Indholdsfortegnelse for October 2023 i SA RUGBY

Tick, tick, boom! The Bok Bomb Squad famously exploded at Twickenham, shredding New Zealand in South Africa's final dress rehearsal for the 2023 Rugby World Cup and consigning the All Blacks to their greatest defeat in team history. There were factors that contributed to the margin of victory (see: yellow and red cards) but the damage caused to the Kiwi pack by South Africa's 7-1 bench was enough to make Ben Franks crush a can of Speight's on his forehead in despair. The genesis of South Africa's experimentation with a heavy bench coincided with Rassie Erasmus' appointment, and the highlights prior to the Twickenham Massacre include a 6-2 bench pulverising England in the 2019 World Cup final. Rugby is a simple game that rewards physicality, which is why the Boks…

FORWARDS 1. OS DU RANDT Big, strong, mobile and skilful. 2. ULI SCHMIDT Besides doing all the basics well, he had pace and was not called ‘Uli the Bully’ for nothing. 3. OLO BROWN A mountain at tighthead, Olo was also a great carrier of the ball. 4. MARTIN JOHNSON The backbone of a great England pack. He was physical and did the basics very well. 5. JOHN EALES A great lineout forward, good captain and true team player. ‘HE WAS NOT CALLED “ULI THE BULLY” FOR NOTHING' 6. MICHAEL JONES An exceptionally gifted loose forward with pace, skills and an excellent work rate. 7. RUBEN KRUGER The silent assassin. A true team man and one of the toughest players I knew. I would go to war with him. 8.…

COACH: IVAN VAN ROOYEN CAPTAIN: MARIUS LDUW 2022-23 LOB FINISH: 9TH IN A NUTSHELL Vincent Tshituka and Wandisile Simelane headlined a group of off-season departures, but the Lions rallied to improve on their 12th-place finish in the inaugural URC to narrowly miss out on the 2022-23 playoffs, writes Grant Craze. Mixing up-and-coming youngsters, such as Quan Horn, with the experience of veteran centre Marius Louw, the men from Johannesburg produced scintillating rugby at times but lacked the consistency to sustain it throughout the season. The retirement of skipper Jaco Kriel in April, and the departure of key playmakers once again leaves the Lions looking vulnerable. However, they are optimistic that the 2023-24 intake of new players will inject energy into the squad and boost the Lions into the knockout stage…

SUPPORT PLAY Three simple counter plays Work on counter-attack plays to use when returning long kicks. And then have a play to use after the first ruck from a counter - it will help you exploit weak links as they race into place to defend. WHY USE IT Your backfield cover should have plays in place to move their defence out of position. But don’t end there - players must know what to do next. SET-UP A 50m wide x 40m long box, plus a ball and a tackle tube. HOW TO DO IT > Put three receivers at the back of the box - normally one forward, a winger and a fullback (8, Wand 15 in the diagram). Have three players as the kicking team. > Work through these…

CONOR MURRAY Four years is a long time in the rugby life cycle. But sometimes things repeat when it comes round again. For example, remember when Ireland were top of the rankings in 2019? Conor Murray does. 'Just in terms of what we've been through in the past four years, it's just a very different feeling/ Murray says. 'Going into the last World Cup - now we don t pay much attention to it - but we were ranked No 1 and people were talking about it. But, oof, were we truly? Did we really feel we belong there? 'We had loads of success back then as well, which we were very fortunate to have. And we don't genuinely talk about rankings or anything like that. We're aware of where…

Last season’s URC Welsh Shield winners have endured a difficult path to success. One of four professional teams in Wales, Cardiff were founded in 1876 following an amalgamation between the Cardiff Wanderers and Glamorgan Football Club. During the amateur era, Cardiff became one of Britain's leading clubs and would record victories over South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. When the game turned professional in 1995, Cardiff reached the inaugural European Cup final, where they slipped to an agonising extra-time loss to Toulouse. Welsh rugby was organised in a league pyramid, on top of which was a premier division of 12 teams, including Cardiff. However, after years of financial problems and wrangling between the clubs, it was agreed that five Welsh teams - Cardiff, Llanelli, Bridgend-Pontypridd, Ebbw ValeNewport, and Neath-Swansea would…

ANDRÉ ESTERHUIZEN 'Unbelievable night at Twickenham.’ - The Springbok centre celebrated with Duane Vermeulen after a record victory over the All Blacks. JEAN KLEYN 'Incredible moments like these don’t come along too often.’ - The Bok lock posed with the Qatar Airways Cup, alongside RG Snyman, at Twickenham. COBUS REINACH 'Twickenham, you blew us away.’ - The Springbok scrumhalf with Kwagga Smith. ANDRÉ-HUGO VENTER 'What a massive privilege and honour it was to have been a part of the legendary Baa-Baas.' - The Stormers hooker with Sale Sharks utility forward Jean-Luc du Preez after their match against Samoa in Brive. JOSEPH DWEBA 'Usos.' - The Springbok hooker caught up with former Bordeaux Bègles teammates Ben Lam and Ulupano Seuteni after the Barbarians clash. DYLAN RICHARDSON ‘Childhood dream come true! An…

