While results on the field may be far from satisfactory, the South African Rugby Union was in a bullish mood this week.
As an outsider looking in, Fourie du Preez wouldn’t change anything in the current Springbok set-up.
The farmer’s son surprised the golfing world with his major win last weekend but those who know him say he’s always been destined for great thing.
Seemingly rudderless, definitely sponsor-less
and unfortunately Du Preez-less, the Springbok camp needs to do something.
The rude health of South African rugby will be tested to the full at Newlands on Saturday.
The Springbok team to play Wales this weekend is a mix and match amalgam of overseas-based players, local tyros and a hard core of regulars.
Two South African teams in the Super 14 final and some enlightened decisions from the authorities have given fans reasons to celebrate.
The Crusaders and Waratahs will be doing their utmost to change, it but it should be the Stormers and Bulls heading to Soweto for the Super 14 final.
The Bulls will play their Super 14 semifinal in Soweto, a scenario no one would have predicted six years ago, writes <strong>Andy Capostagno</strong>
Sepp Blatter and his mates at Fifa should be grateful they’ve managed to put draconian rules in place with the the government ahead of the World Cup.
The moment to shine has finally arrived for the Stormers, writes <b>Andy Capostagno</b>.
Nothing is ever certain in Super 14 rugby, which refuses to follow a script, writes <em>Andy Capostagno</em>
With more trophies beckoning, South African rugby is in a good place, writes Andy Capostagno.
The Johannesburg-based franchise has hit rock bottom. Andy Capostagno wonders if anyone believes things can improve.
The season looks rosy for the Blue Bulls, but not so for the rest of the South African franchises, writes Andy Capostagno.
There’s a hint of desperation in the latest foreign acquisitions made by the Sharks, writes Andy Capostagno.
As we go into the final Super 14 season, Saru breaks from tradition and announces its list of Boks early, writes Andy Capostagno.
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/ 5 February 2010
The final season of Super 14 rugby gets under way next week with a SA team the defending champions. It’s worth taking note of both those statements.
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/ 19 October 2007
If you are reading this, chances are you are not in Paris. Neither am I. This is the story of how that sad eventuality occurred, but don’t imagine I am bitter and twisted. Far from it. I shall be watching the World Cup final in the manner of the majority of South Africans, on the television with a beer in one hand and some braaied meat in the other, writes Andy Capostagno.
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/ 24 November 2003
In 1995 it was Joel Stransky, in 2003 it was Jonny Wilkinson. Stransky’s winning drop goal for the Springboks came early in the second period of extra time, Wilkinson’s came with 30 seconds left in the second period, in the 99th minute of a gripping World Cup final. England at last take home the Webb-Ellis trophy.
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/ 6 November 2003
The Springboks have not beaten New Zealand since Nick Mallett’s penultimate test as Springbok coach three years ago. In Pretoria this year the All Blacks racked up a half century of points against the Boks in the most embarrassingly one sided encounter ever between the two old rivals. So why is it that there is a strange sense of optimism ahead of Saturday’s quarterfinal in Melbourne?
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/ 10 October 2003
If ever there was a chance to start with a bang then Rudolf Straeuli had to pick Schalk Burger, not Rossouw, and his fullback should have been Jaco van der Westhuyzen, not the hopelessly over praised Werner Greeff. It won’t matter, of course, for Uruguay will be duly beaten, but England are next and if the coach is keeping his powder dry for that match then he is wrong to do so.
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/ 25 September 2003
Joost van der Westhuizen is pissed off. A month ahead of his third and final Rugby World Cup he says, “When we come back with the cup suddenly everyone is going to see us as World Champions, whereas right now they simply don’t believe in us. South Africans typically just support winners, and when we win they’ll all suddenly become Springbok supporters again”.
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/ 25 September 2003
The irony is that if the Springboks do make it to the quarterfinals they could easily go all the way to the final. History shows that when it comes to the knock out stages the All Blacks have a glass jaw, while the Boks tend to hang on in there. So it’s not all doom and gloom, but Straeuli’s men have a conspicuously hard row to hoe.
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/ 22 September 2003
Given the column inches and air time devoted to it in this country you could be forgiven for believing that the only matches that count at RWC 2003 are the inevitable pool encounter between South Africa and England and the (almost equally inevitable) quarterfinal between South Africa and New Zealand. But there are 17 other teams at the fifth edition of the World Cup…
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/ 7 December 2002
The most perturbing aspects of the reaction from those in authority to revelations that Deputy President Jacob Zuma is being investigated by the Scorpions unit have been the contrived silence and egg-dancing. Zuma has glibly declared his innocence and proclaimed his right to remain silent until he is called to stand before a court of law. The National Directorate of Public Prosecutions, under whose wing the Scorpions unit falls, conveniently says it does not comment on investigations into specific individuals and refuses to confirm what is already public knowledge –that it has put written questions to certain individuals about Zuma’s conduct and movements.
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/ 28 September 2002
This week’s Commonwealth "troika" meeting in Abuja made one thing abundantly clear — it is game up in Zimbabwe. Unconstitutional and often violent land seizures will continue to the end; while human rights and governance abuses will continue for as long as the ruling party needs them. President Robert Mugabe has calculated well: South Africa, the region and the continent — and their representatives in the Commonwealth have dependably shielded him. South Africa insists it is powerless to act. It had an opportunity to do something in Abuja, and called pass.