Stars und Sternchen! » , Town of Mount Royal RFC, Montreal; Paige

Canadas rugby sevens team faces more challenges this season than finding a replacement set of size 15 boots for Adam Zaruba, whose luggage did not join him upon touching down in Australia this week.The Canadian men arrived at the Gold Coast Sevens with the weight of expectations after a record sixth-place finish in last seasons IRB World Series. They will likely surprise no one this season.I think thats one of our big challenges this year, acting Canadian coach Ben Herring said Wednesday from Australia. Maybe last year teams didnt treat us as seriously as they should. I think people will be under no illusions that we can perform at a good level.It makes it harder for us in that teams will be making sure they put on their best performances here. But thats great for us because thats where we want to be. We want teams to take us seriously and play with an intensity that they would treat any of the top sides. Weve got to deal with that. Were prepared and we come ready for that. Herring, Rugby Canadas technical coach and performance analyst, is in charge of the team while newly hired coach Liam Middleton of Zimbabwe goes through immigration red tape. Kieran Crowley, coach of the national 15-man team, had been guiding the sevens squad in the interim but he is back in B.C. for the IRB Americas Championship, which starts Saturday in Langford.Geraint John, the Welsh coach who took Canada to new highs last season, is now at the Australia helm.Under John, Canada reached the final in Glasgow and placed third in Las Vegas in 2013-14.For Herring, sixth overall is Canadas benchmark. We want to improve on that for the season.The opening Australian stop on the nine-event circuit is a one-off. The other eight are split in four sets of two a week apart, starting with stops in Dubai on Dec. 5-6 and South Africa Dec. 13-14.That may help a Canadian team that is hurting at the moment. Nanyak Dala, Nathan Hirayama, Phil Mack, Mike Scholz and Sean White were all unavailable to Herring due to injury.Despite the injuries, Canada has depth that was carefully nurtured under Johns tenure. Herring has also brought the uncapped Zaruba — who got new boots thanks to resourceful team manager Brian Hunter — and Jack Smith to Australia.The senior guys are surrounded by some guys who are just super-pumped up to here, said Herring. So the energys actually been really high.New Zealand is the defending World Series and Gold Coast tournament champion heading into play Saturday and Sunday at the Cbus Super Stadium.Canada opens in a group with Argentina, England and the U.S. England placed fourth in the 2013-14 season standings while Argentina was ninth and the U.S. 13th.There is more at stake on the circuit this season with the top four teams qualifying for the 2016 Olympics where the sport will make its Games debut. One team will advance from each of six IRB regional competitions, with another coming from a world playoff. Brazil, as host country, qualifies automatically.I dont think anyone here needs any extra incentive when we play the U.S. but there are those extra things there, Herring said. Ideally we want to strive to not take it down to a one-off (qualification) game but if thats what it comes down to, thats further down the track I think.First and foremost for us is to just keep performing on a regular basis on the circuit and part of that is beating U.S.A. consistently.Herring, 34, is a New Zealand native who played for the Highlanders and Hurricanes in New Zealand from 2001 to 2007, and for the Leicester Tigers in England from 2007 to 2009. He was an assistant coach at Leicester before moving to Japan to coach the NEC Green Rockets.While Canada enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2013-14, its campaign started poorly with rocky performances in Australia, Dubai and South Africa.Other teams have the advantage of longer pre-Series sevens camps while Canada splits its players with the 15-man squad. While Herring says he had two good weeks to prepare with his squad, at one stage ahead of the tournament Canada had just four fit players available for training.The Canadian womens sevens team will also be Down Under, playing three weekend games against Australia as part of its preparation for the Women’s Sevens World Series, which opens Dec. 4 in Dubai.The Canadian women, third on the circuit last season will spend most of October training in Australia.---Canada MenJustin Douglas, Abbotsford RFC, Abbotsford, B.C.; Sean Duke, UVIC Vikes, Vancouver; Mike Fuailefau, Castaway Wanderers, Victoria; Lucas Hammond, Toronto Nomads, Toronto; Ciaran Hearn, Castaway Wanderers, Conception Bay South, N.L.; Harry Jones, Capilano RFC, North Vancouver; John Moonlight (capt.), James Bay AA, Pickering, Ont.; Jack Smith, James Bay AA, Lakefield, Ont.; Conor Trainor, UBCOB Ravens, Vancouver; Jake Webster, James Bay AA, Lindsay, Ont.; Jordan Wilson-Ross, James Bay AA, Alliston, Ont.; Adam Zaruba, Capilano RFC, Vancouver.Canada WomenElissa Alarie, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue Rugby Club, Trois-Rivieres, Que.; Emily Belchos, Markham Irish RFC, Barrie, Ont.; Hannah Darling, Peterborough Pagans, Warsaw, Ont.; Arielle Dubissette-Borrice, Toronto Scottish RFC, Toronto; Bianca Farella, Town of Mount Royal RFC, Montreal; Paige Farries, Druid RFC, Red Deer, Alta.; Julia Greenshields, Sarnia Saints, Sarnia, Ont.; Magali Harvey, Club de Rugby Quebec, Quebec City; Sara Kaljuvee, Toronto Scottish RFC, Pickering, Ont.; Jennifer Kish, Edmonton Rockers RFC, Edmonton; Ghislaine Landry, Toronto Scottish RFC, Toronto; Kayla Mack, Wild Oats RFC, Saskatoon; Mandy Marchak, Capilano RFC, Winnipeg; Kayla Moleschi, Williams Lake Rustlers, Williams Lake, B.C.; Karen Paquin, Club de Rugby Quebec, Quebec City; Nadia Popov, Aurora Barbarians, Newmarket, Ont.; Kelly