IRB Sevens Series- Las Vegas leg

[Seaton]

So, the next leg get's underway in the US of A on the 12/13 of Febuary

England and NZ are tied at the top of the log with 64 points, with Samoa on 52

Here are the pools:

Pool A

England
Argentina
France
Guyana

Pool B

New Zealand
Wales
Kenya
Uruguay

Pool C

Fiji
Australia
Scotland
Canada

Pool D

Samoa
South Africa
United States
Japan


Really ***** pool for Scotland :(

[TRF_Cymro]

Saw the coverage for the Wellington leg and to be fair when are people seriously going to take real notice of Ifan Evans?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Snm6vMBoWfA

[TRF_Olyy]

Matt Morgan is joining Wales for this tournament isn't he?
The U20s will miss him, but it'll get him more exposure


I'm liking the look of that England pool :D

[TRF_Cymro]

Yes he is, be great to see him in action!

[Sixesandsevens]

Look out for Mark Odejobi returning from a broken leg to regain his place in the england 7s team! Great 7s player! Watch out for him in vegas!

[cmac95]

Are these on T.V?

[Seaton]

Still can't multi-quote for some reason :(

It depends where you live (with regard to T.V.)

[TRF_Cymro]

Thought the IRB site are showing the games live?

[dullonien]

Matthew Morgan should make an absolutely awesome sevens player. He makes carving defenses to pieces look easy in the 15 man game, he should find this a breeze. Really looking forward to see how he goes.

I agree about Ifan Evans Cymro, looks like a very capable winger. Quite a bit bigger than the last time I saw him, but has still retained his pace. Why isn't he getting any chances at any of the regions?

[TRF_Draggs]

Matthew Morgan will be unstoppable attacking, but very poor in defence.
His defence is already suspect in XV's and will be even more critical in 7's.
As he was born in England, rumour is that he is being flown out as a nationality lock. I believe he has already stated his preference for Wales, but this lad is a talent.

Ifan plays for Llandovery, so his region would be the Scarlets, has he played for them ever?

[TRF_Cymro]

Matthew Morgan should make an absolutely awesome sevens player. He makes carving defenses to pieces look easy in the 15 man game, he should find this a breeze. Really looking forward to see how he goes.

I agree about Ifan Evans Cymro, looks like a very capable winger. Quite a bit bigger than the last time I saw him, but has still retained his pace. Why isn't he getting any chances at any of the regions?

The boy has some serious gas, better than Ajuwa for sure! I presume it goes down to two things, maybe because he's out on 7s all the time and teams won't touch him because of that or that bulk wise he is small for the XV's game, thats the grumbling I have heard. But really the likes of the Dragons or even the Scarlets themselves should have given him a go. People on the Scarlets forum have said they don't think he could make it, surely that judgement couldn't be made until he was given a go. I question the management at the Scarlets, for me it seems more about who you know rather than how good you are.

He did a few years back sit on the bench a couple of times for the Scarlets but never came off it.

His profile: http://www.scarlets.co.uk/eng/rugby/people.php?player=86082&includeref=dynamic

[Muzzy]

wow that was a huge sigh of relief Fiji finally managed to beat Samoa, had to work damn hard for it though after nearly bombing what should have been an easy try late in the second half and being given another yellow card. Fiji showed great defence to make those tackles on such big guys with only 6 men. I can't believe how much Nacagilevu has improved since last year, i was bitching a lot about his defence but now he's really good.

now we've got New Zealand :unsure:


Matthew Morgan should make an absolutely awesome sevens player. He makes carving defenses to pieces look easy in the 15 man game, he should find this a breeze. Really looking forward to see how he goes.

I agree about Ifan Evans Cymro, looks like a very capable winger. Quite a bit bigger than the last time I saw him, but has still retained his pace. Why isn't he getting any chances at any of the regions?

i've noticed Wales and Scotland are technically good and Wales were doing alright against NZ but both teams lack a big fast player who can bust through tackles, the way NZ has Halai and Mikkelson, Samoa has Treviranus, Fiji has Burotu, SA have Frankie Horn. Wales and scotland don't have any big fast players they're all small guys that just end up going side to side and not getting anywhere, Wales had the majority of possession against NZ in their game but they just couldn't break through any tackles

I've noticed NZ have been starting slow on day 1 as well, i think they've conceded the first try in nearly all their pool games which is unusual for them. I think its all gonna come down to who scores first in this Fiji vs NZ semi, scoring the first try can completely change the whole game. i just hope Fiji don't get another yellow card again

