Weekly Stuff…..

 Adult Rugby, Blog, Club, News, Underage, Website  Comments Off on Weekly Stuff…..
Jun 202008
 

Not Much to report this week either, it being off season and reasonably quiet, except the return of the adult players for a team meeting and some off-season running and gym work kicking off at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday (6th). Anyone that wants to come along should talk to one of the first team, it’s just something to keep them ticking over for the few weeks prior to the start of the season, knocking out the cobwebs and off season fried chicken curries……

There were quite a few things discussed at the first meeting of the new committee, not least the matter of the management teams for each of the adult teams and we are glad to announce that the teams have the core of mentors in place for next season. This is one of the most awkward jobs that the rugby committee faces every season and we are glad to report that we have a good start made fairly early this year. The next meeting of the new Executive Committee takes place on Tuesday 24th June next. Organisation for the coming Bull N’ Booze tag festival will be one of the main items on the agenda and we will be unveiling the new management teams for all of the adult squads to the public for the first time and will also unveil the new committee in its totality on that night as well. Also next week we will be doing an interview with the new first XV coaches and discussing with them their plans for next season and where they see the club heading into the future. This should be an interesting read and follows on from the interview conducted with the last coach which can be seen online on the website under the title of “The last welsh coach in the AIL”.

Subscriptions for the next seasons membership will be finalised on Tuesday night next also. We are getting this in place as soon as we can as it is expected that the demand for tickets for the upcoming game between Munster and the New Zealand All Blacks will be nothing short of crazy. This year it is vitally important that all applicants for membership give us alternative contact details such as email addresses and mobile phone numbers. With the chaos that ensues in regard to ticket allocation and membership we intend to streamline the existing system even further with online notification and email and text messages outlining applicants ticket allocations. Anything that can make Pat Gennery’s job a little easier will be much appreciated and this will also allow almost instant notification of any available “leftover” ticket allocations that may come up especially for those that are unsuccessful in the numerous ticket draws. Once the subscriptions are ratified we will immediately send out a newsletter to all members. We ask that as many applicants as possible get their subs in early before the usual mad rush in the weeks before the autumn international series and the early Heineken Cup games.

All news will be posted as it happens on the website www.bruffrfc.com and this season will see even more people contributing content. Within the next couple of weeks it looks like we will have to move the site yet again to cope with the demands on bandwidth (The third time in the last fifteen months or so) and this is even in the off season this time around. The move is also necessary to facilitate the provision of some online video links into the future. Anyway just a reminder to keep an eye on the website as well as the more traditional methods for news “As it happens” particularly in regard to the “Bull N’ Booze” over the next couple of weeks.

Anyway “Keep it in touch” (Bad Pun, I apologise…..)

Munsters Pool for Heineken Cup 2008-09

 Adult Rugby, Blog, Fixtures, Heineken Cup, Munster, Underage  Comments Off on Munsters Pool for Heineken Cup 2008-09
Jun 182008
 

Heineken Cup 2008 / 2009 Pools Draw
16 June 2008, 5:13 pm

Taking a breather before the scrum.


Heineken Cup champions Munster will face Sale Sharks, ASM Clermont Auvergne and Montauban in Pool 1 following the Pool draw which took place in Dublin today (Tuesday, 17 June) …
… for the make-up of the Pools for the 14th season of European club rugby’s premier tournament, which kicks-off on the weekend of 10 / 11 / 12 October, 2008.

The draw was conducted using the new merit-based ERC European Ranking system based on the qualified teams’ performances over the past four seasons in the Heineken Cup and knock-out stages of the European Challenge Cup.

The 24 teams who have qualified for the 2008 / 2009 competition were graded into four Tiers of six teams each with each of the six Pools having one team from each of the four Tier levels.

While defending champions and Ranked 1 Munster will have Sale Sharks, ASM Clermont Auvergne and Montauban in their group, No 2 Ranked side and 2008 finalists Toulouse will be up against Bath Rugby, Newport Gwent Dragons and Glasgow Warriors in Pool 5.

