Month: September 2019

The Super Rugby conference system is destined for the scrapheap in 2021, and though they’ve signed up for it all the way along, the Kiwis will be the happiest.

The obvious flaw in the Super Rugby conference system continues to be that the Hurricanes will again meet the Crusaders in the semi-finals (1 v 4), if home wins occur in all the quarters.

The Canes finished “second” with 53 points but were relegated to fourth under the current system, and though they’ll get a home final, they’ll have to travel for week two if the Crusaders get up too.

But aside from that wrinkle, the final standings on the Super Rugby ladder were among the most fair-dinkum since the conference system began in 2011.

FOUR DINKUM

For the uninitiated, each conference gets a home final in week one  regardless of whether they’ve won enough games to be actually placed in the top three/four.

Yes it sounds odd but everyone signed up to ensure all nations get guaranteed finals action and keep sponsors/TV companies happy.

The format has seen sides – often Aussie ones, it must be said – finishing “third” despite only having enough points to finish seventh or eighth.

But this year, for the first time since 2014, all the sides in the top four – the Crusaders, Jaguares, Brumbies and Hurricanes – were the legit top four sides, albeit with the ordering issue.

(Top four replaced top three in 2016).

In 2018, two sides with “top four” point tallies were relegated below the line due to the conference system, and so too in 2017 and 2016.

In fact, the 2019 season is only the fourth time since Super Rugby introduced the conference system in 2011 that the top three/four is occupied by the four teams with the most points.

The others were 2011, 2013 and 2014, and here’s an omen – Australian teams played in the final in all those years and won two from three.

HOME COMFORTS 

Why does the conference system-assisted top four matter so much?

Home finals. Pure and simple.

In a competition that spans oceans, long-haul travel across multiple timezones has proven time and time again to be too tough for the visiting team. 

It brings days lost in tin cans, jetlag, sleep patterns, reduced training etcetera.

The record books speak for themselves.

The Super Rugby minor premier (i.e the one who gets to stay at home if they keep winning), has claimed the title 15 times in 23 seasons.

The winner has come from the top two teams (i.e home semi-finalists) in 20 of 23 seasons.

And the host of the Super Rugby final has won it 17 times in 23 seasons.

Predictably, the Crusaders are the exception and have won four titles on the road.

But it’s worth pointing out that despite many attempts by many teams, the Saders are the only team since 1996 to have crossed an ocean and later that week won a Super Rugby final away (against the Lions in 2017).

SEMI SERIOUS

Home ground advantage – and the zero travel advantage – is no less important at the semi-final stage.

Certainly in recent times, anyway.

Since 2016, those teams who’ve been a “top four” side but had to travel away for a quarter-final have tended to keep flexing their muscle and win on the road in week one of the playoffs.

But come week two, the travel factor kicks in. All six semi-finals since 2016 have been won by the host.

CHEERING CHIEFS

What does all of this mean for 2019? Can the Brumbies buck the trend or will are the finals a formality before Crusaders coach Scott Roberston starts up his post-title breakdancing again? 

History says the latter.

But there are a few different factors to consider in 2019, too.

The Brumbies’ best chance of going deep into the finals is to obviously beat the Sharks in their quarter on Saturday night – travel is in their favour and so too, momentum. The Sharks haven’t won successive games since round one and two.

But prior to that, they’ll hope the Chiefs can knock off the Jaguares in Buenos Aires. The Argentinians are in good form but so too are the Chiefs, and the Kiwis are 2 wins from 2 trips to BA; including a win earlier this year.

Click Here: IQOS White

If both those results unfold, the Brumbies can host a semi-final a week later against the now-travel weary Chiefs.

That’s best case, of course, but not out of the question.

BULLISH BRUMBIES 

If the Brumbies win their quarter-final and have to travel to play against the Jaguares, the journey won’t frighten them as much as others.

For some reason the Brumbies thrive on the road, and have they’ve even won big finals away from home.

In 2013 they beat the Bulls in Pretoria in a semi-final and they also beat the Stormers in Cape Town in the 2015 quarters.

Since that win, they’ve won four from six in South Africa and this year only just lost 20-15 to the Jaguares in BA after a win over the Stormers a week earlier in CT.

CRUSADER CREAK? 

