Monday, June 15, 2009

International Rugby Results: 14 June

14.06.2009
Ivory Coast 13, Namibia 13 in Abidjan (WCQ Africa R2; Africa Cup SF)

The Ivory Coast came back twice the level the scores and still place themselves in with a chance to qualify for the final. They will need to win in Windhoek on the 27 June to accomplish that. It will be a tough task as I suspect the Coasters will not travel as well as the Namibians.

England Saxons 56, United States 17 in Denver (Churchill Cup)

The sorry state of USA rugby continues. The Saxons have booked themselves into the final next Saturday, thus defending the title they won last year. For the third year in a row the USA will battle, probably Georgia, for the wooden spoon.

To come: Ireland 'A' v Georgia

3 comments:

  1. I wonder what the tie-breaker will be if the game in Namibia is drawn as well. You say that the Ivory Coast needs to win. Is that because the higher-ranked team would go through if it's all level?

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  2. Hi Alan. I probably meant Ivory Coast need to win to ensure they go ahead. As for another draw I honestly don't know. I'm sure if I trawl the IRB website I'll get the answer. Might be quicker if I ask that question at FIRA-AER forum.

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  3. Just read the exchange over at FIRA. (For some reason, I can't register. Every time I try, I get a message that basically says, "We'll get back to you"...but they never do. Maybe it goes to my spam folder.)

    Anyway, I think it's entirely plausible that the IRB lets Africa run it any way they see fit instead of having a uniform system. After all, A5N and ENC both have very different points systems.

    An idea for another post, either here or there: How serious a flaw is it that rugby does not have a single global standard for standings points, like soccer does? And what is the ideal system?

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