Formed 2004 ... Herts 7s U14 Runners-up 2005 ... North Herts U14 team, Herts Youth Games 2005 runners-up (coached by Letchworth)... Herts Superteams U14 Runners-up 2005 ... Herts SuperTeams "Fairplay" winners 2006 ... Rochford 10s U17 Champions 2006 ... East Midlands 10s U17 Runners-up 2007 ... East Midlands 10s U17 "Fairplay" winners 2007 ... National 10s U17 5th place and "Fairplay" winners 2007 ... Herts 7s U17 Plate runners-up 2007 ... National 7s U17 Plate winners 2007 ... RFU "President's XV" Award winners 2007 ... Herts Superteams winners 2007 ... Midlands 10s U18 Runners-up 2008 ... National 10s U18 4th place 2008 ... North Herts U11 team, Herts Youth Games 2008 runners-up (coached by Letchworth girls) ... London and SE 7s U18 Plate runners-up 2008 ... Herts 7s U18s runners-up 2008 ... National 7s U18s quarter-finalists 2008 ... Gloucester City 10s U18 Bowl runner-up (6th) 2009 ... Worthing 10s U18 Plate runner-up 2009 ... National 7s U18 Plate winners 2009... Worthing 10s U15 Plate winners 2010... Worthing 10s U18 Shield winners 2010... Herts 7s U15 and U18 Bowl runners-up 2010... National 7s U18 Plate runners-up 2010...

Monday, November 23, 2009

IRB launch World Cup 2010

The IRB today "launched" the 2010 World Cup, including a dedicated website (http://www.rwcwomens.com/).

All games up to the semi-finals will take place at the University of Surrey's new (indeed so new its still being built) Surrey Sports Park in Guildford. The semi-finals, third place game, and final will be at The Stoop.

Unexpectedly the IRB have decided on a far simpler and easier to follow format than any of their previous tournaments - for the first time all teams in each pool will play each other! Unfortunately this clarity only goes so far because, by insisting on a 12 team tournament, the IRB have painted themselves into a potentially complex corner when it comes to deciding who will qualify for the semi-finals.

The three pool winners and "best runner-up" will meet in the semi-finals on 1st September. It is not exactly clear how the "best runner-up" will be decided if (as is entirely possible) more than one team finishes on the same number of points - but the final round of pool games promise to be incredibly exciting, not to say wildly confusing!

In the semi-finals the best runner-up will then meet the pool winner with the best record. As a result it is quite possible that a semi-final may be a repeat of an earlier pool game. It is even possible that England and New Zealand could meet in a semi-final (though that is something that the organisers will be desperate to avoid!).

England open their campaign on 20th August against Ireland. They then play Kazakhstan on 24th, and finish against the USA on the 28th. New Zealand will play South Africa, Australia and Wales on the same dates. Full fixture information can be found here.


1 comment:

  1. That's the format IRB used in Africa's WRWC 7's qualifiers last year and the semifinals ended up being repeats of the pool games. A very strange format.

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

Total Pageviews (since June 2009)

 
Sport Blogs - Blog Catalog Blog Directory