (19) Pukke (Final Score)
FNB UP-Tuks (University of Pretoria) and FNB NWU-Pukke (North West University) did
battle in the Varsity Cup at Tuks Rugby Stadium, Pretoria 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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Shimlas (16) 21 / 10 (10) UCT (Final Score)
FNB UFS-Shimlas (University of the Free State) and FNB UCT (University of Cape Town) did
battle in the Varsity Cup at Shimla Park, Bloemfontein 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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Jake White at Montpellier
Former Springbok coach Jake White has extended his stay at French Top 14 club Montpellier.
According to French rugby newspaper, Midi Olympique, White has signed a new deal which will keep him at the club until 2017.
White originally signed a 6-month deal at the end of December, but has been rewarded for Montpellier’s improved performances with a 2-year contract extension.
Under White’s guidance, Montpellier have moved up to 7th in the Top 14 standings, and have lost just twice in their last 12 matches.
Kurt Coleman
Demetri Catrakilis
The return of Duane Vermeulen as No 8 and captain will provide a significant boost for a DHL Stormers team that too quickly drifted away from their planned structured approach against the Highlanders, but a change may be necessary at flyhalf if they are to challenge the Hurricanes on Good Friday.
The Stormers went down 39 / 21 to the Highlanders in what can be described as an abjectly disappointing start to their tour. But for the first 20 minutes at the Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin they looked well on track to maintain their long winning sequence against the south island franchise that dates back to 2007, with the Stormers, playing off a strong 1st-phase platform, sticking to a tight structured game that minimised turn-over opportunities for their dangerous opponents.
However, once they had gone into a 7 / 0 lead through a converted Juan de Jongh try, it all went pear shaped for the Stormers, with Dillyn Leyds dropping a ball at the restart following the try and from there the Highlanders engineered a try that was the turning point in the game. When the Stormers became loose it played into the Highlanders’ hands.
Perhaps the return of Duane Vermeulen will change that, for the regular captain, who was rested for the opening tour match as per the agreement with Saru about the management of Springboks, is strict about sticking to structures and he is also a player who adds to the team’s ability to physically suffocate opponents.
But the Stormers may need more than that, for it was apparent, even in those opening minutes, that they lacked something from structured attack and were just way too predictable. Even when they did score their opening try off a long multi-phased build-up they nearly butchered it. It was a fortunate bounce off an opposing player’s hands that was responsible for De Jongh being able to break through and score after the move appeared to have broken down.
Much of the Stormers’ problem appeared to revolve around their backs lining up too deep on attack, something that may be sourced in Demetri Catrakilis being less inclined to take the ball at the line than Kurt Coleman is. The latter came on in the 2nd half and the Stormers looked a lot more potent on attack when he was there.
Jean Cook
The Toyota Cheetahs received another injury setback as they look for some redemption on their Vodacom Super Rugby tour of Australasia, with flanker Jean Cook heading home as another casualty of the tough 2 weeks in New Zealand.
The Cheetahs face the Brumbies on Saturday in their 3rd tour game – traditionally the toughest week on tour – and will need to choose a new loose trio again if they are to make any headway and return home with some points.
Cook has a groin injury and has already left for home. He will see a specialist back in Bloemfontein to ascertain the extent of the injury.
But he is the 2nd loose forward in as many weeks to suffer the same injury, after Teboho “Oupa” Mohoje returned home and is out for up to 12 weeks with a similar injury. Mohoje underwent an operation last week to put him back on the road to recovery.
Burger Odendaal
Hanro Liebenberg
Lappies Labuschagne
Vodacom Bulls coach Frans Ludeke has some uncomfortable decisions to make as his team head into the next phase of Vodacom Super Rugby.
The use of the squad system has done them well so far with the injuries they have had, but there are still some pressing concerns about the form of certain players, which need to be addressed with a number of young upstarts knocking hard on the door.
At both loose forward and in the midfield, Ludeke will have to make decisions going forward as to who will be the better combination and what will serve his team’s interests better as they edge towards the top of the South African conference.
Saturday’s 31 / 19 win over the Crusaders was a remarkable one not only for the commitment of the players on the field, but for the injuries they suffered before kickoff – losing Lappies Labuschagne and Arno Botha before the game started and Jan Serfontein in the midfield as well.
With a long tour still ahead of them later in the season, the next few weeks will be crucial to secure as many points as possible on South African soil, starting with Saturday’s Jukskei derby against the Emirates Lions in Johannesburg.
While the normal Monday assessment still needs to happen, it seems Labuschagne could be back in contention for his starting spot this weekend, and on the form of Saturday, it would be hard to deny Hanro Liebenberg another go at the opposition given the big performance he gave coming into the side at such late notice.
3 Consecutive wins and Top spot on the Vodacom Super Rugby South African Conference table should have left Cell C Sharks director of rugby Gary Gold beaming from ear to ear on Saturday night, but he wasn’t.
While he has been justifiably well satisfied with the character shown by his team in scoring an away win under huge pressure against the Toyota Cheetahs in Bloemfontein, in edging out the Chiefs when at a disadvantage in numbers because of red cards, and in coming from behind against the Western Force, Gold argues that his team is making life more difficult for itself than it needs to be.
The Sharks won 15 / 9 against the Western Force at Growthpoint Kings Park this past weekend, but it was a close run thing and his team had to make use of several get out of jail cards in order to prevail in a game they should have been expected to win comfortably.
“We are making a habit of winning close games and some might see that as a positive in that it means we are creating a winning habit after being in a bit of a hole a few weeks ago, but the bottom line for me is that it should not have been so close and I am not happy about that,” said Gold.
The Hurricanes could not have asked for a better start to the Super Rugby season, managing 6 wins from as many outings. They are in pole position on the combined standings and are expecting to improve even more as their rested players return.
“The boys are enjoying themselves because winning is way better than losing,” Hurricanes assistant coach John Plumtree told the NZME.
“But every week there’s something to fix and every week’s not perfect and we are looking to improve the whole time.”
Their defence has been the cornerstone of their success, with only 82 points being scored against them so far, 2nd to the Brumbies who have conceded a mere 80.
Their next challenge comes in the form of the Stormers who were beaten 39 / 21 by the Highlanders in Dunedin on Saturday. However Plumtree acknowledges the physical threat posed by the Cape outfit, boosted by their very own return of some key players.
“They’ll be hurting after what happened last week,” Plumtree said. “So we’ll be expecting them to respond pretty positively in terms of intensity.”
The Stormers may welcome back a couple of players, namely Duane Vermeulen, and Plumtree said they would bring the physicality associated with any South African team.
“We’ll have to really step up in the pack.”
The Hurricanes rested a number of All Blacks – Beauden Barrett, Ben Franks and Julian Savea – for last week’s game with the Melbourne Rebels but they will likely return this week. Hooker Dane Coles (elbow) also missed the win over the Rebels but is fit again.
Nick Mallett
Former Springbok coach Nick Mallett has noted that Crusaders flank Richie McCaw is getting caught out more by referees.
McCaw was penalised a few times in his side’s 31 / 19 Super Rugby defeat to the Vodacom Bulls in Pretoria on Saturday night.
Mallett analysed the game in the SuperSport studio afterwards.
He said: “Richie McCaw was penalised 3 or 4 times. He’s just getting caught by referees now for doing the things that he’s been doing so effectively over the last 5 to 10 years.
Nicolás Sánchez
Argentina flyhalf Nicolas Sanchez has left European champions Toulon to get ready for his wedding in May and to prepare for the World Cup.
Sanchez joined the French and European champions in October as an injury replacement for Frederic Michalak.
But after the latter returned to action on Saturday in the 34 / 24 defeat at home to Toulouse, Sanchez was no longer available for Top 14 action.
He could have continued to turn out for Toulon in the European Cup – the champions hosts Wasps in the quarterfinals next weekend – but he said he preferred to return home.
Both of last year’s finalists are playing away from home in the FNB Varsity Cup semi-finals on Monday.
Defending champions FNB UCT travel to Bloemfontein to face the unbeaten FNB UFS-Shimlas and FNB NWU-Pukke take on the table-topping FNB UP-Tuks in Pretoria, with both matches televised live on Supersport 1.
The Ikeys and NWU-Pukke both won home semi-finals last year, before going on to contest the epic final in Potchefstroom which saw UCT launch an incredible late comeback to clinch their 2nd title.
This year they both had to work hard in the last open Round last week for their place in the play-offs, with UCT grinding out an 8 / 0 win over UJ on the Green Mile and NWU-Pukke’s 2 bonus points in a losing cause against UFS-Shimlas, enough to book semi-final spots.
It will be a 1st-ever home semi-final for UFS-Shimlas, who are the only team that did not lose in the round robin phase of the competition, and they should be confident against a UCT side that they beat 44 / 24 at Shimla Park in Round 6.
However, UFS-Shimla coach and former Springbok utility back Franco Smith knows that his team cannot afford to underestimate the Ikeys after their heroics in last year’s final.
“I think they must be one of the more difficult sides in the competition, they have got that never-say-die attitude. They are the champs and they would definitely like to prove their worth,” he said.
