The smell of Rugby is in the air and it is time to get out your Rugby shirt, find some awesome rugby boots for sale and join the nation as we all tune in to catch the latest game. Many refer to Rugby as the hooligan’s game for gentlemen and this is quite apt. You have 30 brutish men going head to head with nothing but the strict rules enforced by the referees to protect them. It involves big collisions, awe inspiring skills and plenty of passionate fans, so what’s not to love about Springbok Rugby? Besides all of this, South Africans have a soft spot for this sport. In 1995 the Rugby World Cup actually brought the entire country together. This happened when former President Nelson Mandela lifted the Web Ellis Cup with the winning captain Francois Pienaar and gave the entire nation something to believe in.
Let’s give you some background information on the game and then get onto the important stuff, namely the Rugby World Cup 2015 and what South Africa has done as a team so far.
A brief history of Rugby
The Rugby World Cup takes place every four years between the top rugby teams in the world. The winners receive the Web Ellis Cup which was named after William Webb Ellis who was a Scotsman that was said to have invented the game of rugby by grabbing a football during a game and running into the goals with it. He attended a school in England called Rugby School and this is where the name for the game we know today, came from.
The first Rugby World Cup began in 1987 and was co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand. This tournament was won by New Zealand, who became the first ever champions. New Zealand defeated France 29–9 in the final. 28 years down the line, Rugby is being played in over 100 countries and across six continents. The Rugby World Cup 2015 is now upon us and its looking like another action packed tournament with plenty of passion and controversy.
Rugby World Cup 2015
This year’s RWC 2015 is taking place in England from the 8th of September till the 31st of October. There are 20 teams competing this year. They are as follows:
Namibia (Africa), South Africa (Africa), Argentina (Americas), Canada (Americas), United States (Americas), Uruguay (Americas), England (hosts), France (Europe), Ireland (Europe), Italy (Europe), Romania (Europe), Scotland (Europe), Georgia (Europe), Wales (Europe), Australia (Oceania/Asia), Fiji (Oceania/Asia), New Zealand (Oceania/Asia), Samoa (Oceania/Asia), Tonga (Oceania/Asia) and Japan (Oceania/Asia).
Each team has played two games already and these are the latest standings as of the 1st of October 2015:
Pool A
| Australia | 9 |
| Wales | 9 |
| England | 6 |
| Fiji | 0 |
| Uruguay | 0 |
Pool B
| Scotland | 10 |
| South Africa | 7 |
| Samoa | 4 |
| Japan | 4 |
| USA | 0 |
Pool C
| New Zealand | 9 |
| Tonga | 6 |
| Argentina | 5 |
| Georgia | 4 |
| Namibia | 0 |
Pool D
| Ireland | 10 |
| France | 9 |
| Italy | 4 |
| Canada | 1 |
| Romania | 0 |
South Africa’s games so far
South Africa has played two games so far. This was against Japan and Samoa. Let’s discuss this for a bit.
South Africa vs Japan
Springbok rugby was shattered when South Africa lost to Japan in our opening Rugby World Cup game. Eddie Jones led the Japanese to victory after a 24 year World Cup Rugby drought. The Japanese won 34-32 after an amazing, last minute, try from the Brave Blossoms. South Africans all over the world literally broke down in tears when Karne Hesketh dived over the tri line. Springbok rugby coach Heyneke Meyer had this to say “It was disappointing and unacceptable. I will have to fix it. We will have to take it on the chin. We scored four tries but gave away soft penalties. I have to apologise to the nation”
The Japanese were obviously thrilled by the win and they played their hearts out to secure this victory against one of the best Rugby teams in the world.
South Africa vs Samoa
After the initial defeat, South Africa was looking to bounce back. Eight changes were made to the team that lost to Japan. Fourie du Preez and Duane Vermeulen were on the starting lineup after a long rugby sabbatical. Eben Etzebeth replaced the injured Lood de Jager. Adriaan Strauss replaced Bismarck du Plessis, who was dropped from the squad completely. Damian de Allende and JP Pietersen came off of the bench to start and the young 21 year old Handre Pollard was brought on to play fly-half.
This shuffle, coupled with the need to prove something, was evidently enough for South Africa to come back from destruction. They crunched Samoa with a stunning 46-6 victory. The amazing atmosphere was somewhat lessened when a drunken pitch invader decided to join in on the ruck. The South African team was having none of this and the man was quickly thrown to the ground by Springbok forward Duane Vermeulen.
This incident was swiftly dealt with and the game carried on. South Africa never let Samoa breathe for a second. They couldn’t cope with the sheer brutality of the South African pack and the South Africans hammered on to win the game with plenty of determination and power.
South Africa’s rugby world cup schedule
South Africa still has to face Scotland on the third of October at 4.45pm, at St. James’ Park in Newcastle and then the United States on the seventh of October at 4.45pm, taking place at the Olympic Stadium in London. If we can win these games then we will move onto the Quarter finals.
Here are the Rugby world cup fixtures after the pool games.
Quarter-finals
- Sat 17 Oct – Winner B v Second A (Twickenham), 16:00
- Sat 17 Oct @ 20:00 GMT – Winner C v Second D (Cardiff),
- Sun 18 Oct @ 13:00 GMT – Winner D v Second C (Cardiff),
- Sun 18 Oct @ 16:00 GMT- Winner A v Second B (Twickenham),
Semi-finals
- Sat 24 Oct @ 16:00 GMT – Winner C/Second D v Winner B/Second A (Twickenham),
- Sun 25 Oct @ 16:00 GMT – Winner D /Second C v Winner A/Second B (Twickenham),
Finals
- Fri 30 Oct @ 20:00 GMT – Bronze medal match (Olympic Stadium),
- Sat 31 Oct @ 16:00 GMT – Final (Twickenham),
Do you want to follow South Africa during the Rugby World Cup 2015?
You can follow all the action on the official Springbok Website or follow them on their official twitter handle – @Springboks.
Also remember to follow the hashtags #HomeGroundAdvantage and #BokFriday
Who do you think will win the RWC 2015?
[poll id=”11″]
Here are some things that will make your Rugby experience that much better
43” ED PLASMA TV
Alva Phoenix 4 burner gas braai
Springbok rugby ball, rugby jersey
Springbok World Cup and Rugby Champions shirt
Get behind our boys in green and gold and help them to win the Rugby World Cup for a third time. Wear your South Africa Rugby colours every Friday, find some awesome gear and rugby boots for sale, and let’s show our boy’tjies that we believe in them. Go Bokke! Remember to place your free ad on Junk Mail before the game starts!
