Rugby World Cup 2011 Final 20 Teams
The best teams the world has to offer build up for the 2011 Rugby World Cup
Rugby World Cup | World Leisure – Kestrel (Contractors) Ltd: Kestrel At The Women’s Rugby World Cup
Kestrel built the World Cup pitches as part of a larger development during 2008 and 2009, as sub-contractors to the main contractor Willmott Dixon.
The pitches form part of a fully drained 40,000sq m grass pitch area that also includes 10 football and rugby pitches as well as two cricket squares.
More than 8,000 people visited Guildford to watch the women’s rugby pool phases and the flagship competition was heralded as a major success for Kestrel, Surrey Sports Park and the University of Surrey.
RFUW managing director Rosie Williams said: “The tournament was absolutely phenomenal. The venue had very, very high quality surfaces.”
Rugby World Cup | World Cup Upsets Exam Timetable At Schools
Tauranga principals are bracing themselves for stressed-out students and potentially lower academic results next year, thanks to the Rugby World Cup.
New Zealand’s premier sporting event will mean thousands of Western Bay senior secondary pupils will have less time in term four to prepare for their final exams.
The Ministry of Education has set school holidays down for a week later than usual, from October 8 (when the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals start) until October 25, two days after the Rugby World Cup final in Auckland.
However, some school principals think the needs of senior school pupils, who will be just a few weeks from the start of their final exams, have been dismissed too lightly.
State schools must follow the ministry’s term dates but independent schools may set their own.
The ministry’s dates mean Year 11-13 students would return to school with little time to prepare for exams.
Katikati College principal Neil Harray said term four had been shortened by three to four weeks, meaning students had just a fortnight of class time before they started senior exams.
Such a small lead-in time had the potential to impact on a school’s academic results, he said.
“Normally we get four to five weeks to prepare them fully.
Bethlehem College principal Phillip Nash said he thought it “quite a crazy thing to do” and did not support it. The change would upset schools’ usual rhythmic patterns, he said.
Otumoetai College principal Dave Randell said at his school, exams and at least a few of Otumoetai’s eight prizegivings would be shifted to term three.
The decision to alter the school year would effect the entire education system and students would not cope well with the first two terms being longer, he believed.
However, Tauranga Boys’ College principal Robert Mangan and Aquinas College principal Ray Scott both believed the only impact would be pressure to prepare for exams early, and not leave it to the last lot of school holidays. “Term one and two will be longer, so the holidays have just moved.”
Bellevue School principal Dave Bell said from a primary perspective, learning programmes were unlikely to be impacted.
Rugby World Cup | Rugby: Afternoon Kickoffs For World Cup Pool Matches Confirmed
Ten rugby World Cup pool matches, including the All Blacksagainst, have been allotted afternoon kickoffs of 1pm, 2.30pm and3.30pm.
“A further 12 matches will begin at 6pm and another seven at7.30pm,” Rugby New Zealand 2011 chief executive Martin Snedden saidtoday.
“If New Zealand is to make the most of the platform RWC 2011gives us to showcase our country to the world, then we need toensure we maximise the global television audience for keymatches.
“We have achieved a good balance.
“The mix of match times should really contribute to the wholefestival atmosphere of the tournament.”
The six-week-long tournament’s opening ceremony at Auckland’sEden Park on September 9 next year will begin at approximately7.45pm followed by the opening match between New Zealand and Tongaat 8.30pm.
The kickoff times for the semi-finals and final has been set at9pm.
Rugby World Cup | Sports Park Enjoys ‘magnificent’ Rugby World Cup
“A MAGNIFICENT success” is how the chief executive of Surrey Sports Park described the hosting of the venue’s first international contest.
For 17 days the Guildford site played host to the Women’s Rugby World Cup - and although England fell at the last as they were pipped 13-10 in the final by New Zealand, the success has done much to establish the sports park as a tournament venue.
For the duration of the event, 312 players from 12 countries plus their support teams and families stayed on site at the sports park.
This created an Olympic-village style feel. Accommodation was provided, 31,500 meals were served, and teams benefited from on-site training facilities and world class pitches on which to compete.
As the teams left the sports park on Monday, chief executive Jason Harborow reflected: “It has been a magnificent success, from start to finish.
“For us, it has been a massive logistical exercise and has gone off without a hitch.
“The income that it generated has been significant. It was everything we hoped for and more.
“The Women’s Rugby World Cup was a major event at the sports park. We wanted to raise the profile of the venue on a national and international basis.
“It was broadcast to 120 countries and in the background was the sports park branding and the presenters’ comments about the venue. It has been put on a world stage.”
The sports park hosted three days of games, with six matches being played each day, and every one a sell-out.
It also hosted play-off games on the final two days of the tournament, drawing large crowds.
Despite this success, Mr Harborow said he felt that Guildford could have got behind the event more.
“The town could have done more to make it feel like a world cup was taking place,” he said.
The tournament was jointly organised by the International Rugby Board and the Rugby Football Union for Women (RFUW).
Rosie Williams, managing director of the RFUW, said of the sports park: “It is absolutely phenomenal.
“The venue had very, very high quality surfaces. The groundsmen did an outstanding job.
“But the key thing about the sports park is the people.
“Excellent staff were willing and able and they would not stop until we had everything that we needed.
“The single venue model for international events will change the face of a lot of events going forward.
“Teams training, playing and living in the same venue reduces time and cost. A venue like Surrey Sport Park has a very bright future.”
Rugby World Cup | Sports Park Enjoys ‘magnificent’ Rugby World Cup
“A MAGNIFICENT success” is how the chief executive of Surrey Sports Park described the hosting of the venue’s first international contest.
For 17 days the Guildford site played host to the Women’s Rugby World Cup - and although England fell at the last as they were pipped 13-10 in the final by New Zealand, the success has done much to establish the sports park as a tournament venue.
For the duration of the event, 312 players from 12 countries plus their support teams and families stayed on site at the sports park.
This created an Olympic-village style feel. Accommodation was provided, 31,500 meals were served, and teams benefited from on-site training facilities and world class pitches on which to compete.
As the teams left the sports park on Monday, chief executive Jason Harborow reflected: “It has been a magnificent success, from start to finish.
“For us, it has been a massive logistical exercise and has gone off without a hitch.
“The income that it generated has been significant. It was everything we hoped for and more.
“The Women’s Rugby World Cup was a major event at the sports park. We wanted to raise the profile of the venue on a national and international basis.
“It was broadcast to 120 countries and in the background was the sports park branding and the presenters’ comments about the venue. It has been put on a world stage.”
The sports park hosted three days of games, with six matches being played each day, and every one a sell-out.
It also hosted play-off games on the final two days of the tournament, drawing large crowds.
Despite this success, Mr Harborow said he felt that Guildford could have got behind the event more.
“The town could have done more to make it feel like a world cup was taking place,” he said.
The tournament was jointly organised by the International Rugby Board and the Rugby Football Union for Women (RFUW).
Rosie Williams, managing director of the RFUW, said of the sports park: “It is absolutely phenomenal.
“The venue had very, very high quality surfaces. The groundsmen did an outstanding job.
“But the key thing about the sports park is the people.
“Excellent staff were willing and able and they would not stop until we had everything that we needed.
“The single venue model for international events will change the face of a lot of events going forward.
“Teams training, playing and living in the same venue reduces time and cost. A venue like Surrey Sport Park has a very bright future.”
Rugby World Cup | Sports Park Enjoys ‘magnificent’ Rugby World Cup
“A MAGNIFICENT success” is how the chief executive of Surrey Sports Park described the hosting of the venue’s first international contest.
For 17 days the Guildford site played host to the Women’s Rugby World Cup - and although England fell at the last as they were pipped 13-10 in the final by New Zealand, the success has done much to establish the sports park as a tournament venue.
For the duration of the event, 312 players from 12 countries plus their support teams and families stayed on site at the sports park.
This created an Olympic-village style feel. Accommodation was provided, 31,500 meals were served, and teams benefited from on-site training facilities and world class pitches on which to compete.
As the teams left the sports park on Monday, chief executive Jason Harborow reflected: “It has been a magnificent success, from start to finish.
“For us, it has been a massive logistical exercise and has gone off without a hitch.
“The income that it generated has been significant. It was everything we hoped for and more.
“The Women’s Rugby World Cup was a major event at the sports park. We wanted to raise the profile of the venue on a national and international basis.
“It was broadcast to 120 countries and in the background was the sports park branding and the presenters’ comments about the venue. It has been put on a world stage.”
The sports park hosted three days of games, with six matches being played each day, and every one a sell-out.
It also hosted play-off games on the final two days of the tournament, drawing large crowds.
Despite this success, Mr Harborow said he felt that Guildford could have got behind the event more.
“The town could have done more to make it feel like a world cup was taking place,” he said.
The tournament was jointly organised by the International Rugby Board and the Rugby Football Union for Women (RFUW).
Rosie Williams, managing director of the RFUW, said of the sports park: “It is absolutely phenomenal.
“The venue had very, very high quality surfaces. The groundsmen did an outstanding job.
“But the key thing about the sports park is the people.
“Excellent staff were willing and able and they would not stop until we had everything that we needed.
“The single venue model for international events will change the face of a lot of events going forward.
“Teams training, playing and living in the same venue reduces time and cost. A venue like Surrey Sport Park has a very bright future.”
Rugby World Cup | QATAR’S MAIN CHALLENGERS
Eleven bids were submitted in March 2009 covering thirteen nations, with two joint bids: Belgium-Netherlands and Portugal-Spain. Mexico also submitted a bid, but withdrew theirs on 28 September 2009, while Indonesia had their bid rejected for lack of government support on 19 March 2010.Four of the remaining nine bids, South Korea, Qatar, Japan, and Australia are only for the 2022 World Cup, while all the others are bidding for both the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. Four bids come from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), four from Europe’s UEFA, and one from CONCACAF. It had also been reported on the FIFA website that Egypt was entering a bid, but the president of the Egyptian Football Association denied that any more than an inquiry in principle had been made. The number of bids received meant that the 2018 World Cup is the most contested bid in FIFA’s history and in all probabilty will be awarded to Europe.
In October 2007, FIFA ended its continental rotation policy. Instead countries that are members of the same confederation as either of the last two tournament hosts are ineligible, leaving Africa ineligible for 2018 and South America ineligible for both 2018 and 2022. Other factors in the selection process include the number of suitable stadiums, and their location across candidate nations. Voting is done using a multiple round exhaustive ballot system whereby the candidate receiving the fewest votes in each round is eliminated until a single candidate is chosen by the majority. FIFA President Sepp Blatter has also suggested that FIFA may follow the International Olympic Committee and have a preliminary elimination of bids some time before the final official announcement ceremony.If a European bid is selected to host the 2018 tournament then all other European bids will be ineligible for the 2022 tournament, leaving five bids: Australia, Japan, Qatar, South Korea, and the United States. On 26 January 2010, Sepp Blatter stated that talks were underway with UEFA president Michel Platini to possibly limit bidding for the 2018 tournament to a European candidate. If this proposal was adopted it would exclude the United States from 2018 bidding, which would be eligible with the other non-European bids for 2022.
In September 2007, the Football Federation Australia confirmed that Australia would bid for the 2018 World Cup finals. Previously, in late May 2006, the Victorian sports minister, Justin Madden, said that he wanted his state to drive a bid to stage the 2018 World Cup. Frank Lowy, the FFA chairman, has stated that they are aiming to use 16 stadiums for the bid. Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced the Federal Government’s support for the bid, and in December 2008, Federal minister for sport Kate Ellis announced that the federalgovernment would give the FFA $45.6 million to fund its World Cup bid preparation. Rudd met with Sepp Blatter to discuss the Commonwealth Government’s support of the bid in Zurich in July 2009. At the 2008 FIFA Congress, held in Sydney, FIFA president Sepp Blatter suggested that Australia concentrate on hosting the 2022 tournament, but Lowy responded by recommitting Australia to its 2018 bid. However, Australia ultimately withdrew from the bidding for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in favour of the 2022 FIFA World Cup on 10 June 2010, following comments from the chief of the Asian Football Confederation that the 2018 tournament should be held in Europe. One possible stumbling block to the bid is that almost all of Australia’s largest stadiums are used by other major Australian sports whose domestic seasons overlap with the World Cup. The Australian Football League and National Rugby League claim that loss of access to almost all their major venues for eight weeks would severely disrupt their seasons and even impact the viability of their clubs.
United States Of America
US Soccer first said in February 2007 that it would put forth a bid for the 2018 World Cup. On 28 January 2009, U.S. Soccer announced that it would submit bids for both the 2018 and 2022 Cups. David Downs, president of Univision Sports, is executive director of the bid. Other committee members include president of U.S. Soccer Sunil Gulati, U.S. Soccer chief executive officer Dan Flynn, Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber, and Phil Murphy, the former national finance chair for the Democratic National Committee. The vice president of FIFA, Jack Warner,who is also the president of CONCACAF, originally said he would try to bring the World Cup back to the CONCACAF region. However, Warner also stated that he would prefer if the USSF changed their plans to make a bid for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. In April 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama wrote a letter to FIFA President Sepp Blatter in support of the U.S. bid, and then met with him in July 2009. In April 2009, the bid committee identified 70 stadiums in 50 communities as possible venues for the tournament, with 58 confirming their interest. The list of stadiums was trimmed two months later to 45 in 37 cities, and then in August 2009 to 32 stadiums in 27 cities. In January 2010, 18 cities and 21 stadiums were selected for the final bid. The cities are Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle, Tampa, and Washington DC. The cities with multiple qualifying stadiums are Los Angeles, Seattle and Washington, D.C. With several large American football stadiums, the 21 venues have an average capacity of 77,000, and none seat fewer than 65,000. Seven of the stadiums seat at least 80,000.American football would not conflict with World Cup scheduling, as its season usually begins after World Cup competition, although two proposed stadiums would be used by Major League Soccer during the summer.The United States previously hosted the 1994 FIFA World Cup, which set financial and attendance records.Every CONCACAF Gold Cup (two jointly hosted with Mexico) has been held in the United States, and both the 1999 and 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cups were held in the country.
