You're right that is what is happening now. This maybe because once someone completes college they don't see the value of continuing to play for a club. Ryan read the links that i gave you. USA Rugby/Play rugby are trying to roll it out on a national level, but really can only do this on a local and state level. Have you heard of the State Based Rugby Organization that USARFU are trying to establish? Both our home state of NC has one! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Carolina_Rugby_Football_Union If you are part of a rugby club get involved with Rookie Rugby they may be able to assist you in getting a local program started, but they can't force you to get involved. You are right! We both love rugby...I think so we should look at ways to grow the game, because it isn't going to grow on it's own. The American sports landscape is full and rugby is going to have a hard time muscling in on any part of that landscape.
I still harken back to a comment by Matt Brown of the old Fox Sports World. After the switch from Fox Sports World to Fox Soccer he wrote in a blog that rugby had a bad history of losing a TON of money in the USA for broadcasters. The problem was the other countries in the English speaking world outside of North America paid big bucks for rugby. So the broadcaster in Aus, NZ, RSA, Ire and the UK all had a much higher valuation on the broadcast rights to Canada and the USA. It meant the North American broadcaster had to pay a lot for rights which they got (in true tv terms) poor viewership. I think the USA v Canada series has legs. To be honest we've played them more than any other team. And Flyin' Ryan has a point. If we had a true Americas championship then.......... 1/ Uruguay would beat everyone handily not named USA, Canada or Argentina. 2/ Uruguay would lose by 25-30 points to the US or Canada 3/ Canada would probably beat the USA (if history and current form are any indication) 4/ and the Argentine B team could hammer either the US or Canada and probably a combined North American Barbarian side at that. Rookie rugby is a great idea but it needs funding to provide the rules, equipment, infrastructure and set up of mini-rugby. I simply don't know where USA Rugby is going to get that money. They laid off 5 or 6 people in September and things have always been 'tight' financially. Although I make a point of supporting the sponsors and verbalizing to the sponsors that I saw their product on USA Rugby related sponsorship I certainly am in no position to join the National Guard. Finally...............lets all go to http://bbcamerica.com/viewer_relations.jsp and post some sort of comment thanking them for bringing the 6 nations.
I completely agree with the current state of rugby in the Americas. The problem I have with the CC is....is it a test series or is it an A side series. I think that the tournament should be one or the other. I know others don't agree, but IMHO make the CC an A side series and start a 3 game series with Canada. Fyin' Ryan and The Shelts did you hear about the summit that USA Rugby is hosting with all of the tier 2 countries in LA. The goal of the summit is to start playing regular test with each other beginning in 2012. I think this is a tremendous step forward. With Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Japan, Urguay, Canada, Georgia, Romania, Russia, Spain and Portugal there is bound to be some maketable test matches in there. Why not create a trophy of some sort, either for just teams playing tests in America or for all the tier 2 nations and let them battle it out each June and November. You are right that it needs a lot more money, however I believe you can still get all the basic equipment through USA Rugby/Play Rugby USA and there are rules, but I am not involved so I don't know what they are. I have already done it and I will probably do it again once the 6 Nations are over. I hope that they show the entire tournament next year. Does anyone know any tv ratings for the 6 Nations or USA Sevens tournament.
Nice in theory, but two questions: How are they going to pay for it? And will it get more people watching rugby? England's B-team and other top-tier B-teams can easily handle our A-team, so I don't really think the distinction matters. Well where's this money going to come from? Should we sacrifice a more ambitious national team program to completely orient the union toward youth rugby? You can't have everything, you have to prioritize. You want to play Fiji and Romania in 2015? Allright, that means other parts of the USA Rugby budget have to be cut to make financial room for that. On the last ARN podcast, Nigel Melville was defending his strategic plan for the union which I guess has been largely received as "pie in the sky". He says we have a budget of $7-8 million currently, and we have to get up to $12 million. That's a 50% increase, that's pretty difficult to do. But what you do with that $7-8 they have now has to be spent wisely.
