Rugby Old Boys To Sing Australian Anthem
Advance Australia Fair: The Wallabies belt out their national anthem with gusto... Well, some of them.
Thanks to Facebook, a choir of former rugby players will sing the Australian national anthem when the Wallabies face New Zealand in a Tri-Nations match.
The choir will take over the field at a Tri-nations rugby test in Sydney next month to sing the Australian national anthem after successfully accumulating more than 10,000 supporters. The Old Boys Rugby Choir will belt out a no-frills version of Advance Australia Fair when the Wallabies play the All Blacks at Sydney’s Olympic Stadium on 11 September after winning a challenge to gather 10,000 fans on www.facebook.com/rugbychoir.
The Australian Rugby Union (ARU) agreed to let the choir lead the singing if they won enough support and, helped by television appearances, they confirmed on Tuesday that they passed the mark and would join country singer John Williamson before kickoff. Choir captain Michael Garnett said he had approached the ARU because he and his rugby-playing friends felt renditions of the anthem contained “vocal gymnastics” that stopped the players singing along.
“We believe that the anthem should be delivered straight and free from vocal gymnastics,” Garnett said. “When you have people do vibrato and layers of harmonics through it, that’s not what we believe in and we believe the players don’t want it either.”
He said current Wallabies Drew Mitchell and James O’Connor had been very supportive of their campaign. “Both tweeted our cause because they said they can’t sing along with those vocal harmonics either,” he said. “They want it sung straight and that’s our premise. We don’t have all the trills along with it.”
REUTERS
Looking Ahead To The Four Nations
Nicolas Bergallo of Argentina
Argentina are expected to join the Springboks, Wallabies and All Blacks in 2012 to create the Four Nations Championships, but how will this affect the dynamics of rugby and the Tri Nations?
They may only enter into the Four Nations Championship in two years, but it is good to look ahead and assess the situation, provided the situation with Sanzar and Saru is sorted out.
Inclusion into the Four Nations Championships has a host of benefits for the Argentineans, including new investments and developments for the neglected game of rugby in the South American country, but there are both advantages and disadvantages for the other teams too.
One great advantage for the Boks is that they will play fewer games. The proposed format will see the four teams playing on a home and away basis, meaning six matches per team and a total of 12 matches overall.
The Four Nations would be played from mid-August, following the end of the new Super Rugby competition, for an eight- or nine-week period. In a Rugby World Cup year, an abbreviated format would be played through July and August.
South Africa’s dislike of the existing Sanzar schedule is another factor in Argentina’s favour. The Springboks have long considered it to be lopsided, requiring them to tour for a month every season, whereas their Australian and New Zealand opponents fly in and out of South Africa in a week. Having Argentina on the schedule would even up the tour commitments.
Former Springbok coach Jake White was strongly in favour, saying: “If we are honest about making it a global game, we must try to accommodate Argentina. They have shown they are competitive in every way, against us, New Zealand, England and the Lions. The Tri Nations does need something fresh.”
That was in 2007. Now, three years later, we can say we need something to invigorate the game. Perhaps the Argentines are just what the Tri Nations need.
For audiences, less rugby will mean more competitive games.
Argentina may be more of a soccer nation, but in the rugby world they have not done too badly.
They secured third place in the last Rugby World Cup, showing that they are strong contenders. The Pumas ranked fourth in the world in 2007 and rank eighth at the moment.
Los Pumas achieved a lot in France in 2007 without the Tri Nations or the Six Nations. It is quite outstanding that they have done it without the technical and financial resources and training facilities that the Springboks, the All Blacks or the Aussies have.
It is even more remarkable that the Pumas had just three months to prepare for the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France. Imagine what they can achieve when given equal opportunities and a chance to play with the best?
This will surely keep the Boks, Wallabies and All Blacks on their toes and improve the game of rugby altogether.
Disadvantages
While this might look rosy, there are some challenges ahead of their inclusion. First of all, Sanzar needs to be careful not to start diluting the game. Although there might only be four teams participating, the future might see more and more nations wanting to join.
Sanzar proposed that Argentina take up residence in South Africa during the tournament, to cut down on travel. Bad luck for the Down Under players as flight times between Auckland and Buenos Aires of just over 14 hours compare favourably with 14 hours between Sydney and Johannesburg, while Buenos Aires is a seven-hour flight from Cape Town.
Adding another team from another continent just adds the pressure of travelling.
For a mention, the other issue is how Argentina’s involvement will affect the division of broadcast revenue, which is currently split equally.
Argentinean Playing Style
How will they fare against the rest?
We don’t expect them to reach the top going against former Rugby World Cup winners like the Springboks, Wallabies and All Blacks but, at the same time, it is not wise to underestimate the Pumas.
With many of their players playing for overseas leagues, they are not ignorant to the going-ons of rugby outside of Argentina.
Felipe Contepomi and Juan Martin Hernandez
Here are some players to look out for:
Juan Martín Hernández
Hernández, who played for the Sharks in the Super 14 this year, was one of the outstanding players in the 2007 World Cup, playing for his native Argentina. He will be in the vanguard of sweeping changes coming to the competitions organised by South Africa, New Zealand and Australia.