POOL 1: Munster, Sale Sharks, ASM Clermont Auvergne, Montauban

POOL 2: London Wasps, Leinster, Castres Olympique, Edinburgh

POOL 3: Leicester Tigers, Perpignan, Ospreys, Benetton Treviso

POOL 4: Stade Français Paris, Llanelli Scarlets, Ulster Rugby, Harlequins

POOL 5: Toulouse, Bath Rugby, Newport Gwent Dragons, Glasgow Warriors

POOL 6: Biarritz Olympique, Gloucester Rugby, Cardiff Blues, Rugby Calvisano

Heineken Cup Draw

 Adult Rugby, Heineken Cup, Munster, Underage  Comments Off on Heineken Cup Draw
Jun 122008
 

The draw for the composition of the six pools of four teams each for the 14th Heineken Cup tournament will be made in Dublin on Tuesday next (17 June). Under the new ERC European Ranking system the 24 teams that qualify for the tournament will be divided into four tiers of six teams each based on their European performances over the past four seasons. The teams from each tier level will be kept apart in the draw for the pools.

Guidelines (From ERCRUGBY.COM)

• For the purpose of the draw the 24 qualified teams are ranked based on their ERC European Rankings and are divided into four Tiers of six teams. Rankings are based on European performance over the past four seasons in the Heineken Cup and knock-out stages of the European Challenge Cup.

• Each Pool will have one team from each of the four Tier levels.

• No two teams from the same country will be drawn in the same Pool except for the seventh club from France (based on European Ranking) which will be drawn into a Pool with another French team.

• The winner of the previous season’s Heineken Cup (2008 Munster) will be seeded Number 1 in the first Tier and will be drawn into a Pool first.

Draw Format

• The draw will have four stages starting with the allocation of six teams from Tier 1 and then moving to the next Tier.

• Allocation of Tier 1 – The Number 1 ranked team (Heineken Cup champions Munster) will be drawn into one of the six Pools. The remaining five top Tier teams will then be drawn into the five Pool spots left available.

• Allocation of Tier 2, 3 and 4 – For each Tier allocation the teams will be drawn starting with the teams from the country with the highest number of teams participating in the tournament.

Therefore the order of allocation in each Tier will be teams from France, England, Wales, Ireland, Scotland and Italy until all teams in that Tier have been drawn. The draw will then move onto the teams in the next Tier.

• In Tier 4 the seventh French team (based on ranking) will be drawn into the Pools last.

• To avoid having two teams from the same country in the same Pool, some teams may be allocated to available Pool spots automatically during the course of the Draw.

The Teams and Tiers

TIER 1 – Munster, Toulouse, Biarritz Olympique, Leicester Tigers, Stade Français Paris, London Wasps
TIER 2 – Leinster, Bath Rugby, Gloucester Rugby, Perpignan, Sale Sharks, Llanelli Scarlets
TIER 3 – Ospreys, Cardiff Blues, ASM Clermont Auvergne, Newport Gwent Dragons, Ulster Rugby, Castres Olympique
TIER 4* – Glasgow Warriors, Benetton Treviso, Edinburgh, Rugby Calvisano, Harlequins.

*The last French Tier 4 team will be confirmed this weekend and will be either Montauban or Montpellier.

Things hotting up again (It gets earlier every year)

 Adult Rugby, Blog, Bull 'N' Booze, TagRugby, Underage  Comments Off on Things hotting up again (It gets earlier every year)
Jun 122008
 

Some of the first team lads seem to have gotten bored with taking a break and have started some off season runs and weight training since last tuesday night. Talk to the Eoin or any of the lads if anyone is interested in keeping themselves ticking over during the off season.

Bull N’ Booze is expanding a good bit this year, keep an eye out here over the next few days for some of the new facilities and a couple of very exciting developments. This year is definitely going to be the best yet, and there’s serious interest from everyone in the day. We’re expanding the tagrugby elements and also really expanding the on-site facilities to ensure a more family oriented day out with a major surprise planned for the early evenings entertainment.