Watch the USA Quality for RWC 2011

American readers will be pleased to note that the USA Eagles qualified for the 2011 Rugby World Cup this past weekend with their second win over Uruguay in as many weeks. This means that the Eagles will appear in their sixth world cup out of the seventh that have been played thus far, with their only missed appearance being the 1995 incarnation of the event.

The Americans' competition will be tough, as they have been placed in a pool that includes Australia, Ireland, Italy, and a to-be-named European side. For now, though, we may as well just enjoy the full match footage of this past Saturday's qualifer, courtest of the USA Rugby Ustream Channel:

First Half:


Second Half:

Paying the Piper and Calling the Tune

We've talked about anthems before here at Armchair Playmaker, but we have to admit it's not a topic we expected to be on very often. Until this past weekend, that is.

The Springboks' loss to France was overshadowed by a debacle surrounding the performance of the South African national anthem. After the match, enraged Springbok representatives claimed that a poor rendition of the anthem insulted the vistors and affected their play.

Even after it was revealed that South African representatives were responsible for recommending the anthem's performer, France found itself apologizing. The singer offered his own explanation that he had been sabotaged, though some government officials in South Africa were unconvinced and went so far as to suggest the performance was an act of treason. (Though it bears mention that this particular anthem has been butchered in the past by home crowds as well, and more deliberately.)

We're hoping that the whole fiasco is over, but we are also reminded that the issue of suspiciously subpar anthem performances for visiting sides is not terribly uncommon. On the same weekend, for example, there were murmurs about a sound failure during the performance of New Zealand's national anthem before the All Blacks put away Italy. Earlier this year, the United States' loss to Canada was prefaced by an error in the American anthem's performance.

The idea of pinning a loss or a poor performance on a sabotoged anthem might be a stretch, although it wouldn't be the first time a hometown conspiracy was blamed for a rugby union loss. That said, one has to wonder if we might see some sort of regulatory efforts from the International Rugby Board to ensure consistent standards applied to anthems and other pre-match events.

In case you haven't yet got to hear the anthem heard 'round the world, here is a clip of that much-maligned performance from this past weekend:



And here's another performance of the anthem for comparison.



And just for good measure, here's one more effort to make amends by the now-infamous singer:



There's not much musical nous here at Armchair Playmaker, so you'll have to draw your own conclusions.

International Parity in League: How Close are We?

Almost a year ago, we commented on how New Zealand's shock World Cup win over Australia is great for the sport of rugby league because an international game dominated by one nation isn't very interesting. By the same token, New Zealand's draw with Australia in this year's Four Nations tournament continues to suggest that international rugby league is no one-horse race. The Kiwis, it seems, no longer have reason to fear the Kangaroos.

One problem, though, is that it has still often looked like there's no legitimate third contender in the sport to pressure those two antipodean rivals, England went ahead and beat New Zealand today. That means that the Four Nations final won't include New Zealand, and it also means that the tournament this year was competitive enough that tournament final will include a side with a loss (England) and a side with a draw (Australia). Only struggling France failed to emerge from the tournament without a win in the end, and even France led England at half-time when the two European sides met in the tournament.

A cynic might say that the emergence of apparent competitiveness between Australia, New Zealand, and England isn't much, and that it only means rugby league is at best a three-horse race (even if France competed gamely with them and there are other interesting international matches going on right now as well). Compared to rugby union, for example with its hundreds of member nations, three sides offering legitimate contention for the title is far from competitive. Right? Maybe. After all, how many teams have held the top spot in the International Rugby Board's rankings over their entire history since being introduced in 2003?

Let's see: There's England (ranked #1 at points during 2003 and 2004), New Zealand (ranked #1 from mid-2004 to late 2007 and during parts of 2008 and 2009), and South Africa (ranked #1 during parts of 2007, 2008, and 2009, including right now). That would be ... three sides?

Looking at things that way, international rugby league might be reasonably competitive after all, more so if England can rise to the occasion in next week's Four Nations final. In any case, it looks like rugby union is watching.

Here's a fan's view of a few moments from England vs. New Zealand:


We can't find much other video out there yet to post for today's matches, but here are some earlier tournament highlights:

Australia vs. England:


New Zealand vs. France:


Australia vs. New Zealand:


England vs. France:

Karmichael Knows?

We've mentioned Karmichael Hunt's much-publicized code switch from rugby league to Australian rules here before, and we had thought there wouldn't be a lot of reasons to mention him here much again given that this site focuses on the rugby codes and not the AFL.

We were wrong. Before his AFL career begins, Hunt plans to wear a shirt with sleeves for just a bit longer by playing rugby union for six months with Biarritz in France. This means that if all goes according to plan, Hunt will have played three football codes at a top professional level in the space of a year. So far, he seems to be enjoying the journey.

Some have already been questioning the intent behind Hunt's frequent code-hopping. We won't speculate on what's behind the sport-swapping, but if it's all about the publicity, Hunt may want to get Nike on the telephone. After all, this is starting to look very familiar to some of us in the United States:







The similarities grow even eerier when we recall that Hunt is a big fan of basketball and the NFL.