Japan is bidding to become the first Asian country to host the World Cup twice; however, the fact that they were co-hosts so recently in 2002 is expected to work against them in their bid. Although Japan does not currently have an 80,000-seat capacity stadium, its plan was based on a proposed 100,000-seat stadium that would have gone on to be a centrepiece of 2016 Olympics, for which Tokyo was bidding. The Olympic bid was unsuccessful, coming third in the bidding process that concluded in October 2009. The Vice-President of the Japan Football Association, Junji Ogura, had previously admitted that if Tokyo wereto fail in its bid, its chances of hosting either the 2018 or 2022 World Cup would not be very good. On 4 May 2010, Japan announced that it was withdrawing its bid for the 2018 tournament to focus on 2022, amidst rising speculation that the 2018 edition will be held in Europe. Japan will also host the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
Like fellow 2002 co-host Japan, South Korea has entered the bidding process, albeit only for the 2022 World Cup. They are bidding to become the first Asian country to host the World Cup twice; however, the fact that they were co-hosts so recently in 2002 is expected to work against them in their bid. Han Seung-Joo, a former South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs, was appointed as the Chairman of the Bidding Committee in August 2009. He has since met with FIFA President Sepp Blatter in Zrich, Switzerland. In January 2010, the president Lee Myung-bak visited the headquarter of FIFA in Zurich,Switzerland to meet Sepp Blatter in support of the South Korean bid.Although South Korea does not currently have an 80,000 capacity stadium, it could upgrade an existing venue to meet that capacity. There are three grounds which can seat over 60,000 people”Seoul Olympic Stadium, Seoul World Cup Stadium and Daegu Stadium”and other venues meet hosting requirements as they were built for the 2002 World Cup. The 12 Cities selected to hold the finals should South Korea win the bid were selected in March 2010 are Busan, Cheonan, Daegu, Daejeon, Goyang, Gwangju, Incheon (2 Venues), Jeonju, Jeju, Seoul (2 Venues), Suwon and Ulsan.
Rugby World Cup | Confused Springboks Coach Does It Again
Half-measure compounds family’s misery
‘Distracted’ controller blamed for collision
Daily trivia quiz: September 15
Confused Springboks coach does it again
Arrest after Kiwi killed in Budapest
King Country fugitive caught
Fears of gang trouble at meeting
Row grows over Christchurch rebuilding
A kiss from Simba collars $50k
Teen banned from US after drunken email
Cuisine coup dishes up $30m for Wellington
Half-measure compounds family’s misery
How to Get Lucky
Arrest after Kiwi killed in Budapest
New ministry chief oversaw massive cuts in Scotland
NZX dairy scheme ‘conflict of interest’
King Country fugitive caught
‘Distracted’ controller blamed for collision
Kiwi kai in the heart of Sydney
A kiss from Simba collars $50k
Rugby World Cup | Ryder Cup ‘acid Test’ For Wales
Professor Simon Chadwick from the Centre for International Business of Sport, said if the nation is to become a world class destination then it must build on that success and bid for high-profile events on a regular basis.
His comments come as Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones is to tell an audience in the City that the Ryder Cup is a unique opportunity to promote the country.
Earlier this year the assembly government unveiled a 10-year plan to promote Wales as a destination for big name sporting, musical and cultural events.
Speaking to business leaders in London on Tuesday, Mr Jones will outline how Wales is building on a reputation for major sporting events – the Rugby World Cup, the FA Cup and, last year, the first Ashes Test.
“Those events have given our country a high profile – and they’ve reinforced the message that as a people we punch above our weight,” he will say.
Mr Jones will highlight that the tournament in Newport on 1 October, has a potential world-wide television audience of two billion, and offers a unique opportunity to promote the country as a location to invest for all types of industries.
He will also explain a new policy to ensure the Welsh economy “is fit for the future and ready to compete in high value markets”.
But while Professor Chadwick agreed it was indeed an opportunity for Wales to show what it can do, he predicted that income from the tournament was not sustainable int he longer term.
If the aim was to establish Wales as a “global destination”, then he said more high profile events – such as the Europa or Champions League football finals or Commonwealth Games – would need to follow.
He said Wales could build on the Ryder Cup by looking at marketing itself as a “niche destination” for “second tier events” such as international cricket.
“Sport has the potential to generate huge amounts of money for cities and countries,” he said, “but to be sustainable in the longer term you have to be bidding for and winning major sports events on a regular basis.”
Rugby World Cup | Rugby Watch
Mozambique takes protest mobile”Mozambican, prepare yourself to enjoy the great day of the strike. Let’s protest the increase in energy, water, mini-bus taxi and bread prices. Send to other Mozambicans.” Three days after this anonymous text message was relayed to thousands of Mozambicans they took — seemingly spontaneously…
An historic date for more than one reasonThis past Saturday 11 September was the ninth commemoration of the attacks on the United States, which saw among others the twin-tower building that was the World Trade Centre taken down by passenger planes under the control of hijackers. It has etched the date forever into mankind’s…
Rugby World Cup | Sports Park Enjoys ‘magnificent’ Rugby World Cup
“A MAGNIFICENT success” is how the chief executive of Surrey Sports Park described the hosting of the venue’s first international contest.
For 17 days the Guildford site played host to the Women’s Rugby World Cup - and although England fell at the last as they were pipped 13-10 in the final by New Zealand, the success has done much to establish the sports park as a tournament venue.
For the duration of the event, 312 players from 12 countries plus their support teams and families stayed on site at the sports park.
This created an Olympic-village style feel. Accommodation was provided, 31,500 meals were served, and teams benefited from on-site training facilities and world class pitches on which to compete.
As the teams left the sports park on Monday, chief executive Jason Harborow reflected: “It has been a magnificent success, from start to finish.
“For us, it has been a massive logistical exercise and has gone off without a hitch.
“The income that it generated has been significant. It was everything we hoped for and more.
“The Women’s Rugby World Cup was a major event at the sports park. We wanted to raise the profile of the venue on a national and international basis.
“It was broadcast to 120 countries and in the background was the sports park branding and the presenters’ comments about the venue. It has been put on a world stage.”
The sports park hosted three days of games, with six matches being played each day, and every one a sell-out.
It also hosted play-off games on the final two days of the tournament, drawing large crowds.
Despite this success, Mr Harborow said he felt that Guildford could have got behind the event more.
“The town could have done more to make it feel like a world cup was taking place,” he said.
The tournament was jointly organised by the International Rugby Board and the Rugby Football Union for Women (RFUW).
Rosie Williams, managing director of the RFUW, said of the sports park: “It is absolutely phenomenal.
“The venue had very, very high quality surfaces. The groundsmen did an outstanding job.
“But the key thing about the sports park is the people.
“Excellent staff were willing and able and they would not stop until we had everything that we needed.
“The single venue model for international events will change the face of a lot of events going forward.
“Teams training, playing and living in the same venue reduces time and cost. A venue like Surrey Sport Park has a very bright future.”
Rugby World Cup | Sports Park Enjoys ‘magnificent’ Rugby World Cup
“A MAGNIFICENT success” is how the chief executive of Surrey Sports Park described the hosting of the venue’s first international contest.
For 17 days the Guildford site played host to the Women’s Rugby World Cup - and although England fell at the last as they were pipped 13-10 in the final by New Zealand, the success has done much to establish the sports park as a tournament venue.
For the duration of the event, 312 players from 12 countries plus their support teams and families stayed on site at the sports park.
This created an Olympic-village style feel. Accommodation was provided, 31,500 meals were served, and teams benefited from on-site training facilities and world class pitches on which to compete.
As the teams left the sports park on Monday, chief executive Jason Harborow reflected: “It has been a magnificent success, from start to finish.
“For us, it has been a massive logistical exercise and has gone off without a hitch.
“The income that it generated has been significant. It was everything we hoped for and more.
“The Women’s Rugby World Cup was a major event at the sports park. We wanted to raise the profile of the venue on a national and international basis.
