RUGBY INTERNATIONAL TEST MATCH: Cyprus in Luxembourg

07.05.2011
Cyprus v Luxembourg in Luxembourg (ENC 2D)

Venue: Stade Josy Barthel

Referee: V.Bouchet (Norway)

	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	DIFF	BT	BL	PT
CYPRUS	3	3	0	0	158	31	127	3	0	15
BULGARIA	3	2	0	1	51	85	-34	0	0	8
GREECE	3	1	0	2	55	76	-11	1	1	6
LUXEMB.	3	1	0	2	44	58	-14	0	0	4
FINLAND	2	0	0	2	20	88	-68	0	1	1

Preview
Cyprus rugby is reading a high at present. They have been convincing winners against all opposition. Whatever todays result Cyrpus will lead the table at the end of 2010-11 and look hot favourites to continue this amazing form and gain promotion after the second round in 2011-12.

Luxembourg has struggled in all games so far apart from an eight point win over Finland away. Cyprus put 70 points on Finland when they met. Luxembourg looks to be level below the Cypriots on that result. I can’t see Cyprus being defeated.

Other Previews here
http://www.cyprus-mail.com/moufflons/dominant-moufflons-proud-unbeaten-record/20110504

These two teams have never met before

Cyprus Last Five
26.03.2011 v Finland W 70-10 in Paphos (ENC 2D)
12.03.2011 v Bulgaria W 55-8 in Paphos (ENC 2D)
20.11.2010 v Greece W 33-13 in Athens (ENC 2D)
27.03.2010 v Bosnia Herzegovina W 15-0 in Paphos (ENC 3D)
06.03.2010 v Azerbaijan W 59-0 in Paphos (ENC 3D)

Luxembourg Last Five
02.04.2011 v Greece L 18-30 in Athens (ENC 2D)
13.11.2010 v Bulgaria L 8-18 in Luxembourg (ENC 2D)
09.10.2010 v Finland  W 18-10 in Helsinki (ENC 2D)
13.03.2010 v Greece L 9-17 in Athens (ENC 3C)
07.11.2009 v Finland  W 9-3 in Luxembourg (ENC 3C)

GWC Rugby Rankings
Europe Table-Cyprus 34th, Luxembourg 37th

IRB Ranking Points do not apply

Prediction: Cyprus by 18 points

 

Teams not available

ASIA NATIONS RUGBY: Division 2 Final and Playoff

Thailand hoping history repeats itself in Division II Final

For the first time ever, the HSBC Asian 5 Nations will celebrate a neutral Top 5 match with the clash between Japan and Kazakhstan, (last year’s number 1 and 2 respectively in Asia), serving as an Asian rugby showcase match for the HSBC Division II Finals in Bangkok.

Division II opened with a bang on Wednesday as Chinese Taipei edged Iran in a thriller 34 – 31 and the hosts Thailand raced out of the starting blocks to take home an impressive 37-24 win over second seeds India.

India, who will welcome the late arrival of talented fullback/flyhalf Rohan Sethna, will now face Iran in what promises to be a titanic battle in Bangkok with relegation to Division III at risk. The 3^rd/4^th place playoff will kick off at 14.00 (Bangkok Time) at Supachalasai Stadium.

Hosts Thailand will hope that history repeats itself after winning the last A5N Division II Tournament held in Thailand in 2008. Thailand will face top seeds Chinese Taipei at 16.00 (Bangkok time) for the honour of promotion to next year’s HSBC A5N Division I competition.

The excitement will be followed by a Thailand Women’s Sevens exhibition match with a team comprised of local celebrities before the showcase of the evening: Japan v Kazakhstan (kick-off at 19.00).

Thanks to Sean Moore, Asia RFU

07.05.2011
Thailand v Chinese Taipei in Bangkok (Final)

 

Last Five Encounters
05.11.2007 Chinese Taipei 27-16 in Colombo (Asiad Cup)
19.05.2007 Chinese Taipei 22-3 in Bangkok (Asia Nations Div.4)
02.11.1996 Chinese Taipei 53-15 in Tainan (15th Asian Championship)
13.11.1988 Chinese Taipei 32-9 in Hong Kong (11th Asian Championship)
29.11.1986 Thailand 32-12 in Bangkok (10th Asian Championship)

It has been 25 years since Thailand last defeated Chinese Taipei. They are in a fine position to reverse recent trends.

