Rugby

Defending Carling Currie Cup champions, the Vodacom Bulls, host a tricky visitor in Windhoek Draught Griquas at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Friday evening in the first of the two Premier Division semi-finals, as the holders continue their hunt for third consecutive title win.The match in Pretoria kicks off at 19h00 on Friday, and on Saturday afternoon the Toyota Cheetahs face the Airlink Pumas in the second semi-final in Bloemfontein, where kick-off at the Toyota Stadium is 13h30. Meanwhile, … [Read more...] about 2022 Carling Currie Cup Bulletin #27

Following the landmark announcement of the inclusion of the leading South African teams in its tournaments, EPCR is pleased to confirm the formats and qualifiers for next season’s expanded Heineken Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup.The 2022/23 Heineken Champions Cup will be competed for by 24 elite clubs with eight representatives from the Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) – including historic first appearances by the DHL Stormers, Vodacom Bulls and Cell C Sharks – as well as eight … [Read more...] about 2022/23 EPCR tournament formats and qualifiers confirmed

The four semi-finals in the Carling Currie Cup Premier and First Divisions will be played in Welkom, Pretoria, Bloemfontein and Nelson Mandela Bay on Friday and Saturday.The action will kick off at 15h00 on Friday in the Northern Free State, where the Down Touch Griffons host the Black Lion side from Georgia in their First Division semi-final. The focus then moves to Loftus Versfeld, for the Premier Division final four clash between defending champions, the Vodacom Bulls, and Windhoek Draught … [Read more...] about Carling Currie Cup semi-finals locked in

Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber was satisfied with the strides made in the opening week of the team’s preparation camp for the forthcoming Castle Lager Incoming Series as the players concluded their on-field sessions on Friday before a short break for the weekend as the three Tests against Wales draw closer.Seventeen players were invited to the first week of the camp, while Cobus Reinach (scrumhalf) and Johan Goosen (flyhalf) focused on rehabilitation from their injuries, as the DHL Stormers … [Read more...] about Nienaber lauds players’ enthusiasm after first week Bok preparation camp

South Africa’s AJ Jacobs and Morne Ferreira have been included in a strong panel of match officials for the Rugby World Cup Sevens tournament that will take place in Cape Town from 9 to 11 September 2022.World Rugby announced the names of 18 men and women match officials, representing 13 countries, who will do duty at the four-yearly global event, on Friday. “Both AJ and Morne are experienced referees in the 15s and sevens codes and their performances on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series in the … [Read more...] about Two SA referees on Rugby World Cup Sevens panel

Two former SA Rugby Women’s Player of the Year winners, Zenay Jordaan and Aseza Hele, will join the Springbok Women squad for the first time this year when they assemble in Stellenbosch to prepare for the Rugby Africa Women’s Cup later this month.The camp forms part of the 2022 preparation towards the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand in October, and will see the national squad return to action for the first time this year. The squad undertook monthly camps since the start of the year, but Jordaan, … [Read more...] about Jordaan and Hele back in Springbok Women squad

Rassie Erasmus Twitter account hacked: Rassie Erasmus, SA Rugby’s Director of Rugby, has confirmed that his Twitter account, @RassieRugby, has been hacked and that he no longer has access to or control of the account.The issue has been reported to Twitter and will hopefully be resolved speedily. Any content appearing under the handle should be disregarded as being posted by a malicious hacker until further notice. See more Guys the hackers still seem to have the retweet from earlier appearing in … [Read more...] about @RassieRugby Hacked

Rassie Erasmus Twitter account hacked: Rassie Erasmus, SA Rugby’s Director of Rugby, has confirmed that his Twitter account, @RassieRugby, has been hacked and that he no longer has access to or control of the account.The issue has been reported to Twitter and will hopefully be resolved speedily. Any content appearing under the handle should be disregarded as being posted by a malicious hacker until further notice. See more Guys the hackers still seem to have the retweet from earlier appearing in … [Read more...] about @RassieRugby Hacked

Rassie Erasmus Twitter account hacked: Rassie Erasmus, SA Rugby’s Director of Rugby, has confirmed that his Twitter account, @RassieRugby, has been hacked and that he no longer has access to or control of the account.The issue has been reported to Twitter and will hopefully be resolved speedily. Any content appearing under the handle should be disregarded as being posted by a malicious hacker until further notice. See more Guys the hackers still seem to have the retweet from earlier appearing in … [Read more...] about @RassieRugby Hacked

The league phase of the Women’s Premier Division concludes on Saturday, with three potential outcomes on who the finalists will be on 11 June when the season finale will be hosted by the team at the top of the log.A strong surge in the latter half of the competition by defending champions, Border Ladies, already secured their place at the big dance, but where and with whom will only be decided on Saturday. The match between the Mastercard Golden Lions Women and Blue Bulls Women in Johannesburg … [Read more...] about Final round action to determine Women’s Premier Division finalists

The Junior Springboks will return to international action as part of an exciting Under-20 Summer Series, competing against the Six Nations’ U20 sides and Georgia in the tournament that will be staged in Italy from 24 June to 12 July, it was confirmed by Six Nations Rugby on Wednesday.Supported by World Rugby, the eight-nation tournament will be hosted by the Italian Rugby Federation (FIR) with matches to be played across two venues, in Treviso and Verona, over a period of three weeks. The … [Read more...] about Junior Boks off to Italy for U20 Summer Series

Each of the weekend’s exciting three Carling Currie Cup fixtures produced a memorable result as the Sigma Lions finally won their first game of the campaign in Johannesburg; Windhoek Draught Griquas stunned the high-flying Toyota Cheetahs in Kimberley to end their nine-game winning run; and the Vodacom Bulls staged a strong comeback to defeat the 14-man Airlink Pumas in Pretoria.After coming agonisingly close on several occasions, the Sigma Lions finally produced a winning performance to defeat … [Read more...] about 2022 Carling Currie Cup Bulletin #22

The defending champions of the SA Rugby Women’s Premier Division, Border Ladies, secured a spot in the final of the domestic showpiece on 11 June, but they will have to wait for a week to see where and who they will play.The Eastern Cape side secured a 65-0 win over Mastercard Golden Lions Women in East London on Saturday and by doing so, made sure that they cannot finish worse than second on the log, with 23 points. The other two contenders for a place in the final, the Blue Bulls Women and DHL … [Read more...] about Border Ladies book place in Women’s Premier Division final

The Springbok Sevens on Sunday regained the lead in the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series with a fifth-place finish at the HSBC London Sevens at Twickenham, where they won five of their six matches with a strong rebound after last weekend’s underwhelming performance in Toulouse.One tournament of the 2022 World Series remains, with South Africa in first position, followed by Australia – who ended winning the tournament at Twickenham after beating the Blitzboks in the Cup quarter-finals – and … [Read more...] about Blitzboks regain World Series lead in London

It will be a crucial round of Women’s Premier Division action this weekend where results on Friday and Saturday could have a big influence on determining the two finalists on 11 June, despite another round of fixtures scheduled to take place.The Mastercard Golden Lions Women, who will take on Border Ladies in East London on Saturday, as well as both Boland Dames and EP Queens, who clash in Nelson Mandela Bay, also on Saturday, have already seen their chances of making the final disappear. And … [Read more...] about Crunch time in Women’s Premier Division