RUGBY TEST RESULTS: Friday 14 May

14.05.2010

Arabian Gulf 21, Korea 19, in Dubai (WCQ Asia R2; Asia5Nations)
Lebanon 27, Jordan 8 in Dubai (Friendly)

Briefly
Korea slumped to yet another defeat. With only Kazakhstan to play they look likely to take bottom place. But does that mean relegation? With the demise of the AGRFU will perhaps United Arab Emirates take their place? Will keep you posted once something official is announced.

Lebanon and Jordan played their first ever rugby test match. Lebanon being the winner. The new Gulf region is on its way.

ASIA 5 NATIONS TEST RUGBY

14.05.2010
Korea v Arabian Gulf in Dubai (WCQ Asia R2; Asia5Nations)

Venue: Sevens Stadium

Referee:

Preview
This will be the final test played by the present Arabian Gulf Rugby Union. As explained on a previous thread, the Union will disband and individual nations will form their own unions. It is a special occasion, a changing from one era to another. A win to Korea would certainly save an embarrassing situation in which they are bottom of the table. I expect, though, that Sri Lanka will be promoted to join Asia5Nations for 2011 without any relegation as the Gulf Union disbands.

Previous Encounters
09.05.2008 Korea 43-20 in Doha (Asia5Nations)
05.05.2006 Korea 20-5 in Al Ain (WCQ Asia R4, Division 1)

GWC Rugby Rankings
Asia Table-Arabian Gulf 4th, Korea 5th

Prediction: The Gulf to go out with a bang, and win by 7 points.

Teams

Arabian Gulf Squad
Taif Al Delamie (Lansdowne FC, Ireland)
Paul Beard
Rama Chand (Dubai?)
David Clark (Dubai Exiles)
Michael Cox-Hill, Capt. (Dubai Exiles)
Nicholas Croker (Doha RFC)
Nicolas De Marco (French Club)
Trent Eastgate (Dubai Dragons)
Lindsay Fiztgerald (Doha RFC)
Mark Gathercole (Dubai Exiles)
Daniel Heal (Dubai Dragons)
Sean Hurley (Dubai Dragons)
Byron Kraemer (Dubai Dragons)
Edward Le Pine-Williams (Dubai Dragons)
James Love (Hartpury College, England)
John MacDonald (Cardiff University, Wales)
Duncan Murray (Dubai Hurricanes)
Rory Power (Bahrain RFC)
Michael Riley (Dubai Exiles)
Steven Smith (Dubai Hurricanes)
Karl Sutcliffe (Bahrain RFC)
Jason Voyce (Muscat RFC)

Head Coach: Bruce Birtwistle

Adapted from http://www.agrfu.com/news.php?newsid=228

Korea
Team not yet available

TEST MATCH RUGBY: Japan and Asia 5 Nations

08.05.2010
Arabian Gulf v Japan in Tokyo (WCQ Asia R2; Asia5Nations)

Venue: Prince Chichibu Stadium

Referee:

Preview
Japan looks certain favourite to take the Asia 1 spot at the Rugby World Cup finals. Their 71-13 win over Korea last weekend will cause alarm bells to ring throughout Asia.

This game will be huge for the visiting Arabian Gulf side. Their record against Japan is not good. The last time they played in Japan, in 2008, they lost by a huge 114-6! This will be their third game in three weeks, two of them away. They did defeat Hong Kong at home 16-9 last weekend but Japan will be a different prospect.

Japanese coach John Kirwan has rung the changes from last week's side. “We want to give everyone an opportunity,” said Kirwan. “But we have to balance not putting the World Cup at risk.” So there is a smattering of experienced players. The only real hope the Gulf has is that this Japanese combination will not work. That I can't see happening.

