Ireland 17 defeat Argentina 3
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Argentina continued it’s slide down the world rugby rankings losing to Ireland 17-3 to a fiery match that saw Ireland win a vital match at Croke Park.
Ireland 55 smash Canada 0
Ireland confirmed Canada have alot of work to do to be considered a serious Rugby playing nation after being heavily defeated 55-0.
Iraland scored 7 tries to nil as they kept piling on the points, in fact the only thing that stopped more points from being scored was poor weather which restricted the match to a much less open match that expected.
For Ireland 2 tries each went to Bowe and Kearney, while Earls, Heaslip and D. Wallace scored a try a piece. O’Gara kicked 5 conversions and a penalty while P.Wallace kicked a single conversion.
Ireland’s Neil Best gone for 18 weeks
Neil Best the Irish flanker and Northampton player has been outed for 18 weeks after being suspended for an eye gouging act in the Guinness Premiership.
Best will not be available until 28 January and will miss all of the Irish tests coming up in November. It will also significantly affect his chances of being a mainstay of the Irish team for the Six Nations as well.
Best was charged for making contact with the eye of Wasps forward James Haskell. The penalty is one of the strongest in recent times and is a major blow to his team and also Ireland.
Could Rugby have a World Series?
Reports from the Daily Mail in the UK have claimed the IRB are looking at organsing a Rugby World Series that would occur every two years.
The World Series would start as a round robin as part of the Six Nations and the current Tri-Nations teams including Argentina with results counting towards the World Series. Tests between the hemisphere’s rugby teams would continue to take place between June and November.
The top two teams would play-off every two years, most likely at the new Wembley Stadium in front of 90,000 people where the winner could take over in excess of AUD $20 million.
Chances are any plans of getting this up and running before the next World Cup would be unlikely but if the IRB can get all the Union’s on board then it could start by 2010.
IRB World Rankings
South Africa have reclaimed the second spot on the IRB World Rankings after their win over Australia 53-8 in Johannesburg. Australia can reclaim second spot with a win against New Zealand in Brisbane.
No other changes occured in the Top 10 due to a lack of international rugby matches.
The list of the top 10 are below;
New Zealand
Australia
South Africa
Argentina
England
Wales
France
Ireland
Scotland
Italy
IRB World Rugby Rankings
The IRB latest world ranking’s have been a major blow to the South African Springboks as they have dropped from No 1. at ths start of the year to No 3. behind the New Zealand All Blacks and Australian Wallabies.
South Africa have had a horror Rugby Tri-Nations series while Australia have improved dramatically after being fourth at the start of the Rugby Tri-Nations series.
The list of the top 10 are below;
New Zealand
Australia
South Africa
Argentina
England
Wales
France
Ireland
Scotland
Italy
IRB World Cup bids confirmed
The IRB have confirmed bids for the Rugby World Cup in 2015 and 2019. 10 unions have expressed an interest and including exotic Rugby nations like Russia and Jamaica alongside stalwarts such as Australia, England, South Africa and Ireland.
Australia, England, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Scotland, South Africa and Wales have submitted an interest in 2015.
While Australia, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Russia, Scotland, South Africa and Wales are looking towards 2019.
The next Rugby World Cup will be held in New Zealand in 2011. The 2015 and 2019 World Cup’s will be announced in July 2009.
If the IRB is serious about expanding the game which I believe they are then they need to award at least one of the World Cup’s to a developing Rugby nation like Italy or Japan. Japan was overlooked for the 2011 World Cup after getting pipped by New Zealand for hosting rights. In July 2009 the IRB will be able to undo the mistake of not selecting them for 2007.
Who do you think should be awarded the 2015 and 2019 Rugby World Cup?
Brian O’Driscoll captaincy in doubt
Brian O’Driscoll may be looking at losing his captaincy of the Irish according to new coach Declan Kidney who is considering a change at the top.
O’Driscoll is who replaced Irish Rugby legend Keith Wood in early 2004 has been well below his best in recent times. O’Driscoll had no impact at the poor showing of the Irish at the Rugby World Cup in France and continued to look well below his best in tests in June against New Zealand and Australia.
It could be blessing in disguise for Brian O’Driscoll to be rested as it may relieve the pressure that has been building up on him off the back of the poor recent performances of the Irish.
O’Driscoll has long been regarded one of the best centres in the world but has long been marked out of games and his individual performances have been nullifed against the best opposition. This has also contributed to the recent poor performance of the Irish.
We are likely to know the outcome closer to the tests in November when the southern hemisphere teams underake their tour to Europe. Likely candidates are Paul O’Connell and Ronan O’Gara should O’Driscoll be replaced by new coach Declan Kidney. My money would be on Paul O’Connell who has proven to possess limitless skills, determination and has the leadership gene.
ELVs Divide Hemisphere’s
The new Experimental Law Variations (ELVs) due to be incorporated in world rugby has experienced major changes even before introduced. The Northern Hemisphere heavyweights of England, Ireland and Wales have gone against the IRB rule changes to introduce the ELVs on a trial basis for one year by rejecting them totally. The three countries will continue to play under the existing rules which has ignited a heated war of words from Southern Hemisphere nations that have been playing under the ELVs through the Super 14 and the Tri-Nations series.
This is a potentially damaging move as it will also cause conflict unless resolved soon with the Six Nations tourament to be played early in 2009 as other nations such as Scotland, France and Italy have not shown any discourse towards the proposed IRB changes. In my opinion the introduction of the ELVs have been an outstanding success and have made a huge difference to the game with the Super 14 rewarding more aggressive play at the breakdown and team fitness. The days of slow drawn out matches dominated by kicking and penalties was a distant memory and for teams like England, Wales and Ireland refusing to move forward I fear they are voting with an outdated logic and one that is not about improving the game we love but stopping it’s natural progression.
Do you have an opinion on ELVs? Share your thoughts in the comments section.
IRB World Rankings - All Blacks No. 1
The IRB have updated the latest rankings for all Rugby nations. After the win by the All Blacks against the Springboks the All Blacks have stolen the top spot followed by South Africa. Australia have also replaced Argentina in third place after the recent poor performance of the Pumas against Scotland and the shock loss to Italy.
The top 10 teams are;
1. New Zealand
2. South Africa
3. Australia
4. Argentina
5. England
6. Wales
7. France
8. Ireland
9. Scotland
10. Italy
Click here to see a complete list of all rankings.