Thursday, December 13, 2007
Nese Malifa makes big tackle at George Sevens - USA vs Canada
The IRB Sevens World Series got under way in Dubai recently. New Zealand took the honours there, and in George we saw them trounce the fatigued Fijians. We'll hopefully secure some footage from the final for you soon.
One of the highlights for me from the the weekend in George was this huge tackle by Nese Malifa from the USA against Canada. As you can imagine, the rivalry between the neighbouring countries is strong, and before this game the USA hadn't beaten Canada in Rugby Sevens since 2002.
Thanks to huge efforts from playmaker Malifa, hard working Todd Clever, and the unpredictable World Cup superstar Zee Ngwenya , the USA are making great strides in the odd shaped balls game, and managed to pull off a 15-5 victory against the men from up north. They have now scored more points in this tournament than they did in the whole of the 2006/2007 Series.
The men from the potentially largest rugby playing nation in the world went on to lose out narrowly in the Plate Final to Kenya by just one point. This was after providing one of the shock upsets of the tournament when they beat Samoa in the Plate semis by 24 points to 19.
Lets hope we see more great action like this from the USA in the future. Growing the game in a country their size can only be good for the World Game, and hopefully we'll see plenty more big hits from players like Nese Malifa in the future.
Posted at 3:18 am | 21 comments
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Posted in Big Hits & Dirty Play, Sevens
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Viewing 21 comments
Anonymous December 13, 2007 6:37 pm
I can't wait to see USA 7's on Feb 9th. The sport continues to grow in our country. Our club team has gone from 26 members to 45 since the world cup. Watch out for the EAGLES!!!
Anonymous December 13, 2007 7:42 pm
ha look at the way the ball goes up the guys asre at the end!!
USA Fan December 13, 2007 8:24 pm
nice hit boi! seems like you have been hanging out with Clevercan't wait for San Diego!
Geraint December 13, 2007 8:46 pm
Good to hear that the club scene is growing in the USA, to go from 26 clubs to 45 since the world cup is a huge improvement, well done, i hope it continues.
Anonymous December 13, 2007 9:09 pm
I said 26 guys to 45 guys our club has grown too, wait make that 46, your mom just joined to be the team fluffer.
GMC December 13, 2007 9:17 pm
Confusion in the ranks...This is how rumours get started!What a hit by Malifa though! And Todd Clever is doing well.. anyone know where he's playing these days though? He looks a good enough player to play in Europe or somewhere more lucrative for his career?
geraint December 13, 2007 10:27 pm
Calm down, simple error so don't be a knob about it. If the rest of your club members are like you then maybe it's not such a good thing, you probably belong better in football (soccer).
Anonymous December 13, 2007 10:53 pm
great to see good hits in from some boys in the states. as an american, i take great pride to see some respect coming from stronger countries around the world!
Cheyanqu December 13, 2007 11:06 pm
China is the largest rugby playing nation in the world.(I'm saying that based on their past and future participation in IRB 7s events)As a yank, it's great to see this finish. However, I think it speaks as much to the proliferation of quality 7s. While I think there is still a core of Cup winner sides (NZL, FIJ, and occasionally RSA, ENG, ARG, SAM), teams like Wales, Kenya, Scotland, and now the USA are those upsetters who can change the face of a tournament.Heck, in the case of Wales last year, they changed the outcome of the circuit by beating a complacent Fiji side. 7s may not be the 100% way forward for US rugby, but it is a vital component. If only they could show 7s on TV.. Perhaps in a 3-hr summary show like the cricket tests are done...
Chris P December 14, 2007 12:02 am
well last i checked canada is #2 biggest in the world, behind russiaand since us canadians have rugby, doesnt make any sense to say thatand the hit wasnt too bad, little high wich helped the impacti'm not a sevens fan, rugby isnt the same without the forwards and scruming
Bandit December 14, 2007 3:43 am
As an American, and having played three games since I first started 3 months ago (interestingly, I about broke my nose three times in that span...), I'm really curious to experience 7s in comparison to 15s. It's not like they don't EVER show rugby on american TV, either. The channel "Vs." showed most of the important games of the 15s world cup. (yes, it's actually called "versus." Crazy, I know.)And I'll tell you something else: I really don't think I'd be as into rugby as I now am if the RWC hadn't been there to watch when I was first starting to play.Chris P, in regard to the canada = #2 comment: Well played, sir. Well played, indeed.
dollop December 14, 2007 6:34 am
the usa is not the biggest country in the rugby world theres no point in arguing that. its smaller in size to canada and more countries. and smaller in population to china and a bunch other countries. but thats besides the point american is a big country that can gain a lot of ground in the rugby world thats all i think the guys meant by that caption.on another note i think american rugby would greatly benefit from games on tv. the only rugby you can see in the states is from the world cup and showing one tournement every four years isnt going to gain any serious following. rugby has all the aspects americans love about sport. once americans start to see the game and learn it the sport should explode in the satesi'm excited for that day.as for now i think american rugby is imporving greatly i just wish i got into it at a younger age.
Anonymous December 14, 2007 1:00 pm
am i the only one who thinks its odd that rugby isn't played on american tv?I understand it wouldn't be a big sport off the bat, but don't they show soccer there ocassionaly? Surely it would be more popular than soccer in america.I wouldn't be surprised if the NFL have something to do with the lack of rugby on american tv. and i make that comment in the pro-conspiracy sense.Nicholas Monserrat - "They are not a great nation, there is just a lot of them"I think that hits the nail on the head, really. The pure scale of america and its population alone would make them a force to be reckoned with if the game picked up steam out there popularity wise.and i say that as someone who considers themself anti-american... So it says alot, i think.
Bandit December 14, 2007 1:13 pm
Anonymous December 14, 2007 3:00 PM:While the prevalence of gridiron football in the U.S. certainly has a part in the lack of rugby's popularity, I really doubt there's some giant NFL conspiracy to suppress rugby on tv.Why would they have to bother? Less than 100,000 people in the U.S. play the game.
Anonymous December 14, 2007 4:21 pm
Really nice hit...And good to see the yanks improving, as the Admin said, they are a big country with obvius great potential
Anonymous December 14, 2007 4:25 pm
The lack of TV coverage of rugby in the US gives even greater importance to websites like Rugbydump and YouTube to get video out to the masses. I think they could play a huge part in a guerilla type marketing plan for USA Rugby. Our club registration grew in player numbers from low 30's to the mid 40's this Fall. I can only imagine what the possibilities could have been if the World Cup (or at least the knockout stages) were played on a mass marketed station like ESPN. The important thing is that we are growing and the youth sector is exploding in the US, which will lead to even greater things 5-10 years down the road. Great hit by Nese by the way. He's not known for his hitting ability, so it was great to see him lay some wood.
Anonymous December 14, 2007 9:34 pm
ESPN should put the 7's tourny on ESPN 2. I am going to write them a letter. San Diego would benefit from some National TV coverage. If Americans knew more about this game it would be more popular then Hockey and could be one of the major 4. Maybe even surpassing the NBA. I think MLB and NFL have a lock tight fan base. Maybe we should get Vince McMann to give this a shot.
Canucker January 09, 2008 4:17 am
It's true that websites like rugby dump and youtube are great for getting out rugby. I live in Canada, and there is only one channel I can get that has rugby on it occasionally, and its on satellite and not a Canadian nor American channel...lol. I really do wish I could watch rugby and learn more from it,and I wish I had started playing at a younger age. Its such an amazing sport.
Anonymous January 25, 2008 9:46 pm
This might be complete BS but I have heard that the NFL has stipulations in their advertising packages that hinder Rugby Sponsors from advertising during the PRO Football season. Yes, I know that there are Guinessess commercials, but find them as an American sponsor (real corporate sponsor)
Anonymous March 01, 2008 12:44 am
could be the NFL paying to not show the game FYI
angus March 29, 2008 12:09 pm
If the USA would just get some american football players to come over to rugby they could be awesome.
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