IRB Sevens 2007/2008
RWC Sevens places at stake in Punta del Este

(IRB.COM) Thursday 17 January 2008
The first Rugby World Cup Sevens 2009 regional qualifier gets underway in Uruguay on Friday with eight nations contesting the men's and women's events.


Total Rugby Radio

Future of Pumas kicks off IRB Debate Series
(IRB.COM) Thursday 17 January 2008

Gus Pichot is on the panel as the first in a new series of IRB Debates tackles the way forward for Argentina, plus the second part of our Dallaglio exclusive.


Women's Rugby
Lady luck shining on Brazil

(IRB.COM) Thursday 17 January 2008
Brazil's women are closing in on their dream of RWC Sevens 2009 qualification, an achievement which could really boost rugby's popularity in the country.


Features

Dallaglio: The early years
(IRB.COM) Wednesday 16 January 2008

From early school days on the wing to Lions honours and the England captaincy, Lawrence Dallaglio's rugby story has never been dull.


IRB Sevens - New Zealand
Record Sevens star returns for England

(IRB.COM) Tuesday 15 January 2008
IRB Sevens all-time leading point scorer Ben Gollings returns for England alongside other exciting game-breakers in Ayoola Erinle and Danny Care.


IRB Sevens - Hong Kong

Zimbabwe return to Hong Kong Sevens stage
(IRB.COM) Tuesday 15 January 2008

Zimbabwe will end a 10-year absence from the Cathay Pacific/Credit Suisse Hong Kong Sevens after being named in the 24-team field for the 28-30 March showpiece.


Features
Gatland looks to the future for Wales

(IRB.COM) Tuesday 15 January 2008
Warren Gatland reveals that Wales hosting the IRB Junior World Championship 2008 will help him shape his plans for the next four years.


IRB Sevens 2007/2008

RWC Sevens qualifier process set for kick off
(IRB.COM) Tuesday 15 January 2008

The first of seven regional qualifiers for Rugby World Cup Sevens 2009 will take place in Punta del Este, Uruguay, this weekend.


IRB Sevens - New Zealand
Pelenise and Ioasa named in trial squad

(IRB.COM) Monday 14 January 2008
Afeleke Pelenise and Tafai Ioasa are among 27 players selected by New Zealand Sevens coach Gordon Tietjens to attend a four-day trial camp in Mt Maunganui.


IRB Sevens - New Zealand

Amor facing new Sevens challenge
(IRB.COM) Sunday 13 January 2008

Simon Amor rules himself out of this season's IRB Sevens World Series, but commits to England's women as they begin their push for next year's World Cup.


IRB Sevens - New Zealand
Familiar faces return for South Africa

(IRB.COM) Saturday 12 January 2008
Jonathan Mokuena and Tobela Mdaka return to South Africa's 12-man squad for the IRB Sevens World Series events in New Zealand and USA.

Such a lot of activity! We have USA and Canada performing with credit in the IRB World Series Sevens, with both these Unions preparing for the IRB Junior World Championship. Jamaica is gearing up for the IRB Junior World Trophy. Canada’s Under 19 women and Under 17 Men have been on tour recently in England, and USA’s Under 20s are readying for a tour to Ireland. We have High Performance employees newly in place north and south, with elite players’ squads being selected and entering a new quadrennial of elite “daily training environment”.


USA is holding coach development camps in New York, Washington and elsewhere. Next weekend, the BC Coaching Jamboree will take place in Vancouver, where Graham Henry will be the guest speaker. And let’s not forget the excellent San Diego IRB Sevens which are only four weeks away!

Read more »

Newspaper reports suggest that the International Rugby Board ( IRB ) is to appoint a professional lobbyist to press the case for rugby's return to the Olympic Games.


According to Britain's Daily Telegraph, International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge's rugby connections - Rogge was capped seven times by Belgium at flank after learning the game at university in France - may have worked against rugby's hoped-for return to the Games in the Sevens format.


The IRB will now

"play the voting game much more effectively and not simply rely on the 'rights' of their case," said the newspaper.
"To that end the IRB will soon take a leaf out of the successful London 2012 bid and appoint a professional lobbyist to target those countries - and those votes - that will be needed when the question next comes up for debate next year, when the schedule for the 2016 Games will be decided."

Read more »

With the IRB Sevens World Series continuing in South Africa and the SEA Games concluding in Thailand, it’s been a hectic week of rugby.


Click on the links for more information.
IRB SEVENS WORLD SERIESTwo tries from Victor Vito helped New Zealand maintain their perfect start to the IRB Sevens World Series with a successful defence of the Emirates Airline South Africa Sevens title in George, although there were a few other shocks along the way. MORE >>


LEGION D'HONNEUR

IRB Chairman Dr Syd Millar has received the Legion d'honneur at a ceremony in his home town of Ballymena in Northern Ireland. The accolade is the highest that can be bestowed on an individual by France. MORE >>


KENYAN GOALS
Innocent Simiyu reveals Kenya's ambitious targets for the 2007/08 IRB Sevens World Series, ones they are on track to realise after reaching the Cup quarter-finals in both Dubai and George. MORE >>


THAILAND DOUBLE

The South East Asian Games yielded two gold medals for the host nation Thailand in the Sevens competition, their men beating the Philippines and the women overcoming Laos in the final. MORE >>


TOTAL RUGBY RADIO
This week we hear from Graham Henry, Gordon Tietjens, DJ Forbes, Sherylle Caulder, Tadukzwa Ngwenya, Michael Collinson, James Bolabiu, plus much more..

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN >>


HONG KONG SEVENS
Five thousand tickets for the Cathay Pacific/Credit Suisse Hong Kong Sevens 2008 - the fifth event of the IRB Sevens World Series - which were held back for public sale sold out in just four hours at Hong Kong Stadium. MORE >>


PACIFIC RUGBY CUP

The International Rugby Board have unveiled the schedule for the IRB Pacific Rugby Cup 2008, when the representative teams from Fiji and Tonga will be hoping to end Samoa's dominance of the trophy. MORE >>


Source: IRB Website

The Cayman Rugby Union has announced that the Cayman Islands was successful in a bid to host the 2011 Rugby World Cup regional Qualification tournament. The competition will come right on the heels of the 2007 U19 world cup qualifier that was held here with great success in June.


The tournament will take place between April 19th and 27th, 2008 and as many as three hundred and fifty players, officials and coaches are expected to attend in the form of eleven international teams that will include Mexico, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, St Lucia, St Vincent, Guyana and British Virgin Islands showcasing both the Cayman Rugby programs and the Cayman Islands themselves as a sports tourism destination.


The Cayman Rugby Union is delighted with the decision of NAWIRA and the IRB.

”I am delighted with the news, it is very unusual that a country would be awarded two world cup tournaments in a row and just goes to show what a marvelous job we did with the U20’s in June and just how much the International Rugby Board and the North American West Indies Rugby Association believe in our rugby program’s here and the boost that hosting such tournaments brings to a nation in terms of development and publicity both locally and globally,”

said Technical Director Richard Adams.

Read more »