It’s almost that time of the year again. The 2010 Super 14 Rugby tournament will start on the weekend of the 12th of February 2010. Like previous years, it promises to be a display of the best rugby in Southern Hemisphere. Teams from South Africa, Australia and New Zealand will once again be competing for the Super 14 trophy and the honor of being named the best team in the Southern Hemisphere for 2010. In 2009 a South African team, The Bulls (from my native Pretoria) won the competition (repeating their victory of 2007). The Super 14 will take place of 16 weeks. The final for the competition will be played on the 29th of May 2010.

This is the schedule of matches to be played in the 2010 Super 14 Tournament:

Friday, February 12:
Blues v Hurricanes (Auckland)
Western Force v Brumbies (Perth)
Cheetahs v Bulls (Bloemfontein)

Saturday, February 13:
Crusaders v Highlanders (Christchurch)
Reds v Waratahs (Brisbane)
Lions v Stormers (Johannesburg)
Sharks v Chiefs (Durban)

Friday, February 19:
Highlanders v Blues (Dunedin)
Reds v Crusaders (Brisbane)
Sharks v Cheetahs (Durban)
Lions v Chiefs (Johannesburg)

Saturday, February 20:
Hurricanes v Western Force (Wellington)
Bulls v Brumbies (Pretoria)
Stormers v Waratahs (Cape Town)

Friday, February 26:
Crusaders v Sharks (Christchurch)
Stormers v Brumbies (Cape Town)

Saturday, February 27:
Hurricanes v Lions (Wellington)
Reds v Blues (Brisbane)
Western Force v Chiefs (Perth)
Cheetahs v Highlanders (Bloemfontein)
Bulls v Waratahs (Pretoria)

Friday, March 5:
Chiefs v Reds (Hamilton)
Brumbies v Lions (Canberra)

Saturday, March 6:
Crusaders v Blues (Christchurch)
Waratahs v Sharks (Sydney)
Stormers v Highlanders (Cape Town)
Cheetahs v Hurricanes (Bloemfontein)

Friday, March 12:
Chiefs v Crusaders (Hamilton)
Waratahs v Lions (Sydney)

Saturday, March 13:
Brumbies v Sharks (Canberra)
Bulls v Highlanders (Pretoria)
Stormers v Hurricanes (Cape Town)

Sunday, March 14:
Reds v Western Force (Brisbane)

Friday, March 19:
Blues v Brumbies (Auckland)
Bulls v Hurricanes (Pretoria)

Saturday, March 20:
Crusaders v Lions (Christchurch)
Highlanders v Sharks (Dunedin)
Western Force v Waratahs (Perth)
Stormers v Cheetahs (Cape Town)

Friday, March 26:
Highlanders v Lions (Dunedin)
Brumbies v Chiefs (Canberra)
Cheetahs v Reds (Bloemfontein)

Saturday, March 27:
Hurricanes v Sharks (Wellington)
Waratahs v Blues (Sydney)
Western Force v Bulls (Perth)

Friday, April 2:
Hurricanes v Crusaders (Wellington)
Western Force v Stormers (Perth)

Saturday, April 3:
Blues v Bulls (Auckland)
Chiefs v Highlanders (Mt Maunganui)
Waratahs v Cheetahs (Sydney)
Sharks v Reds (Durban)

Friday, April 9:
Chiefs v Bulls (Hamilton)

Saturday, April 10:
Highlanders v Western Force (Queenstown)
Blues v Stormers (Auckland)
Crusaders v Waratahs (Christchurch)
Brumbies v Cheetahs (Canberra)
Lions v Reds (Johannesburg)

Friday, April 16:
Chiefs v Stormers (Hamilton)
Brumbies v Hurricanes (Canberra)

Saturday, April 17:
Blues v Western Force (Auckland)
Crusaders v Cheetahs (Christchurch)
Reds v Bulls (Brisbane)
Lions v Sharks (Johannesburg)

Friday, April 23:
Chiefs v Cheetahs (Hamilton)
Reds v Stormers (Brisbane)
Western Force v Crusaders (Perth)

Saturday, April 24:
Highlanders v Hurricanes (Dunedin)
Waratahs v Brumbies (Sydney)
Bulls v Lions (Pretoria)
Sharks v Blues (Durban)

Friday, April 30:
Highlanders v Waratahs (Invercargill)
Stormers v Crusaders (Cape Town)

Saturday, May 1:
Hurricanes v Chiefs (Wellington)
Brumbies v Reds (Canberra)
Cheetahs v Blues (Bloemfontein)
Lions v Western Force (Johannesburg)
Bulls v Sharks (Pretoria)

Friday, May 7:
Hurricanes v Reds (Wellington)
Lions v Blues (Johannesburg)

Saturday, May 8:
Chiefs v Waratahs (Hamilton)
Brumbies v Highlanders (Canberra)
Bulls v Crusaders (Pretoria)
Cheetahs v Western Force (Bloemfontein)
Sharks v Stormers (Durban)

Friday, May 14:
Blues v Chiefs (Auckland)
Waratahs v Hurricanes (Sydney)
Sharks v Western Force (Durban)

Saturday, May 15:
Crusaders v Brumbies (Christchurch)
Reds v Highlanders (Brisbane)
Cheetahs v Lions (Kimberley)
Stormers v Bulls (Cape Town)

Friday, May 21 – Semi Final 1
Saturday, May 22 - Semi Final 2

Saturday, May 29 – Final

Related Posts

• October 14, 2009 -- Currie Cup 2009 – Update (0)
• October 9, 2009 -- Currie Cup 2009 – Update (0)
• October 6, 2009 -- Australia win 2009 ICC Champions Trophy (0)
• September 7, 2009 -- Wallabies bring Springboks down to earth in Brisbane (0)
• September 3, 2009 -- Currie Cup 2009 Update (0)
• September 2, 2009 -- ICC Champions Trophy 2009 around the corner (0)
• September 2, 2009 -- Springboks make history in Tri-Nations (0)
• January 18, 2010 -- Proteas pull one back against England (0)
• December 7, 2009 -- World Cup 2010: Groups (0)
• November 2, 2009 -- Bulls are 2009 Currie Cup Champions (0)

Sir Donald George Bradman was an Australian cricketer. He was born in 1908 in Cootamundra, New South Wales, Australia. He was nicknamed as “The Don”, “The Boy from Bowral” and “Braddles”. He’s widely acknowledged as the best batsmen in World Cricketing history. His test average of 99.94 is considered one of the biggest achievements in World Sport. In his career he played for Australia in 52 test matches between 1928 and 1948. 37 of those matches were played against England, 5 were played against India, 5 were played against South Africa and 5 were played against the West Indies. He made his debut against England in 1928. He finished his career against England as well, playing in his last test against them in 1948. Even though he retired as a player Donald Bradman was involved in the Australian Cricket Administration until 1980. The Australian Government awarded him with the Companion of the Order of Australia in recognition of his service to the sport of cricket in the country in 1979.

Donald Bradman still holds the following records in Cricket today:

• Highest career batting average (minimum 20 innings): 99.94
• Highest series batting average (5 Test series): 201.50
• Highest ratio of centuries per innings played: 36.25% (29 centuries from 80 innings)
• Highest 5th wicket partnership: 405 (with Sid Barnes, 1946–47)
• Highest 6th wicket partnership: 346 (with Jack Fingleton, 1936–37)
• Highest score by a number 5 batsman: 304 (1934)
• Highest score by a number 7 batsman: 270 (1936–37)
• Most runs against one opponent: 5,028 (v England)
• Most runs in one series: 974 (1930)
• Most centuries scored in a single session of play: 6 (1 pre lunch, 2 lunch-tea, 3 tea-stumps)
• Most runs in one day’s play: 309 (1930)
• Most double centuries: 12
• Most double centuries in a series: 3 (1930)
• Most triple centuries: 2 (equal with Brian Lara and Virender Sehwag)
• Most consecutive matches in which he made a century: 6

We’re living in the year 2009 now and it’s amazing that he still holds all the above records in cricket. A truly remarkable achievement. He’s truly worthy of being featured as a Famous Cricketer on Sports Fanatic.

Related Posts

• January 21, 2010 -- Super 14 Fixtures for 2010 (1)
• October 6, 2009 -- Australia win 2009 ICC Champions Trophy (0)
• September 28, 2009 -- World Cup 2010: Teams – Australia (0)
• September 7, 2009 -- Wallabies bring Springboks down to earth in Brisbane (0)
• September 2, 2009 -- ICC Champions Trophy 2009 around the corner (0)
• September 2, 2009 -- Springboks make history in Tri-Nations (0)

Australia faced New Zealand yesterday in the final of the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy at Supersport Park in Centurion, Gauteng, South Africa. Australia beat England and New Zealand beat Pakistan in respective semi-final matches to reach the final of the tournament. New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat. The Black Caps were in trouble in the 27th over of their innings, only managing 94 runs for the loss of 5 wickets. The Australians restricted them to 200 for the loss of 9 wickets (not a very defendable total). New Zealand’s highest scoring batsmen in the match was Martin Guptill who managed to score 40 runs. Neil Broom achieved a career-best total of 37 runs. Even though they managed to bat through their 50 overs, I’m sure that the Black Caps probably wanted a higher score to defend against Australia.

