True Sweden Rugby

Men's National Squad

2011-04-06T21:09:00.000+02:00

The squad has now been finalized for the match against Denmark on Saturday. There are some interesting selections made by the management with some surprising omissions. Presumably this is to see if some players are up to the rigours of International rugby and whether others are capable of playing in different positions. Strangely some players have been selected even though they did not attend the recent training camp, but the selectors must have a good reason for doing so. This is a match against a team from a lower division so apart from looking for a win, an imperative, in our opinion, it will allow the selectors to find out if these players can put pressure on the those who are perceived to be the first choice of the national squad. Let's hope they can produce the performances and produce the right result for Swedish rugby.
The squad as selected:-

1. Stefan Obradovic
2. Rickard Johansson
3. Peter Wiklund
4. Henrick Shengor
5. Rikard Örnberg
6. Mattias Björkebäck
7. Eirik Lundquist
8. Hannes Eriksson
9. Lee Sandberg
10. Tim Johansson
11. Tobias Borg
12. Sami Paulsson
13. Thomas Arvidsson
14. Daniel Nissila
15. Robin Fransson
16. Peter Blaha
17. Lars Tunestål
18. Ted Lunberg
19. Andreas Austa
20. Paul Mathews
21. Connor Murphy
22. Ian Gowland

Six Nations 2011

2011-03-21T17:06:00.000+01:00

To England the spoils and the Six Nations trophy, but the real winners this year are Ireland.

In truth, England didn't come anywhere near winning a Grand Slam, they were almost embarrassingly off the pace in Dublin and should have lost by 30 points or more.

That is the chief memory they will take out of the 2011 Championship.

No, the team that came nearest to winning the Grand Slam was actually third-placed Ireland and that's an Ireland that were only able to engage top gear in short bursts as they experiment with new players and systems ahead of the World Cup.

With Ireland you know for a fact that there is much more to come, with England you wonder.

Apart from the occasional mesmerising glimpse of French skill and early England dash against Italy, Ireland played most of the quality rugby in this year's tournament, albeit sporadically until on Saturday when they let England have both barrels for the full 80 minutes. If they start doing that with some regularity, look out.
eland outplayed France for large tracts of their game in Dublin and outscored them three tries to one. They only faltered at the Aviva because they got on the wrong side of the referee - as they did in Italy and Scoland - and Sean Cronin dropped the ball with both the line and a two-man overlap beckoning in the final minute. Ireland should have won in Wales but allowed themselves to become unnerved by one of the worst and most crass refereeing decisions in Six Nations history.
Even then they would have won if Paddy Wallace hadn't butchered a three-man overlap in the last minute when trying to score under the posts, rather than keeping it simple. He won't do that again, or if he does he will be out of the squad.
As you might have noticed there are a few 'ifs' and 'buts' there for which I make no apologies.The point is, however, that there were absolutely no 'ifs' and 'buts' about England.
On Saturday, in Dublin, they simply weren't good enough, not even close to the required standard to compete for the World Cup. There were no caveats whatsoever about the England performance, they were lightyears away from the rugby Ireland produced.
It is Ireland who have emerged with the most plusses. O'Brien has emerged as a massive backrow force, Paul O'Connell is back up to speed after serious injury, Donncha O'Callaghan has rediscovered his zest, Cian Healy increasingly looks the real deal at scrum-time and Mike Ross is so solid. Why have Ireland taken so long to recognise his worth?
Johnny Sexton has come through a dip in form and confidence, Ronan O'Gara is settling into his new, but important, role as second fiddle, Eoin Reddan looks sharp again, Keith Earls could be a major force at full-back, where he was one of the best underage players in Ireland history, Tommy Bowe has been majestic in his few games after injury and most of all their warrior chief, Brian O'Driscoll, has got the bit between his teeth again.
Don't think for one minute O'Driscoll will be travelling to New Zealand in the autumn just to make up the numbers.
The SANZAR teams watching the Six Nations - and they do like hawks - will have been most impressed and worried by new Ireland because they are clearly on a big upward curve again, yet still have a hard core of experience within the squad.
France are a perennial puzzle and worry them a little for that reason alone, but England's soft underbelly was cruelly exposed and don't think the southern hemisphere giants didn't notice.

Brendan Gallagher Daily Telegraph 21st March 2011

England 22 Scotland 16

2011-03-13T19:29:00.000+01:00

England placed one hand on the Six Nations trophy and teed up a shot at the Grand Slam after scrapping their way to an ugly victory over Scotland.

Martin Johnson's men head to Ireland next week knowing a victory will seal the first Red Rose clean sweep since the World Cup-winning year of 2003.

England's points difference is so great, courtesy of their thumping victory over Italy, that they should be crowned champions even if they lose in Dublin.

Scotland, who have not won at Twickenham since 1983, must beat Italy next weekend to avoid the wooden spoon.

England led 12-9 courtesy of four Toby Floo
Scotland were defiant to the last and teed up an exciting finale with a brilliant individual effort from the wing Max Evans but Jonny Wilkinson closed out England's victory with a late penalty.
England captain Mike Tindall, who was replaced at half-time because of an ankle injury, hobbled up the Twickenham steps to collect the Calcutta Cup from his future mother-in-law, HRH the Princess Royal.
England's success has been built on consistency of selection: only 16 players have been used in the starting line-up all tournament.
But it was their bench today that made the difference, with Croft scoring on his return to international action after recovering from the fractured shoulder suffered in the autumn.
And they needed his intervention to settle a ferocious but error-strewn game.
Neither side was able to exert control for a consistent period.
With the ball in hand, Scotland were the more creative side early on with Ruaridh Jackson threatening at fly-half and Evans a thorn in the English side.
Scotland struggled in the set-piece. They lost their first three lineouts and were penalised three times in the scrum, which gifted England all their first-half points.
What the Scotland forwards did do well was compete at the breakdown and the visitors defended with ferocity - Kelly Brown and Richie Gray were to the fore - and quick line-speed to keep England shackled.
Paterson kicked Scotland into an early lead and it could have been better still had Rory Lawson managed to hold onto an offload from Brown with an open field in front of him.
England's scrum shoved Scotland back on half-way to earn Flood a simple shot at goal but the England fly-half pulled it wide, only his second miss of the championship.
Flood slotted his second attempt when Scotland prop Moray Low was penalised for illegal binding but in the loose England's play was ragged and undermined by careless errors.
Scotland counter-attacked from a knock-on and went through 14 phases, with Brown and Evans to the fore, before referee Romain Poite penalised England for offside and Paterson landed the kick.
It was a scrappy game all round, with little fluid rugby on show although England began to find their stride when Ben Youngs was able to bring Chris Ashton and Mark Cueto into the game.
Shontayne Hape and James Haskell both carried strongly as England began to build momentum but when Flood made a half-break Tom Palmer was wrongly penalised for a knock-on.
Flood did edge England ahead after another immense shove from his scrum but Scotland finished the half on top after snatching another turnover and drew level at 9-9 with a 39-metre drop-goal from Jackson.
Tindall was replaced at the interval by Matt Banahan, who was straight into the action with a powerful run through Brown to spark the best attack of the game.
Nick Easter offloaded to Ashton, who carved through the first ranks of Scottish defence before passing off the ground to Flood. Palmer, Dylan Hartley and Tom Wood all drove for the line but Scotland's defence scrambled well.
Brown was stretchered out of the game but Scotland's defence remained strong as England came again, although they were helped by more Red Rose mistakes.
Foden slipped the offload to Ashton, who responded to a call from Cueto by trying to chip the ball in-field but he managed only to slice it into touch.
Scotland changed their half-back after 54 minutes with Dan Parks and Mike Blair sent on, while England replaced Youngs with Danny Care.
Banahan thundered through the middle again as England moved to within five metres of the line when Scotland flanker John Barclay was penalised for hands in the ruck and sin-binned.
Flood nudged England back into the lead before Scotland built up a head of steam, only for referee Poite to call a halt to the attack after injuring himself.
Scotland coach Andy Robinson was furious.
When play resumed, Parks scuffed a drop-goal effort and the pressure was released, with Haskell then galloping downfield.
Ashton sent Foden racing clear down the touchline. The Northampton full-back was arrowing in on the corner only for Paterson to produce a magnificent try-saving tackle.
England sent on a quartet of huge experience in Steve Thompson, Simon Shaw, Wilkinson and Croft and eventually worked the breakthrough in the final seconds of the Barclay sin-binning.
Wilkinson and Foden combined down the right before England moved play left and Cueto offloaded for Croft, who crashed over Parks' tackle to score.
Scotland responded valiantly. England repelled phase after phase, with Wilkinson leading the tackling effort, before Evans reclaimed his own chip to score and tee up a thrilling finish.
But Wilkinson sealed the victory with a penalty.
d penalties to three from Chris Paterson when Tom Croft came off the bench to score what appeared to be the decisive try.

Telegraph staff and agencies 13/03/2011

Wales 19 Ireland 13

2011-03-12T21:04:00.000+01:00

It doesn’t get much better than this. There were errors. It was messy. But for sheer unadulterated tension this took the biscuit. Ireland enraged by a mistake by the officials which allowed Wales to take the lead, were pounding away inside the final minute. It was rugby at its most visceral. Big men bashing into each other with no thought given to health or safety.

It seemed inconceivable that Wales would not crack. But they held on to record a victory which was a credit to their pack and their resolve as a side. Better sides than Wales have folded under that kind of onslaught. It might be the making of them.

Ireland can have no excuses. True, they were on the wrong end of a bad decision but this was a side hanging on in there. They did marvellously well to get back into the match but the old guard are fading and they lack the all-round edge and energy which the better sides can call on.

For years O’Connell has been the go-to man up front with Brian O’Driscoll providing the rallying point behind. O’Driscoll still has the magic. The way he finished off Ireland’s first try after Tommy Bowe, another astute footballer, had forced his way between Jamie Roberts and Alun Wyn Jones was exemplary: unfussy, accurate, clinical.
O’Connell now seems to be raging against the dying of the light. He is still a force. He is still able to nick the odd line-out but it was the bullocking runs of Bradley Davies, Roberts and Sam Warburton which were most damaging.
Ireland’s defence as Wales came at them with real intensity early on was to concede penalties. They’ve done this all championship and it is a sign of a side on the rack. Ireland coach Declan Kidney gave them a right old rollicking leading into the game on the matter of discipline but the match was only 27 minutes old when referee Jonathan Kaplan warned O’Driscoll that any more penalties would result in the sin bin.
Yet that is a mark of how clever Ireland were. Sean O’Brien gave away two penalties, others infringed but Ireland always stopped short of the infringement which would cost them dear. It was all rather tough on Wales because they played most of the rugby.
With their big forwards thundering forwards, they launched some exquisite attacks down Ireland’s left flank which, were it not for some outstanding defence by Bowe and Luke Fitzgerald, might have brought some reward for their advantage in territory and possession.
The game burst into controversy 10 minutes into the second half moments after Jonathan Sexton had replaced Ronan O’Gara. Sexton’s first act was to kick the ball out on the full and from a quickly taken line-out Mike Phillips sped down the touchline to score.
O’Connell was incandescent with fury, complaining to referee Kaplan that Wales had used a different ball from the one booted off the field by Sexton. Kaplan checked with his touch judge Peter Allan. “Was it the correct ball?” Kaplan asked. “Yes,” said Allan when it patently wasn’t.
Seconds later Fitzgerald appeared to score at the other end for Ireland only for Kaplan to pull Ireland back for a penalty in front of the posts which Sexton missed. It was a desperate couple of minutes for Sexton, Ireland and the match officials. Not for Wales, though. With James Hook’s belter of a conversion from the touchline a four-point deficit at half time had turned into a three-point advantage.
A deep sense of injustice fuelled Ireland for the rest of the match. Sean O’Brien, just as he had done towards the end of the first half, clattered into bodies and O’Driscoll drifted across the Welsh defensive line searching for an opening.
But Wales made their tackles and a Phillips run from the back of a line-out engineered the position for a penalty which Hook banged over. These are the moments when the Millennium Stadium proves itself one of the most evocative and emotional venues in sport.
Replacements flooded onto the pitch to disrupt the rhythm of both teams but the full-throated participation of the crowd was never less than total. It was relentless and intense in every aspect. It was magnificent.
Wales surfed the passion and held on. No doubt the debates will continue about the quality of officiating and how often major sporting occasions turn on a contentious decision. But Wales weren’t worrying about that last night. In a match which installed Warren Gatland as the longest-serving Welsh coach, their season was back on track.

Yet Ireland were 13-9 in front at half time and in some ways it was a surprise. There is no doubt they are not the force they were. One of the more intriguing aspects of the first period was the lack of yardage gained by Paul O‘Connell and Donncha O’Callaghan.

Paul Ackford Daily Telegraph 12/03/2011

Italy 22 France 21

2011-03-12T20:54:00.000+01:00

First, the plaudits. Italy's victory in Rome against a French side determined to avenge their reversal at Twickenham was one of the great moments in Six Nation's history.

It was a reward for Nick Mallett, an informed and intelligent coach, who has had to work with the smallest squad in Europe, and a resounding pat on the back for his players.

Any old coach can pluck results from a huge well of talent but Mallett has done so without a pair of half backs, with a midfield that is held together by string and with a huge burden placed on his star players, Sergio Parisse and Martin Castrogiovanni.

There was no luck underpinning the victory here. This was not a scratchy moment. From the moment that Mirco Bergamasco rifled over the penalty to secure the one-point lead, Italy looked like the winners they weren’t against Ireland.

During that game they missed an upset when they failed to secure the restart after getting in front of Ireland in the final seconds.

Against France, there was no repeat error. As France tried in vain to set up a position for a Francois Trinh-Duc drop goal, it was Italy, controlled and orderly, who provided the resistance.
That’s the measure of their improvement. And all this, don’t forget, against the team that are still, for a weak at least, the current Grand Slam holders.
Italy have never had enjoyed this magnitude of success before. They’ve had their moments, against Wales and Scotland, but outside of those two nations they had never beaten the big three of Ireland, England and France in the Six Nations.
Scotch France from that list now and think of the two that remain. What price the scalps of England and Ireland over the next few years. Both have struggled in Rome.
And what of France? There’s no debate now. Italy’s victory has exposed French coach Marc Lievremont as a charlatan. If France stay with him for the World Cup, then God help them.
Lievremont has had too long to get his side sorted for this defeat to be a blip. Blessed with the best bunch of players by some distance – and that includes a resurgent England – Lievremont has chopped and changed and seen his team lose confidence and fall into decline.
There were those who thought that their performance in the opening game of this Six Nations against Scotland was proof that they had exorcised the demons which possessed them against Australia when a second half of catastrophic awfulness saw then concede a shed load of points.
I was at the Stade de France when Scotland were the visitors and thought that they had regrouped. It was born out of a love French rugby generally and a belief that all that talent has to be channelled into something special.
What a romantic fool I was. The truth, the brutal truth, is that Lievremont is betraying a great tradition.
How can a coach seriously, as he did this week, justify the inclusion of Sebastien Chabal to play Italy solely on the basis that he was not catastrophic against England.
That’s madness, as was Lievremont’s decision to rest prop Thomas Domingo and No 8 Imanol Harinordoquy for Wales, the so-called bigger game. International rugby is about the here and now, not next week or a tournament at the end of the year, even if that tournament is the World Cup.
Teams build confidence by winning and they win more often when they settle on a side and play them on a regular basis. That is England’s policy under Martin Johnson.
The England manager has resisted the clamour to change his midfield of Mike Tindall and Shontayne Hape because he knows what he gets with them, warts and all.
Lievremont lacks that clarity of thinking and France have suffered as a result. As the excitement grew in those closing minutes in Rome; as Mallett hopped and skipped down the stands towards pitch-side like an excited schoolgirls; as Italy finally nailed a result of real importance, thoughts also turned to the fact that France were unable to pursue a drop goal routine which might have nicked a win for them.
Lievremont has ripped the confidence and clarity from France just as Mallett has invested those qualities in his side.

Paul Ackford, Daily Telegraph 12/03/2011

Håckes Cup 2011

2011-03-06T16:37:00.000+01:00

We thought that we might take a trip to picturesque Växjö to take in the spectacle of the indoor 7's competition for both men and women. Traveling incognito and trying not to stick out like sore thumbs, which we think we managed, we were hoping to be entertained by some classic running rugby. After all, we had been informed that there were people in attendance who were going to report back on those players that shone, we guess you could call them spotters?
This for many players was their first run out since the end of last season and for others it was presumably part of their pre-season warm up. While for a great many others, it was just a social event.
With 7's now being an Olympic sport, we were hoping to see an improvement on last years play, alas this was not the case and from the moment the first Ladies match kicked off, it was apparent that there was a dire need for some fitness, some dramatic weight loss and for some 7's coaching! We lost count of the number of basic errors. the amount of contact etc, and whilst the competitors may have enjoyed it, this was a very poor advert for the game. Still, we hoped that the men would be able to show us how the game is played, how wrong we were, if anything, they were worse than the women, although with one or two exceptions, they appeared fitter, note to the men, yes your bums do look big in those tights, at least that is what we heard from some of the women,sounds a bit like pot, kettle and black we think. Mentioning fitness brings us nicely to the officials, most of whom appeared not to know the laws ( or amendments as per the competition ), there positioning was in the main very poor and that may also have something to do with their fitness. Still they can concentrate on getting fit and improving their knowledge over the next few weeks in time for the start of the season, Well we can but hope!
Back to the rugby, given there pedigree it was no surprise that Exiles were one of the few teams to attempt, albeit at times, to play the game as it should be. We were surprised to see Hannes Eriksson and Will Brown running out for Exiles, should we read anything into this? we know that Exiles are always keen to recruit talented players, from home and abroad. Having spoken to a couple of the squad, they were here to have a run out and enjoy themselves. Well the grandfather certainly did that and the rest of the squad were not far behind him!
However after what was a really poor display of 7's rugby, we feel sure that the spotters will not have been troubled and we also have a plea. If the Union are serious about having teams that are able to compete in this form of the game, and more importantly, qualify for the Olympic games? Then some serious planning and organizing needs to take place and it needs to be done much sooner than later!! As the game appears to have gone backwards.
Håkes Cup was a lost opportunity for the Union, let's hope that they learn from this!
For the record, Exiles won both the Men's and Women's cup.

Men's National Team Training Camp.

2011-03-06T12:06:00.000+01:00

After a period of inactivity, it is nice to see that a training camp has now been organized. This camp is being held on the 26/27th March 2011 at Täby IP in Stockholm.
There appears to be no players based in England selected for the camp and we can only surmise that is because of costs. Although to bring a new face from Ireland will be quite expensive. this at least proves that the management are scouring the world to bring fresh talent to the squad. Even more impressive are the number of new faces selected, from clubs struggling to make any impact in the leagues below the Elite. It is clear to see how Attila can get there players selected, but Vanersborg's numbers have also increased and that appears to smack of bias. A question that begs to be asked, in our view. Were the coaches of all the clubs asked for their views about their players? After all some of them have not been playing since the end of September and consequently may not have any fitness, could be injured or may not be interested.
Notwithstanding that question and views, we hope the camp is successful and that the players produce the goods.

Players selected:-

Thomas	Arvidsson	Fredriksberg,DK
Ivar	Bengtsson	Hammarby
Peter	Blaha	Attila
Tobias	Borg	Enköping
Alexander	Andersson	Pingvin
Alex	Eliasson	Spartacus
Hannes	Eriksson	Hammarby
Ian	Gowland	Exiles
Linus	Hector	Vänersborg
Jan-Olof	Johansson	Spartacus
Tim	Johansson	Enköping
Magnus	Karlsson	Hammarby
Eirik	Lundquist	Enköping
Bobby	Nave	Enköping
Daniel	Nissila	Attila
Ricky	Opku
Stefan	Obradovic´	Attila
Paul	Sullivan	Exiles
Rasmus	Tengner	Vänersborg
Mathias	Thorhard	Hammarby
Jim	Wetterström	Finland/ERK
Peter	Wiklund	Vänersborg
Matt	Youngman	Enköping
Rikard	Örnberg	Vänersborg
Henrik	Shengor	RK Speed,DK
Ted	Lunberg	Södertälje
Andreas	Austa	Södertälje
Rikard	Johansson	Hammarby
Connor	Murphy	Connacht, Eire
Robhin	Karlsson	Hammarby
Niklas	Ståhle	Hammarby
Mathias	Björkebäck	Hammarby
Ronnie	Zetterqvist	Trojan
Lars	Tunestål	Pingvin

Scotland 18 Ireland 21

2011-02-27T18:48:00.000+01:00

A superb performance from veteran fly-half Ronan O'Gara inspired Ireland to a 21-18 win over Scotland in the Six Nations at Murrayfield on Sunday.

Recalled to win his 106th cap, the 33 year-old Munster player scored 11 points with a try and three conversions to go alongside first half tries from Jamie Heaslip and Eoin Reddan.

Only Irish generosity on the penalty count kept Scotland in the game with Chris Paterson sending over 15 points with the boot and Dan Parks adding a drop goal.

The win keeps Ireland's championship hopes alive while Scotland are now staring down the barrell of a likely Wooden Spoon showdown with Italy having lost three in a row.

Both sides opted for new half-back pairings in a bid to revive flagging campaigns with a stark contrast at fly-half where Ireland's O'Gara returned for his 106th cap whilst Ruaridh Jackson started for Scotland for the first time.
Veteran Paterson returned at full-back for the Scots, one of seven changes to the side that lost to Wales. Fit-again winger Tommy Bowe was one of three Irish changes, all among the backs.
Ireland applied the early pressure following a fine O'Gara cross-field kick over the head of Paterson and into the corner.
The Irish pack was held up short of the line, before Heaslip darted over on an offload from Rory Best to put the visitors 7-0 ahead after six minutes.
Scotland were struggling to make much headway down the middle, but a break by Nikki Walker down the right wing after 16 minutes took them into the Irish 22m.
The Irish forwards then went offside at a ruck, and Paterson stepped forward to nail a perfect kick from near the touchline.
Two minutes later, Ireland offended again at a ruck as Scotland drove down the middle and again Paterson made no mistake from 40 yards out with the penalty.
O'Gara narrowly missed with a penalty attempt for Ireland, but he pinned Scotland back again with another inch-perfect kick deep into the Scottish 22m.
Scotland made a hash of the ensuing line-out and were forced into conceding a five-metre scrum from which Heaslip's drive found scrum-half Reddan at his shoulder to scamper in under the posts.
O'Gara's conversion made it 14-6 for Ireland after 29 minutes with the visitors enjoying most of the possession and territorial advantage.
More Irish indiscipline two minutes later, however, allowed Paterson to cut the lead to six points with a 38-metre penalty.
A superb, multi-phased Irish drive died four metres out from the Scottish line after O'Gara was penalised for holding onto the ball in the tackle, before Sean Lamont's try-saving tackle on Irish winger Keith Earls brought the first half to an end.
Ireland continued to look the more potent attacking force as the second half opened and when Scotland prop Allan Jacobsen was sin-binned after 44 minutes, the Scots were struggling to hold on.
Ireland were comfortably finding the gaps in the Scottish line, with two charging runs from flanker Sean O'Brien to the fore, but were failing to turn their domination into points.
All that changed after 52 minutes when after another bout of intense Irish pressure, O'Gara jinked his way through the last line of defence for a try under the posts which he then converted for a 21-9 lead to Ireland.
Two more penalties from Paterson after 58 and 66 minutes put the Scots back in the game and a Parks drop made it 21-18 with 10 minutes to go.
Scotland were enjoying their best spell of the match as the Irish flagged, but despite an all-out onslaught in the closing minutes they could not come up with the break they needed to steal the win at the death.

Daily Telegraph 27/02/2011

Italy 16 Wales 24

2011-02-26T22:43:00.000+01:00

Another win for Wales , but nothing to write home about. As at Murrayfield a fortnight ago there were moments here when the real Wales threatened to reveal itself, but there were far too many errors and poor decisions for this to be considered thoroughly satisfying. They remain merely a mid-ranking team.

They conceded two soft tries, as well as soft penalties (15 in total) and could never claim to have been in complete control as they paid for some silly over-ambition. Had Italy kicked their goals – they missed four attempts – and had a try not been denied by scanty television evidence, then this contest could have been much tighter than it was.

