Rugby Union World Cup 27 | Everything Thread

by **Elejamie** » Wed May 08, 2019 11:38 am

The third annual Elejamian Rugby Championship Sevens, or ERC 7s for short, was held in Rosetta, ROIY, from 24th-26th August, 2018. With the Rosate Rubihus and Nantwich Park Stadium hosting both group stage games as well as a smattering of trophy semi-finals and finals, making it the first time the tournament was held in a bilingual part of Elejamie, as well as the first year that the third place games weren't played. Much like the first two tournaments, it turned out to be a huge success due to the number of thrilling games and brilliant plays on offer, especially since two of the three finals ended up being part of rivalries: The Battle of the Bridge (Coventry Wyverns vs Avon Knights, though the term is used for Coventry/Avon rivalries in other sports) for the cup final and the Birch State Brawl (Auckhampton Birch Trees vs Elejamie City Eagles).

Coventry Wyverns 26-20 Avon Knights

Coventry Wyverns
TRY: Caerofim (2) 2' c, 13' c
CON: Debenham (2/2) 3', 14'
PEN: Debenham (4/4) 4', 5', 11', 12'
Avon Knights
TRY: Gordon 8' c, 11' c[/tab]
CON: Gordon (2/2) 9', 12'
PEN: Gordon (2/2) 6', 10'

The Avon Knights and the Coventry Wyverns, two of the biggest rivals in the ERC, faced off against each other in the cup final, the former following a 24-14 win over Davenport and the latter by beating a surprisingly strong Edgebaston team 19-18. As both teams had topped their groups (Avon with a clean sweep whereas Coventry had a late draw to the Rosetta Sparrows), it was a game that could go either way, although due to their performance throughout the tournaments Avon were tipped to be the slight favourites to win.

The match itself was just as hotly-contested as you'd expect. Mical Caerofim, in his last sevens tournament before his eventual retirement at the end of next season, scored the first try of the match, which fly-half Paul Debenham converted, followed by a brace of penalties to give his side a 13-0 lead within the first minutes. However, Avon weren't down an out as a penalty from Jim Gordon made it 13-3, which would remain the score going into the break. Coupled with a growingly-complacent Wyverns team, Gordon went on a scoring streak by not only scoring a converted try but also a second penalty for his side to make the scored level. Debenham would score a second load of penalties to regain a 19-13 lead for his side but a second try from Gordon, which he converted, made it 20-19 for the visitors. Fortunately, Caerofim would complete his second try shortly before time and, when coupled with another successful conversion from Debenham, meant that the Coventry Wyverns won the ERC 7s Cup, which would be the first bit of silverware in what turned out to be a successful season for them.

Auckhampton Birch Trees 9-17 Elejamie City Eagles

Auckampton Birch Trees
PEN: Grady (3/3) 2', 5', 9'
Elejamie City Eagles

TRY: Hayden (2) 6' c, 12'c
CON: Fenech (2/2) 7', 13'
PEN: Fenech (1/3) 11'

Following a 17-14 win over a drab Murgon Bullfrogs sevens team, the Elejamie City Eagles made it into their first final since the Cup final in the inaugural ERC 7s. There, they faced tract-wide rivals Auckhampton, who were hot off the heels of a 26-14 win against the local Rosetta Sparrows. Despite captain Rob Magrette being out for most of the tournament due to a sprained ankle, the Elejamie City Eagles were still a powerful side, placing third in their group just behind Avon and Edgebaston but ahead of Auckhampton, thanks to a 21-14 win for the Eagles during the Saturday group stage games.

The match itself wasn't as action-packed as the cup final but still provided some brilliant action. Paul Grady opened up the scoring for the Birch Trees thanks to a penalty from 47m out, which became the furthest penalty kick taken at the ERC 7s, beating the previous record by a single metre. He'd double up thanks to a second penalty, albeit from a more modest 36m, before Patrick Hayden scored the first try of the match for the Eagles, slotting the ball down in between the posts and letting Louis Fenech net the extras to make it 7-6 going into the break. While Grady netted his third and final penalty a couple of minutes after the break, Fenech would regain the lead for the Eagles with a penalty of his own to make it 10-9, having failed two attempts to do so in the first half, before Patrick Hayden would put the final nail in the coffin with his second try of the evening, which Fenech also converted. Despite Auckhampton pushing the Elejamie City defence to their limits, the Eagles managed to run the ball into touch to win 17-9 and net them the Plate trophy.

Coventry Jesters 23-0 RC Los Reyes

Coventry Jesters

TRY: Laidham (2) 1' m, 7' m
Grainger 10' m
Kubisz 13' m
CON: Grainger (0/4)
PEN: Grainger (1/2) 4'
RC Los Reyes
N/A

After making it to the ERC after being relegated at the end of the 2004/05 season, the Coventry Jesters were hoping to make every minute of it count and try and get off on as best of a foot as they could. However, that wasn't to be as they'd proceed to lose every single game of the group stage, including a 22-5 loss to group-mates Los Reyes, meaning they'd have to compete for the Bowl. However, they were able to make a massive comeback and defeat the Alvis Rams 13-8 to make it to the Bowl final, where they'd have a rematch against Los Reyes, who were hot off the heels of a 30-3 destruction of the Davenport Commandos, who had lost some key players due to injuries.

