Tag: Rugby

Leinster will begin the defence of their title with a mouth-watering Heineken Champions Cup clash against Wasps at the RDS Arena on Friday, 12 October.

The Pool 1 confrontation is one of a host of top-quality matches in the fixture schedules for all six rounds of the 2018/19 Champions Cup which have been announced by tournament organisers EPCR.

Premiership champions Saracens begin their campaign on Sunday, 14 October when they take on Glasgow Warriors at Scotstoun Stadium, and last season’s Guinness PRO14 runners-up Scarlets will be at home against the 2018 Champions Cup defeated finalists Racing 92 on Saturday, 13 October.

TOP 14 winners Castres make the journey to Kingsholm to face Gloucester in Pool 2 on Sunday, 14 October, while Cardiff Blues, who triumphed in last season’s Challenge Cup, go head-to-head with tournament debutants Lyon at the Matmut Stadium de Gerland on the same day.

To mark the start of what promises to be an eventful road to the 2019 Newcastle finals, the Falcons are back in Europe’s top flight for the first time since 2005 and Dean Richards’ side have a demanding opening fixture against RC Toulon at Stade Mayol on Sunday, 14 October.

EPCR weekends

Round 1: 12/13/14 October
Round 2: 19/20/21 October
Round 3: 7/8/9 December
Round 4: 14/15/16 December
Round 5: 11/12/13 January 2019
Round 6: 18/19/20 January 2019
Quarter-finals: 29/30/31 March 2019
Semi-finals: 19/20/21 April 2019

2019 Newcastle finals

Challenge Cup final: Friday 10 May, St James’ Park (19.45)
Heineken Champions Cup final: Saturday 11 May, St James’ Park (17.00)

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Promising young back-rower Angus Scott-Young has signed a new contract with the Queensland Reds through to the end of the 2019 season.

The 21-year-old, son of former Wallaby hard man Sam, Scott-Young has already begun to establish his own reputation as a talented, hard-working forward.

He made his Super Rugby debut in Round 3 against the Brumbies earlier this year and earned 14 caps throughout the season.

Scott-Young said: “It was an exciting year to make my debut and get the opportunity to play in so many games. There are a lot of young guys coming through at the moment. We’ve made some developments, but there is plenty of improvement to go.

“There’s a core group of us who have been playing for Queensland representative sides for years, even though this was only our first year for the Reds. We’re a tight group and we enjoy working hard for each other. That bodes well for the future.”

The flanker is one of 14 players who have progressed through Queensland’s pathway programs to Super Rugby in recent years, under the guidance of Reds head coach Brad Thorn at either under-20s or National Rugby Championship level.

“We’ve had Angus around Ballymore for a few years now and he’s been quietly working away, learning his craft. He’s a hard worker and brings plenty of physicality to the role, which is what you want to see from a young back rower,” Thorn said.

“He’s only 21, so he has a lot of growth left in his game. He recognises that and understands hard work is the key to the success of any individual, as well as the team.

“We had 12 debutants in 2018 and a really young squad. They learned a lot this season and it’s great to see them sticking together and committing to what we’re trying to achieve here.”

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Siya Kolisi and his Springbok team are energised, excited and ready for their Rugby Championship opener with Argentina in Durban on Saturday.

Kolisi will skipper the Boks from the side of the scrum following his swap with the experienced Francois Louw in a revamped loose trio, which also includes the returning Warren Whiteley at number eight.

“It’s vital that you start the competition on a good note,” said Kolisi on Friday.

“Winning home games are very important, and we know it’s going to be a huge contest on Saturday against Argentina, who will also be energised by the appointment of their new coach.

“The Jaguares’ performances in Super Rugby will give the Pumas a lot of confidence so we know we will have deliver a quality performance against them here in Durban.”

The Springbok skipper said it was especially good to welcome back Whiteley, Louw, Eben Etzebeth and Malcolm Marx. He was also excited to see the uncapped Marco van Staden and Damian Willemse included in the Springbok matchday 23 for the first time.

According to Kolisi, the Springboks want to build on their success during the June internationals, when they managed a 2-1 win over a very good England side.

“I’m really excited for tomorrow’s match and we are looking to continue to build on what we started in June,” he said.

“Some of us had been in training for up to five weeks in Stellenbosch and we’ve spend a lot of time focussing on areas where we can improve.”

Former Springbok forward and 1995 Rugby World Cup winner Mark Andrews presented the Boks with their matchday jerseys at their team hotel in Durban on Friday afternoon.

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Australia were dealt a blow ahead of Saturday’s Bledisloe Cup clash with New Zealand in Sydney with the news that replacement prop Taniela Tupou has been ruled out with a hamstring injury.

