Kohn Extends Contract with Harlequins

Posted on Jan 14, 2013 in Harlequins

Olly Kohn, one of the most experienced and respected second row forwards playing in the Aviva Premiership, has committed his future to Harlequins. The 31-year-old has signed a one year contract extension that will keep him with the London club until the end of the 2013-14 season.

Olly joined Harlequins from Bristol in July 2006 and made his debut in the pre-season friendly with ASM Clermont that summer.  He has since made 134 appearances for the current Premiership champions and has scored four tries.

“It would be wrong to call Olly the ‘daddy’ of the squad but his presence in so many ways both on and off the pitch unites the players,” said Harlequins Director of Rugby Conor O’Shea.  “There is no better bloke you could wish to meet in rugby, however, on the pitch there is none more physical when it comes to what the game of rugby is all about. He has developed so much in his game over the last number of years and is comfortable on the ball, and when it comes to the scrum and maul, he is the go to man. We are delighted to have Olly on board and hope this is where he will play for the rest of his career.”

Commenting on his contract extension Olly Kohn said, “I am very honoured to sign-up again at a great club with a great group of players who share a real ambition for further success.  More exciting times lie ahead I’m sure.”

Saracens news

Posted on Jan 8, 2013 in Saracens

Mark McCall signs contract extension

Mark McCall, Director of Rugby, has extended his contract with Saracens and will remain at the north London club until the end of the 2014/15 season, at least.

Nigel Wray, chairman, said: “Mark has provided outstanding service for the past three and a half years, and we are delighted he has agreed to continue his excellent work. He leads a strong and talented coaching team with great skill and fantastic commitment, and we are very confident he will continue to guide and inspire the development of the squad.”

Paul Gustard signs new Saracens deal

Paul Gustard, forwards coach, has extended his contract with Saracens and will remain at the north London club until the end of the 2014/15 season, at least.

Nigel Wray, chairman, said: “Paul has proved himself to be one of the most talented young coaches in England, and we are delighted he has agreed to continue his excellent work at Saracens. I believe we have a group of outstanding people guiding the club, and Paul ranks highly among them.”

Alex Sanderson signs contract extension

Alex Sanderson, forwards coach, has extended his contract with Saracens and will remain at the north London club until the end of the 2014/15 season, at least.

Nigel Wray, chairman, said: “Alex has proved himself to be one of the most gifted young coaches in England, and we are very pleased he has agreed to continue his excellent work at Saracens. He typifies the energy, commitment and enthusiasm of the entire coaching group, qualities that support our ambition to rank among the top clubs in Europe.”

Dan Vickers signs Saracens contract extension

Dan Vickers, kicking coach, has extended his contract with Saracens and will remain at the north London club until the end of the 2014/15 season, at least.

Nigel Wray, chairman, said: “Dan has proved himself to be an outstanding kicking coach, and we are delighted he has agreed to continue his excellent work at Saracens. His understanding of the game and his willingness to do whatever is necessary, to work at all hours if necessary, reflects the fantastic work ethic within the coaching group.”

Kevin Sorrell commits to Saracens

Kevin Sorrell, backs coach, has extended his contract with Saracens and will remain at the north London club until the end of the 2014/15 season, at least.

Nigel Wray, chairman, said: “Kevin has proved himself to be an extremely promising young coach, and we are very confident in his ability to continue developing our backline. He is, of course, Saracens through and though, and we are delighted he has agreed to extend his long-standing association with the club.”

Lapasset welcomes appointment of Beaumont and Deighton to RWC 2015 organising body

Posted on Dec 18, 2012 in 2015

Rugby World Cup Limited (RWCL) Chairman Bernard Lapasset has welcomed the appointment of Bill Beaumont (RFU Chairman) and Paul Deighton (former CEO of the London 2012 organising committee) to the Board of the England Rugby 2015 (ER 2015), the Rugby World Cup 2015 organising body.

The appointment of two highly-experienced and respected sporting leaders is another major boost for the tournament as it approaches the 1,000 days to go landmark. England 2015 is on track to deliver millions of opportunities to engage sports fans the length and breadth of the country and around the world through a mouth-watering celebration of world-class Rugby and England’s rich culture and heritage.

