Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2021 i SA RUGBY

vs DYLAN JACK SAYS SA RUGBY SHOULD BE CAREFUL WHAT THEY WISH FOR Moving the Springboks from the Rugby Championship to the Six Nations is something that has long been touted in the media. Of course, for that move the wheels have been put in motion by SA Rugby and Pro Rugby teaming up to form the United Rugby Championship, which will see the four main South African teams and the 12 existing Pro Rugby teams in one competition. The URC has effectively initiated South Africa’s move north and the next step is tp see our teams in Europe, through either the Champions or Challenge Cup. Participation in the Six Nations would then be the next logical move, but something tells me the grass may not be as green on…

‘What is right for one side, must be right for the other side. It can’t be a two-way thing, where one team is playing on a glass field and another one is playing in mud. Both teams need the same treatment and respect, that’s all. There’s a saying that goes, the birds make different sounds but they all come from the same bush. And that’s the point I’m trying to get across. Even if things are being said on social media or they are being said in a traditional media conference, it’s still the media. Rassie Erasmus and Warren Gatland wanted to get their messages across.’ – Stick on the contrasting response to comments from the Springbok and British & Irish Lions camps ‘It’s funny when some coaches are all…

15 WILL JORDAN [NZ] The heir-apparent to Christian Cullen, Will Jordan (left) made an instant impression when he made his debut for the All Blacks in 2020. Big and strong, the raw-boned fullback, who can play wing, is a prolific scorer whose positional play is impeccable. 14 CHESLIN KOLBE [SA] This is a one-man race. Cheslin Kolbe is rugby’s No 1 star, a firecracker of a player who conjures something out of nothing almost every time he plays. Fearless and fabulous, he’s a nightmare to defend against. 13 LUKHANYO AM [SA] The thinking man’s midfielder, he’s more dapper than dreadnought, an assassin in rugby gear. Lukhanyo Am is a big-game player who is happy to organise, hustle and set things up. A defensive whizz. 12 DAMIAN DE ALLENDE [SA] Together…

Bulls The Bulls are South Africa’s most settled and successful side. With depth in key positions and a healthy mix of youth and experience they are a well-balanced outfit. The squad has had two seasons together to develop continuity but the Currie Cup showed they are still evolving elements of their game – particularly on attack. The Bulls may not be the finished article but they will be a real handful, especially at Loftus. If there is a weakness for the Bulls it will be in the front row where they lack some experience. The URC sides are all excellent scrummagers and will put pressure on the youthful Bulls front rowers. It will soon become clear which of the young guns are up to the challenge. Sharkes Sean Everitt’s Sharks…

What do Will Jordan and David Havili have in common? They are two emerging Test stars who broke into the All Blacks via the regional ranks at Tasman Mako. Havili has anchored New Zealand’s backline at inside centre while Jordan’s elite finishing skills could make him a fixture of the back three. The All Blacks selectors spotted the pair at the Tasman Mako’s home grounds in the northern reaches of New Zealand’s South Island (known as the Top of the South), Lansdowne Park and Trafalgar Park. The two venues reflect the origin of the Tasman Rugby Union. In 2006, the New Zealand Rugby Union replaced the 27-team provincial competition with the 14-team Air New Zealand Cup and 12-team Heartland Championship, and the Nelson Bay and Marlborough Rugby Unions amalgamated to…

As things stand, rugby is bogged down by flawed and time-consuming decision-making processes, and it is crying out for the type of Hawk-Eye technology that is used so effectively in cricket and tennis. Dugald Macdonald, one of the founders of Sportable Technologies, believes that ball-tracking applications will enable officials to make quick and accurate calls. Just as Hawk-Eye has revolutionised cricket and tennis, Sportable may ensure controversial and erroneous decisions that mar rugby matches and influence results are consigned to the past. BALL-TRACKING TECHNOLOGY ALLOWS THE QUESTION OF RELATIVE MOTION TO BE INVESTIGATED QUICKLY AND ACCURATELY Macdonald’s father, Dugald Macdonald Snr, played No 8 for South Africa against the British & Irish Lions in 1974. After growing up in South Africa, he moved to England to study at Oxford and…

