Stretching rugby's professional frontiers

Just watched the Asian 5 Nations games between Singapore, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Taiwan. The Sri Lankans won and as mentioned above, will replace who ever gets 5th place in the top tier which will likely be Arabian Gulf. I have to say the Singapore team were clear favorites but seemed to be playing with the worst wings and fullback I have ever seen at any level of the game. Their starting forwards were pedestrian at best and their number 8 was bullied and pushed around like a school kid. Malaysia was defiantly had the best team in the comp but without a front row and number 10 that can play they were never going to win. I also noticed the Singapore commentator making the point that Malaysia are better now because they use the IRB residency laws to have 6 or 7 Fijian nationals in their team...Ironically the Singapore team is mostly expats using the same rules.

'I dont think the 6 Nations would let Argentina in, they would been winning the comp every year.' You seriously think?

Thats great news to hear dave,,,,

Women's rugby on rise in US ahead of 2016 Olympics NBCSports.com By ERIC OLSON 7:12 p.m. ET April 19, 2010 WAYNE, Nebraska (AP) -Long denied the chance to compete in contact sports, American women are now joining rugby clubs in record numbers - and relishing the hard-nosed nature of what's been called a gentleman's game for ruffians. On a recent afternoon, the Wayne State College women's club team practiced right along with the men in a meadow on the north edge of campus. They locked arms and heads and otherwise contorted themselves in scrums. Women big and small chased each other, and held car tires as they ran laps to build strength and conditioning. Women make up the fastest-growing segment of rugby players in the United States. With youth programs still in their infancy, and rugby becoming an Olympic sport in 2016, the future of the sport in this country depends on club teams like the one here at this 3,600-student school tucked among the farm fields of northeast Nebraska. Most of Wayne State's players - men and women alike - didn't know the difference between a rugby ball and a grapefruit when they signed up. The women migrated from sports such as basketball, volleyball and softball. Giving the chance to play the sport from which American football spawned, they gush about the rush they get from "blowing up" an opponent and the pride with which they wear their bumps and bruises. Jennifer Becker bragged about the time two years ago that she broke her nose trying to tackle a University of Michigan player. "She turned a different way and I nailed my nose into the side of her face," the senior from Madison, Nebraska, said. "But I kept playing. They wiped up the blood, plugged up my nose a little bit and I went on. I had to show those people from Michigan that we weren't quitters." Such bravado doesn't surprise U.S. women's national team coach Kathy Flores. "Women have always wanted to be physical," she said, "but they haven't had the opportunity." That's changing. USA Rugby, the sport's governing body in the United States, has recorded a 235 percent increase in registered female players since 1999, from 6,104 to 20,430. Officials expect that number to continue growing with rugby's return to the Olympics in 2016 for the first time since 1924. There will be competition for both genders, but in a seven-on-seven format rather than the traditional 15-to-a-side game. Some future Olympians very well could be playing for a powerhouse such as Penn State or Stanford in the college club national playoffs in California and Florida this weekend. Or they could be running about on a small college campus like the one at Wayne, which has won its league, or union, eight straight years and has knocked off club teams from bigger schools such as Nebraska, Iowa State and Texas Tech, among others. The college club players aren't much different than those currently on U.S. national teams. Few played rugby before high school or college, and most hold full- or part-time jobs on the side. Flores said basketball players tend to convert into the best rugby players because of their hand-eye coordination, ability to catch and run and the fact they are accustomed to a game that has quick changes of possession. Soccer players also make an easy transition, she said. U.S. Women's National Sevens coach Ric Suggitt said an athlete unable to achieve elite status in her primary sport can excel in rugby. "There might be an athlete who is two-tenths of a second away from qualifying for the Olympics, and rugby might suit her," Suggitt said. "That's the type of athlete we need to identify. We need to leave those avenues open for the track athletes and the basketball, soccer and lacrosse players. It's a dream for kids to go to the Olympics, and this might give them that chance." Sometimes the biggest hurdle for women is mental. "There are those who think they'll appear manly if they play," Flores said. "But girls are tough. Sometimes they just don't know it." That could change if the sport gains exposure. Suggitt said he hopes to see girls begin training in rugby in elementary school, as is common in other sports. As of now, Sebastian River (Florida) High is the only high school in the nation that has a varsity girls rugby team, though there are about 150 high school girls' club teams. The NCAA gave women's rugby "emerging sport" status in 2002, allowing Division I programs to award as many as 12 scholarships. So far, Eastern Illinois is the only school to start a program, but the athletic department funds the equivalent of less than one scholarship divided among 20 players. There are about 400 college club teams, with some offering scholarships, but most requiring members to pay a fee to play and cover their own travel expenses. Though the sport gets minimal exposure in the United States - it's extremely popular in Australia and Europe - Americans have generally fared well since international competition for women started in 1987. The United States will play in the Women's Rugby World Cup in England in August. The Americans finished fifth in 2006. Flores said the United States is considered a "sleeping giant" because of the nation's wealth of athletes. The challenge for Suggitt and Flores is to find the ones who can help the United States achieve at the highest level, whether at the Olympics for the seven-player game or at the World Cup for the traditional game. Wayne State in 2002 produced a top-caliber player in Angela Matthews, who made the U.S. under-19 team. "Ronnie Lott with shaved legs," Wayne coach Darrin Barner said, referring to the former NFL star. "She was flat-out the meanest-tackling thing you've ever seen in your life. Her first year here, I would have started her on the men's team." No current Wayne player has the skill of Matthews. Passion? That's another matter. Whitney Nielsen, a senior from Sioux City, Iowa, was a member of the Wayne State softball team for less than a week as a freshman before she quit to take up rugby. "I had never played a contact sport before, and it was so much fun," Nielsen said. "Women don't get a lot of opportunity to experience contact. I was intrigued by it." Nielsen got a mixed reaction from her family when she broke the news that she was giving up softball. "My grandma was terrified for me," she said. "My dad thought it was awesome. You watch volleyball and softball, and then you watch a tackling sport ... He was like, 'Yeah, my daughter is going to kick butt.' " But thuggery is not part of the game. According to rugby lore, the physicality of the game breeds mutual respect among the players. That's why it's known as a gentleman's game, and now a lady's game, too. "Yeah, it's kind of a violent sport," Nielsen said. "But in the end we walk off the field and we're ladies and gentlemen and say 'please' and 'thank you' and all that stuff." http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/36600556/ns/sports-other_sports/

