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Volume 19 Number 1716 May 2019
ldquoIn a competition thatrsquos become as lopsided as Super Rugby with Kiwi teams dominating all comers keeping line-ups a secret until matchday might give lesser sides a shot at upsetting the contendersrdquo - Jake White
Register to receive your own free weekly newsletter at wwwleopardnewsletterscoza
Tough Uncompromising European Rugby
As we mentioned last week it was Heineken Cup weekend with the finals of both competitions playing out at St James Park in Newcastle England The lower tier Challenge Cup final took place on Friday night between two French clubs ASM Clermont Auvergne and La Rochelle
While Clermont has won the Challenge Cup twice before (and been runners-up in the higher-tier Champions Cup three times) this final was their opponentsrsquo first shot at a title at this level It was a match that featured dogged defence ndash mostly from Clermont ndash and plenty of typical flair from both sides but by the 60th minute the contest appeared pretty much over with La Rochelle trailing 26-9
But they werenrsquot giving up and they scored to close to within ten points only to see it stretch out again shortly after Then with four minutes to go Clermont were down to 14 men but the 17-point gap (at the time) was too big Final score 36-16
Saturday night saw kick-off in the big one the Champions Cup final where four-time champions Leinster were bidding for a fifth star It was a spectacular game of rugby most of which the referee missed Despite that the Irish side established an early lead of 10-0 after about 30 minutes
But then taking full advantage of the inconsistency ndash and sometimes blindness ndash of the referee Saracens equalised before half-time To be fair with a line-up that includes international stars such as Billy Vunipola Will Skelton Marco Itoje Vincent Koch and Schalk Burger Saracens were the better side on the day
Itrsquos just a pity that the London-based club also includes at least one legendary thug who is known for high tackles and shoulder charges but is only rarely penalised for those infringements The final score was 20-10 to Saracens unfortunately
KEY TOPICS IN THIS NEWSLETTER
Super Rugby No Unexpected SurprisesThe PRO14 Semifinal Weekend BeckonsSRC Where Are All the Young Players
Skip the Team Announcement ndash JakeTime for Some Fresh Rugby ThinkingThe Dilemma of South African Rugby
Page 1
Page 2
Super Rugby No Unexpected Surprises
The first match of the weekend went to form when the Blues failed to stem the flow of the Hurricanesrsquo Barrett brothers going down at home 12-22 That was followed by an Australian Derby as the Rebels hosted the Reds in Melbourne where the home side ran out to an early lead and kept its nose in front for the rest of the game 3024
In the third match on Friday the Bulls were called upon to defend fortress Loftus against the rampaging Crusaders but it didnrsquot go well for the home team The 2018 Super Rugby champions were simply too good for the Bulls who were never really in a game that kept slipping further away 13-45
The early game on Saturday was a real arm wrestle in Dunedin until the Highlanders stretched the lead to 12 around the 60th minute The home team then hung on for the win despite a late charge by the Jaguares Final score 32-27 And in Hamilton the Chiefs made heavy going of what should have been an easy win against the Sharks 29-23
The Saturday afternoon clash saw a Lions outfit that looked rather rusty after their bye But they pulled it through in the end despite the typically abysmal officiating by referee Egon Seconds the same clown who robbed the Lions at Newlands earlier in the season Final score 29-28
Sunday morning bright and early in South Africa but early evening in Caberra where the home town Brumbies took on the Sunwolves Unfortunately the Japanese side appeared to be there in body but not in spirit 33-0
The PRO14 Semifinal Weekend Beckons
Itrsquos semi-final weekend in the PRO14 and the first match is Friday night (2035 SA time) when the top side in Conference A from the regular season Glasgow Warriors takes on Ulster in the Scottish sidersquos backyard And it could be a close match since the teams met twice (home and away) in the pools phase of the competition
The first time was at the same venue as Fridayrsquos semifinal where the Scottish team ran out 30-7 winners The second encounter was at Ulsterrsquos home ground in Belfast and that time the Irish side triumphed 36-15 So itrsquos perfectly set for an epic semifinal
However an interesting statistic to come out of the early phases pertains to the tries for and against Glasgow has scored 84 tries and let in 48 while their Irish opponents have scored 58 and conceded 54 In the face of that statistic the Scots have a better defence but then this is knock-out rugby
On Saturday and after falling short against Saracens in the European Champions Cup final last week Leinster will be looking for a better result when they face another Irish side Munster in Dublin As with the other semifinal pairing these two sides have played each other twice (home and away) and the results went with the home side on both occasions
Given that the venue is Leinsterrsquos home ground the odds would favour the Champions Cup runners up And in the regular season they scored 95 tries while conceding 49 which contrasts against the 8244 result achieved by Munster It could be a tight match
Page 3
Page 4
Skip the Team Announcement ndash Jake
The controversy that erupted around the Lions a few weeks ago when team management declared one team ahead of time and then changed it before kick-off had many traditionalists frothing at the mouth ndash especially those in the land of the long white cloud But why was it such a big deal
The answer to that can be found in Jake Whitersquos latest column on AllOutRugby in which he wonders why rugby teams are required to announce their matchday squads at least 48 hours before kickoff and asks ldquoWhat is the pointrdquo
An example White provides is Brent Russell in the 2002 Tri-Nations tournament ldquoAndre Pretorius fell sick at the team hotel on the eve of the Springboksrsquo last match and on the Saturday morning Straeuli told Brent Russell he was going to start at flyhalf He had a blinder in a thrilling 33-31 win
ldquoTwo things happened that day the Wallabies didnrsquot have an opportunity to do their homework on Russell and he played well because he didnrsquot have a whole week to worry about thingsrdquo
ldquoIn a competition thatrsquos become as lopsided as Super Rugby with Kiwi teams dominating all comers keeping line-ups a secret until matchday might give lesser sides a shot at upsetting the contenders It would even things out because coaches would be under pressure to contingency plan for whether the opposing line-up is strong weak full of speedsters or weighted towards a power style of playrdquo
Time for Some Fresh Rugby Thinking
The other thought-provoking column we found this week is running on the SuperSport website and is by Johan Coetzee He reckons that South African rugby needs to shake up the game with some fresh rugby thinking
In his SuperWrap for week 13 2019 he quotes the inimitable rock goddess Janis Joplin ldquoYou are what you settle for You are only as much as you settle forrdquo Hersquos using Joplin to point a finger at the lack of creativity among the bosses of SA Rugby
ldquoAs a rugby nation we are what these bosses settled for and what they settled for on our behalf is very little It is about time this whole deal they have with the rugby-loving public gets renegotiatedrdquo he writes