Another preview of this game here http://www.agrfu.com/news.php?newsid=225

Previous Encounters
03.05.2008 Japan 114-6 in Osaka (Asia5Nations)
16.04.2006 Japan 82-9 in Tokyo (WCQ Asia R4, Division 1)
20.04.2003 Japan XV 79-5 in Colombo (Asia Tournament, Pool A)

GWC Rugby Rankings
Asia Table-Japan 1st, Arabian Gulf 3rd

Prediction: Japan by 65 points

Teams

Arabian Gulf
15.James Love (Hartpury College, England)
14.Joshua Sherrin
13.Trent Eastgate (Dubai Dragons)
12.Taif Al Delamie (Lansdowne FC, Ireland)
11.Steven Smith (Dubai Hurricanes)
10.Duncan Murray (Dubai Hurricanes)
9.John MacDonald (Cardiff University, Wales)
8.David Clark (Dubai Exiles)
7.Byron Kraemer (Dubai Dragons)
6.Karl Sutcliffe (Bahrain RFC)
5.Jason Voyce (Muscat RFC)
4.Michael Cox-Hill, Capt. (Dubai Exiles)
3.Nicholas Croker (Doha RFC)
2.Rory Power (Bahrain RFC)
1.Michael Riley (Dubai Exiles)
Replacements
16. Daniel Heal (Dubai Dragons)
17. Mark Gathercole (Dubai Exiles)
18. Steven Little (Dubai Dragons)
19. Edward Le Pine Williams (Dubai Dragons)
20. Sean Hurley (Dubai Dragons)
21. Paul Beard
22. Ross Stapleton (Bahrain RFC)

Head Coach: Bruce Birtwistle

Adapted from http://www.agrfu.com/news.php?newsid=224

Japan
15. Kaoru Matsushita (Toyota) Age 26, 2 tests
14. Kosuke Endo (Toyota) 29, 26
13. Alisi Tupuailei (Canon) 29, 3
12. Ryo Kanazawa (Ricoh) 28, New cap
11. Yasunori Nagatomo (Suntory) 25, 1
10. James Arlidge (Newport Gwent Dragons, Wales) 30, 17
9. Tomoki Yoshida (Toshiba) 28, 20
8. Takashi Kikutani, Capt. (Toyota) 30, 29
7. Sione Vatuvei (Sanyo) 27, 1
6. Masakazu Toyota (Coca Cola) 23, 6
5. Toshizumi Kitagawa (Toyota) 29, 26
4. Luke Thompson (Kintetsu) 29, 19
3. Shinsuke Nakamura (Suntory) 22, 2
2. Hiroki Yuhara (Toshiba) 26, 1
1. Hisateru Hirashima (Kobe Steel) 27, 11
Replacements
16. Takeshi Kizu (Tokai Univ.) 21, 1
17. Nozomu Fujita (Honda) 25, 1
18 Hitoshi Ono (Toshiba) 32, 38
19. Touetsu Taufa (Kintetsu) 29, 10
20. Koji Wada (Toyota) 25, New cap
21. Ryohei Yamanaka (Waseda Univ.) 21, New cap
22. Ryan Nicholas (Suntory) 30, 18

Head Coach: John Kirwan

Adapted from http://www.rugbyjapan.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=844&Itemid=1

TEST RUGBY RESULT: Arabian Gulf Cause Upset

30.01.2010
Arabian Gulf 16, Hong Kong 9 in Bahrain (WCQ Asia R2; Asia5Nations)

Briefly
Wow! Another upset. The battle for the vital second place is on. But what if Korea does the unthinkable and upsets Japan today Saturday. Suddenly there is a lot of interest in Asian rugby.

RUGBY TEST: Hong Kong in the Middle East

30.04.2010
Hong Kong v Arabian Gulf in Bahrain (WCQ Asia R2; Asia5Nations)

Venue: Bahrain RFU Club

Referee:

Preview
Both teams showed some impressive form last weekend. Both teams need to win this crucial encounter for different reasons.

Last Weekend in Almaty, The Arabian Gulf held the strong Kazakhstan team until the dying stages of the match. The locals ran away with two quick tries in the last minutes of the game. It was a disappointing experience for the Arabian Gulf team. They must win at home on Friday to have any hope of competiting for the second Asian World Cup position.

