Januarie is over for The Stormers as they head into their third match of the season and the pie eating scrummie Ricky is on the bench finally.
Western Force flanker David Pocock will spend four to six weeks on the sidelines after scans revealed he had a medial ligament strain in his injured right knee, the Super rugby team said on Monday.
Prime Minister John Key says he should know "within a few weeks" whether Christchurch's earthquake-damaged rugby stadium can be repaired sufficiently to host World Cup matches later this year
SANZAR CEO Greg Peters has announced that the Crusaders will withdraw from their Super Rugby match against the Hurricanes in Wellington on Saturday, following the devastating earthquake that struck Christchurch yesterday.
It was a massively brave effort from The Lions who came alive in the second half of their match against The Bulls and came close to causing one of Super Rugby’s biggest upsets.
The Cheetahs will be going down to The Sharks tank with the very pleasant memory that they have beaten The Sharks in their last two Super Rugby matches. The Sharks might well have all the hype but it would be crazy to right off The Cheetahs who will want to impress their new sponsor Toyota right from the start.
Frans Ludeke is not taking any chances against a rejuvenated Lions team and has put together his strongest team possible. With The Lions looking to providing The Bulls with a massive challenge, the trip to Coca Cola Park could be a very daunting experience for the Super Champs.
The Bulls have won three of the last four Super 14 titles and in the process have beaten the best that New Zealand, Australia and South Africa have to offer. They have been dominant and have instilled a culture of winning that no other South African franchise has managed thus far. In fact the only team that has managed to dominate the way the Bulls have of late are the mighty Crusaders from Canterbury.
The Western Cape of South Africa is, allegedly, the first place rugby was ever player in the country, and it makes sense, considering that would have been where the English landed first, bringing with them their games, their ridiculous outfits and their tea.
Superugby preview - The WaratahsThe Waratahs wear light blue, and their emblem is a flower, which I assume is also where they get their name. Only an Australian side would call themselves the Waratahs so one can quite correctly assume that this is where they’re from. They are based in Sydney, not the official capital city of the island, but certainly the most interesting.
The Crusaders are the most successful team in Superugby history. They have, historically, been the team to beat, the team all the rest hope to emulate, the trendsetters and they have the trophy cabinet to prove it. They have more silverware than the British Royal Family, and they didn’t take five hundred years to accumulate it either.
If people thought the runaway win The Lions executed against The Sharks earlier this month was a flash in the pan, then the thrashing of Argentinean champions Tucuman would have made even the most cynical Lions critic stand up and take notice.
It is going to one massive year for Elton Jantjies who will not only be fighting to try get into the Springbok team for the World Cup but each week he will be fighting to get into The Lions team.
No, they aren’t communists, I don’t think…They are the team from Queensland Australia. In the beginning, when they were blessed with Tim Horan, John Eales, Chris Latham, Elton Flatley, not the river-dancing guy, and a bunch of other great players that just escape my current realm of thought. They were a very impressive side back in the nineties and early 2000s.
For a long time I had absolutely no idea what a Brumby was, and for more than one reason. The first was I didn’t really care enough to find out and second because I didn’t bother looking at their team logo, which is a horse and a mountain with snow on it... I’m pretty sure it’s not the mountain.
It has taken nearly nine year of waiting for The Lions faithful but finally the mighty ones from Joburg looked for once to be as good as any team out there as they crushed 2010 Currie Cup Champions The Sharks.
The Auckland Blues were the first dominant side to emerge when the transcontinental competition came into being in the mid to late nineties. They were highly impressive, sweeping away all who stood against them with impressive and powerful rugby much like that played by the All Blacks of today. Of course the common factor there is the coach, Mr. Grumpy himself, Graham Henry. They won in 1996, 1997, were second in 1998 to the Crusaders and they won again in 2003.
The Lions are promising. In years past, that meant they were promising to do better than their previous Super Rugby campaign. Of course this was never the case, but Loffie Eloff was sure to hide behind the trusted disclaimer: ‘building’.
Hurricanes are violent storms that wreak havoc wherever they go. The pulls trees out of the ground and throw them at houses.
