Saffas shine in Europe
17 Jan 2011
Joe van Niekerk and Ruan Pienaar were just two of the South Africans who had a big impact in the weekend’s European Cup action.
Van Niekerk led an inspired Toulon side to a crushing 32-16 win over former champions Munster on Sunday. Jonny Wilkinson was also in fine form for the French club, slotting 22 points.
Pienaar played a big role in Ulster’s win over Biarritz in difficult conditions. BJ Botha and Johan Muller were instrumental to the tight-five’s dominance.
Heinke van der Merwe and Richard Strauss helped another Irish club, Leinster, to a big win over Saracens.
RESULTS
Toulon (FRA) 32 Munster (IRL) 9
London Irish (ENG) 24 Ospreys (WAL) 12
Glasgow (SCO) 20 Wasps (ENG) 10
Leinster (IRL) 43 Saracens (ENG) 20
Bath (ENG) 55 Aironi (ITA) 16
Ulster (IRL) 9 Biarritz (FRA) 6
Treviso (ITA) 9 Perpignan (FRA) 44
Llanelli Scarlets (WAL) 18 Leicester (ENG) 32
Toulouse (FRA) 17 Newport-Gwent Dragons (WAL) 3
Cardiff Blues (WAL) 14 Castres (FRA) 9
Northampton (ENG) 37 Edinburgh (SCO) 0
Clermont (FRA) 28 Racing-Metro (FRA) 17
28 Comments
17 Jan 2011, 09:16 am
Great stuff Dragons.
17 Jan 2011, 09:47 am
Are Leinster playing Heinke Van Der Merwe at 1 or 3?
Van Niekerk has found his groove in Toulon.
Watched him speaking French in interviews.
He’s embraced the culture and the people have really taken to him.
Fantastic.
17 Jan 2011, 10:27 am
‘Are Leinster playing Heinke Van Der Merwe at 1 or 3?’
They play him off the bench. He gets about 15min a game (unless it is some meaningless Magners League game vs an Italian side), in the que behind 22-year-old Cian Healy.
17 Jan 2011, 11:19 am
Big JvN’s still the best SA’s Number Eight, not far behind is Jaques Cronje at PsG
Far behind are the Spies, the Vermulens and the Alberts.
well, money talks
17 Jan 2011, 11:35 am
@Hondo(Hondo) :
Big Joe is great but you lost me as soon as you mentioned Jacques Cronje.
17 Jan 2011, 11:51 am
@Hondo(Hondo) : Cronje does not play for PsG, he now plays for Racing Metro. And he is not even their best #8, he plays blindside flanker for them.
I watched Toulon vs Munster yesterday, and Van Niekerk’s biggest problem is he run diagonally across the field every time. Great captain for them, but their hard yards where made by Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, the Argentinian played at blindside for them.
17 Jan 2011, 12:08 pm
@gecko(gecko) :
He’s the original crab on field… with Waylon Murray his official under-study…
17 Jan 2011, 12:11 pm
@gecko(gecko) : I’d co-sign that, Joe is great in space, perfect for S14 and sunny Toulon climes but in test rugby where space is limited he’s not quite as effective.
Sackey and Wilkinson were very good in this game, but Mignoni the little scrum-half was the star
17 Jan 2011, 12:18 pm
@gecko(gecko) :
Cronje suits blindside flank far better than he does 8th man.
@Big Hit(Big Hit) :
How about giving us your current ideal England 22?
17 Jan 2011, 12:50 pm
I hear commentators are saying that Strauss may play for Ireland after completing the compulsory 4 years residence. That could be something special – two cousins packing against one another in the scrum for different countries.
I reckon we could see this phenomenon repeat itself over and over in the years to come. I suspect guys like Luke Watson, Schalk Britz, Neil de Kock, Michael Claassens etc must be disappointed in a way that they are not eligible because of very brief stints in the Bok jersey.
Loved seeing Ray Mordt’s nephew play 15 for Saracens – pace and strength ala his uncle.
17 Jan 2011, 14:15 pm
Nils Mordt (England 7′s international) has been round clubs in England. Seems he is not that highly rated by 15′s coaches.
17 Jan 2011, 14:44 pm
@Big Hit(Big Hit) : Of course space is more tighter in the Test arena but Big Joe still finds space …. He should be the Bok No 8 , head and shoulders better than steriod pumping Spies
17 Jan 2011, 15:02 pm
Can anyone tell me if Ernst Joubert will be eligible to play for England soon? From what I’ve seen they don’t have many loosies better than him playing for England at the moment.
17 Jan 2011, 15:22 pm
@AlphaTango(AlphaTango) : I think maybe a year or two. Its three years residence right? He is playing great rugga for saracens. I rated him highly while he was at the lions.
17 Jan 2011, 16:30 pm
‘Can anyone tell me if Ernst Joubert will be eligible to play for England soon? ‘
Never. He has played for SA A – you have to go back far in history to find the game, but he did. So can’t play for England.
17 Jan 2011, 16:50 pm
@gecko(gecko) :
Are you sure? Nothing in his list of squads on the official SARU website? Do you know when and against whom?
Otherwise I think he’ll be eligible in August 2012, by which time he’ll be 32. A bit old for a first cap, and I imagine England will want to be building for the home World Cup in 2015.
Still a wonderful player.
17 Jan 2011, 16:53 pm
I’m 99.9% sure. I’m not talking about his involvement with the Emerging Boks, I’m talking SA A – probably around 2004 if not earlier when he just started out – even 2002.
17 Jan 2011, 18:01 pm
Big Joe was simply awwwwwwesome for Toulon, like men against toys. What a player !
Pienaaaaaar showed some lovely wet-weather touches for Ulster too, really unflustered, a performance from a senior pro.
17 Jan 2011, 18:07 pm
How on Earth Pierre Spies gets selected in front of Big Joe, in particularly with the Boks lax offshore selection policy, is beyond me.
17 Jan 2011, 19:19 pm
After yesterdays performance… JVN take a bow! Great leadership and exceptional gameplay.
17 Jan 2011, 20:44 pm
@puff(puff) :
I think he is amazing but that’s my opinion, I accept JC is NOT most of people’s choice
@gecko(gecko) :
What JvN does is to break the advantage line by forcing through the gap on his side, a quick half roll and a release, he is not a crash ball style like Albert.
I fully agree with the Daily Telegraph assessment:
” ,,, but were swamped by the energy and effervescence of Toulon’s play led by the remarkable Van Niekerk.
The South African is a force of nature; irrepressible with ball in hand and blessed with a remarkable turn of pace.
He has a good head on him too,,,”
17 Jan 2011, 20:44 pm
@Couchcoach(GI POT) : Manu Tuilangi could soon be playing for england against THREE of his brothers in the samoa team.
17 Jan 2011, 22:13 pm
Is there any confirmation that Butch James is leaving Bath?
I find it weird to read that he returns to SA but no team claimed him as far as I could search the internet?
Lions?
Stormers?
Sharks?
Butch is rated a GBP170K/pa contract in the UK, so I just wonder
17 Jan 2011, 22:28 pm
@GavinH(GavinH) :
Mercenaries USUALLY don’t help the Poms to win titles, the Ashes 1987 (Lamb, Defreitas and Small) and the 2003 RWC (Catt) are the exception.
17 Jan 2011, 23:30 pm
What about Luke Watson’s man of the match performance on the weekend for Bath scoring two tries nogal.
18 Jan 2011, 00:53 am
@Hondo(Hondo) :
Pietersen, Strauss, Trott, Prior to name a few more…
18 Jan 2011, 08:57 am
@Hondo(Hondo) : How are DeFreitas and Small mercenaries? Small moved to England as a 14 year old with his parents, and DeFreitas went to school in England.
@Slartibartfast(Slartibartfast) : Same with Strauss and Prior. Prior moved to England as an 11 year old, playing for England age group teams, and Strauss moved to England as a 6 year old.
As for Trott, he had a British passport based on his British heritage. South Africa’s loss, and inability to select him at provincial cricket, is England’s gain.
18 Jan 2011, 18:05 pm
@Slartibartfast(Slartibartfast) :
Got to blame my ignorance on the general wanning interest in Cricket, just an adjustment to the level of the Test competition today with all the betting and the fixing
@WOLFMAN21(WOLFMAN21) :
Are their parents naturalised citizens in the UK or were they British passport holders already?
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