But seriously, can anyone beat the Crusaders?

It must be said they’re not going into these finals with the same sort of momentum and trajectory as last year, where they won 11 in a row leading into the finals.

This year they’ve drawn twice and lost two games in their last 11 outings.

Heading into next weekend’s clash with the Highlanders, they’re coming off a loss to the Chiefs, a 66-0 win over the Rebels and a bye.

So it’s been anything but smooth but hey, it’s the Crusaders. 

If you’re going to bet against them, make sure it’s someone else’s money.

The Brumbies take on the Bulls in a Super Rugby quarter-final at GIO Stadium on Saturday June 22, kicking off at 7:45pm AEST, LIVE on FOX SPORTS, Kayo and via RUGBY.com.au RADIO. Tickets go on sale on Tuesday June 18 at 12:30pm AEST. More info here.

YOKOHAMA, Japan – China and the Netherlands both recorded their second 3-0 victory over their respective opponents to kick their FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Cup off to a good start. Russia edged host nation Japan 3-2 in a five-set thriller to wrap up Matchday 2 here on Sunday.

The defending champion sent a completely different starting lineup to face Cameroon on Sunday and the Chinese young players managed to nail a 25-18, 25-14, 25-19 win despite ups and downs. 19-year-old Li Yingying was the shining star of the match, especially in the third set in which the defending champions recovered a 4-11 deficit to claim the victory.

“We decided to send our young players on the court to give them chances to get accustomed to the arena and international games. We had some fluctuations during the match and we were slow in reading the opponents’ tactics,” commented Chinese head coach Lang Ping, who also praised Li for being more stable on the court than at the World Championship last year.

The win lifted China to second place on the table, behind the Netherlands on point quotient disadvantage. The Dutch defeated Kenya 25-12, 25-19, 25-17 for its second straight-set win at the tournament to lead the 12 participating teams.

The United States was also victorious against a young Serbian squad, recovering from one set down to defeat the world champion 25-23, 25-17, 25-16, 25-15. Team USA head coach Karch Kiraly gave credit to the opponent and his opposite spiker Karsta Lowe, who was sent on in the second set and pocket 19 points.

“We approached this match knowing it would be very difficult. They beat us in the first set, but the team did a nice job adjusting the block and defense, and we are happy with the result. Karsta Lowe came in and gave us some great energy today and some great power, and she helped us change the match after we lost the first set.”

“We couldn’t do our best because we were very tired from yesterday’s match against Brazil. In my personal opinion, I think the USA could take first place in this World Cup. Our team has a few injured players and some who are very tired from the European Championship, so I’m satisfied to win the first set against the very strong USA team. We just need to keep our focus in games like we did yesterday and as we did in the first set today,” Serbia coach Aleksandar Vladisavljev responded to the second loss.

The home fans had a bitter-sweet night as Japan lost 3-2 to Russia in a brilliant five-set showdown on Sunday night.

Nataliya Goncharova scored 31 points for Russia’s 25-11, 23-25, 25-27, 25-19, 15-7 win while Irina Koroleva added 21. Yuki Ishii led the Japanese team with 27 points.

Shaking off a sluggish start, the host nation pulled one back and Ishii’s super spike clinched a hard-fought 27-25 win for the Asian Championship winner in the third set after wasting three set points.

Russian spikers regained their form in the fourth set and forced a decider, in which they shattered the Japanese defense with an 8-2 opening and safely claim the 15-7 victory.

Elsewhere, powerhouse Brazil breezed past Argentina 25-17, 25-19, 25-16 for a 2-0 record at the World Cup with clear domination on the net, as the two-time Olympic champions had 17 successful blocks compared to seven on the Argentine side.

The Dominican Republic had a 25-17, 24-26, 25-23, 25-23 victory over South Korea thanks to its on-fire wing spiker Elizabeth Martinez, who scored game-high 27 points. Kim Yeon-koung, the best scorer of the last World Cup, had 19 points and Kim Hee-jin pocket 20, yet not enough for the 2018 Asian Games champion to harvest a win at the tournament.

