NEW YORK, NY: The J.P. Morgan Premiership 7s finals are the key feature of this weekend. However there is also Womens Nations Cup matches to review and preview, along with the retirement of Paul Emerick. So lets break the line and begin the Weekend Rugby Preview.
J.P. Morgan Premiership Rugby 7s: The premier domestic club 7s has reached its finals. This is a 7s competition between all the teams of the Aviva Premiership, allowing the teams to display their academy and some fringe national team talent. It appears that Blaine Scully of the US, impressed so much last weekend, he has been sent with the 15s side playing pre-season games so that is good news. There will still be plenty of talent on display this weekend, with the two top clubs getting a place in the World Club 7s championship, happening next weekend. Here is the schedule:
Fri – 9th Aug 13
The Recreation Ground, Bath
Teams: Gloucester Rugby, Worcester Warriors, Leicester Tigers, Newcastle Falcons, Harlequins and Saracens
KO: 7.00pm (GMT)
Womens Nations Cup: Infinity Park, in Glendale, Colorado is hosting the championship and 3rd place match of the senior women’s. Nations Cup. As a result of a wicked 3 way tie at top the standings, England will play Canada for the Championship. Canada has already defeated England, but England defeated the US this past Wednesday and despite the US defeating Canada last weekend, due to points differential, the US finishes third. This means it will be the US against South Africa in the third place match. Here are Wednesdays results and the weekend fixtures:
07 AUG 2013
USA 21 – 36 England
Canada 53 – 17 South Africa
10 AUG 2013
USA South – Africa (3rd Place)
Canada – England (Championship)
The Currie Cup: South Africa‘s National Provincial Championship will kickoff this weekend. To be exact, the premier division will. To be clear the Currie Cup has 6 teams are in the premier division, 8 are in the 1st Division. The Cup’s division breakout has bone through several changes over the years, with the current manifestation being only 4 years old. During the years when South Africa was barred from international sports, the Cup took on extra significance.
As per Wikipedia, currently, South Africa is divided into 14 unions. Of those unions only four draw players from an entire province: Here are the unions in the premier division and where they draw from.
Griquas – Northern Cape (home matches in Kimberley)
Natal Sharks – KwaZulu-Natal (home matches in Durban)
Free State Cheetahs – central and western (home matches in Bloemfontein)
Western Province – Cape Town metropolitan area
Golden Lions – Johannesburg and municipalities to its west (home matches in Johannesburg)
Blue Bulls – Pretoria, the two Gauteng municipalities to its east, and Limpopo Province (home matches in Pretoria)
The 1st Division is in week 10 but it is all about the premier division. Here is the line-up for week 1 of the Premier Division:
Fri – 9th Aug 13
Sharks – Griquas
Sat – 10th Aug 13
Lions – Cheetahs
Western Province – Blue Bulls
Paul Emerick Retires: for almost a decade Paul Emerick has been a stalwart of the USA Midfield. Emerick, nicknamed “Cactus” because of his prickly and rough style of play finished with a distinguished career and admiration from teammates and opponents alike. He managed to play professionally in Europe for 8 seasons while amassing 53 caps (4th all-time) and 17 tries (2nd all-time) for the national 15s team. He also played in 17 tournaments for the national 7s team. Emerick is retiring due to an ankle that refuses to heal properly. As evidenced by the US team this summer, finding a replacement for him at Outside Center will not be easy.
USA Rugby Club 7s Championship: The USA Club 7s Championship are this weekend in Pittsburgh. There will be some great rugby on display and a lot at stake. To check out the article, predictions, and debate, including the thoughts of a current USA Eagle, click here. RWU Correspondent and new USA 7s Head Coach Matt “Polar Bear” Hawkins will be present and scouting talent.
That is it 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, @ckuxmann and @Ebstide52, respectively. And until the next time… stay low and keep pumping those legs.