Australia came in to bat. 2 early Australian wickets put the team in trouble at 6 runs for the loss of 2 wickets after the 3rd over. Kyle Mills and Shane Bond were responsible for the 2 wickets. Australia only managed 37 runs in the first 16 overs of their innings. White (who later survived a dropped catch with his total on 15) joined opening batsmen Shane Watson (who scored 136 not out against England in the semi-final) and brought stability back to the Australian innings. White eventually scored 62 runs. Watson stayed on till the end of the innings and scored 105 not out. Australian achieved a comfortable 6 wicket victory over New Zealand in the 45th over of the match. Shane Watson was named the Man of the Match. Australian captain Ricky Ponting was named as the player of the series. Australia successfully defended their ICC Champions Trophy title.

It would’ve been interesting if South Africa wasn’t knocked out in the early stages of the tournament. Hopefully the Proteas will perform better in the upcoming series against England. I just hate the fact they have a tendency to choke in big tournaments, a reason why I don’t watch cricket in the pubs anymore.

Related Posts

• January 21, 2010 -- Super 14 Fixtures for 2010 (1)
• September 7, 2009 -- Wallabies bring Springboks down to earth in Brisbane (0)
• September 2, 2009 -- ICC Champions Trophy 2009 around the corner (0)
• September 2, 2009 -- Springboks make history in Tri-Nations (0)
• September 25, 2009 -- South Africa bounce back in ICC Champions Trophy (0)
• September 14, 2009 -- Springboks clinch 3rd Tri-Nations victory (0)
• January 18, 2010 -- Proteas pull one back against England (0)
• December 7, 2009 -- World Cup 2010: Groups (0)
• November 17, 2009 -- France teach Springboks a lesson (0)
• November 16, 2009 -- Proteas have mixed results against England (0)

The Australian National Football team is nicknamed the “Socceroos”. They will be playing in their 3rd FIFA World Cup in 2010 in South Africa. Australia played in their first FIFA World Cup in 1974. Australia reached the round of the last 16 teams at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. FIFA ranks Australia as the 14th best team in the world. They were one of the first countries to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The first Australian National Football team was constituted in 1922. Australia holds the world record for the biggest win in an international match. They beat American Samoa 31 – 0 in 2001. In 1955 Australia suffered their biggest loss in history against South Africa (8 – 0). They’ve played 62 matches against New Zealand over the years. Alex Tobin is the most capped player in Australian soccer history. He played in 87 matches for his country between 1988 and 1998. Damian Mori holds the record for the most goals scored by an Australian player. He scored 29 goals in 45 matches between 1992 and 2002. Australia could be responsible for one of the upsets at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, who knows? Australia faced the 2010 FIFA World Cup hosts, South Africa in a friendly match in 2008 which resulted in 2 – 2 draw. In 2005 Australia also played against South Africa in Durban, Kwazulu Natal and drew 1 – 1. The Australian National football team has been coached by Pim Verbeek (former player from the Netherlands) since 2007.

Related Posts

• January 21, 2010 -- Super 14 Fixtures for 2010 (1)
• October 28, 2009 -- Famous Cricketers: Donald Bradman (0)
• October 6, 2009 -- Australia win 2009 ICC Champions Trophy (0)
• September 7, 2009 -- Wallabies bring Springboks down to earth in Brisbane (0)
• September 2, 2009 -- ICC Champions Trophy 2009 around the corner (0)
• September 2, 2009 -- Springboks make history in Tri-Nations (0)

Last week I was oozing with patriotism in a post about the Springboks’ performance abroad in the Tri-Nations. I’m glad I didn’t look for a ticket for sale for this past weekend’s game. The South African supporters, yours truly and the Springbok team itself were brought back to reality with an astonishing loss against Australia in Brisbane this past weekend. It just shows you, just when you think that a team (in any sport) is unbeatable, the underdogs or team that you least expect to perform brings them back down to earth or at least reminds them that they’re not unbeatable. The Wallabies crushed the Springboks, beating them convincingly by 21 points to 6 and silencing all the critics. The Springboks trailed by 9 points to 6 at half time. Adam Ashley-Cooper and James O’Connor scored the tries for Australia. Matt Giteau kicked over a conversion, 2 penalties and a drop goal. Flyhalf Morne Steyn scored South Africa’s 6 points, kicking over a penalty and a drop goal.

