Volume 19, Number 1104 April 2019

“Any sport is dangerous but parents will not let children play it if the risks of life-threatening injury are unacceptably high.” - Oom Rugby

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Almost a Weekend of Away Wins

The Super Rugby weekend began in Wellington, New Zealand, with Crusaders back to their crushing best after a somewhat off weekend in Sydney the week before. They blew out to an eleven point lead in the first quarter and were pinned back a little by a yellow card to flanker Matt Todd.

The ten minutes with only 14 men on the field helped the Hurricanes to claw back a little – they got to within six points – but once Todd returned, it was over. No matter what they threw at them, the home team simply couldn’t breach the Crusaders defensive wall again. Final score 8-32.

The upset of the weekend had to be the Waratahs going down to the visiting Sunwolves in Newcastle (about 160km north of Sydney). It was close with the final score of 29-31 but the Japanese team came back every time the home team scored and then, once they got a decent lead, they held on to the end.

 

Early Saturday morning, the run of away victories stopped, briefly, when the Blues chalked up their third win of the season and first three-try bonus point by outplaying the visiting Stormers 24-9. Bizarrely, the visiting coach called that match the Stormers best game of the year. Right.

The next fixture was an Australian derby with the Rebels visiting Brisbane and restarting the run of away victories with a comprehensive thrashing. The win put the Melbourne side back on top of the Australian conference table.

Later that afternoon the Bulls extended the away win trend line with a victory in Durban, although it must be said that it was the exact opposite of champagne rugby. An incident late in the match saw both hookers sent off.

General consensus on Twitter was that Schalk Brits was unlucky to be sent off but that Akker van der Merwe was deservedly binned. He’ll probably also be suspended for a good few weeks.

The final match of the weekend took place late Saturday night SA time and saw another away victory as the visiting Chiefs triumphed over the Jaguares in Buenos Aires, just. The visitors built a healthy lead in the first half but the home team clawed their way back to eventually lead after 75 minutes. But a Chiefs try in the 78th minute snatched the victory.

KEY TOPICS IN THIS NEWSLETTER

Almost a Weekend of Away WinsVarsity Cup Semi-Final Places DecidedGold Cup: And Then There Were Four

 

The Sevens Circus Lands in Hong KongThe Myopia of SANZAAR’s Disciplinary ProcessWhy Try to Make the Game Safer?

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Varsity Cup Semi-Final Places Decided

This past Monday was the ninth and last round in the pool stages of the FNB Varsity Cup competition and going into it, only one semi-final spot was still up for grabs. UCT-Ikeys played the early match and defeated CUT comfortably (36-10) to move into that position on the table.

Then the Capetonians had to wait for the result of Shimlas trip upcountry to play UJ. If the Freestaters slipped up in Johannesburg, UCT would hang on and make the semi-finals. But that’s not the way it worked out as Shimlas comprehensively thrashed a lacklustre UJ side 14-38.

With the semi-finals now decided, the other two matches were basically dress rehearsals for next weekend’s semis, albeit against different opponents. Maties thoroughly outclassed UWC in Stellenbosch 84-26, with the coach presumably viewing it as a good training run and an opportunity to give fringe players match practice. Meanwhile up in Potchefstroom, NWU-Pukke dished out a rugby lesson to Wits, running out 74-15 winners in the end.

Next Monday’s semi-finals will be in Pretoria and Stellenbosch and both will be televised. The early match is UP-Tuks versus NWU-Pukke (16:45) in what is sure to be a tough encounter while the later match will see Maties entertain Shimlas (19:00).

The way the season has gone so far, the only question is which of Tuks or Pukke will travel to Stellenbosch to face Maties in the following Monday’s final. But we haven’t yet seen the best of the very capable Shimlas outfit so they may yet have something to say about that.

Gold Cup: And Then There Were Four

The SSG Gold Cup club rugby competition is also now at the semi-final stage after the past weekend’s quarter-finals. In the closest, and probably most hard-fought, encounter of the weekend, the ABE Midas Naka Bulls took it down to the wire against the Hollywoodbets Swallows but the Swallows emerged 13-10 victors.

In the other quarter-finals, College Rovers lost 24-36 to Durbanville-Bellville in Durban, the Northam Platinum Rhinos beat Multisure Gardens 35-29 and Newrak Rustenburg Impala were too strong for Welkom, winning 48-19.

