Rugby – Page 15 – BLOGGERPARUNG

Cheetahs sign Dries Swanepoel

Posted on March 6, 2019 by BLOGGERPARUNG

The Cheetahs have announced that Bulls centre Dries Swanepoel will be joining the Bloemfontein-based outfit on a two-year contract.

Similar to Grey College school mates and Cheetah stalwarts, Francois Venter and William Small-Smith, Swanepoel joined the Blue Bulls where he played for their U19 team in 2012.

He received a call-up to the SA U20 side for the 2013 IRB Junior World Championship and scored five tries in 14 appearances for the Blue Bulls U21 side. He made his Currie Cup debut for the Blue Bulls in 2014 and represented the side in their Vodacom Cup, Currie Cup and Super Rugby campaigns.

Swanepoel also had a small taste of Guinness PRO14 action when he joined Munster in April this year on a short-term loan as cover for injuries at the Irish club.

Sharks unchanged for quarter-final

Posted on March 6, 2019 by BLOGGERPARUNG

Sharks head coach Robert du Preez has been able to name a completely unchanged 23 for Saturday’s Super Rugby quarter-final clash with the Crusaders.

A good effort against the Jaguares at Kings Park last weekend saw the Sharks through to the knockout stage courtesy of an eighth place finish.

Assistant coach Dick Muir, speaking from the team’s base in Christchurch ahead of Saturday’s match, said: “There’s a lot of excitement, the team had a long haul getting to Christchurch but everyone is in good spirits. We’re coming off a good win and the team is ready to have a go.”

The big games, particularly against New Zealand sides, have brought out the best in the Sharks this season and Muir expects nothing different on Saturday against the Crusaders.

“Absolutely, they have the players but our expectations are pretty high as we get to the business end of the competition,” he added. “Not too many people are giving us a chance so it’s a great opportunity to prove them wrong.”

Tendai ‘Beast’ Mtawarira will play his 150th Super Rugby game in a Sharks jersey. He holds the record for being the most capped Super Rugby player for a single province and is just behind Adriaan Strauss, who is the most capped South African Super Rugby player with 156.

Sharks: 15 Curwin Bosch, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Robert du Preez, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Daniel du Preez, 7 Jacques Vermeulen, 6 Philip van der Walt, 5 Ruan Botha (c), 4 Tyler Paul, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Akker van der Merwe, 1 Tendai Mtawarira
Replacements: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 Juan Schoeman, 18 John-Hubert Meyer, 19 Hyron Andrews, 20 Wian Vosloo, 21 Cameron Wright, 22 Marius Louw, 23 Makazole Mapimpi

Date: Saturday, July 21
Venue: AMI Stadium, Christchurch
Kick-off: 19:35 local (08:35 BST, 07:35 GMT)
Referee: Mike Fraser (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand), Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)
TMO: Shane McDermott (New Zealand)

Highlanders welcome back five All Blacks

Posted on March 6, 2019 by BLOGGERPARUNG

The Highlanders welcome back All Blacks Ben Smith, Aaron Smith and Luke Whitelock among others for Saturday’s quarter-final against the Waratahs in Sydney.

Rob Thompson and Ash Dixon also return at outside centre and replacement hooker respectively.

This is the fifth consecutive year the Highlanders have made the play-offs, finishing in sixth position at the end of the round robin stage. They are in the familiar position of being on the road having played only two play-off games at home since the inception of Super Rugby (1999 and 2015).

Coach Aaron Mauger is excited by the opportunity they have this weekend.

“These are the opportunities the guys work hard all year for and there are no second chances,” he said.

“It’s simply about putting our best performance on the field on Saturday. The Waratahs are a quality side playing at home which presents an awesome challenge for our guys, but like I said, these are the games we love to play.”

Highlanders: 15 Ben Smith (cc), 14 Waisake Naholo, 13 Rob Thompson, 12 Teihorangi Walden, 11 Tevita Li, 10 Lima Sopoaga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Luke Whitelock, 7 James Lentjes, 6 Liam Squire, 5 Tom Franklin, 4 Jackson Hemopo, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Liam Coltman, 1 Daniel Lienert-Brown
Replacements: 16 Ash Dixon (cc), 17 Aki Seiuli, 18 Kalolo Tuiloma, 19 Shannon Frizell, 20 Elliot Dixon, 21 Kayne Hammington, 22 Josh Ioane, 23 Matt Faddes

Date: Saturday, July 21
Venue: Allianz Stadium, Sydney
Kick-off: 20:05 local (11:05 BST, 10:05 GMT)
Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant referees: Nic Berry (Australia), Will Houston (Australia)
TMO: George Ayoub (Australia)

Lions change two for Jaguares clash

Posted on March 6, 2019 by BLOGGERPARUNG

Ross Cronje and Aphiwe Dyantyi will start for the Lions against the Jaguares at Ellis Park on Saturday as they look to make a third successive semi-final.

