Hull Kingston Rovers half back Jamie Ellis is expected to remain at the club this season. Rovers are expected to keep him but would be disappointed with the news that Joe Wardill is sidelined for the next four months.
The scrum half, who plays for the Castleford Tigers, posed with the Leader’s Shield for an Instagram snap, when fans noticed the two lines on the table to his left
SCRUM half Tom Holmes poses in the dressing room with a trophy — and sparks a drugs riddle.
However, after further inspection it was revealed not to be drugged at all but actually two scratches in the surface.
As Tom, 21, posted this picture on Twitter, fans pointed out what looked like two white lines on a table next, with elmojo2 joking: “Congrats enjoy your coke!”
And Jordan Boon added: “Imagine not noticing that beak on your picture… Silly b***ard.”
But a Tigers spokeswoman said: “its scratches in the wood.”
The team is not the only ones who have fallen foul of innocent white lines being mistaken for something more sinister.
Reality TV star Kim Kardashian caused huge speculation after posing for a selfie with two lines apparently on a workshop behind her – which was actually the marble.
Yesterday Tom, 21, posed with a brush and paint tins, joking: “Better fill in this chip in the wood for when we win our next trophy.”
Former national rugby captain, Terrence Khoo is now the new president of the Singapore Rugby Union after an election saw him emerge.
It was not an easy victory for him as the other candidate vying for the post was Cheo Chai Hong, SRU’s honorary secretary.
Khoo, the managing director of sports marketing agency, Enterprise Sports Group pulled through after garnering the majority of votes among the eight affiliates of the SRU.
The election took place at the Delta Swimming Complex and lasted for over two hours as it coincided with the annual general meeting (AGM) of the SRU.
Khoo was all smiles after the results emerged and speaking soon after, he thanked them noting that he were “humbled” to have emerged as the president.
The father of two teenage daughters noted that his first and immediate priority would be to get to gain a better understanding of the inner workings of the SRU.
He said: “I’m deeply humbled. I’ve campaigned very hard, and I’m glad that the rugby community has come together and given me the opportunity to lead.
“Before any big decisions get made, the first thing I’m going to do is to understand a bit more in detail (about the SRU).”
Speaking on, he noted that he would have to rely on the vast amounts of experience possessed by his learned colleagues, Mr Low and Mr Cheo to download more information about the SRU.
He also stated that as president, one of his long term aims would be to grow the talent pool of players from Singapore.
Chief executive of Rugby Football Union (RFU) Ian Ritchie has made the announcement that he will end his tenure and will take retirement at the end of the 2017 summer.
According to William Hill, the team are favourites to win the next Six Nations tournament too!
While sharing this news Ritchie said, “Rugby is a sport that is special to me and the one which is really hard to leave. I feel honored and privileged that I have been the part of this wonderful team and got the opportunity to lead the team.”
He further added that, “I am proud to work with many passionate, committed and talented teams at each and every level of the union and of the game.”
Prior to heading RFU, Ritchie was headed the All England Club (AEC).
After the announcement of retirement, RFU intends to find the replacement of Ritchie by the end of the 2017 summer.
Mark McCafferty in an interview shared his feeling on the retirement of Ritchie and said, “He has contributed a lot in the development of team in past five years, he is the person, we feel like doing business with him. During his tenure, he maintained a good balance between country and club.”
“Though, we haven’t met personally for more time, but we have a good amount of sharing and business between us, and this is the way the English system has to work.”
The game between Scotland and Italy ended with a score of 29-0.
The game had a lot of drama that kept the fans engaged. John Barclay as Scotland’s captain was put back from the field as Italy protested. The game was probably the best goodbye Vern Cotter could have expected as it was his final game as their coach. The visiting team was denied any chance of scoring at the Murrayfield game venue. This was probably a first in the history of matches of Six Nations. Cotter has definitely made a mark as showcased by his team’s performance in this field.
The team won comfortably as well as gaining bonus points. There were tries by Matt Scott, Finn Russell, Tommy Seymour and Tim Visser. The Scots were able to triumph in every game they played on home grounds which has been a first in eleven years. The final tally is a high one as well, which comprises of 14 points and 14 tries. After the final whistle was blown, it was time for celebrations. Hoggs led the way. With a bonus point victory the farewell for the coach was a sweet one indeed. Cotter had been coaching for Scotland for three years and he was emotional when it was time for him to leave. The match day was a truly eventful one for the players, the coach and the fans.
Alun Wyn Jones is the new captain of Wales Rugby, on his advice to the team he said, “If the team wants to win the Six Nations championship that they won four years back, then the team had to grow more leaders.”
Jones got the captaincy replacing Sam Warburton and the decision to stand down Warburton was taken by interim coach Rob Howley. According to Howley, the decision to remove Warburton is taken in the favor of the player. After moving from the responsibility of captaincy, Sam will be able to focus more on his game and will improve his form for coming tournaments.
Jones had some captaincy opportunity in the past at different occasion, he got the opportunity in 2013 Irish Lions and British in their series-clinching 3rd test victory opposite Australia. In the match, Warburton got injured and he was replaced by Jones.