However, the Jesters would make a massive turnaround from their first match against the Playa de Rocas-based team as Chris Laidham would go on to score the first try for the capital's second team, with John Grainger unable to score the extras. He would, however, make up for it a few minutes later with a penalty to make it 8-0. Laidham would score again going past the 7 minute mark but, due to where he grounded the ball, Grainger was unable to convert it again and the score remained 13-0 going into the break. Despite Los Reyes showing a bit more bite in the second half, even getting the ball into the Jesters' 22 on numerous occasions, it turned out be Coventry who's score the next set of points ten minutes into the match when John Grainger scored a try himself, although his effort ended up hitting the posts and into touch. Los Reyes came close to a try of their own a minute later when Raimundo Calandra made it past the try line but he accidentally fumbled the ball and Jesters sevens hooker Frank Gerstmann put the ball out of play. Arkadiusz Kubisz would score the fourth and final try for the Jesters' and, while it also wasn't converted, it was still enough to secure his side a 23-0 victory and, with that, their first bit of silverware since the start of the professional era.

by **Sajnur** » Thu May 09, 2019 6:51 am

Sajnur 39-27 Neu Engollon

Delayed Broadcast

Sajnur dealt another blow to top seeds Neu Engollon with a solid attacking display soon after Romanovskaya choked them with an impeccable defensive display. The 39-27 result sent the Mountain Goats to the foot of Group D having lost to two unranked sides. Meanwhile, Romanovskaya played their final match of the tournament, losing 17-0 to group leaders Apox and falling out of reach of the knockout stages as a result.

Neu Engollon came out of the blocks first with a 12th minute try when Louis-Katz Savrin pushed over the line in a maul that capped off a 17 phase attacking sequence, and quickly followed that up by winning a penalty in the breakdown 30 metres out, which Johann Dorff duly dispatched. Sajnur hit back with a passing display which left the Mountain Goats with no mountain to stand on, Sion Kurba crossing under the posts to make it 10-7. Sadly, the top seeds would blow the score out with two quick tries from Hugo Koernsoff and Andre Callenzo, the first a result of Sajnuran forwards getting tied up in the ruck and Dorff finding Koernsoff in space, the next after Neu Engollon won a scrum less than ten metres out from a ruck infringement and Dorff freeing Callenzo on the wing. The half was ended after Dorff kicked a drop goal from 40m out to make it 27-7 at half time.

The second half started slowly, but Sajnur kept the Mountain Goats scoreless and eventually the opposing defence was broken down when Kublai Syrceva barreled down the line for a try in the 57th minute, and then Simaror received the Neu Engollon kickoff and ran it 91m to the posts to make it 27-19. Sajnur's fourth try followed soon after with Sajnur winning a penalty and Rhino Gauron taking the ball from the lineout and pushing his way to the try area to make it 27-26. It wasn't until the 73rd minute, though, that Lesieri dropped a goal from 54m to put Sajnur in front. However, Rocco Gondino was late to tackling Lesieri and the centre had to be substituted for Jordan Kabora. Kabora took a penalty kickoff, and the resulting lineout started a several stage siege of the try line, which ended when Kabora broke through under the uprights to score, and converted his own try to make it 36-27. Ahmed Eluram then capped off the victory with another drop goal after the siren.

Sajnur

Try: Kurba 20' c, Syrceva 57' m, Simaror 59' c, Gauron 64' c, Kabora 77' c
Conversion: Lesieri (3/4) 21', 65', Kabora (1/1) 78'
Drop Goal: Lesieri 73', Eluram 80'

Neu Engollon

Try: Savrin 12' c, Koernsoff 29' c, Callenzo 31' c
Conversion: Dorff (3/3) 13', 30', 32'
Penalty: Dorff (1/1) 16'
Drop Goal: Dorff 40'

Sajnur 7-24 Apox

Delayed Broadcast

Sajnur were eliminated from the World Cup with a 17 point loss to group toppers Apox at the Armskirk Municipal Ground, a solid defensive display from the established nation in Maynard restricting Sajnur to one try and ensuring the underperforming Neu Engollon would progress to the next round on the back of their one bonus point, ironically earned in their 7-3 loss to Romanovskaya.

Apox took immediate control of the match by starting a long attacking drive which resulted in them winning a penalty, Lockwood kicking down to less than ten metres outside of goal, and the Apoxian forward pack pushing the rest of the way. It was Percy Oakes who had the honour of grounding the ball in the sixth minute. Sajnur got its act together after this as the match slowed down to a midfield battle punctuated with kicks for territory until a collapsing maul meant Apox had a penalty shot from 32m out. Harbinger Lockwood slotted it through the posts to bring up double figures, and the match slowed down again until Isaiah Newbury spilled a Gheorghe Juricev kick on his own 22m line. The scrum and resulting sequence of phases saw the Apox defence bamboozled before Sion Kurba ran through alarge gap to ground under the posts. As Lesieri remained injured following the Neu Engollon match, stand in centre Jordan Kabora sent the conversion over the bar to make it 10-7 at the break.

The second half was another quick start for Apox as they won a penalty almost instantly following a high tackle from yellow card recipient Alisius, which Lockwood scored, and then won another penalty soon after from an offside, which Lockwood missed. Sajnur would stubbornly keep out Apox, even with 14 men, but it was against a 15 man Sajnur that Kylian Castro would sprint past on the wing to score Apox's second try. Marquis Durrell, substituted on for Lockwood, would kick wide from the touch line, but would succesfully kick two penalties late on into the game to put it, and the knockout stages, out of reach for the Sajnuran rugby team.

Sajnur

Try: Kurba 33' c
Conversion: Juricev (1/1) 33'

Apox

Try: Oakes 6' c, Castro 67' m
Conversion: Lockwood (1/1) 6', Durrell (0/1)
Penalty: Lockwood (2/3) 19', 42', Durrell (2/2) 74', 78'

RUWC Summary

Sajnur's first Rugby Union World Cup has proven to be a valuable learning experience for Sajnur's players, and indeed potentially an opportunity for them to move abroad to more prestigious leagues such as that of the host country Ko-oren, and given that this is Sajnur's debut tournament, taking two wins, including a bombastic 39-27 conquest of Neu Engollon, should be considered a great success.

