Napoleon Syndrome

Not sure if too many people have heard of this malady, we hadn't, but having read the latest post on another blog, we realised that there had to be a title for the suffering the author of the post is going through.
You see, it's ok to give advice to the populace but sometimes you have to heed your own!
As time passes, memories fade and generally, people move forward. But in this case, since he was sacked/resigned as FK of the Men's National Squad, he has taken every opportunity to remind those that read his blog, just how good he was and to basically undermine anybody appointed to the position. Why, we saw him in Arsta on Saturday wearing the old Swedish tracksuit trousers and coat, with the trousers especially, looking a bit like clownish, but his dress sense is a different matter. Well. here at TrueSwedenRugby, as a positive group of people we would like to help him, so here is some advice. You are not the FK, move on and if you really believe in supporting Swedish Rugby, offer positive support to all those in it.

RFU backs Sevens team GB

With the International Olympic Committee's decision on the inclusion of Rugby Sevens in the 2016 Olympic Games just over a week away, the Rugby Football Union has become the latest to support the idea of men's and women's Great Britain rugby teams, if the International Rugby Board's campaign is successful.

On Friday 9 October in the Danish capital Copenhagen, the IOC will decide whether Rugby Sevens will join the 2016 Games programme, just under two months since the IOC's Executive Board recommended Rugby Sevens and Golf for inclusion, from the seven sports in contention.

The IRB Sevens World Series continues to grow year on year, having celebrated its 10th anniversary last season by crowning a new champion in South Africa. In all, 10 sides reached the Cup semi final stage, including Samoa, Argentina and - for the first time - Kenya and USA.

The Series now visits eight countries, attracting hundreds of players and tens of thousands of fans with Hong Kong a three-day, 120,000 sell-out; a record 62,000 watching the London Sevens at Twickenham and the Wellington leg regularly selling out within minutes.

Great Britain united

Players from England, Scotland and RWC Sevens winners Wales came together recently under the banner of Help for Heroes at the hugely popular Middlesex Sevens at Twickenham, with the national coaches working in tandem and showcasing the unified desire to form a united Great Britain team to hopefully bid for Olympic gold in 2016.

"Sevens would be an invaluable addition to the Olympic Games. As proved in the Commonwealth Games, the IRB Sevens World Series and through its own Rugby World Cup, it is a thrilling spectacle that captivates the fans," said Rob Andrew, RFU Elite Rugby Director.

"The thought of joining with the other Home Unions to make a team GB is very exciting and, on behalf of the RFU and the Elite Rugby department, I wholeheartedly support the bid to include Sevens rugby for men and women at the 2016 Olympic Games."

Rugby World Cup Sevens 2009 in Dubai also attracted thousands last March with broadcast figures shattering all previous records - 28 broadcasters carried live coverage to 141 countries to a global audience of 760 million and for the first time a 16-team women's event was held alongside the men's competition and proved hugely competitive and successful with Australia being crowned the inaugural champions.

"The first joint Rugby World Cup Sevens proved a tremendous success and demonstrated how effectively the men's and women's games are developing around the world," said Nicky Ponsford MBE, the Rugby Football Union for Women's Head of Performance.

"Sevens has become an integral programme for the current elite England Women's squad. The RFUW are fully supportive of the inclusion of Rugby Sevens in the Olympic Games in what would be a hugely exciting opportunity to showcase to the world Rugby Sevens at its exciting, competitive format. The concept of a GB team is extremely motivating."

To the Wire

In the Men's semi-finals there was the predicted win for Enkoping over Pingvin in Trelleborg. No surprise there and it would appear that Enkoping will have another comfortable match at home on Saturday. Who will they meet in the final? Hammarby made Exiles fight all the way before conceeding defeat. Ill discipline by both teams did not help either of them,  unfortunately for Hammarby it probably cost them the game. In our view, they would be much better off concentrating on their own game, (which, when they get it moving has a polish about it) rather than carrying out the petty offences and moaning at the referee. Exiles, although behind for parts of the game, had a bit more composure and were able to steady the ship and persevere with their game plan. Obviously fresh legs helped and the players that came on made the required impact. We feel sure that the winner next Saturday will be the team that shows the greater discipline and for the sake of the game, let's hope the pathetic moaning to the referee is also curbed. If so, this game could go to the wire!

