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: