NEW YORK, NY – Sorry for the late edition of this Weekend Rugby Wrap-up. It was a long day of Rugby at the NY 7s. While Johnathan Wicklow Barberie was racing on and off pitches while shooting segments between playing for the NYRC Old Starz, yours truly coached the Bakline Mercenaries in the Premier Division. We managed to win the Bowl in a tight overtime final against NYRC. After that there was the massive after party then some more partying. Needless to say, I had a rough Sunday, but a couple of aspirins, some gatorade and a hot cup of coffee, has improved my disposition. Now without further nonsense lets look at the weekend. We will look as the USA Women’s loss, November Internationals, Aviva Premiership & RaboDirect Pro12. Let’s get too it.
Ladies first:
Team USA vs France: The Eagles finished their tour of Italy and France on a less than happy note. The match Saturday was a dominant defensive display by France, who won 27-3. The score meant that the USA only scored 3 points in their 2 matches against the French. Though the ladies did manage to get some good ball, they were often the architects of their own demise with too many mistakes when on attack. The @USAWomensRugby Twitter feed was off great use for the match. The ladies were not completely outclassed, it just showed the result of what happens when a team like France gets 10 tests a year for their women and the US women are lucky to get 3. There was no live stream anywhere – at least not one that we could find. That’s not cool… But that doesn’t diminish what Team USA was able to accomplish on the pitch. For an intimate look behind the scenes, check out Samantha Pankey’s report. For a detailed game report, check out ScrumQueens.com.
November Internationals:
Team USA finished their 3 match tour with a great display against Romania in their 34-3 victory. The USA showed their killer instinct and put Romania to the sword. Team USA played a complete 80-minute game. Romania opened the scoring but then the Eagles scored 34 unanswered points. Coach Mike Tolkin sounded very happy with his side’s performance. If you wanted to catch the match highlights, click this
Team USA shouldn’t feel so badly about losing to Tonga. The small island nation managed the shock result of the weekend by defeating Scotland. The inept Scottish offense showed once again that there are serious problems with their attack. The lost was also followed by the shock announcement by Scotland Head Coach Andy Robinson that he was stepping down, with immediate effect. He was signed through 2015 so he didn’t need to but you have to credit a man that realizes he is no longer doing the job he is paid to do.
France won a tight contest against a very determined Samoa side. The Samoans on this tour sent a message that if you do not come completely focus, you will lose to them. Les Bleus fans are divided on the match. Some say it is a warning sign of that their consistent inconsistency has not been resolved. Others believe that their win shows resolve and that Samoa is not being given fair due as a worthy opponent.
I will avoid fellow RWU correspondent Declan Yeats at the office Christmas Party. Declan will be brimming with confidence after mighty Ireland absolutely shredded Argentina. There were tries for débutantes Craig Gilroy and Simon Zebo. Ireland look to have gained some momentum from their dismantling of Fiji and took that positive energy in the Argentina match. Argentina look to have slowed down after a hot start and maybe the players are just a little bit spent. We will see how they play during the summer.
The good news for England fans is that they played in their traditional white home kit. The bad news was that they still lost. South Africa got out to a healthy lead early but England managed to fight back to trim the lead. However, when your are chasing the game you eventually run out of time. England wasn’t really out-played as much as they lacked passion and focus at the start. One thing is abundantly clear: Stuart Lancaster’s honeymoon over.
We saved the best for last… Wales dug themselves a deep hole in the first half against New Zealand. The score a the half was 23-0 and in the first two minutes Wales had lost their starting tighthead prop and lock. The loss of 2nd row Bradley Davies has everyone talking. With the eye on All Black players after an appeal for a longer sentences by the IRB for the head-stomp case involving flanker Adam Thompson, Andrew Hore the man nicknamed the “Seal Killer” (he killed a protected fur seal) inflamed things. In a complete act of thuggery, Hore punched Davies from behind in the neck and jaw, knocking him out cold – and out of the match – in the first minute. Have a look at the act yourself:
In the Minnow Matches… Fiji finally got a win at the expense of Georgia, while Canada became the third victim of the New Zealand Maori All Blacks. Here are all the results of the week courtesy of IRB.com.
Aviva Premiership: After a couple weeks break from Premiership games, the Aviva Premiership was back in full swing. Harlequins were surprised by a feisty Bath side. Saracens, minus their national team players, were picked off by Worcester. Wasps also picked off the always formidable Leicester minus their England players and Exeter held strong against the London Irish. Here are ll the results.
Bath 21 – 18 Harlequins
Worcester 12 – 3 Saracens
Gloucester 29 – 3 Sale
Northampton 23 – 16 London Welsh
Wasps 14 – 12 Leicester
London Irish 23 – 27 Exeter
RaboDirect PRO12: Mark Anscombe’s Ulster side continued their unbeaten run by the slimmest of margins against Benetton Treviso… Newport-Gwent finally got some reward for all their hard work… Edinburgh won against the Ospreys… Scarlets managed to surprise Munster. Here are all the results.
Benetton Treviso 15 – 16 Ulster
Newport Gwent Dragons 14 – 3 Connacht
Edinburgh 23 – 13 Ospreys
Glasgow 0 – 6 Leinster
Zebre 7 – 14 Cardiff Blues
Munster 6 – 13 Scarlets
That is it for me for now. 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.
P.s… Just a reminder about the Movember Fundraiser. Please click on the link and donate. It only takes a moment and anything you have to give is appreciated.