“I am happy with the win. They are an aggressive team with a strong attack and serve. They caught us in the second set, but we regained our rhythm in the third set. We will prepare for the next match now. We did target Kim Yeon-koung with our serves today so that she could focus less on attacks,” said coach of the Pan American Games champion Marcos Kwiek.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe brought in new foreign and defense ministers on Wednesday, and appointed a rising political star as environment minister in a Cabinet reshuffle as he prepares for a tax hike in October and aims to revise the nation’s pacifist Constitution.

Emphasizing his new cabinet is characterized by “stability and challenges”, Abe retained key allies and heavyweights while introducing 13 new ministers.

“This is a lineup to push hard for a new era nation-building,” Abe said at a news conference after a certification ceremony at the Japanese Imperial Palace.

“From now on there will only be challenges, and I will always carry out bold reforms as a challenger,” he said.

Former economy minister Toshimitsu Motegi was appointed as the new foreign minister, seen as a promotion for his recent work in achieving a trade deal with the United States as the top negotiator.

The 63-year-old lawmaker is a Harvard-educated political veteran who worked as a McKinsey consultant before winning a lower house seat in 1993.

Consequently, outgoing foreign minister Taro Kono was shifted to the defense portfolio, in a move seen as reinforcing Tokyo’s hard line toward South Korea at a time of worsening ties between the two allies of the United States.

An eye-catching appointment on Wednesday was former Japanese prime minster Junichiro Koizumi’s 38-year-old son, Shinjiro Koizumi, who was named environment minister. He is the third youngest Cabinet minister since the end of World War II in a country where seniority is prioritized in many sectors including politics.

As a rising political star, Koizumi had long enjoyed intense media spotlight in Japan with the latest focusing on his marriage to television broadcaster Christel Takigawa, which was announced by the prime minister’s office.

Concerning Koizumi’s appointment, Abe said, “We are looking forward to innovative initiatives unique to younger people on global issues such as marine plastics and climate change.”

Although bringing in many new faces, Abe kept key allies and aides within his Cabinet and top layers of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party to shore up his position for the next two years.

Taro Aso remains as deputy prime minister and finance minister. Yoshihide Suga kept his job as chief cabinet secretary while Toshihiro Nikai will still be LDP’s secretary-general.

“The new Cabinet is Abe’s final push to realize his dream of revising the pacifist constitution and to start an open race to pick the next prime minister,” said Yu Qiang, a researcher of Japan studies at the University of International Relations in Beijing.

Set to become Japan’s longest-serving prime minister in November, Abe had long-hoped to achieve his ambition of amending Japan’s postwar constitution to change the status of the country’s Self Defense Forces.

“We will strongly promote discussions on the constitutional amendment under the new system,” Abe said, adding: “The LDP should demonstrate strong leadership at the Constitution review board.”

AFP contributed to this story.

Click Here: IQOS White

It was another intriguing weekend of club rugby.

How did your side go?

SHUTE SHIELD

A late Connor Winchester penalty goal sealed a win for Norths over Easts, with Waratahs flyhalf Mack Mason slotting six points for Easts.

Fellow NSW rook Ryan McCauley started in the second row for Easts while squad rake Andrew Tuala came off the bench for Norths.

Eastwood continued to cement their spot at the top end of the log with a big win over Souths, with the Rebels featuring NSW tighthead Shambeckler Vui.

Rory O’Connor started at loosehead for Warringah, alongside Sevens forward Boyd Killingworth with Rebels prop Mess Erasmus coming off the bench in victory over West Harbour.

Rising Sevens star Dylan Pietsch played at 13 for Randwick on a tough outing against Sydney uni.

RESULTS

Manly 31 – Gordon 27

Norths 18 – Easts 17

Souths 21 – Eastwood 56

Warringah 30 – West Harbour 24

Randwick 18 – Sydney Uni 40

QUEENSLAND PREMIER RUGBY

GPS stole a famous victory over Easts in the QPR last weekend with a last-gasp score handing them a 24-22 win.

UQ beat out Gold Coast counterparts Bond while Sunnybank and Brothers also went home winners.

RSULTS

Sunnybank 25 – Wests 20

GPS 24 – Easts 22

UQ 29 – Bond Uni 17

Brothers 38 -Souths 26

JOHN I DENT CUP

Vikings took the bragging rights over fierce rivals Royals with a big 54-17 win in round 10.

