SA RUGBY May 2024

Rassie Erasmus responded to the exit of Jacques Nienaber (Leinster) and Felix Jones (England) from the management team that guided the Springboks to glory at the 2023 Rugby World Cup by recruiting Tony Brown and Jerry Flannery, a move that has got tongues wagging about the prospect of the world champions embracing an attacking revolution in 2024 while retaining their defensive resilience. The Blitzboks had lacked resilience on both sides of the ball since opening the season with a tournament victory in Dubai, and Philip Snyman's first objective as head coach was to revive the team culture that famously underpinned South Africa's sprint to four series championships. Kwagga Smith has starred for both the Boks and Blitzboks during an illustrious career that has carried him to Iwata where he plays…

IRELAND 17 SCOTLAND 13 Ireland celebrate back-to-back Six Nations titles after a hard-fought win in Dublin. It was the third time they had achieved the feat, having done so in 1948-1949 and 2014-2015. BULLS 59 LYON 19 Scrumhalf Embrose Papier scored two of the Bulls' nine tries in their convincing Champions Cup round-of-16-win at Loftus Versfeld. STORMERS 21 LA ROCHELLE 22 The look on flyhalf Manie Libbok's face says it all as his attempted match-winning conversion in Cape Town goes wide. La Rochelle fought back from 16-0 down to sneak into the Champions Cup quarter-finals. SHARKS 47 ZEBRE 3 After taking a clever inside pass from flyhalf Siya Masuku, flank Vincent Tshituka burst away to score the first of seven tries for the Sharks in the Challenge Cup roundof-16 match…

WHICH SPRINGBOK ASSISTANT WILL HAVE THE GREATEST IMPACT IN 2024? vs DEVIN HERMANUS SAYS JERRY FLANNERY Flannery's addition to Rassie Erasmus’ coaching staff this season promises to be a transformative one for the back-toback world champions. His appointment as defence coach presents a seamless transition from the foundation laid by his predecessor, Jacques Nienaber, while injecting a fresh perspective and expertise into the mix. What makes Flannery particularly invaluable is his existing relationship with Erasmus and Nienaber, forged during their time together at Munster in 2017. This familiarity not only ensures a smooth integration into the coaching setup but also facilitates a deeper understanding of Nienaber’s strategic blueprint, which Flannery aims to build upon over the next four years. He also has the retired Duane Vermeulen, who served as the…

‘A NATURAL LEADER AND GREAT SCRUMMAGER' FORWARDS 1. SYLVAIN MARCONNET Had all the tracks in the book. A solid scrummager and niggled you throughout an entire game. 2. JOHN SMIT My captain at the U18 Craven Week in 1996, again when we won the Junior World Championship in 1999 and at the Sharks. A natural leader and great scrummager. 3. CENSUS JOHNSTON An immense human being. He was strong with great ball skills. If he played for a tierone nation, I believe he would have been a world great. 4. JÉRÔME THION His nickname was ‘Machine’ and he was a great player, having captained France. A really strong man who was useful in the scrum. 5. BAKKIES BOTHA The only player I knew who could keep a whole opposition pack…

DAMIAN WILLEMSE 'Cycle Tour 2024.' - The Stormers and Springbok star in Green Point after completing the scenic 109km ride along the Cape Peninsula. MORNÉ STEYN 'First Cape Town Cycle Tour done and dusted #109km. What a privilege!' - The former Springbok flyhalf and current Lions kicking coach snapped a photo alongside his father in Fish Hoek. SIYA KOLISI ‘Size difference is a joke.’ - The Springbok captain alongside WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury after the pair attended an FA Cup clash at Old Trafford. AKKER VAN DER MERWE ‘Kwaggas.’ - The Bulls hooker and Stormers flyhalf Manie Libbok wore their Hoerskool Outeniqua 1st XV socks during the URC’s origin round. WILLIE ROUX ‘North vs South.' - The Bulls fullback with Bok teammate and Stormers captain Deon Fourie after a…

Murray Royce Campbell Strong, aggressive and skilful - an excellent player! Glad he’s ours! Wayne Jeary Congratulations Eben. An outstanding achievement and well deserved. Jon Crawley Can’t argue with that! Great player. Congrats from an England fan. Riaan de Bruyn Eben moes World Rugby Speler van die Jaargewees het [Eben should have been World Rugby Player of the Year]… Freddy Maremane Congrats. New captain, mark my words. Glenn Cunninghame Pieter-Steph du Toit must have gone close. His performance in the final won the Cup! Sheila Kgomotso Halala ELizabedi, halala. We are really proud of you as a Rainbow Nation. Grant William Stronach From a Kiwi, well deserved. I rate him as the best lock in the world at the moment. Shane Hamilton Wish him and Du Toit could have shared that one.…