Setanta: Kicking Off 2010 In Style

Chances are, you will be hungover tomorrow. Don’t worry, it happens to the best of us. The best remedy for a night of debauchery is to plant your fat ass in front of the tele and watch sports. If your sport is rugby, you’re in luck this weekend, thanks to Setanta Sports.

2010 kicks with LIVE Guinness Premiership action as the Sale Sharks take on Harlequins at Edgeley Park at 12:30 pm eastern.  That is followed by delayed coverage of Ospreys vs Cardiff in the Magners League.  Saturday features delayed Magners League fixtures & Sunday my London Wasps host Newcastle (delayed).

Setanta Sports: New Year’s Weekend Rugby Schedule (times listed as Eastern U.S.)

Friday, January 1st

12:25 pm: Sale Sharks vs Harlequins (Guinness Premiership)- LIVE

2:45 pm: Ospreys vs Cardiff Blues (Magners League)- Same Day Coverage

Saturday, January 2nd

8:15 pm: Ulster vs Munster (Magners League)- Same Day Coverage

10:00 pm: Connacht vs Leinster (Magners League)- Same Day Coverage

11:45 pm: Edinburgh vs Glasgow (Magners League)- Same Day Coverage

Sunday, January 3rd

3:00 pm: London Wasps vs Newcastle Falcons (Guinness Premiership)- Same Day Coverage

Happy New Year!

In some parts of the rugby playing world, it’s now 2010. For others, we are just a few hours away from moving on after what was, for the most part, a completely shitty year. Well, maybe not completely shitty.

2009 may go down as the greatest year in the history of Rugby Union.  It all began last winter overseas with the kickoff of the 2009 Super 14.  It would continue through the finals of the Heineken Cup, Guinness Premiership and crowning a champion in the Magners League.  I won’t mention the Currie Cup or Air New Zealand Cup as both competitions bore me.

Internationally, Ireland would take the Six Nations & South Africa dominated the Tri Nations. Wales would shock the 7’s circuit by claiming the 2009 IRB Sevens World Cup.  Canada defeated the United States to advance to the 2011 IRB Rugby World Cup but the Americans came back strong, earning their own World Cup berth by downing Uruguay.

All the rugby action was great this past year, however, the greatest victory came not on the pitch, but by winning over a committee. Rugby 7’s (along with Golf) beat out many other sports to become a part of the Olympic program for the 2016 & 2020 games.  Rugby 7’s has become a world wide hit with both casual and hardcore fans. Now rugby returns to the world’s biggest stage.  It was a proud moment for every rugby supporter in the world, especially for those of us who live in a country where rugby is a “minor” sport.

2009 was a great year for our sport and I have a feeling that 2010 will also provide some much needed entertainment. Times are tough, we need something to cheer about.

On a side note, here are my 2010 New Year’s Resolutions. I actually kept one of my resolutions from last year, so let’s see if I can do even better this year.

#5: Say the word “Fuck” less but type the world “Fuck” more. With a little baby in the house now, I must watch my language. However to keep my sanity, I must type it more.

#4: Lose 30 pounds. It can happen, I’ve already lost quite a bit. This will help me accomplish #3.

#3: Stay Positive. I will kick off 2010 unemployed with a liver condition & blood pressure issues.  Staying positive isn’t easy, but I feel I must attempt to stay positive in order to become healthy again.

#2: Make a DREAM a REALITY. I’m in the infant stages of organizing a rugby club here in Southwest Michigan. The interest is there, we just need to pull everything together. Look out for the Lake Michigan Stormers!

#1: Heal SPIRITUALLY. Yeah, I hope to improve my health and heal physically. However, I also need to heal spiritually. I will accomplish this through the strength of my family, the smiles of my children, the warm embrace of my wife, through the prayers of friends, meditation & properly studying the words of Buddha & other religious teachers.

Stay safe & have fun tonight. Happy New Year!

The Future Of USA Rugby Takes To The Pitch

This time of year is pretty slow when it comes to USA Rugby. Other than our overseas professionals, not much going on right now with our current national teams. However, the future of USA Rugby will showcase their skills this holiday weekend.

The USA High School All Americans & U-20’s will be in action this weekend at Harder Stadium, which is on the campus of UC Santa Barbara.  It will be a chance to impress both college coaches & national team coaches alike.

“Skill development is and always has been the primary focus of these programs,” USA Under-20s Head Coach Ray Lehner said. “We will look to build on the success of our July assembly and thus, attacking continuity and defense, are the two main skill areas we continue to focus on.

The advantage of holding these camps & fixtures over the holiday break is so these young athletes will not miss any school work. Remember kids, education comes first, especially since only a handful of Americans play professionally.