Russell, Toronto Nomads, Bolton, Ont.; Ashley Steacy, Lethbridge Rugby Club, Lethbridge, Alta.Follow @NeilMDavidson on Twitter CHEAP BASEBALL JERSEYS . And I wanted to take this opportunity to share some of my experiences gained through International competition and the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. Seven NHL referees and six linesmen will be assigned upcoming games in Sochi by the IIHF as part of their 28-man officiating roster comprised of 14 refs and 14 linesmen. CHEAP NFL JERSEYS AUTHENTIC . Appearing on TSN 1050 on Tuesday, Sean McAdam of Comcast SportsNet New England reported that the Blue Jays, along with a number of other playoff contenders were in the mix for the Boston ace. http://www.cheapauthenticjerseysnfl.com/ . Fans in the Jets viewing region can watch the game on TSN Jets at 5:30pm ct and listeners can tune in to TSN Radio 1290 Winnipeg. CHEAP AUTHENTIC JERSEYS .S. routed Sweden 7-0 Sunday to win its fourth straight title and seventh overall under-18 world championship. Olson earned his third shutout of the tournament and the Americans allowed only four goals in six games to set an International Ice Hockey Federation under-18 record. WHOLESALE MLB JERSEYS CHINA . With the union re-formed, negotiations with owners will resume Friday on the remaining issues that would be in the collective bargaining agreement, according to a person familiar with the plans. NEW YORK -- After almost 4 hours of baseball filled with twists and turns, Matt Williams has his first win as a major league manager. Anthony Rendon hit a three-run homer in the 10th inning and had a career-best four RBIs, twice rallying the Washington Nationals against the New York Mets suspect bullpen for a 9-7 victory in their season opener Monday. "I have a stomach ache right now," Williams said. "There was lots of stuff today. I feel right in the thick of it." Denard Span hit a tying double with two outs in the ninth off closer Bobby Parnell, and Ian Desmond put the Nationals in front for the first time with a sacrifice fly in the 10th. Rendon connected two batters later against former Washington pitcher John Lannan, securing a win for Williams in his managerial debut. "Ill probably sleep good tonight," Williams said. "Thats what we want to have as our DNA -- never give up, never give in." Stephen Strasburg struck out 10 over six innings in his third straight opening-day start. But he fell behind early and was outpitched most of the day by Dillon Gee, given the starting assignment because of injuries to Matt Harvey and Jonathon Niese. Several fill-ins came through for New York, in fact. Juan Lagares and Andrew Brown both homered after they were surprise additions to the lineup. Nationals star Bryce Harper was shaken up in the second inning when he got kicked in the forehead by second baseman Eric Young Jr. while breaking up a double play. Harper stayed down for a minute or two and rubbed his head after Williams and a trainer rushed out to check on him. The young slugger stayed in the game, though, and later began Washingtons comeback. "Im OK, but Ive got a pretty bad headache right now. I was seeing stars there, but Ive seen stars before," said Harper, who passed concussion tests during and after the game. Aaron Barrett (1-0) struck out two in a perfect inning to win his major league debut, with family in the stands. "It was such an amazing team win," he said. "It was awesome to be a part of it." Jeurys Familia (0-1) took the loss, hurt by Travis dArnauds passed ball. David Wright hit a two-run homer in the 10th. Lagares put New York ahead 5-4 with a leadoff homer in the eighth against Tyler Clippard, but the Mets couldnt hold it.dddddddddddd Parnell failed in his first save opportunity since neck surgery for an injury that sidelined him for the final two months last season. The Mets lost for only the third time in their last 23 season openers at home. They still own the best mark in the majors on opening day at 34-19. The temperature at first pitch was 44 degrees, with wind gusting to 25 mph, but it warmed up as the sun came out. Gee pitched in short sleeves and retired 15 in a row after Adam LaRoches long two-run homer in the second. Harper snapped the streak with a hard-hit infield single in the seventh. "We got a great performance today by Dillon. Unfortunately, we couldnt get him a win," Wright said. "Theres some things that we need to work on moving forward and that was pretty glaring in game one." Rendon, the new starter at second base, chased Gee with a two-out RBI double. Washington tied it 4-all when relievers Carlos Torres and Scott Rice issued consecutive four-pitch walks, forcing in a run. "That situation, I cant let that happen," Rice said. Brown, a surprise starter in left field because newcomer Chris Young sat out with a mild right quadriceps strain, hit a three-run shot to left-centre on a 94 mph fastball from Strasburg in the first inning. "They came out swinging, and I missed with some stuff that was off the plate," Strasburg said. Chris Youngs injury also opened a spot for Lagares, who started in centre. Eric Young, normally the left fielder, shifted to second base to fill in for Daniel Murphy, who was in Florida with his pregnant wife awaiting the birth of their first child. Eric Young had a sacrifice fly in the second. NOTES: Nationals C Wilson Ramos left in the seventh after being hit on the hand by foul ball. X-rays were negative and he will see a hand specialist Tuesday. Ramos was replaced by Jose Lobaton, who singled during the decisive rally. ... After an off day Tuesday, Chris Young and Murphy are both expected back in the lineup Wednesday night, when RHP Bartolo Colon makes his Mets debut against LHP Gio Gonzalez. ... Williams challenged a fairly close play at first base that ended the top of the 10th. Umpires confirmed Clint Fagans call with instant replay. ' ' '