And then he cites the embarrassing comments of Bulls coach Pote Human after the humiliating thrashing at Loftus by the visiting Crusaders ldquoIf that is representative of the type of thinking we have in our Super Rugby change-rooms then no wonder we are in such deep troublerdquo notes Coetzee
ldquoSo far this year South African teams have won only two from eight games against their New Zealander counterparts Go back another two years and that count becomes a mind-numbing 937 Itrsquos also a number that would have been considerably worse if it wasnrsquot for a struggling Blues
ldquoWe clearly need a complete new way of thinking throughout our entire system if we are to turn that tide yet at all four of our franchises we are stuck with coaches that were already in the system at their various Unions when I started my SA v NZ comparisonrdquo
Page 5
SRC Where Are All the Young Players
For one reason or another we hadnrsquot watched any of the SuperSport Rugby Challenge matches this season until this past Sunday And immediately an important question sprung to mind where are all the young players
Perhaps the two games we watched were outliers The teams involved in the double-header at DAlmeida Stadium in Mossel Bay were EP Elephants Free State Cheetahs SWD Eagles and Zimbabwe Academy And only the Zimbabwe side seemed to have a selection balance in favour of youth Wersquoll be watching the rest of the competition with an eagle eye
The results of those two matches were a thrashing for EP Elephants by Free State Cheetahs (12-49) and a narrow one-point win SWD Eagles against the Zimbabwe Academy side (31-30) Perhaps the seminal moment was seeing the Eaglesrsquo inside centre powering over for a try late in the match The man is built like a front row forward
However that was on Sunday This weekendrsquos fixtures began last Friday with Western Province travelling to Durban and putting the home town Sharks to the sword The final score was 20-47
Also on Friday the Blue Bulls hosted the Griffons and the home team won their second on the trot 35-20 Meanwhile The Pumas played at home in Nelspruit against the Leopards and ran out 40-30 winners in another high-scoring affair
On Saturday the early game was at Emirates Airlines Park were the Lions took on the Valke in what turned out to be a humdinger just shaded by the home team 43-40
Meanwhile at Police Rugby Club in East London Border Bulldogs were on the end of a solid 0-52 thrashing by the visiting Boland Cavaliers And the away win trend continued up in Windhoek where Namibia went down 24-61 to Griquas
This coming weekend therersquos only one game on Friday night in Durban as the Sharks face the Boland Cavaliers On Saturday the EP Elephants host the Border Bulldogs in PE Free State welcomes the SWD Eagles to Bloemfontein the Lions play the Pumas in Johannesburg Griquas take on the Blue Bulls in Kimberley and Western Province play Zimbabwe Academy at Newlands
Sunday is another double-header at a regional stadium this time itrsquos the Impala Rugby Football club in Rustenburg
The early match sees the Griffons take on Namibia and the late game features Leopards against Valke If yoursquore in the North-West you could do worse than go down to the stadium on Sunday afternoon The first kick-off is 1430
Page 6
The Dilemma of South African Rugby
Another of our favourite commentators on things rugby is Brenden Nel who writes regular columns on AllOutRugby uploads interesting interviews to his YouTube channel and posts fascinating threads on Twitter Itrsquos one of these last that caught our attention this week
Wersquove taken the liberty of putting some of the thread together for you but couldnrsquot do the whole thing because we donrsquot have the space ndash and we donrsquot want to steal too much of Brendenrsquos thunder
ldquoMost who follow rugby understand a team doesnrsquot just come together overnight There are characters and roles for players to play Experience is vital as a team of youngsters often is impatient and overzealous This most coaches talk about a lsquogood mixrsquo of both
ldquoWhile leaving administration and that side of the game out of it looking purely at the player situation we have challenges
Our currency is the biggest of those where a second league Japanese team can offer more than SA Rugby and a Super Rugby contract combined
ldquoBut it isnt always about the money It is about creating an environment where players can excel Currently we have coaching challenges as well The Lions are the most settled Bulls have a first year coach Stormers are in transition and Sharkswell
ldquoSo youre a player who has a decent Super Rugby track record and gets offered millions to play overseas You decide to leave and follow the money Its understandable Unfortunately NZ and Oz have lesser concerns as their currency is 10x the Rand but it happens there as well
ldquoCompounding the fact is Saffas do very well overseas My take is that they are exposed to expert coaching ndash not to say that doesnt happen in SA but it is more nuanced Coaches dont have a conveyor belt of talent so they need to coach players to be better
ldquoWhich leaves coaching in SA hampered - not just by lack of exposure to outside methods but also the stigma that after one season you can be done and thrown away It happens to players and coaches
ldquoSchalk Brits was a legend at Saracens - the best import in the UK - and so are many others Morne Steyn continues to impress at 34 and players are valued for their skills Here in SA one bad game and were wanting to ship the player to Siberia
Page 7
For your weekend viewing pleasure
By now you know that wersquore deep into the Super Rugby season and that there will be matches in that competition this weekend (see schedule alongside) Apart from that therersquos also the PRO14 semifinals on Friday and Saturday French Top14 and English Premiership rugby as well as the American MLR
But back home there is also the revamped SuperSport Rugby Challenge which is now into itrsquos fourth week with matches on Friday Saturday and a double-header in Rustenburg on Sunday
But as usual wersquoll focus on the Super Rugby On Friday around midday the Bulls begin their tours of the islands in Melbourne against the Rebels
Then on Saturday both the Lions and the Stormers are at home with the former taking on the Highlanders (at 1505) and latter facing the Crusaders (at 1715) The team from Durban will be on the beach
Thanks for reading our newsletter We need feedback to improve it ndash and only you can give us that feedback Please take the time to send us an email We want to hear from you ndash good bad or ugly a pat on the back or a kick in the butt Remember to look us up on Twitter where youll find many of our contributors on our timeline
The Rugby Team at Leopard Newsletters
Page 8
Page 2
Super Rugby No Unexpected Surprises
The first match of the weekend went to form when the Blues failed to stem the flow of the Hurricanesrsquo Barrett brothers going down at home 12-22 That was followed by an Australian Derby as the Rebels hosted the Reds in Melbourne where the home side ran out to an early lead and kept its nose in front for the rest of the game 3024
In the third match on Friday the Bulls were called upon to defend fortress Loftus against the rampaging Crusaders but it didnrsquot go well for the home team The 2018 Super Rugby champions were simply too good for the Bulls who were never really in a game that kept slipping further away 13-45
The early game on Saturday was a real arm wrestle in Dunedin until the Highlanders stretched the lead to 12 around the 60th minute The home team then hung on for the win despite a late charge by the Jaguares Final score 32-27 And in Hamilton the Chiefs made heavy going of what should have been an easy win against the Sharks 29-23