Match dates/times and details

All matches will be played in Harder Stadium (Soccer Stadium at UCSB)

Friday, Jan. 1
1 p.m.:   USA High School All-Americans vs. Canada U-17s.
3 p.m.:   USA U-20s vs. NZ Universities U-21s

Sunday, Jan 3
11 a.m.:  USA High School All-Americans vs. Canada U-17s.
1 p.m.:    USA U-20s vs. NZ Universities U-21s

High School All-Americans

Antoine Bailey (Shawnigan Lake School)

Daniel Beckerman (Shawnigan Lake School)

Matias Cima (Gonzaga High School)

Oliver Cregg (SoCal Gators)

Patrick Coleman (Xavier H.S.)

Paul Drake (Aurora Saracens)

Michael Durant (Boston College H.S.)

Cameron Falcon (Shaw Rugby Football Club)

Tommy Flynn, (Cobham RFC)

Mate Hausia (Diablo Youth)

Sione Hausia (Diablo Youth)

Sean Herbert (Cobham RFC)

Madison Hughes (Wellington College/Cobham RFC)

Chuck Koehler (Pulaski RFC)

Will Magie (Ealing RFC)

Ian Mann (Worthington)

Jonathon Marshall (Highlanders RFC)

Daniel Metcalf (Jesuit, Dallas)

Jesse Milne (PITS)

Travis Moscone (PITS)

Cody Nugent (Hartford Wanderers/Cheshire RFC)

Drew Ohmann (Union County Lions)

Adam Sandstrom (Lake County RFC)

Tre’von Smith (St. Edward H.S.)

Ozzy Sombo (East Meck)

Caleb Tracey ( Portland (Maine) RFC)

Will Turner (Shawnigan Lake School)

U.S. Under-20s
Naki Angilau (University of Utah)

Tim Barford (Loughborough Students)

Jared Braun (California Golden Bears)
Tyler Colin (California Golden Bears)
Joe Cowley (Charlotte RFC)
Brendan Daly (California Golden Bears)
Kyle Denham (University of Utah)
Tiann De Nysschen (Birmingham Rugby Club)
Andres Diaz (Texas A&M University)

Randy Don Pati (University of Utah)

Dimitri Efithimiouiu (Mystic River)

Will Farrell (Alpharetta Rugby Club)

Brendan Gray (Boca Raton Rugby Club)
Kevin Herrera (Olympic Club)

Andrew Jackson (Santa Barbara Rugby Academy)
James Bubba Jones (St. Mary’s)

Seamus Kelly (California Golden Bears)
Brandon Kraft (California Golden Bears)
Ben Landry (UW Platteville)
Patric Latu (San Mateo)

Connor Mills (Texas A&M University)
Vladislav Mnatsakanov (Valley RFC)

Michael Oliver (Old Alleynians)

Lukas Rogusky (Georgia Southern University)

Sam Sirrell (University of California – Los Angeles)
David Tameilau (San Francisco Golden Gate)

Jose Valedez (Santa Barbara Rugby Academy)

Happy Holidays

We’ll be back on Saturday. I’m planning a special post on Saturday to discuss the brave decision made by Welsh rugby superstar (and one of my favorite players ever) Gareth Thomas to “come out of the closet” and compare American sports culture to the rest of the world. Until then, enjoy this video.

Setanta: Holiday Weekend Rugby Schedule

Setanta US takes us on a trip down memory lane this weekend. Rugby fans can spend the early hours of Christmas Day reliving a couple fantastic rugby matches from this past year. If you missed Ireland vs South Africa playing in a dense fog from about a month ago, you now have a second opportunity.

In addition to some classic matches from this past year, you also have fresh Magners League & Guinness Premiership matches to look forward to, including a live Guinness Premiership clash, featuring my beloved London Wasps. No searching for illegal streams for me this weekend!!!

Setanta Sports: Holiday Weekend TV Schedule (including re-airs)