2-Time champions UP-Tuks have only lost 1 game this year, which was against their semi-final opponents NWU-Pukke who beat them 42 / 37 in an absolute thriller in Potchefstroom back in Round 4.
The nominees for the FNB Player that Rocks award have been announced, along with the Forward and Back that Rocks and the Varsity Shield awards.
UP-Tuks skipper Wiaan Liebenberg, young NMMU flank CJ Velleman and NWU-Pukke fullback Rhyno Smith are the contenders to be named Player that Rocks.
The Forwards that Rock nominees are all openside flanks, with Velleman joined by Maties’ Beyers de Villiers and UCT’s Jason Klaasen while in the backs it is between Smith, UFS-Shimlas captain AJ Coertzen and UCT flyer Lihleli Xoli.
The Vodacom Bulls delivered their top performance of the season as the Emirates Lions recorded their best Vodacom Super Rugby tour yet during an exciting weekend of Southern Hemisphere rugby.
The match in Pretoria was the undoubted highlight of the weekend from a quality point of view, with the Vodacom Bulls extending their winning run at home over the Crusaders after winning 31 / 19.
For sheer audacity, the Emirates Lions deserve a lot of plaudits for beating the Reds by 18 / 17 in Brisbane on Friday morning and thus ending their tour on 3 wins from 4 – their best Australasian return yet.
The Cell C Sharks meanwhile moved to the Top of the South African Conference and into the Top 3 on the log with a hard-fought 15 / 9 win over the Force in Durban on Saturday afternoon, scoring all their points in the 2nd half.
The Toyota Cheetahs and DHL Stormers found the going tough in New Zealand though as both went down – the side from Central South Africa by 37 / 27 to the Chiefs in Hamilton and the Capetonians by 39 / 21 to the Highlanders in Dunedin.
Reds flyhalf Quade Cooper’s last-second drop goal was charged down as his comeback ended in an 18 / 17 defeat at home to the Emirates Lions in Brisbane.
Having already knocked off the Blues and the Melbourne Rebels, the Emirates Lions picked up a 3rd win on their travels this season, with a gritty display.
The game marked Cooper’s return from a fractured collarbone and he showed no ill-effects as his passing game regularly put players into gaps.
That was about the only highlight for the home side for the 1st hour as they struggled to cope with the Lions’ dynamic back row and pace out wide.
South Africa collected 17 valuable World Series log points on Sunday after they defeated Samoa 26 / 5 to finish 3rd at the popular Hong Kong Sevens tournament.
The Blitzboks now have a 2 point lead (110 points) at the top of the standings after Fiji outplayed New Zealand by 33 / 19 to lift the Cup.
The tournament win moved Fiji into 2nd spot, just 1 point ahead of 3rd-placed NZ. The top 4 teams on the league table at the end of the season qualifies for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. The teams will be in action in Japan next weekend where they will play in the Tokyo Sevens on 4 and 5 April.
The Springbok Sevens staged a magnificent comeback in their Cup semi-final against Fiji. Unfortunately for them, that was not good enough and they suffered a heart-breaking 21 / 15 loss against the Pacific islanders.
Debbie Jevans
England Rugby 2015 Chief Executive Debbie Jevans CBE has announced that she has decided to resign her position with the England Rugby World Cup organising body due to personal reasons.
Debbie has been at the helm of the Rugby World Cup Organising Committee since October 2012, and leaves with a highly experienced event delivery Executive team in place, with plans for the tournament in excellent shape. All aspects of tournament preparations are on or ahead of schedule, with over 1.9 million tickets sold to date.
The England Rugby 2015 Executive team will now report to Stephen Brown as the new Managing Director, working alongside ER2015 Chairman Andy Cosslett and the England Rugby 2015 Board to oversee the final stage of successful delivery of the tournament.
The Vodacom Bulls picked up their 4th victory of the Super Rugby season as they beat the Crusaders 31 / 19 in an entertaining game at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.
Fans and viewers were treated to a wonderful game to round off the weekend as the Bulls got the better of their Kiwi opponents, thus moving above them up to 7th in the overall standings and 2nd in the South African Conference, only 1 point behind the Cell C Sharks but with a game in hand compared to them.
In a week where the Bulls lost their best workhorse in Lappies Labuschagne, and lost 2 Springboks in Jan Serfontein (hip) and Arno Botha (hamstring) before kick-off, it wouldn’t be untoward to expect them to be under an immense amount of pressure.
