NZ announce sevens squad for IRB World Series

Posted on Nov 26, 2009 in Rugby News

New Zealand Sevens Coach Gordon Tietjens has named the squad for the opening two rounds of the 2009/2010 IRB World Sevens Series, which kicks off in Dubai on December 4-5. The second round takes place in George, South Africa on December 11-12.

The 12-man squad includes two Sevens debutants. They are Bay of Plenty’s Toby Arnold and Wellington’s Buxton Popoalii. The team will again be captained by Counties Manukau’s DJ Forbes.

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2009 Steinlager Rugby Award nominees announced

Posted on Nov 20, 2009 in Rugby News

The nominees for this year’s Steinlager Rugby Awards, New Zealand’s premier rugby awards, have been announced.

The Steinlager Rugby Awards recognise and acknowledge the achievements of New Zealand’s teams, coaches, players, referees and volunteers in 2009. The ceremony will be held at the SkyCity Convention Centre, Auckland, on Thursday 17 December and broadcast live on SKY Sport and The Rugby Channel.

A new name is being introduced for the award which annually recognises the great contribution volunteers make to community rugby. The winner of this year’s volunteer award will be honoured with the Charles Monro Rugby Volunteer of the Year trophy, named after the man who introduced rugby to New Zealand. Nominees are Otago’s Blair Crawford, Auckland’s David Hickey and Peter Te Tai from Southland.

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Dallaglio: rugby is in “great shape”

Posted on Oct 2, 2009 in Rugby News

Lawrence Dallaglio believes that rugby is in “great shape” despite a damaging summer but insisted that it cannot be complacent.

As the RFU Image of the Task Group revealed 16 recommendations designed to eliminate potential cheating and restore the reputation of the sport, Dallaglio told the RFU podcast: “In my humble opinion, 99.9 per cent of the game is in great shape but there are still small areas that need to be addressed and improved.

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