Kriel back in time for Lions’ URC campaign opener
Jaco Kriel will start at openside flank for the Lions against Zebre in their first-ever Vodacom United Rugby Championship match in Parma on Friday night.
Jaco Kriel will start at openside flank for the Lions against Zebre in their first-ever Vodacom United Rugby Championship match in Parma on Friday night.
The Bulls and Sharks kick off the inaugural Vodacom United Rugby Championship as rank underdogs in prime-time bouts against the Irish heavyweights.
The inaugural Vodacom United Rugby Championship is on our doorstep, as a new dawn commences for South African franchise rugby, having opted out of Super Rugby as the premier club competition following an acrimonious fall out between South African and New Zealand administrators in the aftermath of Covid-related disruptions to the 2020 season.
Veteran hooker Bismarck du Plessis says he was about to walk away from rugby before Jake White called him with a last-minute offer to play for the Vodacom Bulls.
New recruit Bismarck du Plessis has been included in the Vodacom Bulls squad that will be jetting out on Saturday to begin a four-week tour that will start in Ireland, continue to Wales and end in Scotland.
Phepsi Buthelezi will captain the Sharks squad, which includes veteran additions Ruan Pienaar and Tian Meyer, during a four-match Vodacom United Rugby Championship tour of Europe.
The Lions have announced their 33-man touring squad ahead of their inaugural United Rugby Championship campaign.
Sharks coach Sean Everitt says his team will just have to take their Currie Cup final defeat by the Bulls on the chin because they failed to do the small things right.
The United Rugby Championship promises a new dawn for South African rugby. It also ramps up the need to stem the tide of players leaving these shores, writes ZELIM NEL.
The Bulls and Sharks will take on Irish powerhouses Leinster and Munster respectively in blockbuster United Rugby Championship announced on Friday.