Views From Off The Rugby Pitch

46th Annual Cherry Blossom Rugby Tournament (www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org)

2012-02-13T20:03:00.001-08:00

http://www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org/2012/02/11/46th-annual-cherry-blossom-rugby-tournament/

46th Annual Cherry Blossom Rugby Tournament
Mar 31, 2012 - Apr 01, 2012
Time: 8 AM – 5 PM
Location: Rosecroft Raceway – 6338 Rosecroft Drive, Ft. Washington, MD

Washington RFC (www.washingtonrugbyclub.org) is proud to host the Cherry Blossom Rugby Tournament. Now in its 46th year, it is one of the largest rugby tournaments on the East coast. It is a two-day tournament that features the best teams from around the country. The tournament has three divisions: a College Men, College Women and High School Boys. This year’s tournament will also have some international flair, as teams from Canada and an all-Japanese High School make the trip to our Nation’s Capital.
This year, the tournament will be held at Rosecroft Raceway (www.rosecroft.com). Rosecroft is conveniently located all the Capital Beltway, and there is plenty of free parking.

Contact Information

Washington Rugby Football Club
P: (800) 686-9732
E: cherryblossom@washingtonrugbyclub.org
Washington Rugby Club

Rugby the safe alternative to NFL headbangers (www.theroar.com.au)

2012-02-08T15:55:00.000-08:00

By Gatesy
2 Feb 2012

Imagine a kid playing contact sport, like high school rugby. He dies of major concussion, after a seemingly innocuous tackle. Is this the kind of thing people should be worried about?

The case popped up in a legal show I watched the other day called Harry’s Law. Maybe it’s funded by interest groups with an axe to grind, but the issue was interesting. In this fictional case it was a high school gridiron player who had died.

I don’t aim to offend, because I know the same thing has happened in our own game, and my heart goes out to those who have lost a loved one in that fashion. But I do believe that in rugby those situations are mostly unfortunate and isolated incidents.

One of the (many) theses in the show that I was watching was that the boy died of secondary concussions, which they explained as the many minor hits to the skull that happen in training and in games that rarely even go noticed. Just ordinary training incidents and game situations.

The recent science apparently supports this thesis, and if it does, it should alarm a lot of parents.

The theory (which is on solid medical ground) is that young brains are still developing well into their owner’s mid 20s, and even very minor concussions (the sort that largely go unnoticed) can be harmful to proper cognitive development.

There was a lot more to the theories than that, but it got me thinking. Yes, we have concussive injuries in rugby – Berrick Barnes is a classic example. But how much do those helmets contribute to the concussive injuries that they purport to prevent or minimise?

The evidence in the case (admittedy concatenated by the needs of the Hollywood producer) was that helmets make players over-confident, and in a game of American football, players lead into collisions with their heads, believing that they are protected.

They suffer lots of head impacts during a game, and in effect are trained to do so, in the mistaken belief that they will just bounce off.

Because the game is controlled by big business, and a big stake is held by equipment manufacturers, then it follows that the helmet manufacturers might find ways to make helmets even better suited to collisions, thus contributing to the overall problem.

The show’s point was well made that you will never get the powerbrokers of gridiron to admit that their game is dangerous, at least until parents and the people who matter start taking the science seriously.

What an opportunity for rugby.

As a lawyer watching the program, I was thinking, why didn’t they get a few rugby blokes to be their expert witnesses (a flight of fancy, I know).

If they had, they would have been able to postulate that rugby, with the many hundreds of thousands of people who play it every year around the world, is a relatively safe game to play.

They could have shown that, we, as the true warrior sport, could show those gridiron blokes a thing or two, but most importantly, they could show what a silly game gridiron really is.

I mean, what is it about a race of people that believe that the the tougher the players become, or the faster, or the fitter, or bigger, the more they should increase the size of the padding or the protective gear?

What is wrong with accepting that blokes can crash into each other without killing themselves, and do it while wearing shorts, a jersey, and socks hanging around their ankles?

As rugby coaches or players, we have all learned the concept of preparation for contact. That means, in that split second or two before you take or make the hit and know that you are in for some pain, you do what you have to do to minimise it.

You drop the shoulder and turn your head, you close your mouth, you turn and take the hit, you tackle the tackler, you get the leg drive going and generally do anything or everything necessary to protect yourself, while trying to inflict a bit of pain on the other bloke.

At the very least, you act like a ferret and try to dig yourself into the turf, or accept that your back is about to become something that your mother didn’t envisage when she bore you. Or as a last resort you chuck a Hail Mary pass and run like hell, but, as we all know, they rarely work!

I realise that American Football is a multi-zillion dollar industry, but does that make it sacrosanct? Are they heading in the wrong direction?

If so, what can rugby do to make inroads and win hearts and minds in middle America? Go slowly, creep up and bite them on the bum.

Wouldn’t it be great if the USA and Canada can finally be taken seriously on the world rugby stage and the North American public start to get it, largely because they realise that the sports that they hold so dear are killing people unnecessarily.

Football has done it, by promoting the virtues of the Soccer Moms who see the game as a way to provide healthy sporting activities for their kids without the fear of major injury. What a novel concept! Why doesn’t rugby follow suit?

These are probably the ramblings of a madman, but I thought, well, if Hollywood is interested enough to make a program about this, then it is a social issue that deserves to be discussed. What do you think?

East Stroudsburg Rugby Camp (link provided)

2012-02-08T13:25:00.000-08:00

http://www.esurugby.com/camp/

The 11th Annual Player Development Camp will once again be held at East Stroudsburg University in the heart of the Pocono Mountains.

This camp is designed to expose young rugby athletes to higher levels of coaching and thereby foster development of both individual and team skills. The camp curriculum consists of the most current skills and theories taught by USA Rugby certified coaches, including National Team coaches, athletes and instructors.

Announcing UCF"s New Rugby Scholarship (via email)

2012-02-08T10:56:00.000-08:00

To Florida High School Rugby Coaches and Clubs,

We are proud to announce that the University of Central Florida has started a Rugby Scholarship that will be awarded for the first time in August, 2012 on behalf of the UCF Rugby Alumni. At this time, the UCF Alumni Rugby Scholarship is a $250 annual scholarship award that can be achieved for each eligible year of a rugby athlete’s career at UCF. This scholarship is renewable and students can potentially earn up to $1,000 over four years if they continue playing with the team and annually meet the scholarship requirements. As the endowment grows, additional scholarships with greater monetary values will be awarded in the future. To be eligible for the scholarship, the interested individual must:

ü Satisfy the USA Rugby Collegiate Eligibility criteria, which focuses on being a full-time, undergraduate student earning his/her first

degree, for up to five years of eligibility;

ü Remain in good academic standing with UCF throughout the duration of the year the scholarship has been awarded.

If you have or know of any players who are planning on attending UCF this fall and are interested in playing rugby for the Knights, please have them send an email expressing their interest in the scholarship. In the email, please have the player supply:

ü The name of his/her high school rugby club;

ü His/her email address and phone number;

ü The position(s) he/she plays.

Lastly, there is an evaluation process that each player must consent to before being considered for the scholarship. The evaluation process mainly consists of UCF Rugby Alumni Scholarship representatives evaluating the player on and off the pitch through a standard set of performance metrics. Please note that this award recipient will be representing the UCF Rugby Club as the first UCF student to ever receive a gift of this kind for playing rugby at UCF. We are looking forward to continuing a great legacy.

In Rugby,

Todd Cherner and Johnny Cage

Co-Chairmen for the UCF Rugby Scholarship Evaluation Committee

Deltona teens follow young teacher into rugby (http://www.news-journalonline.com)

2012-02-08T10:49:00.000-08:00

BY MARK HARPER
January 27, 2012

A budding rivalry gets its first official game Saturday when two area high school rugby clubs –– one from the east side of Volusia County and the other from the west side –– play a match.

The Daytona Beach Area High School Rugby Club and the Deltona Rugby Club have played twice in exhibitions, but Saturday's 11 a.m. match at Lake Mary Prep will count in league play.

Many players from Volusia County's only rugby teams for high school students have played against each other in football.

"The football rivalries have transferred over to the rugby field," Deltona coach Kevin Wathen said. "It's still there."

All of Deltona's players are from Pine Ridge, where Wathen is a teacher.

The Daytona Beach team is composed of players from Seabreeze, Mainland, Spruce Creek and Atlantic high schools, coach Trent Vesely said, so when that team was formed three years ago it had to deal with rivalries from those schools. It didn't take long for players to bond, Vesely said, but there still is friendly trash talk at practices.

"It was funny because the first year some of these kids were bitter rivals, then they end up on the same team in rugby," Vesely said. "They still trash talk a little at practice. It's all in fun. They'll say stuff like, 'Wow, you're even smaller without pads.' "

While the Daytona Beach players have pretty much put their football rivalries aside, it's a different matter when the talk turns to this new rivalry between the two clubs. One thing that's going to help spur the rivalry is the clubs appear to be evenly matched.

"Our two teams are probably the top two teams in the (Florida Youth Rugby Union) North Division," Vesely said. "We're both 2-0."

Other teams in the division are Fort Pierce Lincoln Park Academy and Orlando.

Wathen agreed that the two Volusia County teams are about equal at this point.

"We played (Daytona Beach) in a friendly scrimmage and in the Brevard jamboree. It was back and forth, evenly matched on both sides of the ball," Wathen said.

The teams also are scheduled to play at noon March 3 at Embry-Riddle.

DELTONA -- Miles Moore is one of those athletic kids who never made his way into high school sports -- a diamond in the rough.

Kevin Wathen is one of those 23-year-old, fresh-faced teachers who had an idea.

All they needed was each other.

Moore was in Wathan's remedial-ed class one day, and the teacher asked him whether he was fast. "Yeah," he said, "I'm fast."

Wathan revealed his idea: Rugby.

A few days later, Moore was one of only three to show. But after that first practice, he liked it enough to start recruiting his friends. Wathen, too, approached possible team members.

A few weeks later, on a sunny Tuesday afternoon on a green pitch at Campbell Park, 30 boys in cleats lined up and ran plays at Wathen's direction. The Deltona Rugby Club is a reality.

The club already has one Florida Youth Rugby Union match under its belt, a 31-0 drubbing of Orlando, and is scheduled to meet a team from Daytona Beach on Saturday. But team members and the coach agree: On a scale of 1 to 10, their knowledge of the sport is about a 4.

"Our first time out (at a practice match), we had a lot of penalties," Wathen said. "We didn't know how the game was played."

The club showed improvement last week in the win over Orlando. Even more promising, Wathen believes his club has a lot of great athletes who should show strides the more they learn the game.

Rugby, a sport developed in England, has grown to be one of the world's most popular sports. It's popular throughout the United Kingdom, France, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, the setting of the film "Invictus," starring Matt Damon as a rugby captain.

It combines the rough-and-tumble of tackling in football and the skill and endurance of soccer. Those who've played it say there's also a considerable amount of strategy involved.

But few Americans have had exposure to rugby.

Wathen, who played high school football at DeLand, certainly hadn't until enrolling at the University of Central Florida.

A rugby coach spotted him in the gym, noticed he was a "bigger guy," and invited him to try the UCF club. He played four years.

"I actually like it more than football now," Wathen said. "It's a lot more physical, more contact, there's no stopping. It's 80 minutes, full out."

When he graduated from UCF and started teaching, he saw a lot of boys who needed a physical outlet, boys who weren't involved in high-school athletics for one reason or another -- grades, the new pay-to-play rule or other factors -- and he was encouraged by one of his coaches to promote rugby.

He started the club with nothing.

He has organized car washes and started trying to find funding for uniforms and equipment. He got UCF to donate some old jerseys. And he talked a friend at Lake Mary Preparatory School to allow the Deltona team to use its field for its home games.

Initially, the club started practicing at Dewey Boster Park. But because other sports organizations pay to use those fields, he was steered to a smaller field at Campbell Park.

None of that has dampened the enthusiasm among Wathen and the club's players.

Moore, who said he regrets giving up on football after playing two years of Pop Warner, is looking at going out for the Pine Ridge team next fall after his experience in rugby this year.

"I'm happy I came out here," he said. "I'd rather do this than sit at home doing nothing."

He's also talking about improving his grades, earning strong scores on his college exams, attending UCF and playing rugby like his coach did.

