Ospreys continue to lead the international way with one third of all Wales caps issued since 2003

Posted on Jan 30, 2013

As the nation prepares for the 2013 Six Nations, which gets underway this weekend when Wales entertain Ireland at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday lunchtime, figures revealed today show that the Ospreys continue to lead the way in terms of contribution to the senior national team.

The latest stats show that to the end of the autumn international series, where Wales played four games against Argentina, Samoa, New Zealand and Australia, more caps have been handed out by the WRU to players wearing the Ospreys shirt than from any other region, with 34 per cent of all caps going to Liberty Stadium based players – over a third of all caps issued to date.

Since the inception of regional rugby a total of 2417 caps have been dished out, 825 of them going to Ospreys players. Next on the list is Cardiff Blues with 600 caps (25 per cent), the Scarlets with 461 (19 per cent) and the Dragons with 259 (11 per cent).

Behind them come the combined total for English clubs (122/5 per cent), while Overseas and Celtic Warriors from 03/04 account for the final 150 caps (6 per cent) between them.

Reflecting on the figures as he looked ahead to the forthcoming Six Nations, Chief Operations Officer Andrew Hore said that everybody involved with rugby in the region could take great pride from the statistics.

“Almost 10 years into regional rugby, to be able to say that over one third of all caps issued have gone to Ospreys players is an incredible achievement for the organisation” he commented.

“It reflects positively on everyone involved on the development pathway. To represent your country is the ultimate goal of any young boy when he first picks up a rugby ball, and everyone of our players who have gone onto achieve that goal began their playing days at their local community club. It was where they fell in love with rugby.

“When you look at the boys who are currently in the Wales squad and see people like Adam Jones and Richard Hibbard among the senior players, side by side with the next generation of Ospreylian caps like Justin Tipuric, Dan Biggar, and the latest boys to receive a call-up, James King and Eli Walker, everyone involved on that pathway can take immense pride. Officials at the boys home clubs, the likes of Trebanos, Gorseinon or Abercrave, people who worked with them at age-grade, or young boys in their local community just starting off themselves can all look at these players and identify with them, recognising that they truly represent the diverse communities of Ospreylia.

“Add in the senior players like Alun Wyn Jones and Ashley Beck who are out injured currently, or the seven young Ospreys players who have been selected for the U20s on Friday evening, and you can see how strong our development pathway is as the next generation are already starting to come through.”

According to Hore, there is no reason to believe that the figures will change much moving forward given the Ospreys ongoing commitment to development.

“Development from within is at the very heart of everything we do as an organisation” he emphasised.

“We’ve increased investment in that area year on year and are seeing the rewards, and it is all credit to the directors for their vision in seeing this as the way forward for the Ospreys. Look at the young players who have come to the fore this season for the region and you will recognise a development system that is thriving.

“It’s essential, given the way the market is going in rugby, with Welsh regions funded centrally at a lower level than in England, Ireland, Scotland or France, that we remain ahead of the game in terms of development. For us to deliver sustainable success, we need to know where our priorities lie, and we’ve seen over the last twelve months that by doing so we are able to reap the rewards.

“We are justifiably proud to be able to say that a third of all Wales caps have gone to Ospreys players. The challenge now is to maintain that record, and ensure that rugby clubs and communities across Ospreylia can continue to see more local boys coming through the system to represent the region, and the country, than at any other region.”

Ireland women to play Wales

Posted on Jan 30, 2013

The Ireland Women’s team to play Wales in their opening game of the RBS 6 Nations, in Aberavon RFC on Sunday, February 3rd, 13:30, has been named.

Head coach Philip Doyle has selected Ireland’s most capped player, Lynne Cantwell, at out half for the game. She will be partnered in the half backs by Larissa Muldoon.

Niamh Briggs starts at fullback with Niamh Kavanagh and Alison Miller on the wings while Grace Davitt and Jenny Murphy make up a new centre partnership.

Up front, captain Fiona Coghlan packs down alongside Gillian Bourke and Ailis Egan. Sophie Spence and Marie Louise Reilly form a strong second row.

