RUGBYINTERNATIONAL.NET

‘GETTING THE RECORDS STRAIGHT’

THE GAME OF RUGBY IS RAPIDLY EXPANDING WORLD WIDE. THIS WEB SITE'S MAIN FUNCTION IS THE RESEARCHING, COLLECTING, COLLATING, RECORDING AND UPDATING OF INTERNATIONAL RUGBY RESULTS AND RECORDS

FEBRUARY 2008

Web sites I recommend this month

Updated 29.02.2008

Scroll down for the latest news

Latest Results (Last two weeks)

23.02.2008

Wales 47, Italy 8 in Cardiff (6 Nations Int. Championship)

Ireland 34, Scotland 13 in Dublin (6 Nations Int. Championship)

England 24, France 13 in Paris (6 Nations Int. Championship)

Georgia 11, Portugal 6 in Lisbon (European Nations Cup, Div.1)

Romania 17, Spain 11 in Madrid (European Nations Cup, Div.1)

16.02.2008

Portugal 42, Czech Republic 6 in Lisbon (European Nations Cup, Div.1)

10.02.2008

England 23, Italy 19 in Rome (6 Nations International Championship)

09.02.2007

Wales 30, Scotland 15 in Cardiff (6 Nations International Championship)

France 26, Ireland 21 in Paris (6 Nations International Championship)

Georgia 22, Romania 7 in Tblissi (European Nations Cup, Division 1, Antim Cup)

Coming Up

01.03.2008

Russia v Portugal in Krasnodar (European Nations Cup, Div.1)

08.03.2008

Wales v Ireland in Dublin (6 Nations International Championship)

England v Scotland (Calcutta Cup & (6 Nations International Championship)

Romania v Portugal (European Nations Cup, Div.1)

Russia v Spain (European Nations Cup, Div.1)

09.03.2008

Italy v France in Paris (6 Nations International Championship)

NEWS ARCHIVES

The last few months of archives can be found here.

November-December 2007

January 2008

ADDITIONS AND ALTERATIONS TO THE FIXTURE LIST

Australia ‘A’ 2008 Schedule (26.02)-all Pacific Nations Cup

8 June v Japan in Fukuoka

14 June v Samoa in Apia

22 June v Tonga in Sydney

29 June v Fiji in Brisbane

6 July v NZ Maori in Sydney

Northern Hemisphere teams tour south 2008 (24.02)

Ireland in Australia and New Zealand: Tests: 7 June v New Zealand in Wellington; 14 June v Australia in Melbourne

France in Australia: Tests 28 June v Australia in Sydney; 5 July v Australia in Brisbane.

England in New Zealand: Tests, 14 June v New Zealand in Auckland; 21 June v New Zealand in Christchurch.

Wales in South Africa: Tests, 7 June v South Africa in Bloemfontein; 14 June v South Africa in Pretoria.

Scotland in Argentina: Tests 2 tests tbc

CONSUR B Tournament 16-23 August. Venue-Colombia. Teams-Colombia, Venezuela, Peru and possibly Costa Rica (24.02)

Churchill Cup Fixtures 2008 (24.02)

The 2008 Churchill Cup will take place between 7 June and 21 June 2008. It will be the sixth year of the tournament. Six rugby union teams will take part: Canada, England Saxons, Ireland A, Scotland A, the USA, and TBA.

“The uncertainty over the identity of the sixth team stems from a decision by the New Zealand Rugby Union not to assemble its 'A' team, the Junior All Blacks, in 2008. As a consequence, the New Zealand Māori, who have taken part in the last three Churchill Cup tournaments, will replace the Juniors in the Pacific Nations Cup and will not be available for the Churchill Cup” Wikipedia (edited).