Hong Kong must win this match away if it is to have a chance for that second spot. A good win last weekend will be all for naught if they don't win against the least favoured team in this competition. “We must come back with nothing less than a win. The Arabian Gulf will be strong and well organized and will be extremely motivated for their first home match of the HSBC Asian 5 Nations. We have to improve on our Korea performance to ensure a win in Bahrain", said Hong Kong coach Dai Rees. First choice prop Nigel Hobler is the only injury from the game v Korea with Alex Baddely being brought to the bench. No.8 Simon Leung will captain the side again.

Hong Kong Simon Leung was inspirational against Korea. Image thanks to www.agrfu.com

Previous Encounters
26.04.2008 Hong Kong 20-12 in Al Ain (Asia5Nations)
09.05.2004 Hong Kong 12-5 in Hong Kong (Asia Tournament)
20.04.2002 Arabian Gulf 17-7 in Hong Kong (WCQ Asia R1, Pool B)
26.01.2001 Arabian Gulf 55-22 in Dubai (Friendly)
18.06.2000 Hong Kong 21-20 in Hong Kong (Friendly)

GWC Rugby Rankings
World Table-Hong Kong 26th, Arabian Gulf 28th
Asia Table-Hong Kong 3rd, Arabian Gulf 5th

Prediction: Hong Kong by 14 points

Teams

Hong Kong
15. Alex McQueen
14. Salom Yiu Kam Shing
13. Rowan Varty
12. Simon Hempel (vice captain)
11. Tom McQueen
10. Keith Robertson
9. Tim Alexander
8. Simon Leung Ho Yam (captain)
7. Mark Wright
6. Nick Hewson
5. Charles French
4. Nigel Clarke
3. Jack Bennett
2. Jon Abel
1. Peter Spizziri
Replacements
16. Alex Ng Wai Shing
17. Alex Baddeley
18. Renaud Chavanis
19. Kwok Ka Chun
20. So Hok Ken
21. James Kibble
22. Tsang Hing Hung
Head Coach: Dai Rees

Arabian Gulf:
15. James Love
14. Ross Stapleton
13. Trent Eastgate
12. Taif DeLamie
11. Joshua Sherrin
10. Duncan Murray
9. Jonathon MacDonald
8. David Clark
7. Byron Kraemer
6. Edward LePine – Williams
5. Jason Voyce
4. Michael Cox-Hill (captain)
3. Nicholas Croker
2. Rory Power
1. Michael Riley
Replacements
16. Daniel Heal
17. Mark Gathercole
18. Steven Little
19. Karl Sutcliffe
20. Sean Hurley
21. Paul Beard
22. Nicholas DiMarco
Head Coach: Bruce Birtwistle

Team lists adapted from http://www.agrfu.com/news.php?newsid=221

ASIA 5 NATIONS RUGBY: Arabian Gulf with Tough Task

24.04.2010
Arabian Gulf v Kazakhstan in Almaty (WCQ Asia R2; Asia5Nations)

Venue: Students Stadium

Referee:

Preview
The Arabian Gulf look to be taking only nineteen players to Kazakhstan. The Gulf play their first match after a year back in Division 1. I would expect Kazakhstan to bee too strong for the visitors

Previous Encounters
24.05.2008 Kazakhstan 56-27 in Taldykorgan (Asia5Nations)
11.05.2007 Kazakhstan 49-9 in Doha (Asia Nations Div.2)
30.10.2004 Kazakhstan 19-9 in Hong Kong (19th Asia Championship, Pool B, Playoff)
09.04.2004 Arabian Gulf 14-13 in Doha (Friendly)
26.04.2001 Arabian Gulf 66-22 in Bahrain (Asia Bowl)

GWC Rugby Rankings
Asia Table-Kazakhstan 2nd, Arabian Gulf 5th

Prediction: Kazakhstan by 25 points.

