GLENDALE, CO – The start of The Rugby Championship, along with the USA vs Canada RWC Qualifier, were the focus points of the weekend but there was so much more action to cover. Take a depth breath and lets dive into the Weekend Rugby Wrap-Up.
USA v Canada: With the Webb Ellis Cup present in Charleston, South Carolina, the USA was underwhelming as they fell to Canada in disappointing fashion. The second match of the 2-match series will be played in Toronto this up coming weekend. Full game analysis and vigorous debate can be found here.
Final Score:
USA 9 – 27 Canada
The Rugby Championship: In the first match of the TRC and battle for the Lord Bledisloe’s Cup between the Wallabies of Australia and the New Zealand All Blacks, we were treated to a high scoring affair. However, the Blackness proved too strong and won comfortably.
In the South African language of Afrikaans, there is a term called “Snotklap.” It translates to what happens when one hits someone so hard in the face, snot flies out their nose. That is the only way to describe what the Springboks of SA did to the Argentina Pumas.
Final Scores:
Australia 29 – 47 New Zealand
South Africa 73 – 13 Argentina
France Top 14: The long French season kicked off this weekend and there were some good matches with top quality players involved. Toulon and Montpellier had to settle for a draw, while Clermont Auvergne started Vern Cotter‘s final season at the helm, with a victory over Biarritz. Racing Metro Paris did enough to beat Top 14 newcomers Brive, as did Bordeaux-Begles against powerhouse Toulouse. Grenoble upset Stade Francais (Paris), Bayonne gave a rude greeting to newly-promoted Oyonnax while defending champions Castres lost narrowly to Perpignan.
Final Scores:
Montpellier 22 – 22 Toulon
Biarritz 18 – 22 Clermont Auvergne
Racing Metro Paris 19 – 14 Brive
Bordeaux-Begles 31 – 25 Toulouse
Grenoble 19 – 16 Stade Francais
Bayonne 39 – 11 Oyonnax
Perpignan 26 – 23 Castres
The Currie Cup: There was no drop-off from last week’s tightly contested matches to this weekend. The Sharks put away a feisty Lions side, the Blue Bulls had to dig deep to beat Griquas and Western Province won by the narrowest of margins over the Free State Cheetahs. For more information on the Currie Cup check out our preview.
Final Scores:
Sharks 33 – 25 Lions
Blue Bulls 15 – 9 Griquas
Western Province 15 – 14 FS Cheetahs
The ITM Cup: The ITM Cup continues to be an exciting showcase of developing NZ talent with some great matches on show. Hawkes Bay easily defeated Manawatu… Tasman shocked Southland… Waikato outpaced Northland. In the big Battle of the Bridge match between neighboring provinces North Harbour and Auckland, Auckland emerged victorious. In the south, Otago had just enough to get by Bay Of Plenty. For more information on the ITM Cup check out our preview.
Final Scores:
Hawkes Bay 45 – 18 Manawatu
Southland 15 – 25 Tasman
Waikato 31 – 22 Northland
Auckland 27 – 20 North Harbour
Otago 32 – 29 Bay Of Plenty
World Club 7s Championship: The ACT Brumbies are the inaugural winners of the World Club 7s championship. In a tight affair they just got by rivals Auckland… Buenos Aires defeated Harlequins to take third. The USA Northeast side – going as New York City 7s – managed to win the Plate by defeating Gloucester… Kuban Krasnodar shut out Northampton to win the Shield.
Final Scores:
Cup Final: ACT Brumbies 17 – 14 Auckland
Third Place: Buenos Aires 7 – 31 Harlequins
Plate Final: Gloucester Rugby 7 – 33 New York City 7s (NEODA)
Shield Final: Northampton Saints 0 – 21 Kuban Krasnodar
Serevi Rugbytown, USA 7s: The Serevi 7s, hosted by Rugbytown, USA – aka Glendale, Colorado – is the last major domestic 7s tournament in the US. The AIG USA All-Americans (Collegiate all-star side) won in the final over hosts Glendale… Tiger Rugby had a strong showing to win 3rd over a French developmental side… Serevi Selects defeated Army for the Plate… El Azul shocked the All-Americans developmental team – called the USA Falcons – and the Shield went to the Cayman Islands who beat Navy.
Final Scores:
Cup Final: Glendale Raptors 12 – 31 USA7s All-Americans
Third Place: France 7 – 35 Tiger Rugby
Plate Final: Serevi 34 – 0 Army
Bowl Final: El Azul 26-19 USA Falcons
Shield Final: Cayman Islands 38 – 7 Navy
And exhale. That is it for now, feel free to comment below, look for and “Like” our Facebook Rugby Wrap Up Page and follow us on Twitter @RugbyWrapUp, @JunoirBlaber, @Declan Yeats, @ckuxmann and @Ebstide52, respectively. And until the next time… stay low and keep pumping those legs.
