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.


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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..

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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 World Academy of Sport has announced at the International Rugby Board ( IRB ) General Assembly in Paris that it will deliver administrator programmes through the newly established “IRB Administrators Academy” to IRB member unions.
The IRB Administrators Academy is a joint initiative of the World Academy of Sport and the IRB, and was officially launched today during the 2007 Rugby World Cup.


This marks the establishment of the fourth in a series of partnerships between World Academy of Sport and International Sport Federations in order to establish educational academies. The IRB has long recognised the need to provide educational opportunities for stakeholders involved in Rugby and have found in the World Academy of Sport, a delivery partner that meets the needs of their administrators. All administrator programmes will be produced in conjunction with Manchester Business School at the University of Manchester.

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Dr Syd Millar is labelling the French and English clubs' withdrawal from the European Rugby Cup as "selfish and disgraceful."


The chairman of the International Rugby Board released a statement pinpointing Serge Blanco's actions as shameful and believes the clubs' actions will have serious consequences for world rugby.

"It is unbelievable that one man should be allowed to bring European rugby to this state. We understand that not all clubs agree. Is there no one among the clubs of France who has the courage to say 'No, we will not be a part of this?'"

Miller said.

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MIDWEEK MAUL
It was a relief to hear IRB chairman Syd Millar express similar concerns about how rugby is being played to the complaints often heard about the Super 14.


Millar, who is in New Zealand with an IRB delegation, willingly admitted yesterday that the "tackle and post-tackle" had to be addressed "to make it easier for referees, players and spectators".


"The maul's days might also be numbered as it was contrary to all other rules in rugby for players to be legally in front of the ball," the former Irish and Lions prop said.


New laws have been trialled in South Africa and Scotland and will be adopted after the World Cup. And if understanding the referee is one of the aims of the proposed simplified laws, the IRB folk were shocked at the price of Sports Ears, which allow spectators to listen to the referee, in New Zealand.


Champions of the World sell Sports Ears for $100. They retail in Britain for (PndStlg)5 – about $15. They are free to the media in Europe, though with the New Zealand Rugby Union making a loss last year, we won't wait for any to be couriered to us.

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Rugby Sevens' Global Appeal Continues Impressive Growth


The International Rugby Board ( IRB ) has announced another year of record TV broadcast figures for the popular IRB Sevens World Series. The2005/06 Series, won for the first time by Fiji, experienced 1147 hours of airtime over the eight tournaments, representing an 85 percent increase on the previous year.
The 2005/06 series comprised tournaments in Dubai, George (South Africa), Wellington (New Zealand), Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Singapore, Paris and London. It was televised by 32 international broadcasters (up 3 from 2004/05) in 11 different languages and reached 187 million homes (up 27 million from 2004/05) in 136 countries (up 3 from 2004/05), and had a potential cumulative audience reach of over 475 million (up 25 million from 2004/05). Live coverage more than doubled with 530 hours of action being broadcast.

"The continued strong growth in broadcast figures for the IRB Sevens World Series clearly reflects the increasing popularity of Rugby Sevens around the globe," said International Rugby Board Chairman, Dr Syd Millar. "With its unique blend of world class players, global representation, international venues and competitive format, the Sevens World Series is now firmly established as a key event on the world sporting calendar for broadcasters."

"Interest in Rugby Sevens has never been greater. The 2005 Rugby World Cup Sevens held in Hong Kong witnessed a capacity three-day crowd of 120,000 supporters, while 50,000 fans attended the final day of the Rugby Sevens competition at this year's Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. In the next few weeks we will unveil plans for the Series moving forward including the venues and dates for the eight tournaments in 2006/07."

"The IRB Sevens World Series is central to Rugby Sevens' appeal. Attendance figures at each venue are increasing year-on-year, while the level of competition continues to set new standards. The 2005/06 series was the most competitive to date, producing a thrilling climax. This year across the eight series tournaments a record 37 nations competed highlighting the importance of Rugby Sevens in the role of player development."

"The IRB believes the healthy attendance and broadcasting figures, allied to the ever increasing number of participating nations and competitiveness of the IRB Sevens World Series, continue to press Rugby Sevens' strong case for introduction into the Olympic Games sporting programme,"

added Dr Millar.

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