Tindall scare for England as veteran centre suffers thigh injury in training

England have been hit by yet another injury scare ahead of the Six Nations after Mike Tindall was sent home from training in Portugal suffering a thigh injury.

The 32-year-old Gloucester captain and World Cup-winning centre was dispatched to London for an MRI scan.

Initial reports from the RFU were that no 'major damage' had been detected.

Tindall is due to rejoin Martin Johnson's national squad when they convene at their Surrey base on Saturday to prepare for the championship opener against Wales in Cardiff next Friday.

While the tone of the official bulletin was upbeat, England have grown accustomed to early optimism being shattered upon further assessment of injuries.

This was the case with regular captain Lewis Moody, whose knee injury was not thought to be serious. He was ruled out for six weeks.

Johnson and his coaches will be alive to the threat of having to reshuffle their back line, which had seemed so settled. In theory, the combinations that dazzled in bursts during the autumn would be retained - Ben Youngs and Toby Flood at half back, Shontayne Hape and Tindall in midfield and Mark Cueto, Chris Ashton and Ben Foden in the back three.

Should there be any lingering doubt about Tindall's ability to play at the Millennium Stadium, it would reinforce the fact that England are short of specialist options at outside centre.

When he was rested for the November Test against Samoa, Bath wing Matt Banahan did a steady job of filling the gap and Johnson admires the physical attributes that the 6ft 8in, 17st Jersey giant can bring to the No 13 position.

In theory, Hape could move one place along the line, but that would complicate the picture at inside centre.

Delon Armitage would have been a contender but he is banned and England are unlikely to pitch David Strettle, a specialist wing, into a role he has filled just a handful of times at club level.

Below the elite squad, James Simpson-Daniel has impressed at outside centre and various positions for Gloucester. Of the out-and-out No 13s, Dan Hipkiss has just come back from injury at Leicester, Sale's Mathew Tait is out of action and Dominic Waldouck of Wasps has dropped off the radar for now.

Crowe makes move for Sonny Bill

Actor Russell Crowe has reportedly approached Sonny Bill Williams about making a return to rugby league after this year's World Cup with South Sydney.

Williams has established himself as a centre of enormous potential in the 15-man code with some scintillating displays for the All Blacks since signing a one-year deal with the New Zealand Rugby Union last year. However, his commitment to union was called into question recently after he announced his intention to persist with his attempts to cut it in the world of professional boxing.

Williams is being aided in his preparations for his next bout by former super-middleweight champion Anthony Mundine, who, according to the Sun Herald, recently introduced the player to Crowe, the Oscar-winning actor who co-owns South Sydney. The paper claims that Crowe is now attempting to persuade Williams to follow in the footsteps of Sam Burgess and Greg Inglis in signing for the Rabbitohs.

Williams became a superstar within the 13-man code during his time with the Bulldogs before switching codes in 2008 to link up with French Top 14 outfit Toulon. He returned to his native New Zealand last year and will play for the Crusaders in the 2011 Super Rugby series. He is expected to play a key role in the All Blacks' Rugby World Cup campaign but his future after the tournament remains shrouded in mystery.

Bastareaud not good enough

French coach Marc Lièvremont has his explained his decision to leave out centre Mathieu Bastareaud and recall veteran prop Sylvain Marconnet in to his 30-man squad for the Six Nations.

The 34-year-old Marconnet has 80 international caps, but played only one Six Nations match last year - the 33-10 home win against Ireland. His presence will give Lièvremont added toughness, experience and leadership.

"I have faith in him, his competitive spirit, his experience, his versatility," said Lièvremont.

"He can play on the left, on the right. He may not be the Sylvain Marconnet of 10 years ago ... but I preferred him to less experienced guys."

Bastareaud played all of the Six Nations games last year, but was then dropped for Tests against Fiji, Argentina and Australia.

"I asked him, before November, to improve his physical form and state of mind. I wasn't listened to, " said Lièvremont.

"From all the feedback I've had from Stade Français, there are better [players] today at outside centre than Mathieu Bastareaud.

"We can regret it, given his enormous potential. Even if there is an injury to one of the centres, we'll call up [wing] Julien Malzieu because we like Clément Poitrenaud in [midield]."

