SA Rugby
EP Kings (11) 16 / 35 (10) WP (Final Score)
The Eastern Province Kings and DHL Western Province did battle in the Currie Cup Premier Division at
Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth at 19:10 SA Time (17:10 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
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There has been a late change to the DHL Western Province team for Friday night’s Absa Currie Cup clash against the EP Kings at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium (kick-off 19:10 SA Time).
At lock, Springbok squad member Eben Etzebeth will start on the bench, with youngster Jean Kleyn making his Absa Currie Cup debut in the No 4 jersey.
“We have monitored Eben’s workload at Springbok training this week, so we thought it would be prudent to start with him amongst the replacements on Friday,” explained DHL WP coach Allister Coetzee.
The Xerox Golden Lions will run out in navy blue jerseys as they kick-off their Absa Currie Cup campaign against the Vodacom Blue Bulls at Ellis Park on Saturday.
The match, which will mark the Golden Lions Rugby Union’s 125th anniversary, will see the Xerox Golden Lions forgo their standard white jersey with the red strip in order to commemorate this special occasion.
The jersey will be unveiled at a 125-year celebration banquet, to be held at Ellis Park this evening. Guests will include past and present players, staff and administrators as well as supporters and sponsors who have all been involved in building the GLRU legacy.
Vodacom Blue Bulls coach Frans Ludeke named 21-year old Burger Odendaal at inside centre for his side’s opening match of the 2014 Absa Currie Cup season against the Xerox Golden Lions in Johannesburg on Saturday.
Odendaal, who was schooled at Monument High in Krugersdorp and represented Golden Lions at the Coca-Cola Under-18 Craven Week in 2011, will make his Absa Currie Cup debut for the team, having already played for the Vodacom Blue Bulls at Under-19, Under-21 and Vodacom Cup level from 2012.
Golden Lions coach Johan Ackermann has named his 23-man side to take on the Blue Bulls in their opening Currie Cup clash at Ellis Park on Saturday.
In the forwards, Ackermann has opted to select Ruan Dreyer at tighthead after Julian Redelinghuys suffered a minor calf injury last week. Schalk van der Merwe and Robbie Coetzee make up the rest of the front row.
The Golden Lions have announced the signing of centre Howard Mnisi from Griquas on an 18-month contract.
According to the Lions’ official website, the centre linked up with theGolden Lions squad last week, however his contract was only finalised on Wednesday.
One of the great rugby tournaments starts again soon, as the third ever Rugby Championship gets underway next week. The competition has only been around officially since 2012 following the acceptance of Argentina into the Tri-Nations series, that featured three powerhouses of world rugby in New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.
Juan Smith
Springbok captain Jean de Villiers has praised the move to bring veteran flank Juan Smith back into the Springbok squad for the Rugby Championship, calling it an ‘unbelievable’ story.
It was reported that Smith – who was told by more than one doctor that his rugby career was over – was included as cover for the injured Victor Matfield in the Bok squad this week ahead of next weekend’s opener against Argentina at Loftus Versfeld.
After getting a second chance at Toulon, Smith turned the opportunity into gold with the way he used his new lease on life to craft his way into the Toulon squad and was an integral part in their success in Europe this year.
Jean de Villiers
The prognosis on Springbok captain Jean de Villiers’ fitness ahead of next weekend’s Castle Lager Rugby Championship opener against Argentina took a positive lift with the news that the player himself feels he will be fit and ready for the opening game.
Much has been made of the fitness of De Villiers and whether or not he should have been released to play in the Absa Currie Cup this weekend, especially after three months on the sidelines with a knee injury.
Given that Victor Matfield has been ruled out of action for next week as well with injury, the Boks suddenly needed to contemplate a backup plan for De Villiers if he is injured and a new captain has to be found.
Duane Vermeulen
Springbok No 8 Duane Vermeulen says lessons learned during the June Tests have put the team in a great position ahead of the Rugby Championship.
The Springboks enjoyed an impressive start to the 2014 season, beating the World XV (47-13), Wales (38-16 and 31-30) and Scotland (55-6). South Africa scored 23 tries during these games, which creates great attacking confidence heading into the Rugby Championship.
