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Top 14 Rugby Wash-Up Number 5

This week we talk about the Top 14 day 3 matches took place, which were catch-up matches for matches that were cancelled due to Covid-19 and look back at the third round of The 6 Nations tournament

In a week where Toulouse play La Rochelle at La Rochelle, where La Rochelle haven't been beaten by any team for 2 years.

Toulouse are 2nd and La Rochelle hold the top spot in the Top 14 as we go into this week's matches - will the order change or will La Rochelle strengthen their hold at the top?

Bayone are away to Toulon, after losing to Clermont 73 - 3, perhaps this is going to be a tough game for Bayonne... 

Listen to see what happened this weekend.

Test your language skills with the Scrum Language Quiz.

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Top 14 Rugby Wash-Up Number 4

This week we talk about the Top 14 day 17 matches and look ahead to the third round of The 6 Nations tournament

In a week where Toulouse lost away to Lyon, there were highlights elsewhere in the Top 14 in France, including a thumping win for Clermont against Bayonne.

The top of the table has changed, but how long will it remain so?

Listen up for some of the highlights from the matches played this weekend.

Top 14 Rugby Wash-Up Number 3

OK, its the Six Nations in this podcast, not The Top 14

This week we talk about the second round matches in The 6 Nations tournament and

just a few words come to mind:

England: strategic cul de sac

Scotland : snowy

Wales: grind out

Ireland: top of the morning

France: week in, week out

Italy: keep on in there... 

To find out more tune in to the podcast and after listening you can test your

language skills with the Scrum Practice Quiz

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Today we are starting a new weekly podcast about The Top 14 French rugby.

We always chat about the happenings and comings and goings in the Top 14, so we have decided to do a podcast about it, at least during the rugby season.

We can't go to watch rugby matches - it has been over a year since I last saw my favourite local team Stade Toulousain and I can't wait to go back and be in the atmosphere of a rugby match.

But for now, we will just have to watch it on tv and chat about it afterwards.

This weekend we will see the opening matches of the 6 nations championship, so we may have something to talk about next week, but for now, these are my highlights from last week's Top 14 rugby matches.

If you're a non-native English language listener you might like to try the comprehension quiz to help with understanding. 

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Rugby, what's it all about?

Rugby, what's it all about? I mean, it can't be that complicated can it? Or can it?

Ahead of the RBS 6 Nations Rugby Tournament, here are some questions, sent in by our listeners concerning rugby.

Have we got it right?

Are we on the ball with our predictions?

Can you predict the game scores or the overall winner of the tournament?

It all starts on Saturday 4 February with two cracking matches - it's all getting exciting and we can't wait!

Who do you think will win The RBS 6 Nations tournament 2017?

Have a go at predicting the winner.

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Laura Gamesmaker London 2012

As the Rio Olympics get under way, Sue caught up with Laura, a gamesmaker from London 2012 to talk about her experiences.

London 2012 volunteers were called ‘Games Makers’, as they helped to make the Games happen.

The Games Maker recruitment process began in September 2010, with the London 2012 Organising Committee receiving more than 240,000 applications.

Up to 70,000 people were chosen to become Games Makers and they took on a wide variety of roles across the Olympic venues during the Games: from welcoming visitors to transporting athletes, helping out behind the scenes in the Technology team and making sure the results get displayed as quickly and accurately as possible.

"Volunteers are the lifeblood of the Olympic Games and part of the DNA of thousands of people in this country,” said Sebastian Coe, Chair of the London 2012 Organising Committee, when the volunteer programme was launched.

“The 1948 Olympic Games in London saw the birth of the Games volunteer programme, and we are determined that London 2012 will be a wonderful opportunity for tens of thousands of people to help deliver the most spectacular Games ever.”

The volunteers were easy to spot during the Games thanks to their distinctive uniforms, which drew on British heritage in shades of regal purple and poppy red.

They were influenced by the historic Grenadier Guards uniform and British sporting heritage including the London 1948 Games, the Wimbledon tennis championships and the Henley Regatta.

“The volunteers are the face of the Games and they will turn what could be a good Games, into a great Games,” said Paul Deighton, London 2012 CEO, when the uniforms were unveiled. “They will be high profile in London and in our venues across the UK at Games time and so it’s important they look the part.

“Delivering the Games is hard work and so the uniform needs to be functional, however we also want our teams to wear it with pride.”

Volunteers also play an integral role in the Olympic Movement, with each IOC member representing the IOC in a voluntary capacity.

Fast and Furious Roller Derby

Fast and Furious Roller Derby, a sport that is really taking off in recent years.

Roller derby is a contact sport played by two teams of five members roller skating in the same direction around a track.

A game play consists of a series of short match ups (jams) in which both teams designate a jammer who scores points by lapping members of the opposing team.

The teams attempt to hinder the opposing jammer while assisting their own jammer—in effect, playing both offense and defense simultaneously.

Roller derby is played by approximately 1,250 amateur leagues worldwide, nearly half of them outside the United States.

While the sport has its origins in the banked-track roller skating marathons of the 1930s, Leo Seltzer and Damon Runyon are credited with the basic evolution of the sport to its initial competitive form.

Professional roller derby quickly became popular, in the ensuing decades after the 1940s, however, it predominantly became a form of sports entertainment where the theatrical elements overshadowed the athleticism.

This gratuitous showmanship largely ended with the sport's contemporary grassroots revival in the first decade of the 21st century.

Although some sports entertainment qualities such as player pseudonyms and colorful uniforms were retained, scripted bouts with predetermined winners were abandoned.

Listen to Susan interviewing Marie, a beginner in the world of roller derby, at a match in Toulouse, France.

 

After listening to the podcast try the quiz

A glossary of Roller Derby terms and expressions

Kisses from Derby

John - Rowing Coach

Listen to Susan, interviewing, John, a rowing coach, on a cold December morning in Nottingham, England.

Modern rowing as a competitive sport can be traced to the early 18th century when races were held between professional watermen on the River Thames in London, United Kingdom.

Often prizes were offered by the London Guilds and Livery Companies.

Amateur competition began towards the end of the 18th century with the arrival of "boat clubs" at the British public schools of Eton College and Westminster School.

Similarly, clubs were formed at the University of Oxford, with a race held between Brasenose College and Jesus College in 1815. At the University of Cambridge the first recorded races were in 1827.

Public rowing clubs were beginning at the same time; in England Leander Clubwas founded in 1818, in Germany Der Hamburger und Germania Ruder Club was founded in 1836 and in the United States Narragansett Boat Club was founded in 1838 and Detroit Boat Club was founded in 1839. In 1843, the first American college rowing club was formed at Yale University.

The International Rowing Federation (French: Fédération Internationale des Sociétés d'Aviron, abbreviated FISA) is responsible for international governance of rowing and was founded in 1892 to provide regulation at a time when the sport was gaining popularity.

Across six continents there are now 148 countries with rowing federations that participate in the sport.

Rowing is one of the oldest Olympic sports. It was on the programme for the 1896 games but the rowing did not take place due to bad weather.

It has been competed since 1900. Women's rowing was added to the Olympic programme in 1976.

Today, only fourteen boat classes are raced at the Olympics, across men and women.

Each year the World Rowing Championships is held by FISA with 22 boat classes raced. In Olympic years only the non-Olympic boat classes are raced at the World Championships.

The European Rowing Championships are held annually, along with three World Rowing Cups in which each event earns a number of points for a country towards the World Cup title. Since 2008, rowing has also been competed at the Paralympic Games.

Major domestic competitions take place in dominant rowing nations and include The Boat Race and Henley Royal Regatta in the United Kingdom, the Australian Rowing Championships in Australia, the Harvard-Yale Regatta and Head of the Charles Regatta in the United States and Royal Canadian Henley Regatta in Canada.

Many other competitions often exist for racing between clubs, schools and universities in each nation.

Luke McAlister Rugby Player

Charles Luke McAlister (born 28 August 1983 in Waitara) is a New Zealand rugby union footballer. He plays first five-eighth (fly-half) and second five-eighth (inside centre). He is the brother of New Zealand women's sevens player Kayla McAlister and son of Charlie McAlister.

Luke McAlister was born in Waitara, New Zealand, and attended Westlake Boys High School, where he played first five-eighth. He played for Silverdale in the North Harbour premier competition before making his provincial debut for North Harbour in 2002 and Super Rugby debut for the Blues in 2004.

He made his international debut for New Zealand aged 21, versus the British and Irish Lions in 2005.

In June 2006, his father, Charlie, resigned his position as head coach of the Manawatu team in the Air New Zealand Cup. Charlie McAlister is a former rugby league player, and Luke McAlister lived in the Manchester area from the age of four to 13 while his father played rugby league for Oldham, Castleford and the Sheffield Eagles, during which time Luke was a member of the Manchester United Academy.

Following the announcement of his inclusion in the All Blacks squad for the 2007 Rugby World Cup, it was announced on 23 July 2007 that McAlister would be joining Guinness Premiership side Sale Sharks after the World Cup on a two-year deal. It was also reported that he had turned down offers from both Munster and Toulouse to join Sale.

McAlister played in four of the All Blacks' five matches at the 2007 Rugby World Cup, including the 20–18 quarter-final loss to France, in which he was controversially sent to the sin bin for an obstruction. France converted the resulting penalty, and the sin-binning was cited by many New Zealand fans as one of the reasons why their team lost the match. Over the course of the tournament, McAlister accumulated a total of 17 points.

In 2009 after two seasons with Sale in the Guinness Premiership, McAlister returned to New Zealand, where he re-signed with North Harbour and the Blues, with the intention of regaining his place in the national side. He appeared for the All Blacks as a substitute for Stephen Donald against France in Wellington on 20 June 2009.

From August 2011, McAlister plays for Stade Toulousain in France's Top 14 championship.

On his first season with Toulouse, he won the Bouclier de Brennus, in which he played a crucial role in it, marking all of his team's points during both semi-final and final.

 

The Classic All Blacks is a rugby union team made up of players from the New Zealand men's rugby team.

It is not an official national team of New Zealand. First put together in 2007, the team has played Japan three times, English Premiership side Leicester Tigers and 'classic' teams from France and Australia.

In 2013 the side played Fiji as part of the Fiji Rugby Union's centennial anniversary.

On 7 October 2015, the Classic All Blacks played Toulon at the Stade Mayol in a match to honour the late Jerry Collins.

This interview was done on 7th October 2015 after breakfast, on match day, which was a very emotional time for the players who played with Jerry Collins in the past.

You may find the New Zealand accent a bit tricky, so click  on the Transcript link to check your comprehension.

Classic All Blacks Carlos Spencer rugby player

Carlos James Spencer (born 14 October 1975 in Levin) is a former New Zealand rugby union footballer and most recently the head coach of the Eastern Province Kings.

During his playing days, he played at fly-half (first five-eighth) for the Blues and Lions in Super Rugby and for New Zealand internationally.

He has generally specialised in the position of fly-half, also known as "first five-eighth" or "number 10", although he has also played fullback (number 15) at national and international levels.

Spencer first rose to prominence when he starred alongside Christian Cullen in a Ranfurly Shield challenge in 1991, playing for the Horowhenua team against Auckland. Auckland coach Graham Henry spotted Spencer's talent and recruited him to play for the Auckland team.

He played for the Blues Super 12 team from the inception of the competition in 1996 until 2005, and for the Auckland NPC side.

In 1996, Carlos Spencer played for the Blues in the first ever Super 12-match, kicking off the professional era of rugby union. He went on to score 608 points for the Blues in the Super Rugby competition.

In 2005 he signed to the English club, Northampton Saints, where he stayed until 30 January 2009.

On 3 February 2009 he signed for Gloucester on a 17-month contract.

In January 2010 Carlos Spencer signed with the Johannesburg-based Golden Lions, to play for the team in the 2010 and 2011 Super Rugby seasons. The contract offered to him was said at the time to be the highest ever in South Africa.

He subsequently took up a coaching role with the team, before being released following the 2012 season.

He moved to the Durban-based Sharks for the 2013 season.

In December 2013, he signed a five-year contract to become the kicking and specialist skills coach at Port Elizabeth-based side, the Eastern Province Kings.

He was appointed as their head coach on 20 February 2014.

He was in charge of just one Currie Cup season in 2014, where they achieved just one victory in ten matches. Brent Janse van Rensburg was appointed as head coach for the 2015 Currie Cup Premier Division season with Carlos Spencer reverting to kicking and specialist skills coach. However, Carlos Spencer left the coaching staff a month later.

In 2006, Spencer was named in the Guinness Premiership Awards Dream Team and collected the Player of the Year award for the 2005–06 season at the Northampton Saints annual awards, as voted for by the clubs fans.

He played in four matches for Bob Dwyer's World XV team in 2006, including a match for the Barbarians against England at Twickenham on 28 May and a 30-27 loss to the Springboks at Ellis Park on 3 June.

The Classic All Blacks is a rugby union team made up of players from the New Zealand men's rugby team.

It is not an official national team of New Zealand. First put together in 2007, the team has played Japan three times, English Premiership side Leicester Tigers and 'classic' teams from France and Australia.

In 2013 the side played Fiji as part of the Fiji Rugby Union's centennial anniversary.

On 7 October 2015, the Classic All Blacks played Toulon at the Stade Mayol in a match to honour the late Jerry Collins.

This interview was done on 6th October 2015 after a training session at Stade Mayol, Toulon, prior to the match on the following day, which was a very emotional time for the players who played with Jerry Collins in the past.

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