Sterling Wynn, who has participated in high-school football and track, is now a senior rugby player at Pine Ridge. He said he could see himself playing rugby full time in college.

More than that, he said Wathen has helped him retake an Algebra II class and is having an impact on his teammates.

"A lot of kids have bad attitudes," he said. "This is helping better them."

Rugby's physical nature makes it a great outlet for releasing stress, but its rules require decorum. No arguing with the referee. No cursing. No outbursts.

Wathen said he's seen an improvement in his boys. Not just on the pitch, not just in the classroom, but he even expects improvement in other sports. Pine Ridge football coach Scott Surgener has given his blessing.

"I played it for seven years," Surgener said. "I love the game."

Surgener said he encourages his players to get involved in other sports when they're not playing football. It gets them running, gain a passion and intensity for sport and helps them harness their aggressions.

Not to mention widening their world.

Passing Line Errors

2012-01-19T21:39:00.000-08:00

US plans bid to host 2023 Rugby World Cup (www.peherald.com)

2011-12-02T13:02:00.001-08:00

US plans bid to host 2023 Rugby World Cup
02 December 2011

Craig Ray

SOUTH Africa will have to compete with two powerful non-traditional nations when it bids to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

Yesterday, Nigel Melville, the head of rugby in the United States, declared that country’s intention of putting in a bid to host the tournament in 2023.

During this year’s Rugby World Cup in October, Russia also declared its intention to put in a bid for the global showpiece in 12 years’ time.

The Russian bid might seem fanciful, but it will host football’s 2018 World Cup and by then it will have superb stadiums and upgraded infrastructure.

The US already has dozens of modern stadiums to choose from, and its bid will include games in Canada.

Earlier this week, South African Rugby Union president Oregan Hoskins said hosting 2023 was crucial for South Africa.

There is no doubt South Africa will bid for the tournament after losing out to New Zealand (2011), England (2015) and Japan (2019). The International Rugby Board is still years away from making an announcement on the 2023 host country, but even at this early stage it seems it would be a gamble to go to the US or Russia.

With 2019 in Japan, the likelihood that the IRB will take consecutive tournaments to “non-traditional” rugby countries is slim.

But with 12 years to go, Russia and the US could show significant appetite for the game, especially as from 2016 rugby is back at the Olympic Games.

That means both those countries’ considerable resources will be used to fund rugby, which in turn might grow the popularity of the sport in a new market.

Ten things a junior rugby union coach should do (badgeroo.hubpages.com)

2011-10-27T17:38:00.000-07:00

Ten things a junior rugby union coach should do.
By badgeroo

About Me.
I am a father of two very rugby orientated son’s both of whom are playing junior rugby for our local rugby club. I have been coaching for a couple of years after being inspired by the will to be more involved with what my boys are interested in and by the great friendships that are forged by being involved in such a team orientated sport.

I have been involved with managing groups of people within my work environment and have gained a lot of experience of leading, communicating and motivating to get the best results.

The Ten Things I think you should do!
The following ten points are what I have learnt whilst coaching and maybe they will help you in your ventures. So here we go!

#1,Always have respect for your players, identify their strengths and weaknesses and improve on them.

#2,Keep the players moving whilst training; keep them all involved because if they are standing around they soon begin to lose interest in what you are teaching them.

#3,Deal with disruption quickly and effectively because ignoring or spending time pampering to disruptive players is a sure-fire way of upsetting the whole team (and parents.)

#4,Always get the parents involved with organising and assisting you with drills e.g. holding pads, setting up grids for drills etc.

#5,Always be truthful to players and parents particularly when discussing performances. Tell it the way it is- if little Jimmy is good on the wing, but messes about at training- tell him and his parents.

#6,Always encourage communication within the team ie; from the moment you start warming up for training ask them to count out loud in turn to keep motivation between players up.

#7,When doing drills choose the type where players work in pairs or small groups and select a balance of both good and not so good players, ask them to encourage and motivate each other.

#8,When warming up always try and do drills relevant to playing rugby union.If you send them for an initial run give them one or two balls and get them to pass as they run. For a change from running around the pitch play a game of touch rugby – but start off by walking and build up the pace as they warm up.

#9,Important! When practising different aspects of the game I think it is important to do the following;

Explain how to do the move.

Seek confirmation of understanding.

Practice move.

Analyze how it went (ask what went well and what didn’t go so well.) Make suggestions that will improve what they are doing.

Practice move again using any information gleaned from analysis.

#10, Always balance criticism with encouragement – explain one positive, then one negative that way the players will always feel good and want to improve on what they are doing.

In conclusion.

This is the way I have coached junior rugby union. It may not be all what the book says, but it works for me and I am always open to criticism or suggestions if you have any. I have other aspects of this great game to look at in future blogs. So look out for me!

Most of all enjoy!

Where Will Graham Henry Go Next? (www.telegraph.co.uk)

2011-10-27T17:34:00.000-07:00

New Zealand's World Cup-winning coach Graham Henry offers his services to England and the RFU

Graham Henry, New Zealand’s World Cup winning coach, has said he does not want Martin Johnson’s job, though he would be very interested in talking to the Rugby Football Union about managing a programme to produce better England-qualified coaches.

Just champion: Graham Henry (left) parades the World Cup with assistant coach Steve Hansen, captain Richie McCaw and fly-half Dan Carter Photo: GETTY IMAGES

By Mark Reason

6:20AM BST 27 Oct 2011

Henry is retiring as New Zealand coach, but he wants to remain involved in the game. He said: “Yes, I would talk to the RFU, sure. I couldn’t just not do anything. I would love to help other people.

“I’m particularly proud about the environment created in this All Blacks team. I would love to work in coach development, player development, environmental development, cultural development of a group of people. I’m passionate about that.”

It sounds like a decent offer from a man who has overseen 143 Test matches and coached the best team in the world to Rugby World Cup glory.

Of course Henry might need a rest first. When we sit down for a coffee he is looking a little rheumy-eyed. Even the silver fern on his All Blacks shirt is wilting a little. Henry has had 10 hours sleep in the previous three days. He has just arrived in Wellington from Christchurch, on the final leg of a tickertape tour of the country.

Henry says: “A lot of the All Blacks players and management are from Christchurch and they understand the agony these people have been through. To some extent the players have been playing for the people of Christchurch.

“After one training session we invited all the people who had lost their loved ones to come. A lot turned up and brought their kids. The boys mixed with the families and found it so emotional, they just wanted to play for them. The Christchurch situation has been inspirational for this team.

“And maybe the people of Christchurch have been inspired by the All Blacks. It was a hard old slog against France on Sunday. Christchurch can relate to that. Tuesday was an emotional day. There was a lot of joy and maybe people can now put things behind them a bit and look to the future.”

Four years ago the All Blacks might not have survived Sunday’s ‘hard old slog’. Henry’s wife Raewyn, herself an international coach, was literally sick from the tension. Half the country felt like that. Most of the players felt like that. And at previous World Cups it might have been terminal.

Henry said of his team: “Although we didn’t have control of the game we had control of our minds. That’s probably the difference between 2007 and 2011. We work on brain biology and have a permanent sports psychologist called Gilbert Enoa, who is outstanding.

“When you lose control of a match you can freeze or take flight or start fighting. We call that redhead. The All Blacks work on going ‘bluehead’. So you will see Brad Thorn throwing water over himself or Richie McCaw stamping the ground or Kieran Read looking into the stand with a wider vision. It brings them back to the moment, makes them ask what their job is now, what they should be doing.”

Henry wants to bring such understanding to a wider audience which is why he is part of a coaching website called therugbysite.com. He says the people involved, players such as Richie McCaw and Dan Carter and the winning coaches from the 2007 and 2011 World Cups – Henry, Wayne Smith, Jake White and Eddie Jones – are the best in the world at what they do. Maybe the RFU should log on.

Henry says: “The World Cup’s all about winning. The closeness in the group is the reason we won. We didn’t play particularly well. There was too much tension in the group round the final. The opportunity to put things right after 24 years was a huge burden and they found it difficult, but we had the trust to get through it. Maybe we wouldn’t have done that four years ago.”

Part of New Zealand’s current success is down to the fact that the New Zealand Rugby Union kept trust with Henry four years ago, just as the RFU did in 1999 with Sir Clive Woodward. Does that mean that Martin Johnson should keep his job as England manager or is he too inexperienced compared to Woodward and Henry?

Henry says: “Too many people with real ability get shot because of a result. Replacing a coach because of a result or because of public pressure or media pressure is not the right thing to do. Replacing a coach because he’s not good enough is the right thing to do. Look at all the successful coaches around the world. They’ve got longevity. Look at Sir Alex Ferguson, longevity.”

You wonder how Henry and Ferguson keep going as they rumble ever closer toward their 70th year. Maybe it’s red wine. Both men have a few broken veins. But maybe it is something deeper. Both men are interested in people. Both men are ambitious. Both men are enthusiastic. On and on they go.

Just listening to Henry talk about his captain gives you a sense of the values he shares with Ferguson. He says: “Richie’s leadership stands out to me. He shouldn’t have been playing the game. He didn’t play all week in the hope he could get through the 80 minutes.

“He walked behind the team in training and his attention to detail was amazing. He walked around behind Aaron Cruden and talked to him a lot. Although he couldn’t train, he was right on the job mentally. He had every detail covered. His leadership was phenomenal. He was an inspiration. He could be prime minister, governor general, coach of the All Blacks all put together.” The same could be said of Henry. And now it appears it is up to the RFU, whether they feel the need The Great Redeemer. But they should not ring him for a fortnight. Henry is on his way to his holiday home on Waiheke Island and has just put up a big sign – “Gone fishing”.

Graham Henry will be dedicating a large amount of his time in the coming weeks to global rugby website The Rugby Site, an online provider of world-class rugby coaching videos, dedicated to growing the skills and knowledge of coaches and players. Get inside the game and visitwww.therugbysite.com for coaching master classes fronted by some of rugby’s biggest names including Richie McCaw, Gregor Townsend, Dan Carter and Wayne Smith with more names to be announced soon.

USA Rugby Wins IRB's Development Award (www.prweb.com)

2011-10-25T19:23:00.000-07:00

USA Rugby Wins International Rugby Board's Development Award

Rookie Rugby is a safe, non-contact version of the game that is easy to introduce and teach, even with little or no rugby experience.

Rookie Rugby provides a framework and resources to local communities to introduce the game, but it is really the people on the ground who helped make it a success. We lobbed it up and they knocked it out of the park.
Boulder, Colo. (PRWEB) October 25, 2011

USA Rugby is thrilled to announce that its youth program, Rookie Rugby, has won the International Rugby Board Development Award for 2011.

Union vice-chairman, Bob Latham, was on hand to accept the award on behalf of USA Rugby at the star-studded IRB Awards Ceremony on Sunday October 23 in Auckland, just one day after the New Zealand All Blacks won the 2011 Rugby World Cup there.

On the same night that the IRB announced the Player of the Year (Thierry Dusautoir, France), Team of the Year (New Zealand All Blacks), and inducted into the Rugby Hall of Fame legends Jonah Lomu (New Zealand) and South African captain Francois Pienaar (who was portrayed by Matt Damon in the 2009 feature film, Invictus), the IRB gave a nod to the growth of the youth game with the Development Award.

According to the IRB, Rookie Rugby “introduced a whole new raft of fans and athletes to the sport through programs administered through schools, community-based and state-based rugby organizations and USA Rugby national events. The initial aim was to introduce 100,000 new children to rugby but the reality has far outstripped that and continues to gather momentum.”

USA Rugby launched Rookie Rugby in 2008 as a non-contact introductory version of the game that enables young players to enjoy the camaraderie, fitness, and character building inherent in the sport. Rookie Rugby was played by over 350,000 children in 2010 and is on track to reach about a half million in 2011.

USA Rugby CEO, Nigel Melville, recognized the contributions of the youth rugby community in the United States in making Rookie Rugby a successful program.

“Rookie Rugby provides a framework and resources to local communities to introduce the game, but it is really the people on the ground who helped make it a success. We lobbed it up and they knocked it out of the park,” said Melville.

