Paki's Corner

2009 TRI NATIONS FIXTURES!

2009-07-15T06:43:00.000+02:00

Date	Fixture	KO	GMT	Venue	Result
18 July	New Zealand v Australia	19.35	07.35	Auckland	-
25 July	South Africa v New Zealand	15.00	13.00	Vodacom Park	-
1 August	South Africa v New Zealand	15.00	13.00	Kings Park stadium	-
08 August	South Africa v Australia	15.00	13.00	Newlands	-
22 August	Australia v New Zealand	20.05	10.05	Australia stadium	-
29 August	Australia v South Africa	18.05	10.05	Subiaco Oval	-
5 September	Australia v South Africa	20.05	08.05	Suncorp Stadium	-
12 September	New Zealand v South Africa	19.35	07.35	Hamilton	-
19 September	New Zealand v Australia	19.35	07.35	Westpac Stadium	-

TRI NATIONS: WALLABY WARNING!

2009-07-15T06:33:00.004+02:00

Berrick Barnes: too cool for school.

James O'Connor: not old enough to drink in the USA.

The 2009 Tri Nations competition is almost among us! This weekend's opener sees Australia take on the All Blacks in what will be a very tight affair. Crouch, Touch, Pause and Engage!

"We have made good progress, and the relative consistency of our selection reflects that, but no one is getting ahead of themselves. Playing New Zealand at Eden Park is going to be a major step up on what we have faced so far," Wallaby coach Robbie Deans said. "You only have to look at the history – in terms of the All Blacks' outstanding record at Eden Park – and their current circumstance, to appreciate the size of the task that is in front of us."

The Wallabies cross the Tasman Sea having dispatched the Barbarians (55-7), Italy (31-8 and 34-12), as well as France (22-6) this year. History underlines what a demanding start to the competition it is as Australia last won at Eden Park in 1986. New Zealand has won the last 10 trans-Tasman Tests in Auckland, and has not been defeated at Eden Park by any country since France prevailed 23-20 in 1994, 20-matches ago. The Auckland visit also heralds the start of the annual Bledisloe Cup rivalry, which for a second year will stretch beyond the Tri-Nations tournament, concluding with an historic trans-Tasman Test match in Tokyo on 31 October. The Wallabies must win three of the four Tests against the All Blacks to relieve the New Zealanders of the trophy, which Australia haven't held since it was surrendered to an All Black team co-coached by the current Wallabies mentor in 2003. The Bledisloe Cup was first contested by Australia and New Zealand in 1931. (Report from Rugby365)

Australia: 15 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 14 Lachie Turner, 13 Stirling Mortlock (captain), 12 Berrick Barnes, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 George Smith, 6 Richard Brown, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 James Horwill, 3 Al Baxter, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Benn Robinson. Replacements: 16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Ben Alexander, 18 Dean Mumm, 19 Phil Waugh, 20 David Pocock, 21 Will Genia, 22 James O'Connor.

New Zealand: 15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 10 Stephen Donald, 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Rodney So'oialo, 7 Richie McCaw (captain), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Isaac Ross, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Neemia Tialata, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Tony Woodcock. Replacements: 16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Owen Franks, 18 Jason Eaton, 19 Kieran Read, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Luke McAlister, 22 Josevata Rokocoko.

Date: Saturday, July 18

Venue: Eden Park, Auckland

Kick-off: 19.35 (07.35 GMT)

Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)

Assistant referees: Marius Jonker (South Africa), Cobus Wessels (South Africa)

TMO: Vinny Munro (New Zealand)

THE FLYING KENYAN: PART 1!

2009-07-15T06:26:00.000+02:00

THE FLYING KENYAN: PART 2!

2009-07-15T06:25:00.001+02:00

7s: WORLD GAMES SET!

2009-07-15T06:08:00.005+02:00

Details about the World Games in Kaohsiung (Chinese Taipei) have been announced - with this appearing on the IRB 7s website:

Fiji were crowned World Games champions in the German city of Duisburg four years ago – only months after winning a second Rugby World Cup Sevens title – when Sevens maestro Waisale Serevi scored to seal a 31-26 victory over South Africa in a final that had seemed destined for extra time.

The Rugby Sevens competition at the World Games 2009 will take place on 24-25 July with Fiji and South Africa – the newly crowned IRB Sevens World Series champions – joined by 2005 bronze medallists Argentina, Portugal, USA, Japan, Hong Kong and the hosts.