As it turned out, Wales were indebted to a workmanlike effort from a pack that can now consider itself a match for most, with their scrummage memorably holding up when Italy opted for that sort of engagement at a late penalty, and an excellent performance from James Hook at outside centre, his contributions proving vital in both Wales tries as he exploited space wide out. It looks like his best position, but given the hoopla surrounding his performance at fly-half against Scotland, it was possible to feel a little sympathy for his replacement Stephen Jones. He was under enormous pressure, and at times it looked as if he was trying to be a little more expansive than he really desired.

Full-back Lee Byrne also cut some deliciously devastating angles in a pleasing return to something near his best form. Shane Williams was lively, as was Morgan Stoddart on the other wing, and the back row of Sam Warburton, Ryan Jones and Dan Lydiate just about had the edge over their Italian counterparts.

As a game this flattered to deceive. The first half was often pacy and thrilling, but the second was dull. Seemingly Wales were playing to protect a lead, just as they had done against Scotland.For they had led 21-11 at the break with two tries that were slick. But not before they had gifted Italy an early score.
At their worst Wales have a habit of becoming horribly lateral in attack and, because they insist on passing remorselessly one way until the touchline is reached, of sometimes exposing lumbering forwards in wide open spaces when eventually play is switched.
This was such an example. Lock Bradley Davies suddenly found himself masquerading as an outside centre and his intended pass to Stoddart was awful, threatening the wing’s bootlaces rather than his midriff. He duly knocked on and Gonzalo Canale gobbled up the resultant loose ball. He kicked ahead and chased and Davies, in his frustration, attempted to make amends with some illegal blocking. He was fortunate that Canale made the touchdown because had he not, Davies may have been seeing yellow as well as a penalty try for the hosts.
But Wales soon responded. Hook, cavorting in the wide channel, made the initial thrust and set Byrne free with a delightful one-handed pass. The full-back linked with Stoddart on his opposite wing, who did well to roll over in the tackle and score – after considered evaluation from technology, of course. Few tries are complete without it these days.
Four minutes later Wales scored again. This time Williams was the instigator, running across field from a stray box kick and then feeding Byrne cutting a sharp angle. The full-back then found Hook on his outside, who drew the last defender for Sam Warburton to canter through.
At 15-8 down Italy desperately needed a score, and they thought they had one when Alessandro Zanni dived over the top of the ruck close to the Wales line. Stoddart, though, made a brave tackle and again the television match official was consulted. Pictures were inconclusive, so it was concluded that Stoddart had an arm underneath Zanni. No try.
Wales also had a try disallowed when Williams’s pass to the galloping Byrne was ruled forward, but Stephen Jones kept kicking his goals to ensure that ten-point interval cushion.
It wasn’t to last. Wales became a little too ambitious in midfield in their own half and spilt valuable ball that Italy kicked ahead. Williams appeared to avert the danger, but from the ruck the ball appeared on Italy’s side and with Parisse in space on the left. He magisterially held off fly-half Jones’s tackle and rolled over to make the score.
But, sadly, that was it for Italy and Hook’s late dropped goal kept them at arm’s length. Job done, but no glory.

Steve James Daily Telegraph 26/02/2011

England 17 France 9

2011-02-26T22:36:00.000+01:00

A highly significant victory for England, one which sets them up nicely for the rest of the championship and one which may prove important at the World Cup towards the end of the year.

Why? Because England were forced to work hard for their win, to re-jig plans and personnel in the face of a determined French onslaught.

It was made more impressive because it was palpably obvious that several of England key individuals struggled.

Chris Ashton butchered a decent opportunity near the end and both half-backs failed to exert the influence they have managed in previous matches. To win in those circumstances was a major achievement.

But it was England who refused to buckle and that sheer cussedness was enough to see off France.
It has to be said also that England had the major players up front. Thierry Dusautoir was magnificent for France but at times he was fighting a lone battle against an England pack in which both locks, Tom Palmer and Louis Deacon, were outstanding, Nick Easter was his usual rumbustious self and Dan Cole and Dylan Hartley got to areas of the pitch which front row forwards had no right to inhabit.
The other major plus for fans tuning in on TV or watching live was that this was a grade one Test match. It was rough, intense and thoroughly absorbing. And France played.
Those fears that they would go all limp and wobbly as they have on previous Twickenham occasions failed to materialise. There was bite to their tackles and every scrummage and breakdown was contested with real venom.
It was by far the best contest of this Six Nations, two sides straining to hold it together as each sought to gain an advantage.
At moments like these players find out about themselves and sometimes those lessons are difficult to stomach. Toby Flood and Ben Youngs, the architects of previous England triumphs, had poor first halves.
Both tried to force plays and both were undone by the fact that France threw bodies at the breakdown, choking off the supply of ball which has come so easily and freely against Wales and Italy.
France came to cut England off at source. Dusautoir thundered into every collision and Lionel Nallet hit rucks with real menace but France, like England, were working off slim margins.
Yannick Jauzion, normally the most assured of midfield operators, was caught offside allowing Flood a shot at goal and there were further mistakes by Thomas Domingo and Sebastien Chabal which contributed to England’s nine-point haul by half time.
Chabal, brought in to provide oomph, was well controlled by Easter and his back row colleagues, and he never quite caused the destruction all France desired. Worse than that. He was so ineffective that he was dragged off the pitch after 50 minutes.
Other stellar names stalled. Chris Ashton, the stand-out individual of the tournament, hardly got his hands on the ball in the first half.
For a man whose instincts are to get involved at every opportunity, his difficulties showed just how tough it was for anyone to claw their way out of the morass of defensive tackles.
The moment Ashton did break free, early in the second half after a clever exchange of passes between Flood and Youngs, his trademark scoring swallow dive was in vain as the try was ruled out when Flood’s pass to Youngs was ruled marginally forward.
France also were out of sorts. A year ago they demolished England’s scrum so conclusively that two of England’s front row were substituted embarrassingly early in the contest.
At Twickenham, Dan Cole, one of those unable to cope, was handing out an early lesson to Domingo. The first two scrum penalties went England’s way and it was only when Alex Corbisiero came on to replace an injured Andrew Sherdian that England’s scrum lost its edge.
The game turned England’s way in the second half when Foden scored immediately after the interval. France had forced their way back into the contest with three penalties from Yachvili to three from Flood when England struck.
Cueto broke free off a scrum and, when the play was switched left, Foden squeezed past Francis Trinh-Duc on the outside and through the tackle of Rougerie to touch down. If the try was a touch scratchy in its conception with wayward passes, the finish was clinically professional.
It was a try which changed the shape and nature of the game. From a tight set piece affair, players from both sides found more room. The errors were still there but fatigue and injuries, which resulted in both benches being emptied after 50 minutes, created the space which was lacking at the start of the match.
Ashton flattered to deceive and then Jonny Wilkinson, on for Flood, had the poise and sang froid to bang over a longish penalty with his first touch of the game.
The fact that it nudged him ahead of Dan Carter as international rugby’s top points accumulator with 1,188 points probably won’t have registered with Wilkinson, but it certainly resonated with Martin Johnson up in the stands because it put his side in front 17-9.
Wilkinson’s penalty was the last scoring act of the game but the excitement never let up.
Rougerie went close after Trinh-Duc threaded a neat kick in behind a rushing England defence, and down the other end of the pitch Ashton decided to throw a wild pass when he might have trusted himself to burn Vincent Clerc who was France’s last defender.
No point chastising either man too harshly, though. It was a game which was in the balance for a long, long while. That was what made England’s victory all the sweeter.

Paul Ackford Daily Telegraph 26/02/2011

Ireland 22 France 25

2011-02-13T20:49:00.000+01:00

Ireland have slumped to an all-too familiar defeat to France on their Six Nations debut at Aviva Stadium after failing with an heroic late fightback.

Tries from winger Fergus McFadden and scrum-half Tomas O'Leary helped them to a 15-12 half-time lead and the Grand Slam champions appeared ripe for the taking.

Winger Maxime Medard crossed to help France back into the driving seat until No 8 Jamie Heaslip crashed over in the right corner to set up a grandstand finish.

Ireland launched a late do-or-die assault but the visitors' defence, criticised in the build up to this match, was magnificent.

It was an agonising outcome to a gripping showdown but Ireland's struggle against their nemesis continues with today's defeat their ninth in their last 10 meetings dating back to 2003.

The result puts a large dent in their hopes of winning the Six Nations title, but they will take comfort from a brave and ambitious performance.
Had they made fewer mistakes when dominating possession, France would have fallen further behind and this encounter will be viewed as yet another chance missed against their rivals.
Blessed with attacking options, both teams looked to move the ball wide whenever possible and the new Lansdowne Road was treated to a nail-biting spectacle that ebbed and flowed throughout.
The tone was set from kick off, Ireland making an explosive start with Luke Fitzgerald crossing after two minutes, only for Gordon D'Arcy's final pass to be adjudged forward.
Two minutes later they breached the whitewash, capitalising when full-back Clement Poitrenaud dropped the ball as France launched a kamikaze attack from their own 22.
McFadden, playing his second Test, pounced on the loose ball and then reappeared a few phases later to burrow over from close range.
Jonathan Sexton converted and France's disastrous opening continued when they sent the restart straight into touch, though a mistake from O'Leary eased the pressure.
It was the champions' turn to attack and Ireland defended until straying offside and Morgan Parra landed the penalty.
Back on the offensive, Declan Kidney's team almost released McFadden into space but Sexton's pass was too weighted.
An almighty cheer sounded in the 16th minute when France's scrum, fresh from pulverising Scotland last week, collapsed.
It was a moral victory for the much-maligned Irish front row and Sexton kicked the ensuing penalty to rub salt into the wound, though Parra replied in kind soon after.
Ireland looked sensational at times but, as in Rome, they were making unforced handling errors at key moments, preventing them from building momentum.
Adding to their problems was the pinpoint kicking of Parra, who rifled over a third penalty.
O'Leary continued to suffer with the Munster half-back, who has been struggling with a back injury this week, sending an inexplicable chip straight into touch.
There was no let up from referee Dave Pearson, either, with Donncha O'Callaghan conceding another penalty and Parra booting France ahead for the first time.
Ireland struck next, the rejuvenated O'Leary charging through France's defence to start the move before later finishing it by breaking a tackle and forcing the ball over the whitewash.
Francois Trinh-Duc had a drop-goal attempt charged down by ubiquitous blindside flanker Sean O'Brien moments after France centre Damien Traille almost broke free down the left.
Ireland's scrum continued in the ascendancy, winning a free kick and then shoving the French pack backwards, but a fifth Parra penalty levelled the score.
A 20-metre scrum offered a great attacking platform for Ireland but an over-complicated backs move was easy for Les Bleus to contain.
France showed their opponents how it should be done from a similar position in the 55th minute, though they were helped by a weak tackle from D'Arcy.
Aurelien Rougerie ran straight at D'Arcy, sent the Leinster centre cannoning backwards, and dashed forward before drawing Fitzgerald and supplying Medard with the scoring pass.
Substitute scrum-half Dimitri Yachvili landed the conversion and at 22-15 ahead, France were in a strong position.
Yachvili slotted a penalty but Ireland refused to give up hope and were rewarded with a 68th minute try from Heaslip.
It took 26 phases close to the whitewash before France cracked, a poorly executed kick from substitute Ronan O'Gara falling into the arms of David Wallace who sent Heaslip in at the corner.
O'Gara's conversion struck the left post on its way over, setting up a nerve-shredding climax.
Heart rates soared with two minutes to go when Keith Earls chipped ahead and Ireland hunted in numbers, but France's scrambling defence was superb.
Last-ditch tackles held firm and when substitute hooker Sean Cronin knocked on, Les Bleus were able to breath a sigh of relief.

Telegraph Staff

Scotland 6 Wales 24

2011-02-13T20:42:00.000+01:00

The mood can lighten. Wales have won a rugby match after eight failures to do so. It was hardly perfect, heavily reliant as it was on a slick opening quarter, but it was enough. It was no spectacle, especially a generally dire second half, but there was resilience and nous in only conceding three points when down to 13 men in the first half, and so Wales can at least build on this.

The truth is that they were not that bad against England last weekend. The reaction did not match the performance. It was simply because it was against England. To lose to the old enemy at home does such things.

And so they showed here that they possess the makings of a much better outfit than that.

Dan Lydiate was outstanding at flanker, alongside him Sam Warburton was no less impressive and, despite some wayward kicking out of hand, fly-half James Hook did decently, making a delightful break for Shane Williams' first try, setting Wales on their way and shocking Scotland.

Wales were also much more direct in attack, with centre Jamie Roberts more prominent and so incisive.
Scotland? They were awful. And they will continue to be so with Dan Parks at fly-half. He is just too conservative, as well as a liability in defence. All the talk was of their more enlightened approach against France, but it was never exhibited here. They started badly and never recovered.
The clamour had been for Hook to start at fly-half. It took him just eight minutes to justify those calls and his subsequent inclusion with a sublime break to create a try for Williams. Wales had snared possession by wheeling a Scotland scrum so violently that the ball spewed their way.
Scotland's scrambled defence did well initially but the carrying from Wales was forceful and the lines sharp so that, when the ball eventually came left, Hook was presented with prop Allan Jacobsen in front of him.
It was just too good an opportunity. He glided past him, with the help of a had-off, and then around the covering scrum-half, Rory Lawson. Richie Vernon did manage to make the tackle on Hook, but the pass to Williams was still made with ease. Williams slipped, but not enough to prevent his scoring. With Hook's conversion a formality, Wales were 7-0 ahead.
Scotland could not quite believe it, and behaved as such, proceeding to make a string of silly errors. Poor old full-back Hugo Southwell had a horror period, punting two kicks straight out, in golfing parlance one a slice and the other a hook.
He was then extremely fortunate not to receive a yellow card for a challenge in the air on opposite number. Pursuing Parks' kick he did not even have eyes on the ball as he clattered into Byrne. He left the field with a nasty-looking facial injury, not to return. In his stead Sean Lamont looked strong and menacing.
The first quarter was barely over and Hook had kicked three penalties to extend the lead to 16-0. Wales looked in complete control, but then, as is their wont, attempted some savage self-destruction.
Mike Phillips dropped a kick and Lamont went surging to the line. Bradley Davies considered kicking the ball from the ruck his only alternative, and was quite rightly dismissed temporarily for his foolishness.
Being down to 14 men is bad enough, but how about 13? Three minutes later Wales were. Byrne clearly did not intend any malice in his tackle on Max Evans, but it was mistimed and horribly high. On the advice of his touch-judge referee George Clancy had no option other than to brandish yellow too to Byrne.
Chances for a comeback do not come much more promising. But somehow Scotland could only score three points- a Parks penalty- while Wales were so inconvenienced.
They made some knock-ons and took some poor decisions, but one brilliant piece of defensive work by flanker Dan Lydiate, forcing Kelly Brown, to hold on in the tackle, was the outstanding moment in some brave Welsh resistance.
Parks slipped when taking another penalty just before the break, and so Wales deservedly led 16-3 at half-time.
The second half simply would not spark. Scotland had more possession and territory, but for all the excellence of Lamont could do little about it.
They clearly had a plan beforehand to target Williams with cross kicks and expose him to Nikki Walker's height. But Wales knew what was coming, and Williams coped admirably. Scotland had been pressing in Wales' 22 for some time and really should have made more of such a position, but Parks kicked to the opposite corner and Williams just collected with aplomb.
Penalties were exchanged between Parks and Hook, but Scotland were going nowhere, and Roberts really should have scored when clear from Alun Wyn Jones' pick up of a loose ball. Lamont did brilliantly to scurry back, but a second Wales try did eventually arrive, as Williams latched onto Jonathan Davies' chip ahead with not a defender to be seen.
Wales are back, even if with heavy qualification.

Steve James Daily Telegraph

England 59 Italy 13

2011-02-13T20:33:00.000+01:00

Wow. Eight tries in total, a hat-trick inside the hour for Chris Ashton, who ended up with four, and another stellar contribution from Toby Flood - this was a very, very productive afternoon for England.

If the opening game against Wales was an exercise in coping with naked hostility, this was a lesson in how to bury a side with well over half the match still to unravel.

Italy were out of this game after 30 minutes when Mark Cueto blasted over for England’s third try. It was as comprehensive a Six Nations display as England have offered in many a year.

Almost the best thing about England’s effort was that the final score didn’t quite do justice to their excellence. England took their chances well, but they also failed to finish off one or two others. That was the scale of their superiority.

From the opening seconds when Flood, Ashton and co went wide to the final minutes when Jonny Wilkinson - who else? - risked life and limb to prevent a second Italy try, England exuded effort and class.
It was a performance in which every player contributed. Alex Corbisiero, in his first game, and up against the mighty Martin Castrogiovanni, was magnificent, England’s midfield had the measure of their Italian opponents, and James Haskell had the best half of his international career to date.
But the man who held it all together was Flood. From callow youth to Mr Indispensable, Flood is now the guy who thinks and plays this team into strong positions. Half of England’s tries came from sharp, smart Flood passes to support runners arriving on his inside and outside shoulders. Ashton was the main beneficiary, but every time Flood had his hands on the ball and was challenging Italian defenders, Italy wobbled badly.
If there were any dodgy areas for England to rectify they came in the shape of poor discipline early on, the fact that they allowed Italy a try from a lineout which hadn’t functioned all game, and a stodgy patch just after half time when it took England too long to get themselves hot and sweaty once more.
But to do more than mention those in passing is to veer towards the nit-picky. As with England’s annihilation of Australia in the autumn, this was a display which will reverberate around the world. France are next up for England at Twickenham in two weeks. They won’t enjoy the DVD of this game.
England’s transformation since they went to Paris for the final game of last season’s Six Nations has been remarkable. A year ago England played Italy in Rome, stumbling to a victory which Steve Borthwick, then captain, raved about but which anyone with half a rugby brain realised was anything but.
England that day were one-paced, predictable and utterly tedious. Fast forward 12 months and the side has been transformed by the arrival of Ashton, Ben Youngs and Ben Foden. But it is more than an injection of new personnel which is behind England’s revival. The really startling development is that England now look like a team that knows how to play rugby.
The way they varied the point of attack, the way they mixed up the tempo, the way forwards and backs hunted and hurt Italy was very impressive.
That doesn’t happen by accident, and it is pertinent now to acknowledge the contributions of an England coaching team marshalled and led by Johnson.
A while ago forwards coach John Wells was under the cosh for failing to generate quick ball. No such problems now. The ball came back pretty much exactly as England’s half backs wanted it. Similarly with England’s attack. Against Scotland at Murrayfield last year they couldn’t buy a try. Now there was nothing wrong with their attacking edge. Brian Smith has unlocked England to the point where they are comfortable attacking from anywhere.
Of course, any final reckoning of England has to take account of the opponents and Italy were desperately disappointing. But this is the Italy which ran Ireland close a week ago, the Italy who many thought were close to becoming genuinely competitive. That is the context against which to judge.
It is vastly to England’s credit that they demolished Italy’s lineout. That was an alarming weak point which hasn’t surfaced before, but other Italian difficulties were more predictable. Yet again Italy had little or no idea how or where to attack. There was one brief spell in the first half when Italy were able to string several phases and passes together but they ended up further behind the gain line than when they started. If anything showed up Italy’s lack of ideas and penetration, that did. The little ball they got was a liability for them.
The sadness was that some great players were caught up in the mess. Sergio Parisse and Martin Castrogiovanni are proud, fine rugby men, yet long before the end of the match they were both bickering with each other and the referee.
Castrogiovanni was sin-binned when he prevented England from taking a quick tap penalty and Parisse, normally the most focused of individuals, was more worried about perceived injustices than what was actually happening on the pitch. It was impossible not to feel for them. They deserved to be part of a better, more competitive team.
No such problems for England where the momentum is building nicely. Given the way they played, they would probably fancy France this Saturday rather than have a week’s rest as the Six Nations goes into limbo.

Paul Ackford Daily Telegraph

Viking 7's

2011-02-06T19:10:00.000+01:00

It is now official, there is to be a new 7's tournament this year.
The Viking Summer 7's will be held at Spartacus RK on the 4/5th June. With a number of teams visiting from Italy, Spain. Holland, England, Wales, Ireland, Scotland and France this will be an International event with what we are told some very good sides ready to challenge the Swedish clubs for the prize money on offer.
We are given to understand that there will be sponsors for both the Men's and Women's events. with 25,000Sek for the winners of the Men's and 15,000Sek for the Ladies Champions along with the normal trophies.
Without doubt, this is really good news for Swedish Rugby and will hopefully contribute towards the development of the game in Sweden. Now an Olympic Sport it could help showcase 7's and help to attract new participants to the game.

Our congratulations go to Spartacus for their initative in this and we wish them well in this endeavour.

Italy 11 Ireland 13

2011-02-06T18:54:00.000+01:00

Beautiful weather, ugly rugby. A thrilling finale should not mask the dross that preceded it, as Ireland snatched victory through a drop goal three minutes from time by replacement Ronan O'Gara.

Two minutes earlier Italy, using their numerical advantage with Denis Leamy sent to the sin bin, had scored their first try, and a famous first win over the Irish in this competition had looked possible.

But they committed the cardinal sin: they dropped the ensuing kick off. Ireland, knew the drill. A couple of drives were made upfield and then the old head of O'Gara stepped back into the pocket in readiness.

So certain was he of his target that he was punching the air and running back towards halfway before the ball was anywhere near the posts.

Ireland were clearly the better side, dominating possession and territory, but it would not have been a huge injustice had Italy sneaked it, because Ireland made enough mistakes to last a whole campaign.
There really was no excuse for their profligacy. The conditions were near perfect, with the sun shining and the flat track.
Amid some thoroughly ordinary performances lock Donncha O'Callaghan had a huge match for Ireland and Sean O'Brien had his moments, but the day's outstanding individual was undoubtedly the Italian skipper and No. 8 Sergio Parisse, who enjoyed an extraordinarily good and influential second half. His power and work rate was quite phenomenal.
And when Leamy was off the field, given his orders for handling at a ruck, Italy's scrummage really put Ireland under the cosh.
Skipper Brian O'Driscoll was spoken to by referee Romain Poite as loose-head prop Cian Healy collapsed for a second time.
Tension was high and a try was almost inevitable and it duly came after a slick pass out of the tackle from replacement Gonzalo Garcia, putting full back Luke McLean, who had a lively game throughout, in at the corner.
Italy had actually led 6-3 at the break, with winger Mirco Bergamasco kicking his second penalty on the very stroke of the break.
It was a fine kick, from way out on the right, and it provoked a huge roar from the home crowd, but in truth this had been a half full more of groans.
Goodness, there were some mistakes. When you witness the great O'Driscoll hurling a pass off his left hand straight into touch you know for certain that error is the order of the moment.
A couple of minutes later he was dropping a pass after an ill-timed switch with Jonathan Sexton.
Then Gordon D'Arcy spilled a regulation pass as Ireland threatened in the Italian 22. He was to do the same again in the second half.
Other passes went straight to ground. Nothing clicked. Without solely blaming one person, it never helps when you have a scrum half like Tomas O'Leary whose strength clearly is not his pass.
His stiffness and an involuntary duck of the head at the moment of release suggest that it is not a natural movement. The all-enveloping Parisse caught him napping a couple of times at the base of rucks.
Ireland might have scored once after full back Luke Fitzgerald had put Sexton clear, but a wonderful scything tackle from Alberto Sgarbi put paid to that.
O'Driscoll also escaped down the left after a pass from Leamy. We will give the flanker the benefit of the doubt and call it a flick on, but Leamy may not have realised that was what he was doing. Anyway another superb tackle, this time from McLean, stopped O'Driscoll.
Yes, Italy were doing a lot of tackling and not much attacking- although Sgarbi was always running strongly- but, as ever, that defence was ferociously committed. And yes it was unsettling Ireland. The rhythm and snap simply would not come.
But pressure usually tells, and so does class. That O'Driscoll should drag his side form their languor just after the interval was a not a surprise.
Their try came from their best scrummage of the match, with tight-head prop Mike Ross at last anchoring his side and from a solid base Ireland could finally attack with composure.
Even then they looked as if they had taken a wrong option as Sexton was left isolate don the left, but the ball was recycled and O'Leary fed O'Driscoll going left and through a gap.
You expected the tries to flow from there. But maybe Ireland's injury count - 12 major players missing- was more of a factor than we thought. Confidence appeared low and rustiness high.
Even O'Driscoll made another mistake, throwing a poor pass to debutant winger Fergus McFadden who might have scored with a better service.
Italy refused to cow, and their response was rousing. It was just a shame that replacement lock Carlo del Fava fumbled at that re-start, and that another replacement- fly-half Luciano Orquera- should attempt his own dramatic drop-goal effort from such a long distance.
More patience and calm was required. Ireland just about had it, but will need to improve in spades.

