Otago vs. Canterbury: Match Preview Date Time Venue Squad & Live Stream

Otago vs. Canterbury: Match Preview Date Time Venue Squad & Live Stream

Saturday, August 15, 2015 / No Comments

Otago vs. Canterbury

Match: Otago vs. Canterbury (Week 1, ITM cup 2015)

Match Day: Saturday, August 15, 2015.

Kickoff time: 16:35 local (04:35 GMT)

Venue: Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin

Referee: Michael Lash

This Saturday is going to be “Super Saturday” as the Southern Derby is going to be kicked off with the host Otago Razorbacks are going to compete with another local rivals Canterbury on 16:35 local time (04:35 GMT), Saturday, 15th August, 2015. This match is going to be held at Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin. With this match both teams are going to start up their battle on the IMT cup 2015.

Both the teams had a very well prepared preseason. The Razorbacks have played their preseason games against Tasman and Southland away from the home. Canterbury have also defeated Wellington in their first preseason battle with a comfortable 50-33 win. In their last derby battle Canterbury was the winning side against Otago. If we go through their previous match histories we will also get a clear view of the dominance of Canterbury over the Razorbacks. So, this is going to be a better choice for the Razorbacks to make a comeback. For this purpose, Otago are going to make the debuts of five players. Otagos’ newly appointed coach Cory Brown has tried to make some mixture of local potentials and the foreign augmentation as well. The number eight of the Razorbacks Mike Mafi and the blindside flank of their team Adam Knight are going to start the game. For the Razorbacks, Fletcher Snith who is a local boy and a playmaker of the University level will also get the first cap of the ITM cup. Kaide Whiting, the halfback for the Razorbacks is also waiting for the debut against Canterbury. Well experienced Jack Wilson’s name has also been included in the squad of Otago for the Saturday match.  On the other hand Canterbury head coach Scott Robertson has put an eye on his team’s outstanding performance of the preseason. Hooker Nick Werahiko, halfback Jack Stratton and loose forward Mitchell Dunshea have higher chances of making their debuts for the ITM cup 2015. Canterbury’s outside back and ex-Otago player Marshall Suckling will face his old club-mates and this is going to be his first appearance for the Canterbury.

Canterbury head coach said, 

The boys have had a tough and challenging pre-season. Now it’s time to keep it up on field.

Meanwhile, the Razorbacks’ captain Lee Allan said,

Our team is a balanced mix of the young boys and full of experience. We hope this will help us to keep our nerves firm to bring some impressive result.

This exciting derby battle can be enjoyed on air in Otago vs. Canterbury Live Stream.

The teams:

Otago: Matt Faddes, Tony Ensor, Teihorangi Walden, Jayden Spence,  Fletcher Smith, Jack Wilson, Mika Mafi,  Kaide Whiting, Adam Knight, James Lentjes, Jackson Hemopo, Josh Dickson,  Liam Coltman, Craig Millar, Hisa Sasagi.
Replacements: Michael Collins,  Sam Anderson-Heather, Scott Manson, Donald Brighouse, Charlie O'Connell, Josh Walden, Naulia Dawai, Peter Breen.

Canterbury: Johnny McNicholl, Tom Taylor, Rob Thompson, Jack Goodhue,  Richie Mo'unga,  Patrick Osborne, Luke Whitelock (c),  Mitchell Drummond, Reed Prinsep, Matt Todd, Dominic Bird, Siate Tokolahi,  JJ Manning, , Daniel Lienert-Brown,  Ben Funnell.
Replacements: Alex Hodgman, Nick Werahiko, letauTom Sanders, Sione Fa, Mitchell Dunshea, Milford Keresoma, Jack Stratton,  Marshall Suckling.

