Thursday’s Rugby News sees the launching of the new Fijian NRC Franchise, concerns about the Perth Pigs, the Rebels searching for a new coach, and more goss on the Wallabies and Wallaroos.
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The Fijian Drua launches
And here I was thinking all this time that we would just be playing the Fiji Warriors. Nope.
But it is still exciting times for the NRC this year. The Fijian team was officially unveiled on Wednesday as the Fijian Drua, named after the historic double canoe that comes from the Pacific Island Nation.
In addition to the unveiling of the name, the Fijian Rugby Union also unveiled the logo (see above) and strip for the new club in Suva. Reminds me quite a bit of the Parramatta Two Blues strip, but I like it.
Fijian Drua team name and jerseys revealed by @fijirugby for Fiji’s participation in National Rugby Championship #NRC #FijianDrua pic.twitter.com/86bNRyUL2a
— Fijivillage (@fijivillage) August 16, 2017
The event also included this brief statement from the FRU chairman Commander Kean.
“[The name Drua] encapsulates the history and success of one of Fiji’s sacred, traditional and historic war ships that inspired both fear and awe and was a true masterpiece”, Kean said.
“We owe it to our forefathers, our culture and our tradition to honour them for the masterpiece canoe that was renowned throughout the Pacific as sacred.
“It was a triumphant vessel and we pay homage to what was widely regarded as the greatest battleship of the Pacific by calling our team the Fijian Drua.”
The Drua will kick off their NRC campaign on September 2 at Ballymore against Brisbane City.
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No more Perth Pigs?!
In other major NRC news, with the entire debacle of the Western Force fighting to survive, many in the west are also worried that their feeder NRC team, the Perth Spirit (known locally as the Perth Pigs – seriously, they should actually change it to the official name), will also be cut.
There is not a huge amount that we know about this situation. What we do know is that RugbyWA vice-chairman John Edwards made it clear that if the Force’s license agreement is terminated, then the Spirit would be part of that as well.
“In the course of renegotiation about what would happen should we lose the arbitration, the NRC Spirit team was in the Alliance as well and we asked them about that,” said Edwards to the Australian on Tuesday.
“They basically said this will be their last season, the one that’s about to start.
“We said: ‘Why would you do that?’ And they said they were not quite sure there would be much support for (the team), or much interest.
“We reacted to this by reminding them what the N in NRC stands for and that this was a very important pathway — oh, and we won it last year — and that this should in no way be linked to the Force outcome.
“What they did say, with not much credit, was that they would look at it after the season. That’s their intention.”
The ARU have come forward and basically said that nothing had been resolved about the Spirit until the ending of this years season.
“If they are saying that we are making plans to wrap them up beyond this year, that’s different to saying there are no plans beyond this year,” a spokesman said.
So basically a typical nothing response from the ARU.
If they were to do it, it would be a complete an utter betrayal of the WA fanbase, but also a betrayal of everyone else. Wasn’t one of the ARU’s reasons to cut the Force was to save money to put into grassroots (as crap as that argument actually is)? And wouldn’t cutting a grassroots team that would be the last national representation for an entire state be just a little counterproductive? Oh yeah, and need we mention, the Perth Spirit WON THE WHOLE BLOODY COMPETITION LAST YEAR, WHICH SHOWS HOW MUCH TALENT THERE IS IN WA!
In short, don’t you f**king dare ARU!
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Rebels Searching
The Melbourne Rebels are set to officially begin their search for a new coach next week, according to an article on SBS.
This comes after the announcing yesterday that the club had signed Wallaby vice captain Will Genia until the end of the 2019 season.
The first person that comes to mind for nearly everyone who will read this article is a certain coach in WA.
It is important to keep in mind the legal shenanigans going on with the Force, which means absolutely nothing is set in stone yet. But, should the WA teams legal bid to stay in the competition fail in the NSW Supreme Court, then a certain Dave Wessels will be on the radar of the Rebels, and they have made it no secret that they are interested in him.
This comes after Tony McGahan ended his four-year tenure with the Rebels and linked up with the Reds for next year. Under McGahan, the Rebels had seen a steady improvement…. until this year, when it all went to shit.
“We’ve made a decision to get on with the process and we’ll be looking to commence our interview process next week,” Rebels CEO Baden Stephenson said.
“If he’s available, the Rebels would have interest to talk to him,” he added in regards to Wessels.
Until the entire axing saga is finally settled though, probably don’t expect any answers to come out anytime soon.
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Wallabies/Wallaroos Goss
Finishing off, there’s plenty to talk about for both our ladies and our gents team as they head into their respective test match preparations.
Starting with the Wallaroos, it’s been a tough start for them in the Rugby World Cup in Ireland, losing to the hosts in a trilling first match, then getting smashed by the French in their second match. They will head into their third encounter on Friday, against the Japanese. It is expected to be a tough encounter, as the Japanese pushed Ireland the whole way in their last match, and were unlucky not to come out as victors.
However, in a major blow to the side, Captain Shannon Perry was not named in the starting squad to take on Japan, having been ruled out with injury. Sharni Williams will take over captains duties as a result. The injury has led to a reshuffle in the back row, with Chloe Butler moving from lock into the openside flanker spot and Alisha Hewett coming into the starting second row.
While they are unable to make the semi-finals, the Wallaroos will be hoping to stay in the fifth-to-eighth play off bracket, to give them their highest possible finish outside of the finals. A win here would do much to help with that. It’ll be pressure on for the ladies to deliver.
Check out the full squad here.
Meanwhile, over at the gents, they have been working hard to prepare themselves for Bledisloe I. Many will be quick to point out that at the corresponding fixture last year, the Wallabies got smashed 42-8. Add in the pretty average June series and I can’t say many are exactly excited.
So, why do some think this year will be different?
According to Sekope Kepu, the “vibe” of the squad is very different to this time last year.
“On a personal level, 12 months ago, I feel I’ve come a long way as well but more so as a team, I think we’re in a better state leading into this first game and just all round,” he said to rugby.com.au.
“The buzz around the team, how everyone’s feeling physically, mentally, I think it’s quite refreshing.”
“We’re going to put ourselves out there and it’s definitely going to be a massive challenge but we’re really looking forward to it and it’s – we’re not only doing it for ourselves but moreso for our families and our fans is massive and we really want to go out there and give it everything really.”
In the past, the Wallabies have spent their preparation in the city, staying at the Intercontinental Hotel. To get away from that, according to Kepu, has been one of the most enjoying parts of this preparation. The team trained for a while at Cessnock, before now moving to Penrith.
“We’re there all the time, we’re always in the busy part of the cities,” Kepu said.
“To be out here and a little bit away from the distractions and everything else helps us focus a little bit more but it’s been great, I’ve really enjoyed it.”
I believe it when I see it. Lads, I don’t care if you win or lose, I just want to see some passion.
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