One of the many attractive aspects of Rookie Rugby is that it presents a low-cost and easily implemented fitness activity option for many schools and community programs. USA Rugby provides instructional resources such as lesson plans, videos of drills, and skill and game cards to ensure proper and easy implementation.

BALL FOR ALL SCHOOLS PROGRAM
To further attract educators and community organizations to rugby, Sports Authority, a leading sporting goods retailer in the United States, has partnered with USA Rugby to offer free size four Rookie Rugby balls to schools.

The ‘Ball for All Schools’ program (ballforallschools.usarugby.org) launched in early August and over 500 schools have taken part all over the United States.

The USA Eagles’ Rugby World Cup players Eric Fry, Kevin Swiryn, Colin Hawley, Mate Moeakiola, Inaki Basauri, Nic Johnson, and Blaine Scully even used their considerable acting abilities to help promote Rookie Rugby and the Ball for All Schools programs.

The award comes at an exciting time for USA Rugby as the 2011 Rugby World Cup and the 2011 Pan-American Games have created a significant amount of interest in the game, rapidly increasing its exposure in the United States

CNN Visits Roller Mills Rugby Tournament (www.cnn.com)

2011-10-23T14:20:00.000-07:00

Here is the video link: http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/sports/2011/10/19/thomas-nz-rugby-cluture.cnn

Here is the link for Roller Mills Rugby: http://www.rollermillsrugby.co.nz/

Rugby is a sport Americans deserve! (www.davisenterprise.com)

2011-10-16T17:23:00.000-07:00

Point of Brew: Rugby football is a sport Americans deserve

Most Americans do not know that the Rugby World Cup contest, which takes place only once every four years, is currently under way in New Zealand. We in the United States are too much engaged in the opening of the football season and closing of the baseball season, with the endless playoffs between this and that team to determine who plays in the World (ahem!) Series, to appreciate the much broader panoply of sport around the world.

I understand the unattractiveness of soccer, of course; everyone does, except the billions of soccer fans who engage passionately in the game in almost every country on the planet. Soccer, with a typical one-nil score after 90 minutes of shuffling the ball aimlessly around the field, is not the stuff for which Americans fans are made.

Cricket, with its own passionate followers, though a more international game than baseball, also probably deserves the general disinterest of Americans, being more of a way of life than a game.

But rugby. Ah! Rugby. Now there is a game that Americans could and should and would take to heart, given the chance.
Americans could take the sport to heart because it has all the thrills and spills and scoring that American fans crave; also, it’s a rough game — some observers call it football without pads though that is a bit misleading — and fast-moving; it requires enormous skill and athleticism when played at the highest international level, and has the strategies of ball possession, field position, offense and defense that is so typically obvious in gridiron football.

It makes great TV theater so it can be enjoyed from the couch with beer and chips. It is our American male kind of game.
Americans should take the sport to heart because it is played in many high schools, including Davis High School and at almost every college in the land; compared to football, it is cheap to play. Rugby can engage those whom football and basketball passes by because only the star athletes play the game and often in a spirit of violent competition that is occasionally neither healthy nor attractive. Rugby is comparatively low-key; it’s a players’ game.

We should take more interest because we already participate at the international level. The USA Eagles played their heart out in New Zealand; our team beat Russia handily and lost to Italy and Ireland by rather small margins; of course, we were overwhelmed by Australia, one of the world’s powerhouse teams and, now, a semifinalist in the contest.

Americans would take the sport to heart if they had the chance to enjoy a few games because they soon would realize that beloved gridiron football developed from rugby, primarily at American colleges in the early part of this century. Those with Universal Sports Channel can see rugby from time to time, though the semifinals of the Rugby World Cup, which will take place this weekend, are on pay-per-view on Universal and on AT&T Channel 106.

I am running up a rather large PPV bill, to say nothing of sleep deprivation, to enjoy the World Cup games live from New Zealand. Worth every penny. The final will be broadcast tape-delayed on NBC at noon Sunday, Oct. 23.

An incentive to engage with the sport is that rugby will be in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. I think Americans would be amazed to know that the USA is the defending Olympic champion, having won the rugby gold medal the last two Olympics in which rugby was played: 1920 and 1924.

The 2016 version of Olympic rugby will be the seven-a-side game that is a breathtakingly fast, high-scoring and short version of the game. The International Sevens are played in Hong Kong every year and the USA Collegiate Sevens will be in Las Vegas in January.

I do not often watch sports on TV. I usually multi-task with sporting events, because I have an inherent sense of guilt merely sitting and watching on TV others play a game! I must do something: the crossword, read, shell peas, grade papers — anything to justify sitting down while Manning is doing his man thing.

The one exception to this general rule is rugby union football, especially Wales kicking the stuffing out of England (though any other team will do). That is such a rare event one hardly bothers to dream of it.

But Wales vs. Anybody at rugby was the one sporting event for which my dad would put down his tools on a Saturday and sit squarely before our little black-and-white TV set and shout and groan and sing (occasionally) with the crowd at the Arms Park in Cardiff or at Twickenham. He was not to be disturbed until the final whistle.

I understand this because, like my dad, I played rugby football for many years; I have the scars to show for it. Later, I coached the game at UC Davis and later still I was a referee. So I understand rugby and can recognize the tactics and strategies and skills involved and can marvel at what these top athletes can do, knowing how very hard it is to do it.

In contrast, I have never played any American game and so I just can’t truly appreciate what is going on.

Wales has reached the semifinals of the competition having played well throughout; so well, in fact, that the impossible dream of a place in the final and even a world championship begins to stir in every Welsh breast.

The whole country of Wales will come to a halt Saturday when Wales plays against a brilliant and experienced team from France to decide the finalists.

England, having been eliminated by France, will hardly notice.

— Reach Michael Lewis at cymro@sbcglobal.net. Comment on this column at www.davisenterprise.com

Short URL: http://www.davisenterprise.com/?p=91166

Paralyzed rugby player gives $20,000 to Rehabilitation Hospital (www.miamiherald.com)

2011-10-04T20:32:00.000-07:00

Paralyzed rugby player gives $20,000 to Jackson Rehabilitation Hospital

“Woody” Beckham, a college rugby player who suffered a spinal-cord injury in a game at the University of Miami earlier this year, has given $20,000 to Jackson Rehabilitation Hospital.

“Woody” Beckham had played football and lacrosse at Gulliver Prep, so the rock-solid youth knew he was tough enough to play rugby when his friends encouraged him to join Florida Atlantic University’s intramural team.

His first game, however, would be his last.

“This 300-pound guy was running with the ball right at my head,” Beckham, 22, said, recalling FAU’s game in late January against the University of Miami on the Coral Gables campus.

“When I tackled him, I knew immediately my neck was broken because I lost all feeling in my body.”

On Monday, he may have been sitting in a wheelchair -- paralyzed from the chest down -- but the blond, blue-eyed Beckham moved a roomful of relatives, friends and therapists to smiles and tears at the Jackson Rehabilitation Hospital, where he spent a couple of months after his rugby injury.

With his father, Bill, at his side, James “Woody” Beckham celebrated the family’s donation of $20,000 to the rehab hospital -- money raised from a summer tournament to reduce the population of Lionfish, an invasive species, in the Bahamas. The donation will go toward new therapeutic equipment to help thousands of patients like Beckham adapt to everyday life.

“Everyone in this room has helped me out in a huge way,” said Beckham, of Coral Gables. “I can’t thank all of you enough.”

Since his spinal cord injury on Jan. 29, Beckham has spent much of his life at Jackson Memorial Hospital, starting with surgery by Dr. Michael Wang. After his operation, he was eventually moved to the rehab hospital, where occupational therapist Janet Dallas and recreational therapist Kelly Messett helped strengthen his fine motor skills so he could balance himself, eat food and take care of personal hygiene.

“I’ve regained a lot of strength in my hands and fingers,” said Beckham, who now attends therapy sessions three times a week, while living at home with his parents and taking night classes at Miami-Dade College.

He has drawn inspiration not only from the rehab facility, but also from its community outings. Among the activities: Learning to operate his wheelchair, riding the Metro Rail and, best of all, swimming with dolphins.

Beckham said he was so grateful for what the therapists taught him that he wanted to give something back. So he teamed up with his longtime family friend, David Mills, a senior at Gulliver Prep in Pinecrest, to develop the Lionfish fund-raising project.
As it were, Mills had already been working on the event as a community service project. But after he learned of Beckham’s spinal cord injury, the two friends joined forces with Beckham’s father and other supporters to stage the Lionfish Bash at the Bimini Sands Resort & Marina in July.

“After Woody’s injury, it gave me a reason and that much more motivation to do it,” Mills said.

He said the participants in the tournament used fishing spears -- without guns -- to kill 300 of the invasive species, which destroy coral reefs.

The event raised $20,000 for Beckham’s nonprofit group, the Woody Foundation. It donated half of the money to the rehab hospital to buy: hand-cycle machines, neuro-stem devices, iPads and aquatic equipment, among other gifts.

The hospital can use the other half of the money for miscellaneous services.

“This is what Woody wanted to do for us,” said Messett, who, by coincidence, is also a graduate of Gulliver Prep. “We can spread the money around for our entire team to help all of the patients.”

Beckham’s father, Bill, said Jackson has been a godsend his son, who has gone from “laying on his back” to “balancing himself in his wheelchair” to “attending night classes at Miami-Dade College.”

“It’s all about adapting to life again,” said his father.

As he continues his therapy, Beckham said his goal is to obtain an accounting or finance degree from FAU or Florida International University.

Said Beckham: “I’m trying to move ahead and do the best I can do.”

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/09/26/2426534/paralyzed-rugby-player-gives-20000.html#ixzz1Z6onKykR

R.I.P. Thomas "Tom" Alderton (www.legacy.com)

2011-10-04T20:23:00.000-07:00

Thomas "Tom" Alderton (1948 - 2011)

Tom was born on Jan. 20, 1948, to the late Thomas and Dawn Alderton in Leichhardt, New South Wales, Australia. He passed away on Sept. 24, 2011, at his Fort Walton Beach, Fla., home.

Tom was a kind, fun-loving guy who will be missed by everyone who knew him. He enjoyed the outdoors and particularly loved to fish and was a rugby enthusiast. (He was president of the South RU in the late 1990s)

Tom is survived by his wife, Mu Alderton of Fort Walton Beach; children, Steven, Britt and Tiffany Alderton; and his granddaughter, Ashleigh Alderton, all of Australia.

A service will be held at Wright Baptist Church, 795 Beal Pkwy., Fort Walton Beach, on Tuesday at 6 p.m. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions be made in Tom's memory to Emerald Coast Hospice.

To share memories, express condolences and sign the guestbook, please visit www.daviswatkins.com

Published in Northwest Florida Daily News on September 27, 2011

Rugby Night in America (www.usrugbyfoundation.org)

2011-09-14T07:55:00.000-07:00

USRFF Declares Tuesday, September 27, 2011 as
Rugby Night in America

San Diego, CA (September 13, 2011) - Mark your calendars now for Tuesday night, September 27, 2011. Not only will the USA face Italy in the last Pool C match for the Eagles at the Rugby World Cup, but that night will also be the first ever Rugby Night in America.

The USRFF is asking all rugby players to frequent their rugby club's bars and restaurants on the night of Tuesday, September 27 to watch the rebroadcast of the USA-Italy match on Universal Sports at 8:00 pm EDT. Bars and restaurants across the country are signing up to be a part of the fundraising effort. Each establishment that participates in the fundraiser will be donating 10% of their sales on the night of Tuesday, September 27 to the USRFF for its A Ball 4 All Campaign.

Proceeds from each establishment will be used to purchase rugby balls for the kids in those specific areas. In addition, the establishment that raises the most money will receive an additional 20 balls for the kids in that area.

It's a win-win situation for all. The fans get to watch the US and Italy match with all their clubmates in what could be a very important game. Young rugby players across the country will be receiving their very own rugby ball. The club's bars and restaurants will see an increase in sales (not to mention the great feeling they'll have from giving back to the sport). The USRFF benefits from staging the first of what will hopefully become an annual fundraising event.

Once an establishment signs up to be a part of Rugby Night in America, the USRFF will do its part by encouraging all the clubs in your area to frequent your bar for the USA-Italy clash. The USRFF will also provide two unique posters (one sized 11" x 14" and one sized 8.5" x 14") tailored to your establishment for you to display to help promote the event.

