Super Rugby
Blues head coach Sir John Kirwan has named a Super Rugby team with 4 changes to the side that lost to the Chiefs for this week’s clash against the Brumbies at Eden Park.
3 Of the Blues 4 changes are in the forwards, as James Parsons comes in to replace Keven Mealamu at hooker and Patrick Tuipulotu replaces Hayden Triggs.
There will be blazer games (20 matches) for Patrick Tuipulotu and Ofa Tu’ungafasi with Sam Prattley playing off the bench.
On the flank the recently re-signed Steven Luatua is rotated to the bench and Luke Braid takes over at No 6. When Steven Luatua comes off the bench it will be his 44th game for the Blues.
Kirwan has opted for 2 openside loose forwards to start against the speedy Brumbies loosies.
Steven Luatua
Outstanding loose forward Steven Luatua has pledged his allegiance to the Blues and New Zealand Rugby for a further 2 years.
The burly flank has re-signed through to the end of the 2017 season.
Luatua defies his 23 years, having already played 14 Tests for the All Blacks and 43 Super Rugby caps for the Blues.
He has a rich pedigree as a former New Zealand school representative and played in successive Junior World Championship-winning New Zealand Under 20 teams – in 2010 and 2011.
He made his provincial debut as a teenager in 2010, his debut for the Blues in 2012 and his All Blacks debut the following year in the 24 / 9 victory over France in New Zealand.
Sarel Pretorius
The Toyota Cheetahs have named live-wire scrumhalf Sarel Pretorius in the starting 15 for their match against the Western Force in Perth on Saturday.
There are only 2 changes to the Cheetahs team, namely up front where BG Uys starts and Danie Mienie moving to the bench and at the back with Sarel Pretorius back in the starting line-up and Tian Meyer on the bench.
This will mark the 9th Super Rugby encounter between the 2 teams.
The Western Force is leading with 5 wins to the 3 wins of the Cheetahs.
Heyneke Meyer
He has been keeping a low public profile during the 1st half of Super Rugby’s ordinary season … and it is probably just as well.
Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer must be scratching his head worriedly already over how to construct his national side for the 1st assignment of the 2015 Test season, against Australia in Brisbane on 18 July as part of a condensed Rugby Championship.
Presently several Boks are either injured, suspended or undergoing rest periods (the sudden pulling of Duane Vermeulen from the Stormers’ overseas tour after only 1 match has tongues wagging despite official statements that it was “always planned”), whilst other staple characters have suffered form dips in line with the general struggles of their sides in the local conference and overall.
It is difficult to envisage any SA team actually winning Super Rugby at this point – not the ideal state of affairs in a World Cup year, even if it is not always proved to be relevant — just as it is hazardous to predict which franchise will eventually top the ho-hum domestic pile.
It is true that a few additional players like overseas-based Bryan Habana, Fourie du Preez and Francois Louw and a rehabilitating Pieter-Steph du Toit should brighten the Bok equation, fitness permitting, nearer the Test roster itself, and 1 or 2 outsiders like Stormers tighthead strongman Vincent Koch and some surprise-package Lions personnel have stuck up their hands.
Yet a look at the last Springbok line-up for a Test – the unpalatable 12 / 6 loss to Wales in Cardiff on 29 November9 last year – gives you an idea of Meyer’s quandary; things look considerably more unsettled than he would like.
It’s PUB NIGHT again…
The heading suggests we talk about the Sharks… err I mean about Red Cards & Suspensions in Super Rugby, after a weekend where only 1 South African side recorded a win in Super Rugby and I think that does not qualify as a good weekend of rugby!
Unfortunately the DHL Stormers and Toyota Cheetahs let South Africans down overseas… and the Bulls went down to the Lions, but worst of all was the Sharks who got hammered at home by the Crusaders, sis on you muppits!
This next weekend, Super Rugby will continue, 1 game on Friday and 5 games on Saturday.
I guess this makes for a few good discussions!
It is time to straddle a bar stool and order a drink or 2.
