RaboDirect PRO12

RaboDirect PRO12

All times local, deduct 6 hrs for Houston.

Saturday
Treviso v Zebre, 14:00
Edinburgh v Glasgow, 16:05
Munster v Ulster, 17:30
Leinster v Connacht, 19:45

Monday, 31 December 2012
Newport-Gwent D'gons v Ospreys, 16:15

Aviva Premiership Rugby

Aviva Premiership Rugby

All times local, deduct 6 hrs for Houston.

Friday, 28 December 2012  

Sale v Worcester, 20:00

Saturday, 29 December 2012

Harlequins v London Irish, 14:15
Exeter v Bath, 15:00
London Welsh v London Wasps, 15:00
Leicester v Gloucester, 17:00

Sunday, 30 December 2012

Saracens v Northampton, 14:15

French Top 14 rd 14

French Top 14 rd 14

Sunday Dec 30

Clermont Auvergne v Bayonne   08:00    
Grenoble v Bordeaux Begles      08:00    
Mont-de-Marsan v Biarritz          08:00    
Racing Metro 92 v Agen             08:00    
Castres v Toulouse                    09:00    
Montpellier v Stade Francais      11:05    
Toulon v Perpignan                    13:45

All times Houston.

French Top 14 league rd 12 best tries

#10. A bit dodgy.
#14 accepts ball behind back of dummy runner. I would have called obstruction
#21 black totally out of position.

#9 Nice maul by Racing. makes one wonder if opponents have been taught how to counter a maul.

#8 Great try Perps.

#7 Great individual effort. Toulouse have the largest wage bill in Europe and have picked so many of the great players. Yet, as a team they continue to struggle. Heck they couldn't even beat Grenoble last week. Grenoble have 1/3rd the wage bill and were promoted to top league only this year.
Crap coaching.

#6 Beauty. Dummy runners and players running at speed. A crap attempt at tackle by #8 allows player to offload.

#5 Superb individual skills from Toulouse again.

#4 Terrible rucking skills by white. #13 white just stood around instead of linking with other white and driving the solitary opponent off ball. White could have either secured a turnover or at least a penalty

#3 Great offloads and passing skills finished off by a winger who knew exactly where support was and kicked to middle.

#2 Good try. Expansive rugby where ball is taken first to one side of field and then to other for next phase allowed attackers to get from half way to 22 in just 2 phases. The rest was a little lucky. Big Basteraud managing to stay on feet and offload allowed this try.

#1 Another nice offload in tackle. Keeping the ball alive and at same time getting behind defence. So simple yet mostly lacking in Northern Hemisphere rugby. I was surprised at the number of offloads in this French rugby review.

Heineken Cup rd 4 best tries vs Southern Hemisphere S15 tries

1st try. You very rarely see NH teams running ball from inside 22. Leic were cocky as they knew they were only playing Italian side Treviso. Good support, but try was a foregone conclusion once Leic had got behind most of Treviso team.
2nd try. Unbelievable piss poor defence by Toulouse and France International winger. Jeez, there was so little room on outside that all he had to do was push Ospreys guy out to touch.
Next, a charge down rates as a top try. You know they're scraping the barrel when they include this kind of lucky try.
Leinster was a nice try but game was already over in its nearly 79th minute and Clermont were 12 ahead and in no danger of losing the game.
Had this been10 mins from end Leinster would surely have kicked for touch.
Northants try was OK but it relied on poor tackling by winger. Basic rule....little guy vs big guy, do not go high but take his legs.
Biarritz try was given by Connacht #13 who was so out of place he allowed this try. Basic rule..always take man with ball...no ifs or buts.
George North try relied on not just one miss tackle but two. The first tackler was just meandering across field and the second tackler was just terrible.

If this is the best of tries in what is supposed to be the top rugby competition in Northern hemisphere then we are in deep doo doos.

What do you think?

Heres rd 8 from Super 15 which is about the same time into season.
1st try; Lovely inside ball to winger at pace. Drew Mitchell is one of the best. Had too many injuries in last 2 years.  And at top speed it is easy to bt others with a bit of sidestepping.
2nd Sharks vs Lions. Sloppy at first. Kankowski brings it back to forwards, takes ruck. Turning point was when forward goes down and instead of causing a ruck as per Northern Hemisphere, offloads to another player running at speed into gap. Kankowski again. Quick hands in backs and great try.
3rd try; OK...a chargedown made the top tries list.
4th Williams at speed is always difficult to bring down, but add a nice dummy move whilst opponents were moving sideways and it was a classic. Full back nearly gets him with a great tackle.
 5th try. Cheetahs' Ebersohn looks up and sees a forward in front. Classic mismatch. A little shimmy at speed and hes away. Coaches need to give players the confidence to look up and see what is in front, instead of constantly calling moves. Still had alot to do as the cover was superb, but great support, awareness and passing skills caused another great try.
6th try: Another mismatch. Forward against lonely back and a bit of space. Simply runs over back and gets behind defence.
7th try. Basic rule when turnover at ruck....move ball away from contact area fast. In NH rugby that would have been a kick up field or to touch inside 22. Lovely interplay and passing skills with great support. Another great try. Piggies always have trouble getting low enough to tackle legs against someone at speed and just outside arms length.
8th try: Classic. A back taking on 2 piggies at speed and running between them....tight 5 easiest of them all. Lovely support and passing to score try.
9th try: Israel Dagg...big lad for a back. He backs himself against 2 other backs. Heads down, and legs pumping and gets to line.
10th Great awareness by Fly Half. Was this a called move off a set piece?
I doubt it. Heres why. The call was probably for either an switch inside to a runner or a dummy runner outside and pass. You quite clearly see runners hitting both those marks. Fly half obviously saw the wide space at wing. Wingers must stay on touchline at all times for these sort of occasions.

Altogether these were great tries.
Whats your opinion?

England vs New Zealand full game

Finally I have a team that maybe worth supporting.
All Blacks have written the book on how to win, and more importantly.....consistently win.

But, as an Englishman, I have waited a long time to finally hope my own country can beat a Southern hemisphere side.

French Top 14 Dec 21 and 22

This straight from lnr.fr website

Friday 21st
20h50 Bordeaux / Clermont -
Diffusion : Canal + Sport

Saturday 22 décembre
15h00 Grenoble / Toulouse -
Diffusion : Canal +
18h30 Castres / Racing Métro -
Diffusion : Rugby + 255
18h30 Perpignan / Montpellier -
Diffusion : Rugby + 256
18h30 Paris / Biarritz -
Diffusion : Rugby + 257
18h30 Bayonne / Mont-de-Marsan -
Diffusion : Rugby + 258
20h40 Agen / Toulon -
Diffusion : Canal + Sport


All times Froggie so deduct 7 hrs for Houston CST.

If I had to pick some good games I'd go with
Castres vs Racing.Could be interesting because Castres has such a phenomenal pack. Metro, I believe is a better all round team. Home teams usually win in Top 14. A staggering 72%.
Metro have some good backs if they play and might outflank Castres.
Perps vs Montpellier are about even. All depends on the starting line ups.
Biarritz shocking away from home, but have great players, including the US player..."Z"

Rabo Direct Pro 12 Dec 21-23 and Boxing day

Friday, 21 December 2012

Cardiff Blues v Scarlets, 19:05

Glasgow v Edinburgh, 19:35

Ulster v Leinster, 19:05

---

Saturday, 22 December 2012

Connacht v Munster, 17:15

Zebre v Treviso, 14:00

---

Wednesday, 26 December 2012

Cardiff Blues v Newport-Gwent D'gons, 14:05

Ospreys v Scarlets, 17:30

 

All games are great rivalries.

