Your Scrumhalf Connection

Good news for the men and there have been rumblings from Nigel Melville that some games at the Women’s Rugby World Cup could televised as well.

from USA Rugby:

Networks Partner with International Rugby Board for Rights to Rugby World Cup in 2011 and 2015

All World Cup Matches to Air across Universal Sports’ Media Platforms

NEW YORK CITY — June 17, 2010 – Universal Sports Network, NBC Sports, and the International Rugby Board (IRB) today announced a partnership that will bring to U.S. audiences unprecedented national television and digital media coverage of the 2011 and 2015 Rugby World Cup tournaments.

The announcement was made by Universal Sports CEO David Sternberg and Mike Miller, CEO and Secretary General, International Rugby Board. The official launch was supported by USA Rugby CEO Nigel Melville and the local New York rugby community in the build-up to the Churchill Cup finals set for Saturday, June 19 at Red Bull Arena.

“This is a huge step in the right direction for USA Rugby,” Melville said. “A major broadcast partner will create a number of new opportunities for the sport, raising rugby’s profile in America, as well as allowing supporters to follow the Eagles on their road to the 2011 Rugby World Cup.”

Universal Sports, the preeminent destination for Olympic-related sports programming, and NBC Sports will provide full, multi-platform coverage of all 48 matches during the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand and the 2015 World Cup in England. Two matches in each tournament, including the Finals in 2011 and 2015, will air either live or on a same-day delay on NBC Sports. Live and delayed match video will also be accessible at www.universalsports.com, and on Universal Sports’ mobile platforms. Universal Sports’ and NBC Sports’ match coverage will feature a studio pre-game show, halftime and post-game shows, as well as several other production enhancements, and will be offered in high definition.

“This is a very significant rights acquisition for Universal Sports, especially given the growing popularity of rugby around the world and in America,” said Sternberg. “We are delighted to be partnering with the IRB for the Rugby World Cup and other top events, and we look forward to showcasing global rugby, at its highest level, for our audiences across all of our platforms—television, online and mobile.”

“Today’s announcement represents a significant milestone in the development of Rugby in the United States,” said Miller. “NBC and Universal Sports are globally renowned for quality broadcast delivery of major sports events in the United States and their considerable experience and passion for sport will deliver the widespread platform for Rugby World Cup to truly capture the hearts and minds of American sports fans.”

The Rugby World Cup is one of the largest and most avidly watched sporting events in the world, drawing an estimated 4.2 billion viewers worldwide during the last championship in France in 2007. The competition next year begins on September 9, 2011, when host New Zealand meets Tonga in Auckland. The tournament field consists of 20 different nations, likely including the United States, who will compete over the course of a month for the coveted Webb Ellis Cup. New Zealand and Australia jointly hosted the first edition of the Rugby World Cup in 1987 while South Africa is the defending champion from 2007.

The agreement extends Universal Sports’ focus on rugby, which will debut at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Since the beginning of June, the network has really built up their rugby coverage. They have teamed up with USA Rugby and televised the U.S. College Sevens Invitational and the six-country Churchill Cup tournament. The final two matches of the Churchill Cup, featuring both the U.S. national team and the England Saxons, will air live from Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, this Saturday, June 19 beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET.

ABOUT UNIVERSAL SPORTS: Universal Sports, a partnership between NBC Sports and InterMedia Partners, LP, serves as the preeminent multiplatform destination for Olympic-related sports programming on television and online. Universal Sports is available in more than 63 million homes, including all of the nation’s top 10 DMAs: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Dallas-Fort Worth and Washington, D.C. Recent expansion includes launches in Boston, Atlanta, Houston, Miami, Denver, Portland, and Jacksonville. Go to UniversalSports.com for a complete list of TV markets. Major world championship and Olympic qualifying events found on Universal Sports range from track and field, skiing, swimming, gymnastics, marathons and cycling, to volleyball, rowing, triathlon, fencing, speed skating and martial arts. UniversalSports.com delivers an immersive experience via live and on-demand competition coverage, interaction with top athletes through blogs and in-depth access to Olympic sports news and information year round. For more information on the availability of the Universal Sports 24-hour television channel, please visit UniversalSports.com.

