Clan-Members » eams divided into three pools, with the to

Rugby is returning to the Olympics for the first time in 92 years, bringing the ruck, the maul and the hooker back into the lexicon of the Summer Games.The format has changed, considerably, since the United States won the last rugby union Olympic gold medal in 1924. The abbreviated seven-player version was favored for Rio over the traditional 15-a-side game, and Fiji is favored for a breakthrough triumph. The aim remains the same: score more tries -- grounding the ball in the opponents in-goal area -- and youre a good chance of winning.Its fast and physical, with more emphasis on speed and passing the ball (always backward) than heavy contact.Heres some things to watch in Rio, where the womens tournament runs Aug. 6-8 and the mens from Aug. 9-11 at the Deodoro Stadium:FLYING FIJIANSFiji has never won an Olympic medal, but it has never had a chance to play its national sport at the Summer Games. The world series champions are favorites in the mens competition, and expectations are high in the Pacific.Englishman Ben Ryan took a squad containing an abundance of players with size, speed and natural flair for rugby sevens, and added extra discipline to every facet of the preparation from diet to drills. The result is a still entertaining, but more consistent Fiji team.Its the national sport, so our best athletes play rugby, Ryan says. We have been successful at it and thats also created this aura around the team, the way we play, totally different to every other side in the world. Its a risky, entertaining, exciting, slightly laid back -- sometimes -- way of playing the game. And we are doing it to a very high level.GO BROSonny Bill Williams is a high-profile game hopper who will feature for New Zealand in Rio, another notch in a career that has involved switching back and forth from rugby league to rugby union to win some of the biggest prizes in those sports. Already a World Cup winner with the famous All Blacks, Williams wants to add Olympic gold. He wont have to look far for family support, with his sister, Niall, selected in the title-chasing New Zealand womens team.POINT PROVEDThe sevens format has surged in popularity since its inclusion on the Olympic program, and the rewards are being spread more widely than ever. Countries such as Kenya and the United States have won stops on the world series circuit, and are ranked 6th and 7th behind southern hemisphere powers Fiji, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina. American Madison Hughes led the world series with 331 points in the 2015-16 season. American speedster Perry Baker was second behind South Africas Seabelo Senatla for most tries scored and most line breaks.WOMENS DRAWAustralia won the womens world series, reaching the final in four of the five tournaments to outpoint second place New Zealand, the dominant team in 2014-15. Canada and England were equal on points in third place.The womens squads in Rio will feature players lured from sports such as basketball, volleyball and track and field. As it catches on, therell be more professionals, and increased competition.New Zealand had been the benchmark ... ever since I had started playing rugby. Everything we trained for and played for can subconsciously be aimed around beating them, Australias Alicia Quirk said. But this series turned out to be the most competitive season yet -- the gap between teams has definitely closed.SPANISH ACQUISITIONSpain was the last of 12 teams to qualify in each of the mens and womens tournaments. The Spanish men had a stunning upset win over world series regulars Samoa in the last-ditch repechage, a victory which playmaker Patricia Garcia said inspired her womens team to its victory over Russia in Dublin the following week.USEFUL TERMSRuck, maul, scrum -- all physical contests for the ball. Hooker, prop, wing -- all playing positions.FORMATEach competition will feature 12 teams divided into three pools, with the top eight advancing to the quarterfinals. U.S. teams got tough draws: the men were grouped with Fiji, Argentina and Brazil, and the women were grouped with Australia, Fiji and Colombia. Wholesale Shoes Ireland Online . Anthony Calvillo, through 20 CFL seasons, was frequently invincible and largely stoic in the heat of competition. But underneath the professional exterior he was, and is, compellingly human. Discount Vapormax Shoes Ireland . There are some early surprises in the race for the Hart Trophy, but two of the contenders are the leagues biggest stars over the past decade. There are many more players in contention for the awards than just the three that Ive named, and a good or bad week can easily alter the landscape, but through the first 20 or so games of the NHL season, this is how the awards races look to me. http://www.vapormaxdiscountireland.com/ . Patrice Bergeron and Daniel Paille scored 20 seconds apart a few minutes after Stamkos was taken off the ice on a stretcher with a broken right leg, and the Bruins beat the Lightning 3-0 on Monday afternoon. Cheap Vapormax Ireland . The Lightning are 2-0 so far on a four-game road trip, giving the club five straight wins as the guest and improving Tampas away record this season to 11-8-2. Vapormax Shoes Ireland . Traditional contenders Brazil, Greece and Turkey drew the other three spots to complete the 24-team field for this summers tournament in Spain, basketball governing body FIBA announced Saturday at its meeting in Barcelona. WASHINGTON -- Reserve Rebecca Allen hit four 3-pointers and finished with 19 points -- both career highs -- as the New York Liberty bench scored a WNBA-record 69 points in their 88-81 win over the Washington Mystics on Wednesday.Brittany Boyd had 17 points and seven assists, Amanda Zahui B. added 15 points and nine rebounds and Shavonte Zellous scored 14 for the Liberty (18-7). New Yorks starters scored just 19 points -- including 13 by Tina Charles -- to tie the WNBA record for fewest by starters in a win.The Mystics bench scored 63 points in a triple-overtime win against the Los Angeles Sparks on June 1, 2014.Emmaa Meessemans jumper capped an 11-3 run that pulled the Mystics within four with 1:45 to play, but Boyd hit Kiah Stokes for a layup to make it 87-81 a minute later.ddddddddddddA steal by Boyd, her third of the game, on Washingtons next possession sealed it.New York used an 18-2 run to take a 35-27 lead with 4 minutes left in the first half and led the rest of the way.Emma Meesseman led the Mystics (9-14) with 20 points. The Mystics made 11 of 22 3-pointers and the Liberty finished 7 of 12. ' ' '