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Rugby
Rugby Union and Rugby League, as well as American football, Canadian football and Australian Football League, are popular international sports that originated from Rugby football. While similar to the casual viewer, Rugby Union and Rugby League supporters are engaged in a fierce rivalry. Rugby Union is the type of rugby that is most popular around the world, although Rugby League is gaining popularity. Rugby Union comprises teams of 15 players, Rugby League of 13 players. Rugby 7’s the short version of Rugby Union involves teams of 7 playing in seven minute halves.
Coming up in 2008.
2008 IRB SEVENS WORLD SERIES
- The IRB Sevens World Series comprises of a total of eight two and three day, seven a side tournaments which take place in cities all over the world over a period of six months.
- The tournaments features the National Men’s Teams of all the worlds Rugby playing nations including USA, Canada, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France, Italy, Argentina, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and a number of emerging Rugby nations such as Georgia, Kenya, Jamaica, Mexico, Chile, Russia, and Namibia.
- Each individual tournament features up to 50 matches over a weekend. Each match is made up of two halves of seven minutes each.
- Sevens is extremely athletic, produces very high scores and have a tradition of a festival atmosphere for attendees.
For the first time, Setanta will be broadcasting all eight of the World Sevens Series in the USA. We expect this event to be hugely popular with US Sports Fans. The USA Sevens games which takes placed in San Diego is the most popular rugby event in the USA with over 40,000 Spectators.
Setanta held exclusive rights to the 2007 IRB Rugby World Cup.
RBS SIX NATIONS
- The Six Nations Championship is the oldest Rugby Union championship in the world dating back to 1882.
- It was originally held between England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales before France joined in 1910. The dominance of England and France in the 1990s brought criticism that the championship was not offering a high enough standard of competition.
- Italy joined in 2000 and won their first opening game against Scotland in Rome, proving their capability as a strong enough competitor.
- In 2005, Wales won their first Grand Slam (match victories against all other countries) since the 1970s. The 2007 season saw one of the most surprising victories of the tournament, as Ireland trampled England at the home of Irish rugby, Croke Park. France was the eventual winner of the Six Nations, continuing their winning streak.
- The Six Nations is played over an eight-week period in the spring of each year.
- The importance of the competition has increased due to the long-standing rivalries between teams, which makes it continue to be a passionate and fiercely contested prize.
Setanta Sports carries all 15 matches.
TRI-NATIONS
- An annual Rugby Union competition, the Tri-Nations is a series that is held between New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa.
- The first tournament was played in 1996, with the title captured by New Zealand. They have gone on to win the title six more times, and the All-Blacks are known throughout Rugby Union competitions to dominate.
- Games are played in a round-robin format and teams play both home and away for a total of six games.
Setanta Sports carries all 6 matches LIVE.
HEINEKEN EUROPEAN CUP
- This is the Champions League of Rugby Union. Club teams from England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales compete in six groups of four teams playing home and away fixtures for the right to play in the last eight rounds.
- The top six group winners and the best two runners-up qualify for the quarter- finals. These single match games are then followed by the semi-finals, and the Heineken European Cup Final is played at a neutral venue.
- In 2007, it was an all-English final; the London Wasps trounced the Leicester Tigers, to secure their second Heineken Cup trophy.
Setanta Sports shows approximately 40 LIVE Heineken European Cup matches each year.
SUPER 14
- Super 14 is a Rugby Union championship involving club or provincial teams from New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.
- The Super 14 is a round-robin competition structured so that each team plays every other team through games held each weekend for 14 weeks. The top four teams at the end of the round-robin phase advance to play in the semi-finals.
- The two winners then play the final at the home ground of the top surviving seed.
Setanta Sports shows at least 45 matches LIVE.
GUINNESS ENGLISH PREMIERSHIP
- The Guinness Premiership is the leading Rugby Union competition for English clubs, and is the world’s most competitive domestic competition.
- Since the game of Rugby Union became fully professional in the 1990s, the influx of overseas players and coaches has led to the tournament providing some of the most exciting rugby in Europe.
- The season climaxes with the top four teams from the league playing off in the Guinness Premiership semi-finals before the showcase Premiership final each May at the hallowed ground of rugby, Twickenham.
Setanta Sports shows approximately 40 LIVE matches over the season.
MAGNERS LEAGUE
- Formerly known as the Celtic League, this is an annual Rugby Union competition involving regional sides from Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
- The Magners League season delivers a 22-weekend calendar throughout which all eleven teams play each other home and away.
- After the 20 rounds have been completed, the winners will be crowned the Magners League Champions.
The Magners League season runs from September through May. Setanta Sports shows over 50 matches LIVE.
EDF ENERGY CUP
- The EDF Energy Anglo-Welsh Cup is the English Rugby Union knock-out Cup competition allowing entrants from all members of the Rugby Football Union.
- Beginning in the 2005-06 season, the Cup featured a new format that includes all twelve teams from the Guinness English Premiership and all four regional Welsh clubs.
- The sixteen clubs are placed in four pools with three English clubs and one Welsh club. Within the pools, every team plays each other once, with the winners of each of the four pools progressing to the semi-finals.
Setanta Sports carries a total of 12 LIVE matches.
CURRIE CUP
- The Currie Cup is a South African Provincial Championship and is run by the South African Rugby Football Union.
- The eight teams in the Premier Division play each other on a home and away basis.
- The top four teams with the most points will play against each other in a semi-final. The winners of the respective semi-final matches will play in the Currie Cup Final.
Setanta Sports broadcasts over 25 matches LIVE from the Currie Cup culminating with the final in October 2007.
AIR NEW ZEALAND CUP
- Formerly known as the National Provincial Championship, this competition is a Rugby Union tournament featuring fourteen teams from New Zealand. The introduction of four new teams in 2006 was an expansion from previous years.
- The tournament runs from July through September each year.
- Standings are determined with a complicated system of points earned, performance in previous tournaments, and repechage games.
Setanta Sports will broadcast most games LIVE.
NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE (NRL)
- The NRL was restructured in 1998 and is the premier Rugby League competition both within Australia, where it is played, and around the world for fans of the sport.
- 2008 is the 101th season of the premiership title this year
Setanta Sports shows at least one LIVE match per week.
SUPER LEAGUE
- Super League is the premier English Rugby League competition, and like the NRL, is popular among rugby league fans even outside the UK.
- This competition, with its’ current structure implemented in 1996, is made up of twelve teams. Two teams, Bradford Bulls and St Helens, are the most popular and successful with four titles each in the last eleven years.
Setanta Sports broadcasts many of these matches LIVE.
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