The Vodacom Bulls and DHL Stormers made it two out of two against the Emirates Lions and Hollywoodbets Sharks respectively in entertaining Vodacom United Rugby Championship derbies in what marked their second outings against one another in as many rounds.
Saturday’s return leg Vodacom United Rugby Championship clash between the Hollywoodbets Sharks and DHL Stormers at Hollywoodbets Kings Park promises to bring fireworks for the fans.
When it comes to this weekend’s Gauteng Derby between the Emirates Lions and Vodacom Bulls, which also forms part of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship’s Origins Rounds, Sanele Nohamba recalls how playing in the dusty streets of the Eastern Cape gave him a rugby mindset that he still uses today.
Vodacom United Rugby Championship teams will be sporting their school or club colours in a unique start to the second half of the competition this weekend, in the first of two special Origin Rounds rounds where the players’ rugby roots will be remembered and celebrated.
Springbok Sevens head coach Sandile Ngcobo made five changes to his travelling squad for the next two HSBC SVNS tournaments, in Vancouver next weekend and Los Angeles a week later.
The Vodacom Bulls head into this weekend’s Vodacom United Rugby Championship fixture against the Emirates Lions well aware that mistakes are costly at this point in the season, and that the local Derbies in particular can expose this even further.
Jean de Villiers says the Vodacom United Rugby Championship is doing an incredible job of preparing a new generation of young players for the demands of Test rugby, and that this past weekend’s Six Nations action was another prime example of this.
Rassie Erasmus – the mastermind behind the Springboks’ back-to-back Rugby World Cup titles of 2019 and 2023 – has returned to the role of head coach for the next four years, following the departure of Jacques Nienaber to Leinster.
Springbok superstar Cheslin Kolbe has interestingly signed an ambassadorship deal with a golf company in Japan that aims to support his social outreach initiatives.
Rassie Erasmus, the mastermind behind the Springboks’ back-to-back Rugby World Cup victories, says there is no excuse for club and school coaches who believe new tackle height laws for participation rugby are difficult to instil.