Young Sharks fullback, Patrick Lambie has been superb under the high ball all season, in this pic he goes up against veteran Wallaby lock, Nathan Sharpe, and only just misses out. Not bad height though, considering Lambie is about half Sharpe’s size [Sport24]
This season, we have all seen what Quade Cooper is capable of. Causing headaches for oppostion defense in almost every game. This pass(below) to Peter Hynes, against the Highlanders, took things to a new level though.
It’s all good and well saying that he could take those risks, with nothing left to play for, but what which way you look at it, this guy is fast becoming one of the leading rugby brains around.
He is a must for the Wallaby #10 jersey, with Matt Giteau shifting to the #12 jumper. Genius, pure genius…
Imagine how much better that would have looked in a pair of Puma boots…
Will Dan be back to his best for the Orlando clash?
Crusaders VS Brumbies: The Crusaders, still upset from last week’s defeat to the Bulls, were the first of the ‘probables‘ to secure their place in the 2010 Super 14 semi finals, when they took apart their biggest rivals, the Brumbies, in Christchurch on Friday.
The Crusaders had their eye on the prize from the get go, and always looked like they were going to end the night with a win and in the process, earning a much wanted rematch against the Bulls, this time at Orlando stadium though.
The Crusaders opened up the try scoring sheet when Sean Maitland crossed the chalk after the 12th minute. The Brumbies weren’t ready to lie down though, and just 6 minutes later, Tyrone Smith, who has been firing from the midfield in recent weeks, hit back with a try for the Brumbies.
The Brumbies kept themselves on the right side of the stats, but it was all the Crusaders from there on out, as the Brumbies didn’t really look confident enough to win it, not using their opportunities, and ending their playoff hopes.
I saw this pic whilst browsing through the photo galeries on the Sport24 website, and couldn’t help but laugh when I read the caption at the bottom. It seems a few of the captions are muddled up in the recent Bulls training gallery. Not a biggy, quite funny though.
Seems like De Wet has been getting a fair amount of sun in P.E…. Have another beer mate!
After the SA Cricket team’s generally dismal display at the T20 World Cup, rumours are rife that Bjorn Basson will be brought in as a new fielding coach, along with Cameron Sheperd as an assistant… [Sport24]
Photo by Charle Lombard / Gallo Images
Nuff said…
Chiefs VS Waratahs: The Waratahs kept their playoff hopes very much alive when they recorded their biggest ever win over the Chiefs on Saturday.
The Waratahs opened up their try scoring sheet within 3 minutes of the whistle, and never looked back, recording an impressive 7 try route of the Chiefs.
The first of these 7 tries came from the counter attack, when Drew Mitchell made an impressive 70 metre run, stepping through the Chiefs’ defensive line and ending in a kick and chase for the try.
The Chiefs on the other hand, just seemed to go through the paces of yet another under par performance in what has become an absolutely dismal season.
The Waratahs displayed some good running rugby, but it was the shockingly poor tackling from the Chiefs that stuck out in the match.
The following from SANZAR: Chiefs winger, Dwayne Sweeney, has been suspended for three weeks for a dangerous tackle on an opponent during his team’s Super 14 match against the Waratahs at Waikato Stadium on Saturday, 10 May 2010.
Sweeney appeared before Judicial Officer Peter Hobbs at the NZRU offices in Wellington today, having been cited for a tip tackle on Waratahs winger, Drew Mitchell, in the 19th minute of the match.
At the outset of the hearing, Sweeney accepted the allegation that the tackle had been dangerous, Mr Hobbs said.
After considering the evidence and statements by, and on behalf of the player, Mr Hobbs accepted that the offence was at the low end of culpability and that it was not deliberate. Mr Hobbs also took into account that Mr Sweeney’s previous record included two yellow cards for dangerous tackles and there was a need to deter dangerous tackles of this kind.
Sweeney has been suspended up to and including 31 May 2010. He will not be eligible to play again until 1 June 2010.
Round 13 of the 2010 Super 14 was action packed as the round robin stages head toward a close. There were plenty of great action shots to choose from, but this one caught my eye. WTF is King Carlos up to here? [Getty Images]
Some fibre in your diet will sort that right out mate...
Hurricanes VS Reds: The Hurricanes moved closer to making their playoff hopes a reality when the recorded an amazing ‘come from behind’ victory over the Reds at Westpac Stadium on Friday.
The Hurricanes opened the try scoring sheet when in form fullback, Cory Jane crossed the chalk for a well worked try, after Hosea Gear broke through the Reds’ defense and popped the ball inside for Jane to cross over.
After the try, the Reds game to the game, racing ahead to a 21- 8 lead within the next 20 minutes, but Hosea Gear scored a try after the half time hooter, to narow the gap, and keep the Hurricanes in the game.
After the break, it was the Hurricanes who played most of the rugby, scoring four more tries and keeping the Reds scoreless over the next 50 minutes.
Hosea Gear was superb on the night, scoring a hat trick of tries, but it was Cory Jane who was deservedly named man of the match, continuing his superb form that will surely see him, once again, named in the All Black squad.
In a year that has, so far, seen players like Pedrie Wannenberg, Keven Mealamu, John Smit, Victor Matfield and Richie McCaw reach the milestone of 100 Super Rugby games, two more legends of the game, in Danie Rossouw and Rodney So’oialo, are set to make their 100th appearance in Super Rugby. The following from their respective unions:
Vodacom Bulls stalwart, Danie Rossouw, will become the third player in the team to play 100 Super Rugby games when they take on the Crusaders in Friday’s clash against the Crusaders at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.
He follows Pedrie Wannenburg (108) as the second Bulls player to earn this distinction, with Victor Matfield (106), who has played 98 of his matches for the Bulls and eight for the Cats.
The 31-year old Rossouw, who made his Super Rugby debut in 2001 against the Cats, has only scored five tries in this time (the last during the 2009- final), but has played with as many numbers on his back, showing his great versatility as a rugby player.
He played most of his rugby at lock, but have also excelled as a loose forward and started at number eight against the Waratahs this year, the same position he played in the World Cup final with the Springboks in 2007.
He still rates that World Cup gold medal as a career highlight, with the 2008 Currie Cup final defeat against the Sharks as his worst day in rugby.
Rossouw, who loves hunting, fishing and golf, rates the Crusaders as his most difficult opponent and will relish the chance to front up to them again.
Bio:
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Hurricanes and All Blacks stalwart Rodney So’oialo will put on the Hurricanes jersey for 100th time this Friday when he runs out against the Reds. With this milestone he joins Tana Umaga as the only other Hurricanes player to gain this achievement. Rodney has been a great campaigner for the Hurricanes throughout his career and this milestone couldn’t be reached by a more passionate and dedicated player.
Known for his big work-rate and determination to take the ball straight up the middle, Rodney has become a favorite with Hurricanes supporters. His hard tackling and hard running has put fear into opposition defenders and attackers season after season.
He has been an outstanding leader for the Hurricanes, after becoming a senior member of the squad. He captained the team four times in 2005 and eventually took over the reins in 2006 from Tana Umaga. His captaincy record currently stands at, 49-games with 32 wins and 16 losses.
So’oialo’s name has been a mainstay on Hurricanes team-sheets for the past nine seasons since he played his first match at openside flanker against the Reds in Brisbane in the first round of the 2001 Super 12 season. In the very next match following his debut against the Queenslanders, he came on as a substitute against the Stormers in Wellington for his hometown debut.
Bio:
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Super 14:
International:
