IRFU Announce Kick Off Times For 2012 Guinness Series

Posted on Apr 13, 2012 in Ireland, Irish Rugby, Irish Wolfhounds

The Irish Rugby Football Union has today announced the dates and kick off times for the Guinness Series of games in November.

The Ireland Team will play two full internationals in the Aviva Stadium against South Africa and Argentina, who will both be battle hardened following their participation in the newly established southern hemisphere Rugby Championship, the new format of the Tri Nations.

South Africa was the first international visitor to the newly built Aviva Stadium in November 2010, winning 23-21 and will again open the international rugby season when they travel to the northern hemisphere under the guidance of their new Coach Heyneke Meyer.  Ireland also last took on Argentina that same November in sub zero temperatures, with Ireland winning the game 29-9.

In between these two full internationals, the O2 Ireland Wolfhounds will play Fiji in Thomond Park Stadium, bringing an Irish team to Limerick for the first time since Ireland played Canada in 2008.

Broadcast and ticketing details for all three games will be announced in the coming weeks.

2012 Guinness Series Fixtures:

Ireland v South Africa

Aviva Stadium
Saturday, 10th November
Kick off 17:30

O2 Ireland Wolfhounds v Fiji

Thomond Park Stadium
Saturday, 17th November
Kick off 17:30

Ireland v Argentina

Aviva Stadium
Saturday 24th November
Kick off 14:00

Birthday boy Norton wants Hong Kong present

Posted on Mar 22, 2012 in England Sevens, English Rugby

Dan Norton has scored 23 tries for England Sevens this season

Wing Dan Norton can celebrate his birthday by passing a new landmark for England and going to the top of the try-scoring charts in the HSBC Sevens World Series.

The former Gloucester and Bristol paceman is 24 tomorrow (Thursday, March 22) on the eve of the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens.

His next and 72nd career try will take him past former captain Simon Amor into fourth place on England’s all-time list behind Ben Gollings (220), Richard Haughton (106) and Rob Thirlby (101).

Five more would see him overtake injured New Zealander Frank Halai – who misses the next two tournaments through injury – as the leading scorer on the World Series.

But the birthday present he really wants for England to lift the Hong Kong title after missing out in last season’s final.

“I’d just like us to win regardless of anything else – I just want to win the tournament,” said Norton.

“It’d be a nice present on Sunday evening if we’re standing on top with the cup. I can’t really ask for anything more than that. We’ve hit a final and a semi final here in the last two years and now we want to go one step further.”

The three-day, 12-team tournament sees England play Argentina (12:30 GMT) on Friday, March 23, and Kenya (03:20) and Samoa (11:30) on Saturday, March 24 before the following day’s knock-out stages.

The Hong Kong format is different to the series’ usual 16-team programme – a second 12-team competition takes place in Hong Kong this year to promote three new ‘core’ teams into the global event – which means no straightforward pool games.

In the build-up, England have worked hard on their fitness since defeats against New Zealand and Argentina in Las Vegas last month – and on their approach to the detail of winning big games.

“We’ve worked over the last four or five weeks to better our fitness levels. There’s been more running, more gym work and more out-of-hours training to get those levels back up to the top,” said Norton.

“We’ve maybe lacked a bit of clarity in what we’re doing on the field and we’re being more thorough in meetings, revising what we’ve learned and trying to get as much information out of each other as we can. It’s about turning over every stone and making sure we are thorough in our processes.

“Regardless of who you’re playing – whether it’s a core team or not – we’ve just got to go out and execute our game plan properly and if we do that we can win. The times we’ve lost, we haven’t stuck to that plan 100 per cent like we should have.

“Argentina got one over us in Vegas so this is a chance to turn the tables on them, although every group is going to be very hard with the set-up of the tournament. It’ll certainly be good for the neutral!

“We know what we’ve got to do and that’s to win six games if we want to win Hong Kong, regardless of who we’re facing.”

Sir Graham Henry to mentor Argentinian coaches

Posted on Mar 7, 2012 in NZ, SANZAR

Former All Blacks Coach Sir Graham Henry is to continue his work helping to develop rugby coaches at the professional level, this time with Argentina, the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) and Unión Argentina de Rugby (UAR) have announced.