Sajnur showed significant attacking intent and skill, with Sion Kurba scoring three tries and seven others scoring one each. The backs had excellent creativity, skill, and speed which meant Sajnur could break through defences regularly, and Kurba and Lesieri were the key players in the back for Sajnur, with wingers Simaror and Josefin Parjolta providing width and pace that opponents struggled to combat. However, their forward pack was inconsistent and regularly committed ruck and maul infringements which resulted in many penalties against the Sajnurans. The scrum was a useful attacking tool, and the forward pack scored three tries, but the inconsistency hampered the team, especially in defence, although Kublai Syrceva and Simon "Rhino" Gauron were standouts in the forward pack.

Sajnur had the best attack in Group D, and indeed the sixth best attack in the group stages overall, with only fellow group stage casualties Alpine Union the only team to outscore Sajnur and not top their group, and scoring 39 points against a Neu Engollon side that would only concede 13 points combined in the rest of the group stages was testament to the attacking talent. However, Sajnur had not only the worst defence in the group, but the fourth worst defence in the entire group stages. While it could simply be a symptom of Sajnur's bombastic style of play, the inconsistency in the ruck is a key area that needs to be addressed for future tournaments.

On another note, Sajnur's three matches in Maynard may prove to be good scouting material for the Andromeda side who are looking for players in several positions, and the performances of Sajnur might prove to hold what Maynard's team desire for their future domestic campaigns. Indeed, Sion Kurba, when asked about the prospect, was very receptive to the idea of playng in a top rugby union competition. Will we see Sajnurans plying their trade in Ko-oren? Only time will tell.

by **Elejamie** » Thu May 09, 2019 11:53 am

JM: Good evening and welcome to Rugby Tonight with me, Johnny Murran. With me for tonight's episode is Kevin Gabriel, former scrum-half and occasional fly-half for the Murgon Bullfrogs, Auckhampton Birch Trees and Rosetta Sparrows and vice coach for the national sevens team. Tonight, we'll be talking about coach Reinaldo's picks for the Elejaman Universities XV squad's annual tour this Summer, the reaction to Playa de Rocas hosting the ERC 7s in August and we'll be showing you what you can be doing to get yourselves ready for the upcoming Rugby World Cup Final over in Ko-oren.

But, before we get to all of that, as well as going back to the Rugby World Cup, let's go over all the big games over there this week. And there were quite a few thrilling games over in the quarter-finals, with the reigning champions Barunia shutting out Alice Bay 6-0; the Crux's neighours and biggest rivals Lisander beating Mattijana 19-3; and the hosts grabbing a 19-7 win over Darmen. However, let's start off with the Elejamie-Apox match where Pablo Cartagena's side managed to fight off a powerful side lead by Apoxian coach Wilfried Puskas to make it through to the semi-finals. Phil Rainier has the story.

Voice-Over

A calm yet overcast evening at the Surbourneshire Stadium in Greencaster, Ko-oren, saw Elejamie up against Apox for a spot in the semi-finals. While Elejamie were lucky to come away with a 5-0 win in a hard-fought game against the Natanians and Nosts in less than ideal weather conditions, with the sole set of points coming from an Adam Gates try, Apox were in a much better position having come off with a 22-10 victory over Juvenucus. Both sides kept their sides from those matches and, despite Elejamie having the best offensive record going into the match, Apox were favourites to win by a small margin.

Apox got the scoring off underway 17 minutes in when Harbinger Lockwood scored a penalty from 38m out following Dan Mitchell's high tackle on Jorge Vermillion, an incident that saw him lucky not to be carded by referee Carolus Március Ademélsson. Things went from bad to worse for the homeside when six minutes later, Mitchell was carded for another dangerous penalty, this time on Lyndon Hunter. The only saving grace was his side being able to prevent Apox scoring any tries, with the closest the opposing side came to scoring one being 28 minutes in when Elejamie were just able to force a turnover five metres from the posts and forcing the ball into touch once Apox regained possession thirty seconds later.

However, Elejamie weren't beaten just yet as Adam Gates would score the first try of the match 35 minutes in. Following a scrum inside the Elejamian 22, Oldaker retrieved the ball and passed it over to Paul Debenham. Debenham would proceed to clear the ball, which was then caught by Vermillion. However, Vermillion wouldn't get far with it as he was brought down by Ikarashi and the ball was retrieved by Armando Tavarez. Tavarez would then proceed to made a dash for the Apoxian try-line before he was brought down just outside the 22. Diego Peguero would retrieve the ball and pass it on to Adam Gates, who ran along the outside and grounded the ball on the far-right side of the posts. Although Debenham was unable to convert the try, it was enough to give his side a 5-3 lead going into the break.

Elejamie would go on to extend their lead even further with a penalty of their own when, seven minutes into the second half, Thor Eudora entered a ruck from the side 35m out from the Apoxian posts. As a result, Debenham would go on to slot the ball in between the posts to give his side an 8-3 lead. Although Apox would score their second and final penalty of the night three minutes later, Lockwood again but this time from 37m, Debenham would answer back five minutes after that with Elejamie's second penalty 34m out. He would get his third chance 59 minutes in but his kick ended up bouncing off the post and eventually into touch.

Following a disallowing of a potential Apoxian try 63 minutes in, when a potential set of five from Rafael Mildred was struck from the scoring sheet when, according to TMO Gaëtane Dubois, it turned out that Alex Thornton knocked the ball on leading up to it, the away side went down a player 66 minutes into the match after a dangerous tackle on Brandão by Treyton Whitehouse. While Brandão was still able to get up and walk alright, he was substitusted a minute later and replaced by Phil Holloway. However, unlike their opponents in the first half, Apox were unable to kill off the penalty as Elejamie would get their second try seven minutes from time when Eddie Campbell intercepted a pass from Rodin Gutierrez and made his way up the pitch, avoiding getting tackled by Desmond Eben and Erwin Knox and grounding the ball before famously falling to the ground and getting mobbed by his teammates in celebration. Debenham added the extras and, eight gruelling minutes of both sides trying their best to add the extras, Holloway ran the ball into touch two and a half minutes after the 80 minute mark to end the match. Final score: Elejamie 18, Apox 6.

