What can we say about this video? You get strong guys.... and then you get Tendai "The Beast" Mtawarira lifting Anton Bresler and holds him above his shoulders (112kg). BEEEEEEEEAST!
Video of Beast lifting Anton Bresler 112kg
What can we say about this video? You get strong guys.... and then you get Tendai "The Beast" Mtawarira lifting Anton Bresler and holds him above his shoulders (112kg). BEEEEEEEEAST!
Bekker no Matfield, says Mallett
Andries Bekker has a long way to go before he can be talked about in the same breath as South Africa’s greatest lineout specialist, Victor Matfield.
This is the view of former Springbok and Italian coach Nick Mallett, who has joined SuperSport as an analyst ahead of the test series against England.
While Bekker has been touted as the heir apparent for Matfield’s position in the national team, he and other top Boks came under sharp criticism from Mallett, who is regarded as one of the top coaches in world rugby.
Talking about the team he believed current Bok coach Heyneke Meyer would select for the England series, Mallett said he believed Bekker had a lot of work to do to be a top international forward.
“Bekker is nowhere near as good as Matfield in the lineouts. Bekker needs to listen to Matfield -- then he will become better,” Mallett explained.
“Because he is big, he thinks he can win every ball whereas Matfield thinks about the lineouts. Matfield will not throw one ball to himself if there is a danger of losing it or if there is a blocker there. He will call a ball everywhere else except for himself if it means his team winning the game.
“Bekker, however, will call on himself and if he loses one, he will call another one because he is upset he lost one. Then if it happens again he will blame the hooker for not throwing into the lineout high enough.
“Teams can only put two blocks and you as the lineout reader need to see where they are and that’s where Matfield was absolutely unbelievable.”
Matfield has since retired from rugby and is expected to help the Bok lineout out as a consultant while working as an analyst for SuperSport.
FLAT-TRACK BULLY
Mallett also had criticism for captaincy candidates Pierre Spies, Jean de Villiers and Bismarck du Plessis, pointing out factors in their games that worried him ahead of the England tests.
“At outside centre Jean is a really poor defender,” Mallett said about the Stormers captain, “So he is going to have to sharpen up because (Manu) Tuilagi is going to run rings around him. Tuilagi is very physical, big and strong.
“That’s the problem at outside centre, but then again we never pass the ball in SA Rugby so it might not be necessary to select a centre,” Mallett joked. “If he can’t chase up and unders and tackle, then what is he doing there…?”
The former Bok mentor also called Spies, the Bulls captain, “a flat-track bully” who had never impressed him.
“Loose forwards are a big issue. I don't rate Spies as a defender, he is poor on defence and his close ball skills at the back of the scrum are also poor,” Mallett said. “He is only good against weak teams. A flat-track bully who will run in three tries. We are missing out on someone who is good from the base of the scrum.
“I know Heyneke likes Willem Alberts, but it is also worrying that he is in the top five in Super Rugby in terms of missed tackles. He’s missed 24 tackles in six games, and that’s bloody high. Marcel Coetzee is the guy I would pick, he is in the top five in terms of tackle stats and in ball carries.”
Mallett also called for an increase in discipline for the two Bok front row brothers Bismarck and Jannie du Plessis.
“We have to be very careful with the Du Plessis brothers -- they are a five penalty package for opposition teams. Bismarck does turn over ball, but he gives two to three penalties away at the breakdown. Jannie gets pinned at scrumtime and there’s always something, a stiff arm or going over the top. In terms of discipline they need to be spoken to but the Sharks front row, when they are on song, are formidable.”
Mike Catt warns England of SA brutality
It didn’t take long for the war talk to start with former England international Mike Catt warning his side that “nothing can prepare them for the scale and brutality” of the challenge that lies ahead in South Africa.
England arrive in Durban on Thursday and Port Elizabeth-born Catt, who serves as backline coach to Stuart Lancaster, was brought in because of his in-depth knowledge of the country after being an English touring party member in 1994 and 2000.
In particular Catt believes that South African-born players Mouritz Botha and Brad Barritt will receive abuse because they will turn out in England colours.
“You can’t prepare for it. You have to feel it,” Catt, who won 75 caps for England, told PA Sport. “Stuart Lancaster has been sending emails for the past three or four months saying ’prepare yourself, prepare yourself, prepare yourself’.
“Brad Barritt did a presentation for us last night in connection with what to expect from the country and what to expect from the people -- but when it comes onto the pitch it is fierce, it is brutal.
“I remember us going down in 2000 and we played the first test and then we couldn’t train until the Thursday because we were so physically battered by it.
“These guys are going to have to be mentally tough and I think the environment we have created at the moment is going to benefit us.”
Catt was a midweek player in 1994 but a key member of the test side in 2000, when Clive Woodward’s team bounced back from losing the first test to beat the Springboks 27-22 in Bloemfontein.
“It is a brilliant place to go and a very welcoming place but very, very hostile environment when you do get into the rugby circles. But there is nothing better than beating them,” Catt said. “Winning there was one of the major highlights of my career, knowing what it means to the country and to the people.
“When we went there in 2000 with Clive Woodward we lost the first test, which we should have won, and then won the second test.
“I have seen both sides of it, the disappointment of losing and then winning in Bloemfontein -- the heartland of South African rugby -- was something that was very, very special. Not many teams achieve that.
“That tour was a massive stepping stone to the success we had at the World Cup. To go down to South Africa and beat them there was a massive confidence boost for us.
“With the culture and everything that Stuart has there, we now need to take it to another level and build it up to the 2015 World Cup.”
Throughout the 2000 tour, Catt was constantly reminded of the moment in the 1995 World Cup semifinal in Cape Town when he was trampled by New Zealand wing Jonah Lomu.
