Rugby News from unexpected places
- Thread starter p.Tah
- Start date
KevinO
Geoff Shaw (53)
Disappointing no Madagascar seeing its there national sport and they get decent crowds at club comp
Members Section
John Thornett (49)
I noticed this last year, shame Zimbabwe & Namibia are on the same side of the draw now def 1 of will not make it
Rugbynutter39
Michael Lynagh (62)
Yep that would be fab
Omar Comin'
Chilla Wilson (44)
I'm interested to see if Algeria (and to a lesser extent Senegal and Ivory Coast) are able to get some professional players in France (who qualify through ancestry) to play for them in these qualifiers. The fact the games are being held in France could be a big advantage for them.
WorkingClassRugger
Michael Lynagh (62)
Someone over on the T2 Rugby forum posted a list of French professional players of Algerian heritage. Going down to Federale 1. They'd hav e a decent squad.
wamberal
Phil Kearns (64)
Welcome back, Omar!
WorkingClassRugger
Michael Lynagh (62)
The REC kicked off last night. With Romania getting the better of Russia at home 23-15. Spain putting the Netherlands to the sword 43-0 in Madrid but the big surprise was the battle in Tbilisi between Georgia and Portugal which ended 25 a piece.
WorkingClassRugger
Michael Lynagh (62)
Scotland considering playing Chile in June. Which would be quite the boom for Los Condores as it would serve as an ideal warm up to their two match RWC qualifying series with the USA.
LearningCurve
Bill Watson (15)
Was that a full strength Georgian team? I think quite a few of them play in France so not sure if the French clubs don't let them play like some of the Island players. If it was a strong Georgian team then that is quite an achievement by Portugal. What is their player pool like?
Members Section
John Thornett (49)
No, I read somewhere that they were missing a few. Picked a heavy black lions team.
makes sense, they have almost locked up a World Cup spot & next week play the Dutch & expect a bonus point win. Really good chance to add depth too the squad. It’s basically what France did out here last year.
WorkingClassRugger
Michael Lynagh (62)
Probably only missing 3 or 4 first teamers. Still in years gone by a squad such as this would handle the competition.
WorkingClassRugger
Michael Lynagh (62)
Michael Leitch has plans to work with the likes of Sth Korea and India to help progress there Rugby post playing. But he has specifically targeted Mongolia. Interestingly, aside from a small but growing number of Mongolian teens playing Rugby at school in Japan they actually have their national league televised on their national sports broadcaster.
wamberal
Phil Kearns (64)
Rugby is the most popular game in Madagascar, who are ranked #50 in world rankings. Big games draw big crowds. It would be nice to hear their name occasionally!
WorkingClassRugger
Michael Lynagh (62)
Haven't actually seen anything from them for a while.
An interesting development out of Fiji.
Fiji Rugby warns of Agents and Agencies scouting players
Fiji Rugby Union {FRU} has raised serious concerns on agents or agencies trying to recruit players without registration with FRU and or with the Ministry of Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations as a recruitment agency as required by the Employment Relations Regulations.
FRU Chief Executive John O’Connor said “We understand there is an agent or agency from China currently in the country scouting and recruiting players {both male and female} for playing contracts in China. The agent or agency is neither registered as an agent with Fiji Rugby nor with the Ministry of Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations as a recruitment agency.”
“FRU does not recognize this agency and we are warning players to be aware of such scrupulous agents. We will also not grant international player release for any player involved with this agency if the proper process is not followed.
We have a very good relationship with the China Rugby Union and also have a Memorandum of Understanding {MOU} on areas of collaboration, and they have neither advised the FRU of any planned professional competition and likewise their desire to recruit our players to play in their competition.
Our main interest is the welfare of the players and we are urging the players who have been approached by the agent or agencies to seek guidance from the Fiji Rugby Union through our High-Performance Unit Coaches Bill Gadolo, Kele Leawere, Iferemi Rawaqa and Sale Sorovaki. It’s always good to seek guidance and advice from those who have been through the same experience before making the final decision” said O’Connor.
He thanked the parents and players who have taken the time to seek clarification from FRU. Since country borders are now opening up and rugby has kicked off, there is likely to be an increase of such agents or agency seeking players and we ask players and parents to be careful and to seek guidance and advice. We have had some bad experiences in the past of promises not being met so we are very cautious and concerned when we are made aware of such agent and agency.
He highlighted that FRU is at the moment currently having a discussion with Korean Rugby Union who have indicated to run a professional rugby competition in Korea and they have indicated that they will be seeking the assistance of FRU to recruit some of our players to participate in such competition. This is the right approach and when the positions and the numbers of the players are confirmed, we will advise our provincial unions accordingly.