The 2015 Pumas put up a good fight, but ultimately the 2007 Springboks won the battle for the best World Cup jersey ROUND 1 ENGLAND 2003 vs WALLABIES 2019 An iconic kit worn in England’s finest hour, Nike made all the right moves with the 2003 jersey. Modern yet simplistic, the jersey encapsulated the classic white and red of England with no frills like abstract designs or distracting patterns. And, of course, the fondness for the jersey is significantly bolstered by the fact that England won the tournament, a first for the northern hemisphere. The Wallabies finished behind Wales in the easiest pool at the 2019 World Cup before suffering a 40-16 thrashing against Eddie Jones' England side in the quarterfinals. In a pretty abysmal tournament, the Wallabies did manage…

Sports scientist Professor Ross Tucker took to social media to ease safety concerns around the impact of substitutes playing against tired starting players. 'I don’t think the difference between 50 vs 80 minutes is enough to radically transform the athlete, the tasks are still too similar,’ Tucker wrote on X (formerly Twitter). ‘But more to the point, what the proponents for fewer subs are omitting, is the recognition that fatigue is itself a risk factor for injury. And so, subs, while introducing a set of risk factors (power, mass) are also mitigating a risk factor (fatigue). ‘There is likely a trade-off between these, and nobody yet knows how they interact. We do know that fatigue is a major risk, and in fact, we’ve just submitted a paper for review that…

World Rugby held the draw for the 2023 World Cup on 14 December 2020 in Paris, exactly 1 000 days before the opening match between hosts France and the All Blacks. Back then, the top four teams on the World Rugby rankings were the Springboks, All Blacks, England and Wales respectively. They were placed in band one of the draw, with the teams ranked fifth to eighth - Ireland, Australia, France and Japan - in band two, and the teams ranked ninth to 12th - Scotland, Argentina, Fiji and Italy - in band three. However, by the time the teams arrived in France for the global showpiece, England, Australia and Wales had plummeted to eighth, ninth and 10th on the rankings, respectively, with Scotland having climbed to fifth and Fiji…

COACH: JOHN PLUMTHEE CAPTAIN: LUKHANYO AM 2022-23 LOB FINISH: 8TH [QUARTER-FINALISTS] IN A NUTSHELL The Sharks sneaked into last season's URC playoffs in eighth place but were hammered 35-5 by Leinster in the Dublin quarter-final, writes Oliver Keohane. The Durbanites will have to overcome a pretty tough start to have any hopes of changing their fortunes under John Plumtree, who has returned for a second stint as head coach. The Sharks' 2023-24 URC campaign begins on the road against defending champions Munster, and it's uphill from there as they travel to the Irish capital for a rematch against Leinster. Playing two of the competition's strongest sides in the opening two rounds presents an incredible challenge for the Sharks, but also an opportunity to make an early statement under new leadership.…

The 2023 season was just the second full rugby calendar for South African schools since the Covid-19 lockdown wiped out the 2020 and 2021 campaigns. Those two lost years had an undeniable impact on the Junior Springboks in 2023, with most of the squad consisting of players who missed out on 1st XV rugby during the lockdown. While the Junior Boks won a ninth bronze medal in the Western Cape-based World Rugby U20 Championship, their frailties were exposed in the historic loss to Italy and the semi-final defeat to Ireland. However, if 2023 is anything to go by, South African rugby will experience an explosion of talent rising from the provincial youth ranks in the coming years. Grey College returned to the throne as the kings of SA schools rugby…

■ Flyhalf Tinus de Beer will be the first South African to play for Cardiff since former Springbok centre Pieter Muller (below), who donned the blue jersey between 2000 and 2004. ■ Late All Blacks legend Jonah Lomu spent a season with Cardiff in 2005-06. ■ Cardiff were the first Welsh team to lift a European trophy when they won the Challenge Cup in 2010. ■ The club initially played in an all-black strip adorned with a skull and crossbones, but this was changed to the familiar black and blue following complaints from parents. ■ Cardiff have been credited for creating the modern backline formation of a fullback, two wings, two centres and two halfbacks in 1885, for which both they and the initiator, Frank Hancock, were inducted to the…

DU TOIT FAMILY When teenager Pieter-Steph du Toit arrived in Durban in 2012, straight out of a rural school in the Western Cape, the Sharks coach John Plumtree revealed an interesting fact about the quiet giant from the Swartland. 'Watch out for this guy … We have had to alter some of the gym equipment for him,' Plumtree said. The bars are too small for his hands and he's getting blisters on his thumbs. He has hands like hubcaps.' The New Zealander added prophetically: 'This youngster is strong and he is silent they tend to be special.' Du Toit famously gets his strength from his grandfather Piet 'Spiere' (muscles) du Toit, who played 14 Tests at tighthead prop for the Springboks between 1958 and 1961. Soon after arriving at the…