The squad gathered in Johannesburg on Monday to start their tournament preparations. Vermeulen explained that the team boasts a special environment.
Jacques Botes
Veteran forward Jacques Botes is confident the Sharks can defend their Absa Currie Cup crown, despite the prospect of having a vastly inexperienced squad when the competition kicks off this week.
None of the Durban side’s Springboks will be available for the competition, while several experienced campaigners like Charl McLeod, Anton Bresler and Jean Deysel have left to continue their careers overseas.
“I think some people are blowing that (inexperience factor) a little bit out of proportion,” 33-year-old Botes said on Wednesday.
“We have got a young group definitely with a couple of older guys.”
Hawies Fourie
Griquas coach Hawies Fourie has rewarded the squad which earned Currie Cup qualification by retaining much of the team for the Sharks clash at GWK Park on Saturday.
The Kimberley-based side regained their status after ending the qualifying round undefeated.
“Now that we are once again part of the Currie Cup, we don’t just want to be a number. We want to be a real contender in the competition and we hope to use the momentum that we got form the qualifiers to achieve just that,” Fourie said.
The brains trust of the Toyota Free State Cheetahs for the Currie Cup.
Coenie and Caylib Oosthuizen will play no part in the Free State Cheetahs’ Currie Cup match against the Pumas in Nelspruit on Saturday.
With Trevor Nyakane and Adriaan Strauss involved with the Springboks, and both Oosthuizens ruled out through injury, new coach Rory Duncan has been forced to field a new-look front row against the Pumas.
Lions coach, Johan Ackermann
The Lions have suffered key injury blows ahead of their opening Currie Cup clash against the Blue Bulls at Ellis Park this weekend.
According to reports, promising front ranker Julian Redelinghuys has injured his calf muscle and could be sidelined for up to six weeks.
To make matters worse, wings Anthony Volmink and Courtnall Skosan and scrumhalf Michael Bondesio were also injured in training last week.
Juan Smith
Experienced international forward Juan Smith has been drafted into the Springbok squad preparing for The Rugby Championship.
Smith was a Rugby World Cup winner in 2007 and boasts 69 Test caps. He will join the squad in Johannesburg as replacement following confirmation that Victor Matfield will miss the opening Test of The Rugby Championship against Argentina in Pretoria on Saturday 16 August.
Eastern Province Kings coach Carlos Spencer’s named Luke Watson as the captain ahead of Friday’s clash with Western Province at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth.
Spencer also included experienced players like Tim Whitehead, Ronnie Cooke and David Bulbring to add stability to a side in which many players will be having their first taste of the Currie Cup Premier Division.
Pumas coach, Jimmy Stonehouse
Pumas coach Jimmy Stonehouse has named his team to face the Cheetahs in their opening Absa Currie Cup Premier Division match in Mbombela on Saturday afternoon.
Stonehouse included inside centre Stefan Watermeyer, who was a regular feature during the Lions’ Super Rugby campaign.
Watermeyer, the only Super Rugby player considered for the starting XV with scrumhalf Faf de Klerk and fullback Coenie van Wyk out with injury, will form a midfield combination with JW Jonker.
A new-look DHL Western Province team will head to Port Elizabeth to open their 2014 ABSA Currie Cup campaign against the Eastern Province Kings on Friday night (kick-off 19:10 SA Time).
Centre Juan de Jongh, in his first senior match as captain of DHL WP, will skipper a squad with eight ABSA Currie Cup debutants, but the 22-man group includes Springbok squad members Frans Malherbe and Eben Etzebeth.
Heyneke Meyer emotional and animated in the game between Wallabies vs Springboks, The Rugby Championship, Brisbane, 7 September 2013
Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer is adamant in his belief the Boks won’t be the best in the world until they get their conditioning right.
While Meyer admits the relationship between the various Super Rugby franchises and the Springboks has taken massive steps forward, and right now, the Boks are probably ahead of their fitness goals for this time of the season, the whole mindset needs to be radically challenged across the board, with the modern game calling for super fit players who can play at pace.
