THAT DANGEROUS TACKLE FROM WILLIAMS DESERVED A BAN...?

I saw the tackle happen live on Sunday, in the Super Rugby game between the Sharks and the Crusaders and my immediate reaction was that Sonny Bill Williams will get a certain ban...!

BUT...It is amazing how certain countries seem to be favoured when these kind of offenses happen on a rugby field? If that was somebody like a Bakkies Botha or a Schalk Burger? Surely they would have received an immediate ban of at least 2 weeks - What is up with this SANZAR?

This has to stop now...?

(Read more...) http://www.sport24.co.za

SANZAR’s attempts to establish a consistent, fair and open citing system took a massive step backwards when All Black midfielder Sonny Bill Williams escaped punishment for a dangerous and high tackle on Sharks No8 Ryan Kankowski during Sunday’s match between the Sharks and Crusaders.

With Bakkies Botha being cited without success a week earlier for a cleanout at the ruck that was neither as dangerous, or intentional as Williams’ hit, it once again raised the spectre of there being two sets of rules in Super Rugby - one for South Africans and one for the rest.

Williams went in on Kankowski, with deliberate intent with a shoulder and elbow which connected heavily with the No8, making even the SkySport commentators wince and speak about the illegality of the challenge.

But the referee on the day, Steve Walsh, nor his touch judges acted on the incident, and SANZAR’s citing commissioner decided not to cite, ostensibly “because it wasn’t a red card offence” in his opinion.

SANZAR head of marketing and communications Anthony Mackaiser told SuperSport.com “no citing or referral has been received by SANZAR” on Monday and therefore no further hearing nor subsequent punishment will happen.

While Williams is a star of the current Super Rugby season, a case of inconsistency can be made when you consider what would happen if Botha performed a similar shoulder charge?

Let us FORGET the Cricket for now and concentrate on Super Rugby Action...!

It saddens us all to see our beloved National Cricket team going out of the WC tournament in such a manner, but the sporting world goes on and there are loads of other sport to concentrate on right now, if you are a South African supporter...!

Bafana-Bafana beat Egypt on Saturday in the dying minutes of the game and what a win for our National Soccer team - WELL DONE!!

The Super 15 action is heating up and what a great week-end of action we had...Stormers doing us proud down here in the Cape by stacking up the points against the Force from 'Down Under'.

And what an exhausting game it was to watch on Sunday, between the Sharks and the Crusaders. I do not think the historic Twickenham has seen this kind of rugby-action in a very long time. This game was a great exhibition for Rugby and Super Rugby...!!

Let us Review the Clash of SA's two Top Super Rugby Teams:  SHARKS vs STORMERS

Sharks are the 'pace-setters'

2011-03-29 10:29

Allister Coetzee (Gallo)

http://www.sport24.co.za




Gavin Rich - SuperSport

Johannesburg - The DHL Stormers appear determined to go to Durban for their Vodacom Super Rugby derby against the Sharks on Saturday as under-dogs, with coach Allister Coetzee saying that the hosts have been the pace-setters in South African rugby since last August.

The Stormers currently top the South African conference, five log points ahead of the Sharks. Four of those points are made up of the bye that the Stormers have had and the Sharks have yet to have, which distorts the view a little bit.

But whichever way you look at it, the Sharks, after going down to the Chiefs and then the Crusaders, now have two more losses on their record than the Stormers have. That means that while the Stormers will be only too aware that the two Sharks defeats have come during an overseas tour, something that still lies in their future, the Sharks will be desperate at Kings Park.

STORMERS BULLY THE BULLS AT LOFTUS...

The day the Bulls were bullied

http://www.sport24.co.za/Rugby/Super15

2011-03-20 20:00

Bryan Habana (Gallo)

Comment: Rob Houwing, Sport24 chief writer

Cape Town - With four wins from four starts, including now such a seismic one at Loftus, Stormers fans could even start to excuse this little “win without many tries” phenomenon, eh?

For the record, it was just one touchdown apiece in their breathless, uncompromising Super Rugby derby against the Bulls in Pretoria on Saturday, with a barrage of penalty goals from Peter Grant again the keynote activity in scoreboard terms.

And yet supporters of the Cape franchise – there seemed to be appreciative swathes of them in the champions’ corral, which must have aided the away cause just a bit – wouldn’t have spent their immediate post-match time lamenting the relative try drought.