My guess is the IRB will pay for it. I know this isn't ideal and really can't go on for must longer, but given that rugby is still a fringe sport we need the IRB's support. The American public will take to rugby like any new sport, some people will love it and some will hate it. The key is people growing up having played it and watching it on tv, which will take time. From the stand point of developing international players I think that the CC is a great tournament, with tough competition. However, what I meant was from a marketing stand point. I just don't feel American sports fans want to see our national team play other countries back up teams. I would agree that the A sides from all the top rugby nations could easily beat us, but from a marketing stand point I feel it should be an A side tournament to develop players or a test side tournament in order to market towards broadcasters, sponsors and the public. IMHO the union needs to continue to develop these SBROs and invest in youth rugby. The reason that rugby has been spinning it's wheels for the last 30 years is because they didn't invest in American kids back in the 70s and 80s when they had the chance (like soccer did). Instead they just concentrated on the Eagles and converting college football players to rugby players. In 10 years time when thousands of more kids have grown up playing and following rugby from a pre teen age we will have the player base and the fan base to be self sufficient and thus effort expensive tours and test matches. Until then I say concentrate on Youth, High School and College rugby and with regards to the Eagles keep it simple like an annual series with Canada.
IMHO the union needs to continue to develop these SBROs and invest in youth rugby. The reason that rugby has been spinning it's wheels for the last 30 years is because they didn't invest in American kids back in the 70s and 80s when they had the chance (like soccer did). Instead they just concentrated on the Eagles and converting college football players to rugby players. In 10 years time when thousands of more kids have grown up playing and following rugby from a pre teen age we will have the player base and the fan base to be self sufficient and thus effort expensive tours and test matches. Until then I say concentrate on Youth, High School and College rugby and with regards to the Eagles keep it simple like an annual series with Canada.[/QUOTE] [FONT="]I absolutely agree with you 100%. You have to invest heavily at the grassroots and the youth level and believe me your national team will benefit in the long run. Can’t believe you guys haven’t done so already. A good example of this is Wales. When the game went professional after the 95 world cup, Wales were lacking far behind the southern hemisphere sides and the likes of England and France. They then completely restructured their league, scraped their A team and emphasized heavily on youth development and made their under 20’s the second team. The team is one of the best in Europe at the moment and producing great young talents.[/FONT] [FONT="]Regarding your National team I believe CC cup is the best tournament for you at the moment. The only way to get your TV ratings up and get more people on board is to improve your National team and get more success. This tournament will help you achieve this but you need to be patient. IMHO playing Canada 3 times is not the answer because it can get boring after a while and it won’t help to improve the standard of the team. They now play 3 games against each team in the Tri nation and it’s getting a bit tedious. I say stick with this tournament and maybe move to the Pacific 5 nations in a couple of year’s time.[/FONT] [FONT="]Flyin Ryan mentioned England, Scotland and Wales being one Country but I couldn’t disagree more with him on this subject. In fact the Scots and Welsh will find this very offensive. The rugby culture in England and Wales couldn’t be more different. Although the game is big in southwest of England and some parts of London, it’s mostly classed as a middle class sport and is way behind the no. 1 sport in England which is soccer. But in Wales it is the national sport and they follow it like religion. In fact I say they are the most passionate fans in the world. Also in Wales they are brought up to play the game more expansively and that’s how the national team always plays the game but in England it more forward orientated and kicking. The Welsh despise the English and there is a saying in Wales that it doesn’t matter if they get the wooden spoon in the six nations, as long as they beat the English than it’s a good season.[/FONT] [FONT="]I am a massive rugby fan and want the game to expand globally in places like Russia and Africa but I think America has the most potential. Can you please tell me how healthy the sport is in US at the moment? Is it growing in popularity? And also why it has taken so long for the public to embrace the game because you guys love contact sport and it’s similar to A football. If you guys put more effort into it I think you would be unstoppable. Look at all the athlete you produce in American football. I am with you guys all the way and let’s hope the future is bright for the Eagles. [/FONT]
