Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2023 i SA RUGBY

Perhaps it's a sign of my vintage but it seems like just the other day a delighted Matt Proudfoot was briefing a cluster of rugby scribes, at a Western Province press conference, on the limitless potential of a teenage prop prodigy whose career, he claimed, was 'going to go all the way. Turns out that was a dozen years ago and the Paul Roos stud in question was Steven Kitshoff, now among the most-capped players in Stormers history and, quite possibly, a few months removed from becoming a two-time world champion. The front row was the secret to the Stormers' title-run last season and Kitshoff's immense contributions as a scrummager, mauler, carrier, tackler and even ball-hawk were (and hopefully will again be) central to South Africa's success at the World…

FORWARDS 1. CJ VAN DER LINDE One of the most skilful and athletic props I played with. 2. FRASER BROWN I always loved how physical he was, very powerful in all aspects. 3. TREVOR NYAKANE A great all-round player and a great team guy. 4. LEONE NAKARAWA A magician with his offloads. 5. JONNY GRAY One of the most consistent guys I've ever played with, barely misses a tackle. 6. HEINRICH BRUSSOW Immovable on his day, it was like running into a brick wall. 7. SCHALK BURGER Hard as nails every time I played against him and one of the nicest guys off the field, too. 8. NICK WILLIAMS To consistently dominate for as long as he did is really an incredible achievement. Nick gave me nightmares about tackling him.…

The Stormers, under John Dobson, won the inaugural United Rugby Championship and have sustained that momentum this season. A once-empty stadium is again packed with supporters, and a strong culture of supporting the team in the Cape has been revived as the Stormers fly the flag for South African regional rugby. The scene is strikingly familiar. Rewind to 2013. Johan Ackermann takes over as head coach at the Lions, who have just been relegated from Super Rugby. The union is not in a good way. A year later Ackermann wins the SA Rugby Coach of the Year award as the Lions manage a 12th-place finish in their first year back in Super Rugby. The franchise continues its steady progress under Ackermann and assistant coach Swys de Bruin, ending the 2015…

THE ART OF COACHING Nine ways to train with a flat ball Ignore the grumbles of your players - an under-inflated ball can have a number of training benefits. So before you next pump up the balls, consider using a flat ball to enhance your team’s performance. By Dan Cottrell 1. CATCHING A softer ball is easier to catch than a hard ball, so use it over short distances for lessaccomplished catchers. Don't let out too much air for this. Over longer distances, the flight of a flat ball isn't as steady as a pumped-up ball. A very flat ball can be particularly difficult to read through the air and so provides an interesting challenge. 2. SHORT PASSING You can’t pass a semi-flat ball as far as a normal ball.…

Australia was awarded the sole right to host the 2003 World Cup when New Zealand, originally co-hosts, failed to guarantee the International Rugby Board that stadiums would be free of non-World Cup advertising. The rugby-mad Kiwi public were shattered and the administrators responsible forced to resign. There was even more drama in the buildup to the Boks' third World Cup campaign, with Geo Cronjé and Quinton Davids being dropped from the squad after a racial bust-up and the remaining players having to endure the militarystyle 'Kamp Staaldraad' (details of which came out after the tournament). The Boks arrived Down Under low on confidence, having finished last in the Tri-Nations and conceding 52 points to the All Blacks at Loftus. Corné Krige's side got off to a good start in Perth…

In March, Mara Itoje revealed that an ‘underlying health issue' had caused his England form to drop. Itoje spoke out following criticism from former England captain Lawrence Dallaglio, who had said Itoje is 'six out of 10 when England need him to be nine out of 10' and ex-Saracens teammate Jim Hamilton, who said: 'Something just isn't quite right with him, definitely not the Mara of that 2019 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand.’ In an interview with Inews, Itoje said: 'Over the past year or so there have been things which have probably affected my conditioning, which has resulted in me being perhaps a little less energised. ‘Due to how I was feeling, my performances probably weren't of the quality I would expect for myself. It’s fair to say…

Founded in 1861 as Sale FC, the northern club is one of the oldest in the English Premiership. The club was launched in Manchester by a group of enthusiastic sportsmen, mainly based at Sale Cricket Club. The rugby club played on a rented portion of the cricket club's land, or on the cropped pastures of local farmers, but found their first home ground in 1905 on Heywood Road in Sale, where they were based until 2003, when they moved to the 10 600-capacity, all-seater Edgeley Park in Stockport. Sale struggled in the first few years of the Premiership, with a seventh-place finish in 1996-97 followed by finishing 11th twice and then marginally improving to 10th in 2000-01. However, under the guidance of former players Jim Mallinder and Steve Diamond, the…

