Catch up in the Rugby week that was: June 27 – July 3… Sorry its a long one…
Will Genia - A beast at a game of Bulldogs!
News out of the England camp is that James Haskell will return to London Wasps for the 2012/13 season via Japan. Before he heads back to the club where he became a household name, James will join Tokyo based, Ricoh Black Rams after the World Cup. He has obviously developed the travel bug, as he intends to also play a season in the Super Rugby franchise before he returns to London.
On a history front, England’s oldest rugby player, Brian Pope celebrated his centenary birthday on the 26th of June. The RFU presented him with an engraved silver salver and the England Rugby Internationals Club will also be giving him a framed picture and match report from his England playing days. Pope received Cambridge Blues for rugby and represented Blackheath. However he is also famed for a hole-in-one on the St. George’s course in Sandwich, which this year will host the Open. Applause all round!
Between the 19-23 June, rugby fans got together with the Munster squad in the Cycle for Paul Darbyshire. He was head of strength and conditioning at Munster, and was diagnosed with Motor Neurone disease in September. Sadly Paul passed away on Monday 20th June, on the second day of the journey. Here’s a moving clip from stage 1 of the journey…
The England U20 boys made it into the Junior Rugby Championships in Italy and faced a very strong Baby Blacks side. The game highlighted the talent and strength of both sides as they went head to head in Padova. The New Zealanders were victorious, claiming a 33-22 win over England. This means that the Baby Blacks (Don’t really believe they are all under 20) are yet to be beaten in the history of the U20 tournament. Check out the highlights…
World Cup time…
Preparations for the World Cup are going well, especially ticket sales. Tournament organizer the RNZ have announced that they have hit the £100 million mark in sales, showing that the rugby community are totally behind the event. Tickets are going fast. Have you got yours yet?
In the wake of ticket sales, National team kits are steadily becoming the summer trend. Scotland, Wales, France and South Africa have all revealed their surprising (I never said it was a good surprise) new strips in time for the summer internationals. Obviously wanting to start a revolution, Wales have gone one step further and have stepped out with a state of the art kit. Check out their innovative kit material…
Other side of the world…
Down on the South Island, Ma’a Nonu has secured a rugby future, similar to that of James Haskell. The dreaded midfielder has re-signed with the NZRU for a further two years and has also guaranteed Super Rugby play in 2012/13, after signing with Auckland based Blues. After the World Cup, Skux will head to Japan to join James Haskell at Tokyo based Ricoh Black Rams.
Making our way into the Southern Hemisphere, Super Rugby semi-finals took place in Brisbane and Cape Town. The Reds were able to beat the Blues for a second time this year, 30-13, to claim a spot in the final as Suncorp, on July 9th. If you didn’t check it out, you’re definately missing out. The things Quade Cooper, with partner Will Genia are capable of, is astounding.
On the other side of the ocean, the Crusaders easily raced passed the Stormers to join the Reds in Brisbane next weekend. Got some time? Check out highlights of both semi’s here…
Week in Review: June 13-19 | June 6-12 | May 30 – June 5 | May 23-29 | May 16-22 | May 9-15 | May 2 – 8