Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2024 i SA RUGBY

The Springboks have made a welcome return from their World Cup rest to boost South Africa's pursuit of a second United Rugby Championship title and a first European Cup championship. For the next four seasons, all of the Bulls, Lions, Sharks, Stormers and hopefully Cheetahs mil be driven to summit these competitions. However, each catch, pass, tackle and kick will inevitably be viewed through the prism of South Africa's status as back-to-back world champions, and the distant opportunity for the Boks to create a legacy by becoming the first rugby nation to win three consecutive World Cup titles. Key to winning the war on any of these fronts are world-class players and South Africa said goodbye to one of those when Duane Vermeulen retired in November. While replacing ‘Thor’ is…

FORWARDS 1. HEINRICH ROGERS When I thought I had him, he lifted the whole scrum with one leg! It looks like his son Robbie is a chip off the old block. I also have lots of respect for Garry Pagel. He scrummed the hell out of me. 2. SEAN FITZPATRICK A fierce competitor and leader on the field. 3. OLO BROWN Brown scrummed lower than alawnmower. 4. JOHAN ACKERMANN The enforcer. When he warned you, you tended to listen. 5. DODDIE WEIR A lineout specialist who towered over others. 6. RUBEN KRUGER There was no end to Ruben's determination. 7. ANDRÉ VENTER The fittest rugby player I knew. Hard as nails, too. 8. SEBASTIEN CHABAL Intimidating and confrontational. ‘WHEN HE WARNED YOU YOU TENDED TO LISTEN’ BACKS 9. GARY ARMSTRONG…

‘IN MY YOUTH, I DID A BIT DF MOTORSPORT AND I LOVED A DRIVER NAMED AYRTON SENNA; HE WAS A DRIVING GENIUS BUT HE ALSO HAD A MYSTICAL DIMENSION THAT I FOUND IN SIYA KOLISI’ RACING 92 OWNER JACKY LORENZETTI ‘IT FELT LIKE THE FIRST DAY BACK AT SCHOOL’ KOLISI ON JOINING THE FRENCH CLUB ‘ARE THEY KILLING RUGBY? ARE TREY HELL! THEY ARE A MAGNIFICENT TEAM, ICONIC IN STATURE AND THEIR STATUS AS WORLD CHAMPIONS IS NOTHING MORE THAN THEIR BRILLIANCE AND FORTITUDE DESERVES’ FORMER WALLABIES WING DAVID CAMPESE ON THE SPRINGBOKS ‘I THINK IT IS A VERY SAD THING WHEN YOU LIVE IN A FIRST-WORLD COUNTRY AND THINK THE REST OF THE WORLD SPEAKS ENGLISH. IT WAS UNPROFESSIONAL ON THEIR RART’ SPRINGBOK HOOKER BONGI MBONAMBI, WHO WAS ACCUSED BY…

The Bulls have undergone a spectacular transformation under the guidance of director of rugby Jake White after a disappointing 2022-23 campaign that saw them endure a string of 10 consecutive losses, and are a force to be reckoned with in the United Rugby Championship this season. The resurgence is no serendipitous turn of events. It's a result of meticulous planning, strategic thinking and shrewd recruitment by White, who orchestrated the arrival of seasoned campaigners, World Cup winners, ana invested in a few underrated playmakers. White bore the brunt of the criticism for the Bulls’ 2022-23 performances, and the former Springbok boss left no stone unturned in the off-season. He recruited 12 new players while overhauling his coaching staff by enlisting the services of former USA head coach and Springbok assistant…

■ The club's mascot is a bear named Bearnie, chosen because it is one of the symbols of the Pyrenees, and its name is a play on words with Béarn, the region of which Pau has been the capital since 1464. ■ Flyhalf Elton Jantjies (below) joined Pau on loan in 2021 ahead of the British & Irish Lions series, scoring 26 points in four appearances for the club. ■ Former Sharks tighthead prop Lourens Adriaanse is the only other high-profile South African to play for Pau, making 90 appearances in four seasons for the club. ■ Pau has a long-standing rivalry with another club based in the Pyrenees, Bayonne. ■ Head coach Sebastien Piqueronies was handed a 10-week suspension in December 2022 after an angry confrontation with a referee…