They have replaced Courtnall Skosan and the injured Nic Groom in the starting line-up as boss Swys de Bruin makes two changes to the XV.

De Bruin has also altered the bench slightly following Groom’s enforced absence with Dillon Smit among the replacements, while prop Dylan Smith is selected ahead of Jacobie Adriaanse.

The Lions and Jaguares have one win apiece from their respective clashes in 2018 but the hosts claimed a 47-27 triumph in Johannesburg in Round Two.

Lions: 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Ruan Combrinck, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Ross Cronjé, 8 Warren Whiteley (c), 7 Cyle Brink, 6 Kwagga Smith, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Marvin Orie, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Jacques van Rooyen
Replacements: 16 Corne Fourie, 17 Dylan Smith, 18 Johannes Jonker, 19 Lourens Erasmus, 20 Marnus Schoeman, 21 Dillon Smit, 22 Courtnall Skosan, 23 Howard Mnisi

Date: Saturday, July 21
Venue: Ellis Park, Johannesburg
Kick-off: 15:05 local (14:05 BST, 13:05 GMT)
Referee: Jaco Peyper
Assistant Referees: Marius van der Westhuizen, Egon Seconds
TMO: Marius Jonker

Rebels pair handed $15,000 fines

Posted on March 6, 2019 by BLOGGERPARUNG

Rebels duo Amanaki Mafi and Lopeti Timani have each been given a $15,000 fine by their club following an incident in Dunedin last weekend.

According to Fox Sports, 28-year-old Mafi appeared in Dunedin District Court on Monday charged with injuring with intent to injure over the incident which took place after the Rebels’ loss to the Highlanders.

The Japan international entered no plea and was granted bail.

The terms of his bail mean he cannot associate with Timani and the number eight’s case is scheduled to return to court on Friday, August 3.

“The alleged victim received moderate injuries following the incident,” a NZ Police spokeswoman told Fox Sports.

Preview: Rugby World Cup Sevens

Posted on March 6, 2019 by BLOGGERPARUNG

16 women’s and 24 men’s teams are all set to fight it out for Rugby World Cup Sevens silverware at AT&T Park in San Francisco this weekend.

Over 95,000 fans are expected to attend across three days of pulsating action at the venue, which has been transformed from its traditional baseball diamond format into a spectacular home for rugby sevens.

Ahead of a mouth-watering weekend, USA men’s captain Madison Hughes admits they’ll be aiming to inspire the crowd with their performances.

“Having the opportunity to play in the marquee sevens event here in the US is just so exciting. Hopefully we can do well, put in a good performance so those new to rugby can get really excited about it,” he said.

Meanwhile, reigning Rugby World Cup Sevens champions in both the men’s and women’s events, New Zealand, will be looking to retain their crowns in San Francisco.

“Winning the last Rugby World Cup Sevens in Moscow 2013 was a pretty special moment – we were all extremely inexperienced. It was incredible to take a Rugby World Cup home and a title that we’d never won before. It’s definitely going to give us extra motivation to do the same again here in San Francisco,” said Sarah Goss, New Zealand women’s captain.

“It’s going to be extremely tough with the knock-out format and the high quality of teams, but I have full confidence in the girls and the way we’ve been performing over the last few months. We’re just really excited to start playing on Friday and we’re extremely hungry to defend our title and take another Rugby World Cup Sevens home to New Zealand.”

New Zealand men’s captain Scott Curry added: “It’s awesome to be here in San Francisco. To be playing at AT&T Park in a baseball stadium is pretty unique and I’m sure the atmosphere is going to be electric. We’ve had a good week building up to the competition, we’ve trained really well and we’re looking forward to the weekend. It’s going to be a tough task to defend our title and as it’s a knock-out format we’ll be focusing on one game at a time.”

South Africa and Australia will enter the men’s and women’s competitions respectively in good form after claiming the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series titles last month, with Blitzboks captain Philip Snyman looking forward to the challenge.