Golden Lions vs Pumas: Match Preview, Live stream, Schedule, Venue & Squads

Golden Lions vs Pumas: Match Preview, Live stream, Schedule, Venue & Squads

Friday, August 14, 2015 / No Comments

Golden Lions vs Pumas:

The most entreating teams of Currie Cup 2015, Golden Lions & Pumas are going to play each other on Friday. So far the Lions have a great tournament this year and they are the only team who has been able to beat the Western Province in this year’s tournament. They won the match by a narrow margin of 2 points as the score was 35-33. But Johan Ackermann, the coach of the Golden Lions is not hundred percent satisfied with his team’s performance and he wants to improve the defense of his team. With the win against WP the Lions have managed to keep their unbeaten run in their home soil and they also have narrowed the point gap with them. WP is in the number one position of the point table. The point difference between the 2nd place Lions and 3rd Place Pumas is only one point.

This will be first match for the Lions facing Puma in this Currie Cup 2015. The match has greater importance as the winner of the match will have the second position in the point table. Ackerman said in this way

 All the teams aim to win their home matches and want to play at home if they make it into the play-offs. It won't happen when you focus on your opponent... if we can play the rugby we played over the weekend and stick to our processes then it can go well.

 He also said that as it is a home match and that’s why no excuse will be allowed from any player in case of preparation for the match.

The pumas had a setback in last match as they lost against Griquas by 31-27. It is their second loss in this tournament and they will try to keep their run in the tournament without any more upsets. Dylon Frylinck has been declared fit to play this match and it will work as a boost for the Pumas which they seriously need before the match.

Prediction: This is going to be a close and entreating match. But with the advantage of home ground and more experience under their belt the Lions area the favorite to win by seven points.

Tournament: Currie Cup 2015

When: Friday, September 19, 2015

Where: Ellis Park

Kickoff time: 19:10 local & 17:10 GMT

Referee: Jaco van Heerden

Squads:

Golden Lions: Armand van der, Martin Muller, Jaco Kriel, Willie Britz, Jaco van der Walt, Stokkies Hanekom, Ruan Combrinck, Schalk van der Merwe, Ruan Dreyer, Franco Mostert, Kwagga Smith, Courtnall Skosan, Lionel Mapoe, Andries Coetzee.

Replacements: Howard Mnisi, Warwick Tecklenburg, Julian Redelinghuys, Malcolm Marx/Willie Wepener, Mark Richards, Derick Minnie, Jacques van Rooyen.

Pumas: Corne Fourie, Vincent Koch, Lubabalo Mtyanda, Uzair Cassiem, Dylon Frylinck, Rosco Speckman, Jacobus Jonker, Coenie van Wyk, Francois du Toit, Frikkie Spies, Corne Steenkamp, Renaldo Bothma, Justin van Staden, Stefan Watermeyer, Jerome Pretorius.

Replacements: Juan-Claude Roos, Jaco Bouwer, DeJay Terblanche, John-Wessel Bell, Reynier van Rooyen, Marius Coetzer, Frankie Herne.

Blue Bulls Vs. Griquas: Live Stream, Match Preview, Prediction, Time, Date & Venue

Blue Bulls Vs. Griquas: Live Stream, Match Preview, Prediction, Time, Date & Venue

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Blue Bulls Vs. Griquas

Blue Bulls are going to host the Griquas for the last match of round robin stage of the Currie Cup 2015. This game is very important for the host as the spot in the semi-final of the competition is on the line.  Right now they have a lead of two points over Cheetahs who are at the fifth place. Cheetahs will be playing against the Lions earlier on that day. If they win the match then for the Bulls it will be a mist win match if they want to make it to the play-offs. If Griquas can win the match which may seem unlikely right now will place them in the sixth position.

Talking about the teams and Bjorn Basson of the Springboks has been recalled by Ludeke and Piet van Zyl will be with him on his side in the match. JJ Engelbrecht is going to remain unavailable due to his commitments for Springbok and William Small-Smith will start for him. Fly-half has returned for the team but he was named as a bench player but Ludeke has ensured that he will be on the field at some time of the match.  Bongi Mbonambi will be the number two jumper and Morne Mellett will start as the loosehead. They will be replacing Dean Greyling & Callie Visagie.

