SA RUGBY November 2022

Siya Kolisi is in the spotlight of the 300th issue of SA Rugby magazine and what better way to mark this milestone than with recognition of his leading role in keeping the Springboks moving in the right direction this year. The World Cup-winning captain will be in the vanguard of South Africa's northern conquest in November, tasked with capping off the season in style. A large Bok invasion party will wrap up 2022 with Tests against the two teams above them in the world rankings, namely Ireland and France, on a four-week tour that includes the secondary objective of establishing depth in key positions in two midweek matches. Having looked ahead, we look back to reminisce about SA Rugby magazine's storied past, savouring historic covers and fables or the title's…

STORMERS 34 EDINBURGH 18 Wing Suleiman Hartzenberg scored a brace of tries - the second in the 82nd minute - as the defending URC champions claimed a comeback bonus-point victory at DHL Stadium. Edinburgh had led 10-0 until first-half stoppage time. OSPREYS 27 LIONS 28 Scrumhalf Sanele Nohamba races away to score the Lions' second try, early in the second half of the URC clash in Swansea. The Lions overturned an 11-point deficit to win their first overseas fixture of the season, with winger Edwill van der Merwe's decisive 70th-minute try converted by Gianni Lombard.…

WHAT SELECTION POSER MUST THE BOKS ANSWER ON THE END-OF-YEAR TOUR? VS OYLAN JACK SAYS JOHAN GOOSEN AT FLYHALF Even before the start of the Test season, the Springbok flyhalf situation was seen as risky. Handré Pollard, the go-to guy for the No 10 jersey, had again spent a good portion of the club season either injured or playing at inside centre for former club Montpellier. Elton Jantjies, the second-in-command, suffered a shoulder injury while playing in Japan and played less than 40 minutes in total for his club. The events during the season have only served to exacerbate the flyhalf issue. Pollard suffered an injury during the away leg of the Rugby Championship, which forced him to miss the rest of the tournament, while Jantjies had two off-field sagas,…

FORWARDS ‘ANDRÉ WAS DEFINITELY THE FITTEST I PLAYED WITH’ ‘JAPIE WAS SUCH A STRONG RUNNER' BACKS…

The relief and joy was palpable as the Springboks walked into the change room after the second Test at Twickenham on 25 November 2006. Jake White’s team had produced an incredible comeback to beat England 25-14 after trailing 14-3 inside the first 30 minutes of the match. It was the Springboks’ first win against England in eight matches and their first at Twickenham since 1997, an important achievement ahead of the 2007 World Cup, where the two teams were placed in the same pool. The victory was largely down to the unerring boot of André Pretorius, who produced a commanding display at flyhalf. Despite missing a crucial penalty in the previous week's loss to England at the same venue, Pretorius was recalled into the starting lineup to replace the injured…

This is a true story inspired by a Private Education group’s vision to establish a sport science-based rugby development program alongside Practical Education and Training (PET), for hundreds of South African rugby playing school boys that don’t receive contracts, bursaries to Universities or other opportunities to pursue their dreams of improving their rugby and athletic skills post matric. The task was mandated to a determined woman, who with her over 30 years of knowledge and experience in Private Education, supported by some of the best minds in SA Rugby and sports science, collectively designed and implemented a tailored curriculum-based model, that focuses on individual player development on a national and international standard. This platform allows for continuous monitoring and evaluation of every athlete in the system’s progress on skills and…