Steve James, Daily Telegraph

France 34 Scotland 21

2011-02-06T18:47:00.000+01:00

This game comes with a health warning. France, the Grand Slam champions, are back, all memories of the stuffing by Australia in the autumn banished on a surprisingly balmy February evening. France were confident, poised, controlled.

They had pockets of flair and if they lost concentration at various stages in what was an enthralling encounter, it was probably because they were saving themselves for the bigger games to come.

Twickenham towards the end of the month springs to mind. It should be lip-smackingly exciting.

It was not so much the scoreline at the end of the game which advertised France’s welcome return to form, more the fact that it came against a resurgent Scotland who actually played pretty well themselves.

That was the beauty of this encounter. It had everything. Seven tries, four from France, three by Scotland.
The physical beauty of big men running into each other with intent on their faces and murder in their souls. It had some elusive running — strangely, given their reputation — by Scotland’s midfield and back three. And it had a scrummaging performance of stunning eloquence by the portly-looking Thomas Domingo.
He was the significant difference between the sides in the first period. France had galloped away to a 10-0 lead after nine minutes with a Maxime Médard try when Nick De Luca was turned over in a dump of a tackle followed by a conversion from Morgan Parra and a dropped goal by François Trinh-Duc.
Yet Scotland had cantered back into it when Alastair Kellock drove low and hard through a pile of bodies after his second-row mate Richie Gray had been prominent in the build-up. The conversion by Dan Parks brought Scotland to within three points of France at 10-7.
If truth be told, France were a little better value for their points because there were a number of occasions when profligacy or a lack of care saw them cough up ball, but the game was nicely poised as it ticked into its second quarter.
Enter Domingo, hoping to profit from a strong scrummaging position deep inside Scotland’s 22 to the right of the posts.
Three times Domingo went down to pack against Euan Murray and three times Domingo’s superiority was so complete Murray had to slip and fall away to concede a penalty.
At the fourth scrum Domingo himself accidentally lost his footing, but on the fifth referee Wayne Barnes was so upset with Murray that he awarded France the penalty try.
Domingo, red-faced and breathing heavily, grinned all the way back to the halfway line accompanied by fawning team-mates. The entire sequence lasted four minutes and encapsulated why the game’s authorities are so keen to sort this mess out. Four minutes of collapses and resets.
Four minutes of 14 players and 80,000 spectators watching two packs of forwards trying to make the unintelligible comprehensible.
But the strange thing, too, was that Domingo was so self-evidently a supreme craftsman that it carried with it a macabre fascination.
Scotland struggled a little after that, never getting close enough to France to put the frighteners on them, which was a shame because they played with far more purpose and pace than usual.
Scotland opened up from the kick-off and for the rest of the match tried to send men down the wide channels outside the French blitz defence. When they managed to flood that space they were effective.
Hugo Southwell and both wings led sorties and there were some neat exchanges involving De Luca and Joe Ansbro. But, even at their most potent, there was always a sense that France were playing within themselves.
That’s the worrying aspect for the other teams yet to face France. They seem to have the urge back and that coupled with the talent they always possess makes them very formidable indeed.
This was the France of old, a team who pushed all the buttons. Although their scrummage was formidable, their line-out solid, France did not just play tight and mean. Aurélien Rougerie was very influential in the centre and both half backs mixed up tempo and strategy.
As ever, France set great store on winning the one-on-one collisions but there was far greater fluency and knowingness abut their rugby here. They looked as if they knew how to play again.
Scotland did well to stick as close to France as they did. Ten minutes into the second half when Imanol Harinordoquy made the most of another turnover, cantering over for a try after a diagonal run from 40 metres out, it appeared they would be on the end of a right old hiding.
And that impression wasn’t altered by the sight of Parra and Harinordoquy leaving the pitch to be replaced by Dimitri Yachvili and Sebastien Chabal. But Scotland scored themselves within five minutes through Kelly Brown, confirming the belief that sides built by Andy Robinson never give up easily.
It was tit for tat after that. Damien Traille pushed France further out in front before Sean Lamont had the last laugh with the final try of the contest. I say last laugh, but it was the French who had the smiles.
They knew they had laid down an important marker, knew, too, that this is a squad capable of taking on the best. France are bubbling again, and if you like your rugby, you should be mighty happy for them.

Paul Ackford, Daily Telegraph.

Wales 19 England 26

2011-02-05T14:23:00.000+01:00

Land of Hope and Glory ? Yes, why not? Delighted England fans certainly thought so as they streamed out of the Millennium Stadium on Friday night, victory over Wales already putting their side in the driving seat for Six Nations honours and suffusing dreams with thoughts of World Cup honours. This was a defining moment.

England have proved poor travellers in the Six Nations and this was a performance that silences any doubts about their ability to deliver under duress and on the road. They will carry that feel-good vibe with them to New Zealand in September. They have three championship games in a row at Twickenham now. Who could blame their supporters if they were already eyeing that final day showdown with Ireland?

This was England’s first win in Cardiff in eight years, their 2003 victory here prefacing something rather notable later that year. This side may lack the clout and consistency of that World Cup-winning team but they are a gathering force. There is an evident sense of togetherness, a hard-nosed desire to tough it out as they did in the final stages. They have a notable cutting edge, too, in Northampton wing, Chris Ashton who scored two trademark tries to take his tally to five in the last seven tests. Anything is possible when you have a finisher of that quality.

There is a growing maturity, too, in the play of fly-half Toby Flood, who directed his line well and who is proving every

As for Wales, where do they go now? A crisis is looming as their run without a win stretches to eight matches. That record is becoming a millstone. It could drag Wales back into the dark days. True, they were nuggety and zealous but they lacked penetration. Too often they ran across the field and not at England. Scrum-half Mike Phillips also had a wayward game. Wales travel to Murrayfield with desperation in their eyes. How they need a win.
Their discipline also let them down when it mattered, prop Craig Mitchell falling foul of referee, Alain Rolland, when diving over the top and ending up in the sin-bin. England scored ten points in his absence, Ashton nabbing his second just before his return in the 56th minute. That was effectively game over, 23-9 with just over twenty minutes to run. Wales could only manage three points when England lock, Louis Deacon was yellow carded just before half-time.
That ruthlessness, that ability to deliver when it matters, will stand England in good stead. There are flaws there still. The midfield play was clunky at times, Shontayne Hape looking out of sorts. Yet still they managed to contrive scores from scant opportunities.
Ashton’s first owed everything to his own finely-tuned radar but more especially to Flood’s eagled-eyed vision. The Leicester man had a fly-half’s dream set-up in front of him, two props in opposition. Flood didn’t waste it, scampering between the pair of them in 14th minute and finding Ashton, the poacher supreme on his inside shoulder. He knows where that try-line is does Ashton, rounding things off with a flamboyant dive.
England’s forward platform was telling, the lineout in particular earning its spurs. Stade Francais lock, Tom Palmer, continues to grow in stature. He made the initial dent from where Mark Cueto eventually threw the floated pass for Ashton’s second try. England barely noticed the absence of three front-line forward through injury.
England knew that they had to strip the match back to its basics: be direct, be accurate and silence that crowd. They did just that for long stretches, only allowing Wales a sniff in the final quarter.
The streets were thronged, the mood intoxicating and the clamour deafening. This was to be a test of character as much as of skill. Heart and soul still count for as much as muscle and bone.
There were errors in their game but Wales simply did not take advantage, James Hook and Stephen Jones missing two early penalties.
England would not have wished for the beating handed out before Christmas by South Africa but it was a salutary experience. It reminded them of the need to front-up first and foremost. It’s invariably a game of inches not yards, a battle for control of the gain line. Gradually, England asserted their might. Their pack laid firm foundations.
Wales eventually had to chance their arm, and they did. Mind you, poor England defence from Shontayne Hape helped as Jones’s beautifully weighted pass beat the England centre allowing Jonathan Davies to put Morgan Stoddart in for a try on the hour. Jones converted to reduce the gap to seven points.
It was nail-biting stuff. Wilkinson replaced Flood, James Hook moved to fly-half for Wales and slotted a goal when Hape offended. 23-19, and the tension soaring with ten minutes remaining.
Wilkinson, though, eased worries.
There is a growing maturity, too, in the play of fly-half Toby Flood, who directed his line well and who is proving every bit a reassuring presence as one Jonny Wilkinson did.

Flood didn’t fluff a kick, scoring 13 points, Wilkinson closing out proceedings four minutes from time with his only pot at goal, just the tonic as things got decidedly jittery. There was a terrific debut from Northampton flanker, Tom Wood, and the perfect riposte from hooker, Dylan Hartley, who had been singled out for criticism by Wales coach, Warren Gatland. Hartley didn’t miss a beat. It was a quality showing on his part.

There may not have been the sweep and majesty of the Australia game on view, little sustained fluency and carefree devil, but England managed to face down the hype and hoopla. That is no small achievement in a Six Nations context. They have character and a sense of defiance in their ranks. They didn’t attempt to play down the magnitude of the occasion, backing themselves to rise to the challenge. That’s a sure sign of a team in a good place, at ease with themselves and with each other.

By Mick Cleary. Daily Telegraph

New 7's Tournament ?

2011-01-26T20:06:00.000+01:00

Word has reached us that there is going to be new 7's tournament in June.
As far as we can ascertain it is the Viking Summer 7's and is being hosted by Spartacus on the weekend of June 4th and 5th.

The big news is that it will have prize money for both the Men and Women, supposedly.

We have only vague information regarding this, yet we believe it to be true and if this is the case, it is really good news for Swedish Rugby and the 7's game. Anything that can help promote 7's in the lead up to the Olympic games has to be a positive. So we are keeping our fingers crossed.

If we get anymore information on this we will post it immediately.

What's in Store for 2011?

2011-01-21T21:37:00.000+01:00

As pre-season training begins or continues for some, we too have decided to come out of hibernation and carry on with the enjoyable task of writing and publishing this blog. Please do feel free to offer your own contributions, should you wish, and providing that they are relevant and acceptable, we will be more than happy to publish them. You can submit articles via 'trueswedenrugby@live.com' or just post your comments as and when you wish.

So what's going to happen in the Elite series this year?

Are Stockholm Exiles going to recruit yet more players from abroad in an attempt to retain their title. or will they start to give their talented home grown players a chance?
Enkoping have been busy recruiting and we hear that two players from Göteborg have signed for them. Obviously disappointed with their season last year, there appears to be a deliberate policy to improve things, will it happen?
Hammarby will be looking to improve upon last season's outstanding success. Rumours are that they have also been recruiting and look for a surprise transfer into their ranks from another Swedish club.
What about the surprise package of last season, Spartacus? Will they be able to improve upon their standing of last year, or will they regress?
Göteborg have lost two important players to ERK, so what effect will that have on them? They will be hoping for an improvement on last season. Will they get it?
Newcomers Atilla will be hoping to take a few scalps and we hear that they have also been recruiting, will it work for them or will they struggle?

Christmas Gift!

2010-12-18T13:18:00.000+01:00

As promised in our last post. Today, as our Christmas gift to you, we are going to show the identities of the writers of this blog. There has been speculation galore as to who we are and all of them have been so wide of the mark, it has caused some merriment to us, although we do feel a slight touch of sympathy to those people who have been wrongly named, ( nah we don't really)!
So if you care to scroll down to the bottom of the page, you will see our latest pictures,

Merry Christmas to One and All.

The moment of truth is nigh!

2010-12-09T11:57:00.000+01:00

As the season of goodwill approaches fast and the snow is falling, even in England. We thought that it is time to enter into the spirit of Christmas. After all we don't want people to think that we are nothing but angelic.

There have been numerous guesses, suggestions comments etc, as to the identities of the people who write this blog. So in true Christmas spirit we have agreed to publish our pictures, in order that you may know who we really are.
However we will not publish them until next week as we will be in Sweden then and it will fun for us to perhaps hear from you and obviously we want to save you money on your calls.

In the meantime, we hope that your preparations for the festivities are going well and that you are not getting too stressed,
Merry Christmas to one and all!!!

2010 Season review.

2010-11-19T21:40:00.000+01:00

With the season finally over, following the last of the Swedish International matches last week, we thought that we should reflect on the last year.

The Men's National team had an interesting start to the year with a win in Barcelona against a strong Catalonian side. This was followed by a narrow defeat in Riga by Latvia, with several of their top players unable to make the match through no fault of their own. But they did not let that loss cloud the issue, (think about it) and they recovered to beat Croatia at home leaving them in good shape for the Autumn Internationals, both were wins and Sweden sits proudly on top of the league. So a very good year for them.

The Women's National team played in both the EM and the World Cup. Great things were expected of them following their success in 2009. Unfortunately, since qualifying for the World Cup by winning the 2009 European Championship, they have failed to win an International match. Thus the high expectations were not met and the overall losers appeared to be the women's game in Sweden.

Stockholm Exiles were runners up to Hammarby in the Elite league, but managed to overcome the same opponents in the Men's finals to deservedly win Gold. They also won the Svenska Cup, although that was obtained through a walkover following an appalling decision by GRF to forfeit the game.
Hammarby confounded their critics by having their best ever season, although faltering towards the end of the season, they should be proud of their achievment.
Enkoping went backwards and appeared to have lost some of their zest from 2009, finishing 3rd in the Elite and being totally overwhelmed n their semi-finals. A disappointing season for them.
Spartacus confounded all the critics and had their best ever season. Extremely difficult to beat at home, losing just twice, although they did come unstuck in a few of their away matches, which they managed to turn around in the semi-finals, failing by 10 points to go for gold. A creditable season for them.
Göteborg Rf were the major disappointment of the season in the Elite series. Although they did manage to win the vital away match against Pingvin. Their failure to play the final of the Svenska Cup was in our opinion a disgrace and is not what Rugby is about!
Pingvin were unlucky to be relegated losing at home to Grf in the final match of the season. However it was their performances over the season that cost them their place in the top division and they must be regretting some of their losses.

Enkoping ladies managed to prevent an overconfident Göteborg ladies from making it 3 in a row, so congratulations to them on winning Gold.
Atilla won the right to compete in the Elite next season by one point, our congratulations to them also.

Overall an interesting season with some fine rugby played, let's hope for another fine one next year.

APOLOGIES.

2010-11-14T16:52:00.000+01:00

Many apologies for not having posted the report on Sweden''s wonderful 26-22win over Lithuania. Unfortunately after the match we indulged in rather too many toasts and as such were suffering quite badly on the Sunday, when we usually post our views. As we then embarked on rather a luxurious holiday that Sunday evening, we have been out of circulation for a week, So once again our sincere apologies.
Enough grovelling! What a great result and one that puts Sweden in a very favourable position within the group. two more wins in May next year will cement the place and get everyone talking about Swedish Rugby in a positive manner, something we all want. Congratulations to all involved!!

Sweden v Lithuania

2010-11-02T20:39:00.000+01:00

The next team to play Sweden in the group is Lithuania on Saturday at Trelleborg, kick off is at 1.00pm.
This could well be a sterner test for Sweden as Lithuania are currently on a roll and have won their last 17 matches. Whilst Sweden will be confident after the fine display against Croatia they will and are surely wise enough not to be overconfident in the approach they take to this game. Both teams will be wanting to impose themselves on the opposition and this battle could come down to the the service the backs get from their forwards. Winning the set pieces will be vital and Sweden did well in their last outing, let's hope that it continues. It has to be noted though, that the Lithuanian pack is a lot stronger and more efficient in their game, so expect a ferocious battle between the packs. Sweden's backs did well the last time out, even the grandfather of them managed to cross the line. Given quality ball they could well do the same.
This will be a closer game but with a favourable crowd behind them, we feel that Swedish rugby will be to the fore come 3pm on Saturday.

Croatia 13 Sweden 32

2010-10-24T17:18:00.000+02:00

Under a beautiful sky and with the weather just right for rugby the game kicked off in front of a large and expectant crowd.
Sweden receive the kick off and immediately secured the ball and through a series of play advance up the field applying pressure on the favourites, this was not what the Croatians expected and eventually succumb to foul play, conceding a penalty for a high tackle. A successful kick gives the visitors a 0-3 lead.
Sweden continue to press their advantage and attack down the right wing and are quickly awarded another penalty, which was unsuccessful this time. Then the Croatians making inroads into the Swedish half are awarded a penalty of their own which earns them 3 points.

The direct play of the Swedes though is unsettling the home side and after a well constructed play a try is taken in the right corner, although the conversion was missed. This was soon followed by a try created and scored by two of the English players in the team following a quick tap penalty. The score is 3-12 and Sweden are bossing the game although the Croatians are dangerous in broken play.
Another penalty awarded to the visitors and the ball sails between the posts, this is becoming a rout.
Eventually the Croats wake up and through a couple of breaks and a touch of luck score a converted try themselves leaving a half time score of 10-15. Another missed penalty by the away team is a bit disappointing but the side is playing really well

Swedish rugby is looking good and the team continue the good work into the second half. They continue to pres and from a well worked set piece they ground the ball over the line and with the extra points being added Sweden are 10-22 up and playing with flair and confidence. This seems to galvanise the home side and they start to increase the pressure and start gaining more possession and ground, the Swedish defence is holding up well and keeping their goal line secure. After a number of efforts the hosts are eventually awarded another penalty, which they kick, reducing the score by 3. However that turned out to be the last success they were going to enjoy as the visitors took the game back to them, earning yet another penalty and increasing the score to 13-25.
By now Sweden were enjoying the game and were playing in a relaxed style which through some slick and clever play saw one of the most maligned players in the squad score and show just why he is in the ream. The try was converted and Sweden led 13-32. The remainder of the half saw no further scores, although both teams looked dangerous at times. The final whistle went leaving a dispirited home side and a jubilant Swedish squad.

The next match in the group is against Lithuania on the 6th November in Trelleborg. Let's hope that the good work continues and our warmest congratulations to all involved.

Game On!

2010-10-23T14:21:00.000+02:00

This afternoon at 16.30 Sweden start their 2 year campaign to gain promotion into group 3A. After finishing second from bottom in the last competition, hope will be high that they will be more competitive this time around.
The match is being shown live on TV in Croatia so what better incentive could there be to display the skills the players have.
If you wish to view the match you could try and use this link, http://www.livestation.com/account/streams/2745112-hrt_2?page=8, otherwise you could view updates on http://twitter.com/svenskrugby.
Let's hope that the stream works and you can cheer on the team and watch your favourite player in action.
The starting line up is:-

1. Magnus Karlsson    Hammarby
2. Matthew Youngman                  Enkoping
3. Mattias Thorhard Hammarby
4. Ivar Bengtsson                        Hammarby
5. Viktor Pettersson                     Enkoping
6. Mattias Björkebäck                  Hammarby
7. Andrew Daish                         Old Albanians
8. Sebastian Taylor                     Old Haberdashers
9. Lee Taylor                              North Walsham
10. Tim Johansson                       Enkoping
11. Tobias Borg                           Enkoping
12. Alex Taylor                            Nuneaton
13. Paul Sullivan                          Stockholm Exiles
14. Thomas Ardvisson                  Helsingborg
15. Ian Gowland                          Stockholm Exiles

16. Jan-Olof Johansson                Spartacus
17. Stefan Obradovic                   Attila
18. Peter Wiklund                       Vanersborg
19. Andrew Saunders                  Richmond
20. Robin Karlsson                     Hammarby
21. Jim Wetterstrom                   Enkoping
22. Hannes Eriksson                   Hammarby

There are several changes to the line up from the last match against Croatia and with a some players pulling out of the squad or not being selected there is pressure on those selected in their places to perform. Let's hope they are up to the task and help bring home the first W of the campaign and show the watching public the type of game that truly reflects Swedish Rugby.

Swedish Players Attacked.

2010-10-22T17:44:00.000+02:00

Disturbing reports are appearing in various papers throughout Europe regarding an assault on four players in the Men's National Squad.
The squad are staying in Zagreb preparing for the important group match against Croatia, some of the players flew out on Wednesday, with others joining the group on Thursday and Friday.
It appears that the four players in question decided to be spectators at a Europa Cup Match between Dynamo Zagreb and Club Bruges on Thursday evening. Upon arrival at their hotel after the match they were attacked by a bunch of football hooligans wielding clubs and sticks. The four players fled into the hotel lobby and escaped serious injury, collecting a few bruises between them.
The incident is being investigated by the local police force and the Croatian Rugby Federation.
This appears to be an isolated case and there does not seem to be a concerted cause against the Swedish Rugby Squad, however it is disconcerting that this attack took place.
After being checked by a doctor, the players appear to be physically sound and are resting, preparing for the match tomorrow.
As an aside to this Eric Lundquist has been injured in training and his place in the squad has been taken by Hannes Ericsson.
Let's hope that there are no further mishaps and the squad get the result they deserve.

Pathetic!

2010-10-16T14:49:00.000+02:00

It has come to our attention that Stockholm Exiles have been given a walk over in the Swedish Cup Final!
Apparently Gothenborg have forfeited the game as they cannot field a team. If this is the case then some serious questions need to be asked by the Board regarding this sorry state of affairs.
As far as we can ascertain, Stockholm Exiles were training all week for this encounter and yes with their imports still here ready to represent their club. Grf on the other hand had too few players, perhaps their imports had already returned home, but surely they could have inquired of their near neighbours (Spartacus) as to whether they could borrow some players, then approach both the Board and the Exiles commitee to see if it was possible to play the game. No, the short answer was to forfeit, leaving the other finalists without a game and just as importantly, the Board with a red face and all those other clubs that entered this competition should be outraged. No wonder Swedish Rugby is struggling!
If a club in the Elite was to forfeit a league match, they would be relegated to the league below, should that not also be the case here? This really was unworthy of the game and of Grf, they should feel ashamed.
Our congratulations to Stockholm Exiles on achieving the double, albeit in embarrassing circumstances,

Who is calling the shots?

2010-10-14T20:43:00.000+02:00

There have been a number of comments on this blog recently regarding the National Team Selection, some from well respected people within the game. Views have been expressed regarding the selection of players, how they are selected, who watches the players and indeed who selects the squad.
As far as we can ascertain, there are 5 people involved in the management set up, the FK, the team manager and his assistant and the two assistant coaches.
The only one of those who would have had a regular view of the players performing in the Elite series is the assistant manager. The FK and the team manager are both involved with clubs in a lower division and their attendances have been concerned with those. As for the two assistant coaches, well they are apparently based in England, ideal for watching the performances of players from that country.
If it is accepted that there is a discussion around selection and presumably there is, on what basis are the players selected? Is it past performances? current form? or do other considerations take precedence? The selection team (apart from the team manager) all have experience of fairly high or top level rugby and presumably understand the standard needed to compete at international level and win.
So, we offer up these additional questions,
Hammarby finished top of the Elite series and silver medalists, with a number of qualified players available in their squad, why are they not better represented in the 22?
Stockholm Exiles ended up as gold medalists and deservedly have two players selected in the 22, why was there scrum half omitted? He is qualified as far as we know.
Enkoping finished 3rd and have a reasonable number selected, far more than the previous two clubs, why?
Spartacus finished 4th and have one player selected, despite from all accounts having the strongest pack in the Elite, why?
Do the English contingent deserve their selection?
Should players from the lower divisions be selected for the National squad?, given that they are not performing against the strongest opposition, as can be seen in the play off results.

There are probably other questions that we have not put. However our final one is this. Why should not a member of the management team answer these questions, if all is above board, then there is nothing to worry about and clear and precise communication would more than stop the rumours and theories currently doing the rounds.

They thought it was all over, it is now!

2010-10-10T15:59:00.000+02:00

As the final whistle went and the combatants either jumped in the air with jubilation or slunk to the ground in despair, the departing spectators were no doubt thinking about the match they had just witnessed. Not the most entertaining of contests but who cares when your team has just won the SM gold.