 

How to watch live rugby in Houston

For those of you who have not watched rugby over the internet here are the general instructions.

a) Obviously you will need good speed on your broadband and a decent computer with adobe flash.
Mac users generally just push one button and voila.
b) These sites have all the feeds;
wiziwig.eu or .tv
vipbox.tv or vipboxsports.eu
frombar.tv
cricfree.tv
c) Install a good ad blocker such as adblock plus for Firefox.
I guess these people make some money from their pay per click ads etc. There is alot of them and they are getting better at circumventing the blockers.
Some people say they get bad messages from their anti virus. I've never caught anything. Many people go here, not just for rugby, but for every sport etc.
d) Sometimes a broadcaster puts his feed behind a bit of software called Sopcast. Well worth downloading this just in case, as it gives a better picture etc. Plus you can watch a couple of games on one screen.
Full details can be found on the wiziwig site under software.
e) Sometimes rugby can be found on direct TV and/or on Fox soccer plus. Espn 3 on internet carries a few Top 14 if you are a comcast subscriber. The finals of International sevens are usually shown on NBC. Channel 49 on Comcast. The USA collegiate sevens were shown on major TV channel last year. Hopefully again this year.
f) Sometimes, very rarely, one cannot get a game because it is only available to those living in England.
It is usually a crap Celtic league game, and there is only the one rebroadcaster.
For that you will need a VPN to fool the censors.
A good free one can be found at;

Gizmo's Freeware | Find the best freeware fast

www.techsupportalert.com/

 If you intend to use a VPN often then pay a monthly fee and go with a company such as
http://www.securitykiss.com/pricing/

Live Rugby Dec 21 -23rd and Boxing day

Fri 21     RaboDirect PRO12     Cardiff Blues v Scarlets, Cardiff Arms Park
19:05 local, 19:05 GMT, 14:05 EST, 13:05 CST, 11:05 PST        
Fri 21     RaboDirect PRO12     Ulster v Leinster, Belfast
19:05 local, 19:05 GMT, 14:05 EST, 13:05 CST, 11:05 PST        
Fri 21     RaboDirect PRO12     Glasgow v Edinburgh, Glasgow
19:35 local, 19:35 GMT, 14:35 EST, 13:35 CST, 11:35 PST        
Fri 21     Top 14 Orange     Bordeaux Begles v Clermont Auvergne, Bègles
20:50 local, 19:50 GMT, 14:50 EST, 13:50 CST, 11:50 PST        
Fri 21     Aviva Premiership     Worcester Warriors v London Welsh, Worcester
20:00 local, 20:00 GMT, 15:00 EST, 14:00 CST, 12:00 PST
     
Sat 22     Aviva Premiership     Bath Rugby v Saracens, Bath
13:15 local, 13:15 GMT, 08:15 EST, 07:15 CST, 05:15 PST        
Sat 22     RaboDirect PRO12     Zebre v Benetton Treviso, Parma
15:00 local, 14:00 GMT, 09:00 EST, 08:00 CST, 06:00 PST
Sat 22     Aviva Premiership     London Irish v Leicester Tigers, Reading
15:00 local, 15:00 GMT, 10:00 EST, 09:00 CST, 07:00 PST   
Sat 22     Aviva Premiership     Gloucester Rugby v Exeter Chiefs, Gloucester
15:00 local, 15:00 GMT, 10:00 EST, 09:00 CST, 07:00 PST      
Sat 22     Aviva Premiership     Northampton Saints v Harlequins, Northampton
15:15 local, 15:15 GMT, 10:15 EST, 09:15 CST, 07:15 PST        
Sat 22     RaboDirect PRO12     Connacht v Munster, Galway
17:15 local, 17:15 GMT, 12:15 EST, 11:15 CST, 09:15 PST        

Sun 23     Aviva Premiership     London Wasps v Sale Sharks, Wycombe
14:00 local, 14:00 GMT, 09:00 EST, 08:00 CST, 06:00 PST


Boxing day
Wed 26     RaboDirect PRO12     Cardiff Blues v Dragons, Cardiff Arms Park
14:05 local, 14:05 GMT, 09:05 EST, 08:05 CST, 06:05 PST        
Wed 26     RaboDirect PRO12     Ospreys v Scarlets, Swansea
17:30 local, 17:30 GMT, 12:30 EST, 11:30 CST, 09:30 PST

I haven't posted the French Top 14 for Sat.
4 of the games I see on the schedule start at 11.30am Houston time.
I don't think France has 4 stations.
There is usually only a couple of broadcasters on the internet that re-transmit the games on to us.
So best to try all the links.

For those of you who have not watched rugby over the internet go to my post "How to watch live rugby in Houston"

Aviva Premiership Dec 21 -23rd

Friday, 21 December 2012

Worcester v London Welsh, 20:00

---

Saturday, 22 December 2012

Bath v Saracens, 13:15

Gloucester v Exeter, 15:00

London Irish v Leicester, 15:00

Northampton v Harlequins, 15:15

---

Sunday, 23 December 2012

London Wasps v Sale, 14:00

All times GMT. Deduct 6 hrs for Houston CST time

1st week back after Heineken and Amlin Cups .
 

Another wanker for Scotland

For years I've been critical of Andy Robinson as director of rugby for Scotland.
He has single handedly taken Scotland from 9th in IRB rankings to 12th in just 3 short years. Above them reside such notable teams as Italy, Tonga, Samoa and Argentina.

Lets take a quick peek at these powerhouses of rugby which are deemed superior to Scotland.
Now some of you will argue that Italy are good. And yes, they are not bad. They are all pros, albeit playing in Celtic Rabo 12 league. And the teams they play for, have consistently come bottom. So, yes Italy are progressing. They are progressing just as fast as Scotland is declining.
Italian Rugby only really came to prominence in 2000 when it was added to the Five Nations, creating the Six Nations.
Initially on the end of some heavy defeats, the side has grown in competitiveness, recording a fourth place finish in 2007, and even in defeat, lop-sided losses are less frequent. The Azzurri have shown respectable results when playing at home in recent years. During the 2011 Six Nations, the side played three home games which resulted in a 22–21 victory over France, and were only 12 points in combined deficit to securing victories over Ireland and Wales, lost 11–13 and 16–24 respectively. In 2012 Scotland replaced the Italians as wooden spoon winner.
The point is that Italy has benefited from having players mix with professionals on a regular basis in Rabo cup and have shown remarkable improvement over the last 5 years whereas Scotland has gone backwards. Its not as if the Scottish clubs are equally as rubbish...they are not. They consistently beat the Italian clubs.
It has been bad coaching. The style and tactics are dictated by director which has been Andy Robinson.
One only had to watch the Scots at 2011 World Cup where they struggled to beat amateur sides such as Georgia and Romania.
One could see the players wanting to play the modern game by trying to keep the ball alive, but it was also quite apparent that their instructions were to go down and take the ruck. It was embarrassing.

Andy Robinson failed at England coach prior to Scottish job. We English thought we'd play a joke on the Scots by pretending Andy left on good terms blah blah blah. You know how it goes..."We'd like to thank Andy for doing such a great job under trying circumstances etc bla blah"
So Scots got him and it never ceased to amaze me that every time they lost, Andy blamed the players for the performance and yet the players and management always spoke highly of him.
Go figure.
I can't ever remember the Scots giving an Englishman such an easy time.
He abused them and they loved him.

Going back to the other teams above Scotland in IRB Rankings for just a moment.
Tonga has very few players with pro contacts around the world so it was a massive shock that Scots should get beaten by them just recently. I think I had Scots to win by 30 in Superbru.
Samoa is a little different. They do not have that many pros to pick from. But the players they can pick, practically all played Southern hemisphere. Not all are Super 15 level. Some only play at provincial level in ITM Cup, which is a mixture of pros and semi pros.
Of course a good number were picked from those playing top class rugby in Northern hemisphere for the Autumn Internationals this year. Samoa doesn't have the resources to fly everyone from New Zealand. I've always said that the top teams in ITM Cup would give practically all teams in Celtic league, and the bottom 5 in Aviva and French Top 14, a run for their money.

