Super Rugby
Andy Ellis
Crusaders scrumhalf Andy Ellis has committed to the Crusaders for 2015, but will first play a season for the Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers rugby club in Japan.
Ellis said he was excited about the opportunity to play in a new environment and a new competition for a season but remained committed to his teams here in New Zealand.
“I love playing for Canterbury and the Crusaders and I would love the chance to represent New Zealand again if the opportunity ever came up.”
Rebels (3) 20 / 36 (22) Reds (Final Score)
The Melbourne Rebels and Reds did battle in Super Rugby at
AAMI Park, Melbourne at 11:40 SA Time (19:40 AEST, 09:40 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & CSN on TV in SA.
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Highlanders (10) 29 / 25 (13) Chiefs (Final Score)
The Highlanders and Chiefs did battle in Super Rugby at
Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin at 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 07:35 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & CSN on TV in SA.
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Johann Sadie
The Cheetahs were hit by another massive blow when they lost their ninth player of the season, with midfielder Johann Sadie heading to Japan to join the NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes at the end of the current Super Rugby season.
Sadie will make the move to the Japanese club, which also has South Africans Heinrich Brüssow and Riaan Viljoen on their books, after again missing on the Springbok training squad.
The Cheetahs midfielder has had a good season despite his team’s poor form in this year’s competition and will definitely be able to use his attacking skills in the pacy Japanese league.
Joe Tomane
Wallaby coach Ewen McKenzie believes Joe Tomane will soon be back in the selection frame for the national team.
The Wallaby and Brumbies wing, Tomane, signed a new two-year deal with the Australia Rugby Union that will take him through until at least the end of 2016.
His signature further bolsters the rich talent available to the Wallabies in the outside backs with Tomane determined to add to the nine caps he has earned since making his debut in 2012.
It is Round 17 of Super Rugby 2014 this weekend, the first Round after the June Test break! We have 5 games in Round 17, with 2 game on Friday and 3 games on Saturday.
All 5 the South African sides sits out this weekend, still in the last week of their June Test window, however this at the same time makes up for the fact that the South African sides started a week earlier than the rest in February.
After this Round it will mean that the Antipodian teams will have caught up in played games with the South African counterparts.
As a result, the Logs and Combined Log will no longer be skewed and will reflect a much more accurate accont of the Super Rugby season thus far.
One has to question why individual countries are allowed to start such a long competition ahead of it’s rivals. In 2013 the Australian sides started a week early, but at least they had the excuse that they needed an extra week in the middle of the year to prepare for the British & Irish Lions series, which they lost.
The Brumbies have named their team to play the Waratahs in Sydney with Robbie Coleman winning his 50th cap and prop Ruaidhri Murphy making his first start at hooker.
In the backs Robbie Coleman will celebrate his 50th game on the wing after making his debut against the Reds back in 2010 and has since gone on to cement a spot in the top squad in 2014.
Ruaidhri Murphy will make his first appearance as a hooker on Saturday when the Brumbies travel to Sydney to take on the Waratahs.
The Western Force have named their team to play the Blues at the ‘Force Field’ (nib Stadium) including six players who have all returned from injury to start this weekend.
Hugh McMeniman (collarbone), Ben McCalman (groin), Alby Mathewson (ankle), Marcel Brache (ankle), Tetera Faulkner (back) and Solomoni Rasolea (wrist) will all return to the Western Force line-up in the club’s first match back following the three-week Test break.
McMeniman will return at blindside flanker in place of Angus Cottrell, who suffered a season-ending ankle injury in the Western Australian club’s last match against the Crusaders in Christchurch.
The two leading attacking teams of the 2014 Super Rugby season, the Hurricanes and Crusaders are facing off this weekend in what is expected to be a super-charged match at Westpac Stadium.
Statistics suggest a close encounter is on the cards, with both teams averaging 29 points per game. The Hurricanes have managed to score 407 points in 14 matches, while the Crusaders have generated 381 points in 13 fixtures.