Wests narrowly lost to Uni-Norths while Gungahlin had a comfortable win over Easts.

RESULTS

Easts 8 – Gungahlin 42

Wests 19 – Uni-Norths 26

Royals 17 – Vikings 54

FMG PREMIER GRADE

Wests ground out a win over Wanneroo in round 10, while Associates, Palmyra Cottesloe, Nedlands and Kalamunda were also on the winner’s list.

RESULTS

Wanneroo 5 – Wests 7

UWA 7 – Associates 28

Click Here: Putters

Curtin Uni 6 – Coastal Cavaliers 47

Palmyra 37 – Southern Lions 14

Joondalup 14  – Cottesloe 15

Nedlands 43 -Perth Bayswater 6

Kalamunda 30 – ARKs 26

Favorable policies have seen 31 regional headquarters established this year

Shanghai has become increasingly attractive to multinational companies as the municipal government comes up with more favorable policies.

Statistics released by the city’s Municipal Commission of Commerce on Saturday show 701 multinational companies had set up regional headquarters in Shanghai by the end of last month, with another 451 setting up regional research and development centers.

In the first eight months of this year, 31 regional headquarters and 10 R& D centers were established in Shanghai.

Among the regional headquarters, 106 are multinational companies’ headquarters for the Asia-Pacific region, the commission said, indicating the city’s importance to operations across the wider area.

Shanghai rolled out its first batch of favorable policies to attract regional headquarters in 2002. In late July, the municipal government introduced another 30 policies to further facilitate the development of regional headquarters. The policies took effect on Sept 1.

Yang Di, a researcher at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said the latest policies lowered the threshold for setting up regional headquarters and gave multinational companies more flexibility in terms of cross-border payments, financing and business license applications.

Favorable education and medical policies have also been put in place to help retain overseas executives and professionals working for multinational companies.

The manufacturing industry has become a leading light showcasing Shanghai’s appeal to multinational companies. The Municipal Commission of Commerce said 19 manufacturing projects, each with funded capital reaching $10 million, had been established in Shanghai in the first eight months of the year, up 60 percent year-on-year.

Swiss conglomerate ABB Group’s decision to construct its largest and most advanced robotics manufacturing and research facility in Shanghai demonstrated its “big commitment to Shanghai and China”, Peter Voser, the company’s chairman and CEO, said.

“Our businesses are fully aligned with China’s goals of sustainable, high-quality growth and development,” he said during the groundbreaking ceremony for the $150 million investment on Thursday. “This substantial investment demonstrates our strong commitment to Shanghai and to China, and our confidence in the future of the Chinese economy.”

Voser praised the role China has played in fostering ABB’s development into the global technology leader it is today, and said “ABB China is a Chinese company under Chinese management.”

Chen Mingbo, deputy secretary-general of the municipal government, said Shanghai had been working hard to develop its “Made in Shanghai” Initiative, through which the city aims to strengthen its high-end manufacturing prowess.

Click Here: Golf special

The Waratahs say losing to the Sunwolves won’t force changes to their Wallabies rotation plan, meaning skipper Michael Hooper is a strong chance to miss Saturday’s clash with the in-form Blues.

NSW crashed to earth last Friday when a mistake-riddled performance saw them downed by the Sunwolves by two points in Newcastle.

Under the agreement with Michael Cheika to manage workloads of international players, the game represented the first time the Waratahs had rested a tranche of their large Wallaby continent: Bernard Foley, Adam Ashley-Cooper and Jack Dempsey.

A costly conference defeat followed but NSW assistant coach Simon Cron echoed on Sunday the post-match sentiments of head coach Daryl Gibson by saying the loss hasn’t diminished their support for the workload plan, nor their pre-season outline on when they’ll rest players.

Hooper, and other “high minutes” Test players like Israel Folau, Sekope Kepu, Ned Hanigan and Rob Simmons, have to start ticking off their two-game absences and it’s believed the captain has been pencilled in to sit out this weekend.

Though there is flexibility to account for injury, the Tahs are confident back-up flanker Will Miller will be returning from injury this week and be able to step in.

The Tahs have a bye after the Blues and then play the Rebels. A two-game tour to South Africa follows that.