Still Up For Grabs

Some interesting results in the Ladies semi-finals on Saturday.
Goteborg beating Exiles by 19-0 was a surprise and according to onlookers, not really a true reflection of the game. However Goteborg managed to take their chances when they occurred and Exiles just could not score. Still all to play for although Goteborg must be confident of making the finals.
As predicted, the Enkoping versus Uppsala match proved to be a tight game, with Enkoping coming out on top. They have been steadily improving over the last few weeks, whilst Uppsala have slumped! Now, more than ever is when the Uppsala coach has to prove his worth, a man of reputation, reckoned to be the best in Sweden. Although an ex FK residing in the West, (why does he keep wearing Swedish Kit?) would probably dispute that. Anyway, from all accounts, Enkoping were the team that wanted it most and had the upper hand in defence, so can Uppsala make it. Well we think that they can, but we would not be surprised at all if Enkoping made it to the finals. Still all to play for.

Hard To Choose the Finalists

This Saturday should see some entertaining matches in the Women's semi-finals. With GRF making the long trek to Stockholm to face Exiles. Will they get the journey out of the legs before the game kicks off? Will Exiles have the mercurial Moa in the side? She has not been seen to play against GRF in the Elite series, were they holding her back? With the Swedish Captain on one side and Ygge, who is probably the best forward in the game on the other, this promises to be a very close encounter. Let's hope for an entertaining one.
Enkoping will be hosting Uppsala and this again will appear to be close. Enkoping seem to have thrown off the lethargy from earlier in the season and have been posting some good scores. The coach who is looking after the squad appears to be quite an aggresive type, (some comments he makes are not quite in the spirit of the game), but he certainly seems to have galvanised his charges. What of Uppsala? They were at one stage clear favourites for the gold, but their performances of late have not been up to scratch. With the experienced coach they have in charge, will he be able to help then up their game? If he can, then we would expect to see them reach the final, but without doubt it will be close.
So, possibly two very entertaining matches this weekend which hopefull supporters and spectators will enjoy to the full.

Much Ado About Nothing

Where do we start? I suppose that those that complain the loudest and moan about what they feel are unfair Laws/Rules, are generally those that have a grudge against everything in life. Well sad to say that not only is that reflected in life, but in sport too. In Swedish rugby, when things don't go the way of certain individuals or teams, critical reviews are made about the laws or the lawmakers in a destructive way. Surely, it would be more beneficial if constructive points were made? As the great bard succinctly put it "Me think thou doth protest too much" and we would have to agree with him. Let's all try to help the people governing this great game of ours, by offering positive and constructive views, rather that the bitter sniping that seems to come from certain quarters. This has been a entertaining season so far with improvments in the refereeing arrangements and with Spartacus achieving their aim, we feel that the complaints are unworthy and 'Much Ado About Nothing'.

A Pleasant Surprise

 We feel this is a bit of a scoop for this blog and reward for promoting the positives in the game!
Some really good news has just reached us regarding the Men's National Squad. Mike Hale has not been lost to the Swedish game, he has been appointed as an assistant coach. Mike assisted the squad earlier this year in Holland, when he acted as assistant coach and stepped in as Team Manager. Reports from that weekend were very complimentary and positive about his performance in both areas, and we feel sure the players will welcome this appointment, as should all fair minded supporters.
This is indeed a bonus for the game, for those of you not aware, Mike was one of the coaches who helped guide the Women's National Squad through to next years World Cup, the first time that a Swedish Rugby Team have qualified for this prestigious event. He was also the coach that took the GRF women to their first golds in both the 15's and 7's in 2008, his first season with them and he has also steered them into the Elite series this year. We know that he has experience of coaching men in the National Leagues in England and has a proven track of success in both formats of the game. From our discussions with him, he is a coach that gives the credit to the players for any success and  he believes in a strong squad system. This can only be good for the game and is truly a pleasant surprise