Official Super Rugby 2016 Thread

[Fulcrum29]

http://www.sport24.co.za/Rugby/SuperRugby/lood-to-miss-sunwolves-clash-20160308

Lood to miss Sunwolves clash

Cape Town - Cheetahs coach Franco Smith has named a 25-man squad for their Super Rugby clash against the Sunwolves in Singapore on Saturday.

Springbok lock Lood de Jager was not included as he is rested in line with SA Rugby’s plan to rest top Boks for parts of the Super Rugby competition.

...

Cheetahs touring squad:

Clayton Blommetjies, Uzair Cassiem, Johannes Voges 'Aranos' Coetzee, Luan de Bruin, Jacques du Toit, Sias Ebersohn, Reniel Hugo, Hilton Lobberts, Charles Marais, Daniel Marais, Tian Meyer, Ox Nche, Sergeal Petersen, Boom Prinsloo, Raymond Rhule, Paul Schoeman, William Small-Smith, Francois Uys, Maks van Dyk, Torsten van Jaarsveld, Henco Venter, Francois Venter, Shaun Venter, Carl Wegner, Fred Zeilinga

Huh, what plan?

 

[Fulcrum29]

To elaborate on the "plan" above, last year,

http://www.iol.co.za/sport/rugby/springboks/saru-wont-force-teams-to-rest-boks-1834463

Saru won’t force teams to rest Boks

Cape Town – The South African Rugby Union won’t force their Super Rugby sides to rest leading Springboks players ahead of this year’s Rugby World Cup.

The governing body looked to have reached an agreement with its franchises earlier this year whereby Springboks players would play no more than five straight weeks and certain top players would be rested for between two and four matches.

But SARU chief executive Jurie Roux moved to clarify the situation on Wednesday, saying the agreement was merely an “understanding” and not legally binding. Roux said it was not within SARU’s operating power to force the Bulls, Cheetahs, Lions, Sharks and Stormers to follow the agreed guidelines.

“The players are primarily the assets of the Unions and they will have their different dynamics and needs at different stages of the season,” Roux said in a SARU statement.

“We worked towards the understanding to prioritise Springbok readiness for the international season and the Rugby World Cup but we realise it is a balancing act for coaches in terms of juggling their union’s needs and the national interest. The important thing for SARU was to take the initiative to try and find a solution to questions relating to player workload. If we get 90% compliance during the season it will be a 100% improvement on where we were a year ago when no player could expect any break.

“If franchises feel they are unable to stick to the letter of the understanding that is less than ideal but we would expect them to stick as close to it as possible in the interests of the Springboks.” – ANA

Me personally think that they don't want Lood to pick up an injury on tour… he is injury prone. I don't see any other Springboks being rested, never mind that we have an absent coaching position.

 

[Fulcrum29]

http://www.straitstimes.com/sport/special-sausage-for-sunwolves

The Sunwolves' first appearance at the National Stadium on Saturday has inspired the creation of a new sausage infused with a distinctive Asian flavour.

...

The sausage has been jointly created by German master butcher Matthias Orth, Japanese chef Masato Tanaka and Sports Hub's executive chef Anthony Goh from Sats Delaware North.

Made from a mix of chicken and lamb, it has herb-based ingredients and a slight lemon and light-smoked taste. It will be topped with mayonnaise, teriyaki sauce and dried bonito flakes, served on a bed of potato chips.

Here in Sunny SA they sell you a Castle

 

[Mephisto_Helix]

Yum! Look at that thing

 

[OrbitalDawn]

I'd chow that.

 

[DanDango]

 

[Jay_Bee_Kay]

I may be a bit late for this, but seriously:

what do you guys think of this conference system? :erm:

It's so bad that I'm not even that interested in Super Rugby anymore as it's 70% of the time derbies.
I mean there's nothing wrong with a good ol' North v South,
but all the teams I believe will only get truly tested if they play all of the other clubs from NZ / AUS / ARG / JPN.

Take for instance any 1 team can dominate in the SA conference and that team would be the worst against all the other conferences etc.
These possibilities goes on and on...

Surely I can't be alone, unless I'm mistaken or confused.

 

[DanDango]

I may be a bit late for this, but seriously:

what do you guys think of this conference system? :erm:

It's so bad that I'm not even that interested in Super Rugby anymore as it's 70% of the time derbies.
I mean there's nothing wrong with a good ol' North v South,
but all the teams I believe will only get truly tested if they play all of the other clubs from NZ / AUS / ARG / JPN.

Take for instance any 1 team can dominate in the SA conference and that team would be the worst against all the other conferences etc.
These possibilities goes on and on...

Surely I can't be alone, unless I'm mistaken or confused.

Maybe rewatch the Chiefs vs Lions game and if you're still uninterested in Super Rugby then don't watch it.

 

[ABCpt]

To elaborate on the "plan" above, last year,

http://www.iol.co.za/sport/rugby/springboks/saru-wont-force-teams-to-rest-boks-1834463



Me personally think that they don't want Lood to pick up an injury on tour… he is injury prone. I don't see any other Springboks being rested, never mind that we have an absent coaching position.

Resting for week 3 of the competition is a bit soon according to me as well.

 

[Stevi]

Definitely a safety net to delay his inevitable injury

 

[sand_man]

Maybe rewatch the Chiefs vs Lions game and if you're still uninterested in Super Rugby then don't watch it.