The squad of the Griquas is troubled by injuries greatly as some of their most influential palyers are out of the squads including third captain. Wayne Stevens, flanker Carel Greeff, locks Hilton Lobberts, prop Steph Roberts prop Janro van Niekerk & lock Boela Serfontein are out of team due to various injuries. All these have forced Hawies Fourie, the coach of Griquas to make lots of changes in the team. Simon Westraadt will start as prop instead of regular hooker. Similarly Jonathan Adendorf will be featured in the back and PJ Vermeulen will be moved to the center. Francois Brummer is going to lead Griquas in the next match of Currie Cup 2015.

Prediction: the Bulls have too much firepower and the disjointed side of Griquas will not be able cope up with it. Bulls are the favorite to win the match by 12 points.

Tournament: Currie Cup 2015

When: Saturday, October 11, 2015

Where: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria

Kick-off time: 19.10 local & 17.10 GMT

Referee: Lesego Legoete

Squads:

Blue Bulls: Bongi Mbonambi, Paul Willemse, Deon Stegmann c, Jono Ross, Jacques-Louis Potgieter, Burger Odendaal, Akona Ndungane, Morné Mellett, Marcel van der Merwe, Grant Hattingh, Jacques du Plessis, Piet van Zyl, Bjorn Basson, William Small-Smith, Ulrich Beyers,

Replacements: Rudy Paige, Jesse Kriel, Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg, Callie Visagie, Handré Pollard, Wiaan Liebenberg, Werner Kruger.

Griquas: Martin Bezuidenhout, Hugo Kloppers, Marnus Schoeman, Ruaan Lerm, Francois Brummer, Jonathan Francke, Danie Dames, Simon Westraadt, Maks van Dyk, Jaco Nepgen, Marnus Schoeman, Jonathan Adendorf, Tian Meyer, Ederies Arendse, PJ Vermeulen, Jacquin Jansen.

Replacements: Doppies la Grange, Rudi van Rooyen, RJ Liebenberg, Ryno Barnes, Dean Grant, Burger Schoeman, Wesley Cloete.

Waikato vs. Tasman: Live Stream Match Preview, Date, Time, Venue, Squads

Waikato vs. Tasman: Live Stream Match Preview, Date, Time, Venue, Squads

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Waikato vs. Tasman

Tasman is going to kick off their ITM Cup 2015 with the game against Waikato on this Friday. They are looking to overcome their loss in final this year in order to get better.  In their team Two Debutants will be in the wing position along with Monty Ioane & Trael Joass. Players will be debuting for the Waikato too as names of four new players are added in the starting XV. Three players will be on the bench too for potential debutantes.

Talking about the teams Kieran Keane, the head coach of Tasman it is almost the same time of last year. He added that they have faith in the performance of the team’s player and they are impressed with what they have done in the past. But he is recognized the tuff decision in choosing outside backs by saying, "[Selecting] the outside backs has been a bit of a difficult task. We've gone with what we feel are the best men for this game." For him it is comforting that Alex Ainley is back in the team again as he had some concerns about lingering injury. He said, "It's great to have the warhorse back. He's carrying niggle but we think it's prudent to start with a combination that we know works well together, in Joe [Wheeler] and Alex. Plus we have Marco Kotze and Jeff Lepa on the bench," Now talking about the debutants, Joass has earned his selection due to his outstanding performance in the club season. His powerful running was a real key factor in the winning of Nelson Bays Premier Championship and Tasman Trophy.

On the other side Sean Botherway, the head coach has is wishing for great debut for his new players and he said on the Waikato's website, "Making your debut for any team is a special moment. The players will remember this game for a long time and as a team we are determined to make it memorable." He also added that facing the Tuscans will be a challenge and they have prepared well to face them both physically and mentally in the ITM Cup 2015.

When: Friday, August 14, 2015

Where: Waikato Stadium, Hamilton

Kick-off time: 18:05 local & 06:05 GMT

Referee: Nick Briant

Squads:

Tasman: Quentin MacDonald, Alex Ainley, Pete Samu, Liam Squire, Marty Banks, David Havili, Trael Joass, Tim Perry, Ross Geldenhuys, Joe Wheeler, Shane Christie, Bill Guyton, Monty Ioane, Kieron Fonotia, Robbie Malneek.