Here's hoping things go well for the multi-talented athlete. Fortunately for Karmichael Hunt, there shouldn't be any sign of "Rabbits" Warren (see video in link) or Fuifui Moimoi (see second video in link) in Biarritz or the AFL.

Americans, Meet Fuifui

The Melbourne Storm may have beaten the Parramatta Eels in the National Rugby League Grand Final, but the Eels put on a show as well--particularly on U.S. television. The Eels played in three of the four finals matches shown on Spike TV's weekly American broadcasts, making them the most-seen side in American during the series (the Storm appeared in two matches and the Gold Coast Titans, Canterbury Bulldogs, and Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles were each seen in one match).

Among the most memorable Eels players for the American audience week in and week out must have been Tongan-born Fuifui Moimoi (who is also eligible to play for New Zealand internationally). He got audiences' attention with hits so big that they can only be appreciated fully with the aid of science (sometimes a little too big), though his memorable name may have garnered as much notice from new viewers as his tremendous play.

If you found yourself becoming a new fan of Moimoi's, but were as captivated by the cult figure's interesting moniker as you were by his tremendous efforts, you're not alone. Moimoi is the subject of a song focused on his name and acheivements, as seen below:



We assume he doesn't mind the song because it will be playing when he enters the boxing ring for a charity match (the bout has been delayed by the Eels' success). If you're not a fan, though, you can see examples of Fuifui's imposing play without the soundtrack:









Now and then, of course, Moimoi is on the receiving end as well:



Here's hoping Spike TV and other U.S. networks see fit to show us more of Moimoi and the NRL's other luminaries in the future!

Interchange Coming to Union?

About a year ago, we mentioned that union might want to consider a league-style interchange law for substitutions after a Tri-Nations match featured something of a curious blood substitution.

In the wake of the now-infamous "Bloodgate" scandal involving a faked blood substitution during a Heineken Cup match earlier this year, a similar solution has been proposed. Among 16 suggestions made by an England Rugby Football Union task force on how to improve the sport is the recommendation that open "rolling" substitutions be given a trial run in an English domestic competition.

The idea has some prominent supporters.England manager and former England captain Martin Johnson argued today that the practice may be needed to discourage dishonest substitution practices. Of course, the suggestion has its detractors as well, particularly those who are concerned that opening up substitutions would dramatically affect the size and build of players used, but it looks to be getting taken seriously.

Will this be one way the rugby codes grow more similar than different over time? We'll see. In any case, something need to be done to stop the substitution cheating. As the video of the "Bloodgate" incident shows (follow the link to view the clip), it's certainly hard to catch the cheats under the current system (at least while the match is on). It certainly isn't as obvious as this "reconstruction" we found online, anyway:

Waiting for Invictus? American Rugby Union Documentaries can Tide You Over

The 2008 film Forever Strong may have been rugby union's most visible recent appearance in American media, but another film dealing with rugby union in America is on the way soon. This year, the big news about rugby union in the movies is the upcoming release Invictus, which focuses on South Africa's 1995 World Cup victory. On a quieter scale, tohugh, we'll see the appearance of a documentary on the history and present state of rugby union in America titled A Giant Awakens.

The documentary, whose title is a play on the "Sleeping Giant" term often used to describe the state of rugby union in America, will not be released in major theaters but will aim for other exposure via film festivals, television, sales, rentals, and online streaming delivery.

Visit the film's official site for more information on its pending release, and have a look at the trailer below for an advance look:

A Giant Awakens - Trailer HD 1 from sylvain doreau on Vimeo.

In the meantime, you may want to have a look at the 2008 documentary Try for another chance to see American rugby on film. It is available for twenty U.S. dollars, and can be previewed below:

Springboks, We're Really Happy for You ...

In the wake of this week's big music scandal over Kanye West interrupting Taylor Swift at the MTV Video Music Awards (which even got the U.S. President's attention), we decided we'd better get in on the fun everyone is having with photo and video spoofs of the event. Considering that the Springboks clinched their first Tri-Nations series win since 2004 this past Saturday, Armchair Playmaker couldn't help but imagine what things might have been like had West been around to comment:




If you think that joke has already grown old, then at least you can enjoy these highlights from the match:

NRL in the USA

For U.S. viewers, at least one good thing has come from the otherwise depressing saga of Setanta Sports' ongoing financial crisis, though it's happened indirectly. After Setanta U.S. quietly dumped their National Rugby League coverage, the Spike TV cable channel has picked up the slack by showing one tape-delayed match a week starting this weekend and running through the end of the season. Spike is on many cable packages, so many more Americans can have a look than before. If you're undecided about whether to flip the channel starting tomorrow at 11:00 p.m. Eastern U.S. time, have a look:

Wimps Need Not Apply | SpikeTV | SPIKE.com

Follow your Favorites on Twitter

The Twitter online social networking tool is a hot buzzword right now, though not everyone may understand how it works or what it's for.

In a word, Twitter is a site that allows people to make accounts and post very short sentences about what they're doing, sites they'd like people to read, questions for others, etc. In that way it's not so different than a blog, but with entries of only 140 characters each. (No, the Armchair Playmaker site doesn't have a Twitter account to go with this site--we just don't have enough to say for two sites!) (UPDATE: A day after this post went up, we decided we couldn't resist snooping on the stars and make an ACP twitter account.)

