Samoa beat New Zealand 26-19 in a dramatic USA Sevens Final in Las Vegas, claiming their first tournament win of the season. Today we've got highlights for you from every day of the tournament, with some of the best tries, as well as some great tackles.

New Zealand aimed to pick up their third series win in a row but were undone by the mighty Alafoti Faosiliva with time up as the sides were tied 19-19. The huge man scored twice, with his second proving to be the winner for the Samoans, who had a huge amount of support in Vegas.

"It has been a long time and these boys have been working so hard, and I couldn't stop a tear or two rolling down my cheeks," said Samoa's coach Stephen Betham. "The boys really deserve it and they owe it to the people back home and the fans here in Vegas. It has been a long time since our last Cup victory," he added, referring to their last series win back in December 2010.

They have moved up to fifth spot on the overall standings, while New Zealand's final placing puts them five points clear of Fiji at the top, on 92 points. 

"Samoa deserved it, they came at us. We had a chance to win it, but it's the team that makes the least errors that wins," said New Zealand captain DJ Forbes. "But still disappointing, you have to be hurting getting that far and tripping up, but Samoa played well."

South Africa and Fiji met for the third place playoff and it was the Fijians that won the game 21-15. Kenya won the Plate after beating Argentina 21-7, while Canada beat Australia 19-17 for the Bowl. 

Below are highlights from throughout the tournament, including the final, in three short videos

Posted at 08:39 am | 2 comments

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Wales face Scotland on Sunday so today we look back on a previous meeting between the two, going all the way back to 1999 and the last ever Five Nations tournament. On that day Scotland got off to a start that they could only have dreamed of.

Scotland's Kiwi player John Leslie scored within 10 seconds of kick-off at Murrayfield, the fastest ever try scored from kickoff. Leslie and his brother Martin both qualified to play for them thanks to a Scottish grandfather, and made their debuts just a year before he scored this historic try.

"You can't get a better start than that," said Jim Telfer, head coach at the time.

"It's so important in international rugby, especially if things haven't been going so well, to get ahead of the game. Wales were dangerous early on but very predictable towards the end," he added, after Scotland won the game 33-20 following a resilient comeback from the Welsh.

Leslie gave them the ideal start as he competed well for the ball from the kickoff and actually ended up snatching it right from the grasp of another New Zealander, Shane Howarth.

"It was just one of those things where the ball fell into my lap," Leslie said.

Scotland won the Championship that year, thanks in part to a memorable late try against England, scored by now legendary Wales and British & Irish Lions center, Scott Gibbs.

According to some, Leslie's feat is matched only by England's Bart Price, who scored against Wales in 1923. It's difficult to know how accurate the timing was back then, so it's safe to say that Leslie's record is safe, and most likely won't be beaten anytime soon.

Check out the related posts for more incredibly quick tries from the kickoff

Posted at 18:02 pm | 15 comments

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England head to Rome this weekend to face a pumped up Italian side that still have a lot to prove in this Six Nations. In today's O2 Inside Line we catch up with some of the England players ahead of the game.

While Italy's loss to France last weekend looked fairly convincing on the scoreboard, it wasn't quite that way as the side now coached under Jacques Brunel showed plenty of promise.

It's a new regime, as with France, but Italy still have some familiar old faces that can give any side in the world a headache on their day. They've also recalled Marco Bortolami and Gonzalo Canale, adding to the experience in an already formiddable forward pack.

England on the other hand have left things exactly the same, with coach Stuart Lancaster naming an unchanged squad from the side that beat Scotland to win the Calcutta Cup last weekend.

"We have decided to leave the starting team the same to allow them more time to gel together and we are expecting our bench to come on and make an impact as they did last week," Lancaster said.

"Italy will be a very difficult challenge with nearly 700 caps in their starting line-up and it promises to be an outstanding occasion at the sold-out Stadio Olimpico."

On this week's O2 Inside Line Austin and Abi chat to Dylan Hartley and Phil Dowson, some of the players have a snowball fight, and Ben Youngs explains the difference between backs and forwards.

To get the inside scoop on the squad, as well as fun features, match analysis and up to the minute player interviews with presenters Austin Healey and Abi Griffiths, sign up for alerts and watch O2 Inside Line on RFU TV at O2InsideLine.com / #O2InsideLine

Posted at 19:04 pm | 8 comments

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The Six Nations wasn't the only big thing taking place around the rugby world this past weekend as the Cape Town Tens Rugby Festival produced a fantastic once in a lifetime moment for one lucky individual.

Doug Mallett, son of former Springbok coach Nick, got the opportunity to kick for poles from the ten meter line after his name was drawn as part of a promotion for storage company, Stor-Age.

The competition was run throughout the weekend and Mallett junior was part of a handful of hopefuls who were randomly picked to take part in the contest. Another knockout round followed and then he and two other finalists took to the field during halftime of the main final.

They had one shot at it and as luck would have it, Mallett's kick hit the right spot, winning him a brand new Golf GTI valued at R365 000 (£30k).

The video has a viral look to it, but it's one hundred percent genuine, and Doug's reaction said it all.