JM: So Kevin, pretty strong stuff there from Dan Mitchell, I would say.

KG: Yes it was. Mitchell completely had his screw loose the whole match and I wouldn't be surprised if Cartagena drops him for the next match. He's been a bit too reckless this tournament, it's just hurting his teammates, it's hurting their chances to win and I hope that yellow card will be a wake-up call.

JM: Do you think there might be a reason for Mitchell's rash behaviour?

KG: No, I don't. I've played alongside him, I've played on the other side of him. Dan's always been a bit of a reckless player. Maybe he's gotten a bit too into it and needs to be dialled back a bit. It's a common problem with players of his calibre. He just needs a stern talking to and maybe a bit of a rest.

JM: With all that aside, how do you think Elejamie will do in the semi-final? Will they avenge their defeat in the final and defeat Barunia?

KG: I have my doubts but I won't rule it out. Elejamie has had the second best offensive record during the group stage, as evidenced by that 48-13 demolition of Pratapgadh. And they've conceded one fewer point than Barunia, our 39 to their 40. But we've been prone to making sloppy mistakes and there's the possibility of them capitalising on them. There's also the fact that we've literally brought the same team as last time and, unless Cartagena has learnt from any mistakes he made during the final, I could imagine the Waves getting a second win over us. It'll be a narrow win for us or a narrow win for them. I wouldn't rule out overtime.

JM: Alright, we'll be speaking to Kevin again later on in the show but, for now, let's take a look at the other quarter-final matches...

by **Ko-oren** » Thu May 09, 2019 12:02 pm

Given the stage (it being the semifinals and all) of the tournament, I'm giving all parties involved until the next cutoff moment (in 47-48 hours) to get RPs in. That will push back the final and 3PPO to the 13th.

by **Ko-oren** » Thu May 09, 2019 1:48 pm

The rest of the Rugby Union World Cup will take place in the metropolises of Willowbourne and Greencaster. That means that the other host cities can finally take a breather after having been a temporary home to hundreds of athletes and tens of thousands of fans. The RUWC - a different experience in the ten Group Stage host cities - has been an amazing event and definitely fits in with the other events that have come to Ko-oren in recent years. All eyes are now on the two largest cities in the country, where tournament revelations Lisander take on hosts Ko-oren while the multiverse's top ranked team Barunia faces the team that has done everything right since the start, Elejamie.

Today, we look at some of the cosiest places that have hosted at least a single game. Groups A and B were directed to the far-western peninsula, which showed itself from its least windy side during the World Cup - and we're all thankful for that. How often have we seen perfectly decent conversion kicks deflect well off into the stands during the regular season? No such scenes during the tournament - imagine if a single gust of wind had kept a team out of the knockouts, or even the quarterfinals. Windiest of all, Penstead was left largely untouched as teams scheduled their games in Llandy and Mawrystwyth. The bigger teams saw the amount of fans that travelled after them, saw the 12.500 seats in yLhafontan Park, and decided that the two larger cities would be a better place for them. Despite all that, Penstead still put up a great show for those teams that swung past. Llandy and Mawrystwyth coped far more easily, hosting far more games but then again, they're used to hosting events on a regular basis. No matter what, the RUWC worked wonders for the local economies of Groups A and B. More importantly, it brought these places to life like few other competitions can - just the T20 World Cup touched on the peninsula, that's all.

Provincial Gehrenna (that is the 95% of Gehrenna province that is not Willowbourne city) has a much higher default level of activity, between soccer, rugby union, cricket, as well as being right there in the middle of everything anyway. Maynard is the proud owner of the only professional soccer team in the area (despite being locks for 10th-12th, aka third-last to last) so they have got more going for them than the rest - but just barely. It has, however, been the first time that these cities were in the centre of all the attention. By which we mean, being the closest on average to all other host cities. Thousands of fans flocked to these three cities to be closer to the action, and it's done wonders for the place rugby takes in daily life over there. Local participation numbers have shot up as the tournament went on, and rugby could just win the battle for most popular sport for once and for all.

Provincial Surbourneshire (in this case, the densely populated parts to Greencaster's west) was mostly skipped, apart from Marinwood and Ansonville, the only cities in the area. For how densely populated it is, and for how many mid-sized towns and cities there are... well, participation has been disappointing to say the least. Lots of chances missed, for involving places like Belmore, Brighthaven and Oceanside... all three Marinwood-sized, the latter two with a gorgeous location on the coast, well connected to the hinterland - but couldn't really tell a RUWC was going on not far from there.

West Strand Riding have had the time of their lives, in comparison. Eaglebury was included to some extent in the World Bowl from a little while ago, and for a city of their size it's a shame it feels so remote. The town of Tarrashall, however, were graced with a visit from the Lisander national team - and that team then went on to the semifinals. The area around Tarrashall was never this included in matters - and things still haven't calmed down here. Woomera Ground was by far the smallest ground, but it broke multiple attendance records. The seat-less field was at least as popular as Eaglebury's, could not have predicted that. For how much Penstead was ignored, Tarrashall was as much centre of the action as everywhere else. And as Woomera Ground was brought into view, Ko-orenites rediscovered just how great this part of the country is. The region will notice the effects of this World Cup for years to come.

by **Lisander** » Sat May 11, 2019 9:54 am

Catarina Scott, from Tarrashall, Ko-oren
Running into the castle of the boss

Please, Irises. I do not want to see this scene again.

