All posts in Rugby

Hello Friends,

It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I apologize for being gone so long… or should I apoligize for coming back? Well, no matter, because today is a great day. A great day indeed, and not just because it is the beginning of a three day weekend, either.

No, today is a great day, because the Super 14 Rugby (Union) season starts once again in the southern hemisphere! If you aren’t familiar with the concept of “super” rugby, I fill you in, briefly. The Super 14 competion consists of 14 (get it?) professional rugby teams from New Zealand, South Africa, and Australia. They compete in a tournament where they play in all three countries from this week until May, when one tem emerges as champions in the Grand Final.

For my money (and I am paying for it via DirectTv) it is the best professional rugby competition there is. I enjoy the Super 14 much more than I do the Europe-based Heineken Cup, Magner’s league, and others. Southern hemisphere rugby is just a wee bit different, and to me, a whole lot better.

I know that rugby doesn’t excite most of you (probably any of you), but for me, it is the height of sport… all of the speed of hockey, the physicality and hard hits of American football, the athletic skills and the requirement of full team play, is a hell of a package.

As if the start of the Super 14 season wasn’t enough, there is also the fact that the European Six Nations competition started last week! The Six Nations is an international competition played between England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, and Wales. It is clearly the best European tournament there is… made all the better as you have to be a great player even to be considered a representative of your national side.

Now, you might think that all this is too much for one middle-aged former athlete to bear, but I feel that I have to add one more thing: This weekend is also going to see the USA Sevens competition, in San Diego! Sevens rugby is fast and furious and is popular in many places in the United States. Less hard hitting, but much, MUCH faster that regular rugby, which has 15 players on a side.

OK, friends, it’s Saturday… Valentine’s Day, and I have to go make breakfast for Clan Gunfighter, so that they’ll leave me alone to watch rugby in peace… that will be MY present for the day.

GF

Recently, something remarkable happened in South African sports.

On January 11th, the South African Rugby Union (SARU) named Peter DeVilliers as the coach of their national team, The Springboks.

Big deal, right? Sports teams get new coaches all the time, don’t they? Well, yes, but in south Africa, this time it’s a little different… this time SARU has hired a black man to coach their national side. While most Americans might shrug this off, in the rugby world… especially in South Africa, this is huge!

Sure, there are more and more balck players being selected for the South African squad… players like Bryan Habana, JP Nell, Akona N’Dungane, Jon-Paul “JP” Pietersen, Ricky Januarie, and Breyton Paulse have become brights stars on a team of bright stars who are the current Rugby World Cup champions, but this is different. This isn’t about leadership or coaching ability, is it? I think that this is about national character.

Of course, you’re groaning now, because you think I am going to launch into a lecture about racism in sports, right? Well, not really… but in South Africa, considering the nation’s history and the fact that rugby is totally dominated by white players, on all levels, this move is just one more remarkable act in a nation of recurring remarkable acts.

South African politics have undergone a huge transformation in the past twenty years, as has South African culture. I suppose, then, that it should follow that change has come to the world of South African sports. I, for one, welcome that change.

The South African Rugby Union is to be congratulated. From all reports, DeVilliers is a top flight coach at the international level, and seems poised to lead that country’s national sport in the right direction.

Well, the 2007 Rugby World Cup is off and running in France, and has already given us a few surprises.

In the opening match, France vs Argentina, the French went down to defeat in what was probably the most hard-hitting, bloody, physical match that I have ever seen.

The French seemed to take the Argentinians a little too lightly at the beginning of the match, and the Pumas pounced on the opportunity, took the initiative, and held onto it throughout the entire match. Even the French second-half inclusion of replacement hard-man Sebastien Chabal, couldn’t stem the Argentinian tide.

The Argentinians didn’t win by much, but then, everyone expected the French to win this fairly handily.

The World Cup started with a surprise, but it wasn’t to be the only surprise in the early stages of pool play.

In another surprise, The United States had a splendid game against England! No, we didn’t beat them, but most commentators expected that the English were going to teach the upstart USA that we shouldn’t be dabbling in their athletic baliwick. The conventional wisdom, before the game, said that England would beat the USA by at least 60 points. As it turns out, England struggled with awkward play, while the United States had the game of a lifetime, holding the English margin for Victory to only eighteen points.

The second match for the USA was against Tonga. A horrible start by the USA allowed Tonga to score a converted try in the first two minutes of the game. It was all downhill from there, and the United States were defeated 15 to 25.

The opening week was marred only by the four-game suspension of South African flanker, Schalk Burger, who was found guilty of executing a dangerous tackle against Junior Polu, of Samoa.

The coming week promises to be exciting, as England and South Africa face off against each other. Other exciting matches this week will include Wales v. Australia, and France v. Namibia (who are surprisingly strong).

See you next week.

For those of you that don’t habla the Rugby.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEQyCcageGg]

On Saturday, the New Zealand All Blacks delivered a 33 to 6 beating to the the Springboks of South Africa, in Christchurch (NZ).

Although the score would have us believe that the All Blacks had everything under control, nothing could be further from the truth. At 8 weeks to go before the Rugby World Cup, the South Africans fielded what could only be called a mostly second string team, while New Zealand played most of it’s stars.

From the opening whistle, South Africa played aggressive offense and hard-hitting defense. The New Zealanders did the same, and at half time, the score was only 6-3 to the All Blacks.

The second half saw more of the same, with New Zealand creating all sorts of scoring opportunities, but failing to capitalize on them. No tries were scored until the 68th (of 80) minute in the game.

At the end of it all, South Africa was tired and the fitness of the All Blacks payed off, with Brendon Leonard, Nick Evans, and Dan Carter crossing the line to deliver the decisive blows.