REECE JAMES ‘Learning from one or the best captains and leaders in sport. Thank you big bro.’ - The Chelsea FC captain attended a Racing 92 match with Bok captain Siya KoLisi in Paris. JEAN-LUC DU PREEZ ‘Great day out with the lads.’ - The Springbok flank enjoyed a day of hunting in Manchester with fellow Sale Sharks forwards Ernst van Rhyn and Cobus Wiese. DAMIAN DEALLENDE ‘Back with the Pana boys.’ - The Springbok centre, with former Wallabies wing Marika Koroibete and Bok lock Lood de Jager, upon their return to the Panasonic Wild Knights in Japan. JOHAN ACKERMANN ‘Great catching up with the World Cup-winning Springbok Franco Mostert and also fellow South African Dawid Kellerman.’ - The Urayasu D-Rocks head coach after a warm-up match against the Honda…

Bulls coach Jake White said you Bulked up during the off-season. What's your go-to meal to pack on weight? Chicken breast and spinach. Not so much the egg whites! Which town or city did you enjoy the most on the Bulls’ URC tour at the start of the season? Cardiff. The environment and the food was great! What's your favourite schoolboy rugby memory? It has to be playing for Paarl Boys’ against Paarl Gim in front of a massive crowd in the 2019 Interschools. It was the highlight of my schoolboy career, and although we lost. I'll never forget that moment. Besides the Springboks winning the tournament, what was your favourite moment of the 2023 World Cup? One of my favourite moments was seeing Fiji make the quarter-finals. I was…

After leaving the All Blacks last year, you received coaching offers from around the world. Why did you opt for a second stint at the Sharks? It's one of those things you think will never happen. It's not often you have a coach come back to a union or club for a second stint. But I left the Sharks on pretty good terms in 2013 and didn't bum any bridges, so I guess there's a lesson in that. I could have coached in Japan, which is a bit closer to New Zealand, but Durban is my rugby home and KwaZuluNatal has always been a very special place for me. I played for the Sharks [from 1988 to 1997] and I stayed in contact with a lot of my former teammates…

A rdie Savea. What a year. What a player. Can you believe he has just hit 30 years of age? It seems like only yesterday he went on the 2013 northern hemisphere tour as an ‘apprentice’ to the All Blacks. Now he has 81 Tests under his belt and is coming off a remarkable 2023 season in which he sometimes seemed to carry the All Blacks on his broad shoulders through turbulent times. He played in 11 of the 12 Tests, and was subbed just once, by Tupou Vaa'i after 64 minutes of the Namibia walkover. That is astonishing when you consider that he plays in a high impact, high-attrition position and one of his fellow loose forwards was the All Blacks captain in all but four Tests in 2023.…

BROUGHT TO YOU BY The Springboks started the 2014 Rugby Championship with back-to-back victories over Argentina and a 24-23 loss to the Wallabies in Perth ahead of their toughest match of the year, against the All Blacks in Wellington. Handré Pollard was heavily targeted by All Blacks runners, but the 20-year-old flyhalf stood his ground and was instrumental in orchestrating the first try of the match, made in set-piece heaven. Trailing 3-0 after 15 minutes, Bok hooker Adriaan Strauss fed a lineout just outside the All Blacks 22. With Eben Etzebeth serving as the dummy jumper, Strauss found his intended target in Victor Matfield, who popped the ball down to scrumhalf Ruan Pienaar as the Boks executed a move straight from the training ground. Pienaar found Pollard at first receiver,…

Pau were excited to announce the pre-season signing of New Zealander Sam Whitelock, one of the finest locks to ever play the game. A giant for the All Blacks and the Crusaders, he's won two World Cups and seven Super Rugby titles. In addition to his stellar career back home, the 2017 NZ Rugby Player of the Year also enjoyed a brief spell with the Panasonic Wild Knights in Japan in 2020. As a result of his longevity, Whitelock has amassed more than 200 appearances for the Crusaders and Canterbury in his career, and retired from Test rugby after the 2023 World Cup final against the Springboks as the most capped All Black of all time (152). He is reunited in Prance with younger brother Luke Whitelock, who has been…

Whirlwinds, in refereeing terms, are something you have to prepare for, According to Wayne Barnes - who has called it a day after a dizzying 272 English Premiership matches refereed, with 10 finals, and 111 Tests, including a World Cup final - you simply have to plan for any eventuality. Of course, you never expect all of them to happen … Asked whether he was a better referee at the end than when he started, Barnes begins telling us about the power of experience. ‘I think the more you see and the more you do, it helps your refereeing,’ he says, ‘so I definitely think being a bit older and wiser helps.’ But he adds: ‘Also, one thing. As referees when we're uncomfortable or we get things kind of wrong,…

