The News Review:
- Castleford rugby league club releases sprinter Dwain Chambers after…
- … Junior World Championship will provide a springboard into…
- N Zealand v Tonga starts rugby feast
- Rugby: Fitzpatrick slams lack of depth in NZ
- … result for Paddison – New Zealand’s source for sport…
- Australian Rugby Shield
- Scrum is king under the new laws
Castleford rugby league club releases sprinter Dwain Chambers after…
International Herald Tribune – May 6, 2008
Chambers finished a monthlong trail at Castleford Tigers rugby league club on Tuesday and his contract won't be extended. The British sprinter who completed a two-year ban for testing positive for the steroid THG in 2005 had tried the sport because the British Olympic Association has a lifetime ban on athletes with a serious doping violation competing at the Olympics. “Dwain has worked very hard during training and the trial game and he showed the commitment and courage to suggest that with time he could become a successful rugby league player” Castleford said in a statement. “However time is not available to us and we have to focus upon more immediate matters and our attention has to be on this year's Super League competition. ” Tigers chief executive office Richard Wright said Chambers had proved his trial was more than a publicity stunt.
… Junior World Championship will provide a springboard into…
Telegraph.co.uk – May 6, 2008
They will be amazed at much of the brilliant rugby on offer. Jake White South Africa’s World Cup-winning coach still considers some of the rugby he witnessed while coaching South Africa to the Under-21 world title in 2002 as the most brutal and exciting he has encountered. Flanker Schalk Burger went straight from being player of the tournament in the Under-21 World Cup into the full Springboks team later that year and his next stop was being voted IRB World Player of Year. It all happens so quickly at this age. A young talent can blossom in front of your eyes in the two or three weeks of competition… Equally others fade away having already reached their zenith. This year’s Championship breaks new ground in that it effectively merges the Under-19 and Under-21 tournaments that have existed in varying formats over the years with the age group now being standardised at Under-20. From now on every rugby nation on the planet whether in the throes of development or already a superpower can have a brilliant snapshot of exactly where they are and a tantalising glimpse of the future. I have never understood the scepticism about such under-age teams. The point is that playing for your country at such an age is different but it is just as pressured and even more demanding mentally as playing top-level club rugby. Much more is expected of you. At club level everything is a bonus for a 19- or 20-year-old youngsters are allowed a brief honeymoon period and performances are part of the ubiquitous learning curve.
N Zealand v Tonga starts rugby feast
News Wales – May 6, 2008
The top 16 nations in the world at U20 age grade level will compete for the world title in a new-look tournament which is to replace both the IRB U21 and U19 World Championships. Wales U20 are seeded fourth for the tournament following Wales U19′s semi-final position at last season?s IRB U19 World Championships. This gives them the top spot in Pool D and will be based in Swansea while the other three top seeds are New Zealand U20 (Pool A Cardiff) South Africa U20 (Pool B Wrexham) and Australia U20 (Pool C Newport). The match venues will be Cardiff Arms Park Rodney Parade Newport and the Racecourse Wrexham.
Rugby: Fitzpatrick slams lack of depth in NZ
New Zealand Herald – May 6, 2008
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… result for Paddison – New Zealand’s source for sport…
stuff.co.nz – May 6, 2008
Paddison finished 18th equal his third top-20 result in his rookie season on the European Tour. The left-hander carded a one-under-par 71 for a tournament card of eight-under 280 to finish seven shots back of the winner Irishman Peter Lawrie who beat Spaniard Ignacio Garrido on the second hole of a playoff. Paddison had started the final round in Seville in a share of 20th place and quickly pushed himself forward with birdies at the opening two holes. He also birdied the fifth and 16th but these were cancelled out by bogeys at the third seventh and 11th holes.
Australian Rugby Shield
NEWS.com.au – May 6, 2008
article-tools –> May 05 2008 11:00pm Australian Rugby Shield Round 1 DARWIN 20 (P Mayo W Sekitoga tries; B Niki 2 goals B Niki A Thomas pen goals) d ADELAIDE 18 (T Ramanumanu B Hamer tries; K McKinley goal 2 pen goals)QUEENSLAND COUNTRY 37 (M Zovko 2 B Bunyan J Obst K Beakey tries; M Zovko 2 J Fa’alago goals M Zovko 2 pen goals) d MELBOURNE 7 (G Tauelangi try M Breen goal). Standings: Qld Country 5; Darwin 4; Adelaide 1; NSW Country Melbourne 0. Australian under-20 squad Albert Anae (Qld) Kurtley Beale (NSW) Peter Betham (NSW) Nathan Charles (NSW) Blair Connor (Qld) Quade Cooper (Qld) Ben Coridas (NSW) Ben Daley (Qld) Tetera Faulkner (ACT) Will Genia (Qld) James Hanson (Qld) Dane Haylett-Petty (WA) Robert Horne (NSW) Seilala Lam (ACT) Richard Kingi (Qld) Alfi Mafi (NSW) Ben McCalman (NSW) Tom Murday (WA) Ratu Nasiganiyavi (NSW) Daniel Palmer (NSW) David Pocock (WA) Andrew Rossiter (Qld) Robert Simmons (Qld) Jeremy Sua (NSW) Ben Tapuai (Qld) and Sam Wykes (NSW). Share this article.
Scrum is king under the new laws
stuff.co.nz – May 6, 2008
The Highlanders kicked four penalties to defeat the Cheetahs even though they played with 13 men in the later stages of the match. There were 34 tries in seven matches despite the fact that two of the matches were played in wet conditions – the Crusaders-Sharks and Bulls-Waratahs games – in which there were only three and two tries scored. It is obvious that under the experimental law variations (ELVs) rugby remains a physical contest for all body shapes where an essential element in play is a continuous battle for possession. It is equally obvious unfortunately that the opposition to the ELVs from the Rugby Football Union (the England rugby union that still believes it should run rugby as it did before 1949) and a group of influential rugby writers on the leading English broadsheets is not based on fact. The opposition is all about resisting the end of the RFU's dominance over the governance of the game and the end of the influential rugby writers' dominant position as arbiters of what is good for the game. There is a certain consistency here. The RFU and the rugby writers have for more than 100 years opposed every major reform of the laws and governance of the game from the value of a try to the concept of a World Cup… The opposition is all about resisting the end of the RFU's dominance over the governance of the game and the end of the influential rugby writers' dominant position as arbiters of what is good for the game. There is a certain consistency here. The RFU and the rugby writers have for more than 100 years opposed every major reform of the laws and governance of the game from the value of a try to the concept of a World Cup. When there were calls to give a value to a try in the 1890s the RFU chairman harrumphed that players with speed shouldn't be rewarded just because they were fast runners. Several of the influential rugby writers leading the charge against the ELVs insisted in a similar mindset that when lifting in the lineout was introduced that there would never be another lineout turnover. They argued passionately for a return of the "dockyard brawl" lineout. English rugby its officials its clubs and its journalists have always seen rugby as more of a football game than a rugby game.