IRB Player of the Year

 

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.

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

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

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?

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

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.

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.