The pair will add further Rugby experience and business acumen, major event organisation and influence in the national and international sporting and political landscapes to the Board, which oversees the delivery of an event that is one of the largest and most recognisable sporting events in the world.

Lapasset said: "The appointment of Beaumont and Deighton – exceptionally high-calibre and experienced individuals – to the ER 2015 Board further underscores the shared commitment with Rugby World Cup Limited to deliver an exceptional Rugby World Cup that England and the global Rugby family will be proud of."

"Bill Beaumont is steeped in Rugby World Cup knowledge, having served as a Rugby World Cup Limited Director for four years in the planning and delivery of an exceptional New Zealand 2011 tournament and will bring great experience and vision. As Chief Executive of LOCOG, Paul Deighton had overall responsibility for delivering the biggest most successful sporting event in Britain and his vast major event experience, alongside Debbie Jevans, further enhances our vision of delivering a phenomenal sporting event that will engage new audiences the length and breadth of England and beyond through its values of passion, solidarity and fun."

"This exciting announcement is yet another boost to a tournament that is on track to raise the Rugby World Cup bar and is a fitting way to round off a year that started with the beginning of the global qualification process and culminated with unprecedented interest and excitement around the recent Pool Allocation Draw, a major landmark for fans around the world as they look forward to what promises to be a wonderful Rugby World Cup."

RFU and Six Nations Chairman and former England captain Beaumont adds extensive knowledge and experience to the Board. A former RWCL Director and current IRB Council Member for England, his appointment further strengthens ER 2015’s relationship with domestic and international governing bodies. In addition to his passion and commitment to the Game he is also heavily involved in charity work as Vice President of the Lancashire Association of Youth Clubs, SPARKS, the Lord Taverners and Honorary President of the Rugby charity Wooden Spoon.

As Chief Executive Officer of LOCOG, Deighton had overall responsibility for the delivery of London 2012. As well as leading the day-to-day operations of LOCOG, he was responsible for raising the £2 billion budget from the private sector and managing relationships with Government and its agencies, the Mayor of London, the British Olympic Association, the British Paralympic Association and other organisations with an interest in the Games. Previously, he was European Chief Operating Officer for Goldman Sachs, and a member of its European Management Committee. He was created a life peer on November 1, 2012 as Baron Deighton of Carshalton and in January 2013 he starts his role as Commercial Secretary to HM Treasury.

“I am very excited to be part of a home Rugby World Cup in 2015 and I will work tirelessly with my fellow Board members and the executive of ER 2015 to ensure that we deliver a World Cup of which the whole country can be proud,” said Beaumont.

Deighton added: “Everyone recognises that the London Olympics and Paralympics have set a high benchmark for international sports events that follow. I want to bring the knowledge and experience gleaned from my time with LOCOG to help ensure that the organisation, delivery and feel-good factor of the Rugby World Cup in 2015 is right up there with London 2012."

Beaumont and Deighton’s appointment builds on the strong mix of skills and Rugby and major sports event experience within the Board which comprises: Andy Cosslett, ER 2015 Chairman and Chief Executive Fitness First; Debbie Jevans, ER 2015 Chief Executive; Ian Metcalfe, Chairman of the Professional Game Board; Ian Watmore, former Permanent Secretary in the Cabinet Office and Government’s Chief Operating Officer; Ian Ritchie, RFU Chief Executive; Stephen Brown, RFU Chief Financial Officer; Geoff Irvine, Chairman of the RFU Championship and RFU Council Member and Quentin Smith, Chairman of Premiership Rugby.

“England Rugby 2015 continues to draw on the best of London 2012 talent while ensuring that rugby remains at the heart of the organisation. We are very pleased that Bill Beaumont and Paul Deighton will be adding their considerable experience and expertise to the ER 2015 board,” said Cosslett.

Rugby’s Road to Rio 2016 Advances With Key Meetings

Posted on Oct 19, 2012 in IRB

Delegates from the International Rugby Board were among officials representing 28 federations participating in the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) London Olympic Games review meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland this week.

With the Rio 2016 cycle well and truly underway and Rugby Sevens set to make its debut in four years time, the highly-constructive meeting provided an invaluable opportunity for the IRB to discuss with federations the key learnings from the London 2012 review process.

