Monday Afternoon Round Up
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James Lowe Signs For Leinster Rugby
Leinster Rugby have confirmed the signing of 24 year-old winger James Lowe from Super Rugby side the Chiefs.
The six foot two Maori All Blacks player has made 39 appearances for the Chiefs scoring 18 tries, has also represented the Maori All Blacks on five occasions scoring six tries.
Leinster Rugby Head Coach Leo Cullen confirmed the signing and said:
"James is a quality and still relatively young outside back that we have been tracking for some time, so we are delighted that he has agreed to join us.
Lowe will link up with his new teammates following the conclusion of Super Rugby 2017 and the 2017 Mitre 10 Cup.
Mike McCarthy signs for Narbonne
Narbonne have confirmed the signing of Irish international lock Mike McCarthy.
The 35 year-old joins from Leinster, he has also represented English sides London Wasps and Newcastle Falcons and Irish side Connacht.
McCarthy has signed a two-year deal with the club.
Bristol Rugby confirm Ian Madigan 3-year deal
Bristol Rugby have today confirmed the signing of Ireland international Ian Madigan on a three-year deal for the summer of 2017.
Arriving from Bordeaux Begles, the fly-half has made thirty-one appearances for his country, including appearing for Ireland in the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
“Ian is a player we have been looking at for a while," commented Head Coach Mark Tainton.
"It’s been no secret that we were seeking a world-class fly half and – with his age profile and experience - Ian fits the bill perfectly...”
"Ian has chosen to commit for three years and we’re delighted to have secured his services with a number of high-profile clubs interested in him."
The 27 year-old made over 140 appearances for Leinster, helping his hometown club to a Heineken Cup title and domestic honours during his time at the province.
Callum Sheedy agrees contract extension at Bristol Rugby
Bristol Rugby have confirmed Callum Sheedy has committed his future to the Club.
The Academy prospect has made seventeen appearances for the first team since his arrival from Millfield School in 2014.
“Callum is a fiercely ambitious young man with a promising career ahead of him. At 21 years old, there’s plenty for him still to learn, but he is developing all the time at Bristol Rugby,” Head Coach Mark Tainton commented on the re-signing.
McConnell and Veenendaal sign one-year deals with Nottingham Rugby
Nottingham Rugby have confirmed that scrum halves Murray McConnell and Darryl Veenendaal have signed new one-year deals , keeping them at The Bay until the end of the 2017/18 season.
The duo, who have both been battling for the starting position for the last two years, will continue to fight it out for at least another season of Championship and Cup rugby.
McConnell (24) signed from Glasgow Warriors back in May 2015, making 24 appearances in his first season, before he made his mark as the club’s top try-scorer so far this campaign, with 8 tries in 20 matches.
South African-born Veenendaal (26) joined from Bedford Blues in the summer of 2015 and has gone on to feature in 27 matches in his first campaign at The Bay. He has scored 4 tries in 16 appearances so far this season.
Varsity Cup:
Tuks vs CUT
The opening fixture of Round 6 of Varsity Cup saw CUT travel to Pretoria to face Tuks.
The Pretoria based side got on the score board early through Joshua Stander and they continued to regularly and at ease as they went into halftime 54-0 up.
The 2nd half was much of the same as Tuks carried on scoring and 91 up with 2min left in the game when prop Franco van den Berg broke the line and scored from his own half meaning his side would move to 98 with the conversion to come.
Manie Libbok was on hand to bring the 100 up.
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Top 5 Super Rugby performers of the Weekend
Nehe Milner-Skudder
Hurricanes vs Rebels
Nehe Milner-Skudder marked his return to Super Rugby, following a lengthy injury lay-off, with a fantastic hat-trick as the Hurricanes smashed the Rebels 71-6 in their first home game of the season.
Reece Hodge put the victors into a 0-6 lead early on before Milner-Skudder scored his first of his 3 tries, he would not score again until the 71st minute, his final try came 4 minutes later.
