THIS WEEKEND 18-19 MAY

 

20.05.2007

Luxembourg 22, Israel 16 in Cessange (ENC 3C)

Luxembourg won by 6 points. I predicted Luxembourg by 16.

 

Previews

Luxembourg is at the top of the table but like their opponents Israel has lost a match. Luxembourg has the advantage of playing at home.

 

PREVIOUS ENCOUNTERS

29.10.2005 Luxembourg 19-3 in Cessange (ENC 3C)

01.06.2002 Luxembourg 31-19 in Cessange (FIRA B, Pool B)

03.03.2001 Israel 62-3 in Cessange (FIRA Pool 2, WCQ Euro. Rnd 1)

07.04.1996 Israel 20-12 in Herzliya (FIRA B5)

 

GWC Rugby Rankings: Europe Table-Luxembourg 33rd, Israel 35th

 

Teams

 

Luxembourg Squad

Jean Benel (1 test)

Gilles Caviglia (32)

Guido Chimieti (RC de Luxembourg) (2)

Claude Da Col (5)

Cedric de Michelli (Walferdange DR) (11)

Ian Doherty (RC de Luxembourg) (8)

Jonathan Flynn (RC de Luxembourg) (9)

Ruadrhi Guilfoyle (RC de Luxembourg) (28)

Jonathan Harris (RC de Luxembourg) (18)

Phill Harvey (RC de Luxembourg) (2)

Cedric Hervč (Metz, France) (11)

Frederick Herve (Walferdange DR) (3)

Christophe Hoffmann (RC de Luxembourg) (19)

Stuart Kelly (RC de Luxembourg) (17)

Stephen Knowles (RC de Luxembourg) (17)

Joseph Lister (RC de Luxembourg) (24)

Joseph Sacaraze (RC de Luxembourg) (2)

Nigel Sharplin (RC de Luxembourg) (20)

Steven Speciale (Walferdange DR) (10)

Paul Sullivan (RC de Luxembourg) (10)

Andrew Thompson (Capt.) (RC de Luxembourg) (25)

Anthony Whiteman (RC de Luxembourg) (16)

Coach: Marty Davis

 

Test data thanks to http://www.rugby.lu/perfInd.asp

 

19.05.2007

Samoa 8, Fiji 3 in Apia (Pacific Nations Cup)

Samoa won by 5 points. I predicted Fiji by 4.

Samoa took first points in this rain-soaked bruising encounter in Apia

 

Reviews

http://www.planet-rugby.com./Story/0,18259,3551_2138257,00.html

 

“Young FMF Flying Fijians fall just short Samoa

 

The FMF Flying Fijians put on a brave and defensively sound performance against a more experienced Manu Samoa side in the opening match of the 2007 IRB Pacific Nations Cup, but fell 8-3 at a muddy Apia Park on Saturday.

 

With six new caps in the starting line-up and another two getting a run from the bench, FMF Flying Fijians coach Ilivasi Tabua gave us a glimpse of the future of Fiji rugby, and no-one let him down. Indeed, several of the debutants shone brightly.

 

Loosehead prop Alefoso Yalayalatabua had a terrific game, putting in some telling tackles and adding another dimension to the attack. If anything, he suffered from a lack of support when going forward.

 

Big Taranaki No.8 Tomasi Soqeta also flexed his muscles and showed composure at the back of the pack. And the 21-year-old Dan Rawaqa took the fullback duties in his stride, kicking Fiji’s only points – a penalty goal in the second minute.

 

Isoa Neivua handled the conditions and some difficult balls very well, and was unlucky not to score a try when he toed ahead only to stumble in the mud metres short. Australia-based midfield man Vitori Buatava replaced Jack Prasad at fly-half for the last quarter and appeared at ease in his first taste of Test rugby.

 

Fiji’s organisation was underlined when Wame Lewaravu received a yellow card from Australian referee Paul Marks shortly after coming on in the 60th minute. For the time Lewaravu was in the sin-bin, Samoa held possession in the Fiji half but couldn’t get past the 14 men.

