NEW YORK, NY – Looming over the rugby calendar is an increase in fixtures and busier weekends of fixtures, occurring in both hemispheres. We are not quite there yet, so let’s focus on this week’s news and get to the Weekend Rugby Preview.
Wales Rugby Accord: We have peace in our time. It is not as massive as the European Cup saga but the Welsh Rugby Civil War was a major concern. Finally though, the Welsh Rugby Union and Regional Rugby Wales have put down their swords. The skinny is, “The deal is worth £60m and lasts until 2020, with dual contracts for the country’s top players set to be included while the Wales ‘A’ team returns.”
The man that broke down the State of Wales Rugby here on RWU, East Midlands Man , will review the participation agreement soon.
Top 14: Two rounds in and the table has a perfectly symmetrical appearance. Our #Top14 expert , says round 3 will likely change all of that. Please Click Here for a preview of this weekend’s action.
Currie Cup: Matchday 4 for South Africa’s Currie Cup begins today. Pumas are making their Mbombela Stadium into a fortress but the Sharks will try and conquer the new fort… Meanwhile, Griquas will host nearby rivals, the Free State Cheetahs… The Blue Bulls will take on big-time rivals Western Province, while the Eastern Province Kings will take on their rivals, the Golden Lions.
Here is the weekend’s schedule:
Fri – 29th Aug 14
Pumas – Sharks
Sat – 30th Aug 14
Griquas – Cheetahs
Blue Bulls – Western Province
Eastern Province Kings – Lions
ITM Cup
: The 2014 ITM Cup heads into the third round and it appears that a dominant pack-leader is already setting the pace… Canterbury continued their rampant start to the season by crushing Northland on Thursday night… Wellington look to get back on track against a Manawatu side that will be seeking to do the same… Counties Manukau hope to retain the Ranfurly Shield as they take on Hawkes Bay… Fellow pack leader Southland take on neighbors Otago… North Harbour welcomes Waikato, Taranaki host Bay of Plenty and Auckland look to continue their good form against Tasman.
Here are the results:
Thu – 28th Aug 14
Canterbury 48 – 3 Northland
Here is the weekend’s schedule:
Fri – 29th Aug 14
Wellington – Manawatu
Sat – 30th Aug 14
Counties Manukau – Hawkes Bay
Southland – Otago
North Harbour – Waikato
Sun – 31st Aug 14
Taranaki – Bay Of Plenty
Auckland – Tasman
Australia NRC: The inaugural National Rugby Championship goes into its second week. We even took the time to provide a preview and explain the competition; just Click Here. Hopefully, Working Class Rugger will have weekly talking points after this round, so be on the look out for it… Of the leagues 9 teams, he supports the Greater Sydney Rams, while some staff back Brisbane City, since one their feeder clubs is New York Rugby Club‘s sister club (West (Brisbane) Bulldogs. WCR’s Rams are now 0-2 after losing to the UC Vikings on Thursday night (Sydney time). The rest of the weekend will see Queensland Country play their debut match, a home one against NSW Country, the Perth Spirit will welcome the beloved Brisbane City side and in Sydney, the Sydney Stars will face the Melbourne Rising.
Here are the results:
Thu – 28th Aug 14
Greater Sydney Rams 18 – 37 UC Vikings
Here is the weekend’s schedule:
Sat – 30th Aug 14
Queensland Country – NSW Country Eagles
Sun – 31st Aug 14
Perth Spirit – Brisbane City
Sydney Stars – Melbourne Rising
Old School Try:
Transactions: Bath coach Mike Ford has revealed that Sam Burgess will start his rugby union career in the centers with a view to moving him to the back-row.
is reporting that Johnny Sexton‘s club have made him 4 year offer. Rumors have it Leinster have also submitted a 4 year offer. Time will tell who he signs for…Harrington also reported Toulouse and France center Florian Fritz has signed a 3 year contract extension… Western Force back Chris Tuatara-Morrison has joined Castres on a short-term deal (medical joker) to cover for the injured Sitiveni Sivivatu.
Glenn Moore, former Highlanders coach, has been appointed assistant coach/forwards coach of the Blues for the 2015 and 2016 Super Rugby seasons… In a bit of very sad news, Brumbies and Wallabies player Pat McCabe is being forced to retire due to a neck injury. McCabe wrote an open letter to fans in the Canberra Times stating how tough a decision it was for him. We wish him nothing but the best. Rarely is a back as tough as McCabe seen in the modern era.
USA Rugby News and Updates: The Women’s Eagles Sevens welcome Brazil’s women’s sevens team to the Olympic Training Center this weekend for a week-long, high performance training environment.
Rugby World Cup 2015 Official Team Bases confirmed: The base camps for all the teams in the world cup has been announced. USA, Canada and Scotland will be based out of the Leeds city area.
RFU v PRL: As mentioned by our Premiership Rugby has threatened to continue with their league schedule during next year’s World Cup unless a deal can be reached with the RFU. There is a gap of about 6 million dollars that the two sides are arguing over. However, RWC organizers are confident the row between the two won’t overshadow next year’s World Cup in England.
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, Karen Ritter , Jamie Wall, Jake Frechette and Declan Yeats, respectively.
And as always, stay low and keep pumping those legs.
