Monthly Archives: December 2016
Stuart Hogg will start at fly-half for Glasgow Warriors for the first time in the Guinness PRO12 match away to Benetton Treviso this afternoon.
Stuart Hogg
Despite having moved to the stand-off position during games and starting there for the British & Irish Lions, it is the first time Hogg will wear the Warriors number 10 shirt.
Rob Harley could make his 150th appearance for the club from the bench and would join an elite group of six other players who have reached that milestone.
With Hogg moving up field, Peter Murchie starts at full-back and will be flanked by Tommy Seymour and Junior Bulumakau, who has scored in both of his appearances for Glasgow so far this season, with the most recent coming in the win over Edinburgh Rugby at BT Murrayfield on Monday.
Nick Grigg starts at outside centre and was named Man of the Match in Glasgow’s previous trip to Italy this season in the win over Zebre. He once again teams up with Sam Johnson in the centres.
Combining with Hogg, Henry Pyrgos will captain the side from scrum-half.
Reigning 1872 Cup holders Edinburgh Rugby host Glasgow Warriors at Murrayfield in their Guinness PRO12 league match which doubles up as the first leg of this season’s 1872 Cup.
Glasgow Warriors are currently in 6th place on the PRO12 log with 27 points, 10 points off leaders Munster after 10 rounds, while Edinburgh who parted ways with Alan Solomons earlier this season are down in lowly 10th place with a mere 17 points. Both teams are doing fairly well in Europe although Glasgow are playing in the top European Rugby Champions Cup while Edinburgh are playing in the Challenge Cup.
There will be a mouth watering battle of the back rows, especially at number 8 where players who both used to ply their trade in South Africa Josh Strauss and Cornell du Preez have been selected for Glasgow and Edinburgh respectively.
World Rugby comments on the latest developments in the George North head injury incident.
World Rugby notes the outcomes from the independent Concussion Management Review Group investigating the handling of George North’s head injury incident during the Leicester Tigers v Northampton Saints Aviva Premiership match on 3 December 2016.
World Rugby’s number one priority is player welfare and our primary concern is the welfare of George and all players. It is therefore disappointing that apparent non-compliance with the sport’s elite head injury protocols led to George remaining on the field of play when he should have been immediately and permanently removed.
World Rugby’s recognise and remove protocols state in no uncertain terms that any player displaying clear or suspected signs of loss of consciousness should be permanently and immediately removed from the field of play. In this case, the Head Injury Assessment should not have been undertaken.
Andrew Coombs
Retired Wales rugby player Andrew Coombs is “disgusted and devastated” his former region Newport Gwent Dragons have ended his insurance policy.
Coombs, 32, injured a knee in April 2015 and had to quit 14 months later.
He says he is left with “thousands of pounds of medical bills for treatment not available on the NHS”.
Davies added: “Like most employers’ medical insurance schemes, cover ordinarily ceases on termination of employment.
“In fact, Andrew remained covered at our expense for some months after his retirement. Andrew’s cover under the policy came to an end as we moved towards self-funding the cost of treatment for players in our employment, due to the escalating costs of insurance.”
Davies also said the Dragons offered Coombs “full and ongoing access to our medical staff and facilities” and that the offer “remains in place”.
George Earle
Cardiff Blues lock George Earle has been banned for eight weeks after being sent off in their European Challenge Cup defeat by Bath.
South African Earle made contact with the eye area of Bath flanker Tom Ellis in the second half of the 38-3 loss.
The first game the 29-year-old will miss is the Pro12 home derby with Newport Gwent Dragons on 26 December.
Earle pleaded not guilty to the charge, but a disciplinary panel ruled he had committed the offence.
He – and tournament organisers – can appeal against the decision.
George North
Northampton Saints will face no sanction following the investigation into their treatment of Wales wing George North’s latest head injury.
However, the concussion review panel concluded that the 24-year-old should not have returned to the field of play after he fell in a mid-air tackle against Leicester on 3 December.
The panel’s 17-page report stated that head injury assessment (HIA) protocol was followed correctly, but the Saints medical team have accepted that North may have lost consciousness.
“The CMRG considered the welfare of North was always at the centre of Northampton’s actions, and does not consider that the medical team (or the club) failed to complete the HIA protocol nor intentionally ignored the player’s best interests.”
Josh Strauss
Josh Strauss will make his 100th appearance for Glasgow Warriors in Friday night’s European Rugby Champions Cup match against Racing 92 at Scotstoun.
The Warriors won 23-14 against the French side in Paris last Saturday.
All 7,351 tickets have been sold for the Pool 1 encounter.
Stuart Hogg continues at full-back and Tommy Seymour and Lee Jones complete the back-three.
Alex Dunbar, who scored one of the tries last weekend, links up with Sam Johnson in midfield.
Last week’s Man of the Match Finn Russell is at fly-half and Ali Price, who scored Glasgow’s second try in Paris, starts at scrum-half.
Edinburgh Rugby Acting Head Coach Duncan Hodge has made eight changes to his starting side to face Stade Francais in the second of back-to-back European Challenge cup fixture against the Parisian outfit tonight (Thursday) at Stade Jean Bouin (kick-off 8.45pm local).
