New Zealand Rugby

Australia may have had the upper hand on New Zealand teams in the Super 15 so far this year, but as far as schoolboy rugby goes, New Zealand still rules the roost.

Brutal defence and a strong set-piece was key as Otago Boys High School smothered the New South Wales en route to a 28-7 win in Dunedin. The home side ran in four tries in what was a dominant all-around display.

The game was won in the first half, where Otago Boys rushed out to a 13-0 lead early before adding two more tries to take the score to 23-0 at the break. It was a half in which Otago Boys took a fairly conservative approach, looking to kick in behind the defence and apply pressure.

They did this very well, finding acres of space to kick into and chasing well to pin their opponents in their own 22. This, combined with an ability to be clinical and turn this pressure into points, saw that the game was effectively over after 35 minutes.

In contrast, the New South Wales side offered very little. They dropped too much ball, missed too many tackles, kicked too poorly and gave away too many penalties in their own half to cause any real problems. Although some credit must go to the tenacious Otago Boys defence, which ensured New South Wales had very little to work with. 

The second half saw the game loosen up as both sides made changes, and with the game in the bag, Otago Boys took off many of its best players. New South Wales did a better job of retaining possession and were more disciplined, but still the Otago Boys defence only folded once. 

It was clear where the game was won, as Otago Boys dominated the contact situations, making some huge tackles and in general getting the better of the breakdowns. The scrum was dominant too, while the lineout was safe and constantly disrupted the New South Wales' attack.

The backs looked slick as well, kicking for space and looking dangerous on the counter.

The best for New South Wales were the loose forwards, who ran strongly and were effective at the breakdown considering they were in the less-dominant forward pack.

For a high school to beat a state representative team from Australia is impressive to say the least, especially given the manner in which it was done. It bodes well for the coming season, where Otago Boys will look to repeat the success of 2012, which saw them play in the national final.

They will enter the Highlanders 1st XV Competition as hot favourites, and if this performance was anything to go by, will feature on the national scene once more. 

It's rare that you would look at the All Blacks and say that they are light in wingers. Throughout history, they have produced many of the best flyers the world has seen, with the men donning the No. 11 and No. 14 jerseys for the All Blacks always being amongst the best in the world.

But they may be faced with such a case in 2013. It now appears they will be without the services of Cory Jane and Zac Guildford for the majority of the year. 

When Guildford stepped down from rugby indefinitely last month, it was viewed as a loss to the Crusaders, but there was always sufficient cover for the All Blacks. He wasn't included in the side for the majority of 2012 after all, but was always on the fringe if needed.

The situation has been made more problematic, however, with an injury to Cory Jane looking set to sideline the incumbent right winger for much of the 2013 season as was reported by Stuff.

Of course, there are plenty of other wingers around. But the gaps left by these two men will be hard to fill.

Jane will be especially hard to replace, given his importance in diffusing the kick and chase tactics of opponents over the past three seasons. Under a high ball, there is no one safer, effectively negating the kicking game of opposition.

To go with this, he is a very strong runner with a good fend and has a skill set as good as any outside back in the world.

While there are other wingers around that could come in for Jane, there are none who can boast this same all-around game that is needed out of at least one of the wingers in the current game.

Julian Savea and Hosea Gear are both quality players, dangerous runners who are a handful for any defence to handle. However, Savea is still shaky under the high ball, and even more crucially, neither possesses a strong kicking game.

One of them will almost definitely feature in the starting team, but it must be questioned whether it would be wise to use two players of that mould together.

Ben Smith is an option, having been used as the utility back off the bench for much of 2012 season. He certainly has a top skill set, capable of playing fullback, wing and in the midfield comfortably. With ball in hand, he is dangerous, reading a game well and spotting holes that others seem unable to spot.

He can kick too, something that will play into his hands. The one black mark against his name comes in his high-ball skills, which are still a work in progress. While never short of commitment in this area, Smith has a tendency to attack the ball fiercely but never actually look like catching it.

This could be a problem, as at the highest level, it is a weakness that will be exploited time and time again and can be the winning and losing of games.

The highly dangerous Andre Taylor could be an option, too. Although being yet to don the black jersey, Taylor has a nose for the line and possesses great pace that sees him capable of breaking defences. His skill level is reasonable, but lack of experience at rugby's highest level could see him struggle to move into the starting team.