One of its most popular uses, though, is not to post but to read others' entries. Users can make an account and "follow" another user to see what that user posts, so many people choose you "follow" friends and celebrities.

We're not weighing in on whether the Twitter phenomenon is a passing fad or here to stay, but given the topic of the bog we may as well point out that there are a number of rugby union and rugby league personalities who use Twitter. Here are just a few of the well-known people and organizations from the rugby codes you can "follow" with Twitter to see what they have to say (or, if you don't have a Twitter account, you can just look at their sites anyway):

-David Campese, former Australia rugby union star (not to mention uncle of current league star Terry),
-Will Carling, former England rugby union captain,
-Canterbury of New Zealand, popular union and league kit provider,
-Karmichael Hunt, best known at the moment for his impending jump from rugby league to AFL,
-Leinster Rugby, the 2009 rugby union Heineken Cup champions,
-Victor Matfield, South African rugby union star,
-Ewen McKenzie, who may need to change his "LeLink" Twitter name after getting sacked last -night as coach of Stade Francais, and
-Lote Tuqiri, former Australian union and league star who has used Twitter a fair bit of late to keep his fans informed.

You may find more of your own favorites if you look for youself. If you can't resist the Twitter phenomenon, have a look at the video below to learn how to get on board. Just beware that you might be part of the majority of Twitter users who quit the service in the first month.

Anyone we missed who you'd like on the list? Leave a comment below with your recommendations.

The League to Union Disaster: Not Bad as Disasters Go

The recent departure of two high-profile Australian league-to-union converts from rugby union, Lote Tuqiri and Timana Tahu, has many deeming Australian rugby union's practice of "poaching" high-profile league players over the past few years an epic failure. The same might be heard elsewhere, such as in England where Andy Farrell did not dominate at the national level after switching to union or in Ireland where Brian Carney's swap to rugby union only lasted two years and was also low-key in terms of performance.

Andrew Slack, who knows a bit about rugby union as a former Wallabies captain and selector, begs to differ. He argues that in general (with exceptions), the code crossers have done well for his country by starring in a number of test matches and hitting other performance goals.

It's a compelling point, and similar arguments might be made for other nations. Jason Robinson left league in England to become a legend in union, and Farrell made a contribution by managing to play for his country in union despite being well out of his prime before the switch. Brad Thorn has starred for New Zealand in union and Australia in league, swapping codes and countries more than once in an ongoing career. (In fact, as much talk as there is about failed code switches, it is nation switches that may be the some teams' bigger worry.)

Another issue worth mentioning is that other code transfers who continue to shine in union after switching before their prime, such as Berrick Barnes and Rocky Elsom, also seem to be quietly ignored in the criticism. In fact, the Wallaby Tri-Nations squad a year ago had five former NRL players in it if one counts the oft-forgotten Barnes and Elsom.

With all the money involved in some of the code swaps, there is plenty of room for debate on what counts as a good investment, just as there will be with Karmichael Hunt's impending change to Aussie rules. That said, it's hard to look at moments like these as evidence for total failure:

Rival Codes all Around

It's been a couple of weeks, but our cross-code focus here demands we at least mention the big Karmichael Hunt code swap. Just as a series of washouts seems to have put the brakes on rugby union's hunt for rugby league players in Australia, Aussie rules has launched something of a cross-code battle by nabbing the big-name Broncos back.

Reactions have varied, with some seeing promise in the move and others sure that disaster is in the offing for Hunt (and maybe for the whole AFL).

We won't bother to comment, except to say that it will be interesting to see if he can go from this:


to this:

No Dead Rubbers Here

Major League Baseball's World Series is a best-of-seven series, but of course they don't bother to play them all if someone "clinches" the series by winning four games before all seven are played. Similarly, the National Basketball Association and National Hockey League finals don't bother playing more once they know who has won the series. These leagues' playoff matches leading up to the final follow a similar format, the idea being that there's no need to keep playing once a series winner is determined.

Considering that logic, the format of July's two biggest three-match series in rugby league and rugby union might seem a bit odd to Americans. The British and Irish Lions tour culminates in a best-of-three test match series against the hosting nation, and the State of Origin interstate series is a best-of-three as well. This year, both series were "clinched" after two matches. On the Lions' tour, South Africa won two in a row against the visitors while Queensland won the first two Origin matches against New South Wales. That left the final matches of both series with the derogatory "dead rubber" title. Competitors and fans were left with two matches that meant nothing to the series outcome.

One might ask: "Why bother playing them if they don't matter?" The dead rubbers don't matter to the series, sure, but have a look at these clips from the third matches of the two series and see if you think they didn't matter:

British and Irish Lions match three:


State of Origin match three:


Dead rubbers indeed!

Americans: Vote with your Remotes, Mouse Clicks

With the future of the Setanta Sports network on unsteady ground, Americans' access to rugby union and league is in jeopardy. If you haven't already subscribed to Setanta in the United States, you probably either can't or won't, but this weekend there's an easier way to help out rugby union in the United States.

