The defending Super Rugby champions reminded everyone in a statement that Hougaard is contracted with the Pretoria -based side until October 2012.

“Any rumours that the player will be available for other rugby unions is unfounded and without fact,” the statement read.

Hougaard will be in the starting lineup for the Bulls in their crucial and deciding final home game against the Sharks.

Pic: timeslive.co.za

The Bulls confirmed that Du Preez suffered a grade two medial ligament tear in the defending champions’ victory over the Sharks on Saturday, ruling him out for the remaining regular season games in the southern hemisphere provincial championship.

With the Bulls only an outside shot at the Super 15 playoffs, which begin in five weeks’ time, the highly rated No. 9 could have played his last game in the competition. Du Preez is set to leave the Bulls to play club rugby in Japan at the end of the year.

Du Preez’s right knee bent back awkwardly in a first-half collision with a team mate in the Bulls’ 32-23 win in Durban.

Although he was seen clutching the knee and grimacing in pain, he finished the game.

“(Du Preez) is very lucky that his knee didn’t sustain more damage,” Bulls team doctor Org Strauss said on Monday. “We expect him to react positively to rehabilitation.”

The 29-year-old Du Preez has played 55 tests and is also a key player for the Springboks, who defend their title at the World Cup in New Zealand, starting in September.

He should be fit for South Africa for the start of the Tri-Nations in late July but the injury robs the 2007 World Cup winner of more game time after he missed the entire international season last year following shoulder surgery.

Du Preez was South Africa’s player of the year in 2009.

Source + Pic: timeslive.co.za

The bonus-point victory moved the Reds back to the top of the Super 15 ladder, ahead of the Crusaders on the number of wins.

They outscored the Bulls by six tries to three in a performance again orchestrated by the sublime skills of flyhalf Quade Cooper, who even added a drop-goal to his contribution on a day that his kicking was well below par.

But his off-loading skills and the manner in which he draws defenders out of line is what created four of the tries.

The only blot on what was another sublime performance for the Reds is some of the blatant cheating they are allowed to get away with. You have to wonder when referees are going to start penalising them for the manner in which they interfere with defenders off the ball, away and on the wrong side of ruck.

That often creates the gaps that so regularly appear when they are on attack.

But take nothing away from the Brisbane team, they play to the whistle and if match officials allow them to ‘create’ opportunities like that, they can’t be faulted for continuing to do so.

As for the Bulls, they simply coughed up far too much possession in the Reds 22 – a disease that has killed them all season.

In the end the scoreline flattered them, as they would have been beaten by a far bigger margin if Cooper’s goal-kicking was not so appalling on the day.

While their performance was a touch better than last week’s shut-out against the Crusaders, the defending champion’s challenge in this year’s competition is fading fast.

Apart from the magic of Cooper, there was the genius of scrumhalf Will Genia to compliment the Reds’ performance.

Genia and Cooper were involved in almost everything the Reds tried as the young outfit played an expansive attacking game to try and move the big Bulls forward pack around the field.

Despite conceding six tries, the Bulls defended magnificently throughout and were kept in the game thanks to the boot of flyhalf Morné Steyn.

Queensland captain James Horwill said he knew it would be a tough match against the heavyweights of South African rugby.

“That was the most pleasing thing – things didn’t always go our way but the boys really dug deep,” he said.

“To get a bonus point win is massive after coming back from Africa this week.”

Although the Bulls drew first blood with an early Steyn penalty, the Reds set the tone for the rest of the encounter when Cooper scored the opening try after throwing a huge dummy pass and strolling over under the posts.

Both teams were throwing everything at each other in a bid to take control but with the defences standing firm, the next points came from kicks, a second Steyn penalty and a Cooper drop-goal.

But with the first half coming to a close, Reds lock Rob Simmons stole a Bulls line-out throw and the Reds swarmed forward in attack, flank Radike Samo finishing a 65-metre movement with a try under the posts.

There was one last twist however when Bulls wing Bjorn Basson regathered from the ensuing kick-off and crossed untouched, Steyn adding the extras to send the Bulls into the break only four points down.