Let’s focus on the PUB tonight…. the idea with PUB NIGHT is to lighten up our dull Tuesday evenings with music, comedy and fun.
Rugby takes a backseat tonight as the clan and fellow rugby nutters gather and wheel in their old friends…
Read the rules below carefully, or you WILL get burnt!
Just for clarity sake, when someone does not adhere to the Rules of the PUB, EVERYBODY jumps on them and pummels them, right… understood?
Here’s how it works:
Victor Matfield
The Vodacom Bulls medical staff on Tuesday confirmed that lock Victor Matfield will undergo surgery on his injured knee (right) and will be out of action for 3 to 4 weeks.
According to Vodacom Bulls doctor Org Strauss, Matfield is going into surgery tomorrow (Wednesday) for an arthroscopy on the knee to fix up damaged cartilage.
Matfield could have played the season without undergoing the procedure, but the decision was made as a precautionary measure building towards the World Cup.
SANZAR has announced the names of the Match Officials for Round 9 of the 2015 Super Rugby season.
The Chiefs, Hurricanes & Melbourne Rebels each have a BYE weekend this weekend.
There will only be 6 Super Rugby games on the weekend, 1 game on Friday and 5 games on Saturday.
Andrew Lees kicks of the weekend’s action when he blows the game between the Blues and Brumbies in Auckland on Friday. Due to Daylight Savings time changes, the game is at 09:35 SA Time (not 08:35 as in the first number of Rounds).
On Saturday morning at 09:35 SA Time it is the Crusaders vs Highlanders in Christchurch, where Glen Jackson will be in charge. Then it is the turn of the Waratahs vs DHL Stormers at 11:40 SA Time, where Mike Fraser will blow the whistle.
At 13:45 SA Time it will be the Western Force vs Toyota Cheetahs in Perth, where Rohan Hoffmann will be in charge of proceedings.
The South African based games for the weekend are the games between the Emirates Lions vs Cell C Sharks in Johannesburg at 17:05 SA Time, controlled by Stuart Berry, as well as the Vodacom Bulls vs Reds game in Pretoria at 19:10 SA Time, where Jaco Peyper will be in charge.
Patrick Lambie
Cell C Sharks and Springbok flyhalf Patrick Lambie has been ruled out for 6 weeks, following a neck injury sustained against the Crusaders in their humiliating defeat by the Crusaders in Durban during Round 8 of Super Rugby.
Lambie has suffered a neck vertebrae injury, which saw him leave the field and replaced by Fred Zeilinga during the game on the weekend.
The Sharks have now lost no less than 4 leaders, with regular skipper Bismark Du Plessis still suspended, as is Frans Steyn.
Jean Deysel has received a hefty 7 week suspension for his deliberate knee to the head of Crusaders flank Matt Todd, and now the crucial blow of Lambie.
Jean Deysel receives his marching orders
The SANZAR Duty Judicial Officer Nicholas Davidson QC has accepted a guilty plea from Jean Deysel of the Sharks for contravening Law 10.4 (a) Punching or striking, after he was sent off following a Super Rugby match at the weekend.
Deysel has been suspended from all forms of the game for 7 weeks up to and including Saturday 23 May 2015.
The incident occurred in the 42nd minute of the match between the Sharks and Crusaders played at Growthpoint Kings Park in Durban on 4 April 2015.
SANZAR Duty Judicial Officer Nicholas Davidson QC assessed the case.
Victor Matfield
The Vodacom Bulls will get a number of Springboks back this week, but there is growing concern over the knee injury of veteran lock Victor Matfield.
Matfield will only know on Tuesday when he will play again.
He was originally listed as being ‘rested’ for the encounter with the Lions last week, but it has since emerged that the knee injury was the real problem.
Agustine Creevy
Pumas captain, Agustín Creevy, has become the 1st player based outside of Argentina to commit to the country’s Super Rugby franchise which will join the competition next year.