Teams

Kazakhstan Squad

Full back
Maxim Lifontov (Enisey-STM-Krasnoyarsk) 30.12.1986, Age 23

Wingers
Sergey Konev (CSKA Almaty) 06.10.1987, Age 22
Yevgeniy Romanov (CSKA Almaty) 12.05.1987, Age 22

Centres
Ildar Abdrazakov (Almaty RFC) 11.09.1987, Age 22
Denis Cherkashin (Almaty RFC) 06.01.1979, Age 31
Alexandr Zakharov (Almaty RFC) 17.09.1986, Age 23

Fly-half
Daulet Akymbekov (CSKA Almaty) 06.04.1988, Age 22
Sergey Harlov (Enisey-STM-Krasnoyarsk) 26.08.1983, Age 26

Scrum-halves
Akhmetzhan Baratov (Almaty RFC) 15.12.1985, Age 24
Oleg Gusel’nikov (Almaty RFC) 25.04.1989, Age 21

No. 8
Timur Mashurov, Capt.), (Almaty RFC) 19.04.1981, Age 29

Flankers
Ilya Poplavskiy(Almaty RFC) 01.01.1985, Age 25
Anton Rudoy (Enisey-STM-Krasnoyarsk) 21.02.1983, Age 27
Yevgeniy Shekurov (Almaty RFC) 28.11.1978, Age 31
Roman Sorokodzyuba (Almaty RFC) 19.12.1988, Age 21
Serik Zhanseitov (CSKA Almaty) 08.07.1981, Age 28

Locks
Grigoriy Ivanchenko (Almaty RFC) 24.03.1985, Age 25

Props
Azat Abishev (Almaty RFC) 19.11.1981, Age 28
Evgeniy Antonov (Almaty RFC) 03.05.1974, Age 35
Mikhail Bzhitskih (Enisey-STM-Krasnoyarsk) 29.12.1986, Age 22
Vladimir Chernykh (Almaty RFC) 12.08.1973, Age 36

Hooker
Sergey Menshikov (Almaty RFC) 07.12.1990, Age 19

Head Coach: Valeriy Popov

Special thanks to Aida Tobykbayeva, National Team Manager, Kazakhstan Rugby Union

Arabian Gulf
15 James Love (Hartpury College, England)
14 Ross Stapleton (Bahrain RFC)
13 Trent Eastgate (Dubai Dragons)
12 Taif Al Delamie (Lansdowne FC, Ireland)
11 Sean Hurley (Dubai Dragons)
10 Duncan Murray (Dubai Hurricanes)
9 John MacDonald (Cardiff University, Wales)
8 David Clark (Dubai Exiles)
7 Edward LePine-Williams (Dubai Dragons)
6 Karl Sutcliffe (Bahrain RFC)
5 Steven Little (Dubai Dragons)
4 Michael Cox Hill, Capt.) (Dubai Exiles)
3 Mark Gathercole (Dubai Exiles)
2 Daniel Heal (Dubai Dragons)
1 Michael Riley (Dubai Exiles)
Replacements
16 Rory Power (Bahrain RFC)
17 Nicholas Croker (Doha RFC)
18 Lindsay Fitzgerald (Doha RFC)
19 Jason Voyce (Muscat RFC)
Head Coach: Bruce Birtwistle

http://www.agrfu.com/news.php?newsid=219

RUGBY TEST RESULT: A close Game in Tunis

09.04.2010
Tunisia 25, Arabian Gulf 22 in Tunis (Friendly)

Review
The Arabian Gulf turned out to be far more competitive than I thought. I would still need to see the Tunisian line up before I grade the result. The report below says that the Gulf forwards gained the upper hand which surprised me but errors and penalties cost them the game. The Gulf side may well be very competitive against Hong Kong and perhaps Kazakhstan and Korea as well.

Review here at http://www.agrfu.com/news.php?newsid=217

RUGBY TEST: Tunisia and The Gulf Warm Up

09.04.2010
Tunisia v Arabian Gulf in Tunis (Test Friendly)

Venue:

Referee:

Preview
Both these teams are preparing for important rugby matches. Tunisia will play either Romania/Ukraine/Lithuania for a chance to qualify for the 2011 Rugby World Cup through the repecharge door. The Arabian Gulf will play in the Asia 5 Nations competition, the Elite level of rugby in Asia. The Asia 5 Nations will produce a winner directly to the Rugby World Cup Finals, and a No.2 team that will qualify for a repecharge round against Uruguay later in the year.