If you're a bar and/or restaurant owner, contact us now to be part of this first of its kind event. If you're a club player or administrator, get in touch with your club's bar/restaurant owners and encourage him or her to get involved.

More information for bar/restaurant owners interested in being a part of Rugby Night in America can be found here. Or feel free to contact Brian Vizard at 619-233-0765 or atbvizard@usrugbyfoundation.com.
.

WOMEN’S U-19 ALL-STARS TRYOUT & CAMP

2011-09-10T14:40:00.000-07:00

2011 South U19 All-Star Tryout and Camp

Who: Female rugby players born on after September 1, 1991. This includes members of high-school, college, and club teams that meet the age requirement. We HIGHLY encourage college and club teams to recommend this program to their high-performing players. All players must be CIPP and have health insurance to participate.

What: Tryout and camp. Open to all high-performing athletes. In addition, we are interested in development of those athletes who are within a year of being your high-performing athletes.

Where: Cedar Grove Elementary School, Atlanta GA
When: October 8/9, 2011

How: Start communicating about this program with your parents, administrators, coaches, and players so they can begin making plans to attend.

Cost: $50 (Cash or Check. Can do PayPal on request.) Lunches, snacks, and beverages are provided. There may be a social event Saturday evening (dinner, movie, ?) so plan accordingly.

Hotel: COMING SOON!

Bring to camp:

Liability Waiver: Click Here
Player Profile Form: USARS 2011 Player Profile Form
Dark jersey
Light jersey
Personal water bottle
Running shoes
Mouthguard, scrumcamp, boots, and any other rugby specific gear
Rugby shorts

2011 Women’s U19 Invitational National All-Star Championships

When: November 19-20, 2011
Where: Oswald Park & Recreation Center, 2220 NW 21st Ave, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33133
Team Hotel: TBA

Program Staff
Head Coach: Eric Keys
Assistant Coaches: Kris Graziano and Jay Hawkins
Team Manager: Nancy Campbell
Team Trainer: Lisa O’Donnell

To Whom It May Concern

2011-09-10T14:10:00.000-07:00

To Whom It May Concern,

1. From 9 September to 23 October, 2011, you should read the sports section of the newspaper so that you are aware of what is going on regarding the Rugby World Cup, and that way you will be able to join in the conversations. If you fail to do this, then you will be looked at in a bad way, or you will be totally ignored.. DO NOT complain about not receiving any attention.

2. During the Rugby World Cup, the television is mine, MySky, the VCR and DVD are all mine, at all times, without any exceptions. If you even take a glimpse of the remote control, you will lose it.

3. If you have to pass by in front of the TV during a game, I don’t mind, as long as you do it crawling on the floor and without distracting me. If you decide to stand nude in front of the TV, make sure you put clothes on right after because if you catch a cold, I won’t have time to take you to the doctor or look after you during the World Cup month.

4. During the games I will be blind, deaf and mute, unless I require a refill of my drink or something to eat. You are out of your mind if you expect me to listen to you, open the door, answer the telephone, or pick up the baby that just fell from the second floor… it won’t happen.

5. It would be a good idea for you to keep at least two 12 packs of stubbies in the fridge at all times, as well as plenty of things to nibble on, and please do not make any funny faces to my friends when they come over to watch the games. In return, you will be allowed to use the TV between 12pm and 3pm, unless they replay a good game that I missed during the day.

6. Please, please, please, if you see me upset because one of my teams is losing, DO NOT say ‘get over it, it’s only a game’, or ‘don’t worry, they’ll win next time’. If you say these things, you will only make me angrier and I will love you less. Remember, you will never ever know more about rugby than me and your so called ‘words of encouragement’ will only lead to a break up or divorce.

7. You are welcome to sit with me to watch one game and you can talk to me during halftime, but only when the commercials are on, and only if the halftime score is pleasing me. In addition, please note, I am saying ‘one’ game; hence do not use the Rugby World Cup as a nice cheesy excuse to ‘spend time together’..

8. The replays of the tries are very important. I don’t care if I have seen them or I haven’t seen them, I want to see them again. Many times, and record them.

9. Tell your friends NOT to have any babies, or any other child related parties or gatherings that requires my attendance because:
a. I will not go,
b. I will not go, and
c. I will not go.

10. But, if a friend of mine invites us to his house to watch a game, we will be there in a flash.

11. The daily World Cup highlights show on TV every night is just as important as the games themselves. Do not even think about saying, ‘But you have already seen this… why don’t you change the channel to something we can all watch?’

12. Please save your expressions such as, ‘Thank goodness the Rugby World Cup is only every four years’. I am immune to these words, because after this comes the reruns of the Rugby World Cup, etc, etc.

13. And finally, if you are female and your “man” likes rugby less than you, he is not a real man and shall be bound by these rules and additionally be referred to as “the bitch” for the duration of the Rugby World Cup.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Regards,
Your Dearest Rugger

FGCU rugby aims to fill football void (www.eaglenews.org)

2011-09-10T13:43:00.000-07:00

FGCU rugby aims to fill football void

By Mike Ricci

Courtesy of Anthony Adum
Players on the FGCU rugby team played for the
Naples Hammerheads prior to the club starting.

Last month, President Wilson Bradshaw announced that football at FGCU would not be coming for some time. The newly formed rugby club looks to fill that void.

"Our goal that we always talk about is having the whole campus coming out to our games on Saturdays just like schools go to the football games," said Shane Young, the team's captain and junior political science major, "We want to be the talk of the school and know that once people see a game they are going to want to come back to see another."

Young, as well as several other members of the club, have been spending the past month recruiting for the upcoming semester by handing out fliers, tabling on campus and throwing the rugby ball around on the library lawn. They have managed to recruit 25 to 30 students for the fall.

Young, as well as eight other FGCU students including secretary Anthony Adum, a senior business management major, plays for the Naples Hammerheads, the Naples rugby club. Although they are leaving the Hammerheads in the fall to focus on the school team, Young, Adum and the FGCU rugby club will practice with them and hold scrimmages against the Naples team.

Young has been playing rugby for the past 12 years and Adum just recently picked up the sport this year. Both say they prefer rugby over football. "You can play rugby all your life," Young said.

Even though the team will have several players coming from other club teams, no experience is necessary to join the FGCU club. "The most important thing to learn about rugby is the rules," said Adum, "Experience is what teaches you the most."

According to Young, this is a great time to pick up the sport of rugby since the Rugby World Cup that only happens once every four years will be aired on NBC in September, making it easy to watch and learn the game.

"Rugby is not just about playing a sport. There is the camaraderie that you build with your teammates. The relationships you make through this sport will last a lifetime. You can rely on fellow ruggers to be there in times of need, regardless if it is in a game or in a real life situation.

FGCU was the last university in Florida without a rugby team. With most of its members currently freshmen and sophomores, the FGCU rugby team expects to grow quickly and become known in Florida as one of the top college teams.

"We look forward to FGCU rugby becoming the premier attraction for students on Saturday game days," said Adum.

To join the rugby club or get more information, visit FGCU Rugby on Facebook.

If you knew rugby like I do . . . (www.denverpost.com)

2011-09-05T11:10:00.000-07:00

Colorado Voices: If you knew rugby like I do . . .
By Katherine Braun
POSTED: 08/12/2011

I never really understood rugby. It uses such strange terms: scrum, maul, ruck.

But that's all changed. All it took was watching my 9-year-old line up as a hooker in his scrum — cap and funky rugby socks — and then scoring his first try, and I was hooked. Pun intended.

Rugby has grown in Colorado by 330 percent in the last year, according to Jack Vail, a manufacturer's sales representative for Gilbert Rugby. In February, The Economist reported it was "the fastest-growing team sport in the country, outpacing rivals such as lacrosse and hockey."

Rugby was born in 1823 when, legend has it, William Webb Ellis famously disregarded the rules of soccer, picked up a ball and ran it into the goal. It isn't even new to Colorado; the Denver Barbarians have been playing now for more than four decades. What is new is the rise in youth teams. Rugby is becoming a generational sport; dad, grandad, or older brother played, so now we are seeing astounding growth in the youth leagues.

J.R. Lapierre, executive director of Rugby Colorado, says in 2008, there were 125 kids ages 5 to 15 playing in clubs. In 2011, that number rose to 718. There are now 20 high schools offering rugby for boys in the state.

Glendale has already placed a bet on the future of rugby, to the tune of $50 million, when it built Infinity Park, the first municipal rugby stadium in the nation, in 2009. With the World Cup coming up in early September, the stadium will host an exhibition match between the U.S. and Canada on Saturday.

The International Olympic Committee has added rugby to the venue for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. The last time rugby was in the games was in 1920 and 1924. (The U.S. won gold at both, so we are the reigning champs.)

But here's the question I hear from parents: "Is it safe?"

I've heard the horror stories. One friend whose husband used to play blamed "too many trips to the ER" for not wanting to sign her son up for a team.

While I was concerned about signing up my own son, I took the word of my husband, who played for the Colorado School of Mines Orediggers and later for the Barbarians. He said it was safer than football, which he played in high school. Tackling in rugby is more of a wrapping up the opponent and pushing, as opposed to the hits you see in football; no spear tackles, no receivers jumping for a ball at midfield and being T-boned by a safety.

At a tournament in June at the Aurora Sports Park — which hosted some 20 teams from Florida, Minnesota, Texas, California, and more — I spoke to the medical director, Robert Arnold. "The mistake people make," he said, "is they think [rugby players] are playing football without pads."

The injuries in "most matches are just scrapes and bruises," Arnold said. "It is far, far less injurious, especially with knees and vital joints, compared with football."

Any sport has risk. Cheerleading has one of the highest reports of serious injury. And my friend who didn't want her son playing rugby? Her daughter is on the sidelines for up to a year with a concussion — from soccer.

Still, the reputation that rugby has could also be attributed to the players and fans themselves, from the bumper-sticker slogans ("Give Blood — Play Rugby") to the chill-inducing Haka (the pre-game chant of the New Zealand All Blacks).

But after a match, you will find the players sitting in a pub, one arm hoisting a beer and the other wrapped around the shoulders of their opponents. Now that's sport.

Katherine Braun (kathi_braun@comcast.net) of Littleton is a stay-at-home mom who is working on a book about the Deer Creek Middle School shooting in February 2010.

10 reasons to love ... the Rugby World Cup (www.smh.com.au)

2011-09-05T10:52:00.000-07:00

10 reasons to love ... the Rugby World Cup

1. Radike Samo The Fijian national team passed him over for the 2003 Rugby World Cup and just 18 months ago he was considered "too old and too slow" by most of the Australian Super Rugby franchises. But last Saturday at 8.38pm (and 34 seconds), the 35-year-old Fijian-born Samo ran himself into Australian rugby lore when he made a break up the middle and bolted 60 metres to score in the Tri Nation's decider against the All Blacks.

2. Radike Samo's hair Shaft meets Sideshow Bob. Rumour has it that it is the seat of Samo's strength. Should have its own Facebook page and/or postcode. (Probably does by now.)

3. La Marseillaise As national anthems go, the French certainly nailed it. Composed in 1792, this stirring tune deals with the invasion of France by the armies of Prussia and Austria. It stokes the fires of resistance by talking at length of traitors, vile despots and All Blacks' captain Richie McCaw, whose penchant for off-side play is noted with particular venom. Hearing it sung by a stand full of Frenchmen is one of life's singular pleasures.

4. The mind games Kudos to England, who got host nation New Zealand's undies in a monumental scrunch by announcing in July that they would switch from their traditional white jersey to a black away kit for some of their World Cup clashes, including their first match against Argentina. The move had All Blacks legend Jonah Lomu "puzzled", which is admittedly not a difficult thing to do.

5. Los Pumas Now ranked eighth, the Argentinian national side was the stand-out from the 2007 World Cup, beating Ireland, Scotland, Georgia, Namibia (yes, they play rugby) and the host nation France, twice, the last time to secure third place - the Pumas' highest finish in the World Cup so far.

6. The rules If you haven't studied them since early childhood you are not going to understand them now. But that's OK, because only three people on the planet understand them and none of them are going to be watching the game with you. That means you can say things such as: "Oh man, I can't believe we didn't get a short-arm for that accidental offside non-release entering from the wrong-side infringement!"