Creevy, 30, currently plays for Worcester in the United Kingdom but has signalled his intention to return home and play for the new franchise, bringing the number of contracted players to 22.
Making the announcement via videoconference on Monday evening, Creevy said, “It makes me very happy to confirm this agreement with the UAR. It’s a big step. I have played for Argentina from a young age and was always proud to defend the Argentina shirt. I never hesitated to go back home.
“This is a very important year. The World Cup is the main aim for this 2015, but then comes the moment to join Super Rugby which is a historic dream for everyone.”
Arno Botha
Flip van der Merwe
Springboks Flip van der Merwe and Arno Botha have returned to full training following a pectoral and hamstring injury respectively and will be considered for Saturday’s Vodacom Super Rugby match against the Reds at Loftus Versfeld.
They will join the likes of Jan Serfontein and Handré Pollard, who missed last weekend’s clash against the Emirates Lions, but Victor Matfield will only know on Tuesday when he will play again. The lock, who has a meniscal knee strain, will see knee specialist Dr Daan du Plessis on Tuesday to determine how long he will be out of action.
Jesse Kriel (ribs), Burger Odendaal (arm), JJ Engelbrecht (pectoral), Trevor Nyakane (shoulder) and Jacques du Plessis (muscle spasm) all picked up light niggles on the weekend and sat out training on Monday, team doctor Org Strauss said.
All of them will be back in action on Tuesday, as well as Basil Short, who recovered from concussion.
The Emirates Lions scored a dramatic late try at Emirates Airlines Park to beat the Vodacom Bulls on a weekend where the Johannesburg-based side was the only South African team to register a win in Round 8 of the Vodacom Super Rugby competition.
The losing bonus point secured by the Vodacom Bulls did push them to the top of the South African Conference standings though as they moved past the Cell C Sharks who lost heavily to the Crusaders in Durban.
Both sides have 19 log points, but things are tight in the conference, with the DHL Stormers who were edged out by the Hurricanes in Wellington and the Emirates Lions both on 17 points. The Toyota Cheetahs, who lost to the Brumbies in Canberra, props up the local conference with only 9 Log points.
There was plenty of drama in Durban on Saturday, where a plethora of cards almost made a mockery of the 15’s code. The Crusaders at one stage had 3 players in the bin with Yellow Cards, before Jean Deysel was shown a Red for using his knee on an opponent’s head.
This was the 2nd biggest defeat suffered by the Cell C Sharks in the competition, as this 42 point deficit is 1 less than the 43 points difference they suffered against the Crusaders in 2005, when the home side won 77 / 34 in Christchurch.
The Toyota Cheetahs found little comfort in Canberra, a venue they have never won at.
2 Early tries in the beginning of each half helped the Brumbies to beat the Cheetahs, who failed to cross their opponent’s tryline, with a lone Joe Pietersen penalty the only reward to the central franchise team.
On Friday the DHL Stormers found the home side too slick in the 1st half and could not overhaul the 25 / 3 deficit in the 2nd 40 minutes of play. The Cape side dropped to a 5th consecutive defeat to a New Zealand opponent, the 1st time they have lost 5 in a row in New Zealand since 1998.
Gary Gold
Cell C Sharks coach Gary Gold has taken full accountability after his team’s dismal 10 / 52 loss against the Crusaders in Durban at the weekend.
In a game that saw the Durban team booed off the field, and a 3rd Red Card in 3 matches handed out to one of their team leaders, Gold could do little else but ask for mercy.
At the conclusion of the match, amidst the jeers and spectators streaming from the park, newest captain Pat Lambie apologised directly to the fans at the stadium.
This set the tone for Gold, who echoed similar sentiments.
James Slipper
Reds captain James Slipper is hoping to use the nightmares of previous visits to Loftus Versfeld to charge up his team this week.
Slipper, speaking to the media following the team’s arrival in Johannesburg after 14-hour flight from Brisbane, said they are determined to turn around their faltering season.
The Reds, 2nd from last on the standings, have only 1 win from 7 starts – a Round 2 victory over the equally dismal Western Force, who also have just 1 win in 7 matches.
