Springboks VS Wallabies

04 September 2010 17h00 [GMT+2]

Vodacom Park – Bloemfontein

Springboks: 15. Francois Steyn, 14. JP Pietersen, 13. Jaque Fourie, 12. Jean de Villiers, 11. Bryan Habana, 10. Morne Steyn, 9. Francois Hougaard, 8. Pierre Spies, 7. Juan Smith, 6. Schalk Burger, 5. Victor Matfield, 4. Danie Rossouw, 3. Jannie du Plessis, 2. John Smit (capt), 1. Gurthro Steenkamp.

Reserves: 16. Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17. CJ van der Linde, 18. Flip van der Merwe, 19. Ryan Kankowski, 20. Ricky Januarie, 21. Juan de Jongh, 22. Gio Aplon.

Wallabies: 15. Kurtley Beale, 14. James O’Connor, 13. Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12. Matt Giteau, 11. Drew Mitchell, 10. Quade Cooper, 9. Will Genia, 8. Ben McCalman, 7. David Pocock, 6. Rocky Elsom (capt), 5. Nathan Sharpe, 4. Mark Chisholm, 3. Salesi Ma’afu, 2. Stephen Moore, 1. Benn Robinson.

Replacements: 16. Saia Fainga’a, 17. James Slipper, 18. Dean Mumm, 19. Richard Brown, 20. Luke Burgess, 21. Berrick Barnes, 22. Anthony Fainga’a.

• Date: Saturday 4 September 2010
• Venue: Vodacom Park – Bloemfontein
• Kick-off: 17h00 [GMT+2]
• Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
• Assistant referees: Nigel Owens (Wales), Simon McDowell (Ireland)
• TMO: Johann Meuwesen (South Africa)

A history of Australia VS South Africa in South Africa:

• This will be the 74th meeting between Australia and South Africa at all venues. Australia has won 28 and South Africa 44, while one match has been drawn.
• Just eight of Australia’s previous wins have been attained on South African soil, with the Springboks taking the other 30 matches that have been played.
• Australia has won just twice previously at high veldt venues: 15-4 in 1933 at Bloemfontein and 11-9 in 1963 at Ellis Park in Johannesburg.
• The Wallabies have been beaten on their two most recent visits to Bloemfontein, including their first ever Tri Nations match in the Republic in 1996, which was lost 19-25.
• Australia’s 11-point win over South Africa at Bloemfontein in 1933 is one of just three defeats suffered by the Springboks from 16 Tests played in the Free State capital.
• Vodacom Park is home to the Free State Cheetahs in the domestic South African Currie Cup competition. It is also the home of the Cheetahs in Super Rugby.
• The ground witnessed a then record score during the 1995 Rugby World Cup when New Zealand beat Japan 145-17, with flyhalf Simon Culhane scoring 45 points while winger Marc Ellis totalled six tries. Both still stand as tournament records for one match.
• A year later, Bloemfontein hosted Australia’s maiden match on South African soil in the newly inaugurated Tri Nations tournament featuring Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. This year’s Test will be the Qantas Wallabies’ first visit to Vodacom Park since that match 14 years ago.
• The ground was a host venue for six matches during the 2010 FIFA Football World Cup held in South Africa.
• South Africa hasn’t lost a Test match at Vodacom Park since 2000 when it was edged out 27-22 by England.
• Australia’s most recent win on South African soil was a 27-15 win at Durban in 2008 which secured the Mandela Plate. That success was the first achieved by the Wallabies in the Republic for eight years.
• Prior to South Africa’s readmission to international sport in 1992, Australia had won just seven of the 31 matches played.
• The scoreboard stands at 21 wins to Australia and 20 to South Africa, with one drawn, for the period since then.

The Rugby Club brings us their latest installment of the hugely popular “Plays of the week” for 25/08/2010 – as always including some smoking hot footage of the Currie Cup cheerleaders! Nuff said, Boom! [BlogSpotRugby]

I’ll cheers to that…

Springbok team to face Wallabies: Bloemfontein – 4 September 2010:

Springboks: 15. Francois Steyn, 14. JP Pietersen, 13. Jaque Fourie, 12. Jean de Villiers, 11. Bryan Habana, 10. Morne Steyn, 9. Francois Hougaard, 8. Pierre Spies, 7. Juan Smith, 6. Schalk Burger, 5. Victor Matfield, 4. Danie Rossouw, 3. Jannie du Plessis, 2. John Smit (capt), 1. Gurthro Steenkamp.