Very little information can be gathered about the Tunisians. I'd expect the side to contain a number of players from France-based clubs.

The Arabian Gulf team is in a difficult situation. Firstly, the team will soon, as far as I'm aware, disperse as the IRB is working towards forming the parts of what has been the Gulf side for many years into separate rugby unions with their own national identity. This year looks like being the last for this Middle East rugby union unless it can win its way into the Rugby World Cup finals. The only possibility is to gain the 2nd spot as Japan look hot favourites to take the No.1 place. But life will be even more difficult for the AG team as no fewer than eleven players are new to international rugby. Tough times ahead indeed.

This match will give the rugby world some idea of the strength of these teams.

These two teams have met once before. Tunisia won 12-11 in Bahrain back in 1997. Tunisia played two games against Hong Kong in 2008. They lost 12-25 in Hong Kong, but won 29-9 in the return match in Tunis a week later. In 2008 Arabian Gulf played their first season in the elite level of Asian rugby and lost 12-20 to Hong Kong in Al Ain. This match is to be played in Tunis where I feel the Gulf side will find the local side just too rich.

GWC Rugby Rankings
Neither side is in the world table as neither has played a cross continental test match in the last year. At present Tunisia holds 3rd place on the African table, whilst the Arabian Gulf holds 6th place on the Asia table.

Prediction: I expect the Tunisians to have too much grunt up front and speed in the backs for the visitors. Tunisia by 40 points.

Teams

Arabian Gulf
15 James Love (Hartpury College, England)
14 Ross Stapleton (Bahrain RFC)
13 Trent Eastgate (Dubai Dragons)
12 Taif Al Delamie (Lansdowne FC, Ireland)
11 Rama Chand (TOA Dubai)
10 Duncan Murray (Dubai Hurricanes)
9 Jonathan MacDonald (Cardiff University, Wales)
8 David Clark (Dubai Exiles)
7 Edward LePine-Williams (Dubai Dragons)
6 Karl Sutcliffe (Bahrain RFC)
5 Steven Little (Dubai Dragons)
4 Michael Cox-Hill, Capt. (Dubai Exiles)
3 Nicholas Croker (Doha RFC)
2 Daniel Heal (Dubai Dragons)
1 Michael Riley (Dubai Exiles)
Replacements
16 Rory Power (Bahrain RFC)
17 Craig Jones (Dubai Exiles)
18 Jason Voyce (Muscat RFC)
19 Byron Kraemer (Dubai Dragons)
20 David Clouston (Dubai Hurricanes)
21 Sean Hurley (Dubai Dragons)
22 Paul Beard (Dubai Exiles)
Head Coach: Bruce Birtwistle

11 new caps!

Last minute changes (thanks to 'quentin' at http://www.fira-aer-rugby.com/forum2007/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3417)
"There are two last minute changed from the original 22 man squad named, Stuart Quinn ( Dubai Exiles ) will replace Ross Stapleton and Steve Smith ( Dubai Hurricanes )travel instead of Rama Chand due to last minute injuries. Both replacements are uncapped."

http://www.agrfu.com/news.php?newsid=215

Tunisian team details not available.

Asia Rugby Division 1 Final

11.04.2009
Arabian Gulf v China Taipei in Dubai (WCQ Asia R1; Asia Nations Div.1, Final)

Preview
These two teams reached the final due to wins mid-week. Arabian Gulf defeated Thailand 36-17 and China Taipei defeated Sri Lanka 36-24.

The future of the Arabian Gulf Rugby Union is under a cloud following the decision some of the member nations to become rugby entities on their own. Despite this the AG is determined to get back into the premier Asian rugby competition, the Asia 5 Nations.

China Taipei were once ranked 3rd among all Asia rugby nations. In more recent times they have struggled and will continue to struggle even if they gain promotion into the premier league. They toured Hong Kong in February this yearand shared the 'rubber' 1-1 with Hong Kong 'A'. Hong Kong struggled themselves in last year's Asia 5 Nations.

Whatever happens the tournament is a great showcase for rugby in an area of the world where soccer and cricket are the main sporting passions.

China Taipei had to work hard to defeat Sri Lanka on Wednesday. Image thanks to irb.com

Previous Encounter

These two teams have met only once before. Arabian Gulf winning 30-26 in Bahrain in May 2005, during the 2007 Rugby World Cup Asian qualifying rounds.

GWC Rugby Rankings: Asia Table-Arabian Gulf 6th, China Taipei 7th

Prediction: The locals to win narrowly and play in the premier league for 2010. Arabian Gulf by 7 points.

Teams

Arabian Gulf Squad
Forwards
Christopher Deacon (Dubai Exiles)
Christopher Gregory (Dubai Hurricanes)
Mark Gathercole (Dubai Exiles)
Daniel Heal (Dubai Dragons)
Alan Short (Dubai Hurricanes)
Michael Cox-Hill (Dubai Hurricanes)
Steven Huber (Dubai Hurricanes)
Karl Sutcliffe (Muscat RFC)
David Clark (Captain, Dubai Exiles)
Edward Nicholas (Dubai Exiles)
Daniel Talbot (Dubai Dragons
Sean Smith (Dubai Exiles)
Marthinus Neethling (Dubai Exiles)

Backs
Jonhn MacDonald (Abu Dhabi Harlequins)
Luke Sinclair (Dubai Exiles)
Joshua Sherrin (Dubai Hurricanes)
Taif Al Delamie (Vice-Captain, Muscat RFC)
Marcus Smith (Dubai Exiles)
Brett Williams (Dubai Exiles)
Khalid Helal (English College)
Paul Beard (Dubai Exiles)
Daniel Patching (Dubai Exiles)
Steven Smith (Dubai Hurricanes)
Sean Hurley (Dubai Dragons)
Gerry Considine (Dubai Hurricanes)
Rama Chand (Dubai Hurricanes)
Head Coach: Bruce Birtwistle

http://www.agrfu.com/news.php?newsid=135

China Taipei
Squad not yet available.

For complete lists of all international test matches played by both Arabian Gulf and China Taipei go to http://www.rugbyinternational.net/

Test Rugby. Arabian Gulf and China Taipei Win

08.04.2009
Arabian Gulf 36, Thailand 17 in Dubai (WCQ Asia R1; Asia Nations Div.1)
China Taipei 36, Sri Lanka 24 in Dubai (WCQ Asia R1; Asia Nations Div.1)

Review
Hosts Arabian Gulf and last year's runners-up China Taipei will playoff for the right to progress to the Asia Five Nations compeition in 2010. As a World Cup qualifying match the winner also qualifies for Asia Round 2.

The Arabian Gulf were too strong for the Thais and won comfortably after leading 17-0 at half time.

The Chinese team had to work harder for their win as the Sri Lankans led 19-18 at the break. The Chinese pulled away in the second half but not without a struggle.

China Taipei and Arabian Gulf play the final on Saturday. The home team has the home soil advantage but the Chinese will be a tough team to beat.

Thailand and Sri Lanka will play to avoid relegation to Division 2 for 2010.

Asian Rugby Division 1 Gets Underway

Asia Nations Division 1 is a very important competition. The winner will join the top 4 Asia Nations from the 2009 Asia 5 Nations competition in World Cup qualifiers in 2010. From there the top two nations will qualify for Asia 1 spot and the repecharge.

The teams competing are hosts Arabian Gulf, Sri Lanka, Thailand and China-Taipei.

The Arabian Gulf was relegated from Asia 5 Nations 2008 whilst Thailand was promoted from Division 2.

Controversy never seems to be far away in Asia rugby. Only days after the Sri Lankan selectors chose their side of 24 they were sacked and a new squad of 24 chosen, with only eight from the original squad making the cut. Out also went management and coach.

