Amsterdam Sevens (22-23 May)

Ok this is a predictable choice. But is there an argument against inclusion? I don’t think so. This is arguably the most famous invitational sevens tourney in Europe.

The tournament is full before the turn of the year and incorporates the most eclectic mix of Sevens you can imagine. There is the cream of the crop including Samurai, Wailers, Marauders, Pups who are supplemented by such sides as Germany, Holland, Yugg (Russia).

Then you have the likes of Old Millfieldians, International Marauders, Susies Saloon and of course sides such as Leggys Legends!

Last year I was privileged to watch a team of Sevens front-rowers, many with international honours, take on a Chris Ashton inspired Samurai International, only in Amsterdam! On day 2, the big sides are drawn with one another and the real rugby begins but the hunt for tries on day 1 against the weaker sides is taken with great humour. Then there is the backdrop of the Amsterdam nightlife itself… well that’s for another day.

In weekend women’s rugby international matches, the Dutch women’s team hammered Germany 83-0 in Maastricht while Singapore A lost a tight game which was interrupted by poor weather to Malaysia on a 10-5 scoreline. The Netherlands’ big win came ahead of the European Championships being held in France in May.

Both Germany and the Netherlands will compete at FIRA-AER’s European Trophy competition where eight teams will battle it out for the title.

The Dutch women came into last weekend’s game following two good wins over Sweden, who will be at the Euros and the World Cup, and their confidence was justified after they scored a comprehensive victory, scoring 13 tries to nil.

The top try scorers of the match were Wikke Tuinhout(2), Pien Selbeck (2), Lusan Beijens (2) and Kelly van harskamp (2)

Head coach Gareth Gilbert said:

“We were very happy with the way the team made decisions and played the ball and supported each other but as the game got more open we started to lose structure and it became a bit scrappy. Our set pieces were a lot better but still need some work to make sure we get quality ball on more occasions.”

“The team has really worked hard and it shows as we were fitter, stronger and more mentally tougher than our opponents.We believe we have had the best preparation possible on our budget for the Euros and we really believe that we have what it takes to do the job. We are confident and the spirit is very high.”

At the Euros Germany are pooled against Russia, Italy and Sweden while the Dutch team will play Spain, Belgium and France A.

Meanwhile in Singapore, newcomers to the international scene Malaysia won out 10-5. The sides were level at half time but Malaysia scored before the game was stopped half way through the half due to poor weather.

USRS blijft in eerste klasse

UTRECHT – De rugby’ers van USRS zijn zeker van een plaats in de eerste klasse. De Utrechtse studenten hebben ook hun tweede degradatiewedstrijd gewonnen.

Tegen NSRV Obelix werd het 32 – 3. Ook de eerste partij tegen Obelix werd gewonnen. Toen werd het 26 – 15.

USRS is de enige ploeg die beide degradatiewedstrijden heeft gewonnen. Daardoor zijn de Utrechters zeker van handhaving in de eerste klasse.

 

Rugby: Nederland-Malta

 

• zaterdag 17 april 2010, 22:15
• Duur: 05:13

Video In Amsterdam speelde het Nederlandse rugbyteam vanmiddag tegen Malta in de European Nations Cup. Nederland speelt in divisie 2B, staat na zes wedstrijden bovenaan en wil graag promoveren naar divisie 2A om sterkere tegenstanders te ontmoeten. De samenvatting met commentaar van Hans Brian.

Nederland zet grote stap naar promotie

zaterdag, 17 april 2010 17:32

Door een prachtige overwinning op Malta vandaag op het Nationaal Rugby Centrum Amsterdam is het Nederlands Rugby Team weer een stap dichter bij promotie naar de 2A Poule in de European Nations Cup.

