Super 14 so far...

Intriguing Super 14 so far...

... The sublime play such as that delivered by the Chiefs vs. Bulls last week and then the ridiculous as the Crusaders and Stormers tried to spend the match handing their opponents the opportunity to win the game.

As a reminder here is the table:


The Sharks have looked brilliant as have the Chiefs in the last few weeks.

Conversely the Lions and Cheetahs have looked out of their depth and while the Cheetahs have a chance to go and hide out in Bloem, the Lions are now having to go on tour.... Wouldn't want ot be them I'm afraid.

The Stormers missed a golden opportunity to pick up away points on the weekend with a very average performance but at least they looked "competitive" even if the game itself was awful.

SA players of the tournament for me so far?
--- hhhhmmm Rory Kockott and Fourie Du Preez - the two scrumhalves have been exceptional value for money

Best newcomer:
---- Gerhard van den Heever - the Bulls winger - looks like a real talent

Still some time to play and the S14 looks very close this year so things could change each week. It's going to be intriguing to watch...

Hhhhmmm

The Lions finally got a Super 14 win on the table when they beat the Brumbies at home last night.... It has taken me 24 hours to recover from the shock before blogging on the subject.

I guess it is always good when an SA side beats an Australian side but geez they made it hard work for themselves.

There are a couple of guys I feel genuinely sorry for in SA rugby - Cobus "Baywatch" Grobbelaar, Louis Ludik, Heinke VD Merwe and Jaques Fourie.

Baywatch and Ludik are guys who simply try their hearts out game after game and they deserve to be on the winning side from time to time.

When it comes to Fourie - you almost wish he could be playing for a class side - between him, Adi Jacobs and Jean Devilliers, he is probably one of the best "pure" centres in South African rugby and yet he keeps turning out for the Lions every year.

Sorry to say but I think Andre Pretorius is finished.... His performance yesterday was weak and his kicking out of hand was directionless. The side has been banking on a Pretorius recovery for the last two seasons and finally he is fit and starting again and he's not delivering....

Dunno we'll watch the next few weeks and see how this Lions side plays out... So long as they don't interfere with the Stormers rebound to make the Semis.... ;-)

Happy Irish...

So the Irish have done it - the Grand Slam, the Six Nations and the Triple Crown.... Going to be some very happy and probably some very drunk Irish fans out there tonight!!!

Well done guys.

Schoolboy rugby festivals here again

The Easter weekend brings a number of top rugby festivals to the SA schools scene.

Three of the top festivals in Johannesburg include those hosted by KES, St Johns and St Stithians:

KES:
St Johns:
I have to say, I think St Johns have the pick of the bunch this year.

• Affies Hoër Seunskool
• FNB Invitation XV
• Glenwood High School
• Golden Lions
• Helpmekaar Kollege
• Jeppe Boys’ High School
• Maritzburg College
• Monument Hoërskool
• Paarl Boys’ High School
• Paul Roos Gimnasium
• Outeniqua Hoërskool
• St John’s College

St Stithians:

• FNB Invitation
• Bishops
• St Davids
• St Andrews
• St Stithians
• St Charles
• Boland Landbou
• Parktown Boys
• St Alban’s
• Wynberg

Sports Trader - Super 14 predictions

Another weekend of the Super 14 is here and the results look a little easier to pick this time around.

We are only picking one upset and that is the Western Force to beat the Crusaders who have plenty of injury woes. As a Stormers fan I'm hoping (praying?!) that the side clocks up a big one against the Lions who have looked out of sorts - KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID boys.

Friday fixtures:
Blues vs. Cheetahs - Blues win
Brumbies vs. Waratahs - Brumbies win

Saturday fixtures:
Crusaders vs. Western Force - Western Force win
Highlanders vs. Chiefs - Highlanders win
Reds vs. Sharks - Sharks win
Stormers vs. Lions - Stormers win

From the Sports Trader blog

Super 14 Dream Team update

I'm currently 2663 out of 12317 managers in the Super 14 Dream Team competition.

Ditched my dependance on The Stormers players and started making some selections with my head rather than my heart.

Pierre Spies and Gear of the Hurricanes have been inspired selections for the first few weeks.

My team for this week:
- Mark Gerrard
- Joe Rokocoko
- Paul Williams
- Stirling Mortlock
- Jean Devilliers
- Matt Giteau
- Rory Kockott
- George Smith
- Richie Mccaw
- Luke Watson (yeah yeah I know)
- Bakkie Botha
- Johan Muller
- Kevin Mealamu
- Bismarck Duplessis
- Al Baxter...

Tag Rugby Development Trust

We are a unique charity that introduces primary school children in developing Countries to Tag Rugby through volunteer tours that build a positive legacy through local involvement and UK support.

The website provides details on past and future tours, gives information on how individuals or companies can get involved with our charity.

We hope you enjoy clicking through the pages of the site & would appreciate any feedback you have that may help us improve the experience.

Martin Hansford
TRDT Chairman
http://www.trdt.co.uk/

SA launches rugby academy

With the growth of professionalism in rugby there is a real demand for quality rugby education. Rugby has also expanded rapidly over the last few years and is now a truly global sport.

The Investec International Rugby Academy South Africa (IRASA) courses are specifically designed to assist in progressing or achieving a career in playing or coaching rugby, and more importantly, to achieve excellence in this area. The Investec Academy provides inspiration and a high performance avenue for promising players and coaches. Courses on offer range from our flagship High Performance Courses, Advanced Courses for 16-18 year olds and Development Courses for club players. For players there is a high degree of focus on position specific analysis and tuition, mental toughness, rugby intelligence and skill development, with an impressive line-up of former and current international coaches and players delivering their quality expertise.

For coaches it is a rare opportunity to work intensively with the world's best coaches in a practical environment. The high performance, development and advanced courses work in tandem with the players' courses where the coaches' course participants work through the International Rugby Academy blueprint with the various specialists employed on that particular course on how to identify talent, design a game plan and drill the team to best utilise that talent, analyse performance and implement remedial coaching.

http://southafrica.internationalrugbyacademy.com/