England face tough trio at Emirates Airline London Sevens

Posted on Apr 11, 2011 in Latest Rugby News

ENGLAND today learned the identity of their pool stage opponents at next month’s Emirates Airline London Sevens.

The second seeds have been grouped with Argentina, the USA and France in Pool B of the tournament staged at Twickenham Stadium on May 21-22.

Ben Ryan’s side trail leaders New Zealand by 13 points going into the final two legs of this season’s HSBC Sevens World Series.

Their target is to repeat their 2009 title win at Twickenham to close the gap going into the Emirates Airline Edinburgh Sevens on May 28-29.

If England top their group they will face the runners-up from Pool A – containing New Zealand, Wales, Kenya and Spain – on Day 2 at Twickenham.

"We’re primed for a pretty big assault on the Emirates Airline London Sevens and we need to win the tournament to have a chance to win the series," said England head coach Ryan.

"France are looking to turn things around at sevens and the USA and Argentina sides are improving all the time.

"The strength of the emerging European teams – like Russia and Portugal – means you can argue that this is the most competitive tournament in the series. Who we’re drawn against doesn’t matter too much – we know we’ll have to do our homework and work very hard."

London title-holders Australia face series champions Samoa, Scotland and Canada in Pool C, with South Africa, Fiji, Russia and Portugal in Pool D.

IRB Sevens Manager Beth Coalter said: "Once again the stage is set for a thrilling climax to the season. Last year the crowd, the weather and the rugby combined to make Twickenham an electric and truly memorable weekend of sevens and we can all expect more of the same this year."

England won the 2009 Emirates Airline London Sevens in stunning style, coming from 19-0 down to beat New Zealand 31-26 with Newcastle Falcons scrum half Micky Young scoring the winner.

Australia won last year’s final after Henry Vanderglas’s late try clinched their 19-14 success against South Africa.

Emirates Airline London Sevens
Pool A: New Zealand, Wales, Kenya, Spain
Pool B: England, Argentina, USA, France
Pool C: Samoa, Australia, Scotland, Canada
Pool D: South Africa, Fiji, Russia, Portugal

HSBC Sevens World Series standings: 1 New Zealand 134pts, 2 England 121, 3 Samoa 100, 4 South Africa 92, 5 Fiji 90, 6 Australia 52, 7 Argentina 32, 8 Wales 30, 9 Kenya 12, 10 USA 10, 11 Portugal, Russia, Scotland 8, 14 Canada 5.

Liam Messam re–signs with the New Zealand Rugby

Posted on Apr 11, 2011 in Latest Rugby News

All Blacks, Chiefs and Waikato loose forward Liam Messam has re–signed with the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) and Chiefs franchise and will play his rugby in New Zealand through until the end of 2013, it was announced today.

27–year–old Messam is in the midst of an outstanding rugby career, which has so far included six All Blacks Tests, captaining his New Zealand Māori, Chiefs and Waikato teams, and winning two Commonwealth Games gold medals with New Zealand Sevens.

“I’m happy to be re-signing with New Zealand rugby as my family and I love New Zealand and there is nowhere else in the world I want to be playing right now,” Messam said.

“While doing well for the Chiefs is the immediate goal and the All Blacks is the obvious goal for everyone later in the year, I’m keen to continue beyond this year and that was why I have re-committed to New Zealand rugby,” Messam added.

Messam joins a large group of 2010 All Blacks who have re-committed to New Zealand rugby beyond this year, including hooker Hikawera Elliot, props Tony Woodcock and Ben Franks, locks Anthony Boric, Tom Donnelly and Sam Whitelock, loose forwards Jerome Kaino, Kieran Read, Daniel Braid and Victor Vito, and backs Jimmy Cowan, Conrad Smith, Israel Dagg and Aaron Cruden.

The Rotorua–raised Messam made his first–class rugby debut in 2003, his Super Rugby debut in 2006 and All Blacks Test debut in 2008 against Scotland.

He played his 70th Super Rugby match ten days ago and has been in fine form this year following on from his excellent 2010 season, in which he captained New Zealand Māori in the Sealord New Zealand Māori Centenary Series, won a Sevens gold medal at the Delhi Commonwealth Games, helped Waikato to the final of the ITM Cup provincial rugby competition and added to his All Blacks Test tally with three appearances, including a starring role in the All Blacks 49–3 win over Scotland on the Grand Slam Tour.

NZRU CEO Steve Tew said:  “Players like Liam are invaluable to New Zealand rugby and we shouldn’t underestimate his decision to stay in New Zealand.  He is an outstanding young man with proven leadership qualities and real mana and we are delighted that he will continue to play his rugby here.”

Chiefs CEO Gary Dawson said: “We are excited he has re-signed with us as he has been a huge part of the Chiefs for the last five years. He is a fantastic leader and a key part of the Chiefs going forward and we are thrilled that he has signed with us for a further two seasons.”