Good comparison! We have all the tools to be a top 8 team, but IMHO have gone about it in the wrong way. Had we done what you stated above 10 to 20 years ago we would be having an entirely different discussion, but instead we tried to convert American footballer into rugby players or course with limited success. I see your point, but I think some sort of match or limited series should be put in place against Canada. What about a two game series with the C.C. match potentially counting as one or even just one match each year planned? Completely agree with you. Unfortunately if you ask the average American where a Brit is from they would probably say England instead of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Of course there are a lot of people from those conuntries who want to be independent from the UK and don't consider themselves British even though technically they are. IMHO this is one of the many great things about truely interntational sports such as rugby and soccer/football is that it opens up other cultures to people. I agree that America has the most potential, even though Asia has the most people and should be a long term goal. From what I can see Rugby (union) today is in the same position soccer was back in the late 70s early 80s. When our union reformed back in the early 70s it pretty much became a cult sport at the university level. USA Rugby's strategy was pretty much a top down approach. Recruit the best American Football players who didn't make it into the NFL and hope that people fall in the love with the game. This was followed by years of infighting and fiscal mismanagement peaking in 2005 with the Union basically going broke. The IRB basically stepped in and put in place an administration that could fulfill the US's potential, but unfortunately they haven't had much luck. However they have been investing in youth rugby which is long overdue. So, to answer your question youth/grassroots rugby is on the rise, highschool rugby becoming very popular but still not at critical mass, university rugby exploding, but has absolutely no help from USA Rugby to reach its potential and Elite/professional rugby going nowhere at the moment and only really popular with the rugby community but not at all with the main stream sports community. Hopefully that will change. On a side note my parents who know nothing about rugby in the past year have watched the 6 Nations on BBC America, went to see the local university (NC State) play a rugby match and went to see invictus at the cinema. IMHO that is a cultural shift.
Frankly speaking I think the Asian will struggle to compete purley based on thier size. I am a Gurkha from Nepal myself and I used to play fullback growing up in Wales but switched to srumhalf for the under 19s because it was perfect for my small size (i am only 5'6). I wasn't complaining because our pack was strong and we had two players who played for the Wales under 19s and one actually went on to play for the full senior side. I don't know if you know him? Andrew Powell. Plays No. 8 for Wales. Another example is Japan. Rugby is hughly popular in Japan and they have been playing it for a long time. Their leauge is also very strong but not one japanese player has managed to play in the top leauge in Europe or the Southern hemisphere. You can't fault them for their passion and effort but they will never beat a top team purely because they always get overpowered by thier bigger counterparts. Rugby is made for big races like the Europeans (especially the eastern Europeans),Africans and Polynesians. Also how many Asians play in the NFL compared to Polynesians and I bet Asians outnumber the Polynesians population wise in the US. We are just not made for physical games. What was the main problem with the American Football players? Were they not grasping the concept of the game or did they struggle to cope with the Rugby workrate compared to American Football? I mean some guys like Darren Sproles and Devin Hester would be lethal on a Rugby field and i didn't think it would be too much of a problem for athletes like them to switch. And I remember your former No. 8 Dan Lyle who I thought was a awesome player and he also had American football background. I think your top players should play in leauges in Europe and Southern Hemisphere to improve thier game.I don’t know if you saw the fantastic Heineken Cup game between Ospreys and Biarritz last weekend but your American winger Takudzwa Ngwenya scored one of the best individual tries I have seen. I wasn’t too happy because Ospreys are my team but you have to hand it to the guy. HE IS F...KING FAST!!! Before he was only fast but since he moved to Biarritz, he has improved on his tactical play and defence. Great to hear the grassroot is on the rise and if university Rugby is exploding then why aren't USA Rugby doing more after that level? Surely it's a no brainer to take the game further. Anyway it's good to hear you introduced your parents to this beautiful game. I am 100% sure that if Americans grasp the basic concept of rugby, than they will fall in love with it more than Soccer. Absolutely guaranteed!
