Tony McKeever

Putting Rugby First Executive Summary Putting Rugby First Report This week, over a thousand rugby administrators around the world will receive a report called, “Putting Rugby First” . The report is being sent to players, administrators, government ministers, high-profile supporters, journalists and commercial partners. It is being made available on the web at to encourage […]

On Saturday there were 78,944 people watching the All Black vs Wallabies Bledisloe Cup at the ANZ Stadium in Sydney and the Aussie administration is concerned as they wanted a sell-out 83,500 attendance. The tickets range in price from R1,188-64 (Aus$164) to R285-55 (Aus$39-50) for kids. Here is the breathtaking part. If a couple of […]

What is the leadership of Sanzar thinking by announcing a proposed expansion of the Super 14 finals to a Top Six play-offs series next year? This certainly does not address the problematic issues of the tournament. The problem with the Super 14 tournament, whose charisma and television allure, which started 12 years ago in 1996, […]

Did we witness the ultimate rugby climax this past Saturday in Dunedin, which resonated around the world for Springboks’ supporters? I am not so sure. This rematch between the Springboks and All Blacks in 2008 is now 1-1 and as the stats showed over the last 72 encounters between the two teams, the average points […]

Matt Goddard? Who the hell is Matt Goddard? Before tomorrow is out, your clothes will be shredded, tufts of hair on the floor and you will be snarling at the incompetence of an Australian referee called Matt Goddard, who will be the man in the middle for tomorrow’s Test match between the Springboks and the […]

Imagine for a moment you were Peter de Villiers for an hour. Alone. Abandoned. Attacked by your own. 24/7. It seems to me that we are spectators to some grotesque Cape Hunt and Polo Club chase of the fox through the Tokai forest, with the cacophony of baying basset hounds, the tooting of horns and […]

There is an inclination to look at tomorrow’s Test match against the All Blacks as being THE moment and THE goal — to beat the Kiwis in a rugby test match in their country. It is one of ten steps to the 2011 Rugby World Cup in the same place, at the same time — […]

Drop your greeting and message to the Springbok team and Peter de Villiers in the message box below. I will forward all messages on to De Villiers in New Zealand, so that he can print these and post them on the wall in the Springbok war room — their hotel team room in which they […]

Are we so spoiled by our SuperSport television producers creating, such a fantastic and scintillating rugby inventory and TV package, each week, from 18 cameras on site, for us at home, or in a club, or local watering hole, that we start to avoid watching live games at the stadium? Of course the price of […]

John Smit has finally joined his team and the assembly is complete and Dan Carter is an ordinary underwear model and human and vain and can be neutralised. The Boks’ preparation included a field session yesterday and then one on Thursday. Just what one needs to get focussed and in the groove for Saturday’s National […]

Dan Carter is to play with five South Africans (Percy Montgomery, Philip Burger, Gerrie Britz, Steve Meyer and Gavin Hume) at Perginan at the end of the year. Now, Leicester Tigers, one of Europe’s heavy weights in rugby, have announced former Bulls head coach Heyneke Meyer to lead them into battle next year. And so […]

Peter de Villiers’ style of coaching adds a unique dimension of team togetherness and camaraderie, that surpasses previous recent Springbok coaches. Previously, the Springbok teams were treated like a constellation of stellar individuals playing for the Springboks. In many instances the overwhelming and intense media attention on some of the players made them start believing […]