Rugby supporters gave Soweto’s Orlando Stadium the thumbs up on Saturday, but were less complimentary about the traffic flow.
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 have named 14 former winners in the defending champion’s starting lineup for Saturday’s Super 14 semifinal against the Crusaders in Soweto.
The Waratahs stormed into the Super 14 semifinals with an emphatic 32-16 win over the Hurricanes in Sydney on Friday.
The rejuvenated Reds face a stern test of their playoff credentials when they take on defending Super 14 champions the Bulls in Brisbane on Saturday.
The Chiefs welcome back Mils Muliaina and Sitiveni Sivivatu as they look to take advantage of the Bulls’ bye and go top of the Super 14 standings
The Crusaders got their Super 14 campaign back on track on Friday after steamrolling the Sharks in the second half to win 35-6.
Robbie Deans has praised the officiating in the early rounds of the Super 14, saying that rewarding attack had helped the competition.
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/ 14 February 2010
Defending champions Northern Bulls and seven-time winners Canterbury Crusaders launched their title bids with opening weekend bonus-point victories.
Bulls flyhalf Morne Steyn kicked four drop goals and nine other points to take his side to a well-deserved 36-23 win over the Crusaders on Saturday.
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/ 13 February 2009
Although the Super 14 begins for most teams this year on Valentine’s Day, it can be assumed that there will be a minimum of love lost.
Ewen McKenzie rates Saturday’s Super 14 rugby final as the ultimate challenge as he pits his wits against the Canterbury Crusaders’ incoming Wallabies coach Robbie Deans. The NSW Waratahs coach has put behind a season of off-field turmoil to steer the Sydney team to their second Super rugby final.
The Canterbury Crusaders and New South Wales Waratahs won their way to rugby’s Super 14 final, creating an emotional showdown for retiring coaches Robbie Deans and Ewen McKenzie. Deans guided the Crusaders to a 33-22 win on Saturday over the Wellington Hurricanes, their 10th final in 13 years of Super tournament rugby — and Deans can now bow out with his fifth and their seventh championship title.
Canterbury Crusaders coach Robbie Deans has urged his weary players to stay on track for a seventh Super 14 rugby title when they play their semifinal on Saturday against the Wellington Hurricanes. The Crusaders have begun to look worn in recent weeks, but Deans hopes the onset of the play-offs will stimulate their fighting spirit in the match at Christchurch.
Injuries, coaching concerns and travel fatigue loom as significant factors in the Super 14 rugby semifinals when the Crusaders, Waratahs, Sharks and Hurricanes front up on Saturday. Competition leaders the Crusaders are at home to the Hurricanes in the first knock-out match, followed by the second-placed Waratahs hosting the Sharks in Sydney.
The target for a Super 14 rugby semifinal berth for the Sharks was clear — a bonus-point victory initially or a win by 18 points or more — as they took to the field against the Chiefs of New Zealand at the Absa Stadium in Durban on Saturday night. In the end, it was a convincing triumph as the necessary tries were secured and surpassed.
The Otago Highlanders gave hope to prospective play-off opponents of the Canterbury Crusaders when they beat the league leaders 26-14 in Super 14 rugby on Saturday. The 12th-place Highlanders scored three tries to one in a late-season upset to finish a mediocre year on a high note.
The Canterbury Crusaders wrapped up top spot going into the Super 14 play-offs but the battle for the remaining three berths stayed wide open after the penultimate round over the weekend. With one game to play, six teams hold a mathematical chance of joining the Crusaders in the semifinals.
The Canterbury Crusaders extended their lead at the top of the Super 14 table to virtually assure themselves of a home semifinal after a hard-fought 18-10 win over the Coastal Sharks on Friday. With two rounds remaining, the chances of a semifinal spot for the Sharks — who were in third place going into the match — are waning after three straight losses.
