2011 Super 15 fixtures

With less than a month until the first ever Super 15 match here is the full season draw.

Don't forget to click the link join the NZVS Super 15 competition.

Round 1
18-Feb
Hurricanes v Highlanders - Westpac Stadium Wellington 19:35 NZDT
Rebels v Waratahs - AAMI Park Melbourne 19:40 AEST
19-Feb
Blues v Crusaders - Eden Park Auckland 19:35 NZDT
Brumbies v Chiefs - Canberra Stadium 19:40 AEST
20-Feb
Sharks v Cheetahs - Kings Park Durban 15:05 SAST
Lions v Bulls - Ellis Park Johannesburg 19:10 SAST
Reds v Force - Suncorp Stadium Brisbane 17:10 AEST

Round 2
25-Feb
Highlanders v Chiefs - Carisbrook Dunedin 19:35 NZDT
Rebels v Brumbies - AAMI Park Melbourne 19:40 AEST
26-Feb
Cheetahs v Bulls - Free State Stad Bloemfontein 19:10 SAST
Hurricanes v Crusaders - Westpac Stadium Wellington 19:35 NZDT
Waratahs v Reds - Sydney Football Stadium 19:40 AEST
27-Feb
Sharks v Blues - Kings Park Durban 15:05 SAST
Stormers v Lions - Newlands Cape Town 19:10 SAST

Round 3
04-Mar
Crusaders v Waratahs - AMI Stadium Christchurch 19:35 NZDT
05-Mar
Lions v Blues - Ellis Park Johannesburg 19:10 SAST
Chiefs v Rebels - Waikato Stadium Hamilton 19:35 NZDT
Brumbies v Reds - Canberra Stadium 19:40 AEST
06-Mar
W Force v Sharks - Members Equity Stadium Perth 19:05 AWST
Stormers v Cheetahs - Newlands Cape Town 15:05 SAST
Bulls v Highlanders - Loftus Versfeld Pretoria 19:10 SAST

Round 4
11-Mar
Crusaders v Brumbies - AMI Stadium Christchurch 19:35 NZDT
Rebels v Sharks - AAMI Park Melbourne 19:40 AEST
12-Mar
Stormers v Highlanders - Newlands Cape Town 19:10 SAST
Hurricanes v Chiefs - Westpac Stadium Wellington 19:35 NZDT
13-Mar
W Force v Blues - Members Equity Stadium Perth 19:05 AWST
Cheetahs v Lions - Free State Stad Bloemfontein 15:05 SAST

Round 5
18-Mar
Chiefs v Sharks - Waikato Stadium Hamilton 19:35 NZDT
Reds v Rebels - Suncorp Stadium Brisbane 20:40 AEST
19-Mar
Highlanders v Crusaders - Carisbrook Dunedin 17:30 NZDT
Blues v Hurricanes - Eden Park Auckland 19:35 NZDT
Waratahs v Cheetahs - Sydney Football Stadium 19:40 AEST
20-Mar
Lions v Force - Ellis Park Johannesburg 15:05 SAST
Bulls v Stormers - Loftus Versfeld Pretoria 19:10 SAST

Round 6
25-Mar
Crusaders v Sharks - AMI Stadium Christchurch 19:35 NZDT
Rebels v Hurricanes - AAMI Park Melbourne 19:40 AEST
26-Mar
Reds v Cheetahs - Suncorp Stadium Brisbane 15:40 AEST
Chiefs v Blues - Waikato Stadium Hamilton 19:35 NZDT
Brumbies v Waratahs - Canberra Stadium 19:40 AEST
27-Mar
Stormers v Force - Newlands Cape Town 15:00 SAST
Bulls v Lions - Loftus Versfeld Pretoria 15:05 SAST

Round 7
01-Apr
Highlanders v Brumbies - Carisbrook Dunedin 19:35 NZDT
Waratahs v Chiefs - Sydney Football Stadium 19:40 AEST
02-Apr
Blues v Cheetahs - Eden Park Auckland 17:30 NZDT
Hurricanes v Bulls - Westpac Stadium Wellington 19:35 NZDT
03-Apr
W Force v Rebels - Members Equity Stadium Perth 19:05 AWST
Lions v Reds - Ellis Park Johannesburg 14:00 SAST
Sharks v Stormers - Kings Park Durban 16:05 SAST

