In the United States, in San Francisco, the World Cup of
Rugby Sevens is being contested this weekend.
The governing agency prefers to call this the Rugby World Cup Sevens,
not sure why. It is the premier
stand-alone international rugby sevens competition outside the Olympic Gamesand
is contested every four years. It is organised by World Rugby, the sport's
governing body. This is the first
competition held since Rugby Sevens was integrated into Olympic Sports at the
2016 Rio games. It was last held in
2013, and henceforth will be held every four years, two years after and before
the Summer Olympics. New Zealand and
Fiji have both won two of the titles, leading the several nations who have won
one each.
The competition began Friday at AT&T Park, and consists of 24
men’s teams and 16 women’s teams vying for a world championship in the
wide-open, high-octane, seven-player version of the sport. It is expected to
draw about 100,000 fans. NBC Sports Network will televise the event, one of the
biggest gatherings for rugby sevens. The
tournament comes at a crucial moment for rugby in America, where the sport’s
advocates have been promising a rugby boom for a generation. Next year will see
the (normal) Rugby World Cup contested.
A total of 84 matches are played in the three days, 52 men's and 32
women's. More tomorrow.
In Australia, in Aussie Rules Football, the inimitable Sydney
Swans, fresh from a dramatic last-gasp win over North Melbourne, host the Gold
Coast Broncos on Saturday as they bid to extend an incredible record of making the
finals in 14 of the past 15 seasons. The
current standings indicate that the Suns represent Sydney's best chance to bank
a percentage-boosting win before September.
1.7 percentage points separate 3rd place Collingwood from fifth-place
Port Adelaide, with the Swans sandwiched in the middle. The season's Swans, while protecting their incredible legacy, sometimes
have a problem with consistency.
Standout phenom Tom Papley returns to the Swans, after
missing two games because of injury, and although young, adds some experience
to the lineup. Most of the lineup is
younger, and he enjoys teaching them, along with a few of the longtime
Swans. "It's good for the club that
the young boys are going really well," Papley said. Saturday will be the first game that Suns
mentor Stuart Dew coaches against Sydney, the club where he honed his craft as
John Longmire's right-hand man.
In other Saturday action, North Melbourne takes on
Collingwood, Essendon takes on the Fremantle Dockers, the Brisbane Lions take
on Adelaide, and the Geelong Cats take on Melbourne at Kardinia Park, South
Geelong, aka the GMHBA Stadium.
Some of our bros may have trouble telling the difference between the Aussie Rules Boys and the international Rugby Bros.
All have long balls, oblong, but the Rugby balls are made by Gilbert, the Aussie Rules balls by Sherrin.
When they are not hugging each other, Aussie Rules players can be distinguished by their AFL patch on the right breast.
Their kit is also usually more form fitting and lighter.
We are thankful for that.
