Lee Nelmes suspended for two weeks

Posted on Sep 21, 2011 in NZ

Buller loose forward Lee Nelmes has been suspended from all rugby for two weeks following a Heartland judicial hearing this evening.

Nelmes received a red card and was sent off in the 20^th minute of the Week Seven Heartland Championship match between Mid Canterbury v Buller in Ashburton on Saturday 17 September.  He was sent off first for a dangerous lifting tackle on a Mid Canterbury player.  Mid Canterbury won the match 30-27.

In a teleconference hearing this evening, Judicial Officer Nigel Hampton QC considered evidence presented by the player and his representatives.  The tackle was considered dangerous as Nelmes had tipped the player off his feet, driving him into the ground, with no apparent attempt to bring him down safely.

Nelmes was suspended up to and including Tuesday 4 October, meaning he is ineligible to play in Buller’s last round robin match against West Coast on Saturday 24 September.  He is also ineligible to play if Buller reaches the Meads Cup or Lochore Cup semi-finals on Saturday 1 October.

West country clash pits previous winners in B&I cup

Posted on Sep 21, 2011 in Bristol, Championship, Cornish Pirates

The Cornish Pirates will on Wednesday welcome Bristol to the Mennaye Field for what will be this season’s opening game in the British & Irish Cup competition.

It is a clash, of course, of previous winners. The Pirates were proudly the inaugural winners of the trophy when beating Munster 23-14 in the first ever final which was played at Camborne in May, 2010, whilst Bristol are the present holders following their 17-14 points victory at the Memorial Stadium against Bedford Blues at the end of last season.

In the Championship this season Bristol have recorded a 38-12 points victory away to Doncaster Knights, a 32-13 win at home to London Scottish, and a narrow 12-11 loss away to Leeds Carnegie, so they will enter Cornwall on Wednesday in pretty fine fettle under the guidance of new head coach Liam Middleton, and obviously looking for a good start in defence of their title as the cup holders.

The British & Irish Cup trophy now has a change in format with a cross-pool fixture list which guarantees two home fixtures for each side. The Pirates are in Pool 1, along with Ayr, Moseley and Neath, but their other games in the competition, besides Wednesday’ against Bristol, will be played against Plymouth Albion away on Wednesday 12th October (ko 7.45pm), Munster away on Friday 11th November (ko 7 or 7.30pm) and Cross Keys at home on Sunday 18th December (ko 2pm). All of these teams are in Pool B.

Following the pool stages, six pool winners plus two best runners up progress to the quarter finals to be played on the weekend of Saturday 21st. January. The teams are seeded based on pool performance with the top four having home advantage. The semi-finals are pencilled in for the weekend of Saturday 7th April and the final for the weekend of Saturday 28th April.

For Wednesday’s opener the Pirates have also selected Kieron Lewitt at full-back, who plays for the Cornish All Blacks. Championship clubs are able to play up to 10 players in this season’s British & Irish Cup who are registered for league rugby with clubs at Level 3 or below. Kieron, who attended Colston’s Collegiate School in Bristol, has represented England at a number of age groups, and has also in the past played for Bath and for Canterbury.
Cornish Pirates: K. Lewitt, R. McAtee, R. Westren, S. Hill, W. Davies, R. Cook, T. Kessell, K. Marriott (capt), C. Walker-Blair, D. Ewers, M. Myerscough, M. Smith, L. Fairbrother, T. Cowan-Dickie, R. Storer.
Replacements: C. Rimmer, D. Ward, P. Andrew, L. McGlone, B. Maidment, G. Cattle, T. Cooper.
Referee: Luke Pearce Assistants: Shane Lewis & Andy Bickle
Match Day Sponsor: The Leadbitter Group

D’Arcy and O’Connell injury update

Posted on Sep 19, 2011 in Ireland, Irish Rugby

Ireland centre Gordon D’Arcy and second row Paul O’Connell both underwent scans this morning to investigate hamstring injuries that they picked up during the Rugby World Cup Pool C encounter with Australia on Saturday evening.

The scans confirmed that D’Arcy and O’Connell have picked up hamstring strains and both players will be monitored over the coming days on the progress of their recovery.  No decision on their availability for the game against Russia will be made until the team is announced at lunchtime (local New Zealand time) on Friday.

In other team news, the Ireland squad enjoyed a down day following the transfer of their team base from Auckland to the beautiful surroundings of Lake Taupo as they prepare for their Rugby World Cup Pool C game against Russia on Sunday.

Ireland second row Donncha O’Callaghan was certainly keen on getting the balance right between rest and work: “With a bit of a longer turnaround this week then we had for the Australia game, it’s great to be able to have that extra day to let the bumps and bruises settle before we hit the training pitch again.  Some guys might head out for a look around Taupo. The area sounds a little bit like Queenstown, with some really good outdoor activities to help the lads relax.   Others might be happy to hang around the hotel, so It’s good to have that flexibility and the down days have been great whether we do something together as a group or do our own thing.

“There was an incredible buzz around the lads when we were setting off from Auckland to come down here (Taupo). You sort of expect that after a good win, but something we have all been chatting about is that we need to remain focused on the job at hand.  Our goal has always been to qualify from our pool and just because we had a big win on Saturday night, it guarantees us nothing.  We have two games left against two teams who will challenge us physically across the park, so we want to get ourselves right for that.

