NACRA Info Page for October 28, 2014 Do you forward the Info Page to teammates, friends and others? Ask them to SUBSCRIBE to the Info Page to receive it directly from the source! USA Rugby Turns Heads with Sold Out Soldier Field New Zealand v USA Test match a Sign of Things to Come? The USA Eagles’ historic match against the New Zealand All Blacks at Soldier Field, sponsored by AIG, is officially sold out, USA Rugby announced Friday. Tickets for the Nov. 1 match at the 61,500-seat home of the National Football League’s Chicago Bears were first released to registered fans June 13 through a unique pre-sale opportunity. By the general on-sale date, June 16, 20,000 tickets had been sold. The highest attendance ever for an international rugby union match in the United States – 20,181 – was recorded at a match between the Eagles and Ireland at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston, Texas, June 7, 2013. The Eagles’ match against the New Zealand Maori All Blacks at PPL Park in Philadelphia, Pa., last November set the record for a largest sell-out crowd with 18,500 tickets sold. A record crowd in the stands will also be dwarfed by the number of viewers watching the live broadcast on NBC. Universal Sports Network will host a pre-game show at 2 p.m. CT before NBC begins its live telecast at 2:30 p.m. The official match kick-off time is 3 p.m., but fans are encouraged to get to their seats early to hear Jim Cornelison and SOL3 MIO sing the national anthems of the United States and New Zealand, respectively, and to see the world famous haka performed. “This sellout crowd speaks to the growing popularity of rugby in the U.S.,” said Gary Quinn, vice president of programming & planning for NBC Sports Group. “More than 61,000 passionate fans at a historic venue like Soldier Field will paint a fantastic picture for the audience at home watching this game on NBC next Saturday.” “It’s been a while since we’ve hosted the All Blacks and I think you can tell with this sell out,” USA Rugby Chief Executive Officer Nigel Melville said. “The USA is growing as a rugby nation both on and off the field; I know the atmosphere in Soldier Field will be electric. This is a fantastic opportunity for us to showcase the global game of rugby to American sports fans at an iconic football stadium in Chicago and across the country via a live NBC broadcast.” Select merchandise is already available for sale on Shop USA Rugby, with a wider assortment of gear set to be sold in the stadium. Fans without tickets can still experience rugby fever in Chicago during the week of the match. A Rookie Rugby Festival, organized by AIG, the Illinois Youth Rugby Association, and USA Rugby, will be held in Jackson Park Saturday, Oct. 25. More than 30,000 kids in Chicago have been introduced to the flag version of the sport with AIG’s Rugby in a Box initiative, and they will demonstrate what they have learned with each other. “We are thrilled, albeit not surprised, by the official sell-out,” AIG Global Head of Sponsorship Daniel Glantz said. “As an Official Partner of both the USA and New Zealand sides we are excited for this milestone for the sport of rugby here in the U.S.” Rookie Eagle, the Eagles’ mascot, will take a tour of Chicago Wednesday, Oct. 29. The famous Chicago Bean and the Willis Tower Skydeck are just two of Rookie’s afternoon destinations, with a mouth-watering finale scheduled. Union Station will be the scene of the VIP rugby event of the year in USA Rugby Trust’s USA vs. All Blacks Gala. Select Eagles and All Blacks stars will be in attendance, as will more than 700 attendees. While registration for the Gala is closed, interested donors will have the opportunity to bid on a selection of memorabilia during the auction. On match day, the #USAvAllBlacks Fan Fest will help kick off the festivities in Soldier Field’s Stadium Green. Fans can interact with rugby activities from AIG, Heathrow Express, World Rugby Shop, and Smith & Forge Hard Cider, while Astellas Pharma US, Inc., and Men’s Health Network will provide free health screenings. For more information on events and game-day activities, visit the official event website. New Zealand is playing an international match in the United States for the first time since 1980. The game in San Diego drew a reported 14,000 fans, who witnessed a New Zealand win. The All Blacks are the current Web Ellis Cup Trophy holders following a Rugby World Cup win on home soil in 2011. “We are really pleased that