The News Review:
- Rugby: Tasman survives the chop – again
- Premier Rugby considers salary cap cut
- Ellis hearing over Carter tackle set for Friday
- Chiefs investigate French rugby classes
- Rugby: Ospreys’ Ian Gough gets special ERC cap
- Rugby: Beaufort back to winning ways
Rugby: Tasman survives the chop – again
New Zealand Herald New Zealand
Chief executive Peter Barr acknowledged Tasman was on "death row" before the NZRU today accepted a final plea to avoid relegation from the premier 14-team competition. Last Friday the debt-stricken union was told to remove the bulk of its $300000 shortfall by today. It was something Barr could guarantee through the help of some "close affiliates" of the Tasman Rugby Union who have pledged to underwrite the sum and meet the 2009 budget of $3. "It was 11th hour stuff really" Barr said. "But it’s our intention that we won’t call on those underwrites. "We will be making every effort to ensure that our own communities assist us in funding our activity and we survive on our own steam.
Premier Rugby considers salary cap cut
AFP
Bristol one of England’s oldest-established senior rugby union sides are presently bottom of the Premiership and operating at an annual loss of one million pounds (1. 53 million dollars). Last month the south-west club who have been kept going financially in recent seasons by a group of generous fans issued an urgent appeal for fresh funds just to “remain competitive”. The salary cap was raised despite Bristol’s objections to four million pounds at the start of this season.
Related from Prmonster: Dollar-a-Year Salaries: Cost-Cutting Measure or PR Stunt
Ellis hearing over Carter tackle set for Friday
AFP
But in the process he had to survive what seemed to be a ‘tipping’ by Ellis on as a replacement which saw Carter land on his head from a height of some six feet. ‘Tipping’ is regarded as one of the most dangerous of all illegal forms of tackling yet Ellis avoided even a yellow card which would have seen him sin-binned from Irish referee Alan Lewis. However Scottish match citing commissioner Iain Goodall cited Ellis on Monday under rugby union’s Law 10. 4 (e) which states that “a player must not tackle an opponent early late or dangerously”. Tournament organisers European Rugby Cup said Tuesday that Ellis’s hearing would be chaired by Professor Lorne Crerar (Scotland) who would be assisted by Irish duo George Spotswood and Pat Barriscale. After the match Carter – widely regarded as the best stand-off currently in world rugby union – told reporters: “I was very thankful that I wasn’t hurt. It was pretty scary up there and I had no control over how I was going to land.
Chiefs investigate French rugby classes
Stuff.co.nz New Zealand
There's certainly a plan for them to come over and spend a week with us early in our next campaign looking at our operation" Foster said. "They're a fantastic club probably the biggest club in Europe in terms of revenue crowds and performance so it's an alliance we want to start building because who knows what's going to happen in the future and it's good for this franchise to spread its wings a bit. "Foster said such networks would be vital in the future with the changing scope of rugby and the possibility the Super rugby window could be shifted back slightly later in the year. "At this stage we're pretty clear about what Super 14 looks like in 2009 but after that we're not too clear and there's certainly lots of ideas on the table. "A close alliance with a couple of northern hemisphere clubs would make pre-season play with such teams a strong possibility in the future both through the windows available due to Six Nations play in the middle of their competitions and also through possible changes to the face of the southern hemisphere competition. "I think there's a desire by Gary to position ourselves so that wherever the game does go we've got some contacts. "At this stage it's all exciting.
Rugby: Ospreys’ Ian Gough gets special ERC cap
WalesOnline United Kingdom
Gough made his Heineken Cup debut in September 1998 playing for Pontypridd against Glasgow at Firhill. He made 11 Heineken Cup appearances for Pontypridd before moving to Newport RFC where he added a further 14 games. Following the move to regional rugby in 2003 he played 16 times for the Dragons in the tournament and has enjoyed a further 10 outings in an Ospreys shirt prior to last Saturday’s trip to Treviso. Gough said: “It’s been a long time coming but I’m delighted to have hit such a landmark and I’m honoured to receive the cap. It seems a long time since I made my debut in the competition but I’ve got some great memories of this tournament. ” Ospreys coach Sean Holley presented the cap to Gough. He said: “Ian has been a stalwart of Welsh rugby over the last 10 years and this cap is tribute to his longevity and his durability.
Rugby: Beaufort back to winning ways
WalesOnline United Kingdom
They played all the creative rugby that brought them four well-orchestrated tries against the Newport outfit to earn them a bonus point and keep them in touch with the top of Division Six. St Julians came with a jumbo pack and a game plan to stampede their hosts into submission. This failed to work and the only noticeable Plan B they offered was to slow the game down. In this area they had a modicum of success otherwise the try count could have been a lot higher. Beaufort started the match with menace in their stride and a cutting edge in their play to keep their opponents’ defence fully occupied.