"I cant put it into words. It's completely ridiculous," said Mallet, who plays rugby for the Ikeys Tigers. "It's stupidly lucky I mean.. I'll never hit that in one hundred thousand times ever again!"

To which the MC sharply replied, "As anyone who's seen you kick under pressure will know..."

Rememeber Stuart Tinner? Check out the related videos below for two more legendary kicks

Posted at 19:35 pm | 4 comments

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Super Rugby kicks into gear again soon as the focus shifts down south, with rugby fans spoilt for choice over the next few months. Here's a look at one of Super Rugby's greatest ever players, in one of his best ever years. 

This video was posted earlier today on the official Blues website and while it's got some questionable music and no original commentary unfortunately, it's still worth having a look at as it shows some of Spencer's most memorable moments in that famous blue jumper.

In 2003 the Auckland Blues won the Super 12 title, and their team was littered with talent, particularly in the backs. Joe Rokocoko had one of his best ever years, and as if that wasn't enough to deal with for opposition defenders, they also had a guy named Rupeni Caucau to contend with.

Doug Howlett, Rico Gear, and Mils Muliaina were also floating about, not to mention Spencer, who controlled the ship beautifully from ten and thanks to his formiddable forward pack, had a platform from which to launch their lethal back division.

Spencer ran circles around the opposition and had one of his best ever seasons, producing moments of magic that will never be forgotten by those who were privileged enough to watch him at play. Those who have followed his career will fondly remember him as one of the greatest entertainers the game has seen.

Nowadays King Carlos is giving back, and doing a great job, as backline coach at the Lions in Johannesburg. Enjoy the video, and check out the related posts for more Spencer magic.

Courtesy of theblues.co.nz

Posted at 18:24 pm | 14 comments

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Wales lock Bradley Davies and Ireland flanker Stephen Ferris have been cited following their yellow cards in the classic match between the two sides on Saturday. Here's another look at the incidents, as well as an interesting post-match discussion.

Davies and Ferris will face a discplinary hearing in London tomorrow, with Davies most likely to face further punishment, and Ferris possibly just going along as part of the process.

In the case of Welsh lock Davies, his tip-tackle, or spear as some are calling it, was by all accounts malicious, and deserving of a straight red card. Wales coach Warren Gatland concurred,and you can view a snippet from his post match interview in the video below.

Both Davies and Ferris could face suspensions as the IRB aim to stamp out these type of lifting tackles, however Ireland team manager Michael Kearney believes his man is innocent. He says that Ferris has played for his country 31 times and never received a yellow card, and for Ulster has never been on the wrong side of the law.

After the game BBC's pundits had an interesting discussion about both incidents, and brought up a few talking points that could make for good debate:

Sam Warburton tackle - There's an obvious comparison between the Davies tackle and the Warburton sending off in the RWC. Keith Wood says there was maliciousness in Davies' tip-tackle, not Warburton's, but later says that intent shouldn't come into the equation.

Warren Gatland - it was good to see a coach take responsibility for one of his player's actions, rather than just brush it under the carpet and defend him, as we've seen far too often in the past.

Rugby League - Jonathan Davies makes the point that in Rugby League, where the tackle laws are far more lenient, there aren't frequent issues. He also says rugby union is becoming soft.

Different laws - Davies also brings up the point that laws should be different at Club/Test level as schoolboys don't have the explosive power that full time professionals do.

Respect the whistle - It's easy to sit back and rip into the officials. Keith Wood makes the point that we need to remember the values taught as youngters though, and once a decision is made, we should respect it.

In this area of the game particularly, the instructions are coming from above and most of the time the referee's are simply following orders. Unfortunately Dave Pearson's decription of the tip-tackle, and the lenient showing of a yellow card by Wayne Barnes, has confused the issue completely.

Both incidents and the discussion are included below. As always, it's great to hear your feedback on these topics, so if you're not Registered already, do so now and leave a comment below.

Posted at 20:08 pm | 81 comments

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Sonny Bill Williams has hit the headlines again following an altercation with his next boxing opponent, Clarence Tillman III. The scuffle broke out at their weigh-in ahead of Wednesday night's clash for the vacant New Zealand Heavyweight title.

Williams and Tillman faced off in Hamilton ahead of the fight that came about after Williams' planned opponent, Richard Tutaki, was scratched from the fight following an arrest on various charges.

The All Black center is looking to gain some respect following a string of questionable fights. This will be his fifth as a professional boxer, with his last fight being against 43 year old Alipate Liava'a.

Williams and Tillman came to blows after some verbal sparring sparked a shove, then quick right from the big American. Williams' brother John tackled him off to the side, squashing trainer Anthony Mundine in the process, as Liam Messam watched on. 

"It’s pretty below the belt, but that’s all good," said Williams.

"He’s the one talking it up at the press conference. We should leave it all in the ring tomorrow, but obviously there is other things on his mind and he wants to bring the fight right now. If he’d wanted to, we could have got it on right now. Just adds a bit more spice to it, doesn’t it?

"I didn’t feel nothing man," Williams insisted, despite footage showing that the Tillman shot landed.

Was this a real altercation, or just another publicity stunt to hype up a fight?

Update: Watch what happened here

Posted at 10:48 am | 20 comments

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