Category: Rugby

The Blue Bulls made a winning start to their Currie Cup campaign when they beat the Free State Cheetahs 34-12 in Bloemfontein on Friday.

The visitors had to dig deep for this win as the Cheetahs dominated for large periods but in the end they could not convert that dominance into points.

The men from Pretoria eventually took control of proceedings midway through the second half and outscored their hosts by four tries to two.

The home side were fastest out of the blocks and opened the scoring as early as the third minute when Joseph Dweba showed great pace and determination to shrug off two tackles before crossing for a deserved try.

Tian Schoeman did well to land the conversion attempt from close to the touchline which gave the Cheetahs an early 7-0 lead.

The Bulls soaked up the early pressure but struck back 10 minutes later when Manie Libbok scored their first try after running on to a well-timed offload from Jamba Ulengo close to the Cheetahs’ posts.

Libbok added the extras which meant the sides were level at 7-7 but the Cheetahs suffered another setback shortly afterwards when Ox Nche received a yellow card for a high tackle on Ruan Nortje.

Despite their numerical advantage, the Bulls could not gain the upper-hand and failed to score points during Nche’s spell on the sidelines.

The Cheetahs thought they had regained the lead when Nico Lee went over the whitewash in the 34th minute but television replays revealed that he lost the ball while dotting down.

That meant that the teams changed sides at the interval with the score deadlocked at 7-7.

The Cheetahs were fastest out of the blocks in the second half and four minutes after the restart Shaun Venter outpaced the cover defence before diving over in the right-hand corner.

That was the last time the hosts would score points and Libbok reduced the deficit for the Bulls to two points when he added a penalty in the 51st minute.

Five minutes later, the Bulls took the lead for the first time courtesy of a penalty try after Justin Basson illegally collapsed a driving maul deep inside his 22.

Basson was also yellow carded for his indiscretion and this allowed the visitors to take the game by the scruff of the neck.

On the hour-mark, Jade Stighling found himself in space out wide – after gathering a fine cut out pass from Libbok – and did well to round a defender before scoring his side’s third try.

Libbok slotted the conversion and added another penalty five minutes later which gave his side a 15-point cushion and just before full-time Divan Rossouw sealed his side’s victory when he crossed for their fourth try.

The scorers:

For Free State Cheetahs:
Tries: Dweba, Venter
Con: Schoeman
Yellow Cards: Nche, Basson

For Bulls:
Tries: Libbok, Penalty try, Stighling, Rossouw
Cons: Libbok 3
Pens: Libbok 2

Free State Cheetahs: 15 Malcom Jaer, 14 Rabz Maxwane, 13 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 12 Nico Lee, 11 William Small-Smith, 10 Tian Schoeman, 9 Rudy Paige, 8 Niell Jordaan, 7 Oupa Mohoje (c), 6 Junior Pokomela, 5 JP du Preez, 4 Justin Basson, 3 Luan de Bruin, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Jacques du Toit, 17 Erich de Jager, 18 Gunther Janse van Vuuren, 19 Dennis Visser, 20 Gerhard Olivier, 21 Shaun Venter, 22 Louis Fouche

Blue Bulls: 15 Divan Rossouw, 14 Jade Stighling, 13 Johnny Kotze, 12 JT Jackson, 11 Jamba Ulengo, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Andre Warner, 8 Hanro Liebenberg (c), 7 Thembelani Bholi, 6 Ruan Steenkamp, 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Ruben van Heerden, 3 Conrad van Vuuren, 2 Edgar Marutlulle, 1 Matthys Basson
Replacements: 16 Jan-Henning Campher, 17 Dayan van der Westhuizen, 18 Hendre Stassen, 19 Jano Venter, 20 Theo Maree, 21 Tony Jantjies, 22 Earll Douwrie

Referee: Dan Jones (Wales)
Assistant Referees: Ben Crouse, Jaco Kotze
TMO: Lourens van der Merwe

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Gloucester have expressed their surprise and disappointment after they received notification of an RFU investigation into the behaviour of Danny Cipriani.

The Premiership club issued a statement which said: “Gloucester Rugby received notification on Friday afternoon from the RFU that Danny Cipriani has been charged with conduct prejudicial to the interests of the game contrary to RFU Rule 5.12.”

Gloucester Rugby CEO Stephen Vaughan said on Friday: “We are surprised and extremely disappointed to have recently received notification of disciplinary action against Danny Cipriani by the RFU.