Agreed. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkU3zR-dsXU"]THIS World Cup try [/ame] vs South Africa was (in my opinion) the best try the USA has ever scored. It had Todd Clever and Mike Hercus our two best players feed the ball to Takudzwa Ngwenya and he ran it in. Frankly the ball went between our 3 best players. Sadly 2 of them were raised outside of the USA and this (again IMO) the biggest reason rugby can't gain traction here. The best USA players are - guys born in America or to American parents and raised in foreign countries - guys born in foreign countries and moved to the USA in teens or twenties - guys from American Samoa or Samoan ancestry. The above has to change. Hopefully Rookie Rugby will accomplish that.
HA! I remember that try. He left Habana for dead. But it was a good move from your own try line. I do like Clever as well but not too keen on Hercus. Maybe because he is Australian.lol Do you think Rugby can't gain traction there because they are not American born or did you mean something else?
I think he means that the grassroots development pathways in the US are so poor that the national team is reliant on players developed elsewhere.
You are right we have had some good converts. I think it is a combination of our best athletes going into the NFL, NBA etc. and also a lack of exposure to the sport for the remaining football players. Some football players may also have a hard time adjusting. The exposure bit cost money which USA Rugby doesn't have. However it is good to see that what money they do have they are trying to invest in the grassroots game. Maybe there will be a break through. It all comes down to attracting sponsorship money. Here are the pathways that USA Rugby just release for the next year. http://www.usarugby.org Age-Grade Programs Take Shape BOULDER, Colo.- As the domestic rugby season is in its final stages, USA Rugby's All-American and Under-20 National Team programs are gearing up for a busy summer of representative rugby. USA Rugby announced in the fall that the Collegiate All-Americans, Under-20 National Team, and High School All-Americans, would pursue a seasonal calendar, which would focus on assemblies in the breaks of the academic and domestic sporting and rugby calendar. This new focus emphasizes partnering with domestic teams on the development of elite players, as well as avoiding interfering with young players’ academic requirements. The new schedule puts an emphasis on the summer calendar, following a natural progression to the domestic competitions post season. The purpose of the All-American program is to identify and develop the next generation of future U.S. Senior Eagle XV’s and Sevens, including potential future Olympians. USA Rugby has been pursuing a competition window that provides the best opportunity for elite players to be available and to achieve that goal. Collegiate All-Americans: The Collegiate All-Americans will again be coached by former Eagle and Collegiate All-American Alex Magleby from Dartmouth University. Coach Magleby will be assisted by former Eagles Luke Gross in the forwards and former Eagle and All-American Kimball Kjar from BYU in the backs. The All-Americans will be managed by UC Santa Barbara’s Kevin Battle, who brings experience from the NA4’s and USA Sevens National Team as a coach and manager. The All-Americans are currently planning a tour to London in August where they will play three matches against a combination of National Division 1 and Premiership Development/Academy Sides. Coach Magleby notes that this will be a great opportunity to take the next generation of Eagles on a challenging tour to a home nation to test and develop them as players. "As in years past, we will endeavor to expose our best collegiate players to the pressures of international competition,” Magleby said. “One of the All-American program's KPIs is to not only find future Eagles in each year's group, but to help accelerate their development from collegiate rugby-athlete to senior Eagle. Playing against professional academies in the UK offers that opportunity.” The All-Americans will be selected based on performance throughout the domestic collegiate season and playoffs, as well as from the National All-Star Collegiate Championships, which all aspiring elite players are encouraged to attend. The All-Americans will be selected from players who attend a domestic American University and compete for an American University Team shortly after