Reserves: 16. Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17. CJ van der Linde, 18. Flip van der Merwe, 19. Ryan Kankowski, 20. Ricky Januarie, 21. Juan de Jongh, 22. Gio Aplon.

The thinking behind the selections:

The Springboks have made two changes to their match 22 for their final Vodacom Tri-Nations Test of the season against Australia at Vodacom Park in Bloemfontein on Saturday.

There is one change to the starting XV with Danie Rossouw getting the nod ahead of Flip van der Merwe at lock. Van der Merwe moves to the bench.

The second change is amongst the reserves where Gio Aplon returns in place of the injured Butch James.

Van der Merwe and prop Jannie du Plessis were both cleared to play after undergoing medical assessments on Monday. James, meanwhile, was ruled out through a shoulder injury.

Asked why he had preferred Rossouw to van der Merwe in the Bok engine room, coach Peter de Villiers said: “We feel that Danie will be better suited the to the type of game we would like to play as well as to what we expect the Wallabies may bring to the game on Saturday”.

De Villiers said that his players were determined to do well in Bloemfontein, which has so far been a happy hunting ground for the Boks during his tenure. “There is still the Mandela Cup to play for and whilst we do not play only to win trophies we do see them as just reward for hard work, so hopefully our hard work will pay off and we can celebrate a win at the weekend”.

Vice-captain Victor Matfield said he had been pleased with the improvements in the forward play in last week’s 44-31 win over Australia in Pretoria.

“The lineouts were better but I was really impressed by how well we did at the breakdown,” Matfield said. “I was also very happy with the scrums which were a good launching platform for us. We will continue to see where we can improve this week”.

The Boks were put through their paces in extremely warm conditions at Shimla Park on Tuesday morning. The session included a run against a Free State Under-21 group in which they focused on structured play. Then forwards also put in a good scrumming session.

Springboks VS Wallabies

28 August 2010 17h00 [GMT+2]

Loftus Versfeld – Pretoria

Springboks: 15. Frans Steyn, 14. JP Pietersen, 13. Jaque Fourie, 12. Jean de Villiers, 11. Bryan Habana, 10. Morne Steyn, 9. Francois Hougaard, 8. Pierre Spies, 7. Juan Smith, 6. Schalk Burger, 5. Victor Matfield, 4. Flip van der Merwe, 3. Jannie du Plessis, 2. John Smit (capt), 1. Gurthro Steenkamp

Reserves: 16. Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17. CJ van der Linde, 18. Danie Rossouw, 19. Ryan Kankowski, 20. Ricky Januarie, 21. Butch James, 22. Juan de Jongh

Wallabies: 15. Kurtley Beale, 14. James O’Connor, 13. Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12. Matt Giteau, 11. Drew Mitchell, 10. Quade Cooper, 9. Will Genia, 8. Richard Brown, 7. David Pocock, 6. Rocky Elsom (capt), 5. Nathan Sharpe, 4. Dean Mumm, 3. Salesi Ma’afu, 2. Saia Faainga, 1. Benn Robinson.

Replacements: 16. Stephen Moore, 17. James Slipper, 18. Ben McCalman, 19. Scott Higginbotham, 20. Luke Burgess, 21. Berrick Barnes, 22. Anthony Faainga.

• Date: Saturday 28 August 2010
• Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
• Kick-off: 17h00 [GMT +2]
• Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland) 
• Assistant referees: Nigel Owens (Wales), Simon McDowell (Ireland) 
• TMO: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

A history of Australia VS South Africa in South Africa:

• This will be the 73^rd meeting between Australia and South Africa at all venues. Australia has won 28, including the two most recent meetings, and South Africa 43, while one match has been drawn.
• Just eight of Australia’s previous wins have been attained on South African soil, with the Springboks taking the other 29 matches that have been played.
• Australia has won just twice previously at high veldt venues – in 1933 at Bloemfontein and 1963 at Ellis Park in Johannesburg. The Wallabies have been beaten on all four previous visits to Loftus Versfeld in 1963, 1997, 2001 and 2005.
• Australia’s most recent win on South African soil was a 27-15 win at Durban in 2008 which secured the Mandela Trophy. That success was the first achieved by the Wallabies in the Republic for eight years.
• Prior to South Africa’s readmission to international sport in 1992, Australia had won just seven of the 31 matches played.
• The scoreboard stands at 21 wins to Australia and 19 to South Africa, with one drawn, for the period since then.
• Loftus Versfeld, which is home to the Super 14 champion Bulls, has hosted 29 previous Tests featuring the Springboks, from which the home side has won 21 and lost eight.
• The ground, which houses 50,000 seats, hosted the 2009 Super 14 final where the Bulls beat the Chiefs.
• It was also used for six matches in the recent 2010 FIFA football World Cup which was held in South Africa.
• The ground was zoned for sport in 1914, with the first grandstand accommodating 2000 people built in 1923, and changing rooms and toilet facilities added in 1928, largely paid for out of the profits of that year’s All Black tour of South Africa.
• Known as the Eastern sports grounds until 1932, the grounds were re-named Loftus Versfeld to honour the memory of the founder of organised sport in Pretoria, who died that year.
• The Northern Transvaal Rugby Football Union (now Blue Bulls RFU) was established in 1938 after breaking away from the Johannesburg-based Transvaal RFU.
• Northern Transvaal won its first Currie Cup in 1946. That team included the immortal Springbok, (Dr) Danie Craven. Last year, when the team beat the Cheetahs in the final, the Blue Bulls clinched South African domestic supremacy for the 20^th time.
• The 1997 Tri Nations Test at the ground saw Australia concede its highest ever score against South Africa.
• South Africa has lost just two of its last 10 Tests at the ground since 2000, with both of those being won by the All Blacks, in 2003 and 2006. Qantas Wallabies head coach Robbie Deans was coaching co-ordinator for the 2003 All Blacks who, in beating South Africa 52-16 at Loftus, inflicted the heaviest ever home defeat on the Springboks.

The following from the ARU: Australia’s second row stocks for next year have been boosted by the return of Dan Vickerman, who has re-signed with Australian Rugby from June next year until the end of 2013.

The country’s third most capped lock forward, with 55 previous Test appearances to his name, Vickerman debuted against France in Sydney in 2002, having previously represented South Africa in the Under-21 age group.

A member of the Australian squads at the 2003 and 2007 Rugby World Cups, the 31-year-old last appeared for the Qantas Wallabies during the 27-15 win over South Africa at Durban in 2008.

A shoulder injury, sustained during that match, forced Vickerman home from the two-Test tour, bringing an early end to his involvement in the Tri Nations series.

He then left the country before the end of that year to commence a period of study at Cambridge University in England.

Qantas Wallabies coach Robbie Deans welcomed Vickerman’s return to Australian Rugby.

“Dan will have to earn his place, as any player does, but his return to Australia is great news for the game and potentially the Wallabies,” Deans said.

“Regaining a player of his wide ranging experience can only have benefits, especially given that he plays in a position where our depth has been tested in recent times. We have some promising young locks emerging but you can’t buy experience and Dan certainly brings that to the table.”

Vickerman, who has been sidelined from rugby in recent months due to injury, will return to Australia on a fulltime basis once he has concluded his studies.

While he will arrive back in time to potentially play in a third Rugby World Cup, Deans says no guarantees have been offered in terms of selection.

“Dan knows that he will have to earn a place in the Wallabies like everyone else. He will have to make the most of the playing opportunities that he has once he gets back to Australia, prior to our first selection.”

Vickerman has also re-signed with the NSW Waratahs, whom he represented between 2004 and 2008, having started off in Super Rugby with the Brumbies in 2001.

“It was a big decision to leave Australia in 2008 but I wouldn’t change a thing,” said Vickerman. “Rugby has given me the opportunity to play and study abroad but next year is the right time to come back.

“I’ve been in communication with the coaching staff at the Waratahs and the Wallabies for a while now and collectively we’re all on the same page in terms of where we want to be at and what we want to accomplish.

