U.S. Embassy, Wellinton New Zealand – USA Rugby – Eagles road to the Rugby World Cup, 2011.
July 29, 2011 Leave a comment
The USA Rugby All Americans trained with the Navy SEALs prior to their three-game series with New Zealand Universities. The All Americans were put through rigorous workouts, and team manager Kevin Battle chronicled the endeavor and produced this video.
Courtesy of USA Rugby/Rugbymag
July 22, 2011 Leave a comment
Our intrepid Kyle Jones hit the road again this weekend to cover the third and final rugby game between the U.S. College All Stars and the New Zealand Universities squads.
The U.S. were leading the series 2-0 and looking for the sweep. But the Kiwis were having none of that. (For full match report, see posts below.) They took the game 23-20, and head home feeling a lot better about their team. After the video of the haka, Kyle interviewed three of the players for their post-match reactions.
July 19, 2011 Leave a comment
By Kyle Jones, Rugby USA
In a tournament that left them struggling and looking for more, the New Zealand Universities managed to eke out a win against the All Americans on Saturday at Stanford University.
This looked as if it would be a repeat of the two previous games, both won by the All Americans, with the Collegians coming out ahead early and showing no signs of slowing down. Maintaining the lead into the half, the All Americans were set to make a sweep of this tour. But the Kiwis had other thoughts, and would charge back with a flurry of trys in the second half to tie the game at 20 points apiece. Late in the second half, the All Americans were in a situation they had not felt all series: under duress and on the verge of a loss.
When the pressure mounted, the All Americans cracked, giving up dropped balls, a yellow card infraction, and finally a late high tackle. This set up New Zealand with a chip in for three points with only minutes to go. But the All Americans, looking for the sweep, weren’t done yet. A flash of offloads put them within inches of the try line. Twenty-plus phases of play were unleashed on New Zealand’s defense as the All Americans inched closer and closer to the goal line.
They weren’t fighting New Zealand anymore, they were fighting the clock. The clock would win this time. The All Americans had come within inches of a try and had the entire crowd on their feet. The final result was New Zealand 23 All Americans 20. New Zealand would be able to fly home with their heads held high, having secured one win. But so could the All Americans, having won the series by 2-1.
For many, this was their last opportunity to play college rugby. They now move on to club level or possibly their own national team in either the World Cup or the Olympic Sevens. Unfortunately for some, this will be their only chance at playing rugby on an international level. It is understood that rugby is the ultimate in physical ball sports and that decisions made in an instant can sway the result. From a spectator’s point of view, this particular tour was marred by late punches, unsportsmanlike conduct, and a lack of respect for who and what the players represented.
Both teams should have remembered that they not only represent themselves or their team. They represent their country. This seemed to have been forgotten on occasion and somewhat marred a tour that should have been a great sporting spectacle as well as a building of friendship and a deepening of mutual understanding between the two countries.
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July 18, 2011 Leave a comment
Gareth Jones offload; Collegiate Photos
By Jarrod Beckstrom, USA Rugby
STANFORD, Calif. – The USA Men’s Collegiate All-Americans fell three points shy (20-23) of a three-game sweep of the New Zealand Universities on Saturday at Steuber Rugby Stadium on the campus of Stanford University.
The All-Americans defeated the touring team 60-17 in the opening match of the tour last Saturday and 21-11 in the second on Wednesday. However in the final encounter, New Zealand played a very physical and opportunistic brand of rugby to win.
Big Dartmouth lock, Nate Brakeley, opened the scoring with a try in the opening five minutes and the Americans were off with a bang. They extended their lead through a JP Eloff penalty.
New Zealand answered back with a score and so it would go for the rest of the game, an American score and a response from the New Zealanders by try or by penalty.
Kyle Grossheider (Life University) scored next for the All-Americans, but the New Zealand Universities outside center scooted over for a try to answer back and the scores were 15-14, the hosts with a slight lead.
July 17, 2011 Leave a comment
Update: Kiwis beat All Americans 23-20.
