Commonwealth Games Sevens
With the Commonwealth Games Sevens just over a month away, I thought we should start having a look at who is to be involved both in terms of teams and Australia's players.
The Tournament is to be held at the Telstra Dome in Melbourne with the following nations competing:
Australia
Canada
Cook Islands
England
Fiji (Current IRB World Champions)
Kenya
Namibia
New Zealand (Defending Champions)
Niue (replacing Zambia)
Samoa
Scotland
South Africa
Sri Lanka
Tonga
Uganda
Wales
Although there are some rugby minnows, the field includes seven of the top ten ranked Sevens nations in the world.
This will be a very tough competition to win with several of the nations bolstering their squads with International Capped players.
Australia to meet PNG in Wellington Sevens
Australia to meet PNG in Wellington Sevens
February 03, 2006 - 10:14am
Story by: ARU
Australian will play Papua New Guinea at 12:50pm today (AEST) when Day One of the Wellington Sevens gets underway this afternoon.
Australia will also meet Scotland and England in the cauldron of a packed Westpac Stadium later this afternoon.
The atmosphere and colour of the Wellington Sevens makes it one of the most entertaining tournaments on the IRB Sevens circuit.
It is an atmosphere that Australian coach Glen Ella would like to see recreated in Melbourne for the Commonwealth Games, which is only 40 days away.
"There is always a great buzz at the Wellington Sevens," Ella said.
"They have some pretty crazy fans over here who get dressed up and really get involved in the games. They get right behind the New Zealand team, and in between matches they are dancing in the isles.
"It creates a great carnival atmosphere, and it would be great to see a similar atmosphere in Melbourne when we play in the Commonwealth Games in less than six weeks.
"I encourage all Australian sports fans to get their tickets to the Commonwealth Games Sevens, get their Wallaby jersey out and create a sea of gold at the Telstra Dome in 40 days time."
For information about tickets to the Commonwealth Games Sevens, go to www.melbourne2006.com.au. Live results for the Wellington Sevens can be found at www.sevens.co.nz.
Wellington Sevens - Day 1
2:50pm (12:50pm AEST) Australia v PNG
5:46pm (3:46pm AEST) Australia v Scotland
9:34pm (7:34pm AEST) Australia v England
Australian team for 2006 Wellington & Los Angeles Sevens
Australian team for 2006 Wellington & Los Angeles Sevens
Shawn Mackay (c)
Randwick, NSW
Matthew Bell
Gordon, NSW
Michael Black
Southern Districts, NSW
Vinnie Byrne
Randwick, NSW
Josh Gamgee
Gordon, NSW
Luke Inman
Sydney University, NSW
Luke Milton
Southern Districts, NSW
Damon Murphy
Brothers, QLD
Richard O'Connor
West Harbour, NSW
Viliame Ratu
Southern Districts, NSW
Nick Reily
West Harbour, NSW
Anthony Sauer
Brothers, QLD
2005/06 IRB Sevens Series
2005/06 IRB Sevens Series
1-2 Dec 2005 Dubai (UAE)
9-10 Dec 2005 George (South Africa)
3-4 Feb 2006 Wellington (New Zealand)
11-12 Feb 2006 Los Angeles (USA)
16-17 March 2006 Commonwealth Games, Melbourne (not part of IRB Sevens)
31 March & 1-2 April Hong Kong (China)
8-9 April 2006 Singapore (Singapore)
27-28 May 2006 Paris (France)
3-4 June 2006 London (England
Four Wallabies in Games sevens team
Four Wallabies in Games sevens team
Australia has named a strong squad featuring four Wallabies for the rugby union sevens tournament at next month's Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.
Lote Tuqiri, Matt Giteau, Chris Latham and Scott Fava are part of a 12-man squad, giving all four Australian Super 14 sides representation in the Games team.
Regular sevens players Shawn Mackay, Joshua Gamgee, Luke Inman, Damon Murphy and Nick Reily have been rewarded for their fine form on the IRB Sevens circuit.
Also included were Tom McVerry, Cameron Shepherd and pocket-sized speedster Brendan Williams, who has returned from Italian club Benetton for his second Commonwealth Games.
Williams played for New South Wales in the 2001 Super 12 season before heading to Italy.
Coach Glen Ella said the inclusion of four Wallabies would boost the team and the crowd numbers.
"Sevens is a high-speed game that can turn on a bounce of the ball, so there is no question that guys like Tuqiri, Fava, Latham and Giteau are well suited to it, " he said in a statement.
"They have the speed, power, footwork and big-game experience that will hopefully give us the edge when we come up against the big guns of Sevens Rugby like New Zealand, Fiji, England and South Africa."
Ella also thanked the Super 14 coaches for making their players available.
"The Commonwealth Games falls in the middle of the Super 14 tournament, but the four coaches have been really understanding in allowing us to select their star players," he said.
"It is only with their cooperation that we are able to put the best possible Australian Sevens team on the paddock in Melbourne."
Pool A: New Zealand, Kenya, Wales, Namibia
Pool B: Fiji, Scotland, Canada, Zambia
Pool C: England, Australia, Cook Islands, Sri Lanka
Pool D: South Africa, Samoa, Tonga, Uganda.
Australian team:
Scott Fava (Force),
Josh Gamgee (NSW),
Matt Giteau (Brumbies),
Chris Latham (Reds),
Luke Inman (NSW),
Shawn Mackay (NSW),
Tom McVerry (Reds),
Damon Murphy (QLD),
Nick Reily (NSW),
Cameron Shepherd (Force),
Lote Tuqiri (Waratahs),
Brendan Williams (NSW).