The Saturday afternoon clash saw a Lions outfit that looked rather rusty after their bye But they pulled it through in the end despite the typically abysmal officiating by referee Egon Seconds the same clown who robbed the Lions at Newlands earlier in the season Final score 29-28
Sunday morning bright and early in South Africa but early evening in Caberra where the home town Brumbies took on the Sunwolves Unfortunately the Japanese side appeared to be there in body but not in spirit 33-0
The PRO14 Semifinal Weekend Beckons
Itrsquos semi-final weekend in the PRO14 and the first match is Friday night (2035 SA time) when the top side in Conference A from the regular season Glasgow Warriors takes on Ulster in the Scottish sidersquos backyard And it could be a close match since the teams met twice (home and away) in the pools phase of the competition
The first time was at the same venue as Fridayrsquos semifinal where the Scottish team ran out 30-7 winners The second encounter was at Ulsterrsquos home ground in Belfast and that time the Irish side triumphed 36-15 So itrsquos perfectly set for an epic semifinal
However an interesting statistic to come out of the early phases pertains to the tries for and against Glasgow has scored 84 tries and let in 48 while their Irish opponents have scored 58 and conceded 54 In the face of that statistic the Scots have a better defence but then this is knock-out rugby
On Saturday and after falling short against Saracens in the European Champions Cup final last week Leinster will be looking for a better result when they face another Irish side Munster in Dublin As with the other semifinal pairing these two sides have played each other twice (home and away) and the results went with the home side on both occasions
Given that the venue is Leinsterrsquos home ground the odds would favour the Champions Cup runners up And in the regular season they scored 95 tries while conceding 49 which contrasts against the 8244 result achieved by Munster It could be a tight match
Page 3
Page 4
Skip the Team Announcement ndash Jake
The controversy that erupted around the Lions a few weeks ago when team management declared one team ahead of time and then changed it before kick-off had many traditionalists frothing at the mouth ndash especially those in the land of the long white cloud But why was it such a big deal
The answer to that can be found in Jake Whitersquos latest column on AllOutRugby in which he wonders why rugby teams are required to announce their matchday squads at least 48 hours before kickoff and asks ldquoWhat is the pointrdquo
An example White provides is Brent Russell in the 2002 Tri-Nations tournament ldquoAndre Pretorius fell sick at the team hotel on the eve of the Springboksrsquo last match and on the Saturday morning Straeuli told Brent Russell he was going to start at flyhalf He had a blinder in a thrilling 33-31 win
ldquoTwo things happened that day the Wallabies didnrsquot have an opportunity to do their homework on Russell and he played well because he didnrsquot have a whole week to worry about thingsrdquo
ldquoIn a competition thatrsquos become as lopsided as Super Rugby with Kiwi teams dominating all comers keeping line-ups a secret until matchday might give lesser sides a shot at upsetting the contenders It would even things out because coaches would be under pressure to contingency plan for whether the opposing line-up is strong weak full of speedsters or weighted towards a power style of playrdquo
Time for Some Fresh Rugby Thinking
The other thought-provoking column we found this week is running on the SuperSport website and is by Johan Coetzee He reckons that South African rugby needs to shake up the game with some fresh rugby thinking
In his SuperWrap for week 13 2019 he quotes the inimitable rock goddess Janis Joplin ldquoYou are what you settle for You are only as much as you settle forrdquo Hersquos using Joplin to point a finger at the lack of creativity among the bosses of SA Rugby
ldquoAs a rugby nation we are what these bosses settled for and what they settled for on our behalf is very little It is about time this whole deal they have with the rugby-loving public gets renegotiatedrdquo he writes
And then he cites the embarrassing comments of Bulls coach Pote Human after the humiliating thrashing at Loftus by the visiting Crusaders ldquoIf that is representative of the type of thinking we have in our Super Rugby change-rooms then no wonder we are in such deep troublerdquo notes Coetzee
ldquoSo far this year South African teams have won only two from eight games against their New Zealander counterparts Go back another two years and that count becomes a mind-numbing 937 Itrsquos also a number that would have been considerably worse if it wasnrsquot for a struggling Blues
ldquoWe clearly need a complete new way of thinking throughout our entire system if we are to turn that tide yet at all four of our franchises we are stuck with coaches that were already in the system at their various Unions when I started my SA v NZ comparisonrdquo
Page 5
SRC Where Are All the Young Players
For one reason or another we hadnrsquot watched any of the SuperSport Rugby Challenge matches this season until this past Sunday And immediately an important question sprung to mind where are all the young players
Perhaps the two games we watched were outliers The teams involved in the double-header at DAlmeida Stadium in Mossel Bay were EP Elephants Free State Cheetahs SWD Eagles and Zimbabwe Academy And only the Zimbabwe side seemed to have a selection balance in favour of youth Wersquoll be watching the rest of the competition with an eagle eye
The results of those two matches were a thrashing for EP Elephants by Free State Cheetahs (12-49) and a narrow one-point win SWD Eagles against the Zimbabwe Academy side (31-30) Perhaps the seminal moment was seeing the Eaglesrsquo inside centre powering over for a try late in the match The man is built like a front row forward
However that was on Sunday This weekendrsquos fixtures began last Friday with Western Province travelling to Durban and putting the home town Sharks to the sword The final score was 20-47
Also on Friday the Blue Bulls hosted the Griffons and the home team won their second on the trot 35-20 Meanwhile The Pumas played at home in Nelspruit against the Leopards and ran out 40-30 winners in another high-scoring affair
On Saturday the early game was at Emirates Airlines Park were the Lions took on the Valke in what turned out to be a humdinger just shaded by the home team 43-40
Meanwhile at Police Rugby Club in East London Border Bulldogs were on the end of a solid 0-52 thrashing by the visiting Boland Cavaliers And the away win trend continued up in Windhoek where Namibia went down 24-61 to Griquas
This coming weekend therersquos only one game on Friday night in Durban as the Sharks face the Boland Cavaliers On Saturday the EP Elephants host the Border Bulldogs in PE Free State welcomes the SWD Eagles to Bloemfontein the Lions play the Pumas in Johannesburg Griquas take on the Blue Bulls in Kimberley and Western Province play Zimbabwe Academy at Newlands
Sunday is another double-header at a regional stadium this time itrsquos the Impala Rugby Football club in Rustenburg
The early match sees the Griffons take on Namibia and the late game features Leopards against Valke If yoursquore in the North-West you could do worse than go down to the stadium on Sunday afternoon The first kick-off is 1430
