6th Rugby Sevens World Cup - Everything Thread (IC)

by **Hannasea** » Fri Apr 30, 2021 4:19 am

Match report in 7 sentences: The Hamsters arrived at the World Cup eager to reassert their Olympic champion credentials after a disappointing NSRB season. But they had to wait all morning to start their World Cup campaign: in fact, it wasn’t until after noon that they kicked off against Shreekaristan. But it proved worth the wait thanks to an assured display from the experienced stand-off Jayson Parker, who scored a magical chip-and-collect try to spark the scoring off early, and went on to convert four of his five kicks. Ethan Price added a brace of tries, including a near pitch-length effort shrugging off defender after defender, and Seb Williams and Hayden Marsh put the result beyond doubt in the second half. A sizeable band of Hamsters fans were in attendance, stoical in the face of the long wait for the game and enthusiastic once it finally came. The thumping win, spoiled only by an Aaron Gibson knock-on that led to a quick turnover try, sets the Hamsters up nicely for the tougher match to come against Sevendia, the quick turnaround meaning the game is schedule for little more than an hour later (13:45). Williams picked up a stinger to the elbow and will likely sit the second and possibly third game for Ellis, but the injury doesn’t look likely to end his tournament.

Match report in 7 words: A very straightforward win with little fuss.

Match report in 7 letters: ASSURED

by **The Licentian Isles** » Fri Apr 30, 2021 6:07 am

The Licentian Isles has a great history of sport, and one of the most popular, certainly in recent years, is rugby union. In St Bart’s and Colesham, rugby earns higher interest than the national sport of the Isles, football: some cynics may suggest that that results from the lack of success that football clubs in the region tend to have, but this sports historian shan’t comment on that.

Rugby sevens is a sport that has many links in rules and history to its 15 a side cousin, but has never been held in quite the same level of acclaim amongst Licentians. In fact, sevens events in cities like Montfort and St Bart’s are often seen as an excuse for what the common folk often call “a piss-up”. They are characterised by garish costumes, excessive drinking, and very little focus on the sport being played on the pitch. I’m of the opinion that that is a shame, for multiple reasons. One of those is, of course, the fact that the players, though usually borrowed from professional rugby union outfits, are talented: they deserve far more attention than the bottom of a glass of cider, or a man dressed like a traffic cone. The other reason, somewhat more interesting to a history geek like myself, is because of the unique history of rugby sevens in the Isles. It’s a story that doesn’t get nearly as much recognition as it deserves and, as such, while the Cyan-and-Gold compete in the Sevens World Cup in Grearia, I intend to write a little bit about that history.

Rugby sevens is a sport that has unique origins across the multiverse, and it is doubtful that there is one single entity that can claim to have invented the sport that is now included in the Olympics, along with having its own World Cup. In the Licentian Isles, however, there is one club which claims to have invented the Licentian form of the game, which has combined over time with the sport recognised across the multiverse to be classified as one sport today.

That club is Port Arran RUFC. The town of Port Arran is found in the north of the main island that Licentians still sometimes refer to as Licentiapacisterra, which once referred to the nation as a whole. It is today a part of Montfort Parish, although it lies close to the border with Abingdon. The body of water for which the town is named, the River Arran, travels mostly through the latter parish before emptying at the site now recognised as one of the largest ports in the Isles.

Port Arran, despite being in the most wealthy and cosmopolitan parish of the Isles, used to resemble exactly what you would expect when you hear of a large port town. It was filled with sailors and dockworkers, and those men often engaged in pursuits that involved some level of violence, whether fuelled by alcohol or not. It is one of the few areas of the Isles where boxing was permitted before its complete prohibition. This tendency to enjoy hitting other people hard meant that, when rugby was introduced to the nation, it quickly rose in popularity in the town.

In the present day, with rugby’s professionalism, Port Arran RUFC has remained at the higher end of Licentian rugby, though without quite the same prestige as it once held. The club has often been involved in top division title challenges, though it missed out on the joint Licentian and Apoxian rugby union league due to disputes with the governing body of the sport. One place where its prestige has remained, however, is in the world of rugby sevens, where the town hosts the most prominent tournament in the Isles for the 7 a side game: the Port Arran Trophy.

Why is it that this small, rough-and-tumble port town now plays host to one of the most revered tournaments in Licentian sport? That’s a fascinating story that involves the local rugby club, a local baker, and a former Grand Duke of the Licentian Isles, before the monarchy collapsed. In fact, I’m surprised no one else has tried to tell it before me!

The Licentian Isles 24-12 Suimede

Licentian Try Scorers - K. Hooft (converted by A. Crawford), J. Miller, J. van der Woude, J. Miller (converted by J. van der Woude)
Suimede Try Scorers - #4 (converted by #5), #2

by **Darmen** » Fri Apr 30, 2021 8:31 am

Darmeni National Rugby Sevens Team
presented by the
Darmeni Rugby Union

Head Coach: Arn Bonnay, 55

#  Pos Name                 Age NRC Franchise
 1 LP  Calum Ó hEidirsceóil 27  Johnho RFU
 2 HK  Talmai Bambach       31  Western Border Warriors
 3 TP  Sly Townsend         26  Northwestern RFU         CAPTAIN
 4 SH  Rupert Davies        31  Brham Titans
 5 FH  Connie Fitzroy       30  Liverpool RFU
 6 CN  Bart Blackman        27  Northern Sharks
 7 WG  Gonzalo Hafner       30  Rogerton Blues

 8 PR  Pete McAlpin         25  Coastal Golden Chiefs
 9 HK  Cooper Grossman      30  Brham Titans
10 SH  Ninian Weiss         29  Northern Sharks
11 FH  Hirsh Halloran       35  Southwestern Blue Tigers
12 CN  Alfred Mark          23  Metro Saracens
13 WG  Eckehard Sharman     29  Western Border Warriors

RP Permissions: No killing or other serious life altering events, but otherwise have fun!

by **Nova Anglicana** » Fri Apr 30, 2021 8:56 am

Former Foreign Affairs Minister Clark takes reins of PJP

John McAvoy, Political Columnist, Londinium Courier

In a result that most people expected, former Foreign Affairs Minister Josephine Clark won the election for Party Leader of the Progressive Justice Party. The alternative vote-style election came down to the last possible round, with Clark eventually garnering 60% of votes cast, defeating former Justice Minister and New Brunswick Premier Tim McKenzie. Also eliminated were feminist Deputy Samantha Speer, First Nations advocate Sheila Gordon, left-wing Deputy Graham Hatten, Prince Edward Island Premier Alec Thornhill, rural Deputy Bruce Russell, and Francophone Deputy Martin Oullette. Retiring Party Leader Hal Blackwood did not endorse any of the candidates in the run-up to the election, instead saying, "I believe that any one of these men and women would make a fine leader of our Party and I am confident that they will continue the PJP's legacy of justice and equity." Despite this, he is likely to be glad to have an experienced party hand like Clark taking over, with her foreign policy experience adding to her gravitas and case for becoming Prime Minister.

PROGRESSIVE JUSTICE PARTY - PARTY LEADER ELECTION RESULTS

Candidate	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Round 6	Round 7
Josephine Clark	32%	32%	34%	35%	35%	45%	60%
Tim McKenzie	24%	25%	25%	25%	27%	30%	40%
Samantha Speer	18%	18%	18%	19%	22%	25%
Sheila Gordon	12%	12%	12%	13%	16%
Graham Hatten	7%	7%	7%	8%
Alec Thornhill	4%	4%	4%
Bruce Russell	2%	2%
Martin Oullette	1%

Looking at the election as it happened, Clark was the choice of 60% of PJP members, which is a solid victory. Not an overwhelming one, but clear enough to show that she has substantial support within the party. She also managed to keep McKenzie at bay throughout, with him never coming closer than seven percentage points. She also gained the most of any candidate between round one and round six, going up thirteen points to Speer's seven and McKenzie's six. While some will point to her inability to secure a knockout victory before the final round as evidence that she doesn't excite the party faithful, the more likely explanation is an old one: the PJP is factional. Comprising, as it does, centrists, Christian democrats, proponents of the Third Way, social liberals, the Christian left, and social democrats, no one candidate was ever likely to gain a majority before the final round. In fact, Clark faired better than Blackwood did when he was elected, defeating Minister of Infrastructure Sandra Meyer 54-46.