It is great to see Argentina do so well. They had their first season in ex Tri Nations competition this year.
They had similar results to when Italy first started in 6 nations. They did manage to draw one game but had 166 pts scored against them in 6 games. But Argies are another example of not having many professionals to pick from.
In every game this year they have had to field between 3 and 6 amateurs in the starting line up.
There should never be any competition between amateurs and pros.
The amateur has to work at another job and rarely gets to play amongst pros and the higher pace etc, and the other gets to train 40 hrs a week and is constantly getting better by playing with, and against, pros.
So, it has been a revelation to see how far the Argies have come in just the last 14 months.
There is no doubting the courage and tenacity of Argie forwards. You're never going to overpower them by trying to run over their forwards. South Africa tried and only managed a lucky draw.
Anyway I digress. So, Andy Robinson finally won first place in the alternative rugby awards this year, as the worst coach of the year.
 http://www.theroar.com.au/2012/11/30/the-alternative-international-rugby-awards/

Sadly there may be worse to come for Scotland, and this was one of the main reasons for this diatribe.
They have just promoted Scott Johnson as director of rugby.
He has been attack coach for last 6 months.
And I won't criticize him for Scotland's complete lack of attacking ability which amounted to kick and chase, because the director sets the style and strategy.... and that was Andy Robinson.
Every time Scott has been in charge of the direction of a team he has failed miserably. Another man who seems to have the Gods on his side. Why do we constantly recycle these failed coaches? We should be giving ex pro players the job as head coaches. Which effectively means they are still young as professionalism didn't start until 1995 and they understand the modern game. A few exceptions to this rule would be ex Wallaby David Campese and ex All Black John Kirwan. Both are still involved in the game. Kirwan actually did a brilliant job with Italy and then Japan. Personally I thought he should have got the England job, and certainly the Scottish one. But neither saw his potential, so he will coach the Blues in Super15 next year. Should be interesting.

Once again I digress.
In the modern era Scott Johnson has been a miserable failure as a director of rugby/head coach.
His last 2 gigs were;
2008 -2009 with USA. A complete failure. Sure USA was tough in those days, but Scott lacked any vision and could not recognize talent. He soon realized he was out of his league and packed that in to join Ospreys. A team on the rise at the time.
At Ospreys from 2009-2012, half his team were not just ordinary Internationals but the so-called "best of the best" and were British and Irish Lions players. And practically all the rest were internationals including ex All Blacks captain and monster Jerry Collins.
Yet the best I think he ever did was win the Celtic league once., The league, quite frankly, is lame. Remember 2 of the clubs are Italian....barely pros.
So many times I have watched them and seen them play such a terrible style of rugby. It was so frustrating.
Scott Johnson, and Andy Robinson are the guys we have all met at one time or another.
Average at the best of times yet always managing to come up smelling of roses, and getting all the best jobs.
If that is what selling your soul to the devil looks like. Sign me up.
I suspect the Scottish Rugby Union head honchos are English saboteurs. They look and speak like Scots in public but are being paid either by the English or the Scottish Football Association. After all, it makes sense.....for Scottish football to get better, they need the rugby fans coming through the turnstiles.
One could just imagine these Scottish rugby union bosses going home at night and revert back to speaking Queens English to the missus.
"Righty-ho old dear, time for a little rogering eh?"That reminds of the great monologue in Trainspotting.
You have to watch this. It was brilliant.

I digress
Johnson's in the right place at the right time again, because it is absolutely impossible for Scotland to sink any lower in IRB rankings.
Heck, even IRB says so. They are a full 5 points ahead of the next challengers, namely Fiji, Canada and Japan. If you put all those 3 teams together you couldn't field 15 pros.
And partly because of Scott Johnson's tenure at USA, they are next on the list.... a full 2 pts below Japan for chrissakes.
And USA can now field a full 15 pros or ex pros.

Anyway, as soon as Johnson left, Ospreys started winning again. His dire and unattractive brand of rugby has contributed as much to Wales' current woes, as anything else.
Here you had the top Welsh side barely winning, and playing such unattractive rugby, that only the real die-hard supporters would dare venture out on a cold, wet and windy evening.
Gate money stayed roughly the same in this period yet expenses doubled. Particularly top professional wages. And here they have to compete with the French and their huge bank balances and treasury.
Is it any wonder that the best want to play abroad?

Anyway, good luck to Scots.
We need a strong Scottish National side that starts winning again.
I believe the players are there already...they just need a more adventurous style.
A winning national side will invigorate the game from grass roots level up.
Lets be fair....you've got to be out of your mind to want to go practice and play in Scotland.
And, as a former back, it is no fun when the team plays 10 man rugby and by the time you get your first pass, your fingers have frozen to the inside of the pockets on your shorts.
You've gotta love the Scots.
As the old Scottish saying goes, "there's no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothes!"

USA fastest 7s player

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10853534

Heineken Cup Rd 4

Heineken Cup

Fri 14 Dec

Edinburgh v Racing Metro 92    20:00 (local) 14:00 (Houston)   
Biarritz v Connacht Rugby    21:00 (local)14:00 (cst)   

Sat 15 Dec

Ospreys v Toulouse    13:35 (local)07:35 (cst)
Benetton Treviso v Leicester Tigers 14:36 (local) 08:36 (cst)   
Harlequins v Zebre    15:00 (local) 09:00 (cst)   
Exeter Chiefs v Scarlets 15:40 (local) 09:40 (cst)   
Leinster v Clermont Auvergne     15:40 (local) 09:40 (cst)   
Ulster v Northampton Saints18:00 (local) 12:00cst
Montpellier v Cardiff Blues  19:00 (local) 12:00 (cst)   

Sun 16 Dec

Castres v Glasgow Warriors    13:45 (local) 06:45 (cst)   
Saracens v Munster    15:00 (local) 09:00 (cst)   
Toulon v Sale Sharks  16:00 (local) 10:00 (cst)


Petes pick of games to watch
Edinburgh and Biarritz games on Friday
Leinster vs Clermont
Sarries vs Munster

Amlin Cup rd 4

Amlin Cup All times GMT. Deduct 6hrs for Houston

Thursday, 13 December 2012

London Wasps v Bayonne, Pool 3, 19:45
Stade Francais v Cavalieri Prato, Pl5, 19:45

Friday, 14 December 2012

Agen v Bucuresti, Pl4, 18:00
Mont de Marsan v Bordeaux-Begles, Pl1, 18:00

Saturday, 15 December 2012

Calvisano v Bath, Pl4, 13:30
Gloucester v London Irish, Pl1, 15:00
London Welsh v Grenoble, Pl5, 13:30
Perpignan v Worcester, Pl2, 20:00
Rovigo v Bizkaia Gernika , Pl2, 14:00

Sunday, 16 December 2012

Newport-Gwent D'gons v Mogliano, Pl3, 17:35

Petes pick of games to watch.
Wasps vs Bayonne
Gloucester vs Irish
Perps vs worcester

Invited Women’s Teams Announced for Rest of Sevens Series

Invited Women’s Teams Announced for Rest of Sevens Series

The International Rugby Board has announced the invited teams for the remaining three rounds of the inaugural IRB Women’s Sevens World Series, which kicked off in Dubai at the end of November.
With series tournaments planned for USA, China and Netherlands the invited teams will have the opportunity to play against the six core teams with preparation for Rugby World Cup Sevens 2013 in Moscow very much part of their plans.
The 12-team tournaments already include Australia, Canada, England, Netherlands, New Zealand and USA but the six invited teams for the three remaining rounds are:
USA (Houston), February 1-2: Argentina, Brazil, Japan, Russia, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago
China (Guangzhou), March 30-31: China, South American RWC Sevens 2013 qualifier*, Fiji, Japan, Ireland, Tunisia
Netherlands (Amsterdam), May 17-18: China, South American RWC Sevens 2013 qualifier*, France, Russia, South Africa, Spain

*These places will be taken by the team that wins the South American Sevens Championship in Rio de Janeiro on February 23-24.
The series underscores the IRB's commitment to the ongoing growth and development of women's Rugby around the world. While it includes four destinations this year, it is expected that the series will grow in future years with an eye on the Olympic Games 2016 in Rio de Janeiro.
IRB Head of Development and Performance Mark Egan said: “The teams invited to the remainder of this year’s series ensure that all six IRB regions are represented and all teams have an opportunity to participate in an increased number of international competitions prior to RWC Sevens 2013 with an opportunity to progress to Women’s Sevens World Series honours.”
“The quality of Rugby on display in Dubai for the first round was of a very high standard and we expect that bar to be raised even higher throughout the series as we move towards RWC Sevens in Russia.”
“In Dubai, while New Zealand were the eventual winners, we saw a number of the invited sides challenge the core teams so the gap is closing at the top. With an eye on Rio 2016, we are determined to continue to enhance the women’s Game so that the competition is the very best that it can be.”