“I know there’s a lot of hard work to be done over the next 12 months to push for a place in the World Cup squad but that’s what I’m focusing on and that’s what I want to achieve.”

I have been quite outspoken in the past regarding the shortcomings of the IRB/SANZAR bias shown when it comes to post match citings. There has been a huge gap in the transparency and fairness of this process for some time now, but it has been marked down as more Safa whinging.

Well, last week we “whinging Safa’s” were somewhat vindicated when our good mates at Green and Gold Rugby (The Aussie rugby blog) posted a very interesting review of the All Blacks’ illegal techniques at the breakdown, and how they managed to get away with said techniques.

The video basically went viral within hours, and suddenly there was more to the alleged bias than just “Safa whinging”. It seemed as if the clear gap was becoming increasingly noticeable, and surely would result in some kind of stricter control to rectify these shortcomings.

Enter 2010 Bledisloe II, in Christchurch, where Tony Woodcock maliciously charged into Wallaby hooker, Saia Fianga, in an action that could very well have caused permanent injury to the young Wallaby. Surely with the standard set so far in this year’s competition, Woodcock would be handed his marching orders, and a subsequent ban would ensue.

This was, however, not the outcome. Woodcock was penalised, and that my friends, was the end of it, further highlighting the clear fact that the All Blacks are receiving preferential treatment in regards with what they can and can’t do in the field of play.

I have put together this clip, making a comparison between this weekend’s incident and a similar incident during the 2009 B&I Lions tour to South Africa, in which Bakkies Botha was cited and received a 2 week ban.

I understand that many of you might not like the example I have used, as it is from last season, and Bakkies Botha is a serial offender, it is however just an example to put things into context, take it as that, and you decide which is worse:

*Note: I have left the original sound in so you can hear the commentators’ reactions

Woodcock VS Fianga compared to Botha VS Jones [BlogSpotRugby]

• Are the All Blacks receiving preferential treatment? When will this bullshit end? It’s killing the beautiful game!
• The Citing Commissioner must have been pissed! Try a Castle Lite mate!

7 August 2010 19h35 [GMT +12]

AMI Stadium, Christchurch

All Blacks: 15. Mils Muliaina, 14. Cory Jane, 13. Conrad Smith, 12. Ma’a Nonu, 11. Josevata Rokocok0, 10. Daniel Carter, 9. Piri Weepu, 8. Kieran Read, 7. Richie McCaw (capt), 6. Jerome Kaino, 5. Tom Donnelly, 4. Brad Thorn, 3. Owen Franks, 2. Keven Mealamu, 1. Tony Woodcock

Reserves: 16. Corey Flynn, 17. Ben Franks, 18. Samuel Whitelock, 19. Victor Vito, 20. Alby Mathewson, 21. Aaron Cruden, 22. Benson Stanley

Wallabies: 15. Kurtley Beale, 14. James O’Connor, 13. Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12. Anthony Faingaa, 11. Drew Mitchell, 10. Matt Giteau, 9. Will Genia, 8. Richard Brown, 7. David Pocock, 6. Rocky Elsom (capt), 5. Nathan Sharpe, 4. Dean Mumm, 3. Salesi Ma’afu, 2. Saia Faingaa, 1. Benn Robinson

Reserves: 16. Stephen Moore, 17. James Slipper, 18. Rob Simmons, 19. Matt Hodgson, 20. Luke Burgess, 21. Berrick Barnes, 22. Cameron Shepherd

• Date: Saturday 7 August 2010
• Venue: AMI Stadium, Christchurch
• Kick-off: 19h35 [GMT +12]
• Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (SA)
• Assistant referees: Craig Joubert (SA), Keith Brown (NZ)
• TMO: Cobus Wessels (SA)

Match facts and stats:

All Blacks:

• Three changes have been made from the team that beat Australia 49 – 28 in Melbourne on the weekend. Piri Weepu is in the number nine jersey and uncapped halfback Alby Mathewson is on the bench, with Jimmy Cowan not considered for selection because of his rib injury, while midfielder Benson Stanley comes onto the bench in jersey 22.
• Ma’a Nonu, who made his debut as a 21-year-old against England in 2003, reaches a special milestone this weekend, playing his 50th Test, while prop Tony Woodcock plays his 67th Test this weekend, becoming the sole most capped prop in All Blacks history.
• Last weekend’s Test against Australia, saw first five-eighth Daniel Carter pass a number of significant points-scoring milestones: with 1094 points so far in his Test career, Carter is now the second highest points scorer in international Test history behind England’s Jonny Wilkinson (1178) and he has also scored 226 points against the Wallabies, the most by any international player against any international opponent in the history of the game.
• The All Blacks have played Australia in Christchurch 12 times since 1913, with eight wins to the All Blacks and four to Australia.  The last Bledisloe Cup Test in Christchurch was the 32–12 All Blacks win in 2006, which established a record 19 successive home Test wins for the All Blacks, with hooker Keven Mealamu starring with two tries

Wallabies:

• Australia won on its maiden appearance at the then Lancaster Park in 1913, inflicting a 16-5 defeat on New Zealand in what was the first ever Test match at the venue.
• Saturday night represents the 16^th game between the two teams in Christchurch, with New Zealand having won nine times, while Australia has claimed six wins, most recently 27-23, 12 years ago.
• Australia’s 27-23 win over New Zealand in 1998 is the last instance of the All Blacks being beaten in a Christchurch Test. New Zealand has won 10 straight in the city since that match, with Australia twice falling during the unbeaten run.
• Australia won five of the first six trans-Tasman Tests played in Christchurch (in 1913, 1921, 1928, 1952 and 1958), but has prevailed just once in the time since.
• Current Qantas Wallabies coach Robbie Deans was the coaching coordinator of the All Blacks when New Zealand beat Australia 12-6 at Christchurch in 2002.
• Saturday night will see Nathan Sharpe play his 85^th Test match, setting a new record for the most games by an Australian second-rower, edging ahead of the 84 games as a lock played by ex-skipper John Eales.
• This is the 162nd match of a trans-Tasman rivalry between teams representing Australia and New Zealand that dates back to 1903 when New Zealand won the inaugural meeting 22-3 in Sydney. These figures include 39 matches played between 1920 and 1928 when NSW represented Australia in matches that were granted official Test status by the Australian Rugby Union.
• Of the 161 games played between the two nations, New Zealand has won 111 and Australia 45, with five draws – the most recent of which occurred 20 years ago, 19-19 at Brisbane in 1988.
• The Bledisloe Cup was donated by the then Governor General of New Zealand, Lord Bledisloe, for competition between the two countries in 1931.
• Australia won the trophy for the first time in 1934, beating New Zealand 25-11 in Sydney.
• The last example of an Australian win on New Zealand soil was in 2001, when the Wallabies scored 23-15 in Dunedin. The All Blacks have won the 10 games that have been played between the two teams in New Zealand since that match.

Cobus Wessels' call influenced the outcome. To an extent

The following from SANZAR: The International Rugby Board has confirmed a change to the Match Official panel for Saturday’s Tri-Nations match between New Zealand and Australia.

Cobus Wessels (South Africa) has been replaced by Keith Brown (New Zealand) as Assistant Referee for the top of the table clash in Christchurch.

Wessels, who will now perform the role of Television Match Official, has been stood down as Assistant Referee 2 following a routine review of match official performance in last weekend’s Tri-Nations match in Melbourne.

The appointment of a replacement Assistant Referee from the Host Union is owing to the logistical and preparation pressures of selecting a neutral official for Saturday’s match and will not be a precedent for future appointments.

The change has also been approved by SANZAR.

• That’s all very good and well, but it still begs the question of, if someone has been stood down due to performance, or lack thereof, then how can they still be allowed to take further part in the next test? What are you thoughts on this?

