NEW YORK, NY – Somehow, through sheer will and effort, we had managed to survive all the events of the weekend. And what a weekend it was as we witnessed the final round of The Rugby Championship, domestic action in the SANZAR nations and European matches from their three top leagues. There was also some Tier 3 action, Player Transactions and USA Rugby News. With that, here’s the Weekend Global Rugby Recap:
The Rugby Championship: What does the boxing reference “Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier!!!” have to do with the Springboks v All Blacks game. Our TRC expert Jamie Wall will explain, as well as inform us on the Pumas v Wallabies match. Clearly, he #TRC saved the best for last. Please click here to read all about it.
Top 14: The rugby gods of the #Top14 are a fickle bunch. They like to get you believing you know how a weekend’s match-ups will turn out… only to completely flip the script and leave you slack-jawed. RWU Ligue Nationale de Rugby expert James Harrington details the unlikely results of the weekend… please click here.
Aviva Premiership: This season is shaping up to be the most competitive season in the Aviva’s history. The fight for the Top 4 slots will be reminiscent of some of the best battles in history. Our East Midlands Man Nick Hall will recap this weekend’s round later in the week.
As for the matches going on this weekend:
In the big one: Saracens fell to Bath for their first lost of the season… London Irish were no match for the defending champion Northampton Saints, while Harlequins unleashed hell on the London Welsh defense while shutting out their attack… Gloucester pinned a third consecutive loss to the reeling Leicester Tigers… Sale easily dealt with Wasps and a previously surging Exeter were upset in Newcastle.
Here are the results:
Fri – 3rd Oct 14
Bath 21 – 11 Saracens
Sat – 4th Oct 14
London Irish 12 – 19 Northampton
Harlequins 52 – 0 London Welsh
Gloucester 33 – 16 Leicester
Sun – 5th Oct 14
Sale Sharks 25 – 14 Wasps
Newcastle 29 – 24 Exeter
Guinness Pro12: The 2014/2015 campaign is shaping up to be one for the ages, as it appears there is a changing of the guard with new contenders rising up. As this topsy-turvy season rolls on, be prepared for some striking results. Ulster blanked Edinburgh at Ravenhill, Cardiff traveled to Ireland‘s west country and left Connacht with a draw… Zebre were denied back-to-back wins as they lost a sphincter-tight (take a moment for the visual) contest to the Neath-Swansea Ospreys… Leinster were outplayed at home by Munster in the O’Classic… Treviso were too welcoming to Glasgow to win their match and in all-Welsh derby Scarlets beat up on Newport-Gwent.
Here are the results:
Fri – 3rd Oct 14
Ulster 30 – 0 Edinburgh
Connacht 24 – 24 Cardiff Blues
Zebre 14 – 15 Ospreys
Sat – 4th Oct 14
Leinster 23 – 34 Munster
Sun – 5th Oct 14
Benetton Treviso 23 – 40 Glasgow
Scarlets 26 – 13 Newport Gwent Dragons
Currie Cup: On Friday, the imploding Sharks showed some great resolve as they downed an in-form Lions side and the Pumas were slaughtered at home by the Blue Bulls… On Saturday, Western Province could not be beaten in Bloemfontein by the Cheetahs, while not too far from Bloem-town, Eastern Province showed an improved attack but a leaky defense cost them against the Griquas in Griquaville.
Here are the results:
Fri – 3rd Oct 14
Sharks 26 – 23 Lions
Pumas 6 – 37 Blue Bulls
Sat – 4th Oct 14
Cheetahs 29 – 34 Western Province
Griquas 45 – 25 Eastern Province Kings
ITM Cup: The 2014 ITM Cup is making waves as “Rural Mudrid” – aka Taranaki – are leading the pack so far this season. Before the weekend, the action started on Wednesday, as Hawkes Bay retained the Ranfurly Shield – and kept Wellington winless… On Thursday, as a former power crumbles, another has found its feet – as displayed by Auckland‘s demolition of Waikato.