7. Pronunciation malfunctions Georgia has a prop named Davit Khinchagishvili and a winger named Irakli Chkhikvadze. Samoa has a half-back named Aukusitino Junior Poluleuligaga and a flanker named Ofisa Treviranus. So what happens when Treviranus pounds Khinchagishvili who offloads to Chkhikvadze with Poluleuligaga in pursuit? The commentators go to an ad break.

8. The Wallabies are finally winning After giving us years of gut-wrenching disappointment, rank incompetence, strategic muddling and just general heartbreaking crappiness, the Wallabies actually seem to be getting their poop together, and in a major way. The timing couldn't be better.

9. Springboks coach Peter de Villiers The man responsible for such gems as "If you want to run with the big dogs, you have to lift your leg", "We are very organised at the moment - we don't want to become a fruit salad" and "I'm a God-given talent. I am the best I can ever be" will no doubt produce his fair share of memorable quotes.

10. For six weeks you have an excuse to drink beer at any time of the day It only happens every four years so make the most of it.

Rugby World Cup on TV (www.universalsports.com)

2011-09-02T09:35:00.000-07:00

2011 Rugby World Cup

UniversalSports.com presents unrivaled coverage of the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. Watch every match in its entirety, from the opening ceremonies in Auckland on Sept. 9 straight through the final on Oct. 23, LIVE and on-demand on UniversalSports.com.

Price for 2011 Rugby World Cup complete package: ~~$149.99~~
Early-Bird discount: $124.99 until Sept. 1 -- BUY NOW

Price for individual pool matches: $24.99

Price for individual knockout stage matches: $29.99

* Matches marked with an asterisk will be available online only in on-demand format 24 hours following their conclusion. They can, however, be viewed LIVE on Universal Sports TV.

Watching Rugby World Cup FAQ

Rugby Card Playing Game (www.sunlive.co.nz)

2011-09-01T11:57:00.000-07:00

No field required for this rugby game

Posted at 11:29am Friday 26th Aug, 2011 | By Andrew Campbell

Designing a rugby card game might be child’s play for Brian Godfery, but he’s finding the game is also appealing to adults.

Brian designed the topical game during quiet moments at a Devonport Road toyshop and decided to put it on the market a month ago after carrying out market research at schools in both the North and South Island.

Tauranga’s Brian Godfery has created a rugby card game.

As a New Zealand designed and made product the game is now on sale at Te Papa museum in Wellington.

Printed by Kale Print in Tauranga, Rugby Aotearoa includes 40 cards and a whistle.

“It’s a very good maths game,” says Brian. “Kids like the maths component of gaining points through tries. They can also lose points through penalties. The main aim was to get boys to do a bit of maths by playing the game with dad before dinner.”

Brian says adults are also enjoying the game as they find it to be a great social activity.

“It’s a good warm up before the match. You can play a tournament as well.”

There are also some unique rugby aspects to the game, for instance a scrum card means a ten second ear rub, players can also find themselves having to do squats or press ups as penalties and people need to beware of the wild card is that’s the Streaker card.

“There’s strategy involved, if you remember where the cards are. If you pick up two pairs of tries, usually you win the game. If you turn over one try card you can reposition it at an angle you might recognize Just like any card game - you can work the system.”

Rugby Aotearoa is a two to four player game.

Raptor Rugby Academy Offers HP Experience (www.rugbymag.com)

2011-09-01T11:49:00.000-07:00

WRITTEN BY RUGBYMAG.COM NEWS RELEASE WEDNESDAY, 31 AUGUST 2011 12:17

Raptor Rugby Academy Offers HP Experience

Glendale, CO – The Glendale Raptors rugby organization announces the Raptor Rugby Academy, a program designed for boys in grades 8 through 12 who desire to become elite rugby players. The Academy is designed to be an elite rugby program that serves as the entrance point for Colorado High School boys to enter the US elite player pathway. The program will focus on strength and conditioning, nutrition, technical education, tactics, skills, and team play. Experienced coaches will provide professional advice and guidance to encourage players to achieve their potential both on and off the field.

The Raptor Rugby Academy will be held at Infinity Park on the second and fourth Sundays of the month from September through November, 2:00 pm to 4:30 pm, and will conclude with an all-day camp on December 3 and 4. Practices will consist of film work, on-field and classroom sessions.

The Academy will utilize Infinity Park’s regulation-size pitch and High Altitude Training Center (HATC), a first-of-its-kind facility in North America opened by the City of Glendale in March 2011. The HATC’s strength and conditioning equipment accommodates specialized training for sports teams and high performing athletes.

Academy players will enter competitive play as Eastern Rockies Rugby Football Union’s (ERRFU) representatives in Spring 2012, fielding a developmental team as well as an elite team. The Elite side of the Academy will be competing for the national championship as the ERRFU representative in the Western regional playoffs. The Elite side is also planning a tour to Canada in the spring. Spring practice begins in January.

The Raptor Rugby Academy will be led by members of the Raptor coaching staff and Raptor players, including:

Mark Bullock, Director of Rugby for the Glendale Raptors & Raptor Head CoachA former high school teacher, administrator and coach, Bullock has been involved in rugby for 30 years. He was the original coach of the US U19 squad from 1991 to 2001, a national coaching instructor and past representative coach for Western Rugby Union (WRU), the ERRFU and the Pacific Northwest Rugby Football Union (PNRFU). Bullock led the Glendale Raptors Division one team to a National Championship in 2011.

Andre Snyman, Glendale Raptors Sevens CoachSouth African rugby star Andre Snyman coaches the new Raptors Sevens team. For ten years, Snyman played for the South African Springboks and he represented South Africa at the International Rugby Board’s Sevens Rugby World Cup in Hong Kong in 1997. Snyman also played in England and France, where he participated in coaching clinics. Since retiring as a player in 2007, he stayed active in the rugby community in South Africa, coaching youth rugby in townships, schools and clubs, including the Varsity College Old Boys in his hometown of Durban. Snyman has been named to lead the West Men’s 7s All-Stars, who will compete in the National All-Star 7s Championships in Chula Vista, CA on August 27 and 28.

Jared Heath, Glendale RaptorsJared played both football and rugby at Highlands Ranch High School, winning one state rugby title. He went on to play college football at Colorado School of Mines and returned to rugby after graduation. He has been a Raptor head coach for three years and was selected to coach one of the All State teams as well as the select-side team in 2010.

Casey Rock, Glendale RaptorCasey Rock is a converted soccer player currently playing lock for the Glendale Raptors. He played in New Zealand and for the West All Stars, and he was selected as a Collegiate All-American. Rock was a member of the National Championship team in 2011.

Josh Schmitz, Glendale RaptorSchmitz started playing rugby as an eighth grader and was selected every year to play in the high school all state game. He played for the national champion Eastern Rockies Football Union team for five years, starting at scrumhalf. He played 7s in Samoa before joining University of Wyoming’s rugby team and the West All Stars. Schmitz has been a Raptor for five years. He was selected to coach an all state team and a select-side team in 2010. He was member of the National Championship team in 2011.

Dewon Reed, Glendale RaptorGlendale Raptor Dewon Reed was named a 7s and 15s finals MVP and he was a member of the National Championship team in 2011.

Raptor Rugby Academy coaches will measure the success of the Academy by the number of U17s and U19s selected to attend next level camps, the number of U17s and U19s selected to play for the US, and the success of Academy teams in spring tournaments. This past season, two Raptor Rugby Academy players were selected to go to the USA selection camp in the spring. One player, Josh Brake, was selected to play for the US; he was the starting center for the US 7s in Canada.

“The Raptor Rugby Academy will expose young Colorado athletes to high performance standards and prepare them to become future Eagles and Olympians,” said Luke Gross, USA Rugby Specialty Coach and U20 All-American Forwards Coach. “It’s important for young athletes to realize that rugby is a legitimate, high-level sport that can lead to representing your country in the Olympics or Rugby World Cup.”

“This program will provide a high performance rugby environment due to Glendale’s world-class facilities, coaching and emphasis on player development,” said David Williams, USA Eagles Strength and Conditioning Specialist.

The cost for the Fall Season of the Raptor Rugby Academy is $75, which includes gear, training log and all expenses for the fall Academy sessions. The first day of the academy is Sunday, September 11 at 2:00 PM. To sign-up or for more information email RaptorRugbyAcademy@gmail.com.

Live in Florida? Wanna be a Rugby Referee? (via email)

2011-08-26T08:02:00.001-07:00

FRRA will hold 2 Referee Courses in September, full details below. One will be in Fort Lauderdale area on Sept 10th and the second in Tampa at USF on Sept 17th.

https://membership.usarugby.org/Courses/OnlineSignup/SelectCourses.aspx?Category=EVENTCAT_REFEREE to register for the courses. All course participants must register online prior to the event. Please see pre-course requirements below.

The Level 1 Referee Course is the basic course. It covers the referee's priorities, provides an introduction to the Laws, and examines scrums, ruck/mauls, tackles, offside and advantage with focus on the critical parts and how to referee them. When a student has completed this course, and the accompanying test, they are ready to begin refereeing safely. This is just the first step in a referee's education, but it is the necessary beginning.

The course will consist of mostly of classroom work with some physical activity, please dress appropriately.

The course also includes completing a safety course and a short Law Test. Both must be completed online, with five additional safety questions to be answered during the course. The intention is that the test will serve to familiarize the student with the Law Book and how to use it. The instructor(s) will work with anyone who does not pass the first time so they will achieve the desired understanding.

Students will receive a Law Book, Course Manual, whistle, and cards (red and yellow).

The required pre-course preparation work online for those who register:

Course Preparation
There is a little bit of homework to be completed prior to the course. This is intended to cover subjects that can easily be done on your own, thereby freeing more course time for practical applications.

Get hold of a Law Book (an old one is fine) or go to the IRB website where the Laws are available as a PDF file
<http://www.irb.com/lawregulations/laws/index.html> and look at the Definitions in the beginning of the Book, scan Law 1 The Ground, and look at the definitions in each of these Laws 10 Foul Play, 11 Offside, 12 Knock-on, 15 Tackle, 16 Ruck, 17 Maul, 19 Lineout and 20 Scrum. Don¹t try to memorize anything, just read it once for familiarity.

Go to www.irbrugbyready.com <http://www.irbrugbyready.com/> There you will find a short, on-line safety course offered by the IRB. It is free and takes less than an hour to run through. Once you have signed up, you can do the course in small portions if you don¹t have time to do it all at once. PRINT A COPY OF YOUR RUGBYREADY CERTIFICATE AND BRING IT TO THE COURSE.

Go to www.irblaws.com <http://www.irblaws.com> and complete the short Law test. This will finish 90% of the required Law test for the course certificate in class you will need to answer five safety questions correctly. PRINT A COPY OF YOUR LAW QUIZ COMPLETION CERTIFICATE AND BRING IT TO THE COURSE.

Gerry FitzGerald

Educator (License # 198)

International Rugby Board

RDO SRRA

VP FRRA

Cell: 754 245 0215

A Letter from Alex Goff, Editor-in-Chief of Rugby Magazine (via email)

2011-08-26T07:47:00.000-07:00

Dear Rugby Magazine Subscriber:

As you may well have noticed, the publishing world has encountered many challenges in the last few years, and those challenges have not eluded Rugby Magazine.

Despite the growth of this great game and Rugby Magazine’s undisputed role in that growth, we have not seen PRINT subscriptions increase in similar proportion.

In this increasingly challenging time for print media, we have decided that, beginning with the summer issue, due in late August,we will distribute Rugby Magazine in a digital-only format.

The Magazine will be laid out in the same way you have seen before, and continue to include the outstanding writing and coverage you are used to. We simply will not be printing it on paper.

Instead, Rugby Magazine will be available online at www.rugbymag.com and can be accessed through computer, tablet or smart phone. Only subscribers to Rugbymag.com’s Premier section will be able to access it.

As an existing print subscriber, you will have a Premier subscription activated in time for the next issue of the magazine. That subscription will run through the end of your original print subscription.

Your username is the initial of your first name and your last name, all in one word and lower case (John Smith would be: jsmith). Your password is your Rugby Magazine account number. You can find this on the address label of this letter, or on the top left-hand corner of the address label of your last issue.