GWC Rugby Rankings
Asia Table-Chinese Taipei 9th, Thailand 10th

IRB Ranking Points
Chinese Taipei 42.58, Thailand 40.84

Prediction: Chinese Taipei by 8

Teams not available

India v Iran in Bangkok (Playoff 3rd-4th)

 

Previous Encounter
08.11.2007 Iran 39-7 in Colombo (Asiad Shield)

GWC Rugby Rankings
Asia Table-India 11th, Iran 14th

IRB Ranking points do not apply

Prediction: Very close. Iran by 1 point

Teams not available

Predictions

Hosts Thailand meet Chinese Taipei in HSBC Asian 5 Nations Division II Final; India face Iran in Relegation battle

[Bangkok, May 4, 2011]: Hosts Thailand have reached the final of the HSBC Asian 5 Nations Division II tournament after beating India 37-24 this evening at Supachalasai National Stadium in Bangkok. In the other semi-final, top seeds outlasted a strong challenge from fourth seeds Iran 34-31 in an exciting seesaw battle.

Today’s matches mark the return of the HSBC Asian 5 Nations to Thailand for the first time since the tournament’s inception in 2008. On that occasion, Thailand defended its home turf to win promotion to Division I. It is a prospect that the Thais will be hoping to repeat in the Division II final on Saturday (kick-off at 16.00 local time). This weekend also marks the first ever neutral HSBC Asian 5 Nations (HSBC A5N) Top 5 match in tournament history as defending champions Japan face off against last year’s runners-up Kazakhstan on Saturday evening (kick off 19.00 local time).

The HSBC Asian 5 Nations Division II competition opened with an exciting seesaw battle between top ranked Chinese Taipei (relegated from Division I in 2010) and fourth seeds Iran (promoted after winning Division III last year in Jakarta). Both sides needed the early stages to settle nerves and shake off rust before finding their rhythm. Chinese Taipei would be the first to strike, through a well-taken penalty by flyhalf Pan Chih-Hsiang, who contributed 9 points this afternoon with the boot.

Chinese Taipei then extended their lead to 8-nil after a try to winger Wu Wei-Luan. Although Chinese Taipei was threatening to pull away at that stage, it would prove to be the largest lead of the entire match. Iran’s first points came through a try to winger Reza Daghaghele, bringing the score to 8-7 after the conversion.

In what would become a pattern for the match, Chinese Taipei centre Hung Pen-Chiao quickly replied with a try to edge his side further ahead 15-7 after the conversion. Iran scored its second try just five minutes later, to edge within penalty range at 15-12 at the half.

In the second half, the physical challenge presented by Iran seemed destined to tip the balance permanently in favour of the Iranians. Flanker Mohammad Khalili barreled over for a try to open the second half and take its first lead 19-15.

But Chinese Taipei winger Wu Wei-Luan then completed his brace of tries moments later to return his side to prominence at 20-19. Disaster was in the cards for the leaders when hooker Chiu Min-Ching was sin-binned for failing to wrap his arms in the tackle. The man advantage to the physically impressive Iranian pack threatened to tip the balance in favour of the underdogs who with a try through towering No. 8 Yoosef Jalali for the second lead change of the second half. Amin Hossein Zadeh’s successful conversion then brought the score to 26-20.

Iranian hopes of an upset were dashed when moments later they gave up a penalty try for repeated infringements while defending their line against the man-down Chinese Taipei. The successful conversion restored Chinese Taipei’s lead at 27-26 with 15 minutes left on the clock. In the 71^st minute, Hung Pen-Chiao completed his own brace of tries scoring beneath the posts to edge ahead 34-26 after the conversion.

Iran never gap up and eventually narrowed the gap to 34-31 after fullback Ramin Najafi scored a late try. But time ran out on the valiant efforts of Iran and Chinese Taipei progressed to the Division II finals on Saturday.

Iran failed to upend Chinese Taipei

In the day’s second match, hosts Thailand delighted a partisan crowd for the weekday opener by beating second-ranked India 37-24 to book their own place in Saturday’s final and earn a chance for promotion in 2012.

Led by burly prop Somjate Anusaen whose brace of tries opened the scoring in both the first and second halves, Thailand controlled much of the possession and consistently looked the more threatening side. Fullback Art-Ong Prasertying added the conversion for Anusaen’s try and a penalty on his way to 12 points this afternoon. Thailand’s second try came moments later as winger Pannapat Pooltharat finished off a flowing backline move to push the hosts out to an early 15-0 lead.

