Around the Regions in December

A global snapshot of what’s going on in the world of Rugby

North America/Caribbean

Cuba is very much on the mind of North America’s Rugby administrators these days following NACRA EXCO's recent meeting in Havana, which also included representatives from INDER, the Cuban Sports Ministry.

A very successful meeting took place in the Caribbean island nation with a relationship now established with the National Olympic Committee of Cuba. During the meeting there was a discussion on the development of Rugby in Cuba and the possibility of using the IRB’s ground-breaking Get Into Rugby programme was explored with mass participation in Cuba being the ultimate goal.

A pathway for Cuba to gain membership of NACRA and the IRB was laid out and Rugby Cuba’s strategic plan was reviewed.

Cuba’s first Rugby club, Indios Caribe, was formed in 1992 and since then the Game has grown steadily with Rugby Sevens now being played widely across the country with more than 1,100 players currently active. Fifteens matches are organised annually and overseas touring teams regularly visit to play against locally selected sides. In 2012, 21 regional development staff attended an IRB-facilitated strategic planning conference in Havana.

Oceania

The Pacific Island teams were relieved this week to find out they will all avoid each other in the pool stage of Rugby World Cup 2015. At the tournament’s Pool Allocation Draw in London on Monday, Samoa were drawn in Pool B along with South Africa, Scotland and qualifiers from Asia and the Americas.

Meanwhile, Tonga, who sensationally beat France in the early stages of RWC 2011 in New Zealand, will face Argentina and New Zealand this time around, as well as qualifiers from Europe and Africa. And the Oceania qualifier – most likely Fiji – will be in the tough Pool A and will go toe-to-toe with Australia, host England, Wales and the winner of the qualification play-off.

Of course, there is a huge amount of preparation that will take place before the teams land on English shores in 2015 and the IRB will at the forefront of making sure they are competitive when the time comes. Revenue raised from RWC funds the IRB’s Strategic Investment Initiative, which is designed exclusively to improve the performance of international rugby. In 2012 alone, through this initiative the IRB has invested nearly US$6 million in direct financial assistance to the Pacific Islands across four main areas: High performance, development, competitions and administration.

The high performance investment has allowed IRB to establish full-time academies in Fiji, Samoa and Tonga. These academies provide a daily training environment for elite and potentially elite players, match officials and coaches to obtain scholarships and train in world-class facilities under word-class coaches who are employed full-time.

The scholarships provide educational and career support that assists the players in preparing for life after rugby and the progression rates from LTC scholarships to national team representation and professional contracts is extremely high. It is hoped that the fruits of this investment will be enjoyed in England towards the end of 2015.

Africa

The third round of the HSBC Sevens World Series takes place in Port Elizabeth, South Africa this weekend. After two thrilling legs so far – in Gold Coast and Dubai – the stage is now set.

The series is already shaping up to be a closely fought affair with just six points separating first place from fourth. New Zealand are currently leading the pack on 38 points but they are closely followed by Samoa, Fiji and Kenya on 32.

Of course, this season is about more than just the series itself as teams prepare for Rugby World Cup Sevens 2013 in Moscow. The event will take place from June 28-30 and the Russian capital is already building up to welcoming the greatest Sevens players in the world to what is planned to be a spectacular sporting, music and cultural festival.

Asia

With the hugely popular HSBC Sevens World Series tournament having just concluded, it’s time for Fifteens to take centre stage in the United Arab Emirates with the staging of the second annual Emirates Airline International Series in Dubai.

Following on from the success of last year’s event that included Brazil, Hong Kong and Kenya as well as the host UAE, this year Hong Kong will return and they will be joined by Belgium and Zimbabwe as well as UAE in a series that will take place at 7he Sevens stadium, the state-of-the-art facility that is home to the Emirates Airline Dubai Sevens.

IRB Head of Performance and Development Mark Egan said: "It is great for rugby in the UAE that the Emirates Airline Cup of Nations is going ahead again this year. As the game continues to develop in the West Asia region, it is encouraging to see that the UAE national team is maintaining a competitive programme of fixtures. It is also a wonderful opportunity for players from the other Unions – Zimbabwe, Hong Kong and Belgium – to showcase their talents and play against teams from other parts of the world."

"It’s interesting to note how close the three visiting teams are on the IRB World Rankings so we should be in for some exciting matches. The IRB is pleased to be involved and supporting this initiative. It’s important that cross-regional tournaments such as this take place so the UAERA and Emirates Airline, as well as the other competing Unions, are to be congratulated."

Fixtures:

December 8: UAE v Belgium (16:00 local time), Hong Kong v Zimbabwe (18:00)

December 11: Zimbabwe v Belgium (16:00), UAE v Hong Kong (18:00)

December14: UAE v Zimbabwe (16:00), Hong Kong v Belgium (18:00)

Europe

The Portuguese capital, Lisbon, has been scene for an important IRB/FIRA-AER Level 2 Coaching Sevens Accreditation Course. These were organised in conjunction with the IRB/FIRA-AER Training and Education Support (TES) scheme. This was the third such course organised and was attended by delegates from Georgia, Germany, Latvia and Portugal.

The aim of the course is to develop Rugby Sevens coaches who have already collected some experience and examine the coaching process and technical aspects of Sevens in much more depth. Their performance as coaches is formally assessed and, throughout the course, coaches are encouraged to practise their skills.

This course was facilitated by Sevens specialised IRB-licensed educators Tomaz Morais and Nuno Gramaxo (from Portugal). Henrique Rocha, also from Portugal, acted as course manager. Following this initial workshop, coaches will complete the required work towards accreditation in their own Unions but will continue to work with the relevant educators. The first course of this nature was organised in Netherlands during September and the second was in Romania in October.

South America

The two faces of Los Pumas. Having been included in the premier Southern Hemisphere international tournament, Rugby at the elite level is developing apace in Argentina. Sebastían Perasso offers a thoughtful assessment of the current state of play.

For more information contact: James Fitzgerald, IRB Media Manager, +353-861-723-570, email james.fitzgerald@irb.com

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