If you cannot access your account, please go here and let us know. Sometimes it’s because we had to assign you a different username.

While we expect many new subscribers to come to the magazine now that it is digital, and many subscribers will prefer it this way, I realize this development is not for everyone. We have set up a page on our website for subscribers to ask questions or voice concerns.

If you have anything you’d like to discuss with us, please go here and send us a note.

Thank you for supporting Rugby Magazine, and I hope you enjoy the new chapter in our story.

Alex Goff
Editor-in-Chief
Rugby Magazine and RUGBYMag.com
Write me at: 11 Martine Ave, 8th Floor, White Plains, NY 10606
E-mail me at: editor@rugbymag.com

An Amateur Coaches View Of Defensive Organisation (www.conversationalrugby.wordpress.com)

2011-08-26T07:26:00.000-07:00

Just read this awesome blog post from a fellow coach, about defensive line alignment and organisation. Just wanted to share with you. Here is the link

http://conversationalrugby.wordpress.com/2011/07/27/defensive-organisation-at-the-tackle-contest/

-Coach Ron

The spark that spawned the Rugby World Cup (www.stuff.co.nz)

2011-08-26T01:44:00.000-07:00

The spark that spawned the Rugby World Cup

PALOMA MIGONE

Whakatane Beacon

SPARK: Kiwi co-founder of the Rugby World Cup, Dick Littlejohn.

When Dan Carter kicks off towards the Tongan forwards in the first match of the 2011 Rugby World Cup, an 80-year-old from Whakatane will be watching from a special VIP seat in the stand.

Dick Littlejohn is a retired rugby player, a former All Blacks manager, and most notably, the Kiwi co-founder of the Rugby World Cup.

A man who 2011 organiser Martin Snedden sought out as soon as he took up the job.

"His leadership and that of his Australian counterpart [Sir Nicholas Shehadie] is what ultimately in the end made sure that the thing happened," Snedden said.

"It's a story that hasn't really been told much in the public domain, and it was really good to sit down [with him] and hear that."

Littlejohn, alongside Aussie Sir Nicholas, convinced sceptical European rugby bosses a world cup was a starter in 1985.

After a deciding vote in Paris to establish the tournament, they sealed the deal that led to the famous All Blacks triumph at Eden Park two years later.

Now, in 2011, Littlejohn's role in Rugby World Cup history affords him a prime seat for the opener on September 9, when he will be surrounded by a crowd three times the size of the 1987 inaugural game.

"It's coming back to where it started, and I was at the right place at the right time to be part of the beginning," Littlejohn said.

"We knew it would get bigger, bigger and bigger. And I think it will become even bigger."

Rugby was the last of the globally recognised sports to organise a world tournament. But in the 24 years since, the Rugby World Cup has grown to become – according to the organisers – the third-largest sporting event on the planet, with 1.65 million tickets on sale this year.

The tournament was a late bloomer because of resistance from the International Rugby Board, which argued it would jeopardise the amateur element of the game.

With New Zealand and Australia pushing for change by making separate proposals to the IRB for a world cup, and later winning support from France, the board cracked in 1984.

The IRB asked for a feasibility study, and Littlejohn's name was put forward by New Zealand Rugby Union councillor Patrick Gill for the project.

At the time, Littlejohn was All Blacks manager, Bay of Plenty Rugby Union chairman, and an NZRU councillor.

He joined Sir Nicholas as co-chairman of a trans-Tasman organisation to work on a plan.

Once the study was published, the Nick and Dick show began.

Littlejohn and Sir Nicholas took the cup concept around the world, pitching it to the opposing British Nations.

"We told them we were very confident that we could run it," Littlejohn said.

"It was important to make rugby a global game.

"You couldn't say that you were the best in the world if you had only played in the Six Nations. It had to be the pinnacle of rugby union."

Littlejohn recruited two English journalists to write about the two colonialists and stir up interest in the Rugby World Cup.

Some felt the tournament should go ahead with or without the northern side, but it never came to that. Australia, New Zealand, and France backed the concept, while Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England were against it.

The big day came in 1985 in Paris, where eight teams, including South Africa, voted, with each nation having two votes.

South Africa backed the idea despite not being able to attend because of apartheid, resulting in a stalemate.

It was a secret vote, but England's John Kendall-Carpenter confirmed he, too, supported the concept and it is suspected Wales also broke ranks.

"After Sir Nicholas and I had toured the world, we knew that we could get enough support for it to be approved and we also knew that the huge bulk of players throughout the world wanted it."

The championships were in the bag, and the plans for Australia and New Zealand to host the 1987 games went ahead, two years before the first match.

"We were the catalyst of Rugby World Cup. There would have been a Rugby World Cup eventually, but we ignited the spark," Littlejohn said. The IRB's Kendall-Carpenter joined Littlejohn and Sir Nicholas to set the plans in motion.

The next challenge was funding. British sports marketing company West Nally, the tournament's representatives, made contact with Japanese telecommunications company KDD.

"On a Saturday evening after a test match in Wellington.

I got a phone call to say that Nick was engaged, John was ill and that I had to be in Tokyo on the Monday afternoon," Littlejohn said."I flew back to Whakatane and then flew to Auckland to Tokyo for the announcement that they were going to sponsor the tournament.

"KDD became the main sponsor shortly before the games kicked off, giving the cup US$3.25 million, about NZ$7m at the time.

"I've often thought they haven't been given the recognition. It's probably my only sadness. They made the tournament a success financially."

The All Blacks went on to win their first and only Rugby World Cup, beating France 29-9 at Eden Park.

"The win was not as uplifting as when the first ball was kicked off. Then we knew the World Cup was here forever and it would never die."

Littlejohn said co-creating the concept, selling it, and bringing it to life was a huge experience for him.

Organising the event today would have been easier, he said. People are thinking more globally in every sport.

But Snedden disagrees. Introducing the rugby tournament today would have presented more obstacles.

He said the game was amateur and exclusively rugby-focused in the 1980s, whereas now there is a commercial matrix wrapped around it.

New Zealand was stripped from co-hosting the tournament in 2003 because of advertising in stadiums. "If you don't get things right commercially, you strike disaster."

Snedden said a global tournament would have been established at some point, but it was fast-tracked by Littlejohn's work.

"There have been key figures in [Rugby World Cup] as it has gone through each of the four-year cycles and he is up there with all of those people."

Littlejohn, who still lives in Whakatane, continues to be involved in rugby as the patron of the Bay of Plenty Rugby Union.

And he keeps himself busy by running his own business Littlejohn Machinery.

Naturally, Littlejohn is hoping for a repeat All Blacks victory on home soil, but he said it was not everything.

"What I want to see is the whole country enjoying, watching and participating in the biggest tournament New Zealand has ever had and is ever likely to have," he said.

- Fairfax Media

University rugby player Halley Appleby dies after being injured on-field (www.couriermail.com.au)

2011-07-21T11:21:00.000-07:00

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/university-rugby-union-player-halley-appleby-critically-injured-in-on-field-accident/story-e6freoof-1226096386654

Fort Lauderdale Starting Their Youth Program

2011-05-22T19:04:00.000-07:00

Our neighboring city Fort Lauderdale, has decided to start a youth rugby program. I am excited for them as it will give us another team to compete against. We are growing down here in the south, we might have to start our own separate youth union soon. Good luck to them, and check out their link http://xa.yimg.com/kq/groups/2694173/1524530964/name/youthpg1.pdf

or http://ftlrugby.com/youth for more info.

-Coach Ron

San Diego Girls is What's up!!! (www.usarugby.org)

2011-05-22T17:49:00.000-07:00

(My hometown girls from SD, lay the law down and show ladies rugby what it's all about. Congrats to the Warriors!!!)

Fearless Fallbrook Fell Amazons

The Fallbrook Warriors from San Diego, Calif. won the Emirates Airline USA Rugby 2011 Girl's Under-19 National Championship on Sunday, shutting out the Amazons of Sacramento in a massive 60-0 showing.

It was a classic clash of opposites: speed v. size and power v. technique. The much-larger Amazons side tried to power their way to two consecutive national titles, but Fallbrook was fearless, well-drilled and they executed a game plan that ended up giving them 60 points.

Fallbrook exploited their speed advantage and were able to counteract the Amazons' physicality with tenaciousness and technique. Sacramento tried to keep the ball in tight, counting on their size to wear down Fallbrook. However, the Fallbrook girls knew they could secure ball and weren't at all interested in engaging in a contest of strength. Rather, they secured their own ball and spun the ball out to their dangerous backs.

The ball movement was phenomenal by Fallbrook and all of the players got a lot of touches on the ball with the goal of releasing the outside and midfield backs. Tara Burke was on an absolute tear and was able to use her speed and balance to step the Amazon defenders.

Sisters Megan and Samantha Pinson were very impressive in the win, dictating the pace of the breakdown, poaching plenty of ball by competing at the breakdown and forcing the Amazons to keep up.

To their credit, the Amazons never backed down, even after being down by more than 30 points at half time. Their leader, Vaimoana Vailea, tried to inspire her side, but Fallbrook's incredible commitment to defense thwarted any chance of a comeback.

Frustration leaked into play in the 66th minute as Joanne Faavesi got sent off with a yellow card.

Sacramento continued to put in heavy tackles and had a few promising attacking opportunites, but Fallbrook's cover defense was just too good. Execution of a plan was key, and Fallbrook executed magnificently.

"Bottom line was that we knew what we wanted to do. We've played this team before, we knew we wanted to keep the ball away from their loose forwards," said Craig Pinnell.

When asked about the immense defensive effort, the coach referred to their team motto: "Defense is about commitment and attack is about confidence."

The Fallbrook Warriors lived that motto today to the letter and can now call themselves national champions.

Jesuit Wins HS Natl. Championship (www.usarugby.org)

2011-05-22T17:42:00.000-07:00

Jesuit Wins HS Natl. Championship

Sacramento Jesuit beat defending national champions, Xavier, in the Emirates Airline USA Rugby 2011 Boy's High School National Championship on Saturday at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah. Matt Chipman, Jesuit's wing, was named the team's MVP and helped his team claim a National title with two exhilirating tries.

Xavier came out swinging against Jesuit in the first half and went punch-for-punch in the first half, but fell a bit flat in the second perhaps due to the emotional fatigue that followed a hair-raising penalty kick-off. Jesuit cruised through their quarterfinal and semifinal matches, and looked a bit sharper and a little more dangerous than Xavier.

Jesuit's dangerman, Chipman, the electric winger who made Xavier pay everytime he had the ball and showed that he had an uncanny ability to create something out of nothing. Chipman's efforts were complemented by his scrumhalf, Nick Boyer. Boyer assumed the kicking duties for James Poindexter who went out early in the game to injury.

In a true team effort, Jesuit's defense was ruthless and caused Xavier to hesitate and second-guess themselves, creating a very off-rhythm offsensive effort.

Chris Fry, the fiery (in both hair and temperment...) lock was a force for Jesuit and made some crunching tackles and destructive runs to help move his team down the pitch.

Jesuit finished with a comfortable 50-27 win and a National Championship that they can take back to Northern California.

Highland Get #20 (www.usarugby.org)

2011-05-22T17:40:00.000-07:00

Highland Win #20 for Coach Gelwix

The famed Highland Rugby team claimed their 20th National Championship Saturday by defeating Utah United in the Emirates Airline USA Rugby Boy's Under-19 National Championship. In the hair-raising encounter, both sides showcased remarkable skill and athleticism. Highland's outside center, Antonio Lavemai, was outstanding and scored two tries off incredibly strong runs that caught the attention of many onlookers.

The first half was tight and United came out firing, but Highland was able to outlast and put enormous defensive pressure on United to close out the match.

Russ Parai, the United flyhalf, kicked well and kept his team in the running and his outside center, Kisi Unufe, scored a brace in the encounter.

Legendary Highland coach, Larry Gelwix, announced his retirement from coaching and was celebrated on Friday night at Rio Tinto Stadium in honor of his massive contribution to the sport and to the lives of all his players.

Texas All Star Rugger Stephanie Flores Dies After Match

2011-04-16T10:36:00.000-07:00

Here are the links, below is the link for the the original press release:

http://texasrugbyunion.com/2011/04/15/update-tru-all-star-player-stephanie-flores/

http://texasrugbyunion.com/2011/04/11/press-release-texas-rugby-union-tru-womens-collegiate-all-star-injured/

May she Rest In Peace....

