Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2023 i SA RUGBY

Vodacom Bulls centre Lionel Mapoe walked into the Loftus Versfeld change room and couldn't believe what he saw. Teammates who he had only ever seen in training or match-day kit were now dressed in suits. The front row was taking the front seat in the fashion stakes, while the backline turned on the Bond style for an exclusive photos shoot as they prepared for a glittering gala evening at the Vodacom Bulls Awards. “I never knew some of the guys could dress so well. They surprised me. I always see them in their game kit, but here they were looking preety flashy. It was good to see them like that. But nobody comes close to my style,” said Mapoe, who is recognised as the style icon in the team. The…

Dummy STATE OF THE NATION A first home series defeat in 27 years, a maiden home loss to Argentina and a knife-edge escape in the opening Bledisloe Cup clash - where New Zealand almost blew an 18-point lead in Melbourne - and the warning lights were flashing for the three-time world champions in 2022. Yet, the All Blacks dug deep to claim an eighth Rugby Championship title, before returning unbeaten from a four-Test endofyear tour, and picked up in 2023 where they left off by defending their Championship crown and retaining the Bledisloe Cup. BIG QUESTION Have the All Blacks closed the chapter on the worst period in their history, just in time to mount a challenge for an unprecedented fourth World Cup crown, or will France and the ghosts…

STATE OF THE NATION Italy may have ended the 2023 Six Nations winless and with the wooden spoon but showed they can now compete with the best. Had Kieran Crowley's charges been more clinical against Wales and Scotland, they would have been very capable of producing an upset. CAPTAIN Flanker Mlchele Lamaro was appointed skipper for the 2021 end-of-year Tests, and in 2022 achieved a historic milestone by guiding Italy to a first win in 36 games during the Six Nations. He also led the team to a memorable win over Wales in the final round of the 2022 Six Nations. BIG QUESTION Do Italy have what it takes to beat Uruguay and Namibia, and then ambush either France or the All Blacks to qualify for the knockout stage at…

POOL B STATE OF THE NATION The defending champions go into the World Cup having endured the most mixed buildup of the top five nations. A global Covid-19 lockdown forced the Springboks to withdraw from the Rugby Championship, which meant there was no rugby for them in 2020. When the Boks did return in 2021, it was straight into the British & Irish Lions series, where there was little room for experimenting as they bounced back from an opening loss to win the series 2-1. stepped up as head coach after serving as defence coach in 2019, has had to condense the usual four-year cycle - where international teams experiment, adjust to new trends and grow their depth in key positions - into 14 months. Add in tournament-ending injuries to…

STATE OF THE NATION Combining European-based stars with a base of Super Rugby players, Fiji will be aiming to make their first appearance in the World Cup playoffs since 2007. KEY PLAYER There are plenty of France-based stars in Fiji's squad, but above all Levani Botia will be counted on to make his presence felt. Nicknamed ‘The Demolition Man’, Botia has successfully transitioned from a tacklebusting centre to a ball-poaching openside flanker and has been key to La Rochelle winning the Champions Cup and progressing to the Top 14 final. The 34-year-old will be making his third World Cup appearance and has made 100 appearances for La Rochelle. BIG QUESTION Will Fiji be able to capitalise on Wales’ instability and progress to the playoffs? WIN RATE AGAINST POOL OPPONENTS Wales…

I was based in an apartment in Bastille for the 2007 World Cup in France. It belonged to a French rugby writer, and I got to live like a local for seven weeks. It was ma nificent. France is a favourite for me - the cities, the people and the CUItUre. Add the rugby, an out-of-sorts French team and the Springboks running hot, and very quickly, the locals had adopted the Boks as their home team. There was massive support for the Boks throughout the tournament and they were the most popular squad. They played great rugby, scored heaps of tries and Eddie Jones, as the Boks' technical adviser, proved the reat entertainer at ress conferences. Bastille was the perfect location, and my daily runs would take me past Notre…

Siya Kolisi is trying to go where no Springbok has gone before. The Boks are no strangers to France, having won the 2007 Rugby World Cup final in Paris. The opportunity to blaze a new trail is in winning the 2023 tournament. In both previous attempts, the Boks have failed to successfully defend a World Cup title. South Africa famously hosted and won the World Cup in 1995, but then lost out to a gut-wrenching Stephen Larkham drop goal in the 1999 semis. Following on from the ecstasy of the 2007 triumph, the class of 2011 – with Rassie Erasmus in tow as a consultant – were blown out in the quarter-final against Australia, under the whistle of Bryce Lawrence. Joost van der Westhuizen had succeeded Francois Pienaar as Bok…