India didn’t get on the board until the 30^th minute when their own powerful prop Lochab Devinder barreled over for his first of two tries on the afternoon. Devinder’s try was converted by Lama Sujas to bring the score to 15-7 in Thailand’s favour at the half.

The second half saw Thailand burst out of the blocks with Anusaen scoring his second try five minutes into the second half. Prasertying’s conversion saw the lead extended to 22-7, before flyhalf Thanawatr Jamkrajang pulled his side further ahead with a try on the 50^th minute to extend the lead to 27-7. India replied again through Devinder as they looked to use their size advantage to greater effect. The conversion by Lama brought India’s tally to 14 points against 27.

Prasertying would add another penalty moments later closely followed by Jamkrajang’s second try of the match to bring the lead to 37-14 after the conversion. India finally found another gear late in the game, scoring two tries in the final ten minutes through winger Vikas Khatri and barrelling centre Rohit Singh but they couldn’t erase the gap as they fell 24-37 to the hosts.

Thai prop Somjate Anusaen barrels over for his second try.

With its victory today, Thailand has set the stage for a repeat of their hosting of the same tournament in 2008, when they beat Malaysia to secure their spot in the 2009 Division I final. Thai captain Tanyavit Kuasint is hoping history repeats itself on Saturday afternoon.

“This win was an important one for us in front of our home crowds. Our fans are expecting us to win and to be promoted. For me personally, it is also important as this is my tenth year representing Thailand and I will probably step down from the national set-up after this year. I really want to get us back to Division I before I make way for the younger players.”

Thai coach Atapol Wongratana echoed the sentiments of his captain saying, “This is a very good start for us but we can still play much better. Our union expects us to gain promotion as we are hosting in front of our own supporters. We will need a big effort against Chinese Taipei’s forwards but we still have a lot left in the tank and the players can still reach a higher level of performance.”

The HSBC Asian 5 Nations Division II finals will be held on Saturday, May 7, 2011 at Supachalasai Stadium in Bangkok. India will face Iran in the 3^rd/4^th place playoff (14.00 local time) while Chinese Taipei meets Thailand in the Division II final (16.00 local time).

Admission fees are 200 Thai Baht for the covered grandstand seating and 100 Thai Baht for general admission seating. The proceeds from the ticket sale will be donated to disaster relief for the Tsunami victims in Japan and for victims of recent flooding in Southern Thailand.

ENDS

For more information on:

HSBC Asian 5 Nations/ARFU – Sean Moore, Tournament Operations Manager, Mob: +852 9095-8889, Email: sean.moore@elitestep.com

HSBC ARFU Rugby Coaching Tour – contact John Higginson, Communications Director, Fast Track HK, Tel: +852 2616-2707 Mob: +852 6626-1443 Email: john.higginson@fasttrackagency.com

HSBC and Rugby – Jonny Hamp, Head of Rugby Sponsorship - Asia, HSBC Holdings,Tel: +852 2822-3423 Mob: +852 6750-3262 Email: jonnyhamp@hsbc.com.hk

ASIA NATIONS DIV.2: Chinese Taipei Wins

04.05.2011
Chinese Taipei 34, Iran 31 in Bangkok

Venue: Supachalasai Stadium

ASIA NATIONS TEST RUGBY: Division 2 in Thailand

The 2011 Asia Nations Division 2 tournament is to be held in Thailand, 4-7 May. The most exciting aspect of this tournament will the main fixture on Saturday. Japan and Kazakhstan will fly in to play their Asia 5 Nations games as the main game Saturday.

Tournament Venue:

04.05.2011
Chinese Taipei v Iran

 

Preview
These two teams have never meet in test rugby before. Iran took its place in Division 2 after being promoted from Division 3 in 2010. Chinese Taipei is in the tournament because they were relegated from Division 1 in 2010

GWC Rugby Rankings
Chinese Taipei 8th, Iran 14th

IRB Ranking Points do not apply

Prediction: Chinese Taipei by 12 points

Teams not available

India v Thailand

 

Preview
Thailand and India are the two teams left from last year’s Asia Nations Division 2. It is fitting that they meet on the first day.

