Month: September 2019

The Waratahs have brought back a host of stars to face the Rebels on Thursday night at Brookvale Oval.

Israel Folau will play his first game since last October’s Bledisloe Cup when he runs out at fullback for the Waratahs, after taking a sabbatical through the Spring Tour.

Waratahs captain Michael Hooper said Folau was taking more of a leadership role since coming back to NSW.

“He’s fresh, he looks in fantastic shape,” he said.

“I know he’ll be coming out and wanting to prove a point and he hasn’t played in a long time, so I’m sure he’s keen to get on the park and do his thing.

“I think he’s not only come back re-energised within himself but he’s come back wanting from the outside looking in, wanting to help younger players and impart some of his knowledge on them and he’s done that well and wanting him to do more of it.”

Kurtley Beale has been cleared of an elbow injury that ruled him out of the Tens, set to combine with Bernard Foley at Super Rugby level for the first time since a stint with UK side, Wasps.

In the forwards, Tom Staniforth has been given the chance to combine with Rob Simmons in the second row, with Ned Hanigan on the bench, while Michael Wells and Jed Holloway will start in the back row alongside Hooper.

Winger Cam Clark will also sit out the match with a hamstring injury he picked up at the Brisbane Tens, while Curtis Rona has won the battle for the 13 spot, edging out Lalakai Foketi for the outside centre spot.

The Waratahs will take on the Rebels on Thursday February 15, kicking off at 6:45pm AEDT. 

TEAM

Waratahs to face Rebels

1. Tom Robertson

2. Damien Fitzpatrick

3. Paddy Ryan

4. Tom Stanifoth

5. Rob Simmons

6. Michael Wells

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7. Michael Hooper

8. Jed Holloway

9. Jake Gordon

10. Bernard Foley

11. Andrew Kellaway

12. Kurtley Beale

13. Curtis Rona

14. Alex Newsome

15. Israel Folau

Reserves

16. Hugh Roach

17. Tolu Latu

18. Shambeckler Vui

19. Harry Johnson-Holmes

20. Will Miller

21. Mitch Short

22. Mack Mason

23. Bryce Hegarty

24. Ned Hanigan

25. Lalakai Foketi

26. Lachlan Swinton

27. Ryan McCauley

28. Brad Wilkin

29. Nick Palmer

30. Irae Simone

31. Taqele Naiyaravoro

Nic Stirzaker’s move to the UK has been made permanent, the halfback signing with Bristol.

Bristol, which was relegated from the Premiership after finishing 12th last season, announced Stirzaker’s acquisition for the 2018-19 season as one of nine new signing for next season.

Stirzaker is currently in the UK on a short-term deal with Saracens, due to finish up in March, but will join Bristol next season.It is unclear whether the former Rebels skipper will feature in Melbourne this season, after finishing his time with Saracens.

TOP 14

On the field it was time for Nick Frisby to make his first start, having arrived in Bordeaux last week.

He lined up alongside fellow Aussies Luke Jones, Ben Volavola, Leroy Houston and Blair Connor but it was another Australian that stole the show – Semi Radradra scoring a double for Toulon in their 36-12 win.

Mitch Inman and Curtis Browning lined up for Oyonnax but they weren’t able to reverse the team’s poor form, falling 37-15 to Toulouse.

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Liam Gill and Mike Harris had a more enjoyable weekend, the pair part of a 71-17 win for Lyon against Jake McIntyre’s Agen.

There were plenty of Aussies on show in Stade Francais’ clash with Pau – Paul Alo-Emile getting a start and Hugh Pyle coming off the bench for the Parisians, with Ben Mowen scoring a try from blindside flanker for Pau.

It was a similar story at Clermont, with Peter Betham and Sitaleki Timani falling to Joe Tomane, Jesse Mogg and Montpellier.

ANGLO-WELSH CUP

Ben Tapuai, Nathan Charles and Bath kept their good form rolling, emerging victorious in their clash with Newcastle.

Tatafu Polota-Nau came off the pine for Leicester’s win over Cardiff, while Ian Prior doing the same for Harlequins in their win over Scarlets.

Oli Hoskins scored a try and Saia Faingaa came off the bench in London Irish’s 66-7 rout over Wasps, with Stirzaker doing the same for Saracens in their win over Dragons.

Reds coach Brad Thorn has labelled Queensland’s 37-16 loss to NSW its most disappointing of the season.

Thorn’s young charges faded away late for the second week in a row, after a 45-21 loss to the Brumbies in Canberra a week ago.

Though they showed some second-half fight, Thorn ranked this defeat as the side’s worst in 2018.

“Probably tonight was probably our most disappointing game of the year,” he said.