American sports fans have responded so strongly to this very special opportunity to see their national side take on the All Blacks,” said Steve Tew, chief executive of New Zealand Rugby. “This is a great result for USA Rugby, as well as New Zealand Rugby’s key sponsors, Principal Partner adidas and Major Global Sponsor AIG, who have all worked very hard to help make this test a success. “Right from the outset we thought this match would be a great fit for a city which is so passionate about sport, so to see this historic test match now sold out is great news. This will be a really special week in Chicago and we are very much looking forward to arriving on Sunday.” Both the Eagles and All Blacks have announced their November Tour rosters. USA Rugby reached an agreement with Premiership Rugby to release U.S.-eligible players for the match in Chicago, which is not in the IRB’s end-of-year-test window. Follow live match updates from kickoff at Soldier Field on Twitter with @USARugby and the #USAvAllBlacks hashtag. Submit a video for the #AnswerTheChallenge campaign on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and be entered to win two tickets to the match and touch line access to the All Blacks’ cultural challenge, the haka. The Legacy Agency has acted as USA Rugby’s exclusive commercial agent for the match. About The Legacy Agency/TLA Worldwide TLA Worldwide plc (TLA:LN) and its subsidiary, The Legacy Agency, Inc., is a leading athlete representation and sports marketing business with a full service offering to its clients in baseball, broadcasting, coaching, endorsement and golf talent. In addition, it also provides a range of services in respect of media and corporate consultancy, sports sponsorship and event production to many sportspeople and corporate clients. The company’s success and growth potential is founded on three key pillars: the competency of the underlying businesses, their complementary practices and the strength and experience of the management team. With over 55 full-time personnel, TLA serves its clients from 10 locations worldwide including its principal offices in London, UK; New York and Newport Beach, USA; and Melbourne, Australia. For more information, please visit legacy-agency The match will be televised live in the U.S. on NBC. Tune in to Universal Sports Network at 2:00 PM CT to catch the pregame show with live telecast of the game commencing on NBC at 2:30 PM CT. Official match kickoff is at 3:00 PM CT. All Blacks Set to Impress in Chicago -Campbell Burnes, NZ Herald Excitement seems to be the in-word for the All Blacks as they build towards Sundays historic first test against the USA Eagles in Chicago. All Blacks coach Steve Hansen used the word, or variations of it, several times, in his final press call before boarding the plane. The northern tours the last couple of years ... weve not seen the same sort of excitement weve seen today. All bodes well, said Hansen. This does seem promising news given the All Blacks played some tired rugby on their 2013 northern tour, failing to capture the at times ethereal heights of their Rugby Championship brand of play. Even the 54-6 victory over Japan in Tokyo lacked the requisite cohesion. In 2012, though they had strong wins over Scotland and Wales, they faltered with the infamous 38-21 reverse to England at Twickenham. Hansen would love to see more of the quality rugby the All Blacks played on the 2005 and 08 Grand Slam tours and 2006 and 09 in Europe. Part of that excitement derives from visiting a new frontier. Chicago is a place many All Blacks would never have visited and playing to a packed house in a new land is a compelling carrot. The rugby comes first, of course. Thats a given that weve got to focus on the rugby, thats the reason were going there. Its exciting to be able to take the game of rugby to America and there will be a lot made of the All Blacks going there. Its important that we play well and we know you play well if you prepare well, so whoevers selected has to get that part of it right and be supported by the guys that arent selected, said Hansen. There will be a lot of distractions as its a new place, an exciting place. But the message we want to leave Chicago with is that the All Blacks are a pretty special outfit who play good rugby and you dont get many opportunities to go to the States and put your brand on their back door. And hitting Chicago is not just for fans of the Shameless TV series. I even know myself Im excited