Global Rapid Rugby is to begin in March next year with a 10-round competition featuring teams from Fiji, Samoa, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Australia, and would conclude with a US$1 million final in Perth in June.
The competition is backed by a Western Australian billionaire and emerged in the wake of the Perth-based Western Force’s axing from the Super Rugby competition, which involves provincial teams from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Japan and Argentina.
Five of the six teams are set, with the Fijian Latui, Manuma Samoa, South China Tigers and Malaysia Valke joining Western Force and a yet-to-be finalized Asia-based team.
The new league was designed to expand rugby’s appeal, Global Rapid Rugby CEO Mark Evans said.
The rules are based on traditional 15-a-side rugby, but encourage attacking, running styles and discourage kicks for touch.
There are bonus points for a so-called “Power Try” when the attacking movement starts from inside a team’s defensive quarter. Line-out throws for most kicks that go into touch would be taken from where the kicker’s position was, so the emphasis will be on keeping the ball in play.
The game has been cut by 10 minutes, with 35-minute halves, and rolling substitutions can be made to keep the play flowing.
“The evolution from a showcase series to a home-and-away season will multiply the success we enjoyed this year in many ways,” Evans said. “In particular, providing Fiji and Samoa with access to a full-scale, international competition is an enormous result for the sport worldwide.
“Season 1 is definitely fast by name and nature. A 10-round competition to decide the grand finalists will mean every match is critical,” he said.
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
A stunning Lamine Yamal strike on Thursday helped crown Barcelona La Liga champions with a 2-0 win over local rivals RCD Espanyol, with victory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table. Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble. Only the UEFA Champions League title escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2022-2023. Back then,
Jannik Sinner on Thursday marched into the semi-finals of the Italian Open after destroying Casper Ruud in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, while Coco Gauff won a marathon three-set battle with China’s Zheng Qinwen to advance to the women’s singles final. American Gauff is to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in today’s title match after pulling through 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) in a match that lasted over three-and-a-half hours. Ruud was supposed to be Sinner’s toughest test in Rome since he came back from his three-month doping ban, as the Norwegian came into the match in hot form on clay after winning in
RSS