All Blacks Gear Up for Bulls Challenge

The All Blacks have named a strong side for Saturday’s Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry clash against the Vodacom Bulls at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.

Taylor returns from injury to captain the All Blacks for the first time in his 110th All Blacks match and first match of the tour. Props Xavier Numia and Tyrel Lomax will also play their first match of the tour.

Six players from the All Blacks team who beat the Sharks 54-0 on Tuesday back up for the Bulls match: lock Josh Lord, loose forward Wallace Sititi, halfbacks Kyle Preston and Cortez Ratima (who are both playing their third game of the tour), midfielder Timoci Tavatavanawai, and outside back Emoni Narawa. turconews.click

A total of 14 players named in the 23 to take on the Vodacom Bulls played in the opening match against the DHL Stormers.

“The Bulls have consistently been South Africa’s best franchise side, making the United Rugby Championship finals in four of the last five years,” said Rennie.

“Loftus Versfeld is one of the most formidable rugby grounds in the world, so we are aware of the challenge in front of us and excited at what lies ahead.

“This is also our final hit out before the first Test match against the Springboks, so it is an important game for us. There is healthy competition for Test spots so this is another opportunity for players to put their hands up for selection.

“Huge congratulations to Codie on his first All Blacks captaincy. He is a top man and has done a great job leading this tour group. This is a proud moment for an All Blacks centurion who has made a massive contribution to this team as a player and a leader.”

All Blacks team:
1 Xavier Numia
2 Codie Taylor (captain)
3 Tyrel Lomax
4 Fabian Holland
5 Patrick Tuipulotu
6 Simon Parker
7 Anton Segner
8 Peter Lakai
9 Cortez Ratima
10 Josh Jacomb
11 Josh Moorby
12 Anton Lienert-Brown
13 Rieko Ioane
14 Leroy Carter
15 Beauden Barrett

Replacements:
16 Samisoni Taukei’aho
17 George Bower
18 Siale Lauaki
19 Josh Lord
20 Wallace Sititi
21 Kyle Preston
22 Timoci Tavatavanawai
23 Emoni Narawa

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Hazlewood claimed his 300th wicket in Test cricket during the first innings against Bangladesh in Darwin on Saturday, reaching the milestone when he had Mehidy Hasan Miraz caught behind by Alex Carey.

The 35-year-old, who made his Test debut against India in Brisbane in 2014, becomes the ninth Australian bowler to reach 300 wickets, joining teammates Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc, along with Nathan Lyon, in the club among currently active players.

Shane Warne remains Australia’s leading wicket-taker with 708, ahead of Lyon’s 568, Glenn McGrath’s 563 and Starc’s 435. Dennis Lillee (355), Cummins (316), Mitchell Johnson (313) and Brett Lee (310) complete the list of Australians above Hazlewood’s tally, with Lyon, Starc and Cummins still adding to their totals as active players.

ALSO: Bangladesh close in on maiden Australian Test win

Globally, the milestone places Hazlewood among a select group of bowlers to have taken 300 or more Test wickets, though he remains well short of the all-time record.

Retired Sri Lanka great Muttiah Muralitharan tops the overall list with 800 wickets, followed by Warne among those with the most in the format’s history.

Hazlewood’s return in Darwin has been a key factor in Australia’s bowling effort against Bangladesh, with the milestone wicket coming as part of a substantial haul in the innings.

Photo: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

The post Hazlewood joins elite 300-wicket club appeared first on SA Cricket Mag.

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Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus and his charges concluded and important two days of training on Saturday where the objective was to get the entire squad aligned with an eye on the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry (RGR) series presented by Castle Double Malt starting next Saturday against the All Blacks in Johannesburg following the Test against Argentina in Buenos Aires last week.

The travelling squad, which included 26 players and a host of coaches, returned to South Africa in two groups on Monday night and Tuesday, and spent most of the week having flush-out and gym sessions to get the players back into the local time zone and match ready following the physical Test against Los Pumas, which the Boks won 17-10.

The squad returned to the training field on Friday and had another field session on Saturday before having the next day and a half off to spend time with their families before switching into full blown Test week for their RGR series opener.

The teams will play four back-to-back Tests against New Zealand, starting with Saturday’s encounter at 10bet Ellis Park (22 August), before moving to Cape Town for the second Test at the DHL Stadium (29 August), the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg (5 September), and concluding the series at the M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore (12 September).

Bok hooker Johan Grobbelaar and utility forward Elrigh Louw, who have been released to play for the Vodacom Bulls in their RGR match against the All Blacks on Saturday evening, will rejoin the national squad on Sunday.

“Important to manage players”

“It was important to manage the players who travelled to Argentina well and afford them sufficient time to recover from the match and switch back into the domestic time zone, which is why we only started training as a full group late in the week,” said Erasmus.

“But we are pleased that the players are well recovered and ready to give everything for the forthcoming Tests against the All Blacks.

“It will undoubtedly be a very challenging tournament, but we are looking forward to it as a collective. This series is almost like playing the knock-out stages of a Rugby World Cup because we are facing one of the world’s best week in and week out, and we all understand the magnitude of the RGR series.

“It’s a new and exciting challenge, and we have been putting in a lot of work behind the scenes, especially the group of coaches and players who remained behind in South Africa in the last two weeks, so we will finetune the areas of our game, which we would like to improve next week as we get ready to take the field.”

The opening match kicks off at 17h10 next Saturday, and will be broadcast live on SuperSport.

Kaizer Chiefs coach Fernando da Cruz believes the Amakhosi are ready for the challenge posed by Mamelodi Sundowns in Saturday’s Betway Premiership showdown.

READ: Miguel: Chiefs Must Respect Sundowns Without Fearing Them

The Glamour Boys are preparing for a tough showing against Sundowns when they meet at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg.

Amakhosi come into this fixture after claiming back-to-back wins in the Betway Premiership against Kruger United and Sekhukhune United.

READ: Velebayi Confident Chiefs Can Rise to Sundowns Test

Da Cruz insists his side must remain calm, focused and raise their level to match them in what he expects to be a “Champions League” standard encounter.

“For me, it is easier to prepare for these types of games because the motivation is natural for players,” says Da Cruz.

“But I don’t want the players to play this game before the game happens at 3pm (on Saturday).

“We need to keep our mind very cold and just be focused on our performance,” he says, noting the preparation time.

“We don’t have a lot of time but need to be focused on Mamelodi Sundowns now.

“We have analysed them, but we know that it will be a tough game, and from our squad and our technical staff, it will be for us to push our level to be the same and make it a Champions League game.”

He added: “The difference that’s there between Chiefs and Sundowns is that players at Sundowns have played together for the long time.

“Also their coach has been there for the long time. Meanwhile, I have just arrived and I’m applying my game model on the field.

“Yes, the players are understanding very well but we need time. So, it will be two different styles of football. But don’t worry, the team will be ready.”

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