Steven Luatua returns to the starting fifteen of the Blues for Saturday’s clash against the Force in Perth.
The 23-year-old blindside flanker has not featured in the run-on side since Round 10 against the Hurricanes after being squeezed out by the in-form Peter Saili, but head coach Sir John Kirwan said it was time to give Luatua an opportunity.
“He’s been away with the All Blacks and he’s come back full of energy and I think he needs an opportunity to push his way back into the side,” Kirwan said.
Dan Carter
Crusaders head coach Todd Blackadder has named his team to play the Hurricanes this weekend. The team will head to Wellington on Friday to prepare for the game at Westpac Stadium on Saturday night.
Eight players have returned from the All Blacks to make the team, including prop Wyatt Crockett who will pack down with Corey Flynn and Nepo Laulala in the front row. Owen Franks will provide front row cover alongside Joe Moody and Ben Funnell on the bench.
Locks Dom Bird and Sam Whitelock will pair up in the second row, and Matt Todd will wear the No 7 jersey with Richie McCaw ruled out with a broken rib. Jordan Taufua and Luke Whitelock join him in the loose forwards with Kieran Read and Jimmy Tupou named in the reserves.
Rebels head coach Tony McGahan has named exciting youngster Sean McMahon in the starting line-up and Jack Debreczeni for his run-on debut as Super Rugby returns to AAMI Park for the final time in 2014 as the Rebels host the Reds on Friday night.
Debreczeni, who has played in the Rebels previous two matches as a replacement, recently re-signed with the club and is part of a backline shuffle that also sees flyer Jason Woodward move to the right wing.
McGahan was excited to unleash the youngster from the first minute against the Reds.
Highlanders head coach Jamie Joseph has named his team to take on the reigning champions in Dunedin on Friday.
All three All Blacks, along with Patrick Osborne, who joined the All Black’s squad as injury cover, have returned to the starting line-up while both Brayden Mitchell and Tom Franklin have played their way into the team after stellar performances in Invercargill against the NZ Barbarians.
Louis Fouché
Vodacom Bulls flyhalf Louis Fouche has become the latest player to leave Loftus Versfeld after signing a one-year deal with the Ricoh Black Rams in Japan.
Fouche, who had a tough season with the Bulls, being dropped after the second game of this year’s Vodacom Super Rugby, has struggled to get back into the team with the likes of Jacques-Louis Potgieter and Handre Pollard ahead of him in the pecking order.
Since then, Fouche has played just a handful of games in the Vodacom Cup and decided to take up an offer in Japan to further his career there.
Tazz Fuzani
The Eastern Province Kings are reportedly interested in luring Western Province lock Tazz Fuzani to Port Elizabeth.
Fuzani, 23, made a promising debut for WP in last year’s Currie Cup, but appears to have fallen out of favour with WP / Stormers coach Allister Coetzee.
The Sharks could potentially slip to third on the overall Super Rugby log following the completion of this weekend’s Round 17 action.
The Super Rugby competition resumes for New Zealand and Australian teams this week following the June international Test window.
No South African teams are taking part this weekend as the Springboks are scheduled to play one extra Test against Scotland, which falls outside the International Rugby Board’s Test window.
Robbie Fruean
Super Rugby resumes following the June Test window with the first of three straight New Zealand derby matches for the Chiefs, and they certainly know what’s at stake.
The first of these matches is against the Highlanders at Forsyth Barr Stadium on Friday night and head coach Dave Rennie knows his team cannot afford another slip.
“This is a massive game and we have prepared really well,” he said.
Head coach Richard Graham has announced his team to face the Rebels in Melbourne this Friday, making just one change to the starting 15 that defeated the Highlanders in the Reds’ last match before the June Test window.
The forward pack remains unchanged from that match, with the Reds’ Wallabies contingent of James Horwill, Rob Simmons and James Slipper in good health and named in the starting XV for Friday’s clash.