ESPN, which doesn't exactly air a lot of rugby union, is showing the USA v. Canada World Cup qualifying match this Saturday at 4:00 p.m. Eastern. If you want to see rugby union on television in the United States, you're only part of the solution if you show ESPN why it's worth their time to broadcast it. "They should show rugby on TV," is a comment lament heard in the United States among enthusiasts, but not all of them step up to make it worth the networks' trouble.

Problem is, it's unlikely that ESPN will know you watched the match unless you are in one of the relatively few households that are used to collect ratings data by Nielsen (or some other group). So how else can you tell ESPN that you like seeing rugby union on television?

If you have access to ESPN360 on the Internet, you may want to watch it there to help the most. Only some Internet providers have access to ESPN360, so you may not have the option, but if you do you may want to watch the match online (a few times). Strangely enough, it can be more positive for a television program's success if you watch it online than if you watch it on television because of how Internet viewing is tracked (plus some tendencies preferences associated with the online audience that are attractive to some advertisers). Incidentally, there is plenty of other rugby and rugby league to see on ESPN360 if you have access.

If you can't or won't watch the match online, you can still us the Internet to cast a vote for rugby union. One option is to send a quick comment to ESPN through their online form to let them know that you are glad to have the match on and want to see more. While you're at it, you can take a second to hit the little "recommend" button on the USA Today story about this week's match to show your support for news coverage of rugby as well.

A drop in the bucket, of course, but not a lot of work and better than nothing. Want to see more rugby on American TV? Do something about it!

In the meantime, the Eagles have their work cut out for them. The United States haven't beaten Canada since 2005 and did not finish strong when the sides met last year. While you're waiting for Saturday, have a look at some moments from the 2008 USA-Canada showdown:

Irish A's are Smiling

The Churchill Cup is a key event each year for rugby union in the United States as it provides a large portion of the U.S.A. Eagles' annual matches and was even held in the United States this year. Although a few of the tournament's other entrants (Canada and Georgia this year) are also national sides, many of the other participating nations put a second-level version of their national side in the competition. The 2009 competition was won by one such side, Ireland "A," on Sunday.

That "A" is a key letter in the team name, as it indicates that the side is Ireland's second side and not the "true" side. That might imply that their matches don't mean as much, but you wouldn't so from looking at the Irish side as they won the tournament final 49-22 over their English counterparts, the England Saxons.

The contest between these representative sides brings to mind the broad variety in the names so many nations provide for their second-tier side. It can cause a bit of confusion, particularly given that at the club level many sides choose to refer to their first side as an "A" side and can thus misinterpret the "A" designator's meaning at the national level. To help out any confused parties, here's a list of prominent national second-level sides in rugby union with a brief explanation of each:

• "A" sides: In addition to Ireland, a number of other nations refer to their second side as the "A" side. Scotland, France, Italy, Wales, and Australia have all fielded "A" sides in recent years, though the latter two of these countries are not presently fielding an "A" side.
• England Saxons: The Saxons used to be referred to as England "A" (and previously as England "B," to add to the confusion), but have been known as the Saxons since 2006.
• Junior All Blacks: Though the term "Junior All Blacks" might suggest an age-grade side, the Junior All Blacks are New Zealand's second-grade side and do not have any age association.
• New Zealand Māori: Not technically a second-level side, New Zealand Māori can be mentioned on this list as a similar and unique national rugby union side. Players for the side are New Zealanders with at least one-sixteenth Māori heritage. Although the Junior All Blacks are New Zealand's actual second-level side, the New Zealand Māori outfit has sometimes functioned as something similar to a second-tier New Zealand side by occasionally participating in tournaments such as the Churchill Cup and the Pacific Nations Cup in the Junior All Blacks' stead.
• Emerging Springboks: Like the Junior All Blacks, the Emerging Springboks might sound like an age-grade side, but they are South Africa's second-level representatives. Given that they earned a draw against the touring all-star British and Irish Lions yesterday, some might say they've already emerged!
• Argentina Jaguars: Like the Saxons, the Jaguars have a dedicated nickname that differs from their first-grade counterparts the Pumas.

In rugby league, officially-named second-tier national sides are featured less frequently, though there are some interesting representative sides such as:

• New Zealand Māori, which has the same eligibility requirements as the union version of the side,
• Indigenous Dreamtime, an Australian counterpart to the NZ Māori whose players are all at least one-sixteenth aboriginal in heritage, and the
• Prime Minister's XIII, a side picked each year by the Australian Prime Minister to play against Papua New Guinea.

Hopefully that will help you keep track of all the monikers given to these second-string sides, which provide as much excitement as their first-grade versions in tournaments all over the globe each year.

Are any "A" sides missing from the list? Post a comment if so.

The "French Exception" to New Zealand's Dominance?

Scholars of politics, culture, economics, and other fields talk of "The French Exception," an apparent tendency for France to consistently show uniqueness in opposition to trends and patterns of various types across Europe and around the globe. After last weekend, it may be time to add another example of the French exception to the annals: France's refusal to follow the pattern of New Zealand's dominance in rugby union.