China were relegated from Division 2 last year and out of any chance of making the qualifying rounds for the 2011 Rugby World Cup. For differing reasons, China did not send a team to the Division 2 tournament last year because of passport difficulties getting into China Taipei. Politically China Taipei and China have had a long fued over who is the real China.

Today the matches get underway in this knockout competition.

08.04.2009
China Taipei v Sri Lanka
Arabian Gulf v Thailand

11.04.2009
Winner v Winner-Winner to Asia 5 Nations 2010
Loser v Loser-Loser to Division 3 2010.

Asia Division 1; Fun and Games in Tainan

There is a major rugby tournament on in China Taipei. The national mens 15s teams from China, Sri Lanka and Singapore are due in the capital of China Taipei, Tainan. There they will do battle in a tournament that decides the structure of Asian rugby in 2009. The winner moves up and joins the Five Nations Division, replacing the Arabian Gulf. The loser moves down to Division 2 to be replaced by Thailand. The loser, in other words, will be out of The World Cup 2011 qualifying process. The trouble is nobody knows for sure the structure of this tournament.

The Asia RU web site has not been updated since July, both in news and fixtures. The other site a5nrugby.com is offline being updated, so there is hope there. All we know is the opening round matches are..

12.11.2008
China-Taipei v Sri Lanka
Singapore v China.

We don't know if it will be a knock out or round robin. I have found the Singaporan Team on their web site which I will include below. As far as the other teams go, well, we will have to wait and see.

You need a google translation for the Chinese web site. All they are letting on is that their team defeated a Beijing 'Brothers' team 119-5 in a warm up game, 25 October. Apparently they needed to forward their team list to the China Taipei ambassador before final selection. My understanding is that no military personal from mainland China can enter China Taipei. Which means a good number of the Chinese best players won't go because they belong to the army team. Hmmm.

Forget the China-Taipei Rugby Union Website. You needn't bother with the translation because (a) there is nothing about the team anyway, and (b) its a load of gobble-dee gook. I think they might be having problems with their web site!

Now for Sri Lanka. There is nothing on the main Sri Lankan Rugby Site except for a huge list of what must have been a training squad. On http://www.srilankasports.com/ there appears to be huge handbag sessions over the selection of the captain of the side. There have been accusations, resignations, and the press have got stuck in as well. My understanding is that the team will have TWO captains, one for each match (which indicates that probably there will be the round on the 12th, followed by a final on the 15th or 16th) but as it took half a minute for each article to appear on srilankansports.com I gave up.

So, if you are an enlightened one from these nations let us know what's happening, and let us know your teams.

Singapore Squad
(Couldn't get all the club affiliations)
Norman Sin (Bedok Kings RFC)
Mark Lee (Bedok Kings RFC)
Nicholas Dance (Bucks RFC)
Gaspar Tan (Bedok Kings RFC)
Mohamed Suhaimi Bin Amran (Singapore Cricket Club)
Christopher Gilbert (Capt) (Wanderers RFC)
Steven Horsfall (Singapore Cricket Club))
Jeremy Chan (Bedok Kings RFC)
Rong Jing Xiang (Bedok Kings RFC)
Andrew Bennett
Romi Musa
Jonathan Lee (Singapore Cricket Club)
Benjamin Wheeler
Tong Chin Hong (Bedok Kings RFC)
Andrew Lee (Bedok Kings RFC)
John Forrester (Bedok Kings RFC)
Daniel Thiam (Bedok Kings RFC)
Mohamed Ismail Kadir (Wanderers RFC)
Lionel Robinson (Singapore Cricket Club)
Jonathan Chen (Bedok Kings RFC)
Eric Ng (Bedok Kings RFC)
Peter Williams (Bucks RFC)
Gareth Pritchard
Mohamed Zaki Bin Mahmood (Singapore Cricket Club)
http://www.singaporerugby.com/news/?aid=52316&sec=144&ssec=372&mth=11&yr=2008

Warm up games
Oct 25 Royal Selangor Select XV 38, Singapore 21 in Kuala Lumpur
4 Nov. Guiness Cup XV 24, Singapore Select 18 in Singapore

European Nations Cup 3C: Luxembourg v Finland

Finnish Team v Luxembourg

04.10.2008
Luxembourg v Finland in Helsinki (ENC 3C)

ENC 3C is made up of the rugby teams from Luxembourg, Finland, Greece, Bulgaria and Israel.