Thailand’s squad. Image thanks to http://www.thairugbyunion.com

Previous Encounters
11.06.2008 Thailand 30-22 in Bangkok (WCQ Asia R1; Asia Nations Div.1)
07.06.2006 Thailand 50-28 in Bangkok (Asia Tournament, Tier 4)
26.06.2004 Thailand 86-12 in Bangkok (Asia Tournament, Div.4)
16.11.2002 Thailand 67-10 in Bangkok (18th Asia Champ. Div.2, Section 2)
28.10.1998 Thailand 90-6 in Singapore (Asia Champ., Section B, Grp 2)

GWC Rugby Rankings
India 10th, Thailand 13th

IRB Ranking Points
Thailand 40.84, India 39.61

Prediction: Thailand by 9 points

Teams not available

TEST RUGBY: RUSTY JAPAN STRUGGLE TO VICTORY OVER HONG KONG

[Hong Kong, April 30, 2011]: Former All Black John Kirwan was an unhappy man after rusty Japan eked out a 45-22 victory over Hong Kong to get their defence of the HSBC Asian Five Nations Top Five competition off to a winning start at Hong Kong Football Club.

Japan led 31-3 at the break but a spirited Hong Kong out-scored the Asian champions three tries to two in the second half leaving head coach Kirwan less than pleased.

“The only positive out of this game was the win,” said Kirwan. “But I’d rather this happens now than later on this season. We have plenty of work to do.”

Japan ran in seven tries - five of them in the first half - with winger Alisi Tupuailai grabbing a hat-trick. No.8 Ryukoliniasi Holani, flyhalf Shaun Webb, left winger Hirotoki Onozawa and flanker Michael Leitch also scored one each. Centre Ryan Nicholas collected 10 points from the boot.

Hat-trick hero Japan’s Alisi Tupuailai

But the glut turned into a drought as Hong Kong bravely fought back and took their chances superbly to leave Japan in disarray by the end of the game.

“It was a poor performance from our team,” Kirwan said. “We didn’t protect the ball and we lost our composure. I thought we were rusty at halftime, but we got rustier as the game wore on.”

Despite pre-game worries by Kirwan of a slow start, the players who are all in the preliminary World Cup squad came out firing on all cylinders, dominating both set pieces as well as in the loose to look threatening. But the spark died down after the break as a gutsy Hong Kong didn’t let up.

“We got in their faces and put them under pressure,” said Hong Kong national coach Dai Rees. “This is the best performance in recent years against Japan and the guys can be very proud of themselves.”

Hong Kong’s second-half resurgence began with a lovely break from fullback Ross Armour, who made up for his first-half sin-binning, by slicing through the midfield and sending an inside pass to replacement winger Alex McQueen who scored under the posts.

Hong Kong then capitalised on Japanese errors to run in two more tries. The first came from openside flanker Mark Goosen, who picked up from a breakdown and took the direct route to the tryline catching the defence flatfooted. Then winger Rowan Varty turned on the speed when he picked up a dropped pass metres from his own line to run the length of the pitch and score.

“We took our chances. We had two 50-50 chances to score tries and we took them,” Rees said. “We had an unfortunate first half and were hard done by in contact areas, but all credit to the guys for coming back strongly.”

Hong Kong captain Tom McColl praised his side for the resilience showed against Japan who has dominated the tournament since it began in 2008.

“I’m really happy that we didn’t give up. The disappointing thing is that we couldn’t quite get the bonus point for scoring four tries. This was our goal before the game, to be in contention for a win at the end or to try and score four tries,” McColl said.

“We gave away a few early soft tries but then our defence picked up. What we proved today is that we can compete with Japan and this is a huge morale boost for the team,” McColl added’

Japan found Hong Kong harder going than expected.

The United Arab Emirates 24-10 victory over Kazakhstan leaves them at the top of the standings with eight points after round two. Japan is in second place with six points but with a game in hand on the rest of the pack. Hong Kong lie third (five points) followed by Sri Lanka (three) and Kazakhstan (0).

“We will have to pick ourselves now and focus on our next game away to Sri Lanka in Colombo. But even though we lost today, the guys will be proud of this effort,” McColl added.

In the curtain-raiser to today’s HSBC Asian 5 Nations match, the Japan Women’s team beat the Hong Kong Women’s team 15-nil. All the points came in the first half of what was an even and exciting match, with Japanese winger Yuki Nakao taking a brace with tries in the 7^th and 40^th minute of the opening stanza. Centre Akari Fujisaki crossed the line in the 33^rd minute to complete the scoring.

Japan Women defeated Hong Kong Women 15-0 in the curtainraiser.