Thanks to Christian Bonnevue, we are in the semifinals. The match against Mattijana was electrifying! Let's not fool ourselves with the score. Most of the time we were against the wall and the Mattijanans did not give up. Bonnevue, the new starter fly-half, had great participation of the victory against Neu Engollians in Round of 16, entering in halftime and securing his position as starter when defined the final numbers of 12-3 for Lisander, with both try and conversion. In the game against Mattijanans, he didn't scored any tries, and even lost the last kick, but he was already in state of grace. Pass eficiency of 100% and vital part in the creation of the three tries of the Irises, by Moura, Castell and Linzmeyer crowned him as the best in the match, according to RTL audience (43% against 27% of Eleazar Castell, second placed).

Back in the semifinals, we will face our biggest challenge ever. It's almost like it was one of those old RPGs. Lisander slowly begins to grow in his journey, as well as a heroic protagonist ...

At some point in the journey, our hero (in this case, our team) is confronted with an enemy so strong that it's unfair. He appears in the early stages and gives a beating to a hero who is not yet strong enough, leaving him despondent with everything and thinking of giving up. It is an event that marks practically all the classics, like Wufia, the favorite of my childhood.

Right near the end of the story, the powerful opponent reappears, but this time, our hero is ready for battle. It is an opponent of gigantic proportions, and battle with the advantage of being inside its own castle. Like a final boss or something related. We're going against Ko-oren. In Willowbourne.

Last time Lisander met the Dragonflies, I watched, dumbfounded, a total massacre. It explains, obviously, the incredible silence of Irises in Tarrashall. While locals celebrate the game in a mood of happiness and unity, some bringing scarves with both team names knitted together, the lisanderian team closed the doors to their last training before saying goodbye to the small town and departing to Willowbourne to the semifinals. They're training for their best, but also they're preparing for the worse.

The other semifinal is probably the most difficult game of the World Cup, it's the re-edition of latest final. A war of its own. And we still have to worry about that, as if all of this wasn't enough. Let's pray that our boys are strong enough to face Chuckio's memories, that they are even stronger to beat them, and then that they still have enough strength to face the winner between Elejamie and Barunia.

I do not think it's asking too much. After all, this is our game. ALLEZ LE XV!

Now I'm going to take my medicine for the nerves.

More from TRZ.ls:

Barunia 6-0 Alice Bay. It was too close for the Crux
URSA Roses will tour Alice Bay again, after 21 years
World Cup doesn't mean total interruption. Keep track of local games!
The hopes of Arno Florian, read by his sister Anaëlle.

© 2019 TRZ Alice Bay and TRZ Lisander are brands of Newport Rugby Media Holdings. Alice Bay and/or Lisander laws may apply. Dale a tu cuerpo alegria macarena. For further information and commercial contracts, contact promo(at)trz.ls or ad(at)trz.ab.

by **Ko-oren** » Sat May 11, 2019 12:06 pm

Rugby Union World Cup 27 @ Ko-oren

Semifinal Results

Lisander 7–35 Ko-oren (3rd party scorination by Aels/Liventia)

Barunia 15–27 Elejamie

Host cities: Willowbourne and Greencaster

Final

Elejamie vs Ko-oren @ Greencaster

Third place playoff

Lisander vs Barunia @ Willowbourne

The OP has been edited to reflect the new schedule. The final cutoff will be in ~70 hours.

by **Lisander** » Sat May 11, 2019 4:29 pm

Dan Reynolds, special from TRZ.AB, from Willowbourne, Ko-oren
Catarina Scott, a true fan.

Thanks, Cat. You're the biggest. You're the embodiment of passion for Rugby.

A rugby journalist who is more passionate about what she does than Catherine Scott is about to be born. Arriving three years ago at TRZ, coming from the small Soria Reporter newspaper, Cat is perhaps one of the craziest people on the sport.

Besides being, almost since her arrival in TRZ, she does the coverage of Irises in all events, tours and in the world cups, Scott also follows the daily life of TOP 12 clubs, especially her "team of the heart" , the Victorian Club. She herself is a sportswoman, having played rugby and hockey on the grass with the crimson team.

Seeing her crying today was sad, because I know how much she loves this sport. The sleepless nights in search of news, talking on the phone with people who had information about the team. Seeing it all come to an end, against Ko-oren... Once more against Ko-oren. Once more an astonishing defeat. She said she was also preparing for a possible defeat, but when Ko-oren opened 28-7, she was already crying uncontrollably in the area reserved for the press, on the side of the pitch. His crying was unconcerned, sore, deeply disappointed. She was always excited, from the arrival to Tarrashall, she seemed to be sure we would win this cup. And now we will have to go to the third place match.

Within that euphoric arena for Ko-oren's departure to Rugby World Cup final, Catherine Scott's cry at the end of the 80 minutes of rugby was a bit of the crying of all the Lisanderians, who will need to wait for the next one, once more.

More from TRZ.ls:

Elejamie versus Ko-oren: What to expect of this final?
Lisander faces Barunia for third-place. Have a look at the Waves retrospect before the match!
World Cup doesn't mean total interruption. Keep track of local games!
ABRU president vote is next May 23

© 2019 TRZ Alice Bay and TRZ Lisander are brands of Newport Rugby Media Holdings. Alice Bay and/or Lisander laws may apply. Dale a tu cuerpo alegria macarena. For further information and commercial contracts, contact promo(at)trz.ls or ad(at)trz.ab.