WHO WILL WIN THE SA SHIELD IN THE 2023-24 URC? VS DYLAN JACK SAYS BULLS The Bulls will reclaim their throne as the kings of South African rugby in the 2023-24 United Rugby Championship. Jake White’s men will rebound from a forgettable campaign during which they made headlines for the wrong reasons, summed up perfectly by the Sbu Nkosi sideshow. When the Bulls were knocked out by the Stormers in the quarter-finals, having finished 15 points below their rivals, White vowed that big changes were coming. He bemoaned the lack of X factor and a solid set piece and underlined his desire to bring new ideas to Loftus Versfeld. The former Springbok coach has lived up to his word, almost completely overhauling his coaching staff, while strengthening his squad by…

SA Rugby magazine The Springboks claimed a record 35-7 win over the All Blacks at Twickenham in their final World Cup warm-up match. Dirk van Antwerpen What a statement of intent! World Cup favourites destroyed by a world-class pack with the Bomb Squad to round it off. John Randall Well done, Manie Libbok. You proved yourself tonight on one of the biggest stages in world rugby. Darren Grady I think the Boks are stronger now than when they won the last World Cup. No doubt about it. Brendan-Marc Fouché Decimated and dismembered by a supernatural tight five. Phillip van der Merwe In all the years that I have been watching since readmission in 1992, I have never seen such a demolition of the All Blacks. I felt the Boks needed…

Which centre would you most want to train under? It might not be a popular choice at the moment, but I’d go with Owen Farrell. I enjoy the style of rugby he plays and the way he controls the game. Everything he does is in the best interest of his team. What’s your favourite stadium at which you’ve played? Probably Scotstoun Stadium in Glasgow. The atmosphere and singing crowd is electric. The crowd is also very close to the field and that makes it a lot more vibrant. If you could do any activity on a day off, what would it be? I’m a very keen golfer so I’d definitely go with that. What’s your handicap? It’s obviously course dependent, but I usually average around 7 or 8. Having captained…

RASSIE ERASMUS In 2013, I started the Elite Player Development (EPD) Pathway, and brought in Jacques Nienaber to assist me. We had a group of EPD managers who assisted me by appointing scouts in the various provinces to help identify players at U15 level. We knew we couldn't make a difference to rugby at U19 or U20 level, because a player who is 19 or 20 years old can't catch up what he has lost in the previous five or six years. So we started working with U15s by getting promising youngsters from that age on our radar. To make sure we were hitting transformation goals, we would pick three players for each position. If all three were white, we would keep picking until we had two black players. And…

COACH: JOHN DOBSON CAPTAIN: SALMAAN MDERAT 2022-33 LOB FINISH: 3RD [FINALISTS] IN A NUTSHELL While the Stormers have been South Africa's flag-bearers in the first two editions of the URC, they can expect a sterner challenge for the SA Shield in the 2023-24 season, writes Dylan Jack. An unexpected fairy-tale run to the title in 2022 was followed by a slip at the final hurdle in 2023. The loss against Munster in the Cape Town decider would have served as a brutal reality check to John Dobson's men, who were outfoxed by the determined Irish outfit. Still, the Stormers ticked plenty of boxes by going most of the season unbeaten at home and retaining the SA Shield, while also renewing their Champions Cup licence. Other than outgoing captain Steven Kitshoff…

BROUGHT TO YOU BY 'Francois Hougaard, he’s gonna go all the way!’ shrieked the commentator. In a year where they won nine of 13 Tests and pulled off impressive victories over European nemeses, the Boks’ finest performance of 2014 came against the All Blacks at Ellis Park. Having lost 14-10 to their arch-rivals in Wellington two rounds earlier, the Boks crushed the Wallabies 28-10 in the penultimate round, issuing a statement of intent ahead of their home clash with the Kiwis. In an epic game for the ages, the Boks’ first try, finished by Francois Hougaard, was so good it was named the 2014 IRPA Try of the Year. Camped deep in their half in the 11th minute, Hougaard spotted Willie le Roux calling for the ball and duly obliged…

CAREER IN PICTURES…

A club majority secured a 'yes’ vote on the Red Disa Investments majority share equity deal in Western Province Rugby. It is a monumental moment in the history of WP Rugby and those dub leaders who looked to the future and not the past must be applauded. They have changed the course of WP Rugby for the better and forever. WP Rugby’s general council, representing the Western Province Rugby Football Union (WPRFU) and its affiliate clubs, will always be remembered for the night they took the game into the future at Cape Town's DHL Stadium on Wednesday, 6 September 2023. At around 8:30pm, news broke that the majority of the clubs had stood tall and endorsed the first equity deal for the province in accepting Red Disa's proposal to acquire…