B&I Lions look forward to the first test

Posted on Jun 19, 2013 in British and Irish Lions

 

The waiting is almost over for the British & Irish Lions. On Saturday they take on Australia in the first test in Brisbane, hoping to match the result achieved the last time the Lions played a test in Queensland’s biggest city. That game in 2001, also the first test of the series, ended in a Lions win and was made memorable by the ‘Sea of Red’ that greeted the tourists when they ran on the pitch, with the travelling support making it see more like a home game.

The Lions go into the match after losing their 100% tour record on Tuesday against the ACT Brumbies; a result, which has somewhat, pricked the aura that had been building around the squad.

One of the selection dilemmas facing coach Warren Gatland is whether to start loose forward Justin Tipuric instead of captain Sam Warburton. Speaking ahead of the game, Tipuric said that as far as they won’t be picking out any particular Australia for special treatment:

“They have so many [danger men] that you can’t pinpoint one or two, if you do that then it will open holes up for the other players. You just have to stop the momentum they get in attack.”

Prop Matt Stevens is perhaps less likely to start, but he is making his presence felt off the pitch with his musical skills:

“I’ve brought the guitar along. All the boys like a singsong. There are lots of other guitarists in the team, Jamie Roberts and Sean Maitland – and they are much better guitarists than me!”

Come Saturday, all those supporting the British & Irish Lions will be hoping it is they who are calling the tune.

Will Greenwood previews British & Irish Lions v HSBC Waratahs

Posted on Jun 12, 2013 in British and Irish Lions

The British & Irish Lions play HSBC Waratahs in Sydney’s Allianz Stadium on Saturday (15th June). It’s their penultimate warm up game before the first test against Australia, and many – including former Lion Will Greenwood- think it will reveal much about the line up of Warren Gatland’s test team.

“When you play the week before the first test, by and large Lions coaches historically would have liked to see 12 or 13 players play the Saturday before, so they get used to each other in terms of different styles of play. [Of] the side we see play against the Waratahs, I would expect to see double digit numbers of those guys playing the first test in Brisbane next week.”

This game will trigger some particularly difficult memories for Will Greenwood. In 2001, the last time the Lions toured Australia, they also played the Waratahs a week before the first test. Will was perhaps at the peak of his powers and looked likely to be a test starter, but he picked up ankle ligament damage in the game and was ruled out of the series.

“You don’t want to get injured the week before the first test. It’s like getting knocked out the in the semi of the World Cup. In 2001 I picked up an ankle injury and it was desperately disappointing. Injuries will happen, that’s part of life – you just hope it’s not you.”

Blues v Knights rearranged

Posted on Mar 26, 2013 in Bedford

Bedford Blues postponed match vs Doncaster Knights has been rearranged to take place at Goldington Road on Wednesday 17th April, Kick Off 7:45pm.

All match tickets purchased for the original date are valid for this game and gates will open at 5pm.

Wasps international stars ready for return to action

Posted on Mar 21, 2013 in London Wasps

Wasps take on Northampton in a return to Aviva Premiership action on Saturday at Adams Park (15.15)

James Haskell won his 50th cap in the final game of the 6 Nations against Wales, and he says despite the disappointment of the loss, it was a proud moment.

“When you start out your career, getting one cap is a huge honour and so to get to 50 is massive for me. It was a frustrating end to the tournament and on a personal note even more so as that’s twice in my career a Grand Slam has slipped away. However I think that the atmosphere that Stuart Lancaster has created is great and we are heading in the right direction with lots of young talent coming through. I am almost 28 but I hope there are a few years ahead of me at international level as this is a side with a lot of potential. There are so many guys coming through in the back row so the competition is fierce. The important thing when you come back to your Club is that you have to get straight back into it”
Looking ahead to Northampton Haskell added.

“I am happy to be back and preparing for the game on Saturday. I got a bit of banter from Dai Young of course when I got back, but it’s good be amongst it again. Northampton have huge aspirations and forwards wise they are outstanding so we need to make sure we bring our A game up front if we want to get back winning.”

Joe Launchbury started every 6 Nations game and the 21-year-old says he has soaked up huge experience to bring back to Wasps.

“It is a long tournament and it’s mentally draining with the turnaround you get. It’s nice to be back at Wasps with a bit more of a regular life and crack on here now even though I hugely enjoyed being part of the England set up. It’s a great environment and in large parts of the tournament we were able to show that we were thriving on that, but of course we are bitterly disappointed with how it ended up. We have to remember that pain and remember how it felt to watch Wales lift the Championship in front of us. We need to use it to get better.”

Launchbury is relishing getting back to club action.

