Super Rugby News
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@nzzp said in Super Rugby News:
@stargazer said in Super Rugby News:
Bulls prop Conraad van Vuuren has been suspended for 3 weeks. Will post the decision as soon as it's online.
Good. Watched the second half at the weekend, and it was good fun. But holy moly, that hit was late, high and filthy. DMac caught a glancing blow as he fell under it... I don't know where the TMO came up with a Yellow. Modern game that's red all day.
TMO convinced the ref there was no head contact. Ref must be fucked off, getting a black mark for believing his TMO and being made to look a fool by saying, he missed.
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And we thought the Blues had it tough with their delayed flight to SA ...
Super Rugby's toughest two week road trip just got even tougher for the Reds, who have been diverted from Sao Paulo to London en route to Cape Town ahead of their clash with the Stormers. The Reds were initially travelling to Cape Town via Sao Paulo, Brazil, after their gritty 18-7 win in Buenos Aires but South African Airlines officials did not allow the team onto the flight at Sau Paulo due to yellow fever concerns. The officials insisted both the players and staff required vaccinations to board the plane, despite the QRU consulting a medical travel company and being assured they would not need said vaccinations if they did not venture out of Buenos Aires. The scenario was not flagged in the SANZAAR travel manual although it does appear all parties were blindsided by the situation, with teams typically travelling from South Africa to Argentina, not the other way round. The only alternative was a flight to London en route to Cape Town, which puts Queensland's schedule back about 12 hours. It's hardly an ideal situation in an already brutal two week stretch but coach Brad Thorn is understood to have told the players to embrace the adversity and take the challenge in their stride. -
This post is deleted!
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Stuff the media and its rumours, Jordan Taufua and Michael Alaalatoa have re-signed with the Crusaders!
Taufua has committed to a seventh season with the BNZ Crusaders, having made his debut against the Stormers in Cape Town back in 2013. He earned his 50th Super Rugby cap during the 2016 season, and proved an integral member of last year’s champion team, missing just one game during the successful 2017 campaign. “The Crusaders have been such a big part of my rugby career and after weighing up my options, it was clear that this is where I want to be. I still feel like I have a lot to contribute and I’m loving playing my rugby alongside some of the world's best players, who are also great mates, and a passionate coaching group, “ Taufua said. “2017 was a special season but each campaign brings new ideas, new faces and a fresh challenge. So although a seventh season makes me one of the more experienced players in the group, I’m still thriving in this environment, learning more and more about my game and developing as a leader in the team.”So it looks like Taufua has re-signed for only one season. Alaalatoa has re-signed for two seasons:
Alaalatoa joined the BNZ Crusaders in 2016, after kicking off his Super Rugby career with the Waratahs in his place of birth, Sydney. The 26-year old tighthead prop has 38 Super Rugby caps to date and represents the Manawatu Turbos in the Mitre 10 Cup. He’s started in all four of the BNZ Crusaders matches so far in 2018 and has re-signed through to 2020.https://crusaders.co.nz/news/1197-taufua-alaalatoa-re-sign-with-bnz-crusaders
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@crucial said in Super Rugby News:
@nzzp said in Super Rugby News:
@stargazer said in Super Rugby News:
Bulls prop Conraad van Vuuren has been suspended for 3 weeks. Will post the decision as soon as it's online.
Good. Watched the second half at the weekend, and it was good fun. But holy moly, that hit was late, high and filthy. DMac caught a glancing blow as he fell under it... I don't know where the TMO came up with a Yellow. Modern game that's red all day.
TMO convinced the ref there was no head contact. Ref must be fucked off, getting a black mark for believing his TMO and being made to look a fool by saying, he missed.
From memory that is not what the TMO said. The TMO told to the ref to watch how McKenzie was falling, not where the contact was. The ref watching it again then concluded that contact had not been made.
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Players have moved about long before professionalism, think it is probably noticed more now?
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There were no player academies and university scholarships in the amateur era so players only tended to move away for work and study (think of all the Hawke's Bay players that ended up at Otago in the 1980s and 1990s).
That is why I am always interested in the representation in the NZ Schools teams because a lot have moved to other provinces when their name next appears at U19s etc.
And as mentioned in the comments, Read would be playing for the Chiefs not the Blues. Kaino would too if he wasn't poached (another part of this issue).
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Rebels gave the Sharks a dusting 40 something to 20 something
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@taniwharugby 46 - 14
It will be interesting to find out whether the Rebels, and Aussie SR teams in general, have really improved since they pulled the Western Force. Only next week will we see the first game between a NZ team (Canes) and an Aussie team (Rebels), and that's in Melbourne. We have to wait until 14 April until an Aussie team plays on NZ soil (Highlanders v Brumbies). The Rebels' first game in NZ will be against the Blues on Saturday, 2 June. I wonder whether they've made the draw like this on purpose?
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FANS: Super rugby is too watered down, please drop two SR teams from the comp South Africa to shore up the quality in the remaining sides.
SARU: Cheetahs, Kings, go earn us money up north.
So what you are seeing is last year's (Dross) quality SR sides from SA in an otherwise more concentrated tournament.
/2c
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@stargazer said in Super Rugby News:
@taniwharugby 46 - 14
It will be interesting to find out whether the Rebels, and Aussie SR teams in general, have really improved since they pulled the Western Force. Only next week will we see the first game between a NZ team (Canes) and an Aussie team (Rebels), and that's in Melbourne. We have to wait until 14 April until an Aussie team plays on NZ soil (Highlanders v Brumbies). The Rebels' first game in NZ will be against the Blues on Saturday, 2 June. I wonder whether they've made the draw like this on purpose?
I think the Rebels will give the Hurricanes a run for their money next week. Phipps via Fox Sports this week was suggesting the draw is better this year with the Aussie teams not playing any NZ teams in the opening few weeks and allowing them to get their structures going before hitting a NZ side.
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@unite said in Super Rugby News:
@stargazer said in Super Rugby News:
@taniwharugby 46 - 14
It will be interesting to find out whether the Rebels, and Aussie SR teams in general, have really improved since they pulled the Western Force. Only next week will we see the first game between a NZ team (Canes) and an Aussie team (Rebels), and that's in Melbourne. We have to wait until 14 April until an Aussie team plays on NZ soil (Highlanders v Brumbies). The Rebels' first game in NZ will be against the Blues on Saturday, 2 June. I wonder whether they've made the draw like this on purpose?
I think the Rebels will give the Hurricanes a run for their money next week. Phipps via Fox Sports this week was suggesting the draw is better this year with the Aussie teams not playing any NZ teams in the opening few weeks and allowing them to get their structures going before hitting a NZ side.
Sound reasoning from Phipps, I'm sure that the NZ sides won't have exactly the same opportunity...
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Season over for the Blues - Scrafton out for the season with an ACL tear, and SBW out for six to eight weeks with a broken wrist.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=12019579
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The time-frame for Williams will probably see him enter the All Blacks' three-test June series against France on minimal game-time.IMO, the ABs should just go with another 12 -13 combo. SBW wasn't great for the ABs last year, and hasn't impressed for the Blues so far this season.
Crotty-ALB
Crotty-Goodhue
If Crotty can't play, Laumape-ALB or Laumape-GoodhueFor the Blues, both injuries are definitely bad news. Time for TJ Faiane to step up, I guess.
Reds diverted to London from Sao Paulo
