URC
Carr to lead Vodacom Bulls against Lyon
The Vodacom Bulls have made a few changes to personnel in their matchday 23 that will duel French side, Lyon on Friday 20 January 2023, in round 4 of the 2022/23 Heineken Champions Cup. The Pool A match is scheduled to kick-off at 22h00pm (Central African Time) at the Matmut Stadium de Gerland, in Lyon.
Nizaam Carr will lead the side as Simphiwe Matanzima, Bismarck Du Plessis and Francois Klopper form a new front-row combination to that which duelled the Chiefs in Pretoria. Ruan Vermaak will pair up with Janko Swanepoel in the second row, whilst Marco van Staden and Cyle Brink will have Carr for company in the back row. At the back: Embrose Papier (scrum half), Johan Goosen (fly half) and Cornal Hendricks (inside centre), who will be making his 50th appearance, come into the starting fifteen with Zak Burger and Chris Smith set to start off the bench, alongside Johann Grobbelaar, Gerard Steenekamp, Mornay Smith, Elrigh Louw, Lionel Mapoe and club captain, Ruan Nortje.
The herd are on a quest for a third victory of their debut campaign, hoping to emulate their triumphant 42-36 victory on home soil in the opening round of the competition. Their hosts, are still without a win in this campaign and will surely look to correct this in the final pool fixture, making this an appetising clash for rugby fans across the two hemispheres.
In the pool, only five sides have already confirmed their qualification for the round of 16; Leinster Rugby (1st), Cell C Sharks (2nd), Saracens (3rd), Exeter Chiefs (4th) and Edinburgh Rugby (5th) with three spots up for grabs going into the final round of fixtures.
The Vodacom Bulls travel to Lyon sitting sixth, 5 points adrift the pool topping Leinster (who are on 15 points) and 7 points ahead of their opponents, who lie in tenth place. Only a point separates the Pretoria outfit from Edinburgh and Exeter, with Harlequins in seventh place (7 points) and Racing 92 in provisional eight (5 points) ahead of this weekend’s matches.
Vodacom Bulls backline coach, Chris Rossouw said that the rotation of the players was done to look after the players and ensure that their welfare remains a top priority.
“Basically, it is part of player welfare and rotation because Ruan (Nortje) has played every minute of rugby of every match he has played, since the beginning of the season. The same with Harold (Vorster), since making his return from injury has played a lot of rugby, so it is important to manage him well too. This is all part of the rotation plan that we have had since the beginning of the year,”
“It’s important when in a group, to have your name in the team sheet as a player that can play these games. And when you get the chance, look to execute the job in the first 60 minutes.”
Rossouw also touted his side to face a staunch challenge from their opponents. “We believe that our team can do the job for us. We know it will be extremely difficult, Lyon is a top side, I think they are in the top six in the French Top14. Last week, Saracens were stretched when they came here and so we know it will be a difficult outing,”
“It is our first time in France and that is a new experience, it is extremely cold and that presents a great challenge for us but the guys are quite excited because they know that Lyon will pick their best side because they still have a chance of making it,”
“In any game, a win is important for us but the most important thing for us is the process I think in the last two games we managed the games quite well and that momentum is important for us. For us it will be how we handle that pressure and make sure that the lessons we have learnt over the last year help us manage the momentum of the game.”
Commenting on the weather conditions and the impact they will have on the game, Rossouw said: It is obviously extreme, last week we played in 35 degrees (in Pretoria) and now in sub-zero conditions (in France). However, this is a challenge that over time we have come to embrace.”
The match will be broadcast LIVE on SS Rugby.
VODACOM BULLS STARTING XV: 1. Simphiwe Matanzima, 2. Bismarck Du Plessis, 3. Francois Klopper, 4. Ruan Vermaak, 5. Janko Swanepoel, 6. Marco van Staden, 7. Cyle Brink, 8. Nizaam Carr (c), 9. Embrose Papier, 10. Johan Goosen, 11. David Kriel, 12. Cornal Hendricks, 13. Wandisile Simelane, 14. Canan Moodie, 15. Kurt-Lee Arendse
VODACOM BULLS IMPACT SQUAD: 16. Johann Grobbelaar, 17. Gerard Steenekamp, 18. Mornay Smith, 19. Ruan Nortje, 20. Elrigh Louw, 21. Zak Burger, 22. Chris Smith, 23. Lionel Mapoe
MANAGEMENT: Jake White – Director of Rugby, Nollis Marais – Breakdown, Russell Winter – Forwards, Chris Rossouw – Backs, Werner Kruger – Scrum Coach, Pine Pienaar – Defense Coach, Andre Volsteedt – Strength & Conditioning, John-William Meyer – Technical Analyst, Dr Herman Rossouw – Team Doctor, Lance Lemmetjies – Senior Physiotherapist, Kyle Mayer – Physiotherapist, Elias Bennett – Team Manager, Simon Dyidi – Logistics Manager
VODACOM BULLS HEINEKEN CHAMPIONS CUP FIXTURES:
Saturday, 10 December 2022: Vodacom Bulls 42-36 Lyon
Saturday, 17 December 2022: Exeter Chiefs 44-14 Vodacom Bulls
Saturday, 14 January 2023: Vodacom Bulls 39-28 Exeter Chiefs
Friday, 20 January 2023: Lyon vs Vodacom Bulls
Content & Images from – Vodacom Bulls Rugby
The Munster squad are preparing at the HPC ahead of Saturday night’s URC Round 13 clash against Cardiff at Thomond Park.
The game kicks off at 7.35pm with tickets from €20 available here.
In player news, Tadhg Beirne, Jack Crowley, Conor Murray, Calvin Nash and Peter O’Mahony have all returned to the HPC after helping Ireland to the 6 Nations title.
On the injury front, Academy back-row forward Ruadhán Quinn suffered a hand injury against Ospreys on Friday night and will be sidelined for a number of weeks.
Oli Jager and Fineen Wycherley have started their rehab following minor procedures for respective knee injuries.
Alex Nankivell is completing the RTP protocols and his availability will be determined later this week.
Simon Zebo was unavailable for the Ospreys game due to a low-grade hip injury and is due to return to training this week.
Continuing to rehab: Dave Kilcoyne (shoulder), Diarmuid Barron (foot), Roman Salanoa (knee), Jean Kleyn (knee/eye), Paddy Patterson (knee), Liam Coombes (shoulder), Patrick Campbell (shoulder).
There were 15 Munster players in AIL action at the weekend.
In Division 1A, Fionn Gibbons and Chris Moore helped Young Munster beat Dublin University with Gibbons among the tries.
Mark Donnelly lined out for Cork Constitution as they were beaten by Terenure College.
Kieran Ryan, Darragh McSweeney and Daniel Okeke couldn’t prevent Shannon falling to a defeat to City of Armagh.
In Division 1B, Colm Hogan, Jack Oliver, George Hadden, Max Clein, Cian Hurley and Jack Daly helped Garryowen to a win over Queen’s University. Hogan, Clein and Cronin were among the tries with Oliver kicking a conversion.
Scott Buckley and Andrew O’Mahony were in action for UCC as they lost to St Mary’s College.
Tickets
URC Round 13: Saturday, March 30
Munster v Cardiff Rugby, Thomond Park, 7.35pm; Buy tickets here
Women’s 6 Nations Round 3: Saturday, April 13
Ireland v Wales, Virgin Media Park, 4.45pm; Buy tickets here
URC Round 16: Saturday, May 11
Munster v Connacht, Thomond Park, 5.15pm; Buy tickets here
URC Round 18: Saturday, June 1
Munster v Ulster, Thomond Park, 5.15pm; Buy tickets here
Images & Content from Munster Rugby
The Munster squad are continuing preparations ahead of Friday night’s URC Round 12 clash against Ospreys in Swansea (7.35pm).
On the injury front, there is good news for John Hodnett (finger), Jack O’Donoghue (knee) and Simon Zebo (knee) as they all return to training this week.
Oli Jager (knee) and Fineen Wycherley (knee) are both due to see specialists this week for possible surgery.
Alex Nankivell is following the return to play protocols following a head injury in training last week.
On the international front, Craig Casey and Jeremy Loughman have returned to the squad after Ireland’s 6 Nations triumph at the weekend.
Continuing to rehab: Dave Kilcoyne (shoulder), Diarmuid Barron (foot), Roman Salanoa (knee), Jean Kleyn (knee/eye), Paddy Patterson (knee), Liam Coombes (shoulder), Patrick Campbell (shoulder).
Tickets
URC Round 13: Saturday, March 30
Munster v Cardiff Rugby, Thomond Park, 7.35pm; Buy tickets here
Women’s 6 Nations Round 3: Saturday, April 13
Ireland v Wales, Virgin Media Park, 4.45pm; Buy tickets here
URC Round 16: Saturday, May 11
Munster v Connacht, Thomond Park, 5.15pm; Buy tickets here
URC Round 18: Saturday, June 1
Munster v Ulster, Thomond Park, 5.15pm; Buy tickets here
Images & Content from Munster Rugby
Sutherland to join Glasgow Warriors
Glasgow Warriors can confirm that Scotland prop Rory Sutherland will join the club this summer.
The British and Irish Lion joins the Scotstoun-outfit from French side Oyonnax, making the move to Scotstoun on a two-year deal as Franco Smith’s squad continues to take shape.
The confirmation of the loose-head prop’s move to Glasgow also comes on the eve of his involvement in Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations clash with Ireland in Dublin, where he is in contention to win his 30th cap for Scotland, part of the match day squad.
The 31-year-old Sutherland will bring a dynamic ball-carrying presence to the Warriors in addition to a solid platform at the set-piece.
After making his debut for Edinburgh in 2014, the prop went on to make 91 appearances in the capital before a summer switch to Worcester Warriors in 2021.
A short-term stint with Ulster followed after Worcester’s demise in 2022, running out on 12 occasions for the Irish province.
Sutherland’s form for Scotland across the 2020 and 2021 campaigns saw him selected for the 2021 British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa, joining future Glasgow team-mate Zander Fagerson amongst the front-row options.
He became the first Scottish prop to represent the invitational squad since the late Tom Smith when selected for the first Test, playing just under an hour in the 22-17 victory over the Springboks.
Sutherland said: “The past couple of years have been tough since I had to leave Worcester. I’ve been at a few clubs and I haven’t had the consistency I’d have liked in my game. This move to Glasgow, and back to Scotland, offers me the chance to work on getting that back into my rugby.
“Glasgow is a really successful team, so to be offered the chance to come to Scotstoun is attractive for any player. For me, it allows me to come back home, and be closer to my family, which will work wonders for me.
“I’ve gotten close to some of the Glasgow players while in camp with Scotland and they talk highly of Franco and the culture in the club. I’m looking forward to that and getting back to the homeland!”
Head Coach Smith added: “We are pleased to be able to add a prop of Rory’s calibre to our squad ahead of next season.
“His qualities will make him a real asset to our playing group, as we continue to develop our strength in every position.
“We look forward to seeing him in action at Scotstoun over the next couple of seasons and we know that the Warrior Nation will welcome him to our club.”
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