As we enter the second half of the 35-day lockdown, editor CRAIG LEWIS picks five top pieces of content from the week that was.
1 Steyn trades Montpellier for Cheetahs
One of the more compelling news pieces from the weekend was that Frans Steyn has agreed to a deal with the Cheetahs and will join the side from 1 July.
The confirmation took us back to a report on SARugbymag.co.za last year, which revealed that Steyn was expected to relocate to Bloemfontein when his contract with Montpellier in France ended, with the opportunity for Steyn’s young daughters to be schooled in South Africa one of the big determining factors for the move.
READ: Steyn set for homecoming in 2020
2 Video analysis: Sharks’ winning formula
In an exclusive clip for SARugbymag.co.za, former Sharks assistant coach Omar Mouneimne analysed key aspects of the Durban-based side’s play at the start of Vodacom Super Rugby.
This was a fascinating video using animation, which highlighted the strength of the Sharks’ kicking game, key game breakers and some tenacious work at the breakdown.
3 Where are they now: Maties final team (’08)
As part of of a new series that has proven to be very popular, we have been looking back at various successful Varsity Cup teams and finding out what happened to the players involved with each team.
We started off with the victorious 2008 Maties team, while the latest has been a look at the title-winning UCT players.
After the SA Rugby magazine writers all made their selections for a Springbok dream team, we have next turned to a seven-part series where we pick our best World XV of the past 25 years.
It’s been extremely challenging settling on certain players and combinations, but it’s also been an extremely enjoyable exercise during this time of lockdown.
We have recently invited readers to send us some rugby-related letters, and the responses have been brilliant.
It started off with a wonderful piece from Ngcebo Mbatsane, while over the weekend aspiring journalist Andre-Pierre Cronje sent a superb letter suggesting the Boks should consider giving Edinburgh wing Duhan van der Merwe a Test cap before Scotland do.
Letter: How reader Ngcebo Mbatsane fell in love with rugby
*If you’d like to send us a rugby letter, we invite you to share any of your thoughts or memories in an email to editor Craig Lewis at this address: [email protected]
