The DHL Stormers will take one step closer to possibly defending their Vodacom United Rugby Championship title next weekend after booking their second successive home semi-final in the competition, while the Vodacom Bulls and Cell C Sharks were knocked out in a bitter-sweet weekend for the South African sides.
Marcell Coetzee puts down his coffee and says it from his heart. “I’m gutted,” he says of not being able to join his Vodacom Bulls teammates in Cape Town on Saturday for their Vodacom United Rugby Championship quarter-final against the DHL Stormers. And then you see the fire in his eyes when he predicts that this particular edition of the famous South African Derby will be close to a Test match.
The Springboks will start their 2023 season in front of a packed house at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday, 8 July after SA Rugby and hosts, the Blue Bulls Co (BBCo.), announced on Friday that all tickets for the opening Test in the Castle Lager Rugby Championship against Australia have been sold out.
Springbok Sevens captain Siviwe Soyizwapi will make his 50th HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series appearance for the Blitzboks in Toulouse next weekend after being named in a squad that feature five players who return to action after missing the tournaments in Hong Kong and Singapore.
The Cell C Sharks take on Leinster in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship quarter-finals at Aviva Stadium on Saturday with the tournament heading towards its climax.
The Springbok Women will have an added incentive in their African Cup campaign later this month after World Rugby confirmed on Friday that South Africa will host one of the three exciting new WXV tournaments later this year.
The Sharks Director of Rugby, Neil Powell announced the appointment of the much-loved former Natal player and Sharks coach John Plumtree, who returns to the fold as Head Coach of the senior team.
The DHL Stormers, Cell C Sharks and Vodacom Bulls will have everything to play for on Saturday in a tough round of Vodacom United Rugby Championship quarter-finals – their biggest challenge of the season so far.
The Women’s Premier Division kicks off this weekend with a host of new coaches, new-look squads and the presence of international players set to deliver another season of top-class provincial women’s rugby action.
South Africa captain Siya Kolisi’s participation in the World Cup later this year remained in the balance as SA Rugby said on Wednesday it was too early to say following his knee surgery last week.