The Reds, having lost their last 5 matches, are looking to win at Loftus for the 1st time since 2001.
Kieran Read
Crusaders captain Kieran Read has said, despite his teams emphatic victory over the Sharks in Durban, some of his players need lessons in fair play.
The Crusaders were shown 3 Yellow Cards, that all overlapped, in the 1st half, but little damage was done as the Sharks squandered any advantage by receiving a Red Card of their own.
Although there was no damage done to the scoreboard while the Crusaders were down to 12 men, in fact, points were picked up, Read is still not happy with the those individual’s actions.
It was not ideal,” Read said after the match.
“We have to learn a few lessons, those individuals especially,”
However, the captain was happy to see that those loss of personnel allowed the team to galvanize rather than fall apart.
Stephen Moore
Australian veteran hooker Stephan Moore, has backed the trend of foreign league sabbaticals as a way of keeping the Wallabies’s best talent in the country.
With the Australian Rugby Union allowing some Wallabies to take overseas sabbaticals, it could see some international players enjoying an almost constant season – playing Super Rugby, then playing for Australia, then heading to a foreign league like Japan before returning for the next Super Rugby season.
The Brumbies skipper said it was then up to the player himself to ensure he is not indulging in too much rugby, running the risk of burning-out in a long-winded never-ending season.
He had confidence it was something Wallabies coach Michael Cheika would keep an eye on.
Francis Saili
Munster confirmed today the signing of Blues centre Francis Saili on a 2-year contract.
The 24 year-old has made 33 Super Rugby appearances for the Blues, scoring 5 tries, and represented Auckland in the NPC on 31 occasions.
Saili made his debut for the All Blacks against Argentina in September 2013 at Hamilton, and was part of the New Zealand Under 20 team that won the Junior World Championship in Italy in 2011.
Last November the Auckland native also featured for the Barbarians, scoring a try against Australia in Twickenham.
Gary Gold
Cell C Sharks coach Gary Gold has said there is no ill-discipline rot in Durban and that the multiple Red Cards this season have been isolated incidents.
The Sharks were punished by a determined Crusaders side 52 / 10 on Saturday, and if 2 tries against them in the 1st 5 minutes did not spell out the end for the home team, Jean Deysel’s Red Card most certainly did.
The Sharks have now seen 3 Red Cards in 3 games, starting with captain Bismarck du Plessis being sent off for lashing out against the Chiefs, and Frans Steyn joining him on the sidelines for a tip tackle in the same game.
This week, another one of the Sharks’ senior players in Jean Deysel, was handed a Red Card for a deliberate knee to a Crusaders player’s head.
Du Plessis was banned for 4 weeks, with Steyn out for 5 on appeal, after initially getting off scot free.
It remains to be seen what sanction Deysel will receive, but Gold maintains there is no trend developing.
James Horwill
The struggling Reds have left former Australian skipper James Horwill behind as they departed for South Africa on Sunday, following his 2nd Red Card of the Super Rugby season.
Horwill received a 1-match suspension after being sent off in the 21st minute of the Reds match against the Melbourne Rebels in Melbourne on Friday, and he would have been ineligible for the 1st of the Reds’ 2 games in South Africa.
The Reds play the Vodacom Bulls in Pretoria on Saturday and the Toyota Cheetahs in Bloemfontein a week later.
Horwill’s Red Card for striking Melbourne Rebels prop Paul Alo-Emile with a swinging arm in a maul proved costly as the 14-man Reds gave up a 12 / 3 lead to lose 23 / 15.
The beleaguered Reds have now lost 6 of their opening 7 games, and their woes have been compounded by the loss of Wallabies playmaker Quade Cooper for another 2 months after he fractured his right shoulder blade against the Rebels.
Jean Deysel receives his marching orders
Cell C Sharks flank Jean Deysel has been cited after receiving a Red Card against the Crusaders on Saturday, as the Sharks prepare to again tussle with SANZAR.