ASOIF Director, Andrew Ryan, said: "It was important to have IRB present at the London debrief and understand the key issues as we believe Rugby Sevens will play an important part in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio even though it will be making its first appearance. We are excited about the growth of the sport worldwide and with its unique qualities we view Rugby Sevens as making a significant contribution to not only the sports programme, but also to the Games atmosphere overall".

The IRB also met with members of the Rio 2016 Organising Committee to progress implementation of the specific operational and organisational requirements that will underscore a successful and spectacular Rugby Sevens event at the Olympic Games.

The meetings represent another significant milestone on the road to Rio 2016 for the IRB and its Member Federations. A new Sevens strategic plan has been implemented to provide the roadmap for accelerated growth, participation and competition, including the pillars of Olympic Games qualification, to maximise the benefits of Olympic Games inclusion.

IRB Chief Executive Brett Gosper said: "We are a committed and proactive member of the Olympic family and these highly-constructive meetings provided an invaluable opportunity to advance our planning and preparation for our Rugby Sevens debut at Rio 2016."

"We enjoy an excellent partnership with the IOC and the Rio 2016 Organising Committee, and are united in our vision of delivering an exceptional event that will be fantastic for the Olympic Games and fantastic for the global Rugby community."

"This is certainly an exciting time for Rugby as we enter the Rio 2016 cycle. We are already experiencing the benefits of Olympic Games inclusion with growth in emerging and new markets. Our Member Unions are establishing strong partnerships with their respective National Olympic Committees and interest and participation in men’s and women’s Rugby Sevens continues to go from strength to strength."

The next 12 months will be seminal for Rugby Sevens as the opening round of the inaugural four-event IRB Women’s Sevens Series kicks off in Dubai on November 30, while Sevens will break new ground when Moscow plays host to Rugby World Cup Sevens 2013 – the first time that Russia has hosted an IRB Sevens event.

Tom Powell: Sevens comes of age on Gold Coast

Posted on Oct 12, 2012 in Sevens

Birthday boy Tom Powell insists England and the sevens code have both come of age as they prepare for the opening weekend of the HSBC Sevens World Series.

The forward from Sheffield turned 27 in Australia today [Thursday] on the eve of the Gold Coast Sevens, the first event of a nine-leg global journey that concludes at Twickenham next May.

England finished third overall last term – behind New Zealand and Fiji – but have kept their developing squad together while several major rivals make changes.

The changes to Powell’s own team involve adding talent and increasing the size of the squad to 19 full-time sevens players whose programme includes tapping into the Olympic expertise of English Institute of Sport.

The first test of their progress comes on Day One at Skilled Park, where Kenya, Spain and Samoa stand in their way in Pool C.

“If you look at our squad, we’re quite an experienced one in terms of the circuit and a lot of the boys have been around for a few years, been to all the tournaments and know what it’s all about,” said Powell.

“Since the Olympic inclusion was announced three years ago sevens has grown as a sport and matured, and there’s still potential and a long way to go.

“But as the sport’s maturing there aren’t any easy games any more, the 30-40 pointers you used to get three or four years ago.

“Now every team poses a new challenge that you have to react to and if you’re not on top of your game you’ll get turned over. We’re fully focused on what we have to do on Saturday and hopefully we’ll then carry that into Sunday.

“Everyone here is fighting for a starting spot at the moment and then it’s all hands on deck fighting for each other at the weekend to push on and get the best possible start on the Gold Coast.”

Between tournaments, Powell splits his time between squad sessions in London and gym and track work with EIS coach Mark Campbell in Sheffield.

He said: “I’m training at the same facility as [Olympic heptathlete] Jess Ennis. It’s an incredible environment with specialised coaching for my lifting, the weights I’m doing and my speed technique.

“Mark works on the lifting and sprinting with me, so hopefully over the next few months the speed will increase and the power will increase and I’ll be able to keep up with the other boys on the pitch.

“It’s fantastic that we can do that away from London, so while I can do it in Sheffield, [fellow forward] James Rodwell can do it in Birmingham and [wing ] Dan Norton can do his at Bath.”

It’s not an extreme environment all the time, though, with his England teammates treating Powell to a chocolate birthday cake after training.

“I’ve had a lot of ribbing and lots of chat about my age but I got a nice cake at the ground which we sampled after our weights session in the afternoon,” he said. “It’s good to have a final treat before the weekend.”