Round 8
08-Apr
Highlanders v Cheetahs - Carisbrook Dunedin 19:35 NZDT
09-Apr
Crusaders v Bulls - AMI Stadium Christchurch 19:35 NZDT
Brumbies v Hurricanes - Canberra Stadium 19:40 AEST
10-Apr
W Force v Waratahs - Members Equity Stadium Perth 19:05 AWST
Stormers v Reds - Newlands Cape Town 16:05 SAST
Sharks v Lions - Kings Park Durban 18:10 SAST

Round 9
15-Apr
Chiefs v Crusaders - Waikato Stadium Hamilton 19:35 NZDT
Rebels v Highlanders - AAMI Park Melbourne 19:40 AEST
16-Apr
Blues v Waratahs - Eden Park Auckland 19:35 NZDT
Reds v Bulls - Suncorp Stadium Brisbane 19:40 AEST
17-Apr
Lions v Stormers - Ellis Park Johannesburg 16:05 SAST
Cheetahs v Hurricanes - Free State Stad Bloemfontein 18:10 SAST
Brumbies v Force - Canberra Stadium 14:10 AEST

Round 10
22-Apr
Blues v Rebels - Eden Park Auckland 19:35 NZDT
23-Apr
Crusaders v Highlanders - AMI Stadium Christchurch 19:35 NZDT
Reds v Waratahs - Suncorp Stadium Brisbane 19:40 AEST
24-Apr
W Force v Bulls - Members Equity Stadium Perth 19:05 AWST
Sharks v Hurricanes - Kings Park Durban 16:05 SAST
Lions v Chiefs - Ellis Park Johannesburg 18:10 SAST

Round 11
29-Apr
Highlanders v Blues - Carisbrook Dunedin 19:35 NZDT
30-Apr
Hurricanes v Reds - Westpac Stadium Wellington 19:35 NZDT
Waratahs v Rebels - Sydney Football Stadium 19:40 AEST
01-May
W Force v Crusaders - Members Equity Stadium Perth 19:05 AWST
Cheetahs v Brumbies - Free State Stad Bloemfontein 14:00 SAST
Bulls v Chiefs - Loftus Versfeld Pretoria 16:05 SAST
Stormers v Sharks - Newlands Cape Town 18:10 SAST

Round 12
06-May
Hurricanes v Blues - Westpac Stadium Wellington 19:35 NZDT
Rebels v Reds - AAMI Park Melbourne 19:40 AEST
07-May
Lions v Cheetahs - Ellis Park Johannesburg 18:10 SAST
Chiefs v Highlanders - Waikato Stadium Hamilton 19:35 NZDT
Waratahs v Force - Sydney Football Stadium 19:40 AEST
08-May
Stormers v Crusaders - Newlands Cape Town 16:05 SAST
Sharks v Brumbies - Kings Park Durban 18:10 SAST

Round 13
13-May
Highlanders v Hurricanes - Carisbrook Dunedin 19:35 NZDT
Reds v Blues - Suncorp Stadium Brisbane 19:40 AEST
14-May
Chiefs v Stormers - Waikato Stadium Hamilton 19:35 NZDT
Brumbies v Lions - Canberra Stadium 19:40 AEST
15-May
Bulls v Rebels - Loftus Versfeld Pretoria 16:05 SAST
Cheetahs v Crusaders - Free State Stad Bloemfontein 18:10 SAST

Round 14
20-May
Blues v Stormers - Eden Park Auckland 19:35 NZDT
21-May
Crusaders v Chiefs - AMI Stadium Christchurch 19:35 NZDT
Waratahs v Lions - Sydney Football Stadium 19:40 AEST
22-May
W Force v Brumbies - Members Equity Stadium Perth 19:05 AWST
Cheetahs v Rebels - Free State Stad Bloemfontein 16:05 SAST
Sharks v Bulls - Kings Park Durban 18:10 SAST

Round 15
27-May
Hurricanes v Force - Westpac Stadium Wellington 19:35 NZDT
28-May
Highlanders v Lions - Carisbrook Dunedin 19:35 NZDT
Brumbies v Stormers - Canberra Stadium 19:40 AEST
29-May
Sharks v Waratahs - Kings Park Durban 16:05 SAST
Bulls v Cheetahs - Loftus Versfeld Pretoria 18:10 SAST
Reds v Crusaders - Suncorp Stadium Brisbane 14:10 AEST