“I thought we were disappointing, I thought we were poor.

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Thorn said he felt his team had lost some of its energy since returning from a trip to South Africa and Argentina, where they beat the Jaguares before falling to the Stormers in Cape Town.

“The first four games we were really bringing it right to the last minute,” he said.

“The last game of the tour of the tour, in Cape Town, we got beaten but we were right in it competing every play, giving ourselves every chance.

“That’s fine, but the last two games, especially tonight, just that energy or something doesn’t seem to be quite there.”

Those kinds of violent ups and downs tend to follow along with teams stacked with youth, but Thorn doesn’t appear to be wavering on any of his preseason promises to keep the faith with the next generation.

Despite some holes where experience once was, Thorn reaffirmed his belief that Quade Cooper was not the solution for Queensland, and neither was Karmichael Hunt.

Cooper has been in super form for Souths in Queensland Premier Rugby, but his chances of a Reds return are all but over.

“Quade’s been playing club rugby, he’s been playing well but we’ve just been working with the guys we’ve got there and for me, the last, especially tonight, our whole team performance is more what I’m talking about,” Thorn said.

“Like I said at the start of the season, we’re going in a different direction (to Quade).”

Hunt’s situation is slightly different to Cooper’s, with the fullback free to play despite a suspension earlier this season over police charges, but he’s not playing or training with the Reds or even in club rugby, believed to be looking for an overseas move.

“He hasn’t been in, he’s not playing club rugby at the moment. That doesn’t look to be happening,” Thorn said.

The Reds should welcome utility Ben Lucas and prop Taniela Tupou back into the side to face the Chiefs next week, their first home match since round four, while captain Scott Higginbotham (calf) looks like missing out.

The Reds host the Chiefs at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night, kicking off at 7:45pm AEST, LIVE on FOX SPORTS and via RUGBY.com.au RADIO. Buy tickets here.

The Waratahs are putting the pen through their meek defeat to the Lions, having identified a handful of areas where they must improve upon before they tackle the Blues.

NSW returned to headquarters today after a few days off during bye week and immediately cast their eye over the tape of Friday’s loss.

While it wasn’t pretty, prop Sekope Kepu said it provided clarity before the Tahs host the Blues on Saturday week.

“We just had a long, hard review and a look of the game against the Lions and the coaches picked out a few things,” Kepu said.

“We gave up a few too many turnovers and gave them opportunities to pounce and score some points.

“We were also giving them easy outs.“There’s a few things there but the good thing is that they’re all fixable.

“It’s just about guys nailing their roles.”

The Waratahs scrum was hot and cold after coach Daryl Gibson named a pack capable of going toe-to-toe with the Lions.

“The scrums and lineouts, we looked at,” Kepu said.

“Again, we overcooked a couple, guys missed their roles but in the scrums I thought we battled well.“Those little moments that we switched off and didn’t go through that process, you give away a short arm penalty and they get an easy exit and get points out of that.

“It’s a work on and I thought we put them under pressure at times in the scrum, especially.”

Training will continue tomorrow before the players are given the weekend off, all eyes turning to a Brookvale Oval showdown with the Blues on Saturday week.

“Come back Monday and it’s another week out at Brookvale – which is exciting,” Kepu said.

“You always get a good crowd and it’s a good opportunity for the locals to get out.

“Our next game is the Blues and that’s all we are focusing on.

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“They’re a quality team and we have to prepare our best.”

The return of Reds captain Scott Higginbotham headlines a refreshed Queensland starting XV which will line up against the Hurricanes.

Higginbotham will make just his third start of the year having battled injury and suspension in what the Reds skipper admits has been a frustrating season, shifting Angus Scott-Young to blindside flanker.

Adam Korczyk subsequently drops out of the 23 and there are two other personnel changes to the starting XV, with JP Smith and Duncan Paia’aua returning.

Smith will start at loosehead prop in place of James Slipper, who was not considered for selection due to “welfare reasons”.

Paia’aua resumes his role at inside centre in place of Chris Feauai-Sautia, who is yet to overcome a concussion suffered in the horror loss to the Sunwolves.There are some familiar faces returning to the bench, too, with Andrew Ready and Izaia Perese showing enough in their club rugby with Easts to earn a recall.

One sore point for Reds fans will be the starting halfback gig, with Ben Lucas retaining his spot ahead of the promising Moses Sorovi.

“It’s pleasing to be able to welcome Scott (Higginbotham) back into the side,” Thorn said.

“He’s had a tough run this year, not playing a lot of rugby, but he made his way back from injury with a game for Wests last weekend and he’ll add a lot of experience and leadership to the side.

“It’s a shame to lose Chris (Feauai-Sautia) to injury, but it presents an opportunity for Duncan (Paia’aua).

