Your Scrumhalf Connection

Courtesy of Paki’s Corner, view the Best Tries of the 2010 USA Sevens Tournament:

and courtesy of Monty, here is the video of Kevin Swiryn proposing to his girlfriend Lauren Shaughnessey, sooo cute!

To view more YSC videos hover over the heading ‘Videos’ on the navigation bar up top and choose Rugby Video Monday.

Please continue sending in your videos and I will keep posting them! Send them to wendy@scrumhalfconnection.com.

With 200 days to go until the 2010 Women’s Rugby World Cup kicks off in England, it is time to start thinking about getting your travel and accommodations together for London! YSC is proud to be partnered with Stat Tours to bring all YSC fans the best trip at the best cost. Stats Tours will take care of all the accommodations, game tickets, transportation and overall organization of your trip.

Whether you are traveling as an individual, group or team, Stats Tours will be happy to create a unique package for you to make sure your trip to London is the trip of a lifetime! For a sample itinerary with pricing as an individual, go here. For a sample itinerary for a team that would like to play matches while they are in London and attend the RWC, go here. Please note that pricing is even cheaper if you have a group. If a group is not available, you can be placed in a group, please email wendy@scrumhalfconnection.com for details. Please note that packages can be paid in installments but an initial deposit to hold airline tickets is required. Price not locked in until deposit is received.

The sixth Women’s Rugby World Cup, which will be played from August 20 – September 5, has already attracted significant interest as it features 26 matches at Surrey Sports Park, Guildford and four at the Twickenham Stoop so we encourage you to get your package purchased ASAP!

Stay tuned to Your Scrumhalf Connection for exclusive coverage of the 2010 RWC as YSC will be reporting live from England and will have player interviews, results, scores and videos LIVE!

from USA Rugby:

LAS VEGAS – Before a lively USA Sevens crowd at Sam Boyd Stadium, the USA Women fell to China in the USA Women’s International Invitational Sevens final.

China got on board early in the first half when Zhao Xin Qi broke free from the U.S. defense and touched down for a try. The U.S. spent the remainder of the half defending its own end until China’s Guon Qi Shi crossed over to put China up 10 points by the half.

Although the U.S. came close to scoring near the end, following a quick break from Ida Bernstein, they could not finish the drive, leaving the score at 10-0 at the final whistle.

Day 1 Recap
Following an exciting day of pool play, the USA White team and the China Women’s Sevens National Team will face off for the USA Rugby Women’s International Invitational title on Sunday, Feb. 14. The Cup match is scheduled to kickoff amidst the USA Sevens finals action (5:06 pm PST) at Sam Boyd Stadium.

“The White Team gave a huge amount of effort and played with tremendous understanding,” recently appointed U.S. Women’s Sevens National Team Coach Ric Suggitt said, after the USA side clinched its place in the final.

“China played with great width and power against France, so I fully expect them to play the same away against us,” he added. “The team is extremely excited to have the opportunity to play on the main pitch. They hadn’t really thought about it all day, but once the semi-final was won, it really hit home. We hope the crowd can get behind us.”

The USA White Team kicked off the day on a high note with a 19-12 victory against China. Jenna Flateman led the scoring charge with two tries, while Elizabeth Trujilo dotted one down and Beth Black converted two.

Building on the momentum of its opening round victory over China, USA White put up a five try effort over Germany, with Kelly Griffin bolting in for two, and Ida Bernstein, Lisa Henneman, and Lauren Hoeck each contributing a try. Beth Black successfully converted two in the 29-12 final tally.

In its final pool match, USA White shut down the Canadian National University side 15-7 to earn a rematch against its northern neighbors in the Cup semifinals, where it put up a consistent 17-7 final to earn its place in the title match. Lauren Shaughnessy got the U.S. out to an early lead with a try inside the game’s first minute and picked off a stray Canadian pass for the final try of the game. Jenna Flateman notched her fourth try on the day and Beth Black kicked one of the extras.

Despite kicking off to a slow start, the young USA Blue team found its groove in its fifth place meeting versus Germany, surging to a 38-12 victory to close out the day. Jessica Sexauer led the way for the U.S. with four tries, while Melissa Smit kicked for eight points and San Juanita Moreno and Tanya Carlson each contributed a try to the effort.

“With an incredibly young team and having played two tough games, I was delighted to see the Blue Team finish with such a convincing win over Germany,” Coach Suggitt said of the USA’s second side.

Earlier in the day, the USA Blue opened with a 27-10 loss at the hands of France, was edged out by Canada in the late minutes, 10-17, and finished pool play with a 36-0 shutout loss to eventual finalists China.

To view all of the results of the 2010 USA Sevens Women’s International go here.

Thanks to Monty the newest YSC team member, we have tons of photos from the Opening Ceremonies and Day 1 action as well, go here and here to view.

from RBS 6 Nations 2010:

Irish captain Fiona Coghlan in action against the Italians in the 2008 Six Nations

Ireland Women’s coach Kevin West has announced his first RBS 6 Nations team for the 2010 Championship opener against Italy in Ashbourne on Friday, kick-off 7.35pm.

West has included several familiar faces and a sprinkling of new talent with four new caps in the starting XV.

Up front team captain Fiona Coghlan, who will be winning her 49th cap at prop, is joined by Emer McManamly, earning her sixth, and the uncapped Chris Fanning of Highfield and Munster at hooker.

There is another new cap in the second row as Mary Louise Reilly joins Kate O’Loughlin. Reilly is from Navan RFC and should bring some strong local support to the game in Ashbourne.

The highly experienced Tania Rosser is at scrum half and will be partnered at 10 by Joanne O’Sullivan and with a combined total of over 90 appearances they should provide strong leadership while Nora Stapleton of Old Belvedere will earn her first cap on the right wing with Alison Miller of Portlaoise making her debut on the left.