Page 6
The Dilemma of South African Rugby
Another of our favourite commentators on things rugby is Brenden Nel who writes regular columns on AllOutRugby uploads interesting interviews to his YouTube channel and posts fascinating threads on Twitter Itrsquos one of these last that caught our attention this week
Wersquove taken the liberty of putting some of the thread together for you but couldnrsquot do the whole thing because we donrsquot have the space ndash and we donrsquot want to steal too much of Brendenrsquos thunder
ldquoMost who follow rugby understand a team doesnrsquot just come together overnight There are characters and roles for players to play Experience is vital as a team of youngsters often is impatient and overzealous This most coaches talk about a lsquogood mixrsquo of both
ldquoWhile leaving administration and that side of the game out of it looking purely at the player situation we have challenges
Our currency is the biggest of those where a second league Japanese team can offer more than SA Rugby and a Super Rugby contract combined
ldquoBut it isnt always about the money It is about creating an environment where players can excel Currently we have coaching challenges as well The Lions are the most settled Bulls have a first year coach Stormers are in transition and Sharkswell
ldquoSo youre a player who has a decent Super Rugby track record and gets offered millions to play overseas You decide to leave and follow the money Its understandable Unfortunately NZ and Oz have lesser concerns as their currency is 10x the Rand but it happens there as well
ldquoCompounding the fact is Saffas do very well overseas My take is that they are exposed to expert coaching ndash not to say that doesnt happen in SA but it is more nuanced Coaches dont have a conveyor belt of talent so they need to coach players to be better
ldquoWhich leaves coaching in SA hampered - not just by lack of exposure to outside methods but also the stigma that after one season you can be done and thrown away It happens to players and coaches
ldquoSchalk Brits was a legend at Saracens - the best import in the UK - and so are many others Morne Steyn continues to impress at 34 and players are valued for their skills Here in SA one bad game and were wanting to ship the player to Siberia
Page 7
For your weekend viewing pleasure
By now you know that wersquore deep into the Super Rugby season and that there will be matches in that competition this weekend (see schedule alongside) Apart from that therersquos also the PRO14 semifinals on Friday and Saturday French Top14 and English Premiership rugby as well as the American MLR
But back home there is also the revamped SuperSport Rugby Challenge which is now into itrsquos fourth week with matches on Friday Saturday and a double-header in Rustenburg on Sunday
But as usual wersquoll focus on the Super Rugby On Friday around midday the Bulls begin their tours of the islands in Melbourne against the Rebels
Then on Saturday both the Lions and the Stormers are at home with the former taking on the Highlanders (at 1505) and latter facing the Crusaders (at 1715) The team from Durban will be on the beach
Thanks for reading our newsletter We need feedback to improve it ndash and only you can give us that feedback Please take the time to send us an email We want to hear from you ndash good bad or ugly a pat on the back or a kick in the butt Remember to look us up on Twitter where youll find many of our contributors on our timeline
The Rugby Team at Leopard Newsletters
Page 8
Page 3
Page 4
Skip the Team Announcement ndash Jake
The controversy that erupted around the Lions a few weeks ago when team management declared one team ahead of time and then changed it before kick-off had many traditionalists frothing at the mouth ndash especially those in the land of the long white cloud But why was it such a big deal
The answer to that can be found in Jake Whitersquos latest column on AllOutRugby in which he wonders why rugby teams are required to announce their matchday squads at least 48 hours before kickoff and asks ldquoWhat is the pointrdquo
An example White provides is Brent Russell in the 2002 Tri-Nations tournament ldquoAndre Pretorius fell sick at the team hotel on the eve of the Springboksrsquo last match and on the Saturday morning Straeuli told Brent Russell he was going to start at flyhalf He had a blinder in a thrilling 33-31 win
ldquoTwo things happened that day the Wallabies didnrsquot have an opportunity to do their homework on Russell and he played well because he didnrsquot have a whole week to worry about thingsrdquo
ldquoIn a competition thatrsquos become as lopsided as Super Rugby with Kiwi teams dominating all comers keeping line-ups a secret until matchday might give lesser sides a shot at upsetting the contenders It would even things out because coaches would be under pressure to contingency plan for whether the opposing line-up is strong weak full of speedsters or weighted towards a power style of playrdquo
Time for Some Fresh Rugby Thinking
The other thought-provoking column we found this week is running on the SuperSport website and is by Johan Coetzee He reckons that South African rugby needs to shake up the game with some fresh rugby thinking
In his SuperWrap for week 13 2019 he quotes the inimitable rock goddess Janis Joplin ldquoYou are what you settle for You are only as much as you settle forrdquo Hersquos using Joplin to point a finger at the lack of creativity among the bosses of SA Rugby
ldquoAs a rugby nation we are what these bosses settled for and what they settled for on our behalf is very little It is about time this whole deal they have with the rugby-loving public gets renegotiatedrdquo he writes
And then he cites the embarrassing comments of Bulls coach Pote Human after the humiliating thrashing at Loftus by the visiting Crusaders ldquoIf that is representative of the type of thinking we have in our Super Rugby change-rooms then no wonder we are in such deep troublerdquo notes Coetzee
ldquoSo far this year South African teams have won only two from eight games against their New Zealander counterparts Go back another two years and that count becomes a mind-numbing 937 Itrsquos also a number that would have been considerably worse if it wasnrsquot for a struggling Blues
ldquoWe clearly need a complete new way of thinking throughout our entire system if we are to turn that tide yet at all four of our franchises we are stuck with coaches that were already in the system at their various Unions when I started my SA v NZ comparisonrdquo
Page 5
SRC Where Are All the Young Players
For one reason or another we hadnrsquot watched any of the SuperSport Rugby Challenge matches this season until this past Sunday And immediately an important question sprung to mind where are all the young players
Perhaps the two games we watched were outliers The teams involved in the double-header at DAlmeida Stadium in Mossel Bay were EP Elephants Free State Cheetahs SWD Eagles and Zimbabwe Academy And only the Zimbabwe side seemed to have a selection balance in favour of youth Wersquoll be watching the rest of the competition with an eagle eye
The results of those two matches were a thrashing for EP Elephants by Free State Cheetahs (12-49) and a narrow one-point win SWD Eagles against the Zimbabwe Academy side (31-30) Perhaps the seminal moment was seeing the Eaglesrsquo inside centre powering over for a try late in the match The man is built like a front row forward
However that was on Sunday This weekendrsquos fixtures began last Friday with Western Province travelling to Durban and putting the home town Sharks to the sword The final score was 20-47