Round 16
03-Jun
Highlanders v Force - Carisbrook Dunedin 19:35 NZDT
Rebels v Stormers - AAMI Park Melbourne 19:40 AEST
04-Jun
Bulls v Waratahs - Loftus Versfeld Pretoria 18:10 SAST
Hurricanes v Lions - Westpac Stadium Wellington 17:30 NZDT
Blues v Chiefs - Eden Park Auckland 19:35 NZDT
Reds v Brumbies - Suncorp Stadium Brisbane 19:40 AEST
05-Jun
Cheetahs v Sharks - Free State Stad Bloemfontein 16:05 SAST

Round 17
10-Jun
Chiefs v Hurricanes - Waikato Stadium Hamilton 19:35 NZDT
Brumbies v Rebels - Canberra Stadium 19:40 AEST
11-Jun
Crusaders v Blues - AMI Stadium Christchurch 19:35 NZDT
Waratahs v Highlanders - Sydney Football Stadium 19:40 AEST
12-Jun
W Force v Reds - Members Equity Stadium Perth 19:05 AWST
Lions v Sharks - Ellis Park Johannesburg 14:05 SAST
Stormers v Bulls - Newlands Cape Town 15:10 SAST

Round 18
17-Jun
Blues v Highlanders - Eden Park Auckland 19:35 NZDT
Rebels v Force - AAMI Park Melbourne 19:40 AEST
18-Jun
Chiefs v Reds - Waikato Stadium Hamilton 17:30 NZDT
Crusaders v Hurricanes - AMI Stadium Christchurch 19:35 NZDT
Waratahs v Brumbies - Sydney Football Stadium 19:40 AEST
19-Jun Bulls v Sharks - Loftus Versfeld Pretoria 16:05 SAST
Cheetahs v Stormers - Free State Stad Bloemfontein 18:10 SAST

Click on the following link to join the NZVS Super 15 virtual rugby competition.

Virtual Super 15

Good luck from...
the team @ nzvs

Super 15 Competition

The NZVS blog has been ignored for the last few months but as we approach the start of the southern hemisphere rugby season it's time to get the blog rolling again. To start things off we have launched the 2011 Super 15 competition (there are still some references to Super 14 - bear with us and these will be updated).

The Super 15 season kicks off with the Hurricanes v Highlanders in Wellington on Friday 18 February 19:45 NZT.

For a full list of fixtures click on the below link...

Super 15 - 2011 fixtures

Good luck from...
the team @ nzvs

UEFA Champions League - Group Stage Draw

The outcome of the UEFA Champions League draw, made on 26 August, sets the stage for the next few months of top level European football. The full draw can be seen below or on the official UEFA website. At NZVS we have now launched the Virtual Champions League compeition. Log in today to join the fun.

UEFA Champions League - Group Stage Fixtures

Match day 1
14-Sep-10
FC Twente v FC Internazionale Milano - FC Twente Stadion, Enschede (NED)
SV Werder Bremen v Tottenham Hotspur FC - Weserstadion, Bremen (GER)
Olympique Lyonnais v FC Schalke 04 - Stade de Gerland, Lyon (FRA)
SL Benfica v Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC - Estádio do SL Benfica, Lisbon (POR)
Manchester United FC v Rangers FC - Old Trafford, Manchester (ENG)
Bursaspor v Valencia CF - Atatürk Stadyumu, Bursa (TUR)
FC Barcelona v Panathinaikos FC - Camp Nou, Barcelona (ESP)
FC København v FC Rubin Kazan - Parken Stadion, Copenhagen (DEN)

15-Sep-10
FC Bayern München v AS Roma - Fußball Arena München, Munich (GER)
CFR 1907 Cluj v FC Basel 1893 - Stadionul Dr Constantin Ra(dulescu, Cluj-Napoca (ROU)
Olympique de Marseille v FC Spartak Moskva - Stade Vélodrome, Marseille (FRA)
MŠK Žilina v Chelsea FC - Štadión MŠK Žilina, Zilina (SVK)
Real Madrid CF v AFC Ajax - Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid (ESP)
AC Milan v AJ Auxerre - Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan (ITA)
Arsenal FC v SC Braga - Arsenal Stadium, London (ENG)
FC Shakhtar Donetsk v FK Partizan - Donbass Arena, Donetsk (UKR)