to be going. Chicagos a major city in the States but its a sporting city and theres a lot of tradition in the stadium were playing at. Everyones aware of that. It is exciting to go to new places and so its a great way to start this tour off for us. It gets the energy levels right up and everyones into it. Once again Hansen had to bat away questions about who he is going to select, but it seems certain that Aaron Cruden will line up at No 10. He has played just 20 minutes for Manawatu since his last All Blacks outing on September 13 and is very underdone, like several of the tourists, some of whom are still carrying injuries. Hansen was straight to the point when asked what he wanted to see out of Cruden. Watch: McCaw and Carter lift All Blacks All Blacks Captain Richie McCaw Video More of what weve seen in the past. We want him to be able to dominate and control the game. Your 10 is the main driver, the main computer really, and if hes doing that well then hell play well. Weve got to be smart about selections, for a start. Weve got four games to play, and its the end of the year. The thing thats exciting me - we are using the word excited a lot - is the fact that they are excited, about getting on the plane. With a group like this, weve got plenty of talent and if we get the training weeks right, we could see something special, declared Hansen. New Zealand Players for November Tests Hookers Dane Coles (Wellington, 24 Tests) Nathan Harris (Bay of Plenty, 1) Keven Mealamu (Auckland, 120) Props Wyatt Crockett (Canterbury, 33) Charlie Faumuina (Auckland, 22) Ben Franks (Hawkes Bay, 37) Owen Franks (Canterbury, 63) Joe Moody (Canterbury, 5) Locks Brodie Retallick (Bay of Plenty, 33) Luke Romano (Canterbury, 16) Jeremy Thrush (Wellington, 4) Patrick Tuipulotu (Auckland, 5) Samuel Whitelock (Canterbury, 60) Loose Forwards Sam Cane (Bay of Plenty, 21) Jerome Kaino (Auckland, 54) Richie McCaw – captain (Canterbury, 134) Liam Messam (Waikato, 35) Kieran Read (Canterbury, 69) Victor Vito (Wellington, 24) Halfbacks TJ Perenara (Wellington, 7) Augustine Pulu (Counties Manukau *) Aaron Smith (Manawatu, 36) First five-eighths Beauden Barrett (Taranaki, 25) Daniel Carter (Canterbury, 100) Aaron Cruden (Manawatu, 35) Midfielders Ryan Crotty (Canterbury, 9) Malakai Fekitoa (Auckland, 6) Conrad Smith (Wellington, 83) Sonny Bill Williams (Counties Manukau, 19) Outside backs Israel Dagg (Hawkes Bay, 43) Cory Jane (Wellington 52) Charles Piutau (Auckland, 11) Julian Savea (Wellington, 28) Ben Smith (Otago, 35) USA Eagles at Esquimalt High School Eagles surprise student with tickets to match v New Zealand The entire Eagles Select XV roster and coaching staff visited Esquimalt High School in Victoria, British Columbia, Wednesday before the second match of the 2014 IRB Americas Rugby Championship to present a special gift to a local student. Esquimalt rugby player Mikayla Evans received a round-trip package to the USA Eagles’ match against the New Zealand All Blacks at Soldier Field in Chicago, Ill., Nov. 1. The senior was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma about a year ago and has continued to volunteer her time with organizations like Gold for Kids Charity. The players and staff filed in to the gymnasium during an “awards assembly,” with Head Coach Mike Tolkin, tournament captain Louis Stanfill, and other players saying a few words before calling out a list of names, which ended with Evans’. “It’s unheard of, on a game day in international rugby, for a national side to show up beforehand for a public-service appearance, but the American team did it for Mikayla,” team liaison and Esquimalt Rugby Academy Advisory Board Chairman Tom Woods told the Times Colonist. Learn more about the Esquimalt High visit >> “It was a great moment for her, and our guys volunteered to be there on game day and did a fantastic job,” Tolkin said. As a Canadian wanting to see the All Blacks live, Evans may not have expected any favors from the Eagles, but now she has two teams to root for in Chicago. “These U.S. players are just so amazing . . . and, of course, the All Blacks are amazing,” she told the Times Colonist. Evans also took the time to thank and hug each player and staff member at the school. The Eagles went on to defeat Canada ‘A’ at Rugby Canada’s Centre of Excellence Wednesday night, 16-3, to improve to 1-1 at the ARC. For more information on the match featuring the world champion All Blacks at Soldier Field, please visit the event