the Collegiate National All-Star Championship. Criteria to be selected as an All-American is separate from criteria to be selected for the All American Touring/Assembly Side. The touring team that assembles in the summer will be selected from the pool of named All-Americans, but may also include players eligible to play for America, who are studying at Universities domestically or abroad, but are not competing for an American University Team. The All-American team and touring side will be selected by the All-American staff and selectors from representative from each Territorial Union below. Pacific: Blake Burdette blake_burdette@hotmail.com So Cal: Kevin Battle Kevin.Battle@essr.ucsb.edu West: Bill Sexton wsexton@atsu.edu Mid West: Sean O’Leary soleary@nd.edu South: Curt Huckaby curthuck@hotmail.com North East: Mike Dimantopoulos michael.diamantopoulos@gmail.com MARFU: Don Farrell daf4@psu.edu Under-20s: The U-20s (players born in 1990 and 1991) will finish the remainder of their 2010 cycle by competing in the Collegiate National All-Star Championship as the eighth team and will be replacing the Combined Services Team. Over the previous few seasons, the Combined Services has struggled to field a competitive side in the tournament for multiple reasons, primarily being players were unable to attend due to military commitment and players choosing to play for their Territorial Union within which they competed throughout the collegiate domestic season. For the U-20s, this is an opportunity for many of the best college freshman in the country to play against older elite opponents and provides a natural progression/pathway to the Collegiate All-Americans. "Including the U-20s in the National All-Star Championships creates another positive connection between our age-grade teams. It pits our best 19-20 year olds against the wider pool of our best emerging junior and senior college athletes. Age-grade U-20 National Team players, will then "graduate" to their Territorial side in the coming year, helping to improve the level of play in the TU rep sides as well,” Magleby said. “The U-20s will be competitive, and it gives selectors, TU coaches, and national team coaches the chance to compare the pool of our best age-grade / collegiate-age players on a relatively level field." Following two matches at the Collegiate National All-Star Championship, the U20’s will remain in Denver for a third match against a young touring the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff (UWIC). UWIC are the 2009 British University Champions and will offer the U20’s a very tough challenge. “Playing UWIC will be a big challenge to the team and players,” said U-20 Head Coach Ray Lehner, “and we look forward to having a long assembly with that big test at the end.” Selection for the final U-20 Assembly will based off the previous U-20 New Years camp, the matches vs. New Zealand University, as well as performance throughout the collegiate, high school and U-19 club season and playoffs. DenverAssembly: 6/10: Match vs. North East Collegiate All Stars (Glendale) 6/12 Match vs. TBD (Glendale) 6/18: Match vs. UWIC (TBD @ 12:30 pm) High School All-Americans: The High School All-Americans (2010 high school seniors and younger) will have their final assembly for the 2010 team with a tour to Toronto, Canada. The students will travel to Toronto in late June to play a Toronto U-20 club team in a scrimmage, and will then play the Ontario-18s in two matches. Head Coach Scott Lawrence looks forward to the time together, saying, "As a staff we're excited to have the opportunity to bring the team on a tour that has the benefit of three very challenging games. This assembly will provide us a real opportunity to measure our objectives of identification and improvement against quality Canadian sides in a short period of time and our players to continue to experience a spirited rivalry between ourselves and Canada.” The Ontario U-18’s feature many members of the 2010 and 2009 Canada U-17 team and were winners of the Canadian U-18 provincial championship in 2009. Coach Lawrence anticipates the fixtures to be a big challenge. “Given the Ontario U-18s defeat of the BC U-18s and the age gap of playing a U-20 side, we know that the players will have quality competition to benchmark themselves against,” Lawrence said. “My staff and I look forward to coaching a quality group of young men through their last High School All-American assembly and watching them