Match day 2
28-Sep-10
FC Basel 1893 v FC Bayern München - St. Jakob-Park, Basel (SUI)
AS Roma v CFR 1907 Cluj - Stadio Olimpico, Rome (ITA)
Chelsea FC v Olympique de Marseille - Stamford Bridge, London (ENG)
FC Spartak Moskva v MŠK Žilina - Luzhniki Stadion, Moscow (RUS)
AJ Auxerre v Real Madrid CF - Stade Abbé-Deschamps, Auxerre (FRA)
AFC Ajax v AC Milan - Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam (NED)
FK Partizan v Arsenal FC - Stadion FK Partizan, Belgrade (SRB)
SC Braga v FC Shakhtar Donetsk - Estádio Municipal de Braga, Braga (POR)

29-Sep-10
Tottenham Hotspur FC v FC Twente - White Hart Lane, London (ENG)
FC Internazionale Milano v SV Werder Bremen - Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan (ITA)
Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC v Olympique Lyonnais - Bloomfield Stadium, Tel Aviv (ISR)
FC Schalke 04 v SL Benfica - Arena AufSchalke, Gelsenkirchen (GER)
Valencia CF v Manchester United FC - Estadi de Mestalla, Valencia (ESP)
Rangers FC v Bursaspor - Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow (SCO)
FC Rubin Kazan v FC Barcelona - Centralni, Kazan (RUS)
Panathinaikos FC v FC København - TBD (GRC)

Match day 3
19-Oct-10
AS Roma v FC Basel 1893 - Stadio Olimpico, Rome (ITA)
FC Bayern München v CFR 1907 Cluj - Fußball Arena München, Munich (GER)
FC Spartak Moskva v Chelsea FC - Luzhniki Stadion, Moscow (RUS)
Olympique de Marseille v MŠK Žilina - Stade Vélodrome, Marseille (FRA)
AFC Ajax v AJ Auxerre - Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam (NED)
Real Madrid CF v AC Milan - Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid (ESP)
SC Braga v FK Partizan - Estádio Municipal de Braga, Braga (POR)
Arsenal FC v FC Shakhtar Donetsk - Arsenal Stadium, London (ENG)

20-Oct-10
FC Internazionale Milano v Tottenham Hotspur FC - Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan (ITA)
FC Twente v SV Werder Bremen - FC Twente Stadion, Enschede (NED)
FC Schalke 04 v Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC - Arena AufSchalke, Gelsenkirchen (GER)
Olympique Lyonnais v SL Benfica - Stade de Gerland, Lyon (FRA)
Rangers FC v Valencia CF - Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow (SCO)
Manchester United FC v Bursaspor - Old Trafford, Manchester (ENG)
Panathinaikos FC v FC Rubin Kazan - TBD (GRC)
FC Barcelona v FC København - Camp Nou, Barcelona (ESP)

Match day 4
02-Nov-10
Tottenham Hotspur FC v FC Internazionale Milano - White Hart Lane, London (ENG)
SV Werder Bremen v FC Twente - Weserstadion, Bremen (GER)
Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC v FC Schalke 04 - Bloomfield Stadium, Tel Aviv (ISR)
SL Benfica v Olympique Lyonnais - Estádio do SL Benfica, Lisbon (POR)
Valencia CF v Rangers FC - Estadi de Mestalla, Valencia (ESP)
Bursaspor v Manchester United FC - Atatürk Stadyumu, Bursa (TUR)
FC Rubin Kazan v Panathinaikos FC - Centralni, Kazan (RUS)
FC København v FC Barcelona - Parken Stadion, Copenhagen (DEN)

03-Nov-10
FC Basel 1893 v AS Roma - St. Jakob-Park, Basel (SUI)
CFR 1907 Cluj v FC Bayern München - Stadionul Dr Constantin Ra(dulescu, Cluj-Napoca (ROU)
Chelsea FC v FC Spartak Moskva - Stamford Bridge, London (ENG)
MŠK Žilina v Olympique de Marseille - Štadión MŠK Žilina, Zilina (SVK)
AJ Auxerre v AFC Ajax - Stade Abbé-Deschamps, Auxerre (FRA)
AC Milan v Real Madrid CF - Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan (ITA)
FK Partizan v SC Braga - Stadion FK Partizan, Belgrade (SRB)
FC Shakhtar Donetsk v Arsenal FC - Donbass Arena, Donetsk (UKR)

