England Women finish fifth in Amsterdam Sevens

Posted on May 21, 2012 in England Sevens, England Women

A 17-12 victory over Spain in the play-offs saw a young England Women’s side finish fifth in the Amsterdam Sevens on Sunday.

With only six players in the squad who lifted the IRB Challenge Cup crown in London last weekend, England struggled in the second day of sevens action leaving them to play off against Spain for fifth place.

England, however, showed great determination to secure the fifth place finish against a full strength Spanish side with a try in extra time from Sevens newcomer Kate Hancock. Fellow Sevens debutant Natasha Brennan also touched down twice, with Natasha Hunt kicking one conversion.

England were left battling for fifth place after losing 7-12 to the USA in the final pool game on Saturday. England had started the day well with a 24-0 victory over Wales. Lichfield’s Hunt ran in a hat-trick of tries and Jennifer Brightmore also touched down. Sarah McKenna added four points from the boot.

In England’s second match they were as dominant, inflicting a 26-0 victory over South Africa. This time Brennan, Rachael Burford, captain Sonia Green and Abigail Chamberlain touched down. Alice Richardson and Hunt added three conversions.

But in their final encounter on Saturday the young England side struggled against the on-form Eagles. Brennan touched down for her second try of the tournament and Richardson converted but two tries from the USA and a conversion was too much for England to overcome.

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Amlin groups go down to the wire

Posted on Jan 17, 2012 in Amlin Challenge Cup

Four clubs, including four-time Heineken Cup champions Toulouse, are still in the mix to qualify for the knock-out stages of the Amlin Challenge Cup this season as the battle for coveted quarter-final places in Europe’s top two tournaments reaches a climax in Round 6 of Pool matches this week.

Toulouse may be leading Harlequins by two points in Pool 6 in the Heineken Cup, but unless they win at Kingsholm against Gloucester on Friday night they could possibly find themselves heading into the Amlin Challenge Cup last eight.

The five Pool winners in the Amlin Challenge Cup earn quarter-final places, and going into the final round, the winners of all five Pools have yet to be decided. The final three places in the knockout stages are filled by the third, fourth and fifth best Pool runners-up from the Heineken Cup.

Only Munster and reigning champions Leinster are so far guaranteed Heineken Cup quarter-final tickets, so there will be the usual number of twists and turns to come in the over the next few days.

There will also be plenty of drama from Thursday onwards in the Amlin Challenge Cup with two clubs in each of the five Pools still in contention for top spot. The most dramatic weekend of action in European rugby will kick-off at Edgeley Park on Thursday night when two-time tournament winners Sale Sharks host former Heineken Cup holders Brive.

That will be the first of 22 fixtures across the two tournaments that will determine which 16 clubs move forward to chase the top two titles in northern hemisphere club rugby.

As well as Toulouse, two more Heineken Cup winners, Ulster Rugby (1999) and Leicester Tigers (2001, 2002), as well as the Ospreys, could conceivably make their Amlin Challenge Cup debuts depending on results.

“Since we launched the system of three Heineken Cup runners-up joining the Amlin Challenge Cup Pool winners in the quarter-finals the quality has certainly risen. To add to that, the winners of the Amlin Challenge Cup are assured of a place in next season’s Heineken Cup,” said ERC Chief Executive, Derek McGrath.

AMLIN CHALLENGE CUP POOL BATTLES

Pool 1 – Stade Français Paris or Worcester Warriors
Stade Français Paris lead Worcester Warriors by four points. Warriors must win and deny Stade anything to bring the equation down to tries or aggregate points in their two games, or they must win with a try bonus point and once again deny Stade a losing bonus.

Pool 2 – Toulon or Newcastle Falcons
Toulon have a two point advantage over Falcons and lead them in the head-to-head. Toulon host Petrarca Rugby in Round 6 and Falcons travel to Lyon. A Toulon win will be enough to secure the Pool winners spot, as will be a draw if Falcons don’t earn a bonus point victory in Lyon.

Pool 3 – London Wasps or Bayonne
London Wasps lead by two points from Bayonne, but are down 2-1 on tries in the head-to-head. That means they need to beat Bordeaux-Begles at home in Round 6 to guarantee a quarter-final place. Bayonne host Rovigo and can go through with a draw or a win, as long as Wasps fail to earn any points.

Pool 4 – Exeter Chiefs or Perpignan
Exeter Chiefs are one point ahead of Perpignan and have a precious losing bonus point from their game there in France in Round 1. They host the French side in a winner-takes-all clash at Sandy Park.