by **Ko-oren** » Tue May 14, 2019 10:51 am

MD2:
Elejamie 17–12 Natanians and Nosts
Ko-oren 3–12 Darmen

MD3:
Kita-Hinode 14–10 Elejamie
Free Republics 7–27 Ko-oren

MD4:
Elejamie 48–13 Pratapgadh
Ko-oren 22–7 Logria

MD5:
Griemvarant 0–30 Elejamie
Aimena 3–19 Ko-oren

Ro16:
Elejamie 5–0 Natanians and Nosts
United States of Devonta 0–17 Ko-oren

QF:
Elejamie 18–6 Apox
Darmen 7–19 Ko-oren

SF:
Barunia 15–27 Elejamie
Lisander 7–35 Ko-oren

These teams are the same

Elejamie has had a fine tournament with just a single loss, to Kita-Hinode, early in the group stage. Pretty much like us, with our loss to Darmen to kick off the World Cup. But wait, there's more. Both teams kept their opponents' scores to a minimum, with the Elephants (judging from their association's logo) keeping Griemvarant scoreless. After that, both teams shut out their opponents in the first knockout round, with Elejamie getting a group stage rematch, and Ko-oren scoring 17 in a big win over Devonta. Then both won by 12 in the quarterfinals, the win never really coming into question, over Apox and Darmen - yes, both teams had a group stage rematch. The semifinals was another 12-point win for Elejamie. Ko-oren, however, had bigger things in mind, scoring five tries against Lisander. Lisander, who looked like favourites to win it all starting match one, but that was without the big Greenblue factor that they simply cannot seem to best. The 35 in the semifinal was Ko-oren's highest score. Elejamie got into the 30s once as well: 30-0 over Griemvarant. Elejamie also hit the 40s: 48-13 over Pratapgadh - Pratapgadh, whose players will likely feature in the next domestic T20 season. So, basically, there are a lot of similarities within the 27th RUWC.

Both teams have made a RUWC final within the last three events. Elejamie lost the last edition to Barunia. Ko-oren lost the 24th World Cup final to Neu Engollon. Before that, Elejamie couldn't crack the top three... while Ko-oren had already won two RUWCs at that point. Well, there had to be a point where the similarities stopped.

Something that isn't a similarity but should: the Elejamians call the Number 8 the Eightman - a far superior name to 'Number 8'.

The Grand Final is about to start - with Elejamie in their standard lineup, donning the green, as the de facto home team. The actual home team, listed as the away team for seeding purposes, will wear the 'alternate' yellow jersey instead.

Before that: we feel for Lisander. We know what it's like to have an Angstgegner, a team that has your number. In our case, it's not in rugby, but in soccer, and it's not a single team, but any team we might face in the Soccer World Cup's Round of 16 - if we even get there. The Soccer World Cup playoffs are another chokepoint (literally) for the Greenblues. Anyhow, the Irises have been knocking on the door for a while, getting to third place once and about to see if they can do so two straight times. The Irises have once won the U20 RUWC as well, and we're seeing if that generation can lift the team from perennial 'almosts' to winners. I think it won't take another three editions before we finally see this team with the cup. We better hope it's not against us.

by **Elejamie** » Tue May 14, 2019 11:59 am

I've Decided To Do Something Different (aka Dave Carrey's Guide to the 27th Rugby World Cup Final)
Dave Carrey - Somewhere in Mawryshire, Ko-oren

So we're back in the Rugby World Cup Final after that amazing display against Barunia. In what was a rematch of the last RWC final, where they beat us thanks to a last minute try from Avon Knights player Findlay Martin to level the scores, with Mike Rogers confirming the extras to hand them the trophy. While it was disappointing that we lost that first match, it was still a thrilling match that the better side won. So when we faced them again here in the semi-finals, it seemed like we were in for another thrilling match. So many questions, namely would we manage to get our revenge or will they be able to make it to their second consecutive final. It turned out to be the latter and, while I won't go into too much detail, I can say that we scored three tries (one by Huang, one by Campbell and a third by Oldaker), three conversions from Debenham, one penalty (out of three) and a drop goal from Armando Tavarez shortly before the end; whereas Mike Rogers scored the only set of points for Barunia with two tries (one of which got converted) and a penalty.

Where was I? Oh, yes, the RWC Final. We're up against the hosts Ko-oren, who are fresh off of a 35-7 thrashing of Lisander. And, rather than rehash what I did for the last final, I've decided to do something a bit different. I'm going to give a brief explanation for how all the teams who made it past the group stage did, with our two finalists being given a bit more information, primarily because their stories haven't finished yet but it'll also help you understand why I pegged one of these two teams to win the competition. Also, before I start, there won't be any pictures included with this report. Not because I ran out of time but rather because there's not really any point in putting any pictures in something like this. Let's get this under way.

ROUND Of SIXTEEN

Neu Engollon: What else can I say, really? There are a number of things wrong with the Neu Engollonian squad this tournament but I'd rather get some help from a local source, since they'd know more about the squad than I could. Still, things looked promising with an 11-3 win over Apox in their first match, since they had a bye day. Then came a 7-3 loss to Romanovskaya, which was disappointing but we couldn't talk much about it due to us losing 14-10 to Kita-Hinode that same day. And then came the 39-27 defeat to Sajnur, who may have been a brilliant team during the group stage but there was absolutely no excuse for allowing so many points. At least the 17-3 win against Thaulandi, coupled with the aforementioned bonus point was enough to send them through. All the way to a 12-3 defeat to a stronger Lisander side. I'm confident that Neu Engollon will make a comeback from this and absolutely blitz the competition in the next one but, for now, I can only shake my head.

Nova Anglicana: I'd like to say the same thing here but the magic wasn't as apparent here as it was in the last competition. It didn't have that oomph or anything that would make a normal mediocre performance seem heartbreaking, much like what Neu Engollon showed us. They grabbed an opening 10-10 draw against the United States of Devonta (more on them later, in this same section in fact) before shutting out Northwest Kalactin 15-0 and going down 8-0 to Crownbrook, meaning their last game was essentially do or die. And they did thanks to another shutout, this time 13-0 to Kandonica. And then they died when they got shutout themselves, 13-0 to Barunia. Not as disappointing as Neu Engollon's defeat but they did finish fourth in the last tournament, so I could imagine this being a bit of a letdown to fans. I say they shouldn't worry and that there's always the next one.