 

Whilst Fiji’s tackling and positional play in defence was first-rate, they did commit a few unforced errors that proved costly in terms of possession and territory, and some decision-making towards the end was a little suspect. Some of this could be attributed to the heavy conditions.

 

In the 25th minute, Samoan flanker Alapasa Cordtz scored the only try of the match following a rolling maul towards the corner. And late in the game, fullback Gavin Williams converted a penalty goal to make it 8-3 to the hosts – the lowest aggregate score for a full Samoa-Fiji Test since the very first one back in 1924 [the match that Samoa won 6-0 in 1983 was abandoned early in the second half].

 

Thanks to Jeremy Duxbury, FIJI RFU

 

Match Data Sheet

 

LAST FIVE ENCOUNTERS

24.06.2006 Samoa 23-20 in Suva (Pacific Nations Cup)

30.07.2005 Samoa 21-15 in Suva (WCQ Oceania R3)

09.07.2005 Fiji 36-10 in Apia (WCQ Oceania R3)

12.06.2004 Samoa 29-3 in Apia (Pacific Tri-Nations)

22.06.2002    Fiji 22-12 in Nadi (WCQ Oceania R2, Pacific Tri-Nations)

 

GWC Rugby Rankings: World Table-Fiji 11th, Samoa 12th CHANGE

                                            Pacific Table-Fiji 3rd, Samoa 4th CHANGE

 

Previews

The Pacific Nations Cup for 2007 gets underway with a local derby match between the Pacific Islands of Fiji and Samoa. They have a long history of encounters going back to 1924. The other teams in this competition are Japan, Tonga, Australia ‘A’ and New Zealand Juniors.

http://www.samoaobserver.ws/

Fiji v Samoa records Thanks to Jeremy Duxbury, Fiji RFU

http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=62986

http://teivovo.com/team_fiji/2007/0514_fiji_team.html

Fiji has ten new caps in their squad

http://www.planetrugby.com/Story/0,18259,3551_2134126,00.html

 

Ireland ‘A’ 39, Canada 20 in Exeter (Churchill Cup)

Ireland ‘A’ won by 19 points. I predicted Canada by 5.

 

Reviews

http://www.planet-rugby.com./Story/0,18259,3551_2137447,00.html

 

Previews

http://www.planet-rugby.com./Story/0,18259,3551_2134274,00.html

 

PREVIOUS ENCOUNTERS

17.06.2000 (v Ireland) Drew 27-27 in Toronto

30.11.1997 Ireland 33-11 in Dublin

02.09.1989 Ireland XV 24-21 in Victoria

30.05.1987 Ireland 46-19 in Dunedin (World Cup)

 

Match Data Sheet

 

Portugal 23, Czech Republic 3 in Prague (ENC 1)

Portugal won by 20 points. I predicted Portugal by 16.

 

 Previews

http://www.planet-rugby.com./Story/0,18259,3551_2134193,00.html

 

Portugal has qualified for the 2007 Rugby World Cup finals. Last weekend it was defeated by Russia and now requires a very convincing win over the bottom placed team Czech Republic in order to gain confidence ahead of France.

 

LAST FIVE ENCOUNTERS

20.05.2006 Portugal 18-10 in Prague (ENC 1)

26.02.2005 Portugal 19-13 in Lisbon (ENC 1)

06.03.2004 Portugal 13-8 in Prague (ENC 1)

08.03.2003 Portugal 43-10 in Lisbon (ENC 1)

18.04.1998 Portugal 15-10 (WCQ Europe, Pool 3, Rnd B)

 

Recent encounters have been close.