As the teams lined up for the kick off, it was noticeable that Hammarby had made a couple of changes to their pack, bringing in a two sizable forwards, presumably to make sure the set piece, especially the scrum was more of an even contest this time.
From the kick off both teams appeared to be slightly ponderous and they appeared to be suffering from nerves, although the weather was perfect for a running game and probably was just what Stockholm Exiles wanted, as it would suit their style more. The visitors soon showed that they had adapted their game plan and were constantly attacking their hosts blind side, cleverly conceived as it was a good counter to Hammarby's rush defence. Although the home side stood up and defended well against some early forays by the men in black. The hosts then started to impose themselves on the game and controlled some strong drives earning them a penalty kick, which was successfully taken. Thus reducing the overall deficit to 6 points. After the penalty though, they never really looked as if they were going to score again. With Exiles continually attacking, the home side had to resort to their strong defence and rely on some poor handling errors by the visitors, they also handled the scrummage a lot better this week and that was a telling force in stopping their line being crossed.
Eventually though the pressure told and from a scrum close to the whitewash, Exiles managed to ground the ball over the line. During the build up to the try, the Hammarby 10 and 12 collided making contact with each others head, and as they both appeared to be concussed, following several minutes delay, the refferee refused to allow them to continue the match, on the grounds of safety. A correct call. The try was converted and with no further scores the half time whistle went with the visitors 3-7 up.
From the restart it was apparent that Hammarby were not going to roll over and despite losing two influential players, were going to take the game to the opposition. However this tactic was thwarted by their more illustrious opponents and on only one occasion did they manage to threaten the Exiles line.
Meanwhile the constant probing and attacks down the hosts blind side started to produce results and eventually led to a fine try, although the bounce of the ball was favourable in their execution. Hammarby managed to launch an attack through their centre, evading one poor tackle attempt and then going for a run until he was halted by some fine cover defence and from the resultant turnover ball, the Exiles winger raced 60 metres down the field for a fine try. Exiles then managed a further score to run out comfortable winners 3-28.
As a result the Stockholm Exiles club secured an overall victory by 49-15.

Neither final was the spectacle we were all hoping for, but the winners did score 7 tries to opposition's 0. Some of which were worth the entrance fee. Our congratulations to the winners on a fine season.

It's the Final Showdown.

2010-10-07T21:10:00.000+02:00

So, after all the trail and tribulations of this most interesting season, on Saturday we reach the final match featuring Sweden's top two teams in the second final. Despite all the verbal and written comments, claims and counter claims from a number of supporters, it all comes down to two squads of players trying their utmost to impose themselves on the game and the opposition.
Whilst the away team Stockholm Exiles hold a nine point lead over their illustrious opponents and hosts, Hammarby, this is not an insurmountable obstacle and if the home side get into their stride and can manage to dominate the visitor's pack they could ultimately end up as the SM champions. Those are two big if's and to be fair Hammarby have not been able to impose themselves in the set piece against Exiles this season. But stranger things have happened in this game and with their wily coach, they will no doubt conjure up something different.
As for the Stockholm Exiles, they will certainly have to up their game, both individually and as a team to withstand the onslaught that is going to be launched at them. Last Saturday Hammarby made numerous forays into their half and with a bit of fortune, may well have crossed the whitewash. Perhaps over confidence was a factor in what was a fairly moderate performance, something that should have been noted by both the players and coach. If they can get back the form they were showing just a couple of weeks ago, then they should be able to impose themselves on the opposition and eventually run out comfortable winners. Any complacency could well see them trip up and fall flat on their faces.
As this is the last match, the players will no doubt put everything on the line, so an exciting match is in prospect and hopefully it will be one that all the spectators will enjoy. The winners? We won't sit on the fence, we predict that with their 9 point advantage, it will be Exiles, on the other hand ;-)

Good luck to both clubs, enjoy the day and then put your feet up for a well earned rest!

First Final, closer than expected.

2010-10-03T12:47:00.000+02:00

The first final turned out to be a lot closer than expected and although Stockholm Exiles have a 9 point cushion for the away leg, it leaves everything to play for.
In a match that was not the spectacle we were all hoping for, due to the number of penalties, Hammarby put up a strong show against the outright favourites and will be confident going into next Saturday's match at home.

From the kick off, Exiles attempted to display their crisp passing and running lines, but to the observant eye, it appeared that here was not the usual snap to their moves, perhaps overconfidence had something to do with it? Despite their efforts, it was Hammarby who made the most ground and they were awarded a kickable penalty early on, which unfortunately for them, was missed. However the away side kept applying pressure and earned two scrums in quick succession, both of which the home side took with apparent ease. Yet they managed to keep forcing the play until another penalty was awarded to them, this time the points were taken and the visitors took the lead. Exiles took the game back to Hammarby and failed to convert a penalty even though they were looking more dominant, they failed to break the Hammarby defence, despite the occasional foray by the Hammarby backs, Exiles were beginning to gain the territorial advantage. Ten minutes from the half time whistle, Exiles were awarded a scrum 7 meters from the line and with all hands to the pump

Hammarby stopped a pushover try, two more attempts followed and following the 3rd one the refferee awarded a penalty try, the extra points were taken and the men in black took the lead 7-3.
The visitors, to their credit went back to work and following s series of plays in the home sides half, were awarded another penalty which was gratefully taken. Once again though, Exiles marched down the field and this time the penalty was awarded to them, which was successfully taken, leaving a half time score of 10-6.

Hammarby stormed out of the blocks from the restart and soon earned another penalty, (missed), shortly after from another one they kicked for touch and from the resultant lineout got a good drive on, which was stopped illegally and the 3 points from the kick closed the gap on their opponents and left them with superior numbers as the Exiles culprit had been shown a yellow card.
Being a man down seemed to inspire Exiles and they once again took the game to their visitors, a scrum was awarded to the defenders, but Exiles easily took control of it, yet again, and a penalty was their reward.
Hammarby tried to use their numerical advantage and from close to their own line ran the ball at the home side forcing a desperate defence to scamper and just manage to force the ball carrier into touch. Still the visitors kept hammering at the hosts defence and almost scored only to be held up by a relieved defender. The pressure was relentless and from another scrum a penalty was given against Exiles on their ball allowing the visitors 3 more points to close the gap to 1 with about 20 minutes to go. Eventually after what seemed an eternity, Exiles were back to 15 men, which seemed to galvanise them into a series of plays. Hammarby conceded a number of offences and eventually a penalty was kicked to widen the gap. Following more attacks by the home side, which were stopped by some desperate defending, Stockholm Exiles managed to get the ball over the line for a fine score. They almost scored again but their winger was once again thwarted by some excellent defence, that being the last attack of note, the final whistle went leaving the score at 21-12 with all to play for.

From our view, Hammarby excelled themselves, especially in defence, although the injury toll they have may yet prove costly. Stockholm Exiles appeared to be lethargic and were not at their best. Now they know that they will be in another battle can they handle it? The odds are with them, but you never know. We are already looking forward to next weeks encounter, between the top two teams in Swedish Rugby.

Some Interesting Thoughts?

2010-10-02T13:21:00.001+02:00

We make no apology for copying a view from Sweden's leading rugby club website. It is a view by a well respected person within the Swedish game and we feel that as many people as possible should have the opportunity to read it and perhaps comment on it.

Notes on National Team selection	1 Oct 2010
A number of question marks about the squad selected for Croatia/Lithuania.
Eight players from Enköping, a club with a 7-1-4 playing record this season. Forwards based on Enköping, a pack which has been pushed all over the park all season by the other three leading Swedish clubs. Backs based on Enköping who have recorded a 1 – 12 try count against Exiles at Årsta in the last few weeks.Alex Taylor, Andrew Daish and Andrew Saunders recorded as playing for Nuneaton, Old Albanians and Richmond, three clubs in the English national second division. No record of any of them playing for these clubs this season, at least for their first teams. Lee Sandberg plays regularly for North Walsham, a team in national division three. Sebastian Taylor is out of Old Habberdashers, a team which plays at level seven in English rugby, motto ”We never train”. Club website not updated since the summer. Interesting to know coach Mike Tatus thinking behind this selection and which channels he uses to obtain input.

To the Victor, the Spoils.

2010-10-01T18:30:00.000+02:00

Tomorrow is the day that every rugby supporter in the land has been waiting for. Or at least those that are associated with Stockholm Exiles and Hammarby rugby clubs.
Since the beginning of time, or last Saturday at least, the sides have been preparing for this titanic battle, hoping and praying that they will get the victory that takes them closer to the tape. Both clubs are being guided by Australian coaches, who have forsaken the delights of their homeland for the obvious benefits that Sweden's weather has to offer, so this promises to be a spectacle that nobody connected with rugby should miss. We will be there, will you?

Hammarby won the Elite league and have been promoting themselves as the favourites all season, they are confident that they can win the gold medal and end the season as top dogs, although the men in green and white struggled in their last three matches, losing two and winning one.Whilst Exiles have been quietly moving along in their own inimitable way and just getting on with playing, the home side have been tearing up the park and running in some magnificent scores.
So who will gain the upper hand in Sweden Rugby's penultimate game? Despite all the propoganda and let's face it, this seems to happen every year, Stockholm Exiles have raised the bar and are currently playing some exciting rugby and since the summer break have remained unbeaten. Their players are quick, skillful and are quietly confident. Hammarby do have some good players and they in the main, play as a team, their wins over the other top teams during the season will have inspired confidence, so they will be full of it, yet we do not feel that the visitors are in the same class as their opponents and therefore we go for a home win and by enough points to make the second final a formality.
Of course the game will need a top referee and it is with relief that we see a neutral one from England visiting our shores to officiate this match. Let's hope that it is played in a fair and equitable manner and that the only discussion afterward is about the skills of the players and the spectacle. Good luck to both clubs!

First All Stockholm Final.

2010-09-26T17:11:00.001+02:00

At the end of the day, Sweden had it's first all Stockholm final. This should be a a tremendous spectacle and give the capital a match to remember.

Enkoping visited Arsta full of hopes that they could turn around the 2 point deficit and reach yet another final. Exiles had other ideas and were not going to take their opponents lightly. From the off the home side went onto the attack putting together a number of effective phases eventually forcing the visitors to give away a penalty for offside which was gratefully taken. The home side though started to concede a number of penalties allowing their visitors to gain ground from them and with the assistance of a strong wind got down into the home side's territory and from yet another penalty scored 3 points to equal the score.
The men in black then attacked again and earned themselves a yet another penalty, from the resultant scrum and worked the ball over the tryline to score.
Enkoping started to run the ball from everywhere and to utilise their talented backline but could not break down the Exiles defence but both defence's stood firm. For some ridiculous reason a yellow card was shown to an exiles player and ERK threw everything at their hosts and despite the numerical advantage they could not get the ball over the line. the half time whistle signalled that there had been no further score.
From the restart the hosts kept running the ball at the visitors and but from a few hurried passes may have added to the score, earlier than they did. Eventually the last pass stuck and they went over to score a well deserved converted try. This was added to by a score under the posts which was converted and the game was virtually over. Enkoping kept probing and eventually scored out wide to get some self respect back.
However Exiles came back even stronger and scored two more tries to record a 34-8 win and a aggregate score of 59-31.

On the other pitch and with the kick off at the same time, (WHY) Hammarby entertained Spartacus. The green and whites started of at a whirlwind pace and were determined to beat their less illustrious opponents. However it was the visitors who were awarded a penalty just inside the home side's half. The kick at goal was just missed and within a few minutes the home side had managed to score out wide and convert the try. Unfortunately during this phase of play the visitors lost their captain and number 9 with a dislocated elbow. There followed a game that was constantly interrupted by the referee awarding a number of penalties that left not only the players but the coaches and spectators baffled. The tackling was ferocious by both sides and after another ruck the number 8 from Spartacus left the field with a serious ankle injury. From yet another strange penalty Hammarby managed to score yet another converted try giving them an overall lead of 9 points. From the restart Spartacus were reduced to 14 men following a yellow card and during this period the home side exerted enormous pressure, however they could score following some tremendous defence and a little bit of luck, the visitors held the home side out, scoring from a penalty themselves. Hammarby managed to score two more penalties before half time.
The second half was similar to the first but overall belonged to Spartacus and the penalties were now being awarded against the hosts. The visitors were playing catch up and they appeared to be rushing rather than play at the pace they had the previous week. This played into Hammarby's hands and they were able to handle the onslaught. Hammarby were once again awarded penalty and they took the 3 points. The game was still displaying some tremendous tackling which was only to be applauded. Though the late hit via a flying headbutt on the visiting 10 was a disgrace and bought the home side a yellow card, which could and arguably should have been a red. This followed several unsavoury incidents which have no place in the game. Eventually the visitors managed to cross the line from a poor kick to touch by the home side which was run back at them for a fine try. A penalty restart into touch ended the game, with Hammarby worthy winners, 23-8 giving them a winning overall score of 34-24.

From our view, there was too much intervention by the linesmen in both matches and it would be beneficial to have independent referee's in the middle. It appeared that the man in the middle for the Hammarby v Spartacus match was very much out of his depth. The Union also need castigating for allowing both games to kick off at the same time. It's time the board woke up to the realities of the game!

That expressed, we are looking forward to the finals and hope to see some great rugby as an advert for Swedish Rugby.

Reaching for the Stars.

2010-09-23T20:47:00.000+02:00

So with the scores so close in both semi-finals there is all to play for this Saturday in Arsta. Let's hope the weather is kind to the players and spectators and we get a rugby bonanza.

Stockholm Exiles entertain their close rivals Enkoping and will be looking to build on their 2 point lead from the first match. The home side have been the best team in the country in the second half of the season and were unlucky not to end up as Elite league winners. Enkoping though have started to find the form of last year and with a backline full of stars are sure to feel that they can overcome their hosts. Both sides will want to be the first to put points on the board as that could well give them the impetus to move on and take the match. This is going to be a close match, if both sides are at full strength. We still feel that Exiles just have it in the forwards and take them to win a close and entertaining contest.

At the same venue, the league winners Hammarby, take on the underdogs from the West, Spartacus. Having lost a tight encounter in Partille the home side will want to exact their revenge. the visitors are not renowned travellers and have lost the 3 games they have played in the north conceding a number of points in those matches. Hammarby will be looking to repeat their recent home win over the visitors and will be confident of a comfortable win. Spartacus will have nothing to lose, as they have done extremely well to have made it this far, and may well put in a powerful performance, but we take the home side to win, but only after a tough encounter. So a final between Exiles and Hammarby, the end result and a bonus for Swedish Rugby.

Too Close to Call?

2010-09-19T14:22:00.001+02:00

So, as predicted the two games provided a contrast in styles but provided some drama in both matches. With rain in the North and the weather mainly dry in the West, all four teams played some commendable rugby.
Enkoping lost to their visitors 23-25, a much closer margin than perhaps expected and the gave the Exiles something to think about during the next week. In pouring rain, both teams produced some exciting rugby and showed the watching spectators that these two sides are the best teams in Sweden,(although Hammarby may argue this point).
The visitors started the stronger and were soon into their stride, with Enkoping having to defend, but a number of indiscretions led to a series of penalties allowing the home side to advance into the opposition's half and from yet another penalty take the lead.
Exiles dominated the game for the first 20 minutes, then a yellow card to the visitors fullback allowed Erk to get back into the game and score a fine converted try. With a 10-0 lead the home side looked set to dominate but Exiles took the game back to the home side and through a well worked maul managed to score a converted try, bringing them right back into the match and at half time the score was 10-7.
From the restart the men in black applied enormous pressure through their forwards and soon added to their score through a try, thus taking the lead for the first time in the match. It wasn't long before they added to that score through an individual effort which was converted, between theses scores, the only response was 3 points from a penalty to the home side.
With less than 20 minutes to go the hosts started to get their illustrious backs going and scored two fine tries which was answered by a penalty from Exiles, leaving the score at 23-25 with just a few minutes to go. There were no further scores and the match ended with the visitors happy with the win and the hosts knowing that there is all to play for next week.

In the West, Hammarby, the league winners visited the team that finished 4th in the Elite, Spartacus. The rain ceased for most of the afternoon, but the pitch was wet and slippery underfoot. This was a match that the visitors were expecting to win but the hosts have been difficult to beat at home this season, so it was not going to be an easy match for them. Within a few minutes of the kick off, the visitors conceded a penalty just outside their 22m and the points were eagerly taken by the hosts. The game then developed into a battle for supremacy and in the forwards Spartacus were gaining the upper hand. The visitors managed to get a foot on a loose ball though and with the ball sliding into the home side's goal area and the fullback taking too much time over grounding it, a Hammarby back slid in to touch down and give them the lead. That was to be their only score of the half as the hosts flew back at the opposition applying pressure and from a series of rucks moved the ball out wide for a first class try which was converted. The half time score 10-5
Hammarby were soon back on the scoreboard after the break and reduced the deficit by 3 from a penalty in front of the posts. This seemed to galvanise the visitors and they launched a series of attacks, all of which were stemmed by some outstanding defence. The hits were coming in hard from the all the Spartacus players and as a result, several of the visiting team were replaced. Spartacus were also doing their fair share of attacking in their own inimitable style and from one of these attacks were awarded a penalty, giving them back the 5 points advantage they previuosly enjoyed. This was soon knocked back again following a mistake in the home sides half and a fine penalty kick once again saw the lead reduced. By now though, the Hammarby team were starting to tire and with the hosts bringing on fresh legs, they continued to be driven backwards towards their own line only desperate defending kept the host's from getting over the whitewash. In the last minute of play they conceded a penalty, and the points were taken to give Spartacus a fine win by 16-11.
The return match will make interesting viewing and although Hammarby will expect to win this one, if Spartacus play as well as they can, they could cause an upset.

Saturday's Preview

2010-09-16T21:10:00.000+02:00

Saturday see's the first semi-final between 3 teams from the North and the sole representative from the West. Two matches that could provide a contrast in styles, depending on the weather.

First up is the confrontation between the League winners Hammarby and the team that finished 4th in the Elite, Spartacus. The visitors are obviously favourites and they will argue that they play a similar style to their more illustrious neighbour's Stockholm Exiles. With the weather forecast not looking too good (and reportedly there has been a lot of rain in the West this week), this could be a day for keeping it simple and not over elaborating. Consequently this could suit the hosts as they have the forwards that appear to relish this type of rugby. This will not be a easy match for Hammarby as Spartacus have a good defensive record at home but they will surely expect to win this game to take a lead into the second match. If both teams are at full strength then we believe Hammarby will gain the win after a a hard fought contest.

Stockholm Exiles make the short journey to Enkoping hoping for a repeat of the recent match between the two sides where the visitors ran away with the game. Enkoping though have improved dramatically since then and will be determined not to suffer another humiliation. Both teams have some exciting backs and anyone of them could be a match winner on the day. So whatever the weather the result will probably depend on who has the forward superiority, that appears to be Exiles, just. Whatever happens this should be a great match to watch and we take the visitors to have one foot in the final at the end of the match.

Two contrasting matches but both with the opportunity to show some great rugby, so it should be a good day for the spectators to watch the countries top 4 teams in action and to see how well Swedish rugby is progressing. Good luck to all four teams.

A day to remember?

2010-09-12T16:54:00.002+02:00

Yesterday saw the final round of matches in the Men's Elite series and it produced one of the surprising results of the season.

Pingvin were defeated at their stronghold by a determined Goteborg 11-17. This was nothing short of a sensation and all credit must go to the visitors for their win. Considering that they have been the worse side in the Elite this season and that most pundits, including ourselves, thought that they would lose, they found some spirit and live to fight another day. Two matches to come against a resurgent Vanersborg will be interesting , but of course Grf will take a great deal of comfort from this scoreline. As for Pingvin? Well they will have to take count and look to see where they can improve, both on and off the field. Good luck to them in their quest to return to the Elite.

Hammarby were undone by a revitalised Enkoping and whilst both teams were not at full strength there was plenty of dis-appointment in the home side faces after this defeat. Without doubt, the visitors were the better team and had a far more potent backline than their hosts. Contrary to most views, both teams had plenty to play for as neither would want to go into the semi-finals on the back of a loss, unfortunately for the hosts, it was they who ended the league season on the back of loss 20-45 and with a poor performance by them. Erk will be relishing their encounters with Exiles in the semi's although it will be difficult to see them overcoming the men in black. Hammarby will regroup and as they have the easier task in the semi's against Spartacus should have enough in their armoury to make the finals.

Spartacus visited Exiles in the last of the Elite matches and found that once again the opposition was much too strong. Although they were behind from the second minute and were soon 14 points down after 12 minutes, the visitors never stopped battling and it is plain to see that they do not have a backline to compete at this level, their forwards are a match for most teams. The other strength they appear to have is that they never give up, at least on this performance. Exiles did not play that well, but they did not need to, however everytime they visitors gave them the ball, their talented backs counter attacked with devastating effect. they eventually ran out winners by 54-10.
Hard to split the difference between the Exiles and Erk backs, so it will come down to the forwards superiority and Exiles may just have that. As for Spartacus, it has been a good season for them and they have done well to be one of the super 4 this year, but that is where it will finish for them.

'D' Day?

2010-09-10T18:25:00.000+02:00

Tomorrow sees the ultimate matches in the Men's Elite series for this season. For some this will be a nerve racking time, whilst others will bask in the knowledge that they already know their fate.

The match of the day, without any doubt, will be the gladiatorial contest between Pingvin and bottom of the table Grf. Who will win this titanic battle? The warriors from the South or the battlers from the West. It will be a close encounter and could well have been decided by the red card shown to a battler last week. Both teams will be suffering from some high anxiety and will probably be feeling a bit rocky. Over the season the warriors have shown that they can play some exiting rugby and mix it well between the forwards and backs. Grf on the other hand have been a shadow of their former sides and have consistently leaked tries. A lot will also depend on the referee, let's hope he has a good match, but we take Pingvin to escape the automatic drop and fight to retain their Elite status in the play offs.

Hammarby, the league leaders, and congratulations to them for winning the Elite, will be entertaining Enkoping. With a changed kick off time to 1pm, presumably in order that the spectators may enjoy two exciting matches for the price of one, this will be another classic encounter. ERK enjoyed a romp in the sun last time out and will be full of confidence, whilst Hammarby will also be full of it. Rumours aplenty abound about injuries to key players, especially in the Hammarby squad, but one thing is for certain, both teams will be wanting to put on a show and finish the league with a bang. This one is a close call but we take a resurgent Enkoping to nick it.

Finally according to yet more rumours, Stockholm Exiles B side will be running out to face Spartacus at Arsta. Exiles are the team that is bang in form and are playing some fantastic rugby, as befits a team that can afford Armani suits and helicopters. Spartacus on the other hand have run into a lack of form and have a number of long term injuries, this, so we are informed has depleted their squad and with the Swedish equivalent of 'Bird Flu' doing the rounds in the West, they have been struggling to field enough players. However we expect them to show up for this game and try to gain something from it. Although exactly what, we do not know. Exiles to finish the league season with a flourish and send the visitors home to lick their wounds.

Whatever happens tomorrow, we have enjoyed watching this Elite series of Swedish Rugby and look forward to the semi-final. Good luck to all the squads tomorrow, may the best teams win.

Men's Elite Series Results.

2010-09-05T14:59:00.000+02:00

As expected, Enkoping walloped Spartacus 81-14. This was a fine return to form for ERK after their drubbing by Exiles two weeks ago. Perhaps that result was a kick up the backside that they needed as they flew at the visitors from the off and were soon on the scoreboard. From then on, apart from a 10 minute period in the second half, it was one way traffic. Although the visitors have some long term injuries to key players, they appear to be going backwards at the wrong time of the season, they must be pleased that they have already made the semi-finals? Cannot see them making any impression in those games and next week they have yet another away game to the mighty Exiles who are flying. As for Erk, they will take confidence from this result and will relish facing their next opponents.

Hammarby traveled to Goteborg and achieved yet another win. This match was no walk in the park and the visitors struggled to overcome the home side, who never stopped battling and until he received a red card, had the man of the match on their side. Once he was dismissed though, Hammarby were able to apply more pressure and run out comfortable winners by 13-32.
On this showing Hammarby could lose their final match of the series against a resurgent Enkoping, whilst Goteborg could cause an upset against Pingvin although the red card in this match, could prove costly.

Exiles went to Pingvin and completely dominated the game, showing the watching spectators, just why they are favourites to win gold this year. With their multitude of imports getting used to playing together, they are looking very professional and appear to have the attitude, (Nobody likes us, but we don't care). Pingvin tried valiantly, but without the resources of their illustrious opponents, were always on the back foot. Eventually Exiles ran out winners by 7-54, a consolation try for the home side may just be the spur they need for next weeks dogfight against Grf. Exiles will be looking to entertain Spartacus at home and will no doubt be full of confidence for that encounter.