Note: The official Barclays Churchill Cup web site gives the new team as ‘Argentina Pumas’. This is unconfirmed but could well be ‘home-based’ Argentina. As to whether ‘caps’ will awarded to this team is also uncertain.

http://www.barclayschurchillcuprugby.com/leagues/schedules.cfm?leagueID=10901&clientID=3731

Schedule

7 June (In Nepean, Canada): Scotland ‘A’ v Canada (Pool A); England Saxons v USA (Pool B)

11 June (In Kingston, Canada): Argentina Pumas v Scotland ‘A’ (Pool A); Ireland ‘A’ v USA (Pool B)

14 June (In Markham, Canada): Canada v Argentina Pumas (Pool A); England Saxons v Ireland ‘A’ (Pool B)

21 June (In Chicago, USA): Finals day; Bowl (3^rd v 3^rd), Plate (2^nd v 2^nd), Cup (1^st v 1^st).

Tri Nations Fixtures 2008 (24.02)

Date	Time	Game	Ground
5 Jul	19:35	New Zealand vs South Africa	Westpac Stadium, Wellington
12 Jul	19:35	New Zealand vs South Africa	Carisbrook, Dunedin
19 Jul		Australia vs South Africa	Subiaco Oval, Perth
26 Jul		Australia vs New Zealand	ANZ Stadium, Sydney

August

Date	Time	Game	Ground
2 Aug	19:35	New Zealand vs Australia	Eden Park, Auckland
16 Aug		South Africa vs New Zealand	Newlands, Cape Town
23 Aug		South Africa vs Australia	Absa Stadium, Durban
30 Aug		South Africa vs Australia	Ellis Park, Johannesburg

September

Date	Time	Game	Ground
13 Sep		Australia vs New Zealand	Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane

Thanks to http://2rugby.com/ts/163/

Asia Nations Div.2 Tournament June 11-14; Venue-Thailand. Teams-Thailand, India, Pakistan, Malaysia (24.02)

Japans 2008 Schedule (18.02)

26 April v Korea in Seoul (Asia Nations Div.1)

3 May v Arabian Gulf in Osaka (Asia Nations Div.1)

10 May v Kazakhstan in Kazakhstan (Asia Nations Div.1)

18 May v Hong Kong in Niigata (Asia Nations Div.1)

31 May v All Black Classic XV (non-test) in Tokyo

8 June v Australia ‘A’ in Fukuoka (Pacific Nations Cup)

15 June v Tonga in Sendai (Pacific Nations Cup)

22 June v Fiji in Tokyo (Pacific Nations Cup)

28 June v NZ Maori in Napier (Pacific Nations Cup)

5 July v Samoa in Apia (Pacific Nations Cup)

Thanks to http://www.rugbyjapan.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=308&Itemid=26

Arabian Gulf 2008 Schedule (18.02)

26 April v Hong Kong at Al Ain (Asia Nations Div.1)

3 May v Japan in Osaka (Asia Nations Div.1)

9 May v Korea in Doha (Asia Nations Div.1)

24 May v Kazakhstan in Taldykorgan (Asia Nations Div.1)

Thanks to http://www.agrfu.com/

2008 International Rugby Fixtures

2008 GWC Rugby Rankings

LATEST NEWS

THIS WEEKEND 23 FEBRUARY

23.02.2008

Wales 47, Italy 8 in Cardiff (6 Nations Int. Championship)

Wales won by 39 points. I predicted Italy by 1 point!!

Reviews

Previews

Italy’s last two encounters with Wales sees them ahead with a win and a draw.

Article 1 (in Italian) Article 2

Tom Shanklin will play his 50^th test for Wales against Italy

Article 1

Last Five Encounters

10.03.2007 Italy 23-20 in Rome (6 Nations Int. Championship)

11.03.2006 Drawn 18-18 in Cardiff (6 Nations Int. Championship)

12.02.2005 Wales 38-8 in Rome (6 Nations Int. Championship)

27.03.2004 Wales 44-10 in Cardiff (6 Nations Int. Championship)

25.10.2003 Wales 27-15 in Canberra (World Cup, Pool D)

GWC Rugby Rankings: World Table-Wales 2^nd, Italy 11^th

Europe Table-Wales 1^st, Italy 6th

Match Data Sheet

Ireland 34, Scotland 13 in Dublin (6 Nations Int. Championship)

Ireland won by 21 points.I predicted Scotland by 3.

Reviews

Previews

Scotland’s last win in Dublin was 17-16 in 1998.