Sir Graham is to undertake a part–time consultancy role mentoring Argentina’s High Performance coaches.  It follows his appointment earlier this year as a mentor to New Zealand’s High Performance coaches at Investec Super Rugby and ITM Cup level.

NZRU High Performance Manager Don Tricker said: “Sir Graham takes up his new role with the NZRU’s blessing and it’s a real positive not only for him but for Argentinian rugby as well.  He will be mentoring their age–grade and national coaches.

“It’s in everyone’s interest for Argentinian rugby to develop as they prepare to enter this year’s new Investec Rugby Championship (alongside New Zealand, Australia and South Africa). Their inclusion in the new competition is exciting for everyone and will be a historic moment in the history of Southern Hemisphere rugby.”

Sir Graham said he was looking forward to the “exciting but also extremely challenging” opportunity.

“My role will be offering the UAR’s High Performance team and its coaches an insight into what is required to create a national programme that will ultimately lead to a more competitive international team.”

Sir Graham finished his All Blacks career last year following the team’s victory in Rugby World Cup 2011. He coached the All Blacks to 88 wins in 103 Tests for a winning percentage of 85.4 percent.

Sanzar announce the formation of “The Rugby Championship”

Posted on Nov 8, 2011 in SANZAR

Argentina has been confirmed alongside South Africa, New Zealand and Australia to play from 2012 in “The Rugby Championship” – the exciting and ground-breaking replacement for the Tri-Nations series.

After several months of negotiations with the Unión Argentina de Rugby (UAR) and the International Rugby Board (IRB), the SANZAR Joint Venture partners have invited Argentina to join the tournament. An agreement confirming Argentina’s participation was signed in Auckland recently.

“The invitation to Argentina to join the Championship is a defining moment for Southern Hemisphere rugby and significant for world rugby,” said SANZAR CEO, Greg Peters.

“The regular participation of Argentina at a higher level is long overdue and we are excited about their inclusion in The Rugby Championship. Playing in the Championship will have significant benefits for Argentinian rugby as a whole and will bring new energy to the jewel in the crown of SANZAR.

“The Pumas, as they showed at the recent Rugby World Cup, play an exciting and different brand of rugby to the other three teams, which will definitely add a new dimension,” Peters said.

The new name of The Rugby Championship reflects its claim to be the ultimate contest, featuring teams that are currently ranked first, second, fourth and seventh in the world.

“The Rugby Championship is an annual contest between the ‘best-of-the-best’ in world rugby – nations who have won six of the seven Rugby World Cups,” said Peters.

The President of the UAR, Luis Castillo, has described his country’s inclusion as an historic moment for rugby in Argentina.

“The Argentine Rugby Union and Argentinean rugby community is proud to be part of this great tournament,” he said. “We will work to maintain high standards in our rugby, with our ultimate goal being to keep generating resources for the development of rugby at the clubs,” Castillo said.

UAR High Performance Chairman, Manuel Galindo, added: “For years Argentinean Rugby has been seeking to participate regularly in a tournament like this. Playing in The Rugby Championship makes us really proud and will compel us to work harder at what we are doing. We must celebrate being part of this tournament,” he said.

Argentina’s participation in The Rugby Championship has been welcomed by the SANZAR Joint Venture partners.

Australian Rugby Union (ARU) Managing Director and CEO, John O’Neill said: "Argentina is a proud rugby nation and their passionate charge to the semi-finals of the Rugby World Cup in 2007 was certainly a feature of that tournament in France.

"They have waited a long time to play in a regular competition at the highest level and their inclusion into The Rugby Championship from 2012 provides that opportunity.

"The expansion of the Championship, following this year’s new-look format for Super Rugby with the addition of a 15th team in the Melbourne Rebels, is also further proof that SANZAR continues to be the innovative leader of the international game.

"We have come a long way since the professional era dawned with a Super 12 competition and a two-round Tri-Nations series between the Wallabies, All Blacks and Springboks.

"Our international footprint has been significantly increased at both Super Rugby and Test level and the launching of The Rugby Championship next year will be the latest exciting chapter in the ongoing evolution of SANZAR."

South African Rugby Union (SARU) CEO, Jurie Roux said: “This is a significant moment in the history of Southern Hemisphere rugby and marks the launching pad to a dramatically changed landscape.

