Friday’s Rugby News has the Sevens squad announced, comings and goings at the Force and Waratahs, SANZAAR defending its bad decisions, and Bill Pulver philosophising.
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Olympic Squads Named
The squads for the rugby sevens at the Rio Olympics have been announced.
Nick Malouf and Melissa Etheridge are surprise inclusions, given that their Jarryd Hayne-esque dream of playing rugby in the Olympics looked all but over when the both of them suffered season-ending injuries early in the season. Fortunately for the both of them, they’ve both returned to full fitness in time for Rio. John Porch is another surprise inclusion to the mens’ squad.
You can check out Rugby Reg’s fine and dandy run-through over here. The teams:
Women’s:
Shannon Parry, Sharni Williams, Nicole Beck, Gemma Etheridge, Emma Tonegato, Evania Pelite, Charlotte Caslick, Chloe Dalton, Amy Turner, Alicia Quirk, Emilee Cherry, Ellia Green.
Men’s:
Nick Malouf, Jesse Parahi, Henry Hutchison, Lewis Holland, James Stannard, Con Foley, Cameron Clark, Pat McCutcheon, Ed Jenkins, Allan Fa’alava’au, John Porch, Tom Cusack
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Force Looking At Rona
Canterbury Bulldogs sensation Curtis Rona is in the Western Force’s sights, according to the Daily Telegraph.
Rona was considered for the Queensland State of Origin team, but it turned out he was ineligible….because he spent twelve years in Western Australia. Growing up, he played for Wanneroo and was in the Force’s academy. Mrs Rona is also from WA, so a large part of the switch is about moving back to Perth, so its not your typical poach from rugby league.
Meanwhile, the Hurricanes have signed Sam Lousi (from the Waratahs and a Sweet Lids XV representative) for next season. Lousi was originally brought over the Tasman by Michael Cheika.
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SANZAAR defend Super
In news that will surprise no one, SANZAAR have come out to defend the Super rugby format.
According to Planet Rugby, CEO Andy Marinos released a statement, which, after a bit of blabbing says: “This year through this system four New Zealand teams will qualify for the finals (conference winner and three wild cards) out of the five teams competing in Super Rugby. This is due reward for these teams based on their regular season results.
“Unfortunately there has been conjecture that the hosting criteria for the quarter-finals is unfair, largely based on the exceptional form of the New Zealand teams. However, SANZAAR stands by the existing qualification process. A tournament’s qualification criteria cannot be determined on one years’ results in isolation.”
He also added that: “The finals qualification process sees the four conference winners automatically progress to the quarter-finals as hosts. The winners of the Australian, New Zealand, South Africa 1 and South Africa 2 conferences will therefore host finals. This is consistent with similar conference competition structures in the world of sport.” Yeah Andy, but those sports suck.
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Pulver the Centraliser
Bill Pulver reckons the form and results of Australian rugby sides requires a rethink. Pulver, talking to the SMH’s Georgina Robinson, said:
“It wasn’t a great weekend. It happens. I’ve got to give credit to New Zealand, their teams are frighteningly good and they’re setting the bar in a way that we need to match it. To me it puts further focus on our high-performance environment and I think in Australia that’s an area where there are relatively scarce resources that need to be used cleverly in a collaborative environment.”
These comments are paving for a more centralised system, like the one the NZRU has with its Super sides. Robinson writes that “the ARU’s formal alliance with the Force is a blueprint for future interaction between St Leonards and the provinces” and, given that the Brumbies are on low on simoleons and the Reds are generally loitering around Struggle Street, “the ARU board and management believe now is the time to push ahead with structural change”.
Pulver also added: “The thing that still keeps me up at night is Super Rugby financials. We’re still chipping away at it. We’ve got to find a sustainable financial model for that and we’re still working on it. ” Interesting times ahead.
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