Category: Rugby

The Hurricanes have added two more players for the next two seasons after the signing of prop Fraser Armstrong and back-row Du’Plessis Kirifi.

Armstrong, 26, was part of the Hurricanes in 2018 and has agreed to a two-year extension at the club after impressing in his rookie season when he made eight appearances.

Kirifi, 21, had a breakthrough year for the Wellington Lions as they won the 2017 Mitre 10 Cup championship and has continued that excellent form at the start of the 2018 season.

He trained with the Hurricanes as injury cover during the 2018 Super Rugby competition when his work was well and truly noticed.

Armstrong said he grew up loving the Hurricanes and was looking forward to extending his time with the club.

“I have felt my game is continuing to develop at the club and I’m getting to at a point where I can really challenge for a spot in the playing squad,” he told the Hurricanes website.

Kirifi was equally delighted to sign, saying: “The opportunity to be part of this club is one I’m extremely grateful for.”

“I’ve wanted to pull the Hurricanes’ jersey on for as long as I remember. Its a huge privilege and I’m extremely fortunate I get the chance to contribute to the club’s legacy.”

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Check out the highlights from Round One of the PRO14 season.

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Leicester Tigers have announced the departure of head coach Matt O’Connor with immediate effect, with Geordan Murphy taking interim charge.

Assistant coach Murphy, an eight-time Premiership title winner and double European champion in 16 years as a player at Tigers, will take charge of team affairs.

O’Connor began his second spell at the club in the closing rounds of the 2016/17 season and guided Tigers into the Premiership semi-finals at the end of that campaign before a fifth-place finish the following year.

Leicester Tigers club chairman Peter Tom CBE said: “Matt was appointed head coach in April 2017 on the basis of his previous Premiership experience and his knowledge of the club. But we believe the time is right to make this change in the best interests of the Tigers moving forward.

“We would like to thank Matt for his hard work and commitment to the club in two spells at Welford Road, and we wish him and his family well for the future.”

Former Tigers captain Murphy will assume control of team affairs immediately alongside coaches Mark Bakewell, Boris Stankovich and Brett Deacon.

Chairman Tom added: “As a club, Leicester Tigers will always aspire to challenge for major honours in the incredibly competitive arena of professional elite club rugby and everyone at the club will fully support Geordan and the management group in driving the team forward.

“Geordan knows the expectations and ambitions of the Tigers as well as anyone after more than 20 years here as player and coach, and we wish him and the team the very best for the challenges ahead.”

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All Blacks prop Owen Franks is bracing himself for a titanic battle up front against an Argentine pack that he believes poses a ‘huge challenge’. 

The Pumas outmuscled and outfought the Springboks in the scrum and set-piece in the sides’ Rugby Championship clash in Mendoza a little over a week back.

It was only their fourth win in 35 Rugby Championship games. The All Blacks, in contrast, have won their last 15 tournament fixtures. Franks, who reached 100 caps for the All Blacks in the 40-12 victory over the Wallabies, certainly knows a thing or two about scrummaging and was quick to praise the Argentine pack for their showing against the Boks.

“They take real pride in their set piece,” Franks told Reuters in Nelson.

“You saw against South Africa they kept the ball in their scrum and they had ascendancy.

“The thing about the Pumas is you can never underestimate them. Back in 2012 or the year before, their scrum went to another level and I probably didn’t give them the respect they deserved and I paid for it.

“It’s a big challenge.”

Meanwhile, All Blacks lock Brodie Retallick expects a tougher challenge at the lineout than he is previously used to experiencing against Argentina.

“They’re obviously big men,” Retallick said.

“In the past we’ve backed our speed to get on top of them but seeing them in the first couple of rounds, they’ve become very explosive and they’re chucking their jumpers outrageously high in the air (during line-outs).

“They’ve obviously put a lot of work into that, especially defensively, trying to cut off ball.

“(Line-outs) are like running a race, the fastest person wins.

“If you’re the first off the ground with a good lift then 99 percent of the time you’re going to get to the top before they do. That’s certainly the philosophy we take to it.”

