Category: 2014

Magali Harvey named Women’s Player of the Year 2014

Magali Harvey named Women's Player of the Year 2014

Canada wing Magali Harvey has been named the IRB Women’s Player of the Year 2014 following her side’s 21-9 defeat by England in the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2014 final at Stade Jean Bouin in Paris on Sunday.

Harvey is the first Canadian to win the prestigious award and reflects the growth of women’s rugby in recent years, the wing having played a key role in Canada reaching their first WRWC final.

The 24-year-old edged out her captain and Canada number 8 Kelly Russell, Ireland full back Niamh Briggs and France number 8 Safi N’Diaye.

IRB Chairman Bernard Lapasset said: “I would like to congratulate Magali on winning this prestigious award. It is extremely well deserved. She has lit up Women’s Rugby World Cup 2014 with her combination of electrifying pace, elusive running, ferocious defence and accurate place-kicking.

“Her try against France in the semi-final was perhaps the tournament highlight and certainly one of the tries of the year. I was privileged to have been sitting in the stand to watch it live.

“It is also important to highlight the contribution of other players too. In particular, the other women who made the shortlist – Niamh Briggs of Ireland, Kelly Russell of Canada and France’s Safi N’Diaye. Those players – and many others who just missed out – have helped to make this tournament such a success.

“The fact that so many spectators have come to watch, as well as record television audiences at home, is a testament to the quality of rugby that has been on display. The women’s game is certainly on the up and we will be doing everything we can at the IRB to make sure that upward trend continues.”

Harvey caught the eye with her performances throughout the tournament, scoring a hat-trick in a 26-point haul in Canada’s opening win over Spain and then going virtually the length of the field to score a try in the semi-final win over hosts France.

Previous Winners
2012 – Michaela Staniford (England)
2011 – IRB Women’s Personality of the Year: Ruth Mitchell
2010 – IRB Women’s Personality of the Year: Carla Hohepa (New Zealand)
2009 – IRB International Women’s Personality of the Year: Debby Hodgkinson (Australia)
2008 – IRB International Women’s Personality of the Year: Carol Isherwood (England)
2007 – IRB International Women’s Personality of the Year: Sarah Corrigan (Australia)
2006 – IRB International Women’s Personality of the Year: Margaret Alphonsi (England)
2005 – IRB International Women’s Personality of the Year: Farah Palmer (New Zealand)
2004 – IRB International Women’s Personality of the Year: Donna Kennedy (Scotland)
2003 – IRB Women’s Personality of the Year: Kathy Flores (USA)
2002 – IRB Women’s Player of the Year: Monique Hirovanaa (New Zealand)
2001 – IRB Women’s Player of the Year: Shelley Rae (England)

Additional reporting the IRB, photo: Dan Sheridan @INPHO

IRB Women’s Sevens World Series – 12-13 September, 2014 @ Shek Kip Mei Stadium

IRB Women's Sevens World Series - 12-13 September, 2014 @ Shek Kip Mei Stadium

The qualifying tournament for the IRB Women’s Sevens World Series 2014-15 will take place on September 12-13 in Hong Kong, the International Rugby Board has announced.

With four places up for grabs in next season’s series, this 12-team qualifying tournament looks set to be extremely competitive with Japan, China, South Africa, Kenya, Brazil, Fiji, Mexico, Hong Kong, France, Netherlands, Portugal and Argentina all looking for a place at the top table.

The format of the tournament, which will be played at Shek Kip Mei stadium, is based on three pools of four teams with the top two from each pool, along with two best third-placed teams progressing to the quarter-final stage.

The four winners of those quarters will progress to the semi-finals but, more importantly, will win qualification for the upcoming season’s Women’s Sevens World Series and join the top teams in the third season of that event.

The qualifiers will join core teams New Zealand, Australia, Russia, England, Spain, USA and Canada in the WSWS, with one more team invited to participate in the 12-team series.

“These are exciting times for women’s Rugby Sevens,” said IRB Head of Competitions and Performance Mark Egan. “With the Olympic Games 2016 in Rio de Janeiro just over two years away, teams will have an eye on preparation for that and so we expect a hugely competitive and high-quality qualification tournament for next season’s IRB Women’s Sevens World Series. I’d like to thank the Hong Kong RFU for hosting the tournament for what will surely be an exciting two days of international Sevens action.”

Meanwhile, the IRB has announced a panel of six referees to officiate at the Series.The list includes a referee from each of Australia, England, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Spain and USA and all were involved in last season’s series.

The full list is: Jessica Beard (New Zealand), Leah Berard (USA), Sara Cox (England), Gabriel Lee (Hong Kong), Alhambra Nievas (Spain) and Amy Perrett (Australia). As before, the panel will be joined by Rasta Rasivhenge of South Africa and Fiji’s James Bolabiu from the men’s panel for certain rounds of the series.

1 July 2014 – Can You Hear the People Sing

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Hundreds of thousands of Hongkongers took to the streets on the 17th anniversary of the establishment of the HK SAR to express their dissatisfaction with incompetent local politicians and chief executive CY Leung. The biggest protest march in a decade lasted over 8 hours and culminated in a peaceful sit-down protest in Central. #hongkong #689 #freedom

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