View on Saturday's Elite Matches

2010-09-03T17:27:00.001+02:00

This weekend see's the penultimate round of matches in the Men's Elite series and could provide us with some entertaining games.

First up is the contest between Enkoping and Spartacus. With ERK at home and having enjoyed a rest last weekend they will be determined to put one over the team that managed to take a point off them earlier in the season. Coupled with the fact that the home side suffered an embarrassing defeat against Exiles in their last game, it is hard to see beyond a victory for them. Spartacus had a poor result against Hammarby last week and managed only 15 players for the trip. Why was that? one wonders. Hopefully they will have more players this week, but another loss for them on their travels is our prediction.

Goteborg entertain Hammarby and will be hoping for a spirited performance against the league leaders and potential gold medalists. Hammarby are flying at the moment and according to reports are playing entertaining rugby. Grf on the other hand have been at the receiving end of some hammerings and will be hoping for more than a miracle to take points from this outing. In all probability they will be concentrating on next week's game in order to avoid the dreaded drop. A convincing away win for the visitors to cement their place at the top of the table.

Last but not least, Exiles make the long trip to Pingvin. Before last Saturday's rest, Exile's were the form team and should they carry on with the brand of flowing rugby they were showing then, they will most certainly run away with a big score. Yet, Pingvin at home are a hard side to conquer and could give their visitors a bit of a rude awakening, especially if the men in black are too confident. However, with all due respect to the host's, Exiles should be too strong and will retain second place in the table. The more important match will be for Pingvin at least, next week's home game against Grf, and consequently their thoughts may stray to that encounter.

Men against Boy's?

2010-08-29T16:53:00.000+02:00

The only match played in the Men's Elie Series this weekend turned out to be a stroll in the park for Hammarby. According to reports, Spartacus only managed to to bring 15 players to Arsta for this clash and as a consequence had nobody available on the bench. Although Hammarby took the lead within the first few minutes, the visitors attempted to take the game to the opposition and at times managed to gain some ground. However it did not take long until the home side scored again and with an injury suffered to a front row player , the game had to resort to un-contested scrums. With the Hammarby 10 controlling the game, the visitors struggled in many aspects of the game, although to give them credit, they still attempted to attack and scored two fine tries and a penalty, through some fine work by their forwards. Nothing though was going to stop Hammarby and they eventually ran out 59-13 winners.
This fine win sees Hammarby go 2 points clear at the top of the league and with two games left to play before the semi-final against Goteborg and Enkoping, it is difficult not to see them finish there.
Spartacus on the other hand have away games against Enkoping and Exiles, both away. They will need to have a full compliment of players if they are not to suffer similar results as this.

South Africa 44 Australia 31

2010-08-29T16:26:00.000+02:00

First, the plaudits. This was a worthy victory for the under-pressure world champions. It was South Africa’s first success after four defeats and, to claim it, they twice came back from a 14-point deficit.

That’s not all. The Springboks also had to wait until the 50th minute of a pulsating fixture to get their noses in front, and it wasn’t until the final minute that the Boks were assured of victory when JP Pietersen went over in the corner.

As a jubilant Pietersen touched down, it was impossible not to reflect on the game last week when New Zealand, in a similarly tight encounter, finished the stronger side to defeat the Boks. Even on their week off, the Blacks cast a dark shadow.
Once again South Africa played to their strengths. The huge and athletic back row of Pierre Spies, Schalk Burger and Juan Smith were outstanding in defence and dominated the close-quarter exchanges.
There was greater cohesion, too, in the midfield, brought about by the returning Jaque Fourie, and it was Springbok physicality generally, forcing Australia to attempt flamboyant attacks from long range, which turned the game.
No surprises there, and this is where Wallaby coach Robbie Deans comes under fire. Deans, a spectacularly convincing operator with the Crusaders in New Zealand on the provincial circuit, is struggling to make an impact at Test level.
After posting 28 points in the first half, the Wallabies faded badly to grab just three in the second. Yet again they struggled on the tight head at scrum time against a weakish Bok front row.
Yet again the back five of the scrum, despite occasional sparks from Rocky Elsom and David Pocock, were shaded as an outfit. These are not new concerns, and Deans is plainly still some distance away from solving the problems.
Drew Mitchell had a try disallowed after 1 minute 36 seconds and there were .4 tries inside the first 10 minutes, seven by half time. It was a startling example of the new-look rugby which has been an impressive feature of a wonderful Tri-Nations tournament.
Critics, and there are bound to be some, will point to serious individual errors which led to several scores. Bryan Habana, one of the darlings of the global game, dropped a restart to gift James O’Connor a score. Victor Matfield, on the occasion of his 100th cap, failed to cling on to Will Genia, and the Springbok prop, Gurthro Steenkamp, barreled through at least three weak Wallaby efforts as he finished off a cleverly worked Bok lineout scam.
The match also threw up what appeared to be another innovation in international rugby in that several Springboks deliberately went into contact back first to protect the ball.
Burger was the clearest and most regular exponent, using his back as a shield, and Spies and Pietersen also adopted the technique. In a game where the focus is increasingly on the tackler trying to dislodge or strip the ball on the hit, the back to front method might be the way forward.
The same two sides are at it again this Saturday, the weekend the English Premiership begins. If the entertainment is only half as good in this part of the world, we’re in for one heck of a season.

By Paul Ackford
Published: 6:17PM BST 28 Aug 2010 in the Daily Telegraph.

Saturday's Big Game

2010-08-26T21:12:00.000+02:00

Whilst most people will believe that it is the Tri-Nations match between South Africa and Australia, they would be wrong. There is a much more important game taking place in Stockholm this weekend. Yes, it's the delayed match from the beginning of the season, between Hammarby and Spartacus. The only elite series match that is on this Saturday. Naturally, Hammarby will be the favourites against the upstarts from the West. With the home side surprising their close and near neighbours, ( Exiles and Enkoping) they will be full of confidence going into this match. Having won a close match against the visitors earlier in the series and with the two best players in Sweden available to them, following their return from abroad the home side should run away with the game. But will they? Sparatcus have proved to be a difficult team to play against, with some outstanding defence. If they field their strongest team, (always a difficult thing for away teams in Sweden), then Hammarby could find this a difficult encounter. However we are going to predict a home win following a tough battle. Will we be correct? time will tell.
If you are in the Stockholm area, try to watch the match as you could be seeing the future champions.

Men's Elite Series Results.

2010-08-22T15:27:00.000+02:00

Surprise result of the day? It had to be Exiles thrashing of Enkoping. Both teams were at full strength and this game was expected to be a tough battle. But with Exiles running everything at the visitors they soon had the opposition under pressure and gained the first point after 5 minutes with a superbly executed pass leading to a converted try. With their tails up, Exiles began to dominate the game and only tremendous defence managed to keep the rampant home team out. However the defence was finally breached following another fine move resulted in the second try. Then just before half time Exiles produced another converted try to lead 19-0.
Despite some heavy rain, the home side scored again within 2 minutes of the restart. 13 minutes later they added another converted score. The home side then relaxed somewhat and Enkoping tried to get back into the game but never really threatened to go over the whitewash. To add to the humiliation the home side added another 2 tries in the final minutes to record a fine 41-0 win.

Hammarby made the long trip to Trelleborg for their clash against Pingvin. As expected, they managed to handle the journey and the opposition to win 7-29. Although they did not have it all their own way and some fine rugby by Pingvin made the visitors work hard for the win. Hammarby are playing with some flair and will obviously be happy to have returned to winning ways, whilst Pingvin will take heart from this performance. Next up for Hammarby is a home match against Spartacus and they will be very confident of a positive result to put them back on top of the league. Pingvin will have to battle it out against Goteborg to ensure that they don't finish bottom, this performance will give them the confidence to succeed.

Spartacus were still missing some players but had a large enough squad to overcome this factor against a full squad from Goteborg. Within 5 minutes of the start, Spartacus were awarded a penalty and took a 3-0 lead, this seemed to spur Grf on and they came back to score a fine try, despite some missed tackles a well executed move saw them cross the line in the corner and suddenly they were in the lead 3-5. That was to be the only success they were to enjoy as the home side slowly took control of the game and playing to a simple but effective game plan they applied pressure to the visitor's defence scoring a converetd try under the posts. Soon after they were awarded another penalty and at half time led 13-0.
The second half followed a similar pattern as the first, but Goteborg were becoming increasingly frustrated by the defence of the home side and began to push their passes. Eventually this led to a dropped pass and the hosts took advantage to kick the ball downfield, from the resultant chase Goteborg conceded yet another penalty which was kicked to touch. From the line out a well worked move saw the home side go over the line to score another converted try. Not long after a further penalty was kicked and Spartacus earned a well deserved win and to advance them to the play offs. Whilst Grf must lick their wounds and hope they can overcome Pingvin to avoid relegation.

South Africa 22 New Zealand 29

2010-08-22T14:37:00.000+02:00

An astonishing ending to a wonderful match, played out in front of 95,000 raucous spectators in Soweto, the venue for the final of the football World Cup between Holland and Spain.

New Zealand scored two tries in the final two minutes to win 29-22 and secure their tenth Tri-Nations title, leaving South Africa still searching for a victory after four attempts. Richie McCaw levelled the scores at 22-22 in the 78th minute before Israel Dagg killed off the Boks with a try in the 80th that has piled question upon question on the future of Bok rugby.

It was a tale of two skippers: McCaw an irresistible force, peerless and indefatigable, up against the aging, fiercely proud John Smit, a comparison made all the more poignant by the fact that Smit was winning his 100th cap, his 74th as captain of his country.
There was no doubt who came out on top. McCaw rode the waves of brutality better, emerging to guide his team home by being smarter, more up-to-date, more savvy. Smit and his Springboks, trapped in a time when physicality was the only game in town, couldn’t see it through, though the effort the team put in was mighty impressive.
The opening scenes were almost as remarkable as the climax, as Smit, in celebration of a century of appearances, was allowed to line up for the national anthems cradling his youngest child, not quite two-years-old, in his right arm.
If anything demonstrated Smit’s iconic status, that did. We are accustomed to see hordes of players’ kids accompanying their fathers on laps of honour at the end of tournaments. But before the game had even started? A game in which Smit’s reputation as well as his team’s was at stake. It just didn’t seem right.
For some years now, stretching right back to the Lions tour of South Africa in 2009, there have been rumours of a rift deep in the Bok camp.
The word was that coach Peter de Villiers was at odds with his senior players, principally Smit and lock Victor Matfield. No matter how vehemently successive Bok spokesmen played down the speculation, each occasion Smit and de Villiers were wheeled out to pontificate about their team’s prospects ahead of big games, it was Smit who talked sense, Smit who had the charisma.
But time seems to have caught up with the guy. He can no longer drag a game his country’s way as he did in the World Cup and against the Lions.
Facing Wales back at the start of the summer, in that ludicrous money-grabbing match hosted by the Welsh Rugby Union in Cardiff, Smit appeared vulnerable, and his performances in the Tri-Nations have merely confirmed that frailty.
Yesterday Smit was as good as he has been in ages. There is no sense he has lost his players. He did as much as anyone to smash the Blacks back in the tackle and, if the lineout wobbled occasionally, he also had a good day in the scrummage. But that’s the sadness of it all, the reason why he and this great Bok side, world champions and Lion-tamers both, need to move on.
Rugby is no longer about bash and bosh. The All Blacks have proved that. France have proved that. For over an hour South Africa tried to subdue New Zealand with brute force to prove to themselves as much as anyone else that the old ways are the right ways. But in the end they came up short.
The Blacks notched tries through McCaw, Tony Woodcock and Israel Dagg. South Africa managed one from Schalk Burger. End of story.
New Zealand were far from their best. There was no doubt that they struggled to cope with the battering they received from the Boks. But cope they did to confirm their status as the world’s best team by some distance. As for Smit? He was on one knee at the end, and there wasn’t a child in sight.

This article by Paul Ackford was first published in the Daily Telegraph on the 21st August 2010.

Saturday's Match Preview

2010-08-20T18:39:00.000+02:00

First up this weekend is the visit of Hammarby to Pingvin.
After both sides suffered close losses last week they will be eager to earn a morale boosting win. Pingvin are difficult to beat at home and from all accounts a large squad to choose from last week. If that is the case again this Saturday, then they could well get a positive result. Hammarby though will be keen to put last weeks reverse behind them. They also have a large squad and will no doubt ensure that as many as possible make the trip. Having their confidence shaken slightly, they will be up for this encounter and we take them to record an away win, but will have to fight all the way for it.

Enkoping make the short journey to play Exiles and as they are sitting once again at the top of the tree, they will be very keen to remain there. Exiles will of course have their focus set on taking over that perch from the visitors and this could well be a dogged encounter. Both teams have quite a bit of flair in the backs so should be able to create opportunities, will nerves get the better of them? Erk's look to have more natural talent whilst Exiles work their lines well. Will the Enkoping forwards be able to dominate their counterparts? A very close game we think, but we will go for an away win, but only just.

Lastly, the local derby of Spartacus against Goteborg. Both teams will be up for this as whoever wins will have bragging rights for a year, at least in the West. Spartacus have been the surprise package this season, running the Northern teams close in the three matches they have played against them so far, with 2 narrow losses and 1 draw. Goteborg have not had too good a season winning just once against their neighbours, by a close margin and suffering some heavy defeats. However they have bought back some old faces for this encounter, so that could prove interesting. So we guess that it be a case of who wants it most? After a mighty battle we will opt for a home win, but once again a close game.

Let's hope for some exciting rugby!

Weekend Round Up

2010-08-15T18:06:00.000+02:00

The results went as predicted and as a consequence we see new leaders of the league albeit by points difference.
However Hammarby do have a game in hand and should they win that, they will leapfrog back to the top, providing that they do not suffer any more losses.

In an exciting match between Exiles and Hammarby there were plenty of tries 6 in all culminating in a 26-22 result. By all reports a good match to watch for the spectators with Exiles managing to hang on for the win after coming from behind, after conceding two tries in the first half and another early in the second half. Having a reliable kicker obviously helped Exiles cause and it was this that finally made the difference. Hammarby will be disappointed o have run up a convincing lead, only to lose the match, but this setback could also be an inspiration for them. Whilst the Exiles will be starting to become more confident in their hopes to finish at the top of the league.

Goteborg put in a spirited performance against the current champions Enkoping, but it still was not enough to avoid another defeat. With the return of a some old faces the home side managed to score 23 points whilst conceding 41. Whilst the visitors do not appear to be the force of last year, all credit should be given to the home side for not lying down and having the courage to attack the visitors. With this win Enkoping are back on top of the league for the time being, can they stay there? Grf are going to struggle to avoid the ending up in the bottom two.

Pingvin entertained Spartacus in what was a crucial match for both clubs. Having never won at Pingvin's home it was a tough call for the visitors. However they came away with a 9-15 win and thereby put daylight between themselves and the bottom two. In a hard fought contest in very poor conditions Spartacus managed to score two tries and with some outstanding defence stopped the home side from touching down. Although Pingvin crossed the whitewash twice a knock on and a foot in touch came to the assistance of the visitors.

A fair start to the resumption of the Elite series,we look forward to next weekend and some more exciting rugby.

2010-08-12T21:34:00.000+02:00

Saturday sees the return of the top competition in Sweden with the Men's Elite series resuming after the summer break. So how are the teams going to fare? Could be an interesting weekend.

Goteborg face Enkoping at home and could spring a surprise. ERK were nor performing as well as they are capable of, especially with all the talent they have. Whilst GRF know that they have to raise their game to compete in this match and try to get back some belief.
Verdict:- Away win, but could be close.

Hammarby are visiting Exiles and will expect to get yet another win to cement their position at the top of the table. Somehow Exiles are going to have to front up and upset the odds. With a few players recruited since they last met, Exiles will be feeling more confident and could just take this match.
Verdict:- Stockholm Exiles to put one over their neighbours.

Pingvin entertain Spartacus and this could be the tie of the round. The visitors having never beaten Pingvin away, yet until this season they had never had a win against them. The home side will be confident after their demolition of Grf away but will face a team whose defence has been exceptional this season.
Verdict:- Spartacus to win after a titanic battle.

Let's hope for some entertaining rugby.

New Zealand 20 Australia 10

2010-08-07T21:02:00.000+02:00

The All Blacks showed ruthless efficiency in maintaining their unbeaten record in this season’s Tri-Nations after withstanding intense Wallabies pressure to run out 20-10 winners in Christchurch.

The All Blacks led 17-10 at half-time and then mounted a rock-solid defensive effort to hold back a barrage of Wallaby attacks before a Dan Carter penalty 10 minutes from time moved them out of the seven-point danger zone.

The two-tries to one performance gave New Zealand their fourth win from four matches but denied them a bonus point to leave New Zealand on the brink of claiming the Tri-Nations crown for the 10th time in 15 years.

But the win did ensure they keep the Bledisloe Cup, the symbol of trans-Tasman rivalry and consigned the Robbie Deans-coached Wallabies to a record-equalling ninth successive defeat against the All Blacks.
The the game was not without its frustrations for the Wallabies, desperate to come back from their 49-28 hiding last week, as the All Blacks rode their luck with ruck infringements.
They have been accused by former Australian coach Bob Dwyer of being cheats, while South Africans say they receive favourable treatment from referees and in this Test they twice escaped with warnings but no yellow cards.
On the positive side for the All Blacks, whose focus this year has been on an adventurous attacking policy reaping 17 tries from four Tri-Nations matches, was their stout defence.
Australia could not complain about the amount of possession David Pocock and Rocky Elsom ensured, nor the way their pack cleared the All Blacks out of the ruck, but they were only able to bag one try.
Instead, their multi-phased attacks regularly ended up behind the advantage line as loose forwards Richie McCaw and Kieran Read led a defensive effort that shut down the gaps.
Although the Wallabies controlled possession for the first five minutes it was the All Blacks who scored first in a move which started when lock Tom Donnelly snapped up a turnover ball to charge 20 metres downfield.
When he was brought down on the 22-metre line by Kurtley Beale the All Blacks quickly recycled and Mils Muliaina was sent over in the corner.
Dan Carter converted from the sideline and then went from hero to zero soon after the restart when he lost the ball in a tackle which resulted in David Pocock and Nathan Sharpe sending Beale on a 65 meter run to the line.
As if on cue the Wallabies again struck back after Carter landed the conversion with Matt Giteau adding three points. The All Blacks struck again when they won a penalty which Carter converted to give them a 17-10 lead at halftime.
There was definite change of mood by the All Blacks after halftime as the Wallabies mounted wave after wave of attacks.
The All Blacks put the brakes on their free-for-all running and turned more to fly half Carter to kick them out of trouble as they withstood 30 minutes of pressure before a Carter penalty produced the only points of the second half.

Published in the Daily Telegraph 7th August 2010

Australia 28 New Zealand 49

2010-08-01T19:17:00.000+02:00

Drew Mitchell was sent off for two yellow-card offences as New Zealand cruised to an emphatic seven-try victory over Australia in the first game of the Bledisloe Cup series.

Dan Carter scored 19 points and Mils Muliaina grabbed a brace to help the visitors to a win that was wrapped up well before Mitchell's dismissal.
The All Blacks secured the bonus-point just 36 minutes in after they dominated the restarts and broke through some flimsy Australian defence with a regularity that will alarm Wallabies coach Robbie Deans.
But it was Australia who had the early momentum and they scored the first try of the game through Mitchell after eight minutes when the wing collected his charge down of Carter's kick before accelerating to the try line.
Spurred on by that rare blot to his copybook, Carter then proceeded to charge down Berrick Barnes three minutes later to respond with a converted try of his own. Australia's promising start was then consigned to history when birthday boy Muliania gathered a beautiful cross-kick from Cory Jane to trot over for a simple try.
Wallaby hopes were briefly raised when New Zealand prop Owen Franks was sent to the sin bin for a mistimed charge on Richard Brown, but all this did was make the All Blacks hungrier and they hit back almost immediately with a try by skipper Richie McCaw. Dan Carter's cross kick was collected by Adam Ashley-Cooper but good hustle in defence from Conrad Smith and Joe Rokocoko presented McCaw with a simple chance that he didn't waste.
With half-time approaching, Mitchell was sent off for his first stint away from the action following a no-arms tackle before the All Blacks pounced for their fourth try that involved five pairs of hands and finally ended in Jane steaming past Brown and Genia.
After the break things went from bad to worse for Australia when Mitchell prevented Jane from taking a quick throw. The Waratah's infringement leaving referee Craig Joubert with no choice but to give him a second yellow after repeated warnings for the stuttering Wallabies to stop slowing it down.
Joubert was heard to tell Wallabies' skipper Rocky Elsom "I'm not responsible for how this affects the game because I warned you."
Further scores from Muliaina, Rokocoko and Corey Flynn meant that two tries from Pocock and Ashley-Cooper were pure consolations.
New Zealand are now all but certain to win back the Tri-Nations off South Africa after this victory put them nine points ahead of the Wallabies on 15 in the overall standings.

We appreciate that some people need to know the author/s. So, not too disappoint, this piece was first published in the Daily Telegraph on Saturday 31st July and was written by Nick Pearce.

Australia 30 South Africa 13

2010-07-24T18:09:00.000+02:00

Any hopes South Africa held of salvaging the defence of their Tri-Nations title have been all but extinguished.

After two heavy defeats by New Zealand, the Springboks again found themselves on the wrong end of a 30-point reverse yesterday as Australia opened up their campaign with a bang in Brisbane.
You have to go back to 1971 for the last time a South Africa side defeated Australia in the city and they never looked like breaking that losing streak yesterday.

Aside from a third-quarter revival, which yielded tries by Jaque Fourie and Gurthro Steenkamp, South Africa once again found themselves outplayed and out-thought.
Australia may rue not claiming a four-try bonus point after leading 23-3 early in the second half with the Boks reduced to 14 men for the second time in the match. But their victory will have done much to ease the pressure on coach Robbie Deans after England’s victory in Sydney last month, and lifted their confidence ahead of the visit of the All Blacks to Melbourne on Saturday.
In contrast, with no points from three away games, the Springboks are already dependent on others. On the evidence so far, there will be no way back for Peter De Villiers’ dysfunctional unit.
They will no doubt return to South Africa to face an unforgiving public and media having lost three games in succession for the first time since 2007. But of more concern is that South Africa appear to have completely lost their way with the World Cup in New Zealand just over a year away.
Under the captaincy of John Smit, South Africa have the most player-driven approach in both hemispheres, founded on the Super 14 supremacy of the Blue Bulls. But after three all-conquering years, that approach appears to be floundering.
Smit was brutally honest in assessing his side’s shortcomings. Commenting sharply that his side would have to play some rugby before it would be possible to assess the direction they were heading in, he said: “We’re not on the money really on anything.”
“We’re very realistic, how poor, how average we’ve been in most areas in the last three weeks. We’ll be the first to say that we’ve been poor, the defence has been poor, the breakdown’s been poor.”
A deflated De Villiers, who stoked controversy this week after suggesting that referees had favoured New Zealand in the first two Tests, deflected a question about his fitness to coach South Africa to next year’s World Cup.
“I think you must ask my bosses,” he said.
Australia, who in contrast appear to be still building a side for the World Cup, were able to blow away the final remnants of the Springboks’ aura with ease.
Discipline was again a major problem for the Springboks, with Fourie sent to the sin-bin as early as the third minute for a dangerous tackle on Australia No 8 Richard Brown and BJ Botha also shown a yellow card early in the second half for deliberately killing the ball.
The sanctions had little impact on the result, for Australia were able only to land three points via one of Matt Giteau’s four penalties while they held a numerical advantage.
The victory for Australia, who themselves lost Quade Cooper to the sin-bin for a dangerous tackle while Botha was off, instead had its roots in the home side’s high tempo, off-loading and ability to exploit an increasingly malfunctioning Springbok defensive system.
There were encouraging Springbok performances from Ryan Kankowski and Danie Rossouw but Australia possessed all the game-breakers. Rockie Elsom was immense, while David Pocock owned the breakdown, with one all-enveloping tackle preventing a first-half try by Bryan Habana.
With Cooper pulling the strings, Giteau looking back to his line-breaking best and Drew Mitchell and James O’Connor full of incisive pace and running on the wings, Australia’s ability to play to the wide channels and quickly recycle the ball exposed the Springboks’ defensive vulnerabilities.
Four penalties and a try by Mitchell had put Australia 17-3 in front at the interval and they turned the screw soon after the restart with Giteau landing his fifth penalty and O’Connor stretching the lead to 20 points with a penalty after a snaking break by Mitchell.
Fourie made up for his first-half indiscretion by showing great upper-body strength after the hint of a dummy to crash over from a tapped penalty while Cooper was off, and a well-worked line-out move culminated in a try for Steenkamp.
But Genia marked his return from injury by landing the killer blow with a step around Flip van der Merwe before diving inside Schalk Burger.

