International
Vermeulen leads new-look Bok team against Pumas
Springbok No 8 Duane Vermeulen will lead a new-look Bok team in their final Castle Lager Rugby Championship match against Argentina at Emirates Airline Park in Johannesburg on Saturday in what could be the competition decider depending on the result between New Zealand and Australia in Melbourne.
Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber made nine changes to the starting team that went down 35-20 against the All Blacks in Auckland two weeks ago, with the squad featuring a new halfback pairing of flyhalf Manie Libbok and scrumhalf Grant Williams. This will mark Williams’ first start for the team.
<< CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS >>
Nienaber also rotated his loose forwards with the trio of Vermeulen and flankers Pieter-Steph du Toit and Marco van Staden, who started the opening match of the competition against the Wallabies, returning to the run-on team.
The other changes to the pack of forwards were at hooker, where Malcolm Marx takes over from Bongi Mbonambi, and lock, where Marvin Orie comes in for Lood de Jager.
In the backline, meanwhile, wing Kurt-Lee Arendse – who scored a hat-trick against Australia – will start in place of Makazole Mapimpi, while experienced centre Jesse Kriel will make his first appearance of the season in the midfield alongside vice-captain Damian de Allende.
Nienaber opted for a five-three split on the bench in favour of the forwards, which includes prop Trevor Nyakane, who will provide an impact with Mbonambi, Vincent Koch (prop), RG Snyman (lock) and Kwagga Smith (loose forward).
The three backs on the bench are Faf de Klerk (scrumhalf), Lukhanyo Am (centre), and the versatile Damian Willemse.
Grant Williams will start his first Test for South Africa on Saturday.
“This is a quality team that will offer us the skills we need against Argentina,” said Nienaber. “It also contains a good balance of experience and youth, which is vital as we build toward the Rugby World Cup.
“There are only four more matches before we kick off our Rugby World Cup campaign so it’s a fine balancing act to give all the players a chance to stake a claim for places while selecting teams that we believe are best equipped for the opposition we’ll face, and we’re pleased with the way we’ve managed that process up to now.
“Obviously the result in New Zealand was bitterly disappointing, but we came into the season with a plan that will hopefully allow us to select the best possible squad for the World Cup and peak at the right time.”
Nienaber said the team was resolute on bouncing back from their defeat against the All Blacks and to finish the Castle Lager Rugby Championship on a high note. He warned, however, that his charges had to fire from starting whistle, especially given the massive physical onslaught they expected from Argentina.
“The Pumas showed in their last two games that they can be a force to be reckoned with, so we have to be sharp from the get-go, be accurate in our execution on attack and defence, and use the opportunities we create,” said Nienaber. “They pride themselves on their set pieces, they are very dangerous at exploiting your mistakes, and they never stop fighting which makes them a challenging opponent.
“But that said, we know where we went wrong in our last match, and we are determined to correct the wrongs from that day and get our season back on track.
“We are anticipating a hard-fought battle and we know we need to be focused for the full 80 minutes, but we are ready to go out there and give everything.”
Malcolm Marx could equal a Springbok record on Saturday.
Nienaber said the fact that the match would mark their last on home soil this year made the match even more significant for the team.
“We saw in 2019 how passionate the nation is about the Springboks and hopefully we can make this a good send-off for the team,” said Nienaber.
“The support we have enjoyed at Emirates Airline Park in the past has been phenomenal, and although we know our Castle Lager Rugby Championship hopes of are out of hands at the moment, it would be a memorable day if things go our way, and the match proves to be a decider.”
Springbok team to face Argentina in Johannesburg:
15 – Willie le Roux (Vodacom Bulls) – 85 caps, 65 pts (13t)
14 – Cheslin Kolbe (Suntory Sungoliath) – 24 caps, 81 pts (12t, 3c, 5p)
13 – Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles) – 59 caps, 60 pts (12t)
12 – Damian de Allende (Panasonic Wild Knights) – 71 caps, 45 pts (9t)
11 – Kurt-Lee Arendse (Vodacom Bulls) – 8 caps, 50 pts (10t)
10 – Manie Libbok (DHL Stormers) – 5 caps, 19 pts (8c, 1p)
9 – Grant Williams (Cell C Sharks) – 3 caps, 0 pts
8 – Duane Vermeulen (captain, SA Rugby) – 67 caps, 15 pts (3t)
7 – Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz) – 68 caps, 30 pts (6t)
6 – Marco van Staden (Vodacom Bulls) – 11 caps, 0 pts
5 – Marvin Orie (DHL Stormers) – 12 caps, 0 pts
4 – Eben Etzebeth (Cell C Sharks) – 111 caps, 20 pts (4t)
3 – Frans Malherbe (DHL Stormers) – 60 caps, 5 pts (1t)
2 – Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 60 caps, 75 pts (15t)
1 – Steven Kitshoff (Ulster) – 73 caps, 10 pts (2t)
Replacements:
16 – Bongi Mbonambi (Cell C Sharks) – 58 caps, 60 pts (12t)
17 – Trevor Nyakane (Racing 92) – 59 caps, 5 pts (1t)
18 – Vincent Koch (Cell C Sharks) – 43 caps, 0 pts
19 – Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs) – 32 caps, 20 pts (4t)
20 – RG Snyman (Munster) – 25 caps, 5 pts (1t)
21 – Faf de Klerk (Canon Eagles) – 47 caps, 44 pts (5t, 2c, 5p)
22 – Lukhanyo Am (Cell C Sharks) – 33 caps, 30 pts (6t)
23 – Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers) – 29 caps, 36 pts (2t, 4c, 4p, 2d)
Springbok record against Argentina
Played 34; Won 30; Lost 3; Drawn 1; Points for: 1 193, Points against: 657; Tries scored 140, Tries conceded 62; Highest score 73-13; Biggest win 60 points. Win % 88%.
Milestones:
- Eben Etzebeth has played in 19 Tests against the Pumas and becomes the first Springbok to play in 20 Test matches against Argentina.
- Etzebeth will surpass former Springbok captain and hooker John Smit’s 111 Test caps on Saturday, making him the fourth most capped Springbok.
- Malcolm Marx needs one try to equal Schalk Burger’s record of 16 Test tries, the most by a Springbok forward.
- Grant Williams will earn his first Test start.
Miscellaneous:
- The total Test caps for the Springbok starting line-up is 718.
- There are 256 caps in the backline, with 462 caps among the forwards. On the bench there are a further 326 caps.
- The average caps per player in the backline is 36, the forwards 57, while the players on the bench average 40.
Content & Images from – South Africa Rugby
The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) is delighted to announce the return of the ‘A’ Interprovincial Men’s Championship which will kick off next month.
The times and dates of the opening three rounds of the Championship before Christmas have been confirmed, with a similar points-scoring system as used in the URC. A Championship winner will be declared after the final round of matches in May and the IRFU will be commissioning a legacy trophy to mark the 150th anniversary celebrations.
Welcoming the news, IRFU Performance Director David Humphreys commented:
“We’re delighted to kick-start the Men’s ‘A’ Interprovincial Championship which will provide a host of players with a further means of developing in a meaningful competition. With the success of the Emerging Ireland Tours, coupled with the return of an ‘A’ international against England next year, it is vital that we continue to provide players at provincial and Club levels with opportunities to impress outside of the traditional URC and EPCR fixture windows.
“Discussions have been ongoing for some time to provide players with meaningful games and all four provinces are unanimously supportive of this competition. It is also great to see provinces taking matches around their local Clubs.
“It is anticipated that as the competition progresses over the coming seasons these fixtures won’t clash with Energia All-Ireland League fixtures for the most part, thus potentially also offering players from the Club game with an opportunity to impress.
“This competition will form another important part of the representative pathway from Energia AIL to URC levels for Academy players upwards over the coming seasons.”
The dates for the post-Christmas fixtures will be confirmed in due course. Ticket details will be confirmed via the respective provinces.
IRFU 150 Interprovincial ‘A’ Championship Fixtures:
Saturday, 16th November:
Connacht Eagles v Leinster ‘A’ (Creggs RFC, 1pm)
Friday, 22nd November:
Ulster ‘A’ v Connacht Eagles (Ballymacaran Park, 3pm), Leinster ‘A’ v Munster ‘A’ (Lakelands, 5pm)
Friday, 29th November:
Munster ‘A’ v Ulster ‘A’ (New Ormond Park, 3pm)
Friday, 20th December:
Ulster ‘A’ v Munster ‘A’ (tbc, 3pm)
Saturday, 21st December:
Leinster ‘A’ v Connacht Eagles (Ollie Campbell Park, 2pm)
Weekend of 28/29 December:
Connacht Eagles v Ulster ‘A’ (tbc), Munster ‘A’ v Leinster ‘A’ (tbc)
Weekend of 9/10 May:
Connacht Eagles v Munster ‘A’ (tbc), Leinster ‘A’ v Ulster ‘A’ (tbc)
Weekend of 16/17 May:
Munster ‘A’ v Connacht Eagles (tbc), Ulster ‘A’ v Leinster ‘A’ (tbc)
Images & Content from Irish Rugby & Images © Inpho Photography
The Emerging Ireland team to face the Cheetahs in the final game of the three-match series in Bloemfontein on Wednesday evening (kick off 6pm Irish time, 7pm local time) has been named.
Leinster’s James Culhane will lead the team and he forms a new back-row alongside Harry Sheridan and Sean Edogbo, who makes his first start of the tour having come on as a replacement in the 29-24 win over Western Force on Sunday afternoon. Former Ireland Under-20 captain Evan O’Connell locks down with Darragh Murray, who featured in the opening 36-24 victory over the Pumas, with Alex Usanov named in the front row alongside hooker Stephen Smyth and Jack Aungier.
Darragh Murray of Emerging Ireland scores his sides second try – Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Steve Haag Sports/Darren Stewart
In the backline, Sam Prendergast starts his third game of the tour at out-half and he will be partnered by Cormac Foley, who featured as a second half replacements against the Australian Super Rugby side last time out. Connacht’s Hugh Gavin forms a midfield partnership with Hugh Cooney, with Ulster’s Zac Ward named in an exciting back tree alongside the returning Ben O’Connor at full-back and Andrew Osborne who moves to the right wing.
Munster loosehead prop George Hadden, who was called up to the squad last weekend, is set to make his first appearance after being named on the bench alongside Conor O’Tighearnaigh and Alex Soroka who started Sunday’s win. Hadden’s provincial team-mate Danny Sheahan provides cover once more at hooker, while Scott Wilson and Charlie Tector are also named on the bench for the Toyota Stadium clash alongside out-half Jack Murphy.
Looking ahead to the game, Emerging Ireland Head Coach Simon Easterby said: “When we set out at the beginning of our pre-camp in Dublin, we knew about the challenge of facing three sides in a week and we knew that every player in the group would have the opportunity to play his part. To a man each player has given his all so far and we are aiming to finish off the series with another positive performance on Wednesday.
The Cheetahs are a fiercely proud and strong side and it should be a lively game with a vocal home support behind them. It has been a fruitful past few weeks to date and we have learned a lot. While our performances haven’t been perfect, the players have embraced the challenge and played some brilliant rugby at times. The action has come thick and fast and we know that we have to be clinical in our execution. We will need to go up another level on Wednesday to get the performance we want and hopefully finish the tour on a high.”
Wednesday’s game will be broadcast once more on IrishRugby+ – click here.
Emerging Ireland (v The Cheetahs, Wednesday, October 9, 7pm local time, 6pm Irish time)
15: Ben O’Connor (UCC RFC/Munster)
14: Andrew Osborne (Naas RFC/Leinster)
13: Hugh Cooney (Clontarf FC/Leinster)
12: Hugh Gavin (Galwegians RFC/Connacht)
11: Zac Ward (Ballynahinch RFC/Ulster/Ireland Sevens)
10: Sam Prendergast (Lansdowne FC/Leinster)
9: Cormac Foley (Lansdowne FC/Leinster)
1: Alex Usanov (Clontarf FC/Leinster)
2: Stephen Smyth (Old Wesley RFC/Leinster)
3: Jack Aungier (Clontarf FC/Connacht)
4: Evan O’Connell (Young Munster RFC/Munster)
5: Darragh Murray (Buccaneers RFC/Connacht)
6: Harry Sheridan (Dublin University FC/Ulster)
7: Sean Edogbo (UCC RFC/Munster)
8: James Culhane (UCD RFC/Leinster) (captain)
Replacements:
16: Danny Sheahan (Cork Constitution FC/Munster)
17: George Hadden (Garryowen FC/Munster)
18: Scott Wilson (Queen’s University Belfast RFC/Ulster)
19: Conor O’Tighearnaigh (UCD RFC/Leinster)
20: Alex Soroka (Clontarf FC/Leinster)
21: Matthew Devine (Corinthians RFC/Connacht)
22: Jack Murphy (Clontarf FC/Ulster)
23: Charlie Tector (Lansdowne FC/Leinster)
Images & Content from Irish Rugby & Images © Inpho Photography
Following Emerging Ireland’s 29-24 victory over Western Force in Bloemfontein on Sunday three players, Gus McCarthy (Leinster), Sean O’Brien (Munster) and Jude Postlethwaite (Ulster) will return to their provinces.
The trio will leave South Africa on Monday afternoon and will be available for selection for their respective URC fixtures this weekend.
The squad will visit Heidedal Township this afternoon and will conclude the three-match series on Wednesday evening against The Cheetahs (kick off 7pm local, 6pm Irish time). That match will be live on irishrugby+
Watch the full match back here on irishrugby+
Check out the highlights from the win against Western Force below.
Images & Content from Irish Rugby & Images © Inpho Photography
Jordan signs for Bristol Bears
IRFU Announces Return Of ‘A’ Interprovincial Championship
