NEW YORK, NY – We are getting to the penultimate weekend of Autumn Internationals aka End of the Year tours. The are loads of intriguing match-ups between nations and individual players. The is also Womens Internationals, the LV=Cup and whispers of the AIG All Blacks in NYC. So, let’s get into the Weekend Rugby Preview.
Ladies First:
England finished 2013 on a rousing note. They trampled Canada in a game that showed their might and depth. They remain a favorite for the WRWC 2014 while Canada can not be ruled out as this was an experimental side of sorts. The last womens international of the year will see The Czech Republic travel to Switzerland were the Swiss are favored.
Here is the midweek result and this weekend’s schedule:
Tue – 5th Nov 13
France 6 – 11 Canada
Sat – 16th Nov 13
Switzerland – Czech Republic
Tier 1 & 2: This weekend sees only a handful of Tier 1 v Tier 1 match-ups. The big one features England versus New Zealand in Twickenham, England. Last year when England won, it was the major upset in rugby for 2012. Stakes are high again as on top of bragging rights New Zealand look to be the first Tier 1 team to finish a calendar year undefeated.Other Tier1 clashes will see Wales take on Argentina, Ireland against Australia and Scotland welcomes South Africa to Murrayfield. In Tier 1 versus Tier 2 action, France will welcome Tonga to the their atrocious pitch as the seek RWC 2011 pool play vengeance. Most of the Tier 2 action sees a few head to heads but alot more Tier 2 versus Tier 3. In the head to heads, you have Russia taking on Japan, Georgia against the good ol’ USA, check out the match preview. Samoa takes on the French Barbarians, an all-start team of the best France squad pool and pro players in France. It may sound like the Toulon roster but we assure you its not. Italy will take on Fiji, we can debate the semantics of putting Italy with this group later in the comments. It will be a special day for Italy forwards Sergio Parisse and Martin Castrogiovanni as they both reach 100 test caps. In Tier 2 versus Tier 3, Our Friend Pedro Leal‘s Portugal will head down to former colony Brazil for an interesting encounter. Portugal’s Iberian peninsula neighbors Spain travel to Uruguay for another unique clash.
Here is this weekend’s schedule:
Fri – 15th Nov 13
Russia – Japan
Brazil – Portugal
Sat – 16th Nov 13
Georgia – USA
England – New Zealand
Wales – Argentina
French Barbarians – Samoa
Italy – Fiji
Uruguay – Spain
Ireland – Australia
France – Tonga
Romania – Canada
Sun – 17th Nov 13
Scotland – South Africa
LV=Cup: This weekends actions sees only two Angl0-Welsh clashes as Dragons welcome Wasps and Scarlets travel to Saracens. There is one Welsh derby as Cardiff invades Ospreys. In the England derbies, Harlequins face Sale Sharks, Worcester looks for 2 in a row against Leicester, Newcastle are on the road against Gloucester, Exeter visits Bath and Northampton take the short trip to London to take on the London Irish.
Here is this weekend’s schedule:
Fri – 15th Nov 13
Ospreys – Cardiff Blues
Harlequins – Sale Sharks
Worcester – Leicester
Sat – 16th Nov 13
Newport-Gwent Dragons – Wasps
Gloucester – Newcastle
Sun – 17th Nov 13
Bath vs Exeter
London Irish – Northampton
Saracens – Scarlets
Tier 3 Action: In the ENC this weekend we have only 3 matches but two are doubling as a Rugby World Cup Qualifiers (RWCQ). Moldova, will welcome and in-form Germany and the Czech Republic will host the Ukraine. In the non-RWCQ matches Switzerland will be home to the Netherlands and Slovenia will be home to Azerbaijan.
Here is this weekend’s schedule:
Sat- 16th Nov 13
Moldova – Germany
Czech Republic – Ukraine
Switzerland – Netherlands
Slovakia – Azerbaijan
The Second Annual Tri-Nations Rugby Tournament (TNRT) is an IRB and CAR sanctioned competition for the 3 countries in CAR’s RWC qualifying pool 1A. The 3 countries are Namibia, Kenya and Zimbabwe. The TRNT is being held in Windhoek, Namibia. With Namibia having already defeated Zimbabwe, all they need to do is beat Kenya this weekend to win the title.
Here is the midweek result and this weekend’s schedule:
Tues – 12th Nov 13
Kenya 14 – 29 Zimbabwe
Sat- 16th Nov 13
Namibia – Kenya
Quick Tap: AIG All Blacks in NYC? – After such an awesome match and atmosphere, not to mention the soldout crowd, AIG and the New Zealand Rugby Union are discussing the idea of a one off match in the Northeast of the USA. This time they are looking to fill an American Football size stadium. There is also the issue of finding a proper opponent to create a quality match. Unfortunately this means that the USA is ruled out, so the project will need another nation willing to play a match outside the test window, maybe Ireland. However we at RWU would like to suggest either a barbarian style side of USA and Canada Select players or just the full-fledged Barbarians! Either way, the All Blacks in NYC would be fantastic, period.
That’s it for now… feel free to comment below, look for and “Like” our Facebook Rugby Wrap Up Page and follow us on Twitter @: RugbyWrapUp, Junoir Blaber, DJ Eberle, Nick Hall, James Harrington, Cody Kuxmann, Jaime Loyd and Declan Yeats, respectively.
And until the next time… stay low and keep pumping those legs.
