Category: SA Rugby

List of Bekker High School Springboks- Hoerskool Bekker South Africa Rugby Players

In the first round of the Rugby Championship at Durban (August 18, 2018), Bulls flanker Marco van Staden became Bekker High School’s newest Springbok when he took the field as a second half replacement for Francois Louw. Van Staden is therefore Springbok No. 909. Stormers flyhalf Damian Willemse also made his international debut in this game (Springbok No.910)

Bekker is a small school by SA rugby standards, based in the town of Magaliesberg. Van Staden is Bekker’s third Springbok. Continue reading “List of Bekker High School Springboks- Hoerskool Bekker South Africa Rugby Players”

Super Rugby Team of the Year 2018- Best SR players 2018 season

Here is the Super Rugby team of the year 2018, as officially announced by the competition’s governing body SANZAAR. Interestingly enough, the Crusaders, who successfully defended their crown, have only one representative- left winger George Bridge, thus showing that there were more of a “team” rather than depending on individual brilliance.

The Chiefs, who were eliminated in the quarterfinals, have four players- Brodie Retallick, Damien McKenzie, Anton Lienert Brown and Alaimalo. McKenzie was also named the Player of the Year. Continue reading “Super Rugby Team of the Year 2018- Best SR players 2018 season”

Dylan Sage Bulls 2018- Blitzbok to move to Blue Bulls

Blitzbokke forward Dylan Sage will leave the sevens setup to join the Pretoria based Blue Bulls ahead of the Currie Cup season. Sage’s last engagement with the Blitzboks was their Rugby World Cup Sevens campaign in San Francisco, where they finished third by beating Fiji.

A back in the 15’s game, Sage has been used as a forward by coach Neil Powell and has become one of the mainstays of South Africa’s 7’s side. He was part of the Dream Team named for the 2017 HSBC World Sevens series- the only South African in it (the Blitzbokke won the series by pipping Fiji to the title)

Sage, the grandson of former Springbok Doug Hopwood, is not the only Blitzbok leaving the sevens after the 2018 7’s RWC. Ruhan Nel is also moving on, but to the Cape Town based Stormers. Neither the Stormers nor the Bulls were able to make the Super Rugby playoffs this year. Continue reading “Dylan Sage Bulls 2018- Blitzbok to move to Blue Bulls”

Most Offloads in Super Rugby 2018 vs Tries scored- Team Stats comparison

The offload has become an important attacking weapon in rugby these days. Offloads generally lead to unstructured defences which increases the probability of scoring a try.

All stats as of July 19, 2018 (at the end of the regular season, BEFORE the playoffs)

Which team has the most offloads in Super Rugby 2018?

At the end of the regular season, it’s surprisingly the Sharks from Durban who top this metric. The number of tries they’ve scored, however doesn’t make for great reading. The Sharks, interestingly also have the FEWEST team carries of any Super Rugby team (1689 in comparison to the highest 2045 from the Jaguares in the regular season)

Which team has scored the most tries in SR 2018?

At the end of the regular season, the Crusaders and Lions were joint top with 77 tries. The two were also No.1 and 2 on the Super Rugby table.

The Lions are the team with the fewest offloads in the regular season. Continue reading “Most Offloads in Super Rugby 2018 vs Tries scored- Team Stats comparison”