Super Rugby News
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From Stuff:
Brown expects him [Sopoaga] to return to action against the Bulls in Pretoria in a fortnight. (...) In addition to Sopoaga returning on South African soil, co-captain and hooker Ash Dixon (back) is expected to make his first appearance of the season against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein next weekend. Utility Richard Buckman (achilles) should also be available for the game, as should loose forwards Luke Whitelock and Elliot Dixon, who missed Friday's game with concussion and a knee infection respectively. Loose forwards James Lentjes (elbow), Shane Christie (illness) and Dan Pryor (knee) are still out, but Brown confirmed Pryor was on track to play club rugby in three weeks, with an eye on playing against the Waratahs in Dunedin on May 27. Brown said the gradual return of injured players, and players stepping up in their absence, would ensure selection headaches down the track. That includes in the midfield, where Rob Thompson - playing in his first game since his dad died last month - produced a fine performance against the Stormers in place of Buckman. -
Kieran Read has broken his thumb during last nights game v the Cheetahs and has had surgery. Can someone bring Whetu Douglas back asap? Might need to kidnap him from Italy.
Edited to add that Quinten Strange has been called up to replace Read in the squad.
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Was previously just the Brumbies that made the table look odd, now the recent form slump of the Stormers is making thier place look wrong too, not least the fact they have less points than the Sharks, who are in another pool
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Citings:
- Sam Whitelock for striking with the elbow
- Jamie-Jerry Taulagi (Sunwolves) for head-contact on Shaun Stevenson
Cheetahs hooker Torsten Van Jaarsveld has been issued a warning under law 10.4(m) Any other acts (not previously referred to) which are contrary to good sportsmanship. That incident occurred in the 31st minute of the match, when he "placed" his forearm on an opposing player's neck while the player was on the ground.
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@taniwharugby said in Super Rugby News:
Was previously just the Brumbies that made the table look odd, now the recent form slump of the Stormers is making thier place look wrong too, not least the fact they have less points than the Sharks, who are in another pool
How does that Stormers/Sharks thing work? Surely that's an error and they've got their ranking reversed?
Edit: ignore me. Discounted Lions. D'oh
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Aaron Mauger will be Hammer's assistant at the Highlander's next year!
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@Chris-B. said in Super Rugby News:
Aaron Mauger will be Hammer's assistant at the Highlander's next year!
Hammer hasn't been appointed as Head Coach (yet), has he? Although Mauger becoming assistant-coach and not head coach might be a sign ...
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@Stargazer It's written in the wind!
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@Chris-B. said in Super Rugby News:
@Stargazer It's written in the wind!
Just like a bad case of Ebola.
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FFS. Do the Highlanders miss the wooden spoon or something? You'd think the success of Rennie and Boyd would tell teams to go for experience over the "Former AB" label but nope, gotta give them a million chances to prove they can't cut it.
This is the Blues best chance in years of reaching up and grabbing that second worst NZ team spot.
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Star Hurricanes Dane Coles and Nehe Milner-Skudder still not fit to play
HAMISH BIDWELL
Last updated 14:26, May 1 2017Dane Coles' torn calf muscle is still not right.
The Hurricanes captain hasn't played since March 18 and again sat and watched while the team's forwards went through lineout moves on Monday. The hooker will fully participate in training once he's able, then it'll be another couple of weeks until he's fit enough to play.
Progress has been even slower for fullback Nehe Milner-Skudder. He was due to see a specialist on Monday but remains no closer to taking off the moon boot he's been in since fracturing bones in his foot on March 10.
Like Coles, he's still a few weeks away from being able to audition for a place in the All Blacks to meet the British and Irish Lions.
It's Hurricanes coach Chris Boyd who'll eventually get first dibs on the pair, though.
"He's pretty good. Obviously he's frustrated, because he's a frustrated, angry man anyway. Or can be," Boyd said of Coles.
"He's trying to be as philosophical as he can be, but he knows he's just got to be patient."
Coles injured his right knee in the March 18 win over the Highlanders. But his calf then went while rehabilitating the original injury, which Coles has a lengthening history of.
"If you get a shoulder injury, you can still put [a] load through it," said Boyd.
Calves are different, though.
"The more load you put through it, the more it creaks, and if you put too much load through it, then you've got to go back [to the start] again," Boyd said.
The frustration from the outside is that every week Coles is apparently in contention to play and then ruled out. This time around, Boyd at least indicated the captain was very unlikely to be named in the team to play the Stormers at Westpac Stadium on Friday.
Given riding a watt bike is about the extent of the leg work Coles is able to do, it seems safe to assume it'll be a good fortnight or so until he replaces Ricky Riccitelli in the starting side.
The situation is similar for Milner-Skudder, who was initially forecast to miss just a month of football. But his metatarsal bones haven't knit as well as hoped and "he won't play the next couple of weeks," said Boyd.
In other fitness-related news, centre Matt Proctor remains sidelined with concussion symptoms, meaning Ngani Laumape and Vince Aso seem likely to start in midfield against the Stormers.
Number eight Blade Thomson is still expected to have a full shoulder reconstruction and won't be sighted until next season. Lock Michael Fatialofa might play again this year, though, provided surgery to repair his dislocated kneecap goes well.
One player who'll be back a lot sooner is loosehead prop Loni Uhila. He injured a calf at the Brisbane Global Tens, then worsened that problem in the March 10 loss to the Chiefs.
Uhila scrummaged at Monday's training session for the first time since and Boyd said he would play club rugby in the next two weeks and hopefully be right to go on the Hurricanes' trip to Pretoria and Perth later this month.
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@Tim said in Super Rugby News:
A pretty good XV can be assembled from the injury lists:
- Goodes
- Coles
- Laulala
- Tuipulotu
- Fatialofa
- Kaino
- D. Pryor
- Read
- TKB
- Sopoaga
- Dagg
- Ngatai
- Proctor
- NMS
- B. Smith
Would still beat all the Australia and South African teams, plus the Sunwolves and the Jaguares...
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@Billy-Tell whilst injured!