Pool 5 – Brive or Sale Sharks
Brive head to Edgeley Park on Thursday night knowing they need to get at least a losing bonus point to top the Pool. A win or draw will send them into the last eight, while two-time winners the Sharks need to go for broke and win without conceding a bonus point to overcome the three point gap at the top.

Ulster bank junior cup draw

Posted on Aug 24, 2011 in Age Grade Rugby, Irish Rugby

The draw for the first round of the Ulster Bank Junior Cup was made by IRFU President John Hussey and Chairman of the Domestic Game Stephen Hilditch in the IRFU offices on Lansdowne Road today.

Defending champions Crosshaven, the first Munster club to win the title, have been drawn away to Ulster side Cooke in the opening round. Last season’s beaten finalists Monivea will make the trip to Skerries while previous winners Tullamore have been drawn at home to Kilfeacle.

The Ulster Bank Junior Cup has proved hugely popular with clubs and supporters and the cup finals have provided some dramatic rugby action since the competition began.

A number of previous winners have gone on to gain promotion to the Ulster Bank League including Rainey OB, Seapoint, Navan and City of Derry.

Ulster Bank Junior Cup 1^st Round, Saturday October 22nd
Tullamore V Kilfeacle
Portadown V Westport
Coolmine V Tralee
Coleraine V Tuam
Skerries V Monivea
Academy V Richmond
Cooke V Crosshaven
Dundalk V Ballina

2^nd Round – November 26^th
Semi Finals – February 4^th
Final – February 18^th

Schmid: Performance at Welsh shows promise for 2011

Posted on Jan 4, 2011 in Rugby News

MIKE SCHMID backs Esher to end a nightmare run in the New Year’s Day home clash with Birmingham if they reproduce the spirit shown in Tuesday’s defeat at London Welsh.

Batting Esher slipped to a 24-17 reverse at Old Deer Park and have now lost eight successive games in league and cup.

But Director of Rugby Schmid was delighted with the attitude shown in the local derby as they picked up a losing bonus point at fourth-placed Exiles.

Esher fought back from 13-0 down at half-time to score tries through Sam Ulph and Chris York and were unlucky not to salvage a draw.

Now Schmid wants the same commitment in the bottom-of-the-table Championship match against Birmingham at Molesey Road this weekend.

Esher lost 38-16 at Birmingham in October in one of their poorest displays of the season and Schmid insists there must be no repeat.

He said: “We were very poor at Birmingham and that came after a wonderful win against London Welsh, so it was doubly disappointing.

“But if we show the same attitude that we did on Tuesday then I’m sure we can end this run of defeats.

“In both games against Welsh we have shown glimpses of what we can achieve with the right attitude and commitment.

“Now we must make sure we build on that against Birmingham”

“We all know this is a must-win game against Birmingham and it gives us a chance to put distance between us and them.

“Every win will be vital when we go into the play-offs at the end of the season. If we can beat Birmingham then we still have six more games to get into the top eight and that is still our target.”

Esher edged six points clear of rock-bottom Birmingham with the point at Welsh and are now nine adrift of eighth-placed Bristol.

But Schmid added: “We’ve let a few points slip this season and we know we have to be at our best to get something from games.

“If we show any complacency against Birmingham then we will lose, it’s as simple as that.

“But, as we showed at London Welsh on Tuesday, we are capable of producing some good rugby but we must do that for the whole 80 minutes.

“It’s all about consistency and if we find that, then we are capable of getting a good run going. That has to start against Birmingham.”

Howells delays naming pack

Posted on Oct 1, 2010 in Rugby News

Saturday at 2.30pm the match everyone wants to see, Doncaster Knights v Nottingham rugby kicks off at Castle Park. Out of the last dozen clashes these teams have contested the wins are evenly balanced at 6 apiece giving both sides the chance to pull ahead at the weekend as no one expects a draw between these two teams.

With a number of forwards taking late fitness tests, Director of Rugby Lynn Howells will select his pack from the following squad:
Shane Cahill, Stuart Corsar, Dan Frazier, Lewis Thiede, Steve Boden, Tom Doughty, Glen Kenworthy, Matt Challinor, Dom Parsons Ed, Jackson, Neil Cochrane, Andy Boyde, Chris Walker and Zack Farivarz

We will attempt a website update as early as possible on Matchday announcing the selected forwards, alongside the backs that have already been given the starting Jerseys.

The backs will be

9 Hallam
10 Roberts
11 Williams
12 Gidlow
13 Briers
14 Flockhart
15 McColl

The backs’ subs will be (21) Peter Jericevich and (22) OliGoss.