If there ever was an advert for this, the Vodacom Super Rugby final comes to mind, and where in the past the Boks have tried to slow the game down, they now will need to confront the pace and show they can play at the same level, if not better when they need to if they are to get to the top of the world rankings.
This in itself is a mindshift that needs to happen across the board. While the overseas departures weakened Super Rugby franchises this year many of the problems encountered at Super Rugby level – especially on defence – were because sides fell off the pace and therefore let in soft tries.
Meyer presented his ideas to the board last year and already conditioning expert Basil Carzis has been working with the franchises, but the Boks need to do more.
Victor Matfield
Victor Matfield is suffering from a small tear in a cartilage after being sent for scans on Tuesday morning after feeling some discomfort in his knee at training on Monday.
He was seen by an orthopaedic specialist in Pretoria and will be unavailable for the Test against Argentina at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday 16 August.
Eben Etzebeth
Frans Malherbe
Two members of the Springboks’ Castle Lager Rugby Championship squad, Eben Etzebeth and Frans Malherbe, have been released to play in the opening round of the Absa Currie Cup Premier Division for DHL Western Province on Friday evening.
Both players are returning from long-term injuries and will be allowed some game time for WP to ease them back into the game.
Etzebeth’s last game was in November 2013, for the Springboks against France in Paris, where he picked up a foot injury. Malherbe has been out for more than three months with concussion.
“Following medical assessments and consultation between our medical team and those of the various provinces, it was decided to release Eben and Frans for this weekend,” said Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer.
Caylib Oosthuizen
Coenie Oosthuizen
Coenie and Caylib Oosthuizen will not be available for the Cheetahs’ first Currie Cup match against the Pumas on Saturday in Nelspruit.
More scrum worries come in the form of Johannes Roux, who injured his arm against the EP Kings in a a warm match last Friday – he sat out of training on Monday.
It is hoped that Roux will be fit to play on Saturday, with the Free Staters looking thin in the front row.
With both Oosthuizens out and Trevor Nyakane with the Springboks, coach Rory Duncan looks set to blood some youngsters.
The Cell C Sharks will start the defence of the Absa Currie Cup title they won last year feeling the effects of having gone further than all the other teams in the recently completed Vodacom Super Rugby season.
Apart from the fact that they’ve lost more players to the Springboks than most, plus a few players have headed overseas, the Sharks arrived back in Durban after their Super Rugby semifinal loss to the Crusaders with injuries in areas they can ill afford it.
Both locks, Stephan Lewies and Etienne Oosthuizen, have injuries that make them doubtful starters for Saturday’s domestic competition opener against Griquas in Kimberley. Assistant coach Sean Everitt has given the pair’s chances of playing as 50 / 50, with the problem being that there isn’t too much available back-up now that the strong and abrasive Anton Bresler has headed overseas.
Eastern Province Kings coach Carlos Spencer’s main focus is to keep his team relaxed this week as the team makes a return to the top echelon of Currie Cup rugby after many years in the wilderness.
On Tuesday, Spencer named Luke Watson as the captain ahead of Friday’s clash with Western Province at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth.
“We know that it is a big challenge, but this week has been about getting the players to enjoy the preparations and to plan for the game without putting too much pressure on them,” Spencer said.
Jaco Taute
Jaco Taute has been ear marked as a potential centre option for Western Province should newly appointed captain Juan de Jongh get called up to the Springboks.
Taute, who usually finds himself in the No 15 jumper, is set to play a major role in Allister Coetzee’s Currie Cup squad with the coach also having a look into the Springbok as a potential captaincy replacement.
It would not be an unfamiliar role for the fullback having played in the centres at the highest level.
Taute made his international debut against the Wallabies in 2012 as a late inclusion into the squad, playing centre after Frans Steyn was ruled out with injury.
Ryan Kankowski
Ryan Kankowski’s former agent has launched a lawsuit against the Sharks player for a claim of R 340 000.00 in commission allegedly due.
In 2010, Touch Sports Management launched a High Court action in Durban against the No 8 to recover the money it claimed he owed.
