sport.ia, the Imperan League Domestic Sports Newswire

[Imperan Caretaker]

Definitely NOT a Lisanderian sportswire.

[Lorenthia]

Season 3

Season 1: Christiania Ishockey
Season 2: Christiania Ishockey

Regular Season        Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD    Win % 
 1 Mistra Stars           22   15   7    82   42  +40    0.682
 2 Christiania Ishockey   22   15   7    72   62  +10    0.682
 3 Dynamo Eisenport       22   14   8    72   48  +24    0.636
 4 Eisenport Dockers      22   14   8    80   63  +17    0.636
 5 HC Thistle             22   12  10    71   63   +8    0.545
 6 Smeden Klatrere        22   12  10    67   57  +10    0.545
 7 Borea Nordlys          22   11  11    61   60   +1    0.500
 8 Skarsgard Thunder      22   10  12    55   68  −13    0.455
 9 Innsjø Lakers          22   10  12    45   59  −14    0.455
10 Våren Bears            22    7  15    49   93  −44    0.318
11 Østgrense Tårnet       22    6  16    57   82  −25    0.273
12 Serdan Krakken         22    6  16    57   71  −14    0.273

Semifinals (Best of three)

Mistra Stars 2–0 Eisenport Dockers (5-4, 1–2)
Christiania Ishockey 2–0 Dynamo Eisenport (1–0, 1-2)

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Final (Best of five)

Mistra Stars 3–1 Christiania Ishockey (4–2, 4–2, 5–0, 4–5)

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Champions

Mistra Stars
(1st Title)

[Alice Bay]

After six months of political turmoil, Lisander was expelled from the Imperan League. Although this didn't cause many problems for example in Cricket, where both Lisander and Alice Bay "merrily share" a single board and don't give a damn to the UNISA (Imperan League Union of Sports Associations), rugby is different. Both nations are rivals and managed their way to the top separately. Alice Bay Unions' Cup is not inferior to the Lisanderian Premiership in terms of technical quality. The difference is structural and especially financial. Professional Rugby in Lisander works, even if not as steady as planned. In Alice Bay, only the players of Unions' Cup teams are paid. (And just the best of them, those with some NT matches like Jonathan Cape, Tai Lillard and Dante Segard, live entirely from Rugby. These three players, for example, work for the Unions of Southland, Osea and Newport respectively, and their contracts include playing for Union and Club but also supporting clubs with networking/training, coaching mini/junior teams and making public/commercial appearances as ambassadors of their Unions.)

Since Lisander was also expelled from the UNISA, Alice Bay also lost its principal partner. The decrease in the number of Lisanderian players/sponsors/audience made the ABRU change its strategy. Instead of lisanderian money, the attention turned to areas where rugby was not yet professional, the other Imperan League Nations in Southern Hemisphere. The process that had started with the joining of Toa Rugby from Grand Merina in the most recent Unions Cup, evolved to a new league of 10 teams: The five best Alice Bay Unions in financial terms, plus five franchises spread across the three invited countries: Heemstra, Grand Merina and Ariannin.

[Alice Bay]

The 10 teams of United 10 was presented. The teams of Alice Bay are five of the twelve unions: Newport, Osea, Southland, Cape Orion and Ellis Port. The other seven Unions will join Alice Bay Development XV and play a planned second-tier championship late in the year. Newport and Osea are all-time favourites, with Southland establishing themselves as the third force in the Commonwealth. These three unions concentrate near the entirety of National Team Players. Cape Orion and Ellis Port may also have plenty of money, but Archers (linked to Alkyon Air, biggest airline in nation) and Lions (linked to Kikunomi's Horie Building Firm) resorted only to local clubs and university players, diverting the received funds to develop structure, that is their bigger lacking. It's better not to expect much from them in the first seasons.

The two teams from the nation of Heemstra are probably the best of every Imperan League nation (apart from Alicean and Lisanderian teams). The traditional provinces of Stellen and Northern Cape already have a fairly decent structure and culture, so both teams were able to bring foreigners, especially, lisanderians. The featured player for Stellen is Filipe Sarto, Irises and Lisander Barbarians-capped, while Northern Cape scouted three exchange students, there were already playing for Northern Cape University: Lucas Marques, Diego Boni and Marian Albuquerque. The rest of the players are the first generation of Pros from the nation, that made their first capped appearance in a recent defeat to Baggieland (0-6).

Currently experimenting an economic boom, Grand Merina is a developing nation where Rugby is still in its amateur stage. The two teams in United 10 are the two regional extant teams. Toa region team had already played one season in the Alice Bay Unions Cup, while Merina Province was linked to the Super 8 of Aristian Republic, Lorenthia and Galliena that never started. Both teams share the Grand Merina-capped players.

From the outskirts of Imperan League, Ariannin's ABk Foxes are quite a mystery. Fully sponsored by Ariannin Bank, the team don't have a fixed roster. The team's management takes advantage of Ariannin's unusual labor laws, which is a small, third sector country, full of civil servants, financial speculation and white-collar workers, but landlocked and without any space for agriculture. Since wages can be paid weekly, they may or may not be automatically rehired each week. Workers' rights bodies have criticized the measure for being "immoral yet legal".