Both semi-final matches in SA Rugby’s flagship national championship for non-university clubs will take place on Saturday at 16:00.

Two-time champions Newrak Impala will host arch-rivals and neighbours Northam Platinum Rhinos at the Rustenburg Impala Rugby Club. And down in Durbanville, the 2015 champions, Durbanville-Bellville, will host Border champions, Hollywoodbets Swallows.

According to the Springboks web site, it will be live-streaming the latter match [it will also be livestreamed on the SSG Gold Cup Facebook page – Ed]. But why both matches wouldn’t be live-streamed is a puzzle in the newsroom.

SA Rugby also announced that next weekend’s final will be televised live on SuperSport on Sunday 14 April at 14h30. The venue and broadcast channel will be confirmed after this weekend’s semi-finals.

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The Sevens Circus Lands in Hong Kong

It’s probably the tournament that spawned the World Rugby Sevens Series of ten rounds around the world. And its special because every team wants the title – possibly more so than any other on the circuit.

It’s also one of the few tournaments that the Blitzbokke have yet to win, with the best finishes having been four silver medals (1997, 2008, 2009 & 2017), losing three times to Fiji and once to New Zealand. Fresh off their first win ever in Vancouver a few weeks back, they’ll be keen to make their mark in Hong Kong as well.

Fortunately, the time zone is more favourable to South African viewers than it was for the recent North American legs of the series. The Blizbokke’s first match is just after noon on Friday against Japan. At 17:40 they will play Scotland and on Saturday morning (09:22) they face Samoa.

If they make it into the Cup quarter-finals, it is likely that they will face either USA or England. Fans might wonder where Fiji and New Zealand are in the draw; The answer is on the other side so both are possible opponents in the final.

The Myopia of SANZAAR’s Disciplinary Process

One of the most balanced rugby fans we know is also an occasional commentator on the game. Johan Coetzee had a lots to say on twitter about the laughable sanctions imposed on Schalk Brits and Akker van der Merwe after their fisticuffs on Saturday.

The first comment we spotted was on Tuesday when he tweeted: “Message from Sanzaar is clear. Even if somebody headbutts you and then proceeds to land repeated punches to your head while you're pinned down on the ground, you're supposed to do nothing or else you'll get a harsher punishment than the instigator. Try this in a real court?”

There’s a fascinating exchange between different fans on the subject attached to that tweet but it’s not the primary reason for this piece. That is a typically astute piece he penned, that appeared the following day on SuperSport, in which he explains just how the SANZAAR disciplinary process played out.

Without trying to steal his thunder, the bit that stuck out for us in the Engage newsroom was this:

“At the hearing on Tuesday Brits ended up with the same four-match ban (discounted from six) he was offered the previous day, but the team did manage to get some concessions from the judicial committee. Their post-hearing statement contained the following telling phrases: 1. ‘…the player’s actions were in self-defence’ and 2. ‘The Judicial Committee was conscious of the fact that the player was not the instigator of the incident...’"

And then he explains how this exposes the inherent problem with Sanzaar’s disciplinary processes. It’s definitely worth a read and he does, helpfully, also include a YouTube clip of the incident.

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Why Try to Make the Game Safer?

Rugby is a tough game, no question. And, like any sport, injuries are par for the course but life-changing injuries are probably more true of rugby than most other sporting endeavours.

Oom Rugby put it well this week in a tweet when he wrote words to the effect of: “We hear arguments that ‘the game going soft’, but we have a responsibility to the players. And we also have a responsibility to grow the game.

“Any sport is dangerous but parents will not let children play it if the risks of life-threatening injury are unacceptably high.” Along with his comments he tweeted a link to a somewhat satirical piece by “The Loose Head”. I’ll leave you with a small sample:

“Often, when we watch rugby, we become absorbed in the gladiatorial aspect of the game: get up; keep going; hit him again; hurry up; move. It can be treated like a game of FIFA.

“When the game ends, we turn off the TV, and the thoughts of ice-baths, swelling, cuts, bruises, and injuries are far from our minds as we go about our day.

“We forget that in the changing room, not far from where the fans enjoy a pint or the analysts offer thoughts, are players who have suffered numerous car-crash collisions in the last 80 minutes. Players, who are totally spent, trying to find the energy for a shower and then recover in time to do it again six days later.”

