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The eighth round of SA Rugby’s Women’s Premier Division will take place in Pretoria, Durban, Bloemfontein and Nelson Mandela Bay on Saturday in what will be a frantic scramble by most teams to secure semi-final positions by August when the play-offs will be contested. Six of the eight teams are still in a realistic position …
Having worked over the Hollywoodbets Sharks last week to clinch their first SA Shield, the Vodacom Bulls must now prove they can knock out play-off-calibre opponents with a late flurry when they square up against Benetton on the Highveld. It’s fight week in Pretoria and success for the hosts of Saturday’s Vodacom URC quarter-final will …
Former Scotland captain and current Premier Sports pundit John Barclay has hailed the Vodacom URC play-off showdown between Glasgow Warriors and the DHL Stormers as the tie of the round. It will be fourth meets fifth at Scotstoun on Saturday night in the last of the weekend’s four Quarter-Finals. Having been league leaders just a …
Lock Adré Smith has signed a contract extension that will keep him in DHL Stormers colours until at least 2027. The hard-working second rower joins teammates Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Dan du Plessis, Ruben van Heerden, Evan Roos, Manie Libbok and Suleiman Hartzenberg in confirming a new three-year contract. Having joined the DHL Stormers in 2021, Smith …
The Vodacom Bulls and DHL Stormers will fly the South African flag in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship quarter-finals against Benetton and the Glasgow Warriors respectively on Saturday, with semi-final berths be at stake as the competition reaches the knock-out stages. The Vodacom Bulls, who finished second on the log, will have the luxury of …
The DHL Stormers can look to Munster’s incredible journey to the 2022-23 Vodacom URC title for inspiration as they embark on a trip to Glasgow looking to win a first play-off on the road. It’s fight week as the contenders for 2023-24 Vodacom URC title weigh in for the first round of the play-offs where …
Edinburgh Academical host Hawick RFC in the 2024-2025 Men’s Premiership opening weekend, repeating this season’s Scottish Cup final classic. Meanwhile, 2023-2024 men’s champions Currie Chieftains begin their title defence with a trip to Ayr RFC. And Watsonian FC begin their own title defence in the Women’s Premiership against Cartha Queens Park RFC. Scottish Rugby has …
The Stade Toulousain replacement second row, Richie Arnold, has been suspended for three weeks following an independent Disciplinary Hearing arising from the Investec Champions Cup final at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday, 25 May 2024. Arnold was issued with a red card by match referee, Matthew Carley (England), in the 10th minute of extra time …
Edinburgh Rugby wing Jake Henry today penned a new two-year extension in the capital – a deal which will see the 23-year-old speedster join Championship side Coventry Rugby on a season-long loan for 2024/25. Henry made his long-awaited first appearance for Edinburgh in a try scoring debut against DHL Stormers at Cape Town Stadium earlier …
SA Rugby has noted the outcome of the proceedings of an arbitration hearing in respect of the rest periods for contracted provincial rugby players, announced on Monday. The Arbitrator had been asked to rule in a dispute between SARPA (the South African Rugby Players’ Organisation) and SAREO (the South African Rugby Employers’ Organisation). SA Rugby …
Senior men’s head coach Waren Gatland has named a 36-player training squad for Wales’ 2024 summer fixtures. Wales face South Africa in an away fixture at Twickenham Stadium on 22 June before heading for Australia on 26 June to play two Test matches against the Wallabies and a fixture against the Queensland Reds. An updated …
At the end of the most drama-filled, high stakes rugby sevens event in history, France men and Australia women were crowned HSBC SVNS 2024 Champions at the inaugural Grand Final in Madrid. France will enter their home Olympic Games full of confidence after a stunning 19-5 victory over Argentina in the men’s final, denying the …
[Listen to coach Philip Snyman speak.] It was not the result they had hoped for, but the Springbok Sevens will take away valuable lessons from Madrid this weekend after they finished sixth in the HSBC SVNS Grand Finale in Spain. The Blitzboks outplayed Australia in their first match on Sunday, but were pipped by Ireland …
So, that’s the regular season over and we now know the make-up of the play-offs, with Benetton Rugby and the Ospreys having secured the last two spots in the top eight. As a result, the quarter-final draw for next weekend looks like this: Munster Rugby (1st) v Ospreys (8th): Thomond Park, Limerick – Friday, June …
DHL Western Province flexed their muscles in round seven of the Women’s Premier Division with a runaway win over the EP Queens and moved into second place on the log at the halfway stage of the tournament. The Bulls Daisies remain on top after a big victory over the Golden Lions Women in a Gauteng …
Rondebosch secure bragging rights against their old foe, Bishops, on the Piley Rees. Defeating the hosts 31-16 in a Sportsmans Warehouse Premier Interschools derby on Saturday the 1st of June 2024. The leafy Southern suburbs of Cape Town came to a standstill this past weekend as the “Bish-Bosch” derby took centre stage. This cross town …
It was a rewarding final Vodacom United Rugby Championship pool round for the Vodacom Bulls and DHL Stormers as they cemented their places in the quarter-final, with the Pretoria side sealing home ground advantage in a thrilling weekend of local derbies. The Vodacom Bulls – who also secured the SA Shield for the first time …
Springbok Women's Sevens head coach Renfred Dazel said they will have to take their HSBC SVNS relegation on the chin, regroup and give their season a fitting finish at their first appearance at the Olympic Games later this year.
