Captain Katy McLean relishing WRWC 2014 in France

Posted on Jun 30, 2011 in Women's Rugby

The International Rugby Board has announced that France will host the Women’s Rugby World Cup in 2014.  The showcase international tournament for Women’s Rugby will be staged in Paris and will build on the record-breaking 2010 tournament in England.

The IRB Council selected the Fédération Française de Rugby (FFR) as the Host Union following a recommendation from the Rugby World Cup Limited (RWCL) Board to approve a tender that clearly demonstrated a commitment to delivering a world class environment for teams and fans and a platform to grow Women’s Rugby in France and throughout the world.

England captain Katy McLean, whose side finished second in the 2010 tournament after a narrow defeat to New Zealand, said: “I think that this is a very exciting opportunity for France and European rugby as a whole and a great opportunity to build on the success on the 2010 World Cup that was staged here in England. France are an extremely competitive nation and I have always had great experiences when playing in France. They always manage to get great crowds at their international games, which creates a wonderful atmosphere and I’m sure that this won’t be any different in 2014.

“The world cup in 2010 was a major success for the women’s game, helping to raise the profile of the game to new levels. As a player it was a great event and an amazing experience. It certainly set the standard for future events and really I just can’t wait for it all to begin again.

“I hope that in three years time I will still be captaining England – there is no greater honour than captaining your country at a world cup. And of course after finishing second at the last two world cups we want to go one better. Any team entering a world cup wants to win and we are no different. We need to keep building on our performances and ensure that we are fully prepared. It’s a long time off yet and we have other important challenges ahead first but at the end of the day we are all looking towards 2014.”

Details regarding the global qualification process for Women’s Rugby World Cup 2014 will be announced later this year with qualifying expected to kick-off in 2012.

Inwood gets selected for IRB Women’s ref panel

Posted on Mar 10, 2011 in Latest Rugby News

Former Black Fern now international referee Nicky Inwood has been selected to the first ever IRB Women’s Referee Panel and has been appointed to whistle two matches in the 2011 Women’s Six Nations Championship.

Inwood is the only New Zealander among eight women worldwide selected for the newly formed panel, and when she takes to the field to whistle the Italy v France match at Meggetland on Sunday 13 March, it will be her 50^th first class match.

She has also been appointed to referee the Scotland v Italy match at Edinburgh on Saturday 19 March – the only Panel member to be assigned more than one Six Nations match.

New Zealand Rugby Union High Performance Referee Coach Colin Hawke said Inwood’s achievement is a great acknowledgement of her hard work and dedication to refereeing.

“Nicky is one of those rare players who has moved successfully into international refereeing.  She is a wonderful example of how anyone can continue to be involved in rugby at the highest level, after they retire from playing,” Hawke said.

Christchurch-based Inwood has 12 years’ experience and has attended four Women’s World Cup tournaments – three times as a referee in 2002, 2006 and 2010, and once as a Black Fern in 1991.

Nicky Inwood said she was delighted with her appointment to the Panel and she hoped to encourage others to consider refereeing as a great way to stay involved in rugby.

“It’s always lovely to be able represent your country and it’s great to be able to get this exposure at an international level.  It does show that there is a pathway to get to the elite level and that pathway is further improved with the IRB establishing this new Panel, giving us an opportunity at this highest level,” she said.

“I encourage anyone out there who loves their rugby, but is looking to retire from playing to give refereeing a go.  It’s a fantastic way to stay involved in the game.  I think my own background as a player definitely helps in terms of understanding what players want to achieve, and understanding the laws and style of the game,” she said.

Inwood, who refereed the England v Australia semi-final at last year’s Women’s Rugby World Cup in London, has refereed 17 international fixtures, has refereed in the national Women’s NPC and regularly referees men’s senior club rugby in Christchurch.

Last year, Inwood was nominated for the top referee award in the Steinlager Rugby Awards.

NZ take silverware on tour

Posted on Feb 7, 2011 in Rugby News

New Zealand’s most prized rugby silverware is about to hit the road, with the New Zealand Rugby Union emptying out the trophy cabinet and taking the trophies on tour around the country as part of a unique programme to help promote the game in all 26 rugby provincial unions.

Five of rugby’s treasured spoils and a road show of fun activities will hit 31 towns over five weeks.  In addition, rugby’s ultimate prize, the Web Ellis Cup, will appear at most stops. The trophies going on tour include:

• The Bledisloe Cup – the traditional prize of trans-Tasman rivalry which the All Blacks retained for the eighth year in a row in 2010
• The Tri Nations Trophy – honours were taken off South Africa by the All Blacks in a solid 2010 Investec Tri Nations Series
• The Hillary Shield – named in honour of Sir Edmund Hillary and unveiled in 2008, it is contested between the All Blacks and England, and was again won by the All Blacks on the Telecom BackingBlack Grand Slam Tour in November 2010
• The IRB Women’s Rugby World Cup – the Black Ferns claimed their fourth consecutive World Cup win in September 2010
• The IRB Junior World Championship Trophy – won for a third straight year by the New Zealand Under 20 side last year.

NZRU General Manager of Community Rugby and Provincial Unions Brent Anderson said the Trophy Tour will also include the ultimate prize at this year’s Rugby World Cup – the Webb Ellis Cup – at 15 of the road show stops.

“We’re delighted that we’ll have the Webb Ellis Cup for most of the provincial stops on the official Trophy Tour schedule.  For those provinces that host our Trophy Tour but miss out on the Webb Ellis Cup, we will be taking it to those provinces before or after the official tour.

“This is the first time we’ve embarked on an ambitious project of this nature but these trophies shouldn’t always be locked away in a cabinet.  Taking these prizes to New Zealand communities is an important part of ensuring people feel part of the game and also fulfils the ‘Stadium of Four Million’ concept which was part of our Rugby World Cup 2011 hosting bid,” Anderson said.