Replacements: Trent Renata, Jeff Lepa, Jake Stafford-Wood, Jesse MacDonald, Alex Nankivell, Jimmy Cowan, Marco Kotze, Siua Halanukonuka,

Waikato: Michael Mayhew, David Morgan, Whetu Douglas, Josh Tyrell, Damian McKenzie, Jordan Payne, Declan O'Donnell, Atu Moli, Ben Tameifuna, Jacob Skeen, Murray Iti, Brad Weber, Joe Webber, Anton Lienert-Brown, Shaun Stevenson,

Replacements: Bryn Gatland, Zane Kapeli, Tau Koloamatangi, Hame Faiva, Johnathan Malo, Harrison Levien, James Tucker, Lone Uhila.

Wales vs. Ireland Result: Irish Outnumbered the Wales

Wales vs. Ireland Result: Irish Outnumbered the Wales

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Wales vs. Ireland Result

The Irish team starts their world cup campaign with a comfortable win over the wales in Cardiff. Ireland made a dream start of their world cup preparations with an impressive 35-21 victory over Wales in an important match at the Millennium Stadium. With this win, Ireland has also secured the second place of World Rankings by overtaking the mighty South Africans. Richard Hibbard, Justin Tipuric scored tries for the winning side as well as Alex Cuthbert scored a late score for them in the match. The performance of some players from the Ireland team was that much impressive that they deserve the places in Gatland’s 31-men final squad. Despite of such a breakdown of result, Wales skipper Scott Williams was satisfied with the team performance. He said, 

For the first time boys have played together as a team and I am satisfied the way they have ended this up.

The last time these two teams met at the Millennium Stadium, the Welsh was the winning side. They defeated the Irish with a result of 23-16 victory which was one of the best matches ever held in the stadium. But this time from the very beginning of the match Wales just got out-paced with the sharp attack of the Irish. The Irish also took the early advantage of the handling errors of the Welsh which was also not in a short supply. Welsh skipper Scott Williams failed to clear from a scrum just after eight minutes of the match and the Irish first made a try by sending the skipper Heaslip into one corner and turning the ball over to him. Irish fly half Paddy Jackson then helped the visiting team to take the full control of the match with a penalty. A stunning tackle from Hibbard held up Keith Earl. Irish got their second lead from the resulting scrum. Eoin Reddan passed a simple and short ball to centre and Cave scored another one from a close range. Thus Irish got a favorable result for their side.

The Irish made their third attempt while Andrew Trimble made a successful tackle on the debutant Welsh player Eli Walker and also allowed Earls to win over the ball and raced to go under the posts. Shortly afterwards, the home sides finally got a chance to cheer as the Welsh scored for the first time from a set piece resulting from a try-saving tackle from Williams. After some moments debutant Welsh Ross Moriarty was showed a yellow for his terrible swinging arm. Three minutes later Zebo scored the fourth for the Irish. The visitors got another lead when Jones scored the fifth. Before 10 minutes from the end of match, Wales got their second try when Tipuric touched the finishing line with excellent assists from the young Hallam Amos and Tyler Morgan. Cuthbert scored the final goal from the last move of the game that just gave some respect for the Welsh on the scorecard.

Ireland skipper Jamie Heaslip was outstanding throughout the night and awarded the man of the match of the night. Wales will play with Australia, Fiji, England and Uruguay from pool A and Ireland will compete with France, Italy, Canada and Romania in the world cup campaign.

Springboks vs. Argentina Result: Pumas Break the 50 Year Deadlock

Springboks vs. Argentina Result: Pumas Break the 50 Year Deadlock

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Springboks vs. Argentina Result

After 1965 Argentina was able to record their first win against the Springbok of South Africa. They were able to beat the Junior Springboks 50 years ago and they did it on 2015 by beating Springboks 37-25. From the first whistle of the match the Pumas were alert and determined to win the match. They made crisp and quick passing and they were able to dominate the tackle area too. They did such by putting more men into the area and they were able to rule the scrums. The result of the rugby match is quiet devastating for the Springboks.