progress into the U-20s. There are some graduating seniors in this group that we expect great things from." Selection for the tour will be based on performance at previous High School All-American camps, as well as performance and recommendations from the High School domestic season and the High School and U-19 National Championships. Summer Development Camp for 2011 Cycle In the latter portion of the summer, the 2011 cycle for both the High School All-Americans and U20s will begin with a development camp. For the U20s that will mean players born in 1991 and 1992, and for the High School All-Americans this will include incoming High School Seniors and younger players. The anticipated dates and venue for this camp are July 28-Aug 2 at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point. The camp will include skill development, specialist coaching, strength and conditioning testing, sports science nutrition, psychology seminars and will conclude with a scrimmage. All-American program director Matt Sherman is excited at seeing many of the best young prospects come together in one venue. “Bringing in a larger group of players allows us to cast a wide net, while bringing in both teams gives us an opportunity to bring in specialist coaches and resources that can work with both squads. Having the two teams together also helps to solidify the pathway between the two teams,” Sherman said. The next anticipated camps for both the 2011 teams and players selected to move forward from the development camp, will likely include an assembly over the New Year’s holiday. Development Camp Selection There are numerous pathways for selection to the development camp. Players will be selected based off of performance at previous All-American and U-20 National Team Camps, the High School and U-19 Club National Championships, and from the following U-19 and U-17 Regional All-Star Championships. Team selectors will attend the Seven Regional All-Star Tournaments listed below. All aspiring elite players are encouraged to attend. The tournaments follow a 2010 based U-19 and U-17 format (U-19: players born in 1991 and 1992; U-17: players born in 1993 or after). The tournaments are spread throughout the country and provide a wide geographic spread for Local Area Union and State Based Rugby Organizations to supply Regional All-Star Teams to compete. Rugby California Regional All-Star Tournament June 5/6- 2010 Rocca Field, Treasure Island San Francisco, CA Josh Fitzgerald joshmfitz@hotmail.com USA South All-Star Challenge June 12/13, 2010 Charlotte, NC Mallard Creek Park Jonathan Worrall: jonathan.worrall@mergent.com www.carolinayouthrugby.org Midwest Challenge Cup Regional All-Star Tournament June 12/13, 2010 Elkhart, IN Moose Rugby Grounds Bart Bottorff: bart@premierprint.com Challenge Cup Age Grade All-Star Tournament June 19/20, 2010 Pittsburgh, PA Founder’s Field Kurt Mockenhaupt: rugbyfoundation@msn.com www.rugby-foundation.org 10th Annual Rocky Mountain Challenge Regional All-Star Tournament June 19/20. 2010 Denver, CO Aurora Sports Park Jeff Calhoun: jeff_calhoun@baxter.com www.rmu19c.com Great Northwest All-Star Challenge June 19/20, 2010 Missoula, MT Fort Missoula Gretchen Rhodes / Tory Doxey rhodes07@msn.com / tdoxc@msn.com New England Regional All Star Tournament (TBD) June 19/20, 2010 Holden, MA. Wachusett Regional High School Christopher St. Onge Cstonge41@yahoo.com
"Rugby World" Premieres Friday on FSN "Rugby World" Premieres Friday on FSN "Rugby World", America's new rugby magazine show, is set to premiere on Friday, May 14 on Fox Sports Net. “Rugby World” is a series of eight 30 minute programs that will run every Friday through July 16. The show will feature highlights from the Heineken Cup Semifinals, Super 14, Magners League, Guinness Premiership, USA Rugby Championships and much more. Expert panelists Dave Sitton, Brian Vizard, Ray Viers and Matt Brown will offer opinions and perspective on news, scores, and other worldwide rugby matters. The show will air at 3:30 p.m. in most markets to a potential audience of over 80 million households nationwide. Please check local listings (attachment) for airtimes in your region. “I wish the show every success, it’s great to be able to watch an increasing amount of rugby on TV in the USA” USA Rugby’s CEO and President of Operations, Nigel Melville said. For more information or sponsorship opportunities on “Rugby World”, please contact Diana Anderson at diana@glendalerugby.com.