FRU Chief Executive John O’Connor said they believed there were agents who have been scouting players from the Fun Flavour Super Sevens Series with dubious intent. It’s believed that some players have been targeted and selected without proper due diligence and are in camp allegedly undergoing quarantine before they fly off to Beijing, China in the coming days.
O’Connor said that FRU does not recognize these agents and agencies who are sneaky and trying to recruit players, without following due process and registration.
The CEO Fiji Rugby added “FRU is aware that some of the national players {men and women} have also been approached by these sneaky agents or agencies.
He further added “FRU has a Player Agents Policy and urged current and former players who are also acting as agents to register with the FRU and also follow the process of registration with the Ministry of Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations so there is a certain level of confidence that proper due process is followed and that the player welfare and interest are always paramount.”
Fiji Rugby warns of Agents and Agencies scouting players
Fiji Rugby Union {FRU} has raised serious concerns on agents or agencies trying to recruit players without registration with FRU and or with the Ministry of Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations as a recruitment agency as required by the Employment Relations Regulations.
FRU Chief Executive John O’Connor said “We understand there is an agent or agency from China currently in the country scouting and recruiting players {both male and female} for playing contracts in China. The agent or agency is neither registered as an agent with Fiji Rugby nor with the Ministry of Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations as a recruitment agency.”
“FRU does not recognize this agency and we are warning players to be aware of such scrupulous agents. We will also not grant international player release for any player involved with this agency if the proper process is not followed.
We have a very good relationship with the China Rugby Union and also have a Memorandum of Understanding {MOU} on areas of collaboration, and they have neither advised the FRU of any planned professional competition and likewise their desire to recruit our players to play in their competition.
Our main interest is the welfare of the players and we are urging the players who have been approached by the agent or agencies to seek guidance from the Fiji Rugby Union through our High-Performance Unit Coaches Bill Gadolo, Kele Leawere, Iferemi Rawaqa and Sale Sorovaki. It’s always good to seek guidance and advice from those who have been through the same experience before making the final decision” said O’Connor.
He thanked the parents and players who have taken the time to seek clarification from FRU. Since country borders are now opening up and rugby has kicked off, there is likely to be an increase of such agents or agency seeking players and we ask players and parents to be careful and to seek guidance and advice. We have had some bad experiences in the past of promises not being met so we are very cautious and concerned when we are made aware of such agent and agency.
He highlighted that FRU is at the moment currently having a discussion with Korean Rugby Union who have indicated to run a professional rugby competition in Korea and they have indicated that they will be seeking the assistance of FRU to recruit some of our players to participate in such competition. This is the right approach and when the positions and the numbers of the players are confirmed, we will advise our provincial unions accordingly.
FRU Chief Executive John O’Connor said they believed there were agents who have been scouting players from the Fun Flavour Super Sevens Series with dubious intent. It’s believed that some players have been targeted and selected without proper due diligence and are in camp allegedly undergoing quarantine before they fly off to Beijing, China in the coming days.
O’Connor said that FRU does not recognize these agents and agencies who are sneaky and trying to recruit players, without following due process and registration.
The CEO Fiji Rugby added “FRU is aware that some of the national players {men and women} have also been approached by these sneaky agents or agencies.
He further added “FRU has a Player Agents Policy and urged current and former players who are also acting as agents to register with the FRU and also follow the process of registration with the Ministry of Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations so there is a certain level of confidence that proper due process is followed and that the player welfare and interest are always paramount.”
WorkingClassRugger
Michael Lynagh (62)
The Chinese Union is looking to enter a team in the NZ provincial structures most likely Heartland Championship in the form of the China Lions. Perhaps that's who these agents are recruiting for. Pretty sure the Ali Sports funding is no more so would be really surprised if it's a full competition in China. The Sth Korean league is interesting as well. It's been around for a while with only 4 teams but is about to jump to 7 for the upcoming season. There seems to be a bit of momentum building behind the game with increased investment in getting more schools on board. Might be in response perennial champions Hyundai's public statement about seriously looking at entry into the League One system from 2025.
WorkingClassRugger
Michael Lynagh (62)
Spain might be finding themselves in another RWC fiasco regarding player eligibility with questions around whether prop Gavin Van der Berg satisfies the residency requirement having possibly returned to Sth Africa for a 4 month period last year. WR (World Rugby) requires 10 months of the year full time residence unless there are extenuating circumstances. We'll have to wait and see.
Wilson
Phil Kearns (64)
Not ideal, but I'd have to think it'll be pretty easy to argue extenuating circumstances for last year
WorkingClassRugger
Michael Lynagh (62)
Just read the statement from fijirugby.com. Apparently they were approaching players at a Sevens tournament. So that suggests if there's anything in the works it may be 7s.