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Football Soccer Formula 1 Rugby Racing Golf Blogs TennisPublished: September 26, 2014
South Africa finish off their Rugby Championship with back-to-back home fixtures against their two closest southern hemisphere competitors, and Saturday’s visit of Australia promises to make or break their tournament. Sitting level on 10 points apiece, the two teams hoping to bring New Zealand back down to Earth will compete to remain within reach of the All Blacks. Injuries and other absences are beginning to take their toll on all four of the tournament’s squads, but it only adds to the drama at hand, with either the Springboks or the Wallabies looking to maintain their title hopes...
Published: September 25, 2014
New Zealand centre Conrad Smith has been a member of two World Cup squads: the 2011 champions and the ill-fated 2007 quarter-finalists. Despite the results of each, he recently claimed that the 2007 team was the better squad of the two. In reality, such comparisons are near impossible. They do, however, make for an interesting debate. Perhaps Smith is not too far off the truth; the 2007 All Blacks may very well have been a more talented bunch than the team that won the World Cup four years later. It was a World Cup that was lost after trying to be too clever off the field and some bad...
Published: September 25, 2014
New Zealand can all but secure the Rugby Championship title with victory in La Plata on Saturday. They travel to Argentina with a few injuries and one notable suspension per the New Zealand Herald, but face a battle-weary Pumas side, who really got the thin end of the wedge in terms of this tournament’s schedule. Daniel Hourcade’s men have racked up a punishing amount of air miles so far with trips to South Africa and back, then having to travel to New Zealand and Australia before flying home again. It was suggested by the Herald on Sunday’s Michael Burgess that this needs to...
Published: September 24, 2014
The battle to depose New Zealand from their perch atop the Rugby Championship standings will undergo radical change on Saturday, where South Africa play host to Australia at Newlands. Coming into the fixture, each side sit level on 10 points apiece and promise to be pulled apart before the final weekend’s climax, in which all matters will be decided. That being said, for either team to retain a hope of claiming the title as their own, this match figures as being as pivotal as any other, and a number of individual matchups across the pitch will have their say on the final score. Begin Slideshow Read More →
Published: September 23, 2014
No question about the eye–catching result of the weekend in Europe. Bath’s demolition of Leicester sent shock waves through the Premiership. With Sam Burgess still to add to Mike Ford’s options, Bath are looking serious contenders this season, while perennial play–off participants Leicester are so ravaged by injury that their rivals will be smelling Tiger blood if they can’t get their wounded back on the field soon. Elsewhere, Clermont carried on with their strong start in France and Toulon came roaring back from last week’s setback. In the PRO12, an unlikely...
Published: September 22, 2014
A weekend away from the international scene left rugby’s club powers free to dominate our most recent compilation of the biggest hits. In France, a frenetic fixture between Grenoble and Bayonne got spicy thanks to Rory Grice’s and Nigel Hunt’s power tactics on behalf of the former, ultimately paying dividends en route to a 24-15 win. South African Peet Marais was among the top 14’s highlight hits for all the wrong reasons, however, with his off-the-ball elbow against Toulon catching the referee’s ire. Connacht and Montpellier are responsible for our remaining European...
Published: September 22, 2014
New Zealand fly-half Aaron Cruden has confessed his embarrassment after the episode that resulted in him being kicked out of the All Blacks squad for their upcoming clashes with Argentina and South Africa. Cruden missed the team flight to South America after indulging in a drinking session and has admitted he is unashamedly embarrassed in a statement released by the New Zealand Rugby Union (h/t Eurosport.com): I am deeply embarrassed by this lack of judgement and have never been more disappointed in myself. I carry the burden of shame and disappointment and I am deeply apologetic to my team, to...
Published: September 20, 2014
New Zealand, South Africa, Australia and Argentina are enjoying their final rest week ahead of the last two rounds of this year’s Rugby Championship, with tensions building ahead of the competition’s closing chapters. The All Blacks enter their last two fixtures with a six-point lead over Australia and South Africa, but their chances of retaining the title remain balanced on a knife’s edge. Both they and the other hopefuls—Argentina no longer in the running—will play their part in deciding the overall standings come tournament’s end, with five of the biggest...
Published: September 19, 2014
Only two rounds of the 2014 Rugby Championship remain, with defenders New Zealand hoping to maintain their unbeaten drive by edging out Australia and South Africa to a third successive title. Argentina are the only team who no longer have a chance of winning this year’s crown—not that it ever seemed likely—but even they have a selection of stars with pressure mounting on their shoulders in particular. Some have failed to live up to expectations thus far and others will be seen as pivotal figures in their respective nations’ hopes of claiming the best finish possible as the...
Published: September 17, 2014
What constitutes a shock? David beating Goliath, certainly. But that’s not all. There can be—and have been—shocks within games between sides of equal standing, too. One side can seem so superior both before kick-off and most definitely during a game as they race into a commanding position. But momentum in the ebb and flow of a rugby match is a curious beast. It can leave a side in one instant and go flooding through the veins of their previously listless opponents just as quickly. This list covers the spectrum of moments that have tilted the rugby world on its axis. From unfancied...