With regards to what this election tells us about the party, it makes two things clear: the PJP was ready for its first female leader and they're interested in Esportivan co-operation. By Round 5, three-quarters of the vote went to female candidates, leaving Tim McKenzie as the lone man. Allen Mumford was the party leader for many years before handing it over to Blackwood, his deputy, so Clark is the first female PJP leader, though not the first female party leader. All three members of the opposition coalition now have female leaders (Clark, Marian Greenfield of the Stewardship Party, and Emily Waterford of the Liberal Secularists), though we'll have to wait to see about a female Prime Minister. Clark also emphasized Esportivan co-operation and multilateralism, and McKenzie and Speer, at least, also picked up on that line. It wasn't surprising that Clark drove the foreign policy debate in the election, but will it carry them to power? That will depend on how they can sell it to the general public.

What about the other candidates besides Clark? Well, Martin Oullette and Bruce Russell failed to gain any traction as expected, but Alec Thornhill stumbled and finished well below expectations. He'll likely either stay Premier or, if he becomes a fervent Clark loyalist, he might yet become Environment Minister. Graham Hatten did better than anyone likely expected due to his youth and stance on the far left of the party, but he didn't drive the narrative as much as he would have liked. That was left to McKenzie and Speer to kind of morph into the left opposition to Clark. As far as Sheila Gordon, this election counts as an unqualified success. Going from 1-2% in the polls at the beginning to being the choice of a sixth of the party is a big leap. She's pushed the need to respond to First Nations issues and perhaps even to rethink the Nova Anglican state to the forefront. Time will tell whether Clark addresses these concerns, seeing as foreign policy is her preferred area of expertise, but Gordon has made a difference in the party and looks likely to fulfill some role in leadership, whatever that is.

For Samantha Speer, this election is simultaneously ego-boosting and disappointing. It's ego-boosting in that when she ran against Blackwood in the last leadership election, she was eliminated first with 2% of the vote. She reached a full quarter of the party preferring her, more than ten times her previous number and perhaps showing the desire for a bit more of an outsider candidate. However, it is disappointing. She would have liked to have fought this out with McKenzie, leaning heavily on her status as the most prominent woman in the race and using her and McKenzie's social liberalism to pull the party to the left on social and cultural issues, but Clark's entry spoiled that. Her next chance at becoming leader likely won't be for another couple of terms at least, and McKenzie would be running again, almost assuredly. Who knows what she might do next? Finally, McKenzie didn't actually improve that much from his last leadership foray, once again hovering at around a quarter of the vote through most of the election, but this time ending up as second choice to Clark instead of being eliminated in third. He'll have to find a way to get himself to resonate with voters nationally the way he did in New Brunswick. He's tried youth, he's tried experience, he's tried cultural liberalism, he's tried the left tack with this election. It's possible he's just not enough people's first choice to lead the party anyway he presents himself. But despite the blow that would be to his ego, there are plenty of worse things to be than an influential figure in the party who isn't cut out for national leadership. You can make a good career as a Minister or a whip or even deputy leader, but we'll see if he's cut out for that.

As far as the direction of the party and the likelihood of its returning to power, that's difficult to determine. The incumbent right-of-centre government still has two years left on its mandate, and without a majority, there's perhaps not much Clark can do. She'll try to steer a course that satisfies all wings of the party while putting up a united opposition front against the government's desire to dismantle the legacy of the PJP in any number of ways. Look for her to be firm on cultural issues, but not to get sucked into playing games about every little controversy. She issued a statement criticizing the national anthem decision, but has otherwise been much more focused on taxes, the budget, and Nova Anglicana's relationship with other nations. In her victory speech, she said she would "remain laser-focused on the ways the incumbent government is making it harder for Nova Anglicans to get ahead, how they seek to divide and distract us while their backers take ever larger slices of prosperity and opportunity that belongs to all Nova Anglicans." This focus might be enough to turn public opinion, and perhaps a few votes, or it might turn out to be just empty words. She's got to focus now on bringing the party together and hoping that the incumbent government trips itself up somehow so she can pounce when the time is right.

Sannmyathaland 5-31 Nova Anglicana

Sannmyathaland Try Scorers - #5 (conversion missed)
Nova Anglicana Try Scorers - Tremblay (Bolden conversion), Bolden (Bolden conversion), McCracken (conversion missed), St. John (converted by Bolden), Gorman (conversion missed)

by **The Grearish Union** » Fri Apr 30, 2021 11:02 am

Matchday 2

Round 2, Friday
Cloudy with intermittent drizzles towards the end, 16°C at Seagull Cavern, Forsho

Pool A
Sevendia 19–19 Hannasean Federation
Lisander 35–5 Quebec and Shingoryeo
Grearish Union 12–33 Barunia

  Pool A                     Pld   W  D  L   PF  PA  PD  Pts 
1 Lisander                     2   2  0  0   71  12 +59    6
2 Hannasean Federation         2   1  1  0   52  26 +26    5
3 Sevendia                     2   1  1  0   45  40  +5    5
4 Barunia                      2   1  0  1   40  48  −8    4
5 Quebec and Shingoryeo        2   0  0  2   26  61 −35    2
6 Grearish Union               1   0  0  1   12  33 −21    1
7 Shreekaristan                1   0  0  1    7  33 −26    1

Pool B
Darkmania 21–17 Pratapgadh
Nova Anglicana 31–7 Alice Bay
Abanhfleft 29–7 Sannyamathland

  Pool B                     Pld   W  D  L   PF  PA  PD  Pts 
1 Nova Anglicana               2   2  0  0   62  12 +50    6
2 Pratapgadh                   2   1  0  1   69  21 +48    4
3 Darkmania                    2   1  0  1   40  41  −1    4
4 Alice Bay                    2   1  0  1   31  50 −19    4
5 Abanhfleft                   1   1  0  0   29   7 +22    3
6 Sannyamathland               2   0  0  2   12  60 −48    2
7 Udmar                        1   0  0  1    0  52 −52    1

Pool C
San Ortelio 28–10 The Licentian Isles
Darmen 50–0 United States of Devonta
Bollonich 19–15 Elejamie

  Pool C                     Pld   W  D  L   PF  PA  PD  Pts 
1 San Ortelio                  2   1  1  0   50  32 +18    5
2 Darmen                       2   1  0  1   64  24 +40    4
3 Elejamie                     2   1  0  1   39  33  +6    4
4 The Licentian Isles          2   1  0  1   34  40  −6    4
5 Bollonich                    1   1  0  0   19  15  +4    3
6 United States of Devonta     2   0  1  1   22  72 −50    3
7 Suimede                      1   0  0  1   12  24 −12    1

Pool D
Copper Cuprum 26–12 Hebitaka
Placely Placington 26–10 Queenisa
Commonwealth of Baker Park 33–19 Kriegiersien

  Pool D                     Pld   W  D  L   PF  PA  PD  Pts 
1 Copper Cuprum                2   2  0  0   57  19 +38    6
2 Kriegiersien                 2   1  0  1   50  40 +10    4
3 Hebitaka                     2   1  0  1   40  40   0    4
4 Placely Placington           2   1  0  1   33  41  −8    4
5 Commonwealth of Baker Park   1   1  0  0   33  19 +14    3
6 Queenisa                     2   0  0  2   17  57 −40    2
7 TJUN-ia                      1   0  0  1   14  28 −14    1

by **San Ortelio** » Fri Apr 30, 2021 4:20 pm

“There is something strange going on, I’m telling you.”