Match day 5
23-Nov-10
AS Roma v FC Bayern München - Stadio Olimpico, Rome (ITA)
FC Basel 1893 v CFR 1907 Cluj - St. Jakob-Park, Basel (SUI)
FC Spartak Moskva v Olympique de Marseille - Luzhniki Stadion, Moscow (RUS)
Chelsea FC v MŠK Žilina - Stamford Bridge, London (ENG)
AFC Ajax v Real Madrid CF - Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam (NED)
AJ Auxerre v AC Milan - Stade Abbé-Deschamps, Auxerre (FRA)
SC Braga v Arsenal FC - Estádio Municipal de Braga, Braga (POR)
FK Partizan v FC Shakhtar Donetsk - Stadion FK Partizan, Belgrade (SRB)

24-Nov-10
FC Internazionale Milano v FC Twente - Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan (ITA)
Tottenham Hotspur FC v SV Werder Bremen - White Hart Lane, London (ENG)
FC Schalke 04 v Olympique Lyonnais - Arena AufSchalke, Gelsenkirchen (GER)
Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC v SL Benfica - Bloomfield Stadium, Tel Aviv (ISR)
Rangers FC v Manchester United FC - Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow (SCO)
Valencia CF v Bursaspor - Estadi de Mestalla, Valencia (ESP)
Panathinaikos FC v FC Barcelona - TBD (GRC)
FC Rubin Kazan v FC København - Centralni, Kazan (RUS)

Match day 6
07-Dec-10
FC Twente v Tottenham Hotspur FC - FC Twente Stadion, Enschede (NED)
SV Werder Bremen v FC Internazionale Milano - Weserstadion, Bremen (GER)
Olympique Lyonnais v Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC - Stade de Gerland, Lyon (FRA)
SL Benfica v FC Schalke 04 - Estádio do SL Benfica, Lisbon (POR)
Manchester United FC v Valencia CF - Old Trafford, Manchester (ENG)
Bursaspor v Rangers FC - Atatürk Stadyumu, Bursa (TUR)
FC Barcelona v FC Rubin Kazan - Camp Nou, Barcelona (ESP)
FC København v Panathinaikos FC - Parken Stadion, Copenhagen (DEN)

08-Dec-10
FC Bayern München v FC Basel 1893 - Fußball Arena München, Munich (GER)
CFR 1907 Cluj v AS Roma - Stadionul Dr Constantin Ra(dulescu, Cluj-Napoca (ROU)
Olympique de Marseille v Chelsea FC - Stade Vélodrome, Marseille (FRA)
MŠK Žilina v FC Spartak Moskva - Štadión MŠK Žilina, Zilina (SVK)
Real Madrid CF v AJ Auxerre - Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid (ESP)
AC Milan v AFC Ajax - Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan (ITA)
Arsenal FC v FK Partizan - Arsenal Stadium, London (ENG)
FC Shakhtar Donetsk v SC Braga - Donbass Arena, Donetsk (UKR)

Super 14 – season round up

The Bulls have successfully defended the Super 14 title with a 25 – 10 win over the Stomers in Soweto. The victory gives the Bulls their third Super 14 title in four years. The Crusaders, champions in 2006 and 2008, are the only other team to have held one of the most sort after trophies in rugby. Prior to 2006 there were 10 years of Super 12 and 3 years of Super 10 before that.

The completion of the 2010 season is likely to see the end of the Super 14 name. With the inclusion of the Melbourne Rebels in 2011 next season is provisionally referred to as the Super 15.

Looking at the virtual rugby season, ‘rani’ takes the title with 299 points out of a possible 470. ‘rani’ held the top spot for the final 5 weeks of the season. edging out ‘paulwellsnz’ on 296 and ‘Dr drei’ with 294 points.

Other leaders over the season were…

Player Name...............No. of Weeks in Top Spot
Gohan23.......................3
actros..........................2
pomozki........................2
supersub.......................2
TNT2010.......................2
Geoff............................2
big_benny_d..................1
Jason41........................1
Keith Peacock................1
Mr Ropa........................1
windwalker....................1

Over the season, there were 59 home wins, 2 draws and 31 away wins.