Just one change has been made to the backline that started the Highlanders match, with Nick Frisby named at scrumhalf in place of the injured Will Genia, who is out for the remainder of the Super Rugby season after undergoing ankle surgery last week.
Luke Braid
Blues openside flanker Luke Braid will have shoulder surgery during Super Rugby’s off-season, which rules him out of Auckland’s ITM Cup campaign.
The 25-year-old has been superb for his team this season but has been feeling pain during his showings, leading to him making the decision.
“It had got to the point where it was hurting more frequently,” Braid said.
Richie McCaw
The Crusaders have confirmed that an x-ray revealed that Richie McCaw has a broken rib.
It is believed the rib injury was sustained in the second All Blacks test against England and is likely to keep McCaw out of contention for the next 3-4 weeks; a bitter blow for the Cantabrians who are pushing for top spot on the Super Rugby table.
Crusaders head coach Todd Blackadder said that while McCaw’s presence will clearly be missed over the next few weeks, the team is fully focussed on the task at hand.
Benn Robinson
Benn Robinson will make Waratahs history on Saturday night when he runs out against the Brumbies at ANZ Stadium in the crunch match for top spot in the Australian Conference.
Named in the starting XV on Tuesday, Robinson will earn his 130th New South Wales cap and join fellow NSW legend Al Baxter as the state’s second most capped player of all time, behind former captain Phil Waugh (136).
Head coach Michael Cheika has made just one change to the starting side that beat defending champions the Chiefs in their last outing back in Round 16, with Wallaby prop Sekope Kepu starting at tighthead in place of the hard-hitting Paddy Ryan.
Internationals Jacques Potgieter and Kane Douglas will wear the number four and five jerseys respectively, with Wallaby debutant Will Skelton expected to make an impact from the bench.
Patrick Lambie
Francois Steyn
The Cell C Sharks players not in the Springbok camp all returned to Kings Park this week as they start preparing for the final stages of the Super Rugby tournament, Sharks website editor Michael Marnewick reports.
In two weeks’ time, they will resume duty against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein, followed by their final pool match, against the Stormers in Cape Town. The knockout stages follow with the Sharks already guaranteed a place in the top three, having already secured the South African Conference.
The players have had a mixed programme over the June break, alternating rest with gym work and field training to balance the needs to break from the game, without losing strength and fitness.
SANZAR has released the names of the Match Officials for Round 17 of Super Rugby 2014.
Garratt Williamson starts the action in Dunedin when the Highlanders host local rivals the Chiefs.
This weekend sees 5 games, with 2 on Friday and 3 on Saturday.
All 5 the South African Franchises sit out this weekend, after they started a week early in February.
After completion of this Round, the Logs will be put in proper perspective, with Conferences on the same number of WEEKS in the 2014 competition.
Vlok Cilliers
Paul Willemse
Jacques du Plessis
News from the Bulls camp, prior to joining Super Rugby action again after the June Test break has not been so good!
Jacques du Plessis, Blindside flank of the Bulls broke his jaw in the warm-up match over the weekend against namibia and is set to miss the rest of the Bulls Super Rugby campaign.
In addition, the Bulls have confirmed that lock Paul Willemse, has signed a 2-year deal with French Club, Grenoble and they have also confirmed that the Bulls kicking consultant, Vlok Cilliers will join the WP as from July 2014.
Brian van Zyl
The Sharks face allegations of maladministration from a report set to be presented to a senior employee on Monday.
The report was conducted by the Durban franchise’s auditing company, KPMG, and has been labelled as “potentially explosive”.
The allegations are believed to revolve around unauthorised benefits being handed to at least one senior staff member, but could spill over into other areas of the company.
Kieran Read
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen says that he expects the Crusaders to ease captain Kieran Read back into Super Rugby.
Read made his return to playing, after battling to recover from concussion, on Saturday for the All Blacks against England.