website. USA Sign 10-Year Agreement with IMG USA Rugby, the national governing body for the sport of rugby in the United States, today announced a groundbreaking new partnership with the global leader in sports, fashion and media, IMG. IMG and Rugby promo picture The 10-year agreement with IMG will focus on the branding and marketing of USA Rugby’s Collegiate National Championship weekend as well as USA Rugby’s College 7s National Championship. While USA Rugby has been pleased with the recent improvements in competition, live stream production, and host venues for the Men’s D1A and Division I-AA Championships, as well as Women’s DI and DII Championships, aligning with IMG will further the positive growth and exposure of these events. “USA Rugby and IMG will make a powerful team in transforming our National Championships into the ultimate competition in the United States for college rugby,” said USA Rugby Collegiate Director Rich Cortez. “IMG’s association with the development of major athletic events speaks volumes of the strategic direction and possibilities of college rugby in America.” With more than 50 years of experience in growing global audiences, IMG’s expertise in the promotion and marketing of sports and entertainment, as well as the organization’s strong relationships with universities, and sponsors, will benefit the entire college rugby landscape. Additionally, IMG has preexisting expertise in rugby, having been the exclusive commercial representative for the IRB Rugby World Cup since 1995, managing sponsorship, commercial ticketing, television rights distribution, and licensing for the tournament. “IMG is thrilled to form a long-term relationship with USA Rugby,” stated IMG Senior Vice President Jay Ogden. “Our global footprint and knowledge of event and commercial management will help strengthen USA Rugby’s presence in the U.S. and ensure student-athletes enjoy the highest level of competition.” The collaborative marketing and promotion of USA Rugby’s College National Championships will begin immediately, and will aim to positively enhance both the Men’s and Women’s 15s and 7s National Championships beginning in the spring of 2015. “We are delighted that IMG chose to support rugby at this important and exciting time for the game,” said USA Rugby CEO Nigel Melville. “Combining these strengths will enable us to build a superb National Championship competition in both 7s and 15s – National Championships that are open to all and where the best programs each year can compete for the honor of being crowned National Champions. While there have been collegiate rugby postseasons played outside of USA Rugby’s official Championships in recent years, we are confident that teaming with IMG to create a single, recognized Championship for each competitive division is the best way to enhance the sport in America.” About IMG IMG is a global leader in sports, fashion and media operating in more than 25 countries around the world. IMG’s businesses include Events & Media, College, Golf, Tennis, Performance and IMG Academy, Fashion, Models, Clients, Consulting, Licensing, Joint Ventures, and creative management agency Art + Commerce. In 2014, IMG was acquired by WME, the world’s leading entertainment and media agency. Together, the companies offer an unparalleled client roster; strategic partnerships with sponsors and brands; and marquee assets across sports, entertainment, events, music and fashion. NACRA Awards Were into the last quarter of 2014, so it is time to start thinking of nominations for the 2014 NACRA Awards. Rugby is guided, on and off the field, by the following Core Values: INTEGRITY - Integrity is central to the fabric of the Game and is generated through honesty and fair play PASSION - Rugby people have a passionate enthusiasm for the Game. Rugby generates excitement, emotional attachment and a sense of belonging to the global Rugby family SOLIDARITY - Rugby provides a unifying spirit that leads to lifelong friendships, camaraderie, teamwork and loyalty which transcends cultural, geographic, political and religious differences DISCIPLINE - Discipline is an integral part of the Game, both on and off the field, and is reflected through adherence to the Laws, the Regulations and Rugby’s core values RESPECT - Respect for team-mates, opponents, match officials and those involved in the Game is paramount The North America Caribbean Rugby Association (NACRA) recognizes that these values are fundamental to the fabric of