 

GWC Rugby Rankings: Europe Table-Portugal 10th, Czech Republic 12th

 

Teams

 

Czech Republic Squad

Jan Benda (Sparta Praha)

Antonín Brabec (Tatra Smíchov)

Pavel Čamrda (Říčany)

Vítězslav Dosedla (Dragon Brno)

Pavel Indrák (Havířov)

Michal Jirman (Slavia Praha)

Václav Jursík (Sparta Praha)

Roman Kodera (Říčany)

Tomáš Krejčí (Dragon Brno)

Karel Kučera (Říčany)

Jan Macháček (Slavia Praha)

Vlastimil Madry (Praga)

Tomáš Nevický (Říčany)

Petr Okleštěk (Sparta Praha)

Jan Oswald  (Tatra Smíchov)

Michal Průša (Tatra Smíchov)

Jan Rohlík (St. Nazaire, France)

Michal Schlanger (Petrovice)

Jiří Skall (Sparta Praha)

Roman Šuster  (USA Limoges, France)

Pavel Syrový (Praga)

Jaroslav Tomčík (Havířov)

Ladislav Vondrášek (Esher RFC, England)

Robert Voves (USA Limoges, France)

Jan Zachariáš (Sparta Praha)

Jan Žíla (Tatra Smíchov)

 

http://rugby.cz/me-divize-a-ceska-republika-vs-portugalsko0

 

Portugal Squad

Miguel Portela (GD Direito)

Rui D’Orey (GD Direito)

Diogo Coutinho (GD Direito)

Pedro Leal (GD Direito)

Frederico Sousa (GD Direito)

Joăo Uva (Os Belenenses)

Diogo Mateus (Os Belenenses)

Cristian Spachuk (Os Belenenses)

Sebastiăo Cunha (Os Belenenses)

David Mateus (Os Belenenses)

Luis Pissarra (AEIS Agronomia)

Duarte C.Pinto (AEIS Agronomia)

Gustavo Duarte (AEIS Agronomia)

Juan Severino (AEIS Agronomia)

Joaquim Ferreira (CD Univ.Porta)

Francisco Fragateiro (CD Univ.Porta)

Rui Cordeiro (AA Coimbra)

Pedro Cabral (CD Univ. Lisboa)

Duarte Figueiredo (CD Univ. Lisboa)

Gonçalo Foro (CD Univ. Lisboa)

Joao Sacadura (CD Univ. Lisboa)

Diogo Gama (SL Benfica)

Diogo Fialho (RC Evora)

Gonçalo Uva (Montpellier RC, France)

 

http://www.fpr.pt/noticias/noticia.asp?opm=1&id=6335&id2=1

 

 

FIRA-AER CHAMPIONSHIP 2006-2008 Updated 05.05.2007

Points: Win = 3, Draw = 2, Loss = 1, Loss by default = 0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FIRA-AER CHAMPIONSHIP, EUROPEAN NATIONS CUP DIVISION 1

SEEDINGS: ROMANIA, PORTUGAL, GEORGIA, RUSSIA, SPAIN, CZECH REPUBLIC

03.02.2007

GEORGIA

20

ROMANIA

17

BUCHAREST

 

P

W

D

L

PF

PA

 

PT

03.02.2007

PORTUGAL

21

SPAIN

18

LISBON

RUSSIA

3

3

0

0

122

33

+89

9

10.02.2007

RUSSIA

39

SPAIN

14

MADRID

SPAIN

5

2

0

3

219

142

-23

9

10.03.2007

ROMANIA

50

SPAIN

14

BUCHAREST

GEORGIA

3

2

0

1

135

51

+84

7

17.03.2007

ROMANIA

46

CZECH REPUBLIC

13

PRAGUE

ROMANIA

3

2

0

1

113

47

+66

7

17.03.2007

SPAIN

31

GEORGIA

17

MADRID

PORTUGAL

2

1

0

1

34

39

-5

4

07.04.2007

GEORGIA

98

CZECH REPUBLIC

3

TBLISSI

CZECH REPUBLIC

4

0

0

4

37

248

-211

4

21.04.2007

RUSSIA

62

CZECH REPUBLIC

6

KRASNODAR

The European Nations Cup is now played for bi-annually.
The points for the first year's competition carries over to the next season season.
Last placed team will be relegated to Division 2, Pool A. in 2008.

05.05.2007

SPAIN

42

CZECH REPUBLIC

15

PRAGUE

12.05.2007

RUSSIA

21

PORTUGAL

13

LISBON

19.05.2007

PORTUGAL

 

CZECH REPUBLIC

 

PRAGUE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poland 36, Malta 3 in Siedlce (ENC 2B)

Poland won by 33 points. I predicted Poland by 32.