Milner Skudder was a real danger to the Force's defence as he carried the ball 84 metres and beating 5 defenders on the way to his hat-trick.
Whetu Douglas
Highlanders vsCrusaders
The Crusaders no.8 had a great game on attack as his side claimed a 27-30 win over the Highlanders.
Douglas made 2 clean breaks from his 14 carries, making 45 metres. He scored the first of his teams 4 tries following dominating scrum, that allowed him to dot down under the posts.
Lukhanyo Am
Brumbies vs Sharks
Lukhanyo Am had a busy day at the office on Saturday against the Brumbies as he lined up against Tevita Kuridrani, the centre put in 6 tackles coupled with 3 turnovers for the Durban based side.
Am also scored the winning try for the Sharks, following a brilliant line-out steal by Ruan Botha the Sharks attacked from their 22 and Am was on hand to finish off a great move, when he gathered the ball from a Curwin Bosch kick and scored.
Eto Nabuli
Western Force vs Reds
Eto Nabuli's hat-trick was not enough to save the Reds from defeat against the Western Force this weekend.
The ex-Rugby League player scored three great tries displaying his tactical awareness speed and ball carrying strength throughout the match.
Nbuli carried the ball 8 times making 112 metres as he made the Western Force pay for some poor defending.
Fred Zeilinga
Cheetahas vs Bulls
Fred Zeilinga had another impressive performance this weekend against the Bulls, following their loss to the Lions in Super Rugby Round 1.
The fly-half once again dictated play and put the Cheetahs on the front foot with a strong kicking display.
He managed to racked up 14 points for his side as he finished the match with a 100% kicking ratio.
ARC Round Up
This year’s addition of the Americas Rugby Championship saw a new champion being crowned with the USA finally dethroning the champions Argentina, who had won every edition of the tournament since it started in 2009.
The USA were not the only side to make history in this year’s tournament as some of the other teams such as Brazil and Uruguay picked up victories against Canada in the final 2 Rounds of the competition.
The Argentines eased through the first 4 rounds of the competition winning all their games, with a try bonus points.
The final fixture of the competition would decide who would be the champions with the USA traveling to Argentina. Both sides where tied on log points heading into the game but the Argentines had the upper hand with a higher points difference. This meant the victory for the Americans would see them lift the trophy.
The Americans were 10-15 in the lead at half-time, following the break the Argentines scored 17 unanswered points to put them in the lead 27-15. With 6 minutes remaining on the clock Cameron Dolan scored for the Americans to bring them within 7 points of the opposition.
A David Tameilau try brought them within 2 points at full-time, but thanks to a Benjamin Cima conversion the USA could draw the match, 27-27.
The Americans won the Championship as they picked up a try bonus point against the Argentines.
Team of the Weekend: 5th March (Northern Hemisphere)
1. Dave Kilcoyne – Another trademark action packed display from the Munster loose head. An influential ball carrying presence for his side in a tight win in Cardiff, Kilcoyne carried 13 times for a gain of 32 metres & completing 7 tackles in a hard fought encounter.
2. Tommy Taylor – Taylor put in a huge 53 minute effort for Wasps in a comprehensive victory over Bath at the Rec, helping to stretch their lead at the top of the Aviva Premiership.
3. Wiehaan Herbst – In a game played in poor conditions, Herbst worked hard in the loose, tackling & making carries despite the lack of front foot ball for the home side.
4. Brian Alainu’uese – The Glasgow second row dominated in the carry in a man of the match performance for Warriors at Scotstoun. Glasgow were winless in the Pro 12 since 7th Jan but secured a vital win producing a phenomenal fight back over the Dragons.
5. Michael Paterson – The Saints second row scored two tries in an emphatic win over Sale at the AJ Bell. A powerful Saints scrum gave Paterson the chance to barrel over from close range. Paterson made 8 tackles and 4 carries in a dominant performance.