Richard Kahui is a definite contender, having shown himself more than capable of playing on the wing at Rugby World Cup 2011. However, an injury during last seasons Super 15 campaign has seen him play no rugby for the past eight months and he will need to prove himself once again. 

Zac Guildford would have been a likely option too, but due to his incident earlier in the year, it would be fairly optimistic to assume he will be back and ready to go this year.

Of course, there could be room for a bolter. Johnny McNicholl is an outstanding talent possessing the all-around game that is needed, but may struggle to break into the ranks having yet to play Super Rugby.

So who is the best bet then?

Of course, there is always the option of sticking with Gear and Savea. Both have proven themselves at the top level and were involved in the set up last year. But with this, there is also extra onus put on Israel Dagg to provide more of a kicking game, tying him up and preventing him from attacking the way he can.

If Richard Kahui can make it through the Super 15 without an injury, he would almost definitely be the best option. But that is a big if, given the number of shoulder problems he has had over the years.

Smith would be next in line, performing admirably off the bench last year, and despite possibly coming up a bit short under the high ball, would still rate as highly as most wingers in world rugby.

But whatever option they take, it remains clear that Cory Jane is a player who will be difficult to replace.

The IRB Sevens World Series produced its fourth Cup champion in four tournaments, as England produced the performance they had been waiting for all season.

The English had produced just 15 series points in the previous three tournaments—such was not to be the case this weekend, as England defeated Scotland, Samoa and Kenya, claiming 22 series points and the Championship Cup at the 2013 Hertz Sevens in Wellington, New Zealand.

England had defeated the defending champions from New Zealand on their home ground on Friday and it was, perhaps, fitting that the English stood atop the Cup podium on Saturday, while the Kiwis were forced to settle for third place.

The tournament produced more than one outstanding storyline—a Kenyan appearance in the final marked a major step forward for that nation, continuing an already impressive season.  Kenya's 19 series points from Wellington vault them into second place overall in the IRB Sevens standings.

If England and Kenya enjoyed breakout performances, then surely the same can be said of the Australians. Having been decimated by injuries in previous series stops, the Aussies finished with a perfect record on day one. They went on to win the Plate title in Wellington, thus ensuring their return to the ranks of the world's top 10 Sevens nations.

Further down, Canadian Head Coach, Geraint John will be happy with his troops, as Canada secured their first Bowl title of the season on the back of an outstanding game by Glasgow Warrior wing Taylor Paris. 

The Canadians were unlucky not to have made the Cup quarterfinals after dealing South Africa a heavy defeat in pool play. Their Bowl Final upset of Fiji is a moment that is sure to live long in the memory of their fans.

Wales, while easily handling that same Canadian team on day one, were quickly relegated to the Shield competition, but recovered to claim that trophy and three series points by beating Tonga 26 - 21 in the Shield Final.

The Wellington tournament certainly proved that the IRB Sevens Series remains up for grabs. The series now moves to Las Vegas for the its USA leg. 

We will have a preview for you of that tournament, right here on Bleacher Report.

Wellington Sevens Day Two Results:

Cup Final:  England 24 - Kenya 19

3rd Place Game:  New Zealand 17 - Samoa 7

Plate Final:  Australia 22 - Scotland 7

Bowl Final:  Canada 28 - Fiji 19 

Shield Final: Wales 26 - Tonga 21

Jeff Hull is a contributor to Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @RugbyScribe

New Zealand and Crusaders rugby winger Zac Guildford has been involved in yet another drunken incident and has stepped down from the Crusaders, as was reported by the New Zealand Herald.

This comes as the latest in a series of incidents that date back to his late night out in the weeks prior to Rugby World Cup 2011. However, Guildford may not be so lucky as to get his contract continued this time, as was reported by the Timaru Herald. 

It is obvious that Guildford is devastated by the incident, as from all accounts he has been working hard at his alcohol issues and had a pretty clean 2012. The Press reported that he has apologised for his behaviour, and it seems he is showing genuine remorse.

But it must be asked how many times can this happen? You can't just keep saying sorry for the same incidents and expect that to be enough.

It gets to the stage where sorry simply doesn't mean anything, and a harder line needs to be taken.

Is this the stage we are at now?

That remains to be seen, but as it was remarked he was on his last chance after the well-publicised incident in Rarotonga in November 2011, it would seem his chances should be slim.

