What the Papers Say 2013/2014

[Mac]

Saturday 3rd Aug 2013

Journal.ie

Pienaar included in Springboks squad for Rugby Championship...............

ZANE KIRCHNER AND Ruan Pienaar have both been named in Heyneke Meyer’s 30-man South Africa squad for the upcoming Rugby Championship.

Leinster’s new signing, who can play fullback or centre, will be delighted to know he is still in his coach’s plans. The 24-times capped Springbok last featured for his country when he started against England last November.

Kirchner was signed as a direct replacement for Isa Nacewa, who departed the province in May. Then-coach Joe Schmidt remarked that his presence would greatly benefit Leinster’s younger players when the side’s senior players were on international duty with Ireland. It appears likely that the 29-year-old will not make his Leinster bow until Connacht visit the RDS at the end of October.

Kirchner bowed out of Super Rugby with the Bulls when they were defeated 26-23 by the Brumbies at the semi-final stage. The Australians went on to lose the final, today, to the Chiefs.

Pienaar’s inclusion in the squad was always a given and Ulster have given him permission to join up with the ‘Boks next week for training camp. The full squad, including Kirchner, will get together on 12 August.

Pienaar will battle it out with Jano Vermaak and Fourie du Preez for the No.9 jersey during the championship, which was won last year by New Zealand. Du Preez has been released by his club, Suntory Sun Goliaths, in Japan but only for the Springbok’s three home games. Piet van Zyl will be the extra scrumhalf considered for away games to New Zealand, Australia and Argentina.

“Fourie has been out of international rugby for a while and it makes sense to involve him as soon as possible,” reasoned Meyer. “Piet was part of the squad in June and we know what he can do – he will slot in without any problems when necessary.”

South Africa open their campaign with home and away clashes against Argentina. They travel to Australia then New Zealand for away fixtures before facing the same two side, respectively, in Cape Tpown and Johannesburg.

Also included in the 30-man squad are Duane Vermeulen of Clermont and Toulon’s new signing, winger Bryan Habana.

http://sport.ie.msn.com/rugby/kirchner- ... ampionship

Squad

Backs: Bjorn Basson, JJ Engelbrecht, Bryan Habana, Juan de Jongh, Zane Kirchner, Patrick Lambie, Ruan Pienaar, Fourie du Preez, Willie le Roux, Jan Serfontein, Morne Steyn, Jano Vermaak, Jean de Villiers (capt)

Forwards: Willem Alberts, Marcell Coetzee, Eben Etzebeth, Siya Kolisi, Juandre Kruger, Francois Louw, Flip van der Merwe, Franco van der Merwe, Tendai Mtawarira, Trevor Nyakane, Coenie Oosthuizen, Bismarck du Plessis, Jannie du Plessis, Chiliboy Ralepelle, Adriaan Strauss, Gurthro Steenkamp, Duane Vermeulen

http://www.sport24.co.za/Rugby/Springbo ... y-20130803

[Indiana]

Just make sure you leave him back exactly the way you found him!

[Rovi Snave]

So basically same as last year - final Rugby Championship game Sat 5 Oct, 6 days before our first HCup match.

[scrum5]

With Fourie du Preez back in the fold will Ruan see much gametime....

[damianmcr]

Didnt Vermaak start the previous games before he got injured?

[Setanta]

Nothing in the papers about the big handover today of the two finished stands?

[pwrmoore]

Nothing in the papers about the big handover today of the two finished stands?

Nothing onthe UR website either. Where are you getting the story from?

[Setanta]

Earlier - date of handover of Memorial and Aquinas stands to be 5th August.

[pwrmoore]

Earlier - date of handover of Memorial and Aquinas stands to be 5th August.

Aha! Gotcha now.

[BR]

Earlier - date of handover of Memorial and Aquinas stands to be 5th August.

It's a failure then! Sack the catchphrase!

[Setanta]

Naw, they look to be totally finished, on time and within budget. You'd think they'd crow about it? Ok, car park and turnstiles to be finished but they weren't promised for the 5th - only the 23rd.

[BR]

Naw, they look to be totally finished, on time and within budget. You'd think they'd crow about it? Ok, car park and turnstiles to be finished but they weren't promised for the 5th - only the 23rd.

Marketing opportunity missed! Sack the Catchphrase!

[Mac]

Tuesday 6th Aug 2013

Indo.....5th

All the "Ins / Outs"................DK

Should the life of the oval ball supporter be so sheltered and uninteresting, the official RaboDirect Pro 12 website can unfailingly plot the countdown to when the serious stuff begins.

There are just 32 days until the Irish provinces kick off their league campaigns, fuelling the predictable hyper-inflated hope and aspirations that will jostle with grim reality for the following nine months.

Ahead of the new season, the annual certainty among faithful fans in their team is undermined by the sense of uncertainty within those they support.

Connacht and Leinster have new coaches; Munster and Ulster enter the second season helmed by their own relatively recent coaching arrivals.