Joy Neville, Claire Molloy and Laura Guest make up an exciting back row.

Speaking about his team selection and the campaign ahead Doyle said: “It was an extremely difficult decision in selecting the 23 players for this weekend’s match and even more difficult in selecting the starting line up.

"The players have been working very hard over the last number of months and they made my job very difficult in team selection.

" Qualification for the 2014 Women’s Rugby World Cup is dependent on the result from both this year’s and last year’s 6 Nations so we will be looking to raise the bar again this year in terms of our performances.

"We are under no illusions of the difficulty that this campaign will hold for us as all teams are looking to qualify for the WRWC which is the pinnacle of the XVs games."

Ireland Women (V Wales Women, RBS 6 Nations Championship, Aberavon RFC, Sunday February 3rd, 13:30):

15. Niamh Briggs (Munster)
14. Niamh Kavanagh (Munster)
13. Grace Davitt (Ulster)
12. Jenny Murphy (Leinster)
11. Alison Miller (Connacht)
10. Lynne Cantwell (Exiles)
9. Lariss Muldoon (Exiles)
1. Fiona Coghlan (Leinster) Captain
2. Gillian Bourke (Munster)
3. Ailis Egan (Leinster)
4. Sophie Spence (Exiles)
5. Marie Louise Reilly (Leinster)
6. Laura Guest (Munster)
7. Claire Molloy (Exiles)
8. Joy Neville (Munster)

Replacements:
16. Stacey-Lee Kennedy (Ulster)
17. Fiona Hayes (Munster)
18. Lauren Day (Exiles)
19. Heather O’Brien (Munster)
20. Siobhan Fleming (Munster)
21. Amy Davis (Ulster)
22. Nora Stapleton (Leinster)
23. Ashleigh Baxter (Ulster)

Ireland team to play Wales

Posted on Jan 29, 2013

The Ireland team to play Wales in the opening game of the RBS 6 Nations Championship next Saturday in the Millennium Stadium has been named.

In the backline, Gordon D’Arcy and Brian O’Driscoll will partner each other in the centre for a world record 48th time at international level.

Rob Kearney returns to international rugby and starts at full back to win his 42nd cap with Simon Zebo and Craig Gilroy named on the wings.

Second rows Mike McCarthy and Donnacha Ryan will start a championship game together for the first time, with McCarthy making his first start in the tournament having featured as a replacement last season.

Sean O’Brien returns to the starting team after missing the November internationals in a back row that includes Peter O’Mahony and Jamie Heaslip, who will captain Ireland in the RBS 6 Nations Championship for the first time.

The Ireland Team to play Wales on Saturday, 2nd February 2013 in Millennium Stadium, Cardiff in the RBS 6 Nations Championship, Kick off 1.30pm is:

(Player/club/province/international caps):

15 – Rob Kearney (UCD/Leinster/41)
14 – Craig Gilroy (Dungannon/Ulster/1)
13 – Brian O’Driscoll (UCD/Leinster/120)
12 – Gordon D’Arcy (Lansdowne/Leinster/71)
11 – Simon Zebo (Cork Constitution/Munster/3)
10 – Jonathan Sexton (St.Mary’s College/Leinster/34)
9 – Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster/14)
1 – Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster/35)
2 – Rory Best (Banbridge/Ulster/62)
3 – Mike Ross (Clontarf/Leinster/24)
4 – Mike McCarthy (Buccaneers/Connacht/6)
5 – Donnacha Ryan (Shannon/Munster/23)
6 – Peter O’Mahony (Cork Constitution/Munster/9)
7 – Sean O’Brien (UCD/Leinster/22)
8 – Jamie Heaslip (Dublin University/Leinster/52) Captain

Replacements:
16 – Sean Cronin (St. Mary’s College/Leinster/23)
17 – David Kilcoyne (UL Bohemians/Munster/2)
18 – Declan Fitzpatrick (Dungannon/Ulster/2)
19 – Donncha O’Callaghan (Cork Constitution/Munster/91)
20 – Chris Henry (Malone/Ulster/4)
21 – Eoin Reddan (Lansdowne/Leinster/47)
22 – Ronan O’Gara (Cork Constitution/Munster/126)
23 – Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster/34)

Ulster team named for top-of-the-table clash

Posted on Jan 3, 2013

Ulster Head Coach, Mark Anscombe, has made eight changes to the team that lost to Munster at Thomond Park last Saturday for tomorrow night’s top-of-the-table clash against Llanelli Scarlets at Ravenhill (kick off 19:05).