New Zealand 31-17 South Africa

2010-07-18T21:19:00.000+02:00

New Zealand broke South Africa's grip on the Tri-Nations rugby title when they beat the defending tournament and world champions 31-17.

These are worrying times for South Africa. The defending Tri-Nations champions have now been laid to waste on successive Saturdays by a New Zealand side whose only concern must be that they are once again peaking too soon in the World Cup cycle.

South Africa have much more immediate concerns to attend to. Their Tri-Nations campaign already looks dead in the water after failing to even pick up losing bonus points during the heavy defeats in Auckland and again in Wellington.

With New Zealand managed to repeat the four-try haul from their opening victory, with touchdowns by Ma’a Nonu, Mils Muliaina, Rene Ranger and Israel Dagg, Graham Henry’s side deservedly find themselves at the top of the table with a maximum return of 10 points and a positive point differential of 34 points.
While South Africa’s set piece was much improved from the first Test and the visitors managed two tries of their own, by Dannie Rossouw and Schalk Burger, this defeat will only add momentum to the growing school of thought that Peter de Villiers’ team is a side on the wane.
De Villiers may have had the luxury of fielding the most capped side in Springbok history, but it looked a mere shadow of the unit that edged out the British and Irish Lions in that gladiatorial showdown last summer.
John Smit remains the outstanding leader in South Africa, but if Bismarck du Plessis had not been sidelined for the entire tournament with a neck injury, the Springbok captain would now find his position under severe threat.
If South Africa’s scrummaging was more aggressive, de Villiers will have been alarmed about his side’s lack of physical intensity at the breakdown and in their failure to jump start their once-vaunted mauling game.
And while the All Blacks for the second weekend in succession looked sharp, precise and fearless in attacking the wide channels, South Africa in contrast often looked static in both attack and defence.
Yet it would be unwise to condemn this Springbok side to the scrapheap and it will be fascinating to see if de Villiers, in what is the biggest test of his controversial tenure, can resist the urge and the outside pressure to do so.
With just over a year to go until the Springboks begin the defence the World Cup in New Zealand, there is little time for a complete overhaul. History has proven that aside from 1995, vast experience has been the common factor in determining the victors.
While Rickie Januarie is a talented footballer and tireless worker, but he is no Fourie du Preez. It is du Preez, the Blue Bulls scrum-half currently sidelined for six months with a shoulder injury, who has made this Springbok side tick for the last three years. He instinctively knows when to put the big men into space, knows when to kick, when to break. Without him, South Africa have lost their fluidity and menace.
The Springboks lack of discipline has also cost them dearly. Just as in Auckland, the visitors yesterday found themselves playing with 14 men during the first half when Danie Rossouw, the replacement for the suspended Bakkies Botha, was sent to the sin bin as early as the fourth minute for a needless scuffle with Richie McCaw.
If the sanction was tough on Rossouw, the All Blacks took full advantage, running in tries by Nonu and Muliaina in his absence. McCaw had been lucky to stay on the pitch himself during the second half when cautioned for conceding a string of penalties by Irish referee Alain Rolland after South Africa had clawed their way back to 13-10.
But such are the fine margins at this level. After McCaw had pinched the ball to disrupt a Springbok attack following Ranger’s touchdown on his debut, the All Blacks killed off the contest through the individual brilliance of Israel Dagg, who goose-stepped his way past Pierre Spies, Schalk Burger and Jacque Fourie for a sensational touch down.
Burger’s late try was of no consequence and for the Springboks there is little time to bind their wounds. Australia await in Brisbane next Saturday, a venue where the Springboks’ record offers little comfort.

New Zealand 32-12 South Africa

2010-07-10T13:18:00.000+02:00

New Zealand turned the tables on champions South Africa with a superb victory in the opening match of the Tri-Nations at Eden Park.

Tries from Conrad Smith, Ma'a Nonu, Kieran Read and Tony Woodcock helped the All Blacks avoid a fourth loss to the world champions in a year.
South Africa's points came from the boot of Morne Steyn in what was a lacklustre performance from them.
Bakkies Botha was sin-binned for slowing play early in match.
That happened in the 11th minute which led to Dan Carter kicking the first of his 12 points for New Zealand.
However, Botha, nicknamed "The Enforcer", was lucky to escape punishment as early as the second minute when he followed up his tackle on Jimmy Cowan by headbutting the back of his opponent's head.
Prior to Botha's yellow, the Springboks appeared to have settled quickly into their routine with Steyn putting three points on the board with an early penalty after Carter had missed an early attempt.
But Carter made no mistake when presented with a chance to level the score after the visitors were reduced to 14 men.
The All Blacks then took full advantage of the situation. Full-back Muliaina, who dictated New Zealand's attack, picked up a poor kick from Januarie and advanced 30 metres with a superb run through the defence.
He found the supporting Richie McCaw who delayed his pass perfectly for Smith who went over in the corner. Carter converted to give the home side a 10-3 lead.
A further penalty from Canterbury and Crusaders player followed before Nonu piled more misery on the Springboks.
Nonu's grubber was poorly executed but bounced back in his path and he offloaded to speed-merchant Joe Rokocoko, who took up the running on the left.
Rokocoko then came inside before finding centre Nonu who powered over.
Carter's conversion put his side 20-3 ahead at the hooter and the Springboks were left scratching their heads.
But after the interval, the world champions and defending Tri-Nations champions pegged the All Blacks back.
Two penalties from the boot of Steyn in six minutes, with the second bringing up his 200th point for the Springboks, heaped pressure on New Zealand and it appeared that a fightback was on the cards.
But the All Blacks were determined to avoid a fourth defeat to South Africa in a year and their first loss at Eden Park since 1994.
Lock Tom Donnelly managed to get behind the advantage line before Muliaina found 6ft 4in number eight Read who brushed off the challenge of Ricky Januarie for his second Test try.
Carter made it 27-9 before Steyn kicked his fourth penalty to reduce the deficit.
But the fact that South Africa's points came from the boot told the story of their stilted performance, which saw the forwards second best in the ruck and lineout, and the backs lacking zest.
The final say went to loosehead prop Tony Woodcock, who defended stoutly and then received just reward when he surged over from a metre out.

Saturday's Elite Matches Review

2010-07-04T18:32:00.005+02:00

Exiles first team, although missing a few regulars and introducing a number of junior players in the second half, ran up 95 - 7 scoreline against a poor Goteborg side. The hosts were able to round off the first half of the season with a fine display of attacking rugby and apart from a score that was conceded following a schoolboy error by a senior player, a near faultless display leaves the Exiles looking good come the next round of matches. As for the visitors? some serious thought and hard work needs to be applied in order for them to avoid the drop.

Enkoping got back on track again with a fine win over a traveling Pingvin by 39-7. Not much difference in the scoreline when the two teams met on the opening day of the season. However from ERK's point of view a welcome two points after dropping 3 points in the preceding two matches. The now sit tucked in just behind the leaders and could well make a big impact after the break. Pingvin are improving and have started to play with some style as well as an improved attitude to away matches. They could spring one or two surprises in the autumn.

Finally what was probably the toughest match of the round. Hammarby visiting Spartacus with an air of confidence which come from sitting at the top of the table. This was not going to be a game for the faint hearted and from the whistle both sides played hard aggressive rugby, with no quarter asked and none given. Hammarby appeared to have more options in the backs and tried to use them on a number of occasions only to be thwarted by a resolute defence. At half time the score was 10-5 to Spartacus and an upset looked on the cards. But with some fortitude Hammarby managed two more scores in the second half winning 10-15.

Hammarby look to be favourites for the title, whilst Spartacus appear to be improving with every match and could yet spring a few surprises in the second half of the season.

Team                M W D L PF   PA Points
Hammarby         5 5 0 0 195 43       10
Enkoping             6 4 1 1 184 83         9
Stockholm Exiles   6 4 0 2 286 61         8
Spartacus            5 1   1 3 61 72        3
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Pingvin                6 1   0 5 50 243        2
Goteborg             6 1   0 5   56 330        2

Saturday Preview

2010-07-02T18:06:00.000+02:00

The Men's Elite Series take a summer break after Saturday, for some this will come as a welcome relief. For others maybe an unwanted respite.

Pick of the matches will probably be Hammarby visiting Spartacus. With the visitors sitting proudly at the top of the table, undefeated and with the notable scalps of Erk and Stockholm Exiles, Hammarby must be favourites to claim another victory. Spartacus will have other ideas of course. With a vast improvement in their play this season, they are proving hard to beat. This could also be the day when they finally field their strongest team and with Jonas Ahl guiding them, they could spring an upset. However, we go for an away win.

Next up ERK entertain Pingvin. This should be a home win and ERK should complete the first double of their season. Although Pingvin are playing well and with spirit as their last game showed, we feel that ERK will want to get the show back on the road and will take the points in what could be quite an entertaining match.

Finally Goteborg make the long trek north to face Exiles. Currently bottom of the table and after suffering a painful defeat at home to Pingvin in their last match, GRF are going to play out of their skins to get anything from this game and that will only happen if the hosts allow that to happen. We seriously doubt that occurring and take Exiles to record a resounding victory.

Saturday Elite Report

2010-06-20T18:35:00.000+02:00

With the top game in the Elite, Enkoping welcomed Hammarby for what could be the decisive match of the series. ERK were wanting to make up for their previous result and with a more all round game, expected to win. However Hammarby were not there to make up the numbers and with what might seem to some, a more limited game, but one that has proved highly effective this season, they were determined to put their mark on the game. So an interesting match up in prospect and that is how it tuned out, providing the watching spectators with a feast of good rugby which, eventually went the way of the visitors, who now sit proudly on top of the league. Result 17-22

Stockholm Exiles made the long journey west to meet Spartacus. In what was a bruising encounter, the visitors took the game to the home team, what they probably did not expect was the ferocity of the tackling and the defensive organization in front of them. Apparently every time a player in black got the ball, he also got a hard tackle to go with it and was knocked backwards. Eventually the visitors resorted to a kicking game and from a fortuitous bounce scored the only try of the game just before half time. Evidently the second half was a similar story, with Exiles eventually running out winners by 0-14.

Goteborg took on Pintvin in the bottom of the table clash. Both sides had their strongest sides out and both were desperate for the win. The visitors were the more composed side and played to their game plan very effectively. Attacking well and ensuring that their defense was up to the task. GRF unfortunately could not handle the pressure and collapsed to a 0-23 loss. This leaves them bottom of the table with Pingvin leap frogging them.

Some interesting results this weekend, with Spartacus appearing to be closing the gap on the Northern teams, it should be a good match to be at when they take on reigning leaders Hammarby in two weeks time. Goteborg travel to Exiles and Pingvin make the long trek to Enkoping.

Elite series match round up.

2010-06-06T17:19:00.000+02:00

Exiles welcomed Pingvin’s traveling squad of players for their fourth match of the series. However it was not going to be a good day for Pingvin as the Exiles quickly got into their stride and crossed the whitewash twice within the first five minutes to lead 14-0. There then followed a period of stability which was finally broken when Exiles again went over the line to add to their score. From then on it was almost all one way traffic with the home side launching attack after attack. With some resolute defending Pingvin managed to hold out for a while and even created some attacks. However it was not to last and they then conceded another handful of scores to leave them trailing 52-0 at halftime.
The second half saw Exiles starting half asleep, until they were galvanised back into action by the first of a hat trick of tries after 14 minutes and the half then started to resemble the first. Attack followed attack and more tries were added as Exiles ran amok. At the final whistle a relieved Pingvin managed to keep the score under 100 losing by 95-0.
It appears that Stockholm Exiles are now getting into their stride, but Pingvin could be in trouble this season.

Hammarby were the host to Goteborg and set about the visitors from the kick off. It soon became obvious that GRF were not going to be able to offer much, which is sad considering that two years ago, they were more than a match for the home side. However they were not going to trouble Hammarby on a fine day for rugby and went home after receiving a 81-3 loss. Hammarby are certainly going in the right direction and will be a tough team to beat with their game improving match upon match. Goteborg have quite a bit of work to do to become a rugby force again.

Partille was the latest stopover for Enkoping in their quest to retain their title. A match that was expected to be a formality for them was anything but that, as they found out when it became apparent that Spartacus were not going to roll over, instead they were going to battle for every ball. So began a game of attrition, with the home side giving as good as they got. Enkoping were soon into their stride and with a host of talent in their ranks appeared confident, but Spartacus had a defence that did not take a backward step and managed to turn over the ball on a number of occasions. Eventually though, ERK put together a move which enabled their fullback to score under the posts. Shortly after a yellow card was shown to one of the home side players and for the rest of the half they were down to 14 men. Enkoping could not make their player superiority count and the half time score was 0-7.
With numbers even at the start of the second half, the match continued in a similar vein as the first half for the first ten minutes and then with Spartacus starting to apply more pressure they began to create chances of their own, this eventually led to a well worked try under the posts, leveling the scores. Enkoping were stung by that and came back at the home side and from a set piece worked a well constructed try, with the extra points added they were now leading 7-14. Spartacus came back at the visitors and started to gain considerable ground and once again this led to a try in the corner, which was converted. For the last few minutes the game could have been won by either side but a draw 14-14 ,was probably a fair result.

Turn of the Tide?

2010-05-23T19:51:00.000+02:00

So, following the results of Saturday in the Men's Elite Series, there are some interesting questions arising from the matches that took place.

Hammarby duly completed a demolition job on a traveling Pingvin, who despite taking a full squad in terms of numbers, could not trouble the scoreboard. Whilst the hosts continues on the merry way with yet another win and look to be a formidable squad this season. With this 56-0 win under the belt, the questions regarding Hammarby, are they the real deal? can they maintain this run and ultimately gain gold ? Time will obviously tell, but not a bad start. With Pingvin, there really is only one question at this early stage, can they survive the drop this season?

Enkoping carried on with their winning ways against Exiles at their home fortress. With Exiles removing the captaincy from the enigmatic and inspirational leader of last year and handing it to one of the newcomers from the Southern Hemisphere, there is word that all may not be well in the visitors camp. However Exiles managed to run ERK close and indeed had the lead for a while. However some individual brilliance and a well worked move saw two fine tries by the home side, which enabled them to record yet another win against Exiles by 20-16. Our questions regarding Enkoping are, can they improve as the season progresses and can they hold off a resurgent Hammarby? As for Exiles, is the tide turning against them, despite the imports ?

Goteborg managed a first win of the season at home by a very narrow margin. Fielding their strongest side, they managed to come from behind to record a 15-12 win. We understand that the referee had a very poor game and appeared to be biased against the visitors. However as we were not at the match, (we can only post the information supplied to us) this is difficult to put into perspective. Despite being continually penalised Spartacus managed to take the lead with a well worked try, even though they were missing at least 5 of their more senior players through injury. In the 45th minute GRF managed to score a try, bringing them back ino the game. The second half was much the same as the first, with the visitors being guilty of offences that apparently were strange to say the least. Eventually GRF managed to score again with a try and conversion. This was eventually added to by a penalty and the home side looked safe. Spartacus came back at them in the last few minutes and once again scored a try to close the gap, but too late as the referee blew for time. An interesting side note to this game. Apparently GRF played a player who was not cleared to play, despite their coaches being informed of this. If this is true? It's ironic that this is the club, who are always quoting the rules to others, but choose to ignore them when it suits. Questions here for GRF, can they carry on winning? or have they achieved their goal for this year? For Spartacus, can they come back from this setback and finish in a play off position?

Let's hope the next round has some great rugby, without any controversies.

Round 3

2010-05-21T20:24:00.000+02:00

Another interesting weekend of matches coming up in the Elite series this weekend. With a local derby in the west and a couple of tough games up north.

First up must be the derby between GRF and Spartacus. Obviously there will be some special match up's in this game and presumably some players out to prove a point or two. So a firm but sympathetic referee will be needed for this one. With Spartacus determined to keep their club moving forward they still remain underdogs, in our view, but we feel they will overcome their adversaries.

Hammarby against Pingvin may turn out to be a good match to watch. Although in the past Pingvin have not been the best of travellers, they turned up with a strong side in their previous away match and played some enterprising rugby. Hammarby will be full of confidence having overcome Exiles last time out and will see this game as an easy win. They could be surprised but we feel that they will run out winners in this battle.

Enkoping welcome Exiles in what could prove to be the tie of the round. Exiles will be simmering following their loss in the previous round and Enkoping will be missing their talismanic captain. This is going to be difficult to predict and with some new faces apparently making their debuts for the visitors, it might just be those players who make the difference. However we are going for a home win on this one, but it could be very close.

Let's hope for some great games and that the spectators are rewarded with some exciting rugby.

Elite Series 2nd Round

2010-05-09T17:12:00.000+02:00

An interesting weekend with all six elite teams competing for the first time this season.

Hammarby faced Exiles and somewhat surprisingly managed to defeat the team that for many are the favourites for gold this year. Exiles had the advantage of playing a couple of weeks earlier and by all reports did not need to field their strongest side to overcome that opposition, perhaps in hindsight that was to prove to be a sorry mistake. With the newly exiled coach from Exiles encouraging Hammarby, was that their second second mistake? Time will tell, but Hammarby will obviously be delighted with the win and it will leave Exiles with some serious deliberations. Result Stockholm Exiles 13, Hammarby 21.

Spartacus made their debut in this season's competition with a home match against Pingvin. The home side were without one or two of their new signings, but despite this managed to overcome the opposition . With a powerful pack and some new additions to their back line they apparently were good value for the win and scored a couple of excellent tries. Against a team that they had not beaten for some considerable time, this will be an encouraging sign for the boys from Partille. From all accounts a good match with Pingvin fielding their strongest available side. Result Spartacus 27, Pingvin 14.

Finally GRF made the long haul to Enkoping for both teams second match this year. Enkoping fielding a side shorn of a lot of their first team stars, still proved to be far too strong for a full strength Goteborg side. Although the away side managed to score some points they were simply overwhelmed by the home side. It seems that it will take a very good side to overcome ERK who when they have their full side out, will take some stopping. Let's hope that the player who suffered a broken leg will recover soon. Result ERK 66, GRF 18.

Things are now warming up nicely in the Elite and we are looking forward to the next round of matches.

Sweden 17 - Croatia 14

2010-05-03T15:11:00.000+02:00

A test match result to be enjoyed and perhaps prove how close the earlier matches had been? Had the fates decided otherwise Sweden, could have been at least mid table if not challenging for the top spot. It has to be noted that prior to this match, Croatia had won 7 matches in a row, which included the scalp of the league champions, Holland. So no mean feat by the boys in blue and yellow.

Sweden took to the park in their brand new kit and looked a determined and professional outfit. Whilst they may have lost the contest in the singing of the national anthems, the Croats singing with much fervour, it was the only time on the day that Sweden were going to be second.
A referee that was officiating in only his second international match got matters under way and within a couple of minutes awarded a scrum to the visitors. However undeterred the Swedish pack met this challenge head on and more than matched the bigger unit and succeeded in winning the first engagement. This resulted in Sweden dominating the first ten minutes and after being awarded a penalty, which was successfully kicked, the home side took the game to the opposition. With some incisive running from the back row and the backs Sweden worked a position where a sublime crossfield kick from the Swedish captain saw the whitewash crossed for the first time and with the extra points added, it meant that the home side were 10-0 up.
Croatia, although losing some key players through injuries, (such was the intensity of the tackles), upped their game, began to attack the fringes and started to make inroads into the home sides territory. Eventually earning them a penalty, which thankfully from the home side supporters view was missed. This did not deter them however and with continued pressure they forced the ball over the line and made the conversion. With the pressure mounting, a brave take under a high ball allowed the Swedish full back to take the ball into touch and the referee blew for half time, with the score at 10-7
The opening salvo of the second half was dominated by the away team and it took some time for the home team to settle into their game plan, however this they did and the game became a tense and hard fought contest. So hard in fact that after a try saving tackle, (where did he come from?) the Swedish hooker had to go off with a severe injury to his shoulder. As luck would have it, his replacement after a short period of play, injured his shoulder and was also replaced. During his time on the field Sweden were awarded another penalty, which was unsuccessful. Following a kick downfield by the visitors, the catching full back went on a dazzling run to evade some desperate and bemused opposition players. This was supported by the backs and back row players which led to a tremendous try, lifting not only the team, but the crowd and one could almost see a smile on the faces of the Swedish coaches. The full back converted the score and Sweden were now back in the driving seat.
All credit to the Croatian side they kept playing and applying pressure which eventually led to the referee awarding a penalty try for a shoulder barge against the opposition winger, by the home side's fullback. They also kicked the conversion and brought the score back to 17-14 with about 1 minute to play. It was probably one of the longest minutes that the Swede's had to contend with, but eventually they manged to turn the ball over and were awarded a penalty, which they kicked to touch and that resulted in the final whistle being blown. A hard fought win and much relief was evident throughout the ground.

Squad for Croatia

2010-04-25T12:58:00.000+02:00

Looks like Mike Tatu has decided to keep faith with the players from the last squad, except for one major surprise and a further change in the pack. Magnus Macdonald makes way for a returning Robert Tibell with Daniel Legge called up from the home reserves in place of Eric Lundquist.

Matthias Thor Hard Hammarby

Matt Youngman Enkoping

Robert Tibell Enkoping

Viktor Pettersson Enkoping

Daniel Legge Cambridge

Ivar Bengtsson Hammarby

Andrew Daish Nuneaton

Sebastian Taylor Old Haberdashers

Lee Sandberg North Walsham

Tim Johansson Enkoping

Bobby Nave Enkoping

Alex Taylor (Captain) Nuneaton

Paul Sullivan Stockholm Exiles

Tobias Borg Enkoping

Ian Gowland Stockholm Exiles

Richard Johansson Hammarby

Richard Örnberg Vanersborg

Stefan Obradovic Atilla

Thomas Ardvisson Bordeaux

Ricky Opuko Enkoping

Jim Wetterström Enkoping

Peter Wiklund Vanersborg

After all the trials and tribulations of Latvia, lets hope for a win against Croatia in Enkoping next Saturday.

Off and Running

2010-04-25T12:40:00.000+02:00

Yesterday saw the start of the Men's Elite Series and after all the debate, the big two declared their intentions.

Stockholm Exiles took a depleted squad to GRF and comprehensively demolished the home side even with their reported 4 imports. By all accounts the score would have been a great deal more, had it not been for some strange refereeing decisions. But winning 53-13 would have given the visitors plenty to smile about. GRF on the other hand will need to have some hard training sessions over the next two weeks, as they face Enkoping away in their next match and that may prove to be even tougher.

Enkoping made the long trip to Trelleborg to face Pingvin and despite leaving some of their celebrated stars at home, they still managed to rack up another convincing win 6-28. Ominous signs for some of the other contenders in the Elite as ERK prevented the opposition from crossing the whitewash. Two penalties being the home sides only reward. The visiting coach was probably annoyed about that as well?

The other match in the series was postponed as Hammarby had no suitable pitch available to take on Spartacus. So we will have to look at those two teams in the next round.

Elsewhere in Division 1, what could prove to be the deciding match of that series, (although no doubt some of the other clubs will argue their case) Vanerborg entertained Attila. This was always going to be a fierce contest and as such a strict referee was brought in to control the proceedings. Despite their young age and with all home grown talent taking the field, Vanersborg gave the visitors, who included a few imports, a tough game, which was entertaining as well. However, according to reports, lack of discipline cost them the game, which eventually went to the visitors 22-23.

We cannot wait for the next round of matches, let's hope for some good rugby.

Latvia 31 Sweden 27

2010-04-20T18:59:00.000+02:00

We thought that we would let the dust settle, not the volcanic type, but the fallout from a disappointing loss away under exceptional circumstances. Before reporting on the trip and match.

It was important to get the facts and we have done that by contacting a member of the management staff and some players.