ABOUT IRB & RUGBY WORLD CUP: Rugby World Cup is the world’s third largest single sports event and the 2011 tournament in New Zealand will be broadcast to a potential audience of over 4 billion in 200 countries. All tournament surpluses generated by commercial revenues underwrite a range of major funding initiatives aimed at increasing global growth and stimulating participation. In total the IRB will invest over £153 million during the period 2009-2012.

ABOUT USA RUGBY: USA RUGBY, founded in 1975, is the national governing body for rugby and is a member of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and the International Rugby Board (IRB). The organization is responsible for the development of boys, girls, high school, collegiate and club rugby programs, as well as the nation’s rugby coaches, referees, administrators and all of its national teams that represent the U.S. in international competitions. As part of this development, USA Rugby hosts a number of courses, clinics, National Championship events and international matches throughout the year. For more information, please visit www.usarugby.org.

CONTACT INFO:

Universal Sports
Kevin Endsley
kendsley@universalsports.com
818-661-4188

Greg Hughes
Ghughes5425@gmail.com

NBC Sports
Adam Freifeld
Adam.freifeld@nbcuni.com

IRB
Dominic Rumbles
Dominic.Rumbles@irb.com

USA Rugby
Sara Wright
swright@usarugby.org

from USA Rugby:

BOULDER, Colo. – The Churchill Cup makes its return to U.S. soil this summer,once again stopping in the City of Glendale, Colo. before making its East Coast debut at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J.

The 2010 lineup showcases the USA Eagles, Canada, England Saxons and tournament newcomers France A, Russia and Uruguay in three rounds of doubleheader pool matches at Infinity Park, Glendale on June 5, 9 and 13.

The pool stages lead into a tripleheader finals day at Red Bull Arena, the new home of the New York Red Bulls Major League Soccer side, on June 19.

“The Churchill Cup is a vital part of our international season and offers top flight international competition, as well as providing increased exposure of the sport to new audiences in the United States,” said Nigel Melville, Chief Executive Officer of USA Rugby.

“We are excited to be returning to Infinity Park and to be staging the finals day at a new venue, the Red Bull Arena, a world-class stadium that provides both players and fans with an unparalleled experience.”

Terry Burwell, Churchill Cup Tournament Director, said: “We are delighted to take Churchill Cup VIII back to Denver and to add Harrison to the 10 other cities in the Canada and USA who have hosted the tournament since 2003. Infinity Park is a top grade dedicated rugby ground and we are looking forward to the pool stages there before a bumper finals day at a superb new facility in the Red Bull Arena.”

In 2009, the first time the Churchill Cup was held entirely in the U.S., the pool matches consistently attracted near sellout crowds to Glendale’s Infinity Park and the tournament hopes to build on past success in 2010.

“In June 2009, rugby enthusiasts from around the world came to Infinity Park in Glendale, Colorado to experience world-class rugby at the 7th Annual Churchill Cup. It is so exciting to see this great sport growing in communities throughout this country. We are honored to host the Churchill Cup again in 2010 at Infinity Park, the first rugby-specific stadium in the U.S,” said Mike Dunafon, Mayor Pro Tem, Glendale, Colo.

The Churchill Cup will be the first non-soccer event held at the Red Bull Arena. After much anticipation, the 25,000 capacity soccer-specific stadium is scheduled for its grand unveiling on Saturday, March 20, when the Red Bulls take on Brazilian side Santos FC.
“We are honored to host the Finals of the Churchill Cup at Red Bull Arena,” said Red Bull New York Managing Director Erik Stover. “It continues our commitment to bringing top international events to the Metropolitan New York area. This event fits well into the schedule of Red Bull Arena as the Red Bulls are on their World Cup break.”

The 2009 Churchill Cup finals were played at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park (Commerce City, Colo.) and saw Ireland A upend perennial victors England Saxons in a six try final effort to claim the Cup. Argentina Jaguars defeated Canada 44-29 to earn the Plate and the USA Eagles took home the Bowl in a 31-13 final over the republic of Georgia.

For more information on the 2010 Churchill Cup visit www.churchillcuprugby.net.

