Under the Posts – Feb 17-23

Under the Posts – Feb 17-23 highlights Elizabeth Richards and her adorable and honest TedX Youth Talk about why she loves rugby and wants more equality for girls. 

In XVs news we cover the Six Nations, Super W, Energia All-Ireland, USA Club and College Rugby and the 2020 Asia Rugby Women’s Championship is postponed. 

In 7s we just have one story this week about Kenya rugby and their quest for sponsors to support them at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

Misc news includes World Rugby consulting global game and world-leading experts in a transgender policy review and a unique perspective from Deb Coulthard and what is means to be a World Rugby Citing Commissioner.

Can’t wait a week? Join us on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram as we will be posting daily. We have a bit more dialogue on Twitter if you’d like to join in.

Featured

Elizabeth Richards broke the internet this week when her TedX Youth Talk touting rugby hit Youtube. Elizabeth believes girls can do anything boys can do and she advocates for girls to find their voice on equality issues.

XVs

Along with the Hong Kong and Singapore 7s tournaments being rescheduled due to COVID-19, Asia Rugby has also postponed the Asia Rugby Women’s Championship until mid-May. These matches are part of the 2021 Women’s Rugby World Cup Qualification process and so this throws a wrench in many teams preparations.

https://twitter.com/yscrugby/status/1230311174127996928

USA Rugby’s D1A and D1 Elite College Leagues are partnering up for the 2020 National Championships. 

  • Women’s Semis & Men’s First Round: April 11th at St. Mary’s College in Moraga, CA
  • Women’s Final & Men’s Semis: April 25th at The Fortress Sports Complex in Obetz, OH

Six Nations

The lead photo in this article to an outsider would be very confusing, an empty stadium and blizzard conditions…Storm Clara in the UK a few weeks ago caused the women’s England at Scotland in Glasgow to be postponed. The match was played the day after in Murrayfield but behind closed doors.

The easy question is…would this have happened to the men? No, they would never play behind closed doors. Period.

https://twitter.com/yscrugby/status/1231639913986248704

Italy and Scotland’s Six Nations match was postponed due to increased cases COVID-19 in Milan, Italy. So far no reschedule date or location has been set. 

https://twitter.com/EnglandRugby/status/1231607478594539520

https://twitter.com/WelshRugbyUnion/status/1231577288417955840

England easily outlasted Scotland in their postponed match, 27-0 and France trounced Wales 50-0. 

League Results & Updates

Queensland and Waratahs lead the Super W table in week 2. 

https://twitter.com/yscrugby/status/1229556213249183744

The Women’s Energia All-Ireland League will have shield, plate and cup Finals on March 21 with the League Final on April 26 at Burbarry Park. 

The League Final will be played at Energia Park. RTE will broadcast the final and history will be made as this will be the first time it’s available live.

https://twitter.com/yscrugby/status/1230280970525388802

USA Club Rugby was heavy on the men’s side with only a few women’s teams in action on the weekend. In the Pacific South, Santa Monica got revenge on the Surfers, beating them 31-7.

Red River saw Little Rock upset the undefeated Austin Valkyries II 48-28 and Bay Area defeated newcomers McAllen 71-0.

In the South, DII’s Tampa Bay lost their undefeated streak as Jacksonville slipped a 19-17 win in rainy conditions.

https://twitter.com/yscrugby/status/1229918580717891585

The Rugby Breakdown brings us their 3rd DII Spring College Ranking with no changes to the top 5. Salisbury sits on top and is followed by Claremont and Cal Poly SLO.

7s

https://twitter.com/yscrugby/status/1230613182537965568

Kenya is calling on sponsors to support them as they continue their preparations ahead of Tokyo 2020. Kenya will warm up for the Summer Olympics in Canada in early May and Paris in late May.

Misc News

https://twitter.com/yscrugby/status/1230915105765851138

World Rugby has been under fire for their lack of attention to transgender athletes in the past. They appear to be looking at it now as they’ve announced a ground-breaking forum “that will pave the way for a comprehensive review and evidence-based commitment to rugby’s policies relating to transgender players, reflecting its mission of inclusivity while promoting player welfare.”

The forum in London will bring together independent experts and leaders in the fields of sports science, biology, medicine, ethics and law as well as rugby administration, medical and playing representatives to discuss the current sporting and societal landscape, rugby’s mission and defining principles.

https://twitter.com/yscrugby/status/1230643301017161729

Deb Coulthard is a World Rugby citing commissioner and she’s working to bring more women to her same role. It’s a unique position as citing means watching the game from a different lens. 

“As a citing commissioner you don’t watch the game in real time as a normal spectator, you don’t even know where the ball is or where the ref is standing half the time,” she said.

“We’re watching back play a lot and then you’ve still got to be across the board of everything else as well, so it is pretty intense. 

Coulthard is especially excited about an upcoming opportunity to utilize the Hawk-Eye technology and hopes to be included in the WRWC 2021.

Media

https://twitter.com/WomensRugbyShow/status/1229661828046737408

https://twitter.com/USARugby/status/1230253292527050752

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