A host of youngsters from the Hong Kong Society for the Protection of Children watched Hong Kong play Japan after earlier enjoying an HSBC ARFU Rugby Coaching Tour clinic at Hong Kong Football Club. Frank Hadden, the former Scotland coach, and the HSBC Penguin International Coaching Academy led the sessions after also coaching a host of local schools on Thursday with help from Japan coach John Kirwan, an HSBC rugby ambassador.
“One of the most rewarding elements of our sponsorship of the HSBC Asian 5 Nations is seeing the HSBC ARFU Rugby Coaching Tour bring top-level rugby to new audiences, helping increase their interest in the sport,” said Peter Wong, Chief Executive HSBC Asia-Pacific. "HSBC is delighted to continue its sponsorship of the HSBC Asian 5 Nations, which has already provided some very exciting rugby in the early matches and shows promise of another great year.”
HSBC renewed its title sponsorship of the Asian 5 Nations for another three years in January and furthered its investment in rugby in the region by announcing sponsorship of the new Asian Sevens Series later this year. Both competitions will be supported by the HSBC ARFU Rugby Coaching Tour, which will travel across Asia introducing children to the sport.

ENDS

For more information on:

HSBC Asian 5 Nations/ARFU – Sean Moore, Tournament Operations Manager, Mob: +852 9095-8889, Email: sean.moore@elitestep.com

LATEST TEST RUGBY RESULTS: Saturday 30 April

30.04.2011
Japan 45, Hong Kong 22 in Hong Kong (Asia5Nations)
Moldova 22, Netherlands 15 in Chisinau (ENC 1B)
Lithuania 57,Latvia 3 in Klaipedia (ENC 2A)
Malta 21, Croatia 14 in La Valette (ENC 2A)
Switzerland 33, Slovenia 10 in Ljubliana (ENC 2B)
Bermuda 13, Bahamas 10 in Hamilton (NACRA Caribbean Champ.,North R3)
British Virgin Islands v Barbados in Tortola (NACRA Caribbean Champ.,South R2)-to come

Briefly
Hong Kong put up a spirited effort against Japan and now look odds-on favourite to take second place behind Japan in the Asia5Nations.

In European rugby, the Netherlands put up a good showing against Moldova in the last ENC 1B test match of the season. Moldova’s efforts were not enough to take the title from Belgium.

ENC 1B

	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	DIFF	BT	BL	PT
BELGIUM	5	4	0	1	123	88	35	1	1	18
MOLDOVA	5	4	0	1	115	91	24	2	0	18
POLAND	5	3	0	2	122	112	10	0	1	13
CZECH R.	5	3	0	2	102	99	3	0	0	12
GERMANY	5	1	0	4	109	117	-8	0	3	7
NETH.	5	0	0	5	74	138	-64	0	1	1

In ENC 2A the two match results shook the points table up. Lithuania walked all over neighbours Latvia and took the lead in the points table, although Sweden is undefeated with a game in hand. Malta upset Croatia at home pushing the Adriatic side down to the bottom of the table. The result indicates just how even this competition is. At this stage Sweden are favourites to take out the title for 2010-11.

ENC 2A

	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	DIFF	BT	BL	PT
LITHUANIA	3	2	0	1	88	35	-53	1	1	10
SWEDEN	2	2	0	0	58	35	23	1	0	9
MALTA	3	1	0	2	53	56	-3	1	2	7
LATVIA	3	1	0	2	48	97	-49	1	1	6
CROATIA	3	1	0	2	41	65	-24	0	1	5

To Play
07.05.2011 Lithuania v Croatia in Split
07.05.2011 Malta v Sweden in Stockholm
14.05.2011 Sweden v Latvia in Riga

Switzerland defeated Slovenia 33-10 to go to the top of the points table and take the title for 2010-11. Slovenia joins Serbia at the bottom of the table. All teams have suffered defeat in another very even competition.

ENC 2B

	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	DIFF	BT	BL	PT
SWITZ.	4	3	0	1	99	64	35	1	1	14
ANDORRA	4	2	0	2	85	68	17	1	1	10
ARMENIA	2	1	0	1	52	42	10	0	1	5
SLOVENIA	3	1	0	2	50	58	-8	0	0	4
SERBIA	3	1	0	2	46	90	-44	0	0	4

To Play
07.05.2011 Armenia v Serbia in Belgrade
01.06.2011 Slovenia v Armenia in Abovian

Bermuda defeated the Bahamas in a close game in the North Zone for the NACRA Caribbean Championship.