One Percenters: Wallabies' royal treatment

Sun, Nov 12, 2017, 7:30 AM
Sam Phillips and Beth Newman
by Sam Phillips and Beth Newman
Prince William was at the Wales vs Wallabies on Saturday afternoon. Photo: Getty Images
Prince William was at the Wales vs Wallabies on Saturday afternoon. Photo: Getty Images

Wales is always a welcoming place for the Wallabies, outside of the 80 minutes on Millennium turf, but there was an extra-special meeting on Saturday.

After their tight 29-21 win over the Welsh on Saturday, the Wallabies were greeted by Prince William in the sheds.

William is the royal patron for the Welsh Rugby Union, a responsibility he took over from Queen Elizabeth last year.

Players took the chance to chat to the prince and snap some photos, in what was a very casual setting. 

It was a rare night without his family, with William and wife Kate expecting their third child in April 2018.

 

Special night 💛💚 #RoyalNinjas

A post shared by Sekope Kepu (@sekopekepu) on

Rebels fall in Japan

A young Rebels side fell to Japanese outfit Toyota Verblitz 36-28 on Sunday afternoon.

The Rebels were led by a Victorian bred skipper for the first time in Rob Leota but his first time with the armband on was an unsuccessful venture, as Melbourne were unable to overcome a 19-14 half time deficit in Dave Wessels' first match in charge.

Waratahs' spate of signings

Will Miller has gone straight into the Team of the Week. Photo: Getty imagesThe Waratahs quietly announced a swathe of new contracts for youngsters in their club this week.

Former Force prop Shambeckler Vui, who starred for the Australia U20s last year, and winger Alex Newsome and Shute Shield star Will Miller headlined the list of nine acquisitions for the club.

Lock Nick Palmer, prop Cody Walker and Lalakai Foketi are the other new additions for the Waratahs, while U20s players, prop Harry Johnson-Holmes and lock Lachlan Swinton have been  locked in for three years.

Women's Baabaas make history

The Baabaas women beat Munster overnight. Photo: Getty ImagesThe Barbarians are an iconic rugby club and this weekend they broke new ground, with their first women's team taking to the field against Munster, and notching their first win, 19-0.

Ireland internationals Ailia Egan and Tania Rosser scored the tries for the invitational side that has a perfect record.

Women from seven different countries filled the side, mainly from the UK and Ireland, as well as Canadian international Kelly Russelll, Kiwi Emma Jensen and Frenchwoman Christelle Le Duff

The women played ahead of the Babarians vs Tonga match, in which the men just edged Tonga 27-24.

Stockman hit Argentina

We mentioned the Stockman Rugby Club last week and the incredible tour they found themselves on.

Take a look a little bit closer that this unique club, travelling through Argentina. 

#Saverugbyunion movement 

Last month, the World Rugby Corporation tried to put itself back on the map, with wealthy businessmen Geoff Levy and David Shein writing to SANZAAR to propose a complete global overhaul.

The duo are back in the public, with results from the survey they were promoting, asking fans their thoughts on the issues rugby is facing.

A small sample size of 1,660 filled out the online questionnaite, with almost half pointing to a lack of free-to-air rights, and another 35 per cent saying the competition structure is wrong.

Last-minute save for Sevens

The Aussie Sevens men just missed out on another piece of silverware in Fiji on the weekend, but before the competition kicked off they had a last-minute dash to ensure the whole squad could make it over there.

We don't want to name and shame, but one player lost his passport in the lead-up to departure and had to organise an emergency passport to be able to leave with his teammates.

All's well that ends well, though.

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