All Blacks Selected For NZ Commonwealth Sevens
Head coach of NZ Rugby 7s Gordon Tietjens, Secretary General of NZOC Barry Maister, Hosea Gear, and CEO of NZRU Steve Tew pose during the New Zealand Rugby Sevens team announcement
New Zealand have named four All Blacks in their rugby sevens squad for October’s Commonwealth Games in Delhi.
Current All Blacks Zac Guildford and Adam Thomson, and 2009 All Blacks Ben Smith and Hosea Gear have been added to eight players from the world sevens circuit, to make up New Zealand’s 12-man squad.
BLITZBOKKE
Meanwhile, South African sevens coach Paul Treu will name his Commonwealth Games squad of 12 players on 16 August.
The Sevens rugby event at the 2010 Commonwealth Games is scheduled to take place from 11-12 October, and Treu will be hoping to select a competitive squad to challenge the likes of New Zealand, along with Fiji, Samoa, and Australia, for the gold medal. New Zealand have won all three gold medals since Sevens Rugby was first introduced to the Commonwealth Games in 1998, and the Blitzbokke will be hoping to improve on their own bronze medal, last achieved in 2002.
South Africa heads up Pool B, and in their group games will face RWC Sevens champions Wales, Tonga, and hosts, India. A fresh-faced group of newcomers has joined the SA sevens group in training, and should hopefully be able to build a strong squad along with stalwarts like Paul Delport and Renfred Dazel.
TOP SEEDS
“My core national squad members have really proved themselves during the World Series and have all earned their spots in this team,” NZ coach Gordon Tietjens said. “We have also been lucky enough to be able to add to that with high calibre and experienced players.”
New Zealand have won all three rugby sevens Commonwealth Games gold medals – in 1998 (Kuala Lumpur), 2002 (Manchester) and 2006 (Melbourne) – and are top seeds for Delhi ahead of current world champions Samoa.
New Zealand sevens squad:
Toby Arnold (Bay of Plenty), Kurt Baker (Taranaki), Tomasi Cama (Manawatu), DJ Forbes (captain, Counties-Manukau), Hosea Gear (Wellington), Zac Guildford (Hawke’s Bay), Tim Mikkelson (Waikato), Lote Raikabula (Manawatu), Ben Smith (Otago), Ben Souness (Taranaki), Sherwin Stowers (Counties-Manukau), Adam Thomson (Otago).
(AFP)
Could Pavin Leave Out Woods?
Could Corey Pavin to the unthinkable and leave out Tiger Woods?
In the unlikely event that Woods does not play his way back into the team over the next two weeks, captain Corey Pavin would have a big decision to make. Does he leave out the world No 1?
It is the sort of decision that Pavin might relish. He has always had a feisty streak. Many still remember the Desert Storm cap he wore at the 1991 Ryder Cup and he has a strong moral fascination, having converted from Judaism to Christianity. Pavin is not Woods’s biggest fan as a person.
It is possible that America’s captain may not get too big an argument from Woods. Pavin is due to talk to him at next week’s PGA Championship and Woods may be unenthusiastic about travelling to Wales. When he was asked at the Masters about this year’s Ryder Cup, Woods said: “Would I like to play in it? If I qualify.”
It was not the sort of response you get from the Europeans, who always devote themselves to making the team. In contrast, Woods has disliked the Ryder Cup since the PGA of America would not let his dad travel as part of the official party to Valderrama in 1997. Woods lost his putting touch that week and felt abandoned and miserable.
Many things are stacked against him wanting to travel to Newport at the end of next month. He is not a fan of Wales after a bad Walker Cup experience there in 1995. A lot of the American wives were friends of his wife, Elin, and Woods will feel awkward around them. The press will be keen to question him. He has an awful Ryder Cup record and may have to defer to Phil Mickelson as team leader. Woods would love to say no, but is aware that America might turn on him if he did. He would be branded.
Woods may yet qualify despite his disinclination. He has an awesome record at Akron, the venue of this week’s Bridgestone Invitational, having won the tournament the last four times he has played in it.
