Stalemate sends Griquas through to Carling Currie Cup semis

 

The Peacock Blues struggled to get their hands on the ball and were made to work extremely hard in the first half. A yellow card only added to the energy-sapping defensive work that had to be done, which they did with aplomb to trail by just 5-3 at half-time.

They remained under pressure in the second half, but their conditioning and fighting spirit kept them in the contest and allowed them to snatch a draw to finish the league phase in third place and therefore seal their spot in the semifinals.

The Lowvelders will be kicking themselves as they dominated territory and possession, had ascendency in the set pieces and turned down a kickable penalty in the 77th minute. They are now in danger of losing out on the playoffs to fifth-placed DHL Western Province, who will advance if they’re able to topple the Cell C Sharks in Durban this evening.

George Whitehead scored the first points of the game in the fourth minute, sending a penalty goal sailing through the uprights after opposite number Eddie Fouché went off his feet at a ruck.

Fouché made amends with a brilliant kick off the left foot to put his team in the attacking 22, where captain Pieter van Vuuren poached the lineout. Under-fire Tafel Lager Griquas conceded a string of penalties, which led to Adre Smith being sin-binned in the 12th minute.

Crucially, the New Nation Pumas failed to get on the board in the 10-minute period they had a man advantage. The hosts earned immediate relief through a scrum penalty and escaped another precarious situation when they secured a maul turnover from a lineout.

Mox Mxoli on the drive for Griquas.

The New Nation Pumas pounced on a turnover as brilliant hands saw replacement Tapiwa Mafura dot down in the corner in the 27th minute. It went upstairs as Chris Hollis had done well to try to force Mafura into touch, but the try stood. Fouché couldn’t add the touchline conversion.

Champion of the Match Shane Kirkwood thought he was in for the visitors’ second moments later, but his try was disallowed by TMO Ben Crouse for an earlier foot in touch. Whitehead missed an opportunity to regain the lead in the 36th minute after Marné Coetzee was caught coming in from the side and after a real arm-wrestle of a first half, the New Nation Pumas held a two-point lead.

Fouché again pinned the hosts in the 22 with an excellent touch-finder to start the second half, with Kirkwood working the lineout steal this time around. Tafel Lager Griquas were quick to concede and penalty and Fouché stepped up to make it 8-3 after 44 minutes.

Momentum was well and truly with the New Nation Pumas and Erich Cronje looked to have scored, however, the try was disallowed as the ball had gone forward from Daniel Maartens’ rip at the ruck.

Whitehead kicked a second penalty goal against the run of play before the visitors got their elusive second try when Sebastián de Klerk handed off a couple of defenders to score in the 53rd minute. Fouché was unable to make it a two-score game but the New Nation Pumas had their tails up at 13-6.

Fouché lined up another kick at goal into the strong wind in the 64th minute. This time, his radar was working but his kick dropped just short.

With time running out, Whitehead was the clutch player Tafel Lager Griquas needed. The flyhalf fed Hollis with a good short ball that saw the big centre power over for the try, with Whitehead slotting the crucial conversion to level the scores in the 73rd minute.

Curiously, the New Nation Pumas opted not to kick at goal when they were awarded a penalty with three minutes remaining, a decision they may well rue as they coughed up the ball after well over 10 phases as the game ended in a draw.

Scorers:

Tafel Lager Griquas 13 (3) – Try: Chris Hollis. Conversion: George Whitehead. Penalty goals: Whitehead (2).

New Nation Pumas 13 (5) – Tries: Tapiwa Mafura, Sebastián de Klerk. Penalty goal: Eddie Fouché.

Source

https://rugbyinperth.club/stalemate-sends-griquas-through-to-carling-currie-cup-semis/

Italy, Ireland starts for SA teams in United Rugby Championships

 

The South African focus will then shift to Ireland, where the Vodacom Bulls and Cell C Sharks are starting their campaigns on Saturday, 25 September with the Vodacom Bulls facing Leinster in Dublin and Munster awaiting Cell C Sharks in Limerick.

The URC revealed all 144 regular season matchups as South Africa’s top sides take to the field against the Celtic and Italian nations in a global first for rugby. Building upon rivalry created during the British & Irish Lions Series, the Cell C Sharks, DHL Stormers, Emirates Lions and Vodacom Bulls now take the pitch in iconic locations against the best of Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales across 18 rounds of action.

The South African teams will complete four-week tours of Europe to begin the season giving fans in Ireland, Italy, Wales and Scotland an early opportunity to see these new sides in person.