our sport, are an important part of our past and are essential for Rugby’s future. NACRA has established the annual NACRA Awards to recognise and encourage those teams and individuals that demonstrate our values while raising the status of Rugby in their communities, countries or region. The NACRA Awards embrace the principles of the IRB Spirit of Rugby Awards, which recognise “the incredible feats that can be achieved through Rugby both on and off the field, and recognises those who through selfless action influence the lives of others, make significant contribution to their communities and demonstrate the force for good that sport can be in all areas of the world.” NACRA is accepting nominations for the following three categories for 2014: Fair Play – to the organization, team or individual that best demonstrated Rugby’s culture of sportsmanship and fair play through actions on or off the field. 2013 Recipient-Dog River Howlers RFC. Achievement – to the organization, team or individual that has attained the most exceptional accomplishments. 2013 Recipient-Rugby Canadas Womens Sevens Team. Development – to the organization, team or individual that has done the most to grow and develop Rugby in their community, country or region. 2013 Recipient- Turks and Caicos Islands RFU. Please email nominations to Scott Harland, NACRA Development Officer, at sharland@nacrugby. Nominations should contain the following: NOMINATOR DETAILS -Name, email address or phone number NOMINEE DETAILS -Category (Fair Play / Achievement / Development) -Name and contact details of Nominee -Name of Nominees Local Rugby Union or Sub-Union -Description of why you feel this individual/team should receive a NACRA Award: NACRA Regional U19 Championship Videos You can view videos of some of the matches from the NACRA U19 Championships, as well as all the post-match videos, on the NACRA website at the following links: Games nacrugby/2014-nacra-u19-games.html Post Game Reaction nacrugby/2014-nacra-u19-interviews.html Rugby Coaching Tip It is impressive, and surprising, when a player manages to stop a seemingly sure try from being scored through that iconic goal-line tackle; sliding their arms, legs and anything they can under the ball-carrier, wrapping ball and man like a starfish trying to crack open a bowling ball. Surprisingly often, it is the scrum-half that saves the day, wrapping themselves around the ball as the unfairly large tight-five player plunges over the line. Joost van der Westhuizen and George Gregan each held up many tries in international matches. Such desperate plays have made the difference in many matches, and whether the event was a Tier 1 International or a local club game, the feat is just as astounding. So if such a skill can help win the game, shouldnt we practice it? Here are a couple of methods to consider (or add to): Defending player kneels on the goal-line opposite an attacking player kneeling about 1m from the goal-line. The ball carrier tries to score while defender works on getting under the ball trapping the ball off the ground. Try it from each side, and even from behind (have the defender already with one-arm around ball-carrier, on or near the ball). Two teams of 4 players in a small 5x5m grid. Each team has a defender roaming behind their goal-line, (rotate this between players) that tries to hold up any scoring attempts. Keep play moving quickly and rotate roles often. There should e lots of scoring attempts but if not, make the grid slightly wider and longer to increase space and speed. Guyana Sevens Continues to Shine October 20, 2014 | By KNews | Filed Under Sports It was billed as a dream final and both Yamaha Caribs and University of Guyana (UG) Wolves gave the fans a glimpse of Guyana’s prowess at Sevens rugby during the final of the Golden Brook/Windjammer Hotel/Toney – sponsored League Tournament which ended on Saturday, at the National Park. Yamaha Caribs with trophy Golden Brook’s Dustani Barrow (right) hands over the winning trophy to Yamaha Caribs Captain Akeem Fraser in the presence of teammates and other sponsors representatives on Saturday. In the end, Caribs led by former national Captain and Coach Theodore Henry escaped with a narrow 19-14 win to exact revenge on their nemesis UG Wolves who have beaten them in the Banks Sevens Competition a few weeks ago. Witnessed by a fair-sized crowd that included UG Registrar Vincent Alexander, former President of the Guyana Rugby Football Union Noel Adonis, UG