New Rugby Tens Championship puts emphasis on equality
As far as taglines go, the Rugby Tens Championship’s is relatively simple; Rugby. Equality. Entertainment.
Those three words tell you exactly what to expect from the professional series, which will be hosting its inaugural event at the end of November in Lisbon, Portugal.
With two days of action planned on the 27th and 28th of November, the Rugby Tens Championship puts an emphasis on equality and is proud to do so.
Four teams will be competing, with each team having four playing sides attached to it. Each of the San Clemente Rhinos, Balkans Honey Badgers, Serengeti Elephants and Cape Town Wild Dogs will have a men’s, women’s, Academy Boys and Academy Girls section attached to them.
This is not only for men and women, but for the academy teams that will be competing at the Estádio Universitário de Lisboa, the home of the Portuguese national rugby union team, and club side S.L. Benfica.
Competition formats will be mirrored, facilities shared, giving all athletes the stage to excel and contributing to the Rugby Tens Championship’s inclusive culture.
This culture can be seen no further than the management team who founded the Rugby Tens Championship, with Romania, the USA, South Africa and France represented on the board.
Chris Brown is a senior advisor to the Rugby Tens Championship and brings with him a wealth of experience.
From 2014 to 2021, Brown worked with both the men’s and women’s sevens teams at USA Rugby, most recently leading the women to a sixth place finish at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Ahead of the first ever Rugby Tens Championship event, Brown is optimistic about the potential that the competition has.
“We are constantly looking for playing opportunities outside of the World Series, especially for our extended squad members,” Brown said. “It is hard to find this at a competitive level. What I love about 10s is the combination between the versions.
“You still have more time and space than 15s, however there is less obvious space so decision making, at least from an attacking side, is challenged, if not more than in a slightly different way.
“So to see this international competition get up and running truly excites me and I can not wait to see this first season play out”
Already a smattering of star names have signed up to compete and coach in western Europe.
South Africa Sevens legend Frankie Horne will be an assistant coach for San Clemente’s mens side, whilst former Eagles scrum-half and current Dartmouth coach Katie Dowty will be taking charge of the Rhinos women.
Elsewhere, Major League Rugby Player of the Year Mikey Te’o will be looking to pick up where he left with the Utah Warriors, former Black Fern Aimee Sutorius is making her way to the northern hemisphere, as is Kenya legend Collins Injera and Japan sevens captain, Chiharu Nakamura.
With plenty of high-profile names still yet to be announced, it is sure to be a spectacle in late-November and will be streamed live on The Rugby Network.
Looking to stage events in Cape Town, Paris and Las Vegas in the coming months, the doors opening for players at all levels of the game are eye watering.
For Neasa McLaughlin (Rhinos Rugby and Morris Rugby Club) this is very much the case. The New Jersey native is potentially a future star of the women’s game in the USA and believes that the Rugby Tens Championship can give her and others the platform to excel in front of a major audience.
“Events like the R10C are important to me as they create an equal platform for male and female athletes to showcase their talents on the same stage,” Neasa said.
“As an academy player, I have had the opportunity to share the experience and learn alongside my professional counterparts. I am excited to play in R10C because it gives women and girls the opportunity to compete with and against top tier international talent.”
A full season’s competition is split across two formats; the series and the championship. For the 2022 season, four legs of competition are planned, with Lisbon being the first of these, with further stages planned to take place in Cape Town, Las Vegas and Paris.
Men’s, women’s, boys and girls squads will collect a certain number of points depending on where they place at a singular event. These points will then be added together and then divided by two, giving them their series points for that event.
Series points will then go towards the overall championship score. Similar to Formula 1’s Constructors Championship, this will create a competition to the very end of the series and allows for team’s to compete until the very end of a Rugby Tens Championship season.
To learn more about the Rugby Tens Championship, visit the tournament’s official website or follow on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Comments on RugbyPass
What a load of old bull!
1 Go to commentsOf the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically. I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.
25 Go to commentsIrish Rugby CEO be texting Andy Farrell “Andy, i found our next Kiwi Irishman”
4 Go to commentsI certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
4 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to commentsI had not considered this topic like this at all, brilliant read. I had been looking at his record at the Waratahs and thought it odd the Crusaders appointed him, then couple that with all that experience and talent departing and boom. They’ve got some great talent developing though, and in all honesty I don’t think anyone would be over confident taking them on in a playoff match, no matter how poor the first half of their season was. I think they can pull a game out of their ass when it counts.
2 Go to commentsNot a bad list but not Porecki and not Donaldson. Not because they are Tahs, or Ex Tahs, they are just not good enough. Edmed should be ahead. Far more potential. Wilson should be 8 and Valentini 6. Wilson needs to be told by his father and his coach, stop bloody running in to brick wall defence. You’re not playing under the genius Thorn any more. He’s a fantastic angle runner. The young new 8 from the Brumbies looks really good too. The Lonegrans are just too small for international rugby as is Paisami, as is Hamish Stewart at 12. Both great at Super Rugby level. Stewart could have been a great 10 if not for Brad Thorn. Uru should be there and so should Tupou. Tupou just needs good Australian coaching which he hasn’t been getting. I don’t think Schmidt will excite him.
3 Go to commentsIf he wants to come back then he should. He will be a major asset to the younger locks and could easily be played as an impact player off the bench coming on in the last 30. He is fit, strong and capable and has all the experience to make up for any loss in physical prowess. He could also be brought back with a view to coaching within the structures one day. Duane Vermeulen played until he was 37 or 38. He is now a roaming coach within the South African coaching structures. He was valuable in the last world cup and has been a major influence on Jasper Wiese and other young players which has helped and accelerated their development and growth. Whitelock could do the exact same thing for NZ
10 Go to comments