It’s a team-by-team strategy play about whether players stay home from Africa altogether, or play one of the games, like the Rebels did.

Even if NSW wanted to hit the panic button post-Sunwolves and play all their stars against the in-form Blues, that would only leave them more exposed to trouble later in the year when crunch games arrive and those rotation boxes haven’t yet been ticked.

“I don’t think the result changes it,” Cron said.

“Really it is about what’s good for the player and the squad, and obviously the Wallabies. We will sit down on Monday and we have a rough idea of when and who. But at the same time, we are always evaluating it, depending on injury and what happens to the squad make-up.

“Like for example, Will Miller and that sort of thing. I think that will be a discussion point on Monday … we’ll talk about the next 2-3 weeks and what we think and where. Post that we have a trip to Africa as well and we’ll have to look forward to that time.

“What we have to be wary of getting to the end of the season and having to rest everybody. It is not a massive (problem) when you look at the number of games and the number of players who are going to have to at some stage rotate, you are probably going to look to have one or two out every couple of weeks in different conditions.

At the start of the year, resting during the Sunwolves-Blues swing might have made plenty of sense given last year’s results but things have changed in the first third of the 2019 season. 

The Sunwolves proved again, on their day, they’re equipped to beat good teams and the Blues are now running hot; having won their last three games.

The Waratahs say they’ll be getting down to business on Monday to fix the flaws in their game that led to the loss in Newcastle.

“To sum it up briefly, a lot of it comes down to us giving the ball back cheaply,” Cron said.

“So execution, knock ons, forward passes, kicking the ball out on the full, a whole lot of time when we should have been building pressure we probably reduced the pressure valve on them. You can see that leading to their tries.

“The key thing across the park is that we execute. The smallest of errors in Super Rugby looks like a car crash and we made a couple of errors on errors, so it culminated in tries to them.”

The Waratahs’ attempts to use a kick-based strategy against the Sunwolves but with almost none of the success they’d enjoyed a week earlier against the Crusaders. 

They kicked 36 times in a game where Gibson said post-match they’d looked best when they held the ball.

“As coaches you should also take a look and see if your messages got across clearly, and what’s the reason or the poor execution. Was it the way it was set-up? Or we were clear on the messaging? Quite possibly, looking at the game, some of the kicks we made were just quick turnovers,” Cron said.

“We didn’t kick for purpose. And as a result we gave them ball 10 metres away from where we had been carrying it. I will sit down on Monday and have a look at what we did execute around our kicking game and how much pressure that put on us.”

Cron said blaming the loss on not having three rested Wallabies is a mistake.

“Our defeat against the Sunwolves, it’s a team performance. It’s not down to a couple of guys rotated,” he said.

One player they don’t have to rest is Karmichael Hunt but NSW may be wise to rotate him positionally and back into the sky blue no.12.

The Blues welcomed Sonny-Bill Williams back to their ranks against the Stormers at the weekend and he made a big impact.

NSW no.12 Kurtley Beale made several defensive mistakes against the Sunwolves but Cron said they wouldn’t be basing their thoughts on stopping SBW alone.

“If you focus too much on one guy you will get eaten up by one of the others,” he said.

“You can see in the past if you focus on a player or a specific person, they’ll beat you out wide. They offer threats across the park. I think the key for us is we have some serious depth in that midfield at the Waratahs and it is working out who’s best to play that game.”

Click Here: pandora Bangle cheap

Waratahs flyhalf Mack Mason will have a chance to make his Super Rugby mark on Friday night on a ground that his schoolboy teammate, Knights star Kalyn Ponga, is already turning into his own.

Where Ponga’s ascension through the NRL and Origin ranks has been meteoric, Mason has had to bide his time in Super Rugby behind the regular Test flyhalf Bernard Foley.

Friday will be just Mason’s second Super Rugby start in three seasons with the Waratahs, after a 2017 outing against the Crusaders.

Mason and Ponga played in the 2014 Anglican Church Grammar School (Churchie) First XV that spawned a host of professional players across rugby and rugby league.

The pair are still friends, hoping to catch up before the Waratahs head back to Sydney, with the Knights playing in Canberra on Friday night.

Mason had his own fledging rugby league career, playing with the Storm U20s, before returning to rugby with the Reds U20s and the Australian U20s and then making the move to NSW.

