Italy
Chiefs scrumhalf Brendon Leonard will head off shore at the end of the Super Rugby season to continue his rugby career in Italy.
Well there are a lot of surprises in the mid-year appointments this year, and I’m not sure how much can be read into them.
Scott Johnson, the current head coach of the Scotland team has been appointed Director of Rugby for Scottish Rugby. The post has been described by Scottish Rugby as “absolutely integral to Scotland’s standing on the world stage in the next decade and beyond.”
Benetton Treviso are on course for their highest-ever RaboDirect PRO12 finish but head coach (former Springbok flyhalf) Franco Smith insists he is not concerned about the final table.
Three Six Nations games are played today but unfortunately the early Saturday games overlap with a Super Rugby game and a game in the Lions Challenge.
So, we’ve decided to do one combined Six Nations Article for the early games and a seperate one for the late evening game… giving progress and scores from both Six Nations matches.
Here it is…
England (12) 18 / 11 (3) Italy (Final Score)
England and Italy did battle in the Six Nations tournament at Twickenham, London at 17:00 SA Time (15:00 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & SHD on TV in SA.
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Top of the table England host fifth placed Italy at Twickenham in the RBS Six Nations Championship on Sunday. This is part of the fifth round of fixtures of this year’s Championship. The match is scheduled to kick off at 17.00 South African Time.
Three Six Nations games were played this weekend, two Saturday afternoon and evening and one on Sunday. Unfortunately the Saturday games overlaped with two Super Rugby games.
So, we’ve decided to do one combined Six Nations Article… giving progress and scores from all three Six Nations matches.
Here it is…
Leicester prop Martin Castrogiovanni will lead Italy in the absence of banned number eight Sergio Parisse for Saturday’s Six Nations game with Wales. Stade Francais’ Parisse is out of the tournament after being suspended for 30 days for insulting a match referee.
Sam Warburton and Alun Wyn Jones are set to make their Wales returns off the bench when they take on Italy in the Six Nations in Rome on Saturday.
This weekend sees a return to action in the 2013 RBS 6 Nations Championship with the third round of games to be played, following a week’s break. Two matches will be played on Saturday, one in Rome and the other in London. The third and final match of the weekend takes place on Sunday in Edinburgh.
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Wales interim head coach Rob Howley has taken a bold move by naming his team to face Italy in Rome next Saturday a week early but rewarding the players that beat France 6-16 last week.
Scotland (13) 34 / 10 (3) Italy (Final Score)
Scotland and Italy did battle in the Six Nations Competition at Murrayfield, Edinburgh at 16:30 SA Time (14:30 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & SHD on TV in SA.
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Italy coach Jacques Brunel made only one change from the side that started in the 23-18 triumph over France last week for the Azzurri’s second Six Nations challenge against Scotland on Saturday.
Gonzalo Canale, who plays club rugby for La Rochelle in France, replaces Alberto Sgarbi at inside centre after the latter picked up an injury knock.
The first weekend of Six Nations 2013 has come and gone with two of the results as expected by many as Ireland and England claimed victories over Wales and Scotland respectively. The final match of the weekend saw Italy score what was seen as a surprise victory over France in Rome.
The intensity of the games took their toll though with various injuries incurred by the teams. We bring some of the news from the various squads regarding the injuries and player availability.
Italy (13) 23 / 18 (15) France (Final Score)
Italy and France did battle in the Six Nations tournament at Stadio Olimpico, Rome at 17:00 SA Time (15:00 GMT, 16:00 Rome Time).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & SHD4 on TV in SA.
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Francesco Minto will make his RBS 6 Nations debut for Italy after being named in head coach Jacques Brunel’s starting XV for their opening clash with France at the Stadio Olimpico.
Thierry Dusautoir will make his long-awaited return to France’s starting line-up after being named in the side to face Italy on Sunday.
The RBS Six Nations Championship is due to kick off this weekend. The first game of this year’s tournament sees current holder Wales playing at home against Ireland this Saturday afternoon.
Italy coach Jacques Brunel has named his 30-man squad for the upcoming Six Nations and called on his players to build on their promising November test campaign.
The last remaining bastion of the amateur era’s traditions looks set to fall.
Italy coach Jacques Brunel made two changes to the side which suffered a 42-10 defeat to New Zealand ahead of Saturday’s third and final November test against Australia in Florence.
Italy coach Jacques Brunel has made eight changes to the side that beat Tonga 28-23 last week ahead of Saturday’s test against New Zealand’s All Blacks at Rome’s Olympic Stadium.
The customary time of the year when Southern Hemisphere International teams descend on the Northern Hemisphere is now upon us. We can look forward to four action packed weekends with twenty matches involving the various international teams (nineteen of which will be test matches).
Wellington – World champions New Zealand will play Tests against Scotland, Italy, Wales and England on their tour of Europe in November, the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) said on Monday.
Bokkies (19) 52 / (3) 3 Italy (Final Score)
South Africa and Italy did battle in the IRB Junior World Championships at Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch at 18:45 SA Time.
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 on TV in SA.
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Italy (12) 15 / England (6) 19 (Final Score)
Italy and England did battle in week 2 of the Six Nations of 2012 at the Stadio Olimpico, Rome at 18:00 SA Time (16:00 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & SHD on TV in SA.
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France (15) 30 / Italy (6) 12 (Final Score)
France and Italy did battle in the First Six Nations encounter of 2012 at Stade De France, Paris at 16:30 SA Time (14:30 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
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World Cup finalists France will bid to get their Six Nations campaign off with a resounding bang when they host Italy at the Stade de France on Saturday.
New Italy coach Jacques Brunel has changed nearly half of Italy’s squad for his Six Nations debut against his home nation France on Saturday.
Wales came from nowhere to win it in 2008 with a Grand Slam to boot. Ireland emulated them twelve months later, France followed suit in 2010 and last year England made it to the top of the pile before their World Cup implosion.
There is nothing to beat the RBS 6 Nations and not merely because of its capacity to spread the title around. Four different champions in successive years had last happened long before the Five became Six, a sequence completed in 1982 when Ollie Campbell’s fusillade of seven goals swamped a lone Scottish try to guarantee Ireland the Triple Crown and, ultimately, the championship.
Almost time for the Six Nations competition. First games will be played in four weeks time. Here is some History of the Championship.
Played annually, the format of the Championship is simple: each team plays every other team once, with home field advantage alternating from one year to the next.
Two points are awarded for a win, one for a draw and none for a loss and unlike most other rugby union competitions the bonus point system is not used.
With the international season taking a bit of a breather, I thought some informative statistics would be interesting. I am looking at the home record of the top nations, seeing when was the last time they lost a home test to each of the other nations.
I would think any nation would expect at least a 75% home win record as the minimm standard to attain. anything less would mean your home ground advantage counts for very little and travelling teams do not find it a daunting task to tour.
New Italy coach Jacques Brunel has said that Italy will have to quickly reach a level of Rugby that will enable them to compete for the Six Nations championship.