Big rugby day

Lots of rugby action today, home and away with the Emirates Airline USA Rugby Men's and Women's All-Star 7s kicking off in a few hours in NYC and the USA womens taking on England in the Womens World Cup in the UK.

You can find more details on both events respectively at newyorkallstarsevens.org and www.rwcwomens.com.  I'll be posting a few tweets and pictures from the 7s and if your at the event, as always, come on over and say hi.  

If you would like to catch the Eagles in action, you can watch the game online at WRWC site and NBC Universal will be broadcasting it tonight at 10pm EST.  Check your local listings for details.

Remembering Neil Godleski

Tragic news about a fellow rugby player, Neil Michael Godleski, who died on Sunday.

Neil who was only 31-years-old and a former Catholic University rugby player, was was shot and killed early Sunday morning in NW DC while riding his bike on his way home from work.

Neil began playing rugby at Catholic in 1997. After taking time off from school, he recently returned to finish his biology degree.

Jordan wins player award at IRANZ

Jordan Torres's trip down under just got a whole lot sweeter!  He was given the Best Back award by the IRANZ coaches.
Full details can be found here.   Congratulations mate!

Phaidra Knight on MTV's "Made" tonight

As regulars of blog know, I'm good friends with USA Eagle Phaidra Knight who is currently in the UK warming up for the kick of the 2010 Womens Rugby World Cup.  However, earlier this year she got the fantastic opportunity to star on MTV's "Made" which will air tonight at 5pm EST.  The episode has Phaidra helping turn a 15 year old old girl from Wisconsin into a rugby player and you can catch a sneak peek below of the show.

MADE - MTV Shows

And in case you missed it, here's the official press release, courtesy of USA Rugby:

The Emirates Airline USA Rugby Men's and Women's All-Star 7s

Regional All-Star teams gear up for The Emirates Airline USA Rugby All Star 7s Tournament

NEW YORK – USA RUGBY announced that, in conjunction with the Metropolitan New York rugby Football Union, they will host The Emirates Airline USA Rugby All-Star 7s Tournament on Randall's Island, NYC for the second year in a row. The pool of All-Star players will come together for this tournament on August 28th and 29th 2010.

“I am excited about the tournament being hosted on Randall's Island for the second year in a row,” stated Bret Costain, one of the tournament directors and President of the Village Lions. “  The trust shown from USA Rugby tells us that they liked how we handled the tournament last year and they see the potential for growth on the East Coast for these types of venues.”

The tournament will see teams coming in representing their Territorial Unions (TUs) from all over the country. The TUs are Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, South, Mid-West, West, Pacific Coast, and Southern California. These select sides are representative of the best sevens players across the nation and are the top pool for prospective USA 7s Men’s and Women’s National Sides. Selectors for the national teams will be in attendance and surveying the crop of talent at the tournament.

"Last year on Randall's Island, we showed we could successfully host this tournament for the best 7s players in the US. I'm proud USA Rugby concluded we should host it again." said Toby Butterfield, President of the Metropolitan New York Rugby Football Union.

Nigel Melville, CEO and President of Rugby Operations of USA Rugby, highlighted the importance of the tournament in the future of rugby by saying “With less than six years left until sevens make its debut at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, this is the type of event to identify those who will be making that team to represent the United States.”

For further information on the tournament, please visit newyorkallstarsevens.org

Media Contacts:
Hedley Lagrand
Publicity & Press Relations | Tournament Host Committee | arugbylife@gmail.com
Jarrod Beckstrom
Interim Director of Communications | USA Rugby | jbeckstrom@usarugby.org

Australian Embassy hosting fundraiser for Washington DC Youth Rugby, August 19th

Courtesy of Brian Mihelic,Washington DC Youth Rugby
 

The Embassy of Australia will be hosting a fundraiser for Washington DC Youth Rugby on Thursday, August 19th from 5:30-8:30.  The guest speaker will be journalist and former Wallaby Peter FitzSimons.

Washington DC Youth Rugby is a program that reaches out to kids in Washington DC’s inner-city.  They started the program in 2004 and have been growing every year.  They have a summer program for younger kids and a high school program at Calvin Coolidge High School in DC.  They are a 501c3 non-profit
organization, so all donations are tax-deductible.

The fundraiser will be hosted at the Embassy of Australia at 1601 Massachusetts Ave. NW in The District on Thursday, August 19th.  There is an invitation attached, but please note that the event starts at 5:30 and due to security reasons, they stop letting people in at 7:30.  This promises to be a really nice event with drink specials ($2 Aussie beer and wine) and hors d’oeuvres.  The guest speaker, Peter FitzSimons, a journalist and former Australia National Team player.  

The admission fee is $10 per person which will go directly to the program.  They will also be holding a raffle
and a silent auction with sports memorabilia, Redskins, Caps & DC United tickets, weekend rentals and more.  

RSVP to washingtondcyouthrugby@yahoo.com and please note, space at the Embassy is limited at about 250 people and it is filling up fast.  Also, you must RSVP before the event in order to clear security at the door.  Please bring a photo ID.  Per Embassy policy, dress is business casual…no flip flops.

Jordan Torres - "New Zealand here I come!"

Outside the Canterbury store in Wellington

August 9th - Leaving New York in the afternoon, I released, here I was on my way to New Zealand. I was pretty nervous.

My first flight was to into LA which took about 5 hours followed by the 14 hours to New Zealand which really tough, but got through it.

I missed my last flight as I was delayed going threw customs and security for a pair of rugby boots!  Had to hang in the airport for a while until I could catch the next one.

I was met at the final destination by the gentleman I was staying with, and once we got my bags we took the short drive to Palmerston North where I was going to be staying.   Drive was a bit strange as I was sitting on the US drivers side and he was driving from the passenger seat!

Was glad to get to the house and settling in as the time change was really messing me up and was feeling a little home sick.  We went out for dinner and when we got back, I just crashed in my room. Its so cold here, wasn't ready for that after coming from a hot Summer on New York.

August 10th - I'm going to Wellington today to buy some gear!  I am doing fine after some rest and getting ready for the Academy that starts on Saturday.  There will be a lot more updates on how that's going soon.

Jordan Torres down under

METNY 2010 - Jordan on the attack

After all the fund raising for Jordan Torres to go to IRANZ in New Zealand, finally he's made it!  

I have invited Jordan to post about life down under and his experience at the Academy.  First post will be up shortly.  Enjoy!

NYC: Village Lions Pub Crawl tomorrow

The ladies of the Village Lions are a hosting a pub crawl Saturday afternoon/evening and all are invited!

Things will kick off at Van Diemen's at 4:30, leave at 5pm to hit 6 of 12 bars at which they will have set up drink specials. Drinkers will divided up into teams of 4, (must include at least 2 non-Lions) and each team member must have a pint (or mixed drink if you're feeling adventurous) at all 6 bars while your team is figuring out riddles associated with that bar. The first team back to Van Diemen's with 6 correct riddle solutions will win a $100 gift certificate to VD's.

Other prizes (jerseys, rugby mag subscription, etc.) will be doled out for things like best dressed, best team name, etc.  There's  $10 entry fee per person, but what better way to spend a Saturday afternoon?