Also on Friday the Blue Bulls hosted the Griffons and the home team won their second on the trot 35-20 Meanwhile The Pumas played at home in Nelspruit against the Leopards and ran out 40-30 winners in another high-scoring affair
On Saturday the early game was at Emirates Airlines Park were the Lions took on the Valke in what turned out to be a humdinger just shaded by the home team 43-40
Meanwhile at Police Rugby Club in East London Border Bulldogs were on the end of a solid 0-52 thrashing by the visiting Boland Cavaliers And the away win trend continued up in Windhoek where Namibia went down 24-61 to Griquas
This coming weekend therersquos only one game on Friday night in Durban as the Sharks face the Boland Cavaliers On Saturday the EP Elephants host the Border Bulldogs in PE Free State welcomes the SWD Eagles to Bloemfontein the Lions play the Pumas in Johannesburg Griquas take on the Blue Bulls in Kimberley and Western Province play Zimbabwe Academy at Newlands
Sunday is another double-header at a regional stadium this time itrsquos the Impala Rugby Football club in Rustenburg
The early match sees the Griffons take on Namibia and the late game features Leopards against Valke If yoursquore in the North-West you could do worse than go down to the stadium on Sunday afternoon The first kick-off is 1430
Page 6
The Dilemma of South African Rugby
Another of our favourite commentators on things rugby is Brenden Nel who writes regular columns on AllOutRugby uploads interesting interviews to his YouTube channel and posts fascinating threads on Twitter Itrsquos one of these last that caught our attention this week
Wersquove taken the liberty of putting some of the thread together for you but couldnrsquot do the whole thing because we donrsquot have the space ndash and we donrsquot want to steal too much of Brendenrsquos thunder
ldquoMost who follow rugby understand a team doesnrsquot just come together overnight There are characters and roles for players to play Experience is vital as a team of youngsters often is impatient and overzealous This most coaches talk about a lsquogood mixrsquo of both
ldquoWhile leaving administration and that side of the game out of it looking purely at the player situation we have challenges
Our currency is the biggest of those where a second league Japanese team can offer more than SA Rugby and a Super Rugby contract combined
ldquoBut it isnt always about the money It is about creating an environment where players can excel Currently we have coaching challenges as well The Lions are the most settled Bulls have a first year coach Stormers are in transition and Sharkswell
ldquoSo youre a player who has a decent Super Rugby track record and gets offered millions to play overseas You decide to leave and follow the money Its understandable Unfortunately NZ and Oz have lesser concerns as their currency is 10x the Rand but it happens there as well
ldquoCompounding the fact is Saffas do very well overseas My take is that they are exposed to expert coaching ndash not to say that doesnt happen in SA but it is more nuanced Coaches dont have a conveyor belt of talent so they need to coach players to be better
ldquoWhich leaves coaching in SA hampered - not just by lack of exposure to outside methods but also the stigma that after one season you can be done and thrown away It happens to players and coaches
ldquoSchalk Brits was a legend at Saracens - the best import in the UK - and so are many others Morne Steyn continues to impress at 34 and players are valued for their skills Here in SA one bad game and were wanting to ship the player to Siberia
Page 7
For your weekend viewing pleasure
By now you know that wersquore deep into the Super Rugby season and that there will be matches in that competition this weekend (see schedule alongside) Apart from that therersquos also the PRO14 semifinals on Friday and Saturday French Top14 and English Premiership rugby as well as the American MLR
But back home there is also the revamped SuperSport Rugby Challenge which is now into itrsquos fourth week with matches on Friday Saturday and a double-header in Rustenburg on Sunday
But as usual wersquoll focus on the Super Rugby On Friday around midday the Bulls begin their tours of the islands in Melbourne against the Rebels
Then on Saturday both the Lions and the Stormers are at home with the former taking on the Highlanders (at 1505) and latter facing the Crusaders (at 1715) The team from Durban will be on the beach
Thanks for reading our newsletter We need feedback to improve it ndash and only you can give us that feedback Please take the time to send us an email We want to hear from you ndash good bad or ugly a pat on the back or a kick in the butt Remember to look us up on Twitter where youll find many of our contributors on our timeline
The Rugby Team at Leopard Newsletters
Page 8
Page 4
Skip the Team Announcement ndash Jake
The controversy that erupted around the Lions a few weeks ago when team management declared one team ahead of time and then changed it before kick-off had many traditionalists frothing at the mouth ndash especially those in the land of the long white cloud But why was it such a big deal
The answer to that can be found in Jake Whitersquos latest column on AllOutRugby in which he wonders why rugby teams are required to announce their matchday squads at least 48 hours before kickoff and asks ldquoWhat is the pointrdquo
An example White provides is Brent Russell in the 2002 Tri-Nations tournament ldquoAndre Pretorius fell sick at the team hotel on the eve of the Springboksrsquo last match and on the Saturday morning Straeuli told Brent Russell he was going to start at flyhalf He had a blinder in a thrilling 33-31 win
ldquoTwo things happened that day the Wallabies didnrsquot have an opportunity to do their homework on Russell and he played well because he didnrsquot have a whole week to worry about thingsrdquo
ldquoIn a competition thatrsquos become as lopsided as Super Rugby with Kiwi teams dominating all comers keeping line-ups a secret until matchday might give lesser sides a shot at upsetting the contenders It would even things out because coaches would be under pressure to contingency plan for whether the opposing line-up is strong weak full of speedsters or weighted towards a power style of playrdquo
Time for Some Fresh Rugby Thinking
The other thought-provoking column we found this week is running on the SuperSport website and is by Johan Coetzee He reckons that South African rugby needs to shake up the game with some fresh rugby thinking
In his SuperWrap for week 13 2019 he quotes the inimitable rock goddess Janis Joplin ldquoYou are what you settle for You are only as much as you settle forrdquo Hersquos using Joplin to point a finger at the lack of creativity among the bosses of SA Rugby
ldquoAs a rugby nation we are what these bosses settled for and what they settled for on our behalf is very little It is about time this whole deal they have with the rugby-loving public gets renegotiatedrdquo he writes
And then he cites the embarrassing comments of Bulls coach Pote Human after the humiliating thrashing at Loftus by the visiting Crusaders ldquoIf that is representative of the type of thinking we have in our Super Rugby change-rooms then no wonder we are in such deep troublerdquo notes Coetzee
ldquoSo far this year South African teams have won only two from eight games against their New Zealander counterparts Go back another two years and that count becomes a mind-numbing 937 Itrsquos also a number that would have been considerably worse if it wasnrsquot for a struggling Blues