“He has been working hard on his game. We’re excited to see what he brings to the starting side.

“It also allows us to bring Izaia (Perese) back onto the bench. He was disappointed not to be involved last week, so we expect a big impact from him.

“We’re also welcoming the twins and Andrew (Ready) back into the side.

“Andrew (Ready) has been chipping away and playing club rugby, so he’s excited for another crack. The twins are also keen to get back into the side after missing out last weekend.”

TEAM

Reds team to face the Hurricanes

1. JP Smith – GPS

2. Brandon Paenga-Amosa – Sunnybank

3. Taniela Tupou – Brothers

4. Izack Rodda – Easts

5. Kane Douglas – Norths

6. Angus Scott-Young – University of Queensland

7. George Smith – Brothers

8. Scott Higginbotham (C) – Wests

9. Ben Lucas – Sunnybank

10. Jono Lance – University of Queensland

11. Jordan Petaia – Wests

12. Duncan Paia’aua – Norths

13. Samu Kerevi – Souths

14. Filipo Daugunu – Wests

15. Hamish Stewart – Bond University

Reserves

16. Andrew Ready – Easts

17. Sef Fa’agase – University of Queensland

18. Ruan Smith – GPS

19. Harry Hockings – University of Queensland

20. Liam Wright – Easts

21. Moses Sorovi – Wests

22. Izaia Perese – Easts

23. Aidan Toua – Easts

The Reds face the Hurricanes in Wellington on Friday night, kicking off at 5:35pm AEST, broadcast LIVE on FOX SPORTS.

The University of Salford, Manchester, has since the 1960s assembled an art collection of some 700 items, which are not only for students and faculty members, but also exhibitions around the world.

A selection of image-based works from The University of Salford Art Collection will be on show at this year’s PHOTOFAIRS | Shanghai, from Sept 20 to 22 at the Shanghai Exhibition Center.

Curated by Ying Kwok, the exhibition titled Taking the Leap will introduce to people the diversity and dynamics of Salford’s collection. And it will offer potential collectors clues on how to collect experimental, conceptual works that combine photography, moving images, video and other techniques, revealing a unique landscape of digital art.

PHOTOFAIRS | Shanghai has become a leading destination for photo-based works and artists exploring with the medium. The sixth edition of the annual fair will bring together 50 galleries and the works of some 200 artists from home and abroad.

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Beijing, Changchun in Northeast China’s Jilin province, and Leshan in Southwest China’s Sichuan province are predicted to be the top 3 cities most prone to traffic congestion during the National Day holiday, according to a travel forecast report.

The report was jointly published by Baidu Map, China Academy of Transportation Sciences, Ctrip, China’s major online travel agency, weather.com.cn, a website of the National Meteorological center for public information and Baidu Baike, the online encyclopedia of search engine Baidu.

As this year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the report estimated the number of tourists bound for Beijing will far surpass the number in previous years. Beijing will top the popular destination city list, followed by Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Nanjing, Chengdu, Chongqing and Xi’an, it said.

The Palace Museum, the West Lake and the Bund expected to be the top 3 most popular scenic spots, followed by Tian’anmen Square, Shanghai Disneyland, Wuzhen scenic spot, Huangshan Mountain, Kuanzhai Alley in Chengdu, Hongyadong housing complex in Chongqing and the Temple of Heaven.

Shaanxi History Museum and the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi’an and Yangshuo Park in Guilin are considered to be the top 3 scenic spots most prone to traffic congestion.

For outbound destinations, the Asia-Pacific region is most favored by Chinese. Bangkok, Tokyo, Nha Trang, Singapore, Seoul, Phuket Island, Pattaya, Siem Reap, Osaka and Macao are predicted as the popular international destinations.

The China Academy of Transportation Sciences predicted that highway traffic will reach peak congestion at around 10 am every day from Oct 1 to 4, and suggested travelers avoid the period.

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Approved in March, China’s new Foreign Investment Law will come into force on the first day of 2020. The updated legal framework has been widely recognized as a legislative milestone. At a time when China welcomes foreign investors with unprecedented market access, the law’s economic and legal significance can’t be overstated.

But why is the law so important? How will it help create a level playing field for foreign investors and safeguard their interests in China? What changes will it bring? Find the answers in this video.

It’s the first episode of a five-part series on China’s business environment. Stay tuned for more.

In 1957, 20-year-old Li Boqian, a sophomore undergraduate at the school of history at Peking University, had to choose a specific direction for his studies. Hearing that archaeologists have the chance to travel a lot, Li thought it would be fun to pick that subject.

Yet, he did not expect to be glued to it for a lifetime.