Facts are as follows,

1. Two players pulled out at the beginning of the week due to exams and an injury which led to replacements from the home reserves being called up.

2. The air space around Skavasta was closed minutes before the the players were due to board the plane.
3. Following a dramatic dash to Stockholm the players managed to board a boat to Riga.
4. The air space around the UK was not closed until Thursday, again just before the flights were due to be boarded. The English players rebooked for Friday morning and looked at alternative ways of getting to Riga. Unfortunately they had to admit defeat on Friday.
5. The management and certain Board members attempted to get extra players from Sweden on Friday's boat to Riga. Unfortunately only one player could make it.

So Sweden took the pitch with a squad of 19 players rather than the 22 permitted and although fired up and playing well, a turnover on the half way line saw the Latvian's winger race away to score a try that was successfully converted. This did not deter Sweden and they came back to score a fine try, with the extra points that brought the score to 7-7. There then followed a penalty to the Swedes allowing them to take the lead only for the home side to force the way over the line from a series of pick and go's. Once again the visitors came back and scored a dazzling try to once again force their way in front. Despite some missed penalties, Sweden led 12-15 at half time.
The start of the second half saw another turnover benefiting the Latvian's in front, a position that they were going to maintain for the rest of the match. With two more missed penalties, Sweden were unable to reduce the score before Latvia scored again giving them a lead of 26-15. Some good fortune eventually came their way and Sweden eventually scored out wide . However some more close quarter play allowed the Latvians back in for yet another score.There then followed a period of intense pressure which resulted in a superb try by the captain, this being converted reduced the deficit to 4 points. Despite the amount of pressure and even with two men off the park, (1 injured in the last minute and 1 very harsh sin bin) Sweden kept pushing and had one pass stuck, when the player was in the clear...who knows.
A pretty good performance from most of the players on the pitch, let us hope that Sweden get some good fortune for the next game.

Men's National Squad for Latvia

2010-04-10T18:31:00.000+02:00

Following on from the successful win against the Danes last weekend, the squad to take on Latvia in Riga on the 17th April has just been released. There are some interesting changes, with one or two surprise omissions and inclusions. Dominated by players from Enkoping as expected, with the Northern clubs and the overseas players making up the majority of the squad. It's a surprise to see two players from Vanersborg and none from either Pingvin, Spartacus and Gothenborg. Although Spartacus do have two excellent players on the reserve list.We trust the decisions made by the FK will prove to be the correct one.

Alex Taylor (captain)	Nuneaton
Andrew Daish	Nuneaton
Lee Sandberg	North Walsham
Magnus MacDonald	London Scottish
Sebastian Taylor	Old Haberdashers
Matt Youngman	Enkoping
Bobby Nave	Enkoping
Viktor Pettersson	Enkoping
Tobias Borg	Enkoping
Eric Trogen	Enkoping
Ricky Opku	Enkoping
Eiric Lundqvist	Enkoping
Jim Wetterstrom	Enkoping
Tim Johansson	Enkoping
Mattias Thorhard	Hammarby
Hannes Ericsson	Hammarby
Rikard Johansson	Hammarby
Paul Sullivan	Stockholm Exiles
Ian Gowland	Stockholm Exiles
Thomas Ardvisson	Helsingborg
Rikard Ornberg	Vanersborg
Peter Wiklund	Vanersborg

Home Reserves

Paul Mathews	Spartacus
Jan Olof Johansson	Spartacus
Stefan Obradivic	Attila
Daniel Legge	Cambridge
Ivar Bengtsson	Hammarby
Linus Hector	Vanersborg

With some very good players left at home, there must be strong rationale behind the decision not to take them. The best of luck to the players and we look forward to a positive result.

Positive Result 15-37

2010-04-05T19:48:00.000+02:00

With the news that Sweden's men managed to reverse the loss they suffered against Denmark last year, this was indeed a positive result, writes our reporter from Copenhagen.
The match was played under inclement weather and with the amount of rain increasing it was not a day for expansive rugby. However with the starting line up there was more than enough talent to ensure that if Sweden performed the basics well, they would win the game handsomely. Yet although they took the lead very early, some poor defending and indiscipline allowed the Danes to close the gap. There were some encouraging signs in both the scrummaging and line out operations. Was this due to the inclusion of a new hooker?
Sweden were always leading and managed to dominate most of the set pieces in the first half, yet there were far too many mistakes in defence and attack. With poor decision making allowing the Danes to close the lead to just 3 points at half time.
There were no changes made at the beginning of the second half and once again Sweden started brightly and within minutes had scored and looked as if they would start to get some cohesion in their game to. Alas, this was not to be, and even against what was basically a poor team, the mistakes continued to flow. Unfortunately once changes were made to the pack even that source of dominance dried up and the pack at times were driven backwards, in the scrum.
The Danes started to make numerous changes as did the Swedes and the match disintegrated even more. Probably not helped by a referee, who clearly, was not good enough to officiate an international match, albeit a friendly. However he was not the reason for what was a poor team performance against a poor side.
The positives were a few reasonable individual performance, another win and the set piece looked good at times. Will it be as effective against the bigger packs from Latvia and Croatia? We can only hope so, as in our opinion they will prove to be a much sterner test than this was. Perhaps this was a blessing in disguise.
What of the players who were given a last chance to prove themselves, who were they and did they stand out and justify their inclusion? We wait to see what the FK decides with interest, who with all the hard work that he is putting in deserves the success that he merits.

Easter Trials

2010-03-31T23:31:00.001+02:00

With the Women going to Amsterdam on Wednesday, to play Holland in two matches over the weekend and the Men leaving on Thursday for Copenhagen to play Denmark, this should be an interesting perod for the two Senior squads in Sweden.
There must be some confidence flowing through the Women's squad as they are taking on a side that failed to make the World Cup. However Holland did beat Sweden in two games prior to last years EM and will have had some time to have adjusted to their disappointment. They are also in there playing season unlike the Swedes, so this could be a much harder test for the Ladies than anticipated. We do feel that Jonas and his team will be aware of this and will ensure that the squad is well prepared, both mentally and physically, for these matches.

Then there is the Senior Men's outing. This should prove to be a welcome sign that things are continuing to improve in the progress that they have made under the steadying influence of Mike Tatu. A reasonably strong squad has been selected to go, with some top players sitting at home on the reserve list. With some players being given a last chance to impress the selectors. With competition in most positions now this is surely a blessing for the coaching staff. Following their win against Catalonia, the confidence in the squad must be improving, and guided on the pitch by a new captain, somebody who has been around the block a few times and has the respect of the management and players, we expect that the Men will improve on their performance in Spain and produce a very satisfactory result.

Good luck to both squads this coming weekend.

Sense and Sensibility

2010-03-28T14:59:00.000+02:00

Word reaches us that the Union's annual general meeting typified the last few years stewardship. Unprofessional and a bit of a mess. As we were not present we can only present the information as given to us.
Despite what appeared to be an attempt to sabotage a straightforward vote, by some people from the north with a late proposal by them for Chairman. Sanity prevailed and Stina Leijonhufvud was elected Chairwoman. The first woman to hold that post in the SRF.
There were other nominations for election to the Board, one of which was Neil Johnson. Again sense prevailed and he failed to get elected. Probably a blessing in disguise?
After Lunch. there was a discussion regarding various topics, culminating in a presentation by the President of the Swedish Aussie Rules game. Quite how that was allowed to happen at an AGM takes us back to our correspondents first comment.
We wish Stina and all her colleagues on the board the best for the next year and we look forward to watching the game develop under their management.

Changing of the Guard

2010-03-24T22:30:00.000+01:00

Out with the old and in with the new, it's a bit like the end of the year at the top of the tree for the Swedish Rugby Union. This weekend in Goteborg, the Annual General Meeting of the Swedish Rugby Union takes place and the departure of the 2 men who have been overseeing the show for the last few years. Some might have the view that it is about time that they left, because they appeared to think that it was their own personal fiefdom, to do with as they wished. We of course cannot offer an opinion on that, but others may do.
What we can offer is a view on the proposed new Chairperson, Stina Leijonhufvud, some one who we have featured in the past on one of our posts. We believe that this is a positive step forward for the Union and can only applaud the nomination. To our minds, Stina is a Fan of the game and will be equitable in her dealings with all people, but especially with the Men's and Women's sides. We do not believe that she will favour either sex and will do her utmost to promote both. Her attitudes to all the Clubs will also be without bias. Those who have doubts will have to wait and see, but we believe they will be pleasantly surprised.
This is another positive step forward for Swedish Rugby and cannot have come at a better time. With the Women's World Cup later in the year, this appointment will help showcase the game in Sweden and Europe.

A Refreshing Change

2010-03-19T12:20:00.000+01:00

Well we have finally returned from two glorious weeks in the sun, which may seem a bit selfish, however we do feel that we had earned it. You know it's not easy keeping up a job in the city, corresponding with our friends in Sweden, writing and editing this blog.

So what's been happening whilst we have been away?

New logo for the Union website, looks really good. Hats off to Stina, great stuff!

We understand that the Women had a really enjoyable time, and a successful training camp under the guiding hands of Jonas Ahl. At Easter they are off to Holland to play a friendly. That could prove to be a good marker for the squad, so we wish them well.

Then there was the Hakes Cup at Vaxjo. Some decent rugby played with Enkoping retaining the Men's title and Malmo winning the Women's competition. Well done to both clubs.

Finally the Men had another hard training camp in Enkoping. There were more players invited to this camp and from all accounts it was very well run. The introduction of Sports Psychology was warmly welcomed by everyone concerned, including J J Zander, who was in attendance on the Saturday, to show the commitment of the Board to the squad.
The squad to play a friendly against Denmark in Copenhagen on the 4th April has been announced and is published on the Union website. There are a few surprises, no players from Goteborg, Pingvin or Spartacus, maybe that reflects on their performances last year, but overall the selection looks strong. With the home reserves containing some very good players, it will be interesting to see the final selection for the vital matches against Latvia and Croatia. We certainly do not envy the coaching team and ultimately the FK, there is a lot of competition for places which is obviously going to make the job difficult.
Overall, things are looking good for Swedish rugby.

Six Nations Review.

2010-02-28T17:15:00.000+01:00

What a feast of Rugby we had this weekend! Great movement, brilliant running lines, superb continuity all the things that you would expect to happen this weekend. Believe it or not it did! Unfortunately not in the Six Nations, but in the Southern Hemisphere.
Having settled down on Friday, with a fine bottle of claret, we were expecting a tremendous match between Wales and France and to be fair, there were some exciting passages of play, but they were few and far between. From our viewpoint France once they intercepted a poor pass and took the lead were always going to win the game and at half time looked as if they were going to run away with it. However Wales did come back at the French in the second half and visions of a revival similar to that against the Scots looked on the cards for a 10 minute period. Then the French regained their composure and despite another late score by Wales, France kept their 100 % record this year winning 20-26.
Italy beat Scotland yet again 16-12 and Ireland secured an away win against England 16-20. Both games were very disappointing, maybe not to the winning team's fans, but certainly for rugby supporters worldwide. Italy have very limited playing resources and can therefore be excused to some extent. Ireland have what appears to be a team that is going backwards. Scotland are very poor. The biggest condemnation must be for England. They are rudderless and have no idea. Martin Johnson was a great player but as the Head Coach he is fast becoming a joke. The selection of Steve Borthwick is pathetic, to make him captain, well that's bordering on insanity. The backs coach has been a dismal failure! All in all a very disappointing weekend of NH rugby. Let's hope for a lot better in the next round of matches.

Jumping Ship?

2010-02-19T14:22:00.000+01:00

Well, this is interesting, at least to us. No sooner had we been informed of Paul Mathews departure from GRF, we have been told of two more players taking the same route, Will Brown and Alan Letele, with perhaps one or two others joining them. Now, to be fair, this has not been confirmed, but if it is true, one starts to wonder, what is going on at GRF? We know that they have recruited Ian Caple from Spartacus as a coach he was the inspiration behind Spartacus beating GRF twice last season, or so he told everyone, the question is, will he have any players left to benefit from his vast knowledge and experience? We believe that if this trend continues GRF will be struggling big time this season as they were last year but without some of their best players to rescue them this time. Of course, they have Neil Johnson coaching as well as Ian and we think that the two of them will complement each other, but will it work?

Latest and Interesting Scoop!

2010-02-19T14:02:00.000+01:00

TrueSwedenRugby has been given a scoop regarding one of Sweden's top Player's.
Current International Paul Mathews has decided to change clubs and leave GRF for Spartacus. This is obviously good news for his new club as that will help them to develop their backline. It is a disaster for GRF as Paul was not only an inspirational Captain and player for them, it could also be argued that his performances were the only reason that they escaped the ignominy of relegation last season.
Although we have pressed him to the reasons why he was leaving, he has decided to keep that to himself for the time being, like any true gentleman, we suppose.
He was forthcoming on why he chose Spartacus though. "Even though I was made some very generous offers by other clubs throughout the country. I wanted to join a club that had potential, was run properly, had some good coaches and one where I could help them to develop. I want to feel the atmosphere of a Rugby Club and to start enjoying the game again. Spartacus, in my view offers me that." Although Paul is currently enjoying a rest in New Zealand, he assures us that he will be fit to play on his return.
Things seem to be looking up for Spartacus, we will be following their progress with interest this season.

Better Late than Never

2010-02-19T13:42:00.000+01:00

First of all, we must apologise for the late report on the Catalonia match. But some of us find it difficult to type with one hand, especially if it's not the one you are used to writing with. Enough sympathy, on with the report.
The game kicked off at a cracking pace and the experimental Sweden team were soon into their stride. With Tobias Borg's pace being complimented by the speed of thought and direction from Ian Gowland, playing Fullback, this was to prove a serious threat from the backline. Alex Taylor was in commanding form and was well supported by Paul Sullivan and Thomas Ardvisson, all of which instilled confidence throughout the team and for the first twenty minutes, apart from some misdirected kicks, there appeared to be only one team in the game. The forwards were sticking to the game plan and playing simple but effective rugby. Tries for Tim Johansson, Ian Gowland and Tobias Borg with one successful penalty, gave a scoreline of 0-18 after 17 minutes on the clock. However the coaches were aware that Catalonia were not going to lie down, sure enough they came back at the Swedish Team and scored a pushover try from a rumbling maul.
It was inevitable that the visitors would start to fade as the majority of the squad had not played any rugby for almost 5 months. This became more apparent as the game progressed, with the Swedish forwards fighting hard at every set piece to maintain some pressure. Although the home side were gaining the upper hand, especially in the second half, there was a tremendous spirit within the squad and with some well executed replacements being made by Mike Tatu, the Swedes were managing to repel the most of the constant waves of attacks, and they occasionally made their own forays into the opposition 22. With the Catalans closing the scores to 17-18, Sweden were awarded a penalty. Playing a captains role, Alex Taylor stepped up and with a casual glance, slotted the ball between the posts. This gave the side a bit of breathing space and despite the pressure in the last 5 minutes, they held out for a vital and deserved win.
The training camp was a complete success, it was well organised and the players were more than happy with the schedule. The coaches got the opportunity to look at new faces and see how they performed under pressure.
We have been told that there is a further camp in March, where the coaches will be looking at other players before making their selection for the friendly against Denmark in early April.
Looks like that National Squad is moving forward and that can only be a good thing for Swedish Rugby!

Gathering Pace

2010-02-08T23:11:00.001+01:00

It's nice to report some good, and to our mind very positive news regarding Swedish rugby.
We have been informed of the growing communication and co-operation between the managerial staff of both the Men's and Women's National squads. This can only be to the benefit of all concerned, with exchanges of ideas and plans especially between the FK's. This is a most welcome development and long may it continue.
Regarding the Men's squad to Spain, the only change to the published personnel that we have been informed of is Erik Lundquist has been called up for Victor Pettersson. Evidently Victor broke a finger at the January training camp and it has not healed in time. With previous experience of playing for the National squad, we feel sure that calling in Erik is a good move.
With the improvements being made to the National squad in terms of fitness, planning, and leadership, it looks like they are gathering pace and could well be on the way to having Sweden's best ever squad.
Good Luck to them in Spain, let's hope that they have a fantastic camp and finish it off with a fine win.

There is another training camp planned in March, which is again in Enkoping and with other players being invited, or so we are told, it looks like the coaches are trying to look at as many players as possible before they have to decide the final squad for the vital matches against Latvia and Croatia.

Squad to Barcelona

2010-01-25T22:36:00.001+01:00

We have just been informed of the players selected to represent Sweden in Barcelona. Evidently they will have a training camp rounded off with a match against Catalonia on Valentine's Day. So another step forward for the National Squad. Players selected are:-

Rickard Johansson	Hammarby
Viktor Pettersson	Enköping
Ivar Bengtsson	Hammarby
Paul Sullivan	Stockholm Exiles
Jim Wetterström	Enköping
Linus Hector	Vänersborg
Tim Johansson	Enköping
Alan Letele	Vänersborg
Jan-Olof Johansson	Spartacus
Mattias Thorhard	Hammarby
Hannes Eriksson	Hammarby
Rickard Örnberg	Vänersborg
Andrew Daish	Nuneaton
Tobias Borg	Enköping
Alex Taylor	Nuneaton
Lee Sandberg	North Walsham
Magnus MacDonald	London Scottish
Sebastian Taylor	Old Haberdashers
Tomas Arvidsson	Helsingborg
Ian Gowland	Stockholm Exiles
Daniel Nissila	Attila
Stefan Obradovic	Attila
Erik Trogen	Enköping

Some new faces selected with a few of the experienced players unable to make the trip, this should be a good opportunity for others to shine. We wish them well.

Who's who?

2010-01-24T22:03:00.000+01:00

Time we think for another player from the Ladies Squad to adorn our blog. This time we feature Jenny Sahlin. The most engaging of prop's and some one who plays with a smile on her face. A cornerstone of the scrum, we look forward to watching Jenny playing for her country this season.

How did you become involved with Rugby?

I went to watch a few games in Vänersborg and at a crayfish party one girl came up to me and said she recognized me from watching the games. She made me promise to come to the next training. I went to the training and been stuck ever since.

When did you first start playing?
September 2003
What positions have you played?
I have played all positions, except hooker, in the scrum.
What club/s have you played for?
Vänersborg RK

Gold Coast Eagles Australia (Gold Coast RUFC)

Göteborg RF

How many International Caps have you gained?
??? A few. Started playing for the national team 2006.
What has been your best playing experience?
When I played a rep game for Brisbane South, SM gold 2008 and EM in May this year.
And your worst playing experience?

The game against Helsingborg 2009.

What are your ambitions within the game?
To improve my understanding and skills of the game and just enjoy playing.
What encourages you about the game in Sweden?
All the dedicated people on and off the pitch. The wonderful team/club spirits that you meet all around in Sweden.
How do you see the future?
I think both women’s and men’s team will keep developing and hopefully it will make people that are not involved in rugby aware of this awesome sport. Hopefully 7’s as an Olympic sport will open up eyes on people that have not yet understand the greatness of rugby.
What is your profession?
Controller
Marital status?
Have the best boyfriend ever
Children?
Two lovely little cats

Many thanks to Jenny and good luck for the season.

Men's National Training Camp

2010-01-22T12:39:00.002+01:00

Been a bit remiss of us, not too have reported on last weekend's training camp sooner, but we wanted to try and get a collective view. However we do not want you to think that we have been idle during the past week. Far from it and as you will see over the coming weeks there will be quite a few interesting articles about Swedish Rugby.
Anyway, back to the matter in hand, the training camp at Enkoping.
With several new faces in the group, including some very promising juniors the weekend started on time, in the snowy conditions at Enkoping.
By all accounts it was one of the best organised and most professional weekend the men have had for years.
With the introduction of a new fitness and conditioning coach to the squad, the emphasis was on fitness and discipline. It became apparent that the players needed to improve their overall fitness and were asked to ensure that this was evident by the next camp. There were 4 fitness sessions throughout the weekend, with the hardest one on Sunday morning, which brought all the players to their knees. Discipline was also a major feature, both on and off the field. Evidently the players have agreed to contribute to a code of conduct and then to abide by it. So that should make interesting reading.
Apparently it was a big success for the coaching staff as well. They have selected a squad to go to a training camp in Barcelona, on Valentine's weekend, (wonder what the wives and girlfriends think about that) and the next home training camp is in March, again at Enkoping.
So, we at TrueSwedenRugby, believe that the positive steps being taken by the FK will only be of benefit to the squad and to Swedish Rugby. Keep up the good work.

A Tale of Two Balls

2010-01-11T18:19:00.000+01:00

I know that we are in a far flung corner of the World. But as we watch the Thames freezing over and England struggling to get to grips with all this snow and ice, we have been keeping an careful watch on the Swedish Rugby scene. Although it's the close season over there, we have heard that there is a lot going on behind the scenes with the National Squads. Now news reaches us that one of the clubs in the West, GRF have reviewed their position and have decided that if they have another season like last, then the men are going to play with the round shaped ball.
After informing everyone that he would not be coaching the men this season, Neil has now found another team that will benefit from his expertise, and there will be a football team sharing the facilities.

So, let's hope that this alliance benefits the club, but most importantly the Rugby teams.

National Training Camp

2010-01-04T21:09:00.000+01:00

It appears that the National Squad's training camp scheduled for the weekend 16/17 January will be at Enkoping RK. We understand that invitations have gone out to the players with a few youth players being invited as well. Not aware of what the schedule is, but we are given to understand that fitness will be one of the main factors. With two important matches in May, anything that can assist the men to achieve wins in those games is of benefit.
We are bound to add that the Men's management are starting to get things together and it bodes well for the future of Swedish Rugby, if this continues.

Rugby Union in the Noughties

2009-12-31T13:57:00.000+01:00

How it changed for the better Standards at club level are almost unrecognisable. The Heineken Cup has gone from strength to strength, to the point where the knock-out stages are on a par with Test rugby. Sometimes we also forget to remind everyone why watching rugby in 2009 is much more fun than going to football: you can still take your family to a big game, sit with opposing fans and cheer for any team you want. Try doing that at Portsmouth...
How it changed for the worse The lawmakers have to get a grip. The death of rucking has led to a growing number of static pile-ups which make it simpler to kick for territory than pass or run from a team's own half. There is a subtle but important difference between a dynamic contact sport and a game consisting entirely of collisions. Fake blood, gouging and a rising casualty rate have also done self-inflicted damage to the sport's public image.
Decade's top five
1 England 2000-03 They lost the odd grand slam decider in the Woodward era but for a while the White Tornadoes were untouchable.
2 Canterbury Crusaders 2000-2008 Won seven Super 12/14 titles in the space of 11 seasons. Dan Carter and Richie McCaw were the decade's finest players.
3 Ireland 2009 A first Irish grand slam since 1948, built on strong Munster and Leinster foundations.
4 Wasps 2003-05 Three Premiership crowns and a European title. The ultimate big match specialists.
5 South Africa 2009 A Lions series win and a Tri-Nations title to add to their current world champion status constitutes a rare haul.
Match of the decade South Africa v British and Irish Lions, Pretoria, June 2009. The second Test at Loftus Versveld ranked among the best Lions matches in history. Ian McGeechan's touring team had to win to keep the series alive and came heart-breakingly close, undermined by injuries to their Welsh props Gethin Jenkins and Adam Jones. Schalk Burger and Ronan O'Gara would love to rewrite the script but Morne Steyn's huge penalty ultimately clinched a 28-25 home win.
Most memorable moment Sydney, 22 November 2003. Now what if Jonny had sliced that fateful drop-goal attempt..?
2020 vision Sevens - or a tweaked version of it - will grow in prominence as a result of its newly gained Olympic profile.

Festive Greetings.

2009-12-24T13:52:00.002+01:00

We would like to wish everyone in Sweden and particularly Swedish Rugby,

A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A PEACEFUL NEW YEAR !

Not The Only Gay in The Village.