The Springboks are a World Cup team. Unlike the Proteas, who have gone into several Cricket World Cup tournaments as favourites only to crack under the pressure, the Boks tend to fly under the radar and then produce their best when it matters most. With three titles in seven attempts, the Boks are statistically the most successful Rugby World Cup team, with the All Blacks’ three crowns having come from nine appearances. The Springboks have never gone into a World Cup that they ended up winning as favourites. The Springboks have never gone into a World Cup that they ended up winning as favourites. In 1995, Kitch Christie's men were tipped to lose their opening match against the world champion Wallabies at Newlands and exit the tournament at the quarter-final…

POOL A KEY PLAYER The definition of tackle fight, the ferocious Ardie Savea stands tall in an All Blacks pack Uiat is currently snort of genuine star power. Savea's 2022 highlights reel left everyone asking why the 29-year-old No 8 did not make the shortlist for the World Rugby Player of the Year award and Team of the Year. To watch the Hurricanes skipper is to watch something special every game. Savea has the wheels of a winger, the hands of a centre and the physicality and ferocity required of his position in the forwards. New Zealand's emphatic Rugby Championship wins against the world-champion Springboks, Wallabies and Los Pumas this year suggests that the men from the Land of the Long White Cloud are strong contenders in France. Belated assistant…

FAST FACTS • Uruguay made history as they qualified in the Americas 1 position after overturning a three-point deficit from the first leg against the USA with a 34-15 victory in 2021, and 50-34 on aggregate. • Uruguay have been eliminated in the pool stage in all four of their previous World Cup appearances, but 2023 will be Los Teros' third in consecutive tournaments. • Uruguay produced the first upset of Japan 2019, shocking Fiji 30-27. The win was the Uruguayans' first at the tournament since defeating Georgia in 2003. FACT FILE Coach: Esteban Captain: Andrés Vilaseca WORLD CUP RECORD NAMIBIA FAST FACTS • The 2023 competition will be Namibia's seventh World Cup and they are yet to win a match at the showpiece. • Namibia are coached by former…

POOL B STATE OF THE NATION The No 1-ranked team going into the World Cup, Ireland have enjoyed a dream couple of years under Andy Farrell. The former England international replaced New Zealander Joe Schmidt as head coach after the 2019 World Cup. Under Farrell's tutelage, Ireland fell narrowly short of a Six Nations title in 2022, before claiming a Grand Slam in 2023. Most memorably, though, Ireland bounced back from a series-opening defeat to beat the All Blacks in New Zealand for the first time in their history in 2022. That series victory pushed Ireland to No 1 in the world, a position they have not given up since. WIN RATE AGAINST POOL OPPONETS…

POOL B FAST FACTS •Tonga have utilised World Rugby's new player eligibility lawes to capture a number of former New Zealand and Australian internationals, including Israel Folau (above), Charles Piutau, George Moala, Malakai Fekitoa and Adam Coleman. •Tonga's most notable World Cup win came in 2011, when they stunned eventual finalists France to earn a 19-14 victory in Wellington, New Zealand. •Tonga have faced the Springboks twice. Their last clash came in the pool stage of the 2007 World Cup, when South Africa had to dig deep to earn a 30-25 victory. •Head coach Toutai Kefu is a former Australian international, who was part of the 1999 World Cup-winning team. He also won two Tri-Nations titles during his playing days as a No 8. •tonga fielded what was then the…

POOL C FAST FACTS • Georgia will play in a sixth consecutive-World-Cup-afterfinishing above the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Russia and Spain in the Rugby Europe Championship across 2021 and 2022. • In 2022, Georgia clamied their first two wins over tier-one nations Italy (28-19) and Wales (13-12). • Georgia have never progressed beyond the pool stage at the World Cup. Their best performance came in 2015, when they beat Tonga and Namibia. • Georgia have claimed the Rugby Europel Championship 14 times and are on a run of six toumament wins in a row. WORLD CUP RECORD FACT FILE Coach: Levan Maisashvili Captain: Merab Sharikadze…

POOL D STATE OF THE NATION In terms of results, it is a challenge to look at England's 2022 and 2023 seasons with optimism, or to say bookies will be offering favourable odds on the Roses to lift the Webb Ellis Cup for a second time. For the richest union in the world, two wins in back-to-back Six Nations campaigns is nowhere near good enough. Factor in that they finished fifth in 2021's Six Nations after just two wins as well, and also finished fifth in 2018, and its is clear all is not rosy. In July 2022, under Eddie Jones, they became only the second England side to a series in Australia, yet a dramadc come-from-behind draw with the All WIN RATE AGAINST POOL OPPONENTS England have yet to…