Mason could arguably have become a regular starting 10 more quickly in other states but he said he had no regrets about committing to NSW in the long-term, taking a more holistic view of his career.

“I made a decision, you’ve got to live by your decisions so I made a decision, I’ll stick with it and hopefully it pays off in the long run,” he said.

Click Here: pandora Bracelets

“Last year was probably my most frustrating year, but it was probably the year where I’ve learned so much about myself and the game of rugby as a whole.

“Bernard sees the game as a whole, not just his own position and that is probably where I’m at now, so it’s really good to have him above me to learn off him.”

While he didn’t have any Super Rugby opportunities last year, Mason said a season of playing for Easts in the Shute Shield helped him “own” his position and stamp some authority on a team, something that will be invaluable as he looks to progress.

“At Easts I played a whole year, I didn’t have any games off, got a chance to really own Easts down there and I think I did that last year,” he said.

“We made it to the quarter-finals against Sydney Uni, they knocked us out in a really close game but definitely stood up I reckon as a five-eighth and as a leader.”

While he has watched Foley closely in his three seasons in Sydney, Mason is keen to carve out his own identity in the playmaking role.

“There’s definitely no pressure at all to do what “Nard” does,” he said.

“I’m my own player and I play like I do and I haven’t had any outside influences on anything so I’ll just do what I do well.

“I like to play at the line, play on top a bit, just ways 10s can play different so I probably am a bit more like a league playmaker in that sense, I square up, know who I’m getting at, look to run a bit as well.”

Kurtley Beale is one player very keen to link up with Mason, confident their similar approaches to the game will gel quickly.

“I’m really excited actually, I haven’t played with Mack, I’ve trained with him most times over the preseason and obviously he’s a special talent and he gets his opportunity tomorrow night so I know he’s very excited about that,” he said.

“He brings a lot more directness to the game, I think although Bernard’s pretty similar, he’s a bit more of a leaguie.

“I think that’s probably my natural gravitation towards him as well, we both see the game with similar eyes …so I’m looking forward to building the combination there with him and I’m sure he’ll do a great job leading the boys around and filling in the shoes of Bernard quite well.”

The Waratahs take on the Sunwolves on Friday night at McDonald Jones Stadium, kicking off at 7;45pm AEDT, LIVE on FOX SPORTS and via RUGBY.com.au RADIO.

Minor premiers Brothers have booked the first spot in the Queensland Premier Rugby grand final after beating defending Hospital Cup title-holders GPS 48-40 in the major semi-final at Ballymore.

It’s a magnificent turnaround for the Brethren, who last won the Hospital Cup in 2016 but finished second-last on the Queensland Premier Rugby ladder last season and have made an incredible turnaround under Queensland Country mentor Rod Seib

The Brethren looked to have sewed up the see-sawing battle when Bradford Kapa scored in the 71st minute, with Rohan Saifoloi’s conversion giving them a 48-35 lead.

But GPS scored with just over a minute remaining, leaving the Gallopers with a slim opportunity if they could nail the conversion and have the game restarted before the buzzer.

With the clock ticking, Reds playmaker Bryce Hegarty could not wait for a tee and narrowly missed his attempt off the turf, with Brothers holding on to book their place in the decider.

Captain Tom Moloney said he was not confident of the win until the end after Jeeps had won both round games this season.

“I don’t think there was a point where I thought we had it, we just had to stay in the fight and we were on the right end at the final whistle,” he said.

“A lot of effort went into that … there’s obviously a few things we need to be better at in the next few weeks but it’s a good start to the finals campaign.

“Jeeps have got a few old heads and if they get on top of you early it’s a hard battle.

“They struck early but we knew to keep fighting and keep going at them, so that’s what kept us in the game and maybe a bit of youth got us over in the end.”

Brothers’ Junior Wallabies forwards Fraser McReight and Harry Wilson were outstanding, scoring three tries between them.

While McReight struck early, Wilson’s double proved pivotal, with his first-half effort from a kick charge-down keeping the Brethren in the hunt as GPS surged, while his touchdown from a rolling maul late in the second term helped them kick away from their rivals after a successful penalty conversion from Saifoloi minutes earlier had allowed them to overhaul the premiers by a point.