Speaking about his past performances as a captain, Jones Said, “It is not the time to discuss the things that happened in the past. Instead, we all should forget what happened then and ,a href=”http://www.ilovenorthamptonrugby.info”>focus on improving and evolving the team.”
Despite a wonderful time so far on the field, and an exciting game against Argentina where they emerged victors, thus putting them on course to cement their No 2 position in the rankings ahead of the tournament draw next may, England may face being put in another “pool of death” ahead of the Rugby World Cup holding in Japan.
The World Rugby rankings which was announced on Monday saw England trailing behind the top ranked New Zealand by 4.94 points. New Zealand has 94.78 points. At third place sits Australia after their loss to Ireland widened the gap between them and 2nd placed England from 1.7 to 2.87 points.
At fourth place is Ireland who with a win over Australia, has been able to reduce the deficit from 4.68 points to about 2.35 points.
The World Cup pool draw will take place at the Kyoto’s State Guest house, and the top four ranked teams at the time of the draw, will be handed top seed status, which ensures that they would avoid each other.
There would be four pools of five teams each, and each team with top seed status will be drawn with a side ranked fifth to eighth and then to another from ninth to twelfth. The eight remaining teams would then have to be drawn from two further bands.
The Jones led side risk being drawn in a pool with two other tier-one nations, this partly because in the rankings, South Africa had dropped to sixth. The Springboks are more likely to remain in the second band for the team draws for the World Cup unless both Ireland and Wales can endure a poor Six Nations.
The Australian Men’s Sevens team is all set to welcome aboard the new signing Conor Mitchell.
This Queensland forward will be part of the sevens team that will be taking part in the 2016-17 World Rugby Sevens Series. Mitchell has already had the experience of playing the Sevens World Series in Vancouver earlier in the year. He was included in the squad from outside the contracted squad. Now, he is available for the Australian Sevens squad on a full time basis.
The head coach of the Australia Sevens rugby team, Andy Friend, is very happy to have Mitchell up his sleeves and he can call upon him anytime he needs. He said that Conor has impressed everyone by doing the Australian colors by captain the Australian University Sevens Team during the 2016 World University games. The side had claimed the gold medal at the World University Games.
Andy said that the World Sevens is a very crucial tournament for the Australian team. He is looking to build this team into a regular top four team in the world. The team is ready for the challenge ahead and he feels that he has the players to perform well on the World Rugby Sevens Series stage. Mitchell has been very impressive of late and is all set to move to the Sydney Sevens squad. He has been very good this season in the Buildcorp NRC.
The head coach of Queensland Country, Toutai Kefu, said that the remarkable development of Mitchell as a major rugby player is an example of what the NRC can do with budding talent. NRC is created with the sole purpose of developing layers and to provide them with chances to play at the highest level. Conor has been coming out with consistent performances for some time and he certainly deserves a place in the National side.
Newcastle Falcons started off the new season with a great win. The game that they played with Sale Sharks ended in a win for the Newcastle Falcons.
For those who witnessed the game, the Falcons scored about 19-10 which was a score that they led into the second half. Sale battled with their talents that included heroic efforts by Byron McGuigan, the full back player of Sale.
The lead that Falcons had was cut down to just two points in the second half. With the rain beating down in the second half, it was interesting to see the difference in their passing abilities once the ball was wet. Whilst you could ask how does weather affect basketball and not come up with a plausible answer, the weather can definitley make playing rugby more challenging!
Dan Mugford converted when there was just ten minutes left for the game. Marcus Watson scored a crucial ball when there were three minutes left.
Those who witnessed the match between Newcastle Falcons and Sale Sharks were excited with the kind of defensive combat styles and techniques that were displayed by the players.
It definitely heralded a great start for the season for the Falcons. With several new players coming on board, they are definitely on a high as the pre season games have revealed as well.
Those who witnessed the game this weekend are sure to look forward to the other games scheduled in the new season. Many would be looking forward to seeing the new players perform and contribute to the team’s performance with their unique skills and talents. Here’s to Newcastle Falcons and hopefully they will have a great season ahead of them.
Among all the news that rugby games are generating right now, there is nothing bigger than the England’s tour of Australia that includes three Test series.
the first having ended in victory for England, all eyes are turned to the country and its rugby players and what Eddie Jones has lined up in terms of strategies and players to ensure a win the second time.
Among the several developments it is interesting to note that a trio of players from Bath Rugby would be starting off for the country in the second Test. The names are familiar to most – George Ford, Jonathan Joseph and Anthony Watson. They have been regulars for the England team for a while now, being favorites of Eddie. Hence, it should not come as a surprise to see them getting ready to offer the first and opening shots on the field.
The changes have been made with a lot of thought and strategies put in place. George was recalled to the lineup for the start and he would be taking opening shots on Saturday. He has been coming off the bench as he helped in an opening win earlier and he has impressed the crowd and relevant authorities with the precision that he has on his kicks as well as the passing capabilities that he possesses. Being 23 years of age, it is indeed an important tour for his rugby career. Owen Farrell would be moving to inside center a George Ford is ready to start. Jonathan Joseph has been able to score in the match last weekend. As a result he would be in as well as Jack Nowell. These are some of the changes that Eddie has envisioned. It remains to be seen how well these changes affect the game finally.