Maybe the Springbok team had a negative connotation in the back of their minds connected with Brisbane. The Springboks have not won a game in Brisbane since 1971. The concept is almost the one the Springboks had with the infamous “House of Pain” in Christchurch, New Zealand, an obstacle overcome by the Springboks in last year’s Tri-Nations competition when they beat the All Blacks in a test there. Besides the loss at the Suncorp stadium this past week, the Springboks still hold a commanding 9 point lead on the Tri-Nations points log. The Springboks have put themselves under pressure, in my opinion. Then again, they can’t be expected to perform at their peak all the time. All they can do is focus on their game. They face the All Blacks this coming weekend in Hamilton, New Zealand. They have to beat New Zealand on their own soil convincingly (with a bonus point) in order to make sure that they win their third Tri-Nations title. To win the Tri-Nations this year, New Zealand must win both their remaining games, with at least one bonus point, against South Africa next week or Australia in Wellington on the 19th of September. Australia have lost 4 of their 5 matches putting them out of the contest for the Tri-Nations Championship title. This is probably why they beat South Africa this past weekend, they had nothing to lose, making them a very dangerous competitor. Should the Springboks loose to New Zealand this coming weekend, every South African supporter will be praying for an Australian victory in the last test in Wellington (not a common trend in South Africa). If this coming weekend’s test was going to be played in Johannesburg or somewhere else in South Africa, the Springboks would probably be a little less worried than now.

South African captain, John Smit sounded confident about his team’s performance against New Zealand in the upcoming test this weekend “Rest assured the guys will be fired up for the final game in Hamilton.” he said. The performance against Australia this past weekend wasn’t the best we’ve seen by the Springboks this year, hopefully they’ll do a lot better against New Zealand this coming weekend. Come on boys! Bring our 3rd Tri-Nations title home!

Related Posts

• September 2, 2009 -- Springboks make history in Tri-Nations (0)
• January 21, 2010 -- Super 14 Fixtures for 2010 (1)
• October 6, 2009 -- Australia win 2009 ICC Champions Trophy (0)
• September 2, 2009 -- ICC Champions Trophy 2009 around the corner (0)
• September 25, 2009 -- South Africa bounce back in ICC Champions Trophy (0)
• September 14, 2009 -- Springboks clinch 3rd Tri-Nations victory (0)
• January 18, 2010 -- Proteas pull one back against England (0)
• December 7, 2009 -- World Cup 2010: Groups (0)
• November 17, 2009 -- France teach Springboks a lesson (0)
• November 16, 2009 -- Proteas have mixed results against England (0)

The ICC Champions Trophy is a One Day International cricket tournament, second in importance only to the Cricket World Cup. The tournament was inaugurated as the ICC Knock Out tournament in 1998. Since then it has been played every 2 years. The tournament underwent a name change in 2002 and is known as the Champions Trophy since then. Previous ICC Champions Trophy competitions have been hosted by Bangladesh (in 1998), Kenya (in 2000), Sri Lanka (in 2002), England (in 2004), India (in 2006). Pakistan was supposed to be the host country for the competition in 2008. Security constraints led to the tournament being postponed to October 2009. Security concerns by some participating countries has led to the tournament venue being changed to South Africa. The ICC Champions Trophy will be held in South Africa from the 22nd of September until the 5th of October 2009. 2 venues will be used in the ICC Champions Trophy, the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg and Supersport Park in Centurion. The world’s top 8 nations in cricket will compete in the ICC Champions Trophy. The nations will be split up into 2 groups of 4 nations. Group A will be made up out of Australia, India, Pakistan and the West Indies. Group B will be made up out of South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and England.

Here’s a list of fixtures for the ICC Champions Trophy:

• 22 Sept 2009 – Centurion – South Africa vs Sri Lanka – 14h30 – Day / Night
• 23 Sept 2009 – The Wanderers - Pakistan vs West Indies – 14h30 – Day / Night
• 24 Sept 2009 – Centurion – South Africa vs New Zealand – 09h30 – Day
• 25 Sept 2009 – The Wanderers – England vs Sri Lanka – 14h30 – Day / Night
• 26 Sept 2009 – The Wanderers – West Indies vs Australia – 09h30 – Day
• 26 Sept 2009 – Centurion - India vs Pakistan – 14h30 – Day / Night
• 27 Sept 2009 – The Wanderers – New Zealand vs Sri Lanka – 09h30 – Day
• 27 Sept 2009 – Centurion – South Africa v England – 14h30 – Day / Night
• 28 Sept 2009 – Centurion - Australia vs India – 14h30 – Day / Night
• 29 Sept 2009 – The Wanderers – England vs New Zealand – 14h30 – Day / Night
• 30 Sept 2009 – The Wanderers – India vs West Indies – 14h30 – Day / Night
• 30 Sept 2009 – Centurion – Australia vs Pakistan – 09h30 – Day
• 2 Oct 2009 – The Wanderers – A1 vs B2 – 14h30 – Day / Night
• 3 Oct 2009 – Centurion – B1 v A2 – 14h30 – Day / Night
• 5 Oct 2009 – Centurion – Final – Day / Night