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Bath have announced that Zach Mercer has agreed a two-year contract extension, which will keep him at the club until the end of the 2020/21 season.

Mercer has made 38 appearances and has drawn wide acclaim for his performances in the Blue, Black and White, with the 21-year-old finishing the 2017/18 season with six tries. The back-rower also caught the eye of England head coach Eddie Jones, making his debut against the Barbarians in May.

Mercer, who was promoted to the senior squad from the Academy in 2017 said: “I couldn’t ask for a better place to continue my development – we’ve got a great setup with the coaches and players along with an amazing supporter base.

“It’s a really exciting time to be part of this club, and our challenge now is to make sure we’re up there competing with the best in the (Gallagher) Premiership and Europe.”

Director of rugby Todd Blackadder said: “Zach is a huge talent, and we’re really pleased to have secured his future with the club.”

“Over the last two years, he has worked incredibly hard at all the aspects of his game; this has paid dividends and is clear to see in his dominant performances. He has got all the attributes to become a world-class player, and it’s great to know that he sees Bath as the place to do that.

“With the likes of Toby (Faletau) and Francois (Louw), he’s got some of the best players to learn from and I’m sure he’ll continue to thrive in this environment over the next three years.”

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Ospreys are set to be without Luke Price until next year after the fly-half broke his leg in their 17-13 win over Edinburgh last Friday.

Price, 22, was selected ahead of Sam Davies as the Welsh region began life without Dan Biggar, who joined Northampton during the off-season.

But now the youngster is set to miss a significant chunk of the season due to this injury, with Davies poised for plenty of game time at 10.

Allen Clarke’s Ospreys take on the Cheetahs at Liberty Stadium this Saturday as they look to make it two victories out of two in the PRO14.

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Ulster have been dealt a blow after prop Kyle McCall was ruled out for up to 12 weeks following elbow surgery to repair a torn tendon.

McCall sustained the injury in training last week with Ulster also monitoring Tom O’Toole, who suffered a concussion against the Scarlets. He will follow the Return To Play protocols.

They join Rory Best (hamstring), David Busby (knee), Jean Deysel (knee), Louis Ludik (hamstring), Luke Marshall (knee), Marty Moore (calf), Stewart Moore (knee), Tommy O’Hagan (perforated ear drum), Clive Ross (knee), Jacob Stockdale (hamstring) on the current injury list.

Ulster opened their PRO14 season with a 15-13 win over the Scarlets and face Edinburgh at home this Friday.

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Check out the highlights from Round Two of the Top 14 season.

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Check out the video highlights from Round One of the Premiership season.

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Sharks head coach Robert du Preez has made just two changes to the team that defeated Free State in Bloemfontein last weekend for the clash with the Pumas at Kings Park on Friday.

Both of them are rotational switches as Du Preez opts not to make too many changes to a winning formula.

After an impressive debut off the bench last week, Luke Stringer has been handed a start in only his second Currie Cup match for the Sharks, swapping places with Wian Vosloo who plays off the bench.

Similarly, the exciting young Aphelele Fassi also gets a first start, at full-back, with Curwin Bosch slotting in amongst the replacements to make an impact later in the game.

There is further good news as Akker van der Merwe returns to the side (named on the bench) after missing the opening two rounds.

Sharks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Jeremy Ward, 12 Marius Louw, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Robert du Preez, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Daniel du Preez, 7 Tyler Paul, 6 Luke Stringer, 5 Hyron Andrews, 4 Gideon Koegelenberg, 3 John-Hubert Meyer, 2 Chiliboy Ralepelle (c), 1 Juan Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Akker van der Merwe, 17 Khutha Mchunu, 18 Andrew Evans, 19 Wian Vosloo, 20 Cameron Wright, 21 Johan Deysel, 22 Curwin Bosch

Date: Friday, September 7
Venue: Kings Park, Durban
Kick-off: 19:00 local (17:00 GMT)
Referee: Cwengile Jadezweni
Assistant referees: Archie Sehlako, Graciano Pienaar
TMO: Christie du Preez

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