#RWC2019
Hosted once every four years, the Rugby World Cup is rugby’s centrepiece event. It is the big stage that rugby players from all over the world dream of reaching. Held over the course of seven weeks, it is the 3rd largest sports event in the world after the summer olympics and the Football World Cup.
What we need to know about Japan 2019
The new Rugby World Cup logo is based on the theme of “unity”. As a completely new territory for the tournament to be held in, Japan will become one with the players and fans from the leading rugby nations of the world, working towards the common goal of making rugby a truly global sport. Japan and rugby fans from all over the world will share and unite under the spirit of rugby. The host cities across the country are filled with the desire to make the tournament an unforgettable one, and will stand together to welcome and entertain fans from all over the globe. The new RWC logo which integrates the rising sun and Mt. Fuji, with the World Rugby logo, also represents Japan and the world coming together in the name of rugby.
Twelve cities have been confirmed to host Rugby World Cup 2019™ matches.
Continued focus on intelligent, risk-based testing with two-thirds of tests conducted out of competition, World Rugby has published details of its 2018 anti-doping programme as the international federation continues to prioritise values-based education.
#backtheboks
Well wishes from fans …
Rugby World Cup 2019 ticket sales will recommence at 18:00 Japan Standard Time (JST) on Saturday 18 May
We look back at the teams that shon over the #RWC history line
Atleast our pride and joy, South Africa has seen 2 trophies on our mantle piece in the past few years, and proud we all were!
2015 New Zealand over Australia. It was closer than it should have been, but the All Blacks got it done and defended the William Webb Ellis – first country to do it.
2011 New Zealand over France. With a reputation of having a glass jaw in knockout games, the All Blacks made heavy work of this final against the very unfancied French, winning by only one point and (arguably) enjoying a touch more luck than they should have.
2007 South Africa over England, without having to beat either New Zealand or Australia along the way. It wasn’t as exciting as 1995.
2003 England over Australia, with left-footed golden boy flyhalf Jonny Wilkinson right-footing a drop goal in the dying seconds to secure the win. If he had missed he would still have had a chance to kick a penalty.
1999 Australia over France, with the French drained after their epic defeat of New Zealand in the semi-finals.
1995 South Africa over New Zealand. A fairy tale win for the Rainbow Nation. President Nelson Mandela wearing Francois Pienaar’s Number 6 jersey will be indelibly marked in the memories of all South Africans old enough at the time to have understood what it meant.
1991 Australia over England at Twickenham. SA fans could only watch and dream.
1987 New Zealand over France at Eden Park. This one was so casual, apparently, that there are stories the players had a beer and a barbeque the night before.
Let the games begin!
Tournament Dates:
20th September (Fri) – 2nd November (Sat), 2019
Teams – 20 participating teams
Format – Total of 48 matches:
1 Pool stages: 4 pools of 5 teams, 40 pool matches in total.
2 Finals: Quarter finals, semi finals, bronze final, finals ：計8試合
Match Venues:
12 venues across the whole of Japan
https://www.rugbyworldcup.com/venues
Opening Match
20th September (Fri), 2019
Tokyo Stadium
Finals
2nd November (Sat), 2019
Yokohama Stadium, Kanagawa
The golden boys in all their Glory!
Photos courtesy of: Johan Orton / Asics Rugby
More of our golden oldies in the South African team:
FLANK: Schalk Burger. Probably as close to a Viking ‘beserk’ as the Boks have ever had. Crashed through walls for the jersey. Came back from various operations to play again when he should have been home, chilling on the couch. Francois Pienaar had a huge influence when he played, but nowhere near the brutal strength of Schalk.
8th MAN: Gary Teichmann? Led the Boks to some dramatic victories in the late 90s. Never played in a World Cup, though.
SCRUM HALF: Too close to call between Joost van der Westhuizen and Fourie du Preez. Both exceptional players and arguably best in the world in their position in their respective primes.
FLY HALF: Probably Naas Botha for the way he commanded games, and wrought victories. Also had a no-nonsense approach to opponents and officialdom which sometimes got him into hot water. Joel Stransky’s drop-goal will go down in fly-half history, but Henry Honiball was arguably a better player. Boks have lacked for a consistently dominant world-class 10 since.
LEFT WING: Bryan Habana. Arguably Boks best player over all. His cheetah-like pace, combined with his poaching prowess made him a formidable opponent. Carel du Plessis may have been close.
FLANK: Juan Smith. Arguably the best ‘least hyped’ player to wear the green and gold. Just immense in every area of the game.
INSIDE CENTRE: Jean de Villiers or Frans Steyn. Both brilliant on their day, but de Villiers prone to injury and Steyn to petulance. Japie Mulder had a side-step that would make an impala jealous.
OUTSIDE CENTRE: Jaque Fourie. Stands head and shoulders about anything else SA has produced. Except for Danie Gerber of course. Two brilliant, if different styled, play makers.
RIGHT WING: James Small. Pure aggression. Controversial. Stopped the epic Jonah Lomu in his tracks in the 95 WC. Others, Ray Mordt. Or JP Pietersen.
FULLBACK: André Joubert. For pure class and aesthetically pleasing watchability, no one else came close. Percy Montgomery made for an impressive retreaded 15 from centre.
Range Rover Celebrates the Springboks with bespoke SVR Road Test
South Africans are passionate about rugby, for many, it is a sport that is considered a religion of sorts from a young age. Our long history with rugby has been an inspirational one, the 1995 World Cup being one the most memorable victories in South African sport. Land Rover is now a headline sponsor of the Springbok rugby team and to celebrate the team’s historic achievements, Land Rover has built a one-off special edition Range Rover in partnership with SVO and the South African Rugby Union. Autodealer got behind the wheel to tackle the mighty machine.
Special Vehicle Operations or SVO in the United Kingdom is a division of Jaguar Land Rover that picks cars off of the production line and improves performance as well and adds special customised features, allowing for bespoke customers cars. The Range Rover in question is the SVR, the high-performance version of Range Rover’s flagship vehicle. It features a 5.0-litre supercharged V8 engine that develops 423 kW and 700 N.m of torque. It is incredibly fast, loud and eager to attack what is ahead, just like our rugby team.
This particular Range Rover SVR has been given some special items which make it a one-of-a-kind in the world.
- This Range Rover Sport is the first and only vehicle to be finished in this specific Springbok green hue. The exact pantone colour match was applied to the car’s bare metal shell at the very start of its build process at SVO’s paint facility.
- Behind the large 22-inch, rims are bespoke yellow brake callipers which not only provide visual appeal but high performance stopping power as well.
- There are large Springbok decals on both rear quarters as well as Springbok lettering on the front doors in contrast with the special paintwork.
- The circular plaques on the Sport’s B-pillars, front and rear tread-plates are normally reserved for Land Rover’s trademark logos, however, on this car, they now feature the Springbok insignia and script.
- On the interior you will find other bespoke elements such as yellow stitching on the quilted seats and door panels.
- There are also gold shift paddles behind the steering wheel and the interior ambient lighting has been set to green by default.
The Range Rover SVR Springbok edition is not just to pay homage to the national rugby team but to demonstrate the options available to customers when it comes to the customisation of the land Rover products. Overall the Range Rover SVR is an impressive machine, it impresses on the road with its presence and performance while also offering the latest in off-road technology which ensures that it remains formidable when the going gets tough.
