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)

Jonah Lomu was born on the 12th of May 1975 in Auckland, New Zealand. Many people regard him as the first international superstar of rugby union. He played in 63 tests for the New Zealand All Blacks between 1994 and 2002. He’s also played in 62 provincial matches for North Harbour,
Wellington, Counties Manukau (in New Zealand) and Cardiff (In Wales) and in 59 Super rugby matches for the Blues, Hurricanes and Chiefs. Jonah Lomu underwent a kidney transplant operation in 2004, but did make a comeback afterwards. He retired from International Rugby in 2007 but is currently playing for the Marseille club in France. He holds the record for the most tries scored by an All Black against England (8) and also holds the record for the most tries scored in Rugby World Cup tournaments (15). Jonah Lomu was part of the New Zealand Rugby World Cup squad who toured South Africa in 1995. In the semi-final match against England, he scored 4 tries, but could not score against South Africa in the final match at Ellis Park Stadium (now Coca Cola Park stadium) in Johannesburg. He was also part of the New Zealand 7’s squad between 1994 and 2001. Jonah Lomu was inducted into the Rugby Hall of Fame in 2007. He’s truly one of rugby’s greats and will be spoken about by generations to come.

This is a video featuring some of Jonah Lomu’s best moments:

Related Links:
Jonah Lomu – Facebook Fan Page
Jonah Lomu – Kids World

Related Posts

• 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)
• 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)

After suffering a 55 run defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka earlier in the week, the South African national cricket team have bounced back with a 5 wicket victory over New Zealand at Supersport Park in Centurion yesterday. New Zealand were sent in to bat first after South Africa won the toss and decided to have a bowl first. New Zealand did not manage to bat through their allowed 50 overs and were bowled out for 214 runs in the 48th over. Wayne Parnell was the Proteas best bowler for South Africa, taking 5 wickets for 57 runs (a bit expensive but not bad at all for a 19 year old). Ross Taylor was the Black Caps’ best batsman, scoring 72 runs off 106 balls.

After the lunch interval South Africa began their batting innings. Graeme Smith, the SA captain was dismissed in the 6th over. Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis put up a 2nd wicket partnership of 52 runs. Kallis was caught behind off the bowling of Shane Bond and managed to score 36 runs off 39 balls. South African lost the wickets of Amla and JP Duminy in quick succession and were on 138 runs for the loss of 4 wickets in the 27th over. AB De Villiers and Mark Boucher managed to restore order and put up a 5th wicket partnership of 42 runs. Boucher was caught behind off the bowling of Daryl Tuffey and South Africa were on 180 runs for the loss of 5 wickets. AB De Villiers was joined by Albie Morkel and they closed the deal with an unbeaten 6th wicket partnership of 37 runs off 32 balls. Albie Morkel was responsible for 19 of those runs.

This was much better play by the Proteas and a well-deserved victory indeed. South Africa face England in their next match in the ICC Champions Trophy on the 27th of September at Supersport Park. This promises to be an interesting match. England face Sri Lanka today in the their first match of the tournament. It seems that Gauteng province is the place to be for International cricket this week, if you can find a ticket, most of the games are sold out.

Related Posts

• September 14, 2009 -- Springboks clinch 3rd Tri-Nations victory (0)
• September 2, 2009 -- ICC Champions Trophy 2009 around the corner (0)
• September 2, 2009 -- Springboks make history in Tri-Nations (0)
• January 21, 2010 -- Super 14 Fixtures for 2010 (1)
• 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)
• October 6, 2009 -- Australia win 2009 ICC Champions Trophy (0)
• September 23, 2009 -- Sri Lanka crush Proteas in ICC Champions Trophy (0)
• September 7, 2009 -- Wallabies bring Springboks down to earth in Brisbane (0)

This past Saturday, the 12th of September 2009, will go down as one of the greatest days in the history of South African rugby. The Springboks faced the All Blacks for the 3rd time in this year’s Tri-Nations Tournament in Hamilton, New Zealand. Before this match the South African public was not sure whether the Springboks had it in them to beat New Zealand on one of their own grounds. South Africa does not have a good track record against the All Blacks in New Zealand. It turns out that Springbok supporters did not have to worry too much. In a humdinger of a match, South Africa beat New Zealand by 32 points to 29. This was a welcome result after the previous test against Australia in Brisbane did not go so well. A lot was expected from the Springboks, since they won all their tests against Australia and New Zealand in South Africa (In Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg).