Doesn't that strengthen his argument. Chiefs Lions was absolutely sensational!! Look at all the local derbies though. Cheetahs- Stormers? Horrible!! Reds - Force? Snooze fest!! Highlanders - Hurricanes? Fantastic game! But generally local derbies hold interest in the country where they a local derby and not much anywhere else. With the current format you more likely to be watching a local derby than a Chiefs vs Lions or Bulls vs Rebels and that makes it nothing more than a glorified Currie cup some weekends.

 

[Stevi]

There is nothing more boring than an Aussie Derby

 

[sand_man]

There is nothing more boring than an Aussie Derby

I reckon some of ours come bloody close!!

 

[Jay_Bee_Kay]

Doesn't that strengthen his argument. Chiefs Lions was absolutely sensational!! Look at all the local derbies though. Cheetahs- Stormers? Horrible!! Reds - Force? Snooze fest!! Highlanders - Hurricanes? Fantastic game! But generally local derbies hold interest in the country where they a local derby and not much anywhere else. With the current format you more likely to be watching a local derby than a Chiefs vs Lions or Bulls vs Rebels and that makes it nothing more than a glorified Currie cup some weekends.

You couldn't have said it any better, this is exactly my point!

 

[DanDango]

I may be a bit late for this, but seriously:

what do you guys think of this conference system? :erm:


Take for instance any 1 team can dominate in the SA conference and that team would be the worst against all the other conferences etc.
.

Doesn't that strengthen his argument. Chiefs Lions was absolutely sensational!! Look at all the local derbies though. Cheetahs- Stormers? Horrible!! Reds - Force? Snooze fest!! Highlanders - Hurricanes? Fantastic game! But generally local derbies hold interest in the country where they a local derby and not much anywhere else. With the current format you more likely to be watching a local derby than a Chiefs vs Lions or Bulls vs Rebels and that makes it nothing more than a glorified Currie cup some weekends.

Was responding to the "Take for instance any 1 team can dominate in the SA conference and that team would be the worst against all the other conferences etc".

 

[Fulcrum29]

http://www.bdlive.co.za/sport/rugby/2016/03/09/no-singapore-holiday-for-cheetahs

THE Cheetahs are hardly treating Saturday’s first Super Rugby match in Singapore yet against hosts the Sunwolves as an occasion for pomp and ceremony.

:wtf:

"We are going to make a short trip of it," said coach Franco Smith. "We fly out on Thursday morning and we fly back to be in church on Sunday morning. It is a short trip and we are not going to make a big thing of it."

Smith wants no distractions. His team is playing in a cosmopolitan trade route hot spot known for its eclectic shops and exquisite cuisine.

"I’m going to make them Google the sights and sounds so that they don’t walk around there looking at everything. It is not a shopping trip."
...

Moreover, the game will be played with the roof of the state-of-the-art, 55,000-seater National Stadium closed. The Cheetahs played the Stormers when temperatures peaked at 31°C last Saturday and they more than the supposed hosts, may feel more at home in the sweltering conditions.

That is like playing at The Millennium Stadium in the East. More on the pitch...

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/singapore-sports-hub/1856780.html

Now I wonder how good is an Eclipse Stabilised Turf to play rugby on, prior to the Cheetahs/Sunwolves rugby game they will have a curtain-raiser game between the 1997 Singapore national rugby team and the Japanese Dragons. It will be interesting to see how well the pitch can carry a physical rugby game.

 

[Mephisto_Helix]

Sounds a lovely religio shackled team ..... :wtf:

 

[ABCpt]

Lions stuck in Christchurch.
http://www.sport24.co.za/Rugby/SuperRugby/lions-aircraft-forced-to-turn-around-20160310

Bad weather en route to Dunedin on Thursday morning (SA time) has necessitated the aircraft carrying the Lions to turn around and the team is currently in Christchurch awaiting instructions from southern hemisphere governing body, SANZAAR.

The Lions are scheduled to face the Highlanders in Dunedin on Saturday morning at 08:35 (SA time).

In a press statement released on Thursday, the Lions said SANZAAR is doing everything it can to get them to their destination as soon as possible.

In the meantime, as they wait in Christchurch, Lions coach Johan Ackermann named his team for Saturday’s clash.

The Lions will field a new centre combination for the Super Rugby clash at Forsyth Barr Stadium.

Howard Mnisi and Rohan Janse van Rensburg will start in midfield, replacing Lionel Mapoe, who became a father on Wednesday, and Harold Vorster, who returned home after injuring his left knee again.

In the only other change to the backline, Jaco van der Walt replaces Andries Coetzee in a rotational move at fullback.

In the front row, Jacques van Rooyen gets his first start with Robbie Coetzee back in the No 2 jumper. Ruan Dreyer starts in a rotational move which sees Julian Redelinghuys move to the bench.

New recruit Jacques Nel, who joined the side earlier in the week, will warm the bench, while Dillon Smit also earns a spot among the reserves for the first time this season.

 

[Agent_Smith]

If this game doesn't go ahead, do they reschedule or are the points split?

/thinks about changing prediction to a draw..

 

[greg0205]

it's like 9:40PM in NZ now... 360km drive between Dunedin and Christchurch... Get in a bus guys!