-Coach Ron

FYRU Shield Championship

2011-04-14T12:03:00.000-07:00

We lost in the FYRU Shield Championship. It was a really good tough match. I am very proud of my team for their hard work. Here is the full match video for you. There are 2 videos, the first half and then the second. I won't tell you the score so you can enjoy the videos.

Miami Rugby U19 vs. Naples Bears "B" - 1st. Half from Miami Rugby on Vimeo.

Miami Rugby U19 vs. Naples Bears "B" - 2nd Half from Miami Rugby on Vimeo.

Thanks
-Coach Ron

Fort Collins Youth Rugby Player Dies During Match

2011-03-09T12:50:00.000-08:00

Sad news to hear. In the reader comments they mention my dear friend Phillipe who also passed playing. May they both Rest In Peace.

http://denver.cbslocal.com/2011/03/06/fort-collins-boy-dies-during-rugby-game/

Rugby the Third Fastest Growing Sport in the United States

2011-02-11T09:38:00.000-08:00

It's about time the US starts trying to catch up.
http://www.irb.com/newsmedia/mediazone/pressrelease/newsid=2041651.html#rugby+third+fastest+growing+sport+usa

Florida High School & U19 League Standings

2011-02-09T11:09:00.000-08:00

My team is in 3rd place of our conference, 3 games into the season. Got to keep on playing hard. Cheers!

http://www.floridayouthrugby.com/2011/02/high-school-u19-results-and-standings-282011/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+FloridaYouthRugby+(Florida+Youth+Rugby)

2011 Beerfoot Beach 7’s tournament – SAVE THE DATE – 7/23/2011

2011-02-08T20:15:00.000-08:00

Dear Rugby Friends,

We’ve settled on a date for our annual Beerfoot Beach 7’s tournament. This year’s tournament will be held on Saturday July 23^rd. Please mark your calendars. We expect this year’s tournament to be even bigger than last year’s so we hope to see familiar faces as well as the addition of new teams and friends. As in years past the tournament will take place on the beautiful white sands of Ft. Myers Beach, FL. More details will follow soon. We’ll be communicating details through both our dedicated Beerfoot website and a special facebook page we’ve created for the event. Links to these are found below. Please check these often and consider becoming a fan of the facebook page.

If you have any questions about this year’s Beerfoot tournament please contact Dan Banks at dbanks@adkos.com. Hope you all are enjoying a fun and safe rugby season and we look forward to seeing you in July!

Offical Beerfoot 7’s page - http://www.beerfoot7s.com/

Facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Beerfoot-Beach-7s-Rugby-Tournament-2011/186020724762523?ref=nf

Cheers,

Naples Hammerheads

Message From Nigel Melville About Injured FAU Rugby Player

2011-02-08T18:37:00.001-08:00

http://nmdirect.blogspot.com/2011/02/our-thoughts-are-all-with-james-woody.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+blogspot/ugMo+(Nigel+Melville+Direct)

Football Player Turns To Rugby, Represents US Eagles

2011-02-08T18:35:00.000-08:00

http://www.universalsports.com/blogs/blog=thescrum/postid=514632.html#craigwell+football+player+turned+rugby+star

1/22/11 Feels Like Rugby Season

2011-01-21T21:56:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is the first game of the 2011 season for the team I coach. I am very excited and can't sleep. I remember this feeling. I used to get it when I had a big rugby game the next day, I just couldn't sleep.

Air New Zealand All Black Safety Video

2010-08-30T12:18:00.000-07:00

MY DREAM JOB, MY DREAM JOB, MY DREAM JOB (www.rugbymag.com)

2010-08-18T08:36:00.000-07:00

I was looking online at my daily rugby news websites, and I was blown away to see my dream job posted on a site. The timing is all wrong but I still need a ton more experience to have that position. But..... I can dream...... I can dream.

2010 IRB Womans Rugby World Cup Schedule (www.irb.com)

2010-08-13T16:56:00.000-07:00

WRWC10 – Match Schedule

Pools

Pool A
1. New Zealand
6. Wales
7. Australia
12. South Africa

Pool B
2. England
5. USA
8. Ireland
11. Kazakhstan

Pool C
3. France
4. Canada
9. Scotland
10. Sweden

Match Schedule

MATCH DAY 1: FRIDAY, AUGUST, 20
No. Kick-off Group Match Venue/Pitch
1. 12.00 C Canada v Scotland Surrey 2
2. 14.00 A Wales v Australia Surrey 1
3. 14.15 B USA v Kazakhstan Surrey 2
4. 16.15 A New Zealand v South Africa Surrey 1
5. 16.30 C France v Sweden Surrey 2
6. 18.30 B England v Ireland Surrey 1

MATCH DAY 2: TUESDAY, AUGUST, 24
No. Kick-off Group Match Venue
7. 12.00 A Wales v South Africa Surrey 2
8. 14.00 C France v Scotland Surrey 1
9. 14.15 C Canada v Sweden Surrey 2
10. 16.15 A New Zealand v Australia Surrey 1
11. 16.30 B USA v Ireland Surrey 2
12. 18.30 B England v Kazakhstan Surrey 1

MATCH DAY 3: SATURDAY, AUGUST, 28
No. Kick-off Group Match Venue
13. 12.00 C Scotland v Sweden Surrey 2
14. 14.00 A New Zealand v Wales Surrey 1
15. 14.15 C France v Canada Surrey 2
16. 16.15 A Australia v South Africa Surrey 1
17. 16.30 B Ireland v Kazakhstan Surrey 2
18. 18.30 B England v USA Surrey 1

At the end of the pool phase the teams will be seeded based on the position in which they finished in
their respective pools.

1st Seed Pool winner with most competition points
2nd Seed Pool winner with 2nd most competition points
3rd Seed Pool winner with 3rd most competition points
4th Seed Pool second place with most competition points
5th Seed Pool second place with 2nd most competition points
6th Seed Pool second place with 3rd most competition points
7th Seed Pool third place with most competition points
8th Seed Pool third place with 2nd most competition points
9th Seed Pool third place with 3rd most competition points
10th Seed Pool fourth place with most competition points
11th Seed Pool fourth place with 2nd most competition points
12th Seed Pool fourth place with 3rd most competition points

Based on the seedings the allocation of 4th round matches will be as follows:

MATCH DAY 4:WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER, 1
No Kick-off Match Venue
For Rankings 9 - 12
19. 14.00 10th Seed v 11th Seed Surrey 1
20. 14.00 9th Seed v 12th Seed Surrey 2

For Rankings 5 - 8
21. 16.15 6th Seed v 7th Seed Surrey 1
22. 16.15 5th Seed v 8th Seed Surrey 2

Semi Finals
23. 18.00 2nd Seed v 3rd Seed Stoop
24. 20.15 1st Seed v 4th Seed Stoop

MATCH DAY 5: SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER, 5
No. Kick-off Match Venue Ranking
25. 12:00 Loser Match 19 v Loser Match 20 Surrey 2 11-12
26. 12.00 Loser Match 21 v Loser Match 22 Surrey 1 7-8
27. 14.15 Winner Match 19 v Winner Match 20 Surrey 2 9-10
28. 14.15 Winner Match 21 v Winner Match 22 Surrey 1 5-6
29. 15.00 Loser Match 23 v Loser Match 24 Stoop 3-4
30. 17.15 Winner Match 23 v Winner Match 24 Stoop 1-2

New Technical Zone Laws

2010-08-13T13:47:00.000-07:00

South Rugby Referees Association Guidelines September 2010

Regarding the Technical Zone

All SRRA referees are to strictly adhere to the following guidelines from September 1, 2010 for all games in USA Rugby South jurisdiction.

IRB regulations specify that only medically trained personnel and 2 water carriers may locate themselves in the Technical Zones during play. The water carriers may only enter the Field of Play when there is a stoppage for injury or when a try has been scored. The head coach of a team may not be a water carrier.

If a team has 2 medically trained personnel available, they must situate themselves on opposite sides of the field from one another. Therefore, only one of them may be located inside the Technical Zone at any given point in time. The technical zones will be situated between the half way line and the 22 meter line.

No person within the Technical Zone may direct comments to the Referee or any other Match Official or make comments about any match Official.

Based on the above IRB Guidelines, the SRRA requires all coaching staff and players to stand behind the crowd restraints. If a coach (head or assistant) is nominated as the designated touch judge, s/he may not make any comments to their team or to the Referee while executing this role.

If a coach assumes the role of medical personnel they must stay within the technical zone, relinquish their role as coach and abide by the regulations with respect to communicating with match officials.

If the crowd restraints (e.g., restraining ropes) are insufficient for the purpose of keeping the crowd from the Playing Area and interfering with the Match Officials, the Referee should instruct the Match Organizer (home team organizers) the game will not start until sufficient arrangements have been made.

In the event that coaches take the field without the permission of the Referee, the Referee is required to report the incident to the Discipline Chair of their LAU or The Discipline Chair of USA Rugby South.

In the event that any non-playing person enters the Field of Play and touches a player of the opposing team that person should be dismissed from the Playing Enclosure immediately and the Referee is required to report the incident to the Discipline Chair of their LAU or The Discipline Chair of USA Rugby South.

In the event that a person within the Technical Zone directs comments, criticism or abuse at a Match Official, that person shall be required by the Referee to leave the Technical Zone and the Playing Enclosure and the Referee must report the incident to the Discipline Chair of their LAU or The Discipline Chair of USA Rugby South.

These guidelines are to make sure that the Referee is covered for liability purposes.

R.I.P. UM Rugger Kelly McConnell (www.miaminewtimes.com)

2010-08-13T13:42:00.000-07:00

UM Student Kelly McConnell, Two Brothers, and Dad Killed by Drunk Driver

By Kyle Munzenrieder

Demetrius Jordan, 20, was drinking and smoking pot Saturday night before getting behind the wheel of his Chevy Impala and cruising the streets of St. Petersburg at 80 mph.

Kelly McConnell, 19, on summer break from the University of Miami, was riding home from a movie with his father and two older brothers in the family Ford Fusion during a beach vacation in part to celebrate his birthday.

At 12:45 early Sunday morning, the two cars collided, and Jordan's selfish actions killed four people and shattered a family.

Fifty-one-year-old father Elroy "Roy" McConnell, 19-year-old Kelly, 24-year-old Nathan, and 28-year-old Elroy III were pronounced dead at the scene.

Back at the beach house the family had rented on the Gulf Coast were the boys' mother Amy, Nathan's wife and daughter, Elroy's wife and son, and Kelly's girlfriend.The incident left three widows and two young children who will grow up without a father.

According to WTSP, the family described Kelly, who grew up in Orlando, where the family lives, as "as a tough guy who loved football and played rugby on a club team at the University of Miami."

His Facebook page has been filled with remembrances from dozens of friends and classmates, with one writing, "I remember poking fun at you for writing 'payed' rather than 'paid' on your 100 fliers you spread around campus, and you did nothing but chuckle at your mistake. Even that night, when you had the opportunity to pulverize me as we played football, you seemed to have nothing on your mind but having a good time and winning. It seemed like this was the personality you kept at all times; carefree and living in the moment. Goodbye friend, your absence on campus will be felt for a long, long time."

Cool! Latest Law Clarifications (www.rfu.com) -page link below

2010-08-13T13:19:00.000-07:00

Latest law clarifications for coaches

Photo: Getty Images

The following refereeing directives have been issued by the International Rugby Board and are to be implemented at all levels of the game. Their aim is to ensure that there is an equal contest for possession and to allow the game to flow more freely.

To assist coaches, referees, players and observers to understand how these law clarifications affect the game, the RFU has put together the below resource of explanations and supporting video examples.

This resource highlights key infringement areas to help develop a common understanding for the 2010/11 season.