The majority of changes come in the pack where five players come in to start following Saturday’s round four 28-23 defeat of the French side.
In the front-row Simon Berghan and Ross Ford – who will captain the side – are promoted from the bench to start, while Fraser McKenzie is named in the pack in place of Grant Gilchrist.
Nasi Manu is set to don the number eight shirt while Cornell Du Preez packs down on the blindside flank.
Tom Brown returns from a groin injury to start on the wing in the only change to the back-three, with Chris Dean coming in at inside centre and Jason Tovey given the nod at stand-off.
Dylan Hartley
England captain Dylan Hartley will be available for their opening fixture of the Six Nations against France after receiving a six-week ban for striking.
The 30-year-old caught flanker Sean O’Brien with a swinging arm during Northampton Saints’ Champions Cup loss to Leinster on Friday and received the third red card of his career.
He has now been suspended for a total of 60 weeks.
Hartley, who pleaded guilty to the charge at an independent disciplinary hearing in London on Wednesday, is able to play again from 23 January.
George North
Northampton will be “frustrated” that an investigation into the management of wing George North’s latest head injury has still to reach a conclusion, says ex-Saints team manager Lennie Newman.
A concussion panel was set up after North, 24, played on after landing on his head in the loss to Leicester.
The review, which is said to be “rigorous”, will now go into next week.
“And, first and foremost, they want to get one of their star signings on the pitch. They’re struggling at the minute and want to be able to select him.”
Players making contact with an opponent’s head in “reckless tackles” will receive a yellow card at least in changes to rules over high tackles.
Players will be punished even if the tackle starts below the shoulders.
If head contact is accidental – for example, if a ball-carrier slips into a tackle – a penalty will be awarded.
A reckless tackle occurs when a player “knew or should have known that there was a risk of making contact with the head of an opponent, but did so anyway”.
In September 2015, World Rugby’s chief medical officer Martin Raftery said that the game’s rules may have to change to reduce concussions.
CJ Stander starred for Munster against Leicester Tigers
When you consider the calibre of opposition, it is perhaps the Guinness PRO12 clubs’ most successful weekend in Europe.
Leicester, two-time European champions and the most successful club in English Premiership history were dismantled by Munster, held to nil for the first time in Europe for 13 years.
Clermont Auvergne lead the Top 14, are packed full of French internationals and have been one of the Champions Cup’s most consistent teams in years gone by, while Ulster put five sterling tries past them.
Glasgow Warriors claimed just their eighth away win in Europe’s top flight against last year’s finalists and Top 14 champions, while Edinburgh turned over French giants Stade Francais from 17 points back.
Here is all you need to know about a stunning weekend of Champions Cup and Challenge Cup action across the continent:
Munster maintained their winning start to the European Champions Cup as they handed Leicester Tigers a record defeat in the competition. Final score: Munster 38/0 Leicester Tigers
The Pool One game was over by half-time after fly-half Tyler Bleyendaal’s 14 points and a Simon Zebo try.
Jaco Taute added two second-half tries and also created the late penalty try as he was hauled down by George Worth.
Saturday’s result also brought back memories of the only other time the Tigers were held scoreless in a European Cup game, when they were beaten 33-0 by Ulster in January 2004.
Munster’s win keeps them on top of Pool One as they move to 10 points despite having played a game less than Glasgow and Leicester, with the Tigers now six points behind the leaders.
The curtain has come down on the Autumn Internationals and there can now be little doubt that the gap has closed between the north and south. However, the prevailing question is: Have the Northern Hemisphere teams strengthened or have the Southern sides weakened?
In my book, it’s a 60:40 split. Forty per cent is owing to much better cohesion from Northern Hemisphere teams and continuity in terms of selection under the guidance of astute coaches. However, 60 per cent is due to the fact that Southern Hemisphere rugby has waned. Harsh questions have to be asked around competition structures in the south, as well as eligibility of foreign-based players.
England (13) 37 / 21 (16) Wallabies (Final Score)
England and the Australian Wallabies did battle in the End Of Year Tours 2016 Internationals at
Twickenham Stadium, London, England, at 16:30 SA Time (14:30 UK Time & GMT, Sunday 01:30 AEDT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 2 & CSN on TV in SA.
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The 1st HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series tournament for the 2016 – 2017 season is taking place in Dubai on 2 and 3 December 2016.
On Day 1 (2 December 2016) the usual results followed for the big nations, with the expected top 8 qualifying for the Quarters.
On Day 2 (3 December 2016) Fiji, England, Wales and South Africa (Blitzbokke) advanced to the Semi-Finals for the overall title.
South Africa’s Blitzbokke struck a massive blow by beating New Zealand in the Quarters by a mighty 40 / 0, to advance into the Semis were they will face Wales, whereas Fiji and England square up in the remaining Semi-final.
In the 1st Semi-final, Fiji beat England by 31 / 12.
South Africa comfortably beat Wales in the 2nd Semi-final, by 36 / 5.
The South African Blitzbokke won the title in fine style, beating Fiji in the Final by 26 / 14.
All games were televised LIVE in South Africa on SuperSport 1 and M-Net.