In the back-line, Andrew Trimble, Darren Cave, Paddy Jackson and Ruan Pienaar all return to the starting XV after missing the trip to Limerick.

Rob Herring and Adam Macklin are retained in the front row, while Tom Court starts at loose head. Dan Tuohy makes his first start after recovering from a torn calf muscle and joins Lewis Stevenson in the second-row. Chris Henry will captain Ulster and starts at openside, with Robbie Diack at blindside and Nick Williams at Number 8.

Callum Black drops to the bench, as does Neil McComb and Roger Wilson. Paddy Wallace and John Afoa are also named as replacements alongside Niall Annett, Michael Heaney and Ricky Andrew.

The game, which is sold out, will see RaboDirect PRO12 leaders Ulster take on the team immediately below them in the table, Llanelli Scarlets. Ulster won the previous encounter between the two sides 19 points to 12 at Parc y Scarlets last month.

A limited number of promenade tickets are still available for the Heineken Cup game against Glasgow at Ravenhill next Friday night and are available at SS Moore’s only.

Ulster XV & replacements to face Llanelli Scarlets, RaboDirect PRO12, Ravenhill, Friday 4th January 2013 Kick Off 19:05:

(15-9): A D’Arcy, A Trimble, D Cave, L Marshall, C Gilroy; P Jackson, R Pienaar;

(1-8): T Court, R Herring, A Macklin, L Stevenson, D Tuohy, R Diack, C Henry, N Williams;

Replacements (16-23): N Annett, C Black, J Afoa, N McComb, R Wilson, M Heaney, P Wallace, R Andrew

Thrilling top table clash for Scarlets in Ireland for fourth away fixture in a row

The Scarlets will travel to Ulster on Friday night looking to take points away from the league leaders as the first and second placed teams in the RaboDirect PRO12 go head-to-head.

At the same fixture earlier in the season with both teams in the same position, league leaders Ulster just got the upper hand with a narrow 19-12 victory over the Scarlets at home in West Wales on December 2^nd 2012.

Despite their loss to Munster at Thomond Park on Saturday, as the New Year begins, Ulster remain clear at the top of the RaboDirect PRO12 table with a 9 point lead over second placed Scarlets, who they welcome to Ravenhill on Friday night (kick off 7.05pm).

In another tight league contest, there are just three points separating the Scarlets from their rivals below them positioned third to sixth – so vital points are on offer this weekend before the teams break for the final rounds of pool stages in Europe.

The Scarlets know they have a big challenge to break down Ulster’s strong home record with the Ulstermen’s only home defeat in the competition since October 2011 being 8-16 to Leinster on 20 April.  The West Wales side last won at Ravenhill in September 2008 with Ulster winning four of the last five encounters against the Scarlets.

However the Scarlets form away from home has been a strength this season, and it’s Ulster who are the only side that have an away record that outweighs the Scarlets in the RaboDirect PRO12 this season.

After a physical and bruising few weeks over the festive period with a the European double-header and two big away Welsh derbies in just five days, the Scarlets are without 12 players from their squad; 11 through injury and one suspension (Gareth Owen, centre).

Long-term injured backs Rhys Priestland (Achilles) and Jordan Williams (shoulder) are both progressing well; with Wales fly-half Priestland now out of plaster and into an air-cast boot and joining the Scarlets for his rehab programme next week.

In the forwards the West Wales side are missing seven players; back row Aaron Shingler (groin), second row George Earle (knee), hooker Matthew Rees (neck), hooker Ken Owens (ribs), second row Joe Snyman (groin), prop Samson Lee (shoulder) and no8 Kieran Murphy (back).