David Marty was preferred to Florian Fritz at centre, and scrum-half Julien Dupuy was also left out along with the 22-year-old Bastareaud.

But Lièvremont insists "they are not excluded" from an eventual return before he names his squad for the World Cup later this year adding that loose forwards Wenceslas Lauret and Louis Picamoles are also still in the running.

France won the Grand Slam last year, but ended the season with a stinging 16-59 home defeat to Australia that rocked the team.

France begin their title defence against Scotland at Stade de France on February 5, then travel to play Ireland.

The loss to Australia - where France capitulated after being level 13-13 at half-time - has made Lièvremont reassess his own leadership skills.

Lièvremont says he needs to "to be stricter, to be clearer" with his players and that the Australia debacle highlighted how there was "a collective failure" in his team to respond to the Wallabies.

Johnson hopeful of Lawes return

England manager Martin Johnson remains hopeful that injured lock Courtney Lawes may yet feature in this season's Six Nations after a knee injury appeared to rule him out of the championship.
Johnson's preparations for the Six Nations have been thrown into turmoil in recent weeks, with key forwards Lawes and Tom Croft injured and second row Dave Attwood picking up a suspension for stamping.
Both Croft and Lawes - two vital components of England's improved performances in the autumn series - were believed to have no chance of playing in the Six Nations after suffering shoulder and knee injuries respectively.
However Johnson is clinging to the hope that both men may be able to recover before England conclude their campaign against Ireland in Dublin on March 19.
"Tom and Courtney both have a chance of playing rugby by the end of the tournament," Johnson said Wednesday as he announced a 33-man squad for the series.
"Tom is making good progress with the Leicester medics and our guys and it is the same with Courtney, so they are both week to week and hopefully they will be fitter sooner rather than later and make the end of the tournament.

Rugby World Cup lottery lands Fiji in trouble

A national lottery which was organised to help raise funds for Fiji to participate in the Rugby world cup could have the opposite effect as the organisers now face a fine.
The lottery could end up deepening the Fiji Rugby Union's financial problems as they face a fine of F$125,000 (US$82,500) for discounting tickets.
Fiji's Commerce Commission threatened to impose the fine after the Fiji Rugby Union reduced the price of tickets from F$20 (US$11) to F$10 to boost sluggish sales.
The Commission has given the union five days to comply with a series of demands to avoid the fine, which would severely damage its already perilous financial position.
The union is required to advertise in all daily newspapers, offering to repay F$10 to anyone who bought a ticket at the original price.

The lottery, which was drawn last week, carried cash prizes of F$100,000, F$70,000 and F$30,000 - substantial sums in the Pacific nation where wages are low.

 

The Commerce Commission has ordered the union not to pay prizewinners until its instructions have been complied with.

Fiji Rugby Union chairman Bill Gavoka said his union was "shocked" by the Commerce Commission's directive and believed it had complied with all terms of its lottery permit.
"Put very simply, the permit did not prohibit us from discounting the price of the ticket and like any business, we used that ability to discount as a way of moving inventory that was not selling," Gavoka said in a statement.

Namibia seal African spot

“I was very happy with our defence,” O’Sullivan said. “It went very well today. We scrummaged better and stopped their rolling maul, which were the two parts of the game that we needed to improve from last week. I feel happy with the way we finished, although Uruguay made us work for it.

“It’s tough to hit the ground running after not being together since July, and although we qualified, which was our ultimate goal, they were a little rusty early on. I can’t be too hard on them, though, they got the job done and you can’t forget that we scored eight tries in the last two games.”

Namibia then became the fourth team to confirm their place at New Zealand 2011. Tunisia stood between them and a World Cup place but over two legs the Welwitschias proved the stronger and emerged 40-23 aggregate winners.

A tight 18-13 triumph for Namibia in Tunis in the first leg left the outcome hanging in the balance, but a fortnight later they proved too strong for their visitors as they battled their way to a crucial 22-10 victory in Windhoek.

Tunisia began the encounter the more confident looking side and scored the first try through wing Abbes Kherfani, while Namibia had to rely on the boot of fly half Emile Wessels to keep them in contention.