SA Rugby CEO, Jurie Roux, said the announcement of the fixtures starts an exciting time for South African rugby as part of the strategic migration to the north in the same time zones.

"It is great to announce how and where we are playing, how the new formats will work and what teams we are playing. It will not be an easy start as we need to learn to play in the northern hemisphere conditions against very good sides. We have huge respect for our new opponents and with the fixtures out, we can start preparing in all earnest for the challenges ahead. It will be tough playing away, but we want to make this work even though we are in pandemic."

Roux is hopeful that when the return fixtures are due, South Africa will be off the red list and that the northern teams will be able to play in Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town respectively.

Seabelo Senatla of the DHL Stormers.

In the new format all 16 teams will be ranked across a single table which will rewards the top eight teams with their places in an expanded Final Series which includes a full Quarter-final stage, followed by Semi-finals before the best two teams meet in the URC Grand Final in June.

Martin Anayi, United Rugby Championship CEO, said: “We believe these fixtures will ensure that the URC could deliver on its promise of a new era for our league where the very best from South Africa go head-to-head with our Celtic and Italian teams.

“As we carefully manoeuvre out of the pandemic, the URC will take its place as one of the leading leagues in global rugby and this fixture list should ignite our competition and take it to the next level.

“This schedule is the most complex we have ever produced and the efforts of every one of our stakeholders to help us piece it together in the current climate have been monumental. We now have a format that will heighten competition, showcase our clubs, elevate our athletes and bring great excitement to fans and TV audiences right across our territories and beyond.”

The Round One Fixtures are: (with SA kick-off times)

Friday, 24 September

Zebre v Emirates Lions (18h35)

Ulster v Glasgow Warriors (20h35)

Cardiff v Connacht (20h35)

Saturday, 25 September

Benetton v DHL Stormers (14h00)

Leinster v Vodacom Bulls (18h15)

Edinburgh v Scarlets (18h15)

Munster v Cell C Sharks (20h35)

Sunday, 26 September

Dragons v Ospreys (15h00)

The full schedule can be viewed here.

Source

https://rugbyinperth.club/italy-ireland-starts-for-sa-teams-in-united-rugby-championships/

Springboks touch down in Brisbane

 

The team made the journey from Nelson Mandela Bay to Cape Town on Thursday before flying to Brisbane overnight on a charter flight with the Argentinean side, and both teams will be in quarantine for the next 14 days before the opening round of matches on Sunday, 12 September.

The Springboks will start their tour with a fixture against Australia at the CBUS Super Stadium in Gold Coast, which will be followed by another match-up between the teams at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Saturday, 18 September.

They will then face New Zealand on Saturday, 25 September, at QLD Country Bank Stadium in Townsville and on Saturday, 2 October, at the CBUS Super Stadium in Gold Coast.

“We are excited to be in Australia and to begin our preparations for the away leg of the Castle Lager Rugby Championship,” said Nienaber. “The players had a few days off in Nelson Mandela Bay to rest and recuperate after the Castle Lager Lions Series, two Tests against Argentina and one against Georgia, and they are keen to get back onto the field to do the groundwork for the Tests against Australia and New Zealand.

“The time zone and conditions are obviously different to that which we experienced in South Africa, so getting acclimatised and settled in as quickly as possible will be vital.

“Fortunately, we are allowed training during specific times of the day while we are in quarantine, and we need to make the most of those sessions to ensure that we hit the ground running in our opening Test.”

The team will get their tour programme underway with COVID-19 tests on Saturday and will participate in gym and off-field conditioning sessions over the weekend to prepare them for a demanding training week starting on Monday.

“We have two weeks to adapt and settle in, and the team realises the importance of using this time wisely to get ready for the challenging run of matches ahead both mentally and physically as we attempt to defend our Castle Lager Rugby Championship title,” said Nienaber.

“We are playing against Australia in back-to-back matches on their home patch with supporters in the stadiums – which is something we haven’t experienced since the Rugby World Cup final in 2019 - and then we face the task of playing two Tests in a row against New Zealand.

“So, we are under no illusions about the challenge that awaits us.

“That said, we have achieved rewarding results so far this season with the structures and systems we have in place, and the sooner we get back into swing of things, the better prepared we will be when we take the field.”

 

Source

https://rugbyinperth.club/springboks-touch-down-in-brisbane/

Chris Dry retires from international Sevens

 

Dry made his debut in 2010 in Adelaide, Australia, and went on to represent the Springbok Sevens team in 74 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series tournaments, which featured 373 matches for his country, while he scored 98 tries.