Bah, humbug!!

A great article - I wouldn't know how to respond, other than to say, it's great that we are having this discussion. I'm excited to see what is happening in USA - I think that they are the sleeping giant and it won't be long before we see great strides forward. I read somewhere that, in many countries, schools only play sports that are on the Olympic curriculum - that has to be good, now that 7's has cracked it. Apparently, pre the 7's announcement there were 135 Rugby playing nations and 270 Olympic nations, so there is a lot of potential there, you might think. We need to develop Asia and if the lower tier Asian countries start to become strong, begin to involve Japan with them. Bring them on as quickly as possible, but the problem with Asia might just be the average size of the players. Can they compete equitably with the bigger body shapes of the Anglo-Saxon and Afrikaaner players? Don't know much about the European side of things, but it seems to me that it should not be the IRB, so much as the strong Six Nations unions that work with those countries and bring them along. I don't think you can ask the IRB to do it all. Evolution is the way to go and the regions need to push that evolution along. Let's keep this thread going from time to time.

I just posted this in the wrong thread.. so here it is.. An idea right now for the pacific islands.. At the moment we have the PRC club comp, with 2 teams from Fiji, 2 from Tonga and 2 from Samoa.. hopefully in the future we can include teams from PNG, cook islands etc.. Anyways... We play in a round robin style and the end the Top 2 battle it out to win the PRC crown. But thats about it. Im hoping in the future, the winner of the PRC will gain entry into the super comp. BUT only the winner of the PRC can enter.. So if savaii samoa wins the PRC, they gain entry into the super comp. The following year the suva barbaians win and gain entry into the Super comp... But not savaii samoa.... So promotion/relegation type thingy Its a good incentive for teams to try and win the PRC so they can gain entry into a expanded super comp.