South Africa have only won the ICC Champions Trophy once, in 1998 in Bangladesh. The Proteas are very determined to add this year’s trophy to their collection. The South African Cricket Team have failed to be victorious in the last 5 Cricket World Cups and the last 2 T20 World Cups. Hopefully this year the Proteas can add the ICC Champions Trophy (nicknamed the mini World Cup) to their collection. Guess I’ll have to look for some tickets for sale and go check out the ICC Champions Trophy. Let’s hope the Proteas make South Africa proud.

Related Links:
Mickey: Proteas Want The Trophy – Sport24
Arthur: We’re the best – Sky Sports
The new team to beat – Mail & Guardian
SA Cricket – Official Website
Cricket – Supersport

Related Posts

• September 2, 2009 -- Springboks make history in Tri-Nations (0)
• January 21, 2010 -- Super 14 Fixtures for 2010 (1)
• November 16, 2009 -- Proteas have mixed results against England (0)
• October 6, 2009 -- Australia win 2009 ICC Champions Trophy (0)
• September 25, 2009 -- South Africa bounce back in ICC Champions Trophy (0)
• September 23, 2009 -- Sri Lanka crush Proteas in ICC Champions Trophy (0)
• September 14, 2009 -- Springboks clinch 3rd Tri-Nations victory (0)
• September 7, 2009 -- Wallabies bring Springboks down to earth in Brisbane (0)
• January 18, 2010 -- Proteas pull one back against England (0)
• November 17, 2009 -- France teach Springboks a lesson (0)

South Africa is demonstrating why they are the current Rugby World Champions in this years Tri-Nations Rugby Competition. The Springboks are well on the way to win their 3rd Tri-Nations title. On the 29th of August, South Africa faced Australia at the Subiaco Oval in Perth. This encounter was the 2nd one between the two rugby rivals in this year’s competition. The Springboks followed up their victory in the 1st encounter against the Wallabies in this year’s competition with a convincing and record breaking victory away from home. The Springboks amassed the biggest score against the Wallabies on Australian soil in history. The expert boot of flyhalf Morne Steyn, 2 tries by wing Bryan Habana, 1 try by scrumhalf Fourie Du Preez and another try by centre Jacque Fourie sealed their victory. After leading by 22 points to 6 at half time and standing up to the challenge by the Wallabies, the Springboks won the game by 32 points to 25. Australia scored 3 tries in the 2nd half, 2 were credited to flyhalf, Matt Giteau and 1 was credited to Lachie Turner.

Only 3 games remain in this year’s Tri-Nations Rugby Tournament. South Africa are currently on top of the table with 17 points. New Zealand is in 2nd place with 8 points. Australia is in last place with only 3 points. The Springboks have played 4 games and won all 4 of them, picking up 1 bonus point along the way. Australia have lost all 4 their matches. All 3 of Australia’s points are bonus points achieved for losing by less than 7 points against another team. South Africa will win the Tri-Nations unless they lose their last 2 matches without getting a bonus point and New Zealand has 2 bonus-point victories in their last 2 matches.

It’s quite pricey to travel, even the tickets will be expensive in the classifieds. I guess I’ll have to wait until next year’s competition if I wanna go watch a Tri-Nations match in a stadium. Luckily there is more than bar with a big screen in my home city, Pretoria. I will not have a problem finding a place to watch 3 remaining matches in the Tri-Nations this year

Related Links:
Trust key to Bok Success – IOL
Major Milestone for Fourie – News24
SA Rugby – Official Website

Related Posts

• September 7, 2009 -- Wallabies bring Springboks down to earth in Brisbane (0)
• September 2, 2009 -- ICC Champions Trophy 2009 around the corner (0)
• January 21, 2010 -- Super 14 Fixtures for 2010 (1)
• October 6, 2009 -- Australia win 2009 ICC Champions Trophy (0)
• September 25, 2009 -- South Africa bounce back in ICC Champions Trophy (0)
• September 14, 2009 -- Springboks clinch 3rd Tri-Nations victory (0)
• November 17, 2009 -- France teach Springboks a lesson (0)
• November 16, 2009 -- Proteas have mixed results against England (0)
• November 13, 2009 -- Springboks to take on France tonight (0)
• September 23, 2009 -- Sri Lanka crush Proteas in ICC Champions Trophy (0)