The formation of the IRB Women's Sevens World Series was the most significant investment in women's Rugby that the IRB has ever undertaken resulting in an annual investment of US$1.5 million. Interest in the women's Game is at an all-time high and the IRB is committed to providing our female athletes with the best possible opportunities to improve their competiveness and identify the players who will ultimately appear on the Olympic stage in Rio 2016.
Further information:
James Fitzgerald, IRB Media Manager, +353-861-723-570, email james.fitzgerald@irb.com

Newsletter Friday 7th Dec

Rugby News

a) Lotsa Heineken and Amlin cup games this weekend. Not enough room to go into much detail. Go to my blog for info, games and times to be found on internet. Also 7s from South Africa.

http://allblacks-rugby.blogspot.com/

b) Big Johns will show these games...sadly, none are live. Rugby is not a high priority on regular TV channels in US

Saturday:
11.00 Sale vs. Toulon.
3.00 Munster vs. Saracens.
5.00 Toulouse vs. Ospreys.
This info from the owner;

"Highlight of the weekend will be the Houston Texans vs the Patriots on Monday night.
We are holding a special blow out event to support our home team. We will have free barbecue; cooked by one of our own and his team in the parking lot. All of our 40+ TV's will show the game. Wear the Texans uniform and receive one free domestic beer. Come along and fill this place to support our team. Starts at 6pm."

c) Sponsorship packages are out for International 7s in Feb.

Hard to read the copy. I'll try to get better pics/advertising copy etc for next week.

Heck there isn't even contact info in the flyer. Makes you wonder what qualifies a person to be a marketing manager?

Contact is;

Tim Trimble

Harris County – Houston Sports Authority

Events Manager

713-308-5908 Direct | 281-799-9402 Cell

713-308-5900 Main | 713-308-5959 Fax

ttrimble@houstonsports.org

Go Talk to your marketing dept and show them the wonderful opportunities that exist and get them to put this into budget today.

Becci at BABC already has 2 sponsors from her membership.

Think outside the box and maybe invite one of the teams to a company meet and greet.

They would appreciate donations to their travelling costs and they would be great ambassadors for their countries and would inspire women.

Let me know if you're interested and I'll get contact info etc.

But you have to act now. Christmas and New Year are just around the corner, and we know little work is accomplished over this period. Time is of the essence.

HSBC 7s pools for South Africa this weekend

Pool A
Team	Played	Pts
SAM	0	0
FRA	0	0
RSA	0	0
AUS	0	0

Pool B
Team	Played	Pts
NZL	0	0
FIJ	0	0
SCO	0	0
ENG	0	0

Pool C
Team	Played	Pts
KEN	0	0
WAL	0	0
ARG	0	0
ESP	0	0

Pool D
Team	Played	Pts
POR	0	0
CAN	0	0
USA	0	0
ZIM	0	0

You know you're a rugger when....

 

Games live Friday Dec 7 through Sunday Dec 9

Heineken Cup  All Times CST Friday, December 7th 14:00 - 16:00     Northampton Saints vs.  Ulster Friday, December 7th 14:00 - 16:00     Connacht Rugby vs.     Biarritz     Saturday, December 8th 02:45 - 12:45 (tomorrow) HSBC Sevens World Series - Nelson Mandela Bay SA Sevens Day 1 European Challenge Cup!     Saturday, December 8th 07:00 - 09:00 (tomorrow)     Bucharest Wolves vs. Agen Heineken Cup     07:35 - 09:35  Toulouse vs Ospreys             07:35 - 09:35 Llanelli Scarlets vs. Exeter     07:35 - 09:35 Zebre vs. Harlequins 09:40 - 11:40  Sale Sharks vs. Toulon        12:00 - 14:00 Munster vs. Saracens     12:00 - 14:00 Racing Metro vs. Edinburgh European Challenge Cup!     Saturday, December 8th 14:00 - 16:00 Bayonne vs. London Wasps Sunday rugby on internet International Rugby Events     Sunday, December 9th 03:00 - 13:00      HSBC Sevens World Series - Nelson Mandela Bay SA Sevens Heineken Cup    06:45 - 08:45 Cardiff Blues vs. Montpellier 09:00 - 11:00 Leicester Tigers vs. Benetton Treviso 09:00 - 11:00  ASM Clermont Auvergne vs. Leinster

Amlin Cup Rd 3

Amlin Cup starts up again today;

Thursday , December 6
Bordeaux-Begles vs Mont de Marsan 1:30pm Houston time
Worcester vs Perpignan

Friday , December 7
Grenoble vs London Welsh 12:30

Saturday , December 8
Bucuresti vs Agen 7am CST
Mogliano Rugby vs Newport Gwent D'gons 7am CST
Cavalieri Prato vs Stade Francais 7am
Bath vs Calvisano 8.15am
Bizkaia Gernika RT vs Rovigo 9:00am
London Irish vs Gloucester 9:00am
Bayonne vs Wasps 2:00pm

Best games to watch;
Today Worcester vs Perps...both putting out their strongest team as they are joint leaders of their pool with the rest being amateurs. Weather will be rough so maybe not much running.
Irish vs Gloucester.
Bayonne vs Wasps.

 

I've picked;

Begles to beat MDM by 12

Perps to beat Worcester by 5

 

Heineken Cup Rd 3

Heineken Cup 

Starts again tomorrow Friday. All Times GMT. Deduct 6 hrs for Houston.

The premier Northern Hemisphere tournament.

Friday , December 7

Connacht vs Biarritz 20:00

Glasgow vs Castres
Northampton vs Ulster 20:00

Saturday , December 8

Racing Metro 92 vs Edinburgh 18:00
Munster vs Saracens 18:00
Toulouse vs Ospreys 13:35
Zebre vs Harlequins 13:35
Scarlets vs Exeter 13:35
Sale vs Toulon 15:40

Sunday , December 9

Leicester vs Benetton Treviso 15:00
Clermont Auvergne vs Leinster 15:00
Cardiff Blues vs Montpellier 12:45

Good games to watch;

Saints vs Ulster Friday
Munster vs Sarries Saturday
Clermont vs Leinster Sunday
Thats interesting....all games picked include an Irish team

Rugby World Cup 2015 draw

Go straight to 14th minute and avoid the speeches

Background info and final result

The Rugby World Cup 2015 Pools

1(1)    NEW ZEALAND    90.08
2(2)    SOUTH AFRICA    86.94
3(3)    AUSTRALIA    86.87
4(4)    FRANCE                  85.07
5(5)    ENGLAND       83.90
6(6)    IRELAND      80.22
7(8)     SAMOA        78.71
8(9)     ARGENTINA    78.71
9(7)     WALES                  78.39
10(10)    ITALY                  76.24
11(11)    TONGA         76.10
12(12)    SCOTLAND    75.83
13(13)    FIJI             71.52
14(14)    CANADA       71.41
15(15)    JAPAN          70.09
16(16)    USA             68.32
17(17)    GEORGIA       65.83
18(18)    SPAIN          63.09
19(19)    ROMANIA    62.12
20(20)    RUSSIA         61.49

The bands for the pools were as follows:
Band 1: New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, France
Band 2: England, Ireland, Samoa, Argentina
Band 3: Wales, Italy, Tonga, Scotland
Band 4: Oceania 1, Europe 1, Asia 1, Americas 1
Band 5: Africa 1, Europe 2, Americas 2, Repechage winner

Final Pools

• Pool A: Australia, England, Wales, Oceania 1, play-off winner
• Pool B: South Africa, Samoa, Scotland, Asia 1, Americas 2
• Pool C: New Zealand, Argentina, Tonga, Europe 1, Africa 1
• Pool D: France, Ireland, Italy, Americas 1, Europe

 

Pool A - Looks like the pool of death as Rugby World Cup 2003 finalists Australia and England face off, while current Six Nations Grand Slam champions Wales join them, and possibly Fiji.

Pool B - South Africa and Samoa will meet for the fourth consecutive World Cup, no doubt leading to another bruising encounter. Scotland, who are currently ranked 12th in the world, join them.

Pool C - Defending champions New Zealand up against Argentina, and facing Tonga in the pool stages for the fourth time running.