FAST FACTS • Samoa made it to the quarter-finals in both the 1991 and 1995 World Cups, the first on debut and where the Samoans produced a shock when they beat 1987 semi-finalists Wales 16-13. • Samoa have been eliminated in the pool stage since 2003, and finished fourth in their pool in the 2007, 2015 and 2019 editions of the tournament. • Samoa are coached by former centre Seilala Mapusua, who played 26 Tests for the country and also had long stints with the Highlanders in Super Rugby and London Irish in the English Premiership. • Australia-born prop Michael Ala'alatoa, who plays his club rugby for Irish giants Leinster, is set to lead Samoa. • Former Samoa centre Brian Lima provided one of the World Cup's iconic moments in…

BIG QUESTION Can three-time runners-up France cope with the pressure of hosting a World Cup and entering the tournament as the favourites as they attempt to lift the webb Ellis Cup for the first time? KEY PLAYER Toulouse utility back Thomas Ramos is a consistent and reliable performer for club and country. a versatile playmaker, as he can play fullback and flyhalf, Ramos is a proven goal-kicking machine, while also a try-scoring threat from set piece and broken play. He featured prominently for France in their Grand Slam-winning Six Nations campaign last year, and scored an impressive intercept try against Scotland during the 2023 tournament. He has won the Top 14 twice and the Champions Cup with Toulouse, where his interplay with national teammates Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack is…

POOL B WORLD CUP RECORD KEY PLAYER A Star-studded lreland side has plenty of players to watch, but all eyes will be on the 2022 World Rugby Player of the Year, Josh van der Flier, to see if he can carry his spectacular form into the World Cup. The Leinster loose forward was a key part of lreland's series win in New Zealand and home victory over the Springboks last year. A tenacious tackler and ferocious ball-carrier with seemingly endless reserves of energy, Van der Flier will be at the heart of things as lreland push for a semi-final place. BIG QUESTION Will lreland be able to beat the All Blacks or France in the quarter-finals to progress to the semi-finals for the first time in their history? 81 IRELAND'S…

FAST FACTS •Romania have appeared in every edition of the World Cup, but 2019, when they were expelled after receiving a points deduction for fielding ineligible players. •Romania's last win against a tier-one nation came in 2004, when they beat Italy 25-24 in Bucharest. •Thirty-six-year-old captain and loose forward Mihai Macovei (right) became the fifth Romanian Test centurion, earning his 100th cap against Samoa in 2022. •Head coach Eugen Apjok won five Test caps for Romania as a flyhalf between 1996 and 2001, and previously served as an assistant coach in 2015. •Romania's most memorable World Cup match came in 2015, when they pulled off the biggest comeback in the tournament's history, coming from 15-0 down to beat Canada 17-15 in Leicester. FACT FILE Coach: Eugen Apjok Captain: Mihai Macovei…

STATE OF THE NATION A difficult 2022 season saw Australia scrap their project under Dave Rennie to bring back Eddie Jones for his second stint as head coach. The Wallabies had some promising results during Rennie's tenure, most notably a 24-22 win over the All Blacks in 2020 and back-to-back home victories over the Springboks in 2021. A difficult finish to 2021, when the Wallabies lost all of their European tour fixtures for the first time in 45 years, was followed by a dark 2022, which included a home loss to the Springboks, a home series loss to England and a stunning defeat to Italy. That was enough for Rugby Australia to do away with Rennie and bring back Jones, who had been sacked as England coach after seven years…

FAST FACTS • Portugal became the 20th team to qualify for the 2023 World Cup after securing a 16-16 draw in the deciding match of the final qualification tournament against the USA. • This will be Portugal's second appearance at a World Cup. Their other appearance came in the 2007 World Cup, also in France. • Portugal are coached by former France wing Patrice Lagisquet. Known as the 'Bayonne Express' during his playing days, he scored 20 tries in 46 Tests for France. He has previously held roles as France's backline coach as well as Biarritz's head coach and director of rugby. • Portugal are ranked in their highest- ever posiüon of 16th in the world, above Namibia, Uruguay and Romania. WORLD CUP RECORD FACT FILE Coach: Patrice Laisquet Captain:…