Last Five Encounters

11.08.2007 Scotland 31-21 at Murrayfield (World Cup Warm-up)

10.03.2007 Ireland 19-18 at Murrayfield (6 Nations Int. Championship)

11.03.2006 Ireland 15-9 in Dublin (6 Nations Int. Championship)

12.02.2005 Ireland 40-13 at Murrayfield (6 Nations. Int. Championship)

27.03.2004 Ireland 37-16 in Dublin (6 Nations Int. Championship)

GWC Rugby Rankings: World Table-Scotland 9^th, Ireland 10^th CHANGE

Europe Table-Scotland 4^th, Ireland 5^th CHANGE

Teams

Scotland

15 Hugo Southwell (Edinburgh)

14 Rory Lamont (Sale Sharks)

13 Simon Webster (Edinburgh)

12 Andrew Henderson (Glasgow Warriors)

11 Nikki Walker (Ospreys)

10 Chris Paterson (Gloucester)

9 Mike Blair (Edinburgh) CAPTAIN

8 Kelly Brown (Glasgow Warriors)

7 Allister Hogg (Edinburgh)

6 Alasdair Strokosch (Gloucester)

5 Scott MacLeod (Llanelli Scarlets)

4 Nathan Hines (Perpignan)

3 Euan Murray (Northampton Saints)

2 Ross Ford (Edinburgh)

1 Allan Jacobsen (Edinburgh)

Substitutes

16 Fergus Thomson (Glasgow Warriors)

17 Gavin Kerr (Edinburgh)

18 Jim Hamilton (Leicester Tigers)

19 Ross Rennie (Edinburgh)

20 Chris Cusiter (Perpignan)

21 Dan Parks (Glasgow Warriors)

22 Nick De Luca (Edinburgh)

Coach: Frank Hadden

http://www.scottishrugby.org/sru/international/scotland/news.cfm?news_uuid=375D352A-C6B1-490B-92A8B2BD6DBD6B9B

New Scotland captain will be the nation’s 108^th leader at the test level.

Article 1

England 24, France 13 in Paris (6 Nations Int. Championship)

England won by 11 points. I predicted France by 5.

Reviews

Previews

England’s 14-9 victory in October pushed the French side out of a finals place in the 2007 Rugby World Cup. The French will be thirsting for revenge in front of their home crowd.

Article 1 Article 2

Last Five Encounters

13.10.2007 England 14-9 in Paris (World Cup, Semi-Final)

18.08.2007 France 22-9 in Marseilles (World Cup warm-up friendly)

11.08.2007 France 21-15 at Twickenham (World Cup warm-up friendly)

11.03.2007 England 26-18 at Twickenham (6 Nations Int. Championship)

12.03.2006 France 31-6 in Paris (6 Nations Int. Championship)

GWC Rugby Rankings-World Table-England 3^rd, France 5^th

Europe Table-England 2^nd, France 3rd

Teams

England

15 Iain Balshaw Gloucester Rugby

14 Paul Sackey London Wasps

13 Jamie Noon Newcastle Falcons

12 Toby Flood Newcastle Falcons

11 Lesley Vainikolo Gloucester Rugby

10 Jonny Wilkinson Newcastle Falcons

9 Richard Wigglesworth Sale Sharks

8 Nick Easter Harelquins

7 Michael Lipman Bath Rugby

6 James Haskell London Wasps

5 Steve Borthwick Bath Rugby

4 Simon Shaw London Wasps

3 Phil Vickery London Wasps, captain

2 Mark Regan Bristol Rugby

1 Andrew Sheridan Sale Sharks

Replacements

16 Lee Mears Bath Rugby

17 Matt Stevens Bath Rugby

18 Ben Kay Leicester Tigers

19 Tom Croft Leicester Tigers*

20 Paul Hodgson London Irish*

21 Danny Cipriani London Wasps

22 Mathew Tait Newcastle Falcons

*Uncapped

Coach: Brian Ashton

http://www.england-rugby.com/englandrugby/index.cfm?fuseaction=News.News_Detail&storyid=19038

France

15 Cédric Heymans, 14 Aurelien Rougerie, 13 David Marty, 12 Damien Traille, 11 Vincent Clerc, 10 François Trinh-Duc, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Thierry Dusautoir, 6 Julien Bonnaire, 5 Romain Millo Chluski, 4 Lionel Nallet (c), 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Dimitri Szarzewski, 1 Lionel Faure.