“It was broadcast to 120 countries and in the background was the sports park branding and the presenters’ comments about the venue. It has been put on a world stage.”
The sports park hosted three days of games, with six matches being played each day, and every one a sell-out.
It also hosted play-off games on the final two days of the tournament, drawing large crowds.
Despite this success, Mr Harborow said he felt that Guildford could have got behind the event more.
“The town could have done more to make it feel like a world cup was taking place,” he said.
The tournament was jointly organised by the International Rugby Board and the Rugby Football Union for Women (RFUW).
Rosie Williams, managing director of the RFUW, said of the sports park: “It is absolutely phenomenal.
“The venue had very, very high quality surfaces. The groundsmen did an outstanding job.
“But the key thing about the sports park is the people.
“Excellent staff were willing and able and they would not stop until we had everything that we needed.
“The single venue model for international events will change the face of a lot of events going forward.
“Teams training, playing and living in the same venue reduces time and cost. A venue like Surrey Sport Park has a very bright future.”
Rugby World Cup | QATAR’S MAIN CHALLENGERS
Eleven bids were submitted in March 2009 covering thirteen nations, with two joint bids: Belgium-Netherlands and Portugal-Spain. Mexico also submitted a bid, but withdrew theirs on 28 September 2009, while Indonesia had their bid rejected for lack of government support on 19 March 2010.Four of the remaining nine bids, South Korea, Qatar, Japan, and Australia are only for the 2022 World Cup, while all the others are bidding for both the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. Four bids come from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), four from Europe’s UEFA, and one from CONCACAF. It had also been reported on the FIFA website that Egypt was entering a bid, but the president of the Egyptian Football Association denied that any more than an inquiry in principle had been made. The number of bids received meant that the 2018 World Cup is the most contested bid in FIFA’s history and in all probabilty will be awarded to Europe.
In October 2007, FIFA ended its continental rotation policy. Instead countries that are members of the same confederation as either of the last two tournament hosts are ineligible, leaving Africa ineligible for 2018 and South America ineligible for both 2018 and 2022. Other factors in the selection process include the number of suitable stadiums, and their location across candidate nations. Voting is done using a multiple round exhaustive ballot system whereby the candidate receiving the fewest votes in each round is eliminated until a single candidate is chosen by the majority. FIFA President Sepp Blatter has also suggested that FIFA may follow the International Olympic Committee and have a preliminary elimination of bids some time before the final official announcement ceremony.If a European bid is selected to host the 2018 tournament then all other European bids will be ineligible for the 2022 tournament, leaving five bids: Australia, Japan, Qatar, South Korea, and the United States. On 26 January 2010, Sepp Blatter stated that talks were underway with UEFA president Michel Platini to possibly limit bidding for the 2018 tournament to a European candidate. If this proposal was adopted it would exclude the United States from 2018 bidding, which would be eligible with the other non-European bids for 2022.
In September 2007, the Football Federation Australia confirmed that Australia would bid for the 2018 World Cup finals. Previously, in late May 2006, the Victorian sports minister, Justin Madden, said that he wanted his state to drive a bid to stage the 2018 World Cup. Frank Lowy, the FFA chairman, has stated that they are aiming to use 16 stadiums for the bid. Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced the Federal Government’s support for the bid, and in December 2008, Federal minister for sport Kate Ellis announced that the federalgovernment would give the FFA $45.6 million to fund its World Cup bid preparation. Rudd met with Sepp Blatter to discuss the Commonwealth Government’s support of the bid in Zurich in July 2009. At the 2008 FIFA Congress, held in Sydney, FIFA president Sepp Blatter suggested that Australia concentrate on hosting the 2022 tournament, but Lowy responded by recommitting Australia to its 2018 bid. However, Australia ultimately withdrew from the bidding for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in favour of the 2022 FIFA World Cup on 10 June 2010, following comments from the chief of the Asian Football Confederation that the 2018 tournament should be held in Europe. One possible stumbling block to the bid is that almost all of Australia’s largest stadiums are used by other major Australian sports whose domestic seasons overlap with the World Cup. The Australian Football League and National Rugby League claim that loss of access to almost all their major venues for eight weeks would severely disrupt their seasons and even impact the viability of their clubs.
United States Of America
US Soccer first said in February 2007 that it would put forth a bid for the 2018 World Cup. On 28 January 2009, U.S. Soccer announced that it would submit bids for both the 2018 and 2022 Cups. David Downs, president of Univision Sports, is executive director of the bid. Other committee members include president of U.S. Soccer Sunil Gulati, U.S. Soccer chief executive officer Dan Flynn, Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber, and Phil Murphy, the former national finance chair for the Democratic National Committee. The vice president of FIFA, Jack Warner,who is also the president of CONCACAF, originally said he would try to bring the World Cup back to the CONCACAF region. However, Warner also stated that he would prefer if the USSF changed their plans to make a bid for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. In April 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama wrote a letter to FIFA President Sepp Blatter in support of the U.S. bid, and then met with him in July 2009. In April 2009, the bid committee identified 70 stadiums in 50 communities as possible venues for the tournament, with 58 confirming their interest. The list of stadiums was trimmed two months later to 45 in 37 cities, and then in August 2009 to 32 stadiums in 27 cities. In January 2010, 18 cities and 21 stadiums were selected for the final bid. The cities are Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle, Tampa, and Washington DC. The cities with multiple qualifying stadiums are Los Angeles, Seattle and Washington, D.C. With several large American football stadiums, the 21 venues have an average capacity of 77,000, and none seat fewer than 65,000. Seven of the stadiums seat at least 80,000.American football would not conflict with World Cup scheduling, as its season usually begins after World Cup competition, although two proposed stadiums would be used by Major League Soccer during the summer.The United States previously hosted the 1994 FIFA World Cup, which set financial and attendance records.Every CONCACAF Gold Cup (two jointly hosted with Mexico) has been held in the United States, and both the 1999 and 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cups were held in the country.
Japan is bidding to become the first Asian country to host the World Cup twice; however, the fact that they were co-hosts so recently in 2002 is expected to work against them in their bid. Although Japan does not currently have an 80,000-seat capacity stadium, its plan was based on a proposed 100,000-seat stadium that would have gone on to be a centrepiece of 2016 Olympics, for which Tokyo was bidding. The Olympic bid was unsuccessful, coming third in the bidding process that concluded in October 2009. The Vice-President of the Japan Football Association, Junji Ogura, had previously admitted that if Tokyo wereto fail in its bid, its chances of hosting either the 2018 or 2022 World Cup would not be very good. On 4 May 2010, Japan announced that it was withdrawing its bid for the 2018 tournament to focus on 2022, amidst rising speculation that the 2018 edition will be held in Europe. Japan will also host the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
Like fellow 2002 co-host Japan, South Korea has entered the bidding process, albeit only for the 2022 World Cup. They are bidding to become the first Asian country to host the World Cup twice; however, the fact that they were co-hosts so recently in 2002 is expected to work against them in their bid. Han Seung-Joo, a former South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs, was appointed as the Chairman of the Bidding Committee in August 2009. He has since met with FIFA President Sepp Blatter in Zrich, Switzerland. In January 2010, the president Lee Myung-bak visited the headquarter of FIFA in Zurich,Switzerland to meet Sepp Blatter in support of the South Korean bid.Although South Korea does not currently have an 80,000 capacity stadium, it could upgrade an existing venue to meet that capacity. There are three grounds which can seat over 60,000 people”Seoul Olympic Stadium, Seoul World Cup Stadium and Daegu Stadium”and other venues meet hosting requirements as they were built for the 2002 World Cup. The 12 Cities selected to hold the finals should South Korea win the bid were selected in March 2010 are Busan, Cheonan, Daegu, Daejeon, Goyang, Gwangju, Incheon (2 Venues), Jeonju, Jeju, Seoul (2 Venues), Suwon and Ulsan.