The critical score for the hosts, however, came on the hour when number 8 Tinus du Plessis crashed over in the Hage Geingob Rugby Stadium, and when the final whistle sounded, the Welwitschias were through and could look forward to a match with defending champions South Africa in Pool D.

French poll picks All Blacks to win World Cup

New Zealand can't lose this year's Rugby World Cup if the French view is anything to go by.
Eighty percent of respondents to a poll conducted by leading French sports newspaper L'Equipe believe the All Blacks will take out the cup.
The respondents are not so confident about France's chances with more than half saying that their team will not make the quarter final.
The All Blacks and Les Bleus are in the same pool of the competition.

Russia to take on heartland New Zealand

As part of their preparations for Rugby World Cup 2011 (RWC 2011), the Russian national team is in New Zealand for a two week training camp which will see them play invitational teams in the Rugby heartlands of Taranaki and South Canterbury.  

Russia will play their first match against a Taranaki invitational team on January 15 at 5pm at Clifton Rugby Ground at Tikorangi Domain. The match is free to the public with activities for the whole family including Rippa Rugby from 4.30pm and a sausage sizzle. A return shuttle bus is also available for the day from the New Plymouth i-Site Visitor Centre at a cost of $5.

Following a further week of training, the team will play another match against a South Canterbury invitation on January 21 at 7pm at the home of the South Canterbury Rugby Union. Again it will be a family affair with activities for the kids, a display of V8 racing cars and a curtain raiser between the South Canterbury Police vs Fire Service at 5pm. The Webb Ellis Cup will also be on display pre-match with photo opportunities. Tickets are $10 for aduts and free for children under 16 and available at the gate.

It is the first time Russia have qualified for a Rugby World Cup Tournament and the team is quickly stealing the hearts of the New Zealand public, who are eager to adopt a second team for 2011. Russia will compete in Pool C at RWC 2011 against Australia, Ireland, Italy and the USA.

Realisation dawns for Russia

“For me this is probably the top of my dreams, to play for my country, my national team and to qualify for the World Cup," admitted wing Vasily Artemyev after the team had earned qualification. “It was a very tough emotional task for the players to play a match at such a high level of expectation as we did against Romania, and to be honest after the final whistle went I felt a bit emptied out.

“Then a couple of days after that the achievement that we’d made started to sink in. It’s only now that we’ve started really talking about it as a team that we understand fully what we have achieved with that result.”

From Europe, the Russians were joined by Georgia in qualifying for the finals on the same weekend after they beat Spain 17-9 at the National Stadium in Tbilisi. It was the Lelos’ seventh victory in their previous eight European Nations Cup matches and guaranteed them a third consecutive World Cup appearance.

“Though I am not Georgian, I understand perfectly well how the Georgians must feel now and share with them the excitement any local rugby supporter must experience now that the national team has won its third World Cup ticket in a row and that the word ‘Georgia’ will resound on the international stage once again,” said former Wallaby centre Tim Lane, who has seen been replaced by Richie Dixon as Georgia coach.

“It was our goal to bring Georgia to the Rugby World Cup again and I am really happy that this goal has been achieved. Now our goal as a team is to make a worthy appearance at the finals.”

The final day meeting between Georgia and Russia would not only decide the ENC champion, but also who qualified as Europe 1 and 2 for RWC 2011. Georgia claimed the title after triumphing 36-8 and, in the process, booked their place in Pool B at RWC 2011 with Argentina, England, Scotland and the Play-off Winner.

Fifty-seven nations on rise in rankings

Fifty-seven nations have been given a New Year boost with a one place elevation in the latest IRB World Rankings as a result of the Arabian Gulf Rugby Football Union being phased out on 31 December 2010.

In an exciting restructure in the West Asia region, the Arabian Gulf Rugby Football Union has been disbanded to pave the way for new Unions to be formed, providing the impetus for the growth of the Game.

Team Managers gather for Tournament overview

Team managers from the twenty participating nations were greeted with a powhiri [Maori welcome] as they gathered at New Zealand House in London this week to for a detailed overview of preparations for next year’s Tournament.

While the city was in the grip of a heavy snowfall, inside, the managers got down to work amidst backdrops of New Zealand’s scenic beauty to remind them of how different their surroundings will be in just over nine months time.