“It feels like a long time since I was here so I’m delighted to be back. I was a bit ill for a few days when the tournament ended so I had a few long sleeps and had a few days to recover but I am raring to go now again. It is a big challenge for us, up front this weekend. Northampton have some huge ball carriers so we need to impose ourselves physically. The games we have left are challenging but it’s a really exciting time and we’re not shying away from it. We want to be in the knock out stages of major competitions and it is up to us to take these next few weeks by the throat and take what we can out of it.”

Andrea Masi was one of the stars of Italy’s 6 Nations campaign, also returning to Wasps in the middle of the tournament.

“I am tired because there were so many games in the last few weeks but it is always a pleasure to come back here and play for Wasps. The next few games are hugely important for us and I want to be part of all of them and take a break when the season ends.”
On Italy’s overall tournament, Masi is taking plenty of positives, while playing down his nomination for 6 Nations Player of the Tournament.

“We finished the tournament well with the win over Ireland and overall I think we played our best rugby ever at times in the 6 Nations and that’s important as we are now really building something for the next World Cup. The game against England was disappointing that we didn’t win it and we needed a bit more belief but we were very competitive against one of the best sides in the world which we need to take positives from. Being nominated for that award is nice but I don’t feel I deserve to be in that category. There are so many players in Wales who deserve that much more than me.”

Five of seven internationals return for Zebre

Posted on Mar 21, 2013 in Zebre

After two weeks of stop action due to the 6 Nations final rounds, the RaboDirect PRO12 is back in action in Parma where Zebre will try once more to find its first ever win in the competition.

Tomorrow night at 7pm local time the welsh side Scarlets trying to avoid defeat and obtain crucial points for the playoff battle. Zebre technical staff decided to maintain the same back line of last appearance in Galway where the white & black striped boys were so close to a win.

International centre Garcia is not selected and leaves his place to the other international Venditti who returns for the Parma based outfit after scoring the only try of last Saturday’s historical win for Italy against Ireland. The speedy duo Sinoti-Sarto is confirmed in the back three, along with the fullback Benettin. In the halves Chillon and Buso are paired together.

In the front row the Irish prop Ryan is drafted in along with Aguero while the hooker will be Festuccia with his 13th appearance in the RaboDirect PRO12. In the second row Zebre Rugby’s ambassador Marco Bortolami is ruled out of the game with a light injury after gaining 4 competitive starts. His number 5 shirt is taken by Sole who switches from the back row. He will pair with Italian international Geldenhuys. The Italian pack is completed by the South African Van Schalkwyk at number 8 while either side of him will be flankers Caffini and Bergamasco, skipper of the Zebre tomorrow night for the third time.

Bergamasco, 93 caps with Italy, spoke this morning about the tomorrow game with the Italian press :”We surely put on the field our best to face this hard challenge. We need our best ever performance to obtain our goal : the first victory of the season that we miss by inches in the last appearances. We will maintain the same spirit and competitive approach we had before the international games’ stop. The Scarlets have a great roster and a very intelligent way of play, absolutely effective with their backs. We must take the maximum possession not to give the welsh side clean opportunity to counter attack us in the open space with turn-overs. Less mistakes and more possession, this is our target”.

Here’s Zebre Rugby line-up for Friday night game at the Stadio XXV Aprile in Parma facing the Scarlets in the 18th Round of the RaboDirect PRO12 :

15 Alberto BENETTIN*

14 Leonardo SARTO*

13 Matteo PRATICHETTI

12 Giovanbattista VENDITTI

11 Sinoti SINOTI

10 Paolo BUSO

9 Alberto CHILLON*

8 Andries VAN SCHALKWYK

7 Mauro BERGAMASCO

6 Emiliano CAFFINI*

5 Josh SOLE

4 Quintin GELDENHUYS

3 David RYAN

2 Carlo FESTUCCIA

1 Matias AGUERO

Replacements :

16 Andrea MANICI*

17 Andrea DE MARCHI

18 Luciano LEIBSON

19 Michael VAN VUREN

20 Filippo CRISTIANO

21 Tito TEBALDI

22 Luciano ORQUERA

23 Roberto QUARTAROLI*

Coach. Christian GAJAN

* Former member of the Italian Rugby Union academy "Ivan Francescato" of Tirrenia.

Not available for selection through injury : Marco BORTOLAMI, Nicola CATTINA, Filippo CAZZOLA*, Carlo FAZZARI*, Daniel HALANGAHU, Luca REDOLFINI.

Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon (IRFU, 45th competition game) 2nd with Zebre after the Parma game of Heineken Cup Vs Biarritz

Assistant Referees: Stefano Pennè, Stefano Roscini (both FIR)

Citing Commissioner: Alberto Recaldini (FIR)

TMO: Carlo Damasco (FIR)