The expectation is that he will be back in the team by Sunday night, but if his poor form does continue, Pavin and Woods may just be in a no-win situation. Picking Woods would compromise America’s team ethic, but leaving him out would create a verbal storm.
A few months ago Pavin said: “I’m not going to treat Tiger differently from any other player. He’s certainly not an automatic pick.” Jack Nicklaus then said: “He’d need a brain scan if he left Tiger out of the team. Of course he should pick Tiger.” That is just a light appetiser compared to what would happen if Pavin really did exclude Woods.
When the eight automatic spots are confirmed after the PGA Championship, Pavin will have three weeks to look at the form of his potential wild cards. If the standings remain as they are now, any sensible captain would prefer Hunter Mahan, a key player two years ago, to Woods.
But are there four players to pick ahead of Woods? Rookie Rickie Fowler is another who may feature, but it would be a terrific snub also to take novices Ricky Barnes and Ben Crane ahead of Woods.
US points race
Top eight qualify for Ryder Cup on Oct 1-3. Captain then picks four more.
1. Phil Mickelson 5,769
2. Jim Furyk 3,419
3. Steve Stricker 3,403
4. Jeff Overton 3,278
5. Anthony Kim 3,238
6. Lucas Glover 2,981
7. Matt Kuchar 2,938
8. Dustin Johnson 2,936
9. Tiger Woods 2,773
10. Hunter Mahan 2,644
11. Ricky Barnes 2,610
12. Ben Crane 2,534
13. Stewart Cink 2,394
14. Nick Watney 2,298
Courtesy of The Telegraph
Are The Springboks Vulnerable?
The Springboks during their match against Wales.
South Africa and New Zealand will most likely meet in Auckland at the semi-final stage of next year’s Rugby World Cup.
That makes this coming weekend’s game at Eden Park particularly significant.
South Africa enter the Tri-Nations as marginal favourites having been comfortably better than their Sanzar partners last year.
However, there was a suspicion that the Springboks were a little bit of a one-trick pony with their kick-and-chase game plan built on the masterful execution of scrum-half Fourie du Preez’s tactical kicking and fly-half Morné Steyn’s goalkicking.
That is probably a little harsh.
The reality is that the experience of the likes of John Smit, Victor Matfield, Schalk Burger, Juan Smith, Jean de Villiers, Jaque Fourie and Bryan Habana makes them smart and adaptable.
The South African lineout is also peerless and this is where they hold their biggest trump card against the All Blacks.
However, they are in for an interesting test without Du Preez pulling the strings in their No.9 jersey this year.
Coach Peter de Villiers has controversially opted for Ricky Januarie during the first part of the international campaign. Januarie could not command a starting place at the Stormers.
The Springboks also suddenly find themselves sans the x-factor of Frans Steyn. Rumours are rife that all is not well between player and coach and there has already been a meeting to resolve the issue.
Steyn played against Wales and kicked a long-range penalty that proved the difference between a win and a draw for a South African side put together at indecent haste the week following the Super 14 Final.
His three long-range penalties were also decisive in last year’s 32-29 win at Hamilton that wrapped up the Tri-Nations for the Boks in New Zealand’s back yard.
So why then is he not in the mix?
Concerns
De Villiers expressed the concern last month that Boks plying their trade overseas were off the pace, the argument being that the pace of rugby in the Northern Hemisphere is slower than in the Southern Hemisphere.
He added that Steyn had some difficult calls to make as he was losing the edge playing overseas.
However, he picked Steyn at fullback after he had played most of his rugby at inside centre for Racing Metro. And when it came to a pressure situation, Steyn still managed a crucial three-pointer.
Perhaps De Villiers was wrong to have his focus on the occasional mistake in general play.
Certainly I believe that the Springboks again have the beating of the All Blacks and Wallabies this year. The things that concern me are the omission of Steyn and selection of Januarie when Ruan Pienaar was clearly South Africa’s form scrum-half in the Super 14.
South Africa are not picking their best side because De Villiers has an unshakeable faith in Januarie and issues surrounding Steyn appear to be unresolved.
The other side to the Januarie argument is that it was him who scored that brilliant try in 2008 that got South Africa their first Test win in Dunedin.
