Thursday’s Rugby News is actually ok. The Tahs are going play club rugby this weekend, Slack wants Cheika to have selectors, Aidan Toua wants to stay as does Karmichael.
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World Cup Draw
The World Cup draw has taken place! Exciting times.
The Wallabies have been drawn in Pool D, as top seeds. They are joined by Wales and GAGR’s own Georgia, as well Oceania 1 and Americas 2.
Eddie Jones’ Brave England have been drawn in Pool C, the group of death, alongside France and Argentina. Americas 1 and Oceania 2 will be the poor whipping boys of that group.
The Darkness are joined in Pool B by South Africa and Italy, alongside Africa 1 and the Repechage Winner.
Hosts Japan is in Pool A, taking on Ireland and Scotland, as well as Europe 1 and Play-off Winner.
The winners of Pool D will be drawn against the runners-up of Pool C.
Here are the full groups, with predicted winners of the qualifying spots:
Pool A: Ireland, Scotland, Japan, Romania, Tonga/Russia
Pool B: New Zealand, South Africa, Italy, Namibia, Uruguay
Pool C: England, France, Argentina, USA, Samoa
Pool D: Wallabies, Wales, GAGR’s own Georgia, Fiji, Canada
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No Easy Games
Michael Cheika ain’t buying any talk that Australia’s has got an easy draw.
“When you’re standing out there and singing the anthem 0-0 all bets off,” he said, according to rugby.com.au
“The minute you stop thinking like that is the minute you get in the water. That’s how you got to chart a course in tournament play.
“That’s something that’s different in competition, regardless of who the draw is against. You’ve got to be targeting, have a plan and target the team you put on the paddock plays the absolute best in every game, because that creates what we love to call momentum.
Cheika continued: “You’ve got to plan with the lay of the land, those teams you’re playing, know who the crossover teams are, do the homework but at the end of the day, it’s going to be all about how we play.
“You’ve got to win seven games to get there and you put your best foot forward on all seven occasions.”
The Wallabies have been drawn against GAGR’s own Georgia, a team they’ve never ever played.
“Australians probably won’t know a lot about them but they’re a team being run by a few Kiwi lads and they’re on the up and up,” he said.
“Strong forward play, they’ve got some gas out wide and between now and 2019 we’ll learn a bit more about them.
“The reality is just how big an event the World Cup is and how important it is for us to go one better in 2015.”
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Residency Rulez
World Rugby, who took the time to meet while they were in Tokyo for the pool draw, have announced changes to the residency rule.
It will now take Fijians, New Zealanders and South Africans 5 years of residency, instead of 3, until they can be picked by England (and other nations too, I guess).
The new laws will come into effect in 2021.
World Rugby’s Argie vice-president, Agustin Pichot, was believed to be a big pusher for these laws. His nation was the only nation last World Cup to take a fully homegrown squad.
“This is a historic moment for the sport and a great step towards protecting the integrity, ethos and stature of international rugby,” he said, according to rugby.com.au.
“National team representation is the reward for devoting your career, your rugby life, to your nation and these amendments will ensure that the international arena is full of players devoted to their nation, who got there on merit.”
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Uni 7s
As Rugby Reg reported over here, the inaugural women’s 7s comp was launched this week. The comp, based around universities, will see eight teams compete and will start in August.
The comp will be an extravaganza of four, two-day tournaments, each held at different unis. On top of that, the members of the national squad will be split up evenly amongst the teams.
Check out Rugby Reg’s report for more, but in the mean time, here’s the gist in list form:
University of New England, NSW: Alicia Quirk and Hannah Southwell
Macquarie University, NSW: Dominique Du Toit and Chloe Dalton
University of Tasmania, TAS: Ellia Green, Georgie Friedrichs and Shanice Parker
University of South Australia, SA: Emma Tonegato, Evania Pelite and Mahalia Murphy
University of Canberra, ACT: Sharni Williams and Brooke Anderson
Griffith University, QLD: Shannon Parry and Demi Hayes
Bond University, QLD: Charlotte Caslick and Brooke Walker
University of Queensland, QLD: Emilee Cherry and Emma Sykes
Round 1 – University of Tasmania Stadium, Launceston, 25-26 August
Round 2 – Macquarie University fields, Sydney, 9-10 September
Round 3 – University of Queensland fields, Brisbane, 16-17 September
Round 4 – Bond University fields, Gold Coast, 29-30 September
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