New Zealand has the top side in the world, says the International Rugby Board's rankings formula. They won the 2008 Tri-Nations series and went undefeated in ten 2008 matches against Northern Hemisphere opponents. In their first match of 2009, the favored New Zealand All Blacks were hosting a depleted French side.

But France didn't do what they were supposed to do this past Saturday. Instead, France went ahead and beat the mighty All Blacks 27-22.

Alone, one result like this isn't too surprising. However, looking at a few other key France-New Zealand contests in recent memory shows an interesting pattern. In 2007, New Zealand were the World Cup favorites, but lost 20-18 to France in a quarterfinal match. That's a little bit like 1999, when New Zealand were also the favorites but lost 43-31 to France in a semifinal match.

In addition to boosting the local arrest rate, this most recent loss has even rattled some hopes in New Zealand about the 2011 World Cup despite it being a couple of years away.

France and New Zealand square off again this Saturday. Will there be more of the "French Exception?"

Here are some highlights from last week's win:


And some from that 2007 upset:


And from 1999:

East Meets West Revisited

About a year ago, we looked at the results of the various U.S. rugby union championship competitions and declared a slight edge for the Western United States over the Eastern United States. If this weekend's Men's Club Championships are any indicator, that Western dominance continues.

This year, the Division I, II, and III playoff formats were all arranged such that in each division, 16 clubs played in Eastern and Western regional brackets with two teams from each region advancing to the semifinals. This meant that each semifinal match at level of play featured an Eastern Side versus a Western side. In those semifinal matches, played today, not a single side from the East survived. Six semifinal matches, all won by the Western representatives.

That mean that not only will all of these competitions be won by a Western side, but an Eastern side won't even appear in the final at any of these levels.

Although other American competitions used different playoff formats, they also point toward Western dominance. The Collegiate Men's Division I championship match last month featured a pair of Western sides, as did the Boy's High School and Under-19 age-grade competitions from two weeks ago.

Tonight's Rugby Super League final and last month's Girl's Under-19 final were also won by Western sides, though the runners-up were from the Eastern side of the country in both cases. The 2009 Women's Club final has yet to be played, but a Western side bested an Eastern side in the 2008 tournament. The only exceptions to this pattern of Western dominance are the Women's Collegiate Division I and II tournaments and the Men's Collegiate Division II tournament, which were all won by Eastern sides in May.

Of twelve national champs, then, that means nine are from the West. Again, perhaps just as telling is that more than half of those championships didn't even feature an Eastern side in the final. More Western dominance next year? We'll see ...

Two Codes is Not Enough?

Crossover star Sonny Bill Williams courted plenty of controversy last year when he ditched rugby league for rugby union in France. A professional career in two highly physical sports would be enough for many, both in terms of accomplishment and in terms of punishment. For Sonny Bill, though, a little more challenge seems to have been called for as he began his boxing career to much fanfare this week. After some pre-match friction, Williams took down Gary "The Baboon" Gurr in the second round of a shortened-rounds bout.

Although Williams will be busy with rugby union thoughts for a little while as he plays for the Barbarians against Australia next weekend, he has mentioned that he'd like to fight again. Although there have been some complaints that the fight was a farce, the video clips below suggest that Williams has promise if he wants to return to the squared circle.

The leadup:


Pre-fight antics:


Bout highlights:


The entire first round:


What's next for Sonny Bill? You tell us.

They Have to End Some Time: Tiebreakers

Last weekend's dramatic Heineken Cup semifinal between Leicester and Cardiff will be long remembered for its penalty shout-out finish after all other attempts to separate the sides were exhausted. Here's how the grueling process went down:

• The sides were locked at twenty-six points apiece after regulation, so two ten-minute extra periods were played.
• With the draw unbroken after extra time, the number of tries scored in the match was the next tiebreaker. This was moot, however, as each side had scored two tries during the match.
• each side nominated five kickers to attempt one placekick at goal each from the 22-meter line in front of the posts.
• After each side made four goals, the kicking competition went into "sudden-death" mode (wherein the first side to miss a goal loses, so long as the other side made a goal in the same round) with a new set of kickers. In the third round of this segment, Cardiff flanker Martyn Williams pushed an attempt wide to end the marathon and send Leicester into the final to be played in a couple of weeks.

The format was unpopular with many given that it forced players specializing in things other than goalkicking to do as much with the match at stake, but it was still exciting. Aside from the tense finish, the match also served to answer a few fans' curiosity regarding how a tie is resolved in a knockout match after extra time.

Or did it? Actually, even though the format seen last weekend is used in the Heineken Cup, the format will be reconsidered next year. Further, other competitions don't do it the same way, so seeing the shoot-out last weekend actually tells very little about how the matter is settled throughout the sport.