“Yesterday afternoon I received a personal assurance from the RFU that no disciplinary discussions would take place until we had completed our own conversations as stated in our club release.

“With the team in Belfast for tomorrow’s preseason friendly against Ulster, we had indicated that this would be carried out early next week following the team’s return.

“There is no historic precedent of a player being singled out in this manner, and we feel that this disciplinary process has been influenced by the significant media coverage of this week’s events and other external factors and not based on the actual facts of the matter.

“In summary, we do not agree with the RFU’s decision to embark upon a disciplinary process before we have concluded our own internal discussions and fail to understand the reasons for this approach.

“We do not believe that this decision and the subsequent unnecessary public attention that will now follow it is in the best interests of either the RFU, the club, the player nor the game in general.”

England fly-half Cipriani, who joined the Cherry and Whites from Wasps at the end of last season, received a £2000 fine after pleading guilty to common assault and resisting arrest.

He was arrested after a nightclub incident in Jersey in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Earlier on Friday, the RFU issued a press statement which revealed that they would launch a disciplinary investigation into Cipriani’s behaviour.

“In light of his conviction for common assault and resisting arrest, Danny Cipriani has been charged with conduct prejudicial to the interests of the game contrary to Rugby Football Union Rule 5.12,” read the statement.

“RFU Head of Discipline David Barnes said: “We have high standards that we expect across the game, in line with rugby’s core values, from all those involved within it. I have this afternoon taken the decision to charge Danny Cipriani.”

Cipriani’s hearing in front of an independent disciplinary panel will take place next week with date, time and panel members to be confirmed.

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Following a 34-21 victory for South Africa over Argentina in their Rugby Championship game, here’s our five takeaways from the Durban clash.

Etzebeth comeback impressive: A significant lack of game time during 2018 due to injury makes this performance from Etzebeth all the more impressive. The abrasive second-row was a rock around the field and threw in a line-out steal and strong shift at the scrum. All in all it was a showing that will have delighted player, team mates, coach Rassie Erasmus and the Springbok supporters. Etzebeth is back with a bang.

September 15 ringed: After Round One of the Rugby Championship it’s looking like being the game in Round Four between New Zealand and South Africa which could prove decisive in where the trophy is heading. With home games against the Wallabies and Pumas coming before that showdown at Westpac Stadium, New Zealand could be on the verge of another title. South Africa look like having something to say about that though as if they can back up this effort in Mendoza and then Australia (away), they will be full of confidence in Wellington.

Argentina still well behind: Precious ball for the Pumas in the first-half in particular and while they crossed three times in Durban, they were all smash and grab scores. Of course this is the first game of what Argentina fans will hope is a long and fruitful tenure for Mario Ledesma but they cannot win Test matches with these flaws and a set-piece going backwards. Improvements are needed and fast if they’re to avoid another whitewash.

De Klerk and back three shine: He’s been a real catalyst for the Springboks since his inclusion in June, with De Klerk’s dynamism and smart rugby brain giving his side that X-factor they have desperately needed in recent seasons. The scrum-half was at his dangerous best again on Saturday and that meant chances for finishers such as Makazole Mapimpi and Aphiwe Dyantyi, who need no invitation to cross. It’s some trio.

Bok pack get job done: From 1-8 and 16, 17, 18 and 20, South Africa’s forwards all contributed to the victory. Up front the starting front-row and locks were outstanding in the set-piece and in general play while Francois Louw, Siya Kolisi and Warren Whiteley complimented each other well. It was then the turn of replacements Bongi Mbonambi, Steven Kitshoff, Thomas du Toit and Marco van Staden to impress, with the prop duo having become real impact men this year who will strike fear into all rivals. Van Staden meanwhile proved a nuisance at the ruck.

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All Blacks head coach Steve Hansen praised his side’s second-half display in their 38-13 Rugby Championship win over the Wallabies in Sydney on Saturday.

Down 6-5 at half-time, the All Blacks came out after the half-time break and blitzed the Australians to get one hand on the Cup for another year.

Hansen said the All Blacks management were not too concerned at the break.

“We thought the first half was like a prizefight, both teams were testing each other out,” he told SkySport.

“They [Australia] probably had their moments in the first 20 minutes and made us make a lot of tackles. Then it was our turn to have our moments and whilst we didn’t capitalise like we would have liked to have in that 20 minutes we certainly made them work hard.

“We managed one just before halftime and then after halftime we came out and hit the boards running and that was the hard work we had put in over the last 20 minutes of the first half.”

Part of the reason for the All Blacks success was down to the forward dominance, especially at line-outs.