“It became my destiny,” the 82-year-old tells China Daily. “Much emphasis was placed on archaeology even in those earliest years of New China when the country was still enduring tough times. Because of that, everyone (in archaeological circles) was eager to make a contribution using the knowledge they had gained at university.”

Halted by the civil war, Chinese archaeology resumed shortly after the founding of New China in 1949. The first archaeological research institution of New China was founded in Beijing in 1950. It also organized the young country’s first archaeological dig, which was took place in Huixian county, Central China’s Henan province.

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“It just took around 10 people — that was how everything got started,” Li recalls. “We were so lucky to become the first group of professionally-trained archaeologists in New China.”

In 1952, Peking University became the first Chinese educational institution to nurture archaeology majors.

Born in Henan province, long considered the cradle of early Chinese civilization, Li seemed to develop a natural ability and a special emotional attachment toward research. Nevertheless, even as a veteran archaeology professor at Peking University who lead numerous key excavations around the country over the decades, Li knows that fieldwork cannot rely solely on enthusiasm.

“Archaeology needs lasting devotion and the patience to work in tough conditions,” he smiles. “If someone wants to make a fortune, they would be wise to choose another career.”

Over the years, the team continued built up their experience — and muscles — as they tried to keep up pace with the country’s rapid economic development.

Chen Xingcan, head of Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, cites that majors in archaeology and cultural heritage conservation are now offered by over 100 Chinese universities. Currently, more than 60 institutions and 2,000 individuals in China hold licenses to lead up archaeological excavations.

“Large-scale urbanization and the construction of infrastructure from the 1990s presented new challenges in terms of the conservation of heritage sites,” Chen says. “The need for archaeological research skyrocketed, and brought us many new opportunities.”

China’s cultural relic protection laws demand that archaeological investigation must be undertaken before construction can begin on any major new infrastructure project.

During the early 1980s, about 100 ongoing archaeological surveys were undertaken every year, and this number has risen to nearly 1,000 now, according to Wang Wei, director of the Society of Chinese Archaeology.

“In the past, archaeologists used to rely on luck to a certain extent,” Li adds. “However, as a more comprehensive approach to archaeological research has developed in recent years, our aim now is to discover how China came into existence, and where the origins of our civilization lie.”

The Blues midfielder says it’s not the end of the world that he missed against Valencia although did accept it was a disappointment to lose the game

Ross Barkley says he is Chelsea’s designated penalty taker and insists he will take the next one the club are awarded despite his 87th-minute miss against Valencia on Tuesday.

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Willian, Jorginho and Tammy Abraham were all in discussion with Barkley after the referee checked with VAR to give a penalty for a handball by Daniel Wass late on in the defeat to the Spanish side.

Rodrigo’s 74th-minute goal proved the difference at Stamford Bridge and England midfielder Barkley has insisted he will take another one despite blazing his spot-kick over the bar.

“When I’m on the pitch, I’ll take the penalty,” he told reporters. “Obviously I didn’t execute it right but everybody misses penalties. I didn’t score the goal but I felt confident. If there was another penalty in the game, I would have been confident to take it.

“You can miss penalties. It’s not the end of the world. We’ve got five more games in the group stage that we’re aiming to win but this didn’t go our way.”

Barkley has taken five other penalties during his time at Chelsea across penalty-shootouts and during matches.

However, Jorginho is the only Blues player to score from the spot in a competitive match this season after netting in the Super Cup final against Liverpool, with Barkley on the bench.

Willian and Abraham have also taken high-profile penalties in the past and Barkley has no hard feelings over the reaction of his team-mates before he stepped up.

“We’ve got a lot of good penalty-takers in the squad and on a sheet in the changing rooms it says I’m on penalties if I’m on the pitch,” he added.

“Otherwise, it’s Jorginho. But as with all players, sometimes you feel confident to take them on but we can all miss one.

“They are confident to take the penalties as well but I practice them every day. I don’t miss them in training and in pre-season I scored penalties. I’ve missed penalties before when I was at Everton and it is one of those things. I’m gutted that I missed but these things happen.

“It [the conversations with his team-mates before the penalty] was more like ‘good luck with the penalty’ type of thing. They were encouraging me and would have been willing to take the penalty as well but I felt confident. It was a disappointing night all round. Our first game in the group stage, our first game at home as well, it was disappointing.

“Missing a penalty is not the end of the world for me. It is a disappointing result not coming away with the three points and disappointing for me not executing the penalty right. I felt confident that I would have but for me, it is to focus on the next game and to get three points at the weekend.”

Chelsea will now turn their focus to a game against Liverpool on Sunday, with the Reds also suffering defeat in the Champions League as they lost 2-0 to Napoli at the Stadio San Paolo.