RaboDirect Pro12 final goes global

Posted on May 17, 2012 in RaboDirect Pro 12

The 2012 RaboDirect PRO12 Final will be beamed around the world into more than 80 countries as Leinster Rugby attempt to make it third time lucky at the RDS, Dublin on Sunday, 27 May (kick-off 4.00pm).

As the top seeds from the regular season, Joe Schmidt’s team earned the right to host the Final at their home ground after beating Glasgow Warriors in the Play-Off last weekend. That triumph set up a repeat of the 2010 Final against the Ospreys.

The 2010 Final was the first time the competition had used the Play-Off system to determine the champions. This is the third season in a row that Leinster has reached the Final and they are still seeking their first win.

Interest in the game is intense and the Irish language TV channel TG4 will act as the host broadcaster. TG4 will screen the match live, as will RTE in Ireland and the Welsh language station, S4C, in the UK. The game will also be shown delayed live in Italy on RAI Sports 2 at 9.00pm local time.

In addition to coverage within the nations that provide teams to the RaboDirect PRO12 competition, the game will also be screened in the following countries either live or delayed live:

• Malta– Go Malta
• Middle East– Orbit Showtime Network – (23 countries) Algeria, Bahrain, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates
• North America – Fox Soccer Plus
• Canada– Rogers Sportsnet World
• Sub Sahara Africa Setanta – (50 countries) Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Comoros, Congo, Cote d’Ivorie, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Reunion, Rwanda, Sao Tome & Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, St. Helena, Swaziland, Tanzania/Zanzibar, The Gambia, Togo, Uganda, Western Sahara, Zambia, and Zimbabwe
• Asia Setanta – (8 countries) Brunei, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand
• New Zealand– Sky New Zealand

Overseas viewers are advised to check with their Broadcasters as to whether they are showing the game live or delayed.

England Counties name squad for East Africa tour

Posted on May 16, 2012 in English Counties

The England Counties today named their 26-man squad for next month’s three match tour to Uganda and Kenya.

Eleven counties and 15 clubs are represented within the squad which contains 12 debutants. 

Rob Baldwin (pictured) will captain the tour party, having led the side to a 34-16 victory over the Counties’ Irish counterparts, the Ulster Bank International Team, in March.  Nine other players featured in the spring international, whilst Jim Wigglesworth steps up after impressing for the England Counties U20s earlier this month.

The England Counties squad is the representative flagship of the county and community game and since being founded in 2002 has visited North and South America, Europe and the Far East.  Nine players have previous touring experience but the side will be treading new ground when they head to the African continent.

The squad assembles on the 1st June and the 17-day tour incorporates the largest tour outreach programme ever undertaken.  Working with the Tag Rugby Trust, the squad and management will carry out frequent coaching sessions and visits, aiming to raise the profile of rugby and leave a lasting legacy for the host unions.

The squad plays both Uganda and a combined East Africa side in Kampala before taking on the challenge of an East Africa Invitation XV in Nairobi.

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England Sevens cruise past Kenya and Zimbabwe

Posted on Dec 2, 2011 in England, English Rugby, Sevens

Dan Norton passed his half-century of tries in the HSBC Sevens World Series as England battled through their opening two games at the Dubai Sevens.

They beat Zimbabwe 43-0 on the tournament’s opening morning, then had to work harder to see off Kenya 19-12 to make sure of a quarter final place.

Former Gloucester and Bristol wing Norton took his tally to 51 in 18 tournaments with a brace against Zimbabwe with skipper Greg Barden and replacements Nick Royle, Christian Lewis-Pratt – on debut – Simon Hunt and Tom Powell all touching down.

England’s finishing was less sharp against Kenya but they were cruising at 19-5 up following two tries from Mathew Turner and one from James Rodwell before Willy Ambaka Ndayara’s late effort made for a tense final minute.

They now face France in the final Pool C match at 15.52 GMT today to determine the identity of tomorrow’s quarter final opponents – likely to be either New Zealand or South Africa.