[Seaton]

Scotland Sevens suffering the same way against Aus in the pool stages as the XVs against Wales

We had all the possesion, made twice as many passes, multiple scoring oppurtunities, bus unforced errors costing us the win which would have put us in the
Quaters as opposed to Aus


I must re-iterate that this Fijian ref, Lolo or Loco something, really is rubbish
Every time I see him he makes blatant errors, but every game the errors are different
For instance, in this Scotlans vs. Japan game, both sides rarely took the tap properly (as in they just held the ball and nudged it with the foot)
But a consistent problem is his offside/forward pass/knock-ons- he calls them wrong more often than right

[TRF_SelimNiai]

Kenyans look half decent players, do any play in Europe that we know of?

[Seaton]

Kenyans look half decent players, do any play in Europe that we know of?

I think most of the players play for specialized sevens clubs in Nairobi, at least all their important players do


Fiji sticking it to NZ the now...

[TRF_Olyy]

NZ and England both went out in the semis!

[TRF_Cymro]

Wales due to face Scotland :lol: soon in the SF of the Bowl ... could be interesting this!

[TRF_Olyy]

Scotland beat Wales and then Japan to get through to the bowl final against Canada

[TRF_Cymro]

Watched the Wales game ... has the ref ever heard of holding on to the ball on the ground? Shocking miss tackle also to allow Scotland in, in the last min!

[Muzzy]

oh man fiji losing 19-7. Vucago should go off he's clearly too injured, good work from south africa but man i'm getting sick of ref's not ruling the late tackles every team has been doing to fiji after they kick the ball.

[Seaton]

Happy that we managed to respond strongly after the Fiji defeat, we now have the some total of (uses calculator).... 8 points!
YAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSS!!!

Win won the bowl!!!

Can't believe how Fiji mauled NZ in the semi

[Muzzy]

this tournament was weird they had the shield and plate finals after the cup final?? congrats for Scotland though :D

even though fiji lost i'm still proud of Fiji, they've improved so much and i hope they keep this team and this momentum together plus just to get to the final they had to beat Samoa & NZ on the way, just the fact we beat NZ makes me happy, the games between the top nations are so close now any team can win it on the day it almost just comes down to whoever scores the first try wins now. I definitely think Vucago made the wrong decision playing when he was injured, it clearly had a big effect on the game early on when he let in the first try. But Fiji have some great new finds and his replacement did a good job, i think once SA had that two try lead Fiji started getting impatient and gave away penalty after penalty at the break down, i hope they sort out all the late tackles after a player kicks the ball too
But anyway congrats to SA they did play really well.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDRnXhLhhjY&feature=feedu

[stormer2010]

I am very relieved to see the boys hold out for a win. Man, I can't remember the last time we won a cup final and thought this season was slipping away already. With half the season gone and trailing the leaders by 24 points.. well it's gonna be hard.

I just wish that the 7's squad could hold on to its stars but with the XV man so popular in SA and 7's hardly a footnote I can understand the players wanting to make the step up to the XV man and some real money opportunities. Only Gio Aplon has managed it in recent years, though. You don't even see Fabian Juries in the Currie Cup and he is a legend in the 7's game; 3rd highest try scorer if I'm not mistaken. I guess it will only start with the SA public following the game more and I can't complain if I don't follow it myself. I thought the fact that it is now an olympic sport (or at least is asured that it will be in 2016) it would attract greater attention but then again the Olympics isn't that much of a big deal in SA as it is in the rest of the world.

That said, keep up the good work, boys!

[Amobokoboko]

Congratz to SA for winning it.
Next stop Hong Kong

[Charles]

this tournament was weird they had the shield and plate finals after the cup final?? congrats for Scotland though :D



http://www.gainline.us/gainline/2011/01/irb-blesses-usa-7s-tv-changes.html


IRB blesses USA 7s TV changes

The International Rugby Board has sanctioned major changes to the USA 7s tournament's February 12-13 schedule, in a welcome sign the rugby world is adapting to the American marketplace.

To facilitate NBC's live broadcasting of Sunday's championship at a time favorable to East coast viewers, the winner's bracket quarterfinals will be played at the end of Saturday evening, rather than first thing the following day. Clearing the way for the title game's 5.15pm ET kickoff, which is 3 hours earlier in Las Vegas, also involves playing loser's bracket (i.e., Bowl, Plate, and Shield) finals after the Cup championship, rather than in the traditional crescendo format.