“Those boys coming back gave us a bit of a lift,” Moloney said of McReight and Wilson.

“It’s just that excitement they have for the club and it’s really positive to see. They love coming back to play club footy and I think it’s only a bit of time for them before they get their opportunities for higher honours.

“It’s great to have them at the moment and they’re adding a lot to the team.”

GPS will take on the University of Queensland in this weekend’s preliminary final after the Red Heavies beat Easts 51-12 in the knockout semi-final.

While Easts boasted Wallabies squad member Liam Wright and former Australian captain Ben Mowen, Uni were bolstered by the return of several Reds squad members, including Angus Scott-Young, Harry Hockings and Tate McDermott, who made his return from an ankle injury off the bench.

RESULTS

Brothers 48 – GPS 40

UQ 51 – Easts 12

JOHN I DENT CUP

Royals are through to the ACT grand final after a thrilling win over Tuggeranong on the weekend.

Both sides fielded some familiar names with Joe Powell, Lachlan Lonergan, Darcy Swain and Ryan Lonergan running out for the Vikings while Andy Muirhead was at fullback for Royals

Gungahlin were eliminated with a 25-19 loss to Uni-Norths Owls, with the Eagles finishing their year with three consecutive defeats.

The Owls will face off against the Vikings for a spot in the title decider in two weeks’ time.              

RESULTS

Vikings 13 – Royals 21

Gungahlin 19 – Uni-Norths Owls 25

SHUTE SHIELD

Sydney Uni has taken out the Shute Shield minor premiership to complete an incredibly tight Shute Shield season.

The students romped to a 51-6 win over West Harbour with Harry Johnson-Holmes, Nick Phipps, Angus Bell and Jake Gordon in their 23.

Phipps had a double for Uni while Gordon also found the line in the big victory.

Easts secured their spot in the finals with a win over Eastwood, led by a Lalakai Foketi hat-trick.

Waratahs squad flyhalf Mack Mason slotted 13 points for the Beasties in the clash.

Junior Wallabies winger Mark Nawaqanitawase came off the bench for Eastwood, while Ryan McCauley, Tom Staniforth and Mason all started for Easts.

Wallabies flyer Jack Maddocks missed a chance to push his Wallabies claims at Woollahra Oval, ruled out late with a cork suffered the week before.

Souths sprung a major upset over Warringah to rob them of top spot, to finish their season on a positive note.

Click Here: France Football Shop

Former battlers Gordon just missed out on a finals spot after a remarkable turnaround under new coach Darren Coleman, despite a comfortable win over Western Sydney.

Karmichael Hunt was impressive at outside centre for the Highlanders.

Waratahs hooker Andrew Tuala had a double for Norths and Cam Clark crossed as well but it wasn’t enough to get past Randwick in a thriller at North Sydney Oval.

A Will Harrison penalty sealed  a tight victory for the Wicks, who also had Tahs scrumhalf Mitch Short in their run-on side.

Super Rugby players Michael Wells, Will Miller and Hugh Sinclair all started for Norths with Junior Wallabies backrower Pat Tafa on the pine.

RESULTS

Southern Districts 36 – Warringah 21

Easts 48 – Eastwood 26

Northern Suburbs 30 – Randwick 32

West Harbour 6 – Sydney Uni 51

Western Sydney 22 – Gordon 43

FIXTURES

Finals

Saturday August 10

3pm – Sydney Uni (1) vs Manly (6), Sydney Uni

3:10pm – Warringah (3) vs Norths (4), Pittwater Rugby park

Sunday August 11

3:10pm – Eastwood (2) vs Easts (5), TG Millner Field

DEWAR SHIELD

Rebels rookie Esei Ha’angana lined up for Melbourne in a comfortable win over Power House in the final regular Dewar Shield round.

The Unicorns will face off against fellow heavyweights Harlequins next weekend for a spot in the Dewar Shield grand final.

Box Hill and Melbourne Uni will be fighting to keep their title hopes alive in the other semi-final.