“Everybody is focusing on the Rugby World Cup Sevens, it’s an interesting new format with knock-out stages from the start meaning you have to be at your best from the get go and get out of the blocks as quickly as possible. Where the World Series was a marathon, this is more like a one hundred metre sprint,” he said.

“We can take a lot of confidence from our performance in Paris and we’ve had a boost with a couple of players returning from injury so we’re really happy with where the squad is at the moment. Playing in San Francisco is a dream come true and playing in a baseball stadium is really interesting. Rugby is growing fast in America and we’re looking forward to a wonderful weekend of sevens.”

A new and innovative ‘knock out’ style format will see every match count meaning both men’s and women’s teams will have to win every match to be crowned World Cup winners.

With thanks to World Rugby

Jaguares back at full strength for quarter-final

Posted on March 6, 2019 by BLOGGERPARUNG

Jaguares head coach Mario Ledesma has made several changes to his squad to face the Lions in the Super Rugby quarter-final at Ellis Park.

With qualification already secured last weekend, the Argentinian outfit decided to rest a number of key first team players.

All those duly return with Emiliano Boffelli, Matias Orlando, Jeronimo de la Fuente, Matias Moroni, Nicolas Sanchez and Gonzalo Bertranou named in the backline.

Among the forwards, out go six of the eight which started against the Sharks and in come Javier Ortega Desio, Tomas Lezana, Guido Petti, Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, Agustin Creevy and Santiago Garcia Botta, while Marcos Kremer is shifted to lock.

On the bench, Ledesma has decided to go with a six-two split with Matias Alemanno, Tomas Lavanini and Juan Manuel Leguizamon providing lock and back-row cover.

Jaguares: 15 Emiliano Boffelli, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Matias Orlando, 12 Jeronimo de le Fuente, 11 Matias Moroni, 10 Nicolas Sanchez, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Javier Ortega Desio, 7 Tomas Lezana, 6 Pablo Matera (c), 5 Marcos Kremer, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 2 Agustin Creevy, 1 Santiago Garcia Botta
Replacements: 16 Julian Montoya, 17 Juan Pablo Zeiss, 18 Santiago Medrano, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Tomas Lavanini, 21 Juan Manuel Leguizamon, 22 Martin Landajo, 23 Sebastian Cancelliere

Team Tracker: Super Rugby quarter-finals

Posted on March 6, 2019 by BLOGGERPARUNG

Check out the team line-ups ahead of the Super Rugby quarter-finals with the action kicking off in Wellington.

Friday

Hurricanes v Chiefs
@ Westpac Stadium, Wellington

Hurricanes: 15 Nehe Milner-Skudder, 14 Julian Savea, 13 Jordie Barrett, 12 Ngani Laumape, 11 Ben Lam, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Blade Thomson, 7 Gareth Evans, 6 Brad Shields (c)/Reed Prinsep, 5 Sam Lousi, 4 Michael Fatialofa, 3 Jeff Toomaga-Allen, 2 Ricky Riccitelli, 1 Toby Smith
Replacements: 16 James O’Reilly, 17 Chris Eves, 18 Ben May, 19 Vaea Fifita, 20 Reed Prinsep/Sam Henwood, 21 Jamie Booth, 22 Ihaia West, 23 Wes Goosen/Jonah Lowe

Chiefs: 15 Solomon Alaimalo, 14 Sean Wainui, 13 Anton Lienert-Brown, 12 Charlie Ngatai, 11 Shaun Stevenson, 10 Damian McKenzie, 9 Brad Weber, 8 Liam Messam, 7 Sam Cane, 6 Lachlan Boshier, 5 Michael Allardice, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Angus Ta’avao, 2 Nathan Harris, 1 Karl Tu’inukuafe
Replacements: 16 Liam Polwart, 17 Sam Prattley, 18 Jeff Thwaites, 19 Jesse Parete, 20 Mitch Karpik, 21 Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, 22 Marty McKenzie, 23 Alex Nankivell

Saturday

Crusaders v Sharks
@ AMI Stadium, Christchurch

Crusaders: 15 David Havili, 14 Seta Tamanivalu, 13 Jack Goodhue, 12 Ryan Crotty, 11 George Bridge, 10 Richie Mo’unga, 9 Bryn Hall, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Matt Todd, 6 Jordan Taufua, 5 Samuel Whitelock (c), 4 Scott Barrett, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Tim Perry
Replacements: 16 Andrew Makalio, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Michael Alaalatoa, 19 Luke Romano, 20 Pete Samu, 21 Mitchell Drummond, 22 Mitchell Hunt, 23 Manasa Mataele