ldquoWe clearly need a complete new way of thinking throughout our entire system if we are to turn that tide yet at all four of our franchises we are stuck with coaches that were already in the system at their various Unions when I started my SA v NZ comparisonrdquo
Page 5
SRC Where Are All the Young Players
For one reason or another we hadnrsquot watched any of the SuperSport Rugby Challenge matches this season until this past Sunday And immediately an important question sprung to mind where are all the young players
Perhaps the two games we watched were outliers The teams involved in the double-header at DAlmeida Stadium in Mossel Bay were EP Elephants Free State Cheetahs SWD Eagles and Zimbabwe Academy And only the Zimbabwe side seemed to have a selection balance in favour of youth Wersquoll be watching the rest of the competition with an eagle eye
The results of those two matches were a thrashing for EP Elephants by Free State Cheetahs (12-49) and a narrow one-point win SWD Eagles against the Zimbabwe Academy side (31-30) Perhaps the seminal moment was seeing the Eaglesrsquo inside centre powering over for a try late in the match The man is built like a front row forward
However that was on Sunday This weekendrsquos fixtures began last Friday with Western Province travelling to Durban and putting the home town Sharks to the sword The final score was 20-47
Also on Friday the Blue Bulls hosted the Griffons and the home team won their second on the trot 35-20 Meanwhile The Pumas played at home in Nelspruit against the Leopards and ran out 40-30 winners in another high-scoring affair
On Saturday the early game was at Emirates Airlines Park were the Lions took on the Valke in what turned out to be a humdinger just shaded by the home team 43-40
Meanwhile at Police Rugby Club in East London Border Bulldogs were on the end of a solid 0-52 thrashing by the visiting Boland Cavaliers And the away win trend continued up in Windhoek where Namibia went down 24-61 to Griquas
This coming weekend therersquos only one game on Friday night in Durban as the Sharks face the Boland Cavaliers On Saturday the EP Elephants host the Border Bulldogs in PE Free State welcomes the SWD Eagles to Bloemfontein the Lions play the Pumas in Johannesburg Griquas take on the Blue Bulls in Kimberley and Western Province play Zimbabwe Academy at Newlands
Sunday is another double-header at a regional stadium this time itrsquos the Impala Rugby Football club in Rustenburg
The early match sees the Griffons take on Namibia and the late game features Leopards against Valke If yoursquore in the North-West you could do worse than go down to the stadium on Sunday afternoon The first kick-off is 1430
Page 6
The Dilemma of South African Rugby
Another of our favourite commentators on things rugby is Brenden Nel who writes regular columns on AllOutRugby uploads interesting interviews to his YouTube channel and posts fascinating threads on Twitter Itrsquos one of these last that caught our attention this week
Wersquove taken the liberty of putting some of the thread together for you but couldnrsquot do the whole thing because we donrsquot have the space ndash and we donrsquot want to steal too much of Brendenrsquos thunder
ldquoMost who follow rugby understand a team doesnrsquot just come together overnight There are characters and roles for players to play Experience is vital as a team of youngsters often is impatient and overzealous This most coaches talk about a lsquogood mixrsquo of both
ldquoWhile leaving administration and that side of the game out of it looking purely at the player situation we have challenges
Our currency is the biggest of those where a second league Japanese team can offer more than SA Rugby and a Super Rugby contract combined
ldquoBut it isnt always about the money It is about creating an environment where players can excel Currently we have coaching challenges as well The Lions are the most settled Bulls have a first year coach Stormers are in transition and Sharkswell
ldquoSo youre a player who has a decent Super Rugby track record and gets offered millions to play overseas You decide to leave and follow the money Its understandable Unfortunately NZ and Oz have lesser concerns as their currency is 10x the Rand but it happens there as well
ldquoCompounding the fact is Saffas do very well overseas My take is that they are exposed to expert coaching ndash not to say that doesnt happen in SA but it is more nuanced Coaches dont have a conveyor belt of talent so they need to coach players to be better
ldquoWhich leaves coaching in SA hampered - not just by lack of exposure to outside methods but also the stigma that after one season you can be done and thrown away It happens to players and coaches
ldquoSchalk Brits was a legend at Saracens - the best import in the UK - and so are many others Morne Steyn continues to impress at 34 and players are valued for their skills Here in SA one bad game and were wanting to ship the player to Siberia
Page 7
For your weekend viewing pleasure
By now you know that wersquore deep into the Super Rugby season and that there will be matches in that competition this weekend (see schedule alongside) Apart from that therersquos also the PRO14 semifinals on Friday and Saturday French Top14 and English Premiership rugby as well as the American MLR
But back home there is also the revamped SuperSport Rugby Challenge which is now into itrsquos fourth week with matches on Friday Saturday and a double-header in Rustenburg on Sunday
But as usual wersquoll focus on the Super Rugby On Friday around midday the Bulls begin their tours of the islands in Melbourne against the Rebels
Then on Saturday both the Lions and the Stormers are at home with the former taking on the Highlanders (at 1505) and latter facing the Crusaders (at 1715) The team from Durban will be on the beach
Thanks for reading our newsletter We need feedback to improve it ndash and only you can give us that feedback Please take the time to send us an email We want to hear from you ndash good bad or ugly a pat on the back or a kick in the butt Remember to look us up on Twitter where youll find many of our contributors on our timeline
The Rugby Team at Leopard Newsletters
Page 8
Page 5
SRC Where Are All the Young Players
For one reason or another we hadnrsquot watched any of the SuperSport Rugby Challenge matches this season until this past Sunday And immediately an important question sprung to mind where are all the young players
Perhaps the two games we watched were outliers The teams involved in the double-header at DAlmeida Stadium in Mossel Bay were EP Elephants Free State Cheetahs SWD Eagles and Zimbabwe Academy And only the Zimbabwe side seemed to have a selection balance in favour of youth Wersquoll be watching the rest of the competition with an eagle eye
The results of those two matches were a thrashing for EP Elephants by Free State Cheetahs (12-49) and a narrow one-point win SWD Eagles against the Zimbabwe Academy side (31-30) Perhaps the seminal moment was seeing the Eaglesrsquo inside centre powering over for a try late in the match The man is built like a front row forward
However that was on Sunday This weekendrsquos fixtures began last Friday with Western Province travelling to Durban and putting the home town Sharks to the sword The final score was 20-47
Also on Friday the Blue Bulls hosted the Griffons and the home team won their second on the trot 35-20 Meanwhile The Pumas played at home in Nelspruit against the Leopards and ran out 40-30 winners in another high-scoring affair