Rugby World Cup | QATAR’S MAIN CHALLENGERS
Eleven bids were submitted in March 2009 covering thirteen nations, with two joint bids: Belgium-Netherlands and Portugal-Spain. Mexico also submitted a bid, but withdrew theirs on 28 September 2009, while Indonesia had their bid rejected for lack of government support on 19 March 2010.Four of the remaining nine bids, South Korea, Qatar, Japan, and Australia are only for the 2022 World Cup, while all the others are bidding for both the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. Four bids come from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), four from Europe’s UEFA, and one from CONCACAF. It had also been reported on the FIFA website that Egypt was entering a bid, but the president of the Egyptian Football Association denied that any more than an inquiry in principle had been made. The number of bids received meant that the 2018 World Cup is the most contested bid in FIFA’s history and in all probabilty will be awarded to Europe.
In October 2007, FIFA ended its continental rotation policy. Instead countries that are members of the same confederation as either of the last two tournament hosts are ineligible, leaving Africa ineligible for 2018 and South America ineligible for both 2018 and 2022. Other factors in the selection process include the number of suitable stadiums, and their location across candidate nations. Voting is done using a multiple round exhaustive ballot system whereby the candidate receiving the fewest votes in each round is eliminated until a single candidate is chosen by the majority. FIFA President Sepp Blatter has also suggested that FIFA may follow the International Olympic Committee and have a preliminary elimination of bids some time before the final official announcement ceremony.If a European bid is selected to host the 2018 tournament then all other European bids will be ineligible for the 2022 tournament, leaving five bids: Australia, Japan, Qatar, South Korea, and the United States. On 26 January 2010, Sepp Blatter stated that talks were underway with UEFA president Michel Platini to possibly limit bidding for the 2018 tournament to a European candidate. If this proposal was adopted it would exclude the United States from 2018 bidding, which would be eligible with the other non-European bids for 2022.
In September 2007, the Football Federation Australia confirmed that Australia would bid for the 2018 World Cup finals. Previously, in late May 2006, the Victorian sports minister, Justin Madden, said that he wanted his state to drive a bid to stage the 2018 World Cup. Frank Lowy, the FFA chairman, has stated that they are aiming to use 16 stadiums for the bid. Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced the Federal Government’s support for the bid, and in December 2008, Federal minister for sport Kate Ellis announced that the federalgovernment would give the FFA $45.6 million to fund its World Cup bid preparation. Rudd met with Sepp Blatter to discuss the Commonwealth Government’s support of the bid in Zurich in July 2009. At the 2008 FIFA Congress, held in Sydney, FIFA president Sepp Blatter suggested that Australia concentrate on hosting the 2022 tournament, but Lowy responded by recommitting Australia to its 2018 bid. However, Australia ultimately withdrew from the bidding for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in favour of the 2022 FIFA World Cup on 10 June 2010, following comments from the chief of the Asian Football Confederation that the 2018 tournament should be held in Europe. One possible stumbling block to the bid is that almost all of Australia’s largest stadiums are used by other major Australian sports whose domestic seasons overlap with the World Cup. The Australian Football League and National Rugby League claim that loss of access to almost all their major venues for eight weeks would severely disrupt their seasons and even impact the viability of their clubs.
United States Of America
US Soccer first said in February 2007 that it would put forth a bid for the 2018 World Cup. On 28 January 2009, U.S. Soccer announced that it would submit bids for both the 2018 and 2022 Cups. David Downs, president of Univision Sports, is executive director of the bid. Other committee members include president of U.S. Soccer Sunil Gulati, U.S. Soccer chief executive officer Dan Flynn, Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber, and Phil Murphy, the former national finance chair for the Democratic National Committee. The vice president of FIFA, Jack Warner,who is also the president of CONCACAF, originally said he would try to bring the World Cup back to the CONCACAF region. However, Warner also stated that he would prefer if the USSF changed their plans to make a bid for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. In April 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama wrote a letter to FIFA President Sepp Blatter in support of the U.S. bid, and then met with him in July 2009. In April 2009, the bid committee identified 70 stadiums in 50 communities as possible venues for the tournament, with 58 confirming their interest. The list of stadiums was trimmed two months later to 45 in 37 cities, and then in August 2009 to 32 stadiums in 27 cities. In January 2010, 18 cities and 21 stadiums were selected for the final bid. The cities are Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle, Tampa, and Washington DC. The cities with multiple qualifying stadiums are Los Angeles, Seattle and Washington, D.C. With several large American football stadiums, the 21 venues have an average capacity of 77,000, and none seat fewer than 65,000. Seven of the stadiums seat at least 80,000.American football would not conflict with World Cup scheduling, as its season usually begins after World Cup competition, although two proposed stadiums would be used by Major League Soccer during the summer.The United States previously hosted the 1994 FIFA World Cup, which set financial and attendance records.Every CONCACAF Gold Cup (two jointly hosted with Mexico) has been held in the United States, and both the 1999 and 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cups were held in the country.
Japan is bidding to become the first Asian country to host the World Cup twice; however, the fact that they were co-hosts so recently in 2002 is expected to work against them in their bid. Although Japan does not currently have an 80,000-seat capacity stadium, its plan was based on a proposed 100,000-seat stadium that would have gone on to be a centrepiece of 2016 Olympics, for which Tokyo was bidding. The Olympic bid was unsuccessful, coming third in the bidding process that concluded in October 2009. The Vice-President of the Japan Football Association, Junji Ogura, had previously admitted that if Tokyo wereto fail in its bid, its chances of hosting either the 2018 or 2022 World Cup would not be very good. On 4 May 2010, Japan announced that it was withdrawing its bid for the 2018 tournament to focus on 2022, amidst rising speculation that the 2018 edition will be held in Europe. Japan will also host the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
Like fellow 2002 co-host Japan, South Korea has entered the bidding process, albeit only for the 2022 World Cup. They are bidding to become the first Asian country to host the World Cup twice; however, the fact that they were co-hosts so recently in 2002 is expected to work against them in their bid. Han Seung-Joo, a former South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs, was appointed as the Chairman of the Bidding Committee in August 2009. He has since met with FIFA President Sepp Blatter in Zrich, Switzerland. In January 2010, the president Lee Myung-bak visited the headquarter of FIFA in Zurich,Switzerland to meet Sepp Blatter in support of the South Korean bid.Although South Korea does not currently have an 80,000 capacity stadium, it could upgrade an existing venue to meet that capacity. There are three grounds which can seat over 60,000 people”Seoul Olympic Stadium, Seoul World Cup Stadium and Daegu Stadium”and other venues meet hosting requirements as they were built for the 2002 World Cup. The 12 Cities selected to hold the finals should South Korea win the bid were selected in March 2010 are Busan, Cheonan, Daegu, Daejeon, Goyang, Gwangju, Incheon (2 Venues), Jeonju, Jeju, Seoul (2 Venues), Suwon and Ulsan.
Rugby World Cup | Zimbabwe: Size Of Rugby Players Worry Coach
12 September 2010
The Zimbabwe Under 19 coach Brighton Chivandire is worried about the “small frame” of his players ahead of the IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy finals next year in Italy.
