OTTAWA, CA – Our correspondents in American Samoa has just confirmed that the weekend is officially over. That is sad news, indeed. But the good news is that we have your Weekend Rugby Wrap-Up! This one includes The Rugby Championship, Currie Cup, ITM Cup, NACRA 7s, Oceania 7, and Gavin Henson. So let’s fire up the jets and see all that has happened.
The Rugby Championship:
New Zealand vs Australia: Wow! What a statement made by both sides! The All Blacks totally shutdown the Wallabies, 22-0. The All Blacks weren’t as clinical as they could have been but my goodness, the Wallabies were shockingly inept. Loads of kicking, a missed penalty, a lack of imagination in attack and a dearth of sheer grunt. Robbie “Dingo” Deans is a coach under fire – and rightfully so. Aussie fans don’t mind losing but if they feel their teams do not fight with pride, they want blood.
Argentina v South Africa: Maybe the fact The Bokke wear green gave them the luck of Irish against the Argies. Playing in Argentina is tough on most countries. Even the ABs have won by less then 5 pts their last 2 times down there. With all of that said the Springboks were being eaten alive by the Pumas to start, so much so that at the half it was 16-3 to the Pumas. In the second half the Argie attack was unable to overcome its own shortcomings and couldn’t score again. Meanwhile, The Boks were lead by Frans Steyn, who was able to use his boot and individual brilliance to score a try and tie the game 16-16. Unfortunately for both parties, there would be no more scoring.
The Currie Cup: Round 3 is in the books and winners are the Cheetahs, Lions and Blue Bulls over the Griquas, Western Province, and Sharks, 16-29, 26-23, and 42-31 respectively.
The ITM Cup: The season is officially in full swing. Here are the Results from over the weekend.
Hawkes Bay 29 – 36 Auckland
Manawatu 11 – 30 Wellington
Tasman 25 – 22 Canterbury
Bay Of Plenty 22 – 37 Taranaki
NACRA 7s: As expected, USA and Canada have dominated the competition. Guyana, the winner of the last 6 NACRA 7s, struggled while Trinidad & Tobago impressed. But Mexico turned heads the most. They have qualified for Rugby World Cup Sevens 2013 in Moscow (June 28-30 next year). The two favorites took first and second, while Mexico took third away from Jamaica 17-12. The 3rd place win earned Mexico a spot at the Hong Kong Sevens. The Canadian Women won the Women’s Bracket to confirm their place in Moscow, The USA Women had automatically qualified.
Oceania 7s: Australia and Tonga also qualified for the RWC7s from the Oceania regional qualifier in Sydney over the weekend. There will now be 5 nations from Oceania Region: New Zealand, Fiji, Manu Samoa and now Australia and Tonga.
The London Welsh and Gavin Henson: The Welsh have confirmed that Gavin Henson did develop a minor fracture to his cheekbone. This means Henson will be out for 6 weeks. He will most likely do the conditioning and handling drills, however. He will be out of contact drills and matches. This is a big setback for the Henson’s comeback and for the club’s first season in the top flight Aviva Premiership.
That is it for me for now. Please feel free to comment below, look for and “Like” our Facebook Rugby Wrap Up Page and follow us on Twitter @RugbyWrapUp, @JunoirBlaber, @Declan Yeats and @Mathew Drew Turner, respectively.
And as always, stay low and keep pumping those legs.