 

Reviews

 

Match Data Sheet

 

Previews

http://www.maltasport.com/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=679

Poland is one of the leading contenders to take out this championship next season. They have the advantage of the home game.

 

PREVIOUS ENCOUNTER

06.11.2004 Poland 38-13 in Marsa (WCQ Europe Rnd 2, Pool B)

 

GWC Rugby Rankings: Europe Table-Poland 17th, Malta 21st

 

Teams

 

Poland Squad

Robert Andrzejczuk (Arka Gdynia)

Aleksander Bartoszewicz (Folc AZS AWF Warszawa)

Kamil Bobryk (Budowlani Łódź)

Jurij Buhało (Posnania Poznań)

Kamil Dudkowski (Posnania Poznań)

Rafał Fedorowicz (Epernay RC, France)

Krzysztof Hotowski (Budowlani Łódź)

Daniel Jastrząb (Lechia Gdańsk)

Michał Królikowski (Budowlani Łódź)

Michał Krużycki (Ogniwo Sopot)

Kacper Ławski (Budowlani Łódź)

Wojciech Łukasiewicz (Folc AZS AWF Warszawa)

Marcin Malochwy (Ogniwo Sopot)

Marek Mirosz (Budowlani Łódź)

Maciej Miśkiewicz (Folc AZS AWF Warszawa)

Paweł Nowak (Arka Gdynia)

Konrad Pisarek (Orkan Sochaczew)

Rafał Sajur (Budowlani Łódź)

Tomasz Stępień (Budowlani Łódź)

Łukasz Szostek (Arka Gdynia)

Jacek Wojaczek (Arka Gdynia)

Łukasz Żórawski (Budowlani Łódź)

Marcin Wilczuk (Old Belvedere RFC, Ireland)

Rafał Witoszyński (Lechia Gdańsk)

 

Malta

Not available

Malta will be without a few leading players.

 

Lithuania 27, Austria 0 in Vienna (ENC 3B)

Lithuania won by 27 points. I predicted Lithuania by 4.

 

Lithuania remains undefeated in this division along with Hungary.

 

Reviews

http://www.rugby-austria.at/content/deutsch/news/796942af29d385c2a490.php (In German)

 

 

Preview

Lithuania remains one of the unbeaten sides in 3B along with Hungary. They have not played a test since November. Austria just edged past bottom team Bulgaria at home last weekend and doesn’t look a championship contender at this stage.

 

PREVIOUS ENCOUNTERS

05.06.2004 Austria 23-12 in Vienna (ENC 3B)

27.10.2002 Lithuania 32-10 in Siauliai (ENC 3B)

 

GWC Rugby Rankings: Europe Table-Austria 29th, Lithuania 30th CHANGE

 

Teams

Unavailable

 

FIRA-AER CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION 3B

SEEDINGS; AUSTRIA, HUNGARY, LITHUANIA, NORWAY, BULGARIA

07.10.2006

HUNGARY

13

NORWAY

8

STAVANGER

 

P

W

D

L

PF

PA

 

PT

28.10.2006

HUNGARY

42

BULGARIA

3

KECSKEMET

HUNGARY

3

3

0

0

82

16

+66

9

28.10.2006

LITHUANIA

37

NORWAY

15

VILNIUS

LITHUANIA

2

2

0

0

77

25

+52

6

18.11.2006

LITHUANIA

40

BULGARIA

10

SOFIA

AUSTRIA

2

1

0

1

12

30

-18

4

21.04.2007

HUNGARY

27

AUSTRIA

5

DUNAUJVAROS

NORWAY

2

0

0

2

23

50

-27

2

05.05.2007

AUSTRIA

7

BULGARIA

3

VIENNA

BULGARIA

3

0

0

3

16

89

-73

2

19.05.2007

AUSTRIA

 

LITHUANIA

 

VIENNA

The European Nations Cup is now played for bi-annually.
Points for the first year of competition carries over to the next season.
Winner promoted to Div.3A. Last placed team will be relegated to Division 3C in 2008.

