Women trump men for rugby sevens top billing at Tokyo Olympics
The rise in popularity of women’s rugby has seen the sport’s world governing body do an about turn by making the female competition the main attraction at next year’s Olympics.
The rise in popularity of women’s rugby has seen the sport’s world governing body do an about turn by making the female competition the main attraction at next year’s Tokyo Olympics.
Unlike at Rio in 2016 when the women’s competition was held first then the men’s given star billing, the International Olympic Committee has reversed the order in Tokyo so the men’s event will run from July 27-29 followed by the women’s from July 30-August 1.
This means that the women’s gold medal match, which Australia won in Rio, will take place at the Tokyo Stadium on Super Saturday, the single biggest day of competition at the Olympic Games.
The organising committee has also announced that each playing day in sevens rugby will be split into two separate sessions, one in the morning and the other evening, so competitors can avoid the hottest part of the day.
COMEDIAN THREATENED BY FOLAU SUPPORTER
A young supporter of Israel Folau sent a threatening message to well-known comedian Christian Hull, who says homophobic comments embolden young people to intimidate the gay community.
After Folau posted his infamous Instagram quote on April 10, Hull - who is gay - replied to the Wallabies star: “I’ll take Hell thanks”.
He then received a private Instagram message from a youngster, who referred to Folau as his uncle, warning him not to venture to the western Sydney suburb of Mt Druitt, and also not to comment on Folau’s posts again.
We have chosen not to identify the boy due to his age, although our inquiries suggest he is not actually related to Folau and used “uncle” as a slang term.
The boy warned Hull that if he stepped foot in Mt Druitt he would be “urched”, street lingo for hurt.
Hull is not concerned about his safety, but said it highlights the impact such social media posts can have, even if not intended to cause harm.
“In the eyes of young people it makes it acceptable to get angry or get aggressive towards minority groups,” Hull told Rugby Confidential.
“From something as little as what Folau has said – and religious people say this all the time – the flow-on effect can be huge.
“I feel like people just need to understand that Folau’s words have a profound impact to a lot of young people. He is a role model to them and they treat his every word as gospel.
“While his Instagram post might seem not a big deal to people, and some people say ‘He has a right to express his beliefs’, Folau is spreading hate and just further fuels a very extreme and unnecessary fire.
“Young girls or boys who see this post and are struggling with their identity will start to believe his message.
“It’s a very irresponsible thing to say when you have such a huge following.
“I’m not bothered by the threat in the slightest, but I am concerned about how it can make kids angry.”
Hull is performing sold-out shows in Melbourne and said he may even use the threat for comedic material on stage.
RUGBY HITS CHINA HURDLE
World Rugby’s ambitious plans to develop the game in China has hit a major setback after the collapse of a $140 million deal with one of China’s richest businessmen.
World Rugby had hoped to turn China into a major power in the game, producing 1 million players within the next decade as well as developing new teams, coaches and referees.
The plan was agreed in 2016 with the launch of a 10-year program in conjunction with Alisports, the sporting arm of Alibaba, which was founded by magnate Jack Ma, but the program has been cut after a change of leadership at the Chinese Rugby Football Association.
“We’ve got a lot of respect for Alibaba and Alisports, but it just didn’t work how we would have liked it to work,” World Rugby chief executive Brett Gosper told the South China Morning Post.
“We’ll work with that federation on other ideas to develop the game. So we move on.”
Reds primed for Super season
The Reds don’t want to waste their good work on a successful pre-season tour of the United Kingdom when they kick-off their Super Rugby Pacific season later this month.
Two-man showdown for Wallabies job as succession plan revealed
Rugby Australia CEO Phil Waugh has laid out the plan to replace Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt – with two leading candidates emerging amid Waugh’s non-negotiables and the deadline to land Schmidt’s successor.