Craig Wing to switch codes

Recent unsubstantiated rumours have indicated that Craig Wing may be interested in switching codes to rugby union and joining one of Japan's Top League teams. This week the rumours became reality. More importantly, however, Wing may, or at least should be, in talks with the Philippines Rugby Football Union (PRFU) about playing for the Volcanoes.

Craig Wing currently plays rugby league for the South Sydney Rabbitohs and has represented New South Wales in the State of Origin and Australia.

If an experienced talent such as Craig Wing makes the switch from league to union then it can do nothing but good for Filipino rugby in the short-term, giving them the chance to challange for the Asian Championship Division 2 title next year.

Having an experienced number 10 who can get the back line moving is vital to the structure of any international side, just ask Italy. Ever since the loss of Diego Domínguez the Italian backs have never really been able to compete with their counterparts in the 6 Nations, let alone at World Cup time. The pack has gone from strength to strength, look at Sergio Parisse, arguably the best no. 8 playing today, but without the ability to effectively use the ball behind the scrum their attacks become one-sided and predictable. The introduction of Craig Wing to the Volcanoes set-up could turn the Philippines into an Asian force if his talents are used to help develop young Filipino fly-halves into future stars. Read more!

Argentina: A Giant in Isolation

The Tri-nations are upon us again. The three Southern Hemisphere giants are about to go head-to-head in their annual competition for supremacy, south of the equator. With this renewed rivalry we must once again bring up the age old question: What do we do about Argentina?

Argentina take on Scotland in the 2007 Rugby World Cup
photo by Fabien Dany, please read Creative Commons Licence

Argentina deserve to be a part of one the the major annual competitions. Of this there is no doubt. The Five Nations brought in Italy in 2000 to make it 6 nations and the Tri-nations should do the same with Argentina. There are still questions concerning Italy and whether they deserve to be there, but there is no question over Argentina. They have steadily improved at every World Cup, beating France twice for third place in 2007 and are currently ranked sixth in the world by the IRB, and recently as high as third.

There is little reason for Argentina not to be included in one of the major annual tournaments and the Tri Nations is the obvious fit. The main issue for any competition is the distance. This years Tri Nations starts this week and lasts ten weekends. The tournament could be expanded to four teams if either of the following two solutions were adopted.

Solution 1: The tournament is based in one country and it rotated every year. Each team could play each other twice. The host country would get a huge influx of money every four years from television rights, ticket sales and from travelling fans.

Solution 2: The tournament is based in two countries, one at a time. Each team will play each other once then switch to the other country and play each other again. There could be a three to four week gap between moves to give players a rest and time to acclimatise.

The SANZAR members should realise that developing solid international competition is the only way to maintain long-term interest in the game of rugby at home. Developing a stable and competitive Argentina will maintain interest in international test matches and bring in revenue, which New Zealand and Australia sorely need. They are playing a match in Tokyo this autumn for that very reason. But excursions such as this are only short-term money makers. The big returns come from big investments and expanding the Tri Nations to include Argentina is not only important to the development of the global game, but could save the SANZAR unions from obscurity. Read more!

William Ryder: Rugby 7's Genius

Take a look at William Ryder and the Fijian team against South African in the 2006 Wellington 7's Finals. What an advertisement for rugby this type of performance would be at the Olympics in 2012.



Read more to see extended highlights of the final, including William Ryder's hat-trick of tries.

William Ryder would be a dream for any sports marketing firm. Why hasn't he been put on highlight reels in the USA? He would be lapped up. In a country where the sports highlight is more important than the performance, this type of sports moment would be put at the top of any ESPN play-of-the-day list.


Read more!

Get Rugby in the Olympics!

Get rugby 7's into the Olympics.



Sign the petition at www.olympic-rugby.org

Help spread the word of Rugby union! Read more!

The Battle for North America: Part II

The second leg in the "Battle for North America" turned into a bit of a thrashing as the Canadians took revenge for last weeks defeat by demolishing their neighbours to the south, 41-18.

The match was effectively over within 30 minutes. Canadian fly-half James Pritchard erased the USA's 6 point advantage from the first game with a penalty and a converted try followed by the sending off of Eagles centre, Paul Emerick.

Canada's scrum packs down against Scotland in a 2006 game
photo by jessica @ flickr, please read Creative Commons Licence

Adam Kleeberger and Justin Mensah-Coker crossed the whitewash for Canada to make it 24-0 to the Canucks at the break. The Canadians continued their impressive display in the second half with tries from Ed Fairhurst, DTH van der Merwe and Matt Evans while the Eagles could only respond with two consolation tries. With that victory the Canucks have booked their place in the 2011 Rugby World Cup along side New Zealand and France in Pool A, good luck to them!

The Eagles have two more chances to reach the tournament; first in a home and away match against Uruguay. The winner will face Australia and Ireland in Pool C. The loser of that match will represent the Americas in a four team, single elimination tournament for a chance to play in the show piece event in 2011. The team representing the Americas will play a representative from Asia then either a team from Africa or Europe if they win. The team that emerges from that competition will progress to Pool B with Argentina and England, arguably the easiest group of them all.

It was commented that one of the North American teams might have thrown yesterday's game in a strategically ploy to end up in the easier group come World Cup time. An interesting idea, but I doubt this to be the case. Lower tier teams' top priority is to develop the game of rugby in their respective countries. Particularly in a country like the United States with talent and money, the risk of not reaching the World Cup is too great too throw any game, particularly against arch rivals Canada.
Read more!