NEW YORK, NY – This weekend featured The Rugby Championship, Aviva Premiership and Rabodirect Pro 12 – with the latter two kicking off their seasons. There was rugby action aplenty all over the globe, so enough fumbling around, let’s get to our Weekend Rugby Wrap Up:
But… Ladies first.
Women’s Rugby World Cup Qualifier: In a shock result, Kazakhstan defeated Japan to win the Asia qualifier spot. The game was nip and tuck all the way through… Meanwhile, the fight for the Africa spot goes to South Africa… Both are great stories re the growth of the game… In finishing out the matches scheduled, Singapore defeated Hong Kong in a long standing rivalry.
Here are the results:
Wed – 4th Sep 13
Kazakhstan 91 – 7 Singapore
Japan 82 – 0 Hong Kong
Sat – 7th Sep 13
Hong Kong 10 – 17 Singapore
Japan 23 – 25 Kazakhstan
South Africa 63 – 3 Uganda
The Rugby Championship: A younger-looking New Zealand side was still too much for the Pumas of Argentina. The match was tight all the way through due to a fiest start by thePumas. However, the All Blacks pulled away in the end. The win did come at a cost for New Zealand, though. As they celebrated getting legendary flyhalf Dan Carter back, their other legend, Richie McCaw, suffered a knee injury and is in doubt for the remainder of the TRC… Down in Australia, Ewen McKenzie and his Wallabies fell to Heyneke Meyer and his Springboks of South Africa. The Wallabies lacked a clinical finishing edge while the Boks remained methodical and patient on their road to victory and winning the Nelson Mandela Challenge Plate.
Here are the results:
New Zealand 28 – 13 Argentina
Australia 12 – 38 South Africa
Aviva Premeirship: The first weekend of action contained a mix of tight matches, dominant performances and everything in between. Bath shutout Newcastle in horrid weather, while Saracens showed their class against London Irish… Sale shocked some pundits with their win over Gloucester and Northampton made light work of Exeter. A missed conversion by Wasps gave Harlequins the victory and Leicester looked like the champions they are, against Worcester.
Here are the results:
Fri – 6th Sep 13
Newcastle 0 – 21 Bath
Sat – 7th Sep 13
London Irish 20 – 42 Saracens
Gloucester 16 – 22 Sale
Northampton 38 – 11 Exeter
Wasps 15 – 16 Harlequins
SUN – 25TH AUG 13
Leicester 32 – 15 Worcester
Rabodirect Pro 12: Much like the Aviva Premiership, the Pro 12 had its mix of results. Leinster began defense of their Pro 12 title and the Matt O’Connor era in style as they demolished Scarlets while last year’s finalist Ulster were caught napping by Newport-Gwent… Glasgow subdued Cardiff and Connacht did enough to beat Zebre. Ospreys got a scare from Treviso but overcame it and Munster laid down their marker with a great effort against Edinburgh.
Here are the results:
Fri – 6th Sep 13
Scarlets 19 – 42 Leinster
Newport Gwent Dragons 15 – 8 Ulster
Glasgow 22 – 15 Cardiff Blues
Sat – 7th Sep 13
Connacht 25 – 16 Zebre
Benetton Treviso 19 – 24 Ospreys
Munster 34 – 23 Edinburgh
The Currie Cup: The race for the cup continues to provide tight, even-caliber matches this season. The Bulls outplayed the Cheetahs and the Golden Lions bested Griquas… Western Province look to be getting back to their winning ways following a well-earned victory over the Sharks.
Here are the results:
Sat – 7th Sep 13
Griquas 32 – 38 Lions
Blue Bulls 26 – 10 Cheetahs
Western Province 25 – 19 Sharks
The ITM Cup: Despite all the talk being about Canterbury and Auckland, it appears that Wellington is leading the table. They are up by two points – thanks to their ability to secure bonus points. All the 3 sides are undefeated, so it may take some time before they start separating… A moment of silence for RWU friend Jed Thian, whose Otago squad are suddenly spiraling downward.
Here are the results and the midweek schedule:
Fri – 6th Sep 13
Southland 20 – 16 Waikato
Tasman 49 – 16 Otago
Sat – 7th Sep 13
Taranaki 15 – 51 Auckland
Hawkes Bay 24 – 27 Counties Manukau
Sun – 8th Sep 13
Manawatu 15 – 12 North Harbour
Northland 10 – 30 Wellington
Wed – 11th Sep 13
Taranaki – Hawkes Bay
Thu – 12th Sep 13
Wellington – Bay Of Plenty
Rugby World Cup Qualifier: Poland played Sweden In the battle to make England 2015. The match doubled as an European Nations Cup match.Poland continued their good form as they limited penalties, and had a direct attack, Poland’s foreign based players, were in France but they still managed the victory.
Here are the results:
Sat – 7th Sep 13
Poland 30 – 9 Sweden
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 and Declan Yeats, respectively.
And until the next time… stay low and keep pumping those legs.
