Latest news with #KidsRound
Irish Examiner
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Munster to start 25/26 season with Welsh double
It's a Welsh double for Munster to begin next season's BKT United Rugby Championship campaign. A trip to Scarlets on Saturday, September 27 is followed by the province's first home game of the new season the weekend after, when they host Cardiff on October 4. Leinster, favourites to go all the way this season, will kick off the 2025/26 season with a double-header in South Africa. They first play Stormers in Cape Town in the opening game of the competition on Friday, September 26, before meeting the Bulls in Pretoria the following week. Leinster's first home game will also be against South Africa opposition, when the Sharks visit Dublin on October 11. Connacht kick off with Benetton at the Dexcom Stadium, while Ulster are also at home, with the Dragons coming to Belfast. Fans of Leinster and Munster will circle October 18 as the first interpro derby of the campaign. Leinster are hosts, with the venue to be confirmed. Leinster will visit Thomond Park for the return on Saturday, December 27. The format of the competition remains the same with the Grand Final scheduled for June 20, 2026. To add novelty to the competition for fans, the new campaign will have a series of themed rounds such Kids Round, Origin Round, and Unity Round Martin Anayi, United Rugby Championship CEO, said: 'Advance planning is critical to the success of the United Rugby Championship and it is fantastic that we have continued to raise the bar in publishing our fixtures as early as possible. 'For clubs and fans, planning their weekends and knowing where their teams are playing so far ahead of time makes a big difference. The drama and excitement of the BKT URC is matched by the complexity of putting all of the pieces of the fixture list together but it is made much easier thanks to the support of our teams and broadcasters to assist us in this process. 'For the moment, we look forward to the Play-Offs that kick off next week after another regular season full of surprises. The Race to the Eight provided huge jeopardy and now we move into the ultimate win or go home stage of the competition which will lift the intensity up to another level.' INTERPROS Sat, Oct 18: Leinster v Munster (TBC), 5.15pm Sat, Oct 25: Munster v Connacht (Thomond Park), 7.45pm Fri, Dec 19: Leinster v Ulster (TBC), 7.45pm Sat Dec 27: Connacht v Ulster (Dexcom Stadium), 5.30pm; Munster v Leinster (Thomond Park), 7.45pm Sat Jan 3: Leinster v Connacht (TBC), 5.30pm Sat Jan 24: Connacht v Leinster (Dexcom Stadium), 5.30pm Fri, Mar 20: Ulster v Connacht (Kingspan Stadium), 7.45pm Fri, Apr 17: Ulster v Leinster (Kingspan Stadium), 7.45pm Sat, Apr 25: Munster v Ulster (Thomond Park), 5.30pm Sat, May 9: Connacht v Munster (Dexcom Stadium), 7.45pm
South Wales Argus
30-04-2025
- Sport
- South Wales Argus
URC: Tiatia's Dragons need to change from being soft touches
The Dragons have just two fixtures left in what has been a miserable campaign and will end with daunting tasks in Cape Town and Pretoria. They jet off on Monday but this will be no jolly for those who are fit to travel to face two formidable teams likely to extend their seasons to include knockout rugby. The Stormers are currently sixth, just four points above ninth, but should record a bonus-point win against the Dragons that will either put them on the brink of the play-offs or cement their place if earlier results go their way. The final assignment of 2024/25 - a season that will be the worst in the club's history - is against the third-placed Bulls, who will be hunting second place and a home semi-final. 👧👦 #KidsRound brought the smiles… but the table? All business 💥 With two rounds to go, the Play-Off race is officially WILD 🔥 Who's making that final push? 👀#BKTURC #URC — BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) April 28, 2025 It is likely to be a painful finish and the Dragons are almost certain to go into next season with some unwanted streaks continuing. They have lost 15 straight games since stunning the Ospreys at the death on opening weekend. Their last 12 opponents have bagged five match points, a streak that goes back to the round four loss to the two-try Lions. Only on TWO occasions in 16 fixtures (the win against the Ospreys, loss to the Lions) have the Dragons prevented their opposition from claiming a maximum haul. Barring a miracle in South Africa, the Dragons will not only be whitewashed on the road in the URC but whitewashed with bonus points – nine games and 45 points for the hosts. CRUISE: Rueben Morgan-Williams crossed as the Ospreys ran riot against the Dragons (Image: Kian Abdullah/Huw Evans Agency) The Dragons have recorded 9 match points, with 7 of them won under previous boss Dai Flanagan in the first block of the campaign, while their opponents are currently on 95. That has led to them being condemned to finishing bottom of the table, be it Celtic League, Pro12, Pro14 or URC, for the first time and that with an embarrassing 20-point gap to Zebre Parma. The Dragons are on 0.56 points per game and that is the worst of Europe's three premier leagues with English Premiership basement dwellers Newcastle, who have won twice in 15 games, on 0.8 while Top 14 strugglers Vannes, who have won seven and are just a point off safety, are on a relatively whopping 1.59. There are some reasons for the struggles and a consistently long list of absentees has certainly not helped. That has led to some chances for younger players and hopefully they can push on, although the recent results and performances look to be damaging some homegrown talent. Is this really helping Aneurin Owen, Ryan Woodman, Joe Westwood fulfil their potential? With that in mind, this season has prompted a big recruitment drive with tighthead Dillon Lewis, lock Levi Douglas and flankers Thomas Young and Harry Beddall the confirmed new arrivals. South African tighthead Robert Hunt, loosehead Wyn Jones, lock Seb Davies and fly-half Tinus de Beer have also been lined up, with more targeted. There will also be a new addition to the management team with the finishing touches being made to a contract for an experienced coach to be Tiatia's right-hand man. The former All Black arrived to be a defence coach and adding to his responsibilities has had an impact. Tiatia was a no-nonsense player and has carried that into his coaching career but the Dragons have undeniably been a soft touch this season, the run of five-point hauls for opponents shows that. Next season will be better but it would be naïve to expect a huge leap in the wins column. What does have to change is the expectation from opponents that the Dragons, even in Newport, is a surefire five-pointer.
