Commonwealth Games Sevens

[Burgs]

Yeah I agree with you Mambo, I would have thought they could have got one from Force, Tahs and Brumbies and the balance from the Reds.
Drew Mitchell would be a far better and fairer option than Cameron Shepherd I think.

[Burgs]

Latham prepared to pack down in sevens

Friday, March 3, 2006
From Rugby Heaven.

The chance of a Wallabies star winning a Commonwealth Games medal would be as rare as a Test fullback packing in a scrum ... but Chris Latham is set to do both in Melbourne.

And Latham, universally regarded as the best No.15 in world rugby, is licking his lips at the prospect of playing sevens for Australia at Telstra Dome.

Elusive, highly skilful, metronomically fit, powerful and with pace to burn, Latham was born to play sevens.

With fellow Wallabies Lote Tuqiri and Matt Giteau, he was the first man picked by Australian sevens coach Glen Ella to compete in the Commonwealth Games.

But whereas his two Test team-mates are assured of staying out wide, the strapping 193cm, 102kg attacking weapon must be prepared to play in the forwards.

In his only prior sevens experience for Australia in Brisbane in 2003, Latham packed down at hooker occasionally.

Ella says he can expect more action in three-man scrums and line-outs.

"The thing with the guys in sevens is you have to be adaptable," Ella said.

"I'll train Latho in the forwards and in the backs as well.

"The good thing with Lath is if I ask him to play prop he would play prop. He just wants to play."

The 59-Test Queenslander lapped up the vast, open spaces in his sevens debut three years ago and feels his game is ideally suited to the run-and-gun game.

"It's obviously a very fast-paced game which gives you the opportunity to get one on one with guys which, in the 15-man game is very limited," Latham said.

"Given the opportunity for a one on one contest, that's the thing I enjoy the most on the 15-man game."

While the oldest in the 12-man Australian squad, Latham has no doubts he will be up to the aerobic challenge of non-stop play on a full field over two seven-minute halves.

"I found it fine (in Brisbane). I'd like to think I'm naturally pretty fit anyway."

Australia is ranked a lowly eighth in international sevens competition this season, unable to crack a semi-finals berth as England, Fiji and South Africa have dominated.

But with Wallabies Lote Tuqiri, Matt Giteau and Latham on board as well as Test back-rower Scott Fava, his Western Force teammate Cameron Shepherd and Queensland flanker Tom McVerry, Glen Ella's team will vie for gold.

Coach Ella certainly has talent to burn for the two-day shootout at Telstra Dome but has his work cut out moulding a successful outfit able to last the helter-skelter pace of the unpredictable 15-minute game.

Ella won't get his 12-man team, which lacks an identifiable nickname, all together for the first time until Monday March 13, two days before the Melbourne Games start.

He also must rely on his Super 14 stars being able to last the distance under the enhanced lung-busting pressure of covering the full field with the ball in play virtually the entire match.

But Ella, one third of the famous trio of brothers, is supremely confident they can deal with the aerobic and combination challenges to mix it with the best.

"I've got no doubt that they will be up for it," he said.

"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.

"But we still have to play well on the day to beat the other teams."

Limited preparations with most of his Super 14 conscripts alongside sevens regulars Shawn Mackay, Josh Gamgee, Luke Inman, Damon Murphy and speedster Nick Reily, plus Italy-based former NSW jack-in-the-box Brendan Williams, have shown promising signs.

"There's an old saying when you're surrounded by good players you play better," he said.

Ella's regulars have been on the way up in recent months, evidenced by a 17-all draw with reigning champions New Zealand in Los Angeles after leading 17-7.

While the Kiwis will be bolstered by All Black winger Doug Howlett, it's England, who Australia plays in a crucial pool match at the end of day one action, and the flying Fijians that most intimidate.

"The English are physically strong," Ella said.

"We've caught up with our fitness levels with these guys but we're still lacking in terms of physical strength.

"And the Fijians, they just play so many sevens. From September to March, just about every weekend there's a sevens tournament somewhere in Fiji.