Incidents such as the ones he has been involved in over the past years taint the image of both All Black rugby and New Zealand rugby as a whole. Both maintain extremely high standards, standards that have made them the most dominant country in the history of rugby.

The idea that you are an All Black 24/7 really rings true here. While it's true Guildford wasn't involved with the team for the latter part of 2012, he was part of the team that played Ireland in June and was never far from selection for the later games in a lot of minds. 

That is a position thousands of New Zealanders dream of being in, and for someone to treat it with such disrespect is somewhat insulting.

There are those that will say he is allowed to have a drink when he wants. This is true, but it is also true that it shouldn't get to a stage where he does something stupid. The facts are, he is a professional rugby player, he is being paid to keep out of this sort of trouble.

It's not as though he is irreplaceable. At an All Black level there are plenty of wingers available to step up. Cory Jane, Julian Savea and Hosea Gear have all shown themselves to be amongst the best in the world, whilst utilities such as Ben Smith, Tamati Ellison, Richard Kahui and Andre Taylor are also of a high class.

The Crusaders will find that losing their star winger would affect them more, but with blooding youngster Johnny McNicholl or trying Robbie Fruean to pair with Adam Whitelock on the wing, there are options. Tom Marshall too could be a viable option as his way to the fullback jersey appears blocked by Israel Dagg.

That said, he would still be a loss to both. Guildford has one of the highest work rates of any winger in the country, constantly looking to come into the line and get his hands on the ball. He is dangerous when receiving the inside ball, whilst also possessing a good turn of pace and an eye for a gap which makes him lethal out wide.

The tragedy of the situation is that at just 23 years of age, he had a lengthy career in front of him and was only going to get better.

But for now his fate hangs in the balance, and undoubtedly in the coming days and weeks we will find out more about the result of this mishap.

If he is granted another chance, then we can only pray he straightens himself out once and for all and enables himself to reach his potential as a player. If not, then he may be added to the list of promising All Blacks whom for one reason or another, were never able to go on to fulfil their destiny.

A festival of rugby or a drunken party of madness? 

Every year thousands upon thousands of New Zealanders flock to the nation's capital to get their annual dosage of the abbreviated form of their national game. After their two-month break from rugby over the summer, the Wellington Sevens is an ideal way to get back into rugby mood and kick off the start of another enormous season.

But what started as just another Sevens tournament has turned into what has been dubbed the biggest party in New Zealand. The tradition of wearing a costume to the event has developed, the more elaborate the better seemingly. 

This was all fun and good, only adding to the experience and creating an atmosphere that perhaps only Hong Kong could match.

But where there is rugby in New Zealand, generally there is also alcohol—namely beer. If there were to be one black mark on New Zealand society, it is the binge drinking culture that exists, particularly around rugby.

Drinking in moderation is fine, but what has developed at the Wellington Sevens is a drunken mess that has gone too far. Not just in the stadium, but out on the streets outside too. It's gone past the point of having a good time, and there has come to be something of a dark atmosphere lingering.

The emphasis has been removed from the rugby and has shifted to what's happening in the crowd, the music playing and how much everyone has had to drink. There are many people that can be seen not even watching the action, waiting for the breaks in the schedule to get up and dance to the music, some of whom appear so drunk they have little idea what is happening in the rugby anyway.

And this perhaps is where to draw the line. At the country's only international sevens tournament, the main focus should be on the sevens. If you want to have a party, get drunk and dance to music, that's fine, but if this is going to interfere with the rugby, the party should really be taken elsewhere.

There are those that will argue that it would kill the event if the focus was taken back to the sevens. That argument is a weak one though. Rugby is a like a religion in New Zealand, and while sevens doesn't get quite the same exposure, the country does indeed gear up for its international festival.

If anything the prospect of a gold medal at the 2016 Olympics will only add to this, with sevens having been added to the event for the first time.

In short, it would be hard to imagine New Zealand, of all places, not being able to sell out a stadium for a two-day rugby tournament.

That isn't to say banning alcohol is the answer. But some form of restriction needs to be put in place, if not for the well-being of the people consuming it, at least for those who are there to watch the action in the sevens. 

Of course, if New Zealand make the final, the crowd will get behind them. But for the most part this isn't the trend is growing further and further from this being the focus.

Combining a party with a rugby festival is a great idea. There just needs to be a better balance of the two, and it's this that will be the challenge for the organisers for the upcoming event.