English Rugby News

England Team Manager, Martin Johnson and the *Senior Elite Player Squad will be hosting a free open training session for fans at Twickenham Stadium on Wednesday May 20.

The session, which is due to start at 3.00pm will be followed by a twenty minute autograph session at the end of training.

At around 4.00pm the England Sevens squad will take to the pitch for another open session as they prepare for the Emirates Airline London Sevens to be played at Twickenham Stadium on May 23 & 24.

Martin Johnson said “We hosted an open session last August and over 3,000 fans turned up to watch training. All the coaches and the players enjoyed having the fans there and before England play against the Barbarians on May 30 we thought it would be a good opportunity to end the season as we started it with another chance to see the England squad train.

“On behalf of the squad I hope a good crowd turns up on May 20 and ten days later when we play a very strong Barbarians team before a challenging two test series against Argentina.

“I’ll be aiming to announce the England squad for the Barbarians and Argentina games on May 19. Despite being without our players that have been selected for the British & Irish Lions we will have a very strong squad to choose from and three excellent matches from which to test our strength in depth.

“The Barbarians have selected a squad including Serge Betsen, Justin Marshall, Martin Corry and Josh Lewsey while Argentina have world class players in Hernandez, Contepomi and Lobbe.”

Entrance to the England open training session will be via Twickenham Stadium’s Gate A. Those arriving by car should use the main entrance on Rugby Road parking in the main car park. The South Stand Rugby Store, World Rugby Museum and the London Marriott Hotel Twickenham will all be open on the day.

Tickets for the Emirates Airline London Sevens on May 23 & 24 and the England v Barbarians match on May 30 (kick off 4.15pm) are available from www.ticketmaster.co.uk or by calling Ticketmaster on 0844 8472492.

*The England players training on May 20 will not include those that have been selected for the British & Irish Lions Squad or who are still involved in the Heineken Cup and European Challenge Cup.

Please check www.rfu.com for any changes to the timings on May 20.

Tags: English rugby

An annual charity match brought half a dozen MPs including Gerry Sutcliffe, the Sports Minister, on to the hallowed turf at Twickenham Stadium this afternoon and £20,000 raised for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.

Rob Andrew, the Rugby Football Union’s elite rugby director and former England fly half, wore the No.10 jersey for the Commons & Lords RUFC team brought together by Loughborough MP Andy Reed. Each member of the opposing team, the Cystic Fibrosis Trust XV, had raised £500 to take part and the RFU loaned the use of Twickenham for free.

The Commons & Lords team also made personal and sponsored contributions which, together with a £1000 donation from Bowring, and sponsorship of the CFT XV’s jerseys by Prospect Distributors, guaranteed the target of £20,000 had been met by the time international referee Wayne Barnes blew the first whistle for a friendly match of four quarters.

Participating parliamentarians include Lord Addington, Andy Reed MP (Loughborough), Gerry Sutcliffe MP (Bradford South), Mike Penning MP (Hemel Hempstead), John Randall MP (Uxbridge) and Jim Fitzpatrick MP (Poplar & Canning Town). Other guest players included television presenter Ben Shephard, who captained the CFT team, and London Scottish and former London Wasps flanker Paul Volley, on the Commons & Lords side.

“It was a great occasion in aid of a great charity, one which is growing in stature and awareness all the time,” said Gerry Sutcliffe, who joined Andrew in the Commons & Lords back division. “The match was competitive but played in a good spirit and for me as Sports Minister it always a pleasure to see people of all ages enjoying sport. Both sides were a mixture of young and old - some very mobile, some not so - but we all had fun and Jim Fitzpatrick MP, as a Scot, will not forget scoring a try at Twickenham for a long time.”

Alex Grieve, a Cardiff University student and sufferer of cystic fibrosis, played at full back for the CFT XV, who ran out winners by 34 points to 22. “I got the call inviting me to play at Twickenham and did not have to think twice,” said Alex, 23. “Rob Andrew may have retired from playing but he had all the old classy moves.”

The Cystic Fibrosis Trust will put the funds raised by the match towards crucial gene therapy trials at London’s Brompton Hospital which it is hoped will make an impact on the successful treatment of CF, the UK’s most common life-threatening inherited disease whose sufferers currently have an average life expectancy of 31.

“This match is a particularly appropriate way to raise funds,” said Sarah Guthrie, the CFT’s director of fund-raising. “A good many sufferers will have an increased life expectancy if they play sport which can help keep them healthy and free of infection.”

Tags: Cystic Fibrosis Rugby, Twickenham

Sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe and former England fly half Rob Andrew will pull on their rugby boots for a worthy cause at Twickenham Stadium on Wednesday (April 8, 2pm) in a charity match supporting the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.

The annual fixture will see the Commons & Lords RUFC - with Andrew, the RFU’s elite rugby director, wearing the No.10 jersey - take on a Cystic Fibrosis Trust XV, each of whom have paid £500 to take part.

The Commons & Lords team has been brought together by Loughborough MP Andy Reed and includes Sutcliffe as a centre/wing alongside guest flanker Paul Volley, of London Scottish and formerly London Wasps. There are six MPs in the squad and Lord Addington will be captain and pack leader. Television presenter Ben Sheppard will captain the CFT team and the RFU is lending the use of Twickenham for free.

The aim is to raise £20,000 for the Trust, and Andrew said: “This is the second time I have taken part in this match at Twickenham to highlight the work of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.

“The Trust does a great job in raising awareness of this terrible, life-threatening disease and it will be a pleasure to dust off my boots and lend my support.”

Participating MPs include Andy Reed (Loughborough), Gerry Sutcliffe (Bradford South), Mike Penning (Hemel Hempstead), John Randall (Uxbridge), Rob Wilson (Reading East) and Jim Fitzpatrick (Poplar & Canning Town).

* The match will be open to a limited number of media for vision access with brief interview opportunities pitchside afterwards.

* The Cystic Fibrosis Trust is the UK’s only national charity dedicated to all aspects of Cystic Fibrosis (CF). It funds research to treat and cure CF and aims to ensure appropriate clinical care and support for people with Cystic Fibrosis. To find out more and make donations visit www.cftrust.org.uk

Tags: Cystic Fibrosis, Twickenham

Bath’s Marlie Packer will captain the England Under 20s team that’ll take on Wales at Eirias Park in Colwyn Bay on April 14th, kick-off 2pm.

The match is the under 20s’s first international of the season and will be vital preparation as England look to retain the Under 20s Nations Cup which they won with a clean sweep of wins last year in Canada. This year’s tournament takes place at Brunel University in July.

The starting line-up for the Wales match includes 13 players than ran out for the England Under 20s last season, a side that defeated Wales three times, Canada twice and Canada A.

England Under 20s Head Coach Giselle Mather, who is also London Irish’s AASE Manager and Head Coach at Teddington RFC, said: “Having done all the training, it’s now time to find out where we are, but playing Wales in Wales is going to be a tough opening game.

“It’s good to have so much experience in the side, and I am sure these players can build on the success they experienced in Canada where they produced some really good rugby. To be able to keep so many players together for our first game against good opposition is very important.”

Certainly the Under 20s have got plenty to aspire to as England’s Emily Scarratt was playing Under 20s rugby last year. In just nine months she has gone on to earn eight caps for England and has scored nine tries.

Mather added: “These players know that there is a clear cut pathway to get into the senior squad if they are good enough. It is a realistic aim as they have only got to look to the likes of Emily Scarratt and Fran Matthews who were involved in the RBS 6 Nations this season, while the likes of Sarah Guest, Rowena Bownfield and Laura Keates have all been involved in England A. These players have got a lot to play for.”

England Under 20s v Wales Under 20s

1 Elizabeth Peak Oakmedians
2 Victoria Fleetwood Lichfield
3 Victoria Cornborough (VC) Richmond
4 Charlotte Wild Leeds Metropolitan University
5 Harriet Mills Manchester
6 Hannah Field Reading
7 Marlie Packer (C) Bath
8 Nicola Hoole Bath
9 Sophie Russell Loughborough
10 Claire Garner Leeds Leos
11 Samantha Bree Worcester
12 Sarah McKenna OA Saints
13 Rose Fong Darlington Mowden Park Sharks
14 Natasha Hunt Bath
15 Kimberley Davey Richmond
Replacements:
16 Natalie McClarnon Saracens
17 Sasha Acheson Sudbury
18 Amy Miller Reading
19 Jessie Flowers West Park
20 Natasha Jones Lichfield
21 Sarah Graham Bath
22 Lizell Heather Kettering

Head Coach Giselle Mather, Assistant Coach Martin Hynes

Tags: England women, u20's rugby

Tickets for England’s first test match at Old Trafford since 1997 are on sale now now!

England will face Argentina on Saturday, June 6 (kick off 4pm) and both teams will be playing for ‘The Standard Bank Cup.’

Argentina who finished in 3rd place at the RWC 2007 and are ranked 5th in the IRB rankings, one place higher than England will be *hosting the match as part of their two test series against Martin Johnson’s team with the second test being played in Salta, Argentina on June 13.

