Challenge Cup round up

This week end, the SuperLeague left the spotlight to the fifth round of the Canergie Challenge Cup with some spectacular ties in perspective. And what a week end it was. No less than 87 tries were scored with special mention to Wigan and Warrington who ran a 12-try victory over Widnes and Huddersfield.

On Friday and after a scrappy start of the season, the reigning SuperLeague champions Leeds were hoping to get some confidence back against Championship 1 side Blackpool. The first half was hardly fought with Leeds only leading 24-16 at the break. But the Rhinos put up a gear and scored eight second half tries to go through the quarter finals 70-22. NZ fullback Man of the match Brent Webb picked up five tries with Mickael Coady scoring a hat-trick.

On the same night, Bradford Bulls were hosting Championship title contenders Leigh. This game was the occasion for Bulls Legend Robbie Paul, now at Leigh, to comeback to the Odsal. But the party did not turn out how he would have liked. Indeed, the SuperLeague side eased through to reach the last eight scoring ten tries with centre Chris Nero crossing the line three times 58-16.

On Saturday, Huddersfield Giants hosted the high flying Warrington Wolves for a remake of last year Challenge Cup final won by the Wolves. With both team in fine form, this tie was expected to be a high quality and hardly fought game.

However, an enormous amount of errors from the Giants and an outstanding performance from Warrington’s players did not leave any doubt about the outcome of this clash. The Wolves ran twelve tries with England centre Chris Bridge scoring five for a final score of 60 to 4 for the Cup holders.

In the other tie of the day, Championship club Widnes hosting old rivals SuperLeague leaders Wigan. As predicted, the Warriors outclassed the locals to reach the quarter finals by scoring twelve tries to win 64-10, Sam Tomkins and Karl Price picking up a hat-trick on the way.

After four one sided game, Sunday’s game were a lot closer with unpredictable outcome up until the last minutes of the game. St Helens visited Harlequins in the first of the SuperLeague clubs clash of the day. After coming back to form in April, Quins were hoping for a forth consecutive victory all competitions against the club who defeated last a month earlier.

The first half was hardly fought with the locals just leading 10-6. But two second half try from winger Francis Meli helped the visitors to overtake their host and tries from Leon Pryce, and Ade Gardner sealed the victories for St Helens 30-10.

But the game of the week end was without a doubt the tie between the Welsh side Crusaders and SuperLeague strugglers Catalans Dragons. With already five wins in the league and a very promising start, the Welsh were hosting a French side that lost all hope for the SuperLeague playoffs with only two wins and set the Cup as their only objective.

The Dragons were up for a firing start scoring five tries in the first half against a very poor defence to lead 30-12 at the break. But the Crusaders came back strong in front of their home crowd and both team offered an amazing forty minutes of knock out rugby. The game was loose with dropped ball, missed tackle and break form all over the pitch.

Crusaders scored four times while man of the match Setaimata completed his hat trick for the visitors to level the score at 34-34 with ten minutes to go. In these cases, it is always down to a silly mistake to give away field position and a drop goal attempt from the kicker.

Australian half back Jarrod Sammut was the first to have a crack at it for the Crusaders with three minutes to go but it was wide. It was then the turn of French playmaker Thomas Bosc to have a go at it but he hooked and the kick went wide too. On the next possession, Rhys Handbury dropped the all in Catalans’s forty meters. With 27 seconds to go, Thomas Bosc did not miss the opportunity again and sealed the victory for the French outfit to maintain their hope of reaching Wembley for the 2007 runners-up.

The game between Halifax and Batley has been postponed just three and a half hours before the game after Halifax was found guilty of fielding prop Michael Ostick in their fourth round victory against Swinton while the player had already played for Rochdale in the third round and was then Challenge Cup tied. The RFL is investigating the case but Halifax is probably facing to be kicked out of the competition and Batley to go through the next round.

The Quarter finals will be played on the week end of May 28-29. The draw has been made just after the Crusaders-Catalans clash and is offering some mouth watering ties. Warrington, the Cup holder and now favourite to claim a back to back Challenge Cup success, will travel to Bradford Bulls. Reigning SuperLeague champion Leeds Rhinos will entertain SuperLeague leaders Wigan Warriors at Headingley. St Helens are hosting Championship Barrow and Catalans will travel to Championship club Halifax or Batley in what would be a slightly easier games for Saints and Dragons.

http://www.therfl.co.uk/

Kangaroos hold on to Anzac trophy in pouring rain

The Aussies celebrated the opening of Melbourne’s brand new AAMI Park by a short win over NZ, 12-8. In front of a sell out crowd of almost 30,000 spectators and under a heavy rain, the Green and Gold superstars had to fight hard to beat their injured hit rivals.

Try scoring machine left-winger Brett Morris scored twice on each side of the half with a penalty and conversion from Manly centre Jamie Lyon to put the locals 12-0 up. Outsatnding performances from the 2009 Golden Boot Greg Inglis and Broncos second-row Sam Thaiday also put the Kangaroos in the right direction.

But the Kiwis never stopped fighting and scored twice in the last twelve minutes by Morris’s teammate at St George Illawara Jason Nightingale and Newcastle centre Junior Sau. The visitors could have levelled the score if South Sydney hooker Issac Luke did not miss both conversions.

With already 12 tries this season for the Dragons, Brett Morris took his total to eight tries in only five tests. Only one year after his test debut in the Four Nations, of which he finished top try scorer, the 23 year old is already looking up to beat Ken Irvine record of 33 tries for the Green and Gold jersey. But can he do it in only 31 tests like Irvine did?

http://www.nrl.com

NRL in front of its biggest scandal ever

In the last four or five years, the Melbourne Storm dominated Rugby League and were branded the best club in the world playing in the last four NRL Gran Final, winning two of them in 2007 and 2009 with a squad including superstars Greg Inglis, Billy Slater, Cameron Smith or Cooper Cronk.

However, this performance was not fair and square. Indeed on April 22, they have been found guilty of a huge salary cap breach. Over the last five years, they have overpaid the players by AU$1.7m (£1m).

As a result, they were stripped off their two NRL Premiership and three minor championships. Also, they are not allowed to earn any points for the remaining of the 2010 season which mean they will take out the NRL wooden spoon.

But what was a sport scandal became a betting scandal when bets from all over the country came on the Storm finishing last of the 2010 NRL season the night before. While the Storm were large favourite with the Dragons and the Eels to win the 2010 Gran Final, Sportingbet took three bets on Storm earning wooden spoon worth of AU$10,000 (£6,000) each.

"You don't take a series of bets like that unless someone knows something," said Sportingbet Australia spokesman Bill Richmond.

The information about the salary cap breach had leaked and betting companies were left in frenzy trying to re-frame the 2010 NRL Premiership betting markets. Most of the betting companies have shut down their wooden spoon market and are now set to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in refunds and pay-outs.

Some, like Sportingbet Australia and Centrebet, will refund all bets placed on Melbourne to win the premiership while others like TABSportsbet will honour all bets placed on the Storm finishing last.

http://www.nrl.com

Biarritz and Toulouse finish a great 2010 for French rugby off

Last week end, both the Magners League and the Top 14 had a break to leave the spotlight to the Heineken Cup semi-finals. French giant Toulouse host the reigning champion Leinster while the 2006 runner-up Biarritz entertained Irish ogre Munster in San-Sebastian. In this “France vs Ireland” week end, French clubs came out winners after outclassing both of their opponents to set-up an all French Final in Paris on May 22.

Both games were quite similar. Toulouse decided to avoid the high profile Irish back line led by Ireland centre and fullback, Brian O’Driscoll and Rob Kearney, by playing a tight forwards game. Biarritz, without playmaker Damien Traille in the centre, took the bull by the horns and confronted the huge Munster pack.

The result was quite simple and outstanding on a French point of view. Munster, without their key player Paul O’Connell, could not handle the Biarritz’s forwards in set pieces and in the rucks and fell apart after an hour conceding three penalties in the last fifteen minutes sealing the victory for the locals, 18-7. Toulouse’s pack dominated their opponents all game long in scrums but could not break the lines before the 55^th minutes when they scored two converted tries in five minutes making a winning break, 26-16.

Toulouse and Biarritz will now meet on May 22^nd in Paris for the third all French Heineken Cup final since its creation in 1996. After the outstanding France’s Gran Slam in the RBS 6 Nations earlier this year, one of these two French clubs will be crowed best club in Europe.

To read the full report, click here.

Vote for your RBS Player of the Championship online

The shortlist for the 2010 player of the RBS 6 Nations has been announced.

The winner will be chosen by the public who can vote online at www.rbs6nations.com since last Tuesday until Midnight on Monday, March 22.

The six contenders are Imanol Harinordoquy, Mathieu Bastareaud, Morgan Parra, Thierry Dusautoir (France), Shane Williams (Wales) and Tommy Bowe (Ireland).

My favorite is Imanol Harinordoquy who has been instrumental for the first 4 games. Tommy Bowe will follow close though.

www.rbs6nations.com

France in front of a prospect future

Tomorrow, when France entertain England in Paris for the last round of the 2010 RBS 6 Nations, they will become the best team of the decade by winning their 5 championship and potentially their third Grand Slam since 2000.

Indeed, without major upset, France will win the Championship even if they lose to their oldest rival as Ireland have to overturn 50 points in the points difference which is unlikely to happen.

Winning a Grand Slam is always an incredible achievement for a squad but with 18 months to go before the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand, this would lead the way to a very prospect future for this young team.

Since head coach Marc Lievremont took charge in 2007, he brought back the French flair into that team, but most of all, he was not scared to pick young inexperience player over established older player in order to build his squad for the World Cup.

France’s forwards have become clinical in scrum and lineout and, unlike in the past, their discipline have become their strength while the backs are flying all around the pitch.

Lead by the likes of Dusautoir, the captain, Harinordoquy, Nallet or Servat, this pack includes a few young and very promising player such as Thomas Domingo, 24, Fulgence Ouedraogo, 23, Louis Picamolles, 23, or Alexandre Lapandry, 20.

Same story in the back line with already experienced half-backs Morgan Parra, 21, and Francois Trinh-Duc, 23, the huge centre Mathieu Bastareaud, 21, the athletic Benjamin Fall, 20 the pocket rockets wingers Alexis Palisson, 22, and Marc Andreu, 24.

This team is full of ambition, young talent and became exiting to watch again. They are now only 18 months and a dozen of game away from the World Cup where they surely will be a contender for the title and become only the second northern team to become world champion.

Rugby League is coming on Wii

After the huge success in Australia of Rugby League 2 World Cup Edition in 2008, Home Entertainment Suppliers is launching the brand new Rugby League 3 on Wii next Thursday (March 18, 2010) in Europe (UK and France) as well as Australia and New Zealand.

The team level gameplay includes defensive line controls, attacking strategy selection, team confidence, and AI support play.

There is also a multi-year franchise mode to build a champion team - including advanced player management, Player of the Year and Man of Steel awards, club records and optional manual rep selection.

You also have the ability to create and customise players, teams and competitions.

With 8 domestic divisions (NRL, SuperLeague, Origin Series, Championship, Championship 1, Internationals) and over 80 teams to choose from, this game is to be the best footy game yet.

Available for £34.72 on www.gameswop.com

www.rugbyleague3.com