2010 Churchill Cup Pools & Schedule

Pool A
Canada
Uruguay
France A

Pool B
USA
Russia
England Saxons

Schedule
Saturday, June 5
Infinity Park, Glendale, Colorado
Canada v Uruguay
USA v Russia

Wednesday, June 9
Infinity Park, Glendale, Colorado
England Saxons v Russia
France A v Uruguay

Sunday, June 13
Infinity Park, Glendale, Colorado
USA v England Saxons
Canada v France A

Saturday, June 19
Red Bull Arena, Harrison, New Jersey
Finals Day tripleheader

About Infinity Park: Opened in September 2007 with a 4,000-seat game-day capacity, Infinity Park is one of the only rugby-specific stadiums in the United States. Owned and operated by the City of Glendale, it is also home to the Division I Glendale Raptors Rugby Football Club, and boasts a state-of-the-art broadcast production facility (all home games are broadcast live on RugbyZone.com and also on Fox Sports Rocky Mountain), a natural grass turf system, and the Try Club, a uniquely-appointed pub-type clubhouse for players, VIP guests, and sponsors. The Infinity Park complex includes the Glendale Sports Center, a high-tech fitness center with a full range of cardio equipment, weight rooms, basketball court, and deluxe locker room facilities, and the new Infinity Park Event Center, featuring a virtual 360-degree video screen in the 800-seat International Ballroom, as well as smaller meeting rooms for training, board meetings, and conferences.

About the Red Bull Arena: Red Bull Arena is a world-class sports venue located in Harrison, New Jersey. The 25,000-seat stadium features a dynamic form roof that covers all of the seating and features 30 Skyboxes, three premium clubs, two retail outlets and a Kentucky Bluegrass field. Red Bull Arena is the home of the New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer. Red Bull Arena is privately funded stadium and owned by Red Bull GmbH, an Austrian company that produces the worlds leading energy drink. For more information, logo onto www.redbullarena.us.

Churchill Cup Background: The Churchill Cup is an alliance between the English Rugby Football Union (RFU), Rugby Canada and USA Rugby. The tournament was launched in 2003 and aims to develop and grow the sport of rugby union across Canada and the USA. It is named after former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who shared close ties with the United States – his mother was American – and with Canada during the Second World War. With support from the International Rugby Board the tournament has grown in success since 2003 when 5,000 people attended to watch the three Alliance nations in Vancouver. Since its introduction, both men’s and women’s teams from England, USA and Canada have participated although since 2005 it has been a men only event. Invitational sides from Argentina, Ireland, Scotland and New Zealand have all participated, while there was also a women’s competition in 2003 and 2004.

There are several reviews out there of Invictus, but this one comes from Margaret via the Washington Post, thanks so much for sending me the link! Also I am finally going to see the movie myself tonight with a few teammates…I am so pumped! What did you think of the movie?

If 2009 had a most valuable player award for the movies, it would have to go to Matt Damon. Whether he’s appearing in “The Informant!,” a Sarah Silverman Web parody or in Clint Eastwood’s stirring post-apartheid drama, “Invictus,” he has been consistently spot-on and almost breathtakingly self-effacing. He has become that most unlikely Hollywood rarity: a character actor with a matinee-idol face.

In “Invictus,” Damon plays Francois Pienaar, the captain of the South African rugby team the Springboks, which in 1995 won the World Cup. The movie tells the story of that unlikely and politically crucial victory, which as much as anything was the result of the gentle coaxing and adamantine moral suasion of the country’s new president, Nelson Mandela.

Morgan Freeman doesn’t play Mandela as much as inhabit the man, in a performance that seems to embody the very transcendence that Mandela himself has come to stand for. Freeman captures with perfect pitch the inner workings of a man who, put in charge of a country still ravaged by the still-fresh violence and injustices of apartheid, sees an opportunity for healing in the rites and rituals of sport. His job is to forge within the black community a sense of identification with a mostly white team that for years has represented oppression.

Eastwood adopts a flat, uninflected style for “Invictus,” wisely letting this remarkable story tell itself with a minimum of flourish or underlining. The result is a thoroughly absorbing, inspiring movie that, like last year’s “Milk,” features one of the year’s most galvanizing performances. Freeman doesn’t merely impersonate Mandela as much as personify not just political genius but an almost superhuman suppleness of character. Rugby is exciting, sure, but there’s nothing more thrilling than radical forgiveness in action.

from IRB.com:

IRB Council Selects England as RWC 2015 and Japan as RWC 2019 Hosts

The International Rugby Board Council has awarded Rugby World Cup 2015 to England and Rugby World Cup 2019 to Japan. The decision, which was approved by a vote of 16 to 10, ratifies Rugby World Cup Limited’s recommendation announced last month.