Sports Co-ordinator Lavern Fraser among others, the two teams engaged in a slugfest with Henry, the speedy Carl Lewis, Captain Akeem Fraser and the wily veteran Walter George leading the attack for Caribs, while Godfrey Broomes and Ryan Dey played similar roles for the Wolves. Lewis, whose speed has been a bother to many defences this season was once again in menacing form and sped over the tryline once, while George and Fraser duplicated his effort with solitary tries of their own. Henry, having to call on all his experience to hold the Wolves at bay, converted two of his three attempts for the extra two points to complete their tally, while Broomes heroics proved to be in vain. He scored a penalty try, a try and two conversions to keep them interested, but was let down by poor ball handling in crucial moments. In the earlier game, Pepsi Hornets coasted to a comfortable 17-7 triumph over the slumping Guyana Defence Force unit with Rickford Cummings, Leon Greaves and Jason DeFreitas scoring a try apiece to go with a single conversion by national Captain Ryan Gonsalves. Also present at the presentation ceremony which followed immediately after were representatives of the sponsors Dustani Barrow of Golden Brook, Carey Griffith of Windjammer and Sports Journalist Rawle Toney. Barrow presented the winning trophy to Caribs Captain Akeem Fraser in the presence of teammates and fans. St Lucia Continues Winning Ways The St Lucia senior male rugby team continued its unbeaten run in 15’s rugby by defeating US Robert of Martinique 24 points to 5 on Saturday October 11, 2014 on the Corinth Playing Field. This followed on the heels of a wins against St Vincent at home on June 2, BVI in Tortola on May 10, 2014 and Diamante of Martinique on June 28, 2014. St Lucia tackling US Robert player US Robert is one of the top clubs in Martinique coached by Martinique national coach Litadier Antoine. It is the first time that the team is visiting St Lucia but the home team was not gracious to the visiting French club. Lenford Eugene of St Lucia opened the scoring in the 9th minute of play with a try that was converted by Garner Felician to make the score 7 points to nil. Two more tries were scored in the half by Jerry Charles and Fabian ‘Oscar’ Gabriel. Felician converted one of the tries. This made the game 19 – 0 in favour of St Lucia at the half time break. Martinique scored in the 6th minute of the second half to close the gap to 19-5 but was unable to make any further impressions even though they came close on several occasions. Lenford Eugene scored his second try of the match in the final minute of the game to secure the win for St Lucia. It was truly a team effort on the part of the St Lucia team. Most of the elements practiced in training were in evidence on the field. The team continues to train for the NACRA 7’s tournament to be held in Mexico on December 3 & 4, 2014. Both the St Lucia male and female teams are billed to participate in this prestigious competition. Members of the St Lucia team were: Valus Melius, Wedrel St Clair, Jerry Charles, Lenford Eugene, Vitus Jn Pierre, Zayvon Augustin, Elvin Joseph, Ervin Joseph, Flavien ‘Oscar’ Gabriel, Roger Butcher, Colvis Samuels, Garner Felician, Narjym Edward, Najsm Cox, Alex Brown and Uranus ‘Mal’ Denis. The team was coached by Colvis Samuels. Beach Rugby in Turks and Caicos Islands Austin Dickenson, the TCIRFU member of the year, is seen here with the participants in the Grand Turk Youth Rugby competition that Austin organized as part of the first ever Beach Olympics held in Grand Turks. Many sports were featured, but Rugby was the highlight of the event with a number of tag teams in the competition. The afternoon was capped off with a full contact Beach Rugby tournament between the four districts in Grand Turks. As expected, the players and spectators had a great time, and no doubt the future will see more Rugby on GTs beautiful beaches. All are welcome to visit! Actively yours, Scott Harland NACRA Regional Development Officer NACRA is on FaceBook and Twitter! Find us on FB at NACRugby, and on Twitter @NACRARugby. Want to get the Info Page delivered directly to your device? Subscription details cane be found here. This email was sent to markj.doyle@rogers why did I get this? unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences NACRA · 87 Park Grove Drive · Winnipeg, MB R2J 3L4 · Canada
Posted on: Tue, 28 Oct 2014 22:19:12 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015