Hurricanes centre Ma’a Nonu was found not guilty on Monday of a reckless tackle in the Super 14 game against the Stormers at Newlands over the weekend.
Nonu was cited under Law 10.4 (e) - tackling a player above the line of the shoulders - for a tackle on fly-half Peter Grant in the 71st minute of Saturday’s clash, which the Stormers won 37-13.
SANZAR Judicial Officer Rob Stelzner considered evidence from the player, referee Steve Walsh, video recordings and heard submissions from Nonu’s representative.
Mr Stelzner deemed that Nonu’s tackle did not breach Law 10.4 (e) and adjudged that in an attempt to make the tackle, his arm slid upwards on impact with Grant’s ball-carrying arm. He ruled that there was no impact above the line of the shoulders.
Victor Matfield, captain of the Bulls will reach another important milestone when he plays his 100th Super 14 game against the Hurricanes at Loftus Versfeld.
Matfield captained the Bulls for the 50th time in their 50-35 victory over the Highlanders this last weekend and will reach this milestone just before his side head on their four week overseas tour in defence of their Vodacom Super 14 title.
Matfield has played 91 times for the Bulls and eight times for the Cats in an illustrious career which has made him possibly the best lineout jumper world rugby has seen.
The Crusaders adapted best to the conditions to beat the Chiefs 26-19 in a tense Super 14 rugby clash here Friday.
With the wind behind them and a dry ground, the Crusaders ensured the game was played at a frenetic pace in the first half and turned with a 23-16 lead as they outscored the Chiefs two tries to one.
But when the rain came down at halftime, and the Crusaders faced the wind, they switched to a dogged pick-and-drive style as they slugged out the final 40 minutes in which the only rewards were a penalty apiece.
The Waratahs ran in 11 tries to thrash the Lions 73-12 at the Sydney Football Stadium on Friday.
The hosts fired on all cylinders as they outclassed a sorry-looking Lions side who have now lost five in a row. Drew Mitchell scored four tries, Lachie Turner and Josh Holmes both got braces while Wycliff Palu, Dean Mumm and Tom Carter also got in on the act.
The Brumbies managed to scrape past the Sharks for a narrow win in Canberra on Saturday.
For the second time in the week there was heartbreak for the Sharks as they fought all the way to death when a Matt Giteau penalty snatched back the lead to hand the home side victory.
The Test meant to take place between a Springbok XV and France at the Boland Stadium on June the 17th have been cancelled due to logistical difficulties.
The match was scheduled to be sandwiched between the Test between the Springboks and France Cape Town on June 12 and Argentina’s home test against France on June 19, but [...]
A try scored by Jaque Fourie against the British & Irish Lions has been named the International Rugby Players Association Try of the Year 2009.
The Springbok fought off stiff competition from some of the biggest names in the Game to claim the prestigious award after the global Rugby community selected his try from a shortlist of [...]
The emphatic 33 - 0 win the Stormers have achieved over the Highlanders this weekend have proven that the Cape Town based side have great depth.
Tiaan Liebenberg was struck down on the day of the game with flu, so in stepped Deon Fourie to replace him. Wing Gio Aplon was also battling with flu, so [...]
The Springboks received terrible news in that flanker Heinrich Brussow will not play rugby again this year.
The industrious flanker tore knee ligaments in the dying moments of the Cheetahs’ Super 14 match against the Hurricanes on Saturday and will be out for eight months.
Brüssow had been shutting up his critics, who believed he would be [...]
The Lions suffered their second successive defeat in Australasia when they went down 24-13 to the Brumbies in Canberra on Friday.
The wet conditions made for a forwards battle which the Brumbies’ all-Wallaby pack dominated. The Lions had very little possession to speak of and never really troubled the Brumbies on the scoreboard.
Flyhalf Daniel Carter won [...]
There is little doubt that Burke is one of the most successful and respected international fullbacks of recent times, notching up the second highest all time points tally for an Australian Test player.
For the Waratahs he is the highest ever points scorer and the second highest capped player, with his illustrious Sydney career spanning from [...]
Hurricanes centre Ma’a Nonu was found not guilty on Monday of a reckless tackle in the Super 14 game against the Stormers at Newlands over the weekend.
Victor Matfield, captain of the 
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