It was now the third time that youngster Ercole Pagnin was pulling his arm, like a puppy who was very desperate for a walk. Daniele Carcano sighed and reconsidered for a moment. Pagnin was the only other Bonifazian in the selection, causing him to look up even more to Daniele – which he already did sufficiently over the age gap of fourteen years. So in time, Daniele had grown a bit weary of the questions and cries for attention from Ercole – sometimes you just had said ‘good job’ enough times in a day. But then again, he was the captain of this formation and they were on a roll. The draw against Devonta already showed a good form, a victory over the Licentian Isles confirmed this. As the powerhouses of the group had dropped the ball here and there, both literally and proverbially, the Swordfishes even lead the pack in Group C. So, Daniele considered, if a teammates calls out for him, he had to be there.

Even if it was for the umpteenth time.

“Ok, Ercole, what’s the problem exactly?”
“Come, come!”

Pagnin lead his experienced teammate to his room. It had a splendid view and on a clear day, one could spot Manta Island across the strait but for some reason the blinds were shut and only a dim nightlight allowed Carcano to shuffle behind without knocking things over.

“Look!”

With an agitated glance, Pagnin opened his closet. It was… Just a silly light hanging from the ceiling, a bunch of newspaper clippings with blood-red circles on them, some thumbtacks and string.

“I… I’m your rugby captain, not your Arts and Crafts teacher, Ercole.”
“Look! Look closer!”

Daniele tried to take it in without bursting into laughter, but couldn’t spot what he was going on about.

“The titles,” Ercole cried, “the titles!”

STRONG OPENER FROM THE SWORDFISHES AFTER EARLY MAYHEM

EQUALIZER VALERIN DELIVERS TWO POINTS ON A PLATEAU

VALERIN TRY ENSURES DRAW IN OPENER TOUR

The other three concerned the second confrontation, and again clippings from La Stampa, La Corriere and La Quotidiano were pinned against the backside of the cupboard.

EVEN BETTER – SAN ORTELIO GRAB THE LEAD

NO COUNTRY FOR SLOW MEN – ROCKET DI BASCO WINS US THE GAME

SEVENS TEAM TAKE FIRST POSITION DESPITE INJURED HOOKER

“That’s… All very positive, no? I mean, apart from Claudio suffering a min-”
“Don’t see it? The letters, Daniele!”
“You… You’re going to have to spell it out, I’m afraid,” Daniele says, utterly confused.
“Take the first letters…”
“S…E… V… E… N… S. Sevens,” Daniele repeats, “that sounds like a coincidence, I me-“
“And now the last,” Ercole whispers.
“Ehm… M… U… R… D… E… Oh, Ercole, that’s really just accidental.”
“Yeah…” Pagnin mesmerizes to himself, “and an accident is fast to happen. Don’t you see it! It’s dangerous out the-“

Now it was Daniele’s turn to cut him short.

“Look, Ercole, I think you’re a little stressed. For our last game of the day, I would say – sit it out a little, recharge the batteries and by tomorrow, you’ll see the bright side of it and you’ll be a fresh man facing Darmen.”

With this words, Daniele turned around. In part because he didn’t feel like going on about this nonsense. And a smaller part of him, one he refused to admit to his head, felt a slight shiver down his spine when Ercole, wide-eyed and panicking, pointed to the red circles which spelled ‘MURDER’. Maybe he should check in on Marco Vairetti, Ercole’s roommate to keep him a little under control. Then again, Daniele couldn’t remember seeing Vairetti since the last whistle against The Licentian Isles…

by **Elejamie** » Fri Apr 30, 2021 7:16 pm

Kevin Gabriel was feeling pretty calm ahead of his first game in charge. After all, he had been a vice coach under Aaron Kim and thus had a good idea of how to handle things. When he first start he didn't really call games that much or choose who was starting but he was needed he was able to slip easily into the role when he was needed. As more tournaments passed he was more of a hand in things until he was equals with Coach Kim himself. Eventually, Aaron left his position of Head Coach of the Elejamian Sevens team and the ERB had an automatic pick to replace him, even if it's only a temporary measure until they find someone more experienced or more willing to take the full-time job.

After all, Aaron Kim decided to step down following the disastrous Coffs Harbour 7s tournament, where Elejamie had choked an easy game or two and had to settle for competing for the Plate instead of their usual Cup. While they managed to win it easily, it was still a bit of a black eye for a team that could've been capable of much better. Fortunately it wasn't because of anything suspicious but rather it was because of a number of problems with air travel meaning that they ended up arriving much later than planned, meaning they couldn't get enough practice in to win games. Despite him not really being to blame, he still decided to fall on his sword and step down. At least he was able to find a job nearly instantly, as Victorian Rugby over in Lisander hired him to coach their union and sevens teams. He wasn't the only one at the moment to impress foreign rugby boards as Bryan Gutierrez managed to do an impressive-enough job as player-coach of St. Andrews Point RFC over in Divison 2 that he's now coaching the Darkmanian Sevens side.

Either way, Gabriel didn't have that much of an uphill battle with his first job as an actual head coach. A bit unorthodox as he had no other experience, so this was somewhat like throwing someone into the deepend with a pair of armbands and expecting them to swim, but at least his job was somewhat easier than it could've been. It was the same squad as last time, a handful of whom he's even played with both internationally and domestically, and it wasn't really worth changing anything. Cinorim was still a bit green and maybe did a fair few errors in his debut tournament but, since he was new, it would've been a bit unfair to punish him for it. Toda was still kicking as good as he usually did and, although Kramer was starting to show signs of decline, he was still dependable enough to remain a part of the squad. He'll need to start thinking of a good backup scrum-half, given that Crespin's much better at kicking, but he'll cross that bridge when he gets to it.

He did, however, have a fairly challenging opponent in Darmen. Sure they only made it to the quarter-finals in the last Alpen View Brew Festival 7s and didn't make it to Coffs Harbour but they were still ranked 9th in the world for a reason. They're a fairly solid opponent in all codes. Sure he might be feeling a bit bricky by having such a strong opponent for his first match fully in charge but hey, just as long as he puts up a good fight then maybe things wouldn't be so bad. Right?

After everyone was ready, the whistle blew and Toda gave the ball an almighty boot into the Darmeni half. There, it was caught by the opposing captain Sly Townsend who began his side's attempt to score a try. It wasn't exactly smooth sailings for the Darmenis, however, as any attempt to get close to the Elejamian tryline was met with some tough resistance, especially from Ruiz and Kroger. Even when they got a scrum inside the 22, it wasn't exactly smooth sailing. Eventually, they managed to break free and score the opening try three minutes in, courtesy of Bart Blackman. Connie Fitzroy, his fly-half, nailed the extras to make it a 7-0 lead.

That wasn't to say Elejamie weren't having any issues scoring tries either. They did manage to put some points onto the board the 5th minute but it took about 13 phases before David Kramer finally grounded the ball thanks to Darmen having a go at adopting their XV-a-side's plan of two fullbacks. Gary Toda managed to equalise without any difficulties and would even put his side ahead shortly before half-time with a penalty from 31m out making it 10-7 at the break. Elejamie scored again in the 9th minute due to Adam McCracken sprinting down the wing and just managing to ground the ball in a good place but he had to rely on luck and clever footwork to avoid being tackled into touch; Toda would once again provide the extras.

Darmen weren't down and out, however. After things kicked off again they managed to be a brick wall for the Elejamians, preventing them from making it further down the pitch and add more to their tally. The double team of Blackman and Gonzalo Hafner further frustrated the home side with some clever passes, off-loads and other such feats before Hafner made it 17-12. Fitzroy managed to make it two out of two with a kick that seemed like it was going to go wide before it just curved on the right side of the posts. Unfortunately, that would prove to be the last of the points for the away side as Elejamie would play a more defensive game to try and prevent the Darmenis getting an opening win. It definitely seems to have worked and thus their game plan had to change.

Eventually it was the 14 minute mark where one side would have to score to try and extend their lead or the other would have to stop them just so the deficit wasn't as bad. If it was a competition with a losing point bonus then that would also have been helpful but, sadly, it wasn't. Kramer, Toda and McCracken formed the bulk of the Elejamian offence, with Patrick Hayden (who come on shortly after the second Darmeni try) providing the necessary extras whenever he was able to. Captain Diego Molina even chipped in once or twice by helping hold off the Darmeni forwards. The plan seemed to have worked because Hayden scored try number three for his side right in front of the posts. Granted there was a bit of a maul going on when he grounded it but it still counted and was enough to confirm his side's win. Toda added the obligatory two points to give his side a 24-14 win and, with that, plenty of momentum going into the tournament.