Hopefully with the Olympics, rugby will be as big as hockey in Brazil

School 1st XV rugby in New Zealand is about to hit the big-time with 21 First XV rugby matches to be televised live this season. Traditional fixture between Auckland heavyweights Mt Albert Grammar and Auckland Grammar would kick off on may 1. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=10638958

Sri Lanka will replace whichever team is relegated in the Asian 5 Nations Champions this year (my bet is it will be the Arabian Gulf). The injury riddled Sri Lankan team who were missing the two top playmaker produced a valiant performance to defeat the host nation and heavily backed Singapore 23 - 16. In the relegation battle Malaysia accounted for Chinese Taipei 35 - 8 to remain in division one for another season. In European news Israel has secured promotion after easily beating a Greek outfit that was expected to put up much more of a fight than they did. The 39 - 0 route was televised on Israeli TV on Channel 5.

RF You might be interested in learning that 3 new clubs will soon be established in Turkey and that they are planning to compete in their first ever international next season. a Greece vs Turkey match would certainly a good one to start considering their history together.

Plasmodium Mexico's an interesting case actually. Rugby almost completely died off in the country in the mid 2oth century but has been making a comeback thanks to Rugby 7s being added to the Pan American games. It's still only a very small Union but they appear very optimistic about their prospects. They compete on a regional level under the NAWIRA association. The Assoc. has since been renamed but at the moment its new name escapes me. Anyway, there results have been quite strong when considering its relatively recent resurrection.

great article. your knowledge of world rugby is a first class

Be wary of what you wish for , it might bite your bum. Popularity is a double edged sword. For a while in England after the 2003 RWC a new new breed of crossover soccer/rugby supporters briefly threatened to emerge . Rugby is an International Brotherhood.

Great post WCR. Onwards and upwards!

I dont think the 6 Nations would let Argentina in, they would been winning the comp every year.

Roger You are aware that the main purpose of this site is for fans of various different sports to air the opinions and to discuss them with other fans right. This topics seems to have recieved a pretty good response apart from your thoughts. Oh BTW as a Rugby fan I wlecome the developments of other nations regardless of the stature in international affairs.

Yawn. These constant articles about expanding Sport X or Y are just so boring and pointless. Who cares? Administrators should bother themselves with that sort of thing. Fans care about whether their nation has a realistic chance of winning anything. The simple truth of the matter is that if rugby did ever become like soccer in worldwide popularity then people in the Celtic nations and Australia would give up any interest in the game because they would not have a hope in hell of ever winning anything. Football is a unique game. Rugby is like handball or wrestling or winter sports or cricket. It offers otherwise irrelevant sporting nations some chance of a day in the sun. That's why people in Norway like cross-country skiing and it's why Kiwis like rugby. They are good at it. Mess with that and the whole house of cards will come crumbling down.

Some might be interested in this article from the Daily Telegraph (London) about the development of rugby in Russia. Key points are the backing of the Russian govt, very different from Stalin's days when he banned rugby; financial backing from a billionaire; ambitious plans to build a number of stadia; bidding and probably wnning rights to hold IRB7s WC in 2013. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/7347154/Sale-old-boys-putting-Russia-on-world-stage.html The IRB is doing a good job, I just hope that RWC2011will produce enough profits to continue the good work.

sledgeandhammer The IRB are investing heavily in Kenya, Russia and the USA. The A5N's is the IRB tournament for the continent. They fund the Nations Cup and Pacific Nations Cup. Pretty sure they also assist with the CAR Rugby Championships. Apart from that they tend to distribute grants. What I would like to see is the IRB do much of the same they already have with competitions but on a more domestic level. The IRB for all its critism is doing a good job in terms of development but as the available revenues increases on an annual basis so should there projects to spread at the very least greater competitive structures.