Dry also represented South Africa at the Rugby World Cup Sevens, won gold with the team at the Commonwealth Games and earned a fifth placed finish for Team South Africa in Rugby Sevens at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. He is also a two-time gold medal winner in the World Series with the Blitzboks, and made the World Series Dream team in 2017.

“As a competitive rugby player, you always believe you have one more season in you, but it is time to step away from the game that gave me so much over the last decade and more,” said Dry.

“Age did become a factor; it is harder and harder to keep pace with a game as fast as international Sevens.

“I also had hip surgery recently and it became quite a fight to keep up. Also, finishing off your career at the Olympic Games, knowing you left while still being selected for a squad was always the ideal for me. So, I leave happy and, on my terms,” Dry explained.

“I am grateful for being there so long, but the younger guys in the system also need the opportunity to play and develop and you need to create that space for them. With the Commonwealth Games and next year’s Rugby World Cup Sevens on the horizon, the best time for that to happen is now and I will not be blocking the next guy coming through from that opportunity to develop on the international stage.

Finishing off at the Olympics felt right for the second most capped Blitzbok of all time (behind Branco du Preez) as he missed out on selection in 2016 for the Rio Olympics.

“After the previous Olympics there was always a push to be part of the next one,” said Dry. “But since 2018, after the knee injury that kept me out for a year, every tournament I played with this amazing team became a bonus and a blessing. So, everything in the last couple of seasons became extras, more than I expected.”

Breakdown menace = Chris Dry

Dry said he saw himself as an all-rounder when he arrived in Stellenbosch for the first time.

“Defence became my biggest work-on from then on, because as our squad moved to become a more defensive-styled team my focus moved toward that. It is hard to recall a favourite tackle, but I recall once in Cape Town when we played Australia and they tried to outwork us, I made some good stops in defense.”

HSBC Cape Town Sevens - Number One for Number One.

Dry hailed the HSBC Cape Town Sevens as the best tournament stop for the Blitzboks.

“It is our only opportunity to play in front of our family and our fans,” he said. “Cape Town is so special, the energy you get from the crowd is unbelievable.

“The Cape Town Stadium is just unbelievable as well, and to think we can sell it out twice in two days is just amazing. Port Elizabeth also had an amazing crowd with people driving hundreds of kilometres to come and watch, while the Dubai Sevens has also become a home away from home for the Blitzboks.”

The player ranked the 2016/17 squad as the best group he was part of. “We played in eight finals, winning five,” said Dry. “We were pretty much unstoppable that season.”

He also said both Blitzboks coaches in his career had a massive impact on him.

“Paul Treu took in this raw 15-a-side player and developed me and gave me the chance,” said Dry. “Neil Powell added to my skills and responsibilities and made me a player that could compete at the highest level. My two coaches from way back in Free State - Joe Beukes and Pine Pienaar – also backed me at the time.

“There are so many people to thank, but I have to name my family, my parents and brother and sister, who always supported me. The family made the real sacrifices. My parents made sure that I could chase my dream and never stopped working to make that possible. I always played for them. In the last couple of years my partner Jess Koster’s support was amazing, especially as she was stuck with me when I was on crutches and out for a year.

"Chris always brought the gees" - Coach Neil Powell

Powell, who will guide the Blitzboks until next year’s RWC7s in Cape Town, said Dry’s durability in a tough sporting environment is testimony of his character and ability.

“He is everything that Sevens stands for - on and off the field,” said Powell. “His competitiveness and the standards he set and maintained at training sessions will be missed. The senior guy running in front and pulling the younger ones with him was a great attribute.

“His off-field contributions were even better; he drove our culture hard and was always ready and available to help anyone. He would aften sit with someone playing in the same position and talk through the technicalities and the demands of that position.”

Powell said Dry was one of the founding members of the current culture and value system in the squad and pushed hard for the idea that better people made better players.

“He is always positive, always has a smile, and he always brought the gees (spirit). He will be missed,” said Powell. “He had a such a brilliant career, despite the fact that he was always prepared to sacrifice his own ambition for the needs of the team.”

Powell wished Dry luck for the future. “You left the jersey in a better place and you will be missed in our system. We will honour and remember Chris for his years of service. All the best for the future.”

Source

https://rugbyinperth.club/chris-dry-retires-from-international-sevens/