On Saturday, Finland hosts the team from Luxembourg.

Previous Encounters
24.05.2008 Luxembourg 11-10 in Helsinki (ENC 3C)
30.09.2006 Luxembourg 18-8 in Cessange (ENC 3C)

GWC Rugby Rankings: Europe-Luxembourg 34th, Finland 35th

Review
Although it has only been recently that these two nations have played each other they have already built a healthy rivalry. Luxembourg won by only 1 point in Helsinki in May.

Prediction: Luxembourg by 7 points.

Teams

Finland
15 Lauri Ylönen (Helsinki Warriors RC)
14 Matthew Jordan (Helsinki Warriors RC)
13 Antti Lammi (Jyväskylä RC)
12 Jaakko Vilen (Helsinki Warriors RC)
11 Lasse Sariola (Helsinki Warriors RC)
10 Thomas Finell (Helsinki Warriors RC)
9 Mikko Järvi (Tampere RC)
8 Petri Virrankoski (Tampere RC)
7 Jussi Latvala (Helsinki Warriors RC)
6 Erik Pekkola
5 Andras Devenyi (Helsinki RFC)
4 Lasse Simpanen (Helsinki Warriors RC)
3 Micke Holmstrom (Tampere RC)
2 Christian Skogholm
1 Timothy Sampson
Replacements
16 Semu Salmivalli (Tampere RC)
17 Juha Rainvuori (Helsinki Warriors RC)
18 Stewart Reynish (Helsinki Warriors RC)
19 Sami Sarkki (Turku Eagles RFC)
20 Mauno Konttila
21 Steven Whittaker (Helsinki RFC)
22 Galen Rangiawha (Turku Eagles RFC)

Head Coach: Jerker Grader (Warriors)

Thanks to Heta Lampinen, Finnish RFU. Players without affiliation are new to test rugby. I'm awaiting more details.

Luxembourg Squad
Adrien Timmermans (CSCE) (1)
Nicholas Abel (New Cap)
Bond (New Cap)
Guido Chiementi (RC de Luxembourg) (7)
Stephan Clarke (4)
Julian Da Col (RC de Luxembourg) (7)
Decaris (?)
Evans (?)
Jon Flynn (RC de Luxembourg) (14)
Nicholas Geoffreys (RC de Luxembourg) (4)
Flavien Grimmer (New Cap)
Jonathon Harris (22)
Christophe Hoffman (RC de Luxembourg) (24)
Ronan Kuzac (1)
William Lafaysse (16)
Hugo Lippert (New Cap)
Christophe Narcisse (New Cap)
Glenn Nordahl (2)
Samman Rezapour (3)
Euan Rogers (CSCE) (4)
Nigel Sharplin (RC de Luxembourg) (25)
Steven Speciale (Walferdange DR) (15)
Coach: Martin Davis

http://www.rugby.lu/news_fiche.asp?newsID=125

Asia Rugby Tournament: Division 1

This tournament, being held in Tainan, China-Taipei, is one tier below the Asia 5 Nations tournament. The winner will be promoted to Asia 5 Nations replacing Arabian Gulf. The loser will be relegated to Division 2, being replaced by Thailand.

In effect these are World Cup 2011 preliminary qualifying matches. Only matches in the Asia 5 Nations and Division 1 in 2009 will be in qualification.

Schedule
12 Nov. China-Taipei v Sri Lanka
China v Singapore

It's not clear whether winner will then play winner, and loser v loser, or whether a round robin will occur.

For more details about the Asia Rugby Tournaments go to http://www.rugbyinternational.net/