New Zealand win Hong Kong Sevens to take World Series lead

Posted on Mar 28, 2011 in Latest Rugby News

New Zealand clinched the Cathay Pacific/ Credit Suisse Hong Kong Sevens title in emphatic fashion, beating closest rivals England 29-17 in the Cup final to take a five-point lead in the World Series with three events to play.

With the teams set to take part in round 6 in Adelaide next weekend, New Zealand now lead with 110 points, just five clear of England on 105. Fiji and Samoa lie joint-third on 84 with Plate winners South Africa on 72.

Player of the Tournament Cecil Afrika inspired South Africa to the Plate title, while Canada’s Bowl success earned them their first Series points of the season. Kenya took the Shield.

Crusaders announce remaining home games for 2011

Posted on Mar 24, 2011 in Latest Rugby News

The Crusaders have today announced their remaining round-robin games for the 2011 Investec Super Rugby season.

Following Sunday’s historic match against the Sharks at Twickenham in London, the Crusaders’ home schedule is as follows:

Crusaders Chief Executive Hamish Riach said: “We are happy to now give some clarity around the remaining home games for the Crusaders. It is great that the Crusaders match against the Sharks is being received so positively in London and back home, and that bodes well for the rest of our season.

“We head to Timaru twice, which is great news for us and all our Crusaders fans in that part of our community, and we’re delighted to be going back to Nelson for the Easter round, after enjoying fantastic success and support of our matches against the Waratahs and Brumbies there.

"We saw the Hawkes Bay Rugby Union’s offer to play one of our home games in Napier as a great fit for us.  It allows us to play in front of the home crowd of a number of Crusaders, including Zac Guildford, Kahn Fotuali’i, and Israel Dagg while at the same time, taking a bit of pressure off the relatively smaller communities in Nelson and Timaru.

“Playing the Hurricanes in Wellington feels like a really appropriate way to repay the wonderful support we got from the Hurricanes at the time of the abandoned round two game, and gives both Hurricanes and Crusaders fans in that part of New Zealand a chance to enjoy the next chapter in our hard-fought rivalry".

SANZAR CEO Greg Peters said they supported the Crusaders’ decisions around their home games for the remainder of the Super Rugby 2011 season.

“The Crusaders have been through several tough weeks since the devastating Christchurch quake and it has taken a big effort to relocate their home matches from the damaged AMI Stadium.  We’ve been happy to support the Crusaders and to work closely with them on alternative home venues, both of us working to ensure matches take place with minimum disruption to either the Crusaders or the teams they will host between April and June. It has also helped that four of the five matches in question are New Zealand derbies,” Peters said.

Crusaders v Sharks Twickenham clash gaining momentum as generosity pours in

Posted on Mar 22, 2011 in Latest Rugby News

Plans for the Investec Super Rugby clash between the Crusaders and the Sharks at Twickenham Stadium, which kicks off at 4pm on March 27, are firming up well.

As well as lining up a showcase of Southern Hemisphere rugby, where the likes of Dan Carter and John Smit will be on show, there will be an antipodean themed feel to the West Car Park where boerewors, steak pies and beer will be the order of the day.

With ticket sales steadily increasing, the middle tier of the stadium has been opened and more £30 and £50 tickets go on sale this evening. If tickets continue as trending there is a chance that Twickenham could play host to the biggest ever Super Rugby crowd, the record currently stands at 54,000 in Pretoria, which would be a great achievement and demonstration of support for the cause

The goodwill that has been seen throughout the organisation process is spreading fast and singers Geoff Sewell of Incognito and Hayley Westenra will peform at Twickenham for the big game. Both of whom are giving up their time and talents for free to give the Red Cross Earthquake Appeal a real boost .

Geoff Sewell, now based in London, is a professional tenor and multi-platform selling recording artist with over 3.5million album sales worldwide.  Regarded as one of New Zealand’s finest exports, Geoff is honoured to have been asked to sing the National Anthems on Sunday and relishes the opportunity to support the Red Cross Christchurch Earthquake Appeal.

Half time will see the Christchurch born soprano, songwriter and UNICEF Ambassador Hayley Westenra take to the stage.  A star from a young age, Hayley was only 16 when her debut album, Pure, reached No. 1 on the UK classical charts in 2003.  Hayley only recently returned from New Zealand where she sang at the National Memorial for those who tragically lost their lives in last month’s earthquake.  Deeply moved having seen the devastation to her beloved home town, Hayley is honored to again lend her support for the people of Christchurch.

With the Crusaders landing tomorrow (Tuesday), their match preparations are well underway.  Support in the capital city has been fantastic from the Chiswick Moran, who welcome the Sharks to their hotel free of charge, to the historic HAC Ground who are making their pitch available for the Crusaders’ training schedule in the latter part of the week.  The Marriott hotel on Chancery Lane have also been extrememly accommodating, offering a great rate for the Crusaders party.