Quite. If you’re one of the “this isn’t Tiddly Winks” crowd, do yourself a favour and read it in full. It’s worth the effort. Oh yes, and remember Pat Lambie.

Swys’ Unfinished Business at the Lions

It has been a busy week for Lions coach Swys de Bruyn. Aside from preparing his team for the clash against the Sharks on Saturday, it seems that he was signing an extension to his contract with the Super Rugby franchise.

 

Lions CEO Rudolf Straeuli confirmed on Tuesday that De Bruyn is staying put and has extended his contract until 2021. This is despite Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus wanting his continued assistance in moulding the attacking play of the national team.

Quoted in SA Rugby Mag on Wednesday, the Lions coach admitted to having “unfinished business” with the Joburg franchise: “After big consideration with my family and my agent, James Adams, we came to the conclusion that it is the right thing to stay. We have not finished what we started.”

Given that the Lions have been runners up in the competition in each of the last three years, there can only be one bit of “unfinished business”: the Super Rugby title. It’s an admirable goal and one that many South Africans would love to seen him achieve.

However, as we point out on the next page, this weekend’s match against the Sharks is crucial: a win will extend the Lions’ tenure at the top of the local conference but a loss could undermine everything they’ve done so far.

Interestingly, for this encounter, de Bruyn has chosen to play Springbok winger, Aphiwe Dyantyi, at outside centre instead of his normal position on the left wing. The switch means that, in his first run at this level in the position, he will be facing his Springbok teammate and incumbent in the 13 jersey, Lukhanyo Am. Mouthwatering.

Moving Weekend in Super Rugby

There’s an oft-used expression in cricket circles: moving day, which usually refers to the third day in a five-day match. It is called that because, very often, a good performance on day three frequently sets a team up for overall victory.

This year’s Super Rugby competition features 18 weeks of pool matches so week eight this weekend, isn’t quite halfway but it’s almost there. And given that the conference-leading Lions are hosting the Sharks on Friday night, it could well be moving day in the South African conference. But the visitors will be without hooker and former Lion, Akker van der Merwe.

If the Lions win, they could put some distance between them and the pursuing pack. But if they lose, they’ll be back in the middle of the table so, opportunity beckons. The Stormers too have an opportunity to move up the table as they face a struggling Reds team in Brisbane on Friday morning, but they’ll have to do it without Eben Etzebeth and Pieter-Steph Du Toit, both of whom are back in South Africa.

 

And the last match of the weekend is at Loftus where the Bulls entertain the Jaguares, who will be smelling an opportunity to improve their position in the conference. The fact that the Bulls will be without Schalk Brits will give the visitors a bit more hope of getting an elusive away victory.

In New Zealand, the Highlanders host the Hurricanes in a must win encounter. If the home side loses, that conference could become a two-horse race. Similarly the Blues will see opportunity against the team that beat the Crusaders and lost to the Sunwolves.

The other cross-Tasman derby is in Christchurch where the Crusaders are likely to end any hope the Brumbies may still have of making the knock-out phases. Similarly, the Australian conference leading Rebels host the Sunwolves and will want five points to consolidate that lead.

The thing about moving day though, is that not all teams can find it within themselves to move on moving day. It can also be difficult when key players are restedor out injured for certain matches.

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For your weekend viewing pleasure

In the body of this issue we have already covered details of SA’s club rugby semi-finals this week: both Varsity Cup on Monday and SSG Gold Cup on Saturday. Other than that, my Ultimate Rugby app reveals plenty of other action around the planet.

First and foremost, there’s Super Rugby (schedule alongside) with a full house of fixtures in Australia, New Zealand and here in South Africa on Friday and Saturday. Then we have PRO14 with home games for the Cheetahs (Ospreys) and the Southern Kings (Dragons), on Saturday and Sunday respectively. Also of local interest is the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens running from tomorrow to Sunday.

Moving offshore, the English Premiership is on again, also Friday through Sunday, and the French Top 14 has matches scheduled for Saturday and Sunday. Across in America there’s one MLR fixture on Monday. And that, seems to be it. Hope that’s enough to feed your hunger for rugby. You can check out the schedules on various websites linked to competition names above.

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The Rugby Team at Leopard Newsletters.

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