Backs not available are Rhys Jones (groin); Liam Williams (concussion) and Gareth Owen (three week suspension).

Back row international Rob McCusker returns to the starting line-up after a disciplinary hearing this week upheld that the red card issued to him at the Boxing Day Ospreys derby was sufficient.

Scarlets Head Coach Simon Easterby said:  “It’s been a challenging and intense period of rugby for us December; it’s been a pretty tough period in terms of the fixtures and how many away games we’ve had and January will be equally challenging with games away in Ulster, Leinster and then Clermont Auvergne at home in the Heineken Cup.

“It hasn’t been a great spell for us, however we’re also mindful of what we’ve been up against. We’re in a very tough Heineken Cup group and that we’ve had a number of away games against very good opposition including two big Welsh derbies.

“We’ve had a few additional days over the New Year without a game to be able to focus and reflect in some more depth – looking back on our European performances and our two Welsh derbies. That’s been important given the scale and significance of what’s ahead of us now."

Easterby said the Scarlets would not be too concerned about what was happening above or below them in the league – and that the focus was firmly on the their own campaign and performance.

“Our control is where we can put ourselves in the league; we know it’s going to be a difficult competition to stay in the top four but we need to get things right in our game this weekend to start with and the boys have been very positive in training this week.

“There’s a strong team ethic in our squad and with the quality and experience we have in our ranks, regardless of our injury list, there’s plenty of intent to put things right and it’s a huge opportunity to start that this weekend.

“Ulster have an impressive record at home and they are bringing back their top players in front of a home crowd after resting a big group last weekend.  They’re in a really good place and are a difficult team to play against – but we showed in early December that we can create decent opportunities against them; this time we need to take advantage of that.”

Wales international centre Jon Davies who captains the Scarlets side for a fifth consecutive time on Friday night said that the Scarlets would need get a sharp start at Ravenhill.

He said: “We’ve given teams easy points early on in games against opposition that can close games out.

“Ulster have a high intensity game plan, they will come at us with a solid game plan and we’ll need to start better, not put pressure on ourselves, be smarter and play in the right areas. There’s a lot in our game at the moment and we are playing well in patches but we have to find that for the full 80 minutes.”

Scarlets team v Ulster Friday 4th January 2013 kick-off 7.05pm Ravenhill; 15 Dan Newton 14 George North, 13 Gareth Maule, 12 Jonathan Davies (capt), 11 Kristian Phillips, 10 Aled Thomas, 9 Tavis Knoyle, 1 Phil John, 2 Emyr Phillips, 3 Jacobie Adriaanse, 4 Sione Timani, 5 Richard Kelly, 6 Josh Turnbull, 7 Johnathan Edwards, 8 Rob McCusker

Replacements: 16 Kirby Myhill, 17 Rhodri Jones, 18 Deacon Manu, 19 Tomas Vallejos, 20 Craig Price, 21 Gareth Davies, 22 Scott Williams 23 Adam Warren

McCusker and Owen disciplinary verdicts

Posted on Jan 3, 2013

At a RaboDirect PRO12 hearing today in Dublin, the Scarlets replacement back row forward, Rob McCusker, appeared before David Martin (Chairman), George Spotswood and Tommy Dalton (all Ireland) following a red card for foul play contrary to Law 10.4(b) during the Ospreys v Scarlets match on 26 December 2012.

Having considered the video evidence and heard submissions from the player and his representative, the Committee determined the act to be at the lower end of the relevant scale of seriousness, and held that in the particular circumstances of this case, that no further sanction should apply, so the player is free to resume playing.

The hearing for the Scarlets replacement back, Gareth Owen, who was also dismissed in the same match, was heard by the same Disciplinary Committee.  In this case, the Committee, having considered the video evidence and heard submission from the player and his representative, held that the act of foul play, under Law 10.4(i), warranted a sanction with a mid range entry point.  The Committee, having taken into account all mitigating factors, and in the absence of any aggravating factors, imposed a three week suspension, which expires at mid-night on Wednesday 16 January 2013.