The Springboks completely overwhelmed the All Blacks in the first half of the game. The All Blacks only managed to score 12 points (4 penalties kicked by Dan Carter) in this half. Fourie Du Preez scored the first try of the match in the 19th minute of the first half. 3 penalties by full back Frans Steyn (including a 60 metre kick over the posts from South Africa’s 10 metre line) and a 35 metre drop goal by fly half Morne Steyn helped to bring up the Springboks score to 22 points when the half time whistle blew. All of South Africa was pleased with the Springboks’ performance, being 10 points head at half time against the All Blacks on their home ground is quite an achievement.

11 minutes into the 2nd half, Springbok centre Jean de Villiers lived up to his reputation of “interception king”, intercepting a pass from Dan Carter 30 metres from the New Zealand goal line and cruising over the line for a trademark try. After the successful conversion, the Boks were ahead by 29 points to 12. Sitiveni Svivivatu managed to score a try for the All Blacks in the 16th minute after half time, which was converted. At this stage, the Springboks were still ahead by 10 points (29 – 19). Dan Carter kicked over another penalty for New Zealand with 16 minutes left in the match, putting the All Blacks only 7 points behind South Africa. However, fly half Morne Steyn gave the Springboks some breathing room, kicking over a penalty with 10 minutes to go to give his team a 10 point lead. In the dying minutes of the match, Richie Macaw sailed over the try line for a New Zealand. The Springboks defended all All Black onslaughts until the 81st minute of the match, beating New Zealand for the 2nd time in 2 years on their own ground and clinching the 2009 Tri Nations Championship for the 3rd time.

Unfortunately I did not see this match on television, but I did follow the online scoring on Supersport constantly because I was worried that the Springboks might not be able to pull it off. It really has been a brilliant year for South African Rugby. The Springboks are the current World Cup Holders, they won the series against the British Lions and now they are the 2009 Tri Nations Champs. Quite impressive if you ask me. Let’s also not forget that a South African team, the Vodacom Bulls are the current Super 14 Champs. With achievements like these, things can only get better for South African Rugby. Hats off to the All Blacks for being a formidable opponent (like always). Some critics have labeled New Zealand as sore losers after South African centre, Jacque Fourie has been handed a 4 week ban for a dangerous tackle. I tend to disagree, a dangerous tackle is still a dangerous tackle and I think this would’ve happened even if we were out of contention for the Tri Nations title. This years Tri-Nations competition will be remembered as the year that Morne Steyn scored all 31 points against the All Blacks in a test in Durban, the year the Springboks beat Australia in Perth with a record score and the year South Africa won its 3rd ever Trophy.

Argentina has been invited to the join the Tri Nations championship in 2012. Argentina has also been given an opportunity for their best players to be allowed in the Super 14 competition. This could be interesting. This could bring some interesting elements into the competition. This could possibly bring up Argentinian rugby to the level of rugby we’ve come to know from Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. Only time will tell whether this will be the case or not. The Springboks are expected to arrive in South Africa after 16:00 on Monday the 14th of September at OR Tambo Airport in Johannesburg. They’re bound to be awaited by some fans who will probably give them a heroes welcome.

Related Links:
A Nation Sceams ‘Yes!’ – Independent Online
Super Boks are Champions – Independent Online
Smit hails Bok heroes – Daily Dispatch
Springboks bask in latest glory – Irish Times
All Blacks have lost ‘aura of invincibility’ – New Zealand Herald
Building a Dynasty – Keo Sport Blog
Argentina to Join Tri-Nations – News 24
De Villiers gives Hamilton a right hook – Supersport Rugby

Related Posts

• September 25, 2009 -- South Africa bounce back in ICC Champions Trophy (0)
• September 2, 2009 -- ICC Champions Trophy 2009 around the corner (0)
• September 2, 2009 -- Springboks make history in Tri-Nations (0)
• January 21, 2010 -- Super 14 Fixtures for 2010 (1)
• 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)
• October 6, 2009 -- Australia win 2009 ICC Champions Trophy (0)
• September 23, 2009 -- Sri Lanka crush Proteas in ICC Champions Trophy (0)
• September 7, 2009 -- Wallabies bring Springboks down to earth in Brisbane (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)