SA Rugby president Mark Alexander's legacy will be that he was at the forefront of the move north for South Africa’s five regional teams that used to make up our challenge in Super Rugby. Super Rugby, for those who forget quickly, was the finest cross-border provincial/ regional competition when it launched in 1996, the year the game went professional. Just 12 teams from South Africa (four), New Zealand (five) and Australia (three) competed. The competition over the next two decades would devalue from the jewel it was, with expansions to 14 teams, then 15, then 18 and then back to 15. Argentina and Japan joined, but the conference structure was a mess. Add the travel for South African teams and an Argentinian team that always seemed to be on the…

FAF DE KLERK 'Thanks for your friendship and you and your family always being there for us! Liefde pella.' - The Springbok scrumhalf wished close friend - and best man at his wedding - Vincent Koch a happy birthday. TENDAI MTAWARIRA 'It's always great catching up with my Sharks family.’ - The Springbok great met up with squad members Tinotenda Mavesere, Vincent Tshituka and Ntuthuko Mchunu in Durban. WILLEM ALBERTS 'Was jy ooit al daar op Loftus as dit vol is en dit rof is [have you ever been to Loftus when it's full and it’s rough]?’ - The veteran Lions forward with former Springbok teammate Morné Steyn after the Joburg side’s stunning upset victory in Pretoria. SANELE NOHAMBA 'Great outing with the Lions brothers.’ The livewire scrumhalf posed with…

When Sanele Nohamba arrived in Johannesburg, his career was at a crossroads. The livewire scrumhalf burst on to the scene at the Sharks in 2019, but his bright star faded suddenly. Nohamba rolled the dice on a move to join a struggling Lions side. A year later it's clear the gamble has paid off. Nohamba has been the driving force in the resurgence of a Lions outfit that put aside a number of off-field issues to make a late drive for the United Rugby Championship playoffs. After running the risk of falling into the pit of South African rugby's forgotten talents in early 2022, Nohamba grabbed the back-page headlines when he scored 24 points to guide the Lions to a rare win against the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld in March.…

BRIAN'S BONE BREAKER (SAMOA vs SOUTH AFRICA, BRISBANE) It was Joost van der Westhuizen who gave Joel Stransky the pass that led to his 1995 World Cup-winning drop goal, and the scrumhalf was also responsible for one of the best hospital passes ever. In 2003, the Boks had to beat Samoa to progress to the quarter-finals. Van der Westhuizen’s Boks were well ahead when he darted away from a maul and passed inside to flyhalf Derick Hougaard. The ball came to Hougaard at head height and he juggled it momentarily before regaining control. However, that extra split second was all Brian Lima needed to make one of the most famous tackles in rugby history. The Samoan centre, nicknamed 'The Chiropractor', rushed up on defence and lifted Hougaard off his feet…

WHICH WORLD CUP-WINNING BOK IN THEIR PRIME WOULD YOU BRING BACK FOR THE 2023 TOURNAMENT? VS OLIVER KEOHANE SAYS PERCY MONTGOMERY Having earned close to 100 Test caps when the 2007 World Cup kicked off in France, Percy Montgomery was a pillar of tactical strength in Jake White’s team. Calm and commanding from fullback, he dictated play with ball in hand, as much as with his boot, and when it came to knocking over penalties and conversions, success was never in question if the ball lay within his 45m range. Two steps and bang, straight through the middle. Montgomery kicked at a strike rate hovering around 80% throughout the 2007 World Cup, scoring 12 of the Boks' 15 points in the victory over England in the final and finished as…

Rodney Peter Johannie Good grief. The All Blacks will be back. Alistair Morrison Not good news for the Bokke. After he was snubbed the last time I was hoping he would take a big-money northern hemisphere club rugby job. His patience has paid off. If you're not from New Zealand, you should be afraid! Philip Louw I hear the haka will be binned. Scott will be doing his breakdance instead. Alwyn Carstens Not good to make this announcement before the 2023 World Cup. This will have consequences for the current coach and his team. The outcome of the World Cup will confirm this. Norman Clucas Can't imagine Mr Nienaber out-thinking this new All Blacks coach. Different league. Siyanda Xaba He will have a lot of rebuilding work to do after…

