rugbyrocks-blog

[rugbyrocks-blog]

We’ve seen hundreds of Sevens teams come and go since we launched in 2010, here are top 7. Looking forward to more beauties in 2013!

1.       Foul Fashion 7s

From the creators of Morphsuits, it’s the Foul Fashion 7s team. A blend of horrible patterns and colours, but somehow it just works!

2.       North Wales Exiles

Always taking pride in their appearance. We loved the Pink Supermen kits from 2010, but this is a new level. Nicely done ‘Sex Pistols-eque’ design made this a standout kit.

3.       Movember

So what do the guys at Movember do for the other 11 months of the year? Well, quite a bit of it is spent strutting their stuff on the UK Sevens scene. They rocked their bespoke Mo kits at our London and Yorkshire festials in 2012.

4.       The Moody Cows

We loved this one. Great kit supporting a great cause - The McMillan Cancer Support.

5.       Clapham Falcons

Representing SW4, the boys styled out a very unique kit at RugbyRocks London 2012. They enjoyed little success on the field, but a lot of love from the crowds and in the bars after.

6.       The Batmen

Winners of RugbyRocks Edinburgh 2011, we loved their simple but iconic design. Running out to the famous Batman theme tune for the finals, there opponents were beaten before the game even began.

7.       Bangkok Bad Boys

We've actually never seen this one in action, but it's such a beauty it's made the cut - bright lights, strong colours and a the roaring lion on the sleeve says it all really.

[rugbyrocks-blog]

Great night Tuesday to celebrate Ugo Monye's testimonial. Thanks to all the players for helping raise funds for @ProstateUK

[rugbyrocks-blog]

On December 4th a Rugby Fashion Show will be hosted at the Playboy Club to celebrate the UK’s most popular rugby stars,  Harlequin & England Winger Ugo Monye.

The event will also raise funds and awareness for Prostate Cancer UK, a charity Ugo has supported for a number of years. The one off event will feature the likes of Manu Tuilagi, Mike Tindall, Danny Care, Ben Foden and Jamie Roberts.

The stars will take to the catwalk in various outfits – from designer labels such as Bjon Borg and Alfakin  down to just their underwear. The players will be joined by the famous Playboy Bunnies.

Ugo says: “It’s a great part of my testimonial year and something a bit different – thank you to the Playboy club for this opportunity, I hope that the evening raises a great deal for Prostate Cancer UK.”

To join Ugo at this incredible occasion at The Playboy Club, on Old Park Lane, London and to raise vital funds please email: dominie@minteventmanagement.co.uk

Last year, Ugo, teammate Danny Care and Tim Payne launched ‘The Blue’ mouthguard to raise funds and awareness of prostate cancer. They have been joined by many other pro players, including Charlie Hodgson, James Haskell, Joe Simpson, Schalk Brits, Joe Launchbury, George Robson, Tom Homer and Andy Saull in supporting the cause. Click here to learn more and to see how you can support this campaign.

Prostate Cancer is the most common cancer among men and claims the lives of 10,000 men each year. That is one man every hour. “Blokes spend so much time on going to the gym and looking good but we don’t always pay such close attention to our health. With an issue like prostate cancer, which if caught early can be treated successfully, it is really important that we do”, explains Ugo.

[rugbyrocks-blog]

Final Score: England 54 v 12 Fiji

1. Joe Marler                        7

Formed part of what is probably the most mobile front row unit England have ever fielded. Marler is now fulfilling his potential for club and country.

2. Tom Youngs                          8

Audible delight/relief from the home crowd when his first lineout throw connected and he continued to throw well throughout. As expected his dynamic play around the park caught the eye. Tougher tests to come but an encouraging start from Youngs.

3. Dan Cole                                8

Of course he will have tougher days at the office, but Cole looks a world beater. For me he must be considered a starter for the Lions in 9 months time.

4. Tom Palmer                           7

Palmer has become one of England's most consistant performers. Today he went about his business quietly and effectively. Regardless of his age he is a must for England for the forseeable future.

