ZA Vol 19, Iss 38 - 2019-10-11.pdfforward to the 2021 Rugby World Cup. Six players who played...
8
Volume 19, Number 38 11 October 2019 “Boks backline attack rests on two 12s, a distributing 15 and hope-for-something on the wings. So when the 15 is not playing well we have nothing to offer.” – Oom Rugby waxing lyrical on Twitter Register to receive your own free weekly newsletter at www.rugbyrsa.co.za Typhoon Hagibis Poised to Disrupt RWC2019 It’s fair to say that the abysmal standard of refereeing at this Rugby World Cup has created more than an acceptable number of storms. But now, mother nature has taken a hand in the game too: early Thursday morning, at least two matches were cancelled on safety grounds due to the imminent arrival of Typhoon Hagibis . For the uninitiated, typhoon is to Japan what a cyclone is to Mozambique and a hurricane is to the USA - it’s a hell of a storm that’s expected. The press statement reads: “After extensive evaluation, World Rugby and the Japan Rugby 2019 Organising Committee have announced an update regarding the predicted impact of Typhoon Hagibis on this weekend’s Rugby World Cup 2019 pool matches. This includes the decision to cancel matches on safety grounds. “Based on the latest detailed information from the tournament’s independent weather experts, Hagibis is predicted to be the biggest typhoon of the 2019 season and is highly likely to cause considerable disruption in the Tokyo, Yokohama and City of Toyota areas throughout Saturday, including likely public transport shutdown or disruption." The games affected are: Australia vs Georgia to be played today Ireland vs Samoa to be played tomorrow New Zealand vs Italy cancelled England vs France cancelled For cancelled matches, two points will be awarded to each team. Which brings us to Sunday: “Every effort is being made to ensure Sunday’s matches will be played as scheduled. A thorough assessment of venues will take place after the typhoon has passed before a final decision is made on Sunday morning.” The matches affected are: Namibia vs Canada USA vs Tonga Wales vs Uruguay Japan vs Scotland The situation is being constantly monitored and updated on the RWC2019 website so, what you just read may already be out of date. KEY TOPICS IN THIS NEWSLETTER After Week Three, the RWC2019 Pace Slows Boks Thrash Italy in Difficult Circumstances RWC: Poor Refereeing is Killing the Game Springbok Women Get Another Rugby Lesson SA Teams Still Flatter to Deceive in the PRO14 The SA Rugby Magazine World Cup Wish List Page 1
Transcript of ZA Vol 19, Iss 38 - 2019-10-11.pdfforward to the 2021 Rugby World Cup. Six players who played...
Volume 19 Number 3811 October 2019
ldquoBoks backline attack rests on two 12s a distributing 15 and hope-for-something on the wings So when the 15 is not playing well we have nothing to offerrdquo ndash Oom Rugby waxing lyrical on Twitter
Register to receive your own free weekly newsletter at wwwrugbyrsacoza
Typhoon Hagibis Poised to Disrupt RWC2019
Itrsquos fair to say that the abysmal standard of refereeing at this Rugby World Cup has created more than an acceptable number of storms But now mother nature has taken a hand in the game too early Thursday morning at least two matches were cancelled on safety grounds due to the imminent arrival of Typhoon Hagibis
For the uninitiated typhoon is to Japan what a cyclone is to Mozambique and a hurricane is to the USA - itrsquos a hell of a storm thatrsquos expected The press statement reads
ldquoAfter extensive evaluation World Rugby and the Japan Rugby 2019 Organising Committee have announced an update regarding the predicted impact of Typhoon Hagibis on this weekendrsquos Rugby World Cup 2019 pool matches This includes the decision to cancel matches on safety grounds
ldquoBased on the latest detailed information from the tournamentrsquos independent weather experts Hagibis is predicted to be the biggest typhoon of the 2019 season and is highly likely to cause considerable disruption in the Tokyo Yokohama and City of Toyota areas throughout Saturday including likely public transport shutdown or disruption
The games affected are
Australia vs Georgia to be played todayIreland vs Samoa to be played tomorrowNew Zealand vs Italy cancelledEngland vs France cancelled
For cancelled matches two points will be awarded to each team Which brings us to Sunday
ldquoEvery effort is being made to ensure Sundayrsquos matches will be played as scheduled A thorough assessment of venues will take place after the typhoon has passed before a final decision is made on Sunday morningrdquo
The matches affected are
Namibia vs CanadaUSA vs TongaWales vs UruguayJapan vs Scotland
The situation is being constantly monitored and updated on the RWC2019 website so what you just read may already be out of date
KEY TOPICS IN THIS NEWSLETTER
After Week Three the RWC2019 Pace SlowsBoks Thrash Italy in Difficult CircumstancesRWC Poor Refereeing is Killing the Game
Springbok Women Get Another Rugby LessonSA Teams Still Flatter to Deceive in the PRO14The SA Rugby Magazine World Cup Wish List
Page 1
After Week Three the RWC2019 Pace Slows
This past week was the last of the really frenetic part of the schedule for Rugby World Cup 2019 in Japan ndash primarily because there will be no more mid-week games From next week on itrsquos only weekend action for the knock-out matches
But thatrsquos from next week onwards The busy schedule this past week began last Friday with Italy vs South Africa (see page four) That was followed on Saturday by three matches Australia vs Uruguay England vs Argentina and Japan vs Samoa
Unfortunately the South American nations ended up on the losing side in the first two encounters We didnrsquot watch either due to that being hair-washing day In the unlikely event that you are actually interested in either match you can find a match report on the Uruguay game here and one for the hugely disappointing Argentinian match here
There was however some good news and one worthy winner on Saturday Japan took another step towards the quarter-finals with a convincing win over Samoa (38-19) The home team also managed to snatch a bonus-point four minutes after the full-time hooter had sounded
It now all comes down to the final match of the pool stages this Sunday when Scotland play Japan the Europeans need a bonus point win but even then four tries and a losing bonus point could still snatch that quarter-final place for the home team
But its a safe bet that Japan wonrsquot be thinking like that The plan will be to win the game and finish on top of the pool
There were two matches last Sunday In the first New Zealand demolished Namibia (71-9) and the second saw France battle to victory over an extremely resilient Tonga (23-21)
Monday was a rest day but the action resumed on Tuesday with South Africa vs Canada with a hugely convenient lunchtime kick-off It was a thrashing of note (66-7) and featured the best performance by a Springbok flyhalf this entire tournament RJ Snyman also had a pretty decent day in the field
Many of the match reports we found mentioned the fact that Canada was down to 14-men for much of the match due to a deserved red card However only a few pointed out that the score was already 40-0 at that point
On Wednesday three matches were scheduled before another rest day on Thursday The first saw Argentina bounce back really hard against USA (47-17) as both teams bowed out of this yearrsquos competition ndash USA have a dead rubber against Tonga on Sunday but it wonrsquot affect the top two positions in the pool
Thereafter Scotland humiliated Russia (61-0) with a nine-try demolition job to secure the bonus point and keep alive hopes of a quarter-final spot Japan awaits on Sunday but wersquove already looked at those permutations
The final match saw more refereeing inconsistency ndash which is what we expect when Jeacuterocircme Garcegraves carries the whistle Wales benefited from his erratic calls and were very lucky to beat Fiji (29-17) in a match that quite possibly would have gone the other way should an impartial referee have been in charge
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Boks Thrash Italy in Difficult Conditions