Replacements: 16 William Servat, 17 Jean-Baptiste Poux, 18 Pascal Pape, 19 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 2O Dimitri Yachvili, 21 David Skrela, 22 Anthony Floch.

Coach: Marc Marc Lièvremont

Georgia 11, Portugal 6 in Lisbon (European Nations Cup, Div.1)

Georgia won by 5 points. I predicted Georgia by 7.

Reviews

Article 1

Previews

Georgia has not found winning in Lisbon easy. Georgia last won in Lisbon in 2002 (27-23), losing (30-34) in 2003.

Article 1 for both ENC 1 games

Last Five Encounters

02.02.2008 Georgia 31-3 in Tblissi (European Nations Cup, Div.1)

25.11.2006 Drawn 11-11 in Lisbon (WCQ Europe, R5, Playoff 2^nd leg)

11.11.2006 Georgia 17-3 in Tblissi (WCQ Europe R5, Playoff 1^st leg)

11.03.2006 Georgia 40-0 in Tblissi (European Nations Cup, Div.1)

05.02.2005 Portugal 18-14 in Lisbon (European Nations Cup, Div.1)

GWC Rugby Rankings-World Table-Georgia 14^th, Portugal 19^th

Europe Table-Georgia 8^th, Portugal 11th

Teams

Not available

Romania 17, Spain 11 in Madrid (European Nations Cup, Div.1)

Romania won by 6 points. I predicted Spain by 5.

Reviews

Previews

Romania holds a clear advantage in recent encounters between these two old European Rivals.

Last Five Encounters

10.03.2007 Romania 50-14 in Bucharest (European Nations Cup, Div.1)

14.10.2006 Romania 43-20 in Madrid (WCQ Europe R5, Pool B)

06.03.2004 Romania 50-10 in Bucharest (European Nations Cup, Div.1)

06.03.2003 Romania 31-6 in Madrid (European Nations Cup, Div.1)

05.10.2002 Romania 67-6 in Iasi (WCQ Europe, R4, Pool B)

GWC Rugby Rankings-World Table-Romania 15^th, Spain 21^st

Europe Table-Spain 7^th, Romania 9^th

Teams

RUMANIA
NOMBRE	CLUB	POSICIÓN	EDAD	ESTATURA (cm)	PESO (kg)	CAPS
Mihai ADASCALITEI	Dinamo Bucuresti	Pilier	24	183	109	-
Flavius DOBRE	Dinamo Bucuresti	Pilier	26	184	110	4
Nicolae NERE	Steaua Bucuresti	Pilier	26	185	122	5
Ion PAULICA	Bath Rugby (ING)	Pilier	25	178	125	24
Marcel MIHALACHE	Steaua Bucuresti	Talonador	36	181	104	2
Andrei RADOI	CSM U Baia Mare	Talonador	22	185	107	-
Alin COSTE	Narbonne (FRA)	2ª línea	20	200	108	2
Cristian PETRE	Beziers (FRA)	2ª línea	28	195	113	58
Valentin POPARLAN	Dinamo Bucuresti	2ª línea	20	196	104	2
Daniel CARPO	Farul Constanta	3ª línea	23	188	96	-
Alexandru GRIGORE	Steaua Bucuresti	3ª línea	21	192	90	-
Gheorghita ISTRATE	Dinamo Bucuresti	3ª línea	23	188	99	-
Mihai MACOVEI	CSM U Baia Mare	3ª línea	21	195	99	6
Costica MERSOIU	Dinamo Bucuresti	3ª línea	30	189	108	31
Iulian ANDREI	Steaua Bucuresti	Medio Melé	33	170	80	22
Valentin CALAFETEANU	Dinamo Bucuresti	Medio Melé	23	181	80	19
Ionut DIMOFTE	Steaua Bucuresti	Apertura	23	183	98	24
Danut DUMBRAVA	Steaua Bucuresti	Apertura	26	186	96	34
Csaba GAL	Universitatea Cluj	Centro	22	184	94	16
Dan VLAD	Steaua Bucuresti	Centro	24	185	98	10
Gheorghita BIGIU	Dinamo Bucuresti	Ala	23	188	90	2
Stefan CIUNTU	Universitatea Cluj	Ala	21	182	91	4
Catalin FERCU	Steaua Bucuresti	Ala	21	181	86	20
Alexandru MARIN	Dinamo Bucuresti	Zaguero	26	188	84	1