The Young Sables won the Africa Under 19 title to qualify for Junior World Cup but Chivandire said much still needs to be done. “Generally our weaknesses are to do with our size and conditioning,” admitted Chivandire. “We struggle for resources in this country (Zimbabwe) so our conditioning programmes are not backed by resourcing and naturally our size is an issue.
“Our strengths come from our talent and flair. We have quicker boys than other unions so that is where our strength comes from – natural talent and speed. And everytime we play, we play as a team” Chivandire said. Zimbabwe had the tallest player in the tournament on show in the qualifiers in the shape of lock Schalk Ferreira, who at 206 cm is 46 cm taller than his teammate, scrum half Charles Jiji, who was the smallest man at the qualifying tournament.
The Young Sables’ average weight is 92,2kg while the weight of their pack is 96,6kg and this pales into insignificance compared to Canada’s 108,6kg – the biggest pack in junior rugby. Age Grade rugby is fast improving in Zimbabwe, most recently demonstrated by Chivandire’s side beating Namibia 29-15 in Abidjan to win the Africa Under 19 title to qualify for next year’s IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy (JWRT).
Having participated in the JWRT in Moscow earlier this year – the first Age Grade tournament Zimbabwe had been involved in since the IRB Under 19 Championship in Belfast in 2007 – gaining a place at a second successive world tournament demonstrates how rugby is heading in the right direction in Zimbabwe.
“It is an exciting moment for Zimbabwe, it is proof that rugby is alive in Zimbabwe and that the development programmes are working,” Chivandire told Total Rugby Radio.
“It was our target to go to the JWRT every year for at least the next five years and I think we are on course. Zimbabwean rugby can really grow and we can only get better.
“We competed in Moscow in June and now we are going to the 2011 Trophy where we are hoping to improve. Our target this time is to finish in the top four.”
With one win, one draw and two losses in Moscow, Zimbabwe finished seventh at this year’s tournament, but the draw was impressive, coming against eventual runners-up, Japan.
If Chivandire’s side continues to improve, the outlook will also continue to brighten for the senior national side after coming through a difficult decade.
“We have this focus that Zimbabwe needs to get back to a level that we used to be at. We used to compete at the highest levels,” explained Chivandire.
“We have set our target that the Under 19s do well consistently at least for the next five years to build a foundation for our senior side and all our players understand that it is a breeding ground for talent for our national senior side.”
South Africa are the predominant force in African rugby but Kenya continue to make an impact on the IRB Sevens World Series, whilst Namibia qualified for their fourth consecutive Rugby World Cup in 2011 and also won this year’s IRB Nations Cup.
With the IRB putting resources into developing rugby on the continent, the quality of competition is growing and, according to Chivandire, it is not just Zimbabwe who are becoming stronger.
“Rugby at this level in Africa in general is very high. The level of competition is very high with all the teams improving each year,” he added.
“I think the IRB putting a lot of resources into developing rugby in Africa has worked technically. Coaches are being trained, they are getting better and getting more exposure and technically the players are also getting better and can now compete anywhere in the world.
“Uganda have a specialist coach to help with their forwards and they have improved a lot. Kenya are getting bigger because they are doing well in Sevens and they use that encouragement and that push and drive to get all the teams to do well.
“The Tunisians played well this year, they came third and gave Namibia a run for their money, which wouldn’t have happened in other tournaments.”
For Zimbabwe another crack at the Junior World Rugby Trophy next year will be made easier by the fact that, as an Under 20 competition, the majority of this squad will remain intact.
For many of the players, progression to the senior side is the incentive and the Zimbabwe Rugby Union will hope that a successful Age Grade programme will provide a platform for years to come.
The next generation of rugby stars will be heading to Italy for the IRB Junior World Championship 2011.
The rugby-mad region of Veneto, which boasts Benetton Treviso, Femi-CZ Rovigo, Petrarca Padova and CasinÚ di Venezia as its Super 10 teams, will be home to 312 of the world’s finest Under 20 players throughout June as 12 teams look to claim the most prestigious trophy in international age grade rugby. — Own Staff/Total Rugby Radio
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Rugby World Cup | Dwyer’s View: Referee Blunder Denies Wallabies Victory
Another cliff-hanger finish, with a victory to the New Zealand All Blacks, marked the conclusion of this year’s Tri-Nations Championship and an historic clean sweep to the victors. The victory was marred somewhat however, as the referee, Mark Lawrence, incredibly missed an illegal play by New Zealand captain, Richie McCaw, in the immediate lead up to his try. This try put the All Blacks to within striking distance of the desperately unlucky Wallabies, who had led for virtually the entire match.
In an apparently rehearsed play ” what team actually practises illegal plays ” McCaw detached early, while the ball was still in the scrum, to put himself in a position to take the pass from No.8, Kieran Read, and run in the try. That this obvious transgression was missed, not only by the referee, but also by his assistant on the touchline, defies belief and gives extra weight to a growing number of knowledgeable rugby people who are concerned that incompetent refereeing will mar next year’s Rugby World Cup. On this occasion, refereeing incompetence virtually denied the Wallabies a well-earned victory.
The All Blacks’ fight back in the last 14 minutes from a 13 point deficit was full of merit, and was a tribute to their fitness, self-belief and sheer rugby know-how . No-one could deny this, but the laws of the game are there and all players have the right to the referee’s protection under these laws. The Wallabies were let down and must have felt gutted; I certainly felt gutted with them.
The Wallabies were the better team on the night. They scored two brilliant tries, with vision and running and handling skills that enthralled the huge crowd. Only poor goal-kicking by Matt Giteau kept the Wallabies’ score within reach of the All Blacks. Once again, however, they paid the penalty for less than secure set plays. Both scrum and lineout were reasonable ” indeed, for a period in the middle of the match, the Wallabies had the All Black lineout rattled ” but the All Blacks regrouped, sorted out their problems and finished on top in these vital areas of the game. This is the sign of a very good team.
Only one team in world rugby shows good attention to the detail of the fundamentals of the game ” New Zealand. I have said often, that good technique is at the core of all quality play and the All Black coaching staff clearly understand this. In the vital areas of support play and realignment, they are exemplary, and their results follow. Conversely, a lack of attention to this detail has been my major complaint with the Wallaby management.
There was, yesterday however, an extreme urgency in the Wallaby focus on realignment in defence. If they can now understand that this is also fundamental to quality attack , we can move forward still further. Certainly, our attack was excellent in the early part of the game, but as players tired, the fundamentals disappeared. Compare this with the All Black performance; as they tired, their fundamentals strengthened.
For two seasons now, I have been critical of Wallaby performances. I have seated most of the blame for this on to their coaching team. “Fundamentals are absent”, I have claimed, “and it is the responsibility of the coaching team to insist on these.” In the last two matches, there has been significant improvement and, if we keep on improving, we will get there. Yesterday, in particular, we finally got consistent numbers at the tackle contest. Execution was far from perfect, but intent and commitment were there in abundance.
I said last week that this team does not lack at all for spirit, courage and commitment, so maybe there is some glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. The Wallabies played the No.1 team in world rugby yesterday, and were dreadfully unlucky not to win. This must speak for the future, when a significant number of top quality players will return to the squad. Ioane, Hynes, Shepherd, Mortlock, Horwill, Vickerman, Palu, Higginbotham, Polota-Nau, Alexander and Kepu will add enormously to the larger squad; and, who knows, maybe Waugh, Smith (George) and Baxter still have plenty to offer.