But the 2 players who came in at the 11th hour – midfielder Burger Odendaal and flank Hanro Liebenberg – stepped up to make an indelible impression that they not only belong at this level, but have a number of big games in their future with the way they played.
It was a thrilling 1st half in Pretoria as the Bulls showed their intent to keep the ball in hand, which paid off after 3 minutes when wing Francois Hougaard finished off in the corner. Handré Pollard could not add the extras but it was a hugely positive, fast-paced opening.
The Cell C Sharks secured a scrappy 15 / 9 victory over the Western Force on Saturday in a game that won’t be remembered for quality.
It wasn’t pretty in Durban, far from it, but the home side won’t worry about that as they got the job done against a Force side who should have scored 3 tries, 2 of which were chalked off by the match officials.
The Sharks asserted their physical authority early on as a dominant scrum against the head led to a 1st shot for flyhalf Francois Steyn, who was off-target on the 5-minute mark. However, it looked like the set-piece was definitely going to be a trump card for the Sharks.
Surprisingly though, the Force would win a scrum penalty at the next scrum but this time Sias Ebersohn was the player missing his attempt at goal.
Allister Coetzee
DHL Stormers coach Allister Coetzee was disappointed with his team’s showing against the Highlanders, but he still believes they have what it takes to play winning rugby on their 2015 Vodacom Super Rugby tour.
The DHL Stormers went down 21 / 39 to the Highlanders in Dunedin earlier today and were unable to give flanker Schalk Burger the win they all craved in his 100th game for the Cape-based franchise.
“I am very disappointed,” Coetzee told www.iamastormer.com on Saturday evening (NZ time), “this wasn’t what we wanted for Schalk in his 100th match and it certainly wasn’t what we wanted in our 1st tour match.
Sir John Kirwan
Blues coach John Kirwan knows his team must beat the Chiefs if they are to have any hope of contending for a play-off spot this season.
The Auckland side have made a horror start to the season, losing all 6 of their matches, and Kirwan knows that they must beat the Chiefs in Hamilton on Saturday to keep their feint play-off hope alive.
“We knew going in we had to win 1 of these 2 games away to stay in the hunt. We were hoping that was going to come tonight, so that doubles the pressure on next week,” the Blues coach said after the loss to the defending champion Waratahs on Saturday.
Manu Tuilagi
England centre Manu Tuilagi is set to miss the rest of the Aviva Premiership season because of a groin injury but should be fit for the World Cup, his Leicester Tigers coach Richard Cockerill said.
The 23-year-old, who has won 25 caps and scored 11 tries for England, is still recovering from the injury he sustained in October.
England’s World Cup campaign begins against Fiji on 18 September, but they play France at home and away in August before hosting Ireland at Twickenham on 5 September.
Bulls (18) 31 / 19 (16) Crusaders (Final Score)
The Vodacom Bulls and Crusaders did battle in Super Rugby at
Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria at 19:10 SA Time (17:10 GMT, Sunday 06:10 NZ Time).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & M-Net on TV in SA.
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Sharks (0) 15 / 9 (6) Force (Final Score)
The Cell C Sharks and Western Force did battle in Super Rugby at
Growthpoint Kings Park at 17:05 SA Time (15:05 GMT, 23:05 AWST, 02:05 AEDT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & M-Net on TV in SA.
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Waratahs (7) 23 / 11 (6) Blues (Final Score)
The Waratahs and Blues did battle in Super Rugby at
Allianz Stadium, Sydney at 10:40 SA Time (19:40 AEDT, 21:40 NZ Time, 08:40 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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Highlanders (24) 39 / 21 (7) Stormers (Final Score)
The Highlanders and DHL Stormers did battle in Super Rugby at
Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin at 08:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 06:35 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & M-Net on TV in SA.
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Louis Ludik’s pair of tries helped Ulster to resist a 2nd-half fightback from Cardiff Blues and strengthen their position in the Guinness PRO12 Top 4.
Fullback Ludik scored a try in either half to supplement finishes from Craig Gilroy and Paul Marshall as the hosts picked up what could prove to be a very valuable try bonus point.
Tom Isaacs and Alex Cuthbert crossed for the Blues as they showed real resilience after the break, but the 18 / 0 halftime deficit ultimately proved too much.
Glasgow Warriors’ draw at Leinster means Neil Doak’s side stay second, but they will be pleased to have forged a bit of a buffer between themselves and the chasing pack
Chiefs (14) 37 / 27 (13) Cheetahs (Final Score)
The Chiefs and Toyota Cheetahs did battle in Super Rugby at
Waikato Stadium, Hamilton at 05:30 SA Time (16:30 NZ Time, 03:30 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & M-Net on TV in SA.
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