The South Africans lost their status as a core team after Spain beat them in Madrid on Sunday, and the Bok Women's Sevens will now have to qualify for the World Rugby Challenger Series again via the continental route.
“We will take a week or so off to clear our heads and then start our Olympic preparations in all earnest,” said Dazel.
“As bad it is for us losing our core status, as exciting it is to go and compete as part of Team South Africa at the Paris Olympics and we need to make the most of that special moment.”
With regards to the 2024 season, Dazel feels that the inconsistency during the series came back to haunt them on Sunday, when they had to beat Spain to retain their status as core team.
“Look, we can try and find excuses like the lack of a pre-season for the squad going into the series or the availability of some players, but that is not going to solve our problem of having to qualify again,” said Dazel.
“This is not the first time we lost our status and I know how despondent everyone is feeling. Thanks to SA Rugby's support of the sevens programme, we can remain competitive and qualify to play in the Challenger Series by winning the Africa Cup Sevens in September. So, there is some light at the end of the tunnel.”
Dazel said the next cycle will involve finding new players to join the fray as well as creating opportunities to play sevens rugby: “We need to find the next group of young players who can take the system forward and that is an exciting prospect.
“We will also need to sit down and look at our personnel for the Africa Cup and start preparing for that with enough time in hand. It was disappointing to lose like this today, especially as we lost our way in the second half again. That dogged us all season and cost us dearly today.”
Against Spain, the South Africans clearly felt the pressure of the knock-out phase of the final tournament of the season and conceded four tries without firing any real shots.
Spain, spurred on by a lively home crowd, scored two tries on each side of the halftime break, a clear indication of their dominance in this game. They were on the attack from the outset and although the Bok Women defended well, the host team hit gaps and after four minutes, Juana Stella scored their first try.
South Africa got their hands on the ball, but more mistakes followed and a try by Paula Requena after hooter saw Spain finish the first half with a 10-0 lead.
Requena's second try, 90 seconds into the second half, all but sealed the deal for the Spanish, and although South Africa had a few more opportunities, they were let down by their handling, with too many knock-ons costing them dearly.
Beatriz Dominguez then put the final nail in the South African coffin with a break-out try from their own 22, to ensure Spain play on the world series again next season, even though they finished one spot lower than the Bok Women in 2024.
South Africa won three out of five times against Spain during the 2024 season, but looked nothing like the team that started the tournament with two dominant performances on Friday, and failed to gain ascendency in any area of play.
Their defence was frantic, they conceded numerous penalties at the breakdown and hardly worked themselves into attacking positions, and when they did, handling errors came at a huge cost.
Spain played with much more composure, passion, and direction in the most important match of the season for both teams.
Scorers:
South Africa 0
Spain 22 (10) – Tries: Juana Stella, Paula Requena (2), Beatriz Dominguez. Conversion: Stella.
Issued by SA Rugby Communications
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of South African Rugby.
Note to editors: Audio notes of Renfred Dazel can be downloaded here (https://apo-opa.co/3X311vh).
Speedster Suleiman Hartzenberg has been added to the list of DHL Stormers who have signed-on to stay in Cape Town until 2027. The 21-year-old who is equally at home in midfield or on the wing, joins teammates Sacha-Feinberg Mngomezulu, Dan du Plessis, Ruben van Heerden, Evan Roos and Manie Libbok in signing a three-year contract …
[Listen to an interview with Renfred Dazel]. The Springbok Women’s Sevens team will hope that the intensity of play during the 2024 HSBC SVNS will benefit them in Madrid this weekend when they face Argentina, Belgium and Brazil in the play-off finals of the season-ending tournament, to be played at Civitas Metropolitano Stadium from Friday …
Flank Ben-Jason Dixon will make his 50th appearance for the DHL Stormers in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship clash with the Emirates Lions at DHL Stadium on Saturday. The DHL Stormers end the regular season with a South African derby in front of their home crowd, which kicks off at 13h45 on Saturday. The hard-working …
The Women’s Premier Division rugby tournament has struck the halfway mark. The DHL Western Province side will travel to Nelson Mandela Bay as huge favourites. They toppled the Daisies last weekend, and with the EP Queens clearly struggling and without a win so far this year, the Cape side will be confident of another win. …
Rey Lee-Lo has been hailed as one of Welsh rugby’s greatest ever overseas imports as he heads into Judgement Day continuing to defy Old Father Time. The Samoan international is coming to the end of his ninth season with Cardiff Rugby, having joined from the Hurricanes of New Zealand in 2015. He’s now 38, but …
The full Vodacom United Rugby Championship schedule for the 2024/25 campaign is now available thanks to the first-ever in-season launch of the following seasons’ fixtures. As the current campaign comes down to the most competitive final round in the league’s history, supporters can now benefit from the earliest-ever release of fixtures which comes 114 days …