The Reds came out firing at the start of the second half and extended their lead when fullback Luke Morahan broke the line 30 metres out and outpaced the defence to score.

Steyn replied with a penalty to close the gap to 22-16, however Morahan scored his second and Reds’ fourth from a delightful backline movement following a scrum five metres out from the Bulls’ line.

The Reds appeared to make the game safe when wing Digby Ioane chased a kick ahead and ran 60 metres to score, only for the Bulls to come back again, replacement flank Danie Rossouw crashing over under the posts to close the gap to 11 points.

However, Horwill finally put the match beyond the Bulls’ reach with a 76th minute try, and although Basson grabbed his second in the closing seconds, it came too late.

Man of the match: There is no debate about this - Quade Cooper, even on a day when his goal-kicking let him down, was simply sensational and probably the only player at present that can hold a candle to Dan Carter in the flyhalf stakes on the world stage.

Scorers:

For the Reds:
Tries: Cooper, Samo, Morahan 2, Ioane, Horwill
Cons: Cooper 3
DG: Cooper

For the Bulls:
Tries: Basson 2, Rossouw
Cons: Steyn 3
Pens: Steyn 3

Teams:

Reds: 15 Luke Morahan, 14 Rod Davies, 13 Anthony Faingaa, 12 Mike Harris, 11 Digby Ioane, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Scott Higginbotham, 7 Beau Robinson, 6 Radike Samo, 5 James Horwill (captain), 4 Rob Simmons, 3 James Slipper, 2 Saia Faingaa, 1 Ben Daley.
Replacements: 16 James Hanson, 17 Greg Holmes, 18 Adam Wallace-Harrison, 19 Leroy Houston, 20 Liam Gill, 21 Ben Lucas, 22 Will Chambers.

Bulls: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Gerhard van den Heever, 13 Stephan Dippenaar, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Dewald Potgieter, 6 Derick Kuün, 5 Victor Matfield (captain), 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 1 Dean Greyling.
Replacements: 16 Gary Botha, 17 Rossouw de Klerk, 18 Danie Rossouw, 19 Deon Stegmann, 20 Fourie du Preez, 21 Francois Brummer, 22 Akona Ndungane.

Referee: Bryce Lawrence
Assistant referees: Ian Smith Damien Mitchelmore
TMO: Steve Lesczcynski

Source + Pic: rugby365.com

They scored a try through Bryan Habana yesterday but what will satisfy them no end is that they came to Loftus and beat the Bulls at a game to which the Pretoria side is more accustomed.

Simply put, the Stormers won the arm-wrestle at close quarters, while it was their flyhalf Peter Grant who applied the finishing touches with the boot.

The persistent rain that drenched Gauteng in the 24 hours leading up to this contest did little to enhance this game as a spectacle, but that seemed to suit the Stormers, who took to the trenches with glee.

Habana, who had an absolute howler, rediscovered his scoring instinct momentarily to put the game beyond the Bulls inside the last 10 minutes.

The Stormers had underwhelmed in their three victories but they brought the confidence that stems from raising your arms in triumph at the final whistle to Loftus.

It was against this backdrop that the visitors made the more incisive start. They were more judicious when probing for weaknesses in defence and in one such surge Jaque Fourie burst through midfield. As the Bulls scrambled, they not only threw their last line of defence at the Stormers but also the law book, which in turn helped double the Stormers’ lead 6-0.

Perhaps more telling was the visitors’ ability to apply the squeeze at the breakdown, where Francois Louw and Schalk Burger influenced matters in a way the Bulls had hoped they would not, while Dewaldt Duvenage added zip behind the pack.

The Bulls’ lineout was also exposed to an examination that induced fumbles, robbing them of their most important attacking platform.

The Stormers were in the clear ascendancy with the end of the first half in sight but then the Bulls conjured up a try-scoring opportunityformer Bull Habana helped them convert.

The Bulls, who despite conceding two tightheads inside the first 10 minutes, held a slight advantage at the scrum and when they won another two minutes from the break, Bjorn Basson hared down the main stand touchline before speculatively chipping the ball ahead.