To see the full Virtual Super 14 table log in to NZVS using the following link.

http://nzvirtualsport.co.nz/picks/tables.aspx?Id=37

Third placed Waratahs recorded the largest margin victory of the season with a 73 – 12 (61 point margin) annihilation of the bottom of the table Lions. The Lions were also on the losing end of the highest scoring match with a 65 – 72 defeat against the Chiefs, who ended the season 10th. The full table can be seen below.

















Semi-Finals
Bulls 39 – 24 Crusaders (Orlando Stadium, Soweto)
Stormers 25 – 6 Waratahs (Newlands stadium, Cape Town)

Final
Bulls 25 – 17 Stormers (Orlando Stadium, Soweto)

For those of you who are wondering what next, we have the answer. Virtual International Rugby starting 5 June and Virtual Tri-Nations starting 10 July. Go to NZVS now to join. For more details on these competitions see our previous blog entries.

International rugby

Tri-Nations

Good luck for the upcoming comps.

The team at NZVS.

Tri Nations - draw & virtual comp

With the 2010 Tri-Nations just around the corner it's time to announce the NZVS Virtual Tri-Nations competion. Below you can see the full draw which kicks off with the All Blacks hosting the Springboks on 10 July.

Log in or sign up to NZVS now to join.

10-Jul
New Zealand v South Africa - Auckland, 19:35 NZST

17-Jul
New Zealand v South Africa - Wellington, 19:35 NZST

24-Jul
Australia v South Africa - Brisbane, 20:00 AEST

31-Jul
Australia v New Zealand - Melbourne, 20:00 AEST

07-Aug
New Zealand v Australia - Christchurch, 19:35 NZST

21-Aug
South Africa v New Zealand - Johannesburg, 17:00 SAST

28-Aug
South Africa v Australia - Pretoria, 17:00 SAST

04-Sep
South Africa v Australia - Bloemfontein, 17:00 SAST

11-Sep
Australia v New Zealand - Sydney, 20:00 AEST

International Rugby Fixtures

Continuing on from the success of the 2009 International Rugby competition, NZVS is again staging the (now annual) virtual International Rugby competition. The All Blacks, Springboks and Wallabies will face England, France, Ireland, Italy and Wales both before and after the Tri-Nations (with a slight twist this year, by kicking of with Australia v Fiji).

The earlier internationals, with the exception of Wales v South Africa, will be hosted in the Southern Hemisphere, with the post Tri-Nations matches being held in the United Kingdom.

The full fixture list is below.

02-Jun
Australia v Fiji - Canberra, Australia

05-Jun
Wales v South Africa - Cardiff, Wales

12-Jun
All Blacks v Ireland - New Plymouth, New Zealand
Australia v England - Perth, Australia
South Africa v France - Cape Town, South Africa

19-Jun
All Blacks v Wales - Dunedin, New Zealand
Australia v England - Sydney, Australia
South Africa v Italy - Witbank, South Africa

26-Jun
All Blacks v Wales - Hamilton, New Zealand
Australia v Ireland - Brisbane, Australia
South Africa v Italy - Port Elizabeth, South Africa

10-Jul - 11-Sep
Tri-Nations - click here for fixtures

4-Nov
Ireland v South Africa - Dublin, Ireland

7-Nov
England v All Blacks - London, England

13-Nov
Wales v South Africa - Cardiff, Wales

14-Nov
Scotland v All Blacks - Edinburgh, Scotland

20-Nov
Scotland v South Africa - Edinburgh, Scotland

21-Nov
Ireland v All Blacks - Dublin, Ireland

27-Nov
England v South Africa - London, England

28-Nov
Wales v All Blacks - Cardiff, Wales

Sign up to International Rugby 2010 now.

Good luck.

South Africa 2010 Lazy fiver prediction-Cote d'Ivoire-

As the world tournament draws ever closer, there are teams that are often spoken about when people think of potential cup winners, typically the quadrennial favorite's such as, Brazil, Italy, Germany, Argentina and to a lesser extent France, Spain, the Netherlands and England.

In the last ten world cups, there have been five different nations that have taken the trophy. Argentina have won twice, as have West Germany, Brazil has the most with three trophies and Italy also have two while France has just one. Broken up continentally, this shows that South America have five tournaments, against Europe's five.