Deysel is alleged to have contravened Law 10.4 (a) Punching or striking, in an incident that occurred in the 42nd minute of the match between the Sharks and Crusaders at Kings Park in Durban.
The Crusaders ran out comfortable 52 / 10 winners.
The case is to be considered in the first instance by SANZAR judicial officer Nicholas Davidson QC.
Duane Vermeulen
Influential DHL Stormers captain Duane Vermeulen will return to Cape Town for a further 2-week rest period.
The hard-working No 8 has been in outstanding form for the DHL Stormers in 2015, but he will head home from Sydney on Sunday as part of the agreed SA Rugby rest period, which affects the top Springboks in this, a Rugby World Cup season.
“It’s a big one for us… it was a big decision to make,” explained DHL Stormers coach Allister Coetzee.
“However, it is something we discussed and have been planning since the start of the season,” he added, “the intention was always for Duane to spend the 1st 2 weeks on tour and then to head home and be ready for the final part of our season.
“We will of course miss him against the Waratahs and the Force but when we get home his rest period will be over and we will have him back in tow for a crucial part of the season.”
James Horwill
The SANZAR Duty Judicial Officer Nicholas Davidson QC has accepted a guilty plea from James Horwill of the Reds for contravening Law 10.4 (a) Punching or striking, after he was sent off in a Super Rugby match at the weekend.
Horwill has been suspended from all forms of the game for one week up to and including 11 April 2015.
The incident occurred in the 21st minute of the match between the Rebels and Reds at AAMI Park in Melbourne on 3 April 2015.
SANZAR Duty Judicial Officer Nicholas Davidson QC assessed the case.
Jake Schatz
Quade Cooper
Reds flyhalf Quade Cooper and No 8 Jake Schatz have been ruled out of the side’s 2-week tour of South Africa, after suffering injuries in Friday night’s loss to the Melbourne Rebels in Melbourne.
Cooper fractured his scapula making a tackle, while Schatz ruptured a tendon in his elbow after his arm was caught in an awkward position in a ruck. Cooper will be sidelined for up to 8 weeks, while Schatz will be reviewed in 4 weeks.
The Reds head to Johannesburg this Sunday and head coach Richard Graham said he would take the next 24 hours to make a decision as to who would join the 27-man squad for the tour.
Lions (6) 22 / 18 (9) Bulls (Final Score)
The Emirates Lions and Vodacom Bulls did battle in Super Rugby at
Emirates Airline park, Johannesburg at 17:05 SA Time (15:05 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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Sharks (3) 10 / 52 (28) Crusaders (Final Score)
The Cell C Sharks and Crusaders did battle in Super Rugby at
Growthpoint Kings Park, Durban at 15:00 SA Time (13:00 GMT, Sunday 02:00 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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Brumbies (13) 20 / 3 (3) Cheetahs (Final Score)
The Brumbies and Toyota Cheetahs did battle in Super Rugby at
GIO Stadium, Canberra at 10:40 SA Time (19:40 AEDT, 08:40 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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Chiefs (10) 23 / 16 (3) Blues (Final Score)
The Chiefs and Blues did battle in Super Rugby at
waikato Stadium, Hamilton at 08:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 06:36 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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Vodacom Bulls coach Frans Ludeke made 2 changes to his starting pack for Saturday’s Vodacom Super Rugby match against the Emirates Lions in Johannesburg and also had to replace pivot Handré Pollard, who did not recover in time from a knee contusion.
Jacques-Louis Potgieter will start at No 10 and is the only change to the backline that ran on against the Crusaders last week. Potgieter is returning to action following a hamstring strain that kept him out for 3 weeks.
Grant Hattingh (for Victor Matfield) and Dean Greyling (for Morné Mellett) will start in the pack.
Both played off the bench last weekend.
Hattingh’s spot on the bench will be taken by Roelof Smit and Greyling swops places with Mellett, who will play of the bench. Matfield is rested (as is Jan Serfontein).