Rugby World Cup | Special Treatment For Canterbury Residents
To give these affected by the Canterbury earthquake a “fair go,” the New Zealand 2011 Festival Lottery Fund, which will make grants for festival events surrounding the Rugby World Cup, has extended the application deadlines.
Internal Affairs Minister Nathan Guy said to give Canterbury residents, whose lives had been disturbed by the disaster, enough time to apply for a share of the $9.48 million available, the deadline has been moved 11 days out for them.
The new closing date for applications from Christchurch and surrounding quake-affected areas is 4pm Tuesday, September 28, while the closing date for all other areas remains Friday, September 17.
“The disruption to the Canterbury region means that many groups need extra time to prepare their applications for festival events associated with the Rugby World Cup, said Mr Guy.
“The Department of Internal Affairs has had more than 100 inquiries about this fund and I expect many applications from across the country. I encourage local communities to come up with ideas and apply.
“With less than 12 months to go until the Rugby World Cup the momentum is starting to build and the festivals fund will help create even more excitement.”
The NZ 2011 Festival Lottery Fund was established by the Lottery Grants Board in July with the money available to support community events and activities associated with the Rugby World Cup.
Events can include concerts, fairs, exhibitions, street markets and parades taking place as part of the nationwide REAL festival during next year’s Rugby World Cup, from September 9 to October 23, 2011.
For application details go to: www.dia.govt.nz/2011FLF
Rugby World Cup | Homes And Aston Martin Available For RWC Tournament On Internet
With less than one year out to the Rugby World Cup, privateaccommodation options for the tournament and the 70,000international visitors expected to visit New Zealand are in thespotlight.
Mike Grey, who is offering his home to rent during thetournament, started the website “Go Rugby Homes” to createsomewhere for others to advertise the same.
Grey said private accommodation is cost effective whenconverting the exchange rate from the euro or the pound.
Sports broadcasting giant ESPN has shown interest in theventure, with a penthouse apartment in Christchurch booked by thecompany for the duration of the tournament.
Sue Robinson of 80 Minute Game, whose website has also completedseveral international bookings, said there is interest from allover the world.
“They’re coming basically anywhere from Tennessee in the UnitedStates through to France, South Africa, Australia and the UK,” saidRobinson.
There are properties to rent from Ngunguru in Northland down tohouses in Queenstown, as locations range just as much as price.Some properties have the added option of car rental, such as thepenthouse in Auckland offering the owner’s Aston Martin for use.But most advertised houses are family homes, with people looking tomake money from the country’s biggest ever tournament.
Tourism professor Dr Simon Milne said that although somewebsites have had little international interest a year out from thetournament, he believes that has to do with who is looking foraccommodation.
“When we look at hotels, we’re looking at a lot of forwardbooking by overseas package companies, etc. For many of thesehomes, you’re looking at individuals, small groups of friends andfamilies coming together to book at a later point,” Milne said.
“I would anticipate that somewhere between six to eight monthsbefore the event you’d expect to see some increase [ininterest].”
Rugby World Cup | Dwyer’s View: Referee Blunder Denies Wallabies Victory
Another cliff-hanger finish, with a victory to the New Zealand All Blacks, marked the conclusion of this year’s Tri-Nations Championship and an historic clean sweep to the victors. The victory was marred somewhat however, as the referee, Mark Lawrence, incredibly missed an illegal play by New Zealand captain, Richie McCaw, in the immediate lead up to his try. This try put the All Blacks to within striking distance of the desperately unlucky Wallabies, who had led for virtually the entire match.
In an apparently rehearsed play ” what team actually practises illegal plays ” McCaw detached early, while the ball was still in the scrum, to put himself in a position to take the pass from No.8, Kieran Read, and run in the try. That this obvious transgression was missed, not only by the referee, but also by his assistant on the touchline, defies belief and gives extra weight to a growing number of knowledgeable rugby people who are concerned that incompetent refereeing will mar next year’s Rugby World Cup. On this occasion, refereeing incompetence virtually denied the Wallabies a well-earned victory.
The All Blacks’ fight back in the last 14 minutes from a 13 point deficit was full of merit, and was a tribute to their fitness, self-belief and sheer rugby know-how . No-one could deny this, but the laws of the game are there and all players have the right to the referee’s protection under these laws. The Wallabies were let down and must have felt gutted; I certainly felt gutted with them.
The Wallabies were the better team on the night. They scored two brilliant tries, with vision and running and handling skills that enthralled the huge crowd. Only poor goal-kicking by Matt Giteau kept the Wallabies’ score within reach of the All Blacks. Once again, however, they paid the penalty for less than secure set plays. Both scrum and lineout were reasonable ” indeed, for a period in the middle of the match, the Wallabies had the All Black lineout rattled ” but the All Blacks regrouped, sorted out their problems and finished on top in these vital areas of the game. This is the sign of a very good team.
Only one team in world rugby shows good attention to the detail of the fundamentals of the game ” New Zealand. I have said often, that good technique is at the core of all quality play and the All Black coaching staff clearly understand this. In the vital areas of support play and realignment, they are exemplary, and their results follow. Conversely, a lack of attention to this detail has been my major complaint with the Wallaby management.
There was, yesterday however, an extreme urgency in the Wallaby focus on realignment in defence. If they can now understand that this is also fundamental to quality attack , we can move forward still further. Certainly, our attack was excellent in the early part of the game, but as players tired, the fundamentals disappeared. Compare this with the All Black performance; as they tired, their fundamentals strengthened.
For two seasons now, I have been critical of Wallaby performances. I have seated most of the blame for this on to their coaching team. “Fundamentals are absent”, I have claimed, “and it is the responsibility of the coaching team to insist on these.” In the last two matches, there has been significant improvement and, if we keep on improving, we will get there. Yesterday, in particular, we finally got consistent numbers at the tackle contest. Execution was far from perfect, but intent and commitment were there in abundance.
I said last week that this team does not lack at all for spirit, courage and commitment, so maybe there is some glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. The Wallabies played the No.1 team in world rugby yesterday, and were dreadfully unlucky not to win. This must speak for the future, when a significant number of top quality players will return to the squad. Ioane, Hynes, Shepherd, Mortlock, Horwill, Vickerman, Palu, Higginbotham, Polota-Nau, Alexander and Kepu will add enormously to the larger squad; and, who knows, maybe Waugh, Smith (George) and Baxter still have plenty to offer.
Rugby World Cup | Retailers Seek Gaps In Cup Promo Rules
Public relations and advertising agencies are forming tactics for restricted marketing around the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
Some will be linked to the RWC 2011 worldwide partners – Emirates, Mastercard, Heineken and the ANZ – with the advantage of a legislated “clean zone” where other advertisers are restricted.
Others – including New Zealand retailers who want to capitalise on the world’s third largest sporting event – are looking for gaps in the Major Events Management Act that protects the key sponsors.
“We intend to play by the rules,” said Claudia Macdonald, managing director of the marketing communications company Mango Communications, a part of the DDB advertising group.
“But there will be some who do not and [devise] guerrilla or ambush marketing techniques to get their brands noticed,” she said.
She thought PR activity would centre around the local arms of international advertising and marketing companies.
Ambush marketing played a part in all big sporting events, and would do at RWC 2011, she said.
At the soccer World Cup in South Africa, a group of women wearing orange miniskirts were expelled from the World Cup because the colour was linked to a beer brand, “Bavaria”.