The Citizen
26-04-2025
- Sport
- The Citizen
Watch: Canan Moodie cancels Glasgow attack
Less than a minute SA Rugby Magazine Less than a minute Canan Moodie's massive hits on Sebastian Cancelliere and Jamie Dobie epitomises the hunger from the Vodacom Bulls in last night's win over the defending URC champions Glasgow Warriors. ALSO: New 'Os' epitomises Bulls' efforts – Jake Canan Moodie with a monster hit! A tackle so big, you could feel it from the stands! @Vodacom #URC | #KidsRound #GLAvBUL — Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial_RSA) April 25, 2025 Canan Moodie joins the party Another big hit from the Bulls, their defence has been working overtime tonight Stream #VURC live: — SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) April 25, 2025 The post Watch: Canan cancels Glasgow attack appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
IOL News
26-04-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
Defensive prowess leads Bulls to famous URC win over Glasgow Warriors
Jan-Hendrik Wessels led the defensive charge of the Bulls in their away win over the defending champions Glasgow Warriors. Image: BackpagePix Built on some impressive defence, the Bulls took sweet revenge on Friday night against Glasgow Warriors, defeating the defending champions with ease in front of their home fans. Two tries, coupled with the trusty kicking boot of Johan Goosen, brought a 26-19 victory. Even though they allowed the Warriors to bag a bonus point, the game was long won for the visitors, and those two tries at the death only made the score more respectable for the defending champions. The victory, despite losing replacement flanker Marcell Coetzee to a knee knock before the game, was built upon the never-say-die defensive display. Early on when they were under severe pressure from the home side, players like loosehead prop and Player of the Match Jan-Hendrik Wessels, flanker Jannes Kirsten and centre Harold Vorster led the physical charge. They tackled like men possessed, and that massive cover tackle by Wessels barely seven minutes into the first half to save a potential try, laid the platform for their defensive effort. Wessels was also the orchestrator of a massive tackle that drove a ball carrier several metres back and halted a good Glasgow backline move when they looked to get through on the outside. Scrumhalf Embrose Papier, who was one of the smallest players on the field, even put his body on the line plenty of times, and winger Canan Moodie joined in with some big hits. Director of rugby Jake White would've been impressed with the efforts of his team. That kind of defensive effort will win them a championship, and if their road to the final started on Friday, they are well and truly set up to reach the pinnacle of the tournament. They will host a home quarter-final, and if things go their way over the final two round-robin games, they could be at home for the semis as well. Following the victory, they are only one point behind the second-placed Glasgow on the log, but the Bulls have won more games. Canan Moodie with a monster hit! 💥 A tackle so big, you could feel it from the stands! @Vodacom #URC | #KidsRound #GLAvBUL — Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial_RSA) April 25, 2025 It looks like the Bulls' no-talk of revenge helped them keep the focus on the task at hand. They had to win to make their tour a successful one, and they'll return home, knowing that second place on the overall log is still reachable if they can perform at Loftus Versfeld, like they did the last couple of weekends. While the defence laid the groundwork for the victory, those two tries by hooker Johan Grobbelaar and the magnificent kick-chase try by David Kriel showed that they will not only bank on their defence to win their games. Goosen showed his credentials with four penalties and slotting both conversions to take them out of reach of their opponents. The Bulls players left everything on the field on Friday, and they can now take a well-deserved break ahead of the final two round-robin clashes. Points-Scorers Bulls 26 (9): Tries: Johan Grobbelaar, David Kriel. Conversions: Johan Goosen (2). Penalties: Goosen (4). Glasgow Warriors 19 (7): Jamie Dobie, Kyle Steyn, Stafford McDowell. Conversions: George Horne (2).