19.05.2007

BULGARIA

 

NORWAY

 

SOFIA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bulgaria 25, Norway 10 in Sofia (ENC 3B)

Bulgaria won by 15 points. I predicted Bulgaria by 4.

 

Previews

Bulgaria put up a good fight in Vienna against Austria last weekend. Norway hasn’t won a match so far, is playing away and hasn’t played a test since last October.

 

PREVIOUS ENCOUNTERS

26.10.2002 Bulgaria 21-12 in Sofia (ENC 3C)

04.05.2002 Bulgaria 11-3 in Sofia (ENC 3C)

24.05.1997 Norway 22-7 in Oslo (WCQ Europe Pool 2, Rnd A)                                                                           

 

GWC Rugby Rankings: Europe Table-Norway 31st, Bulgaria 34th CHANGE

 

Teams

 

Norway Squad

Kristoffer Borsheim (Stavanger RK)

Wesley Chibaya (UMBI)

Shelton Davis (Třnsberg RK)

Tim Edstrřm (Bergen RK)

Espen Engevik (Stavanger RK)

Karl Frisch (Bergen RK)

Andrei Hanger (Cheltenham RFC, England)

David Hume (Bergen RK)

Ian Irving (Bergen RK)

Derek Johnson (Bergen RK)

Simon Kanstad (Fosen RK)

Stein Ove Kristensen (Trondheim RK)

Eivind Lunde (Stavanger RK)

Mikael Nćrř (Fosen RK)

Ollie Rogers (Basingstoke RFC, England)

Stian Rřstberg (Bergen RK)

Samir Sayed-Ahmad (Bergen RK)

Johan Skavland (Stavanger RK)

Haakon Stengrimsen (Ponteland RFC, England)

Alex Wilson (Stavanger RK)

Willie Wilson (Bergen RK)

Roger Yttervik (Třnsberg RK)

 

Coaches: John Chappell and Ollie Rogers

 

http://www.rugby.no/les.asp?ID=499

 

Slovenia 77, Bosnia & Hertzegovina 5 in Ljubliana (ENC 3C)

Slovenia won by 72 points. I predicted Slovenia by 40.

 

 

Slovenia is the only unbeaten team in this division. They have the advantage of playing at home against a team yet to win a game.

 

PREVIOUS ENCOUNTER

24.04.1999 Slovenia 15-11 in Vogasca (FIRA B)

 

GWC Rugby Rankings: Europe Table-Slovenia 32nd; Bosnia & Herzegovina 37th

 

Teams

Bosnia and Herzegovina squad (one will drop out)

 

1. Željko Vidović (RC Donau , Austria)

2. Adis Bašić (Zenica Čelik)

3. Adnan Halilović (Sarajevo)

4. Mensur Uzunović (Zenica Čelik)

5. Ermin Mušinović (Zenica Čelik)

6. Kenan Uzunović (Sarajevo)

7. Adis Karabegović (Zenica 72)

8. Damir Džanić (Sarajevo)

9. Senad Tabaković (Zenica Čelik)

10. Albin Kapić (Zenica Čelik)

11. A rminZadić (Zenica 72)

12. Sead Kadić (RC Nyon, Switzerland)

13. Milak Adi (St Mary University RFC, England)

14. Armin Vehabović (CAP Pontarlier, France)

15. Edin Hrapović (Sarajevo)

16. Armin Hodžić (Sarajevo)

17. Bakir Bašić (Zenica 72)

18. Benjamin Deljkić (Zenica Čelik)

19. Vahdet Kokić (Zenica Čelik)

20. Dino Muslić (Zenica Čelik)

21. Jovanović Damir  (?,UK)

22. Edib Alić (Zenica 72)

23. Žaki ...... - France

 

In Ljubljana at 17.00h at Oval rugby pitch

http://rugbylife.blogger.ba/

 

FIRA-AER CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION 3C

SEEDINGS: LUXEMBOURG, SLOVENIA, ISRAEL, FINLAND, BOSNIA

30.09.2006

LUXEMBOURG

16

FINLAND

9

CESSANGE

 

P

W

D

L

PF

PA

 