Tupou suffered the injury at Friday’s captain’s run less than 36 hours before kick-off in the Rugby Championship opener, according to a News Corp report on Saturday.

The prop confirmed he would be missing the match via his public Facebook page.

The 22-year-old’s absence would be a major blow for the Wallabies, with Tupou a force for Australia against Ireland in June.

The Wallabies rely heavily on his impact off the bench and Saturday’s match would have been his first chance to go head-to-head with the All Blacks pack.

It is unclear how serious the injury may be, but the Wallabies will be hoping the damaging prop is cleared for the second Test in Auckland next week.

Rebels tighthead Jermaine Ainsley was kitted up as 24th man on Friday and will step into the matchday 23 as Tupou’s replacement.

Tupou’s injury is the second major front-row absence for the Australian side after regular loosehead Scott Sio was ruled out with a shoulder injury.

Australia (revised): 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

Date: Saturday, August 18
Venue: ANZ Stadium, Sydney
Kick-off: 19:45 local (10:45 BST, 09:45 GMT)
Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Wayne Barnes (England), Luke Pearce (England)
TMO: Marius Jonker (South Africa)

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The Pumas got their Currie Cup campaign off to a fine start when they claimed a deserved 42-19 victory over Griquas in Nelspruit on Friday.

The home side were full value for their win as they dominated for large periods and eventually outscored Griquas by five tries to three and Chris Smith finished with a 22-point haul courtesy of a try, for conversions and three penalties.

Two penalties from Smith gave the Pumas a 6-0 lead by the 22nd minute before their captain, Hennie Skorbinski, ran onto a pass from Stefan Ungerer deep inside Griquas’ 22 and crossed for the opening try.

Smith added the extras before the visitors struck back in the 32nd minute via a well-taken try from AJ Coertzen, who beat a couple of defenders on his way over the whitewash. George Whitehead slotted the conversion which meant the Pumas led 13-7 at half-time.

The home side came out firing in the second half and two minutes after the restart they were rewarded when Ungerer went over for their second try from close quarters after Marnus Schoeman was stopped just short of the try-line in the build up.

The next 20 minutes was one-way traffic as the Pumas scored 22 unanswered points during that period.

Smith added his third penalty in the 48th minute and he continued to impress when he charged down an attempted clearance kick from Whitehead before regathering the ball and scoring his side’s third try.

The Pumas’ dominance reaped further reward in the 58th minute when Ungerer launched a high kick which Neil Maritz gathered before outpacing the Griquas cover defence on his way over the try-line.

Griquas were dealt a blow shortly afterwards when Liam Hendricks was yellow carded for a cynical defensive foul deep inside his half.

The Pumas made their numerical advantage count when Schoeman crossed the try-line off the back of a driving maul in the 62nd minute.

With the game in the bag, the hosts took their foot off the pedal which allowed Griquas to finish stronger and they were rewarded with late tries from Christiaan Meyer and Conway Pretorius which added some respectability to the final score.

The scorers:

For Pumas:
Tries: Skorbinski, Ungerer, C Smith, Maritz, Schoeman
Cons: C Smith 4
Pens: C Smith 3

For Griquas:
Tries: Coertzen, Meyer, Pretorius
Cons: Whitehead 2
Yellow Card: Hendricks

Pumas: 15 Gerrit Smith, 14 JP Lewis, 13 Ryan Nell, 12 Hennie Skorbinski (c), 11 Neil Maritz, 10 Christopher Smith, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Willie Engelbrecht, 7 Stefan Willemse, 6 Marnus Schoeman, 5 Cameron Lindsay, 4 Le Roux Roets, 3 Marné Coetzee, 2 Simon Westraadt, 1 Kwezi Mona
Replacements: 16 Frankie Herne, 17 Andrew Beerwinkel, 18 Hugo Kloppers, 19 Jeandré Rudolph, 20 Reynier van Rooyen, 21 Justin van Staden, 22 Trompie Pretorius

Griquas: 15 AJ Coertzen, 14 Ederies Arendse, 13 Kyle Steyn (c), 12 Christopher Bosch, 11, Godfrey Ramaboea, 10 George Whitehead, 9 Christiaan Meyer, 8 Conway Pretorius, 7 Sias Koen, 6 Wendal Wehr, 5 FP Pelser, 4 Sintu Manjezi, 3 Nicolaas Oosthuizen, 2 Khwezi Mkhafu, 1 Devon Martinus
Replacements: 16 AJ Le Roux, 17 Liam Hendricks, 18 Ruan Kramer, 19 Pieter Van Vuren, 20 Izak Burger, 21 Jonathan Janse van Rensburg, 22 Andre Swarts

Referee: Rasta Rasivhenge
Assistant referees: Ricus van der Hoven, Des van Wyk
TMO: Shaun Veldsman

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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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