“I understand Afrikaans and English, I know all the chirps that come along - chirps about Jonah Lomu and all that,” Catt said. “They are such hard-working blokes. I don’t think it will faze those guys at all.
“They are very successful in their own rights and if people are abusing them it is only because they are jealous of them.”
England face the Springboks in the first of three tests on June 2 in Durban.
Venues and kick-off times for Castle Rugby Championship confirmed
Argentina will get their first taste of the new Castle Rugby Championship 2012 in South Africa, when they face the Springboks at DHL Newlands in Cape Town on Saturday, August 18.
SANZAR confirmed the final draw and kick-off times for the Castle Rugby Championship 2012, where Argentina will join the three teams from the former Tri-Nations in a new elite tournament.
All three of the Springboks’ local matches – in Cape Town, Pretoria and Soweto – will kick off at 17h00.
The South African kick-off times of the Springboks’ tour matches are: 21h10 against Argentina in Mendoza on August 25; 12h35 against Australia in Perth on September 8 and 09h35 against New Zealand in Dunedin on September 15.
The opening day will see the introduction of the new ‘double-header’ format with the Wallabies hosting the All Blacks in the opening game of the tournament. New Zealand, Australia and South Africa currently occupy the top three positions in the IRB World Rankings, with Argentina, who finished third at the Rugby World Cup in 2007, ranked seventh.
Sixteen rich years of competition in the Tri-Nations Series will now evolve into a never-before seen tournament which will not only give the Pumas a much-anticipated entry into a major world rugby tournament, but also see Australia, New Zealand and South Africa travel to Argentina to play.
There are two bye weeks to allow for travel in what will be arguably the toughest international tournament in world rugby, outside of the Rugby World Cup. The Rugby Championship for 2012 runs from 18 August to 6 October. Source: Rugby15
PUMA signs Springbok back Francois Hougaard
PUMA have signed a contract with explosive Springbok and Bulls scrumhalf Francois Hougaard that will run from 01 June beyond the 2015 IRB Rugby World Cup™.
The sponsorship deal between the skilled backline player and the Sportlifestyle brand will see Hougaard wearing PUMA performance and lifestyle product. “I am proud to be associated with a brand with the rich history and technical superiority of PUMA,” says Hougaard. “Their gear is unparalleled and their casualwear is slick and stylish right up my alley.”
Hougaard’s agent, Craig Livingstone of Prosport International, says that the tricky Bok back and the PUMA brand are a match made in heaven. “Hougi is a
talented and in-demand young man and his association with PUMA is
a natural fit,” says Livingstone. “The demand for his signature amongst
sportswear suitors was incredibly high and we are delighted that PUMA were
able to create a package that both matched his image and his ambition.”
The deal comes hot on the heels of Hougaard’s new contract with the Bulls, another team that PUMA has added to their books in recent times as full technical kit sponsor.
“PUMA is very excited to welcome Hougi to the PUMA Rugby family,” says PUMA South Africa’s Marketing Director Brett Bellinger. “Hougi is an extremely talented and dynamic player and represents the perfect on-field and off-field attributes that will make him a great asset to PUMA in driving our rugby business going forward.”
Hougaard will join a formidable group of South African PUMA Rugby players including Schalk Burger, Gio Aplon, Andries Bekker, Willem Alberts, Tendai ‘The Beast’ Mtawarira and Ryan Kankowski. He will wear the new statement boot, the PUMA evoSPEED I FG, from 1 June 2012.
The evoSPEED boot is one of the lightest boots in the market and is designed to help players achieve top speeds on the field. Inspired by the World’s Fastest Man Usain Bolt, the evoSPEED collection features product offerings across all PUMA sport categories.
A host of other PUMA assets will be wearing the brand new evoSPEED product across cricket, soccer and rugby as a symbolic show of support for Usain Bolt in the upcoming Olympics. These include cricketers AB de Villiers and the Morkel brothers, Bafana Bafana captain Steven Pienaar, and Springboks Gio Aplon and Schalk Burger.
Sharks Flyhalf Frederic Michalak recalled for France tour
France manager Philippe Saint-Andre recalled Sharks flyhalf Frederic Michalak when he named his 28-man squad for next month's two-test tour of Argentina on Thursday.
Michalak returns to the side for the first time since a Six Nations game against Wales in 2010, although Saint-Andre did opt to rest captain Thierry Dusautoir in a squad that includes nine fresh faces.
France will face Argentina on June 16 and 23 in Cordoba and Tucuman respectively.
Squad:
Forwards: David Attoub (Stade Francais), Vincent Debaty (Clermont), Antoine Guillamon (Lyon OU), Yvan Watremez (Biarritz), Christopher Tolofua (Toulouse), Dimitri Szarzewski (Stade Francais), Yoann Maestri (Toulouse), Christophe Samson (Toulon), Pascal Pape (Stade Francais, captain), Romain Taofifenua (Perpignan), Fulgence Ouedraogo (Montpellier), Louis Picamoles (Toulouse), Alexandre Lapandry (Clermont), Wenceslas Lauret (Biarritz), Raphael Lakafia (Biarritz)
Backs: Morgan Parra (Clermont), Maxime Machenaud (Agen), François Trinh-Duc (Montpellier), Frederic Michalak (Sharks), Geoffrey Doumayrou (Montpellier), Maxime Mermoz (Perpignan), Wesley Fofana (Clermont), Florian Fritz (Toulouse),Yoann Huget (Bayonne), Romain Martial (Castres), Benjamin Fall (Racing Metro), Brice Dullin (Agen), Jean-Marcellin Butin (Clermont)
Source: Supersport
Click here to like us on Facebook or click here to follow us on Twitter
Click here to like us on Facebook or click here to follow us on Twitter
Check out the video: Maybe he can do this again for France