So who was next? Bolognese? Boronic? Bologna? No, it was Bollonich, the usual team that would take part once and not really do anything of note other than to add stats to one side. Fortunately, unlike most other teams like that, Coach Kevin did have an idea of who his side was up against. Probably not much in the way of a league or official teams but hey, at least it could be an easy game, right? Probably a good idea to let them not put as much effort into this and just relax. Besides, there was a break afterwards so he might as well treat this upcoming game as an extension, especially when the really meaty games against Devonta, the Licentian Isles and maybe Suimede were on Saturday so it'd be more worth it to just concentrate on those. Oh, how that plan bit you in the arse Kevo.

World Cup 81/82/83/84

Having the morning session off was felt to be an advantage for the squad, as they could get everyone a start in one of the two afternoon matches; the clouds started moving in and the air felt like rain was close, but the three hour window in which they would compete was actually ideal for saving legs until the second day.

Sevens was obviously a younger man's style of rugby; while experience couldn't be overlooked, the challenges of playing up to three matches per day--and doing so at a high level against other sides that possessed pace across the line--meant that Baker Park had turned towards younger players from the pro ranks.
Four of the five newcomers to the Sevens roster were among the Montieth Shield's All-Star First XV a season ago--Chuck Seifferth, Harris O'Neil, Jason Morgan and Stuart Mann, while Kelvin Carter was the outstanding scrum-half in League One.

The pro game continues to skew towards back-oriented play, which in turn has seen forward packs becoming lighter overall since the 1990's; there are a few sides that have found a balance between scrum dominated forward centered attack and quick outflanking from the ruck--Center Point, Ezriquay City, West Oceana--to find success.

Here in Forsho, there is a determination to build upon the strong finish in the group phase at the AVBF and step up the in the knockout rounds with good results.

by **Bollonich** » Fri Apr 30, 2021 8:12 pm

Going into the game Bollonichians were unsure whether this match was even winnable. Th result would like to firmly disagree. Winning 19-15 against Elejamie, is a dream come true. This was a result no one expected and shows how much effort the Bollonichian players put in. When asking the coach to comment on the performance he said, “Well we had a very well formulated plan, don’t let Elejamie score, and that we would be able to score the other goals. That’s exactly what we did. If a plan is executed to perfection there shouldn’t be any reason not to win. I feel if we can continue this form we shall win may more games, a be quite successful in the tournament.”
The Manager’s confidence seems to be high but that should hardly come as a surprise due to the brilliant performance by Bollonich’s boys.

by **Hannasea** » Sat May 01, 2021 4:30 am

Match report in 7 sentences: The quick turnaround for the second game caught the Hamsters short as they were held to a nerve-jangling 19 – 19 draw by Sevendia. Escaping with even a draw was fortunate as the team from Sonnel had the better of the final moments and only some furious tryline Hamsters defense prevented them from snatching a winner. The Hamsters had taken the lead through Ethan Price early on, touching down in the corner and Jay Parker slotting the difficult conversion, but Sevendia battled back to take a 12 – 7 lead at half-time through Seveka Seven-Jorden and Severence-Seven Hansen. Discomfited by the rainy weather which left the ball greasy and led to spilled passes, the Hamsters couldn’t organize any moves to break the Sevendian lines. Parker eventually burst through himself for a solo score but sliced the conversion for a tie game. Hansen gave Sevendia the lead again with a powerful run, and it was down to Parker to tie things up in the closing minutes. A Jake Bergen wrap-up tackle killed off the final Sevendian attack as the buzzer sounded, but the ball was just inches from the line – and the Hamsters inches from an early gutting loss.

Match report in 7 words: Strong defending makes up for poor handling.

Match report in 7 characters: ANXIOUS

by **Kriegiersien** » Sat May 01, 2021 5:53 am

The Roaring Rugby Rowdies

Your truthful source for All Rugby

6th Rugby Sevens World Cup

Commonwealth of Baker Park 33–19 Kriegiersien

A smashing loss for the former Olympic Champion, that let the most players baffled.

"Their last minute substitutions surprised us. They were fitter and outflanked us. I am shocked about how easy it was for them to run us down", said Coach Amanda Ant.

Back Wing Glob, asked if she was dissatisfied with the result said: „Yes“, while the men’s coach Hammerstein saw „opportunities and things to learn“, but didn’t want to be more specific.

There will be a bye for the next matchday, that the team wants to use to drink beer and fulfill their obligations to their main sponsors, who are conveniently all Breweries.

The next opponent will be Queenisa, a colorful team of players, who seem to prefer to play football. One even, according to him, having somehow single-handedly beaten the World Champion.

However, to beat this bunch of misfits should be a no-brainer, if the team wants to get any further in this tournament.

by **TJUN-ia** » Sat May 01, 2021 8:42 am

Our 2nd Sevens World Cup would begin as the first one did: on a typical Friday morning. Seagull Cavern in Forsho, The Grearish Union, would be the hosts of this 3-day event where 3 pieces of silverware are on the line for the 28 teams contesting this competition. For Brutas Excillius and his men, this is the tournament they hoped to be battling for the Cup itself and not a lesser honour like the past few competitions. That journey would begin against Hebitaka, ranked 22nd in the world.

All games in the 7s format of this sport are short but sweet and this one was no exception for the neutral audience. The first half would be a back and forth affair, with 4 tries in total and certainly a spectacle for the fans in attendance to enjoy. TJUN-ia would get the scoring up and running through Dan McCrawley's try (and Jose Valbuena's conversion) but Hebitaka would get one back moments later, Namako Bakugo getting 7 points by himself to tie the contest up at 7-7. Our opponents then took the lead through Kemono Tatsuya's hands and Bakugo's leg but TJUN-ia would tie it up again just before half time as Valbuena got 7 points by his own accord to keep this game at a deadlock entering the break. The 2nd half wouldn't be as lucky for our Jaguars as Brijesh Marath took this game over, scoring the final 2 tries of this contest (with Bakugo's leg scoring the final points) in order to secure the 28-14 win. TJUN-ia's next step ended in defeat...

TJUN-ia started on the back foot already, but that doesn't mean hope isn't lost just yet. 5 games remain over the next few days for us to try and bounce back and reenter the World Cup picture...but after the break will come the hardest test of them all. In order to avoid slipping too far off the pace, we must beat the undefeated #4 team in the world from Copper Cuprum. It's make or break time already. GO JAGS!

SCHEDULE (Group D, all matches at Seagull Cavern, Forsho, The Grearish Union)
FRIDAY
MD1: vs Hebitaka (22) L 14-28 (4th)
MD2: BYE (7th)
MD3: vs Copper Cuprum (4)

SATURDAY
MD4: vs Placely Placington (UR)
MD5: vs Commonwealth of Baker Park (39)
MD6: vs Kriegiersien (UR)

SUNDAY
MD7: vs Queenisa (UR)

works? · by **Abanhfleft** » Sat May 01, 2021 9:51 am

DISCLAIMER: Gaelic Gamers is an independent sports blogging website created by four cousins with a common liking and passion for sports of all kinds and is in no way or form affiliated with or organized by any official news organization in the Democratic Republic of Abanhfleft. All statements and opinions posted here are our own and not anyone else's.

Gaelic Gamers
Presents...

The Rugby Rundown (Sevens Edition!)
with Graham O'Doherty

6TH RUGBY SEVENS WORLD CUP: MATCHES ONE AND TWO

Oh, wow. It feels like it's been so long since I did a Rugby Rundown Sevens Edition. It feels like I can't even remember the results of what happened the last time I did one of these things. Oh, yeah. Right. Looks like there's a reason why I decided to forget all of a sudden. Hello guys, and welcome back to another edition of The Rugby Rundown Sevens Edition with me, your gay Irishman Graham O'Doherty. Well, here it is, finally. The 6th Rugby Sevens World Cup is finally upon us. Yours truly has braved the long, long journey to Forsho in the Grearish Union alongside the 28 teams who have made it all the way to the pinnacle of rugby sevens in our great multiverse.