Rumour became reality in four days – but the story of Cheslin Kolbe’s switch from Toulouse to Top 14 rivals Toulon took somewhat longer than the media tale of a dramatic rugby transfer. As far as most fans were concerned, the story started with journalist Neil Fiassler’s tweet late on 23 August. Within hours, after beIN Sport published corroborating details, Toulon president Bernard Lemaitre had told Le Figaro he was in discussion with his opposite number at Toulouse about the South African wing’s future. Two days later, Kolbe’s move on a three-year deal was confirmed. It was reported that Toulon were ready to pay between €1.5-million and €1.8-million to release him from the last two years of his Toulouse contract, a figure Lemaitre has dismissed as inaccurate, and had agreed…

What is the story of Liam Koen? I was born in Pretoria but grew up in France because my father played rugby there for Narbonne. After spending my first two years in France we came back to South Africa and moved to Paarl which is where I still live. At the age of five, I went to Paarl Gimnasium primary school and as soon as I turned seven I started playing rugby, cricket and hockey. Do you still play all three? Unfortunately not. When I got to high school I had to drop one because you can only play one winter sport and one summer sport. I picked rugby and cricket and now I’m playing first teams of both for Gimnasium. You are In Grade 11, so you’ll still play…

Round 1 (*All kick-offs are SA times) Friday, 24 September Zebre vs Lions 18:35 Ulster vs Glasgow Warriors 20:35 Cardiff vs Connacht 20:35 Saturday, 25 September Benetton vs Stormers 14:00 Leinster vs Bulls 18:15 Edinburgh vs Scarlets 18:15 Munster vs Sharks 20:35 SUNDAY 26 SEPTEMBER Dragons vs Ospreys 15:00 Round 2 Friday, 1 October Connacht vs Bulls 20:35 Scarlets vs Lions 20:35 Saturday, 2 October Benetton vs Edinburgh 14:00 Glasgow Warriors vs Sharks 16:00 Zebre vs Ulster 18:15 Dragons vs Leinster TBC Ospreys vs Cardiff 20:35 Munster vs Stormers 20:35 Round 3 Friday, 8 October Ulster vs Benetton Ospreys vs Sharks 20:35 Saturday, 9 October Leinster vs Zebre 14:00 Glasgow Warriors vs Lions 16:00 Connacht vs Dragons 18:15 Edinburgh vs Stormers 18:15 Cardiff vs Bulls 20:35 Sunday, 10 October beams…

1. The Springboks and All Blacks first faced each other in 1921. Which city hosted the fixture? a) Johannesburg b) Christchurch c) Dunedin d) Auckland 2. In 1994, the Springboks toured New Zealand for the first time since the controversial 1981 tour. Name the head coach of the Springboks for the 1994 tour. a) Nick Mallett b) Ian McIntosh c) Andre Markgraaff d) Kitch Christie 3. During the 1981 tour, which was notable for anti-apartheid protests, what led to the third Test between the two teams in Auckland being disrupted? a) Fans invading the pitch b) A pipe bomb being set off near the stadium c) Protests outside the stadium d) A plane dropping flour bombs on the pitch 4. A squad of rebel All Blacks players toured South Africa…

MAN OF MANY TALENTS There’s not much Cheslln Kolbe can’t do, and the Bok superstar proved It again when he had to fill In at scrumhalf during South Africa’s second Rugby Championship Test against Argentina. A serious Injury to replacement Jaden Hendrlkse had forced the Springboks Into an emergency situation, but Kolbe had no problem slotting Into the unfamiliar role at halfback. GOLDEN OLDIES In the final round of Currie Cup league matches, Juan de Jongh and Deon Fourie rallied Western Province for a late surge against the Sharks at Kings Park to advance to the playoffs with a 35-24 bonus-point win. Cash-strapped WP haven’t made many big recruitments in recent years, but both De Jongh and Fourie wound back the clock to vindicate the decision to lure the two…