Pool D - Very much a Six Nations feel to it, but France and Ireland will be fairly confident of going through to the next round with Italy their main threat.

Eight teams are yet to qualify.

Quarter finals:
To work out the Quarter Finals, the Winner of Pool A plays the runner up in Pool B, and Winner of C plays runner up in Pool D.

Semi finals:
The last four will see the winner of Quarter final 1 vs the the winners of Quarter final 2, and the winners of Quarter final 3 vs the winners of Quarter final 4.

Possible final:
If New Zealand (ranked #1) and South Africa (ranked #2) win their pools and knockout stage games, they will line up to meet in the final.

IRB Awards:
New Zealand were handed the IRB Team of the Year award for 2012. The Coach of the Year went to All Blacks coach Steve Hansen, and the IRB Player of the Year went to flyhalf Dan Carter.

Preview England vs New Zealand

England have only scored 20 points+ in 3 of the 10 games (ignoring Fiji) under Lancaster. The match with the most points scored  (27 against South Africa in 2nd Test in June) featured Flood at 10, Tuilagi at 12 and Joseph at 13. Joseph actually made more tackles that carries in that game but Ashton’s support running did assist 2 tries. Throughout 2012, a chargedown or breakaway still looks the most likely way England will score. An actual backs move that relies on handling, vision and the right decisions being taken still looks a way off and the oft hyped winger Ashton has failed to score in his last 11 Internationals.  His confidence looks shot but he remains in the team while Sharples and Monye have both been discarded. The desire to play at a quicker tempo compared to the Six Nations is evident but the execution is missing.

Visitors New Zealand were last defeated on 27 August 2011 by Australia and have won 19 of the 20 games since. They have won 12/13 games in 2012 by 34-12 and scored over 20 points in 12 of those games (drew the game they didn’t by 18-18). They have also crossed the line 47 times (so their 3.6 tries a match in 2012 favours comparably with England’s 1.3) and conceded 14 in that period.

With All Blacks games this season, the main betting question has usually revolved around how many points they will win by and nothing has changed for their final Test.  England were favourites for the Australia match, +1 on the handicap against the Boks, however they are  a whopping 10.0 to beat New Zealand  and have a +17 handicap available. The recent games at Twickenham between the sides have seen scores of 26-16, 19-6,32-6,41-20,and 23-19. As has already been covered, the hosts are averaging a score of 18-18 this year and the visitors 34-12.

New Zealand clearly edge the head to head record and despite possessing home advantage, England are under pressure. I can the All Blacks wanting to sign off with style and despite a black mark against them for a high number of handling errors in 2012, they dominate the rest of the stats. As usual these numbers are provided by the excellent Ruckingoodstats.

New Zealand steal (13.2%) more than double the amount of lineouts that they lose (5.5%), which could be interesting against a rookie hooker in Tom Youngs who struggled to connect with Tom Wood last week. If they revert to his club team mate Parling too often then surely that will become predictable.  As with a number of stats for England this year, a one-off performance skewers the averages – whereas New Zealand have been more consistent. In this case, they stole 33% of lineouts against Italy in the Six Nations. The All Blacks are favouring the middle (47%) and England the front (50%) so there should be too many surprises where the ball  is thrown. Bar one game against Argentina, New Zealand’s scrum has been pretty solid whereas again England have fluctuated between being penalised a lot (Wales, South Africa first 2 Tests in June, Australia) to having dominance (Ireland, Italy).

Both teams have seen less than 50% possession and territory, England’s numbers have improved per game since the 2nd June Test in South Africa which may point to this desire to improve the attack.  The difference as you’d expect is what they do with the ball when they have it – the All Blacks break 1 in 4.5 tackles compared to England 1 in 9.5 and offload 8.9 times a game as opposed to 3.9. They also make roughly double the amount of line breaks.

Without wishing to be too negative – I don’t think England have the creativity to score the requisite number of tries needed to beat the All Blacks, the balance in the backrow to handle McCaw nor the kicking game to keep them pinned back. It’s tough to see past the -15 available for the visitors even accounting for the stomach bug affecting them.

If you are looking for a reason to get behind the hosts then perhaps the declining All Blacks scores of 51,42,33 may act as the flimsiest of straws to clutch.


Who better to provide a rugby masterclass than New Zealand? Unbeaten in 2012 with 12 wins and one draw against Australia, they are playing at an astonishing level even by their own imperious standards.
Young blood in Aaron Smith, Brodie Retallick, Luke Romano and Julian Savea have eased into the starting XV without any concern, assuring that this All Blacks side did not peak when they finally recaptured the Rugby World Cup last October. If anything they have improved; stronger, faster and more clinical than that trophy-winning side.


England: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 Mike Brown, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 Tom Wood, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs, 1 Alex Corbisiero.
Replacements: 16 David Paice, 17 David Wilson, 18 Mako Vunipola, 19 Courtney Lawes 20 James Haskell, 21 Danny Care, 22 Freddie Burns, 23 Jonathan Joseph.

New Zealand: 15 Israel Dagg, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma’a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Liam Messam, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brodie
Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 KevenMealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements: 16 Dane Coles, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Charlie Faumunia, 19 Luke Romano, 20 Victor Vito, 21 Piri Weepu, 22 Aaron Cruden, 23 Ben Smith.

When you possess the greatest skill set, set-piece, squad and attacking threats as New Zealand do, the game is relatively simple. For every injury to Carter, you have Aaron Cruden. For every suspension for Hore, you have Keven Mealamu.
Whatever your allegiance, there is no denying the superiority of this All Blacks side - after all, they have beaten every other side they've come across in 2012. A time will come when New Zealand are no longer the world's best and this vintage crop will be looked back on. Best to savour it while it lasts.

Strangely enough I like the reserves for England more than some of the starters.

Pete reckons New Zealand by 18

Dubai HSBC 7s Nov 30 and Dec 1

http://irbsevens.com/destination/edition=1/fixturesresults.html

The second leg of the 2012/13 HSBC IRB World Sevens Series comes from Dubai. We will be bringing you updates from the action throughout Day One.

Pool A (FIJ, KEN, ESP, SCO)
Kenya and Fiji both booked their places in the Cup quarter finals in Dubai with victories against Scotland and Spain.
The champions from the Gold Coast, Fiji, were made to work hard against Spain before running out 14-0 winners thanks to tries to Setefano Cakau and Maleli Belolevu Bula. Against Scotland, they won 22-14.
Two tries to flyer Collins Injera saw Kenya run out winners in their opening match over a determined Scotland 12-5, after the Scots led early through a try to Michael Fedo, before they beat Spain 10-7.
Spain then beat Scotland 12-7 thanks to a late try on the siren through Matias Tudela.
Pool B (NZL, ARG, WAL, RUS)
Wales claimed their spot in the Cup quarter finals with a commanding 22-5 win over Russia in their final match with captain Rhys Shellard crossing for a hat trick. This followed their 14-7 defeat over Argentina.
Argentina will now have to beat New Zealand if they are to have any chance of reaching the Cup Quarter Finals.
Earlier on in dreadful conditions, with the rain pouring down, New Zealand showed their class to overcome an early Ifan Evans try for Wales to score a 14-7 victory thanks to second half tries to Tomasi Cama and Kurt Baker.
A late try to Francisco Merello saw Argentina win 17-10 in their opening game over a committed and skilful Russian team who scored tries through Vladislav Lazarenko and Denis Simplikevich..
In the other match Russia threatened briefly to pull off a major upset before late tries to Cama and Milford Keresoma saw New Zealand defeat them 31-14.
Pool C (RSA, SAM, ENG, POR)
In one of the most dramatic matches in recent memory Portugal then defeated England 22-21, thanks to a Pedro Leal penalty goal seconds before the siren, to send them through to the Cup quarter finals. A stunning performance from the least favoured team in the pool.
Earlier, after losing to South Africa in their first match, 19-10, a gutsy England team, led through the brilliance of Dan Norton, hit back to defeat Samoa 19-17 and keep their Cup quarter final dreams alive.
Samoan speedster Lio Lolo notched up a hat trick as Samoa needed a late try to see off the impressive Portugal 24-19. But Portugal turned the pool on its head when they scored a try through their giant number one Aderito Esteves after the siren to upset South Africa 12-10.
In the final round of matches Portugal then played England and Samoa took on South Africa in virtual knock out matches with the winners going through to the Cup quarter finals.
Pool D (FRA, AUS, CAN, USA)
Canada confirmed their place in the Cup Quarter Finals with a strong 26-7 win over the USA in difficult conditions in their final pool match.
Earlier they had tied 28-28 with Australia in an enthralling encounter. Justin Douglas leveled for Geraint John's side as the buzzer sounded, completing a superb comeback from 28-14 down with less than two minutes remaining.
In their opening match Canada beat France 20-0 in the day's first match while Peter Lee crossed late on as Michael O'Connor's young Australian side defeated USA 19-12.
France bounced back from their loss to Canada with a hard fought 17-14 victory over the USA Eagles thanks to Renaud Delmas' decisive try.
In the final match in the pool France battled hard to defeat Australia 7-0 to join Canada in the Cup quarter finals.
Results/Fixtures:
France 0-20 Canada
Australia 19-12 United States
Fiji 14-0 Spain
Kenya 12-5 Scotland
New Zealand 14-7 Wales
Argentina 17-10 Russia
South Africa 19-10 England
Samoa 24-19 Portugal
France 17-14 United States
Australia 28-28 Canada
Fiji 22-14 Scotland
Kenya 10-7 Spain
New Zealand 31-14 Russia
Argentina 7-14 Wales
South Africa 10-12 Portugal
Samoa 17-19 England
Canada 26-7 United States
Spain 12-7 Scotland
Wales 22-5 Russia
England 21-22 Portugal
France 7-0 Australia
18:58 Fiji v Kenya
19:22 New Zealand v Argentina
19:44 South Africa v Samoa