Tickets for the game at the 76,000 capacity stadium and the home of Manchester United are priced from **£10 through to a top price of £40 and are available from www.ticketmaster.co.uk or by calling 0844 8472492.

England Team Manager, Martin Johnson said “Although we lost to New Zealand (25-8) in 1997 the crowd were superb and I hope that another big crowd will be there to see England play against Argentina.

“The Puma’s are an excellent side and they deserve their current ranking. Like England they will be looking to go 1-0 up in the series before we travel to Argentina for the second test.”

Sale Sharks Head Coach, Jason Robinson said “I’m delighted that Argentina v England is being played at Old Trafford and that fans will get a chance to see some top quality test rugby in the North West of England.

“I was fortunate enough to have played at both Twickenham and Old Trafford and as a player I always appreciated the crowd, the support they gave and their ability to help the players with the noise they can generate during the course of the game.”

Sale Sharks Captain and Argentina international Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe said “It will be a special moment for all the Argentina players to play at Old Trafford, which is one of the truly great sporting theatres. We want to show rugby fans in England what we are capable of and Old Trafford gives us a superb back drop to do that.”

Ends

*17,000 tickets are available priced at £10.

** Argentina are the home team after asking for and receiving permission from the IRB to host the first game of their two match test series against England at Old Trafford in order to raise much needed revenue for the Argentina Rugby Union.

England play the Barbarians at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday, May 30. Tickets are available priced from £25 for adults and £10 for U16s by calling Ticketmaster on 0844 8472492 or by contacting www.ticketmaster.co.uk

Tags: Engalnd v Argentina, Rugby Tickets

Exeter Chiefs have signed the big New Zealand Maori prop Hoani Tui from Italian club Calvisano.

Born in Wanganui, New Zealand, Tui has played NPC rugby for Wellington and Taranaki, and was called up to Super 14 side, the Hurricanes, in 2007.

At 5ft 11ins in height, Tui weighs in at 18st 12lbs making him the heaviest player in the Chiefs squad.

Tui, aged just 24, can play at either side of the front row and has dealt with stiff Heineken Cup opposition this season having played against Cardiff Blues, Biarritz and Gloucester.

Tui is familiar with Sandy Park having played there against Ireland A in the 2007 Churchill Cup

Exeter Chiefs’ chief executive Tony Rowe said: “We are delighted that Hoani has pledged his future to this club. He is a young, talented prop who is a welcome addition to our squad and shows the ambition this club has for making it into the top flight.”

Tui will arrive at Sandy Park ready for pre-season in June.

Tags: exeter chiefs

Australia beat a poor England at Twickenham on Saturday.  The Australian hero was Matt Giteau who kicked 20 points in their 28-14 victory.

England showed a lack of basic Rugby skills in front of 80,000 people as Martin Johnson suffered his first loss in charge. He has a lot of work to do before the visit of World Champions South Africa next week.

Australia were full value for this win, unusually the free scoring Wallabies were only able to score a single try throuh Adam Ashley-Cooper.

Try-scorer Nick Easter had this to say after the match “We just played a very smart team, they took their opportunities and we didn’t. It was good to score a try but it was scant consolation and didn’t really count for anything.

“It’s good news that we are making these opportunities but obviously we have to take them better than we were.

“It should be set in stone that you don’t give away that many chances, it’s not down to experience.

“International rugby is about decision making and keeping a cool head in pressure situations.

“We have to improve and we have to improve fast ahead of next week’s challenge against South Africa.”

England Captain Steve Borthwick (Saracens) added “I think we worked very hard on the defensive side and were tremendously competitive, but we need to sharpen up in certain areas where we didn’t deliver today. We went away from our game plan at certain times against an excellent side who’ve been playing together for longer than we have.”

“Clearly we can’t give away that many penalties in the kickable zone. We know that and it’s unfortunate we gave away too many.

“I am disappointed but there are areas to improve and we’ll work on them. “There were some positives moving forward but we lost the game without being outplayed and credit to Australia for what they did.”

England:

D Armitage (London Irish), P Sackey (Wasps), J Noon (Newcastle), R Flutey (Wasps), U Monye (Harlequins); D Cipriani (Wasps), D Care (Harlequins); A Sheridan (Sale Sharks), L Mears (Bath), P Vickery (Wasps), S Borthwick (Saracens, capt), T Palmer (Wasps), T Croft (Leicester), T Rees (Wasps), N Easter (Harlequins).

Replacements:

M Stevens (Bath), J Haskell (Wasps), S Shaw (Wasps), M Lipman (Bath), H Ellis (Leicester), D Hartley (Northampton), T Flood (Leicester)

Australia:

A Ashley-Cooper (ACT Brumbies), P Hynes (Queensland Reds), R Cross (Western Force), S Mortlock (ACT Brumbies, capt), D Mitchell (Western Force); M Giteau (Western Force), L Burgess (NSW Waratahs); B Robinson (NSW Waratahs), S Moore (Queensland Reds), A Baxter (NSW Waratahs), M Chisholm (ACT Brumbies), N Sharpe (Western Force), H McMeniman (Queensland Reds), G Smith (ACT Brumbies), R Brown (Western Force).

Replacements: W Palu (NSW Waratahs), D Mumm (NSW Waratahs), T Polota-Nau (NSW Waratahs), M Dunning (NSW Waratahs), S Cordingley (Queensland Reds), Q Cooper (Queensland Reds), D Ioane (Queensland Reds)

Tags: English Rugby News, Wallabies

Rugby great Rory Underwood has been named in the Leicester Tigers Walk of Legends.

Former Tigers and England star Underwood is reunited with former team-mate Dusty Hare as the first two names in the club’s Walk of Legends after winning the supporters’ vote.

Underwood scored 134 tries for Tigers between 1983 and 1993, and is England’s leading try-scorer with 49 in 85 internationals.

Now a Leicester Tigers director, he said: “I am very honoured and very proud that the Tigers fans have inducted me into the Walk of Legends team.

“Looking at the work on the stadium, I am really excited about the new Caterpillar Stand and to have your name out on the front is going to be fantastic.”

Underwood and Hare will be added to the Tigers Walk of Legends on the approach to the new Caterpillar Stand, which opens next season and will take capacity in the stadium up to 24,500.

The Walk of Legends is being filled week by week with voting available through the Leicester Mercury newspaper and website. This week supporters will find Tigers’ legendary outside centre from a shortlist of Ralph Buckingham, Brian Hall, Leon Lloyd and Clive Woodward.

Supporters can secure their place in the history and future of Leicester Tigers by buying a brick in the Walk of Legends, complete with a personalised message, and see it laid alongside the club’s heroes.

Add a name, celebrate a birthday or buy a place in the Walk of Legends for a friend or relative as a perfect Christmas gift for a Tigers supporter. You can also buy a replica to keep at home. For more details see the club website at www.leicestertigers.com

Tags: Leicester Tigers, Rory Underwood

Guinness Premiership Rugby returns to ITV4 on Sunday evening with hour long highlights of all the weekend’s games from Round six of the competition.

Presented by Craig Doyle, this week’s show comes from the Recreation Ground where current leaders Bath Rugby take on second placed Leicester Tigers.

Craig will be speaking to the players and fans about their views on the new season and look at how the clubs are coping without their international players. Co-host Martin Bayfield also has an exclusive interview with Mike Tindall as he swaps rugby balls for darts and competes in ITV4’s Pro-Celebrity Darts.

Guinness Premiership Rugby is on ITV4 at 6.30pm on Sunday, repeated on Tuesday night on ITV1. ITV.com also has video highlights every Monday morning.

Tags: guinness premiership

England Team Manager Martin Johnson today announced the team to play Australia in the Investec Challenge at Twickenham on Saturday, November 15.

Two changes to the starting line-up see Phil Vickery take over at prop from Matt Stevens while Tom Palmer comes into the second row in place of Nick Kennedy. Simon Shaw takes Palmer’s place on the replacements’ bench.

ENGLAND
15 Delon Armitage (London Irish)
14 Paul Sackey (London Wasps)
13 Jamie Noon (Newcastle Falcons)
12 Riki Flutey (London Wasps)
11 Ugo Monye (Harlequins)
10 Danny Cipriani (London Wasps)
9 Danny Care (Harlequins)
1 Andrew Sheridan (Sale Sharks)
2 Lee Mears (Bath Rugby)
3 Phil Vickery (London Wasps)
4 Steve Borthwick (Saracens, captain)
5 Tom Palmer (London Wasps)
6 Tom Croft (Leicester Tigers)
7 Tom Rees (London Wasps)
8 Nick Easter (Harlequins)

Replacements
16 Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints)
17 Matt Stevens (Bath Rugby)
18 Simon Shaw (London Wasps)
19 James Haskell (London Wasps)
20 Michael Lipman (Bath Rugby)
21 Harry Ellis (Leicester Tigers)
22 Toby Flood (Leicester Tigers)

Tags: England Rugby, Wallabies