On Saturday the early game was at Emirates Airlines Park were the Lions took on the Valke in what turned out to be a humdinger just shaded by the home team 43-40
Meanwhile at Police Rugby Club in East London Border Bulldogs were on the end of a solid 0-52 thrashing by the visiting Boland Cavaliers And the away win trend continued up in Windhoek where Namibia went down 24-61 to Griquas
This coming weekend therersquos only one game on Friday night in Durban as the Sharks face the Boland Cavaliers On Saturday the EP Elephants host the Border Bulldogs in PE Free State welcomes the SWD Eagles to Bloemfontein the Lions play the Pumas in Johannesburg Griquas take on the Blue Bulls in Kimberley and Western Province play Zimbabwe Academy at Newlands
Sunday is another double-header at a regional stadium this time itrsquos the Impala Rugby Football club in Rustenburg
The early match sees the Griffons take on Namibia and the late game features Leopards against Valke If yoursquore in the North-West you could do worse than go down to the stadium on Sunday afternoon The first kick-off is 1430
Page 6
The Dilemma of South African Rugby
Another of our favourite commentators on things rugby is Brenden Nel who writes regular columns on AllOutRugby uploads interesting interviews to his YouTube channel and posts fascinating threads on Twitter Itrsquos one of these last that caught our attention this week
Wersquove taken the liberty of putting some of the thread together for you but couldnrsquot do the whole thing because we donrsquot have the space ndash and we donrsquot want to steal too much of Brendenrsquos thunder
ldquoMost who follow rugby understand a team doesnrsquot just come together overnight There are characters and roles for players to play Experience is vital as a team of youngsters often is impatient and overzealous This most coaches talk about a lsquogood mixrsquo of both
ldquoWhile leaving administration and that side of the game out of it looking purely at the player situation we have challenges
Our currency is the biggest of those where a second league Japanese team can offer more than SA Rugby and a Super Rugby contract combined
ldquoBut it isnt always about the money It is about creating an environment where players can excel Currently we have coaching challenges as well The Lions are the most settled Bulls have a first year coach Stormers are in transition and Sharkswell
ldquoSo youre a player who has a decent Super Rugby track record and gets offered millions to play overseas You decide to leave and follow the money Its understandable Unfortunately NZ and Oz have lesser concerns as their currency is 10x the Rand but it happens there as well
ldquoCompounding the fact is Saffas do very well overseas My take is that they are exposed to expert coaching ndash not to say that doesnt happen in SA but it is more nuanced Coaches dont have a conveyor belt of talent so they need to coach players to be better
ldquoWhich leaves coaching in SA hampered - not just by lack of exposure to outside methods but also the stigma that after one season you can be done and thrown away It happens to players and coaches
ldquoSchalk Brits was a legend at Saracens - the best import in the UK - and so are many others Morne Steyn continues to impress at 34 and players are valued for their skills Here in SA one bad game and were wanting to ship the player to Siberia
Page 7
For your weekend viewing pleasure
By now you know that wersquore deep into the Super Rugby season and that there will be matches in that competition this weekend (see schedule alongside) Apart from that therersquos also the PRO14 semifinals on Friday and Saturday French Top14 and English Premiership rugby as well as the American MLR
But back home there is also the revamped SuperSport Rugby Challenge which is now into itrsquos fourth week with matches on Friday Saturday and a double-header in Rustenburg on Sunday
But as usual wersquoll focus on the Super Rugby On Friday around midday the Bulls begin their tours of the islands in Melbourne against the Rebels
Then on Saturday both the Lions and the Stormers are at home with the former taking on the Highlanders (at 1505) and latter facing the Crusaders (at 1715) The team from Durban will be on the beach
Thanks for reading our newsletter We need feedback to improve it ndash and only you can give us that feedback Please take the time to send us an email We want to hear from you ndash good bad or ugly a pat on the back or a kick in the butt Remember to look us up on Twitter where youll find many of our contributors on our timeline
The Rugby Team at Leopard Newsletters
Page 8
SRC Where Are All the Young Players
For one reason or another we hadnrsquot watched any of the SuperSport Rugby Challenge matches this season until this past Sunday And immediately an important question sprung to mind where are all the young players
Perhaps the two games we watched were outliers The teams involved in the double-header at DAlmeida Stadium in Mossel Bay were EP Elephants Free State Cheetahs SWD Eagles and Zimbabwe Academy And only the Zimbabwe side seemed to have a selection balance in favour of youth Wersquoll be watching the rest of the competition with an eagle eye
The results of those two matches were a thrashing for EP Elephants by Free State Cheetahs (12-49) and a narrow one-point win SWD Eagles against the Zimbabwe Academy side (31-30) Perhaps the seminal moment was seeing the Eaglesrsquo inside centre powering over for a try late in the match The man is built like a front row forward
However that was on Sunday This weekendrsquos fixtures began last Friday with Western Province travelling to Durban and putting the home town Sharks to the sword The final score was 20-47
Also on Friday the Blue Bulls hosted the Griffons and the home team won their second on the trot 35-20 Meanwhile The Pumas played at home in Nelspruit against the Leopards and ran out 40-30 winners in another high-scoring affair
On Saturday the early game was at Emirates Airlines Park were the Lions took on the Valke in what turned out to be a humdinger just shaded by the home team 43-40
Meanwhile at Police Rugby Club in East London Border Bulldogs were on the end of a solid 0-52 thrashing by the visiting Boland Cavaliers And the away win trend continued up in Windhoek where Namibia went down 24-61 to Griquas
This coming weekend therersquos only one game on Friday night in Durban as the Sharks face the Boland Cavaliers On Saturday the EP Elephants host the Border Bulldogs in PE Free State welcomes the SWD Eagles to Bloemfontein the Lions play the Pumas in Johannesburg Griquas take on the Blue Bulls in Kimberley and Western Province play Zimbabwe Academy at Newlands
Sunday is another double-header at a regional stadium this time itrsquos the Impala Rugby Football club in Rustenburg
The early match sees the Griffons take on Namibia and the late game features Leopards against Valke If yoursquore in the North-West you could do worse than go down to the stadium on Sunday afternoon The first kick-off is 1430
Page 6
The Dilemma of South African Rugby
Another of our favourite commentators on things rugby is Brenden Nel who writes regular columns on AllOutRugby uploads interesting interviews to his YouTube channel and posts fascinating threads on Twitter Itrsquos one of these last that caught our attention this week
Wersquove taken the liberty of putting some of the thread together for you but couldnrsquot do the whole thing because we donrsquot have the space ndash and we donrsquot want to steal too much of Brendenrsquos thunder