Felipe Contepomi
Contepomi joined Leinster in 2003 on a four-year contract following Bristol’s relegation from the Zurich Premiership. He played a major role in Leinster’s run in the 2006 Heineken Cup, helping his team to a 41-35 win over holders Toulouse, scoring 21 points in the process and winning the Man of the Match award. That year he was top scorer in both the Celtic League and Heineken Cup.
Players such as fullback Juan-Martin Hernandez, prop Marcos Ayerza, scrumhalf Agustin Pichot and flanker Juan Fernandez Lobbe are regarded as among the best in their positions in the world, and the growing depth of the Pumas was shown recently when a young touring side beat Northampton and Leicester.
They might not be playing in 2012, but it shows that there is plenty of talent in Argentine Rugby.
Let’s see how the Pumas play in next year’s World Cup and how the situation.
Courtesy of The TimesOnline
HAVE YOUR SAY: What do you think of the Four Nations?
Devastated Smit Takes Share Of The Blame
John Smit (capt) of South Africa cries after missing a tackle that lead to the winning try being scored by Israel Dagg of New Zealand at the death.
Smit’s side led until the dying minutes of the match, when Richie McCaw and Israel Dagg pounced for tries to seal the All Blacks’ reclamation of the Tri-Nations title.
“I thought we controlled the first half well and played accurately and on our terms. In the second half we conceded a few penalties and missed touch kicks, which cost us,” Smit said. “At 22-all we wanted to get into a good field position so that Morné Steyn can have a go at a drop-goal, but we turned over possession, I missed a crucial tackle and it was game over.
“I can’t think of anything worse than losing your 100th Test by missing a tackle at the death. I’ll be disappointed for a very long time.”
Springbok coach Peter De Villiers made a number of changes to his side and was quick to praise the younger members of his team despite the result.
“The youngsters stepped up today and we can draw a lot of confidence from how they played,” he said. “If we dictate territory and possession, we can beat any team. We lost some structure in the second half and were playing less direct and more defensive.
“Those two kicks that went long were probably the turning points, as it brought us back into our half and we had to defend, where we could’ve been on the attack. It’s very painful, but we can take some heart from how we performed today. You need luck too, and today it went their way, as it did in the rest of the Tri-Nations. Winning becomes a habit, but so can losing and we’re aware of that.”
Courtesy of The Scrum
End The Bickering With Sanzar
Stephen Donald of the All Blacks, tackles John Smit.
With the Springboks match against the All Blacks just days away, it’s time to set aside all the bickering and focus on the match.
Even the South Africa’s professional rugby players have found the internal bickering within the southern hemisphere grouping Sanzar disheartening and have warned could have “serious implications” for the sport worldwide.
The reported divisions within the group that has steered professional rugby in the southern hemisphere since 1996 threatened the livelihoods of hundreds of professional players in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, South African Professional Rugby Players Association head Piet Heymans said in a statement.
South Africa has reportedly threatened to walk away from Sanzar over differences with the Australian Rugby Union and the New Zealand Rugby Union, threatening the future of the Tri-Nations and Super 15 competitions.
“The players view Super rugby and the Tri-Nations as the best rugby competitions in the world and also the toughest to participate in,” Heymans said. “The players are concerned that emotions are driving the current differences within Sanzar.
“Should the Sanzar partnership be dissolved it could have serious implications, not just for South African rugby but world rugby as a whole.”
Heymans said professional players in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand depended on the income Sanzar derived from broadcasting deals around the Super 15 and Tri-Nations tournaments for their livelihoods. Any dispute which dissolved Sanzar’s future also threatened professionalism, he said.
“The Sanzar broadcasting agreement … is the lifeline of South African rugby and should not unnecessarily be put at risk,” he said.
“During the renewal of the Sanzar broadcast deal various alternatives were investigated and the reality is that there are not viable options that can provide the players and the public with exciting world class rugby.”
Heymans said a players’ voice might be needed during discussions about Sanzar’s future to ensure their best interests were represented.
“It may well be in the interest of Sanzar that the players are more directly involved in the administration of Sanzar, especially when important decisions and differences are made and discussed,” he said.
Besides creating divisions and ruining the Tri Nations, this is also a blow to the morale of the players. So is it worth the fight?
Courtesy of stuff.co.nz
HAVE YOUR SAY: Should the players be standing with SARU or are they right to want this altercation to end?
Hougaard Starts For Boks
Springbok coach Peter de Villiers has named his starting XV for the historic Test against the All Blacks in Soweto this weekend.
Francois Hougaard is at scrum-half for their Tri-Nations clash with New Zealand.
The Bulls utility back comes in for Ruan Pienaar who is out injured. His inclusion marks one of eight changes to the side which lost to Australia last month.
Flip van der Merwe starts with Danie Rossouw, who is still battling to regain 100% fitness, on the bench. JP Pietersen, Juan Smith and Jannie du Plessis all returning from injury.
Gio Aplon is handed a start at fullback in the absence of the injured Zane Kirchner and Frans Steyn while Jean de Villiers starts in the number 12 jersey upon his return from suspension.
Springboks: 15 Gio Aplon, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield, 5 Flip van der Merwe, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 John Smit (c), 1 Gurthro Steenkamp.
Replacements: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 CJ van der Linde, 18 Danie Rossouw, 19 Francois Louw, 20 Ricky Januarie, 21 Butch James, 22 Wynand Olivier.
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