5. Geoff Parling                         7

Athletic and enjoyed running in space. For years England fans have enduring big lumbering packs, so it was refreshing to see the likes of Parling, Youngs and Johnson covering the ground at speed.

6. Tom Johnson                        7.5

Mobility was key to England's performance today. Too many recent England sides would have attempted to run over Fiji. Johnson's speed was key to securing quick ball and stretching the Fijian's throughout.

7. Chris Robshaw (c)                7.5

When England were wobbling early on and with Care in the Bin it was Captain Robshaw who steadied the ship. Looked a leader throughout.

8. Thomas Waldrum                 6.5              

Plenty of grit, hustle and bustle as you would expect from the Tank Engine. Must lower error count though with tougher tests ahead.

9. Danny Care                             7

Bright start and unlucky to see Yellow for a dangerous tackle just 10 minutes in. Strange game for Care - Invovled in much of England's best work, but also sloppy at times.

10. Toby Flood                            7

Played flat with accurate delivery from hand which immediately put England on the front foot. Kicked well and settled England down after a stutterng first 15 minutes.

11. Ugo Monye                           7

Great to see Ugo return with a score. Didn't put a foot wrong, but would have like to have been more involved as England ran in try after try.

12. Brad Barritt                          7

We know his defence is immense but today there was little requirement for that. However, he showed some attacking quality today with his handling was a surprising plus. Moved the ball on accurately and with pace.

13. Manu Tuilagi                    8

Loose pass in the opening 10 minutes could have been costly against better, more clinical opposition. Bulldozing as always but failed to find open space until late on. He took his scores well and continues to be one of the first names on the teamsheet.

14. Charlie Sharples             8.5 (Man of the Match)

Fantastic score from Sharples after 20 minutes help settle England nerves. No substitute for pace. Added a second on 58, stepping inside the covering defence to score with ease. Did superbly to create an opportunity for Ben Youngs late on only for the ball to be spilled.

15. Alex Goode                      8

Chosen as Man of the Match by Stuart Barnes, which was a decent shout. Fully justified his selection at 15 ahead of Brown who must have been agrieved not to have been handed the start. Confident under the high ball, elusive with ball in hand. Class.

[rugbyrocks-blog]

Unilever has continued to take major strides into rugby union by announcing partnerships for it’s Dove Men+Care brand with both the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) and the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU).

The deals complement the brands existing sponsorships of Europe’s top club tournament The Heineken Cup, The Amlin Challenge Cup and the title sponsor of Wales’ Autumn Internationals which are called the Dove Men’s Series.

Under the new deal with the IRFU Dove Men+Care will enjoy extensive match day branding rights at the Aviva Stadium, experiential and sampling rights as well as access to national team players and corporate hospitality. The deal gets underway this Saturday when Ireland take on South Africa in the first Guinness Series.

The partnership with the SRU is a similar deal and spans the team’s upcoming EMC Tests versus New Zealand, South Africa and Tonga later this month.

[rugbyrocks-blog]

With Armistice Day on the horizon I stumbled across this WWI poster (gotta love Wikipedia) which proudly states that ‘over 90% of Rugby Union Footballers have enlisted’ and challenges other British Athletes to follow their ‘Glorious Example’.

The Army Rugby Union (ARU) has always played a special role at RugbyRocks and with my best friend - an Army rugby player himself - currently serving in Afghanistan I wanted to take a moment pay a small tribute.

Did you know that the army’s influence on rugby can be traced back to the sport’s humble beginnings? – The very beginning even, as the father of William Webb Ellis was an Army man, serving in the 3rd Dragoons Guards.

The Army Rugby Union was formed just six years before the outbreak of the First World War, although matches had taken place among regiments for years as far back as the late 19th century. It took rather longer than it should have but the ARU eventually recognised servicewomen’s efforts in 1996.

The day before Armistice Day, England take on Fiji at Twickenham which I think is entirely fitting. Fijians have of course played such an incredible role in the British Army both in combat and on the playing fields. In early 2011, the rugby community was saddened to hear of the loss of Private Joseva Vatubua (Big Joe) who represented ARU Sevens with distinction.