Spain

FEDERACIÓN ANDALUZA

CAJASOL CIENCIAS R.C.
ARENAS, Carlos
BOHORQUEZ, José Mª
MAZO, Manuel

HELVETIA RUGBY
CAMACHO, Rafael
FERNÁNDEZ ARAMBURU, Leandro

FEDERACIÓN CASTILLA Y LEÓN

CETRANSA DISMEVA EL SALVADOR
CRIADO, Iván
INSAUSTI, Ion
MATA, Alfonso
SERRANO, Manuel
SOUTO, Sergio

FEDERACIÓN CATALANA

F.C. BARCELONA
BERNASCONI, César

R.C. L’HOSPITALET
FERRERAS, Óscar

FEDERACIÓN MADRID

JEEP ALCOBENDAS
NAVA, Jaime

COMPLUTENSE CISNEROS
OLIVARES, Manuel

C.R. LICEO FRANCÉS
MOTA, David

BWIN POZUELO BOADILLA C.R.C
CANOSA, Javier
GONZÁLEZ, Juan
SALAZAR, Javier
SEMPERE, César
TUDELA, Matías

FEDERACIÓN VASCA

SPYRO BERA BERA R.T.
MARTÍN, Ignacio

U.S. COLOMIERS (Francia)
TOURTOULOU, Julien

S.C. GRAULHÉTÓIS (Francia)
GRATTON, Mathieu

A.S. LAVAUR. (Francia)
HIJAR, Cyril

LEICESTER TIGERS (Inglaterra)
FEIJÓO, Pablo

Thanks to http://www.ferugby.com/

ASIA NATIONS COMPETITION FORMAT (23.02)

Asia Five Nations

Format: Round robin, home or away

Japan

Hong Kong

Kazakhstan

Korea

Arabian Gulf

Asia Nations Div.1

Format: Tournament in China-Taipei

China

Chinese Taipei

Singapore

Sri Lanka

Asia Nations Div.2

Format: Tournament in Thailand

India

Malaysia

Pakistan

Thailand

Asia Regional Tournaments

Regional 1:

Format: Tournament in Qatar

Macau

Mongolia

Qatar

Regional 2:

Format: Tournament in Guam

Guam

Brunei

Philippines

Regional 3:

Format: Tournament in Indonesia

Cambodia

Indonesia

Laos

Regional 4:

Format: Tournament in Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan

Iran

Uzbekistan

Thanks to as per below article. Alterations thanks to ‘Yamaha Kiwi’ http://www.fira-aer-rugby.com/forum2007/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2614&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=15

ASIA GETS REVAMPED COMPETITION (22.02)

Asia RFU has just announced a new competition for the Asia region that moves into line with their European counterparts.

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=6&click_id=18&art_id=nw20080221165139507C951813

COUNTRY LIST UPDATES (18.02)

The following country lists have been updated. Included are a number of match data sheets. Go to alphabetical order at the top of the page.

Bosnia-Herzegovina Czech Republic Finland France Ireland Italy Luxembourg Scotland Slovenia Spain Wales

MATCH DATA SHEET UPDATES (18.02)

The following international rugby fixtures now have a match data sheet available in the fixtures lists and on each country’s list.

