The 2011-12 British & Irish Cup semi-final draw has been made. Three of the four home nations are represented in this year’s semi-final line-up, with an all Irish tie set to take place when Leinster A host Munster A. Munster will be hoping to push through to their second British & Irish Cup final, having lost to inaugural winners Cornish Pirates in May 2010. Standing in their way are close rivals Leinster A, who topped Pool 3 with three wins and a draw against London Welsh. A comprehensive 32-0 home win against Pontypridd confirmed the Irish club’s entry to the semi-finals. In the second semi-final, newcomers Cross Keys have made their first year in the competition known, finishing top of Pool 2 just one point ahead of Munster A. The Principality Premiership side will welcome Cornish Pirates to Pandy Park, following a dominant win over Llanelli in the quarter-finals. The Pirates are the only team in the line-up to have won all four of their pool matches, securing their path to the semi-finals with a win over fellow RFU Championship contenders Nottingham Rugby. British & Irish Cup semi-finals, April 6-8 Semi-final 1: Leinster A V Munster A Semi-final 2:...
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Thomas Waldrom (Leicester Tigers) and Matt Banahan (Bath Rugby) joined up with England tonight to prepare for Saturday’s RBS 6 Nations match against Scotland at Murrayfield. Waldrom and Banahan, part of the England Saxons side that beat Irish Wolfhounds 23-17 at Exeter on Saturday, take over from Luke Narraway (calf) and Henry Trinder (ankle) who will remain at Gloucester for treatment. Also staying at their clubs this week are Toby Flood (knee), Courtney Lawes (knee), Manusamoa Tuilagi (calf) and Tom Wood (foot). Players attending England camp: Forwards (18) Dave Attwood (Bath Rugby) Mouritz Botha (Saracens) Calum Clark (Northampton Saints) Alex Corbisiero (London Irish) Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers) Tom Croft (Leicester Tigers) Phil Dowson (Northampton Saints) Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints) Joe Marler (Harlequins) Lee Mears (Bath Rugby) Ben Morgan (Scarlets) Tom Palmer (Stade Francais) Geoff Parling (Leicester Tigers) Chris Robshaw (Harlequins) Matt Stevens (Saracens) Rob Webber (London Wasps) David Wilson (Bath Rugby) Thomas Waldrom (Leicester Tigers) Backs (14) Chris Ashton (Northampton Saints) Matt Banahan (Bath Rugby) Brad Barritt (Saracens) Mike Brown (Harlequins) Lee Dickson (Northampton Saints) Owen Farrell (Saracens) Ben Foden (Northampton Saints) Alex Goode (Saracens) Charlie Hodgson (Saracens) Joe Simpson (London Wasps) Charlie Sharples (Gloucester Rugby) David Strettle (Saracens)...
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Gert Smal has issued a statement regarding the position of South Africa Head Coach: "I was deeply honoured to be linked to the position of Head Coach for the Springbok team and having being involved with the team before, it was obviously something that I would have thought about very carefully.  A big part of that consideration would be my connection to the Ireland team as well as my desire to see out my contract as I am very happy here. “Declan and the IRFU showed great faith in bringing me here and it has been a wonderful experience from a professional point of view, as well as for my family.  There is still such great potential and opportunities for the Ireland team and I have great faith in the players that we can achieve things together with the coaching staff. "I have not given up on the possibility of coaching my country in the future, but my focus now is on Ireland and on our first game in The RBS 6 Nations Championship."
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Leeds Carnegie have bolstered their Championship promotion hopes with the signing of Tongan international prop Halani Aulika until the end of the current season. The 28-year-old, who can play at loose or tight head, joins having played for the Highlanders in Super Rugby last season and made three appearances in the World Cup in New Zealand for Tongan. Commenting on the signing Director of Rugby Diccon Edwards said, “We are delighted to have secured a player of Halani’s quality as we enter a crucial part of the season. The fact that he can play on both sides of the front row is a major plus for us especially with Mike MacDonald and Phil Swainston currently out injured and Kane Palma-Newport having returned to Bath after his loan spell at the club. “He will add a lot of experience to our squad as we look to build our momentum in to the play offs and our promotion drive,” added Edwards. Aulika, who arrived in England today, has been capped five times for Tonga, making his debut for the national team in August 2011 in the World Cup warm up games against Fiji. He has previously played for The Highlanders, Otago...
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I only saw two games of this round. On Friday, I saw Ulster’s humiliating demolition of Leicester, as complete a thrashing as you can imagine. On Saturday I saw Harlequins squeak home past a fired-up looking Gloucester side. I’ll get around to watching some of the others at some point but in terms of the direction of English rugby, I found these quite thought-provoking just by their own. Judging from the comments in the media, I’m not alone, but the most pertinent article to the direction my thoughts are taking was by Paul Ackford in the Telegraph – http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/international/england/9013380/Englands-famous-brand-of-hard-men-have-given-way-to-gym-conditioned-athletes.html This is because I agree with the doubts raised about the decision making and mental fortitude of some of the young England players. The academy process seems to be bringing through some good players, some tremendous athletes often with great skills (although not always with rounded skillsets) but when faced with adversity, they’re raising questions. Leicester faced a massload of adversity on Friday. Ulster have put together a fantastic first XV through clever recruitment and good developing, it was in fine form (the previous 5 games had yielded 4 bonus point victories) and are busy burnishing Ravenhill’s reputation as one...
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Fly half Freddie Burns is the latest member of the Gloucester Rugby squad to agree a new contract with the club, signing a new contract that will keep him at Kingsholm until the end of the 2013-4 season. The 21 year old joined the Gloucester Rugby Academy from local rivals Bath and made his first team bow in a preseason friendly in August 2009 against his home town club in a game that was a joint testimonial for Andy Hazell and Lee Mears. That autumn saw him start to feature more frequently for the first XV and he showed his versatility by appearing both at fly half and at full back. A solid goal kicker, he also showed an aptitude for scoring important tries and that season finished on a high note as he represented England in the IRB Junior World Championship in Argentina. 2010-11 saw him continue his development and he increased both the number of times he played and the amount of points he scored from the season before. And 2011-12 has seen him establish himself as the club’s first choice fly half as he has delivered a series of increasingly mature performances, which have helped him...
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