Hansen said they knew the line-out was a big area of Australia’s play and that if they could hurt them there it would have the effect of nullifying some of their back play.

“It was something we wanted to do and the plan worked well so the boys should be congratulated for that,” he said.

Hansen added that lock Brodie Retallick had shown what the All Blacks missed when they didn’t have him.

“He’s an amazing footballer and when you can cast a shadow on a guy like Sam Whitelock, who I think is an amazing footballer as well, to have two of them in one team at the same time is pretty special,” he said.

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Highlights from New Zealand’s 38-13 win over Australia in Sydney on Saturday.

Video credit: SANZAAR

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A superb all-round performance by New Zealand saw them claim a deserved 38-13 win over Australia in Saturday’s Rugby Championship opener in Sydney.

In a tough and uncompromising encounter the Wallabies had the better of the early exchanges but the world champions improved as the match progressed and eventually outscored their hosts by six tries to one.

If the truth be told, the All Blacks were far from their best during the opening half as they delivered a lethargic showing which was littered with numerous unforced errors. But they were a completely different side after half-time and totally dominated the second half.

Australia made the brighter start and opened the scoring in the 10th minute courtesy of a Reece Hodge penalty after Kieran Read infringed at a ruck.

New Zealand were dealt a further blow three minutes later when Ryan Crotty was forced off the field after a clash of heads with his centre partner Jack Goodhue, with Anton Lienert-Brown coming on to replace Crotty.

And midway through the half, Bernard Foley made it 6-0 to the Wallabies when he added a three-pointer off the kicking tee after Liam Squire slowed the ball down illegally inside his 22.

The rest of the half was an attritional affair as both sides tried to gain the ascendancy and although the Wallabies held the upper-hand over the next 15 minutes, they did not trouble the scoreboard during that period.

On the stroke of half-time, the All Blacks came alive, however, and they did this in style thanks to a superb try from Aaron Smith. This, after Ben Smith did brilliantly to beat a couple of defenders just inside the Wallabies’ half and the ball was subsequently handled by Goodhue, Waisake Naholo and Read before the captain offloaded to his scrum-half, who crossed for a deserved try.

Beauden Barrett was off target with the conversion attempt and although the Wallabies led 6-5 as the teams changed sides at the interval, the momentum had swung in the world champions’ favour.

And four minutes into the second half, the All Blacks showed why they are the world’s best team with a try against the run of play which seemed to catch the Wallabies by surprise.

Australia were initially on the attack inside New Zealand’s 22 but Naholo did well to rip the ball from Marika Koroibete’s grasp and the world champions quickly shifted ball to Rieko Ioane, who found himself in space out wide. He still had work to do but did well to get an inside pass out to Goodhue, who outpaced the cover defence before crossing for his first Test try.

That score was a shot in the arm for the All Blacks and they received another confidence booster when Beauden Barrett pounced on a knock on from Dane Haylett-Petty just inside the Wallabies’ half in the 52nd minute. Barrett was fastest to react and booted the ball ahead before regathering and diving over the try-line.

The All Blacks were now running the ball from all areas of the field and it didn’t help the Wallabies’ cause when star full-back Israel Folau was forced to leave the fray with what looked like a serious ankle injury.

Shortly afterwards, Brodie Retallick found himself in space just outside Australia’s 22 before selling Foley a cheeky dummy on his way over the try-line.

To their credit, the Wallabies did not surrender and five minutes later replacement Jack Maddocks crossed for a try on his Test debut after Foley and Kurtley Beale combined brilliantly in the build-up.

But the All Blacks were far from done and finished the match stronger with Naholo crossing for two tries during the game’s closing stages. First, he collected an inch-perfect cross-field from fly-half Barrett before crossing untouched in the 73rd minute.

And four minutes before the end, he gathered a loose pass before beating a couple of defenders to add the final nail in the Wallabies’ coffin.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Try: Maddocks
Con: Foley
Pens: Hodge, Foley

For New Zealand:
Tries: A Smith, Goodhue, B Barrett, Retallick, Naholo 2
Cons: B Barrett 4

Australia: 15 Israel Folau, 14 Dane Haylett-Petty, 13 Reece Hodge, 12 Kurtley Beale, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Will Genia, 8 David Pocock, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 6 Lukhan Tui, 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Izack Rodda, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Tom Robertson
Replacements: 16 Tolu Latu, 17 Allan Alaalatoa, 18 Jermaine Ainsley, 19 Rob Simmons, 20 Pete Samu, 21 Nick Phipps, 22 Matt Toomua, 23 Jack Maddocks