Instead they would have toasted what amounted to a serious warning to the Bulls, from the beaten finalists of 2010, that they might indeed muster the grunt and endeavour to go one better this year.

Just a wee tempering reminder at this point: conference fixtures continue until mid-June, before the knockout stuff kicks in, so there is plenty of time yet for twists, turns, dramatic momentum shifts ... and of course jaw-dropping results like the one in Sydney earlier on Saturday. (Who, pray tell, had the Cheetahs not only to beat the Waratahs but do so by 20 points?)

But there’s no disputing that the Bulls were truly rattled by this 23-13 reverse at a supposed fortress that has suddenly become a gateway to pleasure over successive rounds for the Highlands and Stormers.

SUPER RUGBY NEWS: Sharks vs Chiefs

Sharks' unbeaten run ends

2011-03-18 10:19

Chiefs v Sharks (File)

Garrin Lambley

Cape Town - The Chiefs have beaten the Sharks in a scrappy Vodacom Super Rugby clash in Hamilton on Friday.

The Chiefs won 15-9 after the Sharks led 6-3 at half-time.

In a tryless match, the Chiefs kicked five penalties through fullback Tim Nanai-Williams (1) and replacement flyhalf Mike Delany (4).

The Sharks replied with three penalties by flyhalf Patrick Lambie.

The Chiefs picked up four points for their victory, but remain bottom of the New Zealand Conference. They do however move up to 10th overall.

The Sharks picked up a bonus point for losing by seven or fewer points, and extended their lead atop both the SA Conference and overall logs.

In next weekend's Round 6 action, the Chiefs host the Blues in Hamilton, while the Sharks travel to Twickenham in London to play the Crusaders.

Teams:

Chiefs:
15. Tim Nanai-Williams, 14. Lelia Masaga, 13. Richard Kahui, 12. Tana Umaga, 11. Sitiveni Sivivatu, 10. Stephen Donald, 9. Brendon Leonard, 8. Liam Messam (captain), 7. Tanerau Latimer, 6. Scott Waldrom, 5. Isaac Ross, 4. Craig Clarke, 3. Nathan White, 2. Hikawera Elliott, 1. Ben May

Substitutes: 16. Aled De Malmanche, 17. Sona Taumalolo, 18. Romana Graham, 19. Fritz Lee, 20. Taniela Moa, 21. Mike Delany, 22. Dwayne Sweeney

Sharks:
15 Louis Ludik, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Stefan Terblanche, 12 Meyer Bosman, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Patrick Lambie, 9. Charl McLeod, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Keegan Daniel, 5 Alistair Hargreaves, 4 Steven Sykes, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 John Smit (captain)

Substitutes: 16 Craig Burden, 17 Tendai Mtawarira, 18 Anton Bresler, 19 Jacques Botes, 20 Conrad Hoffmann, 21 Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 22 Adrian Jacobs


http://www.sport24.co.za/Rugby/Super15

SUPER 15 ACTION AT TWICKENHAM on 27 March...!

http://www.sport24.co.za/Rugby/Super15

The Rugby Football Union confirmed on Monday that the Vodacom Super Rugby match between the Crusaders and the Sharks next weekend will be held at Twickenham on March 27.

Their Crusaders' home ground in Christchurch, the AMI Stadium, was damaged in an earthquake last month, and in all likelyhood will miss out on staging World Cup matches later this year.

The match was initially scheduled for next Friday, but that would have clashed with Harlequins’ match against Gloucester.

Sharks commercial manager Rudolf Straeuli had said on Monday that the decision taken would have to be in their best interests.

They play the Stormers the following Saturday (2 April) in Durban. Apart from the Sharks, the Cape side is the only other unbeaten side in the competition.

The Sharks will only be back in South African the following Monday or Tuesday, which leaves them with limited time to prepare for the Stormers.

The match will kick off at 18:00 (SA time), with £5 from each ticket sold going towards fundraising by Red Cross for the earthquake appeal.

An RFU spokesperson said: "It's fantastic news that we were able to find a date that would enable us to host the game as the centrepiece of a weekend of fundraising for the people of Christchurch.

"Having some of the southern hemisphere's best players on display at Twickenham will be a treat for all English based fans of Super Rugby.

"It is great to see the rugby family pull together for such a worthy cause and we would like to thank all our stakeholders for their flexibility and support in making this happen.