South Africa marked their first appearance at the Rugby World Cup by hosting the showpiece in 1995. Wing Chester Williams scored four tries as the Springboks beat Western Samoa in the quarter-finals, and then flank Ruben Kruger crossed to help the hosts survive a torrential downpour in the semi-final, beating France to book a place in the final against the mighty Jonah Lomu and the All Blacks. Flyhalf Joel Stransky kicked a drop goal to give the Boks a 9-6 half-time lead in the decider, but his counterpart Andrew Mehrtens levelled the score and a thrilling final went to extra time. The two flyhalves traded penalties before South Africa were awarded a right scrum on the All Blacks 22. Stransky noted that Mehrtens was lined up wider than usual and…

1998 TRI-NATIONS [KINGS PARK]: SOUTH AFRICA 24 NEW ZEALAND 23 This stunning comeback at Kings Park set South Africa galloping down the home straight to win their first Tri-Nations crown. The Springboks followed up their beating of the All Blacks in the 1995 Rugby World Cup final with a run of six losses from seven matches against the Kiwis in 1996 and 1997. The world champions consequently finished both the first two Tri-Nations championships bookended by winners New Zealand and wooden-spoonists Australia. But that all changed in 1998 when – midway through a record run of 17 consecutive Test victories under coach Nick Mallett and captain Gary Teichmann – the Boks found their footing and swept their Australasian rivals to rule the southern hemisphere. Mallett’s squad jetted back to South…

The captain’s-run press conference can be a potentially tricky assignment for the coach and captain sent out to set the tone before a big Test match weekend. If the talk hasn’t been fired up, or positive enough over the course of the week, it is the responsibility of those two to lift the mood and temperature. And should the brimstone already have been laid on thick, it’s their duty to return focus to controlled aggression. One man who seems tailor-made for this role of reading the room on Test match Fridays in the Springbok management team is assistant coach Mzwandile Stick, who was as rational as he was confrontational in the toxic buildup to the second Test against the British & Irish Lions, and became measured with the series there…

There was a time when they didn’t matter. When others, like Australia, were of more importance. Yet, almost like an addiction, they were always there, lurking in the background of our consciousness, a Goliath we knew would one day return. South Africa’s exclusion from sport due to its racist apartheid regime meant the Springboks were lost to a generation of All Blacks fans. Tales of grown men weeping over their beers after another series defeat in South Africa were Kodak distant, a photo curled in the sun and yellowed in time. For 11 years they sat in the sin bin and after the violent protests against the 1981 tour to New Zealand, few missed them. After all, this was the country that discouraged Maori from touring with the All Blacks…

ULSTER Coach: Dan McFarland Captain: Iain Henderson Home Stadium: Kingspan Stadium, Belfast Flayer to Watch: Stuart McCloskey, centre The Ulstermen have been undergoing a quiet rebuild over the past few seasons and under the leadership of captain Iain Henderson will be looking to push for higher honours in the URC. Ruan Pienaar and Marcell Coetzee’s former side last won an early version of this competition in 2006. CONNACHT Coach: Andrew Friend Captain: Jarrad Butler Home Stadium: The Galway Sportsground Flayer to Watch: Jack Carty, flyhalf Often portrayed as the ‘smallest of the Irish provinces, Connacht have a lot to prove. Their attractive brand of rugby fits their image as a club with plenty of ambition. Head coach Andrew Friend may not have many big names at his disposal but has…

0ver the past couple of years, the Springbok coaches have proved beyond doubt they are willing to reward form, regardless of where a player is based. Springbok debuts for Jasper Wiese, Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg and Joseph Dweba would have seemed only fantasy a year ago. So too the Springbok recalls of Dan du Preez, Jean-Luc du Preez and Wilco Louw. Now a fresh opportunity beckons for South African players in the English Premiership and Top 14 to impress the national coaches. TYRONE GREEN A prodigious talent at either fullback and on the wing, Green’s departure from the Lions was lamented by many members of the Johannesburg faithful. In contrast, he arrived at London-based dub Harlequins as something of an unknown entity last season. However, the young upstart with flashy…