Enter Habana, who got a hand to the ball but failed to control it and succeeded only in slapping it into the path of the speeding Basson. Loftus rose as one.

Morne Steyn hit the left upright with a failed attempt after the break, while Grant added two more to hand the visitors a 18-10 lead. The hosts’ fortunes seemed to take a turn for the better when Steyn trimmed the gap with a penalty in the 56th minute, while the arrival of substitutes Gary Botha and Flip van der Merwe seemed to signal the arrival of the cavalry. Cruelly for the Bulls, it did not.

SCORERS

Bulls 13 – Try: Bjorn Basson. Conversion: Morne Steyn. Penalties: Steyn (2).

Stormers: 23 – Try: Bryan Habana. Penalties: Peter Grant (6).

Source + Pic: timeslive.co.za

Figures released on Thursday by BMI Sport Info, South Africa’s leading independent sport and sponsorship Research Company, show that rugby made significant inroads into the black population, with black viewers accounting for almost 30 percent of the total viewing audience.

According to the latest AR viewership figures, a new record viewing audience of 2.9 million South Africans of 16 years and older watched the final between the Bulls and Stormers at Orlando Stadium on television this weekend.

This massive improvement was more than double the 1.4 million viewers that watched the final in 2009 between the Bulls and Chiefs.

The historical significance of the game prompted SABC to also broadcast the game live, and it had an immediate effect on viewership, tapping a new wealth of rugby fans. The total recorded audience was also considerably higher than the 950 000 adults who watched the Bulls semi-final clash the week before.

Around 60 percent of fans watched the match on SABC2 and 40% on SuperSport allowing for a significant growth in black viewership, which increased by 127% this year compared to the 2009 Super 14 final. The total black viewership was over 840 000, almost 30 percent of the total audience and a significant boost to the sport in the country.

“These amazing figures show there is a significant support base for rugby amongst black viewers and the historic move to use Orlando Stadium for the semi-finals and final of the Super 14 was a positive move,” BMI’s Johan Grobler said about the figures.

“And the growth wasn’t only amongst black South Africans, as there was also a significant jump among female viewers – with figures increasing 140% from those in the 2009 finals. For the first time ladies outnumbered the men by accounting for 51 percent of the viewers.” All of this bodes well for Vodacom as sponsor of both teams as well as the Super14 tournament.

Clearly the success of the Bulls semi-final win over the Crusaders and the excitement and hype surrounding the final in Soweto, along with the mouth-watering clash between two of the oldest South African rivals, played a major part.

Despite the record viewership represented by the TAMS rating, according to BMI’s James Monteith the actual audience figure is much higher, if you take into account the social aspect of watching a massive final together with friends.

“Out of Home viewing by people with no private access to a TV or purely because it’s more fun  watching at a venue with friends, can add substantially to the total audience,” Monteith said.

“This can add an additional 50% to the audience for events with no broadcast on free to air TV, and between 23% to 35% for events that are broadcast on free to air TV. With out of home viewing added to the recorded television audiences, the total number that watched the final is likely closer to 3.7 million adults.

BMI Sport Info has been involved in research into sport and sponsorships in SA and Africa for over 20 years and have developed unique databases and evaluation tools used by nearly all of SA leading sponsor companies.

Via: sport24.co.za

Prop JC Kritzinger has been included on the bench at the expense of the Argentine-born Eusebio Guinazu. The 23-year-old Kritzinger made his debut for the WP Currie Cup team against the Bulls in 2008, and now he’s set to play in his first Super 14 final, also against the Bulls.

Stormers coach Allister Coetzee said it was always on the cards to recall Kritzinger to the match-day squad once he overcame a calf injury which sidelined him for the last four matches.

“JC came through a fitness test on Tuesday, so we’re pleased to be able to use him for the final,” said Coetzee.

“He offers us cover in both the loosehead and tighthead positions, so it’s great to have him on board.

“In the pecking order of the props JC has always been right up there, so it was a natural progression once he was declared fit.”

