England Sevens Stars Raise the Roof at Twickenham Stadium to Unveil New Strip

Posted by Now London on Apr 18, 2012 in News, rugby, Sport | 0 comments

England Sevens star, Chris Cracknell and women’s captain, Michaela Staniford took to the Twickenham skies to unveil the new England kit which will feature at the final two tournaments of the HSBC Sevens World Series, Glasgow (5th and 6th May) and the Marriott London Sevens (12th and 13th May).

The pair posed on the roof of the Home of England Rugby where over 100, 000 fans are expected across the tournament weekend when London hosts the finale and the series’ trophy is lifted.

The white home kit and purple away kit feature vibrant yellow stripes down the arms and chest which are fitting for this year’s Marriott London Sevens 1970s disco theme.  Fans can complement the striking colours with afro wigs and groovy glasses!

The previous orange design,  which was referred to as the ‘tequila sunrise’ has set a precedent for  sevens shirts with a difference and was worn during victories by the men in Dubai in 2010 and 2011 and more recently by the women’s team which lifted the IRB Women’s Challenge Cup Sevens trophy in Hong Kong in March.

Cracknell said: “The Marriott London Sevens is the event that the boys really look forward to as the atmosphere and home support is always amazing.  The new kit is equally as crazy as the last design and I’m sure will be just as popular with the fans.  I’m looking forward to seeing it around the stadium when we run out in a few weeks.”

Staniford added: “Having played in Dubai and Hong Kong, we’re looking forward to competing against the world’s best players on home soil and we’ll certainly stand out in this brilliant kit featuring a touch of 70s flair.  A ticket for the men’s tournament also provides access to the early rounds for the women at Twickenham’s Cardinal Vaughan before the semis and final take place on the Sunday on the Twickenham pitch.”

The Marriott London Sevens is the perfect day out for rugby fans and families alike, with a range of activities and entertainments to suit all. The Saturday of competition at last year’s event broke the HSBC Sevens World Series record for the highest attendance on a single day and with over 60,000 tickets already sold, the 2012 event is on course to be even bigger and better.

Nic Berry re-signs for London Wasps

Posted by Now London on Mar 9, 2012 in rugby, Sport | 0 comments

London Wasps have announced the re-signing of scrum-half Nic Berry after another impressive season in the black and gold shirt.

Berry, 27, joined Wasps two seasons ago from Racing Metro and has become a key member of the squad with 40 appearances to date. Berry has enjoyed a healthy tussle for the number nine shirt with Charlie Davies and Joe Simpson this season and with the latter now cruelly ruled out with injury; the Australian scrum-half will play an increasingly important role in the season run-in.

Berry said: “I am delighted to have renewed my contract with Wasps. Though we’ve had a tough season so far I totally believe we have the coaching staff and players to restore the club to where it should be. Both my wife and I have made some great friends through the club and we are excited to be extending our stay here in London.”

London Wasps Director of Rugby Dai Young said: “I have been really impressed with Nic this season. He is a talented number nine with a great attitude and I’m delighted that he’s staying here. We’ve got a pool of very good scrum-halves in place for next season and that competition for places is extremely healthy.”

Berry joins a growing list of players who have signed contract extensions at Wasps in recent weeks with Hugo Southwell, Tim Payne, Tinus Du Plessis and James Cannon all agreeing new deals.

Olympic Chief Lord Coe to come under pressure over 100m finals tickets

Posted by Now London on Mar 7, 2012 in 2012, Olympics, Sport | 0 comments

Sebastian Coe, Chair of the London Olympic organising committee, will come under pressure tomorrow (Wednesday) over the number of tickets available for the public at the 100m finals.

John Biggs, Labour’s Spokesperson for the Olympics on the London Assembly, will challenge Lord Coe over the revelation that only 36% of the tickets for the men’s 100m final will be available to the general public. Mr Biggs will also press for the release of information about the number of tickets sold so far and why they are determined to hide this information.

The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympics (LOCOG) has stated “we are firmly committed to providing 75% of the total number of Olympic tickets to the British public”.

Labour Assembly for City and East London John Biggs said: “These were supposed to be the ‘people’s games’ but now we find out that only a third of the seats for the 100m final will be available for the public. I find it offensive that only a third of the 80,000 tickets for this event will go to the public with 59,000 going to corporate sponsors. Like so many aspects of the games it appears that money is more important than the sporting event.”

Dai Young previews London Wasps vs London Irish

Posted by Now London on Mar 2, 2012 in News, Sport | 0 comments

London Wasps Director of Rugby Dai Young previews this weekend’s game against London Irish at Adams Park (Saturday, 15.00).

With his side desperate for Aviva Premiership points, Young’s cause was not helped this week with the news that stand-in skipper Marco Wentzel and experienced centre Riki Flutey are both likely to be out for the rest of the season. It’s the latest in a long line of injuries at the Club this year but Young says he won’t be dwelling on the team’s bad luck.

“Clearly we have been seriously affected by a huge number of injuries and it is quite unprecedented when you start adding up the number of surgeries the squad has had to contend with alone. We have examined extremely carefully every single aspect of our training to make sure that there are no contributing factors in that respect but the simple fact is that the majority of our injuries are impact injuries in games and you just have to sometimes put that down to cruel luck. I am not one to sit down to dwell on that kind of luck, we’ve got to just work as hard as we can with the players who are fit and keep improving to get the points we all desperately want.”

Young is expecting a huge challenge from local rivals London Irish.

“I was very impressed with London Irish last weekend despite their loss. They have some excellent power runners who can break tackles and make your defence work incredibly hard so we can afford few slip-ups.”

In a week where experienced campaigners Hugo Southwell and Tim Payne signed contract extensions at the Club, Young was also full of praise of his current squad.

“I am proud of what I am getting from the lads who are fit and out there working hard day in day out. We are not where we are in the league from lack of desire or effort and we have got to keep working hard to turn the results around. We have six league games left and we are targeting six wins. If you don’t do that you may as well throw in the towel and we certainly won’t be doing that.”

Young also heaped praise on the London Wasps supporters, who he says have been outstanding in his first year with the squad.

“I genuinely am hugely impressed with the Wasps fans. I know how easy it would be not get that support in a season which has been disappointing results wise and it is credit to the intelligence of our supporters that they understand some of the reasons behind this and stay with us. I hope we can get them a reward on Saturday.”

Former Welsh international Jonathan Spratt re-signs with London Irish

Posted by Now London on Feb 24, 2012 in Sport | 0 comments

Welsh international, Jonathan Spratt, has signed a two year contract extension with London Irish the club can reveal today.

The 25-year-old, who has made 10 appearances for the Exiles during this campaign, moved to the club last season from Ospreys and has settled well into life at Sunbury.

Jonathan has represented Wales at all levels and made his international debut in 2009, appearing in Test matches against Canada and USA.

The 6’1” Welshman has been comfortable playing at both inside and outside centre this season performing well in both positions.

Commenting on re-signing for London Irish, Jonathan said: “I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at London Irish so far and I’m delighted to be staying on for two further seasons.”

London Irish head coach Toby Booth said: “Jonathan has been a great addition to our squad for this season playing well in both centre positions. He brings experience to our midfield and it is great that he is to remain part of the squad.”

Jonathan spent a season playing for Taranaki in New Zealand’s domestic rugby tournament, The Air New Zealand Cup, in 2008 receiving rave reviews.

Team news: London Welsh team v Leeds Carnegie

Posted by Now London on Feb 24, 2012 in rugby, Sport | 0 comments

London Welsh may have already made sure of a top four finish, thanks to their mid-week victory over Doncaster Knights, but Lyn Jones’ (pictured) side will be eager to end the regular season on a high note when they welcome Leeds Carnegie to Old Deer Park on Saturday (kick-off 12:30pm).

It’s seems an age now since the two sides last meet at Headingley in September in round 1, when the Exiles ran out 26-13 winners thanks to tries from Liam Gibson and Simon Whatling, and 16 points from the boot of Gordon Ross.

Welsh will therefore be looking to do the double over Leeds, having done just that against London Scottish and Doncaster in the last five days, but the Yorkshire side can take heart from their last visit to Old Deer Park which saw them run out emphatic 38-0 winners on their way to winning promotion back to the Premiership under Neil Back.

Hooker Dan George is set to make his 50th League appearance for the Exiles against Leeds on Saturday.

London Welsh: 15. Seb Jewell, 14. Will Hurrell, 13. Paul Mackey, 12. Simon Whatling, 11. Ashley Smith, 10. Alex Davies, 9. Jack Moates, 1. Tom French, 2. Saul Nelson, 3. Billy Moss, 4. Matt Corker, 5. Mike Powell, 6. Lee Beach, 7. Michael Hills, 8. Ben Russell.

Replacements: 16. Dan George, 17. Greg Bateman, 18. Adam Brown, 19. Ed Jackson, 20. Rob Lewis, 21. Alex Davies, 22. James Lewis.

* Denotes full international