2009-12-21T22:23:00.001+01:00

Arwel Davies-Jones, the fearsome, burly Pontypotty captain and prop, yesterday broke down in a press conference and admitted that he was not gay.
Fighting back the tears, Davies-Jones said: "It's been such a strain; when all the boys josh in the afternoons, discussing fashion and background colour schemes, I used to join in and pretend that I liked rearranging furniture. But deep down, in my soul, I longed to be at the bar, drinking four gallons of Shane's bitter, running round a bar stool and staggering into a wall while singing Delilah."
He went on: "I didn't like going down Old Compton Street in Soho when we played our away games in London, but that was the done thing and although I get severe hay fever, I would make a point to be first on to Hampstead Heath for training runs before games." Continuing to explain, he said: "I knew I was living a lie and I hated it."
After years of turmoil the fearless and proud Valleys boy appears to have reached a point of no return. "In the end I just said 'To hell with it' and I thought if they don't like the fact that I whistle at women from the cab of my 4 x 4 Hummer, while blasting out gangsta rap; if they don't accept that I like Rocky movies and not Priscilla Queen of the Desert then so be it."

Team of the Year?

2009-12-16T18:44:00.001+01:00

As we sit here looking out on the Thames and hoping for a drop of snow, (we get homesick sometimes) we thought that with 2009 drawing to a close, we ought to give you a chance to give us your view. So this one's over to you.

If you send us in your XVs of 2009 over the next two weeks, we'll collate the votes, and present you the benchmark performers you voted for just before New Years Eve.

Send us your justifications as well and we'll pick out the finest of the adjectives and the most robust of the sentences to justify the selections made when we publish.
So who have been the best players in Sweden this year? For a bit of festive fun, you can mix the sexes, so if you think that 'Ygge' has been the best No8 then put her in.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
God Jul och Gott Nytt Ar.

the IRB must enforce a zero-tolerance policy with eye-gougers

2009-12-16T00:27:00.000+01:00

Gouging is a particularly cowardly act, dangerous too, as fingers are inserted and twisted on a defenceless opponent. And as for two players allegedly taking turns on Ferris, that really would be beyond the pale.
Ferris himself noted that if it had been a punch, then he would not have said a word, in line with rugby's macho code of omerta in such matters. But gouging is something else altogether: sly, nasty, craven and spineless. It seems to be on the increase, a truly bizarre state of affairs given that the game has never been cleaner.
Dupuy felt hard done by, given that he had taken a few knocks that went unpunished. And so maybe his sense of grievance grew. In a previous era, he might have been able to vent his frustration in a routine dust-up.
The authorities have to adopt a zero-tolerance policy on gouging, which has not been the case of late. Colomiers prop Richard Nones became a cause célèbre 10 years ago after summarily being given a two-year ban for gouging Pontypridd hooker Sven Cronk in European competition. The matter was done and dusted within two hours of the final whistle, much to the consternation of the French club. Hence the furore that followed.
There was a different sort of outcry in the wake of the 18-week ban handed down to Perpignan hooker Marius Tincu last season, again for gouging. In the absence of video footage, there are inevitably grey areas.
What are we to make of the fact that the alleged miscreants are French? There will be another Frenchman in the dock in the coming days, given that Brive hooker Guillaume Ribes was sent off for kicking out against London Irish, although it was lock Arnaud Mela who actually seemed to let fly with an uppercut that triggered the trouble. Have the French reverted to type, to be damned for their ill-discipline?
Dupuy seemed to be an idiot, as have been a host of Irish, English and Welsh gougers banned in recent times, from Northampton hooker Dylan Hartley to Munster flanker Alan Quinlan, who blew the trip of a lifetime with the Lions for his gouging of Leinster lock Leo Cullen.
Burger and Parisse (another Stade Français man) have also been in the dock. They escaped lightly. The next to be found guilty must not. That is the clear message to emerge from a troubling weekend.

Who's who?

2009-12-14T10:18:00.000+01:00

Time for one of the men again. This time a man that is an outstanding performer and has played Premiership rugby in England. He is currently helping Cambidge RFC to get into the Championship from National 1. Danny Legge is a player that most emerging countries would want and one who will no doubt help Sweden Rugby to progress.

When did you first start playing?
I first Started playing rugby for my school this was where my school rugby coach said I should give up football and play rugby
What positions do you play?
Backrow No8
What Club/s have you played for?
Saracens, Bracknell, Southend, and Cambridge.International Caps?
Have you any International caps?
England u18, Sweden, Sweden 7s
What has been your best playing experience?
Playing my first premiership game when I was 20 against WaspsWorst playing experience ?
Playing for Sweden against Denmark, getting injured and not being able to play for year!What are your ambitions within the game?
Just to enjoy playing.
What encourages you about the game in Sweden?
Just how the boys from Sweden give every thing for the game when playing for their country and how they want to improve there ability.
How do you see the future?
Just to keep enjoying playing and to play at the best I can, because you never know when injury is going to take it away from you.What is your profession?
Carpenter.
Your marital status?
I am not married.

Our thanks to Danny and we wish him and Cambridge, all the best for the rest of the season.

International Rugby Board ignoring evidence of a game in turmoil?

2009-12-12T14:42:00.000+01:00

Just five years ago there was nothing much wrong with rugby but the latest International Rugby Board statistics point to a broken game with too much emphasis on kicking.

In 2004 the International Rugby Board reported that there were an average of 4.5 tries a game in the Six Nations Championship and 5.2 in the Tri-Nations. There were 4.6 and 6.0 penalty goals on average and the ball was in play 46 and 43 per cent of the time respectively. There were 291 passes per Six Nations game and 251 in the Tri-Nations, with 57 and 50 kicks.
There were no complaints and not much was wrong with rugby yet the IRB introduced 35 experimental law variations which it now says were only ever options, to be taken or left as wanted. Such 'blue-sky' thinking caused three years of argument and turmoil.

The 2009 autumn internationals were plagued by breakdown mayhem and aerial kick-tennis. Southern hemisphere fans say 'It's your own fault; you killed the ELVs.' Some blame lack of ambition, pointing to New Zealand's and Australia's final games as proof that the game works as it is.
They are wrong, of course. Poor play and the adopted ELV penalising the return of the ball into the 22 are contributors to the try drought. There is also a major problem at the breakdown. In combination these factors mean many teams, including the world and Tri-Nations champions South Africa, base their game on kicking.
This year's Six Nations/Tri-Nations statistics, which include the two teams held up as exemplars of ambition, show the problem is global: Tries 3.7/3.0; Penalty goals 4.9/7.7; Ball in play 49per cent/42per cent; Passes 273/222; Kicks 65/60.
The 2009 IRB review states that in the first Lions Test South Africa made only 49 passes and their hooker passed as many times as the fly-half. They won the Tri-Nations by making fewest breakdowns, least passes and having most kicks. In one game their 43 passes was the lowest by any team in either competition for seven years.
The IRB's only response has been to enshrine the controversial breakdown ruling as law, making it irreversible until after the 2011 World Cup. That is bad enough but what terrifies is that they intend to review the laws in 2011 with a Laws Consultation Group assessing global playing trends. As before, no specifics, just a wide spectrum to indulge fertile but misguided minds.
Sorry, the IRB have done something else – they agreed to waste money trialling Goalscan technology to see whether a kick at goal goes over. When has this been an issue?
What most fans do not know is that behind this obstinacy is a desperate attempt to avoid further public derision.
Following a survey which highlighted the breakdown retention rate of 95 per cent in the 2007 World Cup final (over that tournament as a whole it was 92 per cent) one leading IRB official called the figures "truly scary". The IRB and ill-informed commentators said it would lead to the game being for only one shape and size of player.
They then, wrongly, assumed that the high retention rate meant there could not be proper competition for the ball at the breakdown and ruled in favour of the defender, thereby overlooking the crucial fact that quality and speed of ball is determined by what competition does take place, even when the defence does not make a turnover. A high retention rate is not a problem provided there is the possibility of turnovers. Rugby league outlaws competition for the ball in the tackle, unless one on one, balancing this by allowing a maximum six possessions before the ball is turned over to the opponents.
If the retention rate almost guaranteed the attacking side would score there would be no problem, but is does not. The reverse is true; the more phases a team have to win, the fewer the chances of scoring. Most tries occur after three or fewer breakdowns.
The IRB also ignored evidence showing that in the 1970s matches averaged around 50 breakdowns, attracting six or seven attackers and five or six defenders. Today's games have between 150 and 190 breakdowns, attracting 3.3 attackers and just 1.2 defenders. This is why there is no space.
All the above have made kicking the most effective tactical option. It is facile to say all you need is a fly-half to play flat; what if you do not have a Dan Carter or Matt Giteau? And why were they not successful in this year's Tri-Nations?
Rather than admit causing this mess, the IRB blames teams for lacking ambition.
Identifying your most effective way of playing and winning is normally praised. Why should a team refuse this option in favour of entertaining when they know their opponents are not similarly compelled?
The greatest problem is making more space and this means committing more players to the breakdown. Why refuse to look at how this was done in the 1970s? I'll tell you why – it would mean reintroducing rucking; the love that dare not speak its name.
The study of history is important to avoid repeating mistakes – the IRB should go back to school.

Another weekend to put things right?

2009-12-12T14:34:00.000+01:00

The women's squad are ensconced in a training camp this weekend.Hopefully they will be working on some of the aspects that saw them lose to a Welsh side by 56-7.
Obviously the squad were out of season and were missing some of the senior players, however we have heard that there was a negative feeling within the squad and they were expecting to be beaten. That is something we are sure that Jonas and his experienced team will address. We also understand that although the Welsh were preparing for the six nations, they included some debutantes within their side, so did not field their full team. Sweden, have to be able to have players that are good enough to replace the percieved 'stars' and that at the moment appears to be a problem, they don't have sufficient quality in depth and if 2 or 3 players are missing, they struggle. Is this a fault of the system, not enough emphasis on teaching technique at club level? we would suggest it is. Until that is rectified, the problem will remain. If you consider that the top 3/4 players are at a different level, probably because they have at sometime played for clubs abroad, it would suggest that the level of skill coaching in Sweden is not good enough. As a consequence the senior squads struggle.
Anyway, we hope that Jonas can go some way to rectifying this with his camps and that we see an improvement next time out.

Awesome Barbarians expose All Blacks

2009-12-06T17:56:00.000+01:00

The Barbarians legend came alive with a superb showing as they downed a second-string All Black team 25-18 at Twickenham.
With their just-completed successful Northern Hemisphere tour a distant memory, New Zealand’s so-called sacred try-line developed the jitters as Springbok superstar Bryan Habana effortlessly took an unprecedented hat-trick of tries.
The all-star Barbarians line-up exploded out of the blocks at a ferocious pace that stung the All Blacks early on and put them on the back foot.
And when lineout kingpin Victor Matfield stole the very first throw, it was inevitable that New Zealand were in for a long afternoon. And they consequently and unusually lacked composure, big time.
Sure, this was a second XV despite the presence of the world’s best player Richie McCaw. However, even the All Blacks skipper would be the first to admit that it was a pitiful team performance.

The problem was, the Barbarians were all battle-hardened professionals. They were all experienced internationals - and what's more, they were all dangerous. You’ve got to take your hat off to the famous hoops, they were simply awesome.
As for the All Blacks, you could look at it two ways - an experimental line-up to create further depth within the New Zealand rugby ranks, or devaluing the jersey by throwing several inexperienced ‘amateurs’ to the lions - given the strength of the opposition.
Either way, this Barbarians outfit were not going to just roll over and with their collective caps far outweighing the All Blacks, probably deserved the 25-18 victory after they had sensed an element of complacency from the opposition.

Who's Who?

2009-12-02T15:51:00.000+01:00

We thought that we should showcase the undoubted star of the Women's EM this year. Elisabeth Ygge was in the view of many observers the player of the tournament. Not available to play against Wales last weekend, she would have been sorely missed. In our view, this young lady could eventually become the best female player Sweden has ever seen.

How did you become involved with Rugby?
I got dragged to a training by some friends in "gymnasiet", and after that one training I was stuck..
When did you first start playing?
I started in the school team when I was 15, and in Exiles when I was 17 years old.
What positions have you played?
Love nr 8, but people put me on flanker, centre and other weird positions..?
What Club/s have you played for?
Stockholm Exiles RFC and Richmond RFC.
How many international caps have you been awarded?
A few.. Started in the national team 2007.
What has been you best playing experience?
I have had a few amazing experiences. Playing Dubai 7´s for Exiles was fantastic, starting for the Richmonds first team against the Saracens was quite a nice feeling and the games in the European Championship in may earlier this year were most probably the highlight of my rugby career, so far.
Worst playing experience?
When I broke my nose in the first few minutes against Scotland in the preparation for the European Championship earlier this year. A teammate trying to take my spot? Nobody wants to confess;)
What are your ambitions within the game?
I want to be a role model for younger girls. I want to get better and better and fitter and fitter for every year, I want to improve in all aspects of the game. And my goal at the moment is to be a regular starter for Sweden in the World Cup, I want to get as much playing time as possible. I want to show the other teams, and the whole world, that Swedish ladies can play bloody good rugby.
What encourages you about the game in Sweden?
All the fighters and all the people that gives everything for this fantastic game of rugby, both on and off the field.
How do you see the future?
I see myself playing many, many years. I want to play as long as I think it's fun and my body copes with it, and if I know myself, that will be a looong time..
What is your profession?
Studying Biomedicin at Karolinska Institutet at the moment and working part time as a personal assistant for a mentally and physically disabled girl.
Marital status?
Sambo with a South african.
Have you any children?
No.

Our thanks to Elisabeth and we wish her well for the future.

Guess who?

2009-12-01T22:30:00.000+01:00

As we are enjoying a fine bottle of claret, and will no doubt open another one shortly, we thought that we better put up a post that may begin a regular feature in the future,
Guess who, is aimed at people that have made a significant impact on the game of rugby in Sweden.
First up? Well have a guess, see if you can identify him.
This player has a love of all things English, he adores those players and coaches that communicate in a language other than Swedish. Although he left Sweden to further his career and improve his game, he managed to achieve only one of those. He is respected by all the referees in Sweden as he appears to know the game far better than them. Constantly reminding them of what they are doing wrong, we understand that the new Referee's Association is considering inviting him to their first seminar, so that they may benefit from his knowledge.
Although shy and retiring this player is admired and respected by his team mates, who without a doubt, feel that whenever he is on the pitch, the scoreboard will always be turning over.
Last seen on a bench in Stockholm, cheering on the efforts of others, he is now believed to have removed the splinters and is heading back to Peshawar.
So who is it? There are no prizes fgor guessing correctly, just the self satisfaction of knowing you were right.

IRB Player of the Year

2009-11-30T15:06:00.000+01:00

New Zealand's inspirational captain Richie McCaw has been named the International Rugby Board Player of the Year 2009 .

The 28-year-old was presented with the Award following the France v New Zealand test match in Marseille and becomes the first person to have been awarded Rugby's most prestigious individual accolade twice, having previously been named IRB Player of the Year in 2006.

"It is a huge honour. I am extremely proud. I am just happy to be part of a team doing well. I am happy to do my bit, but it is a great honour. I said it before, you can't do it without a bunch of mates. It has been a trying year at times, but it is great to be part of a winning team," said McCaw.

Previous Winners
2001 - Keith Wood (Ireland)
2002 - Fabien Galthié (France)
2003 - Jonny Wilkinson (England)
2004 - Schalk Burger (South Africa)
2005 - Daniel Carter (New Zealand)
2006 - Richie McCaw (New Zealand)
2007 - Bryan Habana (South Africa)
2008 - Shane Williams (Wales)

Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

2009-11-29T12:42:00.000+01:00

Well for at least one of these teams, it was a good day.
The Irish beating the South Africans was good news for the men from the Emerald Isle. Although they failed to score a try, the Irish defence was superb and the 5 penalties they achieved saw off the World Champions, who scored the games only try by 15 points to 10. South Africa need to review their game plan as it's limitations are being overcome and their bullying style is loosing effect. The Irish are continuing their upward spiral though and they will be looking forward to the 6 nation's with some optimism.

Scotland failed to make three wins in a row and lost to Argentina 6-9. In a scrappy game, which obviously suited the Pumas, the defining moment was the sin binning of Nathan Hines. Poor discipline and hurried passes were the downfall of the Scots, which ultimately cost them the game. Still they may well improve their placing in next year's six nations.

Wales, "woe is me" cries Warren Gatland, the worst performance since his tenure began? possibly. But to give credit where it's due, the Aussies came out and played some scintillating rugby at times and were always in control. If they had played like this last week then Scotland would surely have lost.
Wales can lament all they like but they were outscrummaged and that was a surprise, and with them failing to win their own ball cleanly were always on the back foot. Australia deserved to win 12-33. Wales will work hard to turn this setback around and will be pumped up for the six nations.

It has to be noted that the rugby this weekend has been in most cases, wonderful to watch and it is this type of spectacle that will put more bums on seats.

France 12-39 New Zealand

2009-11-29T12:04:00.000+01:00

New Zealand rounded off their unbeaten tour of Europe with a superb display to beat France in Marseille on Saturday.

Sitiveni Sivivatu's fine try helped the All Blacks into an early 7-3 lead.
Julien Dupuy edged France 9-7 ahead but Mils Muliania's spectacular try and a Jerome Kaino score helped the visitors into a 22-12 half-time lead.
Cory Jane scored a solo effort after the break and Conrad Smith also crossed as the visitors confirmed their status as the world's number one-ranked team.
The victory means New Zealand will head back to the southern hemisphere, after a final outing against the Barbarians at Twickenham, with four Test wins out of four in Europe, having beaten Wales, England and Italy in the lead-up to the Test against France. Les Bleus have caused plenty of problems for the All Blacks over the years, most recently when an under-strength team stunned New Zealand 27-22 in Dunedin in June.

But any hopes the hosts had of adding the All Blacks' scalp to that of world champions South Africa, who they beat 20-13 a fortnight ago, rapidly disappeared as New Zealand cut loose on the shores of the Mediterranean. Scrum-half Dupuy put the hosts into lead with a penalty after Les Bleus had butchered the All Blacks at a scrum.But the visitors hit back when Jimmy Cowan and Ma'a Nonu combined to make the initial incision deep into French territory before Sivivatu dummied and accelerated over out wide for a superb try.
Carter converted to put the visitors 7-3 up, only for Dupuy to put the hosts back into the lead with two penalties.But the All Blacks were looking lethal out wide and when they counter-attacked from their own 22, Sivivatu raced 50m before sending Muliania over for a spectacular score. Carter missed the conversion but added a penalty to extend the lead before a moment which stunned the hosts.The one area France had enjoyed the upper hand had been in the scrum but in the shadow of their own posts they were pushed back off the ball and Kaino dotted down.Francois Trinh-Duc's drop-goal made it 22-12 at the break but any chance the hosts had of fighting back disappeared when Dupuy missed two penalty attempts.
Fly-half Carter made no mistake when he was presented with a chance to take the lead out to 25-12 and further tries from Jane and Smith - both converted by the All Blacks number 10 - saw New Zealand run out convincing winners.

Swedes crushed by Welsh onslaught

2009-11-29T00:01:00.000+01:00

The peerless Non Evans amassed 21 points as Wales sauntered over for nine tries in a 56-7 thrashing of Sweden at St Helens this afternoon.

The full back has been playing international rugby for more than a decade but the Swedes will be glad to see the back of her after she gave a vintage performance – racing over for two tries and constantly being a threat with the ball in hand.
Caryl James crossed for two tries on debut while Awen Thomas completed the rout with a late brace to put Sweden out of their misery.
Wales led 27-7 at the break courtesy of four first half tries and were always in control against stubborn but limited opposition.
Wales opened the scoring with a relatively straight forward penalty via Non Evans’s trusty boot. Sweden then ventured into Welsh territory briefly before Mel Berry’s side struck in the 10th minute with a well constructed try by second row Gemma Hallett.
Backs and forwards combined with more style than Gok Wan with new cap Elinor Snowsill, Berry and Caryl James prominent in the build up. Once the ball got to Hallett five metres from the line, the Pontyclun powerhouse surged over. Non Evans added the extras to give Wales a 10-0 lead.
Sweden then got back into the game from a lineout close to the Welsh try-line. Skipper Ulrika Anderson Hall spotted a gap and sped over, under the posts. Her conversion reduced Wales’s lead to three points.
Wales repelled further assaults from the Swedes to further extend their lead in the 24th minute. The ball was worked to winger Caryl James who scorched down the touchline, bouncing off would-be tacklers to dive over for her first try at international level in her Test bow.
Wales then produced a purple patch just before the break to assert their authority. First Evans was on the shoulder of fly half Elinor Snowsill who made the initial thrust. Evans still had some work to do but she bumped off several tacklers to go clear.
Three minutes later Louise Rickard then finished off strongly in the opposite corner as Wales whipped the ball swiftly through the backline. Evans’s touchline conversion gave Wales a comfortable 27-7 lead at halftime.
A combination of stubborn Swedish defence and the inability to be capitalise on the lion’s share of possession ensured the second half took some time to take off for Wales but three tries in quick succession put the issue beyond doubt.
Replacement winger Aimee Young powered her way over out wide after prop Catrin Edwards took a quick tap to unnerve the Swedish defence. The ball was spun through the backs where Young used her strength to surge over.
Young was to the fore again, cutting through the defence like a hot knife through butter. She beat three defenders before unselfishly off-loading to Evans who strolled over for her second try.
Replacement flyhalf Awen Thomas then darted over from close range and with Evans adding the conversion, Wales were leading 46-7. Thomas hammered home the final nail into the Swedish coffin when she crashed over in the last act of the game.

Who's who?

2009-11-27T14:31:00.000+01:00

This time we feature one of the backroom staff, who has helped both the Men and the Women. Acting as one of the Physio's for the Ladies in the EM, Claire McKenna proved her worth and was key in tending to the players, aches and pains. Recently, Claire was involved in looking after the Men in Malta and managed to get players onto the pitch, despite the injuries they were still feeling from the match against Holland a week before. A really positive step, inviting her into Swedish rugby and long may she stay.

How did you become involved with Rugby?
My sister Sarah who started playing with Harpenden mini's aged 6 had to join a girls team as she was turning 12!! One Saturday, the whole family (for moral support) went along to meet a girls team known as the Scorpions. One of the girls asked if I fancied joining in, needless to say, I just picked up the ball and ran with it....
What positions have you played?
Wing
What Club/s have you played for?
Scorpions
OA Saints
Have you any International Caps?
In my dreams...
What has been your best playing experience?
Scoring the winning try against Saracens (a local derby) in the last game of the season which left us in a great position in the league. (Many years ago)
Your worst playing experience?
2006 Dubai rugby 7's playing in the pouring rain!!! Lasted the whole tournament. So much for a tan!!
What are your ambitions within the game?
To maintain playing a high standard of rugby for as long as I can, remain free from injury and stay super fit.
What encourages you about the game in Sweden?
The Swedish National Men and Women's teams are highly motivated, enthusiastic and truely professional. Having worked with both squads it is clear that the passion for rugby runs supreme and after seeing the number of supporters at the Women's world cup qualifiers I believe rugby fever is sweeping the country. I'm excited about the future as there is a clear amount of talent coming through in both squads and what is most encouraging is that the coaches and managers are looking to develop young players to continue the success experienced so far.
How do you see the future?
Very promising and exciting, especially next august at the Women's World Cup!!
What is your profession?
Osteopath. Also trained in cranio-sacral therapy and acupuncture.
Marital status?
Single
Have you any children?
One day!!

Our thanks to Claire and we look forward to her next trip to Sweden.

The Journey Continues

2009-11-26T22:17:00.000+01:00

As the Ladies set out to on their path to the World Cup finals, the first examination on the way is against a strong and confident Welsh side this weekend. How will Sweden fare under the new stewardship of Jonas Ahl? That remains to be seen, but he has one of the coaching team that was successful in helping the squad to achieve their goal of reaching the VM. Peter Joyce is the assistant coach who managed to avoid being ditched by the board, so presumably he will bring some experience and quality to the new coaching set up. It will be interesting to see the starting line up for the Swedish team, will there be new faces brought in or familiar ones returning? We are sure that Wales will have watched the upset at Twickenham last Saturday, and will not want to suffer the same misfortune, so watch out for some hard hits and tough tackling from them. Without a match for a few weeks the Swedish players will be fresh but will they be match fit? Let's hope so and we hope that they carry on from where they left off, and give rugby in Sweden another boost.

Leaving on a good note.

2009-11-26T16:36:00.000+01:00

So after 3 years, Chris has decided to move on and try something else. Presumably he will seek pastures new and maybe another field. His work in developing the game of rugby in Sweden has taken a tremendous amount of work and time, but has been successful. Hopefully his successor will carry on the good work. Whatever he chooses to do in the future, we wish him well and thank him for all the effort he has put into developing rugby in Sweden.