“The inclusion of South Africa’s old friends from Argentina is a great day for rugby and recognises the rich history and passion for the sport in the rugby community in that country.

“It will add a new flavour and dimension to SANZAR rugby and offers the prospect of promoting rugby in other South American nations.

“It also ensures a more logical and balanced Championship with fixtures and travel evened out across the region.”

The CEO of the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU), Steve Tew added: “The 2011 Rugby World Cup demonstrated exactly how exciting matches between our four countries can be.

“Argentina fully deserves to be part of the best annual rugby competition in the world and their presence in the Championship – as well as the inclusion of Sevens rugby in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro – help the global expansion of the game.

“Outside of the Rugby World Cup, the Pumas last played in New Zealand in June 2004. As we saw during the tournament, their colourful and lively fans will be sure to add something special to The Rugby Championship.

“This Championship will ensure fans get to see more of the outstanding, hard hitting and exciting rugby for which our SANZAR nations are known as well as the flair and unpredictable style of rugby that Argentina is sure to bring,” Tew said.

Former Pumas scrumhalf, Agustin Pichot, the UAR’s SANZAR Representative who has led its negotiations with SANZAR, said Argentinean rugby as a whole should be proud of this achievement.

“After many years of history and the hard work of many generations of players on and off the pitch, Argentinean rugby will be part of the toughest and most prestigious tournament in the Southern Hemisphere,” Pichot said.

SANZAR has confirmed the draw for the inaugural edition of The Rugby Championship in 2012, which sees each side facing the others twice – home and away – for a total of 12 matches.

The 2012 Championship will kick-off on 18 August 2012 and conclude on 6 October 2012.

“Adding another country will have an impact on the travel schedules,” Peters said.

“To balance the additional travel requirements, the fixtures have been scheduled in two-week blocks with week-long travel byes in-between. This will ensure there is adequate recovery time for the teams,” he said.

The Rugby Championship fixtures:

• 18 August 2012: Australia vs New Zealand at ANZ Stadium, Sydney
• South Africa vs Argentina – TBC
• 25 August 2012: New Zealand vs Australia at Eden Park, Auckland
• Argentina vs South Africa – TBC
• 1 September 2012: Travel Bye
• 8 September 2012: Australia vs South Africa at Patersons Stadium, Perth
• New Zealand vs Argentina at Westpac Stadium in Wellington
• 15 September 2012: Australia vs Argentina at Skilled Park, Gold Coast
• New Zealand vs South Africa at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin
• 22 September 2012: Travel Bye
• 29 September 2012: South Africa vs Australia – TBC
• Argentina vs New Zealand – TBC
• 6 October 2012: South Africa vs New Zealand – TBC
• Argentina vs Australia – TBC

Match venues for South Africa and Argentina will be confirmed at a later date.

A SANZAR delegation will travel to Argentina in November on a fact-finding visit during which it will conduct venue inspections and hold discussions with the UAR, host broadcasters and other key stakeholders to ensure the smooth transition from Tri-Nations to The Rugby Championship.

Travel Advice for Wales vs Argentina

Posted on Aug 18, 2011 in Latest Rugby News

Wales’ summer internationals continue this weekend with Argentina visiting the Millennium Stadium on August 20.

A crowd of 45,000 is expected to see Wales take on the Pumas, with kick-off at 2.30pm

The best way to travel to the event is by public transport and coach wherever possible. Those bringing their cars into the city can ease worries over congestion and parking costs by using the Council’s park and ride services.

There are two park and ride sites, one at Cardiff City Football Club (CF11 8HU – Yellow Car Park) and one at Cardiff County Hall (CF10 4UW – Green Car Park)

Both sites can be accessed from junction 33 of the M4. Signs should be followed from the M4 as they will direct drivers to available park and ride sites at time of arrival. The service costs £6 per car.

The car parks will have a staff presence from 8.30am and will open at 9am, with the first bus leaving at 9.30am. The last bus will leave the pick-up points at 6.30pm, with the car parks closing at 7pm.

Coach parking is also available at Sophia Gardens at the dedicated coach park with driver facilities, costing £10 per coach.

There is car parking available at Sophia Close, which is within walking distance of the stadium, at a cost of £10 per car.

There will only be one small road closure, which is at Westgate St from 12:30pm until  5:30p