This week’s show, presented by Chris Rea and Martin Cross is Total Rugby Radio Programme 52, Series 10 and it’s 26’51 in duration. The show is a review of the international rugby year and as it’s packed full of features…….. CLICK HERE for the show.
TOTAL RUGBY’s Chris Rea & Martin Cross look back on the Total Rugby highlights of 2014. A year in which the world’s best women players battled it out for World Cup glory….. There were the rewards for those who reach the top of their profession… And the pitfalls for those who take shortcuts..
And New Zealand ended the year where they started – on top of the world. As ever, the international year started with the Six Nations, but for one prominent figure, the competition also marked the end of a distinguished career. The match in Cardiff between Wales and France was Alain Rolland’s 68th and final test as an elite referee….the son of a French father, his linguistic talents were put to the test……….. CLICK HERE for the show.
ALAIN ROLLAND INTERVIEW BEN RYAN INTERVIEW
Rugby Sevens makes it’s debut at the Olympic Games in 2016 and a first step was taken towards this historic event when 12 under 18 sides took part in the men’s and women’s events in the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China. Former Canadian rugby international and Olympic Bobsleigh champion, Heather Moyse, was appointed as an ambassador … …….. CLICK HERE for the show.
One of the highlights of the year was the Women’s Rugby World Cup in France. England were crowned champions defeating Canada in the final in front of a crowd of 20,000. Two of the outstanding players for the winners were Maggie Alphonsi and Emily Scarratt …. And during the tournament we found out more about what made the England team tick…
As the game increases in popularity and profile across the world the pressures on the players to perform at the highest level become ever greater, as does the temptation to take shortcuts to the top. But as Scotland’s promising young star Sam Chalmers discovered to his cost, it’s a temptation that must be resisted.… Sam Chalmers’ experience, a salutary lesson for the world’s best young players who arrived in New Zealand for the Junior World Championship, among them South Africa’s Handre Pollard, a mature young man with a glittering future ahead of him. A matter of weeks after the tournament, he made his full test debut for the Springboks against Scotland………….. CLICK HERE for the show.
As a player he was an uncompromising prop who played for Bath, Barbarians and the England Saxons…but following his retirement, David Barnes has discovered an equally stimulating and challenging path…
A regular and popular feature on Total Rugby during the year has been ‘Tackle These’ and one who tackled it better than most was Ireland’s Peter Stringer …
In October, Uruguay claimed the 20th and final Rugby World Cup spot after beating Russia in a two-legged play-off – time for Uruguay centre Paco Roman and union President, Sebastian Pineyrua to start making plans…
Throughout the rugby world, amateur players have to balance the demands of work with commitment with the game they love. However, as Danny Jamieson discovered, some take it right to the limit…
There was an historic first for the game as the Rugby Championship reached it’s conclusion. In their third year of competing, Argentina claimed their first victory by beating Australia. It was a momentous occasion for all and especially for Agustin Pichot who done so much to get his country into the Championship in the first place…
There was no doubt though about the team of the year. New Zealand finished 2014 where they had started it – on top of the world rankings, a feat put into context by their most capped scrum half, Justin Marshall …
And there we bring the curtain down on another year of Total Rugby. We’ll be back (WILL WE – SHOULDN’T WE MENTION A NEW FORMAT?) in 2015 with the Rugby World Cup as its centrepiece.
