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Written by Alex Goff
Saturday, 17 September 2011 19:49 |
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Arkansas State Wins 7s Tournament |
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Sevens -
Collegiate Sevens
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Arkansas State University won the collegiate 7s tournament at Middle Tennessee State University Saturday, defeating Tennessee 25-5 in the final.
ASU got by UT II, MTSU II and MTSU I in pool play before defeating Ole Miss in the semis. Tennessee provided the sternest test to a polished Red Wolves side.
Head Coach Matt Huckaby, who played for the USA at 7s, said he enjoyed returning to the short-form of rugby.
“The guys had a blast and I really enjoyed it,” Huckaby said. “We’ve got [former Cal All American] Alex Houser working with us now and he’s done a great job.”
Huckaby said the team worked hard on defense and fitness in order to get ready for 7s.
“We did a lot of work on getting that defensive line of six in their shape,” said the coach. “They did fine and I’m really pleased with their progress.”
As expected, Zac Mizell and Danie Swanepoel played well, but perhaps more of a surprise was Dale Bates. A newcomer to ASU, Bates played rugby for Waimea in Hawaii and was tracked to ASU from contacts at Hawaii Youth Rugby.
“He has a great natural sidestep and he really showed something,” enthused Huckaby.
The ASU coach also had praise for Jody Hensley of MTSU, who ran the tournament.
“It was all done well and they’ve got a great venue here,” said Huckaby.
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Written by Alex Goff
Saturday, 17 September 2011 18:55 |
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USA Team Plants Trees |
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International -
Rugby World Cup
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Several members of the USA Men's National Team stopped in at the Real NZ Festival to plant some native New Zealand trees. The event is part of a long-term effort by the New Plymouth Council to remake the city into one that embraces its impressive and dynamic waterfront.
The Eagles arrived at the Te Rewa Rewa reserve, which features several beaches, as well as the Te Rewa Rewa bridge, a uniquely-designed bridge reminiscent of a whale skeleton. The reserve is at the northern end of New Plymouth's new Coastal Walkway, a pathway that runs the length of the town often inches from the pounding surf. In a town that once had all its buildings facing inland, away from the water, the walkway was how the New Plymouth Council brought attention back to one of the place's most impressive features. Visitors can walk along the Tasman Sea, and stop at the Aquatic Center midway. It's also where you can get the best view of the Wind Wand, a piece of kinetic art conceived by artist Len Lye. Billed as a "Tangible Motion Scultpure" the Wind Wand is a light atop a flexible pole. It bends with the wind, and glows at night. "There's been a shift in New Plymouth to embrace not only the Mountain [Mt. Taranaki] but its role as a waterfront town," said Paul Stancliffe-White, General Manager - Visitor Industry, Venture Taranaki. "You see the attention turned toward the water, to allow the people to be proud of the waterfront." That also means showcasing some beautiful designs, and also bringing the Eagles to the waterfront to show how proud New Plymouth is of their new image. The largest town in Taranaki has been an excellent home for the USA team. USA flags were everywhere in town and the locals were also avid fans at the two matches the Eagles played there. Soon the USA will move on to Wellington, but it's hard to imagine them getting a better and, despite the weather, warmer welcome than in New Plymouth. "We're proud to have the United States team here," said former Taranaki rugby lock Ian Eliason, who played 19 times for the All Blacks in the 1970s and 222 times for his province. "We'd love to have more American teams tour here."
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Written by Alex Goff
Saturday, 17 September 2011 14:15 |
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Eagle Eye: And I had a Good Mad All Set to Go |
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RUGBYmag Premier -
Columns and Opinions
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Well I had a mad all set to unleash, and now I don’t get to.
Happily, Rugby World Cup judicial officer Jeff Blackett did not hand down a suspension for Todd Clever for a dangerous tackle.
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Written by Alex Goff
Saturday, 17 September 2011 15:13 |
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Irish D Over Aussies - Useful for USA? |
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National Teams -
USA Men
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It’s a mistake to think that because Ireland beat Australia 15-6 on Saturday, and the USA lost to Ireland 20-10, that the Eagles should be within a point of the Wallabies on September 23.
Certainly no one would assume that’s going to happen.
 But … two things do come out of that game that the Eagles could possibly learn from:
1. Ireland defense is pretty darned great. So the fact that the USA could only score one try again said Irish turns out to be a pretty impressive feat. Australia scored zero.
This could force us to revisit the USA offense. Is it just problems on the USA side of the ball that have limited their ability to convert pressure into points? Or is it also the fact they have played against two very good offenses? Likely (as usual) a bit of both, but it’s worth noting that the defense against the Eagles has been good.
Keep plugging away, then, and they might break through … especially against Italy September 27.
2. Australia can be stopped. As impressive as the Irish defensive effort has been, it’s not anything over and above what anyone else is capable of. The Eagles have played good defense, too. They held Russia tryless, and really only came close to giving up a try once – thanks to a charge-down.
Clearly it would take a Herculean effort to prevent Australia from scoring a try through 80 minutes, but it is possible.
Having seen the fruits of an all-out performance in two games, the Eagles might now take heart in the Ireland v. Australia result, and figure that maybe defense can carry them through to something special.
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Written by RUGBYMag Staff
Saturday, 17 September 2011 11:21 |
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No Additional Punishment for Clever |
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National Teams -
USA Men
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AUCKLAND, 17 Sept. - USA Captain Todd Clever has been given no suspension or any further punishment for a no-wrap tackle in his team's match against Russia September 15. Clever was cited by Independent Citing Commissioner Murray Whyte (Ireland) under Law 10.4(e) for dangerous tackling and 10.4(g) for dangerous charging in the Rugby World Cup 2011 Pool C match against Russia in New Plymouth on September 15.
Clever admitted the offence under Law 10.4(e) and Independent Judicial Officer Judge Jeff Blackett (England) accepted that the offence was appropriately classified under this Law reference and not under Law 10.4(g).
Having conducted a detailed review of all the evidence available, including all broadcast angles and additional evidence from the Player and his Counsel, Robert Latham, the Judicial Officer upheld the citing under Law 10.4(e) for dangerous tackling.
With respect to the sanction, the Judicial Officer deemed the offence to be at the lower end of the scale of seriousness which has an entry point of two weeks. The Judicial Officer found that there were compelling on-field and/or off-field mitigating features and a complete absence of on-field and/or off-field aggravating features.
In particular he determined that the contact was between the USA player’s upper arm and the victim player’s chest. It was a glancing contact as the victim player was already falling away as a result of a legitimate tackle by another USA player. There was no adverse effect on the victim player or the match and the offence could not be described as a body check, which would have been more serious.
Therefore, in accordance with Disciplinary Rule 12.5 the Judicial Officer determined that no further sanction was necessary.
Clever is able to resume play with immediate effect.
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Page 1172 of 1497 |