Managers included representatives of the newly qualified Romanian team which clinched the final berth at Rugby World Cup 2011 (RWC 2011) after defeating Uruguay on the weekend in Bucharest.

They were welcomed by International Rugby Board (IRB) CEO Mike Miller, Rugby New Zealand 2011 (RNZ 2011) CEO Martin Snedden, and Rugby World Cup Tournament Director Kit McConnell.

“It was a really valuable day and a half,” said McConnell. “We had a great mix of veterans who have been team managers for nearly a decade now or in some cases up to 15 years, along with some who were new to the job and in fact aren’t even starting until the New Year. So it was a real mix of personalities and experience.”

Managers were taken through various aspects of the Tournament preparations including security, medical, anti-doping, match officials and communications.

“We were able to provide an in-depth look inside our preparations and give them the sort of reassurance they need now that we are well under 300 days to kick-off,” said Nigel Cass, General Manager Tournament Services for RNZ 2011.

“The general view is that our plans are well developed and the services they are going to get at the Tournament will be first rate.”

“We are into a lot of detail now in terms of the planning,” said McConnell. “All of the logistics around the team’s participation are locked away, obviously everything from match schedules to team hotels to flights, so we know exactly who is going to be where when and what they are doing. We are really just locking in the smaller details now so this meeting was a valuable exercise in building confidence in the Tournament.”

At the conclusion of the meeting, coin tosses were held for each of the 40 pool matches to determine choice of changing room, playing kit, time of Captain’s run and the match day coin toss. Managers used the commemorative Webb Ellis silver New Zealand one dollar coin.

My enthusiasm for RWC in NZ: Paul Morgan

There is only one country in the world where the live televising of the Rugby World Cup final would appear simultaneously on five channels! That's right, five different TV channels, not one or two but five and that country is, of course, New Zealand.

So considering this level of obsession with the great sport of rugby union, it is in many ways apt that the seventh staging of the Rugby World Cup should appear in the land of the long white cloud, and that they become the first nation to host it twice.

Those of us who have been lucky enough to visit New Zealand on rugby tours will testify to this obsession and it is true that when you meet someone in the street - any street - they can dissect the Wallaby lineout as well as Graham Henry.

We've heard all the doom-mongers talk about the lack of beds and infrastructure but one thing I can guarantee anyone lucky enough to go to New Zealand in September or October 2011 is a party they'll never forget.

Touring in many ‘rugby’ countries can be beset by indifference. I have turned up in many towns on Lions tours to be greeted by a population that barely knows what rugby is. That will definitely not be the case in New Zealand. The matches in all 12 venues will be welcomed with a frenzy and will be the biggest show in town by a long way.

My enthusiasm for a New Zealand World Cup can be explained by those many and enjoyable trips to the country. For a rugby fan there is no better place to watch the game, because the sport is knitted into the fabric of every part of life in New Zealand.

They have a Rugby Channel for goodness sake. Not a sports channel that shows lots of rugby as many countries have. They have a Rugby Channel that shows nothing but rugby - that alone should make you appreciate how enthusiastic the Kiwis will be to put on a great show. It guarantees that every restaurant, hotel, pub and fan zone will go rugby crazy in those two months.

As a journalist I want to be at the centre of the action, following the event that the country is talking about. That is guaranteed in New Zealand. What other country would move their school terms to accommodate a Rugby World Cup? Only, New Zealand.

RTÉ Sport awarded Irish free-to-air rights

Rugby World Cup Limited has announced the appointment of RTÉ Sport as Ireland’s free-to-air television broadcast rights holders for Rugby World Cup 2011 in New Zealand.

The announcement is another major boost for Rugby fans in Ireland, following the appointment of Setanta Sports as Primary Rights Holder and ensuring that there will be extensive coverage of the world’s third largest sports event within the Republic.

RTÉ Sport will broadcast live 13 key matches, including all of Ireland’s Pool matches, the Final, the Bronze Final, both semi-finals, all four quarter-finals and the opening match. All 13 matches will also be simulcast and available for catch-up on RTÉ.ie. In addition, all of Ireland’s games will be broadcast exclusively live on RTÉ Radio, ensuring a blanket multi-platform approach.