If I’m not mistaken The Cheetahs had their best ever finish in 2010 with a solid 10th place, ahead of 2009 finalists The Chiefs and The Highlanders, The Lions and the Western Force, so they’ll be heading into 2011 with more confidence than usual.
I hate the Chiefs and I’ll tell you why, I’ve been playing S12/S14 prediction games since about 2004 or 2005, and if there is one team that is almost entirely impossible to predict, it is the Waikato Chiefs. They are like the French, one week they can absolutely thrash the leading team in the competition, and lose miserably to the team propping up the table the next. It’s infuriating.
A few years ago a new franchise was introduced to Superugby. They were called the Western Force and great things were expected from them, by people in Perth anyway. With an impressive name and a host of marquee signings like Matt Giteau and… Matt Giteau… They embarked on their Superugby experience with vigour and enthusiasm.
As a Superugby franchise the Lions haven’t been all that successful, well, since the very early days that is, when it was still the Super 10 and Bill Clinton was still ruling America with his iron rod.
A message has been sent out to the Springbok selectors by Sharks Coach John Plumtree as he has announced that John Smit will be The Sharks captain for the 2011. This will mean that most likely Smit will be in the starting line up the matches giving him all the opportunity to stake a claim on a spot for the World Cup later this year.
It is no secret that Springbok captain John Smit faces his most demanding season in 2011 and there are many critics who have suggested that he will struggle to make the WC squad. However Smit is nothing if not 
determined to stake a claim on being the only captain to retain the World Cup.
Sports Minister Mbalula has hit out at the quota system and mentioned that it became “counter-productive.” Talking about a new transformation charter which is in the process of being drawn up the Sports Minister highlighted several challenges that the charter will address that have hampered transformation in South Africa.
Tendai “Beast” Mtawarira will officially be playing for The Sharks for the next three years reports The Mercury. In what turned out to be a vicious attempt by the Golden Lions to procure the services of Beast, the KZN
Rugby Union dug their heels in an won the battle for South Africa’s number one No.1.
“I’m so excited to be here and I’m very privileged. I hope I get a run or two, I’m just very happy to be here I don’t mind carrying tackle bags for five weeks,” Patrick Lambie said as he arrived in the UK to begin his international career. Four test caps later and a combined total of just 50 minutes of top class rugby one wonders if one of the most talked about prospects has been fully utilised and grown as a player?
This is a rough period to be wearing a Springbok jersey and we are not just talking about the players. The Boks finished as cellar dwellers in the 2010 Tri-Nations, lost two for their three home games and last week got rolled over by perennial no hopers Scotland. Even veteran centre Jean de Villiers says he cannot remember being involved in a more discouraging loss than the Murrayfield bag-snatch.
Brisbane, Australia 2006, was the scene of one of Springbok rugby’s biggest defeats and arguably one of the all time most embarrassing thrashings that the Springboks have ever been given. To play 80 minutes and not get onto the scoreboard is one thing, but to allow the opposition to repeatedly penetrate a porous defence and score nearly 50 points is something that is beyond belief.
“I’m still proud of where I come from, but I’ll be equally proud of this England shirt,” says South African born Hendre Fourie who will play for England against the Springboks on Saturday.
Lwazi Ncedo Mvovo who will make his debut for the Springboks when they face Scotland this Saturday is not the classic story of success so often associated with players who burst onto the scene.
Schooled at the lesser known Maria Louw High School in Queenstown, the Umtata born winger was never exposed to top level schoolboy rugby for the majority of his school days and neither did he benefit from the most experienced of coaches.
MORNE Steyn will carry a world record to the Northern Hemisphere in November if as expected he is part of the South African squad. According to eminent rugby statistician and historian John Griffiths, since missing 
the conversion of Francois Louw’s try in the first half of South Africa’s victory over Italy at Witbank on June 19th, 2010, the Springbok flyhalf has made 38 consecutive successful goal kicks, spanning eight Tests.
So it was the turn of the Aussie to get a mauling by the AB’s this past weekend and it was 
good to be able to sit back and watch the Wallabies struggling to keep up with the number 1 ranked team. The all conquering manner of the AB’s is very impressive, they rightfully occupy the top position for longer than any other team, yet you can’t help but wonder if their good form will splutter to a grinding halt come the 2011 World Cup.