RESULTS

Harlequins 14 – Box Hill 12

Footscray 24 – Endeavour Hills 23

Melbourne 62 – Power House 5

Melbourne Uni 12 – Moorabbin 27

FIXTURE

Saturday August 10

2;45pm – Melbourne (1) vs Harlequins (2), Melbourne Rugby Club

2:45pm – Box Hill (3) vs Melbourne Uni (4), Box Hill Rugby Club

FMG PREMIERSHIP DIVISION

Nedlands, Cottesloe and Wests Scarborough were all in the winner’s circle in WA last weekend.

RESULTS

Nedlands 21 – Wanneroo 8

Cottesloe 27 – UWA 37

Associates 7 – Wests 14

Coopers Premier Grade

Burnside, Southern Suburbs and Old Collegians all enjoyed comfortable wins in the most recent round of Coopers Premier Grade.

Elizabeth and Woodville played out a draw while Brighton beat out Onkaparinga.

RESULTS

Burnside 96 – Adelaide Uni 3

Barossa 19 – Southern Suburbs 84

Port Adelaide 15 – Old Collegians 76

Elizabeth 12 – Woodville 12

Brighton 30 – Onkaparinga 7

The Bavarian boss has urged his players to be more clinical after they were held to a 1-1 draw in the Bundesliga on Saturday

Bayern Munich coach Niko Kovac has called on his side to be more ruthless after they were held 1-1 by RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga on Saturday.

Emil Forsberg scored from the spot to equalise for Leipzig after Robert Lewandowski’s 199th goal for Bayern had put the visitors ahead.

Bayern are in third place in the Bundesliga table, two points behind leaders Leipzig.

“We have to do more with our superiority,” Kovac said.

“In the end, the result is annoying. We had more chances, played well, but unfortunately two points less than planned.

“We played sensationally in the first half, that was the best performance so far. After that, we got ourselves into trouble.

“We’re pulling the positives out of the game – we played a really good game.”

Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer was disappointed with the reaction from his team-mates to Forsberg’s leveller.

“The 1-1 has thrown us back a little because we were so clearly superior,” Neuer said.

“We did not recover from it well. We have to take the good points and analyse the bad things carefully.”

Forsberg said nobody at Leipzig was getting carried away with their impressive start to the season.

“We are still developing,” he said. “But to be the league leaders after four matchdays is very nice.

“The first half we ran a lot, but had little possession. Bayern have played very strong again.

“In the second half, we were much better and got our game on the pitch as well.”

Both sides will now prepare for Champions League openers this week, with Bayern set to come up against Crvena Zvezda after Leipzig take in a trip to Benfica.

Click Here: kanken kids cheap

Click:karseell
The former Red Devil isn’t keen to move into the Old Trafford dugout anytime soon

Gary Neville has admitted he’d ‘run a mile’ if he was ever offered the role of manager at Manchester United. 

Despite his strong history with the Red Devils, having only ever lined up for United as a player, the former right-back is determined to never coach at Old Trafford.

Considering the club has sacked three managers since Sir Alex Ferguson stepped aside in 2013, you can’t blame Neville for his blunt reply when asked if he’d be tempted to take on the role as manager in the future. 

After hanging up his boots in 2011, Neville became an assistant coach for England before being appointed as manager at Valencia in 2015.

The Englishman’s time in Spain wouldn’t go to plan however as he was sacked towards the end of his first season having won just 10 of his 28 games in charge.

Neville has since steered clear of a return to management and clearly doesn’t look back at his time with Valencia very fondly.

While clearly not keen to return to management, particularly with United, Neville has praised the work of new Red Devils boss Ole Gunner Solskjaer.

After taking over from Jose Mourinho last season, the Norwegian coach has the club on the right track, according to Neville, who believes Solskjaer has weeded out players that didn’t want to be at the club.

“There is an element of frustration from United fans because of where the club have been,” Neville said to Sky Sports earlier this month.

“There’s still that recent history of big success under Sir Alex Ferguson but there’s been six or seven years now since that. There’s now an element of frustration building, real frustration, that they are not on the right track.

“I think they are on the right track because the first thing United have to do, they have to have a group of people in that changing room that want to be there. Forget how talented they are.” 

Despite a shaky start to the season which saw them lose to Crystal Palace before the international break, the Red Devils currently sit fourth in the Premier League after a recent 1-0 win over Leicester City. 

Click Here: kenzo online españa