Preview: Wales v Australia

 This from Planet rugby

Wales will be out to avoid looking the same colour of their jerseys for a seventh straight time when they host Australia in Cardiff on Saturday.

The hosts need to return to winning ways in order to avoid a November whitewash of four defeats and to preserve their place among the world's top eight-ranked teams prior to Monday's 2015 World Cup draw in London.
If they win or draw, Wales will stay seventh.
Easier said than done as their rugby-mad supporters have discovered, seeing as they were last treated to a win way back in June when Wales beat the Barbarians.
Since then the Six Nations champs suffered a 3-0 series defeat Down Under, were shocked by Argentina and Samoa in their opening two games this month before going down to New Zealand.
But it could all have been so differently scripted a year ago, after a flamboyant Welsh side performed so well at the World Cup and then went on to win a third Six Nations Grand Slam in eight years.
Consistency has well and truly deserted Wales, a loss for whom on Saturday would represent their worst run of defeats since 2003. Indeed, the Welsh are starring down the barrel and Australia - assured of a top seeding for the World Cup draw - have their finger on the trigger.
Pride and morale will also no doubt be low in the Wales camp especially coming in a season in which many players are looking to stake their claims for places in next year's British & Irish Lions squad.
"I think the game is massively important from a Welsh perspective, in terms of confidence and building on last week," said Wales coach Warren Gatland, who will lead the Lions to Australia next year.
"From a Lions point of view, it's about some of the Welsh players putting their hands up in terms of selection. There are maybe a couple of lines going through a couple of names and they need to re-establish themselves."
Gatland, however, isn't too concerned about the ramifications regarding the upcoming World Cup draw.
"If anyone is looking at us, when it comes around to 2015 and having had the preparation time together, I don't think any team particularly fancies getting Wales in their group," he said.
"We were in a really tough group last time. It is luck of the draw."
The Wallabies, meanwhile, have silenced their critics (albeit temporarily) following their opening match on tour in Paris, and have rebounded well heading into ths clash. They squeezed past Italy 22-19, having held on to beat England 20-14 the previous Saturday and will be confident of ending their trip to Europe on a high note.
After a turbulent season of mixed results and innumerable injuries, the Wallabies not only need to beat Wales for a fourth time this year, but do it with style to keep coach Robbie Deans' small army of doubters reasonably quiet over the holiday period.
However, as coach Deans put it earlier this week: "Cornered beasts are always the most dangerous; they have nowhere else to go but straight ahead."
In a recap of team news, Deans has named David Pocock in his starting XV. The openside flanker who led Australia to the three-Test clean sweep in June has recovered from a knee injury that has ruled him since the Wallabies' opening match of the Rugby Championship against New Zealand in August.
Wales have made four changes, all in the pack, to their run-on team. Gatland notably bringing in Scott Andrews for injured tighthead prop Aaron Jarvis, while lock Ian Evans replaces Bradley Davies, who was ruled out after being felled by the now-banned Andrew Hore in Wales' 33-10 defeat by the All Blacks last weekend.
Ones to watch:
For Australia: The player making headlines this week out of Australia's camp is undoubtedly flank David Pocock, who makes his long awaited return to the Test arena. Above anyone else, the Wallabies chief pilferer could well be the real difference between the two sides. His presence also serves as a powerful motivating factor for the visitors - he's a strong leader, both through actions and words.
For Wales: Wales will be relying on Gethin Jenkins to bolster their scrum up front against the ever-improving Wallabies pack. The Toulon front-rower is a powerful scrummager and a strong ball-carrier, often enabling crucial front-foot ball through a solid hit or carry that forces the defence on their heels - handy attributes for any prop.
Head to head: The line-out tussle between Luke Charteris and Nathan Sharpe will be an interesting aerial duel with both tasked to nullify the other's influence. The vastly experienced Sharpe is never intimidated though and will be looking to end his long and extinguished career with a bang. Pocock's breakdown battle with Sam Warburton will also be a fierce contest. This match-up is a matter of the Wales skipper, who is starting to rediscover his form, doing really well if he can match the Aussie's work rate and effectiveness in the loose.
Recent results:
2012: Australia won 20-19, Sydney
2012: Australia won 25-23, Gold Goast
2012: Australia won 27-19, Brisbane
2011: Australia won 24-18, Cardiff
2011: Australia won 21-18, Auckland
2010: Australia won 25-16, Cardiff
2009: Australia won 3012, Cardiff
2008: Wales won 21-18, Cardiff
2007: Australia won 32-20, Cardiff
2007: Australia won 31-0, Brisbane
2007: Australia won 29-23, Sydney
2006: Match drawn 29-29, Cardiff
2005: Wales won 24-22, Cardiff
Prediction: This should be another close encounter with Australia creeping ahead before another Wales revival. But alas it will once again be too little too late for the hosts. Australia by five!
The teams:
Wales: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Liam Williams, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton (c), 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Luke Charteris, 4 Ian Evans, 3 Scott Andrews, 2 Matthew Rees, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements: 16 Ken Owens, 17 Ryan Bevington, 18 Samson Lee, 19 Ryan Jones, 20 Justin Tipuric, 21 Tavis Knoyle, 22 Dan Biggar, 23 Scott Williams.
Australia: 15 Berrick Barnes, 14 Nick Cummins, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Kurtley Beale, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 David Pocock, 6 Scott Higginbotham, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Kane Douglas, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Tatafu Polota Nau, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements: 16 Stephen Moore, 17 James Slipper, 18 Sekope Kepu, 19 Dave Dennis, 20 Michael Hooper, 21 Brendan McKibbin, 22 Mike Harris, 23 Digby Ioane.
Date: Saturday, December 1
Kick-off: 14:30 GMT
Venue: Millennium Stadium
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees: Romain Poite (France), Greg Garner (England)
Television match official: Marshall Kilgore (Ireland)

Pete reckons the margin will be greater.
Wales have lost their attacking ways. Even when they have been attacking they have not taken on the opposite line thus allowing opponents to simply slde across to defend.
of course there is much debate about how Robbie Deans has changed the attacking style of Aussies. There is much truth about this, but as it is the last game for Aussies I expect them to go out with an attacking game.
They have some remarkable runners. Heck their reserves would normally be in the starting 15.
Aussies by 18

Great article from Telegraph newspaper.

It is not just that defeat would toss them out of the top eight in the International Rugby Board’s rankings, condemning them to tier three in Monday’s 2015 World Cup draw.