It was a crunch match alright and the Italians came into it with a plan which may initially have been a plan e or f but quickly became implemented when they were destroyed in the first scrum After only two minutes the tighthead prop was replaced and before the 20 minute mark the replacement tighthead went off for a Head Injury Assessment (HIA)
Immediately the referee called uncontested scrums thus robbing the Springboks of a potent weapon Then a dangerous tip tackle on Duane Vermeulen by two Italian front row forwards saw one of them handed a red card early in the second half [Both props were subsequently suspended for three games - Ed]
Looking beyond the questionable tactics of the Italians South Africa was full value for the 49-3 victory although there will be questions in coach Rassiersquos mind But for Oom Rugby it was very simple we need a flyhalf A little later he followed up with more detail ldquoBoks backline attack rests on two 12s a distributing 15 and hope-for-something on the wings So when the 15 is not playing well we have nothing to offerrdquo
RWC Poor Refereeing is Killing the Game
In a World Cup ndash any World Cup ndash fans could be forgiven for expecting to see the very best of the best on show The best players the best coaches and dare we say it the best officials But World Rugby appears to have settled for following the lyrics of an old Meatloaf track Two our of three ainrsquot bad
Hardly a day has gone by in Rugby World Cup 2019 that hasnrsquot seen at least one new refereeing controversy Without detailing every single error in every game [Wed need a book for that ndash Ed] we have extracted a few ldquohighlightsrdquo that had us either laughing out loud or shaking our heads in exasperation
Consider the Wales vs Fiji match earlier this week The clown with the whistle was Jeacuterocircme Garcegraves and in this game he consistently ignored Welsh players going off their feet in mauls while penalising Fijians for the exact same thing
Itrsquos the second time Fiji has been the victim of piss-poor refereeing at this World Cup The first was thanks to the incompetent Ben OrsquoKeeffe when the islanders played Australia in their opening fixture Even more ironic Jonathan Kaplan one of the worst South Africa ever produced agrees apparently
The reality is that if World Rugby really wants to grow the game globally something must be done about the abysmally poor of refereeing ndash at all levels If that means simplifying the laws still more empowering TMOs to overturn poor decisions or to independently grade referee performances in every match so be it Therersquos a great piece this week by Andy Bull in The Guardian on this very subject
Page 5
Page 6
Springbok Women Get Another Rugby Lesson
This past Saturday when the Springbok Women faced Scotland at the City Park Stadium in Cape Town it was for a second time in less than a week It was an opportunity to avenge the defeat they suffered on Monday at the same venue and possibly hang on to 11th place in the world rugby rankings
But it wasnrsquot to be The Springbok women were absolutely hammered ndash again This time the final score was 38-15 [it was 47-5 on Monday ndash Ed] leaving the fans with a very bitter taste in the mouth
Coach Stanley Raubenheimer ldquoWe competed well our defence was a little better than Monday although a few errors there once again cost us and some of the young players came through nicely We did however give away 21 points which we are not happy about
ldquoI was particularly impressed with the way the team fought and got better as the match progressed so it was a good step-up from our last match We learned some good lessons as a team in the last three Tests and that will bode well for us in the futurerdquo
But for us the only positive from three massive losses ndash and the plummet down the world rankings to 15th ndash is the young talent coming through
Raubenheimer again ldquoOur main goal with the Test matches we played this year was to try to build a group of players that we could work with going forward to the 2021 Rugby World Cup Six players who played against Scotland today were Under-20 players and some of them did well while others now have a good idea of the demands of Test rugby which is all part of the learning processrdquo
SA Teams Flatter to Deceive in the PRO14
A PRO14 season that promised so much took another turn for the worse for Southern Kings on Saturday afternoon Against a Munster side that has lost 12 players to the Irish cause in Japan we expected a better showing but they were as woeful last week as they were the week before losing at home without the bonus point this time 20-31
The off-the-field problems around appointing a permanent coach have been discussed at some length in the media and are clearly having an affect Strangely the players are trying their best but their efforts are undermined by a constant barrage of poor kicks out of hand by the woeful half backs
Demetri Catrakilis and Stefan Ungerer are not doing their teammates any favours If we were advising interim coach Robbi Kempson wersquod be urging him to bench both of them and try something else anything else
And then Cheetahs played another team they had been unable to beat in four attempts Ulster As it was last week the goal would have been another bonus-point win and it was a real festival of running rugby with former Golden Lions wing Anthony Volmink grabbing a hat-trick
But the home team flattered to deceive Yes they won convincingly but defence looked fragile and lacked determination at times Cheetahs scored nine brilliant tries but they relaxed at critical moments and allowed the visitors to score four of their own gifting Ulster a four-try bonus point from the match The final score was 63-26
The SA Rugby Magazine World Cup Wish List
With RWC2019 already well into the final round of the pool matches it was more than a little refreshing to encounter a bit of fun perpetrated by the editorial team at SA Rugby magazine
In its World Cup Wish List the team identifies what each of them would love to see out of this weekend Wersquove extracted some of the salient points below
Jon Cardinelli (chief writer) ldquoAfter the disappointment of the England-France and New Zealand-Italy matches being called off due to Typhoon Hagibis Irsquod prefer to see Japan getting the chance to beat Scotland and topping Pool A after four wins
ldquoWhile theyrsquove already proved that they belong at the top table another win against a top-tier nation will serve as further evidence that the win against Ireland was no flukerdquo
Craig Lewis (editor) chose something he didnrsquot want to see instead ldquoit would be seriously disappointing if the highly anticipated clash between Scotland and Japan also has to be called off
ldquoThis is the headline fixture for this weekend and was shaping up to be a thrilling battle Irsquoll be praying to the weather gods that we can at least see a game take place and the most deserving side booking their place in the play-offsrdquo
Mariette Adams (staff writer) ldquo[USA Eagles] play Tonga in their last pool game and with nothing at stake for either side I hope ndash for coaches Gary Gold and Jaque Fouriersquos sake ndash the Eagles come out firing against the Pacific Islanders in order to secure their first win in the tournament to avoid finishing bottom of the poolrdquo
Dylan Jack (staff writer) hopes Namibia cap their tournament with a win ldquoNamibia were competitive in their opener against Italy but were simply outclassed against both the All Blacks and Springboks Despite this Namibia have a real chance of getting their first-ever World Cup win when they face Canada in Kamaishi on Sundayrdquo
John Goliath (senior contributor) echoes both Craig Lewis and Dylan Jack adding that the Japan versus Scotland encounter is the sort of match that grips both the home supporters and the neutrals
Theyre all dead right as far as were concerned
Page 7
For your weekend rugby viewing pleasure
With Typhoon Hagibis bearing down on Japan as we were writing this the confidence with which we could predict rugby viewing to occupy you this weekend evaporated As you can see from the schedulealongside (and will know from our page one story) two matches had already been cancelled even then How many more will suffer that fate is unknown at this point
One competition that will definitely not be affected by Hagibis is the PRO14 which takes place half a world away from there Cheetahs play Munster on Friday night (1815) in Bloemfontein and Kings will probably get thumped by Ulster on Saturday afternoon (1600) in Port Elizabeth
Other European club rugby continues uninterrupted as does probably the Mitre 10 Cup in New Zealand and the NRC in Australia If your rugby viewing tastes extend that far yoursquoll need to consult the schedules pertinent to your particular television network or streaming provider
Thanks for reading our newsletter We need feedback to improve it ndash and only you can give us that feedback Please take the time to send us an email We want to hear from you ndash good bad or ugly a pat on the back or a kick in the butt Remember to look us up on Twitter where youll find many of our contributors on our timeline
The Rugby Team at Leopard Newsletters
Page 8
After Week Three the RWC2019 Pace Slows
This past week was the last of the really frenetic part of the schedule for Rugby World Cup 2019 in Japan ndash primarily because there will be no more mid-week games From next week on itrsquos only weekend action for the knock-out matches
But thatrsquos from next week onwards The busy schedule this past week began last Friday with Italy vs South Africa (see page four) That was followed on Saturday by three matches Australia vs Uruguay England vs Argentina and Japan vs Samoa
Unfortunately the South American nations ended up on the losing side in the first two encounters We didnrsquot watch either due to that being hair-washing day In the unlikely event that you are actually interested in either match you can find a match report on the Uruguay game here and one for the hugely disappointing Argentinian match here
There was however some good news and one worthy winner on Saturday Japan took another step towards the quarter-finals with a convincing win over Samoa (38-19) The home team also managed to snatch a bonus-point four minutes after the full-time hooter had sounded
It now all comes down to the final match of the pool stages this Sunday when Scotland play Japan the Europeans need a bonus point win but even then four tries and a losing bonus point could still snatch that quarter-final place for the home team
But its a safe bet that Japan wonrsquot be thinking like that The plan will be to win the game and finish on top of the pool
There were two matches last Sunday In the first New Zealand demolished Namibia (71-9) and the second saw France battle to victory over an extremely resilient Tonga (23-21)
Monday was a rest day but the action resumed on Tuesday with South Africa vs Canada with a hugely convenient lunchtime kick-off It was a thrashing of note (66-7) and featured the best performance by a Springbok flyhalf this entire tournament RJ Snyman also had a pretty decent day in the field
Many of the match reports we found mentioned the fact that Canada was down to 14-men for much of the match due to a deserved red card However only a few pointed out that the score was already 40-0 at that point
On Wednesday three matches were scheduled before another rest day on Thursday The first saw Argentina bounce back really hard against USA (47-17) as both teams bowed out of this yearrsquos competition ndash USA have a dead rubber against Tonga on Sunday but it wonrsquot affect the top two positions in the pool
Thereafter Scotland humiliated Russia (61-0) with a nine-try demolition job to secure the bonus point and keep alive hopes of a quarter-final spot Japan awaits on Sunday but wersquove already looked at those permutations
The final match saw more refereeing inconsistency ndash which is what we expect when Jeacuterocircme Garcegraves carries the whistle Wales benefited from his erratic calls and were very lucky to beat Fiji (29-17) in a match that quite possibly would have gone the other way should an impartial referee have been in charge
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Boks Thrash Italy in Difficult Conditions
It was a crunch match alright and the Italians came into it with a plan which may initially have been a plan e or f but quickly became implemented when they were destroyed in the first scrum After only two minutes the tighthead prop was replaced and before the 20 minute mark the replacement tighthead went off for a Head Injury Assessment (HIA)
Immediately the referee called uncontested scrums thus robbing the Springboks of a potent weapon Then a dangerous tip tackle on Duane Vermeulen by two Italian front row forwards saw one of them handed a red card early in the second half [Both props were subsequently suspended for three games - Ed]
Looking beyond the questionable tactics of the Italians South Africa was full value for the 49-3 victory although there will be questions in coach Rassiersquos mind But for Oom Rugby it was very simple we need a flyhalf A little later he followed up with more detail ldquoBoks backline attack rests on two 12s a distributing 15 and hope-for-something on the wings So when the 15 is not playing well we have nothing to offerrdquo
RWC Poor Refereeing is Killing the Game
In a World Cup ndash any World Cup ndash fans could be forgiven for expecting to see the very best of the best on show The best players the best coaches and dare we say it the best officials But World Rugby appears to have settled for following the lyrics of an old Meatloaf track Two our of three ainrsquot bad
Hardly a day has gone by in Rugby World Cup 2019 that hasnrsquot seen at least one new refereeing controversy Without detailing every single error in every game [Wed need a book for that ndash Ed] we have extracted a few ldquohighlightsrdquo that had us either laughing out loud or shaking our heads in exasperation
Consider the Wales vs Fiji match earlier this week The clown with the whistle was Jeacuterocircme Garcegraves and in this game he consistently ignored Welsh players going off their feet in mauls while penalising Fijians for the exact same thing
Itrsquos the second time Fiji has been the victim of piss-poor refereeing at this World Cup The first was thanks to the incompetent Ben OrsquoKeeffe when the islanders played Australia in their opening fixture Even more ironic Jonathan Kaplan one of the worst South Africa ever produced agrees apparently
The reality is that if World Rugby really wants to grow the game globally something must be done about the abysmally poor of refereeing ndash at all levels If that means simplifying the laws still more empowering TMOs to overturn poor decisions or to independently grade referee performances in every match so be it Therersquos a great piece this week by Andy Bull in The Guardian on this very subject
Page 5
Page 6
Springbok Women Get Another Rugby Lesson
This past Saturday when the Springbok Women faced Scotland at the City Park Stadium in Cape Town it was for a second time in less than a week It was an opportunity to avenge the defeat they suffered on Monday at the same venue and possibly hang on to 11th place in the world rugby rankings
But it wasnrsquot to be The Springbok women were absolutely hammered ndash again This time the final score was 38-15 [it was 47-5 on Monday ndash Ed] leaving the fans with a very bitter taste in the mouth
Coach Stanley Raubenheimer ldquoWe competed well our defence was a little better than Monday although a few errors there once again cost us and some of the young players came through nicely We did however give away 21 points which we are not happy about
ldquoI was particularly impressed with the way the team fought and got better as the match progressed so it was a good step-up from our last match We learned some good lessons as a team in the last three Tests and that will bode well for us in the futurerdquo
But for us the only positive from three massive losses ndash and the plummet down the world rankings to 15th ndash is the young talent coming through
Raubenheimer again ldquoOur main goal with the Test matches we played this year was to try to build a group of players that we could work with going forward to the 2021 Rugby World Cup Six players who played against Scotland today were Under-20 players and some of them did well while others now have a good idea of the demands of Test rugby which is all part of the learning processrdquo
SA Teams Flatter to Deceive in the PRO14
A PRO14 season that promised so much took another turn for the worse for Southern Kings on Saturday afternoon Against a Munster side that has lost 12 players to the Irish cause in Japan we expected a better showing but they were as woeful last week as they were the week before losing at home without the bonus point this time 20-31
The off-the-field problems around appointing a permanent coach have been discussed at some length in the media and are clearly having an affect Strangely the players are trying their best but their efforts are undermined by a constant barrage of poor kicks out of hand by the woeful half backs
Demetri Catrakilis and Stefan Ungerer are not doing their teammates any favours If we were advising interim coach Robbi Kempson wersquod be urging him to bench both of them and try something else anything else
And then Cheetahs played another team they had been unable to beat in four attempts Ulster As it was last week the goal would have been another bonus-point win and it was a real festival of running rugby with former Golden Lions wing Anthony Volmink grabbing a hat-trick
But the home team flattered to deceive Yes they won convincingly but defence looked fragile and lacked determination at times Cheetahs scored nine brilliant tries but they relaxed at critical moments and allowed the visitors to score four of their own gifting Ulster a four-try bonus point from the match The final score was 63-26
The SA Rugby Magazine World Cup Wish List
With RWC2019 already well into the final round of the pool matches it was more than a little refreshing to encounter a bit of fun perpetrated by the editorial team at SA Rugby magazine
In its World Cup Wish List the team identifies what each of them would love to see out of this weekend Wersquove extracted some of the salient points below
Jon Cardinelli (chief writer) ldquoAfter the disappointment of the England-France and New Zealand-Italy matches being called off due to Typhoon Hagibis Irsquod prefer to see Japan getting the chance to beat Scotland and topping Pool A after four wins
ldquoWhile theyrsquove already proved that they belong at the top table another win against a top-tier nation will serve as further evidence that the win against Ireland was no flukerdquo
Craig Lewis (editor) chose something he didnrsquot want to see instead ldquoit would be seriously disappointing if the highly anticipated clash between Scotland and Japan also has to be called off
ldquoThis is the headline fixture for this weekend and was shaping up to be a thrilling battle Irsquoll be praying to the weather gods that we can at least see a game take place and the most deserving side booking their place in the play-offsrdquo
Mariette Adams (staff writer) ldquo[USA Eagles] play Tonga in their last pool game and with nothing at stake for either side I hope ndash for coaches Gary Gold and Jaque Fouriersquos sake ndash the Eagles come out firing against the Pacific Islanders in order to secure their first win in the tournament to avoid finishing bottom of the poolrdquo
Dylan Jack (staff writer) hopes Namibia cap their tournament with a win ldquoNamibia were competitive in their opener against Italy but were simply outclassed against both the All Blacks and Springboks Despite this Namibia have a real chance of getting their first-ever World Cup win when they face Canada in Kamaishi on Sundayrdquo
John Goliath (senior contributor) echoes both Craig Lewis and Dylan Jack adding that the Japan versus Scotland encounter is the sort of match that grips both the home supporters and the neutrals
Theyre all dead right as far as were concerned
Page 7
For your weekend rugby viewing pleasure
With Typhoon Hagibis bearing down on Japan as we were writing this the confidence with which we could predict rugby viewing to occupy you this weekend evaporated As you can see from the schedulealongside (and will know from our page one story) two matches had already been cancelled even then How many more will suffer that fate is unknown at this point
One competition that will definitely not be affected by Hagibis is the PRO14 which takes place half a world away from there Cheetahs play Munster on Friday night (1815) in Bloemfontein and Kings will probably get thumped by Ulster on Saturday afternoon (1600) in Port Elizabeth
Other European club rugby continues uninterrupted as does probably the Mitre 10 Cup in New Zealand and the NRC in Australia If your rugby viewing tastes extend that far yoursquoll need to consult the schedules pertinent to your particular television network or streaming provider
Thanks for reading our newsletter We need feedback to improve it ndash and only you can give us that feedback Please take the time to send us an email We want to hear from you ndash good bad or ugly a pat on the back or a kick in the butt Remember to look us up on Twitter where youll find many of our contributors on our timeline
The Rugby Team at Leopard Newsletters
Page 8
Page 3
Page 4
Boks Thrash Italy in Difficult Conditions
It was a crunch match alright and the Italians came into it with a plan which may initially have been a plan e or f but quickly became implemented when they were destroyed in the first scrum After only two minutes the tighthead prop was replaced and before the 20 minute mark the replacement tighthead went off for a Head Injury Assessment (HIA)
Immediately the referee called uncontested scrums thus robbing the Springboks of a potent weapon Then a dangerous tip tackle on Duane Vermeulen by two Italian front row forwards saw one of them handed a red card early in the second half [Both props were subsequently suspended for three games - Ed]
Looking beyond the questionable tactics of the Italians South Africa was full value for the 49-3 victory although there will be questions in coach Rassiersquos mind But for Oom Rugby it was very simple we need a flyhalf A little later he followed up with more detail ldquoBoks backline attack rests on two 12s a distributing 15 and hope-for-something on the wings So when the 15 is not playing well we have nothing to offerrdquo
RWC Poor Refereeing is Killing the Game
In a World Cup ndash any World Cup ndash fans could be forgiven for expecting to see the very best of the best on show The best players the best coaches and dare we say it the best officials But World Rugby appears to have settled for following the lyrics of an old Meatloaf track Two our of three ainrsquot bad
Hardly a day has gone by in Rugby World Cup 2019 that hasnrsquot seen at least one new refereeing controversy Without detailing every single error in every game [Wed need a book for that ndash Ed] we have extracted a few ldquohighlightsrdquo that had us either laughing out loud or shaking our heads in exasperation
Consider the Wales vs Fiji match earlier this week The clown with the whistle was Jeacuterocircme Garcegraves and in this game he consistently ignored Welsh players going off their feet in mauls while penalising Fijians for the exact same thing
Itrsquos the second time Fiji has been the victim of piss-poor refereeing at this World Cup The first was thanks to the incompetent Ben OrsquoKeeffe when the islanders played Australia in their opening fixture Even more ironic Jonathan Kaplan one of the worst South Africa ever produced agrees apparently
The reality is that if World Rugby really wants to grow the game globally something must be done about the abysmally poor of refereeing ndash at all levels If that means simplifying the laws still more empowering TMOs to overturn poor decisions or to independently grade referee performances in every match so be it Therersquos a great piece this week by Andy Bull in The Guardian on this very subject
Page 5
Page 6
Springbok Women Get Another Rugby Lesson
This past Saturday when the Springbok Women faced Scotland at the City Park Stadium in Cape Town it was for a second time in less than a week It was an opportunity to avenge the defeat they suffered on Monday at the same venue and possibly hang on to 11th place in the world rugby rankings
But it wasnrsquot to be The Springbok women were absolutely hammered ndash again This time the final score was 38-15 [it was 47-5 on Monday ndash Ed] leaving the fans with a very bitter taste in the mouth
Coach Stanley Raubenheimer ldquoWe competed well our defence was a little better than Monday although a few errors there once again cost us and some of the young players came through nicely We did however give away 21 points which we are not happy about
ldquoI was particularly impressed with the way the team fought and got better as the match progressed so it was a good step-up from our last match We learned some good lessons as a team in the last three Tests and that will bode well for us in the futurerdquo
But for us the only positive from three massive losses ndash and the plummet down the world rankings to 15th ndash is the young talent coming through
Raubenheimer again ldquoOur main goal with the Test matches we played this year was to try to build a group of players that we could work with going forward to the 2021 Rugby World Cup Six players who played against Scotland today were Under-20 players and some of them did well while others now have a good idea of the demands of Test rugby which is all part of the learning processrdquo
SA Teams Flatter to Deceive in the PRO14
A PRO14 season that promised so much took another turn for the worse for Southern Kings on Saturday afternoon Against a Munster side that has lost 12 players to the Irish cause in Japan we expected a better showing but they were as woeful last week as they were the week before losing at home without the bonus point this time 20-31
The off-the-field problems around appointing a permanent coach have been discussed at some length in the media and are clearly having an affect Strangely the players are trying their best but their efforts are undermined by a constant barrage of poor kicks out of hand by the woeful half backs
Demetri Catrakilis and Stefan Ungerer are not doing their teammates any favours If we were advising interim coach Robbi Kempson wersquod be urging him to bench both of them and try something else anything else
And then Cheetahs played another team they had been unable to beat in four attempts Ulster As it was last week the goal would have been another bonus-point win and it was a real festival of running rugby with former Golden Lions wing Anthony Volmink grabbing a hat-trick
But the home team flattered to deceive Yes they won convincingly but defence looked fragile and lacked determination at times Cheetahs scored nine brilliant tries but they relaxed at critical moments and allowed the visitors to score four of their own gifting Ulster a four-try bonus point from the match The final score was 63-26
The SA Rugby Magazine World Cup Wish List
With RWC2019 already well into the final round of the pool matches it was more than a little refreshing to encounter a bit of fun perpetrated by the editorial team at SA Rugby magazine
In its World Cup Wish List the team identifies what each of them would love to see out of this weekend Wersquove extracted some of the salient points below
Jon Cardinelli (chief writer) ldquoAfter the disappointment of the England-France and New Zealand-Italy matches being called off due to Typhoon Hagibis Irsquod prefer to see Japan getting the chance to beat Scotland and topping Pool A after four wins
ldquoWhile theyrsquove already proved that they belong at the top table another win against a top-tier nation will serve as further evidence that the win against Ireland was no flukerdquo
Craig Lewis (editor) chose something he didnrsquot want to see instead ldquoit would be seriously disappointing if the highly anticipated clash between Scotland and Japan also has to be called off
ldquoThis is the headline fixture for this weekend and was shaping up to be a thrilling battle Irsquoll be praying to the weather gods that we can at least see a game take place and the most deserving side booking their place in the play-offsrdquo
Mariette Adams (staff writer) ldquo[USA Eagles] play Tonga in their last pool game and with nothing at stake for either side I hope ndash for coaches Gary Gold and Jaque Fouriersquos sake ndash the Eagles come out firing against the Pacific Islanders in order to secure their first win in the tournament to avoid finishing bottom of the poolrdquo
Dylan Jack (staff writer) hopes Namibia cap their tournament with a win ldquoNamibia were competitive in their opener against Italy but were simply outclassed against both the All Blacks and Springboks Despite this Namibia have a real chance of getting their first-ever World Cup win when they face Canada in Kamaishi on Sundayrdquo
John Goliath (senior contributor) echoes both Craig Lewis and Dylan Jack adding that the Japan versus Scotland encounter is the sort of match that grips both the home supporters and the neutrals
Theyre all dead right as far as were concerned
Page 7
For your weekend rugby viewing pleasure
With Typhoon Hagibis bearing down on Japan as we were writing this the confidence with which we could predict rugby viewing to occupy you this weekend evaporated As you can see from the schedulealongside (and will know from our page one story) two matches had already been cancelled even then How many more will suffer that fate is unknown at this point
One competition that will definitely not be affected by Hagibis is the PRO14 which takes place half a world away from there Cheetahs play Munster on Friday night (1815) in Bloemfontein and Kings will probably get thumped by Ulster on Saturday afternoon (1600) in Port Elizabeth
Other European club rugby continues uninterrupted as does probably the Mitre 10 Cup in New Zealand and the NRC in Australia If your rugby viewing tastes extend that far yoursquoll need to consult the schedules pertinent to your particular television network or streaming provider
Thanks for reading our newsletter We need feedback to improve it ndash and only you can give us that feedback Please take the time to send us an email We want to hear from you ndash good bad or ugly a pat on the back or a kick in the butt Remember to look us up on Twitter where youll find many of our contributors on our timeline
The Rugby Team at Leopard Newsletters
Page 8
Page 4
Boks Thrash Italy in Difficult Conditions
It was a crunch match alright and the Italians came into it with a plan which may initially have been a plan e or f but quickly became implemented when they were destroyed in the first scrum After only two minutes the tighthead prop was replaced and before the 20 minute mark the replacement tighthead went off for a Head Injury Assessment (HIA)
Immediately the referee called uncontested scrums thus robbing the Springboks of a potent weapon Then a dangerous tip tackle on Duane Vermeulen by two Italian front row forwards saw one of them handed a red card early in the second half [Both props were subsequently suspended for three games - Ed]
Looking beyond the questionable tactics of the Italians South Africa was full value for the 49-3 victory although there will be questions in coach Rassiersquos mind But for Oom Rugby it was very simple we need a flyhalf A little later he followed up with more detail ldquoBoks backline attack rests on two 12s a distributing 15 and hope-for-something on the wings So when the 15 is not playing well we have nothing to offerrdquo
RWC Poor Refereeing is Killing the Game
In a World Cup ndash any World Cup ndash fans could be forgiven for expecting to see the very best of the best on show The best players the best coaches and dare we say it the best officials But World Rugby appears to have settled for following the lyrics of an old Meatloaf track Two our of three ainrsquot bad
Hardly a day has gone by in Rugby World Cup 2019 that hasnrsquot seen at least one new refereeing controversy Without detailing every single error in every game [Wed need a book for that ndash Ed] we have extracted a few ldquohighlightsrdquo that had us either laughing out loud or shaking our heads in exasperation
Consider the Wales vs Fiji match earlier this week The clown with the whistle was Jeacuterocircme Garcegraves and in this game he consistently ignored Welsh players going off their feet in mauls while penalising Fijians for the exact same thing
Itrsquos the second time Fiji has been the victim of piss-poor refereeing at this World Cup The first was thanks to the incompetent Ben OrsquoKeeffe when the islanders played Australia in their opening fixture Even more ironic Jonathan Kaplan one of the worst South Africa ever produced agrees apparently
The reality is that if World Rugby really wants to grow the game globally something must be done about the abysmally poor of refereeing ndash at all levels If that means simplifying the laws still more empowering TMOs to overturn poor decisions or to independently grade referee performances in every match so be it Therersquos a great piece this week by Andy Bull in The Guardian on this very subject
Page 5
Page 6
Springbok Women Get Another Rugby Lesson
This past Saturday when the Springbok Women faced Scotland at the City Park Stadium in Cape Town it was for a second time in less than a week It was an opportunity to avenge the defeat they suffered on Monday at the same venue and possibly hang on to 11th place in the world rugby rankings
But it wasnrsquot to be The Springbok women were absolutely hammered ndash again This time the final score was 38-15 [it was 47-5 on Monday ndash Ed] leaving the fans with a very bitter taste in the mouth
Coach Stanley Raubenheimer ldquoWe competed well our defence was a little better than Monday although a few errors there once again cost us and some of the young players came through nicely We did however give away 21 points which we are not happy about
ldquoI was particularly impressed with the way the team fought and got better as the match progressed so it was a good step-up from our last match We learned some good lessons as a team in the last three Tests and that will bode well for us in the futurerdquo
But for us the only positive from three massive losses ndash and the plummet down the world rankings to 15th ndash is the young talent coming through
Raubenheimer again ldquoOur main goal with the Test matches we played this year was to try to build a group of players that we could work with going forward to the 2021 Rugby World Cup Six players who played against Scotland today were Under-20 players and some of them did well while others now have a good idea of the demands of Test rugby which is all part of the learning processrdquo
SA Teams Flatter to Deceive in the PRO14
A PRO14 season that promised so much took another turn for the worse for Southern Kings on Saturday afternoon Against a Munster side that has lost 12 players to the Irish cause in Japan we expected a better showing but they were as woeful last week as they were the week before losing at home without the bonus point this time 20-31
The off-the-field problems around appointing a permanent coach have been discussed at some length in the media and are clearly having an affect Strangely the players are trying their best but their efforts are undermined by a constant barrage of poor kicks out of hand by the woeful half backs
Demetri Catrakilis and Stefan Ungerer are not doing their teammates any favours If we were advising interim coach Robbi Kempson wersquod be urging him to bench both of them and try something else anything else
And then Cheetahs played another team they had been unable to beat in four attempts Ulster As it was last week the goal would have been another bonus-point win and it was a real festival of running rugby with former Golden Lions wing Anthony Volmink grabbing a hat-trick
But the home team flattered to deceive Yes they won convincingly but defence looked fragile and lacked determination at times Cheetahs scored nine brilliant tries but they relaxed at critical moments and allowed the visitors to score four of their own gifting Ulster a four-try bonus point from the match The final score was 63-26
The SA Rugby Magazine World Cup Wish List
With RWC2019 already well into the final round of the pool matches it was more than a little refreshing to encounter a bit of fun perpetrated by the editorial team at SA Rugby magazine
In its World Cup Wish List the team identifies what each of them would love to see out of this weekend Wersquove extracted some of the salient points below
Jon Cardinelli (chief writer) ldquoAfter the disappointment of the England-France and New Zealand-Italy matches being called off due to Typhoon Hagibis Irsquod prefer to see Japan getting the chance to beat Scotland and topping Pool A after four wins
ldquoWhile theyrsquove already proved that they belong at the top table another win against a top-tier nation will serve as further evidence that the win against Ireland was no flukerdquo
Craig Lewis (editor) chose something he didnrsquot want to see instead ldquoit would be seriously disappointing if the highly anticipated clash between Scotland and Japan also has to be called off
ldquoThis is the headline fixture for this weekend and was shaping up to be a thrilling battle Irsquoll be praying to the weather gods that we can at least see a game take place and the most deserving side booking their place in the play-offsrdquo
Mariette Adams (staff writer) ldquo[USA Eagles] play Tonga in their last pool game and with nothing at stake for either side I hope ndash for coaches Gary Gold and Jaque Fouriersquos sake ndash the Eagles come out firing against the Pacific Islanders in order to secure their first win in the tournament to avoid finishing bottom of the poolrdquo
Dylan Jack (staff writer) hopes Namibia cap their tournament with a win ldquoNamibia were competitive in their opener against Italy but were simply outclassed against both the All Blacks and Springboks Despite this Namibia have a real chance of getting their first-ever World Cup win when they face Canada in Kamaishi on Sundayrdquo
John Goliath (senior contributor) echoes both Craig Lewis and Dylan Jack adding that the Japan versus Scotland encounter is the sort of match that grips both the home supporters and the neutrals
Theyre all dead right as far as were concerned
Page 7
For your weekend rugby viewing pleasure
With Typhoon Hagibis bearing down on Japan as we were writing this the confidence with which we could predict rugby viewing to occupy you this weekend evaporated As you can see from the schedulealongside (and will know from our page one story) two matches had already been cancelled even then How many more will suffer that fate is unknown at this point
One competition that will definitely not be affected by Hagibis is the PRO14 which takes place half a world away from there Cheetahs play Munster on Friday night (1815) in Bloemfontein and Kings will probably get thumped by Ulster on Saturday afternoon (1600) in Port Elizabeth
Other European club rugby continues uninterrupted as does probably the Mitre 10 Cup in New Zealand and the NRC in Australia If your rugby viewing tastes extend that far yoursquoll need to consult the schedules pertinent to your particular television network or streaming provider
Thanks for reading our newsletter We need feedback to improve it ndash and only you can give us that feedback Please take the time to send us an email We want to hear from you ndash good bad or ugly a pat on the back or a kick in the butt Remember to look us up on Twitter where youll find many of our contributors on our timeline
The Rugby Team at Leopard Newsletters
Page 8
Page 5
Page 6
Springbok Women Get Another Rugby Lesson
This past Saturday when the Springbok Women faced Scotland at the City Park Stadium in Cape Town it was for a second time in less than a week It was an opportunity to avenge the defeat they suffered on Monday at the same venue and possibly hang on to 11th place in the world rugby rankings
But it wasnrsquot to be The Springbok women were absolutely hammered ndash again This time the final score was 38-15 [it was 47-5 on Monday ndash Ed] leaving the fans with a very bitter taste in the mouth
Coach Stanley Raubenheimer ldquoWe competed well our defence was a little better than Monday although a few errors there once again cost us and some of the young players came through nicely We did however give away 21 points which we are not happy about
ldquoI was particularly impressed with the way the team fought and got better as the match progressed so it was a good step-up from our last match We learned some good lessons as a team in the last three Tests and that will bode well for us in the futurerdquo
But for us the only positive from three massive losses ndash and the plummet down the world rankings to 15th ndash is the young talent coming through
Raubenheimer again ldquoOur main goal with the Test matches we played this year was to try to build a group of players that we could work with going forward to the 2021 Rugby World Cup Six players who played against Scotland today were Under-20 players and some of them did well while others now have a good idea of the demands of Test rugby which is all part of the learning processrdquo
SA Teams Flatter to Deceive in the PRO14
A PRO14 season that promised so much took another turn for the worse for Southern Kings on Saturday afternoon Against a Munster side that has lost 12 players to the Irish cause in Japan we expected a better showing but they were as woeful last week as they were the week before losing at home without the bonus point this time 20-31
The off-the-field problems around appointing a permanent coach have been discussed at some length in the media and are clearly having an affect Strangely the players are trying their best but their efforts are undermined by a constant barrage of poor kicks out of hand by the woeful half backs
Demetri Catrakilis and Stefan Ungerer are not doing their teammates any favours If we were advising interim coach Robbi Kempson wersquod be urging him to bench both of them and try something else anything else
And then Cheetahs played another team they had been unable to beat in four attempts Ulster As it was last week the goal would have been another bonus-point win and it was a real festival of running rugby with former Golden Lions wing Anthony Volmink grabbing a hat-trick
But the home team flattered to deceive Yes they won convincingly but defence looked fragile and lacked determination at times Cheetahs scored nine brilliant tries but they relaxed at critical moments and allowed the visitors to score four of their own gifting Ulster a four-try bonus point from the match The final score was 63-26
The SA Rugby Magazine World Cup Wish List
With RWC2019 already well into the final round of the pool matches it was more than a little refreshing to encounter a bit of fun perpetrated by the editorial team at SA Rugby magazine
In its World Cup Wish List the team identifies what each of them would love to see out of this weekend Wersquove extracted some of the salient points below
Jon Cardinelli (chief writer) ldquoAfter the disappointment of the England-France and New Zealand-Italy matches being called off due to Typhoon Hagibis Irsquod prefer to see Japan getting the chance to beat Scotland and topping Pool A after four wins
ldquoWhile theyrsquove already proved that they belong at the top table another win against a top-tier nation will serve as further evidence that the win against Ireland was no flukerdquo
Craig Lewis (editor) chose something he didnrsquot want to see instead ldquoit would be seriously disappointing if the highly anticipated clash between Scotland and Japan also has to be called off
ldquoThis is the headline fixture for this weekend and was shaping up to be a thrilling battle Irsquoll be praying to the weather gods that we can at least see a game take place and the most deserving side booking their place in the play-offsrdquo
Mariette Adams (staff writer) ldquo[USA Eagles] play Tonga in their last pool game and with nothing at stake for either side I hope ndash for coaches Gary Gold and Jaque Fouriersquos sake ndash the Eagles come out firing against the Pacific Islanders in order to secure their first win in the tournament to avoid finishing bottom of the poolrdquo
Dylan Jack (staff writer) hopes Namibia cap their tournament with a win ldquoNamibia were competitive in their opener against Italy but were simply outclassed against both the All Blacks and Springboks Despite this Namibia have a real chance of getting their first-ever World Cup win when they face Canada in Kamaishi on Sundayrdquo
John Goliath (senior contributor) echoes both Craig Lewis and Dylan Jack adding that the Japan versus Scotland encounter is the sort of match that grips both the home supporters and the neutrals
Theyre all dead right as far as were concerned
Page 7
For your weekend rugby viewing pleasure
With Typhoon Hagibis bearing down on Japan as we were writing this the confidence with which we could predict rugby viewing to occupy you this weekend evaporated As you can see from the schedulealongside (and will know from our page one story) two matches had already been cancelled even then How many more will suffer that fate is unknown at this point
One competition that will definitely not be affected by Hagibis is the PRO14 which takes place half a world away from there Cheetahs play Munster on Friday night (1815) in Bloemfontein and Kings will probably get thumped by Ulster on Saturday afternoon (1600) in Port Elizabeth
Other European club rugby continues uninterrupted as does probably the Mitre 10 Cup in New Zealand and the NRC in Australia If your rugby viewing tastes extend that far yoursquoll need to consult the schedules pertinent to your particular television network or streaming provider
Thanks for reading our newsletter We need feedback to improve it ndash and only you can give us that feedback Please take the time to send us an email We want to hear from you ndash good bad or ugly a pat on the back or a kick in the butt Remember to look us up on Twitter where youll find many of our contributors on our timeline
The Rugby Team at Leopard Newsletters
Page 8
Page 6
Springbok Women Get Another Rugby Lesson
This past Saturday when the Springbok Women faced Scotland at the City Park Stadium in Cape Town it was for a second time in less than a week It was an opportunity to avenge the defeat they suffered on Monday at the same venue and possibly hang on to 11th place in the world rugby rankings
But it wasnrsquot to be The Springbok women were absolutely hammered ndash again This time the final score was 38-15 [it was 47-5 on Monday ndash Ed] leaving the fans with a very bitter taste in the mouth
Coach Stanley Raubenheimer ldquoWe competed well our defence was a little better than Monday although a few errors there once again cost us and some of the young players came through nicely We did however give away 21 points which we are not happy about
ldquoI was particularly impressed with the way the team fought and got better as the match progressed so it was a good step-up from our last match We learned some good lessons as a team in the last three Tests and that will bode well for us in the futurerdquo
But for us the only positive from three massive losses ndash and the plummet down the world rankings to 15th ndash is the young talent coming through
Raubenheimer again ldquoOur main goal with the Test matches we played this year was to try to build a group of players that we could work with going forward to the 2021 Rugby World Cup Six players who played against Scotland today were Under-20 players and some of them did well while others now have a good idea of the demands of Test rugby which is all part of the learning processrdquo
SA Teams Flatter to Deceive in the PRO14
A PRO14 season that promised so much took another turn for the worse for Southern Kings on Saturday afternoon Against a Munster side that has lost 12 players to the Irish cause in Japan we expected a better showing but they were as woeful last week as they were the week before losing at home without the bonus point this time 20-31
The off-the-field problems around appointing a permanent coach have been discussed at some length in the media and are clearly having an affect Strangely the players are trying their best but their efforts are undermined by a constant barrage of poor kicks out of hand by the woeful half backs
Demetri Catrakilis and Stefan Ungerer are not doing their teammates any favours If we were advising interim coach Robbi Kempson wersquod be urging him to bench both of them and try something else anything else
And then Cheetahs played another team they had been unable to beat in four attempts Ulster As it was last week the goal would have been another bonus-point win and it was a real festival of running rugby with former Golden Lions wing Anthony Volmink grabbing a hat-trick
But the home team flattered to deceive Yes they won convincingly but defence looked fragile and lacked determination at times Cheetahs scored nine brilliant tries but they relaxed at critical moments and allowed the visitors to score four of their own gifting Ulster a four-try bonus point from the match The final score was 63-26
The SA Rugby Magazine World Cup Wish List
With RWC2019 already well into the final round of the pool matches it was more than a little refreshing to encounter a bit of fun perpetrated by the editorial team at SA Rugby magazine
In its World Cup Wish List the team identifies what each of them would love to see out of this weekend Wersquove extracted some of the salient points below
Jon Cardinelli (chief writer) ldquoAfter the disappointment of the England-France and New Zealand-Italy matches being called off due to Typhoon Hagibis Irsquod prefer to see Japan getting the chance to beat Scotland and topping Pool A after four wins
ldquoWhile theyrsquove already proved that they belong at the top table another win against a top-tier nation will serve as further evidence that the win against Ireland was no flukerdquo
Craig Lewis (editor) chose something he didnrsquot want to see instead ldquoit would be seriously disappointing if the highly anticipated clash between Scotland and Japan also has to be called off
ldquoThis is the headline fixture for this weekend and was shaping up to be a thrilling battle Irsquoll be praying to the weather gods that we can at least see a game take place and the most deserving side booking their place in the play-offsrdquo
Mariette Adams (staff writer) ldquo[USA Eagles] play Tonga in their last pool game and with nothing at stake for either side I hope ndash for coaches Gary Gold and Jaque Fouriersquos sake ndash the Eagles come out firing against the Pacific Islanders in order to secure their first win in the tournament to avoid finishing bottom of the poolrdquo
Dylan Jack (staff writer) hopes Namibia cap their tournament with a win ldquoNamibia were competitive in their opener against Italy but were simply outclassed against both the All Blacks and Springboks Despite this Namibia have a real chance of getting their first-ever World Cup win when they face Canada in Kamaishi on Sundayrdquo
John Goliath (senior contributor) echoes both Craig Lewis and Dylan Jack adding that the Japan versus Scotland encounter is the sort of match that grips both the home supporters and the neutrals
Theyre all dead right as far as were concerned
Page 7
For your weekend rugby viewing pleasure
With Typhoon Hagibis bearing down on Japan as we were writing this the confidence with which we could predict rugby viewing to occupy you this weekend evaporated As you can see from the schedulealongside (and will know from our page one story) two matches had already been cancelled even then How many more will suffer that fate is unknown at this point
One competition that will definitely not be affected by Hagibis is the PRO14 which takes place half a world away from there Cheetahs play Munster on Friday night (1815) in Bloemfontein and Kings will probably get thumped by Ulster on Saturday afternoon (1600) in Port Elizabeth
Other European club rugby continues uninterrupted as does probably the Mitre 10 Cup in New Zealand and the NRC in Australia If your rugby viewing tastes extend that far yoursquoll need to consult the schedules pertinent to your particular television network or streaming provider
Thanks for reading our newsletter We need feedback to improve it ndash and only you can give us that feedback Please take the time to send us an email We want to hear from you ndash good bad or ugly a pat on the back or a kick in the butt Remember to look us up on Twitter where youll find many of our contributors on our timeline
The Rugby Team at Leopard Newsletters
Page 8
The SA Rugby Magazine World Cup Wish List
With RWC2019 already well into the final round of the pool matches it was more than a little refreshing to encounter a bit of fun perpetrated by the editorial team at SA Rugby magazine
In its World Cup Wish List the team identifies what each of them would love to see out of this weekend Wersquove extracted some of the salient points below
Jon Cardinelli (chief writer) ldquoAfter the disappointment of the England-France and New Zealand-Italy matches being called off due to Typhoon Hagibis Irsquod prefer to see Japan getting the chance to beat Scotland and topping Pool A after four wins
ldquoWhile theyrsquove already proved that they belong at the top table another win against a top-tier nation will serve as further evidence that the win against Ireland was no flukerdquo
Craig Lewis (editor) chose something he didnrsquot want to see instead ldquoit would be seriously disappointing if the highly anticipated clash between Scotland and Japan also has to be called off
ldquoThis is the headline fixture for this weekend and was shaping up to be a thrilling battle Irsquoll be praying to the weather gods that we can at least see a game take place and the most deserving side booking their place in the play-offsrdquo
Mariette Adams (staff writer) ldquo[USA Eagles] play Tonga in their last pool game and with nothing at stake for either side I hope ndash for coaches Gary Gold and Jaque Fouriersquos sake ndash the Eagles come out firing against the Pacific Islanders in order to secure their first win in the tournament to avoid finishing bottom of the poolrdquo
Dylan Jack (staff writer) hopes Namibia cap their tournament with a win ldquoNamibia were competitive in their opener against Italy but were simply outclassed against both the All Blacks and Springboks Despite this Namibia have a real chance of getting their first-ever World Cup win when they face Canada in Kamaishi on Sundayrdquo
John Goliath (senior contributor) echoes both Craig Lewis and Dylan Jack adding that the Japan versus Scotland encounter is the sort of match that grips both the home supporters and the neutrals
Theyre all dead right as far as were concerned
Page 7
For your weekend rugby viewing pleasure
With Typhoon Hagibis bearing down on Japan as we were writing this the confidence with which we could predict rugby viewing to occupy you this weekend evaporated As you can see from the schedulealongside (and will know from our page one story) two matches had already been cancelled even then How many more will suffer that fate is unknown at this point
One competition that will definitely not be affected by Hagibis is the PRO14 which takes place half a world away from there Cheetahs play Munster on Friday night (1815) in Bloemfontein and Kings will probably get thumped by Ulster on Saturday afternoon (1600) in Port Elizabeth
Other European club rugby continues uninterrupted as does probably the Mitre 10 Cup in New Zealand and the NRC in Australia If your rugby viewing tastes extend that far yoursquoll need to consult the schedules pertinent to your particular television network or streaming provider
Thanks for reading our newsletter We need feedback to improve it ndash and only you can give us that feedback Please take the time to send us an email We want to hear from you ndash good bad or ugly a pat on the back or a kick in the butt Remember to look us up on Twitter where youll find many of our contributors on our timeline
The Rugby Team at Leopard Newsletters
Page 8
For your weekend rugby viewing pleasure
With Typhoon Hagibis bearing down on Japan as we were writing this the confidence with which we could predict rugby viewing to occupy you this weekend evaporated As you can see from the schedulealongside (and will know from our page one story) two matches had already been cancelled even then How many more will suffer that fate is unknown at this point
One competition that will definitely not be affected by Hagibis is the PRO14 which takes place half a world away from there Cheetahs play Munster on Friday night (1815) in Bloemfontein and Kings will probably get thumped by Ulster on Saturday afternoon (1600) in Port Elizabeth
Other European club rugby continues uninterrupted as does probably the Mitre 10 Cup in New Zealand and the NRC in Australia If your rugby viewing tastes extend that far yoursquoll need to consult the schedules pertinent to your particular television network or streaming provider
Thanks for reading our newsletter We need feedback to improve it ndash and only you can give us that feedback Please take the time to send us an email We want to hear from you ndash good bad or ugly a pat on the back or a kick in the butt Remember to look us up on Twitter where youll find many of our contributors on our timeline
The Rugby Team at Leopard Newsletters
Page 8
