Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Edwards eyes Wales assistant role(Taken From rugbydirt.com)

Shaun Edwards has asked Wasps to release him on a part-time basis to become Warren Gatland's coaching assistant with Wales.

Wasps and the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) are in negotiations for the former Wigan and Great Britain rugby league player to take up a part-time role as Wales defence coach.

"I want to improve as a coach, but I don't want to harm my situation at Wasps," Edwards told the Guardian. "I want to go on coaching there, and really it's just a question of the club and Wales coming to some agreement."

Edwards, 41, announced yesterday that he had turned down England.

“At present, I don’t see his equal in northern hemisphere coaching,” Craig Dowd, his Wasps co-coach, said yesterday. “England should be investing time in him, but they’re losing a very, very good coach. Their loss is Wales’s gain.”

One of the most highly-rated coaches in rugby union, Edwards helped coach Wasps to the Heineken Cup and three Guinness Premiership titles.

Wasps chief executive Tony Copsey told BBC Sport Wales the WRU had made an official approach for their head coach. "It is still far from being a done deal," he said. "But we would hope to sort things as quickly as we can because it runs the risk of being distracting."

Wasps captain Lawrence Dallaglio believed it was in the RFU’s best interest to include Edwards in their set-up. "Shaun Edwards would be a huge asset for England and it would be disappointing to see him coaching Wales," Dallaglio said. "But when you compare the options it is not difficult to see which is more attractive."

Corry says no to Ashton, hangs up boots(Taken From rugbydirt.com)

Martin Corry has declined Brian Ashton’s offer of a place in England’s squad for the Rugby Six Nations Championship.

Head coach Ashton is due to name his 32-man squad for the Six Nations championship on January 9 but according to Corry, a former national captain, has rejected his invitation to play in next month’s competition.

Corry, 34, doesn’t believe he can maintain his high standards in both international and domestic rugby. “It’s just a shame I am getting old,” he told the Guardian. “If I could carry on for the next 10 years I would because I genuinely love playing for Leicester and England.

“Brian rang me to say they were going to name me in the 32 and asked if that was what I wanted. Unfortunately, I just can’t keep doing it all. Something has to give if I want to keep playing to the required standard.”

Corry last appeared in the World Cup final defeat against South Africa in October. He earned 64 England caps as well as six for the British Lions. He captained England under Andy Robinson but was replaced by Phil Vickery 12 months ago when Ashton took control of England.

Following the retirements of Jason Robinson, Mike Catt and Lawrence Dallaglio for England’s first match against Wales at Twickenham on February 2, Ashton has a headache to deal with. If reports are to be believed, Ashton will call up youngsters James Haskell and Danny Cipriani.

“There's no point throwing youngsters in the deep end at once and telling them to sink or swim, because they would sink without trace," Ashton said recently. "The key word here is potential. We have a lot of very exciting individuals playing regularly in the Premiership, but there's a big difference between that - or the Saxons, come to that - and international rugby.




Corry says no to Ashton, hangs up bootsTaken From rugbydirt.com

Martin Corry has declined Brian Ashton’s offer of a place in England’s squad for the Rugby Six Nations Championship.

Head coach Ashton is due to name his 32-man squad for the Six Nations championship on January 9 but according to Corry, a former national captain, has rejected his invitation to play in next month’s competition.

Corry, 34, doesn’t believe he can maintain his high standards in both international and domestic rugby. “It’s just a shame I am getting old,” he told the Guardian. “If I could carry on for the next 10 years I would because I genuinely love playing for Leicester and England.

“Brian rang me to say they were going to name me in the 32 and asked if that was what I wanted. Unfortunately, I just can’t keep doing it all. Something has to give if I want to keep playing to the required standard.”

Corry last appeared in the World Cup final defeat against South Africa in October. He earned 64 England caps as well as six for the British Lions. He captained England under Andy Robinson but was replaced by Phil Vickery 12 months ago when Ashton took control of England.

Following the retirements of Jason Robinson, Mike Catt and Lawrence Dallaglio for England’s first match against Wales at Twickenham on February 2, Ashton has a headache to deal with. If reports are to be believed, Ashton will call up youngsters James Haskell and Danny Cipriani.

“There's no point throwing youngsters in the deep end at once and telling them to sink or swim, because they would sink without trace," Ashton said recently. "The key word here is potential. We have a lot of very exciting individuals playing regularly in the Premiership, but there's a big difference between that - or the Saxons, come to that - and international rugby.




Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Wilkinson expected to stay on with Falcons(Taken From rugbydirt.com)

Newcastle head coach John Fletcher expects Jonny Wilkinson to stay on with the Falcons. Wilkinson’s contract expires at the end of the season, but Fletcher is confident that an extended deal will be signed following talks with the superstar fly-half’s consultants in January.
"We're talking with Jonny Wilkinson and those talks will continue in the New Year," said Fletcher. "We're due to meet with his management in early January and we've no reason to believe he won't sign.
"As a side we've been competitive for a period of time. We've added to the squad in terms of quality and we're bringing through a number of good younger players."
There was speculation that Wilkinson could depart the club behind fitness coach and mentor Steve Black, and Newcastle said that they will continue to discuss a new contract in January.
Wilkinson added two penalties and two conversions in Falcons’ 22-19 win over Saracens this weekend, their first on the road since November 2006. His England team-mates Mathew Tait, Toby Flood and Jamie Noon added tries to help Newcastle move to seventh in the Premiership table.

IT’s time for Varsity status(Taken From rugbydirt.com)

As anyone who follows collegiate rugby knows, there are only a relative handful of teams that operate under the status of a varsity team. Most teams are club level teams, leaving them to work hard for their own funding and field privileges. This is especially true on the women’s side of the ball and time is running out for women’s college club teams across the country to join the varsity ranks. In 2001, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) put women’s rugby in the category of an “emerging sport” and struck a deal with USA Rugby. The deal was that if USA Rugby could field 40 varsity teams in 10 years, the NCAA would make women’s rugby an official sport. Approaching the seventh year of the bargain, only four schools have teams that have obtained varsity status: Bowdoin, West Chester, Southern Vermont and Eastern Illinois. While the sport is becoming more and more popular in the U.S., it may not be happening quickly enough in the women’s college ranks and there are many that don’t realize there is a timeline that needs to be met. The push to elevate teams to varsity level would allow for teams to have operating budgets, university sanctioned equipment and playing fields and recruiting abilities that most lack now. With three years left in the deal with the NCAA, look for USA Rugby to encourage a number of top women’s teams to make the jump to varsity in order to be recognized by the top governing body in college sports.

USRFF sets funds Goal for end of 2007(Taken From rugbydirt.com)

The United States Rugby Football Foundation set a campaign goal in November to help young rugby players experience top-level rugby all over the world. The foundation looked to raise $50,000 by the end of the year and is asking all those involved with the youth game to chip in. The director of the USRFF Brian Vizard is heading up the operation and cites his own experiences playing rugby abroad as reason for people to give to the foundation. Donations towards the $50,000 goal will be used is a number of ways that will benefit a range of players and teams. Ball grants will be at the base of the foundation so that children and new players will at least have the most essential piece of equipment to get accustomed to the game. Educational grants and high-school level team equipment packages will comprise another portion of the $50,000 to be spread out to schools with enough interest to start a team. Finally, the money raised will go towards portions of college scholarships, which are rare in the rugby arena, and towards grants allotted by the USRFF. The grants would go to specific qualified players and would allow them to attend elite rugby clinics held in the U.S. and abroad. With the year coming to a close, friends of the USRFF need to keep the gifts coming so that the organization can continue to promote the game amongst the youngest players.

U-20’S bring game to Ireland(Taken From rugbydirt.com)

The United States U-20 men’s rugby team is kicking off the New Year abroad as the squad is in the midst of its Ireland tour. After naming the starting squad on the eve of the beginning of the tour, the U-20’s began their quest by squaring of against the U-20 squad of the storied Munster club, the same team that took on the Men’s Eagles before they shipped out to the 2007 rugby world cup. A hard-fought match against Munster saw the US fall by a narrow 14-7 margin, but in many ways, it was a good start to the trip. Training had been difficult for the US team, as they have had to deal with wet weather and muddy field conditions, but the bad-weather training that the team did get in helped assimilate them with the playing conditions in the Munster game.
After dropping the match to Munster, the U-20’s had the task of taking down Trinity College; the oldest rugby club in the country. Heading into the match, the US had its work cut out as head coach Salty Thompson elected to start an entirely new front row, including six new forwards and four new backs. The change proved to spark the offense against Trinity and the two teams were tied at 22-apiece late in the game. The US managed one more try, but Trinity notched 14 more points and escaped with the 36-27 victory. Next up for the US team is Queens University and the US hopes to put what they have learned in the first two games to use to grab a victory in game three.