POOL D STATE OF THE NATION Seventh on World Rugby's rankings after the 2023 Rugby Championship, Argentina are a team on the rise, with job-juggling Michael Cheika behind their turn in fortunes. In July 2022, just 19 months after his appointment with the Lebanon national rugby league side, Cheika was elevated from a previous assistant role with Los Pumas to the main job. BIG QUESTION Can Argentina ride a wave of confidence and stun England again to claim top spot in the pool? A favourable draw puts Los Pumas on a clear path into the playoffs, as well as a potential first appearance In the final. KEY PLAYER The ultimate all-rounder, Emiliano Boffelli ICU up Ul I Ll lb IU au IUI Ll IC Pumas in 2022 and was the…

FAST FACTS • Chile made history by narrowly defeating the USA 52-51 on aggregate to qualify for the 2023 World Cup in the Americas 2 position for the first time. • Chile are coached by former Uruguay prop Pablo Lemoine, who has been at the helm since 2018 and has guided Los Cóndores to several huge results, including a first win over Canada in their 87-year history. Lemoine was the first Uruguayan to play professional rugby when he signed for Bristol in 1998. • The majority of the current Chile squad play domestically for the country's Super Rugby Americas team Selknam, founded in 2019, with the notable exception of Los Cóndores captain Martin Sigren, who plays for the Doncaster Knights in the English Championship. WORLD CUP RECORD FACT FILE Coach: Pablo…

KURT-LEE ARENDSE Bok number: 925 Franchise: Bulls Position: Outside back Age: 27 Height: 1.77m Weight: 80kg Caps: 9 Points: 50 DAMIAN DE ALLENDE Bok number: 862 Club: Saitama Wild Knights Position: Centre Age: 31 Height: 1.89m Weight: 101kg Caps: 72 Points: 50 FAF DE KLERK Bok number: 870 Club: Canon Eagles Position: Scrumhalf Age: 31 Height: 1.72m Weight: 80kg Caps: 48 Points: 44 ANDRÉ ESTERHUIZEN Bok number: 898 Club: Harlequins Position: Centre Age: 29 Height: 1.92m Weight: 110kg Caps: 13 Points: 0 JADEN HENDRIKSE Bok number: 920 Franchise: Sharks Position: Scrumhalf Age: 23 Height: 1.84m Weight: 86kg Caps: 12 Points: 12 CHESLIN KOLBE Bok numer: 911 Club: Suntory Sungoliath Position: Outside back Age: 29 Height: 1.70m Weight: 80kg Caps: 25 Points: 81 JESSE KRIEL Bok number: 867 Club: Canon Eagles Position: Centre Age: 29 Height: 1.86m Weight: 96kg Caps: 61 Points: 60 WILLIE LE ROUX Bok number: 848 Franchise: Bulls Position: Outside back Age: 34 Height: 1.86m Weight: 90kg Caps: 87 Points: 65 MANIE LIBBOK Bok number: 931 Franchise: Stormers Position: Flyhalf Age: 26 Height: 1.84m Weight: 76kg Caps: 7 Points: 45 MAKAZOLE MAPIMPI Bok number: 897 Franchise: Sharks Position: Outside back Age: 33 Height: 1.84m Weight: 90kg Caps:…

WRITING THEMSELVES INTO RUGBY HISTORY 145 POINTS SCORED -BYE ALL BLACKS IN THEIR DEMOLITION JOB AGAINST JAPAN IN 1995 (THE BRAVE BLOSSOMS SCORED 17 POINTS) 45 POINTS SCORED BY ALL BLACKS FLYHALF SIMON CULHANE AGAINST JAPAN IN 6 TRIES SCORED BY ALL BLACKS WING MARC ELLIS AGAINST JAPAN IN 1995 277 POINTS SCORED BY ENGLAND FLYHALF JONNY WILKINSON [1999, 2003, 2007, 2011] 5 DROP GOALS KICKED BY SPRINGBOK FLYHALF JANNIE DE BEER IN THE 1999 OUARTER-FINAL WIN AGAINST ENGLAND 15 TRIES SCORED BY ALL BLACKS WING JONAH LOMU (1995, 1999 AND SPRINGBOK WING BRYAN HABANA [2007, 2011, 2015] 8 TRIES SCORED BY LOMU [1999], HABANA (2007) AND ALL BLACKS WING JULIAN SAVEA [2015] IN ONE TOURNAMENT 22 TRIES SCORED BY THE WALLABIES IN THEIR 142-0 WIN AGAINST NAMIBIA IN 2003…