WHO WILL MAKE A BREAKOUT DEBUT FOR THE SPRINGBOKS IN 2024? VS DEVIN HERMANUS SAYS JOHAN GROBBELAAR With South Africa's title defence at the 2027 World Cup in mind, depth at hooker is a concern - Malcolm Marx and Bongi Mbonambi have both been laid off with long-term knee injuries. Deon Fourie (37) may be involved with the Boks again next year but he was an emergency stop-gap after Marx was ruled out of the tournament in France and it's unlikely Rassie Erasmus will continue to invest in a short-term solution. Joseph Dweba, considered a possible candidate, was overlooked for the 2023 World Cup squad, and his inconsistent lineout throwing makes him a questionable choice for the future. Grobbelaar's two full seasons as the Bulls’ first-choice rake make a compelling…

SA Rugby magazine Jake White says the four-week URC tours for SA teams to Europe are putting them at a disadvantage. Louis de Villiers So it was in Super Rugby, old Jake. Even worse. Why don't you go coach in Zimbabwe, Namibia and Kenya and we can have an International regional competition without any hardship and you can beat your chest weekly? Jason Wood Not like we have much choice. South Africa is too isolated from either Europe or Australasia, and unless we can properly restore Zimbabwe and Namibia, our isolation issues won't improve. Molefe Sekwele Let's just go back to Super Rugby, at least the refereeing there was fair. Shane Harris Said it from the beginning - different competition, same complaints. Gustav Louw It's either a longer tour or…

SA EIGHTHMEN Duane Vermeulen has abdicated his throne as the Springboks’ thundering No 8 and it is now up to the next generation to ensure the pack doesn't lose that rumble. South African rugby's talismanic eighthman leaves behind a rich legacy, having provided the power at the back of the Springbok pack for over a decade. Replacing Vermeulen's raw power in the back row would be impossible for most Test teams and yet South African rugby can rest easy in the knowledge that there is a group of bristling next-gens ready to go to war for the honour of claiming the Boks’ No 8-branded body armour. In particular, three youngsters - Evan. Roos, Francke Horn and Cameron Hanekom have emerged as contenders along with Jasper Wiese. Having worn the jersey…

The Springboks more than earned a break after defending their World Cup title In France, but some should have been back on the field for their franchises sooner than others. Sharks coach John Plumtree couldn't hide his annoyance at a press conference ahead of their first home match of the URC season, against Connacht, which followed four successive tour defeats. ‘What's mast frustrating is they have put a blanket rule aver all the Springboks and their return to play Is not Individualised,’ he said. ‘Based on game time at the World Cup and looking at injuries before - if you're looking at Jaden Hendrikse's injury that he had in March, he had no rugby before the World Cup - that's an example of how a blanket rule does not work…

TECHNICAL TEMPLATE Preparing to tackle Get the detail right when coaching skills and everything will fall into place. A former Wales flanker looks at what players should do just before tackling a ball-carrier. Before a player makes a tackle, he has to have the right body shape. He should be crouched with elbows in, ready to punch his weight forward. Look at the photos on this page. Notice how the player is on his toes, eyes up, looking for his target. Practise this body shape by working in pairs on my session on page 75. Start by showing your players the ideal position. Then run through the exercise. In the activity, the defender starts ‘out of position’. He has to find his body shape and footwork quickly, just like he…

CLUB FOCUS French Top 14 struggles Section Paloise, more commonly known as Pau, hit the ground running by winning five of their opening six matches in the 2023-24 season. Pau experienced a close shave last season, finishing 12th on the table, just one spot above the relegation playoffs. While it is too early to brand them as title favourites or even challengers - given they haven't won any domestic silverware since 1964 - Pau have showed the signs of turning things around under former France U20 coach Sébastien Piqueronies this season. Piqueromes coached France to back-to-back World Rugby U20 Championship titles in 2018 and 2019 and has introduced a foreign influx of veterans to help nurture a young group of talented young French players, which includes four 2023 U20 Championship…

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Duane Vermeulen, as a player and starting Springbok No 8, leaves a void. His absence, as a player, will be felt in 2024 when the back-to-back world champions meet Ireland in a three-Test series in South Africa for the first time since 2016. There is no replacement for Vermeulen because his experience can't be mirrored in the current set-up. There is no No 8 that has played at the highest level in the national set-up for as long as Vermeulen did. There is also no need to be impatient in seeking the alternative to Vermeulen as Rassie Erasmus builds towards the 2027 World Cup in Australia and the prospect of an unprecedented third successive World Cup title. Erasmus has quality options, with Leicester's Jasper Wiese having been in the Bok…