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Rugby on the Rise
@rugbyontherise.bsky.social
The home of Tier 2 rugby on Bluesky 🏉 Covering the growth of rugby outside the tradtional heavyweights!
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🇨🇱 Chilean Diego Escobar got his first appearance for Racing 92 last night, playing 12 minutes off the bench in their loss to Sale Sharks. Hopefully the first of many!
December 14, 2024 at 10:56 AM
Georgian side Black Lion pulled off a win vs Vannes last night in the Challenge Cup!There group also includes Gloucester, Bayonne, Scarlets (who they beat last year) and Edinburgh, most of who won't be targeting this tournament. Real opportunity for them to get European knock out rugby this year.
December 8, 2024 at 11:55 AM
🇨🇦Kingsley Jones has finally left his role as Canada's head coach. He's been the coach since 2017 and led them down a very dark tunnel. Only wins in the last 2 years were vs Romania and Brazil. They were so poorly coached and even with the small player pool should have been doing so much better.
December 5, 2024 at 2:16 PM
Saturday's Tier 2 results:

🇱🇺Luxembourg 31-31 Croatia🇭🇷
🇦🇩Andorra 3-10 Malta🇲🇹
December 1, 2024 at 10:48 AM
Very empty looking stadium for the Dubai 7s QFs. Quite sad to see how far that tournament and the series as a whole has fallen in popularity over the past few years.
December 1, 2024 at 9:32 AM
4 of Aurillac's 8(!) Dutchmen will be in ProD2 action vs Biarritz this weekend. They join 2 Georgians and a Tongan in the 23. Biarritz meanwhile have 2 Georgians, a Samoan, an Spaniard and a American in action. ProD2 is truly the lifeblood of emerging rugby nations!
November 29, 2024 at 2:03 PM
🇰🇷South Korean and 🇭🇰Hong Kong clubs in Japanese League One are on the horizon for 2026-27!
League One in Japan expanding the empire, including this interesting tidbit:

"From the 2026-27 season onwards, we will continue discussions with a view to cross-border in a championship format as soon as possible and for foreign teams to participate in League One."

in full: league-one.jp/news/3590
November 29, 2024 at 9:22 AM
Reposted by Rugby on the Rise
League One in Japan expanding the empire, including this interesting tidbit:

"From the 2026-27 season onwards, we will continue discussions with a view to cross-border in a championship format as soon as possible and for foreign teams to participate in League One."

in full: league-one.jp/news/3590
November 29, 2024 at 3:29 AM
Reposted by Rugby on the Rise
Remember how Aka Tabutsadze got nominated for try of the year for a length of field effort against Australia? 🇬🇪

Well he did almost the same against Tonga 👇
November 28, 2024 at 6:00 PM
Every team in the top 36 world rankings except Russia (banned) and Samoa (financial issues) managed to play a game this autumn + at least 9 lower ranked teams. 4 more African teams still to play in December. Great to see as we wind up to World Cup qualifying.
November 28, 2024 at 2:53 PM
🌏Where the emerging nations stand in the Rugby World Rankings post-Autumn (changes vs 21st Oct):

9. Fiji (-)
(10. Italy (-2))
(11. Wales(-))
12. Georgia (-)
13. Japan (+1)
14. Samoa (-1)
15. USA (+4)
16. Portugal (-1)
17. Uruguay (-)
18. Spain (-)
19. Tonga (-3)
20. Romania (-)
21. Chile (-)
November 28, 2024 at 2:44 PM
Just one tier 2 test this weekend:

Luxembourg vs Croatia (Rugby Europe Trophy)

Following this game, the RET will go on hiatus until February.

Remaining fixtures below⬇️
November 28, 2024 at 2:19 PM
🇼🇸Samoan hooker Sama Malolo will play for Perpignan next season after signing a deal to move from Moana Pasifika on a 2 year deal. After he established himself as Samoa's starting hooker this year, this is another step up for the 27 year old's career which has mostly been spent in MLR thus far.
November 27, 2024 at 4:51 PM
🇰🇷We're getting a Netflix doc following top flight South Korean Rugby! Due for relase on December 10th.

youtu.be/UZ7cX3nk0A4?...
Rugged Rugby: Conquer or Die | Official Trailer | Netflix
YouTube video by Netflix Asia
youtu.be
November 27, 2024 at 3:33 PM
🌎Full Tier 2 results from the past weekend:
🇮🇪Ireland 52-17 Fiji🇫🇯
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿England 59-14 Japan🇯🇵
🇪🇸Spain 23-26 USA🇺🇸
🇷🇴Romania 21-23 Uruguay🇺🇾
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿Scotland A 19-17 Chile🇨🇱
🇬🇪Georgia 22-7 Tonga🇹🇴
1/2
November 27, 2024 at 11:59 AM
Pool B of the Rugby Africa Repechage finished on Sunday with 🇲🇦Morocco beating 🇲🇬Madagscar 53-37 to advance the to the repechage final. This will be against one of Zambia, Nigeria, Tunisia or Ghana. The winner will compete in next years Rugby Africa Cup. The winner of that will qualify for RWC2027.
November 27, 2024 at 11:51 AM
🇳🇦 Torsten van Jaarsveld is on his way back to the Top14 at the age of 37. Bayonne have signed the Namibian as a medical joker from Stade Montois in ProD2. Van Jaarsveld previously spent 5 years at the Basque club between 2018 and 2023.
November 26, 2024 at 11:24 AM
Reposted by Rugby on the Rise
Bill Sweeney's Christmas bonus: £358k
The RFU's funding to each Championship club ('23/24): £150k
The RFU will pay Bill Sweeney £1.1million this year — a record for a chief executive at a British sports governing body — at a time when Twickenham is braced for record losses and redundancies

www.thetimes.com/sport/rugby-...
Bill Sweeney: Cash-strapped RFU pays chief executive record £1.1m
The amount is a record for a CEO at a British sporting governing body, at a time when the union is cutting jobs and reducing costs
www.thetimes.com
November 25, 2024 at 6:14 PM
There's a reason Tier One nations are intent on keeping elite level rugby a closed shop - all it would take was a handful of well run unions with access to the top table to knock these self-serving old boys clubs off their perches for a generation.
The RFU will pay Bill Sweeney £1.1million this year — a record for a chief executive at a British sports governing body — at a time when Twickenham is braced for record losses and redundancies

www.thetimes.com/sport/rugby-...
Bill Sweeney: Cash-strapped RFU pays chief executive record £1.1m
The amount is a record for a CEO at a British sporting governing body, at a time when the union is cutting jobs and reducing costs
www.thetimes.com
November 25, 2024 at 11:27 PM
Tier 2 results from sunday:

➡️🇬🇪Georgia beat 22-7 a really struggling 🇹🇴Tonga team. Tabutsadze scores to make it 49 tries and 45 tests for him.

➡️🇯🇵Japan were blown away by England 59-14. They have a LOT of work to do, not least in the selection department.
November 25, 2024 at 10:02 AM
2024 Rugby Europe U20 Championship final standings:

1. 🇵🇹 Portugal
2. 🇳🇱 Netherlands
3. 🇧🇪 Belgium
4. 🇷🇴 Romania
5. 🇨🇿 Czechia
6. 🇩🇪 Germany
7. 🇨🇭 Switzerland
8. 🇵🇱 Poland

Georgia, Spain and the 6 Nations teams did not compete as they they are already in the U20 World Championships.
November 25, 2024 at 9:55 AM
Here's some excellent more in depth analysis of Spain vs USA and Romania vs Uruguay from the excellent @franciscoisaac.bsky.social
www.rugbypass.com/news/tier-2-...
Eagles soar over Europe as Oaks felled in Bucharest
The United States of America wrapped up their Autumn Internationals campaign undefeated, claiming a 26-23 win against Spain in a game played at Estadio Nacional Complutense in Madri
www.rugbypass.com
November 24, 2024 at 10:42 AM
Reposted by Rugby on the Rise
As good an Autumn as the US could possibly have asked for. Beaten Portugal, Tonga, and Spain. All were ranked above them before the games began.

Not been much to cheer for the US lately, but that's an exceptional effort.
November 24, 2024 at 10:14 AM
2024 U18 European Championship final standings:

1. 🇬🇪 Georgia
2. 🇪🇸 Spain
3. 🇳🇱 Netherlands
4. 🇨🇿 Czechia
5. 🇵🇹 Portugal
6. 🇩🇪 Germany
7. 🇧🇪 Belgium
8. 🇷🇴 Romania
November 23, 2024 at 9:47 PM