Game 3 kicks off live from Stanford University 1pm pst and 8am NZST.
Follow us on twitter: @usrugbynz and Ustream feed bellow for live updates.
STANFORD, Calif. – The USA Men’s Collegiate All-Americans will take the field against the New Zealand Universities for the third and final match of their July tour. After winning the first two games, the All-Americans are targeting a sweep of the touring squad but they know it won’t come easy.
“We expect another physical, competitive match with New Zealand. Our goal has been to be playing our best rugby by the end of match three. That’s a tough task; to constantly get better…It’ll be interesting to see how much fight we put forth in this regard. We are looking forward to it,” said Alexander Magleby, the All-Americans head coach.
The front row is the same that was named in the series opener last Saturday, but they were largely rested in the midweek victory. The starting second row is changed entirely from the midweek game as well.
Ryan Roundy (BYU) has been named captain of the side and resumes his place at eight man. He has a strong supporting cast in the loose forwards in the form of Derek Asbun (University of California – Berkeley) and Garrett Lambert (Life University). Lambert and Asbun both started in the last game. Read more of this post
July 15, 2011 Leave a comment
Part of U.S. Embassy Wellington’s year-long celebration of the Rugby World Cup has involved a wonderful exchange program between New Zealand and Hawaii.
We partnered with a group called Education-1st Hawaii on an innovative sports exchange focused on skills development, team building, and cross-cultural linkages. It began back in December, when three seasoned New Zealand coaches travelled to Hawaii. They put on intensive clinics for two hundred Hawaiian kids. You can read about the accomplishments and goals of the program here. Wesley Clarke of the NZ Rugby Union also trained Hawaiian coaches in the latest safety standards, to minimize injuries.
Then, last month, a group of Hawaiian Rugby players came over to New Zealand for some hardcore training, playing and fun. I AM TV did a couple of excellent interviews with the players. They’re really fun to watch.
The great thing about these exchanges is the celebration of our shared culture – and of course the differences. These Hawaiian Ruggers looked like they had a great time and were so well hosted by their new Kiwi friends.
July 15, 2011 Leave a comment
The second in the three-game series was much closer. This time the Collegiate All-Americans won 21-11 against New Zealand Universities, but were trailing at half time. Had it not been for a couple of key New Zealand mistakes, the game could have gone the other way.
The 60-17 thrashing the Kiwis suffered in the first game was obviously bothering them. There was a bit of post-haka pushing and shoving going on, as the Kiwis really got in the faces of the All-Americans.
Still, the game started slowly, with an exchange of goals – JP Eloff scored a drop goal for the U.S. – and a 6-3 New Zealand lead at the half. Despite the score, the Americans had most of the ball control and much of the half was spent on the Kiwi side of the field.
The All-Americans started the second half strong, and kept it that way for the rest of the game.
An intercepted pass gave the All-Americans their first lead – just as the Kiwis were trying to mount an attack. It was Peter Tiberio who burst through the line, helped himself to the Kiwi pass and was gone for five points. The conversion was no good.
Chris Saint, Penn State
Chris Saint, of Penn State, scored a second try later in the half and that would do it, though NZU scored a try with a few minutes left. While the result was never really in question, this was a much tighter game. It sets things up perfectly for a classic third and final confrontation in San Francisco this weekend.
If there’s live coverage of the game again, we’ll let you know ahead of time. We hope those of you who watched the Santa Barbara game through UStream enjoyed it as much as we did. Ain’t technology grand?
- Adrian Pratt, U.S. Embassy Wellington
July 14, 2011 Leave a comment
UPDATE: The Collegiate All-American team won the match 21-11. Job well done!
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – After defeating the New Zealand Universities 60-17 in the first of a three-match series last Saturday, the Men’s Collegiate All-Americans are set for the second encounter. The game kicks off at Harder Stadium on the campus of the University of California – Santa Barbara at 6:30 p.m. PT, July 13 (TODAY 1:30pm New Zealand time). The game will be webcast live below through the USA Rugby’s UStream channel.
