Going into the World Cup there were many people that weren’t exactly singing the praises of the selectors for choosing Danie Rossouw to be part of the Springbok squad to defend the Webb Ellis trophy. Thus far he has silenced all critics and was named Man of the Match against Fiji. Check out this huge tackle on Luke Charteris in the Wales game.

Source: rugbydump.com

Last night the Springbok squad to carry the nation’s hopes across to New Zealand in an unprecedented bid to defend the Rugby World Cup was announced, and to be honest there were no big surprises, save for one or two fringe players.

As far back as 2009 it has been SA Rugby’s very clear intention to defend the RWC with more or less the same personnel that originally won the Webb Ellis trophy in 2007, and the make-up of this squad represents this ambition: 18 veterans of the 2007 campaign have been selected again in a team that averages about 40 test caps with no uncapped players making the trip.

In all probability coach Peter de Villiers has probably known which players he would be making use of for the knockout stages of the RWC for at least the last 2 years, and apart from the very recent withdrawal of Juan Smithdue to an Achilles injury and concerns that after a long injury layoff key players in Fourie du Preez and Heinrich Brüssouw might not be able to reach the heights they attained as players in 2009, this plan still stands.

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LET’S PUT THIS ONE TO BED RIGHT NOW…

In this Rugby World Cup (RWC) year you might find yourself tempted to predict the future at any one of the number of braais you might be attending over the next 50 or so days until the spectacle actually gets round to kicking off, and why not – the couch-coach game is a game we all love playing, especially if we are using that trusty old brown glass amber-filled crystal ball to aide us in our predictions: who should be in the Bok team and who not, who we’ll beat with that particular selection, who we’ll struggle against and then ultimately beat anyway and any other derivative of that science best left to only the most committed of us couch potatoes.

Invariably, much of what you attempt to sell your mates around the braai regarding the rugby future is based on recent form, with even those most objective of rugby analysts, the Aussie TV commentators, prepared to link the Super 15 form of The Reds to the fate of their national team in the coming year. (more…)

The South African Rugby Union have entered their bid in Dublin on Thursday to host the Rugby World Cup in 2015 or 2019.

SARU president, Mr Oregan Hoskins, announced at a media conference in Johannesburg that positive discussions with Government had seen the last brick fall into place.

The Government has been very supportive and they have provided the financial backing to allow us to complete what we believe is a compelling case to bring the Rugby World Cup back home, said Mr Hoskins. South Africa in this day and age is set up to host the very biggest global sporting events and we believe we would offer Rugby an unrivalled showcase for the game.

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The match schedule for the Rugby World Cup 2011 was announced on Thursday with thirteen venues across New Zealand chosen.

Rugby New Zealand (RNZ) 2011 CEO Martin Snedden confirmed the Tournament will kick off at Eden Park in Auckland on Friday 9 September 2011 when New Zealand will play Tonga.

Auckland (Eden Park), Wellington and Christchurch have been allocated five pool matches each while North Shore, Hamilton, New Plymouth, Rotorua and Dunedin will each host three matches. Whangarei, Nelson, Palmerston North, Napier and Invercargill will host two matches.

“Our philosophy all along has been a Stadium of Four Million. We believe today’s announcement, building on the knock-out decisions announced last year, takes us further towards the fulfillment of that promise” said Mr Snedden.

“RNZ has worked very closely with Rugby World Cup Limited (RWCL) over the past few months to bring this to a reality. Our collective view is that the Match Schedule represents the best balance between ensuring a successful Tournament in New Zealand while also recognising its global standing”.

The quarter-final match-ups were also confirmed, with the top two teams in Pool A (featuring currently qualified teams New Zealand, France and Tonga) and Pool B (featuring Argentina, England and Scotland) playing off in Christchurch. Wellington will host quarter-finals featuring the winners and runners-up from Pool C (featuring Australia, Ireland and Italy) and Pool D (featuring South Africa, Wales and Fiji).

In addition, the dates for the final weekend, which coincides with Labour Day, were also confirmed with the Bronze Final to take place on Friday October 21 at Eden Park, followed by the Final on Sunday October 23 at the same venue.

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The South African Rugby Union’s bid to host the 2015 Rugby World Cup in South Africa got a major boost following meetings with the government on Tuesday.

A joint delegation from SARU and the International Rugby Board (IRB) met sports minister Mr Makhenkesi Stofile and deputy minister Mr Gert Oosthuizen in Cape Town as part of an information-sharing session. The IRB delegation included president Mr Bernard Lapasset and chief executive Mike Miller. SARU were represented by president Mr Oregan Hoskins, Mr Mark Alexander (deputy president) and Mr Rautie Rautenbach (vice president).

SARU is bidding to host either the 2015 or the 2019 Rugby World Cups and is seeking government support for the bid. Interested unions will make their presentations to the IRB in May and a decision on the hosting nations for both tournaments will be announced on July 28, 2009.

“We were delighted with the meeting and very pleased with the government’s expression of support for the South African Rugby union’s bid,” said Mr Lapasset. “A tournament of this size – the third-largest sporting event in the world – is not possible without a close partnership between the government and the rugby union and we were impressed with the enthusiasm and the support the government offered.”

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