Injuries
The Sharks landed in Sidney, Australia with some good news and some bad news, good news being the addition of Patrick Lambie and Paul Jordaan who will both be ready for selection. This was great news for the Sharks as both players are very important to the Sharks cause, but there was bad news to follow. Continue reading
In breaking news, Tim Whitehead has not traveled with the Sharks to New Zealand due to injury.
Looking ahead to the semi final clash in Cape Town between the Stormers and the Sharks this weekend, is so difficult to call as no matter from what angle one looks at this match, the pros and cons are quite deceiving.
There are so many reasons for the Sharks to win or lose, so many reasons that turn you from being positive about their chances of victory to being negative and going back to being positive.
All Black centre Conrad Smith will miss the opening rounds of the new Four Nations Rugby Championship at least due to an eye injury.
The Crusaders will definitely be without their All Black No.8 Kieran read when they face the Chiefs on Friday.
Stormers coach Allister Coetzee was reminded how important a physical back-row will be in Saturday’s Super Rugby semifinal, so he will be anxiously awaiting further assessments on the condition of Duane Vermeulen before finalising his team for the Newlands showdown with the Sharks.
Bulls wing Bjorn Basson has undergone surgery in New Zealand after he sustained a tear to his intestines during his side’s loss to the Crusaders in Christchurch.
Stormers coach Allister Coetzee still hasn’t given up all hope of influential No 8 Duane Vermeulen being ready to play some part in the Super Rugby semifinal at Newlands against one of the Crusaders, Sharks or Bulls on 28 July.
The Stormers might have to wait a little longer before lock Eben Etzebeth is back on the park, with the big man still struggling to shake off an ankle injury.
Rynhardt Elstadt will be back to add some of the physicality that appeared to be missing from the win against the Lions, but Springbok lock Eben Etzebeth will still be missing from the Stormers team that plays a crucial Super Rugby match against the Cheetahs on Saturday.
The Sharks’ chances of winning their crunch Super Rugby derby against the Bulls have suffered a mortal blow with the confirmation that star backline player Patrick Lambie is unlikely to line up for the match, whilst Willem Alberts is doubtful for the clash, whereas Frans Steyn is bound to slot straight into the starting lineup at centre.
Wallabies David Pocock and Kurtley Beale have played their last games of Super Rugby for the season and may be in doubt for Australia’s back-to-back Tests against the All Blacks next month.
Stormers coach Allister Coetzee has revealed that line out specialist Andries Bekker is in line to return to Super Rugby against the Lions at the end of the month.
England Captain Chris Robshaw has been ruled out of England’s final Test match against South Africa in Port Elizabeth with a broken thumb.
Willem Alberts remains a doubtful starter for Saturday’s final test against England but the Springbok training session at Grey’s High on Monday brought some much needed tidings of joy for coach Heyneke Meyer.
Lock Juandre Kruger was assumed to be in doubt for the Nelson Mandela Stadium game here in Port Elizabeth after being carried off the field during the second test in Johannesburg with what was assumed to be a serious neck injury.
The Springboks have lost Cheetahs prop Coenie Oosthuizen for the rest of the June International series against England due to injury.
Kurtley Beale has been ruled out of the Wallabies June Tests and Super Rugby until July after having surgery to clean out floating cartilage from his left shoulder joint.
Stormers coach Allister Coetzee says they won’t continue their search for further loose forward reinforcements.
Sharks centre Tim Whitehead may have to wait until next year before feeling what it is like to play against his former Stormers teammates at Vodacom Super Rugby level.
A succession of head injuries have cast a shadow over the playing future of the Blues’ French-bound utility back Benson Stanley.
Die Vodacom Bulls se twee losvoorspelers CJ Stander (Heup) en Dewald Potgieter (Skouer) wat beide teen die Highlanders beseer is in Dunedin, sal waarskynlik beide oorweeg kan oorweeg word vir insluiting in die span vir die laaste toerwedstryd teen die Chiefs.
The Blues are running out of loose forwards rapidly, with Steven Luatua called-up to make his run-on debut against the Crusaders in Christchurch on Saturday.
The Sharks could be forced to play their Super Rugby clash this weekend against the Cheetahs without star flyhalf Patrick Lambie due to injury.
Stormers head coach Allister Coetzee has confirmed that eighthman Nizaam Carr will miss the rest of the Super Rugby season due to injury.
The Chiefs 42-27 loss to the Reds appears to have come at an extra cost as coach Dave Rennie fears that star centre Richard Kahui will be out for the rest of the Super Rugby season.
Brumbies fly half Christian Lealiifano will only return to Super Rugby in 2013 as he has a dislocated and fractured right ankle which requires surgery.
The Sharks will be boosted for the next big push in the Super Rugby Competition, with a number of players coming back into contention for selection.
The exciting young Toyota Cheetahs flyhalf, Johan Goosen, has been ruled out of rugby for four months so he will miss the rest of the Super Rugby season, the Junior Wolrd Cup and any inclusion in the Springbok senior side for the June Tests as well as for the Castle Rugby Chamionship against New Zealand, Australia and Argentina, due to injury.
Johan Goosen freakily injured his right hand shoulder (the arm he carried the ball in) in Bloemfontein on Saturday in the unfortunate loss for the Toyota Cheetahs against the Highlanders in their Super Rugby clash, in the act of scoring a Cheetahs try. The injury appeared to be a hyper-extension of the shoulder and a possible shoulder dislocation, with no other player falling on or over that shoulder.
The Waratahs have lost fullback Bernard Foley and flanker Chris Alcock for Sunday’s Super Rugby match against the Crusaders in Sydney.
The Stormers have lost Gio Aplon and Duane Vermeulen for this weekend’s Round 10 Super Rugby match against the Force in Perth.
Vodacom Bulls prop Dawie Steyn will earn a first Super Rugby start on Saturday when his new side face the Brumbies at Loftus Versfeld.
The loose head prop will replace Dean Greyling who did not recover from a bruised shoulder.
Reds flyhalf Quade Cooper has reportedly re-injured the knee that has kept him out of rugby since last year’s World Cup.
The Cheetahs have been hit with a second big injury as winger Rayno Benjamin will miss the rest of the season.
The lower back injury that prevented Andries Bekker from playing beyond the first few minutes of the crunch Vodacom Super Rugby clash with the Crusaders in Christchurch at the weekend will rule him out of the important match against the Reds in Brisbane on Friday.
Cheetahs coach Naka Drotske has revealed that he will start Sias Ebersohn at flyhalf against the Chiefs this weekend regardless of whether Johan Goosen recovers from a shoulder injury or not.