NEW YORK, NY – With Quarter Finals places up for grabs in the Heineken Cup and Amlin Cup this weekend, the matches were tense affairs. Almost every match delivered great action and thrilling finishes. There were also some interesting developments in Pacific islander rugby and English rugby. With that, let’s jump into the Weekend Wrap.
Heineken Cup: Our man in Castres, James Harrington, has all the action for you. Just check out his post.
Amlin Challenge Cup: Reporting from England, Nick Hall, will cover all the action and Talking Points tomorrow. In the interim, let’s review the results… Brive managed to squeak out a win at Newcastle… Stade Francias got maximum points against Cavalieri… Sale dismissed Worcester – but still fell short of the offensive bonus point… Bordeaux-Begles hammered Mogliano… Oyonnax continue to deny visitors success in the Plastic City… Bath stayed in good form against Newport-Gwent… Bucharest surprised Calvisano… Viadana shockingly fought Grenoble to a standstill… Bayonne were upset at home by Wasps and London Irish steamrolled Lusitanos.
Here are the results:
Thu – 9th Jan 14
Newcastle 7 – 9 Brive
Stade Francais 31 – 3 Cavalieri Prato
Fri – 10th Jan 14
Sale Sharks 21 – 3 Worcester
Bordeaux-Begles 64 – 7 Mogliano Rugby
Sat – 11th Jan 14
Oyonnax 28 – 24 Biarritz
Newport Gwent Dragons 13 – 30 Bath
Calvisano 11 – 23 Bucuresti
Viadana 19 – 19 Grenoble
Bayonne 13 – 26 Wasps
London Irish 79 – 3 Lusitanos
Penalty Kick:
Brian Lima Resigns: Former Samoan rugby legend Brian “The Chiropractor” Lima has stepped down as head coach of the Samoan 15s mens national team. Lima resigns as a result of domestic abuse charges filed against him by his ex-wife Lemalu Sina Retzlaff. Lima sent a letter to the president of the Samoa RFU and Prime minister of Samoa announcing his decision to step down. Lima is expected in court this week.
IRB Suspend Fiji Rugby Funding: It appears that as a result of failing to implement recommended measures to provide assurance regarding key financial reporting, administration and governance reforms, the IRB (International Rugby Board) has suspended funding to the Fiji Rugby Union. Considering the IRB provided GB£1.1 million (FJ$3.3 million, $1.8 million) in funding to the union in 2013, this will come as a massive blow. As usual it will be the players that feel this more than the incompetent administrators. It will be interesting how it affects 7s Coach Ben Ryan, as well.
English Rugby Concussion Protocols Revision: As a result of an on-going campaign effort by The Daily Mail in England, there will be changes regarding concussion protocols in rugby in England:
The Professional Game Board (PGB) – the umbrella organisation made up of senior figures from the Rugby Football Union, Premier Rugby and the Rugby Players Association – will unveil plans on Monday aimed at radically strengthening concussion protocols.
We wish them best and hope they go on to set the standard worldwide. To read more, CLICK THIS.
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.