"What they lack in 15s in the tight-five they don't need in sevens."

The biggest early hurdle for the Australians will come from a "home" source, in the figure of diminutive Brisbane club player Ben Gollings.

Gollings, who led Sunnybank to the Queensland premiership in 2005, is the world-record holding sevens points-scorer and key to England's powerful team.

[Burgs]

Tuqiri, Giteau ready to entertain

By Will Swanton
March 15, 2006

LOTE Tuqiri is made for this caper. Ditto Matt Giteau. Tuqiri has been known to sit in the sheds after a Wallabies Test, shaking his head, kicking the cat, lamenting the fact he couldn't get his hands on the damn ball. He'll have no such problem at the Commonwealth Games.

Sevens is the 15-a-side game on an adrenaline rush, a procession of tries and attacking opportunities at every breathless turn, the perfect stage upon which Tuqiri and Giteau can showcase their outrageous range of skills.

"They let the ball sing," Tuqiri beamed after an Australian training session at Xavier College, where Australia smashed Canada in a practice match.

"Sevens lets you do things you can't do in 15s. There's a lot more flair and dynamic ability. These guys like playing off-the-cuff rugby. You can get frustrated in 15s, the ball has to go through certain phases. The forwards go forward for you and then you spin it out to the backs. Here you have a go straight away. It's going to be entertaining, there's going to be a lot of talent on show. I can't wait to play with these blokes."

Good, bad and ugly news for the Australians. The good news: Wallaby stars Tuqiri, Giteau, Chris Latham and Scott Fava are running around like hyperactive schoolchildren. They are here to play. The bad news: a groin strain to captain Shawn Mackay. He's been cleared, but is his fitness a risk? The ugly news: New Zealand coach Gordon Tietjens has written off Australia's gold medal prospects because they cannot hope for their Wallabies, who only arrived in Melbourne at the weekend, to gel with the rest of squad so fast.

That ain't necessarily so, according to Australia coach Glen Ella. "He's entitled to his opinion," Ella said. "We can't say anything. We've just got to perform. That's the only way we can shut those guys up. I think they're living in a dream world, actually. It's going to be a tough competition. We'll go in and have as much of a chance as every other team. It's difficult, but I think these guys will fit in very easily. They're obviously playing at a high level and they've adapted well so far."

Tuqiri, Giteau and Latham ran riot against the Canadians. Their skills are unquestioned but rust is evident. Combinations are yet to fully click. Waiting, waiting. Thursday night's pool match against England, rated favourites for the gold by Ella, already looms large. Huge, according to Giteau. It'll be a thrill a minute - for all 14 minutes.

"The big players switch on and switch off easily," Ella said. "When they're relaxed, they're relaxed, but when they're ready to go … you can see it from talking to them. You say, 'Perhaps, maybe, if we're good enough' and they're looking at you like, 'What do you mean we're not good enough? We are good enough'. That determination and their thinking is rubbing off on all of us.

[Irish Welsh boyo]

Cmon Cymru

[Burgs]

Here are the day one fixtures all in EDST (ie less 3 hours for Perth)
Australian matches at 10:14, 4:04 and 7:12 WST

10:30:00 AM B Fiji v Canada
10:52:00 AM B Scotland v Zambia
11:14:00 AM A New Zealand v Wales
11:36:00 AM A Kenya v Namibia
11:58:00 AM D South Africa v Tonga
12:20:00 PM D Samoa v Uganda
12:52:00 PM C England v Cook Islands
1:14:00 PM C Australia v Sri Lanka
1:36:00 PM B Fiji v Zambia
1:58:00 PM B Scotland v Canada
2:20:00 PM A New Zealand v Namibia
2:42:00 PM A Kenya v Wales
6:00:00 PM D South Africa v Uganda
6:22:00 PM D Samoa v Tonga
6:44:00 PM C England v Sri Lanka
7:06:00 PM C Australia v Cook Islands
7:28:00 PM B Canada v Zambia
7:50:00 PM A Wales v Namibia
8:22:00 PM D Tonga v Uganda
8:44:00 PM C Cook Islands v Sri Lanka
9:06:00 PM B Fiji v Scotland
9:28:00 PM A New Zealand v Kenya
9:50:00 PM D South Africa v Samoa
10:12:00 PM C England v Australia

[Burgs]

Scouts cast an eye over sevens flyers

March 17, 2006

NRL officials were scouting the Commonwealth Games rugby sevens competition yesterday in search of a couple of handy outside backs.