Poppy Day is for remembrance but also for serving members of the armed forces and Veterans, so please wear your Poppy with pride this Armistice and help the Royal British Legion hit their target of £42m.

[rugbyrocks-blog]

2012 has been an incredible year so far, but we are already thinking about 2013 at RugbyRocks HQ and last week we were invited to take part in a debate about one of the biggest sporting events of next year, the British and Irish Lions tour to Australia. We were invited to experience the first ever live screening of the Rugby Club at Sky Studios, as a panel of previous Lions (Scott Quinnell, Shane Horgan, Scott Hastings & Will Greenwood) debated some of the top talking points about next year’s tour. Alex Paine welcomed the audience to what he described as a “pub debate with a few cameras” and the panellists took centre stage, talking emotionally about what it meant to be a Lion followed by some well informed and unbiased views on topics such as captaincy, coaching staff and that No. 10 Shirt. There was general consensus that Sam Warburton should take the captaincy, Jonny Sexton currently is the front runner at fly half and that the Aussie’s will do anything to beat the Lions. The debate was better structured, less heated and less boozy than any pub debate that I can remember and the show (having watched it back) was well produced. Sky sports are planning on doing more of the live shows in the new year and I'd highly recommend them...

[rugbyrocks-blog]

Taking in some rugby action with @lukeyfielden @arpreece @chris_pilgrim

[rugbyrocks-blog]

1st week - Premiership Predictions

With the Aviva Premiership kicking off tomorrow - here are some predictions for the first round. Thoughts?

Wasps vs Quins: Quins by 7 Exeter vs Sale: Draw Gloucester vs Northampton: Gloucester by 10 Worcester vs Bath: Bath by 3 Sarries vs Irish: Sarries by 12 Welsh vs Leicester: Tigers by 15

[rugbyrocks-blog]

Murderball...

Although rugby sevens will only enter the Olympics in 2016, there is one form of the game that will be entertaining the crowds over the next few weeks, wheelchair rugby.

How does it work?

The game is played by teams of 4 players on a basketball court, where the aim is to get the ball (almost identical to a volleyball) to the other end of the court and score by crossing the line with the ball in hand. So it is played on a basketball court, with a volleyball and players don’t have to pass backwards – so why call it rugby I hear you cry? Well that’s because they smash into each other with the aim of dislodging their opponents from their seats, guess that’s why they used to call it Murderball…

Murderball was founded in Canada, and along with the USA the founders have dominated the major championships to date. GB are ranked 6th in the world and although they have won the European Championships twice, will be on the hunt for their first Paralympic medal in the coming weeks.

They will have the support of the 10,000 strong sell-out crowds in the Basketball arena throughout the tournament. In fact wheelchair rugby was the first Paralympic sport to sell out.

The sport’s popularity soared with the release of the “Murderball” docu-film which followed the USA side through the 2004 Athens games, revealing some memorable personalities and displaying the brutality of the sport. If you haven’t yet seen it, it’s well worth a watch. Check out the trailer linked to this blog.

GB’s fixtures are as follows:

Wednesday 5th Sep (14:00) v USA Thursday 6th Sep (19:00) v FRANCE Friday 7th Sep (15:00) v JAPAN

The Semi's and finals will be on the weekend depending on how well the group stages go.

For a full list of the fixtures check out the link below:

http://l2012.cm/RjglOJ

I’ve managed to get myself some tickets to the Saturday session and can’t wait to see it live. Will post some pics and my thoughts to the blog after I’ve been!

[rugbyrocks-blog]

RugbyRocks returns to Edinburgh for it's 3rd year!

[rugbyrocks-blog]

Just found this pic of @armyrugbyunion from RR London @UKteam_optimum

[rugbyrocks-blog]

Nice pic of Binky from 'Made in Chelsea' at RR London

[rugbyrocks-blog]

These guys are too good! #C2Cdjs

[rugbyrocks-blog]

No backing out now @officialWesty !!

[rugbyrocks-blog]

It is important to secure your gazebo properly they said. I should have listened

[rugbyrocks-blog]

Everything's amazing! And nobody's happy