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>> World Cup 2010 Announced
Rugby World Cup Limited (RWCL) has announced the pools for the 2010 Women’s Rugby World Cup in England.
The premier 15-aside tournament in the women’s game, which will be played from next August 20th to September 5th, will feature three pools of four teams with defending champions New Zealand, hosts and 2006 runners-up England and 2006 bronze medallists France all ranked top seeds in their pool.
The unprecedented qualification process, which saw 16 teams compete for the six places available outside the automatically qualified teams, was completed when Kazakhstan defeated Japan 43-5 to claim a place in Pool B, while Sweden join Pool C in their first appearance on the Women’s Rugby World Cup stage since 1998.
New Zealand, England, France, Canada, USA and South Africa all qualified directly, with Wales and Ireland qualifying through the Six Nations, Sweden and Scotland from the European qualifiers in May, Australia as the Oceania qualifier and Kazakhstan from Asia.
Pool A: New Zealand, Wales, Australia, South Africa
Pool B: England, USA, Ireland, Kazakhstan
Pool C: France, Canada, Scotland, Sweden
In Pool A, New Zealand’s Black Ferns are undisputedly the team to beat. They have won the last three World Cups in 1998, 2002 and 2006.
Wales have only met the Black Ferns on one previous occasion, but the game in 1991 at Llanharan ended in defeat as New Zealand won 24-6.
Australia’s Wallaroos qualified for the World Cup after defeating Samoa 87-0 in a qualifying match in Apia in August. Debby Hodgkinson, the Wallaroos’ No.8 and the IRB’s Women’s Personality of the Year said:
“It’s a challenge to be drawn with New Zealand and South Africa but you’ve got to beat the best to win the World Cup. We played New Zealand last year and we lost by only six points, we’re inching closer to them and hopefully we’ll be able to knock them off.
“There’s a large number of girls who were involved in the Sevens World Cup win coming to England and they know how to win. We’ll definitely be looking to carry off the double”.
SARU Manager for Women’s Rugby, Mahlubi Puzi, added to the speculation, “We’ve got a huge task on our shoulders as it’s a tough pool for us to be in”.
England head Pool B, winners of four successive Six Nations. They are joined by the United States, the only other former cup winner in the group. The Americans won the inaugural Cup in 1991 and lost the 1994 final to England. Ireland and Kazakhstan are the final two teams in this pool.
France and Canada, who have met in the third-place game in the last two cups, both won by France, head Pool C which also features Scotland and Sweden.
Newly appointed Scotland Women’s coach, Gary Parker, has just completed the first of the season’s training camps with the Scotland squad. He said:
“It’s a tough draw but there are no easy games in the World Cup competition. Fortunately we have a good opportunity to analyse each of our pool opponents by revisiting our Six Nations preparation fixture against Sweden, which we won 32-0, while Canada’s match against France this week will also provide some useful footage.
“We have just completed and excellent two-day training camp where the intensity of the players was superb. We have a few adjustments to make to improve a few things but I am confident in the players and the time we have that we will be able to challenge and develop the players for the Six Nations, first and foremost, and the 2010 Women’s Rugby World Cup after that”.
Further Women's Rugby World Cup 2010 announcements, including the format and match schedule, broadcast and the legacy programme will be made at the official tournament launch on Monday, November 23 at 11.00 GMT.
The launch will be held in the Shakespeare Room, South Stand, Twickenham.
Attendees will include Rugby World Cup Limited Chairman Bernard Lapasset, Martyn Thomas, Chairman of the RFU Management Board, and Gerry Sutcliffe MP, Minister for Sport.
Players from six of the participating nations will also attend the launch. England captain Catherine Spencer and her New Zealand counterpart Victoria Heighway will be joined by Canada's Mandy Marchuk, Non Evans of Wales, Ireland's Joy Neville and Sarah Gill of Scotland.
>> 9 Bristol Ladies selected for England vs New Zealand Tests
A record 9 Bristol players have been selected for the England and England A squads that are facing New Zealand in the first of the Autumn internationals for the RFUW.
For the England game on Saturday 14th November, Bristol No.8 Catherine Spencer has retained her England captaincy, while team mate and last season’s Bristol captain Sophie Hemming also starts as prop. This game follows immediately after the men’s test at Twickenham, and admittance is free to all.
Bristol have a further 7 players chosen for the England A squad, who face the reigning World Cup holders on Tuesday 17th November. Monica Lewinska (prop), Marlie Packer (back row), and Kim Oliver (centre) all start for the As, with Charlotte Male, Isabelle Noel-Smith, Georgina Rozario and Natasha Hunt named on the bench.
Bristol Head Coach Steve Penfold said of the selections: "The whole of Bristol Ladies are delighted by the achievements of the girls selected for England in the up and coming fixtures. It is down to their commitment and desire that they have been given them this opportunity. The coaching staff wish them all the luck with these fixtures and I hope they now push on from this point. I hope it also shows others in the Bristol Squad that chances and opportunities will come".
Under the expert guidance of Head Coach Gary Street, England women have made real progress over the past few seasons. As reigning champions of both the RBS 6 Nations and the Nations Cup, expectations are high and with such a capable squad, the sky really is the limit.
The 2009/2010 season will culminate with the top 12 International sides arriving on English soil, all with the intention of lifting the illustrious Rugby World Cup trophy. England are ranked second for the tournament after losing narrowly to the current world champions New Zealand in the 2006 Rugby World Cup final in Canada, but that disappointment three years ago is sure to spur the England women on as they look to win the competition on home soil for the first time.
Catherine Spencer - England Captain
>> GLOUCESTERSHIRE RFU – GIRLS 2009/10
The GRFUW 2009-10 programme could well be the most successful to date. As in previous years two age groups have been set up. The U18 age group includes school years 11-13 and the U15 encompasses school years 8-10. The two county squads are supported by a team of 6 volunteers and medical staff who have spent the last 3-4 months putting together this year’s programme. The trial day held at Hartpury College (27.09.09) saw 32 U18 players register for selection to the final squad of 25, whilst the U15 squad had 28 players register for a squad of 20. The standard of play and levels of commitment shown by the girls throughout the day were of a consistently high standard which made selection a challenging task.
Both squads played their first matches last weekend (08.11.09) with a triangular fixture between Gloucestershire, Hertfordshire and Somerset at both age groups. On a cold, wet and windy Remembrance Sunday at Gordon League RFC, Girls from all squads began by paying their respects to service men and women who have been lost at war.
The GRFUW squads experienced mixed results with the U18 team losing a closely fought battle with Hertfordshire. Having gone ahead towards the end of the first half, the U18’s found themselves leading by 5-0 going into the last 5 minutes. However under immense defensive pressure, consecutive lapses in concentration saw Hertfordshire cross the line twice in quick succession to win the game 5-12. The squad went into their second game with Somerset desperate to prove all their hard work in training hadn’t gone to waste. A gritty and determined performance in difficult conditions gave the U18 squad a 12-0 win against Somerset.
In contrast the U15 squad had a very successful day recording wins in both of their games. After a nervous start Gloucestershire provided the crowd with an immense all round defensive display against Hertfordshire. A true team performance saw the squad record a 15-0 win over the visitors. Still on a high from their earlier result the team ran out against Somerset knowing they would face much sterner opposition. However each every member of the squad stood up to the challenge in an edgy match with Gloucestershire eventually running out 36-12 winners.
The players return to their clubs this weekend (15.11.09) before getting back together during the following week to prepare for an away trip to Grove RFC to face Oxfordshire and Berkshire.
>> RAGING BULL DEBUTS A/W LEISURE & SPORTSWEAR RANGE ON NEW E-COMMERCE WEBSITE
http://www.ragingbull.co.uk
18th September 2009, Gloucestershire – Rugby players and fans of all ages can buy Raging Bull’s new season sports and casual clothing online, thanks to the launch of its new-look, state-of-the-art, e-commerce website and rugby community at www.ragingbull.co.uk.
England legend Phil Vickery’s performance rugby wear and leisure clothing range is the fast-growing clothing brand of choice for rugby players and fashion-conscious fans. The new-look website debuts Raging Bull’s new season collection, which includes new designs across Vickery’s sportswear and casual capsules, including his flagship signature rugby jersey, brushed hoody, new long sleeve rugby and sweat pants too.
The website incorporates all-new Spin Me photo-technology, which allows customers to view clothing in 360 degrees and zone-in on the attention to style, detail and quality fabrics used.
Other new features on the site include the ‘Club Shop’ facility that allows clubs to have their own bespoke shop featuring a range of their team wear and club apparel, for all their members and friends to buy direct online! There is also a section for customers, clubs and fans to feedback product comments and build a ‘wish lists’ for future purchases. The new site will highlight featured club shirts and ‘shirts with a story’ that have been inspired through personal experiences and the history and passion of the game.
Rugby clubs can now also create their own team strips using ‘Kit Builder’, Raging Bull Sportswear’s revolutionary online shirt and short design wizard. Fun and easy-to-use, it is ideal for clubs or groups who want to create their own bespoke team kit designs, allowing kit managers to select from a range of styles, materials and colours, and customise them all at the click of a button.
For the ultimate rugby fan Raging Bull has developed a ‘Limited Edition Rugby’ which features a unique design of rugby shirt that is exclusive to Raging Bull and only available for a limited time period, solely on a pre-order basis.
Part of the website is dedicated to Vickery’s new grassroots online rugby forum, which encourages rugby fans to get online and talk to others about the sport. Vickery is launching a comprehensive social media presence with Twitter feeds and a Facebook group giving behind the scenes updates and exclusive information and promotions.
Phil Vickery, founder of Raging Bull, said: “I am thrilled with the success of the Raging Bull brand; it’s all about performance and quality. People come up to me on the field and in the street and ask where they can buy our gear, so I am really proud of the new website which carries all our new season sportswear and a great-looking autumn leisure range.”
Phil Vickery, Launching his range and the Sports Floor at Debenhams, Gloucester, August 2009