IRB Refereeing Directives
Law	Description	Example video
Law 11. 1 (a)	Offside from kicks. A player who is in front of a team mate who has kicked the ball should retreat and must not move forwards until played onside – the highlighted player moves forward and prevents the receiving team space to launch a counter-attack.	Offside from kicks example
Law 16.5 (d)	Offside at a ruck – team not in possession. Players should be penalised for breaching the offside line – particularly defending players – as this restricts the attacking options. Specific attention should be paid to players close to the ruck, and players in the wider spaces.	Offside at a ruck – team not in possession examples
Law 10.1 (c)	Illegal maul formation. Line out: Players from the team in possession must not obstruct opponents prior to the maul being established. Players who are not part of the maul and who obstruct opponents joining the maul must be penalised as in video clip 3. Restarts: Players from the team in possession must not obstruct opponents closing in on the ball carrier. Referees should penalise clear and obvious offences	Illegal maul formation line out examples Illegal maul formation restart examples
Law 20.1 (g)	Scrum engagement sequence.It is critical that the referee controls the scrum engagement sequence (crouch-touch-pause-engage) and that players react to the referee’s call. A zero-tolerance will operate towards teams that engage early. The clips demonstrate the affects of negative and positive scrum engagement sequences.	Correct scrum engagement examples Incorrect scrum engagement examples
Law 14 & 15	Ball on the ground – no tackle. Should the ball carrier voluntarily go to ground without a tackle being made opponents are permitted to contest possession provided that they are on their feet and that a ruck has not already formed. In the video clip, the ball carrier (blue) goes to ground voluntarily therefore the opponent can contest possession.	Ball on the ground – no tackle example
Law 15	The tackle – not releasing ball/player. In the first clip Green 7 assists in bringing the ball carrier to ground, but makes no immediate attempt to release the player and ball. In the second clip, the player assists in bringing the ball carrier to ground, releases the ball and player immediately, but is incorrectly penalised.	The tackle – not releasing ball/player examples
Law 15.6 (c)	Players remaining on feet must play the ball from behind the tackled player. In the clip, the highlighted green player assists in bringing the red ball-carrier to ground. The highlighted player is not the tackler as defined in law, and can thus only contest possession by doing so from behind the ball and behind the tackled player.	Players remaining on feet must play the ball from behind the tackled player example
Law 15.6 (d)	At a tackle, players must play ball from directly behind the ball and tackled player. In both clips, the highlighted players do not play the ball from directly behind the ball and tackled player, and thus are penalised correctly	Not playing ball from directly behind examples
Law 15.4 (b)	Tackler not moving away from the ball and the tackled player. Players must immediately release the tackled player and move away from the ball and the tackled player. In the first clip, the Blue 4 and in the second clip, the Pink 5 make no attempt to release the tackled player and move away resulting in the slowing down of the release of the ball.	Tackler not moving away from the ball/player examples
Law 15.7 (c)	Players falling on or over the players lying on the ground after a tackle.The highlighted players wilfully go off their feet to seal off possession and are correctly penalised.	Players falling on or over the players lying on the ground after a tackle examples

http://www.rfu.com/TakingPart/Coach/IRB_Law_Directives.aspx

2 New Articles On The Bombing Of A Uganda Rugby Club (www.bbc.co.uk & www.charlotteobserver.com)

2010-08-13T12:55:00.000-07:00

Uganda eyewitness: 'Blood stains on my feet'

The blasts went off about 10 minutes before the World Cup final match ended

Ugandan student Andinda Moses, 21, was watching the World Cup final match at the Kyadondo Rugby Club in Kampala, which was one of two venues targeted by suspected Somali insurgents.

At least 64 people have died and some 70 others are injured.

He told the BBC News website what he witnessed via telephone from his home.

"What happened was that we were peacefully watching the game. No-one could have expected what happened.

But all of a sudden there was the first explosion.

At first we thought it was an electric short circuit. My friends and I were sitting in the middle but after the first disturbance we shifted closer to the front and the screen.

I heard a voice saying: 'There is a danger, take off, run for your lives...'

But, all of us, we thought he was joking.

We don't know about bombs - we thought he was being crazy.

And we didn't want to miss the match.

'In tatters'

Then it was the second blast that caused the damage.

The sound from the first one was behind where I was. But the second one was near us in front; at this time we were packed together - really many. That is why it was such an impact.

It was just five minutes - I think - because after the first, we were all confused and then no sooner had we started watching again than we heard the second one.

The second blast made people realise it was a bomb but it was too late for some of us.

I just observed all the plastic chairs were in tatters and there was blood all over the place.

Everyone was rushing.

'Trying to escape'

There were some people who were drunk and so we had to step over them.

Actually, I just remember running and stepping over the bodies that had blood spilling from their bodies. It was so terrible.

Everyone was taking off and trying to escape.

I was running, not knowing where I was going.

Others were wailing and crying.

It was so noisy and full of crying. I can't even explain the sound.

After coming to my senses, I realised that I had blood stains all over my feet.

I thank God that I survived.

Also that all my friends are all right.

From that time I have just been thinking about happened.

I still can't believe it."

Former Raleigh man dies in Uganda bombings

From staff and wire reports

Posted: Monday, Jul. 12, 2010

An undated photo provided by Invsibile Children shows Nate Henn, who was killed in Uganda on Sunday. He was killed when simultaneous explosions tore through crowds watching the World Cup final at a rugby club and an Ethiopian restaurant.

KAMPALA, Uganda An American who recently lived in Raleigh for a year was the lone American killed when explosions tore through crowds watching the World Cup final Sunday at a rugby club and an Ethiopian restaurant in Kampala, Uganda, killing at least 74 people.

Nathan Henn, 25, who worked with Invisible Children, a San Diego-based aid group that helps child soldiers in Africa, was killed on the rugby field. Henn was a native of Wilmington, Del., but his family moved to Raleigh in 2007, and he lived here for about a year, his sister, Brynne Henn, said this morning in a telephone interview.

"Nathan was an amazing guy," said Brynne Henn, 20. "He lived his life for others and for his God.

"For the last year and a half he worked tirelessly to end the war in northern Uganda."

Invisible Children, according to its website, makes documentaries about children affected by war in East Africa and shows them around the world, with the goal of "mobilizing a generation to capture the attention of the international community, and make a stand for justice in the wake of genocide." Nathan Henn, among his activities with the group, organized the world tours.

According to the group, Henn went to Uganda to see the homeland of some of the friends he met on tour, several of whom were with him on Sunday at the rugby club. They had given him the nickname "Oteka," an Acholi word meaning "The Strong One," and he had adopted the name on his Facebook page.

"From traveling the United States without pay advocating for the freedom of abducted child soldiers in Joseph Kony's war, to raising thousands of dollars to put war-affected Ugandan students in school, Nate lived a life that demanded explanation," the group said in a statement on its website. "He sacrificed his comfort to live in the humble service of God and of a better world, and his is a life to be emulated."

Kony heads the Lord's Resistance Army, which has waged one of Africa's longest and most brutal rebellions, in northern Uganda.

Arrangements for Henn are incomplete, but his sister asked that those who want to pay tribute to him make a contribution to Invisible Children at the organization's website.

Meanwhile, an al-Qaida-linked Somali militant group said it was behind the attacks, and Uganda's president declared today that "we shall get them wherever they are."

"We will carry out attacks against our enemy wherever they are," said Sheik Ali Mohamud Rage, a militant spokesman in Mogadishu. "No one will deter us from performing our Islamic duty.

The blasts came two days after a commander with the Somali group, al-Shabab, called for militants to attack sites in Uganda and Burundi, two nations that contribute troops to the African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia.

Sheik Yusuf Sheik Issa, an al-Shabab commander, told The Associated Press early Monday that he was happy with the attacks in Uganda.

"Uganda is one of our enemies. Whatever makes them cry, makes us happy. May Allah's anger be upon those who are against us," Sheik said.

Police said Ethiopian, Indian and Congolese nationals were also among those killed and wounded, police said.

Crouch, Touch, Hold, Engage! (rugbybuzz.com)

2010-07-23T08:31:00.000-07:00

American ref defies IRB ruling – again!

Posted on July 16th, 2010
by Buzz McClain

Ever since the new sequence for calling in the scrummages was made rugby law a few years ago, I immediately took a dislike to it. I knew the new four-count sequence was, according to orthopedic studies, likely to reduce injuries incurred when 16 huge bodies slammed together with the force of an automobile accident. It was for the best, particularly for kids. But something about it bothered me.

It was the “pause.”

For those who don’t scrum down — and that’s you Mr. Perfect Hair Fly Half — the referee (me) calls the scrummage together after the props have wrapped around the hooker and the second rows have poked their heads between the thighs of the props and hookers and the flankers look ready and the No. 8 is set to bind in with at least one shoulder. The ref calls them in with this sequence.

“Crouch. Touch. Pause. Engage.”

At “crouch,” the packs are supposed to oppose each other with bended knees, about arms’ length apart.

At “touch,” the props use their outside arms to touch the shoulder of their opposite. That’s to ensure we’re only arm’s length apart. Any further apart and the force is that much greater when they hit; any closer and their bodies can get bent up, and heads pop out, stuff you don’t want to happen.

At “engage,” the packs come together in a controlled, carefully constructed cadence, with a pop and push and all is well in the world. It is rugby union’s most distinctive image — the scrummage. It’s given us the word “scrum,” which has been appropriated far and wide by those who have no idea of how orderly a scrum is to characterize a scene of crowded chaos as a “scrum.”

Some see a scrum and see anarchy. I see a scrum and I see orderly effort, discipline and, if done right, genuine artistry. Especially at hooker.

But what of this “pause”? To hear a referee says “pause” in the heat of battle is disturbing, distracting and just plain wrong. Especially when they say it with an accent that elongates the vowels and turns it into “pawws.”

From the beginning the word just would not come out of my mouth. It was just too . . . wimpy. Instinctively I started saying “hold.” “Crouch, touch, hold, engage,” has a far more commanding ring, one that accomplishes the same end as “pause” but without the irritating wimp factor.

At the pre-game chat with the front rows I’ll make sure they know I’m not going to sound like all the other refs, and they comply to a man or woman, at all ages.

So now I propose that all rugby referees start using the word “hold” instead of “pause.” Just do it. I know the law book spells out what you are supposed to do, but you’re also not supposed to call “make up” penalties either, but you do.

Try it at practice. You’ll like it. Then use it in a game. And if it gets back to my supervisors that I’ve been contravening the laws once again (who wants a link to the first time?), the I’ll suffer the consequences.

And now, I’m going to pause.

The Angry Ref - Ban Of Vuvuzelas (arugbylife.com)

2010-07-23T08:27:00.000-07:00

The Angry Ref - "I’m With the Ban"

Posted by Hedley Lagrand at 9:36 AM

So, recently the organizers of the Rugby World Cup came out against vuvzelas. Bravo! Those things are abysmal. Terrible. Awful. Horrible. An abomination. Seriously, I hate them. I was all ready to be a fan of this year’s Copa Mundial until I was listening to early pool play on the radio and marveling at how bad the reception was. I mean c’mon South Africa, get some fiber optics or something! When I found out that the killer bee sound wasn’t ancient S.A. technology but in fact ancient S.A. culture I was done. I hardly paid attention to the rest of the tournament. So bravo to the RWC folks for ensuring that rugby fans don’t have to endure that nonsense. Anything we can do to distance our sport from soccer is a good thing.

But why stop at vuvuzelas? I can think of more things to ban. For example, can we ban the referee jerseys worn at the Collegiate Sevens Tournament? What the hell was up with those? For god’s sake I thought a lost and lonely Newcastle United player had wandered out onto the field. I was worried about him, you know what happens when a soccer player is almost touched. I thought he might be killed. But no, it was the referee. It was shocking. I mean really, is this what we have to do to get U.S. viewers involved? Zebra stripes? Yuck. BAN IT!

Can we also ban anyone not talking about rugby from using the word “scrum?” Seriously, there’s nothing that kills a broadcast faster than some idiot calling something a “scrum.”

“Fumble! And there’s a scrum for the ball”

“Loose ball on the court, and now a scrum as players try to gain possession.”

“How he disallowed that goal with that scrum going on in front of him is unexplainable”

“And now a scrum on the ice in front of the net.”

Etc.

Hey morons, if anything at all these things look like rucks or maybe mauls but they are not f****** scrums! Scrums are organized, legislated, and orderly. Stop calling every pile of bodies you see a “scrum” you ignorant cow. If you don’t know rugby don’t mention rugby. You’re ruining it for the rest of us. BAN IT!

What else should be banned from rugby?