Tri-Nations and Currie Cup Begin on Fox Soccer Plus http://www.businesswire.com/portal/...d=news_view&newsId=20100630005455&newsLang=en June 30, 2010 09:06 AM Eastern Daylight Time Tri-Nations and Currie Cup Begin on Fox Soccer Plus Network Features Top-Class Southern Hemisphere Rugby in July LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Tri-Nations rugby union tournament, contested annually between Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, begins Saturday, July 10 at 3:30 a.m. ET on Fox Soccer Plus with live coverage of the anticipated first match pitting the top-ranked All-Blacks against the defending Tri-Nations champion Springboks. The opening match, taking place in Auckland, NZ, marks the first of nine to be played in the series. Fox Soccer Plus is the exclusive U.S. home for all Tri-Nations’ matches through the end of the competition in September. In addition to the Tri-Nations, Fox Soccer Plus also features extensive coverage of the Currie Cup – South Africa’s premier domestic rugby competition – beginning Friday, July 9 live at 1:05 p.m. ET, with defending champion Blue Bulls’ vs. Pumas from the Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria. Eight teams battle it out to for a chance to claim the Premier division title. Fox Soccer Plus will air tournament matches through the Currie Cup Final in October. In conjunction with its live rugby programming, Fox Soccer Plus also features Rugby World, a weekly magazine show premiering each Friday at 10:30 p.m. ET. Expert analysts Dave Sitton, Brian Vizard, Ray Viers and Matt Brown host the series of eight half-hour programs exclusive to Fox Soccer Plus, providing context and perspective on all matters rugby. WHAT: Tri-Nations and Currie Cup on Fox Soccer Plus WHEN: Friday, July 9 Currie Cup: Blue Bulls vs. Pumas at 1:05 p.m. ET (live) Saturday, July 10 Tri Nations: New Zealand vs. South Africa at 3:30 a.m. ET (live) For a complete telecast schedule, visit http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/tvschedule. For more information about Fox Soccer Plus, visit http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/plus. HOW: Fox Soccer Plus is available to video providers across the country in high-definition and offered to viewers on DIRECTV, DISH Network, Time Warner Cable and Verizon FiOS as a premium service. Contacts mPRm Public Relations Chelsea Hettrick, 323-933-3399 323-933-3399 ext.4261 chettrick@mprm.com or Fox Soccer Channel Ben Alkaly, 310-444-8642 310-444-8642 ben.alkaly@fox.com Permalink: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100630005455/en/Tri-Nations-Currie-Cup-Fox-Soccer
is this still an accurate listing of the rguby on fs+ ? Air New Zealand Cup (July-Oct.) – 40 matches Currie Cup (July-Oct.) – 45 matches Aviva Premiership (Sept.-May) – 35 matches Heineken Cup (Oct.-May) – 40 matches Magners League (Sept.-May) – 80 matches Super 14 (Feb.-May) – 36 matches Tri-Nations (July-Sept.) – 9 matches
I am not sure about the exact number of matches, but yes these are the rugby competitions on FS+ as well as Rugby World which is a rugby show broadcasting all the latest highlights etc. Also, the Air New Zealand Cup is now called the ITM Cup (new title sponsor).
I disagree actually. If you were picking an all-time Eagle XV, the vast majority of players we'd have would be local guys. There's a couple holes, but you'd surely have Lehner, Billups, Gross, Swords, Hodges, Lyle, and Clever in the pack. They're all born and bred Yanks. In the back you'd have Emerick, Shuman, Scharrenberg, Hightower, maybe Gary Hein and Dalzell, who was born in SA but moved to America as a kid. The only position born and bred Yanks are really weak at is flyhalf, where we've relied a lot on foreigners like Mark Williams and Mike Hercus (OK, technically not foreign but definitely in rugby). Philip Eloff would also definitely be in the mix at center, and he's from SA. I think the foreign coaches we've had in the last couple years has been bad for our game in the sense they seem to trust foreign players over American ones. If you look back through Eagle history, almost all of our good players at one time or another have been US-born and bred or at least US-resident...it's the guys with the American father or grandfather from England who have stunk up the joint.
Agreed! Bring on the local boys, but having said that I still love Wyles, Smith and Zee. With Clever, Petri, Stanfill, Swiryn, Pittman, LaValla etc. looks like the age grade programs are bearing some fruit. Just think what the US could produce if our age grade programs had money as well as high school rugby as a varsity sport and a premier college competition.
Dude, chill out. Maybe you should get some of that agression out by playing rugby instead of watching it. I just logged onto the Fox Soccer Plus schedule and see that the first Magners League Match is this Friday at 3pm between Glasgow Warriors and Leinster.
I just noticed that on ESPN3 this Sunday they are showing French Top 14 rugby. Two matches; Agen vs. Perpignan & Biarritz vs. Stade Francais. I hope it stays up there. Really excited about this.
Never really watched the top 14 before, but was just recently in France and decided to watch a few of the games on tv and also the highlights show "Rugby de jour". Wow! What a great competiton. IMHO rivals the Super 15. ESPN here in London carry the games, so now I am glued everytime the top 14 is on. Kevin Swiryn is doing well for Agen. He scored the only try in their win again Zee Ngwenya and Biarritz.