However, nothing came out of it with the matter being postponed indefinitely. Now it has come out that the parties have agreed to take the arbitration route, according to Touch Sports Management lawyer Riaan Venter.
Jean de Villiers
Springbok captain Jean de Villiers has recovered from the knee injury which kept him out of the June Tests and is back in the national squad for the forthcoming Castle Lager Rugby Championship.
De Villiers is one of six players returning from injury after missing the entire or a part of the Castle Lager Incoming Series.
The others are Tendai Mtawarira (prop), Frans Malherbe (prop), Eben Etzebeth (lock), Patrick Lambie (flyhalf / fullback) and Damian de Allende (centre).
De Allende, who was forced to withdraw from the squad in June because of a knee ligament injury, and scrumhalf Cobus Reinach are the only two uncapped players in the 30-man Springbok squad.
Waratahs celebrating their maiden Super Rugby victory.
The Waratahs won a drama-laden Super Rugby grand final 33-32 in Sydney with Bernard Foley breaking the Crusaders hearts by kicking a 45m penalty in the final seconds.
This frantic contest had multiple dramas, starting with the Crusaders trailing 14-0 in as many minutes, losing their talismanic general Dan Carter with an ankle injury in the first half and then having to mount a spirited comeback in front of a record 62,000-strong crowd.
A fresh-looking Argentina will leave for South Africa on Wednesday for their 16 August Rugby Championship opener against the Springboks in Pretoria under new coach Daniel Hourcade and led by a new captain in hooker Agustin Creevy.
Hourcade, who took charge last November right after the last Rugby Championship in which the Pumas lost all six of their matches, has dispensed with all but a handful of the 2007 World Cup semi-finalists and many 2011 quarter-finalists.
Waratahs (20) 33 / 32 (13) Crusaders (Final Score)
The Waratahs and Crusaders did battle in the 2014 Super Rugby Final at
ANZ Stadium, Sydney at 11:40 SA Time (19:40 AEST, 21:40 NZ Time, 09:40 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
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The Springbok Women on Friday suffered a disappointing 26-3 defeat against Australia in their opening Women’s Rugby World Cup clash at the French Rugby Federation in Marcoussis.
South Africa showed encouraging signs throughout the match, but their struggle to breach Australia’s defensive line combined with penalties conceded and mistakes made at crucial times denied them from starting the tournament on a high note.
Australia had the upper hand in the first 25 minutes as they retained possession and forced the Bok Women to defend for long periods.
THE Eastern Province Kings lost their final warm up friendly to the Free State Cheetahs, losing 12 (5) points to the Cheetahs 28 (7) at the Cradock Sports Fields this afternoon.
The Kings took to the field with a much changed team from their game against the SWD Eagles that won in George two weeks ago by 78 points to 32, and were let down a bit by two late tries by the Cheetahs in the second half.
It is the Finals of Super Rugby 2014 this weekend! The Waratahs host the Crusaders.
This weekend decides the honors for the 2014 Super Rugby season.
What a game we have to look forward to!
The Waratahs have been good and consistent all season whereas the resurgent Crusaders, who absolutely pummelled the Cell C Sharks last weekend have hit a rich vein of form.
A winner is difficult to predict, there are game breakers on either side, no matter how you look at it. In the final analysis the 2 best Super Rugby sides of 2014 are in the Final and both deserve to contest for ultimate glory in 2014.
13 Other Challengers already now lay by the wayside, done and dusted, only 1 more game to come…. this one!
Who do you think will take the crown and Why?
Let the game continue…. let the battle commence!
DHL Western Province coach Allister Coetzee has released his playing squad for the upcoming 2014 Absa Currie Cup season.
Ripping in: Waratahs forward Jacques Potgieter crashes into a teammate at training during the week.
The day the Waratahs wrapped up the minor premiership was the day Jacques Potgieter decided to tell his old club he was not interested.
The Bulls were having a chronic case of the Joni Mitchells – “You don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone”. They had let Potgieter go after two seasons and watched him go from strength to damaging strength with a team that appreciated his skill set.
Now they wanted him back. Immediately. For three years.