All Black Team to face Wallabies:  2nd Bledisloe Cup game 7th August 2010 – Christchurch

All Blacks: 15. Mils Muliaina (86), 14. Cory Jane (18), 13. Conrad Smith (38), 12. Ma’a Nonu (49), 11. Josevata Rokocoko (64), 10. Daniel Carter (72), 9. Piri Weepu (41), 8. Kieran Read (22), 7. Richie McCaw – captain (86), 6. Jerome Kaino (30), 5. Tom Donnelly (10), 4. Brad Thorn (43), 3. Owen Franks (15), 2. Keven Mealamu (77), 1. Tony Woodcock (66)

Reserves: 16. Corey Flynn (10), 17. Ben Franks (5), 18. Samuel Whitelock (6), 19. Victor Vito (3), 20. Alby Mathewson (uncapped), 21. Aaron Cruden (5), 22. Benson Stanley (3)

• Number of Test caps in brackets

Match Facts and Stats:

The line-up features just three changes from the team that beat Australia 49 – 28 in Melbourne on the weekend.  Piri Weepu is in the number nine jersey and uncapped halfback Alby Mathewson is on the bench, with Jimmy Cowan not considered for selection because of his rib injury, while midfielder Benson Stanley comes onto the bench in jersey 22.

Meanwhile, 28-year-old All Blacks centre Ma’a Nonu, who made his debut as a 21-year-old against England in 2003, reaches a special milestone this weekend, playing his 50th Test, while prop Tony Woodcock plays his 67th Test this weekend, becoming the sole most capped prop in All Blacks history.

Last weekend’s Test against Australia, meanwhile, saw first five-eighth Daniel Carter pass a number of significant points-scoring milestones: with 1094 points so far in his Test career, Carter is now the second highest points scorer in international Test history behind England’s Jonny Wilkinson (1178) and he has also scored 226 points against the Wallabies, the most by any international player against any international opponent in the history of the game.

“The win on the weekend in Melbourne was very pleasing and the exciting thing is that there is a real desire amongst the players to build on that performance,” All Blacks Coach Graham Henry said.  “It’s good to be back in Christchurch, there’s a real Test match buzz in the city, and the guys are really looking forward to playing in the re–built AMI Stadium,” he added.

That buzz saw several thousand fans turn out for an All Blacks Open Day at QE2 Park yesterday with more public events in the city throughout the week.  Meanwhile, tickets to the Bledisloe Cup – Investec Tri Nations Test on Saturday are selling fast.  Tickets are available from Ticket Direct (www.ticketdirect.co.nz or 0800 4 TICKET).

The All Blacks have played Australia in Christchurch 12 times since 1913, with eight wins to the All Blacks and four to Australia.  The last Bledisloe Cup Test in Christchurch was the 32–12 All Blacks win in 2006, which established a record 19 successive home Test wins for the All Blacks, with hooker Keven Mealamu starring with two tries.

24 July 2010 20h00 [GMT +10]

Suncorp Stadium – Brisbane

Wallaby team: 15. Adam Ashley Cooper, 14. James O’Connor, 13. Rob Horne, 12. Matt Giteau, 11. Drew Mitchell, 10. Quade Cooper, 9. Will Genia, 8. Richard Brown, 7. David Pocock, 6. Rocky Elsom (capt), 5. Nathan Sharpe, 4. Dean Mumm, 3. Salesi Ma’afu, 2. Saia Fainga, 1. Benn Robinson

Reserves: 16. Stephen Moore, 17. James Slipper, 18. Rob Simmons, 19. Matt Hodgson, 20. Luke Burgess, 21. Berrick Barnes, 22. Kurtley Beale

Springbok team: 15. Zane Kirchner, 14. Gio Aplon, 13. Jaque Fourie, 12. Wynand Olivier, 11. Bryan Habana, 10. Morne Steyn, 9. Ruan Pienaar, 8. Pierre Spies, 7. Ryan Kankowski, 6. Schalk Burger, 5. Victor Matfield, 4. Danie Rossouw, 3. BJ Botha, 2. John Smit (capt), 1. Gurthro Steenkamp

Reserves: 16. Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17. CJ van der Linde, 18. Flip van der Merwe, 19. Dewald Potgieter, 20. Francois Hougaard, 21. Butch James, 22. Juan de Jongh

• Date: Saturday 24 July 2010
• Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
• Kick-off: 20h00 [GMT +10] [12h00 SA time]
• Referee: George Clancy (Ireland). In place for the injury sidelined Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)
• Assistant referees: Keith Brown (New Zealand), Vinny Munro (New Zealand)
• TMO: Matt Goddard (Australia)

Now have a beer…