Eben Etzebeth is a man mountain and a key enforcer in the Springbok pack heading to the Rugby World Cup. He could just be reaching his peak, writes Jon Cardinelli.
All it takes is a few moments with Rugby World Cup-winning coach Jake White to fully appreciate the value of Vodacom Bulls star Johan Goosen and the reason he has been rated as the most accurate place-kicker in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship this season.
Five referees who have been included on the Rugby World Cup 2023 match official panel have been appointed to take charge of the Springboks’ Castle Lager Rugby Championship and RWC warm-up Tests in the build-up to the international extravaganza in France in September and October.
Chumisa Qawe will lead the Springbok Women to the Rugby Africa Women’s Cup in Madagascar this month where they will play Cameroon, Kenya and Madagascar over the next two weeks.
The Springbok Sevens team put in a huge effort at the HSBC France Sevens this weekend, but sadly the results did not show that, so from the perspective of Blitzbok head coach Sandile Ngcobo, it was not all doom and gloom.
The DHL Stormers will have an opportunity to defend their Vodacom United Rugby Championship title after securing their second successive home final following their victory against Connacht in Cape Town and Munster’s surprise win over Leinster in Dublin in the semi-finals this weekend.
The DHL Stormers will have one goal in mind when they meet Connacht in their Vodacom United Rugby Championship semi-final in Cape Town on Saturday – to deliver a top-class performance that will secure them a place in the Grand Final in two weeks’ time and a shot at defending the title they won last season.
The gold medal for Rugby Sevens at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris cannot be won in Toulouse in 2023, but don't tell the Springbok Sevens team that. In fact, according to Blitzbok coach Sandile Ngcobo, their approach is to use this weekend’s HSBC France Sevens at Stade Ernst-Wallon as an Olympic trial.
Two South Africans, Jaco Peyper and Marius Jonker, were included in the team of match officials World Rugby announced on Wednesday for Rugby World Cup 2023 in France later this year.
There is no doubt that a core of experienced Blitzboks available for the final two legs of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series has boosted the confidence of the squad, players and management alike.