Teams:

Bulls:

15. Zane Kirchner, 14. Gerhard van den Heever, 13. Jaco Pretorius, 12. Wynand Olivier, 11. Francois Hougaard, 10. Morne Steyn, 9. Fourie du Preez, 8. Pierre Spies, 7. Dewald Potgieter, 6. Deon Stegmann, 5. Victor Matfield (captain), 4. Danie Rossouw, 3. Werner Kruger, 2. Gary Botha, 1. Gurthro Steenkamp

Substitutes: 16. Bandise Maku, 17. Bees Roux, 18. Flip van der Merwe, 19. Derick Kuun, 20. Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 21. Jaco van der Westhuyzen, 22. Pedrie Wannenburg

Stormers:

15. Joe Pietersen, 14. Gio Aplon, 13. Jaque Fourie, 12. Juan De Jongh, 11. Bryan Habana, 10. Peter Grant, 9. Dewaldt Duvenage, 8. Duane Vermeulen, 7. Francois Louw, 6. Schalk Burger (captain), 5. Andries Bekker, 4. Adriaan Fondse, 3. Brok Harris, 2. Tiaan Liebenberg, 1. Wicus Blaauw

Substitutes: 16. Deon Fourie, 17. JC Kritzinger, 18. Anton van Zyl, 19. Pieter Louw, 20. Ricky Januarie, 21. Willem De Waal, 22. Tim Whitehead

Source: sport24.co.za

Gerhard van den Heever, who has served his suspension for a dangerous tackle, returns on the wing in place of veteran Jaco van der Westhuyzen who drops to the bench in place of Stephan Dippenaar.

Ludeke has again decided to go with a 5-2 bench in stead of the traditional four forwards and three backs. This is made possible by the versatility of the backs where Jacques-Louis Potgieter can cover at flyhalf and centre and Van der Westhuyzen is at home at flyhalf, wing and fullback. Francois Hougaard will take over at scrumhalf if the need arises.

There were some concerns with injuries and Heini Adams was in fact on standby as replacement scrumhalf with Hougaard’s injured hand causing concern.

However, the man who would have to take over should Fourie du Preez have to be replaced has been cleared to play, as have Danie Rossouw (neck spasm), Wynand Olivier (knee) and Du Preez (shoulder).

Bulls captain Victor Matfield, said he hoped the rest they had the Saturday before last and which stood them in good stead last weekend, will come through again.

“This week is all about planning en preparing properly,” said the experienced captain who led his side to two Super 14 titles in three seasons. He has also experienced lifting the Currie Cup as captain and holding the World Cup as player and vice-captain.

The Bulls won’t have a run at Orlando Stadium this week. They are happy they know the field after having trained there last weekend and playing the semi-final there – and the field and its atmosphere can be an unpleasant surprise for the Stormers who have not played there before.

Bulls: 15. Zane Kirchner, 14. Gerhard van den Heever, 13. Jaco Pretorius, 12. Wynand Olivier, 11. Francois Hougaard, 10. Morne Steyn, 9. Fourie du Preez, 8. Pierre Spies, 7. Dewald Potgieter, 6. Deon Stegmann, 5. Victor Matfield (capt), 4. Danie Rossouw, 3. Werner Kruger, 2. Gary Botha, 1. Gurthro Steenkamp.

Substitutes: 16. Bandise Maku, 17. Bees Roux, 18. Flip van der Merwe, 19. Derick Kuun, 20. Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 21. Jaco van der Westhuyzen, 22. Pedrie Wannenburg.

Source + Pic: sport24.co.za

That is one of the reasons why Deans, who won five Super rugby titles as coach of the Crusaders, believes the New Zealand side will beat the champions in this coming weekend’s Super 14 semifinal at the Orlando Stadium in Soweto.

Deans believes that the Crusaders, who are now coached by Todd Blackadder, will also benefit from the Bulls’ move from Loftus Versfeld to the unknown Orlando Stadium.

He also has a sound reason for arguing that the Bulls erred with their decision.

Eight years ago Deans’ Crusaders beat a weakened Waratahs side 96-19 in their last league game, after which the Waratahs lost their semifinal against the Brumbies a week later.