Abanhfleft: Wow, who saw this coming? One of the strongest sides from the group stage, a team that did absolutely everything right and sweeping their group, only to suffer a painful collapse in the second half of their Round of 16 game. They had a bye on the first day but showed they put it to good use when they beat Savojarna 31-16 before going on to beat group leaders Juvencus 27-22; however, due to their opponents getting a losing bonus point, they were unable to claim the top spot. They'd then go on to get a 21-10 win over Bongo Johnson before rounding things off with a 10-3 win over Bernegastad, a win that saw them finally reach the top of the table. That was where the positivities ended, as they'd go on to lose 13-10 to Mattijana. Talk about a shaggy dog story.

Kelssek: After a lengthy absence, Kelssek were back and showed that they hadn't lost that spark. Kicking things off with a 22-0 shutout of our rivals for a brief time Aels, they took their bye day before returning with a 13-6 win over Rakivland. They sadly fell 29-10 to Lisander but managed to come back from that with a surprising 14-10 win over the Alpine Union to book their place in the knockout stage, completely defying the odds. The bad news is that they would go on to fall to the mighty Darmeni defence and got shutout themselves, 10-0. Almost poetic in a way but you have to give them props for showing that they haven't lost their lustre.

Natanians and Nosts: They did what everyone expected them to, which was to grab a few wins and make it out of the group stage with a few wins, probably not top of their group but maybe second or third if it was. They got off to a good start with a 25-5 win over Griemvarant before losing to us by five points. After a bye day, which they then used to recover and address any issues, they went on to win their last two games (22-15 to Kita-Hinode and 10-6 against Pratapgadh), they finished second in Group A, right behind us, to advance to the next round. The big question, once that was all over, was where they could go next. "Out in the round of sixteen" turned out to be the correct answer as they went on to lose 5-0 to us in terrible weather conditions. A shame but, again, it's to be expected.

Juvencus: They did better than anyone thought they ever would. In a group that had Savojarna and Abanhfleft, not only did they lead for most of it, only finishing second because Abanhfleft won all of their games, but they managed to get at least one point in each game. After a narrow 16-14 win against in they then shutout Bernegastad 24-0 in the following match. They then lost to Abanhfleft but, due to them only losing by five points, still managed to salvage a bonus points to remain top of the group. While they did get a win in their last game, 18-9 against Savojarna, they needed Abanhfleft to lose (preferably without a bonus point) just to remain top of the table; while that didn't happen, they were fortunately so far ahead of the competition that they would've advanced to the knockout stage regardless of the result. Unfortunately, their fairytale run came to a crashing end when they ended up losing 22-10 to Apox and, while I didn't watch the match sadly, I could've imagine people giving them a standing ovation for their spectacular performance.

Hutanjia: Hutanjia were another surprising early exit from the tournament, despite showing plenty of promise. They didn't have the best of starts, drawing 11-11 with Mattijana but fortunately making up for that with a 23-10 win over the newly independent Busoga Islands. After shutting out Geektopia (not to be confused with the restaurant chain Greektopia) 9-0, they rounded things off with a 29-13 win over Saladistan (the only team to fail to win a single point, bonus or otherwise, in this tournament) to cement their spot at the top of the table. They were the favourites to win their round of sixteen game against Alice Bay, only to fall 22-19. A disappointment but there's always next time.

United States of Devonta: Devonta did as well as everyone expected them to as well. They won their opener 38-17 against Kandonica but drew 10-10 against Nova Anglicana the next day. And it was more of the same after their bye day, with a 7-7 draw against Northwest Kalactin and a 13-0 shutout against Crownbrook. A set of results that would be good for second or third in any other group but due to NA's loss, they ended up placing top of the group. So when they faced a more superior team in the gracious hosts Ko-oren, they got completely torn apart. 17-0. Disappointing but sadly inevitable.

QUARTER-FINALS

Mattijana: Mattijana are sort of a mixed bag when it comes to rugby. Some games they can be a decent squad, other games they can be a bit underwhelming. This tournament provided plenty of games that could count as the former. They got off to a brilliant start with a 31-10 win over the unlucky Saladistan before hitting a roadblock and drawing 11-11 with Hutanjia, a team I have previously mentioned. Their bye didn't seem to help either as they narrowly lost 14-12 to the Busoga Islands. Fortunately, Lady Luck smiled upon them as they rebounded with a 23-12 win over Geektopia to make it through to the next round, if only because of their losing bonus point giving them that little extra. Lady Luck proceeded to smile on them even more as they edged out the heavily favoured Abanhfleft 13-10, though she sadly stopped smiling when Lisander grabbed a 19-3 win. Still, something to be proud of and even build on.

Alice Bay: Alice Bay might be written off as a B-team to their neighbours Lisander but they can still provide moments where they prove their hidden potential to become a world-beater. This was one such moment. The Crux kicked things off with a 13-0 shutout win over Lochario before falling to reigning world champions Barunia 20-13, although again they were able to scrape a losing bonus point out of it. They made further progress by demolishing Filindostan 34-0, which not only ended the tournament for them but also ended the tournaments for the two teams below, before rounding things off with a second consecutive shutout, this time 14-0 against Pius Desurongcrandis (thank several gods for copy and paste). They were a surprise victor in the knockout stage, beating Group B champions Hutanjia 22-19, before getting shutout by Barunia, losing 6-0. Not bad for a supposed weaker side to their bigger neighbour.

Darmen: What they lacked in offensive capabilities during the group stage, they more than made up for with a strong defence. 35 points for, six points allowed; a 12-3 win against Ko-oren and a 6-3 win against Aimena. Not hampered by a complete lack of bonus points, they were up against the previously mentioned Kelssek and showed continued their display of defensive prowess with a 10-0 shutout. Unfortunately, they were up against Ko-oren in a groupstage rematch where it looked like it could go either way, with one side hoping to carry on with a strong defence while the other was looking for revenge. It turned out to be the latter, as what was supposed to be the strong Darmeni offence absolutely collapsed. How badly? 17-9. Ouch.