If you've read this far, we assume you're interested in hearing how all of the competitions settle a draw in playoff situations where a winner must be determined, so here's a partial list of competitions and their tiebreaking methods:

• The Guinness Premiership (England's top domestic competition) has a similar format as the Heineken Cup, but the kicks vary in placement by round with some in front of the posts, some 15 meters from the left and right touch lines, and some 5 meters from each touch line.
• In the Super 14 (featuring top sides from New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa), two formats are used, on for the semifinals and one for the finals. In the semis, the sides play two ten-minute extra time periods, after which the deadlock is broken by number of tries scored in the semifinal. After that, though, the similarities with the Heineken Cup and Guiness Premiership end, as the winner is decided by who finished higher during the regular season. The final works the same for the most part, except that the championship is shared as a draw after two periods of extra time if the scored are still level.
• The Magners League (featuring top sides from Ireland, Wales, and Scotland) doesn't have to deal with the issue, as they don't have knockout matches and determine their winner after the regular schedule. This year, in fact, Munster clinched the title two matches left to play
• We couldn't find a clear statement of the American Super League's format, but we know from the 2008 final that "sudden-death" extra time is played after two extra time periods until one side scores to win.
• The tiebreaker methods used in the Top 14 (France's top domestic competion) and Super 10 (Italy's top domestic competition) elude Armchair Playmaker's limited translation resources. Readers who are more adept at French and Italian are encouraged to chime in!

How do they handle it in rugby league? We'll spare you the details, but note that for most competitions a "golden point" sudden-death period is either played after 80 minutes (as is done in the National Rugby League in every match) or after two short two extra time periods. The golden point seems to work pretty well--in fact, Leicester seems to support the idea after suffering through the alternative.

Hopefully, that satisfies your curiosity about how a draw is avoided when a draw will not do. Meanwhile, here are a few views of last weekend's historic moment:

Here's how the cameras caught it:


And here's how it looked from at least one spot in the crowd:



We're not sure it's fair to focus on a missed goal from a player of Martyn Williams' stature, especially considering that he probably never expected to be kicking at goal that day, so we'll end here with a cheerier moment from early in Williams' standout career (this one from more than a decade ago, before he ever donned a Cardiff shirt):

BYU seeing Yellow, Gold

BYU snatched a U.S. Collegiate Division I Championship from usual champs California by a 25-22 margin in a thriller a few hours ago, and they did so despite often playing shorthanded with four players receiving yellow cards in the match. Considering that a yellow card puts a player on an unreplaced rest for ten minutes, that's roughly akin to leaving a player out for half the match (though not quite so in this case given that BYU sometimes had 13 players in action due to overlapping offenses).

Typically, a yellow card--or in this case, enough of them for a good start to a poker hand--hurts the offending side's chance to win, so it amy be a surprise that BYU got by despite the number of players temporarily sent off. On the other hand, a look at the nature of the offenses tells a bit about what BYU had to show Cal on the night. The cards were given out for a tackle in the air, a high shot, a hit with no arms, and repeated offenses. Ten minutes an offense is a tough fine to pay, but might be worth the price for the intimation that can come from hitting hard and pushing the limits of the law.

Given the outcome of the match, one wonders if BYU's championship offers a hint at the future of the American game. American football allows, even encourages, most of the offenses that got BYU players sent off, so there is a nation full of potential players out there who are suited to test the physical limits of their opposition. No one should encourage cheating and dirty play, and no one has claimed that's what BYU was up to. They just offered hard hits, even at the expense of strict penalties, and it paid off with a win despite the personnel disadvantage. If this is the way forward in American rugby, this year's college final might be recalled as a turning point in the U.S. game.

Watch Age-Grade Tournament Online

Based on information about what posts people look at here and what search keywords they use to find us, it looks like many Armchair Playmaker visitors end up here after looking for places to watch rugby union and rugby league online for free--especially in the United States. That group might be interested to know that the Junior World Rugby Trophy matches being held this week can be viewed live or after the fact at the International Rugby Board site.

The competition is a second-tier international tournament for players under 20 years of age, as the top 16 teams play in the Junior World Championship. The JWRT will still interest many American fans, though, as the United States is one of the eight teams playing in it after moving down from the top tier following a winless showing at the Junior World Championship last year. The United States has already beaten the Cayman Islands and will play home side Kenya Saturday.

The video work is very simple and is sometimes unaccompanied by commentary, but the video is also clear and from a good viewpoint. If you're finding it hard to see good rugby matches on the television or computer because you don't have a subscription to a pay service, have a look.

U.S. College Canings Indicate Disparity AND Parity?

The U.S. Men's Collegiate Division I National Championships, which aren't the top-level competition in the nation but may be the most widely followed given their ready-made university audiences, got underway last weekend with the "Sweet 16" and quarterfinal rounds. The results included a few close matches, but also plenty of stompings.

Some of these whippings point to the gap betweenthe best and the also-rans in American college rugby. California, for example, cruised in their two matches as a reminder of their perennial dominance in the competition. On the other hand, a few of the blowouts said as much about the competitiveness of the competition as the tight matches did. One side who won big in the opening round, Louisiana State, was appearing in the tournament for the first time and spanked Navy, a fairly regular national title contender. Another big winner in the first round, Arkansas State, was making only its second appearance and beat Utah, another regular title contender. Both sides lost in the next round, but not a bad start!