THURSDAY, December 24th

12:45 am: Gloucester vs Glasgow (Heineken Cup)- Re-Air

2:30 am: Perpignan vs Munster (Heineken Cup)- Re-Air

4:15 am: Edinburgh vs Bath (Heineken Cup) – Re-Air

2:45 pm: Edinburgh vs Bath (Heineken Cup)- Re-Air

5:00 pm: Leinster vs Scarlets (Heineken Cup)- Re-Air

6:45 pm: Leicester vs Clermont (Heineken Cup) – Re-Air

8:30 pm: Gloucester vs Glasgow (Heineken Cup) – Re-Air

10:15 pm: Perpignan vs Munster (Heineken Cup) – Re-Air

FRIDAY, December 25th

12:00 am: Ireland vs South Africa (Fall Tour International)- Re-Air

1:45 am: Leicester vs Leinster (2009 Heineken Cup Final) – Re-Air

11:30 am: Rugby: Year In Review

7:45 pm: Rugby: Year In Review

11:45 pm: Magners League Rugby: Year In Review

SATURDAY, December 26th

8:15 pm: Leinster vs Ulster (Magners League)- Same Day Coverage

10:15 pm: Worcester vs Northampton (Guinness Premiership)- Same Day Coverage

SUNDAY, December 27th

12:00 am: Munster vs Connacht (Magners League)- 1st Airing

1:45 am: Scarlets vs Ospreys (Magners League)- 1st Airing

3:30 am: Munster vs Connacht (Magners League)- Re-Air

11:10 am: Harlequins vs London Wasps (Guinness Premiership)- LIVE

1:15 pm: Glasgow vs Edinburgh (Magners League)- Same Day Coverage

6:30 pm: Harlequins vs London Wasps (Guinness Premiership)- Same Day Coverage

RuggaMatrix USA: Eddie O’Sullivan

RuggaMatrix USA, Show #4 is up and available for streaming or download HERE. This week’s episode features an interview with USA Eagles Head Coach Eddie O’Sullivan. The Irish great now has one season under his belt and he reflects about the positives and negatives he faced this past season. Eddie also takes a look ahead to the future as he prepares the Eagles to take on the world in 2011.

This is a can’t miss episode if you are a supporter of USA Rugby. I still believe Eddie will lead us to great things and possibly our best World Cup finish in 2011.

RuggaMatrix USA comes courtesy of HeavensGame.com, your #1 source for rugby news.

USA Still In The Hunt To Host 2014 WRWC

The United States still has a shot at hosting the 2014 IRB Women’s Rugby World Cup. The U.S. joins New Zealand, Samoa & Kazakhstan as the bidding process reaches the next stage.

“We have never enjoyed such high interest in hosting Women’s Rugby World Cup at a time when the women’s game is experiencing rapid global popularity and growth,” said Rugby World Cup Limited Chairman Bernard Lapasset.

“The rugby family is looking forward to being in London next year for Women’s Rugby World Cup 2010, which will be the biggest tournament to date.

“The host of Women’s Rugby World Cup 2014 will inherit a strong competition from England with great players, exceptional female officials and a whole set of new supporters.”

If you look at the four finalists, you have to figure the United States is the odds on favorite to host the event. New Zealand is hosting the 2011 IRB Rugby World Cup, so I seriously doubt the IRB will award New Zealand two straight World Cup competitions. Samoa is a quality rugby playing country but lack quality stadiums.  Kazakhstan is quickly becoming a “power” in women’s rugby and to me, is our other competition when it comes to hosting the event.

Women’s rugby is growing in popularity in this country as more clubs are being formed each year. Our ladies won the first ever Women’s Rugby World Cup back in 1991 and finished 2nd in 1994. We have the stadiums to pull this off and with ESPN showing interest in 7’s rugby, who knows? Much like the 1994 FIFA World Cup, the Women’s World Cup could be a huge success for everyone involved if we are given a chance to host it. Just look at the ticket sales for the USA Sevens each year.  Rugby can draw a crowd in this country so I truly believe the Women’s World Cup can draw the same type of crowd.

Hosting the Women’s Rugby World Cup might be a nice first step towards convincing the IRB that we could pull off a Rugby World Cup (men’s)  in the future. I’m thrilled that we are still in the running and its my dream that we can one day host the sports BIGGEST event in this country as well.

U.S. Women To Take On Canada

The border war resumes next month as the USA Lady Eagles (thats what I call them, fuck off if you don’t like it) take on Canada for the Atlantic Cup. This two match series will take place at the Tigertown Athletic Complex in Lakeland, Florida on January 12th & 16th.

Both teams will ramp things up ahead of the 2010 IRB Women’s World Cup, which will be held next August in England.  Expect a hard hitting and intense battle. And the best part? Both matches will streamed LIVE via UStream.com! More on that as we get closer to January 12th.

“Having beaten Canada in the last minute of our match in the Nations Cup shows that both teams are well matched and we expect these two matches to be no different,” said U.S. Head Coach Kathy Flores.

“We expect fierce competition, as Canada has just played the French twice and beat them in their first test. However, as with any rivalry, we are prepared to battle for the win.”

England are considered the favorites to win the Cup next summer and the United States is grouped with England during the pool stage.