It is more than that. Defeat would be their seventh on the trot. There was more intensity in the loss to New Zealand last weekend, but still the scoreline read 33-10, and that is a thumping. Add on the defeats by Argentina and Samoa and it truly has been an autumn of discontent for Wales .

The grand slammers could become the grand shams. Another false dawn might well be added to the roster. This was the team who were supposed to have been able to break the southern-hemisphere hegemony.

Yes, injuries have been cruel, but what about Australia's problems? A glance at the starting XV who beat Wales a year ago in Cardiff reveals only five names remaining. That is a turnover rate of which David Pocock would be proud.

As captain Sam Warburton said this week: “It has got to the stage where enough is enough.” The bending of the knee to the southern hemisphere must stop. Wales have still not beaten New Zealand since 1953, they have defeated South Africa only once (in 1999) and they have won against Australia only twice (with a draw in 2006) in their past 22 meetings. Defeat today would be the sixth against them in just over a year.

Warburton made his Wales debut in 2009 but already he has lost 10 times to the Sanzar countries. “I said to the players before the New Zealand game that I’ve only been involved [with Wales] for three or four years,” he said, “and it is already getting on my nerves, this whole southern-hemisphere scalp thing.”
Warburton, like his team-mates, has copped much flak during this campaign, but he was back to near his best against the great Richie McCaw and faces another titanic challenge against Pocock.
“It will be a fierce contest,’’ Wales coach Warren Gatland said. “You have got two quality world-class sevens. Pocock is a different player to Richie McCaw – a different threat. Pocock does compete on the ball and plays differently to McCaw.”
In too many areas last week Wales were not sharp enough, as acknowledged on Friday by defence coach Shaun Edwards: “There was a glaring stat that we made six line breaks and they [New Zealand] made three,” he said. “From those three they scored three tries. It just shows how clinical a team like New Zealand can be. .”
Edwards, though, was quick to point out that the other northern-hemisphere sides have hardly been tearing up trees either. “You cannot deny that the strength of rugby is in the southern hemisphere,” he said, “as it probably has been throughout the professional era, except for one period when England dominated around 2003. If we beat Australia it would be a big feather in our cap.”
As for the rankings, Edwards was not hiding from their significance. “They are obviously an issue,” he admitted. “We want to stay in the top eight if possible. Hopefully it won’t be fatal. But we had the toughest group at the last World Cup and did OK. If we’re not in the top eight this time it could be tougher. But there are two ways of looking at that. Some teams have been in a relatively easy group and have then gone into the quarter-finals a little bit under-cooked. If we dropped out of the top eight then that definitely wouldn’t be an issue, but obviously making the quarter-finals would be all that more difficult.”
Wales tackled the All Blacks with invention in mind. It was a shame that two Rhys Priestland penalty kicks to touch went dead in the first half. Otherwise the 13-man line-out that yielded a second-half try would have received an earlier airing.
Have Wales any special plans for Australia? “We might try it again, I don’t know,” Edwards smiled.
There is no doubt that Wales will need something special for victory.

Nov 30 Newsletter

I just sent this out to my newsletter list.
If you want to get info via newsletter please email me;
pedanticpete@gmail.com.
I'm a total newbie to any sort of website/blog so I don't have a sign up on my blog....yet.

In this diatribe

a) Live rugby from Big Johns

b) International 7s rugby in Houston Feb 2013

c) Other news.

a) Live rugby

Big Johns at 6150 Wilcrest will show free of charge the last 2 International games

England vs New Zealand 8.30am Live

Wales vs Australia 11am Replay

The geniuses at IRB have scheduled the last two games at the same time.

And, arguably, these are 2 of the most anticipated games.

Is it possible for the greatest game to be saddled with such incompetence time and time again.

I haven't been able to get out as much as I'd like because of health issues. But if you guys want to encourage the owner to spend many thousands of dollars to show 6 Nations then please get out and support. One cannot bank on internet during 6 nations. The digital rights management people are out in force policing the internet and shutting down sites.

It costs him quite a bit to open early on Saturdays and have all the ingredients for an Irish/English breakfast. His regular clientele does not eat English bangers, Heinz baked beans or black pudding.

b) International 7s rugby

Friday 1st and Sat 2nd Feb from midday both days.

It looks like all the fieldside tickets have already been sold.

Rugby sevens is party time. Go to You t*ube to see what a great time is had by all.

I found this on you tube by Googling Hong Kong 7s crowd

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlt9q1YqnAc&feature=share&list=PL58B7C2BE673E1BC2

You'll have to copy and paste as many corporate email clients dislike hyperlinks, particularly YT.

My missus, Becci, exec director of BABC, is working with a few companies on sponsorship deals.

I hear they are dirt cheap with the added bonus of many free tickets. Company and client party?

Call her on work # 832 351 3940.

Next week I'll outline all the deals.

c) Other news

South Africa’s Bryan Habana has won the International Rugby Players’ Association (IRPA) try of the year award for his score against New Zealand in September, it was announced Thursday.

Here are the 4 tries which were nominated. You decide.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNcncFY6-qQ

Habana has been one of my favs for years. Not only is he a prolific scorer who would undoubtedly have score three times as many tries had he played for All Blacks, but he is always looking for work.

In other news....the alternative international rugby awards have finally acknowledged what I have been saying for years....namely

Worst Coach
a) Andy Robinson: Worst capitulation in IRB rankings in a single year.
b) Rob Howley: For enabling Wales to slip down the rankings faster than Warren Gatland falling from a ladder.
c) Robbie Deans: Consistently making the worst attempts to win a Bledisloe Cup.
d) Heyneke Meyer: For best attempt to make Springbok fans nostalgic for the good old days when P-Divvy was in the power seat.
e) Martin Johnson: for worst attempt at a Rugby World Cup campaign.

Yep....Andy Robinson is officially the worst coach.

The collegiate sevens is being held at Texas A &M today and tomorrow.

I'll get details out asap, with details on how to watch. I remember seeing Espn 3 showing finals tomorrow.

I must zoom to a docs appointment.

Thanks for enduring my diatribes.

Regards Pete

PS: all this weekend's rugby games will be on my quick blog;

http://allblacks-rugby.blogspot.com/

 

 

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"The things that will destroy us are: politics without principle; pleasure without conscience; wealth without work; knowledge without character; business without morality; science without humanity; and worship without sacrifice."
--Mahatma Gandhi