As for the rest of the weekend’s action:
In the border war between Northland and North Harbour, Harbour were dismantled… Southland were shocked by Counties Manukau… Bay of Plenty handled Otago with ease and Tasman dismantled a Canterbury side that looks like the wheels are coming off… Finally, Hawkes Bay went on the road and lost badly to Manawatu in a non-Shield match. The aforementioned Naki put Wellington to the sword.
Here are the results:
Wed – 1st Oct 14
Hawkes Bay 36 – 14 Wellington
Thu – 2nd Oct 14
Auckland 60 – 19 Waikato
Fri – 3rd Oct 14
Northland 58 – 27 North Harbour
Sat – 4th Oct 14
Southland 10 – 24 Counties Manukau
Bay Of Plenty 33 – 16 Otago
Canterbury 10 – 38 Tasman
Sun – 5th Oct 14
Manawatu 29 – 3 Hawkes Bay
Taranaki 38-22 Wellington
Australia NRC: In the Thursday night game, the University of Canberra Vikings fought an inspired match against North Harbour, which ended a draw.
As for the matches going on this weekend:
The Greater Sydney Rams ran roughshod over the boys from Brisbane City… Perth welcomed/thrashed Queensland Country… NSW Country travel to the big city of Sydney to face the Sydney Stars in a 3pm game Monday, so we will update this article after final whistle.
Here are the results:
Thu – 2nd Oct 14
UC Vikings 21 – 21 North Harbour Rays
Here is the weekend’s schedule:
Fri – 3rd Oct 14
Greater Sydney Rams 56 – 29 Brisbane City
Sat – 4th Oct 14
Perth Spirit 63 – 29 Queensland Country
Mon – 6th Oct 14
Sydney Stars – NSW Country Eagles
Tier 3 – We begin with the European Nations Cup, which consists of 7 divisions, each with 4-6 teams. The matches determine who will get promoted and relegated form groups 1A, 1B, 2A – 2Dd and 3A… Saturday saw Estonia defeat Belarus as easily as Bosnia-Herzegovina defeated Bulgaria… Finland had no problem against Scandinavian brothers, Norway.
The SAMC is the South American version of the ENC; it has 4 divisions featuring 15 teams. The C division played this weekend, as four teams battled it out for the title and promotion… Guatemala were successful against El Salvador and Panama fell short against Costa Rica.
Here are the results:
SAT– 4th OCT 14
ENC Finland 32 – 10 Norway
ENC Estonia 59 – 12 Belarus
ENC Bosnia & Herz’ 59 – 12 Bulgaria
SUN – 5th OCT 14
SAMC C Panama 10-20 Costa Rica
SAMC C Guatemala 23-17 El Salvador
Midweek, Panama will take on Guatemala and Costa Rica will face off against El Salvador.
Here is themidweek schedule:
WED – 8th OCT 14
SAMC C Guatemala – Costa Rica
SAMC C Panama – El Salvador
Transactions:
Chris Hala’ufia has joined London Welsh on a two-week loan deal from the Scarlets, as he aims to get some game time… Wasps are edging closer to a move to Coventry’s Ricoh Arena, with a deal expected to be announced as early as next week… Leicester Tigers have confirmed the signing of second-row forward Lou Reed on loan from Cardiff Blues.. We expect him to take a Walk on the Wild Side… Bath’s newly-signed League star Sam Burgess won’t be making his Union debut just yet – he fractured a cheekbone in the first minute of the NRL Final… And played on… Newport Gwent-Dragons have confirmed that Fijian back row Netani Talei has left the Welsh region with immediate effect.
USA Rugby News and Updates: USA Men’s Eagles Head Coach Mike Tolkin and the Men’s Eagles coaching staff have called 27 players to the Eagles Select XV selection camp Oct. 4-7 for the 2014 IRB Americas Rugby Championship. Click HERE to read more.
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.