[Alice Bay]

Regular Season        Pld    W   D   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts                                                    
 1 Osea                   18   13   2   3   323  176 +147    56  —   15–13  3–3  19–7  36–20  26–0  25–14  21–5  19–3  7–17
 2 Cape Orion             18   11   0   7   263  146 +117    44 17–28   —   20–3  25–10  13–14  12–13  13–16  41–8  10–3  9–5
 3 Ellis Port             18    9   3   6   255  179  +76    42 15–15  10–15   —   0–14  18–0  28–7  34–9  3–3  13–6  11–7
 4 Southland              18    9   3   6   235  195  +40    42 3–19  5–3  14–30   —   8–0  29–10  7–7  20–13  29–0  23–7
 5 Northern Cape          18    9   3   6   216  202  +14    42 14–23  0–10  24–10  13–13   —   6–6  10–10  13–10  20–0  10–0
 6 Stellen Province       18    7   1  10   212  268  −56    30 3–13  0–22  9–24  23–14  18–0   —   10–11  28–13  7–17  14–11
 7 Merina Province        18    6   2  10   189  259  −70    28 3–14  3–8  6–7  17–7  9–17  0–24   —   12–16  22–10  14–10
 8 Foxes                  18    5   4   9   196  283  −87    28 20–11  3–23  13–7  9–9  0–31  14–8  7–16   —   36–10  6–6
 9 Newport                18    7   0  11   147  251 −104    28 3–15  10–3  8–3  0–13  3–6  17–11  10–8  17–13   —   13–17
10 Toa                    18    4   2  12   171  248  −77    20 16–14  0–6  6–36  0–10  15–18  11–21  30–12  7–7  6–17   —

Regular Season

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Osea, the first Alicean team to win the Champions Trophy, cruised swiftly to win the regular season, 12 points ahead of the opposition. They proved their prominence in local rugby once more with impressive 13 wins in 18 games. The team lead by Tai Lillard comes strong, searching for a second star on its crest.

Cape Orion and Ellis Port were the surprises. No one was giving them attention and in the end, they have risen up as second and third-placed team in the United 10 first season. Youth teams made great results, and certainly, the unions are pleased. Cape Orion, second-placed, also secured the second spot for Champions Trophy, while Ellis Port will face Stellen Province.

Southland was into the expected. The newest of the unions (formed less than 10 seasons ago) is tracing a good way, and only needs a victory against Northern Cape in Semifinal Qualifiers to reach international stage. Jonathan Cape, injured by half-season, is probably the biggest worry of this team.

Northern Cape and Stellen Province are showing potential. In their first season, both teams of Heemstra reached the Semifinal qualifiers. The lisanderian players made great appearances and a spot in international competition isn't a so distant dream. Northern Cape drew against Southland in their home game (13-13). Will they manage a win now? Stellen Province have a more difficult way, against the Kikunomijin supported Ellis Port.

Merina Province made a good appearance in their first season as Professional, finishing ahead of theoretically stronger teams like Newport.

Contrary to what Workers unions imagined, Foxes sticked to a core team that was able to make some good results, like a 20-11 against Osea in the last round and a solid 36-10 against a weakened Newport.

The Dragons had a season to forget. Eleven defeats, including to quasi-amateur Foxes and a historic trashing of 0-29 against Southland, makes the future of Newport at United 10 threatened. The current worry is Cap Navarre Rugby Union, who according to local media, is not happy to have been left out just because Newport has a better structure, although the Dragons a much weaker team than the Basques.

Toa Rugby managed a win home against Osea, and this was probably the only relevant moment of the team in the season. If United 10 were a Promotion-Relegation league, it would be they giving the spot to Cap Navarre.


Semifinal Qualifiers

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Qualifier 1
Stellen Province (HEE) 7–0 Ellis Port (ALB)

Qualifier 2
Northern Cape (HEE) 16–17 Southland (ALB)

The gods of rugby presented us with lots of surprises in Heemstra. Stellen Province managed a historic win to be the first Heemstran team reaching international competition. A 7-0 result defended until the last moments against Ellis Port. In the second qualifier, Northern Cape was very close, but when you need one try with a conversion, two drop goals are not enough. The 16-17 had a sour taste, while Southland advances to semifinals still without Cape.


Semifinals

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Semifinal 1
Osea (ALB) 30–8 Stellen Province (HEE)

Semifinal 2
Cape Orion (ALB) 13–17 Southland (ALB)

Osea once more shown why it's rugby land. The Rovers were inside their own stadium, and overpowered Stellen Province 30-8. This large victory proves the difference between best of Alice Bay and best of Heemstra. There's still some path to follow if Heemstra want to be the top force of this new Imperan Rugby without Lisander. In the other half of semifinals, Jonathan Cape traveled with the team but had to content himself with watching from the bench. Its replacement, Luke Hariwana, scored 9 of the 17 points Southland needed to reach the final of United 10.