Youth Squads progress in Arizona(Taken From rugbydirt.com)

Arizona was the place to be for young rugby players in the US rugby system towards the end of December as both the men’s U-19 and U-18 rugby squads held developmental camps from December 26 through the 31. The U-18 team held its first ever winter training camp and 63 players came out for the event. The U-18 team is in a unique position of being in line for a multitude of upcoming international events, including the U-20 world cup in Wales, and a number of national team events in the coming months and years. The players were primarily high school players although a handful of college freshmen also attended the session.
Alongside the U-18 team, the U-19 squad also held a camp during the same time period and hosted a total of 55 players in the session. The U-19 camp was targeted specifically at developing talent for the Freedom Cup competition where the U.S. will take on Canada in Florida in February. Again featuring a mix of club, college and high school talent, the U-19 coaches are excited to be a part of the age-grade system that allows them to see up-and-coming talent advance through the national team system. With cohesive U-18 and U-19 teams, the U.S. is more confident than ever for the near and distant future for the USA youth programs and eventually the national team itself.


Fullerton set to host International Youth Event(Taken From rugbydirt.com)

What started as a boy’s high school rugby tournament in 2004 has quickly become one of the premier youth rugby events in the United States. The Fullerton rugby club prepares to host its’ fifth annual International Youth Rugby tournament and even though it is scheduled for the end of March, there is a large amount of anticipation and excitement surrounding the event. After the opening year of the tournament, a girls division was put in place in 2005 that expanded the tournament to its current size and prowess. The international event fields teams from a number of locations including various teams from around the U.S. and teams from Canada, Australia, Puerto Rico and other international rugby nations. The age limit for the event is very specific; all players must be enrolled in high school and must be 18 years old or younger as of September 1, 2007. The age guidelines serve to promote some stellar rugby action at the event, especially in the 2007 tournament. In the girls cup final match, the North Shore Highlanders slid by the Surrey Eagles 5-0 to claim the top prize and the team from Back Bay downed the Cougars 7-0 to take the boys championship. With such a wide variety of teams and such a deep talent pool, everyone involved with the 2008 tournament is expecting the competition to equal or surpass that of last year and the Fullerton rugby club is excited to get moving toward the weekend in March.

Baggetta gets the nod for defensive specialist(Taken From rugbydirt.com)

Among the many moves being made by USA Rugby regarding the national team and the development of its players, Peter Baggetta was name the official defensive specialist coach for the US national team. Baggetta will be responsible for instituting a new defensive scheme not only at the highest level of US rugby, but a model that can be emulated through the ranks down to the youth development teams. In this way, Baggetta will be working directly with the coaches in the new age-grade system to increase the level of defense being played throughout the organization. The newly named defense expert has plenty of coaching experience and is currently the head of the Potomac Athletic Club in the US rugby Super League. He has also assisted with the Mid-Atlantic Men’s All-Star team and played an important role in the recent USA Coach Development program as the leader of a number of courses. Though Baggetta will continue to coach the Potomac squad through the 2008 Super League season, his duties were laid out for him at the U-17 national team camp in Florida just a few days ago and he is looking forward to collaborating with coaches at all levels to up the standard for defense. USA Rugby CEO Nigel Melville will also work closely with his new hire to ensure that Baggetta’s defensive leadership is being promoted at all levels and is effective against the world’s best.

Warsaw helping growth in Indiana(Taken From rugbydirt.com)

Even though the Warsaw rugby boys and girls teams are done playing for the season, the teams continue to build a community with the sport they love to play as the common bond. Warsaw is one of 27 boys and 17 girls high school rugby teams in the state of Indiana. The club welcomes all comers that are willing to commit to the club-level sport and competes in a number of state tournaments, continually feeding the growing number of men’s and women’s collegiate teams in the area. This off-season, the Warsaw group participated in the toys for tot’s delivery, giving back to the community as a team even though they are in between seasons. The team unity in the off-season speaks volumes to the teams’ success during play as both the boys and girls have experienced recent success. The men are 2-1 in three games with their big season coming in the spring and the women finished the fall 2007 season with a daunting 11-1 record including seven shutouts. The women also scored 532 points over their 12 games and allowed only 53 points in that span. In a state like Indiana where starting rugby clubs is an uphill battle to say the least, the Warsaw gang is doing its part to connect with the community and show what an asset the group can be. And with the boy’s season around the corner, the community support for Warsaw looks to only increase through this spring and beyond.