Na een eerdere overwinning in Malta, won Nederland de wederom spannende wedstrijd met 19-00. Malta verdedigde stug maar kon niet voorkomen dat Roy van Leijen (RC ’t Gooi) de score vroeg in de eerste helft opende. De wedstrijd ging daarna heen en weer en beide teams kregen verschillende kansen. Malta dat met een aanval bezig was diep in het 25 meter gebied van Nederland, werd met een prachtige counter overrompeld. De bal kwam in de handen van Jay Jay Boske (RC Hilversum) en deze drukte hem uiteindelijk achter de trylijn, waardoor de stand 12-00 werd. Rob Rijnholt, die ook met Rugbyclub Hilversum Landskampioen werd, zorgde halverwege de eerste helft voor de 19-00 wat ook de ruststand werd. 

In de tweede helft waren de teams meer aan elkaar gewaagd en hierdoor ging de wedstrijd grotendeels op slot. Nederland wist niet meer te scoren en de wedstrijd eindigde met 19-00.

Op 24 april speelt Nederland in Split de laatste wedstrijd van de European Nations Cup 2008-2010 en promoveert bij winst naar Poule 2A. Daar kan Nederland zich gaan meten met sterk opkomende rugbylanden als Oekraïne en België.  

Benjamin en Turvenfeest!

zaterdag, 17 april 2010 16:40

Ruim 450 Turven en Benjamins speelden het Fair Play toernooi van het Jaar; de Nationale Jeugd Rugby Dag. Voor het eerst voelden zij het “heilige” gras van het NRCA onder hun kicksen. Sommige van hen zullen misschien in de toekomst met het Nederlands Team hier spelen. 

Als voorprogramma voor de interland Nederland vs Malta is zaterdag 17 april de Nationale Jeugd Rugby Dag voor Turven en Benjamins gehouden. Op deze zonnige dag waren in het stadion veldjes uitgezet voor de teams. Aan de dag hebben in totaal 19 verschillende verenigingen deelgenomen. Dit zijn meer teams dan de afgelopen jaren. 

De Turven en Benjamins waren in verschillende poules ingedeeld uit verschillende districten. Op 8 veldjes werd er tussen half 11 en 2 uur goed rugby gespeeld waarbij plezier voorop stond. Alle teams hebben minimaal 3 wedstrijden gespeeld die werden gefloten door de vrijwilligers van de verenigingen zelf.

Naast de wedstrijden was de Nederlands Team Mascotte een groot succes. Veel kinderen gingen met de Mascotte op de foto en juichten na dit toernooi mee tijdens de wedstrijd Nederland vs Malta, die mede door de steun van ruim 300 kinderen gewonnen werd. Het gejuich werd ondersteund door het vele kabaal van de applaussticks die de kinderen als presentje aan het einde van de dag meekregen. De cadeautjes voor de kinderen werden mede mogelijk gemaakt door Danone. 

Demonstratie rugby

• donderdag 15 april 2010, 15u41
• Auteur: Jan Decock

Jan Decock

WAREGEM – De Waregemse rugbyvereniging die september vorig jaar werd opgericht heeft er een eerste succesrijke campagne op zitten. De club nodigt iedereen uit om te komen kijken naar de demonstratiewedstrijd van zondag 18 april die om 13.30 uur start op de terreinen van Racing Waregem,gelegen aan de Mirakelstraat in de wijk Nieuwenhove.

Woordvoerder Fabrice Dezwarte: ‘Wij mogen een veertigtal minuten spelen. Het publiek krijgt te zien hoe wij ons wisten te handhaven in de competitie. Voor deze demonstratiewedstrijd is het tot 14 uur gratis toegang. De supporters van Racing zullen die kunnen bekijken in afwachting van de thuiswedstrijd tegen Sint-Niklaas die om 15 uur wordt afgetrapt.

Voor ons is het in elk geval een spannende afsluiter van het seizoen. Meteen maken wij van de gelegenheid gebruik om onze sponsors te bedanken voor hun financiële en materiële steun. En wij voeren natuurlijk ook graag op die manier promotie voor onze sporttak.’