The tournament is held under the auspices of the International World Games Association (IWGA), comprising the 32 International Sports Federations governing sports recognised by the IOC but not in the Olympic Games.

The Games are held under the patronage of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Sevens is one of the seven sports currently being considered for inclusion in the 2016 Olympic Games - the other sports are softball, baseball, karate, golf, squash and roller sports.

Pool A

South Africa

USA

Portugal

Chinese Taipei

Pool B

Fiji

Argentina

Japan

Hong Kong

CORNER LATEST: USA RUGBY UPDATE 1!

2009-07-14T01:54:00.003+02:00

The Corner World Tour brings you a weekly rugby update from the Corner himself - Live and Loud my friends - covering 7s for UR7s.com and everything else for the rest of the Globe. The new iPhone was used in this first session - but converting to Wide Screen reduced the quality quite a bit. Not bad for Round 1 - with massive improvements coming your way soon!

"DONT CALL IT A COMEBACK" - MARK GAYLOR!

2009-07-14T01:28:00.003+02:00

"I've been here for years!" shouts Mark Aylor - USA 15s player who represented his country at the 2007 Rugby World Cup. The Eightman has returned to the game, now playing 7s for Life, and besides winning the Cape Fear tournament can be found in really short shorts terrorizing the neighbourhood. The old man has had a bad influence on the younger generation - with Clint 'Whitey' Whitler being dragged out with him for the evening...

DENVER WIN 7s SNEATH CUP!

2009-07-14T00:59:00.004+02:00

Mike Mangan - with ball in one hand - is about to High 5 a defender in the face...

"Denver won the final of the Denver 7s 38-12 over Aspen, after going up 30-0 at halftime. The Barbarians took the opening kickoff straight for a try and from there the onslaught was on. Aspen was able to score 2 tries (by Mike Palefau and Tim Omi) in the final minutes not to get shut out.

Dallas Harlequins faced off against the Glendale Raptors for 3rd place with the Raptors coming out on top. The Chicago Lions beat the KC Blues for 5th and the Denver Killer B's took 7th. The Killer B's led by Mike Mangan and Kevin Witcher, had the plays of the tournament. Both ex-Eagles had several long try scoring runs but the highlight of the tournament was Mike Mangan's 70m try against Aspen where he stiff armed two of the would be tacklers to the ground. Although Mike Palefau was the class of the tournament, being the leading try scorer and completely changing many of the games...

Denver has won the first 2 Western qualifiers with Aspen placing second in both of them. Aenver is looking to improve more with the additions of a few players who were not at the last tournament: Justin Stencil (did not play in final due to injury), Maximo de Archival (growing his hair out in Argentina) and the notpakiscorner founders Nic Johnson (playing for the 15s Eagles) and Mark Bokhoven (due to injury). Aspen is also looking to add depth to their team before nationals with Jason 'im made of glass' Pye, if he doesnt get hurt attempting another ill conceived chip kick." - Mark Bokhoven (co-founder of NotPakisCorner.Com) now reporting for the Corner

THE PUB GOLF CREATOR!

2009-07-13T19:52:00.001+02:00

An unbelievable interview with Pub Golf sensation James Alt.

CURRIE CUP: WP DOWN THE SHARKS!

2009-07-13T19:18:00.004+02:00

Chris Jack (with ball) about to put Stephen Larkham to sleep.

All Black lock Chris Jack made a massive impact for his new club side - Western Province - by scoring after 43 seconds on the clock in this weekend's first Currie Cup encounter!

Western Province impressed with a 29-15 win over Natal in very wet conditions at Newlands. In the other classes: the Bulls came from behind to beat the Lions 19-13, while the Griquas caused a massive upset beating the Cheetahs 28-18.

Currie Cup: Week 1 Results

Blue Bulls 19-13 Lions

WP 29-15 Sharks

Boland 26-18 Leopards

Cheetahs 18-28 Griquas

TODD SELLECK MAULED BY LIONS!

2009-07-13T06:08:00.001+02:00

CANADA QUALIFY FOR 2011 RWC!

2009-07-12T06:00:00.000+02:00

Paul 'Bruno' Emerick on his way to have an early shower...

It was a tough game for the USA Eagles this past weekend in Canada - with the hosts storming to a 41-18 victory. Unfortunately star center Paul 'the Cactus' Emerick had a meltdown and drop kicked a Canadian player - receiving another red carded for collection. The less said the better, with Canada now qualifying for the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

The USA will now face Uruguay in two Test matches in November - playing a home and away series - the winner also qualifying for the 2011 Cup.

LAS VEGAS 7s: RAINMAN UP FOR 24 HOURS!

2009-07-11T02:00:00.000+02:00

BOB SKINSTAD - EPISODE 5!

2009-07-11T01:43:00.003+02:00

Bobby Skinstad - kind of stealing the Corner's interviewing ideas - brings us another RugbyZone Skinny. This time with internal referee Craig Joubert. Skinstad is using the same flip video camera man Bongo Malherbe used on the Corner Poison tour to Rome last month. What a magic piece of machinery.

THE CORNER vs DAVID CAMPESE!

2009-07-11T01:05:00.000+02:00

The latest Pakis Corner sports blog is here - click on RugbyZone - to see what the Corner has to say this time, brought to you by a bag of rubbish. Also cast some positive comments on RugbyZone if you like, in the continued War of Words against David Campese!!!

USA READY FOR CANADIAN REMATCH!

2009-07-10T03:45:00.002+02:00

(L to R) Roland 'I'm a massive Teef' Suniula, Chris 'Gumi Bears' Wyles and Shawn 'I wonder what time dinner is' Pittman.

Shawn 'Seth Rogen' Pittman hugs a frantic fan.

The USA Eagles produced a remarkable 12-6 win on July 4th over Canada to celebrate a 1-0 lead in the 2011 Rugby World Cup Qualifiers! The North American rivals will meet again this weekend - this time in Canada - a land rumoured to have people not just bricks. It should be another very physical outing, as the USA looks to set a marker in the 15 man game.

The USA side is:

1. Mate Moekiola (Park City Haggis)

2. Chris Biller (California)

3. Shawn Pittman (Bayside RFC)

4. John Van der Giessen (Denver Barbarians)

5. Hayden Smith (Saracens FC)

6. Louis Stanifill (New York Athletic Club)

7. Todd Clever (Xerox Lions) ©

8. Nic Johnson (Denver Barbarians)

9. Tim Usasz (Nottngham RFC)

10. Mike Hercus (Sunshine Coast Stingrays)

11. Kevin Swiryn (Old Puget Sound Beach)

12. Roland Suniula (Pearl City RFC)

13. Paul Emerick (Overmach Parma)

14. Takudzwa Ngwenya (Biarritz Olympic)

15. Chris Wyles (Saracens FC)

CURRIE CUP: STARTS THIS WEEKEND!

2009-07-10T02:21:00.000+02:00

There is no rest for the fan these days as we move straight into the South African domestic competition - called the Currie Cup - a spicy mix of local rugby at its best. The opening few weeks will not feature any current Springboks who will be getting ready for the Tri Nations campaign, but will join the tail end of the competition.

Friday July 10:

Boland vs Leopards

Cheetahs vs Griquas

Saturday July 11:

Bulls vs Lions

WP vs Sharks

"WERE WE SPEEDING OFFICER?"

2009-07-10T02:00:00.000+02:00

What a classic youtube moment thanks to the Knoxville Rugby Club! This is the famous 2004 Street Skiing Finals as filmed by the Knoxville Police Department... Priceless.

USA TRYTIME MY FRIENDS!

2009-07-09T19:04:00.000+02:00

"The ‘TRY' team passionately debated the biggest disadvantage rugby in America faces and ultimately, we concluded it was the myth perpetuated by the US media that Americans aren't interested in the game. The truth, as we know, is those exposed to rugby become passionate fans and followers of rugby. Therefore, we have decided a show of numbers is needed to demonstrate the level of support the game actually enjoys.

We have set a goal to reach one million hits on our new YouTube trailer for ‘Try' to help show rugby has a viable and enthusiastic fan base here in the U.S. We sent out just a few emails and the response has been nothing short of amazing. We have longed believed that grass roots rugby community here have been looking for ways to show they are out there. We hope that you will join us to show that America loves rugby. We know that we can't reach the million without your support (especially Pakis Corner), so if you could give us any assistance to promote the link we would appreciate it. Here it is."

BREAKING NEWS: OZ IS SINGLE!

2009-07-09T18:18:00.003+02:00

He is back.

"Cock Tail anyone?"

