RWC Draw
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^^ Although there will still be confusion moving forward probably, because the unions can "nominate' who their second team is.
E.g. A confusing example from last year while the U20s were still an acceptable second team:
For example England Saxons recently traveled to play South Africa ‘A’, but because South Africa had nominated their u20 side as their ‘next senior representative team’, the matches did not count towards the eligibility regulations, an obviously ridiculous situation.
There will still be room for confusion as the IRB let the unions nominate the team, rather than create a structured sector called "A Internationals".
So the FFR last year announced they had set up a deal with French Barbarians as their second team. A historical invitation club associated with festival rugby ...
The Saxons, the JABS, Emerging Springboks, another team with festival roots Irish Wolfhounds.
The All Blacks last year played a France XV, while the Maori All Blacks played the French Barbarians, none of these are capture international games.
There will be more clusterfucks in the future.
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^^ Although there will still be confusion moving forward probably, because the unions can "nominate' who their second team is.
E.g. A confusing example from last year while the U20s were still an acceptable second team:
For example England Saxons recently traveled to play South Africa ‘A’, but because South Africa had nominated their u20 side as their ‘next senior representative team’, the matches did not count towards the eligibility regulations, an obviously ridiculous situation.
There will still be room for confusion as the IRB let the unions nominate the team, rather than create a structured sector called "A Internationals".
So the FFR last year announced they had set up a deal with French Barbarians as their second team. A historical invitation club associated with festival rugby ...
The Saxons, the JABS, Emerging Springboks, another team with festival roots Irish Wolfhounds.
The All Blacks last year played a France XV, while the Maori All Blacks played the French Barbarians, none of these are capture international games.
There will be more clusterfucks in the future.
Actually, France designated the French Barbarians as it's second national XVs team from July 2017.
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@stargazer said in RWC Draw:
^^ Although there will still be confusion moving forward probably, because the unions can "nominate' who their second team is.
E.g. A confusing example from last year while the U20s were still an acceptable second team:
For example England Saxons recently traveled to play South Africa ‘A’, but because South Africa had nominated their u20 side as their ‘next senior representative team’, the matches did not count towards the eligibility regulations, an obviously ridiculous situation.
There will still be room for confusion as the IRB let the unions nominate the team, rather than create a structured sector called "A Internationals".
So the FFR last year announced they had set up a deal with French Barbarians as their second team. A historical invitation club associated with festival rugby ...
The Saxons, the JABS, Emerging Springboks, another team with festival roots Irish Wolfhounds.
The All Blacks last year played a France XV, while the Maori All Blacks played the French Barbarians, none of these are capture international games.
There will be more clusterfucks in the future.
Actually, France designated the French Barbarians as it's second national XVs team from July 2017.
Yes, but they played the MABs who aren't NZ's second team.
But if the French Barbarians were to play the Emerging Springboks on a Wednesday with the wind blowing from the southeast, that will be a capture match.
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Mess officially sorted, line drawn under and no one did it on purpose.
http://www.scottishrugby.org/news/18/05/15/russia-replace-romania-rwc2019-pool
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World Rugby has announced the rescheduling of Samoa’s Rugby World Cup 2019 qualification matches within a new programme of matches in June and July. The programme will provide certainty for the union, players and fans, while maximising preparation in advance of the qualifiers. 16/05/2018 02:59 Rescheduling is necessary to maximise time following the conclusion of independent disputes committee review of matters relating to the 2017-18 Rugby Europe Championship, a competition run by Rugby Europe that doubles as Rugby World Cup 2019 qualification. Subject to any appeal of the disputes committee's decision, the winner of the European play-off between Germany and Portugal, provisionally scheduled for 9 June will play Samoa home and away in the play-off to determine the final Pool A place. The first leg will be played in Apia on 30 June with the return leg in Europe on 14 July. The winner on aggregate will qualify for Japan 2019 as the play-off winner, joining Ireland, Scotland, Japan and Russia in Pool A. The loser will progress to the Repechage competition in November. The rescheduled dates will enable the least-possible disruption for Samoa’s European and Southern Hemisphere based players, who will be released under Regulation 9, which covers all Rugby World Cup qualifiers. It also enables all qualifiers to be completed prior to the Repechage competition. In order to maximise Samoa’s preparation for these important matches, World Rugby is also funding Samoa’s entry into the 2018 World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup in Fiji between 9-16 June, which features Fiji, Georgia and Tonga. World Rugby would like to thank all unions for their patience and full support of the rescheduled fixtures which provide certainty for teams and fans.
What I find interesting is this bit:
The rescheduled dates will enable the least-possible disruption for Samoa’s European and Southern Hemisphere based players, who will be released under Regulation 9, which covers all Rugby World Cup qualifiers.
There was a lot of outrage a few weeks ago about changes to the June schedule on WR's website (without any explanation or announcement), with people assuming there was some kind of conspiracy against Samoa because they wouldn't be able/allowed to field their players from the European competitions. Apparently, no one bothered to check the rules again (nor did they notice that the same would apply to their European opponent, with Spain/Portugal etc also having players in those European competitions). Good to see all international players must be released by clubs.
From Regulation 9:
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More to the point is that WR are now funding Samoa for the quadrangular in Suva. So, they should now be better financially resourced to prepare and field a better team for the RWC qualifier events.
If they were still to play Romania or Spain that could have been an issue. But, they should account for Portugal or Germany ok.
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On the news tonight Seilala Mapusua has the same concern I have about NH clubs not releasing Samoan players for the playoffs, particularly the second game as it falls outside the June international window.
Regulation 9 doesn't mean a lot if the players are concerned the clubs will withhold salary payments as they have done at previous RWCs. In the end the player just makes themselves unavailable for selection.
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Independent Appeal Committee decision regarding Romania and Spain
Following appeals lodged by Romania and Spain, an Independent Appeal Committee has upheld the decision of the Independent Disputes Committee relating to breaches of player eligibility during the European regional Rugby World Cup 2019 qualification process.
Following appeals lodged by Romania and Spain, an Independent Appeal Committee has upheld the decision of the Independent Disputes Committee relating to breaches of player eligibility during the European regional Rugby World Cup 2019 qualification process. On 15 May, an Independent Disputes Committee found that Belgium, Romania and Spain had breached World Rugby Regulation 8 by fielding players who were either ineligible to represent them or previously captured by another union. The Independent Disputes Committee issued competition points penalties as well as suspended fines. Romania and Spain subsequently lodged appeals. An Independent Appeal Committee, comprising World Rugby’s independent Judicial Panel Chairman Christopher Quinlan QC (chair), former USA international and World Rugby Hall of Fame inductee Phaidra Knight and chair of the EPCR Independent Disciplinary Panel Mike Hamlin, was convened to examine the following grounds for appeal submitted by the unions: * Romania’s appeal of the points sanction handed down by the Independent Disputes Committee, which it argued was manifestly excessive * Spain’s appeal of the decision of the Independent Disputes Committee, which (i) decided that the match between Belgium versus Spain should not be replayed; and (ii) found that two ineligible players were fielded during the European regional Rugby World Cup 2019 qualification process and (iii) Spain also argued that the sanction was excessive In accordance with the scope of the appeals process, Romania and Spain needed to prove a) the decision of the Independent Disputes Committee was in error; b) in the interests of justice that the decision should be overturned and/or c) that the sanction imposed was manifestly excessive or wrong in principle. In applying that test, following a full review of the evidence, including statements, submissions and new material placed before it from Romania, Spain and World Rugby, the Independent Appeal Committee found: * The Independent Disputes Committee followed the correct approach in imposing a points deduction that was consistent with decisions of numerous panels in different tournaments and leagues within the game, including previous Rugby World Cup qualifiers * Romania’s appeal was dismissed on each ground: In regard to the circumstances of the breaches, the Independent Appeal Committee found there was no reason to move away from the long-established and consistent principle (including in 2003 and 2019 RWC qualifiers) of imposing a points deduction. The total imposed, given the facts, was not manifestly excessive * Spain’s appeal was dismissed on each ground: The Independent Appeal Committee upheld the Independent Disputes Committee’s finding that the two players were previously captured by France and therefore and ineligible for Spain. The Committee therefore determined that the sanction imposed was consistent with established practice. Following consideration, the replaying of the Belgium versus Spain versus match would have proved academic in light of the points deduction.