Tuesday, 13 April 2010 15:03

Holland: Proud past, promising future

By John Birch

The Netherlands have a proud – even unique – place in the history of women’s rugby. It was entirely due to initiative of the Dutch Rugby Union that the first women’s international (against France at Utrecht) took place in 1982. Today the Netherlands remains one of the strongest teams outside the Six Nations and, as recent results have shown, are perhaps unlucky not to be at this year’s World Cup.

They still have plenty to work towards, however, not least next month’s European Trophy in France. ScrumQueens caught with Dutch coach Gareth Gilbert as his team prepared for their final warm-up game with Germany:

ScrumQueens: How are your preparations going for the tournament next month?

Gareth: Last week we hosted the Swedish Women’s for a training weekend which saw us play two matches. The weekend was hard and the games were very competitive and we learnt a lot about ourselves and our game. The team focus over the past six months has been really on conditioning and defence which has paid off immensely as we have only conceded one try in the last three matches we have played against the British Army and against the World Cup bound Swedish.

The team is now in it last phase of preparation and the emphasis has shifted to our set pieces as we really struggled to get good clean ball against the Swedish. What we did notice is a huge improvement in our focus and skill level for the whole 80 minutes and the ability to turn the ball over and attack space by using our very skilful backs. The weekend was also about proving to ourselves that we are good enough to play at a higher level like the World Cup and we really want to take that attitude to the Euros and really push to play in the final!!

SQ: Germany are not as strong as Sweden, and Netherlands have won the last few meetings by significant margins (30-0, 43-0 and 50-10). Will you be aiming to field your strongest side, or using the fixture to give more game time to other members of the squad?

GG: The German game is all about game time and really putting our game plan together and letting new combinations settle. However the German team has really improved over the past two seasons as they have invested a lot more into there respective women’s teams. I think they will be a lot more organised and ready than in the past and we are expecting a good hard game. The game is another step in the right direction for us as we are leaving no stone unturned to make sure the team is well prepared for the Euros and we want to give the ladies as many opportunities as possible to get mentally prepared for the Tournament.

SQ: You’ve been given a pretty tough draw again in this year’s tournament . What are your targets for the Trophy – what result would you consider success?

GG: The draw for the Euros is once again not in our favour but the attitude in the camp is if you want to be the best you have to play the best and win!! Last year we were definitely were the second best team at the Euros but because the way the tournament was structured we lost out on attending the World Cup. Taking nothing away from Sweden but we have not lost to them in recent years and we proved once again this weekend that we are stronger. The team really feel hard done by but we know the only way to send a strong message is to perform at the Euros in May. We are confident we can do well as we have some really strong players who are real game breakers. The likes of Pien Selbeck, Rita Wiri, Mara Moberg, Kelly van Harskamp and Linda Franssen will be key to leading us to victory.

SQ: Looking beyond the Euros, some nations are reporting that the decision to include rugby sevens in the Olympics is resulting in a growing pressure to concentrate limited resources more on sevens than 15s. What is your experience in the Netherlands?

GG: The Olympics has put a lot of pressure on the sport but it is a positive influence and I know in the Netherlands that both programmes have agreed to work closely and hand in hand to insure we strive to qualify for our relevant tournaments. A lot of the ladies play in both teams but in the future we will have to separate the programmes but we see this as a positive because we will be creating more opportunities and more depth for the Women’s National Teams. Resources are stretched at the moment and it will be interesting to see what the Governing bodies do in the future.

SQ: Your game against Belgium in the European Trophy will be the Netherland’s 100th full international – a milestone that no other team outside the Six Nations has reached. Are there any plans to celebrate?

GG: It will be a very special day for us as a team and Union. The team will be wearing jerseys with a special embroidered message to celebrate this great achievement but the champagne will be put on ice until we have lifted the Euro Cup!!

The Netherlands play Germany on Sunday April 18th, 2.30pm, Maastricht