'The fact that Rugby Sevens is going to be on NBC, the first ever time that the sport will be live on national network television across the [United] States, is extremely exciting for the development of the game,' IRB chief executive Mike Miller said in a prepared statement announcing the match schedule.

For at least three decades, overseas rugby entrepreneurs and officials have longed to tap America's sports market, which is enormous relative to the size of leading, mainly Commonwealth nations. But often they have quixotically insisted on transplanting domestic models and economic assumptions, while snubbing US conventions and sensibilities.

TV has helped soften some of the rigidity by demonstrating obvious benefits. Elsewhere, in Australia and New Zealand for example, scheduling internationals at nighttime has made possible European viewing in daytime, thereby expanding the value of broadcast rights. Here in North America, the Summer Olympics holds the allure of the world's largest uninitiated audience of English-speaking sports fans, watching in prime time.

Miller's presence in an otherwise routine IRB press release, accompanied by namesake Jon Miller, executive vice president of NBC Sports, underlines Dublin's newfound intention to accommodate America's commercial dynamics. NBC holds the US broadcast rights to the Olympic Games and thus Olympic 7s.

Revamping a schedule reliably used at nearly every World Sevens Series event over the past decade, save Hong Kong, could well draw concerns from coaches and managers. TV's demands can mitigate its benefits.

The Las Vegas revisions lay down another milestone for American International Media, owner of the USA 7s, by confirming that the privately held company is dramatically more effective than USARFU when it comes to business development.

Last month the Kevin Roberts-led organization acknowledged the Churchill Cup, England's subsidized attempt to supercharge international 15s in North America, would be wound down after this June. The North American 4, underwritten by the IRB, also has failed.

And it is probably the case that the union can no longer support routine national team operations without Dublin's grants; repeated efforts to contract players have failed.

USARFU launched the USA 7s in 2004, and three years later was nearly bankrupt and forced to sell to AIM.

John Prusmack's team, which has since moved the event twice in search of operational improvement, is expecting this year's 7s to be profitable, according to people familiar with the matter. In addition to striking TV arrangements with ABC and then NBC, the tournament has won a steadily increasing list of household-name sponsors, this year including ADT, Subway, and Southwest.

Perhaps more important, AIM has demonstrated how to leverage established American sports brands. Last year it initiated a collegiate 7s championship, also broadcast by NBC, that assembled the prestige of nationally recognizable colleges, television's relentless search for sports content, and the coming of Olympic 7s.

The USA 7s will be under pressure, however, to deliver the fans that TV and sponsors crave. The inaugural collegiate 7s tournament in Columbus, Ohio, was lightly attended and accordingly relocated to Philadelphia. Near-capacity attendance in Las Vegas, rather than cash flow, might serve a more tangible if less precise measure of rugby's mainstream breakout.

In Las Vegas, the US, currently in ninth place, has drawn 3d-ranked Samoa, 5th-ranked South Africa, and Japan in Pool D. A week earlier in Wellington, New Zealand, the Eagles are in pool A with series leaders England, 8th-placed Wales, and the Cook Islands.

[TRF_Cymro]

Made sense to me to do that, meant that people would watch all the final games.

[darkozone]

I am deeply dissapointed in the US. Playing on our own turf, and we lost to Canada and Samoa? Really? I mean, I know they're good teams, but we should be playing at 200% when we're at home against that level of talent. Not suprised about losing to SA (Congrats to them, btw), but I was expecting more from the guys. Hopefully, we will be better prepared for Hong Kong. Oh, and props to Colin Hawley who was in damn good form this weekend.

[Bautii]

I am deeply dissapointed in the US. Playing on our own turf, and we lost to Canada and Samoa? Really? I mean, I know they're good teams, but we should be playing at 200% when we're at home against that level of talent. Not suprised about losing to SA (Congrats to them, btw), but I was expecting more from the guys. Hopefully, we will be better prepared for Hong Kong. Oh, and props to Colin Hawley who was in damn good form this weekend.

I understand your disappointment about losing with Canada, but Samoa? They were last year champs.

[darkozone]

I know that, but we really needed to step up this year, though. It sucks to be embarrassed in our own country over and over again. An upset win over Samoa would have been great for us. Rugby will never grow popular in the U.S. if we don't start winning against better teams. 2016 is fast approaching, and unless we can get our message out to those college football and college futbol players, we won't be able to make a serious bid for a medal. And winning a medal would seriously open the eyes of the people here and introduce them to rugby. Otherwise, rugby drags on as an "underground" sport here.