The ambush might have gone largely unnoticed by spectators at the game or TV.
News coverage of women being arrested drew worldwide coverage.
“But who remembers the name of the beer – all I remember is orange,” said Deborah Pead of marketing communications company Pead PR.
Pead PR is one of the marketing communications companies attached to Heineken, so is understandably sceptical about the value of ambush marketing.
Since the Major Events Management Act was passed in April, attention has focused on big global brands.
But the act also affects smaller firms, including retailers who want to get some marketing attachment to the Cup.
Malcolm Hurley is a lawyer at Anthony Harper Lawyers in Auckland, a company which specialises in the retail sector.
Commenting in Retail magazine recently, Hurley said there was a sting in the tail for the rules that outlawed some phrases and images.
Under the restrictions, businesses would not be able to use Rugby World Cup tickets as prizes and would need to be careful selling goods that were not approved or counterfeit, Hurley said.
Using the words “unauthorised” or “unofficial” would not protect them, and retailers would not be able to have a Rugby World Cup sale or offer Rugby World Cup specials.
A picture of a rugby player in a promotion was fine but not combined with the words Rugby World Cup, Hurley said.
World Cup sinbin
Banned under the Major Events Management Act:
* Rugby World Cup.
* World Cup 2011.
* RWC.
* World In Union.
* Rugby New Zealand 2011.
* Total Rugby.
* Webb Ellis Cup.
* IRB.
Rugby World Cup | Wallabies The Major Threat – All Blacks
The Wallabies have overtaken South Africa as New Zealand’s closest challenger and major threat at the Rugby World Cup, according to All Black Jerome Kaino.
While New Zealand logged their 10th straight win over Australia in the last Tri-Nations match of the season in Sydney on Saturday, the Wallabies’ performance gave their supporters more cause for hope following the drought-breaking win at altitude over the Springboks in Bloemfontein the previous week.
Australia led by 13 with 15 minutes to go, but conceded two late converted tries to lose 23-22.
Fatigue caused by a short turnaround following a long flight from South Africa and Tests in successive weeks against the Springboks appeared to take a toll.
Regular starting blindside flanker Kaino, who sparked New Zealand after coming off the bench on Saturday, lavished praise on what he perceived as an improving Australian side.
‘The Wallabies have young players, keen players, that are willing to improve and they are improving,’ Kaino said.
‘They have got a lot of enthusiastic players. I’ve seen them grow from 12 months ago.
‘The Springboks, no disrespect, a lot of what they do is quite predictable.
‘Seeing these Wallabies out there, it poses a new threat, just thinking on what they are going to present in 12 months time, at World Cup time.’
Kaino pointed to New Zealand’s dramatic change of fortune over the last year as evidence of how much a team can improve in just 12 months.
Since losing a third straight game to the Springboks, the All Blacks have reeled off 15 successive victories, just two short of the world record streak for top flight nations.
‘Twelve months ago, people weren’t really thinking much or saying much about this Wallabies team and all the new players that are in there,’ Kaino said.
‘Nowadays a lot of these players are key figures in the Wallabies team and international rugby.
‘Just seeing them improve and how much these young players are going to learn, from these tough times, it’s going to be huge.’
He described Wallabies openside flanker David Pocock as ‘a menace’, who was filling the gap created by the retirement of George Smith.
While Australian goalkicker Matt Giteau missed four shots on Saturday, All Blacks halfback Piri Weepu landed all five of his attempts.
Weepu revealed he had a disastrous practice session the day before, making only three or four of 15 shots before deciding to stop.
‘Before the game I was thinking to myself ‘I hope this doesn’t come down to goal kicks’ and obviously it did come down to that,’ Weepu told reporters.
‘You’ve got to be able to kick under a whole lot of pressure and ‘Gits’ is pretty good at kicking under pressure and tonight probably wasn’t his night.’
Rugby World Cup | Williams Sets Retirement Date
Welsh wing wizard Shane Williams has announced his intention to retire following next year’s Rugby World Cup.
The 33-year-old British & Irish Lions international, who has notched 53 tries in 77 Tests, revealed his intention to quit the game on S4C’s Rygbi a Mwy programme, to be broadcast on Friday.
“It depends how far Wales go in next year’s World Cup finals and whether I’m picked, but my last game in a Welsh shirt will be during the World Cup,” said the Ospreys star.
While Williams was widely expected to quit the Test arena after the global showpiece in New Zealand, the interview is the first time he has publicly stated that is when he plans to hang up his boots. The Amman United product won his first cap in 2000 as a replacement against France and scored his first try against Italy on his first start the same month.
But a series of injuries saw him become a peripheral figure and he even pondered giving up the game before re-establishing himself at the 2003 World Cup with his thrilling displays against New Zealand and England. He has since been an integral part of the national squad under coaches Steve Hansen, Mike Ruddock, Gareth Jenkins and Warren Gatland.
Williams was part of the 2005 and 2008 Grand Slam triumphs, scoring six tries during the second of those successes and being named IRB World Player of the Year for 2008. He was also a Lions tourist in 2005 and 2009, scoring two tries in the third Test win in South Africa last year.
The Williams sat out Wales’ recent summer tour of New Zealand to allow himself to get a full pre-season under his belt before Gatland’s side begin their World Cup preparations with their upcoming autumn series against Australia, South Africa, Fiji and New Zealand.
Williams still has a year remaining on his Ospreys contract and has hinted he is likely to commit his future to the region as opposed to looking for a big-money move to a club in England or France.
Rugby World Cup | ‘Shout It Out’ For The Cup And Region
In 12 months’ time, New Zealand will be in the grip of Rugby World Cup fever, and Destination Queenstown is encouraging everyone to spread a viral campaign, aiming to get friends and family to visit the resort.
Tourism New Zealand yesterday launched its One Year Out – Shout it Out campaign, and Destination Queenstown marketing general manager Graham Budd wants people to get behind the campaign and use it as an opportunity to promote Queenstown and the Southern Lakes region to the world.
“We want all RWC visitors to come to Queenstown or, better yet, base themselves here and fly/drive to games around New Zealand,” Mr Budd said.
On Sunday, DQ launched its spring and summer campaign in New Zealand and Australia, featuring a “funky” 30-second television commercial.
“With this in mind, the One Year Out – Shout it Out milestone is a fantastic cost-effective PR opportunity for us to show a huge international audience why they should come to Queenstown.”
Mr Budd encouraged everyone to get behind the campaign by posting a clear message through social networking sites, websites, email newsletters, print and radio tomorrow.
“One year to go until RWC 2011 – come to New Zealand, come to Queenstown” and link to the Queenstown commercial on youtube – .
Details of related festival events were still to be confirmed, but a funding application had been lodged with the Lotteries Commission and events would be announced as they were confirmed, Mr Budd said.
Already confirmed was a Classic All Blacks v Classic France fixture, to be played at the Queenstown Recreation Ground on September 18 next year.
As part of the One Year Out campaign, TNZ had installed New Zealand’s giant rugby ball near the Sydney Opera House in time for the beginning of the 12-month countdown.
Tomorrow, TNZ would host a “giant rugby ball function” hosting media and trade, which DQ chief executive Tony Everitt would also attend.
DQ’s conference and incentive trade managers Kylie Brittain and Ben Chapman were also in Sydney for the C&I Trade Australian Roadshow this week, promoting Queenstown as a place to visit and do business.