England are also competing in the IRB’s eight-team women’s tournament and their young side enjoyed an encouraging start to Day 1.

A team with an average age of just 21 beat China 26-15 in their opening game with a hat-trick of tries from Michaela Staniford (Wasps) and another score from Lydia Thompson (Worcester).

Thompson then snatched a late winner in a 22-19 victory over South Africa when England trailed despite having built up a 17-0 first half lead with Worcester’s Jo Watmore scoring two tries and another Staniford strike.

Added time try kills Scotland’s hopes

Posted on May 29, 2011 in Latest Rugby News

Scotland failed to repeat their Twickenham sevens Bowl heroics at Murrayfield when Kenya exacted revenge in added time to lift the trophy.

The Africans scorched into an impressive first-half lead with two converted tries before the break.

Backed by the voices of a 14,170-strong crowd, Scotland fought back with two of their own in the second-half to level the match but the hooter sounded and, after nine second-half minutes of play, Kenya crossed for the agonising winner.

The Scots were unfortunate to find themselves in the Bowl on day two, as the only nation to win two matches and not qualify for the top-tier competition.

Their win over London Sevens Cup finalists, Fiji (14-12) and their blitz of the USA (45-7) left them just two points short of qualification and three short of topping the group.

The Scots put on impressive showing on the second day of the showcase global event, seeing off Canada (26-14) in the quarter-final and Argentina (22-7) in the semis before taking to the pitch for the ill-fated final.

Scotland Sevens’ centre and tournament top try-scorer, Jim Thompson, said: “We won four of our six games so it was a great tournament to be part of. I’m obviously gutted to have missed out on the cup quarter-final by two points and to lose out to Kenya today in the Bowl final.

“Our home support was fantastic. Playing for your country at Murrayfield is something you always dream of and is just a great honour.”

The day two attendance, combined with the day one crowd (12,235) means that the tournament has recorded its highest ever ticket sales (26,405), adding around 3000 to the 2010 crowd and 6000 to that of 2008.

SCOTLAND SEVENS SQUAD FOR THE EMIRATES AIRLINE EDINBURGH SEVENS: Tom Brown (Edinburgh), Struan Dewar (Edinburgh elite development player), Michael Fedo (Team Northumbria), Colin Gregor (Glasgow Warriors), Peter Horne (Glasgow Warriors), Lee Jones (Edinburgh), Stuart McInally (Edinburgh), Scott Newlands (Edinburgh), Scott Riddell (Stewart’s Melville), Andrew Skeen (Watsonians), Jim Thompson (Edinburgh), Andrew Turnbull (Edinburgh)

England Sevens into semi finals at George

Posted on Dec 11, 2010 in Rugby News

England are two wins away from another title after beating the hosts 19-10 in the quarter finals of the Emirates Airline South Africa Sevens.

Two John Brake tries, one by Isoa Damudamu and two conversions from captain Ben Gollings secured their place in the last four.

The last time these two sides met was in the bronze medal match at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, where England were overtaken in the closing moments.

This time it was they who trailed at half time to tries from Cecil Afrika and Bernado Botha either side of half-back John Brake’s effort.

But they edged in front two minutes from time when Gollings converted a try from British Army forward Damudamu, then made sure with Brake’s second moments from time.

The result sets up a rematch of last weekend’s Dubai final with Samoa, who scored with the final play of the game to beat Wales 19-14. New Zealand meet Fiji in the other half of the draw.

It also guarantees England at least another 16 points to bank in the HSBC Sevens World Series rankings to add to the 24 earned by their title win in Dubai.

On the opening day of the tournament, they had beaten Kenya 21-5 and Russia 19-5 before a 20-7 defeat against New Zealand saw them finish second in Pool C.

Gollings, Brake and Damudamu scored the tries against Kenya with Dan Norton’s brace and Tom Powell’s effort seeing off Russia. Bristol wing Norton scored the only try against New Zealand.