Cooney, Rolland, ENC, U-20 6 Nations, Aviva Prem, USA Rugby and World Rugby News

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NEW YORK, NY – There will be no rest for the weary this weekend. We have the return of the Six Nations, along with two of the three top European leagues going on. Added to that will be Super Rugby plus the first annual Vancouver 7sand not to be forgotten is all the important Rugby News and Transactions. So with so much to get to, let’s dive into the Weekend Preview.

News & Transactions:

Pro 12: Connacht and the IRFU announced a contract extension for scrum-half John Cooney.

USA Rugby: The USA Rugby Gold Cup prepares for rounds 3 and 4, which will be televised on USARugby.tv.

World Rugby: Former Ireland international and veteran of 66 tests as referee Alain Rolland succeeds Joël Jutge as High Performance 15s Match Officials’ Manager for World Rugby.

The weekend’s fixtures:

Vancouver 7s: The sixth leg of the 2015/2016 HSBC World Rugby Mens 7s Series kicks off in Vancouver this weekend. As usual we have a fantastic preview of the tournament and what team USA needs to do to win, if you click here.

RBS 6 Nations: Round 4 of the 2016 6 Nations kicks of shortly. The tournament is still very much up for grabs though it has turned into a two team race. The RWU Wolfman Ronan Nelson has a great preview of all the matches and our Expert Panel’s picks, in an issue click here.

RBS U-20 6 Nations: The stars of the future of European rugby also have their 6N matches this weekend to give fans a preview of what’s to come. It is looking to be a very close tournament. Like the big boys, Ireland will host Italy, while England face Wales in the big game of the weekend and finally Scotland will take on the France.

Here is the weekend’s schedule:
Fri – 11 Mar 2016
Ireland U20s – Italy U20s
England U20s – Wales U20s
Scotland U20s- France U20s

RBS Women’s 6 Nations: Though they don’t get as much coverage as they often deserve, the Women’s 6N will also be kicking off this weekend. The sparse coverage aside, the action begins with Scotland hosting France, followed on Saturday by Wales on the road against England and it finishes with the Italy women clashing with Ireland.

Here is the weekend’s schedule:
Fri – 11 Mar 2016
Scotland Women – France Women
Sat – 12 Mar 2016
England Women – Wales Women
Ireland Women – Italy Women

European Nations Cup: The ENC, or the 6 Nations “B” , is the premier tournament for the second-tier nations of Europe. Unbeknownst to some, the ENC consists of seven divisions, each featuring between four and six teams. The matches played will determine who will get promoted and relegated from groups 1B, 2A – 2D, and 3A over a two-year cycle. Division 1A, where the best teams in Europe not called England, Ireland, France, Italy, Wales or Scotland reside, has no promotion option – only relegation back to 1B. Hopefully promotion from 1A to the proper 6N will eventually occur… but we aren’t banking on it.

In 1A this weekend, Georgia will host arch rivals Russia as they bid to win their sixth straight ENC title. While Romania will face upstarts Germany and finally Spain and Portugal, will do battle under the Iberian sun for the peninsula naming rights. In 1B, Moldova will host Belgium.

Here is the weekend’s schedule:
Sat – 12 Mar 2016
1A: Georgia – Russia
1A: Romania – Germany
1A: Spain – Portugal
1B: Moldova – Belgium

(Photo by Christopher Lee/Getty Images for Aviva)

Aviva Premiership: Due to the 2015 RWC, the 2015/2016 Aviva Premiership will take no breaks during the 6N. Lots of clubs are starting their playoff push as we are past the midway point. This weekend began with Harlequins winning against Bath. Wasps will be welcoming Leicester, Northampton and Sale will do battle, Worcester clash with the Gloucester, Exeter tackle Newcastle and London Irish face Saracens in the New York in their ground-breaking match.

Here are the results:
Fri – 11 Mar 2016
Harlequins 35-28 Bath

Here is the schedule:
Sat – 12 Mar 2016
Wasps – Leicester Tigers
Northampton Saints – Sale Sharks
Worcester Warriors – Gloucester
Exeter Chiefs – Newcastle Falcons
London Irish – Saracens

Top 14: The Top 14 game has a full slate of matches this weekend also. The first match of the weekend saw Bordeaux-Begles drew with Toulouse. The rest of the weekend features Stade Francis battling their capital city rivals sting Racing, Castres welcome Agen, Clermont-Auvergne will do battle with Brive, La Rochelle host Pau and Toulon and Grenoble. Sunday sees Montpellier travel to Oyonnax to close out the round.

Here are the results:
Fri – 11 Mar 2016
Toulouse 13-13 Bordeaux-Begles

Here is the schedule:
Sat – 12 Mar 2016
Stade Francais – Racing 92
Castres – Agen
Clermont Auvergne – Brive
La Rochelle – Pau
Toulon – Grenoble
Sun – 13 MAR 2016
Oyonnax – Montpellier

Super Rugby: Super Rugby continues into the third round of the newly re-formatted tournament. It crosses at least 6 or 7 time zones. As for the third round of fixtures, it started with the Brumbies continuing they hot start against the Force, the Blues feel at the death to last year’s runner-ups the Hurricanes. Saturday sees the Highlanders travel to SA to face the Lions, the Rebels host the new-look Reds, the Sunwolves and the Cheetahs will clash, the Chiefs will go on the road to the Kings while old foes the Stormers and the Sharks go at it again.