No other continent has provided a winning team besides these two, from approximately two hundred nations on seven continents that enter the tournament every qualifying round.

Interestingly enough in eighteen previous tournaments, the cup has been won by a nation playing on its own continent in thirteen of them. Which reminds instantly of the boost players get in front of familiar support. The five that were won truly abroad in a foreign continent, the only true international ones were Brazil's victory in Sweden in 1958 and Brazil's victory in Japan-Korea in 2002.

The others were all in the greater american continent, Brazil with two, one in Mexico 1970 and one in the US in 1994. Argentina have the other counted as foriegn in Mexico as well, in 1986.

This goes further to show the advantage of playing near home.

With six African teams in the cup in South Africa, it could possibly be time to keep a watchful eye on the performances of these sides. Packed full of talent from leagues across the globe, several of these teams will present serious questions to the old guard of world cup football.

It is Ivory Coast that I am focusing on today, as they are one such team with a wealth of talent. The players feature in in top leagues across seventeen countries.

Probably the most well known of these players are Didier Drogba and Yaya Toure. Both part of champion squads in their club teams this year. Along with these notables are Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Eboue, Arouna Kone, Abdul Kader Keita, Solomon Kalou, Aruna Dindane, Romaric, Didier Zokora, Guy Demel and Boubacar Barry. All are fairly familiar names in the world of football.

After a particularly disappointing African Cup of Nations, in which they failed to fire, going out in the quarters, the Cote d'Ivoire football association sacked their coach Vahid Halilhodzic despite his exemplary record with the team in having only lost one game in his two year stint at the helm.Clearly a ridiculous sacking and one that reeks of the fallout of the modern professional game and its win at all costs attitude.

This is all done and dusted though, it is now Sven Goran-Eriksson as boss and you have to fancy the Swede's chances as he is no slouch when it comes to his managerial record. After all he has won twenty two trophies in four different countries, including Italy for nine of those successes.

His tenure at Manchester City, coming after he finished the England national team job, restored the club to prominence, leading the league for a time and also defeating Sir Alex Fergusons Manchester United twice. He was harshly sacked by Thaksin Sinawatra, after this season, despite the club having played some of its best football in years. So he will identify with his predecessor Halilhodzic in that they were both treated badly after beginning the job of fashioning a team into a truly formidable unit.

Goran-Eriksson is worthy of respect, despite what some England fans would say. He has a proven record of excellence and could possibly be the man to lead Ivory Coast to glory.

It seems that Cote d'Ivoire have the ingredients for success.

Obviously, Dider Drogba and Yaya Toure will be vital. Both have had excellent seasons with their respective teams. With Barcelona, Toure has just won the Spanish La Liga in consecutive seasons. Drogba has just won his third premier league title with Chelsea and also scored the winner in the FA cup final which brought the London side its first ever domestic double.

Drogba is bordering on being the perfect striker. The only thing that really holds him back is his petulance. Known to engage in fits of sulking that can last entire matches. Luckily his age has cured him of this and it has become less apparent in the last season, despite it popping up against Wigan, in the championship defining match, when Drogba wanted to take a first half penalty that was duly dispatched by Frank Lampard, Chelsea's designated spot kick taker.

He showed that he has improved excellently in the area of his attitude when he came out in the second half and scored a hat trick.

A truly dangerous opponent, Drogba is able to hit excellent free kicks, thunderous shots from distance, deftly placed flicks from close in and his heading is technically superior to most players in the world game.

If Drogba is able to combine with Toure in the way the Toure has combined with Argentina Star Lionel Messi at Barcelona, then North Korea, Portugal and Brazil could well be in for a nasty surprise each.Toure demonstrated his excellent abilities as a provider in the pent-ultimate match of La Liga when he laid on two goals for his Argentinian team mate, goals which confirmed Barcelona's league success.

Toure is an extremely gifted midfielder, his large frame disguising trickery and guile that are normally the preserve of those who are smaller in stature. Along with the technique he has excellent strength, pace and vision. One of the reasons for Barcelona's success, a vital part of Pep Guardiola's squad.

Add to this the talents of the many other stars from around Europe and the managerial nous of Goran-Eriksson and you have a recipe that could mix up a tasty treat for African football fans everywhere.

Perhaps they could be the winner of the first African football world cup. Nothing is decided before the tournament.