At least three clubs, Wests Tigers, Penrith and Melbourne Storm, were represented at Telstra Dome in Melbourne to watch the speedsters of the lesser-known nations.

The players had just 14 minutes in each of the 24 games to make an impression. Australian captain Shawn Mackay said he wanted to use the tournament as a chance to gain a Super 14 contract - but wouldn't necessarily be adverse to switching to league either.

But it was the opportunity to see players from the more remote and smaller nations such as Uganda, Niue, Sri Lanka and Namibia that was the attraction for league officials.

"Having everyone here in one place has saved us 10 plane tickets," said Penrith operations manager Peter Mulholland. "You just never know who might pop up, you have to keep an open mind, it's an open game."

Tigers recruitment manager Warren McDonnell said he was looking to find talent in less obvious competitions.

"Everyone looks to the schools, to the junior rep carnivals, so this was an opportunity outside the square, which is what you have to do now," McDonnell said.

Wests Tigers coach Tim Sheens has a strong connection with Fiji, having previously coached Noa Nadruku, and McDonnell was keeping a close eye on that particular team.

The scouts were not giving much away. "There might be one or two," McDonnell said coyly.

By: Jacquelin Magnay

[Burgs]

So far so good for Australia, following success over South Africa in the Quarter Final we now progress on to meet New Zealand in the Semi's.
A couple of worrying injuries to Latham (rib cartlage, probably miss the rest of the tournament) and Giteau (knee...and wobbly boot for goal kicking) are being off set by a great tournament by Tuqiri, Fava, Shepherd and the journeymen regular Sevens players.
If the Australians continue to play the strong team game that they displayed against England and South Africa they are in with a real shot of Making the Gold Medal match against England or Fiji.

[Burgs]

Kiwis triumph as Australia falls short

By Will Swanton
March 18, 2006

Australia's Scott Fava fell hard and didn't get up. He started convulsing and kept convulsing. Almost 50,000 spectators at Telstra Dome fell into a complete and eerie silence. One of Fava's loved ones was granted access to the field in distress. The Australian forward was held down as he was taken away away on a stretcher because the spasms wouldn't stop.

Australia finished the sevens without a medal, dented pride, busted ribs, knee and shoulder injuries and serious concerns over Fava's welfare as he was rushed to hospital shortly after 10pm. The dastardly New Zealand won gold, the even more dastardly England took silver and the heavenly Fiji won bronze after beating Australia 24-17 in a playoff.

Fava's incident was frightening. An innocuous shove from a Fijian player made him thump his head into the turf. The giant screen was blanked out as more than a dozen medicos rushed to his side. You could hear a pin drop. The fits stopped before Fava got to hospital — but he remained in a poor state.

"He's ga-ga," Australian coach Glen Ella said. "He doesn't know where he is. He was having some sort of fit out there. I've been coming to these tournaments for a long time and haven't seen anyone carted off like that. He got palmed off and hit his head backwards so there was nothing malicious from the Fijians. It's a sad end for us."

An hour after fulltime, Ella added: "The doctors have said he's stabilised but we still don't know any more."

Queensland fullback Chris Latham is out of the Super 14s for up to six weeks after suffering rib cartilage damage on Thursday night against England. He attempted to take on South Africa yesterday morning but failed to finish the first half. X-rays revealed he had been playing with two broken ribs for most of the season. Matt Giteau has a troublesome knee and Nick Reilly was nursing a bad shoulder. Who said sevens was glorified touch footy?