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World Rugby statement in response to the Independent Appeal Committee decision
World Rugby welcomes the conclusion of the independent disciplinary process relating to the European qualification process for Rugby World Cup 2019 and is determined to avoid a repeat of these unfortunate circumstances in the future.
Confirmation that the decision of the Independent Disputes Committee stands following a detailed review by an Independent Appeal Committee, means that Russia are confirmed as Europe 1 and will take their place in Pool A at Rugby World Cup 2019, while Germany will host Portugal on 16 June with the winner progressing to face Samoa in Apia on 30 June and in Europe on 14 July.
While the independent Committee, comprising significant playing and legal experience determined that mistakes were made by Belgium, Romania and Spain, World Rugby is committed to ensuring that key learnings are actioned in partnership with unions and regional associations to enhance Regulation 8 (national team eligibility) understanding and compliance by all: * World Rugby to undertake a full review of eligibility processes operational within the game with the objective of ensuring universal best-practice and compliance * World Rugby will partner with unions and International Rugby Players to ensure that all young international players are educated regarding Regulation 8 * While eligibility compliance is the responsibility of the player and union, World Rugby will explore the viability of a universal eligibility database of players who have been ‘captured’ by an international team, supplementing significant support already given to unions by World Rugby in assisting with eligibility enquiries * World Rugby will oversee match official appointments at all stages of future Rugby World Cup qualifiers, not just the matches that it runs * World Rugby is undertaking a full review of Rugby Europe tournament delivery in the context of Rugby World Cup qualification in partnership with the regional association
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@stargazer said in RWC Draw:
Germany has beaten Portugal 16 - 13 overnight. That means that Germany will play a home-and-away play-off with Samoa for a spot in pool A.
The first game will be on 30 June in Apia.
The second game will be played on 14 July in Germany.Battle between the former colonisers and colony!
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How's this for a show of confidence?
Must be getting worried about the possibility of them not qualifying and thus missing out on an occasional complementary, be it playing jersey or match tickets, from the team allocation. Goodness they could also miss out on their annual funding grant from the IRB if they are not careful, and that would be a major dampner for those that benefit from that.
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Line-ups for tomorrow's first RWC qualifier between Samoa and Germany:
Samoa:
1 Logovii Mulipola, 2 Motu Matu'u, 3 Paul Alo-Emile, 4 Josh Tyrell, 5 Chris Vui (C), 6 Piula Fa'aselele, 7 Jack Lam, 8 Ofisa Treviranus, 9 Melani Matavao, 10 Tusi Pisi, 11 Sinoti Sinoti, 12 Alapati Leiua, 13 Paul Perez, 14 Ed Fidow, 15 Ah See Tuala.
Reserves: 16 Seilala Lam, 17 Jordan Lay, 18 Viliamu Afatia, 19 Joe Tekori, 20 TJ Ioane, 21 Dwayne Polataivao, 22 Patrick Fa'apale, 23 Alofa Alofa.
Unavailable due to injury: Rey Lee-Lo
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Germany:
1 Julius Nostadt (C), 2 Michail Tyumenev, 3 Samy Fuchsel, 4 Timo Vollenkemper, 5 Eric Marks, 6 Marcel Henn, 7 Jaco Otto, 8 Sebastian Ferreira, 9 Sean Armstrong, 10 Christopher Hilsenbeck, 11 Nikolai Klewinghaus, 12 Raynor Parkinson, 13 Steffen Liebig, 14 Marcel Coetzee, 15 Maxime Oltmann.
Reserves: 16 Mark Fairhurst, 17 Jarrid Els, 18 Jorn Schroder, 19 Antony Dickinson, 20 Falk Duwe, 21 Tim Menzel, 22 Pierre Mathurin, 23 Pascal Fischer.
LIVE
Kick-off is at 2.10pm NZ time (3.10pm local)NZ: Sky Sport 1 from 2.00pm
World Rugby YouTube channel
Germany Rugby's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/DRVRugby/ -
In the event the master race beats Samoa, I can already picture Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu's racist tweet.