The IRB player of the year managed to play for 40-minutes and was then replaced by Liam Messam at halftime.
Hansen has now predicted that the No 8 will gradually increase his game time with the Crusaders in the coming weeks.
Matt Toomua
The Brumbies hopes of reaching the 2014 Super Rugby finals have been dealt a blow as Wallabies star Matt Toomua has joined an joined a growing list of casualties.
The Canberra based Super Rugby franchise are now feeling the cost of a three week break for the June Internationals which has left several key players in doubt for this week’s match against the Waratahs on Saturday.
Toomua (adductor), Josh Mann-Rea (hamstring) and Joseph Tomane (cheekbone), will all have scans on Monday to determine whether they will be able to play against the Waratahs at ANZ Stadium.
Pat McCabe has a shoulder problem and is being considered as a 50-50 chance to play while Sam Carter is still wearing a moon boot and is in a race to reach fitness for the match against the Western Force on 11 July.
Dan Carter
Dan Carter has played barely 120 minutes of club rugby since embarking on his sabbatical last November, but he has declared himself available for selection against the Hurricanes.
It is unlikely that the super-star flyhalf will be thrown straight into the mix. If selected, Carter would probably start off the bench.
Colin Slade, who was a member of the All Blacks squad for the recent series against England, is tipped to start at flyhalf Wellington as the Crusaders look to consolidate their position at the head of the New Zealand conference.
Robbie Fruean
Robbie Fruean is set to return for the Chiefs’ must-win battle with the Highlanders after recovering from an astounding three heart surgeries.
The 25-year old has seen some action in the past few weeks playing local club rugby after fearing that he may never return to the sport at all.
“It’ll be awesome, the past couple of weeks I’ve been playing a bit of club rugby,” said the block-busting centre.
Quentin MacDonald
Brad Weber
The Chiefs have signed former Crusaders and Tasman hooker Quentin MacDonald as well as Waikato captain Brad Weber.
Tasman hooker Quentin MacDonald has returned to New Zealand after playing for Munster in Ireland. MacDonald will join the Chiefs for the 2015 Super Rugby Season after this years ITM Cup season.
Damian McKenzie
New Zealand Under 20’s backliner Damian McKenzie has been promoted into the Chiefs squad for the rest of the Super Rugby season.
McKenzie was part of the Chiefs Wider training group and also featured for the New Zealand U20’s in the Junior World Championship.
Luke Burgess
The return of Super Rugby down-under is timeous for the Rebels with the return of Wallaby Luke Burgess and Nic Stirzaker from injury.
Burgess, who was called up to the Wallabies camp for the French series, hobbled from the field last time the Melbourne boys played the Reds, but only after scoring two tries.
Another scrumhalf, Stirzaker, who has sustained two injuries to the same ankle in 2014, can officially wipe his name from the injury list, and will join Burgess in contention for selection this week.
Paul Willemse
French Top 14 club Grenoble are reportedly hunting the services of promising Bulls lock Paul Willemse.
According to reports, there are rumours that he could leave the Bulls after the completion of this year’s Super Rugby competition.
The Bulls though insisted that the 21-year-old Willemse would play for them in the Currie Cup later this year.
Johannes ‘Boom’ Prinsloo
Die Cheetahs agsteman, Johannes ‘Boom’ Prinsloo, het sy betrokkenheid met die Bloemfontein-gebasseerde eenheid verleng tot aan die einde van 2015.
Die 25-jarige wat ‘n uitnemende en vooraanstaande verhouding en geskiedenis met die SA Sewes Blitzbokke gehad het, het gesê hy is gelukkig by die Cheetahs en sien geen rede om daaraan te verander nie.
Philip van der Walt
The Cheetahs have announced that eighthman Philip van der Walt will leave the Bloemfontein Super Rugby franchise in order to play in France.
The Free-state franchise have released Van der Walt from his contract so that he can join French club Biarritz.