Speaking of teams, we've got our fair share of new faces on the Fleftic sevens team. Abdul al-Thabsi was unfortunately ruled out of the World Cup after sustaining an injury while playing for the San Seriffe Bad Hombres in the Fleftic Rugby Premiership, so into his place slots Mr. Markos Iordanou, a Fhulghamous-born scrum half who made a name for himself playing for the Moaria Waves in their one (and so far only) season in the Rugby Coalition's Division 2. Since the Fhulghamous doesn't really care enough about any of the rugby codes to form their own rugby board like they did with football, anyone born in the Fhulghamous is immediately available for call-up to the Fleftic national team simply because Fhulghamousians are by law Fleftic citizens too. But that's enough from me about the ins and outs of Fleftic law, or at least what little of it I happen to know. Continuing on the topic of new faces in the sevens team, Mile Foreman makes way at right prop for Rupert Dearth, and Ken Greathouse takes the place of Moritz Zilner. We also have a bunch of new guys in the reserves but since we're not going to see much of them (I believe) I won't spend too much time on them.

Thanks to the nature of the draw, Abanhfleft managed to get a bye for the first match of the World Cup, so their day started at around... I'm not sure, really. It might have been sometime in the afternoon. At least I managed to get there in time. That's the important thing for me. And against Sannyamathland as well. Oh, I can still remember the angry ranting that the Man from Markovsky went on after those blokes beat our lasses in the Independents Cup. Fun times. Not for the Man from Markovsky, obviously, but if you haven't heard an Irishman cursing a football team over a pint then you haven't experienced true catharsis or schadenfreude. Whatever those things are supposed to be.

Well, let's just say that this game went better from the Fleftic point of view than the one that happened in the Independents Cup. These lads are pretty determined to get rid of the demons that is our shock elimination of the group stage of the last Rugby Sevens World Cup despite us being second in our group. Bloody second place! Given the number of teams that took part back then maybe it might have made sense to pick the absolute best second place teams to join the group winners, but I'll tell you what. Those handful of losses we took back then absolutely cost us. There's no denying it. Which is why a clean sweep of the whole group is the only way that I am going to consider this group stage a success. You can never be too sure.

On to the game itself now, and we got off to a flying start. Ken Greathouse managed to slip past a Sannyamathland player down the far sideline to land the first try of the game, but Marouane Mahout seemed to still have some rust left on that left foot of his as he shot the conversion wide right. The wind may have played a role as well, but Mahout's usually good for a kick even in the strongest of winds. Oh well. At least this time it didn't cost us anything. Iordanou, Justin Reid and captain Adam Sforza all scored tries as well, and Mahout converted the rest of those tries as well. He also had an opportunity to score a quick penalty after the Sannyamathland right prop attempted to tackle the Fleftic captain Sforza above the neck. You just don't do that, lad. Not when you're either losing or winning. You just simply don't do it. And even though our opponents were able to score a try of their own in the second half, the game's too far gone for them to make any difference by that point. Kudos to the Abanhfleft seven for seeing out this victory without doing anything crazy or letting anyone lose their heads. Isn't it so lovely to see a relatively straightforward Abanhfleft game even just once in a while? XOXO from Graham....

Abanhfleft (29)
Try: Greathouse 1' m
Iordanou 4' c
Reid 9' c
Sforza 10' c
Con: Mahout (3/4)
Pen: Mahout 6' (1/1)

Sannyamathland (7)
Try: 7' c
Con: (1/1)

by **The Grearish Union** » Sat May 01, 2021 11:00 am

Matchday 3

Round 3, Friday
Rain, 14°C at Seagull Cavern, Forsho

Pool A
Quebec and Shingoryeo 38–12 Grearish Union
Hannasean Federation 14–42 Lisander
Shreekaristan 7–27 Sevendia

  Pool A                     Pld   W  D  L   PF  PA  PD  Pts 
1 Lisander                     3   3  0  0  113  26 +87    9
2 Sevendia                     3   2  1  0   72  47 +25    8
3 Hannasean Federation         3   1  1  1   66  68  −2    6
4 Quebec and Shingoryeo        3   1  0  2   64  73  −9    5
5 Barunia                      2   1  0  1   40  48  −8    4
6 Shreekaristan                2   0  0  2   14  60 −46    2
7 Grearish Union               2   0  0  2   24  71 −47    2

Pool B
Alice Bay 17–29 Abanhfleft
Pratapgadh 7–33 Nova Anglicana
Udmar 7–40 Darkmania

  Pool B                     Pld   W  D  L   PF  PA  PD  Pts 
1 Nova Anglicana               3   3  0  0   95  19 +76    9
2 Darkmania                    3   2  0  1   80  48 +32    7
3 Abanhfleft                   2   2  0  0   58  24 +34    6
4 Pratapgadh                   3   1  0  2   76  54 +22    5
5 Alice Bay                    3   1  0  2   48  79 −31    5
6 Sannyamathland               2   0  0  2   12  60 −48    2
7 Udmar                        2   0  0  2    7  92 −85    2

Pool C
United States of Devonta 17–19 Bollonich
The Licentian Isles 12–31 Darmen
Suimede 21–24 San Ortelio

  Pool C                     Pld   W  D  L   PF  PA  PD  Pts 
1 San Ortelio                  3   2  1  0   74  53 +21    8
2 Darmen                       3   2  0  1   95  36 +59    7
3 Bollonich                    2   2  0  0   38  32  +6    6
4 The Licentian Isles          3   1  0  2   46  71 −25    5
5 Elejamie                     2   1  0  1   39  33  +6    4
6 United States of Devonta     3   0  1  2   39  91 −52    4
7 Suimede                      2   0  0  2   33  48 −15    2

Pool D
Queenisa 7–36 Commonwealth of Baker Park
Hebitaka 27–19 Placely Placington
TJUN-ia 21–19 Copper Cuprum

  Pool D                     Pld   W  D  L   PF  PA  PD  Pts 
1 Copper Cuprum                3   2  0  1   76  40 +36    7
2 Hebitaka                     3   2  0  1   67  59  +8    7
3 Commonwealth of Baker Park   2   2  0  0   69  26 +43    6
4 Placely Placington           3   1  0  2   52  68 −16    5
5 Kriegiersien                 2   1  0  1   50  40 +10    4
6 TJUN-ia                      2   1  0  1   35  47 −12    4
7 Queenisa                     3   0  0  3   24  93 −69    3

by **Bollonich** » Sat May 01, 2021 11:28 am

Bollonischian Rugby fans delighted
Bollonich's recent win over the United States of Devonta was a win following the great performance against Elejamie. A score of 19-17 signifies how closely contested this match was, however the Bollonischians kept their cool and came up on top as shall is becoming the norm. But an important step for Bollonich's team would be to take a step back and calm themselves down. It is also important that the fans have realistic expectations and don't over pressurise the players as the most important thing is that the players go out there and have fun. That is what will produce results. The coach said, "Our boys had shown our prowess in our match against Elejamie itself so such a result doesn't come as a surprise and neither should it to you. We should just move one game at a time and success shall be guaranteed."

World Cup 81/82/83/84

"We're back and ready to talk all things Rugby, he's Zane Anthony..."
Zane Anthony: "and he's Ricky Gillingham, and this is Lots of Ruck, the Commonwealth's number one podcast, coming to you from Forsho, in the The Grearish Union."