“I think it was a mistake to get off the horse,” Deans told rugby365.com about the Bulls.

“But the decision will be judged by how they progress.”

Even so, the Crusaders have a mountain to climb to beat the champions on Saturday.

No team has been able to win a semi-final or final outside its home country since 2000. Therefore, the Crusaders and Waratahs have to try and manage something extraordinary at Soweto and Cape Town respectively this weekend.

On top of that the Crusaders are still hoping that star fly-half Dan Carter will be able to train fully at Fourways in Johannesburg on Thursday.

Carter and prop Ben Franks are both nursing ankle injuries that they sustained in the win over the Brumbies, but should be given until Friday’s captain’s run in Soweto to recover.

Carter again proved how dangerous he can be in the Bulls’ nailbiting win over the Crusaders at Loftus Versfeld.

Blackadder told the Crusaders’ website that the team had taken encouragement from coming close at Loftus.

“The Bulls should be fresh after their players got a rest. Was it a good move? Who knows, it all depends on who plays better on the day.

“Our players have a lot of confidence after they came close to beating the Bulls in Pretoria two weeks ago. Our game has gone up a gear and you could see it against the Brumbies,” said Blackadder.

Source: supersport.co.za

Pic: theroar.com

The Stormers wing produced an elementary error when he failed to pick up a ball that had been kicked into the Stormers’ ingoal area by Sharks flyhalf Ruan Pienaar, who came through and pounced on it to score the Durban team’s second try in their upset Super 14 win over the more favoured side.

The score came at a critical time as the outplayed Stormers had done well to limit the Sharks to a lead of just 7-0 up to that point. As a result of the “gift” try, the Sharks had a comfortable buffer at half-time and on a night where their own defensive game was outstanding, John Smit’s men just left the Stormers with too much to do in the second half.

The decision to axe the Fijian was not surprising considering the vitriol and outrage that has been spewed out in the Cape since the ABSA Stadium clash. Naqelevuki was also blamed for the defeat to the Bulls in last year’s Currie Cup semifinal in Cape Town as it was his high tackle that set up the Bulls for the Morne Steyn penalty that sunk Western Province’s hopes.

However, while Naqelevuki has been omitted from the entire match 22 for the do or die game against the Bulls at Newlands on Saturday, you get a sense that Stormers coach Allister Coetzee was sorry to have to sacrifice the good points in Naqelevuki’s game.

Instead of attributing the selection decision to leave Naqelevuki out to the mistake made in Durban, Coetzee pointed out that the Bulls are likely to employ an aerial bombardment in the final Super 14 league fixture. Naqelevuki is patently week when opponents adopt that approach, and most South Sea islanders are weak when they are turned by kicks. It was even a weakness in the game of the great Jonah Lomu.

There are sure to be some who will speculate that Coetzee is being economical with the truth when he uses the kicking game as an excuse to leave Naqelevuki out, but the fact is that the move does have historical precedent.

Naqelevuki’s best game for the Stormers this year was the one against the Hurricanes at Newlands, where he and Joe Pietersen virtually destroyed the Hurricanes on his own. However, although he was the man of the match, Naqelevuki was dropped for the following match against the Cheetahs – because Gio Aplon’s better kicking game was seen as the right horses for courses selection against those opponents.

“Sireli is well liked and supported by the other players in the squad, not just because he is liked but because there is a massive amount of respect for what he can do as a rugby player,” said Coetzee.

“We have all seen the stats, they have been run in the past few days in the Cape Town newspapers. Sireli has made a lot of metres for us this season, he has done a lot of good things, he even has better stats than Bryan Habana. He is a quality player and if we look back over the season, he has done well for us.

“It is just that we have assessed where the challenge from the Bulls is going to come, and we are expecting an aerial bombardment. With Joe Pietersen back at fullback it made sense to select Gio Aplon on the wing because he has an excellent left boot on him and that will come in useful against the Bulls.”

All sound rugby logic, so don’t be surprised if, once the emotion dies down, Naqelevuki is back to play in the semi-finals – particularly if the opponents are Kiwis, against whom the big Fijian has been particularly successful this season.