19 May 2007 Slovenia v Bosnia-Herzegovina (Updated)

27 October 2007 Luxembourg v Bosnia-Herzegovina (New)

27 October 2007 Slovenia v Finland (New)

3 November 2007 Spain v Czech Republic (New)

2 February 2008 Ireland v Italy (New)

3 February 2008 France v Scotland (New)

9 February 2008 Wales v Scotland (New)

16.02.2008

Portugal 42, Czech Republic 6 in Lisbon (European Nations Cup, Div.1) HT 13-3

Portugal won by 36 points. I predicted Portugal by 10.

Reviews

This win places Portugal well away from the relegation zone and also means that Czech Republic will almost certainly be playing in Division 2A for 2008-10.

http://www.rugbyunion.cz/portugalsko-cesko-42-6-13-3-

Reviews

There is four France-based player’s returning for Czech Republic who didn’t play v Spain back in November. This will make the Czech team a little stronger. Sadly Czech rugby at this level has waned in the last two years and Portugal has held an advantage over them since they first met in the ENC in 2003.

Portugal has not come away from the 2007 Rugby World Cup producing the same standard of rugby seen in France. There has been some turnover of players but in their two outings since they have lost to Romania 8-23 and to Georgia 3-31.

34 year old Jiří Skall should play his 64^th test and holds the record for the most caps by a Czech Republic player. The selectors have introduced four new players into the Czech squad for this game. Ondřej Kutil, Radim Fajkus, Milan Jirman and Martin Kotas are all new to international rugby. They continue to produce a large turn over of international players. Three new players used v Spain back in November are not used today. Some 50 different players turned out for the Czech Republic last season. The Czech Republic is destined to be relegated to Division 2 in 2008-10 as they languish at the bottom of the table well below any other team.

Last Five Encounters

19.05.2007 Portugal 23-3 in Prague (European Nations Cup, Div.1)

20.05.2006 Portugal 18-10 in Prague

26.02.2005 Portugal 19-13 in Lisbon

06.03.2004 Portugal 13-8 in Prague

08.03.2003 Portugal 43-10 in Lisbon

GWC Rugby Rankings: Europe Table-Portugal 11^th, Czech Republic 12th

Match data sheet

RUGBY IN JAPAN VOL.5, No.7

RUGBY IN JAPAN VOL.5, No.6

Weekly News and Results 9 February

RUGBY IN JAPAN Vo.5, No.5

Ian MacDonnell provides a regular newsletter in English about current rugby in Japan

NEW COACH FOR ZIMBABWE (07.02)

http://www.zimbabwerugby.com/index.php?view=article&catid=34%3AFebruary+2008&id=334%3AZimbabwe+Sables+coach+appointed&option=com_content&Itemid=86

RUGBY WORLD CUP BOOST FOR AFRICAN RUGBY (07.02)

http://carugby.com/news/290108_1/

RUGBY IN RWANDA 2008 (07.02)

http://allafrica.com/stories/200801210690.html

NEW ZEALAND TARGET ‘GRAND SLAM’ (05.02)

http://scrum.com/246_50474.php

RUGBY UNDERWAY IN LIBYA (05.02)

http://carugby.com/news/290108_3/

CALL FOR ZIMBABWE RUGBY TO GATHER IN THE OLD GUARD (05.02)

Thanks to ‘Natal’ for alerting me to this article on rugby in Zimbabwe and one writers view on how they need to be organised to qualify for the first round of World Cup qualifying matches

http://allafrica.com/stories/200802010696.html

AFRICA CUP 2008 (05.02)

This is the most up-to-date draw for the World Cup Qualifiers/Africa Cup available. Probably just released by CAR.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Africa_Cup

COUNTRY LIST UPDATES (03.02)

The following country lists have been updated. Included are a number of match data sheets. Go to alphabetical order at the top of the page.

Andorra England 2001- Georgia Hungary Latvia Lithuania Norway Poland Portugal Russia Wales

MATCH DATA SHEET UPDATES (03.03)

The following international rugby fixtures now have a match data sheet available in the fixtures lists and on each country’s list.

29 September 2007 Poland v Andorra (New)

27 October 2007 Hungary v Norway (New)

24 November 2007 Latvia v Andorra (New)

2 February 2008 Wales v England (New)

2 February 2008 Georgia v Portugal (New)

Weekly News and Results for 02-03 February