Monday’s rugby news has a disappointing Sevens result, overseas rumours following Foley, Melbourne naming a pair of captains and England defeating Wales.
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Sevens finish in sixth
The Australian Sevens side has recorded a sixth place finish in the Wellington leg of the world series after losing to New Zealand 26-7 in the quarter-finals and then Fiji 24-0 in the Plate final.
Coach Geraint John tried to shift his focus to next week’s tournament in Las Vegas but did comment, “We made far too many errors in the games against New Zealand and Fiji. Errors you can’t make at this level.” Australia are now fourth in the standings on 58 points with England moving just two points behind. The top four at the end of the season will automatically qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.
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Foley dodges Japan inquries
Wallabies 10 Bernard Foley has refused to address rumours that he will reportedly join the Japanese Top League after this year’s World Cup when questioned after the Waratahs trial against the Chiefs on Friday.
“My focus is purely on the Waratahs and really knocking this season over,” he said. “Thinking about those things can cause distractions, and that’s what we don’t need.” Retaining the 25 year old is made more pressing with the inclusion of Sevens in the Rio Olympics. With the ARU board declaring Sevens the top priority in 2016, Foley is said to be at the top of Geraint John’s Super Rugby wish list.
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Rebels name co-captains
Flanker Scott Fuglistaller and number 8 Scott Higginbotham have been named co-captains for the Rebels’ 2014 season. After experiencing the captaincy for one game last season, Fuglistaller was happy to be sharing the responsibility.
Fuglistaller also said the joint appointment wasn’t a reaction to Higginbotham’s decision to leave the club next season but a preordained decision as a way to get more from the captaincy position. “The outcome was they wanted us both to take the job and take some pressure off each other a little bit,” he said.
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Unfazed England victorious
England has recorded a 21-16 Six Nations victory against Wales in Millenium stadium, coming back from a 10-0 deficit inside the opening 10 minutes to dominate the second half proceedings.
A major talking point of the match was Wales’ “sportsman’s tricks” in the tunnel prior to the match, with the home team seemingly delaying their entry onto the field to keep the English side waiting in the bitterly cold conditions. English captain Chris Robshaw instead had his players remain waiting in the tunnel, saying, “We didn’t want to play any tricks or mind games, we just wanted to go out when they did.”
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