ldquoMost who follow rugby understand a team doesnrsquot just come together overnight There are characters and roles for players to play Experience is vital as a team of youngsters often is impatient and overzealous This most coaches talk about a lsquogood mixrsquo of both
ldquoWhile leaving administration and that side of the game out of it looking purely at the player situation we have challenges
Our currency is the biggest of those where a second league Japanese team can offer more than SA Rugby and a Super Rugby contract combined
ldquoBut it isnt always about the money It is about creating an environment where players can excel Currently we have coaching challenges as well The Lions are the most settled Bulls have a first year coach Stormers are in transition and Sharkswell
ldquoSo youre a player who has a decent Super Rugby track record and gets offered millions to play overseas You decide to leave and follow the money Its understandable Unfortunately NZ and Oz have lesser concerns as their currency is 10x the Rand but it happens there as well
ldquoCompounding the fact is Saffas do very well overseas My take is that they are exposed to expert coaching ndash not to say that doesnt happen in SA but it is more nuanced Coaches dont have a conveyor belt of talent so they need to coach players to be better
ldquoWhich leaves coaching in SA hampered - not just by lack of exposure to outside methods but also the stigma that after one season you can be done and thrown away It happens to players and coaches
ldquoSchalk Brits was a legend at Saracens - the best import in the UK - and so are many others Morne Steyn continues to impress at 34 and players are valued for their skills Here in SA one bad game and were wanting to ship the player to Siberia
Page 7
For your weekend viewing pleasure
By now you know that wersquore deep into the Super Rugby season and that there will be matches in that competition this weekend (see schedule alongside) Apart from that therersquos also the PRO14 semifinals on Friday and Saturday French Top14 and English Premiership rugby as well as the American MLR
But back home there is also the revamped SuperSport Rugby Challenge which is now into itrsquos fourth week with matches on Friday Saturday and a double-header in Rustenburg on Sunday
But as usual wersquoll focus on the Super Rugby On Friday around midday the Bulls begin their tours of the islands in Melbourne against the Rebels
Then on Saturday both the Lions and the Stormers are at home with the former taking on the Highlanders (at 1505) and latter facing the Crusaders (at 1715) The team from Durban will be on the beach
Thanks for reading our newsletter We need feedback to improve it ndash and only you can give us that feedback Please take the time to send us an email We want to hear from you ndash good bad or ugly a pat on the back or a kick in the butt Remember to look us up on Twitter where youll find many of our contributors on our timeline
The Rugby Team at Leopard Newsletters
Page 8
The Dilemma of South African Rugby
Another of our favourite commentators on things rugby is Brenden Nel who writes regular columns on AllOutRugby uploads interesting interviews to his YouTube channel and posts fascinating threads on Twitter Itrsquos one of these last that caught our attention this week
Wersquove taken the liberty of putting some of the thread together for you but couldnrsquot do the whole thing because we donrsquot have the space ndash and we donrsquot want to steal too much of Brendenrsquos thunder
ldquoMost who follow rugby understand a team doesnrsquot just come together overnight There are characters and roles for players to play Experience is vital as a team of youngsters often is impatient and overzealous This most coaches talk about a lsquogood mixrsquo of both
ldquoWhile leaving administration and that side of the game out of it looking purely at the player situation we have challenges
Our currency is the biggest of those where a second league Japanese team can offer more than SA Rugby and a Super Rugby contract combined
ldquoBut it isnt always about the money It is about creating an environment where players can excel Currently we have coaching challenges as well The Lions are the most settled Bulls have a first year coach Stormers are in transition and Sharkswell
ldquoSo youre a player who has a decent Super Rugby track record and gets offered millions to play overseas You decide to leave and follow the money Its understandable Unfortunately NZ and Oz have lesser concerns as their currency is 10x the Rand but it happens there as well
ldquoCompounding the fact is Saffas do very well overseas My take is that they are exposed to expert coaching ndash not to say that doesnt happen in SA but it is more nuanced Coaches dont have a conveyor belt of talent so they need to coach players to be better
ldquoWhich leaves coaching in SA hampered - not just by lack of exposure to outside methods but also the stigma that after one season you can be done and thrown away It happens to players and coaches
ldquoSchalk Brits was a legend at Saracens - the best import in the UK - and so are many others Morne Steyn continues to impress at 34 and players are valued for their skills Here in SA one bad game and were wanting to ship the player to Siberia
Page 7
For your weekend viewing pleasure
By now you know that wersquore deep into the Super Rugby season and that there will be matches in that competition this weekend (see schedule alongside) Apart from that therersquos also the PRO14 semifinals on Friday and Saturday French Top14 and English Premiership rugby as well as the American MLR
But back home there is also the revamped SuperSport Rugby Challenge which is now into itrsquos fourth week with matches on Friday Saturday and a double-header in Rustenburg on Sunday
But as usual wersquoll focus on the Super Rugby On Friday around midday the Bulls begin their tours of the islands in Melbourne against the Rebels
Then on Saturday both the Lions and the Stormers are at home with the former taking on the Highlanders (at 1505) and latter facing the Crusaders (at 1715) The team from Durban will be on the beach
Thanks for reading our newsletter We need feedback to improve it ndash and only you can give us that feedback Please take the time to send us an email We want to hear from you ndash good bad or ugly a pat on the back or a kick in the butt Remember to look us up on Twitter where youll find many of our contributors on our timeline
The Rugby Team at Leopard Newsletters
Page 8
For your weekend viewing pleasure
By now you know that wersquore deep into the Super Rugby season and that there will be matches in that competition this weekend (see schedule alongside) Apart from that therersquos also the PRO14 semifinals on Friday and Saturday French Top14 and English Premiership rugby as well as the American MLR
But back home there is also the revamped SuperSport Rugby Challenge which is now into itrsquos fourth week with matches on Friday Saturday and a double-header in Rustenburg on Sunday
But as usual wersquoll focus on the Super Rugby On Friday around midday the Bulls begin their tours of the islands in Melbourne against the Rebels
Then on Saturday both the Lions and the Stormers are at home with the former taking on the Highlanders (at 1505) and latter facing the Crusaders (at 1715) The team from Durban will be on the beach
Thanks for reading our newsletter We need feedback to improve it ndash and only you can give us that feedback Please take the time to send us an email We want to hear from you ndash good bad or ugly a pat on the back or a kick in the butt Remember to look us up on Twitter where youll find many of our contributors on our timeline
The Rugby Team at Leopard Newsletters
Page 8