New Zealand: 15 Ben Smith, 14 Waisake Naholo, 13 Jack Goodhue, 12 Ryan Crotty, 11 Rieko Ioane, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read (c), 7 Sam Cane, 6 Liam Squire, 5 Samuel Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Joe Moody
Replacements: 16 Nathan Harris, 17 Karl Tu’inukuafe, 18 Tim Perry, 19 Scott Barrett, 20 Ardie Savea, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Damian McKenzie, 23 Anton Lienert-Brown

Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Wayne Barnes (England), Luke Pearce (England)
TMO: Marius Jonker (South Africa)

by David Skippers

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Following a 38-13 victory for New Zealand over Australia in the Rugby Championship opener, here’s our five takeaways from the Sydney clash.

That black spell again: Trailing 6-0 with 39 minutes played, New Zealand then enjoyed one of their purple patches either side of half-time. Following a setback that saw Beauden Barrett miss a penalty, Australia switched off but New Zealand did not as Aaron Smith’s try sent them in 6-5 down. Upon on their return to the field tries from the impressive Jack Goodhue and fly-half Barrett before the 52nd minute put New Zealand 19-6 ahead. From that moment on they rarely looked troubled in terms of the result as that period once again proved profitable.

Wallabies woeful at the set-piece: Michael Cheika will be disappointed at the manner in which his charges were dismantled at the set-piece. The All Blacks held back on a few scrums, but targeted four of five from which they wreaked havoc. Cheika’s men were also guilty of being sloppy at line-out time, losing as many as six of their own throw-ins, four of those coming in the second 40. The absence of a world-class hooker, with Tatafu Polota-Nau nowhere near full match fitness, was a noticeable weakness of the Wallabies, while Taniela Tupou was sorely missed as a replacement prop as his impact in the set-piece and also around the field always a welcome boost for the Wallabies’ forwards.

Brodie shines on Sam’s 100th: Much of the Super Rugby campaign has seen praise lavished on Crusaders second-row duo Sam Whitelock and Scott Barrett. Now the international season is upon us it’s back to partnering up with Brodie Retallick for the former. Both were outstanding in Sydney with Retallick in particular standing out with his work in the set-piece, on the ground and around the field, with reward coming in the shape of a classy try in the second-half. It might have been Whitelock’s 100th Test in the black shirt but Retallick was the star lock.

Concern for Israel Folau but youngster announces himself: The sight of Folau limping from the action on 64 minutes was worrying to say the least for Wallaby fans but what will please them is Jack Maddocks’ performance off the bench. An impressive season for the Rebels saw him force his way into the international make-up and he showed in their warm-up game last week that he’s more than ready for the step up. That came on Saturday and he grabbed his chance with both hands, scoring a try and showing no fear in possession. Is a start now on the cards?

Barrett silences critics: With much of the pre-tournament talk about whether Richie Mo’unga had done enough to usurp Barrett in the number 10 jersey after having been the standout fly-half in Super Rugby this season, the back-to-back World Rugby Player of the Year sent out a statement that he was not willing to leave that throne anytime soon with a classy performance. Barrett scored a magnificent individual try before putting Naholo’s second on a platter with an expertly weighted cross-field kick, while in general he marshalled the attack superbly.

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The All Blacks will be without both centre Ryan Crotty and wing Rieko Ioane for the second Bledisloe Cup clash at Eden Park next weekend.

Crotty suffered a concussion while Ioane tore a hamstring during Saturday’s 38-13 Rugby Championship victory over the Wallabies in Sydney.

Therefore changes are set to be made to New Zealand‘s backline, with coach Steve Hansen revealing they are waiting on Vince Aso’s fitness.

“The guy we are pretty keen on is Aso, we are trying to get an update on his about how his wrist is,” he told reporters following their victory.

New Zealand aren’t alone in struggling with injury concerns, however, as Australia will be without Israel Folau next weekend, a blow Hansen believes they can bounce back from.

“We’d be silly to think they haven’t got another player who’s going to step in and wear the jersey with pride and urgency,” he said.

“Their backs are against the wall. They’re going to improve. Teams that get beaten learn better than those that win and are hungrier than those that win.”

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Check out the highlights from the recent Mitre 10 Cup action, starting with North Harbour’s Round One win over Northland in Albany.

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Highlights from South Africa’s 34-21 win over Argentina in Durban on Saturday.

Video credit: SANZAAR

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