“We worked really hard last week with the coaches both on and off the pitch to get things right.  The work ethic was always very high over the last couple of months, but it was about making sure we did that work justice by delivering it on the pitch.  I think we managed to do that, but the challenge is now to keep the standards of our preparations up this week to reach the Russia game in as good a shape as possible.  We don’t know what the coaches have in mind for selection (for the Russia game), but there is such a good vibe at the moment, with lads busting a gut on the training field wanting to be involved, I don’t think anybody will want to be left out for the Russia game.

O’Callaghan also made a special mention of the support that the team has experienced both on and off the field. “The amount of green in the stadium was incredible on Saturday night in Eden Park, just as it was in New Plymouth.  Even the days before the games, the numbers of expatriates and travelling Irish as well as local people, shops and bars that we saw supporting Ireland was great.  It has all added to create incredible atmospheres and hopefully we can get similar support in Rotorua this weekend.”

Ireland–Injury Update–Flannery out

Posted on Sep 14, 2011 in Ireland, Irish Rugby

Ireland hooker Jerry Flannery suffered a tear of his left calf during Ireland Squad training yesterday morning in Auckland. An MRI scan has confirmed the severity of the tear which will require four to six weeks rehabilitation before he is able to return to playing.

Sean Cronin has been named in the replacements for the Rugby World Cup Pool C clash with Australia on Saturday following the withdrawal of Flannery.

A decision has been made to call up Damien Varley to the squad and he is expected to arrive in New Zealand by Saturday.

Commenting on the injury to Flannery, Ireland Team Manager Paul McNaughton said: “Obviously it is particularly disappointing for Jerry to have suffered this injury at this point in the tournament. With the fact that he is out for four to six weeks, we needed to make the decision to fly Damien Varley down as soon as possible.

"Sean Cronin will step into the replacements seamlessly this weekend which shows the importance of having experience and depth in the squad.”

IRELAND Team & Replacements

(v Australia, 2011 Rugby World Cup Pool C, Eden Park, Saturday, September 17, kick-off 8:30pm local time/9:30am Irish time):

15 – Robert Kearney (UCD/Leinster)*
14 – Tommy Bowe (Ospreys)
13 – Brian O’Driscoll (UCD/Leinster) (capt)
12 – Gordon D’Arcy (Lansdowne/Leinster)
11 – Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster)
10 – Jonathan Sexton (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)
9 – Eoin Reddan (Lansdowne/Leinster)
1 – Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster)*
2 – Rory Best (Banbridge/Ulster)
3 – Mike Ross (Clontarf/Leinster)
4 – Donncha O’Callaghan (Cork Constitution/Munster)
5 – Paul O’Connell (Young Munster/Munster)
6 – Stephen Ferris (Dungannon/Ulster)
7 – Sean O’Brien (Clontarf / Leinster)*
8 – Jamie Heaslip (Naas/Leinster)

Replacements:

16 – Sean Cronin (Leinster)*
17 – Tom Court (Malone/Ulster)
18 – Donnacha Ryan (Shannon/Munster)
19 – Denis Leamy (Cork Constitution/Munster)
20 – Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster)
21 – Ronan O’Gara (Cork Constitution/Munster)
22 – Andrew Trimble (Ballymena/Ulster)

*Denotes RWC Debut

Ireland team to face Australia

Posted on Sep 14, 2011 in Ireland, Irish Rugby, Rugby News, Rugby World Cup

The Ireland team and replacements for the Rugby World Cup Pool C match against Australia in Eden Park on Saturday (kick-off 8:30 pm local time/9:30am Irish time) has been announced and shows four changes to the starting XV from Ireland’s opening game against the USA.

Up front Cian Healy returns to the starting line up at loose head prop having recovered from an eye injury and is joined in the pack by Sean O’Brien who comes in to the back row alongside Stephen Ferris and Jamie Heaslip.

Eoin Reddan (pictured) will start at scrum half partnering Jonathan Sexton, while Rob Kearney makes his first start of the tournament coming into the team at fullback.

IRELAND Team & Replacements

(v Australia, 2011 Rugby World Cup Pool C, Eden Park, Saturday, September 17, kick-off 8:30pm local time/9:30am Irish time):

15 – Robert Kearney (UCD/Leinster)*
14 – Tommy Bowe (Ospreys)
13 – Brian O’Driscoll (UCD/Leinster) (capt)
12 – Gordon D’Arcy (Lansdowne/Leinster)
11 – Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster)
10 – Jonathan Sexton (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)
9 – Eoin Reddan (Lansdowne/Leinster)
1 – Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster)*
2 – Rory Best (Banbridge/Ulster)
3 – Mike Ross (Clontarf/Leinster)
4 – Donncha O’Callaghan (Cork Constitution/Munster)
5 – Paul O’Connell (Young Munster/Munster)
6 – Stephen Ferris (Dungannon/Ulster)
7 – Sean O’Brien (Clontarf / Leinster)*
8 – Jamie Heaslip (Naas/Leinster)

Replacements:

16 – Jerry Flannery (Shannon/Munster)
17 – Tom Court (Malone/Ulster)
18 – Donnacha Ryan (Shannon/Munster)
19 – Denis Leamy (Cork Constitution/Munster)
20 – Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster)
21 – Ronan O’Gara (Cork Constitution/Munster)
22 – Andrew Trimble (Ballymena/Ulster)

*Denotes RWC Debut