It’s here and for all intents and purposes it’s Christmas time for rugby fans around the world, as the world’s oldest annual rugby competition the Six Nations gets underway this weekend and for those with leanings towards the Southern Hemisphere, Super Rugby has its opening festivities. With plenty of new faces and sea changes inContinue reading “The Six Nations and Super Rugby kicks off this weekend – could rugby fans ask for anything more?”
Author Archives: Neil Olsen
Not too many surprises in the Heineken Cup and completed squads for the Six Nations
This week saw the Heineken Cup playoffs finalized with the weekend providing some epic contests, but ultimately not too many surprises in the final draw for those eight spots in the knockout stages. Meanwhile England completed the Six Nations jigsaw puzzle by naming their squad, and lastly the Toronto Arrows had a rousing preseason openerContinue reading “Not too many surprises in the Heineken Cup and completed squads for the Six Nations”
The Pool Stages of the Heineken run the numbers for two of the best runners up and squads start to take shape for the Six Nations
A busy week in the Heineken Cup sees a number of teams book their quarter final spots, and a fascinating five horse race for the last two runner up spots is on the agenda for this weekend. Meanwhile this week saw plenty of developments ahead of the Six Nations as all but England have nowContinue reading “The Pool Stages of the Heineken run the numbers for two of the best runners up and squads start to take shape for the Six Nations”
The New Year sees us change tack and plenty to look forward to!
First up sorry for the silence since the World Cup. Work, Christmas, families etc all took precedence over us having a good look at matters pertaining to the oval ball for the last couple of months. 2020 will be a busy year for all, on and off the ball, so to accommodate we are changingContinue reading “The New Year sees us change tack and plenty to look forward to!”
Does the World’s biggest stage have one last plot twist in store for us on Saturday?
Yes that magical moment that only comes around once every four years is finally upon us. The World Cup final! It’s been a tournament full of twists and surprises. Japan’s meteoric rise to superstar status, England’s demolition of New Zealand – the list goes on. Meanwhile France and Ireland held true to form and squanderedContinue reading “Does the World’s biggest stage have one last plot twist in store for us on Saturday?”
Can Japan make history and are Wales on track to make their own?
While it may be hard to top events on Saturday, these two quarter-finals will provide plenty of drama, and certainly in the case of Japan an expectant host nation will watch to see if their heroes can make this tournament one where dreams really do come true. The form books may be even less kindContinue reading “Can Japan make history and are Wales on track to make their own?”
Simply put – what a weekend lies in store as the World Cup gets to the business end in Japan!
When we first looked at the pools draw for this World Cup, we felt that possibly the pool stages may have ended up being rather one-sided. In many ways they were, certainly in the case of Pool B. However, as always some of the Tier 2 nations packed some genuine punch. Uruguay were well worthContinue reading “Simply put – what a weekend lies in store as the World Cup gets to the business end in Japan!”
A quick look ahead to an intriguing weekend of Pool matches as Round 2 of the World Cup picks up pace in Japan
With all the rugby going on at the moment, we have to confess to finding it hard to keep a handle on all of it and a balance with work and family. As a result it’s a slightly abbreviated look at some of this weekend’s action. After a bumper crop of top notch matches inContinue reading “A quick look ahead to an intriguing weekend of Pool matches as Round 2 of the World Cup picks up pace in Japan”
A very big day for North American rugby as Canada and the USA get their World Cup campaigns underway!
Canada and the USA kick off exceptionally challenging World Cup campaigns tomorrow. Canada get their journey in what is essentially the “Pool of no Hope” underway, while the USA commence operations in the “Pool of Death”. In short both teams have the unenviable task of collectively facing up to five of the best teams inContinue reading “A very big day for North American rugby as Canada and the USA get their World Cup campaigns underway!”
A match where whether you win or lose, a rather daunting quarter final awaits you
It is widely assumed that Ireland and Scotland will be the teams that progress from Pool A to the quarter finals. There is the wild card that is Japan and how home advantage could cause them to create two upsets this tournament as opposed to their one historic victory in the last World Cup, butContinue reading “A match where whether you win or lose, a rather daunting quarter final awaits you”
The Lineout 