Who was your favourite centre when you were growing up? The All Blacks' Ma'a Nonu. He was a good all-round player and my idol. Favourite place you’ve visited on tour? I enjoyed Paris the most. Going there for the first time and seeing the Eiffel Tower was really special. How do you rate your golf game? I'd say it's pretty average, but I do enjoy it. We try to play at least once a week and I usually go with PJ Steenkamp. Bungee jumping or skydiving? I'd go for skydiving as it would be the better experience to view everything from above and take it all in. Would you make a better footballer or cricketer? Cricketer. I played a bit during high school as an all-rounder so that would be…

When the Tri-Nations became the Rugby Championship in 2012, the Six Nations responded with a new tagline - 'Rugby’s Greatest Championship’. While that was debatable at the time, it’s certainly not now. The Six Nations is, without doubt, the sport’s best tournament outside of the World Cup, while the Rugby Championship has become a bit meh. This year's Six Nations made for excellent viewing. It featured the top two teams in the world - Ireland and France - a Scotland side that rose to fifth in the rankings during the tournament and a rejuvenated Italy who were unlucky to end the campaign winless. It was with a real sense of excitement that I settled in front of the TV on ‘Super Saturday’ to watch the final round of the Six…

RUBEN LOVE July 2022 wasn't one of the great months in New Zealand rugby history. The All Blacks lost consecutive home Tests to Ireland, heaping intense scrutiny on the players and coaching staff, which would continue across the rest of a challenging year. But those defeats in Dunedin and Wellington bookended a week during which there was a definite bright spark. On a rain-soaked Tuesday night in the capital, Ireland played the second of two matches against the Maori All Blacks. With 10 minutes to go, an Irish kick downfield was collected just outside the 22m line by a player who'd recently arrived from the reserves bench. He set off on a 50m run, splitting Ireland wide open and racing deep into opposition territory. As the cover defence arrived, he…

BROUGHT TO YOU BY There were plenty of raised eyebrows when, in preparation for the 2019 World Cup, the Springboks opted to split their squad in the Rugby Championship. While one half of the squad travelled to New Zealand for the match against the All Blacks, the other half stayed in South Africa for the Rugby Championship opener against the Wallabies at Ellis Park. The strategy presented Herschel Jantjies with a first Test start. The 23-year-old scrumhalf had only one full Super Rugby season behind him, but some impressive performances for the Stormers earned him a call-up to the Springbok squad. Jantjies quickly allayed concerns that he was being thrown into the deep end when he galloped in for a try just 10 minutes into his first Bok start. The…

Milling on the edge of the huddle of Saracens figures is one fan, waiting for the right moment to cut in and interrupt. And with a natural break in the flow of conversation, he seizes his chance. Sorry mate, he throws at the figure in front of him, could I possibly, you know, er, maybe grab a photo? 'You don't want a photo with me,' says the Saracens, England and Lions legend, Richard Hill MBE. 'You want one with him over there - he's the future!' Hill is grinning, pointing in the direction of young Maro Itoje, who's almost startled. This is in the nascent days of Itoje's elite rugby career, and the scene plays out upstairs at the bar of what is now the StoneX Stadium during a sevens…

Originally known as Sale FC, the club is understood to have adopted 'Sharks’ in 1999 from the gang in West Side Story. Their academy team is known as the Jets. Sale’s one and only Premiership title came in the 2005-06 season. They became the first team to finish the league in first place and claim the Premiership title. Rugby league star Jason Robinson madehisdebutforSale against Coventry in November 2000. In the 2005-06 season he became the first person to have won both the English Premiership and Super League. Since the formation of the Premiership in 1997, Sale have never been relegated. Flyhalf Robert du Preez enteredthisseasonthirdon Sale's top pointscorer's list in European cups.…

The eldest of the Du Preez brothers, Rob, is the Sharks’ majestic pivot and is in the form of his life, while fellow Springboks Jean-Luc and Daniel are the colossal twin forwards laying waste to Premiership packs. They are separated by only two years and each has played a telling role in steering Sale’s title hopes in the English top tier this season. Rob was the leading scorer after the opening rounds of the 2022-23 campaign, and was named Player of the Month for December 2022. He has found some impressive tryscoring form and kicks well out of hand, dominates the collisions, relishes attacking the gainline and his boot is metronomic. Jean-Luc and Daniel signed for the Manchester-based club on a permanent basis in 2019, following Rob from the Sharks…