Waratahs v Highlanders
@ Allianz Stadium, Sydney

Waratahs: 15 Israel Folau, 14 Alex Newsome, 13 Curtis Rona, 12 Kurtley Beale, 11 Taqele Naiyaravoro, 10 Bernard Foley (c), 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Michael Wells, 7 Will Miller, 6 Ned Hanigan, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Jed Holloway, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Damien Fitzpatrick, 1 Tom Robertson
Replacements: 16 Tolu Latu, 17 Harry Johnson-Holmes, 18 Paddy Ryan, 19 Tom Staniforth, 20 Brad Wilkin, 21 Jake Gordon, 22 Cameron Clark, 23 Bryce Hegarty

Highlanders: 15 Ben Smith (cc), 14 Waisake Naholo, 13 Rob Thompson, 12 Teihorangi Walden, 11 Tevita Li, 10 Lima Sopoaga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Luke Whitelock, 7 James Lentjes, 6 Liam Squire, 5 Tom Franklin, 4 Jackson Hemopo, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Liam Coltman, 1 Daniel Lienert-Brown
Replacements: 16 Ash Dixon (cc), 17 Aki Seiuli, 18 Kalolo Tuiloma, 19 Shannon Frizell, 20 Elliot Dixon, 21 Kayne Hammington, 22 Josh Ioane, 23 Matt Faddes

Lions v Jaguares
@ Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg

Daryl Gibson reflects on tumultuous two years

Posted on March 6, 2019 by BLOGGERPARUNG

Waratahs coach Daryl Gibson admits he doesn’t know if he would have taken the job if he knew what he would be getting himself into.

Gibson’s first two years saw the ‘Tahs finish 10th in 2017 and a record-lowest 16th last year in an initiation of sorts at the start of his tenure. Despite pressure on him to be sacked, the ‘Tahs brains trust stuck with their man.

And now, Gibson looks to be repaying the faith shown in him, with the Sydneysiders comfortably topping the Australian Conference, thus setting up a home quarter-final against the Highlanders on Saturday.

But it wasn’t always plain sailing as Gibson revealed in an interview with the Fox Rugby Podcast.

“They backed me last season off two pretty average, mediocre years,” Gibson said.

“I don’t know whether I would have taken the job when I look back.

“As much as it was a winning team, it was very much a team in transition in terms of the roster, the playing list.

“The systems and everything that goes with the experience of all your staff being in place had gone, disappeared.

“To put that back in place and to really, truly own it and do it the way I wanted to do it — it’s taken to this point just to get here.

“One of my goals as NSW coach is making sure that part of the legacy that I want to leave behind is all those development systems and positions that we have in our club, are filled and work regardless of who the head coach is.”

He added: “If I had my time again, I probably would have been a little bit more patient.

“I’ve learnt how important it is that the head coach is supported from an organisational view.

“Having incredible stability and direction — the CEO, the chairman, the captain, your support staff — all in place and being really stable and all aligned towards one direction and a firm direction.

“When I look back to 2015, when Cheik left to take on the Wallabies, he took six staff with him, which is a big hole to fill.

“At the time we had no CEO, no general manager — the ingredients that you need to be a really successful club weren’t in place and so we really were starting from a blank canvas.

“For some coaches that would be a really appealing thing, but I guess being inexperienced at that stage, I made some mistakes.

“When I reflect on that, I would have probably taken my time a little bit more and been far more considered with my moves.”

Preview: Lions v Jaguares

Posted on March 6, 2019 by BLOGGERPARUNG

The Lions and Jaguares will clash for the third time this season when they go head-to-head in the fourth and final Qualifier at Ellis Park on Saturday.

For the hosts, they are attempting to reach the semi-finals for the third successive year having competed in the showpiece event in 2016 and ’17. They lost to the Hurricanes and Crusaders in the respective finals but, after once again finishing top of the South African Conference, their consistency is to be admired.

Unlike the past two campaigns, however, the Johannesburg-based outfit have endured a much tougher season in 2018 and their opponents this weekend came close to usurping Swys de Bruin’s men.

Only defeats to the Bulls and Sharks prevented the Argentinians from overtaking De Bruin’s outfit and claiming a home game in the quarter-finals. As it is, the Jaguares will have to travel to Ellis Park and face the Lions at altitude but you get the feeling that Mario Ledesma and his charges will not be too concerned.