Notwithstanding all four's relatively promising seasons last term – given Irish rugby's pre-eminence in recent times, all success is relative – within both supporter's camps there remains genuine disquiet as to their prospects.

And Ireland, after the national side's most undistinguished season in 15 years of professionalism, are also under new management, already burdened by unreasonable anticipation that joe Schmidt is rugby's Midas.

Uniquely, all five head coaches hail from overseas and all five will inevitably return to their homeland – sooner, should results go against them, rather than later.

Irish supporters here cheer them on because they husband our players, even though they themselves are products of another system.

Meanwhile, Irish coaches are, seemingly, more well-regarded away from their own shores.

Those that remain in this country are either not making their claims heard loudly enough or else they have no claims worth shouting about.

The indigenous coaching fraternity involved in the game here would strenuously argue the former; the deafening silence would suggest that nobody is listening.

The IRFU and the four provinces, counting the cost of rugby's slow decline in financial support since the heady Celtic Tiger days, will care not a whit once the results are positive.

That goes for most supporters too.

The line between parochialism and patriotism can be as thin as one likes to draw it. For Irish rugby, the desire will be for the provincial and national team to feed off each other within an atmosphere of mutual trust, with the form of one naturally fuelling the other, and vice versa.

If only it were so simple.

ULSTER

Head coach: Mark Anscombe.

Coaching background: Auckland (New Zealand), New Zealand U-20.

Coaching team: Neil Doak (backs coach), Jonny Bell (defence coach).

Summer transfers

In: James McKinney (Rotherham Titans), David McIlwaine (Bristol), Bronson Ross (Coventry).

Out: Niall O'Connor (Jersey), Nigel Brady (Aurillac), Ali Birch (Rotherham Titans), Adam D'Arcy, Blane McIlroy (released).

Prospects: Anscombe's first season in charge was unfairly viewed through the prism of his recruitment – arriving as the popular Brian McLaughlin was ditched even before he led Ulster to a first Heineken Cup final in 13 years.

And so, despite his 14-game winning sequence at the beginning of the season, the Kiwi's progress, in some eyes, was only going to be judged in terms of whether he could match his predecessor's achievement.

That was hysterically naive, of course. But even beyond those with such a narrow view, Anscombe retains some doubters, particularly given the meek manner of their submission in the Heineken Cup quarter-finals.

Their consistency and squad depth has undoubtedly improved. But the supporters and director of Rugby David Humphreys will demand silverware fitting for Ravenhill's summer makeover.

They have some of the most talented young backs in the country, evidenced by the possibility that Stuart Olding has a better than even money chance of removing Paddy Jackson from the fly-half berth.

For all their progress last season, Anscombe will be aware that his side failed more big character tests than they passed. He and his squad must learn from those failings.

Aim: Need to win silverware to confirm the promise of their emergence as a realistic member of the European elite.

Ins / Outs Len, Mun, Con also............
http://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/r ... 72600.html

[Mac]

Thursday 8th Aug 2013

UlsterNet

Ulster Rugby visit to Strabane proves a massive success....................

