Fiji Wins Olympic Rugby 7s Gold, Fonua, Toulon, Currie Cup

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fiji-rugby_olympics_apNEW YORK, NY – This will be the briefest preview ever. There were not the many fixtures but the Weekend Rugby Preview still has updates re: Fiji Winning Gold, Fonua, Toulon, , Currie Cup and more… so without delay, here you go.

Olympic Mens 7s: The USA Men’s 7s team had a mixed tournament. The Eagles missed out on  a chance at reaching the podium at the Games of the XXXI Olympiad by one point, as the point differential between the USA and New Zealand meant the Kiwis were the ones to advance to the quarterfinals. A dejected USA side managed to show some pride and secure ninth place by defeating host Brazil and Spain. See Matt McCarthy’s excellent piece on the USA’s Women’s and Men’s squads going forward and what No Medals means.

Fiji Rugby wins Gold Rugby_Wrap_Up

Fiji created history by winning the first Men’s 7s gold in Olympic history. It is only fitting because when it comes to 7s, Fiji are every non-Fijian’s second team. It was also fitting because they are the back to back 7s World Series champs and looked the dominate side all the way. Click here for the full results… But here’s the skinny on medals:
Gold: Fiji Romped over Great Britain 43-7.
Silver: After winning matches there last 4 match by 2, 2,  draw (5 in sudden death) and 2, Great Britain didn’t have the fire power to take down Fiji.
Bronze: South Africa bounced back from their painful loss to Great Britain to crush the Cinderella of the tournament Japan, 54-14.

News & Transactions:

Aviva Premiership: Newcastle Falcons completed the signing of Tonga and Leicester Tigers back-row forward Opeti Fonua, the club confirmed… Sale Sharks announced the signing of young hooker Curtis Langdon from London Irish. Langdon will be looking to make the step up to first-team rugby at the club…

Pro 12: The Ospreys have added former Scarlets captain, Rob McCusker, to the squad on a short-term contract to provide back row cover… Connacht Rugby and the IRFU were pleased to announce the recruitment of lock Lewis Stevenson from the Exeter of the Premiership for the 2016/17 season.

He's the man: Mourad Boudjellal
He’s the man: Mourad Boudjellal

Top14: Toulon owner Mourad Boudjellal has lashed out after being fined €100,000 for exceeding the player salary cap during the 2014/15 season. Boudjellal claims they haven’t been informed about the fine but confirmed that they will contest it. An appeal is likely to follow… Wallabies utility back Adam Ashley-Cooper is preparing for a showdown with his club, Bordeaux-Bègles, as he is set to return to Test action. Although UBB have allowed Ashley-Cooper to play in Australia’s first two matches of the Rugby Championship against New Zealand – which also serve as Bledisloe Cup games on August 20 and 27 – the 32-year old is set to face a battle between club and country for the tournament’s other fixtures.

PRO Rugby: Pau announced the signing of Ohio Aviators loosehead prop Jamie Mackintosh. The one-cap All Black and former Chiefs and Highlanders player will be a medical joker ahead of the new season after prop Julien Jacquot underwent surgery on his back during the off-season.

USA Rugby:  The 2016 USA Rugby Club 7s National Championships at Dick’s Sporting Good Park in Commerce City, Colo will take place Aug. 13-14 . Every one of the 96 matches at Club 7s Championships will be available to watch free of charge on The Rugby ChannelBrothers Rugby Club escaped Crosby Park with a 36-34 defeat of the AIG Men’s Collegiate All-Americans on their Tour to Queensland sponsored by WellDog on Wednesday. The home side took a sizable lead into halftime before tactical substitutions from MCAA Head Coach Gavin Hickie, including the introduction of Tour captain Aladdin Schirmer, led the MCAAs to a 21-0 run late in the second half. Brothers snatched victory at the death through a penalty goal, a fitting end to a well-contested exhibition matchup.
The weekend’s fixtures:

2016 Currie Cup qualification: The tournament is a competition between which It will be played between 5 August and 15 October 2016 and will feature nine teams that qualified through the 2016 Currie Cup qualification competition. The 9 South African provincial unions are Pumas, Sharks, Blue Bulls, Western Province, Eastern Province, Boland, Griquas, Free State and Golden Lions. This will be the 78th edition of South Africa’s premier domestic rugby union competition. Before the first round kicked off, there was off the field drama. There was an approved request by the defending champion Lions, who asked to have their Round One encounter – with Griquas in Kimberley on Saturday, August 6 – postponed to a later date due to their Super Rugby commitments. The second was from the Eastern Province Kings – asking that they withdraw from the competition altogether. Shockingly their request was denied due to the pettiness of the smaller Griffons union. Griffons feels that if they knew they could have won promotion to the premier division, they would have played better and not lost their final match in the qualification tournament. For the full details, please go here.

The first round of fixtures began with the Sharks winning comfortably against the Pumas and the Blue Bulls spanking Western Province. The remaining fixture sees Boland take on Free State.

Here are the results:
Fri – 12 Aug 2016
Eastern Province – Boland
Sharks – Griquas

Here is the schedule:
Sat – 13 Aug 2016
Golden Lions – Pumas
Free State – Blue Bulls

That’s all for now, please feel free to comment below, look for and “Like” our Facebook Rugby Wrap Up Page and follow us on Twitter@: @RugbyWrapUp, @Junoir Blaber, @MeetTheMatts, @LukeBienstock@BrianCCole, @Ronan Nelson and @Declan Yeats.

And as always, stay low and keep pumping those legs.

 

About Junoir Blaber 868 Articles
Born in Osu, Accra, Ghana, West Africa, Junoir Blaber is a rare commodity; while most Ghanians eat, sleep and dream Soccer (football), Junoir is all about Rugby. A self-proclaimed Rugbyologist, he has been involved in Rugby as a ref, coach, administrator and player since Columbus discovered Ohio. His useful/trivial rugby knowledge qualify Blaber as RWU's Senior Correspondent & known in rugby circles as The Rugby Rain Man. He can also be found moonlighting for our American partners at MeetTheMatts.com.