After disappointing in their first two years in Super Rugby, this has been a marked development by the Jaguares, who have looked far more assured under the former front-rower. He has improved their previously ailing set-piece and been slightly more conservative than the all-out attack approach that encompassed the previous regime.

The Lions are still the favourites, though, and have been on good form recently, winning three of their past four matches. Home form has also been a significant factor in matches between the teams with neither managing to pick up a victory on their travels.

Last year was the closest either came to upsetting the hosts when the Argentinians succumbed 24-21 in Johannesburg but, in the other five encounters, neither have got within 12 points of the opposition.

That should change on Saturday with the South Africans not quite at the same level as the previous couple of seasons. They should ultimately have enough to defeat the Jaguares but it is a difficult game to call with the Argentines going into the contest under little pressure.

The last time the teams met: The Jaguares gained revenge for their defeat in Round Two by overcoming the Lions 49-35 in Buenos Aires. It was the start of a remarkable run which saw them claim eight victories in nine matches as they reached the play-offs for the first time. Bautista Delguy’s first minute score set them on their way and, although Marvin Orie and Sylvian Mahuza responded for the visitors, two tries via Emiliano Boffelli and another from Javier Ortega Desio put the Argentines in command. The Lions did close the gap through Malcolm Marx’s brace and Lourens Erasmus’ effort but Bautista Ezcurra and Ortega Desio completed the win for the hosts.

Players to watch:

For Lions: After being maligned for his performance against England, Elton Jantjies has settled back in nicely to the Lions’ surroundings, but this will be his first truly high pressure match since returning to the franchise. How will he react and can the Jaguares put him under enough pressure to make him wilt? That is what the Hurricanes and Crusaders managed to do in the previous two Super Rugby finals and there are significant question marks over his temperament in big games.

For Jaguares: Following Tomas Lezana’s emergence in the back-row, previous incumbent at openside Marcos Kremer has been moved to lock. The 20-year-old has been in excellent form this season but the back five forward has struggled to reproduce that over recent weeks. However, he has an opportunity to rectify that in his other position having played much of his age-grade career in the second-row. Kremer is a powerful ball-carrier and obviously adept at the line-out so they will look for the youngster to get them on the front foot.

Team news: Ross Cronje and Aphiwe Dyantyi will start for the Lions on Saturday as they look to make it a third successive semi-final.

They have replaced Courtnall Skosan and the injured Nic Groom in the starting line-up with boss Swys de Bruin making two changes to the side.

De Bruin has also altered the bench slightly following Groom’s enforced absence with Dillon Smit among the replacements, while prop Dylan Smith is selected ahead of Jacobie Adriaanse.

Meanwhile, Jaguares head coach Mario Ledesma has made several changes to his squad to face the Lions.

With qualification already secured last weekend, the Argentinian outfit decided to rest a number of key first team players.

All those duly return with Emiliano Boffelli, Matias Orlando, Jeronimo de la Fuente, Matias Moroni, Nicolas Sanchez and Gonzalo Bertranou named in the backline.

On the bench, Ledesma has decided to go with a six-two split with Matias Alemanno, Tomas Lavanini and Juan Manuel Leguizamon providing lock and back-row cover.

Form: Following a mid-season blip where the Lions suffered three successive losses, going down to the Reds, Hurricanes and Highlanders, they have recovered to claim the South African Conference. Swys de Bruin’s outfit go into the match in decent form having beaten the Brumbies, Stormers and Bulls in their previous four matches, with their only defeat coming against the Sharks in Durban.

Meanwhile, the Jaguares go into the contest off the back of consecutive losses after succumbing to both the Bulls and Sharks. It prevented them from claiming top spot in the division having put themselves in an excellent position following seven victories in a row. They have proven that they can win away from home this season but they have remarkably yet to do so on South African soil.

Prediction: The Jaguares are much improved from the side that went down by 20 points in the regular-season fixture at Ellis Park, but we think that home advantage will be a decisive factor. Lions by 5.

Previous results:

2018: Jaguares won 49-35 in Buenos Aires
2018: Lions won 47-27 in Johannesburg
2017: Lions won 24-21 in Johannesburg
2017: Jaguares won 36-24 in Buenos Aires
2016: Jaguares won 34-22 in Buenos Aires
2016: Lions won 52-24 in Johannesburg

The teams: