Representatives of South Africa’s five existing Super Rugby franchises (Vodacom Bulls, Toyota Cheetahs, MTN Lions, The Sharks and DHL Stormers), the Southern Kings, the SARU presidency and management met in Johannesburg on Thursday in the latest in a series of meetings on the subject.

“Everyone was agreed that we must secure a solution that does not damage any of the existing franchises,” said Jurie Roux, CEO of SARU.

“It is a complex issue with no easy answers and we are determined to leave no stone unturned in finding that answer. A number of options were discussed but there is currently no preferred alternative to recommend to the General Council.”

Roux explained that the decision on Vodacom Super Rugby participation rests with the SARU General Council.

The next scheduled General Council meeting takes place on July 13.

During the Vodacom Cup Tjovitjo campaign, SA TAG Rugby and SARU introduced 126 schools, many of whom do not play rugby, to the concepts of Tag Rugby for the very 1^st time. The ultimate prize for one lucky school is to win the Tjovitjo van at the end of the tournament.

As a part of the programme, three schools from all of the participating schools that took part in the Vodacom Cup activations, and who best performed throughout the campaign were drawn by SARU’s Marketing Manager Sarah Mundy and Brand Manager, Oginga Siwundla. The chosen schools will be announced before the final of the Vodacom Cup final in Kimberley on Friday.

The three chosen schools are:

1. Greenwood Park Primary School: Durban / Sharks Rugby Union
2. Ikaya Primary School: Stellenbosch / WP Rugby Union
3. Zoetendal Academy: Bredasdorp / Boland Rugby Union

Each school will draw a key; one of the keys will open the door of the Tjovitjo van, and secure the van for their school, courtesy of Vodacom and SARU.

“A continued effort is required to ensure a follow through occurs and that all schools around the country start playing contact rugby in the future,” say Sarah Mundy. “The legacy, assistance and hope that sport and rugby delivers to our youth will live on, and the van itself will do this, long after the Vodacom Cup tournament is over.”

Steyn, playing in his 100^th match for the Vodacom Bulls against the Highlanders in Dunedin, will reach this mark a week after Habana made it to a century of Vodacom Super Rugby caps in Cape Town last Saturday evening.

Before them, only 11 South Africans and 54 players in total have reached the magical mark of 100 Vodacom Super Rugby matches.

While Steyn has made all of his previous 99 appearances at this level for the team from Pretoria, his former team-mate Habana has thus far notched up 61 matches for the Vodacom Bulls and 39 for the DHL Stormers, and will be playing in his 101^st Vodacom Super Rugby match against the Waratahs.

Steyn holds the record for the most points by a South African in Vodacom Super Rugby with 1,134 points (including 161 scored in 2012). He is second on the list of all time points’ scorers behind Dan Carter (1,289).

Habana is the top try scorer from this country, with 52 five-pointers (including four this season). Of his total number of tries, the Springbok flyer scored 37 for the Vodacom Bulls (2005-2009) and 15 for the DHL Stormers (from 2010). He is sixth on the overall list.

John Smit (Sharks) and AJ Venter (Cats, Sharks and Stormers) are the most-capped South African Vodacom Super Rugby players, with 125 appearances each. Victor Matfield is second on the list, with 124 games at this level, played for the Cats and the Vodacom Bulls.

The other South Africans who have played more than 100 Vodacom Super Rugby matches, are Stefan Terblanche (122), Danie Rossouw (116), Adrian Jacobs (113), Pedrie Wannenburg (113), Fourie du Preez (112), Ollie le Roux (108), Albert van den Berg (102) and Bakkies Botha (100).

Highlanders vs Vodacom Bulls

The Highlanders have never been a favourite opponent for the Vodacom Bulls as they are the New Zealand Vodacom Super Rugby team the men from Pretoria have won the fewest times against.

Since 1998, the Vodacom Bulls have only beaten the team from Otago four times in 14 matches. That is lower than their five wins over the Blues, also in 14 encounters, and the seven wins they’ve achieved over the Crusaders (from 19 matches), Chiefs (15 matches) and Hurricanes (14 matches).

What’s more, last year the Highlanders became the first team since April 2008 to beat the Vodacom Bulls at home (in matches played at Loftus Versfeld and the Orlando Stadium), ending a 20-match home winning streak. That would surely fire up the team from Dunedin this weekend after they have lost their last two Vodacom Super Rugby matches.

The Vodacom Bulls arrived in Dunedin at the top of the log and according to coach Frans Ludeke, they know what to expect on Saturday.

“We worked hard to be on top of the log, but the reality is that teams will be coming harder at us than before,” said Ludeke. “The Highlanders had two disappointing results in their last outings and will come out to knock us over, no doubt.

“We have picked up good momentum from our Australian leg of our tour and can welcome back three experienced campaigners, so if we focus on our own game and play to our strengths, we will be competitive.”

Morné Steyn, who will be playing in this 100^th Vodacom Super Rugby match, said: “This will be a great day for me, but the result will always come first. I have a certain task to do in the team environment and we play together as a team, so it should not be about me.

“It is great to reach 100 games and I will be the first Bulls player to achieve this milestone playing in pink,” the Springbok flyhalf joked.

Head to head (since 1998)

Highlanders vs Vodacom Bulls

Date: 19 May

SA Time: 07:30

Venue: Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin

Referee: Ian Smith (Australia)

Assistant referees: Garratt Williamson (New Zealand), Kane McBride (New Zealand)

Television match official: Matthew Muir (New Zealand)

Reds vs MTN Lions

Don’t be surprised if the injury-hit MTN Lions are written off far and wide before their Vodacom Super Rugby clash against the revived Reds in Brisbane on Saturday morning.

While the team from Gauteng have lost their last nine games after a round one victory over the Toyota Cheetahs, the Reds have slowly been improving after a disastrous start to the season.

But the MTN Lions know what it takes to win at Suncorp Stadium, where South African sides have generally not been too lucky in the last few years. The Reds won four straight home games against opposition from the Republic in 2010 and 2011, but in 2009, when they also beat the Toyota Cheetahs and The Sharks at home, they came up short against the MTN Lions (31-20).

In 2007 the MTN Lions also beat the Reds in Brisbane, by 26-20, and looking at their six previous encounters, it’s very even, with an average score of 26-25 to the Queenslanders.

For the first time this season, MTN Lions coach John Mitchell has been able to select an unchanged side. They have been beset by injuries, which have cost the Gautengers valuable momentum at various stages of the season.

Head to head (since 2006)

Reds vs MTN Lions

Date: 19 May

SA Time: 11:40

Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane

Referee: Keith Brown (New Zealand)

Assistant referees: Angus Gardner (Australia), Damien Mitchelmore (Australia)

Television match official: Steve Lesczcynski (Australia)

Toyota Cheetahs vs The Sharks

The Toyota Cheetahs will try and emulate their performances from 2009 and 2010 when they host The Sharks at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein on Saturday afternoon.

On those two occasions, as well as in 2006, they upset the more-fancied Sharks in this competition at a time when they were regarded as a bogey side for the KwaZulu-Natalians.

Last year things didn’t go their way, with The Sharks winning both encounters between these two sides, although they had to fight really hard to emerge victorious from their visit to Bloemfontein (23-18).

Adriaan Strauss, captain of the Toyota Cheetahs, doesn’t buy into this “bogey” theory: “We’re going into the match very positively and are looking forward to playing them in Bloem.

“We are not their bogey side as that would almost imply we only want to perform against them, which isn’t true. We aim to win every week and this is a very tough and important game at our home ground.

“The Sharks can be very dangerous from broken play and we need to ensure we keep the ball and play most of the rugby on Saturday.”

Naka Drotské, coach of the Toyota Cheetahs, agrees with his captain and said he would like to see his team build on their second-half performance last weekend in Cape Town against the DHL Stormers, when they outscored the home team 14-0 after the break, but still went down 16-14.

“Our physicality was good against the Stormers,” said Drotské. “We stood our ground and played well – and we need a similar performance upfront this weekend. The Sharks’ pack is very good and they are especially physical at the breakdown. It won’t be easy.”

Sharks coach John Plumtree, who saw his team move into playoff contention last weekend thanks to a thrilling victory over the Force, realises the trip to Bloemfontein will be tricky.

“We’re in the top six, but there is still a lot of rugby to play and we just need to keep building,” said Plumtree. “We know there is a huge challenge ahead of us with the Cheetahs and then some big derby games at home.

“So we’ve got to keep asking the same questions of ourselves every week about performance and playing for each other and then see where we end up. Derby games in South Africa are huge and attract big crowds and the effort from both teams goes up a few levels.

“Our side looks fit, the guys coming back from injury are fit and that will help, especially when playing at altitude. But a big part of the challenge is also mental, we need to be in a good space mentally and physically and go up there believing in ourselves.”

Head to head (since 2006)

Toyota Cheetahs vs The Sharks

Date: 19 May

SA Time: 17:05

Venue: Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein

Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)

Assistant referees: Rasta Rasivhenge (South Africa), Tiaan Jonker (South Africa)

Television match official: Gerrie Coetzee (South Africa)

DHL Stormers vs Waratahs

If the DHL Stormers can replicate their performance from last year when their first visitors from Australia arrived in Cape Town, the Waratahs are in for a long night at DHL Newlands on Saturday.

Last year, the Force were the first Australian visitors to Newlands and they got hammered, by 51-16. The DHL Stormers have not hosted an Aussie side yet this year and they wouldn’t mind dishing out the same sort of punishment to the Waratahs.

But the teams from Perth and Sydney are vastly different, although both of them have failed to set rugby fields on fire this season. The Force got smashed in Durban last weekend and the Waratahs lost in Sydney to the Vodacom Bulls.

In fact, in 14 matches between teams from South Africa and Australia thus far this year, the Aussies have won only three – the Brumbies beat the MTN Lions and the Toyota Cheetahs and the Waratahs got the better of The Sharks.

And while they have been the most successful side this season, losing only once in their first 10 games, the DHL Stormers have struggled for consistency when scoring tries. They’ve notched up 17, with only the MTN Lions’ 15 tries less than that of the Capetonians.

This is what DHL Stormers captain Jean de Villiers had to say about the apparent try scoring drought in Cape Town: “We are conscious of the fact that winning is more important than the way that you play. A couple of years ago we would have given anything just to get a couple of wins on the trot, so I think that we are happy with where we are. We know that we are not the finished product yet.”

De Villiers also warned that the Waratahs could be a difficult opponent this weekend.

“They are not lying too good on the log so it is a bit of a must-win situation for them, but they are a quality side,” said De Villiers. “They do the basics really well, they have got a really good first-phase, a good defence and they can score tries as well.”

Head to head (since 1998)

DHL Stormers vs Waratahs

Date: 19 May

SA Time: 19:10

Venue: DHL Newlands, Cape Town

Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)

Assistant referees: Stuart Berry (South Africa), Christie du Preez (South Africa)

Television match official: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

Other fixtures (SA times):

Friday, May 18

09:35: Hurricanes vs Brumbies (Wellington)

Saturday, May 19

09:35: Crusaders vs Blues (Christchurch)

Sunday, May 20

08:35: Force vs Rebels (Perth)

David Raikuna breaking through the Crusaders defense. Photo by Getty Images.

Wider Training Group lock / loose forward Steven Luatua will make his run-on debut for the Blues when they face the Crusaders in Christchurch  on Saturday night (kick-off 7.35pm).

21-year-old Luatua, who became a fulltime member of the Blues squad following injuries to Jerome Kaino, Brad Mika and Chris Lowrey, came off the bench last week against the Lions, but is relishing the opportunity of making his first start against the Crusaders on Saturday.

“When they named the team I was in awe and just thought ‘what have I gotten myself into?’” Luatua quipped.

“But I was thinking about it last night and I’m really excited about the challenge. Playing the Crusaders in Christchurch, what better stage to make your starting debut on so I just want to go out there and do the jersey proud.”

Luatua will start at blindside flanker as Luke Braid switches to number 8 in one of just two changes to the starting XV.

“Steven showed a lot of composure in a short amount of time when he came on last week and demonstrated his ability so it’s a great opportunity for a young guy to get out there and make the most of it,” Blues head coachPat Lamsaid.

In the only other change, Tevita Mailau slots into tighthead prop in place of Charlie Faumuina who suffered a grade two calf tear just days before being named in the 35-man All Blacks training squad.

For just the second time this season, Lam has been afforded the luxury of naming an unchanged backline.

10 players in the Blues 22 for Saturday night’s clash were not in the 22 when the two teams played each other in the opening round of the season, with nine now out injured – Jerome Kaino, Charlie Faumuina, Keven Mealamu, Chris Lowrey, Anthony Boric, Brad Mika, Isaia Toeava, Rene Ranger and Rudi Wulf.

However there are two All Blacks who did not face the Crusaders in round one who line up for the New Zealand derby in Tony Woodcock and Ma’a Nonu who will add some much needed experience and direction to a relatively young side.

Lam said he was expecting a fierce challenge from the fired-up Crusaders.

“It’s certainly going to be a dogfight down there,” he said.

“There’s going to be a full crowd I hear and they’re hurting, we’re hurting but at the end of the day it’s a Blues v Crusaders game and there will be plenty of feeling like there always is. It’s a great opportunity for us to try and back up from last week.”

The Blues team to face the Crusaders at AMI Stadium in Christchurch on Saturday night (kick-off 7.35pm) is:

1. Tony Woodcock
2. Tom McCartney
3. Tevita Mailau
4. Liaki Moli
5. Ali Williams
6. Steven Luatua (WTG)
7. Daniel Braid
8. Luke Braid ©
9. Piri Weepu
10. Gareth Anscombe
11. Benson Stanley
12. Michael Hobbs
13. Ma’a Nonu
14. David Raikuna
15. Hadleigh Parkes (WTG)

16. James Parsons (WTG)
17. Angus Ta’avao
18. Filo Paulo
19. Peter Saili
20. Alby Mathewson
21. Lachie Munro
22. Sherwin Stowers

* WTG = Wider Training Group

Not available due to injury: Jerome Kaino, Charlie Faumuina, Keven Mealamu, Chris Lowrey, Anthony Boric, Brad Mika, Isaia Toeava, Rene Ranger, Rudi Wulf, George Moala.

Zac Guilford of the Crusaders flying against the MTN Lions at Coca-Cola Park in 2012. Photo by Anton Geyser /Rugby15.

The Crusaders will play the Blues this Saturday night for the second time this season.  They last played at Eden Park in the opening round of the Investec Super Rugby season and the Crusaders won by 19 points to 18.  This time the Crusaders will host the Blues at the new AMI Stadium in Addington.

Head Coach Todd Blackadder has named his team, which includes seven changes in the starting fifteen from the team that lost to the Rebels last weekend.

Most of the changes are in the backs and include Israel Dagg taking the fullback spot and Andy Ellis returning to halfback, so Tom Marshall and Willi Heinz move to the bench. Adam Whitelock will start on the right wing this week, and Dan Carter will move to first five, which allows Ryan Crotty to play at second five.

Kieran Read and Luke Whitelock were both unavailable for selection due to injuries sustained during last week’s game.  Read is still recovering from a heavy fall onto his pelvis, and Whitelock is being rested after a minor head injury.  That sees captain Richie McCaw move to number 8 and Matt Todd come in at number 7.

Tom Taylor is also unavailable for selection this week after a minor quadriceps strain.

Crusaders team to play the Blues:

Reserves

16. Quentin MacDonald

17. Ben Franks

18. Tom Donnelly

19. Brendon O’Connor

20. WIlli Heinz

21. Tyler Bleyendaal

22. Tom Marshall

The IRB Council on Tuesday reached agreement that the 2015 tournament will kick off on September 18, which represented a compromise between the organiser’s preferred date and that of the SANZAR nations, who will be engaged in the Castle Rugby Championship until shortly before Rugby World Cup kick off.

The meeting also approved a £50m investment into the global game from 2012 to 2015 to address the challenges faced by national unions who lose income in Rugby World Cup years.

SARU and other Tier 1 nations will each receive £7m (R93m) as part of the new financial model to promote stability for national unions.

In addition, a sub-committee has been formed to investigate the current Rugby World Cup financial model and make proposals on rights management. One of the key concerns is to ensure appropriate exposure for national union sponsors and financial partners. Jurie Roux, SARU CEO, is a member of the four-person committee which also features Sophie Goldsmith, the commercial director of England’s RFU, and the CEOs of Wales, Roger Lewis, and New Zealand, Steve Tew.

“We are pleased with the outcomes of this week’s discussions as they have addressed and resolved a number of concerns of the Tier 1 nations in the southern and northern hemisphere,” said Roux.

“A Rugby World Cup year is a financial challenge to all competing unions and the new financing model goes some way to answering those concerns. Typically unions receive reduced rights fees from sponsors (because of more limited exposure), there are fewer home test matches, while expenses increase as a part of Rugby World Cup preparations.”

Roux said that, in addition, the four Castle Rugby Championship nations would share a £10m allocation for any financial impacts on the tournament in 2015.

These two sides not only came out tops in the two pools, but were also impressive in their playoff matches in the last fortnight, advancing to the final with relative ease.

It would take a very strong argument to say that the two most deserving teams are not in Friday’s final. DHL WP have not lost once this season, while GWK Griquas were only pipped at the post in their pool match against the MTN Lions.

Not only have these two sides collected the most log points, but they’ve also scored the most tries in the competition (Griquas with 40), but they’ve also conceded the least (WP with 16, the same as the Ford Pumas, whom they beat in last weekend’s semi-final in Cape Town).

GWK Griquas coach Pote Human might disagree, but the history book would suggest the team from the Northern Cape would be the favourites on Friday. Not only are they playing in their seventh Vodacom Cup final, but they are hosting their fourth and are aiming for their fifth title.

And of the three finals they have hosted in Kimberley, in 1998, 2005 and 2007, GWK Griquas have never lost.

On the contrary, DHL WP will be playing in their first-ever final at this level. But this Capetonian team know how to win – in the last two seasons under coach John Dobson, they’ve only lost once, in last year’s quarter-finals (they also drew one game in 2011).

Only six teams have won the Vodacom Cup – GWK Griquas and the MTN Golden Lions (four times each), the Vodacom Blue Bulls (three), the Toyota Free State XV, Valke and Pampas XV (once each).

Vodacom Cup Final

GWK Griquas v DHL Western Province

Date: Friday, May 18 2012

Kick-off: 19:10

Venue: GWK Park, Kimberley

Referee: Lourens van der Merwe

Assistant referees: Rasta Rasivhenge and Pieter Janse van Vuuren

TMO: Gerrie Coetzee

The teams:

GWK Griquas: Francois Brummer, Rocco Jansen, PJ Vermeulen, Matthew Rosslee, Wilmaure Louw, Marnitz Boshoff, Jacques Coetzee; Leon Karemaker, Jonathan Adendorf, Jaco Nepgen, Ligtoring Landman, Edwin Hewitt, Lourens Adriaanse, Ryno Barnes (captain), Janro van Niekerk. Replacements: Simon Westraadt, Steph Roberts, Ivann Espag, Chase Minnaar, Marnus Hugo, Jean Stemmet, Rudi Vogt.

DHL Western Province: Kurt Coleman, Danie Poolman, JP du Plessis, Marcel Brache, Ederies Arendse, Demetri Catrakilis, Nic Groom (vice-captain); Nick Fenton-Wells (captain), Tyrone Holmes, Rohan Kitshoff, Quinn Roux, Hilton Lobberts, Tom Botha, Sidney Tobias, Schalk Ferreira. Replacements (from): Rob Herring, Deon Carstens, Wilhelm van der Sluys, Reuben Johannes, Rick Schroeder, Mike van der Spuy, Berton Klaasen, Damian de Allende, Gerbrandt Grobler.

Road to the Final:

DHL Western Province

10 March: beat Regent Boland Kavaliers 51-22 in Cape Town

17 March: beat the Sharks XV 17-15 in Durban

24 March: beat EP Kings 30-25 in Cape Town

31 March: beat Border Bulldogs 31-7 in East London

14 April: beat Pampas XV 20-16 in Stellenbosch

21 April: beat SWD Eagles 29-14 in Oudtshoorn

28 April: beat Toyota Free State XV 42-31 in Durbanville

5 May: beat MTN Golden Lions 58-34 in Cape Town (quarter-final)

12 May: beat Ford Pumas 33-20 in Cape Town (semi-final)

GWK Griquas

10 March: beat Vodacom Blue Bulls 36-17 in Pretoria

17 March: beat Griffons 55-10 in Kimberley

31 March: beat Ford Pumas 21-20 in Witbank

14 April: lost to MTN Golden Lions 35-30 in Kimberley

21 April: beat Leopards 42-40 in Potchefstroom

26 April: beat Valke 83-3 in Kimberley

4 May: beat Pampas XV 26-18 in Kimberley (quarter-final)

11 May: beat Vodacom Blue Bulls 30-17 in Kimberley (semi-final)

Vodacom Cup Finals:

1998: GWK Griquas beat MTN Golden Lions 57-0

1999: MTN Golden Lions beat GWK Griquas 73-7

2000: Toyota Free State XV beat GWK Griquas 44-24

2001: Vodacom Blue Bulls beat Regent Boland Kavaliers 42-24

2002: MTN Golden Lions beat Vodacom Blue Bulls 54-38

2003: MTN Golden Lions beat Vodacom Blue Bulls 26-17

2004: MTN Golden Lions beat Vodacom Blue Bulls 35-16

2005: GWK Griquas beat Leopards 27-25

2006: Valke beat Sharks XV 25-17

2007: GWK Griquas beat Vodacom Blue Bulls 33-29

2008: Vodacom Blue Bulls beat Toyota Free State XV 25-21

2009: GWK Griquas beat Vodacom Blue Bulls 28-19

2010: Vodacom Blue Bulls beat Toyota Free State XV 31-29

2011: Pampas XV beat Vodacom Blue Bulls 14-9

Vodacom Cup Top Points’ Scorers 2012

(more than 50 points scored in the season)

Player	Team	Tries	Conv	Pen	Drops	Tot
Gouws Prinsloo	Sharks XV	3	22	25	0	134
Demetri Catrakilis	DHL Western Province	0	15	28	1	117
JC Roos	Ford Pumas	0	23	23	0	115
Rudi Vogt	GWK Griquas	2	18	20	0	106
Santiago Gonzalez Iglesias	Pampas XV	1	11	11	2	66
Justin van Staden	Eastern Province Kings	0	6	17	1	66
Ntabeni Dukisa	Border Bulldogs	0	9	15	0	63
Juan Kotze	Valke	2	11	9	0	59
Benjamin Madero	Pampas XV	2	9	9	1	58
André Pretorius	Leopards	0	12	9	1	54
Elric van Vuuren	SWD Eagles	3	5	9	0	52
Guy Cronje	MTN Golden Lions	0	12	9	0	51

]]> http://www.rugby15.co.za/2012/05/vodacom-cup-preview-%e2%80%93-the-final/feed/ 0 http://www.rugby15.co.za/2012/05/lions-team-to-take-on-the-reds/ http://www.rugby15.co.za/2012/05/lions-team-to-take-on-the-reds/#comments Wed, 16 May 2012 12:49:36 +0000 Morgan Piek http://www.rugby15.co.za/?p=12180

Jaco Taute on the charge. Photo by Anton Geyser /Rugby15.

The Golden Lions Rugby Union announced the MTN Lions team to play in their eleventh match of the 2012 Vodacom Super Rugby competition against the Reds on Saturday, 19 May 2012 this morning.

There are no changes to the team that played the Blues last week.

The team is:

15. Andries Coetzee

14. Deon Van Rensburg

13. Lionel Mapoe

12. Jaco Taute

11. Michael Killian

10. Elton Jantjies

9. Ross    Cronje

8. Joshua Strauss (c)

7. Grant Hattingh

6. Derick Minnie

5. Ruan   Botha

4. Franco Van der Merwe

3. Patric Cilliers

2. Callie Visagie

1. JC Janse van Rensburg

Reserves:

16. Martin Bezuidenhout

17. CJ Van der Linde

18. Cobus Grobbelaar

19. Jaco Kriel

20. Tian Meyer

21. Juan Combrinck

22. James Kamana

Associate Director Stuart McConnell of SA TAG Rugby commented that children have come to recognise the Tjovitjo van and are obviously thrilled when they see it arriving. “The school kids have found value in the games played, and the brightly branded van with the rugby tag clinic equipment as well as the much loved Gain Line rugby comics brightens up their day.”

“The visual impact created throughout the towns visited has been massive from a marketing perspective. The brand awareness within specifically chosen areas that needed the attention has been sensational” says Sarah Mundy, Marketing Manager of SARU, “especially seeing that the Tjovitjo van is an activation element with a greater long term purpose.”

After the campaign, the Tjovitjo van will be donated to a school that shows the most promise in enriching themselves within the game of rugby. It ties directly back to how SARU aims to sustain and develop rugby within lesser privileged areas around South Africa. “The school that best displays their achievements through the Legacy clinics and the headmaster initiative with the most school children learning and playing the right way, will be awarded the van.” says Mundy. “It isn’t purely about numbers.”

The school that wins will benefit enormously. “Being able to transport children to and from sports matches gives the school a winning edge. It boosts school morale and creates the opportunity for the school to participate at a greater level within the sporting school arena. It allows children to travel as team, which builds team spirit, its useful to transport sports equipment, and aside from everything within the school, it takes a large burden off parents shoulders – something vital when dealing with communities who either do not have transport, or who are working and don’t have the capacity to take time off to lift their children to sports activities – so it will in fact free a lot more children up to play sport instead of restricting them to home after school.”

Mundy says that as a side thought, it’s also nice to think that as the van continues its journey in its new home at the winning school, with its brightly, bold branding and hopefully memorable impact of what the programme has done for the school, the Vodacom Cup and Tjovitjo brand, and the legacy of the campaign will live on, long after the campaign is over.

]]> http://www.rugby15.co.za/2012/05/rugby-in-motion-with-tjovitjo-van-for-winning-community-school/feed/ 0 http://www.rugby15.co.za/2012/05/dhl-stormers-side-to-face-the-waratahs/ http://www.rugby15.co.za/2012/05/dhl-stormers-side-to-face-the-waratahs/#comments Wed, 16 May 2012 11:43:55 +0000 Morgan Piek http://www.rugby15.co.za/?p=12173

Highly impressive Stormers second-rower Eben Eztebeth. Photo by Mike la Grange /Rugby15.

Allister Coetzee today named the DHL Stormers team to take on the Waratahs at DHL Newlands on Saturday 19 May at 19h10.

There are 2 changes to the starting XV that beat the Cheetahs last week, the first a rotational change with the hookers trading jerseys. Liebenberg moves from the bench into the starting line-up with Fourie playing from the bench in jersey 16. The other change is an injury enforced change that sees Canadian International and London Irish no 8 Jebb Sinclair get his first start at the back of the scrum, in for the injured Nizaam Carr. DHL WP player Don Armand is named as cover on the bench in jersey 19.

This week also sees Duvenage get his 50^th cap for the DHL Stormers and Habana will play his 100^th Super Rugby game.

The DHL Stormers have won 9 from 10 starts this season and are currently 1 point behind the Bulls in the SA Conference, 4^th on the overall log, but just 1 point off the top of the overall log.

The game is the DHL Stormers last home fixture until after the June international break when on 30 June they take on the Lions at DHL Newlands. The DHL Stormers in the next 2 weeks face the Sharks and the Bulls, both away, before the June international test window.

Your DHL Stormers team to take on the Waratahs is as follows:

15. Joe Pietersen

14. Gio Aplon

13. Juan de Jongh

12. Jean de Villiers (C)

11. Bryan Habana

10. Peter Grant

  9. Dewaldt Duvenage

  8. Jebb Sinclair

  7. Rynhardt Elstadt

  6. Siya Kolisi

  5. Andries Bekker (VC)

  4. Eben Etzebeth

  3. Brok Harris

  2. Tiaan Liebenberg

  1. Steven Kitshoff

Reserves

16. Deon Fourie

17. Frans Malherbe

18. De Kock Steenkamp

19. Don Armand

20. Louis Schreuder

21. Burton Francis

22. Gerhard van den Heever

Referee: Craig Joubert