There were plenty of closer matches as well, but to see newcomers arrive at the tournament and roll over established competitors seems to be as promising sign a sign as any for American college rugby. After all, everyone loves the upsets, Cinderella stories, and so on as much as they love a dynasty, and a tournament where a newcomer can come in and give a stalwart a hiding is an exciting tournament. Meanwhile, we'll wait for the semifinals and final on the first weekend of May to see if the tale of the year is about the continuing Cal dynasty or a surprise from of of the other semifinalists (BYU, San Diego State, and Army)

A Different Sort of NRL?

Considering that the United States has been okay with the idea of a guy making some money for playing a rough game of football for more than a century, it may be surprising that rugby league isn't more popular in the United States. That may be changing, though, if a new competition has anything to say about things.

Although the American National Rugby League has been running a competition for more than a decade without interruption, the proposed United States National Rugby League aims to take things to another level with a fully professional league in cities across the nation. Although there is plenty of disbelief about the league becoming a reality as proposed in 2010, the competition is taking declarations of interest from potential players, coaches, and referees. Even top NRL coach Craig Bellamy is excited about it.

Got an opinion about the USNRL? Share it with a comment here or on their forums. Until we see what happens, we can all settle for the AMRNL as the American Rugby League presence, as you can see in the below highlights from last year's grand final:

ELV Kick-Frenzy Blame Misplaced?

As an International Rugby Board conference met today to discuss the Experimental Law Variations that were introduced to rugby union globally last year, discussion about their appropriateness has been resurgent. Although some have been sanguine about their effects on the sport, the law variations have been controversial. Among the loudest complaints has been the claim that the ELVs have turned rugby union into a "kickfest" with aimless hoofing of the ball taking the place of exciting play.

Without trying to sort out the reasoning behind this claim, Armchair Playmaker thinks it's a good time to have a look at the way things where before the ELVs. The consternation about the ELVs making rugby union a "tedious display of kicking" might suggest that rugby union before 2008 was a slashing display of running rugby. To jog our memory, let's consider the biggest match played in the year before the ELVs came our way: the 2007 Rugby World Cup Final.

A glance at the match statistics reminds us of a few things. For one, there were zero tries scored in the match. For two, each side only had one clean line break. But that's a pretty superficial peek.

Let's look closer. The stats also say possession was kicked away 92 times in the match (48 times by South Africa and 44 times by England). Meanwhile, there were 185 attempted tackles (97 by South Africa and 88 by England). If we assume that almost all phases of play end with an attempted tackle or a kicked ball, then adding the total tackle attempts to the total number of times possession was kicked away gives us a total of about 277 phases of play. If 92 of those phases involved possession being kicked away, then that means about 33% of the total phases in the match ended with posession being kicked away.

A third. Not a third of the times they had posession. A third of the total phases. So every time the ball went to a player from a ruck, scrum, lineout, kick, etc., there was about a one in three chance a player kicked it away. This estimate is a little rough, and is actually probably a little bit low if we consider that some phases might have had more than one attempted tackle in them if a player was able to break a tackle or two, so the percentage of phases where possession was kicked away may have been even higher.

We know this is just one match, and may not be representative in a lot of ways. But it was also probably the most-watched rugby union match ever. And for every three times a team picked up the ball to play with it, they kicked it away once.

The ELVs, of course, have the convenient alibi of not being at the scene because their global implementation came several months later.

Armchair Playmaker suspects that if you see a side kick away possession a lot in a rugby union match, it has less to do with the ELVs and more to do with the oft-repeated statement, "The contest for possession of the ball is one of rugby’s key
features." You'll find that said in a number of places, such as a playing charter document provided by the IRB. When possession is constantly at risk, territory is at a premium. Kicking is a quick way to gain territory. Seems simple to us. And rugby union still seems okay to us as well.

If rugby union fans really can't stand the kicking, though, they can always play and watch a code that where we usually only see a kick every six tackles. But wait: We also see people saying the ELVs have made rugby union too much like rugby league.

o the ELVs make people kick too much possession away and they make rugby union like rugby league, a sport where people don't need to kick as much possession away because there is less ongoing contest for posession? There's just no pleasing some folks.

The IRB will make a final decision on the ELVs in July. In the meantime, have a look at the video below if you want another chance to see what could be causing such chaos in so many disparate ways--and all at once:

American College Rugby Milestone on TV

Last night marked the first ever U.S. college rugby match shown live on national television. Which network showed it? Thinking of a good guess.

Think again. The first nationally televised American collegiate rugby match wasn't on a specialist sports network, but on BYU TV, the network run by Brigham Young University that airs nationwide on satellite providers cable networks.

If the match is remembered for its television coverage, it will be less remembered for its drama, as national contenders BYU walked away 111-3 winners over Utah State. Whenever the second live television broadcast of a college match takes place, we'll hope it's more of a thriller.

Those interested in getting a look at the match for posterity's sake can see a replay at BYU TV's streaming video site by choosing the "Live TV" section at the botton, then clicking on "Saturday, Mar 28, 2009" at left and then "7:30pm College Rugby" at right.

