With the conclusion of a tremendous year of Rugby in 2011, the international sides now turn their focus on to rebuilding teams for England 2015 making 2012 a crucial year around the world for scouting out talent.
The Sevens series also promises to be thrilling as it commences in February whilst the young guns gear up for the Junior World Championships in South Africa.
In the fifteens circle, the year kicks off with the pinnacle of Northern Hemisphere Rugby the RBS 6 Nations. England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Italy and France will battle tooth and nail for the coveted 6 Nations title over a span of five weeks. England topped the table with France and Ireland coming in second and third respectively whilst Wales, Scotland and Italy made up the bottom three. France coming in as the Runners up of the World cup will be top contenders whilst the Welsh who emerged fourth in the RWC are also top contenders along with England.
Sat 4th Feb- France v Italy, Stade de France, Paris
Sat 4th Feb- Scotland v England, Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Sun 5th Feb- Ireland v Wales, Lansdowne Road, Dublin
Sat 11th Feb- Italy v England, Olympic Stadium, Rome
Sat 11th Feb- France v Ireland, Stade de France, Paris
Sun 12th Feb- Wales v Scotland, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Sat 25th Feb- Ireland v Italy, Lansdowne Road, Dublin
Sat 25th Feb- England v Wales, Twickenham Stadium, London
Sun 26th Feb- Scotland v France, Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Sat 10th Mar- Wales v Italy, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Sat 10th Mar- Ireland v Scotland, Lansdowne Road, Dublin
Sat 11th Mar- France v England, Stade de France, Paris
Sat 17th Mar- Italy v Scotland, Olympic Stadium, Rome
Sat 17th Mar- Wales v France, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Sat 17th Mar- England v Ireland, Twickenham Stadium, London
The IRB HSBC sevens series recommences in February with the New Zealand Sevens in the Westpac Stadium in Wellington on the 3rd and 4th. New Zealand and Fiji are tied on 51 points whilst South Africa and England come in 3rd and 4th with 48 and 47 points respectively.
The very next weekend, the teams travel to Las Vegas to play in the USA Sevens in the Sam Boyd Stadium from the 10th to 12th of February. South Africa go into the USA sevens as the defending champions but are sure to run into some stiff competition at the hands of the islanders of New Zealand and Fiji.
The Sevens series will then take a six week break and recommence at the famous Hong Kong Stadium in So Kon Po, Hong Kong. The teams will be well rested and raring to go as the Kiwis will be looking to defend their 2011 title.
The following weekend will see the teams travel further East in Asia to play in Japan. This tournament will be hosted at the Prince Chichibu Memorial Ground in Tokyo on the 31st of March and 1st of April. The Sevens series is traveling to Japan for just the third time with the last tournament played in 2001 which was won by the All Blacks.
The series then takes another five week break as the team travel to Europe to the Scotstoun Stadium in Glasgow for the penultimate round of the HSBC Sevens Series. It is only the 6th edition of the Scotland sevens with South Africa having won the 2011 tournament.
The 9th and final round of the HSBC sevens series will be the Emirates Airline London Sevens played in the venue of the 2015 World Cup final venue Twickenham Stadium in London. South Africans are the defending champions of the London edition of the series having won the tournament in 2011.
The International Rugby Board has announced the dates, pools and venues for the IRB Junior World Championship 2012 in South Africa. Cape Town and Stellenbosch will host the world’s premier Age Grade tournament between June 4 and 22, which will feature the world’s top 12 ranked Under 20 teams.IRB Junior World Championship 2012 Pools: Pool A: New Zealand (2011 champions), Fiji, Wales and Samoa. Pool B: England, South Africa, Ireland and Italy. Pool C: Australia, France, Argentina and Scotland.
The month of June will also see many international friendly games with some of the Northern Hemisphere teams making their way down to play the Southern teams. England is scheduled to tour South Africa whilst Wales will play in Australia for the James Bevan trophy. Scotland will also play one game against Australia in the season opener. The Irish will visit New Zealand to play 3 games against the World Champions. Italy and France will both make a trip to Argentina to play the Pumas on their home turf. The fixtures of these friendly’s are as follows.
Tue 5th June-Australia v Scotland, Newcastle
Sat 9th June- Australia v Wales, Brisbane- James Bevan Trophy
Sat 9th June- Argentina v Italy, Argentina
Sat 9th June- South Africa v England, Durban
Sat 9th June- New Zealand v Ireland, Auckland
Sat 16th June- Australia v Wales, Melbourne- James Bevan Trophy
Sat 16th June- South Africa v England, Johannesburg
Sat 16th June- Argentina v France, Argentina
Sat 16th June- New Zealand v Ireland, Christchurch
Sat 23rd June- Australia v Wales, Sydney- James Bevan Trophy
Sat 23rdJune- Argentina v France, Argentina
Sat 23rd June- South Africa v England, Port Elizabeth
Sat 23rd June- New Zealand v Ireland, Hamilton
August will see the dawning of a new era as the tri nations becomes four as the defending World Champions will face -off against traditional rivals Australia and South-Africa who will be joined by the dark horses of world rugby Argentina. The Pumas will now join the regional championship to as they will look to make a name in southern hemisphere rugby. The fixtures for the Rugby Championships are as follows.
Sat 18th Aug- Australia v New Zealand
Sat 18th Aug- South Africa v Argentina
Sat 25th Aug- New Zealand v Australia
Sat 25th Aug- Argentina v South Africa
Sat 8th Sep- Australia v South Africa
Sat 8th Sep- New Zealand v Argentina
Sat15th Sep- Australia v Argentina
Sat 15th Sep- New Zealand v South Africa
Sat 29th Sep- South Africa v Australia
Sat 29th Sep- Argentina v New Zealand
Sat 6th Oct- South Africa v New Zealand
Sat 6th Oct- Argentina v Australia
With the end of the Rugby Championships the teams will once again play friendly games this time in the Northern hemisphere with New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Argentina, Fiji, Samoa and Tonga will travel around Europe playing England, Scotland, Wales, France, and Ireland.
The fixtures are as follows.
Sat 10th Nov- England v Fiji, Twickenham
Sat 10th Nov- Wales vs Argentina, Wales
Sat 10th Nov- Scotland vs. New Zealand, Murrayfield
Sat 10th Nov- France v Australia, Stade de France
Sat 17th Nov- England v Australia, Twickenham
Sat 17th Nov- France vs Argentina, Stade de France
Sat 17th Nov- Scotland v South Africa, Murrayfield
Sat 24th Nov- England v South Africa, Twickenham
Sat 24th Nov- France v Samoa, Stade de France
Sat 24th Nov- Ireland vs Argentina, Lansdowne Road
Sat 24th Nov- Scotland vs Tonga, Murrayfield
Sat 1st Dec- England v New Zealand, Twickenham
2012 promises to be a ripper of a year for international rugby with the best players of this era going head to head.
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