IRB Chairman Bernard Lapasset made the announcement at the Burlington Hotel in Dublin and congratulated all four bidding Unions. “All the tenders were of a very high standard and each Union demonstrated that they could host an excellent Rugby World Cup. It is a tribute to the health of the Game and the enormous prestige of RWC that the competing bids were so strong,” said Lapasset.

Rights-Free Photographs: www.gettyimages.com/Editorial/Publicity.aspx
Audio reaction: On IRB website HERE >>
Video News release: Available, see details below

“Both Italy and South Africa submitted extensive and compelling tenders. I would like to thank them on behalf of the IRB Council for the quality of their work and their dedication to the process. The Tender Analysis Report and the RWCL Board’s recommendation were carefully studied by the Council and their assessment concluded that the selection of England and Japan would provide the best combination of host Unions to drive the ongoing development of the Game worldwide.

“We believe that the succession of England and Japan as host nations for RWC will create new opportunities and help maximise commercial revenues for re-investment in the Game. It is an exciting combination for Rugby World Cup and one which we think will enable the sport to reach developing Rugby markets and therefore contribute to the continued growth of the Game and its values worldwide,” added Lapasset.
“The commercial success of RWC is an important element in the progression of our Game and means that developing Rugby markets be considered for the tournament to both reflect and assist the Game’s strategic vision and evolution.

“We are confident that England will deliver a spectacular tournament in 2015 and that Japan, as the first Rugby World Cup host nation in Asia, will mark the beginning of a very exciting chapter in the history of this great tournament. I would like to congratulate both Unions on their selection and the IRB looks forward to working with them on what promise to be two very special Rugby World Cup tournaments,” added Lapasset.
The announcement of the RWC 2015 and RWC 2019 Host Unions is the culmination of an extensive tender process that kicked off in August 2008. It is also the first time that two tournaments have been awarded at the same time.

As the world’s third-largest sporting event, Rugby World Cup is the driving force behind the global development of Rugby worldwide. The tournament’s commercial success provides the IRB with the platform to invest up to £150 million between 2009-2012 across all 116 Member Unions in the form of annual Union grants and the Strategic Investment Programme that is designed to increase the competitiveness of the Game.

If you haven’t seen the powerful video from the 2009 ESPY awards concerning the 1995 Rugby World Cup video, check it out below! The 2009 ESPY Awards were held at Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on Tuesday evening. The event hosted by Samuel L. Jackson was hyped to be one of the best ESPYS of all time as in the past year we have seen great sporting performance throughout the sporting board.

The night was reserved for two very special awards, Athlete Of The Year and The Arthur Ash Courage Awards. Former South African President Nelson Mandela was honoured with the Arthur Ash Courage award for the way in which he united a country that has been racially dived for nearly half a century through sports. Mandela used the 1995 Rugby World Cup which was held in South Africa to bring all South Africans as one, to see each other as equals and erase the past that has divided South Africa. With the inspiration and motivation Mandela gave the Springboks, the South African rugby team went on to win the Rugby Cup World and through that moment 43million South Africans were united in an act of magic, the ‘Madiba Magic’.

Other Rugby Video Mondays:
7/27/2009: Still no USA vs Canada Video?
7/20/2009: Bloodfest 7s Final – Satiated Beavers vs Phatties
7/13/2009: Tyra McGrady USA U20 Try against Wales
7/6/2009: USA A vs Canada A Video & Great Defense by USA Women’s Nation Team Player…Mel Denham
6/29/2009: USA vs Canada?
6/22/2009: MARFU vs Pacific U23 NASCs Highlights
6/15/2009: West Scrum Try & a Highlight Reel of MARFU vs NRU from U23 NASCs
6/8/2009: Philadelphia Gets Dirty…

Please keep sending me your favorite videos to scrumhalfconnection@gmail.com! Make sure to check out the YSC VimeoChannel or my Youtube channel…and you can subscribe to both if you like, but keep in mind that all new videos will be onVimeo only as they are recorded in High Definition.