All-Americans Head Coach, Alexander Magleby has made numerous changes to the forward pack, replacing entirely the front and second rows from the first game. Derek Asbun (University of California – Berkeley) moves from the flank to eight man and Garrett Lambert (Life University) will start at openside flanker. Lambert’s Life teammate and USA international, Cam Dolan, will look to make an impact on the blindside.
The backline has fewer changes with Peter Tiberio (University of Arizona), following a three-try performance in the series opener, sliding to fullback in place of Blaine Scully (University of California – Berkeley). Life University’s Kyle Grossheider will start on the wing.
Magleby was pleased with the team’s performance on Saturday, but knows that the All-Americans can’t afford to sit on their laurels in the second match. Read more of this post
July 12, 2011 Leave a comment
Our very own Kyle Jones shot great video of the New Zealand Universities haka - a traditional Maori war dance - before their game against the All American Collegiate team. The haka, most famously performed by New Zealand’s feared All Blacks, is performed before big games. He stuck around for the game, which the U.S. won 60-17, and interviewed some of the participants in this three-game series in California. The next game will be played Wednesday, July 13.
July 11, 2011 Leave a comment
Photo Credit: Dallen Stanford
By Kyle Jones, Embassy Wellington
The All American Collegiate team opened their three-match series against New Zealand Universities with a 60-17 win on Saturday.
The first game, in sunny San Diego, was a contest of physicality and thrilling athleticism.
The game started with what looked to be an overpowering offense by New Zealand, getting within inches of a try in their opening drive. Instead, they turned the ball over at the crucial moment.
The All Americans quickly scored. Thriving on compounded mistakes of dropped passes and miscommunication by New Zealand, the All Americans seemed to run away with it at the half. The big question would be whether or not they could maintain their large lead as the game began to become more physical after the half. New Zealand were clearly frustrated, culminating in a yellow card. New Zealand would continue to show flashes of brilliance late in the half, with a few scores of their own - but it was too little too late for this match. New Zealand was caught slightly off guard by the conditions and the sheer quality of their opponent. Both teams look to improve on their games for the upcoming match on Wednesday in Santa Barbara.
Photo Credit: Dallen Stanford
Cohesiveness and team work seemed to be a huge issue for New Zealand while the All Americans fired on all cylinders. Their offloads seemed to find the right hands on every pass and the team communicated flawlessly through out the match. Keep in mind both teams have had only one weeks time together before this match. New Zealand’s roster consists of a U-21 squad from various universities within New Zealand, none of which have played together as a whole until last weekend. The All American squad being a bit older yet fielding players from universities all across the United States that in most cases playing against each other not with each other. Both teams are looking to build on team work and just getting to know one another in preparation for their next match on wednesday . Click here, for Blaine Scully’s thoughts on how the training camp with the Navy SEALS helped bring his team together as a unit.
Photo Credit: Kyle Jones
There were quite a few people in attendance for this match, showing support for each side. One of those being Todd Clever, USA Eagles captain, and he had this to say about the result: “It was a great showing for the All Americans today. They defended with a lot of passion and pride. They put together some great phases of rugby and scored some fantastic tries. I am very proud of the guys and hope they continue to improve for the next two games”
We also caught up with players from both sides for some post-game interviews and analysis. Look for those here soon.
Welcome to RugbyUSA, the website focusing on the U.S. Eagles’ road to the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, as well as the enduring American passion for the game. Help us here at Embassy Wellington generate buzz for the Eagles by contributing to the website, sending us story and link suggestions, sending us photos and videos, or providing feedback about the site. You can easily reach us here, on Twitter (@usrugbynz) or by email at usrugby.nz@gmail.com . Thanks. We look forward to hearing from you.
| GAME | DATE | TIME | LOCATION |
| vs Ireland | Sep 11 | 18:00 | New Plymouth |
| vs Russia | Sep 15 | 19:30 | New Plymouth |
| vs Australia | Sep 23 | 20:30 | Wellington |
| vs Italy | Sep 27 | 19:30 | Nelson |
|