Australia's decision to fly Wallaby superstars Lote Tuqiri, Latham and Giteau into Melbourne for the tournament was highly controversial, prompting accusations from rival nations about trying to buy the gold medal. Ella suggested they could tell their story walking, but it's a moot point now anyway. The Kiwis barrelled past Australia 21-19 and downed England 29-21 in the final for their third straight gold.

Tuqiri's efforts were studded with brilliance. In the semis, he got the ball with three New Zealand defenders in his way. Three New Zealand defenders were promptly tossed aside in the manner of rag dolls. Tuqiri ran 20-odd metres to score and Australia was in the hunt. The rabid supporters rose from their seats. Alas, that was as good as it got.

Australia trailed New Zealand 7-5 after the Jonah Lomu-like charge from Tuqiri. He didn't run around his markers, but straight over the top of them. Missing Latham's attacking spark, Australia couldn't get over the line again until it was too late at 21-5 down. They got within two points of Fiji in the match for bronze. Close, but no cigar.

RUGBY SEVENS

GOLD

New Zealand

SILVER

England

BRONZE

Fiji

[Burgs]

Burgs: Well, the Rugby Sevens had a fantastic impact on the Melbourne Commonwealth Games and already there are calls for the Olympic Games to reconsider including the game in the program following the success at this event.
Australia was impressive at times and, with a bit more luck on the injury front could well have been pressing for a medal of any colour. Into the future, apparently the team is looking for a name. I wonder if the "Emus" has been taken by any other national team as they certainly play with the same type of speed as that half of the Coat of Arms!
For the Super 14 stars it was a great exposure to this style of the code and in return our regular IRB Sevens players were able to share in the professionalism of these senior players which can only be a positive for the future of Australian Sevens in general.
Unfortunately the four main stars in Giteau, Latham, Tuqiri and our own Fava all had varying injuries that kept them from being at their best and may exclude them from the next Round of S14 action.
For the Force, Cameron Shepherd continued on from the previous weeks' exciting play against the Reds to be one of the stand outs for the Australian team.
Several of the journeymen Sevens players should be expecting a call from the four S14 Coachs for some very promising talents with Luke Inman, Josh Gamgee and Shawn MacKay definant prospects at the next level.
Personally I would like to see an increase in the importance placed on Sevens Squads in Australia and perhaps at the conclusion of the S14 season Ella should have first rights to any player outside of the Wallaby train on squad in front of Club claims?
Along with Australia A fixtures, it is a great way of getting more International exposure to our rising stars.
I for one greatly enjoyed watching this tournament and hope that this may provide a trigger for more viewer friendly telecasts of the sport on our TVs.
Congratulations New Zealand, England and Fiji and well done to the Aussie boys for a great tournament.


Kiwis win Sevens Gold, Fiji takes Bronze

March 18, 2006 - 12:31pm
Story by: Sportal

New Zealand has won its third consecutive Commonwealth Games Rugby Sevens gold medal with a 29-21 victory over England at Telstra Dome on Friday night.
The Kiwis qualified for the gold medal game after defeating Australia earlier, the home nation then missing bronze in the playoff game against Fiji with a 24-17 defeat.
New Zealand scored the first try of the final through Cory Jane, but England replied soon after with Matthew Tait running over a try from his own half.
The Kiwis then added two more tries before the major break through Josh Blackie and Lote Raikabula to open up a 15-7 lead.
In the second half, England appeared to be more focused as a team, and looked to shift the momentum back with Andrew Vilk adding a five-pointer.
But the Kiwis held on, as Blackie ran over for his second try, and despite England's best efforts, the match was in hand for the jubilant New Zealand team.
In the bronze playoff game, Fiji held a 14-5 advantage at the break, and things became worse for Australia in the second half, as Scott Fava was stretchered off with what appeared to be a spinal or neck injury.
Fava was taken to a Melbourne hospital where he is in a stable condition but undergoing tests.
The hosts tried valiantly but the Fijians had too much pace and flair and ran away with a seven-point win.

[The Man]

Should the Rugby 7's go ahead in New Delhi?

[blueandblack]

:threadnecromancy:

[GIGS20]

Shame about the smiley!