South Africa’s Coastal Sharks face a moment of truth against the toughest team in rugby’s Super 14 when they put their chances of a home play-off on the line against the Canterbury Crusaders in Christchurch on Friday. The Sharks are feeling the effects of five demanding weeks on the road in Australia and New Zealand.
The Canterbury Crusaders strengthened their grip on the Super 14 with a nail-biting 26-22 win over the Auckland Blues on Friday, taking them a huge step closer to a home semifinal spot. During an often frantic clash, the Blues pounded the Crusaders’ line in the last 15 minutes, scoring one try and missing another two by the narrowest of margins.
Flyhalf Stephen Donald passed 100 points for the season as the Waikato Chiefs beat the Canterbury Crusaders 18-5 in Super 14 rugby on Friday, ending the first-place Crusaders’ eight-match unbeaten streak. Donald kicked two penalties and a conversion and had a hand in the two tries that gave the Chiefs an 18-0 lead at half-time.
The Sharks believe their efforts to remain unbeaten in the Super 14 became more difficult when their 10th-round opponents, the ACT Brumbies, announced midweek that coach Laurie Fisher would not be re-hired for 2009. Super 14 tradition suggests that teams whose coaches are dismissed in the course of any season respond with an immediate form improvement.
New South Wales Waratahs coach Ewen McKenzie’s contract will not be renewed beyond this year’s Super 14 season, the state’s rugby chiefs announced on Tuesday. McKenzie’s five years at the helm will end in July even if the Waratahs win their first title in the southern hemisphere provincial competition, New South Wales Rugby Union chief executive Jim L’Estrange said.
The Crusaders overcame the loss of injured flyhalf Daniel Carter and the sin-binning of number eight Mose Tuiali’i to beat Wellington 20-13 in a Super 14 clash on Friday. The Crusaders chalked up their seventh straight win of the season to extend their lead at the top of the standings to 12 points at the halfway stage of the competition.
Crusaders coach Robbie Deans is expecting the toughest match so far for his unbeaten team in Friday’s New Zealand Super 14 rugby derby against the Hurricanes in Wellington. The six-time champions have looked dynamic in winning their first six games of the southern hemisphere provincial series.
After a flying start to the season, the powerful Canterbury Crusaders are giving key players a breather for their Super 14 match against tail enders the Cheetahs on Saturday. Despite making six changes, the match remains crucial for the Crusaders with pressure on the regular bench-warmers to maintain the team’s unbeaten record.
Super 14 frontrunners the Auckland Blues are looking to complete their triumphant South African leg with maximum points against the unbeaten Sharks in Durban on Saturday. New Zealand powerhouses Auckland and the Canterbury Crusaders have shredded South African opposition to state their claims for the southern hemisphere provincial crown.
Bulls prop Jaco Engels received a three-week suspension and centre JP Nel a one-week ban on Monday following incidents in the weekend’s Super 14 loss to the Sharks. Cited after the 29-15 defeat at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday in a rematch of last year’s final, the pair fronted up to a judiciary at the stadium.
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/ 28 February 2008
The Sharks and the Bulls will stage a replay of last year’s final in the third round of the Super 14 this weekend, with both teams attempting to prevent recent glory days from ebbing away. The Sharks won their first two matches by narrow margins, 17-10 over the Western Force and 12-10 — relying on penalties — over the Stormers.
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/ 27 February 2008
The Bulls have included their fit-again World Cup Springboks Bakkies Botha and Akona Ndungane in the team to play the Sharks at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday in a repeat of last year’s Super 14 final. Their inclusion was expected, pending their fitness, but coach Frans Ludeke made a surprise selection of Morne Steyn at flyhalf, while giving Springbok Derick Hougaard a rest.
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/ 26 February 2008
Stormers flank Schalk Burger has received a two-week suspension after being found guilty of ”unsportsmanlike behaviour”. Burger’s suspension runs from February 23 to March 8, inclusive. He has a right to appeal the sentence. His suspension is a big setback for the Stormers, who are yet to win a match in this year’s Super 14 competition.