Bok coach Peter de Villiers made nine changes to his match-day 22 and looking at the selections the Boks are seemingly preparing to run what is bound to be a ring-rusty Aussies outfit off their feet. [...]
Posts tagged with: Ruan Pienaar
Boks selections suggests all-out attack
Pienaar, Kanko start in Brisbane
The Springbok match 22 to face the Wallabies in Brisbane this weekend shows an astonishing nine changes to the unit that lost against New Zealand on Saturday. Sharks players Ruan Pienaar and Ryan Kankowski have been elevated to the starting lineup. [...]
Bok blow for Sharks
SARU have announced that, on completion of the Vodacom Tri-Nations on 4 September, the 20 contracted Springbok players will be placed on conditioning programs and thus won’t be available to their provinces for the Currie Cup until the knock-out stages. [...]
Ulster confirm Pienaar signing
A story has just appeared on the official Ulster Rugby Union website confirming the signing of Ruan Pienaar on a two-year deal. [...]
Two Boks to quit Sharks
Various media reports over the weekend seem to confirm two separate stories that we have been tracking for some time. If both are true, then neither Ruan Pienaar nor John Smit will play for the Sharks again. [...]
50 up for Beast, Rocket
The Sharks have named their side to face the Western Force in Durban on Friday night. The occasion marks the 50th Super rugby caps for loosehead prop Beast Mtawarira and scrumhalf Rory Kockott. [...]
Pienaar underlines his class
Ruan Pienaar put in the sort of performance on Saturday that should confound his critics and once again open up the debate about which position suits his skills best. Those seeking to reinstate Pienaar at flyhalf on a permanent basis are missing the point, though. [...]
Pienaar shifts to flyhalf
John Plumtree has made sweeping changes to the team that lost to the Bulls last weekend, with positional changes amongst the halfbacks and the loose forwards the most interesting developments. Ruan Pienaar will start at flyhalf, while Jean Deysel will play in the unfamiliar position of open-side flank. [...]
A delicate balancing act
With a number of key players carrying injuries, the Sharks as a union need to manage their playing resources very carefully in the coming week, lest the desire to field a strong team against the Bulls in the Super 14 undermines the Sharks XV’s chances of winning their Vodacom Cup semi-final. [...]
More injury clouds for Sharks
The brutally physical game against the Blues would appear to have taken its toll on the Sharks team, with a number of players nursing bumps and bruises as the Bulls game looms. [...]
How PdV stumbled upon Grant
Springbok coach Peter de Villiers was probably engaging in a spot of double-bluffing when he claimed to have a secret flyhalf – who wasn’t Ruan Pienaar – up his sleeve as backup to Morne Steyn early in the Super 14. [...]
Got to keep Pienaar – simply have to
There’ve been a few developments on the player front over the last week that we probably need to spend some more time discussing. Deon Carstens has confirmed that he will leave after the Super 14, but it’s yet another round of halfback developments that cause me the most concern. [...]
Sharks get the job done
Looking back at the Sharks’ 32-28 victory over the Lions on Saturday night, I can’t help borrowing a line from enigmatic seventies folk hero Sixto Rodriguez: “It started out so nice…” [...]
Some Super 14 Round 9 musings…
Good thinking, Plum
I really need to applaud the decision to select Stefan Terblanche at outside centre this week. To me, it’s the sort of “thinking outside of the box” that we are starting to see more of from the Sharks coach and I really like it. [...]