The Ireland Women’s team are based in Ashbourne Rugby Club for their championship campaign. The club are pulling out all the stops to support the team with buses set to ferry supporters from Dublin for the games.

Irish XV to play Italy in the Six Nations on Friday, 5 February in Ashbouene, kck-off, 7.35pm:
15 Niamh Briggs, 14 Nora Stapleton, 13 Grace Davitt, 12 Shannon Houston, 11 Alison Miller, 10 Joanne O’Sullivan, 9 Tania Rosser,
1 Fiona Coghlan, 2. Chris Fanning, 3 Emer McManamly, 4 Kate O’Loughlin, 5 Marie Louise Reilly, 6 Carol Staunton, 7 Claire Molloy,
8 Joy Neville

Replacements
16. Gillian Bourke, 17 Lauren Day, 18 Caroline Mahon (UL Bohemians – Leinster), 19. Louise Austin, 20 Louise Beamish, 21 Helen Brosnan, 22 Eliza Downey

For a full schedule of all the 2010 Six Nations action, go here. For travel packages to England for the 2010 Women’s Rugby World Cup, go here.

Since it harder than heck to find any information about the Women’s International 7s on the USA Sevens website or on USA Rugby, Monty, my newest Guest Blogger and member of the YSC team has hunted down the USA Women’s Roster. Just remember that you saw it first on YSC! Also, don’t forget to read Monty’s interview with Lauren Shaughnessey, one the 7s Eagles, read it here.

Also below is the Women’s International Schedule and the Invitational Schedule is posted as well. I will be at USA 7s this again this year (with my sweet media credentials!) so I will be posting live scores again!

UPDATE (2/11): Just heard that they are working on getting the Women’s International matches streamed on the web, if you are not at USA Sevens, tune in to the USA Rugby Ustream channel to watch! Make sure to check back here for LIVE score updates.

U.S. Women’s Sevens Teams Set for International Invitational Sevens Tournament

BOULDER, Colo. – The recently named U.S. Women’s Sevens Team coach, Ric Suggitt, has announced his pool of players for the USA Rugby Women’s International Invitational Sevens Tournament in Las Vegas.

“With 24 players invited to this event, it gives me a great opportunity to see a lot of the national talent and will be a great base to start from. We will field two squads in Las Vegas – USA White (first team) and USA Blue (second team),” Suggitt said. “With input from Alex Williams, Kathy Flores, Bryn Chivers and the previous coaching staff, there are a lot of new names on the list, but we know both teams will be very competitive.”

Hosted by USA Rugby, and held in conjunction with the Las Vegas Invitational leading up to the Men’s IRB World Series USA Sevens, the Women’s International Invitational will hold pool play and early knockout stages on Friday, Feb. 12, before taking a day off on Saturday and finishing with the final on Sunday afternoon (kickoff 5:06 p.m.) in the Sam Boyd Stadium (see attached schedule and tournament information form). All Friday matches will be webcast live via UStream. (www.ustream.tv/usarugby).

The field of competitors for the 2010 Women’s International Invitational includes USA White, France, China, USA Blue, Germany and the Canadian National University sides, all competing for the trophy.

“I am very pleased with the number and quality of Women’s National Sevens Teams participating in the event this year, given that it is year one of the Sevens World Cup cycle and there is a 15s Women’s Rugby World Cup later this year,” said Alex Williams, Women’s High Performance Manager. “Each of these countries is committed to building their women’s sevens program, particularly in light of the Olympic decision, and it means we will see a lot of young, talented women rugby players on the pitch in Las Vegas.”

“In addition to an entire day of world-class rugby on Friday, it’s great for fans to have the opportunity to watch the International Women’s final on Sunday afternoon in the stadium, prior to the IRB Men’s Finals,” she added.

All of the invited teams should prove tough competition. France were Plate Semifinalists at the inaugural women’s event at the 2009 Sevens World Cup. China first gained international notice at the USA’s International Invitational Tournament in 2007 and then won the Bowl at the Sevens World Cup last March.

Germany is a team on the rise, while Canadian Universities will showcase the best young players from North of the border. All teams are expected to bring a lot more competition to the table now that Sevens is an Olympic sport.

“As we begin our quest for the 2016 Olympics we have cast a wide net and we will use these first two years to build a solid foundation. We looked at 60 plus athletes for this first event of 2010 and we’re excited to begin our journey alongside one of the major IRB tournaments,” Suggitt added.

For more information on the U.S. Women’s Sevens Team, please visit www.usarugby.org/goto/women_sevens. For more information on the USA Sevens event in Las Vegas, please visit www.usasevens.com.

USA Blue & White Roster
Jeanna Beard (Severn River)
Ida Bernstein (Keystone)
Elizabeth Black (NOVA)
Tanya Carlson (Chicago North Shore)
Dani Cicuto (Navy)
Katie Dowty (Beantown)
Chastity Dunnaville (Navy)
Jenna Flateman (New York)
Kelly Griffin (Berkeley)
Lisa Henneman (PSU)
Cade Hildreth (NOVA)
Lauren Hoeck (NOVA)
Bisi Ibrahim (Stanford)
Jennifer Lui (Chicago North Shore)
Tyra McGrady (Indiana University)
San Juanita Moreno (ORSU)
Christiane Pheil (PSU)
Jessica Sexauer (Army)
Lauren Shaughnessy (Emerald City)
Melissa Smit (Belmont Shore)
Elizabeth Trujilo (Navy)
JoAnne Ward (Albany)
Brittany Woodard (DC Furies)
Annie Zeigler (PSU)