The scrums of the match were a mess to see and the Springboks are the ones to blame for this mess. In the match there were thirteen Scrums in the total but there were fourteen collapses too. Six penalties were given at the scrums. Four of the sic penalties were against South Africa. The Springboks were behind early in the match, to say specifically just after 2 minutes. They remain behind till 80 minutes.

The kick-off was made by Handré Pollard and the first act done by Willie le Roux's was to kick an up-'n-under. Then the next thing for Springboks found themselves scrambling in front of their line. Jesse Kriel challenged him, so he passes the ball on his right to the experienced Marcelo Bosch who was able score at the posts. The Pumas were up by 7-0 at the two minutes of the match. At 8minutes Marcos Ayerza was penalized during a scrum and Pollard was able to make it 7-3. Then both the possession and territory were under the Puma’s hand and they seemed to enjoying that. Then at 22 minutes Thomas Cubelli after breaking a tackle passed the ball to Imhoff , who was able to score and made the Pumas a lead of 11 points by making the score 14-3. The Springboks were again penalized at the 32 minutes and Hernández was able to convert a touch to make the score line 21-6. Then Hernández scored a penalty from 50 yards to increase the lead to 27-13.

In the second half of the rugby match the Pumas countered the Springboks and the again Springboks were the culprit to get penalized. From that Imhoff was able to make his Third try of the match. They score was then 34-13 after forty three minutes of playing. The supporters of the South Africa became paralyzed with it. After 49 minutes the score became 34-20 as the Springboks were able to make an excellent try. When only two minutes were left in the match Bryan Habana scored from a penalty which is again came from a scrum. He made the final score of the match to make the result 37-25.

Man of the Match:  The man of the match was Juan Imhoff with his three tries. He made the clear difference in the match between the teams.

All Blacks vs. Wallabies Result: Wallabies Shocked the All Blacks to the Core

All Blacks vs. Wallabies Result: Wallabies Shocked the All Blacks to the Core

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All Blacks vs. Wallabies Result

The result of the match is hard for the ALL Blacks and its sure they did not think that the result will be this of the match. In the Bledisloe battleground, instead of the black domination it was white. At the ANZ Stadium it was Nic White who was the hero and with the help of two halfbacks the Wallabies beat the All Blacks by 27-19. The number nine of the Brumbies was able to land a pair of telling blows during the second half and secured the first win for the Wallabies against the New Zealand since 2011. By doing so, they have also secured the Rugby Championship in front of over 73 thousand fans.

Nehe Milne-Skudder, the debutant was able to score his second tries in the second half and it seemed that the math will in the All Blacks hand. But it did not happen. The Wallaby outfield was determined to win the match. So they re-energized themselves and get focused under Michael Cheika, who again reminded us that he was the master of escape. They did like what they did one month earlier against the Springboks. They finished over the top.  Mike Cheika, the Wallaby coach was very proud with the efforts of his boys and he is eagerly waiting for the next weekend match. He said, 

It's probably the biggest challenge in world rugby, going to Eden Park. We've got to be level. We've got to try and improve every day because this is the path we have to go on if we are to be competitive consistently.

He added that it was a great win and they want to test themselves more and thy will try to win more and more games.  For Cheika it was great that the bench was able to deliver again. Now they have to do the impossible in the New Zealand which is never done in the last thirteen years. The All Blacks team will sure try to forget the result and their clumsy performances.

For the Wallaby it was great to see that their scrum was dead lock but they badly missed the Rob Simmons in the line-out. Missing him was proven costly in number of occasions too. But for Cheika it was great that how his team was able to knuckle down and fight it out in the middle when they could be folded up by the All Blacks as they tried late run in the match. During the danger period the point was only 3-0 and Wallabies was able to earn their first penalty after 22 minutes. Giteau leveled the score after a dominant scrum.  But Carter was able to take his side ahead one more time. The visitors were up by 14-10 as Milner-Skudder scored a try at 56 minute. But Wallabies were able to keep their nerve.  Toomua made a pin point grab. Finally, when only 10 minutes were left in the play White spotted a gap and was able to slice through it to seal a memorable victory for the Wallabies.