For a quicker look at BYU in a more evenly-matched challenge, see these brief highlights from BYU's win over the Senior Men's Division I Denver Barbarians in February (though the amateur video is a far cry from the BYU TV production quality, of course):

Anticlimactic Irish Feat Suggests a Modest Proposal

It's difficult to say there's anything ho-hum about the news that Ireland is likely to win its first Six Nations ever this Saturday (technically speaking, because they last won the tournament in 1985 when it was the "Five Nations" tournament), but the fact that Ireland can lose to Wales by 12 points this weekend and still win the tournament takes some intensity out of the "deciding" match.

So far, Ireland has won all four of their Six Nations matches so far and scored 46 more points than their opponents in those matches, while Wales has won three of the four matches and scored 21 more points than their opponents. If Ireland loses this weekend, the tournament is decided by total points difference throughout the tournament. For example, if Wales wins by 12 this weekend, both sides will have won four of five matches, and Ireland will have a points difference of 34 points, while Wales will have a points difference of 33 points. In that case, a beaten Ireland walks off the ground with the tournament trophy.

In Cardiff.

Awkward...

A similar situation happened last season, when Wales beat France on the last weekend of the Six Nations for an unbeaten "Grand Slam" tournament victory, but Wales had only needed to lose by less than 20 points to win the tournament.

Of course, one could argue that this setup is fine, as Wales can still control their fate by putting a 13-point (or more) beating on Ireland (just as Ireland can render the issue moot by beating Wales), but it's a little bit strange to walk out on the ground with the scoreboard effectively reading "Ireland 13, Wales 0" as far the Six Nations tournament stakes are concerned. Also, the general practice of points differential as a tie-breaker might encourage teams to pour on the points against weaker opponents when a match have already been decided. That seems to be against the spirit of the sport.

Why not make head-to-head matches the first tiebreaker instead? In other words, if two teams each win four of the five matches (or some similar, but less likely combination of equal win-loss records at the top of the table), the first tiebreaker could be head-to-head results--namely which team won when they played one another. Points differential could be the next tiebreaker, such as if three teams all went 4-1 in the tournament and each had beaten only one of the other two teams (for example, if France beat Ireland, Ireland beat Wales, and Wales beat France, but all three sides had won their other matches). Making head-to-head results the primary tiebreaker wouldn't make score differential unimportant, but it would make it a lot harder to lose a match to a team, then walk off with the tournament trophy while your victorious opponent claims the runners-up crown.

Of course, Armchair Playmaker won't advocate tipping the scales against Ireland on a day when even the fountains at the U.S. White House are dyed green, but head-to-head might be the way to go as a general practice.

That said, we have a sneaking suspicion that the Six Nations organizers are looking to Armchair Playmaker for insight on how to run their operation. So let's look at some Irish rugby highlights from recents years to commemorate their likely Six Nations win:

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NRL Season Wastes no Time Getting Started

The 2009 National Rugby League season got a great start today with one match going into extra time and the other decided by a single point in the last five minutes. If the matches for the rest of the weekend and the rest of the season keep up this pace, it will be a good one for sure.

An exciting year will also help to live up to the promise of the sport's recent television promotions, such as this ad for the new season (before the campaign was scrapped as another scandal looms over the NRL and featured player Brett Stewart):



Similarly, Reg Reagan alter ego Matthew Johns is pitching club memberships with the promise of fun for all:



The thriller of the 2009 ads, though, is no doubt this ad for the upcoming State of Origin series:



Will the matches live up to the hype? Let's hope so! Of course, no discussion of NRL promos is complete without the classic "That's my Team" campaign from a few years back:

Monstering the Myth: Cal's Phantom Scholarships

On the heels of the University of California at Berkeley's win over the University of British Columbia to launch the annual two-match series between the schools, it's a good time to crash-tackle one rumor that has persisted for decades about a source of Cal's dominance.

That fable pertains to Cal's alleged supply of athletic scholarships for rugby union players. There is plenty of reason to believe such a story, as Cal has won the national collegiate Division I title all but five of the 29 times it has been contested since its 1980 foundation. The last time someone else won was 2003, and before that 1990. In addition to its stranglehold on the college game, Cal boasts not one, but two former U.S. national coaches and players on the U.S. national side and professional European club contracts.

They also have symbolic varsity status, which affords them some access to special advising and training resources, but what they don't have is player scholarships. Although the varsity status has been raised as an excuse for Cal's dominance by some, Cal raises its money and recruits its players without the benefit of the athletic scholarships that feed American varsity teams in most sports across most campuses nationwide (including many other Cal varsity teams).

Now and again, one hears talk of scholarships at Cal, but it's a tale. Cal emphasizes its lack of scholarships in its own promotional material. If you don't believe that, you can consider the case of touted American football prospect Cole Huntley, who recently decided to turn away college scholarship offers in the gridiron game for a chance to play rugby at Cal sans athletic scholarship.

There's plenty of great things behind Cal's success, but scholarships are not among them. Armchair Playmaker reckons the winning has a lot more to do with what the players are choosing to do (and not do, especially in terms of some leisurely rugby union "traditions" ) at school than how they're being brought there. In any case, the results come out well, as in the below highlights from the 2007 grand final: