International Rugby Board Restricting Press Freedom?

The former director of New Zealand rugby has called on the International Rugby Board to remove the restrictions on press coverage of the 2007 World Cup. He said the Board is "improperly seeking to interfere in the gathering and publishing of news in the short term pursuit of the dollar."

Read more at the World Association of Newspapers.

The issue has even caused the Editor and Publisher magazine to write an article entitled "Is Covering Rugby A 'Human Right?' WAN In Tiff Over Cup Limits".

Also you've got the Amateur Photographer magazine getting annoyed.

Jason Robinson To Retire after Tournament

Jason Robinson has said he'll retire from club rugby at the end of the season but made it clear that, if selected, he'll play for England in the Rugby World Cup.

He told the Independent:

"I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Sale, but it's time to move on," Robinson said. "I want my last game for Sale to be at home [versus Bath], and I want to be able to say a big thank you to the supporters."

Read the Indi article for more info.

One Millionth Ticket Sold!!

This comes from the Official Rugby World Cup site.

“One year from the kick-off of Rugby World Cup 2007 the International Rugby Board is confident the Tournament will be the most successful in its colourful and exciting 20-year history,” said IRB Chairman, Dr Syd Millar. “This belief is backed by the fact that one year out from the Tournament the Organising Committee has already sold its one millionth public ticket which is fantastic news.”

“Operational planning, venue logistics, and the commercial and ticketing programmes are all on target as the world of Rugby looks forward to September 7, 2007 when the host nation France plays Argentina at Stade de France, Paris in the opening match of the Tournament.”

”To mark the one year to go milestone the International Rugby Board, the French Rugby Federation, the France 2007 Organising Committee and representatives from the 12 cities and regions hosting matches gathered in Paris at the national rugby centre in Marcoussis to gauge progress and to set the required delivery timetables for the year ahead.”

”An exciting air of anticipation is starting to build in the world Rugby community. RWC 2007 in France will offer an irresistible mix of world class Rugby and the unique, colourful regional experiences that only France can offer. The teams and the substantial numbers of travelling supporters can look forward to world class venues and wonderful hospitality from the cities."

“It will be an event not to be missed and the IRB looks forward to welcoming rugby supporters from France and all over the world to Rugby World Cup 2007. And as the world governing body we are very pleased that the commercial programme being built around what is now one of the largest sports events in the world continues to expand each Tournament.”

“The Rugby World Cup plays an important part in the development of world Rugby as it provides the financial platform for the global growth of the Game. In August last year the IRB announced a £30 million strategic investment programme designed to increase the competitiveness of the Game around the world with the financial success of RWC underwriting this unprecedented programme,” added Dr Millar.

Tickets on sale through the Internet The “Allez au Contact” ticket sales programme for RWC 2007 continues to be rolled out. Presently city and team packages are on sale via the internet at www.rugbyworldcup.com to Rugby supporters all around the world. This is the ideal opportunity to guarantee tickets to matches for the pool stages plus options on quarter final and semi final tickets. These packages are for tickets only and are free of travel and accommodation – a first in the history of RWC. A seperate sales programme is in place for those interested in purchasing travel and accommodation or hospitality with tickets. These ticket packages are managed by Rugby Travel and Hospitality '07 and full details can be viewed at www.rth07.com

70,000 Visiting New Zealand in 2011

The International Rugby Board have yet to finalise dates for the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand yet, however, the locals are already planning on accomodating 70,000 visiting rugby fans.

Canada Qualify

The Wallabies will play Canada in their final Rugby World Cup pool game following thier recent qualification after a fantastic 56-7 win over the USA.

They'll also be facing Wales and Fiji and another nation from the Asian qualifying process.

World Cup Hijacking Rugby?

Andrew Slack in The Courier Mail has concluded that the World Cup is "slowly but surely hijacking rugby".

The Wallaby coach John Connolly looks keen to limit the involvement of his players. He hopes that "most Australian Rugby Union officials are courageous enough an have the nous to understand rugby is bigger than the World Cup". A fair amount of sour-grapes if they ask me! They were so glad to have it three years ago - up until the point they lost it to England!

He does have a point when it comes to the possibility that New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, France and England will send out their second XV's up until the qualifying rounds. But seeing at the performance of England lately, I doubt very much they can afford to do this to any great degree!

Personally, reading Andrew Slack's article he needs to relax, take a chill pill and watch the final from the last World Cup! If Australia say they're the best in the world they have to prove it. Not just say that the messure of a great nation is playing in a parochial tournament, otherwise they'll end up like the American's "World Series" of baseball.

France for World Cup Triumph?

According to Scrum, former All Blacks captain Sean Fitzpatrick reckons that Frances Footy campaign in Germany can help spur on their rugby team.

There are many predicting that it'll be a France New Zealand finale, but we'll see.

Also view: IC Wales

South African Rugby Team

There's not much love-lost between England and the Springboks following the infamous match in 2002 when England gave them their biggest ever defeat: 53-3.

In 2005 the South African's smashed the Uruguayans to a record-setting defeat with Tonerai Chavanga scoring six tries.

2006 has been a transitionary period so far with new players coming into the squad but still managed to beat Scotland twice but lost narrowly to France.

Official Site:
SA Rugby

England Rugby Team

England have been coached by Andy Robinson since 2004, but it's anyone's guess how long he'll last following the dismal recent perfomances of the team.

England's highest scorer, Jonny Wilkinson has been in and out of action since the last World Cup and there's been too many changes to breed any sort of consistency in terms of team make-up and approach.

World Cup Record
1987 - Quarter finals
1991 - Final
1995 - Semi finals
1999 - Quarter finals
2003 - Champions

Official Site:
England Rugby Football Union

Latest News

Here we collate some of the best news about the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France.

• Argentina Qualify for World Cup
• Fixture List Announced

Argentina qualify for World Cup

Argintina will play in the 2007 Rugby World Cup Finals in France after there 26-0 win over Uruguay.

Migual Avromovic, the new Worcester signing, scored two tries and Federico Todeschini converted them and scored four penalties.

Uruguay now face Chile on 22 July and the winner of which will have to navigate a play-off game against Canada or the United States to progress to the finals.

Argentina will play in Pool D against France, Ireland, another European team and the best of teh African nations.

Rugby Shirts / Rugby Jerseys

We've teamed up with Lovell Rugby, one of the UK's leading online rugby retailers, who have a massive range of official replica rugby shirts, rugby boots, training wear, team kits and accessories from all major brands including Nike, Adidas, Kooga, Under Armour and Puma.

Currently they're offering ladies fitted rugby shirts from only £4.99!

But you can also get:

British Lions Rugby Shirts
England Rugby Shirts
International Rugby Shirts
Celtic League Rugby Shirts
International Club Rugby Shirts
Kooga Leisure Rugby Shirts
NPC Series Rugby Shirts
Rugby League Shirts
Super 12 Rugby Shirts
UK Club Rugby Shirts
Devon Rugby Shirts
Ladies Rugby Shirts
Kids Rugby Shirts
Rugby Teamwear

Current IRB World Rankings

The home nations are fairly close together with Ireland leading the way.

3/07/2006 Positions
1(1) NEW ZEALAND 93.32
2(2) FRANCE 87.53
3(3) SOUTH AFRICA 87.18
4(4) AUSTRALIA 85.59
5(5) IRELAND 82.01
6(6) ENGLAND 79.66
7(7) SCOTLAND 77.72
8(8) ARGENTINA 77.49
9(9) WALES 76.34
10(10) SAMOA 73.86
11(11) FIJI 73.15
12(12) ITALY 72.11
13(13) CANADA 68.16
14(14) USA 67.50
15(15) ROMANIA 67.31
16(16) TONGA 66.04
17(17) GEORGIA 65.56
18(18) URUGUAY 65.15
19(19) RUSSIA 64.54
20(20) JAPAN 63.05
21(21) PORTUGAL 61.16
22(22) MOROCCO 60.52
23(23) KOREA 60.21
24(24) CHILE 59.47
25(26) SPAIN 56.99
26(27) CZECH REPUBLIC 56.56
27(25) NAMIBIA 56.25
28(28) GERMANY 56.06
29(29) HONG KONG 55.21
30(30) PARAGUAY 53.82
31(35) TUNISIA 52.66
32(31) UKRAINE 52.54
33(32) NETHERLANDS 51.72
34(33) BELGIUM 51.51
35(34) BRAZIL 50.72
36(36) MOLDOVA 50.22
37(37) KENYA 49.91
38(39) POLAND 49.55
39(40) CROATIA 48.93
40(41) CHINESE TAIPEI 48.41
41(42) ARABIAN GULF 48.32
42(43) LATVIA 48.26
43(44) SRI LANKA 48.16
44(45) KAZAKHSTAN 47.95
45(46) SWEDEN 47.71
46(47) MADAGASCAR 47.71
47(38) IVORY COAST 47.54
48(48) ZIMBABWE 47.14
49(49) SWITZERLAND 47.13
50(50) CHINA 46.58
51(51) MALTA 46.43
52(52) SINGAPORE 46.00
53(53) COOK ISLANDS 45.87
54(54) VENEZUELA 45.45
55(55) PERU 45.44
56(56) PAPUA NEW GUINEA 45.09
57(57) DENMARK 45.05
58(62) UGANDA 44.99
59(58) TRINIDAD & TOBAGO 43.97
60(59) CAYMAN 43.87
61(60) ANDORRA 43.54
62(61) BARBADOS 43.13
63(63) THAILAND 42.32
64(64) SENEGAL 42.13
65(65) BERMUDA 41.69
66(66) LITHUANIA 41.19
67(67) NIUE ISLANDS 40.96
68(68) SLOVENIA 40.90
69(69) GUYANA 40.35
70(70) MALAYSIA 40.19
71(71) HUNGARY 40.05
72(72) SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO 40.04
73(73) AUSTRIA 39.97
74(74) ZAMBIA 39.96
75(75) ST. VINCENT & THE GRENADINES 39.30
76(76) SOLOMON ISLANDS 39.06
77(77) JAMAICA 38.97
78(78) MONACO 38.81
79(79) NORWAY 38.70
80(80) BOTSWANA 38.64
81(81) CAMEROON 38.52
82(82) GUAM 38.13
83(83) LUXEMBOURG 37.93
84(84) SWAZILAND 37.57
85(85) ST. LUCIA 37.57
86(86) COLOMBIA 37.53
87(87) TAHITI 36.25
88(88) INDIA 36.20
89(89) NIGERIA 36.00
90(90) BAHAMAS 35.61
91(91) BULGARIA 35.20
92(92) VANUATU 34.77
93(93) ISRAEL 34.56
94(94) BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA 31.80
95(95) FINLAND 29.32

Fixture List / Match Schedule

This is the current Rugby World Cup finals fixture list. Some of the teams haven't qualified yet so they're be holes:

Pool A
Sept 8: England – Americas 3 Stade Félix Bollaert, Lens
Sept 9: South Africa – Samoa Parc des Princes, Paris
Sept 12: Americas 3 – Repechage 2 Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier
Sept 14: England – South Africa Stade de France, St-Denis
Sept 16: Samoa – Repechage 2 Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier
Sept 22: South Africa – Repechage 2 Stade Félix Bollaert, Lens
Sept 22: England – Samoa Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes
Sept 26: Samoa – Americas 3 Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Étienne
Sept 28: England – Repechage 2 Parc des Princes, Paris
Sept 30: South Africa – Americas 3 Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier

Pool B
Sept 8: Australia – Asia Stade de Gerland, Lyon
Sept 9: Wales – Americas 2 Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes
Sept 12: Asia – Fiji Stade de Toulouse, Toulouse
Sept 15: Wales – Australia Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Sept 16: Fiji – Americas 2 Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Sept 20: Wales – Asia Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Sept 23: Australia – Fiji Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier
Sept 25: Americas 2 – Asia Parc Lescure, Bordeaux
Sept 29: Australia – Americas 2 Parc Lescure, Bordeaux
Sept 29: Wales – Fiji Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes

Pool C
Sept 8: New Zealand – Europe 1 Stade Vélodrome, Marseille
Sept 9: Scotland – Repechage 1 Parc Lescure, Bordeaux
Sept 12: Europe 1 – Europe 2 Stade Vélodrome, Marseille
Sept 15: New Zealand – Repechage 1 Stade de Gerland, Lyon
Sept 18: Scotland – Europe 2 Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh
Sept 19: Europe 1 – Repechage 1 Parc des Princes, Paris
Sept 23: Scotland – New Zealand Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh
Sept 25: Europe 2 – Repechage 1 Stade de Toulouse, Toulouse
Sept 29: Scotland – Europe 1 Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Étienne
Sept 29: New Zealand – Europe 2 Stade de Toulouse, Toulouse

Pool D
Sept 7: France – Americas 1 Stade de France, St-Denis
Sept 9: Ireland – Africa Parc Lescure, Bordeaux
Sept 11: Americas 1 – Europe 1 Stade de Gerland, Lyon
Sept 15: Ireland – Europe 3 Parc Lescure, Bordeaux
Sept 16: France – Africa Stade de Toulouse, Toulouse
Sept 21: France – Ireland Stade de France, St-Denis
Sept 22: Americas 1 – Africa Stade Vélodrome, Marseille
Sept 26: Europe 3 – Africa Stade Félix Bollaert, Lens
Sept 30: France – Europe 3 Stade Vélodrome, Marseille
Sept 30: Ireland – Americas 1 Parc des Princes, Paris

Quarter-Finals
Oct 6: QF1: Winner Pool B – runners-up Pool A Stade Vélodrome, Marseille
Oct 6: QF2: Winner pool C – runners-up Pool D Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Oct 7: QF3: Winner Pool A – runners-up Pool B Stade Vélodrome, Marseille
Oct 6: QF4: Winner Pool D – runners-up Pool C Stade de France, St-Denis

Semi-Finals
Oct 13: SF1: Winner QF1 – winner QF2 Stade de France, St-Denis
Oct 14: SF2: Winner QF3 – winner QF4 Stade de France, St-Denis

Third/Fourth Place Playoff
Oct 19: Loser SF1 – loser SF2 Parc des Princes, Paris

Final
Oct 20: Winner SF1 – winner SF2 Stade de France, St-Denis

Buy World Cup Rugby Tickets

We've found out that Ticketmaster have tickets for the 6th Rugby World Cup in France 2007.

To buy tickets for the final you have to have bought tickets for preceeding matches with Ticketmaster.

There a number of ways to buy. You can opt for "Team Packages", these give you all their pool matches and either a quater-final or semif final ticket.

Choose From:
England - Sold Out
Scotland
Ireland
Wales
France
Australia
South Africa
New Zealand

If your team is unfortunately knocked out, you'll get the cost of the knock-out tickets reimburssed - refer to their terms and conditions.

Or you can go for host city Packages:

Lens - More Information
Cardiff
Edinburgh
St-Denis
Paris
Nantes
Lyon
St-Etienne
Bordeaux
Montpellier
Toulouse

Australia 34 England 3

Oh dear! With just a year to go (I know it seems ages when you think we've got to get through World Cup football, the Golf World Cup, the Cricket World Cup and various other events. But it may take longer than a year and three months to sort the England Rugby team out!

The lads are just not taking advantage of the opportunities they're given Connolly said to BBC News "We were very rusty, I think we will improve on that performance. " With the six nations around the corner, I think they need to quick-smartish!

Since England were at the Olympic Stadium three years ago to pick up the Web Ellis trophy they have lost more games than they've won. For World Cup holders this just isn't acceptable.