NEW YORK, NY – Somehow, someway, we survived the Boxing Day weekend of fixtures. For the uninitiated, Boxing Day is the day after Christmas and for the historical information on it, you can click on the hyperlink in the opening sentence. In modern terms, it means big money and big audiences for sports clubs – including rugby – all over Europe, as game-day becomes a family affair with parents and kids on Christmas vacation. So, it’s a pretty big deal. But before we get to the Boxing Day weekend fixture list, we need to deal with the latest round of Transfer Rumors, Player Transactions, USA Rugby & World Rugby news in this week’s Global Rugby Recap:
Transactions: The last month of the current year and the first month of the new year are known as the silly season. All sorts of salacious rumors about hirings, firings and everything in between flutter about, usually involving big name players and big name clubs.
We begin with the rumors coming out of England… According to Sky Sports, Toulon backrower Steffon Armitage still has a chance of playing for England and he could be in action at next year’s Rugby World Cup. That is the word from the (English) Rugby Football Union‘s chief executive Ian Ritchie, who believes that Armitage could return to England’s Test side under the incredibly vague exceptional circumstances rule. For the full interview with Mr. Ritchie, click here.
Our Top 14 expert will follow up on this but it appears Stade Francais sporting director Gonzalo Quesada has extended his contract for two seasons with an option for Quesada to add an extra season.
In the Pro 12, Scarlets tighthead prop Rhodri Jones has signed a National Dual Contract with the region and the Welsh Rugby Union. Jones joins Dragons duo Tyler Morgan (center) and Hallam Amos (wing) in signing dual contracts.
USA Rugby News and Updates: According to Rugby Today, the USA Eagles have a very packed schedule for the 2015 season. They will probably have 7 games in 2 months. For the full list of 7s and 15s schedules, click here.
World Rugby News: Our Mssr. Harrington, has often had fun jokingly referring to him as His Supreme Imperial Majesty Lord Sir Jonny of Wilkerson. However, On New Years Day, Jonny Wilkinson will officially be knighted by the Queen of England and Sir Jonny will not just be a moniker.
WEEKEND FIXTURE LIST:
Top 14: As usual, the aforementioned Ligue Nationale de Rugby expert will have has a thorough review of all the weekend’s action. From upsets to back office drama, he has you covered.
Aviva Premiership: The latest staple of the Boxing Day weekend fixtures is the “Big Game” event at Twickenham . It sets a record as 82,500 fans show up to watch a club rugby match. In that big game, Northampton once again showed their championship mettle by grinding out a win against Harlequins. Our East Midlands man, , will have a round-up of all the action. As for the other games this weekend, London Irish won a relegation decider against London Welsh, Leicester eeked out a win against Sale while Bath easily dispatched Exeter. Saracens scrapped past Newcastle and Wasps did just enough to get by Gloucester.
Fri – 26th Dec 14
London Irish 24 – 9 London Welsh
Sat – 27th Dec 14
Sale 30 – 32 Leicester
Bath 31 – 14 Exeter
Newcastle 23 – 25 Saracens
Harlequins 25 – 30 Northampton
Sun – 28th Dec 14
Gloucester 23 – 30 Wasps
Guinness Pro 12: In the Pro 12, the Boxing Day weekend also doubles as a derby round. Each match featured inter-country rivals fighting for bragging rights. In The O’Classico, Leinster traveled to Thomond Park to face the mighty men of Munster and came up short…
Cardiff lost to Welsh regional rival Newport-Gwent and in the other Irish derby, Ulster edged out Connacht… Saturday saw the first match in the 1872 Cup – played between Glasgow and Edinburgh – as the two cities have been rugby rivals that long. The match saw Glasgow come out ahead in a tough encounter… Ospreys edged Scarlets in the other Welsh derby match… Sunday saw the shortest and least intense rivalry, when Italian sides Zebre and Treviso clashed. The match saw Treviso get their first win of the season.
Here are the results:
Fri – 26th Dec 14
Cardiff Blues 17 – 23 Newport Gwent Dragons
Munster 28 – 13 Leinster
Ulster 13 – 10 Connacht
Sat – 27th Dec 14
Glasgow Warriors 16 – 6 Edinburgh
Ospreys 17 – 15 Scarlets
Sun – 28th Dec 14
Zebre 16 – 26 Benetton Treviso
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.