Callie Visagie makes his return to the squad following a back injury.
Springboks Marcell Coetzee, Cobus Reinach and Patrick Lambie will all start for the Sharks when they face the Crusaders in Durban on Saturday.
Lambie and Reinach are straight swaps for Frans Steyn and Conrad Hoffmann, with Lambie also taking over the captaincy.
Back-row forward Renaldo Bothma gets a deserved rest after starting all but one match so far this season.
He will take great comfort from his man of the match award against the Force last week and will provide ample firepower off the bench, with Coetzee taking his place after enjoying a week’s rest.
Kyle Cooper continues at hooker in the absence of the suspended Bismarck du Plessis.
Jano Vermaak
3-Times capped Springbok Jano Vermaak is returning home to South Africa with a World Cup dream.
The 30-year-old, who has been a shining star for the revitalised French giants Toulouse in the Top 14, spoke from the city in the southwest of France.
He was quite open about his goals, although there remains some uncertainty about which team he will use as – hopefully – as a springboard to a World Cup spot.
“I am coming back to South Africa with the goal of giving myself a chance of possibly getting into the World Cup squad,” the 30-year-old scrumhalf said.
“At this stage I do not yet know which team I will be playing for in South Africa,” Vermaak said, adding: “I have a few options, but we’ll make that call in the next month or so.”
He said he simply can’t wait to be back in SA and will arrive after the completion of the French Top 14 season in May, or June if Toulouse make the play-offs.
That will give him 3 or 4 weeks of Super Rugby to have a crack at a World Cup spot.
Daryl Gibson
The Waratahs have announced the appointment of Daryl Gibson to the role of head coach on a 3-year contract to commence ahead of the 2016 Super Rugby season.
Gibson has been Assistant Coach of the Waratahs, under current coach Michael Cheika, since his appointment at the end of 2012, and has previously coached at the Glasgow Warriors and the Crusaders.
Waratahs Rugby CEO Greg Harris said the integrity of the selection process was of the highest priority and that Daryl’s appointment would ensure that the transition at the end of the season would be a smooth one.
“Daryl has been an integral part of the creation of a culture which the club is now identified by, and his appointment will ensure that the players can build on the positive foundation which has been established by Michael Cheika.”
Dane Haylett-Petty
Sam Wykes
Western Force fullback Dane Haylett-Petty has extended his stay with the Western Australian franchise for a further 2 seasons – through to the end of 2017.
The 25-year-old Durban-born back returned to the Western Force for the 2014 season, after 3 seasons playing in France and Japan.
He has since re-established himself as a key member of the Western Australian backline.
Haylett-Petty, who started the season at fullback, returned to the Western Force line-up in last weekend’s match against the Cell C Sharks, after being sidelined for 5 matches with a foot injury.
Haylett-Petty’s re-signing coincides with the confirmation that lock Sam Wykes will depart the club at the end of the 2015 season to take up an opportunity in Japan.
Wykes, who made his debut for the Force in 2008, has amassed 81 matches for the Force over 8 seasons.
Will Genia
Australia and Reds scrumhalf Will Genia has signed a 3-year contract to join Top 14 club Stade Francais after this year’s Rugby World Cup.
“We can confirm that Will Genia will be part of our squad after the World Cup (which ends 31 October). It’s a great signing and one which will strengthen our squad in a vital position,” Stade Francais president Thomas Savare said on radio France Bleu 107.1.
The Papua New Guinea-born Wallaby had been linked with a move to Europe for months but Bath were firm favourites to sign the 27-year-old, who even signed a pre-contract with the English Premiership side.
SANZAR has amended the kick-off times of 2 matches in Round 11 of this year’s Super Rugby competition.
This was done to accommodate extended pre-game Anzac Centenary remembrance ceremonies.
The Brumbies vs Highlanders and Waratahs vs Melbourne Rebels clashes on 24 and 25 April respectively will now each kick off at 11:55 SA Time – 15 minutes later than the originally scheduled time.