Mike Miller, Rugby World Cup Limited (RWCL) Managing Director, said: “RWCL is delighted to be extending its association with RTÉ Sport to broadcast Rugby World Cup 2011 throughout Ireland. RTÉ is recognised as a leading broadcaster of quality sports coverage and with its extensive broadcast experience of Rugby and commitment to the Game RTÉ will ensure the perfect platform for RWC 2011 to reach out to an extensive audience across Ireland.”

Ryle Nugent, RTÉ Group Head of Sport, said: "We are delighted to have secured these rights to ensure that the Irish public will enjoy live free-to-air coverage of all of Ireland’s games at Rugby World Cup next year. The Tournament showcases the best teams in the world and fans can look forward to following the Irish team’s progression every step of the way on all of RTÉ’s platforms. The awarding of these rights to RTÉ is recognition by RWCL of the quality of our sports coverage and we look forward to sharing what is set to be a momentous sporting occasion with the Irish public.”

Rugby World Cup 2011, the seventh edition of Rugby’s showcase event, kicks off in New Zealand on September 9 and will feature the top 20 teams in the world competing across 48 Tournament matches. The Final will be played on October 23 at Auckland's iconic Eden Park. It is expected that the Tournament will be broadcast to four billion fans worldwide.

The road to Rugby World Cup 2011

There will be a new nation competing alongside the game’s traditional heavyweights for the Webb Ellis Cup in New Zealand after Russia successfully qualified for a Rugby World Cup for the first time in their short history as a distinct union.

The Rugby Union of Russia was only established in 1992 following the break-up of the old Soviet Union and just 18 years later, the Bears were celebrating booking a place at RWC 2011 after an historic 21-21 draw with Romania in Sochi on 27 February 2010.

The draw meant Russia were guaranteed a top two finish in the European Nations Cup and one of the region’s two qualification places at RWC 2011. However, it would be another three weeks before they knew they would enter Pool C with Australia, Ireland, Italy and USA, their first opponents at Stadium Taranaki in New Plymouth on 15 September 2011.

“To qualify for the Rugby World Cup is absolutely enormous for us,” said Howard Thomas, the RUR’s Chief Executive. “To get across the line in the European Nations Cup I would say is the hardest route to qualify for Tier Two countries. We have a very competitive league with the likes of Georgia, Romania and Portugal and I’m proud of the players and everyone involved.

“Having said that we know we have to step up enormously. We look at the last World Cup and see how well Georgia did, and obviously Portugal and Romania had their moments and also Namibia. In all the games you play you want to make it a competitive game of rugby. We want to make sure that our defence is up for it, physically we’re up for it and fitness-wise we’re up for it.”

Wing Alexander Gvozdovskiy was the hero for Russia with two tries against Romania. Yury Kushnarev converted one of them and also landed three penalties in the 21-21 stalemate that ensured the qualification.

Realisation dawns for Russia

“For me this is probably the top of my dreams, to play for my country, my national team and to qualify for the World Cup," admitted wing Vasily Artemyev after the team had earned qualification. “It was a very tough emotional task for the players to play a match at such a high level of expectation as we did against Romania, and to be honest after the final whistle went I felt a bit emptied out.

“Then a couple of days after that the achievement that we’d made started to sink in. It’s only now that we’ve started really talking about it as a team that we understand fully what we have achieved with that result.”

From Europe, the Russians were joined by Georgia in qualifying for the finals on the same weekend after they beat Spain 17-9 at the National Stadium in Tbilisi. It was the Lelos’ seventh victory in their previous eight European Nations Cup matches and guaranteed them a third consecutive World Cup appearance.

New Zealand for Rugby World Cup

Expect New Zealand to be packed during September and October of 2011 in what will be yet another fantastic festival of Rugby with thousands of fanatical but friendly supporters converging on the country and venues as well as taking in the sights in this colourful and different Country.
The previous World Cups were held in Australia and New Zealand (1987), England, France, Scotland, Ireland and Wales (1991), South Africa (1995), Wales, Ireland, England, Scotland and France (1999), Australia(2003), France (2007) and we will be in New Zealand next (2011).

William Webb Ellis Trophy

The winners are awarded the William Webb Ellis Trophy which Australia would have been awarded outright had they won for the third time in 2003, the trophy is named after the man considered the founder of the game.