De Villiers may therefore be looking to tap into that game-breaking ability and Januarie’s combative personality.
A few of last year’s Bok stars are injured. Apart from Du Preez, the list includes openside flank Heinrich Brüssow, hooker Bismarck du Plessis and wing JP Pietersen. Apart from Du Preez, none of those will worry Bok supporters too much. Francois Louw looks a great find on the flank, while Du Plessis’ injury has allowed Smit to captain the side from hooker again and Pietersen’s place will be filled by either promising newcomer Gio Aplon or the experienced Jean de Villiers.
However, the Bok backline is a bit of an awkward mix with Januarie and without Steyn. Don’t forget too that Jean de Villiers’s stint at Munster will probably mean that Wynand Olivier gets the inside centre spot ahead of him. Olivier is a great Super 14 player, but has yet to convince that he’s the real deal at the highest level.
So yes, South Africa should be considered the favourites, but they are also entering the competition looking a little vulnerable.
Courtesy of ESPNScrum
Homophobic Chants Cost Castleford
Gareth Thomas: The only openly gay male athlete active in major professional sport
English rugby league club Castleford has been fined R440 000 after their fans bombarded Gareth Thomas with homophobic chants.
The fine was issued by the Rugby Football League (RFL) in the wake of chants during a Super League match in March, which were directed at Crusaders winger Thomas, the former Wales rugby union captain who revealed last year that he was gay.
“Castleford were found guilty of unacceptable behaviour, of breaching the RFL’s Respect Policy, of misconduct by their supporters and of conduct prejudicial to the interests of the sport,” the RFL said in a statement. “The tribunal was chaired by his Honour Judge Rodney Grant, who criticised the club for failing to take steps to stop the homophobic chanting, for failing to identify the perpetrators, for failing to challenge the chanting and for their failure to undertake a meaningful inquiry afterwards.”
Castleford said they were likely to appeal against the decision.
“To say we are disappointed and shocked is an understatement,” Castleford chief executive Richard Wright said in a statement on the club’s website (www.castigers.com). “The evidence does not support the decision and does not in any way support the scale of the penalty. We totally refute the outcome of the hearing.”
(REUTERS)
‘Arrogant’ Fourie Upbeat About France
Springbok centre Jaque Fourie has never been afraid to express confidence both on and off the field, a trait that has occasionally led to the incorrect assumption that he’s arrogant.
This week, when asked if he was happy that bruising French centre Mathieu Bastareaud would not be on the field when France meet the Boks at Newlands, Fourie seemed to be genuinely surprised by the question.
Bastareaud is a mammoth 110kg tank of a man, who battered the opposition into submission during France’s march to the Six Nations grand slam.
“Maybe he’s happy he’s not playing against us,” was Fourie’s response.
It raised some laughs and led to the blogosphere exploding with “Fourie is arrogant” comments.
But the truth, as with all top-level sportsmen, lies somewhere in between.
Confidence and arrogance are cosy bedfellows at the sharp end of international competition and Fourie treads the line closely.
Unlike many bland, cliché-clutching team-mates, Fourie often says what many are thinking but don’t dare say.
Prior to the Springboks’ 2007 World Cup quarterfinal against Fiji, Fourie told the media: “We are the best team physically and we’ll bore Fiji.”
Out of context, it could come across as slightly arrogant, but it wasn’t.
Fourie has immense self-belief and is not afraid to express it.
He is relishing the challenge of meeting the French and trying to stem a three-match losing streak against Les Bleus going back to Paris 2005.
“They are our bogey team because they play a lot like us,” Fourie said. “They have a kicking and running game and they bring a lot of physicality to the contest.
“They are also unpredictable and they demand that you are mentally and physically up to the challenge, otherwise they’ll punish you.
“But I’m confident because I just have to look around me and see the quality of players in my team.
“We had two sides in the Super 14 final, the players who performed are in the Bok team and they are all looking very sharp in training. I’m very confident because of that.”
Fourie admitted that the Boks had struggled at first against Wales, in Cardiff last week, when they fell behind by 16-3 before rallying to win the match 34-31.
With thanks to timesonline.co.za
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