“This is the traditional registration time of year for most rugby clubs, and the Trophy Tour is a great way of supporting provincial unions and their annual drive to get kids signed up to play.

“As well as having the trophies on display, the local provincial union will help us organise fun skill-based activities and entertainment on the day the Trophy Tour hits their town, and we’ll also have the children’s rugby mascot Rugger and the Ruggerbees around for entertainment.

“We’re encouraging people to visit the road show, have their photo taken with the trophies and try their hand at some of our rugby skills activities,” Anderson said.

The tour is the first of six initiatives the NZRU is undertaking this year, with the aim of leveraging Rugby World Cup 2011 to develop a strong and continuing legacy for grassroots rugby.

The Trophy Tour gets under way in Nelson next Saturday 12 February, and will cover the South Island as far as Invercargill, before heading to Wellington on 27 February up to Northland and finishing in Taranaki on 20 March.

Scotland Women’s team announced for French fixture

Posted on Jan 31, 2011 in Rugby News

Scotland Women head coach Karen Findlay has announced the team to take on France Women in their RBS 6 Nations opener on Friday 4 February at Viry-Châtillon (kick-off 8pm, local).

Led by captain Susie Brown, the side is a combination of relatively new faces alongside some of the more experienced players who defeated the French at Lasswade this time last year.
In the build-up to their Six Nations championship, following the match against Spain earlier this month, Scotland Women took on the Army in a training game last weekend (Saturday 29 January) at Percy Park RFC, Tynemouth. Tries from Lauren Harris, Victoria Blakebrough and Annabel Sergeant, along with a conversion from Caroline Collie, saw the Scots win 17-0.

Head coach Findlay said:"The games against Spain and the Army earlier this month have enabled us to have a good look at the extended squad and has resulted in quite a few players putting their hands up.

"We have new faces in the front and second rows; we have an exciting prospect at full-back in Caroline Collie, a well-established footballer with over 70 Scottish caps at various age levels; and there’s great potential from the bench, too, with winger Lauren Harris and hooker Lindsey Smith; for me and the coaching team, during this year and next we will be making sure we have the right people on the bus and that we’ve got them in the right seats.

"Our games against France are always great events and it’ll be fantastic playing under the floodlights in front of the crowds that the women’s game attracts over there. They have a new young team, too, so I’m sure the French will be just as motivated as we are to put in the performance."

Scotland Women v France Women, Friday 4 February at Viry-Châtillon (kick-off 8pm, local).
15 Caroline Collie (OA Saints)
14 Victoria Blakebrough (Richmond)
13 Stephanie Johnston (Hillhead / Jordanhill)
12 Lisa Martin (Murrayfield Wanderers)
11 Katy Green (Murrayfield Wanderers)
10 Tanya Griffith (RHC Cougars)
9 Louise Dalgliesh (RHC Cougars)
1 Heather Lockhart (Hillhead / Jordanhill)
2 Alison MacDonald (RHC Cougars)
3 Tracey Balmer (Worcester)
4 Katherine Muir (RAF)
5 Rosalind Murphy (Edinburgh University)
6 Lindsay Wheeler (Darlington Mowden Sharks)
7 Ruth Slaven (Murrayfield Wanderers)
8 Susie Brown (Richmond)
Substitutes
16 Lindsey Smith (Hillhead / Jordanhill)
17 Beth Dickens (Murrayfield Wanderers)
18 Anna Swan (Edinburgh University)
19 Charlotte Veale (Wasps)
20 Annabel Sergeant (Dundee University)
21 Lauren Harris (Aberdeenshire Quines)
22 Nicola Halfpenny (Melrose)

Karen Findlay appointed head coach of Scotland Women

Posted on Jan 28, 2011 in Rugby News

A hugely experienced former Scotland internationalist and currently head coach at Richmond RFC, Karen takes charge of the side just a week prior to its first Six Nations fixture against France (Friday 4 February, Viry-Châtillon, kick-off 8pm, local).

Karen won 85 caps for Scotland, 52 as captain, and was a member of the first women’s national team to play at Murrayfield Stadium. Her international career began in 1996, against Wales, and continued until 2006, when she moved into a full-time sports coaching programme. She was appointed to the coaching team at Richmond and has been head coach for five years; Richmond is the largest women’s club in existence, with three women’s senior sides competing each week in the top three tiers of RFUW competition. She has also coached Surrey under-20 girls and in the Celtic League, which involved Scottish, Welsh, Irish and exile players, and was involved in coaching Scotland Women in the run-up to their recent friendly in Spain.

Of her appointment to the national team, Karen said: “I’m incredibly honoured, delighted, and very excited about the future. There’s a really good basis to the squad and I’ve seen lots of good things – if we get the foundations right now, that bodes well for the future.”

Aside from her rugby commitments, Karen works full time for the Olympic Police co-ordination team, delivering national security in the run up to and during the 2012 Olympic Games.

Scottish Rugby’s Head of Community Rugby, Colin Thomson, said: "The appointment of a high profile women’s international player who has made the transition from club to representative and now to full international level coaching is a significant step in the development of the women’s game. I’m sure that the squad will benefit from Karen’s years of experience."

In the build-up to their Six Nations championship, Scotland Women take on the Army in a training game this weekend (Saturday 29 January) at Percy Park RFC, Tynemouth with a 2pm kick-off.

Meanwhile, the Scotland Women under-20 team has appointed Jules Murciano as head coach, assisted by Donna Kennedy and Claire Cruikshank. Jules has a wealth of coaching experience ranging from club to performance coaching within the women’s programme while Donna and Claire are former Scotland internationalists, Donna having retired as Scotland’s most capped rugby player with a women’s world record 115 caps.