"Only a face a mother can love" some people have said. In fact one young lady of the night(some call Dana, others call 'Teagbag') said she would "rather cut my arm in half". But these are just rumours - the real story is that FaceBook has reveal led as of yesterday that Chris 'Oz' Osentowski is Single. You better believe it my friends, the USA Eagle 15s prop sensation, is currently out on the prowl. We live in dangerous times - first North Korea and now the Russian Osentowski...

You have been warned America.

2009/2010 IRB 7s WORLD SERIES DATES!

2009-07-08T17:48:00.005+02:00

The dates for the most successful rugby series is here - LIVE on the Corner!

Dubai, UAE - 4-5 December 2009

George, South Africa - 11-12 December 2009

Wellington, New Zealand - 4-6 February 2010

USA 7s, USA - 13-14 February 2010

Adelaide, Australia - 20-21 March 2010

Hong Kong - 26, 27, 28 March 2010

London, England - 22-23 May 2010

Edinburgh, Scotland - 29-30 May 2010

CAPE FEAR 7s: VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS!

2009-07-07T21:02:00.002+02:00

Some more great exposure for rugby in the United States was found this weekend highlighting the annual Cape Fear 7s tournament in North Carolina. Click on the two links below for some of the action - especially the second one which features Garry 'wheels' Sullivan's golden try!

Cape Fear 7s Day 1

Cape Fear 7s Day 2

LIFE STORM CAPE FEAR 7s!

2009-07-07T17:43:00.002+02:00

Garry Sullivan - not scared of a haircut - sings his favorite Backstreet Boy hit as he scores the winner during Cape Fear!

Article posted by the Corner on UR7s.com!

Life University continued their rugby success on the weekend with a thrilling try in extra time to win the famous Cape Fear Sevens tournament in North Carolina!

It has been an action packed year for Life – who entered the USA Super League competition in 15s earlier this season – and had a storming run just losing out in the finals. They have built a strong base of players, and are one of the few American universities now offering sports scholarships for rugby.

The Cape Fear 7s tournament attracted many of the top teams from the United States, and included a powerful British Army side (called the Marshwood Dolphins). But it wasn’t to be for the touring British Army as Old Blue produced a sensational 19-14 win over them in the quarterfinals. In the other quarterfinal results Life beat an inexperienced OMBAC side 29-12; NOVA poured on the points against the young Rugby Academy of America (from Florida) 46-0; and the Kenyan Exiles just defeated New Orleans 17-10 to go through.

The semi finals were closely contested with the crowds enjoying a fine display of 7s as Life held on to beat Old Blue 31-17 and NOVA took out the Kenyan Exiles 19-7. The final was all action – with $2000 prize money on the line – and the full time score tied at 12-12. But it took a thrilling finish from Life’s Captain Garry Sullivan to win it, with a superb try, sealing the trophy 17-12!

Life University – now coached by former USA 7s player Tui Osborne – fielded the following squad on the weekend:

Garry Sullivan (Captain); 2. Nathan Rogers; 3. Mark Aylor; 4. Seth Kolka; 5. Brendon Thomson; 6. Luke Waikamakama; 7. Clint Whitler; 8. Kevin Ndongi; 9. Brian Page; 10. Joe Breuer; 11. Colton Cariaga; 12. Tony Brooks.

Life University and NOVA will now join Belmont Shore and OMBAC at next year’s IRB San Diego 7s tournament for the final of the USA Sevens Championship Cup Series. The remaining tournaments, each worth $2,000 prize money, are: The Denver Sevens (July 11th); Kansas City Blues Sevens (July 24-25th) and the New York Sevens (November 28th).

BELMONT SHORE TIGERS MVP!

2009-07-06T20:16:00.003+02:00

Jason Townes produced a Man-of-the-Match performance for Belmont Shore two weekend's ago in San Diego as he scored one of the longest range tries of the decade. Townes (in his twenties) impressed the locals with his moves on the dance floor, and by the looks of it, stole at least one heart...

You Little Beautiiiiiiii.

SPRINGBOKS 9 LIONS 28!

2009-07-06T17:18:00.002+02:00

The British & Irish Lions can be proud of their performance in the 3rd and final Test in South Africa as they beat the Springboks 28-9 in another physical match. Several changes on both teams - in fact 10 by the home side - meant the standard of the match wasn't the same as the first two humdingers. Either way - the Springboks take the famous Lions Series 2-1! Sensational.