Apart from the axing of Naqelevuki to enable Pietersen to return to fullback and Aplon to move to the wing, the other change to the Stormers team that lost 20-14 last week comes in the front-row, where a fit again Wicus Blaauw is back to anchor the scrum from loosehead in place of JD Moller.

The poor Stormers scrumming probably played more of a role last week than Naqelevuki’s game because the Stormers were simply unable to launch against the Sharks, and was the reason they spent the entire match chugging along in first gear.

TEAM:

Joe Pietersen, Gio Aplon, Jaque Fourie, Juan de Jongh, Bryan Habana, Peter Grant, Dewaldt Duvenage, Duane Vermeulen, Francois Louw, Schalk Burger (captain), Andries Bekker, Adriaan Fondse, Brok Harris, Tiaan Liebenberg, Wicus Blaauw.

Reserves: Deon Fourie, Eusebio Guinazu, Anton van Zyl, Pieter Louw, Ricky Januarie, Willem de Waal, Tim Whitehead.

Source: supersport.co.za

Vodacom Bulls 27 The Sharks 19
Vodacom Bulls – Tries: Jacques-Louis Potgieter, Gerhard van den Heever; Conversion: Morne Steyn; Penalties: Steyn (5).
The Sharks – Try: Rory Kockott; Conversion: Kockott; Penalties: Andy Goode (4).

Vodacom Cheetahs 36 Blues 32
Vodacom Cheetahs – Tries: Juan Smith, Jongi Nokwe, Bjorn Basson, Phillip van der Merwe, Waltie Vermeulen; Conversions: Naas Olivier (2), Meyer Bosman (2); Penalty: Olivier.
Blues – Tries: Isaia Toeava, Rene Ranger, Alby Mathewson, Anthony Tuitavake; Conversions: Stephen Brett (3); Penalties: Brett (2).

Auto & General Lions 12 Western Force 33
Auto & General Lions – Penalties: Herkie Kruger (4).
Western Force – Tries: Scott Staniforth, David Hill, Mark Bartholomeusz; Conversions: Hill (3); Penalties: Hill (4).

Brumbies 32 Reds 12

The Brumbies kept their chances of qualification for the 2010 Vodacom Super 14 semi-finals alive after they defeated the Reds 32-12 in Canberra on Saturday.

The Reds have never recorded an away win against the Brumbies in Super Rugby and were guilty of making numerous handling errors during this match. The hosts scored four tries and gained maximum points from this fixture.

Brumbies – Tries: Ben Alexander (2), Mark Chisholm, Josh Valentine; Conversions. Matt Giteau (3); Penalty: Giteau (2).
Reds – Penalties: Quade Cooper (4).

Hurricanes 33 Chiefs 27

The Hurricanes are back in the race of a place in the 2010 Vodacom Super 14 semi-finals following their 33-27 victory over the Chiefs in this New Zealand derby played in Wellington on Saturday.

Both teams played exciting attacking rugby in this match which saw the Waikato side and the hosts scoring four tries before the half time break.

Hurricanes – Tries: Ma`a Nonu (2), Cory Jane, Neemia Tialata; Conversions: Aaron Cruden, Piri Weepu; Penalties: Cruden (2), Weepu.
Chiefs – Tries: Jackson Willison, Sona Taumalolo, Tim Nanai-Williams, Liam Messam; Conversions: Callum Bruce (2); Penalty: Bruce.

Highlanders 26 Waratahs 10

The Highlanders recorded their third victory in the 2010 Vodacom Super 14 when they defeated the Waratahs 26-10 in Invercargill on Friday.

The defeat kept the Sydney franchise in fifth position on the log. However the Waratahs are now 10 points behind the Vodacom Bulls who are in first position and nine points away from the second placed Vodacom Stormers.

Highlanders – Tries: Adam Thomson (2), Steven Setephano; Conversion: Israel Dagg; Penalties: Matthew Berquist (3).
Waratahs – Try: Kurtley Beale; Conversion: Daniel Halangahu; Penalty: Halangahu.

Source + Pic: sarugby.co.za