The Alternative International Rugby Awards

With another rugby season just about done and dusted, and with the IRB Awards looking to be the usual overly political, foregone conclusion, it’s time to celebrate those who have actually provoked the most debate and excitement in season 2012.
Nominees for the Alternative IRB awards are:
1. Worst Refereeing Howler
a) Wayne Barnes and Dave Pearson: For being too close, or too far away to spot Bradley Davies spear tackle on Donncha Ryan.
b) Craig Joubert: Worst unlikely contribution to New Zealand’s Rugby World Cup campaign.
c) Bryce Lawrence: Worst brazenly obvious contribution to New Zealand’s rugby world cup campaign.
d) Alain Rolland: Worst timing for a referee to actually punish a tip tackle while having a French sounding name.
e) Jonathan Kaplan: For “Keep your eye on the ball… the ball… not around the ball…the ball. Now, JK, which ball was used in the quick throw? The game ball from row Z in the stands? Or another one?”
2. Worst Coach
a) Andy Robinson: Worst capitulation in IRB rankings in a single year.
b) Rob Howley: For enabling Wales to slip down the rankings faster than Warren Gatland falling from a ladder.
c) Robbie Deans: Consistently making the worst attempts to win a Bledisloe Cup.
d) Heyneke Meyer: For best attempt to make Springbok fans nostalgic for the good old days when P-Divvy was in the power seat.
e) Martin Johnson: for worst attempt at a Rugby World Cup campaign.
3. Worst Act of Thuggery
a) Aurélien Rougerie on Richie McCaw: For worst eye gouge on an opposition captain in a Rugby World Cup final.
b) Dean Greyling on Richie McCaw: For worst attempt to subtly imply to a referee that a flanker might be offside.
c) Sam Warburton on Vincent Cleric: For worst attempt to get away with a tip-tackle.
d) Andrew Hore on Bradley Davies: For worst attempt to nonchalantly knock out an opponent.
e) Bradley Davies on Donncha Ryan: For least appropriate way to suggest a player is bound correctly to a ruck in the future.
4. Worst Team Performance
a) England for Rugby World Cup 2011: otherwise known as Mike Tindall’s stag.
b) Fiji: For all of 2011/2012.
c) France: For worst performance by a finalist in a Rugby World Cup pool.
d) New Zealand: For that draw in Brisbane.
e) Wales: For the tour of Australia they backed themselves to win 3-0.
f) Ireland: For losing to New Zealand 60-0 after being an injury time drop goal shy of a win the week before.
5. Worst off Field Indiscretion
a) Mike Tindall: For getting caught on video with another woman in a bar, two weeks after getting married.
b) Manu Tuilagi: For worst waterborne attempt to escape from the England team environment.
c) James Haskell, Chris Ashton and Dylan Hartley: For “the hotel walkie-talkie incident”.
d) Quade Coope : For worst contribution to dressing room solidarity.
c) Eliota Sapolu Fuimaono: For worst adherence to Godwin’s law on a social media platform.
6. Worst Kit
a) England: For wearing All Black to a rugby competition, in New Zealand.
b) Ireland: For wearing an All Black away strip, at home after losing 60-0 to the All Blacks.
c) England: For the purple jump suit.
d) New Zealand: For being a bunch of money grubbing sell outs and defiling rugby’s proudest icon with a sponsor’s logo.
7. Worst Commentary/Pundit
a) Ian Smith: For introducing the defeated French Captain as “Thierry Henry” in the Rugby World Cup post match interview.
b) Murray Mexted: Occupying all Google’s top 10 hits for the search phrase “rugby commentary howler”.
c) Zinzan Brooke: For ending every sentence on Sky TV with the word “here”.
d) Brian Moore: The only thing more reliable than a referee ignoring a crooked scrum feed is that Brian Moore will talk for 20 minutes about it. Every. Single. Time.
e) Phil Kearns: For suggesting every act of foul play perpetrated by a Wallaby should be legalised by the IRB.
f) John Inverdale: For most tenuous segue to mention Jonny Wilkinson’s 2003 drop goal during every single match commentary.

RaboDirect Pro 12 weekend Dec 1 and 2

RaboDirect Pro 12

Fri 30 Nov
Ospreys v Cardiff Blues 19:05 (local) 13:05 (Houston)

Sat 1 Dec
Benetton Treviso v Newport Gwent Dragons 15:00 (local) 08:00 (CST)
Connacht Rugby v Edinburgh  17:00 (local) 11:00 (CST)
Leinster v Zebre  18:00 (local)  12:00 CST
Munster v Glasgow Warriors 19:45 (local) 13:45 (CST)

Sun 2 Dec
Scarlets v Ulster 16:05 (local) 10:05 (CST)

Aviva Premiership games weekend Dec 1 and 2

Fri 30 Nov
Harlequins vs Worcester Warriors 19:45 (local) 13:45 (Houston)
Sale Sharks v Northampton Saints Nov 19:45 (local) 13:45 (Houston) 

Sat 1 Dec
Leicester Tigers v Bath  12:30 (local)  06:30 (Houston) 
Exeter Chiefs v London Wasps  17:30 local) 11:30 (Houston)

Sun 2 Dec
London Welsh v London Irish  15:00 (local) 09:00 (CST)
Saracens v Gloucester Rugby 15:00 (local) 09:00 Houston

French Top 14 games weekend Dec 1 and 2

Fri 30 Nov
Perpignan v Agen 20:50 (local) 13:50 Houston

Sat 1 Dec
Toulouse v Clermont Auvergne  15:00 local 08:00 (Houston)
Biarritz v Bordeaux Begles  18:30 (local) 11:30 (Houston) 
Mont-de-Marsan v Castres 18:30 (local) 11:30 (Houston) 
Montpellier v Bayonne   18:30 (local) 11:30 (Houston)
Racing Metro 92 v Stade Francais  18:30 (local) 11:30 (Houston) 
Toulon v Grenoble  18:30 (local) 12:30 (Houston)

2 day special ticket pricing for women's 7s Houston Feb 2013

This from USA Rugby. (A copy of my newsletter and FB notice)

The special is only available today and tomorrow.

Link at bottom. I've removed hyperlink in case some company email systems will reject. So copy and paste please.

Pre-Sale: International Rugby Women's Sevens World Series

International Rugby Returns to Houston!
The International Rugby Board and USA Rugby have awarded Houston a multi-year deal to host Round 2 of the IRB Women’s Sevens World Series. Twelve international women’s teams will compete at the event, scheduled for February 1 & 2, 2013, at BBVA Compass Stadium.
This historical two-day International Series, the second stop on a new Women’s World Series Rugby Sevens global tour, the first of its kind for women, and an Olympic qualifier series, will take place annually in Houston through 2015. Rugby Sevens will debut as one of the new Olympic sports at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
Catch all the hard-hitting action as Australia, Canada, England, Netherlands, New Zealand and the United States take on Brazil, South Africa, Russia, Japan, Argentina, and Trinidad & Tobago in 7-minute, adrenaline-filled increments stretched over 14 total hours.
As a supporter of rugby & BBVA Compass Stadium, we are extending an exclusive pre-sale offer beginning Tuesday, November 27th at 10 a.m. through Thursday, November 29th at 11:59 p.m. Get your 2-day passes starting at just $15. The event will donate $1 per ticket to the Houston Area Women’s Center. To access pre-sale offer, click here.
Tickets for the International Women’s Rugby Sevens World Series will go on-sale to the general public beginning Friday, November 30 at 10 a.m. and will be available online at www.axs.com or www.bbvacompassstadium.com or by calling 888-929-7849.

https://tickets.axs.com/eventShopperV1b.html?wr=cb8965a9-7481-4239-9051-36a0e63fbc93&skin=bbva&prefill=1&sysID=bcs

Rankings blow for England and Wales

Rankings blow for England and Wales

November 25, 2012

England's ambitions of winning the 2015 Rugby World Cup have taken a blow with the confirmation they will not be in the top-four seeds for the tournament that they will host.

But the stiutaion could be significantly worse for Wales. Warren Gatland's side face a crunch clash with Australia on Saturday at the Millennium Stadium, where a defeat would see them relegated to the third tier of seeds for the World Cup draw which will take place in London on December 3.

The International Rugby Board will reveal the latest world rankings tomorrow with New Zealand, Australia, France and South Africa occupying the top spots. And with the rankings gap between them and the rest too big to be overturned by next weekend's internationals, those four teams will be the top four seeds for the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

England face the All Blacks at Twickenham on Saturday but defeats to Australia and South Africa this autumn have already scuppered their hopes of securing a top seeding, which could have led to a favourable draw for the 2015 World Cup.

Wales' hopes of gate-crashing the top four was ruined by defeats to Argentina, Samoa and the All Blacks. But victory over Australia at the Millennium Stadium will secure their place alongside England, Samoa and Ireland in the second band.

However defeat would see Wales, who finished fourth at the World Cup in New Zealand a year ago, drop into the third tier of seeds along with Italy, Scotland and Tonga with Argentina taking their place in the second band of seeds.

Wales' surprise defeats to Argentina and Samoa earlier this autumn - when Gatland was granted time away to focus on preparations for the British & Irish Lions tour of Australia next summer - could therefore prove decisive in their chances at the 2015 World Cup.

The official IRB world rankings will be released on Monday.

Provisional rankings:

1. New Zealand - 92.91

2. South Africa - 86.94

3. Australia - 86.31

4. France - 85.07

5. England - 81.07

6. Ireland - 80.22

7. Wales - 78.95

8. Samoa - 78.71 (78.709236088306938 to 15 decimal places)

9. Argentina - 78.71 (78.708853582562098 to 15 decimal places)

10. Italy - 76.24

11. Tonga - 76.10

12. Scotland - 75.83

So, its official...finally....Northern hemisphere style rugby cannot keep pace with the Southern hemisphere style. Yes we suck.

Finally Andy Robinson, coach of Scotland has gone. Scotland now have a chance to progress.
I have been saying for years that the guy is absolutely the worst coach in pro rugby.