NEW YORK, NY – The RWU newsroom had a slow weekend but the match coverage kept us all entertained. There were lots of big matches to cover as well as all the weekend’s transactions. With no time to spare, let’s dive into the Global Rugby Recap:
News & Transactions:
Top 14: If you are not tired of talking about Toulon and the Top 14, we have more news for you. Apparently, Quade Cooper will sign a new four-year deal with the Australian Rugby Union and play at the 2016 Olympics rather than join Toulon according to reports in the Australian media. The reports state that an agreement has been reached between Cooper and the ARU over the weekend. Upon hearing of these reports, Toulon President Mourad Boudjellal says the club will seek “substantial compensation” from Cooper if he doesn’t honor his contract.
Aviva Premiership: Bath announced that center Ben Williams has been forced to retire with immediate effect due to an ongoing shoulder injury.
Guinness Pro 12: Cardiff Blues confirmed that hooker Matthew Rees and lock James Down have re-signed for the region ahead of the new campaign.
Super Rugby: The Hurricanes signed promising U-20 scrum-half Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi to their squad for Super Rugby 2016… The Melbourne Rebels announced the signing of former All Blacks back-row Adam Thomson for the 2016 Super Rugby season. The Waratahs have confirmed the appointment of Cam Blades to the role of Assistant Coach (Forwards), commencing with the 2016 Super Rugby season.
USA Rugby News/Updates: Todd Clever has been released from the Eagles’ Pacific Nations Cup squad due to multiple squad conduct violations.
World Rugby News: Mexico retains the North America and Caribbean Rugby (NACRA) Under 19 title by defeating USA South 24-0 in the final.
As for the weekend’s fixtures:
Pacific Nations Cup: Of all of World Rugby’s Cup tournaments to benefit Tier 2 and Tier 3 nations, the Pacific Nations cup is arguably the biggest and best. By featuring the Pacific Island Nations (Tonga, Fiji, Manu Samoa), Japan, Canada and the USA, this tournament has the top Tier 2 nations, with some even ranked higher than some 6 Nations. Our Eagles Analyzer will have a review of the Eagles and the PNC action, up later. In round 1, Fiji won a tough match against island rivals Tonga; Japan put in a dominating performance against Canada; and in a match of two halves, the USA fight back fell short against Samoa.
Here are the results:
Sat – 18th Jul 15
Fiji 30 – 22 Tonga
Canada 6 – 20 Japan
United States 16 – 21 Samoa
The Rugby Championship: The 2015 Rugby Championship has kicked off. The supped up Tri-Nations is now one of the most anticipated rugby tournaments of the year. Our SANZAR Rugby expert Kiwi has a review of all the action, if you Click Here.
Test Matches: In a battle between New Zealand’s second and third teams, the New Zealand Barbarians put an end to the New Zealand Maori All Blacks record winning streak. In a world cup prep match, Namibia crushed Russia at home and, in a match to test each side’s developmental, Spain were no match for Kenya.
Here are the results:
Sat – 18th Jul 15
Maori All Blacks 17 – 34 New Zealand Barbarians
Kenya 36 – 27 Spain
Namibia 45 – 5 Russia
Regional Olympic Qualifiers: Each of World Rugby‘s regional rugby unions must hold playoffs for their teams to book their places in the XXIX Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 for the Men and the Women. The regional unions are Rugby Afrique, Oceania Rugby, Rugby Europe, Asia Rugby, NACRA, and ConSuR. NACRA and ConSuR have already held theirs. Rugby Afrique, a/k/a Africa, will hold their qualifier in November. However, Europe’s process was a series and not a one-off tournament. The 2015 Rugby Europe Sevens Grand Prix Series consisted of three legs: Moscow, Russia (6/7 June), Lyon, France (13/14 June) and Exeter, England (11/12 July). After those three legs, the highest ranked eligible team, France, qualified directly for Rio. The second-highest eligible team, Spain, qualified to play in World Rugby’s Global Repechage Tournament in 2016. All other eligible teams in the Grand Prix Series took part in the European Olympic Repechage Tournament in Lisbon on 18th and 19th July. Russia, Germany and Ireland will go forward to the World Repechage tournament in 2016 in the Men’s division. The rest of the field for the 16-team event will consist of three teams from Africa and Asia, and two apiece from Oceania, North America and the Caribbean (NACRA), and South America (ConSuR). In the women’s division, Spain, Ireland and Portugal go through to the World Repechage Tournament to join Rugby Europe Grand Prix Series runners-up Russia.
2015 Rugby Europe Olympic Repechage Standings
Men’s final standings
1. Russia
2. Germany
3. Ireland
4. Georgia
5. Romania
6. Lithuania
7. Belgium
8. Portugal
9. Italy
10. Ukraine
11. Poland
12. Latvia
Women’s final standings
1. Spain
2. Ireland
3. Portugal
4. Netherlands
5. Italy
6. Belgium
7. Germany
8. Sweden
9. Ukraine
10. Romania
11. Denmark
12. Finland
2015 Currie Cup Qualification: This tournament is a competition between seven teams and will be played between 12 June and 25 July 2015, with the winner qualifying for the 2015 Currie Cup Premier Division. The remaining six teams will play in the 2015 Currie Cup First Division. In round 5, Falcons tackled Griquas, Griffons took on the Border Bulldogs, and Leopards and Boland Cavaliers clashed.
Here are the results:
Sat – 18th Jul 15
Falcons 33-57 Griquas
Griffons 43 – 20 Border Bulldogs
Leopards 61-17 Boland Cavaliers
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, James Harrington, Jamie Wall, Nick Hall, DJ Eberle, Jake Frechette, Scheenagh Harrington, Jamie Loyd, Cody Kuxmann, Karen Ritter, Audrey Youn, Akweley Okine, Rocky Brown and Declan Yeats, respectively.
And as always, stay low and keep pumping those legs.