RG: "Is it Grearia, or the Grearish Union? I guess it doesn't matter for our purposes, I just hate to look stupid in front of the locals."
ZA: "we'll call it Grearia for the show, as it's shorter. Anyway we're for the 6th Rugby Sevens World Cup, the first time the navy blue & gray hoops have been shown at a major international tourney."
RG: "Just to give you some perspective, we're in Esportiva, waaay over on the eastern side, next door to South Covello, although here in Forsho we're next door to San Jose Guayabal. Forsho is the biggest seaport, reminds me a lot of Newport."
ZA: "You want me to say something bad about Newport, don't you?"
RG: "Of course not. But all of the matches over the three days here will be Seagull Cavern, a 30,000 seat stadium, which I have to say is one of the nicest places I've watched rugby in my life."
ZA: "Indeed, it was purpose built for the oval code, which is huge here. So we arrived a couple of days ago to get acclimated and have a look around. The schedule worked out that BP had a bye for the morning session of pool play, so we had an in-depth look at some of the finer purveyors of alcoholic beverages in the vicinity of our hotel."
RG: "The first pool match for the hoops was against Kriegiersien, who'd dispatched Placely Placington..."
ZA: "did we actually get confirmation from anyone that's an actual real nation?"
RG: "they're in the media guide. It's located somewhere called 'East Pacifier', no sorry. Pacific, East Pacific."
ZA: "like that's actually a real place. Is there a 'North Pacific', too? (laughs derisively) But let's get back to the match review. Back in the AVBF, we took some hard beat-downs but then pulled together on the second day. This time, we came out hot right from the start."

RG: "It's really amazing when you see us play wide open rugby like that. In the Shield, it's pretty cool to have that kind of attack, but here...it was a bit of a shock right out of the gate."

ZA: "Took a bit to get the defensive side dialed in, but only the lone try in the second half for the Kriegs. From 16-14 at half to 33-19 at the final whistle, impressive result all around. And we'll be back after the break to discuss the second match on day 1"

RG: "Welcome back to Lots of Ruck, along with Zane Anthony, I'm Ricky Gillingham, coming to you from Grearia for the Rugby 7's World Cup. Zane, the final pool D match for the Commonwealth on day 1 was a matchup with Queenisa, who came in with two consecutive defeats."

ZA: "There was an almost entirely different starting lineup for this outing, only Jack Barry keeping his place at loose-head. The pitch seemed heavier as the rain picked up, but the white shirts got control early."
RG: "Do you think switching the kit combinations was something done in anticipation of the conditions?"

[the side in the first match wore the the gray & blue striped shirts with white shorts, while the change strip saw the white shirts worn with the blue shorts]

ZA: "Oh sure. And maybe they'll wear those combos more often, as they rolled to a 36-7 win to close out Friday, looking solidly at a great chance to advance to the Cup knockouts."

RG: "The two wins today mean that we've won four of the last five matches going back to the AVBF. Saturday will be the real test, as BP will face the three higher ranked sides in the pool, starting in the morning with Hebitaka, then a break until 2pm when they will square off will TJUN-ia, and closing out against world #4 Copper Cuprum."

ZA: "We'll be back tomorrow to recap all the action, so join us then. For Ricky Gillingham, I'm Zane Anthony, thanks for joining us on Lots of Ruck!"

by **Hannasea** » Sun May 02, 2021 5:41 am

Match report in 7 sentences: The clouds gathered, darkened – and then burst. The Hamsters’ hopes for the tournament received a thorough drenching as a bunch of unnamed Lisanderians ran riot in the final match of the opening day. The Hamsters had led 14 – 7 at the half through Ash Ellis and Ethan Price, but 5 unanswered tries in the second half blew them away. There were missed tackles, errant passes, and knock-ons of the greasy ball, but it was hard to blame conditions given their anonymous opponents had no trouble handling the ball. It leaves the Hamsters with a harder route to qualifying for the Cup playoffs, opening up tomorrow with a mid-morning clash against the hosts before two more tough games against Barunia and Quebec. Aaron Gibson, who picked up a thigh injury, is unlikely to play tomorrow with Alex Woods starting in his place. But though Seb Williams will return, the Hamsters must once again reckon that they are step below the pace of the top flight sevens teams.

Match report in 7 words: No idea who scored but they dominated.

Match report in 7 letters: ABYSMAL

by **The Licentian Isles** » Sun May 02, 2021 6:15 am

The Port Arran Trophy has become an icon of rugby in the Licentian Isles, with teams often sending their best players to compete in a weekend of seven-a-side games in this small town on the northern coast of the main island. However, the tournament, and the sport as a whole in the Isles, had humble beginnings in the town nearly three centuries ago.

There are often debates over who exactly in that Port Arran team came up with the idea of training games where seven players would go up against each other in a more fast-paced version of the game focussed on open, flowing rugby. The general consensus is that it was the winger, Domhnall Smythe, who had encouraged his teammates to practice their passing and running skills. Others have claimed that it was the coach, Edward Mackay, or one of the most famous Licentian stand-offs of all time, Alexander Hill.

Whoever it was amongst those men who created the idea, it was initially much simpler than what the sport has become over time. There were no drop kick conversions, no three man scrums, and none of the other rules that we recognise in rugby sevens today. In fact, it very much took the guise of a training game, with players often removing ribbons around a player’s waist to signify a “tackle”, so that players wouldn’t be risking injury in a training session prior to a game. What quickly became clear, however, was that the players very much enjoyed these more speedy scrimmages.

It was something that became a staple of the training sessions of what was still, at the time, a part time club. These players would spread the word around Montfort and Abingdon Parishes as they gained new employment in other towns, and thus began playing for different teams. Eventually, there were enough variations on this seven-a-side format in the north of the country that it was difficult to establish that teams were even necessarily playing the same game. It certainly never appeared to be something that would become a sport all of its own, as we now know it to be.

However, it would be Smythe who would lead to the popularisation of rugby sevens in Port Arran, and more widely in the Licentian Isles, even if he wasn’t the one who had the initial idea. That would result from his work outside of rugby at a local bakery in the town, whose owner was looking for a way to publicise his breads across the region.

The Licentian Isles 12-31 Darmen

Licentian Try Scorers – S. Grant (converted – A. Crawford), T. Walker
Darmen Try Scorers – G. Hafner (converted – C. Fitzroy), C. Fitzroy (converted – C. Fitzroy), G. Hafner, C. Grossman, A. Mark (converted – H. Halloran)

works? · by **Abanhfleft** » Sun May 02, 2021 6:50 am

DISCLAIMER: Gaelic Gamers is an independent sports blogging website created by four cousins with a common liking and passion for sports of all kinds and is in no way or form affiliated with or organized by any official news organization in the Democratic Republic of Abanhfleft. All statements and opinions posted here are our own and not anyone else's.

Gaelic Gamers
Presents...

The Rugby Rundown (Sevens Edition!)
with Graham O'Doherty

6TH RUGBY SEVENS WORLD CUP: MATCH THREE

Hello guys, and welcome back to another edition of The Rugby Rundown Sevens Edition with me, your gay Irishman Graham O'Doherty. Well, the raindrops are falling fat and hard on my head, and I've been doing my darned best to keep the rain from messing up my tablet too much because without my tablet, how in the world am I supposed to take down the notes about the game and get my blog posts up on the website? Oh well. I guess my only consolation about all this is that anyone out there trying to blog about the game is getting drenched as well. Small comfort, but then again, you take what you can get.

Rugby sevens is, as we all know, very fast-paced. One blink and you're liable to miss quite a lot of action, which is why my eyes have been watering like the heavens above me as I was watching our game against Alice Bay. Them and Nova Anglicana are going to be the biggest threats to us in the group, calling it right now. Our performance against either one (or quite possibly both) of these teams is going define this Abanhfleft sevens team going forward. These two matches between these two heavyweights of the sport are going to tell us just how much of a chance we've got against the other teams in the other groups. I mean, come on. It's Alice Bay. You discount Alice Bay at your own peril, even if they haven't been quite the same side that we've come to know and love through all the years that I've been covering all three codes of rugby. This is a side that, on their day, can take down even the best of the best of the best. Sadly, they were not on their day today, and frankly, I have to say that they've been looking off-colour almost the whole tournament so far.