ULSTER Rugby's open training session at Strabane Academy's Derry Road campus, in association with Strabane Rugby Club, on Thursday proved a massive success.
Sports fans of all ages attended in their droves to see the province's top rugby players put through their paces ahead of the new season and for the younger attendees, they got the chance to show their skills off to their heroes.
Strabane Rugby Club stalwart, Bob Dillon, was delighted to be a part of the occasion and he feels the day can only boost the club's future hopes as they attempt to get a mini rugby section off the ground.
“It's one of the greatest day's in Strabane's history," he beamed. "We've never had them down before so to see the full squad, around 55 players and coaches, it's a great thank you to the club for all the work over the last couple of years.
“We're trying to promote mini rugby in Strabane. We're hoping to open that up in September/October with the P6 and P7s to test the water to see if there is a market there for it and then expand from that.
“There are people on their holidays from England have come here today [Thursday], people from all over, Omagh and Donegal, so we've a great catchment area here and there would seem to be the interest."
And increasing interest in the sport, as well as encouraging youngsters to take up the game, are two of the main reasons behind Ulster Rugby's decision to visit places like Strabane.
Ulster's director of rugby, David Humphreys, explained: "Last year we did a couple of camps, one in Derry and one in Enniskillen, and we got great support. We all felt that to grow the support in Ulster we needed to get out to places we'd never been before.
“It's all about giving people who support Ulster the chance to see the players training and ultimately we hope it will help participation in the game. We want success on the pitch and we are trying to generate interest and generate the next generation of Ulster players all around the province.
‘Successful'
“If we want to continue to be successful at the top level we have to continue to grow the game and I think if we manage to get one future Ulster player from our trips around the province over the next few years then it has all been worthwhile.
“We've got to make sure that by going around all the schools and clubs that we make sure that anyone who has the potential to play for Ulster is given the opportunity and that they aren't missed. We will get them into our training pathways and hopefully one day they will play for Ulster.
“Having the opportunity to play professional sport is every young person's dream and we all realise how privileged we are. But anyone with those aspirations has to take the opportunity, put themselves in that position and in rugby we have the pathway in place that if you are good enough and are willing to put in the work there are huge rewards at the end of it."
Ireland international, Craig Gilroy, who was one of the stars of Ulster's season last year, is one who has come through Ulster's coaching pathway, thoroughly enjoyed his trip to Strabane and he believes Ulster fans can expect more success next season.
“We enjoy these occasions a great deal, it's good to get away from our usual environment, into a new setting and we've had good fun and done some team bonding," said the pacey winger who is looking forward to running out at the new-look Ravenhill in the near future.
‘Potential'
He added: "We showed last year we had the potential to go on and win something and we still have the majority, pretty much everyone from last year, so there is no doubt we can go on and do the same if not better than last year.
“I've been injured (groin strain) the last few months, which has been frustrating, but I've been working away, training hard so I will come back better and stronger. I'm dying to get back on the pitch, I can't wait.
“We have the Dragons away in our first game. They are always a tough team, especially away from home, and then we have Glasgow at home in the new stadium. I've been up to see it, it looks like a different place so I think everyone's looking forward to playing there.
“The crowd support at Ravenhill certainly helps us, it's all your local fans, your friends, family and everyone gets behind you. It's a great lift for us, we can hear it on the pitch, it's brilliant and we will encourage it even more this season."
Meanwhile, Fivemiletown's Chris Farrell, who broke into the Ulster squad in the 2011/12 season, but who endured a nine month injury lay-off last term, is hoping for a breakthrough year this year.
“It's good to be back!," he beamed. "It's been a long nine months of rehab and recovery for me. I tore my ACL, so it was a very serious one. Last season was one where I wanted to break through because there are a lot of young players breaking through, but it was one of those things that happens and there's nothing I could do about it.
“I'm over it now and I have a big season ahead. As a youngster I want to get a spot in the team, but this squad is so strong now, there are four players deep in every position with a few overlaps so it's going to be very competitive.
“I think we can surpass what was achieved last year. The boys are very confident, we've been very close in the last couple of years so we're looking to achieve something this year. It will be a failure if we don't win something this year," he concluded.

http://www.ulstergazette.co.uk/articles ... e-success/

Mail & GuardianSA

It appears that François Hougaard has lost his way and that Ruan Pienaar will continue as the first-choice scrumhalf for Meyer in games when Du Preez is not available. Pienaar has been a loyal servant who finally got to play his preferred position after years of being messed around between flyhalf and fullback. Pienaar joined Ulster in 2010 and his spring-heeled displays with the Sharks are a distant memory now. He plays a much more structured, northern-hemisphere style of game that is not guaranteed to bring the best out of the Springboks on firm surfaces.

More..............
http://mg.co.za/article/2013-08-08-00-h ... the-future

MSNSport

Anscombe and son celebrate Chiefs’ Super XV victory....................

Cowboys.png (226.46 KiB) Viewed 2213 times

ULSTER COACH MARK Anscombe took full advantage of the northern hemisphere’s season still being a month away this weekend.

After his son, Gareth, helped the Waikato Chiefs to a dramatic 27-22 win over the ACT Brumbies to retain their Super Rugby crown on Saturday morning, Anscombe senior flew home to Hamilton to join the celebration.

The Kiwi fullback this morning tweeted the below image of the Ulster coach with the words:

“Awesome to have the old man fly back from Ireland to surprise me. #yougotme.”
Image credit: @Gareth_Anscombe

Right, Mark. That’s great. Now back to Belfast with ya!

http://sport.ie.msn.com/rugby/snapshot- ... xv-victory

IRFU Off

Pro12 on TV.................

The TV schedule for live RaboDirect PRO12 games - up to and including round 12 at the start of January 2014 - has been announced.

Long term broadcast partners, RTÉ, TG4, BBC Northern Ireland, BBC ALBA, BBC Wales and S4C will all continue their excellent comprehensive free to air coverage and analysis of RaboDirect PRO12 matches.
Meanwhile, details of Celtic Rugby's Italian broadcast partner will be announced in due course.

The live TV schedule starts on Friday, September 6 with games featuring three of last season's play-off qualifiers - Glasgow Warriors hosting Cardiff Blues is set to be broadcast by BBC ALBA, while S4C will be featuring current champions Leinster as they travel to Llanelli to face the Scarlets.

The first round wraps up on Saturday with Munster's game against Edinburgh the focus of TG4's coverage of the opening weekend's action.

Click here to view the fixtures list for the 2013/14 RaboDirect PRO12, including details of the TV coverage from round 1 to 12.

http://www.rabodirectpro12.com/matchcen ... s_list.php

http://www.irishrugby.ie/provincial/29560.php

[Scranner]

WTF? No coverage of our game against the Dragons?