Apox: Apox were quite a good side this time around. Not exactly a favourite to win but rather a dark horse who would advance quite far into the competition. And that's what they did. They beat Thaulandi 33-17 right out of the starting gate before falling 11-3 to Neu Engollon. After a bye day, presumably to squeeze some extra practice in and prepare a comeback from that, they shutout Romanovskaya 17-0 before rounding things off with a 24-7 win over Sajnur to book a place in the Round of 16. They beat Juvencus 22-10 only to fall 18-6 to us. But they put up a good fight and I'm not ruling out another brilliant performance from them next time.

SEMI-FINALS

Lisander: This one pains me to write about as much as it does for Lisanderians to not only read it but also remember the match. They had one of the sexiest offences of the tournaments, as evidenced by them being the first seed with four wins out of four and three bonus points, all from scoring at least 15 points more than their opponents. They were one of two teams to finish the group stage with a points for total in triple figures. Sure they didn't have the best defence but it was still good for what it was and it complimented the super-strong offence nicely. They beat an absolutely-cooked Neu Engollon team 12-3 and gave a light 19-3 thrashing to Mattijana to make it through to their second consecutive semi-final. Unfortunately, they were up against Ko-oren, who thrashed them 25-0 last time. In their attempt to vanquish their demons, they ended up letting them take control as they ended up losing 35-7 in an absolute blowout. I can only be reminded of this meme that I found somewhere, where they have to pick between cheering on their biggest non-geographic rivals or cheering on the side that has dealt two consecutive shellackings. Or take this third option, whatever it is.

Barunia: The reigning world champions, having beaten us 12-10 in the last Rugby World Cup thanks to a late try and conversion. And they did a fairly good job defending their title, winning all of their group stage games but only getting a single bonus point, courtesy of a 33-5 demolition of Lochario in their final group stage game. They then followed it up with equally impressive wins, like the two consecutive shutouts against Nova Anglicana and Alice Bay. Unfortunately, as hard as they tried, they were unable to overcome us and carry on with their title defence. Be proud of yourselves. You took home a trophy last time, there's always the possibilty of a bronze medal returning home too.

So that leaves us with our two remaining teams. No really long introduction sequence here, dear readers. You already know who they are if you've clicked on the meme picture or even seen those games they played but, for those who haven't, let me introduce them:

Elejamie: Yes, it's us. We got things off to a good start following our opening bye day with that 17-12 win against the Natanians and Nosts but showed that we weren't off to a great start when we lost 14-10 to Kita-Hinode the day after. We bounced back in spectacular fashion with that 48-13 destruction of Pratapgadh which gave us the lead before topping things off with a 30-0 shutout of Griemvarant. We had our rematch against the Natanians and Nosts but only managed a single unconverted Gates try from in heavy winds and rain, we beat Apox 18-6 in a game that edged towards the tough side in some point and rounded things off with the aforementioned 27-15 win over Barunia, who prevented us from winning a trophy last time.

So what's our secret? A sensible combination of speed and strength. Our backs are among some of the quickest players in the sport, as evidenced by the 40-metre-dash teams regularly do during pre-season training. Brandão's time during training for the outgoing season was 4.46s, Tiago Sebastião Mendonça Álvarez (aka Guinho to you and me) getting a time of 4.50s and Eddie Campbell, who is essentially the fastest man in Elejamian rugby, even managed a 4.34s, 0.02 seconds slower than his best ever time (which he set in pre-season training for his first season . Even our forwards show a bit of speed, as evidenced by Dominic Devries getting a 4.62s and flanker/eightman David White making 40m in 4.73s. Strength also seem to be a key factor here as the forward pack can weigh anywhere between 878kg and 912kg, depending on which players are starting and which ones are on the bench; Mitchell, Drew-Ciobanu and the Bash Brothers, Onuoha and Hernández, being some of our heaviest. The legendary kicking feet of Paul Debenham and, to a lesser extent, Guinho, would help us get some extras like penalties, conversions and maybe a drop goal or two.

Ko-oren: Our gracious hosts. And I do really mean that, as they've put on a brilliant tournament regardless of the final result. They didn't have the best of starts when they lost 12-3 to Darmen the day after their bye but quickly recovered when they beat the Free Republics 27-7. They showed further signs of recovery with a 22-7 win over Logria, before finishing up with a 19-3 win over Aimena, who were a surprise team all tournament and I hope to see them again. Much like us, they grabbed a shutout in their round of sixteen game, this time 17-0 over Devonta, before getting their revenge on Darmen with a 19-7 win. And then came the infamous 35-7 thrashing of Lisander which, fortunately, I will not go into. Especially since there were some moments where I wanted to turn it off because of how badly the Irises were getting hammered.

How did they do it? They took Darmen's two fullback system and completely built upon it, giving it their own flair and style. Despite slipping up against the aforementioned Darmen, they managed to learn from their mistakes and managed to mix things up a bit which lead to the tactic being even more powerful. It certainly served them well during a few low-point conceding games like the wins against Aimena, Devonta and even Lisander. They've also got an absolutely star-studded offence which are not only capable of scoring some well-performed points but also copious amounts of them, like the 22-7 win over Logria and the 35-7 demolition of Lisander. They are essentially the toughest side we'll face all competition. And for a good reason.

Winner: This is going to be a bit of a tough one. On the one hand, with Elejamie's speed and strength, we would be able to completely break the Ko-orenite defence and score some tries, as well as win any necessary scrums to prevent them from trying to score tries. However, the Ko-orenite defence is too good right now, so I'm afraid I have to give them the win. Sure this'll probably not happen but we shall see. May the best team win.

Rugby Union World Cup 27 | Everything Thread

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