6. Conor Oliver – The young Munster back-rower scored in his 2nd successive match. Coming on as 2nd half replacement, Oliver raced clear from the breakdown to touch down for the game clinching score. After his impressive effort at No. 8 last week, Oliver’s versatility across the back row gives Munster plenty of options.
7. Dan Leavy – Leavy was excellent in the Leinster back-row. Putting in another eye catching effort for the Irish province in a bonus point victory at the RDS. Leavy’s work at the breakdown and his ball carrying abilities are two of his main attributes. Narrowly missing out of Ireland match day 23 v France. Leavy will be looking to impress to force his way into the Irish set up v Wales.
8. Billy Vunipola – Billy returned from injury to play 70 minutes at Kingston Park. The England No. 8 made his first start for 4 months. His powerful run forced an early penalty and he quickly returned to his previous heights, finishing with 11 carries and 8 tackles.
9. Luke Mc Grath – The Leinster scrum-half scored twice in a seven try rout for Leinster over Scarlets at the RDS. Mc Grath ran for a gain of 72 metres from 5 carries. Mc Grath scrambled over from a close in scrum before adding his 2nd by blocking down a kick from Jones before finishing smartly. A man of the match performance from the scrum half.
10. Alex Lozowski – The Saracens fly-half scored two tries as Saracens notched a win at Newcastle. He latched onto a Wigglesworth kick to score his opening try and intercepted a Joel Hodgson pass to secure the bonus-point win.
11. Francois Hougaard – The former Springbok international was instrumental as Warriors secured a bonu-point win over Bristol. Hougaard scored one and was the provider for another with Heem touching down after the break.
12. Kurtley Beale – The Australian crossed for a double as Wasps stretched their lead at the top of the Aviva Premiership with an impressive win over Bath. Beale crossed in both halves to continue his fine try scoring form notching his 3rd in 6 games.
13. Francis Saili – The former All Black scored a fine solo effort to lead the Munster fightback in Cardiff. Saili carried 5 times for 41 metres. He charged through the Blues defence before side stepping the last defender to dot down under the posts.
14. Christian Wade – The Wasps wing scored a 1st half try to open the scoring at the Rec. Wade was on terrific form making a gain of 99m from 15 carries. Wade showed his worth in defence with a try saving tackle on Denton to keep the visitors in front.
15. Joey Carbery – The Leinster man scored another brace of tries in a home win at the RDS. Carbery is the Pro 12 leading try scorer with 8 to his name. From his less favoured role at full-back, he hit two tries in three minutes and his influence grew as the game went on.
England name squad to prepare for Scotland
England head coach Eddie Jones has named a 30-man squad in preparation to face Scotland in Round 4 of the RBS 6 Nations.
Billy Vunipola returns to the squad, the Saracens No.8 played 70 minutes in Sunday's win over Newcastle Falcons.
He had previously missed the opening 3 rounds of the 6 Nations through injury and returns in time for Saturday's Calcutta Cup clash against Scotland in Twickenham.
Forwards (16)
Jack Clifford (Harlequins), Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers), Jamie George (Saracens), Teimana Harrison (Northampton Saints), Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints), James Haskell (Wasps), Nathan Hughes (Wasps), Maro Itoje (Saracens), Joe Launchbury (Wasps), Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints), Joe Marler (Harlequins), Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins), Billy Vunipola (Saracens), Mako Vunipola (Saracens), Mike Williams (Leicester Tigers), Tom Wood (Northampton Saints).
Backs (14)
Mike Brown (Harlequins), Danny Care (Harlequins), Elliot Daly (Wasps), Owen Farrell (Saracens), George Ford (Bath Rugby), Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby), Alex Lozowski (Saracens), Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby), Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs), Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs), Ben Te’o (Worcester Warriors), Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby), Marland Yarde (Harlequins), Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers)