I mean, what did I say about sevens being fast-paced? Just three minutes into the first seven-minute half and we've already had both teams scoring one try each. Fair play, both teams up to that point seemed equally balanced. But then Alice Bay fell off the knife edge and we just strolled away with it. Joseph Newby didn't help matters for his team by tackling Ken Greathouse when Greathouse was nowhere near the ball, resulting in probably the most obvious penalty I've ever seen in my life. By the time Richard Ka'ai was able to ground the rock in the second half, Abanhfleft already had a 17-point lead, which the Aliceans were able to reduce to 10 thanks to both Ka'ai and the conversion from Eric Masoe. Markos Iordanou became the first Fleftic player to score multiple tries in a single game this World Cup, and every minute that passes is a minute where Iordanou's inclusion into this team is looking more and more like a genius masterstroke by Denzel Laxamana. But of course it wouldn't be a classic Abanhfleft performance if there wasn't at least one bonehead move by one of our players, and said Fleftic player is Imgortur native Wendel Van Alphen, who hung on to an Alicean player for just a nanosecond longer than the referee believed was allowable, resulting in a penalty for Alice Bay. Too little too late this time, sure, but it still shows that we are very much vulnerable to making a mistake. And then one mistake becomes two, then two becomes three, and before you know it, Abanhfleft are out at the group stage. Some might call me pessimistic but if you've seen Abanhfleft far too many times than you'd like to admit, like I have, then you just know something like this can still happen. XOXO from Graham....

Alice Bay (17)
Try: Hamilton 3' c
Ka'ai 9' c
Con: Masoe (2/2)
Pen: Masoe 13' (1/1)

Abanhfleft (29)
Try: Partridge 2' c
Iordanou 5' c, 12' m
Reid 7' c
Con: Mahout (3/4)
Pen: Mahout 6' (1/1)

by **Darkmania** » Sun May 02, 2021 9:20 am

It has been an eventful 3 matches and the darkmanain team has thanks to Aaron Kim gotten 2 wins and one loss, with 80 goals being scored in total. The coach from Elejamie had just transformed some players that never had played an international game ever before this tournament into becoming a viral sensation in Darkmania, a country where rugby arent the biggest sport. There had been some brushes and some minor scratches, one shirt even got so badly damaged after the game that it had to be thrown into the rubbish. The said player has since gotten a new one ready for the next match coming up ready to be filled with dirt.

At home, rugby is seen as an "unknown" sport. There is a domestic league but it doesn't get more than some tables and numbers in the sports section in all of the major newspapers in darkmania. All of the matches hasn't been broadcasted in Darkmania for all said reasons; rugby is an unknown phenomenon in Darkmania. Contract this to Aaron's homeland of Elejamie. In his homeland rugby are the third biggest sport and draws a lot of attention. Aaron had said to all of the darkmanian players that "all rugby players have become household names over there". Elejamie is even ranked the 2nd best team, whereas Darkmania literally didn't even have a team before the tournament started and only got together a roster because of the darkmanian rugby union wanting to improve the image of darkmanian rugby by hiring a coach from Elejamie. And the results are showing. 2nd in their group stage, with only Nova Anglicana beating Darkmania.

Aaron had said to the darkmanian press, the 3 journalists from Darkmania that covers the event that he doesn't expect Darkmania to win the whole tournament since the players aren't the most experienced but "they fight like lions." The few darkmanian rugby fans have on social media called the team "the lions" and have sent a lot of complaints to the television channels why they haven't covered the fact that there is a darkmanain team that doesn't suck badly. DaTV, darkmania's national broadcaster has announced that they will broadcast the next match. Rugby has slowly started to become an noticed sport in Darkmania. What started as an campain by "DRU" how starts to show results.

by **The Grearish Union** » Sun May 02, 2021 11:13 am

Matchday 4

Round 4, Saturday
Sunny, 16°C at Seagull Cavern, Forsho

Pool A
Lisander 35–17 Shreekaristan
Grearish Union 14–29 Hannasean Federation
Barunia 17–33 Quebec and Shingoryeo

  Pool A                     Pld   W  D  L   PF  PA  PD  Pts 
1 Lisander                     4   4  0  0  148  43 +105   12
2 Hannasean Federation         4   2  1  1   95  82 +13    9
3 Sevendia                     3   2  1  0   72  47 +25    8
4 Quebec and Shingoryeo        4   2  0  2   97  90  +7    8
5 Barunia                      3   1  0  2   57  81 −24    5
6 Grearish Union               3   0  0  3   38 100 −62    3
7 Shreekaristan                3   0  0  3   31  95 −64    3

Pool B
Nova Anglicana 26–12 Udmar
Abanhfleft 31–7 Pratapgadh
Sannyamathland 17–21 Alice Bay

  Pool B                     Pld   W  D  L   PF  PA  PD  Pts 
1 Nova Anglicana               4   4  0  0  121  31 +90   12
2 Abanhfleft                   3   3  0  0   89  31 +58    9
3 Alice Bay                    4   2  0  2   69  96 −27    8
4 Darkmania                    3   2  0  1   80  48 +32    7
5 Pratapgadh                   4   1  0  3   83  85  −2    6
6 Sannyamathland               3   0  0  3   29  81 −52    3
7 Udmar                        3   0  0  3   19 118 −99    3

Pool C
Darmen 31–7 Suimede
Bollonich 14–22 The Licentian Isles
Elejamie 34–7 United States of Devonta

  Pool C                     Pld   W  D  L   PF  PA  PD  Pts 
1 Darmen                       4   3  0  1  126  43 +83   10
2 San Ortelio                  3   2  1  0   74  53 +21    8
3 The Licentian Isles          4   2  0  2   68  85 −17    8
4 Elejamie                     3   2  0  1   73  40 +33    7
5 Bollonich                    3   2  0  1   52  54  −2    7
6 United States of Devonta     4   0  1  3   46 125 −79    5
7 Suimede                      3   0  0  3   40  79 −39    3

Pool D
Placely Placington 7–45 TJUN-ia
Commonwealth of Baker Park 19–19 Hebitaka
Kriegiersien 24–12 Queenisa

  Pool D                     Pld   W  D  L   PF  PA  PD  Pts 
1 Hebitaka                     4   2  1  1   86  78  +8    9
2 Commonwealth of Baker Park   3   2  1  0   88  45 +43    8
3 Copper Cuprum                3   2  0  1   76  40 +36    7
4 TJUN-ia                      3   2  0  1   80  54 +26    7
5 Kriegiersien                 3   2  0  1   74  52 +22    7
6 Placely Placington           4   1  0  3   59 113 −54    6
7 Queenisa                     4   0  0  4   36 117 −81    4

by **Bollonich** » Sun May 02, 2021 11:52 am

Seven’s time
Bollonich’s two victories in two gave the players and fans much needed confidence. There were 3 unranked teams in Bollonich’s group, with the Bollonischians overcoming ranked sides like Elejamie and the United States of Devonta the prospect of facing a team like The Licentian Isles and losing was laughable to the team. They hardly realised that this was the problem, this is what was fundamentally wrong in their thought process which resulted in a catastrophic display. The blogger and avid rugby fan Sameul Samniou describes this experience simply.

It was the same time again, I was going to my favourite pub to sit down with my mates for some drinks and to watch the Bollonischian National Team in action. On the way I met this lady called Margaret, she seemed to be heading towards the same pub, I asked her where was she going and she replied “Maclarens”. I told her I was to and asked her whether there was any specific reason for her going there. Her reply matched my reasons. I quickly offered her drinks which she accepted, my luck was going exceptionally. On arrival the match had just started and Bollonich were already down. I sat down and spoke to my mated on what happened till then which is when they told me and I quote, “We are playing like horseshit, gotta pick up the quality.” A day which was meant to be fun, to be enjoyed slowly turned into a night of frustration and irritation.

At the end of the game the scoreline was 22-14 and Bollonich had succumbed to an horrifying setback in their good start to the tournament. This night was one of frustration for all rugby fans.

by **Nova Anglicana** » Sun May 02, 2021 6:19 pm

In blow to PJP, united opposition, Speer, others jump to Equality

John McAvoy, Political Columnist, Londinium Courier

The other day, I remarked that Josephine Clark's best bet at regaining power before the next election in two years was for the government to shoot itself in the foot and give her an opening to bring everything crashing down. Well, it appears that the government won't be the ones to make an unforced error, as Clark lost two members of her own party as well as two other members of the opposition after the PJP leadership election. In a move that appeared long planned, Samantha Speer and David Lucas of the PJP, as well as Rachel Summers and Timothy Jacobs of the Liberal Secularists crossed the floor and set up their own caucus, joining the extra-parliamentary party Equality.

In a statement explaining their decision, the four Deputies said, "Today, we took a bold step towards an increased diversity of viewpoints in Parliament. Established parties have failed to achieve progressive change or offer a true policy alternative to the radical right-wing government. The principles that Equality stands for are the principles we all stand for and we want to see in Nova Anglicana: protecting a woman's right to choose, adequate parental leave, promoting and centreing female bodies and bodies of color in leadership roles, taking a proper stand for the LGBTQIA+ community, and addressing the staggering inequality of wealth in this country through policies such as a wealth tax and a universal basic income. We do not take this decision lightly, nor should anyone else. What this represents is nothing less than a revolution in values and a bold experiment to achieve real change for those who have been too long overlooked in our society. We believe the people of Nova Anglicana stand behind us and desperately want someone to make a principled, sustained critique of a broken status quo and put forth a bold plan to make a new Nova Anglicana that works for all of us."

Equality is a minor party on the left end of the Nova Anglican political spectrum which advocates social democracy or democratic socialism on the economic side of things and progressivism on social and cultural issues. They are perhaps best known for introducing the idea of "intersectionality", or the idea that multiple overlapping identities such as gender, race, and socioeconomic status can combine to produce incredibly difficult life outcomes for those who face these challenges. Most Nova Anglicans, if they have heard of Equality, consider it most definitely a minor party, and indeed, it won just 1.07% of the vote in the last election, well short of the 2% it needed to cross the threshold and enter the House of Deputies. The move sets up a challenge for the party. How will they respond to the change?

Going from being an extraparliamentary party to being represented means they can no longer lob certain critiques at the system. Going from having no representation to having a failed leadership candidate from one party and Deputies from another party bear your standard in Parliament is a challenge as well. Will they allow their message to be defined by the new arrivals or will they try to bend them to the party line? Kristine Fletcher, leader of Equality, welcomed the Deputies to Equality, but gave no indication that she'd been previously aware of this move. Is this a hostile takeover or will Speer and others work with the established leadership? Finally, how will the public respond to their gaining representation via floor-crossing? While not illegal in Nova Anglicana, it is unprecedented. What they do with this will define how people react and respond to their newfound presence in Parliament.

As far as Clark and the PJP, this hurts. It's shades of King Voss leaving the People's Party after losing the leadership election and setting up the right-wing National Party. Look where Voss is now, sitting on 10 Deputies and 4 Senators, holding the balance of power in Parliament, and having achieved more success than anyone thought possible at the time. That is the nightmare scenario for Clark; a party in Equality that establishes themselves as the true heirs to the progressive mantle and can hold the PJP hostage to whatever radical changes they'd like to see. On the one hand, Speer's departure is a gut punch for Clark. It immediately distracts from the narrative of her as the party's choice, as able to define the terms of the party's direction and the opposition to the incumbent PP-led government. She could be seen as floundering and a weak leader. On the other hand, Speer's bolt to Equality right after the leadership election can be spun as the reaction of a "sore loser", a parliamentary rebel who is simply trying to make a power grab in whatever way she can rather than having a true debate with the party about their policies. As for the other Deputy, David Lucas, he is a long-time member of the PJP's left wing, one of the only true social democrats in the party. He can easily be dismissed as a kind of left-wing crank and he's coming into his last term as a Deputy, anyway.

This move has consequences for Liberal Secularist leader Emily Waterford as well. The Liberal Secularists are united around the disestablishment of the Anglican Church as the official religion, promotion of science, comprehensive sex education, higher education funding, and a generally socially or culturally liberal stance on issues, with support for immigration. They are strongly progressive on LGBTQ and abortion issues too, but on economic issues, they range from classical liberals like Katie Logan and Lucas Garrett, to centrist or Keynesians like Waterford herself and former Minister of Infrastructure Bryan McKinney, to members like Summers and Jacobs, who identify as a social democrat and a democratic socialist, respectively. With the defection of Summers and Jacobs, who represented the left wing of the party, her caucus is reduced to seven, four of which are broadly centre to centre-left on economics and three which are centre to centre-right. Does this pull the LSP away from supporting the PJP-led opposition and more towards compromise with the government on economic issues? Will the party's voters remain loyal or switch over to a party like Equality, that is more united around economics? Might members like Logan and Garrett decide that the LSP is a sinking ship and break off to form their own party or join the Libertarians, even? Losing two members from a 28-member caucus like the PJP's is a blow, but relatively small potatoes, while losing two members for Waterford represents more than 20% of the party's Deputies. This will test Waterford's leadership abilities and her standing within the party, as some might seek to replace her atop the party with someone seen as a stronger leader.

All in all, it means that the fall session of Parliament won't be a total snoozefest, as we can look forward to struggles within the opposition and how Equality will oppose the government. Clark may lose the ability to corral the entire opposition, as Waterford may feel pressured to differentiate herself from both the PJP and Equality after losing Deputies. The Stewardship Party's alliance with the PJP is iron-clad, but after this move, with the green party being the only one of the opposition not to lose seats, might Marilyn Greenfield emerge as a more palatable face of the opposition or a stronger leader? My sources tell me that a massive overhaul of the welfare system is in the pipeline for the fall session, and that will give Equality plenty of things to talk about. It's never the easiest thing to fundamentally change the welfare state, but Prime Minister Michael Ramsey might find that his job has gotten just that much easier with this split.

Nova Anglicana 31-7 Alice Bay

Alice Bay Try Scorers - Joseph Newby (conversion made)
Nova Anglicana Try Scorers - Foster (Bolden conversion), McCracken (Bolden conversion), Ward (conversion missed), Bolden (Bolden conversion), Crist (conversion missed)

Pratapgadh 7-33 Nova Anglicana

Pratapgadh Try Scorers - Sampat Asthana (conversion made)
Nova Anglicana Try Scorers - Bolden (Bolden conversion), Morgan (Bolden conversion), McCracken (conversion missed), St. John (Bolden conversion), Shores (Shores conversion)

Nova Anglicana 26-12 Udmar

Udmar Try Scorers - #4 (conversion made), #6 (conversion missed)
Nova Anglicana Try Scorers - Foster (Bolden conversion), McCracken (Bolden conversion), Tremblay (conversion missed), McEntire (Bolden conversion)

World Cup 81/82/83/84

@LotsofRuck Sister-kissing in Grearia HEB 19-19 CBP
back after lunch for #TJU v #BlueGrays

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by **Hannasea** » Mon May 03, 2021 4:22 am

Match report in 7 sentences: The Hamsters began Day 2 with a refreshing win over the hosts to restore spirits a little after the prior evening’s misery-inducing defeat. Under clear, sunny skies, the mood lifted as Hayden Marsh induced a quick turnover to set up an early try from Seb Williams, whose return to fitness was a welcome strengthening of the back line. Vincent Joseph replied for the hosts, but before the half the Hamsters scored twice more, through Ethan Price and Williams, again. Parker’s kicking was erratic even by his usual standards, but a 17 – 7 lead looked like a solid omen. So it proved in a second half the Hamsters dominated with smothering tackling: after John McColgan brought the hosts to within 3, the Hamsters made sure they never got another chance. Tries for Price, his 2nd, and Alex Moore, on for Parker and hitting one of the two kicks, put the game in the books. The Hamsters will face another tough opponent nextk, in Barunia, and do so without the services of Ben Gray, who pulled up clutching an ankle.

Match report in 7 words: Good defensive work, shame about the kicking.

Match report in 7 letters: WELCOME

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