UAE team come in 4^th place to qualify for Barcelona final

This was the first time that the Kiwi showjumpers have had the call-up to the event and they proved they are worthy competitors. Victory went to New Zealand and they were victorious in the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup ™ of UAE at the state of the art Al Forsan International Sports Resort.

After 2 rounds of intense competition it was New Zealand and Ireland that were left tied at the top of the table with 12 points each, forcing a jump off over 13 fences. Samantha McIntosh was the first rider from New Zealand and once again completed a clear round in 40.16 putting the pressure on Irish rider Shane Breen. Breen and his horse Laith could not match the round of McIntosh and Check In and therefore New Zealand were crowned the winners.

A huge achievement for the team from New Zealand made up of Daniel Meech on Fine, Richard Gardener on Calisto, Bruce Goodin on Backatorps Danny V, Samantha McIntosh on Check In and Chef d’Equipe Ulrika Goodin. In addition to winning the prize of €64,000, the win also secures them a place in the final in Barcelona later this year.

Speaking at the press conference Samantha McIntosh commented: “I’m not sure where it came from today, I think we are all in shock. It’s been a long journey for us to get here and we all supported each other as a team. In terms of the jump off, I didn’t really have time to be nervous, I just thought ‘Lets do it’! My horse has also been on great form which probably helped.”

Finishing the two rounds on 20 points, Italy were close but didn’t quite make it to the jump off. Team UAE finished tied 4^th alongside Saudi Arabia who will both automatically qualify for the Barcelona final.

NEW ZEALAND WIN LONGINES FEI JUMPING NATIONS CUP ™ OF UAE

• Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup New Zealand Sports Winners
• At 2/19/2018 06:33:00 p.m.
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The World Rugby Council opened today in London and will vote on Wednesday for the country to host the 2023 World Rugby Cup. South Africa is very likely to win.

When it comes to the world’s biggest rugby nations, it would be easy to assume that the most fanatical supporters would be in the old guard countries of international rugby. England, New Zealand and South Africa all come to mind but few can rival the passion and energy of African rugby.

In a continent known for great footballing nations, the oval ball has been Africa’s best kept love affair for decades and one that continues to blossom. The number of registered players on the continent jumped up from 770 000 to over a million in the last year alone. In 2013, World Rugby’s “Get Into Rugby” initiative attracted 22 000 players, in 2017, that number was 384 000. The number of female rugby players in Africa has seen a 50% increase between 2016 and 2017. In 2017, 20% of rugby players in Africa are women and girls.

These numbers are echoed by the real passion and dedication of African rugby fans across the continent. Madagascar is a perfect illustration of this passion. With rugby as their national sport, they have more rugby clubs per capita than any other country with 160 Rugby clubs in the capital city alone. This surge of interest seems likely to continue with 22 000 schools now including rugby in their curriculums across Africa, up from 20 000 in 2016. Africa is rapidly becoming the world’s largest youth pool with 60% of the continent’s population under the age of 24 and that number is predicted to grow.

With South Africa likely to be announced as the host for the 2023 Rugby World Cup this week and the African Gold cup in 2018, the profile of African rugby has never been higher and the continent’s governing body for rugby is rising to the occasion.

As a result of this spotlight and Africa’s huge potential for the sport, World Rugby’s African association, Rugby Africa has partnered up with Africa’s leading media relations consulting firm, the APO Group. The partnership was formalised by APO Group’s CEO, Nicolas Pompigne-Mognard and The Chairman of Rugby Africa, Abdelaziz Bougja at the World Rugby’s annual executive council meeting in London on November 12th 2017.

World Rugby council opened today in London. Rugby’s new passionate frontier: Africa

• England London New Zealand South Africa World Rugby World Rugby Cup
• At 11/13/2017 05:46:00 p.m.
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