PT

07.10.2006

FINLAND

14

BOSNIA & HERTZEGOVINA

7

ZENICA

LUXEMBOURG

3

2

0

1

49

39

+10

7

28.10.2006

SLOVENIA

28

ISRAEL

5

NETANYA

SLOVENIA

2

2

0

0

53

21

+32

6

21.04.2007

LUXEMBOURG

17

BOSNIA & HERTZEGOVINA

12

ZENICA

ISRAEL

2

1

0

1

39

41

+2

4

28.04.2007

ISRAEL

34

BOSNIA & HERTZEGOVINA

13

NETANYA

FINLAND

2

1

0

1

23

23

0

4

05.05.2007

SLOVENIA

25

LUXEMBOURG

16

LJUBLIANA

BOSNIA & HERTZEGOVINA

3

0

0

3

32

65

-33

3

19.05.2007

SLOVENIA

 

BOSNIA

 

LJUBLIANA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

19.05.2007

LUXEMBOURG

 

ISRAEL

 

CESSANGE

The European Nations Cup is now played for bi-annually.
Points for the first year of competition carries over to the next season.
Winner promoted to Div.3B. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

China-Taipei 22, Thailand 3 in Bangkok (Asia Nations Div.4)

China-Taipei won by 19 points. I predicted C-T by 12.

 

China-Taipei wins Division 4 and will be promoted to Division 3 next year. Pakistan drops to Division 5.

 

Reviews

http://www.bangkokpost.com/Sports/20May2007_sport16.php

 

Previews

During the week Thailand defeated Pakistan in Pakistan 44-0 and China-Taipei defeated Pakistan 72-3 in Bangkok. This leaves a showdown between these two Asian teams to decide who will move to Division 3 next year.

 

PREVIOUS ENCOUNTERS

02.11.1996 China-Taipei 53-15 in Taipan (15th Asia Championship)

13.11.1988 China-Taipei 32-9 in Hong Kong (11th Asia Championship)

29.11.1986 Thailand 32-12 in Bangkok (10 Asia Championship, Playoff 3rd/4th)

27.10.1984 China-Taipei 30-3 in Fukuoka (9th Asia Championship, Playoff 3rd/4th)

09.11.1980 China-Taipei 26-19 in Taipan (7th Asia Championship)

 

These two teams played each more often under the older structure of the Asia Rugby Championship. Since the introduction of divisions from the late nineties they have played well apart. China-Taipei has struggled and has slipped down to meet a rising Thailand side.

 

GWC Rugby Rankings: Asia Table-China-Taipei 8th, Thailand 11th.

 

Barbarians RFC (UK) 33, Tunisia 10 at Stade olympique d’El Menzah, in Tunis. HT 21-0

Barbarians won by 23 points. I predicted The Baa Baas by 20.

 

Previews

http://allafrica.com/stories/200705110529.html

http://www.lapresse.tn/index.php?opt=15&categ=5&news=49661 (In French)

 

18.05.2007

England XV 51, United States 3 in Stockport (Churchill Cup)

England Saxons won by 48 points. I predicted Saxons by 45.

 

Reviews

http://www.planet-rugby.com./Story/0,18259,3551_2135876,00.html

http://www.planet-rugby.com./Story/0,18259,3551_2137000,00.html

 

Previews

For the first time the Churchill Cup will be played outside the American continent. This year’s venue is in England. The other participating teams are Ireland ‘A’, Scotland ‘A’, Canada and last year’s winner New Zealand Maoris.

 

The USA will be without their star flyhalf Mike Hercus who is out with injury for this match and may even miss the whole tournament.

http://www.england-rugby.com/englandrugby/index.cfm?fuseaction=News.News_Detail&storyid=16884

 

LAST FIVE ENCOUNTERS

28.06.2003 England XV 43-7 in Vancouver (Churchill Cup Final)

21.06.2003 England XV 36-10 in Vancouver (Churchill Cup Prelim.)

16.06.2001 England 49-19 in Berkley

21.08.1999 England 106-8 at Twickenham

11.10.1991 England 37-9 at Twickenham (World Cup)

 

Match Data Sheet