The Final

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Final
Osea Rugby Union 13–7 Southland Rugby Union

Southland started well, with Luke Hariwana scoring a try and its conversion at 17', but it wasn't enough to stop the Rovers, who even if they were not on an inspired day (Tai Lillard missed the two conversions he tried before being replaced by Scott Ma'aea, who scored the last three points). In the end, the 13-7 proved a fair result between a Southland team that didn't attack and an Osea team that was too much tired to attack more vigorously.

[Aristian Republic]

Liga Aristiana Saskibaloi
Season 2

Season 2                     Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD    Win %                                                              
 1 Aristia Telecom Laviania      22   14   8  1697 1607  +90    0.636  —   63–96  67–70  76–85  70–63  90–68  75–78  83–73  83–65  67–66  90–80  76–59
 2 TEBets Hierbella              22   13   9  1719 1635  +84    0.591 65–68   —   79–84  68–79  83–79  66–76  92–76  72–81  90–53  75–67  69–63  83–66
 3 BNA Hercules                  22   13   9  1772 1721  +51    0.591 66–75  76–87   —   73–70  79–84  78–77  76–65  66–62  72–82  71–72  78–77  90–91
 4 Saski Union                   22   13   9  1717 1688  +29    0.591 74–88  90–84  77–81   —   93–83  65–86  71–77  90–83  66–76  83–78  82–80  78–73
 5 EAS Energie                   22   11  11  1706 1700   +6    0.500 88–74  77–78  76–98  66–81   —   79–77  67–92  95–79  71–58  79–67  70–76  73–58
 6 Nordland Santaros             22   11  11  1690 1689   +1    0.500 68–65  71–74  93–80  79–69  69–63   —   75–73  82–73  68–78  70–82  76–81  63–73
 7 Gast Lions                    22   11  11  1745 1747   −2    0.500 58–83  59–84  86–94  72–75  92–78  93–77   —   91–90  75–77  92–90  96–84  97–73
 8 Astra Santastella             22   10  12  1730 1685  +45    0.455 84–93  97–82  67–91  81–88  84–81  66–76  65–77   —   91–70  80–54  76–60  78–61
 9 Herrera Serdie                22   10  12  1659 1740  −81    0.455 67–82  71–75  96–91  76–69  90–95  92–78  99–77  61–83   —   72–71  65–69  82–78
10 Argentaire Nortmer            22    9  13  1644 1705  −61    0.409 78–66  78–73  80–86  81–61  71–75  76–95  71–67  77–91  87–80   —   60–62  67–94
11 Syr Avila                     22    9  13  1638 1703  −65    0.409 75–71  101–71  67–84  55–87  66–81  78–82  64–82  61–79  89–70  90–94   —   90–72
12 Zeta BKT Castell              22    8  14  1647 1744  −97    0.364 81–92  60–73  91–88  72–84  65–83  95–84  87–70  74–67  80–79  76–77  68–70   —

Quarterfinals
Aristia Telecom Laviania 92–80 Astra Santastella
TEBets Hierbella 94–76 Gast Lions
BNA Hercules 76–79 Nordland Santaros
Saski Union 68–73 EAS Energie

Final Four at Arena Syrlina XXI, Syr, Aristian Republic

Semifinals
Aristia Telecom Laviania 72–77 TEBets Hierbella
Nordland Santaros 73–81 EAS Energie

Third Place
Aristia Telecom Laviania 73–69 Nordland Santaros

Final
TEBets Hierbella 70–92 EAS Energie

Aristian Republic (ARS) qualifiers
Puppet of Lisander
EAS Energie (champions)
TEBets Hierbella
Aristia Telecom Laviania

[Lorenthia]

Season 4

Season 1: Christiania Ishockey
Season 2: Christiania Ishockey
Season 3: Mistra Stars

Regular Season        Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD    Win % 
 1 Christiania Ishockey   44   29   9    77   46  +31    0.763
 2 Dynamo Eisenport       44   25  11    76   52  +24    0.694
 3 Smeden Klatrere        44   25  17    65   55  +10    0.595
 4 HC Thistle             44   24  13    79   50  +29    0.649
 5 Eisenport Dockers      44   21  15    69   61   +8    0.583
 6 Borea Nordlys          44   21  17    56   51   +5    0.553
 7 Mistra Stars           44   18  17    73   63  +10    0.514
 8 Serdan Krakken         44   17  17    68   74   −6    0.500
 9 Skarsgard Thunder      44   16  18    55   67  −12    0.471
10 Våren Bears            44   10  29    49   80  −31    0.256
11 Innsjo Lakers          44    9  31    48   78  −30    0.225
12 Østgrense Tårnet       44    9  30    48   86  −38    0.231

Semifinals (Best of three)

Christiania Ishockey 2-1 HC Thistle (0-1,1-0, 4-3)
Dynamo Eisenport 0-2 Smeden Klatrere (2-5,0-1)

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Final (Best of five)

Christiania Ishockey 3-1 Smeden Klatrere (3-2,3-1,0-1,1-0)

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Champions

Christiania Ishockey
(3rd Title)