Beas de Granada is located in one of the most beautiful places around Granada with panoramic views southwards towards the Sierra Navada.

The town is steeped in history from the time of the Roman Empire, where it grew from being a coach house at a crossroads, to becoming a farmstead with just twenty families when under Arab rule.

It is situated 1072 meters above sea level and is part of the Parque Natural de la Sierra de Huetor.

So what has this to do with rugby I hear you ask ?, well this delightful town is the family home of one of the world’s best rugby referees Alhambra Nievas.

The tractor driving, olive harvesting referee never forgets her roots, quite literally come harvest time, the olives have been plentiful as indeed has her rugby harvest.

Some referees like fine wine just seem to get better with age and this 1983 vintage shows no sign of deterioration and is looking better than ever.

Incorrectly listed, much to her delight, as 28 years of age in the official Womens Rugby World programme, Alhambra actually reached the tender age of 34 on the very day the tournament started in Dublin.

Taking charge of the World Cup semi final, at the Kingspan stadium, in Belfast, between New Zealand and USA was a huge thrill for her and her team, and undoubtedly yet another highlight of what has already been a glittering career.

The ultimate team player, it was wonderful to witness her genuine delight for friend and refereeing colleague, Joy Neville, when she was awarded the World Cup Final between England and New Zealand.

Radio, television and other commitments have made things hectic, after the tournament, with not much down time, and never one to rest on her laurels, Alhambra has successfully completed the World Rugby Educator Course, in Romania, resulting in global recognition as a trainer.

Anxious to give back to the sport what the game has given to her, the humble and modest

lady from Granada would not be aware that she has already given far more back to the game, to its values, and to encouraging young women in sport, than she could ever have received in return, but now she will able to officially use her talents to assist others intent on taking up the whistle, and in improving standards both regionally and internationally.

Once again we talk about another breakthrough for women in rugby, and once again Alhambra Nievas is involved.

On October 14th she will take charge, of Finland v Norway in the Rugby Europe International Championship, the first woman to referee a men’s game in this competition.

So whilst the folks back in Beas de Granada celebrate the pilgrimage to the chapel of the virgin del pilar del colmenar, along with the neighbouring residents of Huetor Santillan, Alhambra will be 2086 miles further north in Helsinki, preparing for the match.

It is doubly good news for women’s rugby as Joy Neville will referee the match between Norway and Denmark a few days later.

The breakthroughs don’t end there, in yet another first Alhambra will be the first non Commonwealth referee to officiate at the rugby 7s on the Gold Coast, Australia, in the Fifteenth Commonwealth Games next April.

Six nations duty will hopefully be on the cards after christmas, after her superb handing of last years decider in the Dublin monsoon, between Ireland and England, and then there is the mouth-watering prospect of the Rugby World Cup Sevens Tournament in San Francisco.

Before all that Alhambra, as well as attending to domestic refereeing duties in Spain, undertaking Women’s World Sevens duties in Dubai, and only last week was in Marcoussis, near  Paris, for two days, along with fellow whistling amigo Iñigo Atorrasagasti, as a member of the panel of referees for the prestigious European competitions under the auspices of the EPCR.

Unlike many fine wines the 1983 vintage travels well, but there is no doubt that the native soil of Beas de Granada beneath her feet gives her the perfect balance to the busy grassy rugby fields of the world.

Vamos amigo

 
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With 10 clubs in a league format, the Tyrrells Premier 15s starts on September 16 and the clubs will play each other home and away, with the top four progressing to a two-leg semifinal stage and the winners to a final on April 29.

The RFU will invest £2.4 million over the next three seasons in the league and crisp-manufacturer Tyrrells is the first major sponsor of a women’s rugby competition in England.

It is understood these matches will be shown free of charge on the RFU website, although there are also plans to consider streaming via Facebook and other online platforms.

The launch of the new women’s league comes at a crucial moment for the sport after England’s run to the Women’s Rugby World Cup final, which ended with a frustrating but compelling defeat by New Zealand and the controversy over the RFU’s funding of the women’s team.

Following England’s victory at the 2014 Women’s Rugby World Cup in France, the RFU first handed out central contracts to female players in 2014 to help them prepare for the inaugural Olympic sevens competition at Rio 2016, which saw an England-dominated Great Britain side narrowly miss out on a medal.

Fifty central contracts were awarded in 2016, 17 of them full-time, for the build-up to this year’s Women’s Rugby World Cup but it was always planned that some of those contracts would not be renewed after the tournament as the focus reverted to sevens in 2018

Despite wide calls for a rethink on the central contracts decision, the RFU has stuck to its strategy of targeting funding at the most relevant format of the game in each competition cycle and concentrated its efforts on increasing England’s talent pool and developing a sustainable financial model.

This is why it is so keen to promote the Tyrrells Premier 15s, which it sees as a commitment to the women’s game unrivalled in world rugby and a key plank in its strategy to double the number of female players in England to 50,000 by 2021.

The inaugural Tyrrells Premier 15s season launched last Thursday with all 10 club captains, coaches and club directors of rugby attending an event at Twickenham Stadium.

 England Women’s captain Sarah Hunter, Wasps Director of Rugby, Giselle Mather and Nigel Melville discussed how the new competition will revolutionise the existing landscape of women’s domestic rugby.

Nigel Melville, RFU Director of Professional Rugby said: “It’s about raising the standard of the game and giving the athletes and clubs the support they need to be better. There was a gap between our club game and our international game so we wanted to put in a place a competition that was aspirational for younger players. We hope to double the number women and girls playing the game over the next four years to 50,000 players and a lot of them will want to participate in this league. This will help create better players.”

England Women captain and newly appointed Loughborough Lightening assistant coach and player Sarah Hunter said “The new Tyrrells Premier 15s is where the game needs to be in terms of professionalism, high-quality coaching as well as support from strength and conditioning as well as medical teams. The league has been crying out for this for years and for the RFU to come in and transform it is fantastic. It’s great to be involved in it on and off the pitch.”

Wasps Director of Rugby, Giselle Mather said: “I can already see the difference the increase investment is having at my club. The athletes are really excited, there is a huge buzz about the place. We have an strength and conditioning department now, the medical team has improved and everything is there for them because of the sponsorship we have got. The excitement is palpable. We can’t wait until the 16th for the competition to begin”

A new website, Premier15s.com will officially launch ahead of next weekend’s first round of of fixtures.

Tyrrells Premier 15s will operate in a league format with home and away fixtures confirmed today. The top four teams will progress to semi-finals played over two legs, culminating in a final on the 29th April. 

Full list of fixtures

Two weeks ago on a bright Sunday morning, I took the DART railway from Lansdowne Road, which skirted beautifully around sun-kissed Dublin bay, before arriving at Blackrock, a sleepy seaside town that overlooks the bay.

A town synonymous with Irish Rugby, the home of Blackrock College RFC, one of the oldest senior rugby clubs in Ireland, established in 1882, the club that produced so many great players, including Fergus Slattery, Brian O’Driscoll, Alain Rolland, and one William Patrick Duggan.

Little did I think that just a short time later, I would be reflecting Willie’s entire life, after hearing the news, last Monday, of his sudden and untimely death at the age of sixty-seven.

Willie Duggan In Blackrock Colours

Willie Duggan was a larger than life character from the amateur and wild days of rugby, he was as hard as nails, played 41 times for Ireland, and toured New Zealand with the 1977 British Lions playing in all four tests against the All Blacks.

The 1977 Lions To NZ With Willie Duggan Circled

His first cap for Ireland came in the 12-9 defeat of England at Lansdowne Road, in the 1975 Five nations.

In 1977 he became the first man to be sent off in a five nations match, (along with Geoff Wheel), following a punch up during the Wales v Ireland match in Cardiff.

Duggan always maintained that he was never sent off. “The ref came towards me and said would you mind leaving the field”, I said “Sure not at all, I was b******d anyway”

He scored two tries for his country and captained Ireland in his final international, a 32-9 defeat to Scotland at Lansdowne Road in 1984.

A heavy smoker during his playing days, once when running on to the field at Twickenham, when Ireland were playing England, he handed his cigarette to referee Alan Hosie before kick off.

Willie had what he himself called a pathological dislike of training.

His one concession to fitness being a breakfast of half a dozen raw eggs on the morning of a match.

“I always had the philosophy that if you took 30 players out for a night, and made sure they were p****d before they got to bed at 3am, then got them up at 8am, trained the bejasus out of them, then you would know who was up to lasting 80 minutes in an international”

Willie lived and worked in Kilkenny, where he ran “Willie Duggan Lighting Ltd” the shop he took over from his father, and with his passing one very bright light has certainly been extinguished.

There was never a dull moment with Willie Duggan, particularly when he was in the company of his great mate Maurice Ignatius Keane, and the pair of them became “legends” on the 77 Lions tour for their riotous behaviour, where “Moss” Keane earned the nickname “Rent-A-Storm.

With “Moss” having left us in 2010, the two of them are now reunited, which is desperately  sad for us but heavenly for them.

Rest in peace boys.

Cyathea Medullaris and Rosales were nearly everyone’s predictions for the women’s World Cup final participants at the start of the tournement.

Or to give them their non scientific names, Black Ferns and Red Roses, a final that could be described as a horticulturalists dream.

But there are startling similarities between the rugby and flora aspects of both.

The Black Fern can grow quite large, block out Roses and will take advantage of any open space regardless of sun and shade.

Red Roses are extremely versatile, hardy (or even Amy Wilson Hardy) and can be placed in a variety of locations where they will flourish.

Planted in Dublin on August 9 they blossomed in the mixture of rain and warm sunshine that visited the Emerald Isle through the tournament, and were  hoping to reach full bloom in Belfast on Saturday night.

The Red Roses put on a magnificent first half display showing their true colours, and  put the Black Ferns well and truly in the shade.

But in an astonishing second half the Black Ferns suffocated the Red Roses, they blocked out every space and every chunk of light, and they trampled all over them causing an inevitable wilting and a 41-32 final score line.

But Roses will flourish once again, so now it is important that any required pruning takes place,that they are tended, cared for and nurtured to enable them to bloom again in early February. 

There are 2.2 million women and girls now playing rugby at all levels, an increase of 142% since 2012, making it one of the fastest growing team sports in the world.

Katie Sadlier is World Rugby’s general manager of womens rugby, and there is an awful lot of corporate jargon and business speak in what she has to say, from intergrated development pathways to best practice governance standards, but I guess ever since the day a clearance kick became a defensive exit strategy there was no going back grammatically.

But in plain English, by 2025 the governing body has an ambition is to be a global leader in sport, where women have equal opportunities on and off the field play.

To this end “World Rugby Women’s Plan 2017-2025” is due to be cibsidered by the World Rugby Council in November.

I have been told that this plan has involved a consultation process involving  fans, unions, regional associations and broadcast partners in an attempt to generate increased interest in the women’s game, attract new investment and maximise the sports commercial value.

There is no mention of the players being consulted, most of whom at this World Cup will end up severely out of pocket, and with all their annual leave used up, but sadly thats nothing new.

Women’s rugby is a sleeping giant, the queues of people outside the UCD Bowl last week begging for tickets to watch Ireland v Japan was something I hadn’t seen in rugby since Wales v France at Cardiff Arms Park in 1978.

Ireland v Japan UCD Bowl

The Irish Rugby Union could have trebled ticket sales for the pool stages of this years tournament had they chosen Donnybrook or a similar larger venue as opposed to University College.

Also media demands need to be met and catered for to spread the word, not just the newspaper journos but also those on social media and electronic mediums who with the touch of a button can bring the wonders of the great occasion to phones iPads and computers by the tens of thousands.

We await with interest the “World Rugby Women’s Plan 2017-2025” I’ve already got my dictionary on hand to decipher it.

If it mentions stakeholders, then mine’s a medium eight ounce rib eye.

Last weekend the day came, as indeed did the hour, and despite the absence of the power and the glory, I finally answered Irelands call.

I was there specifically to attend matchday two of the Women’s Rugby World Cup, but having been denied match accreditation it gave me time to explore and reflect,on the matter of the Irish and their rugby.

As I headed out of Dublin on the DART railway, meandering southwards down the east coast of Ireland, towards Greystones,the sheer beauty of the landscape instantly puts you in a relaxed and nostalgic mood.

I was expecting a young group of people to board the train at Lansdowne Road station singing “Mustang Sally” or “Take me to the river”, but young people have no sense of “Commitments” these days.

Ireland is a complex country, (now there’s an understatement), its rugby DNA is etched in the velvety green landscape, even though it is not the major sport here.

Wherever you go there are a set of rugby posts not too far away, the map below shows, the affiliated rugby clubs of the Emerald Isle, each dot shows not only a team, but also a community, with a sense of unity and belonging.

We all know that Ireland’s political landscape has not been as relaxed and soothing as my DART journey, and yet north and south have always been united on the international rugby field.

Trevor Ringland the great Ulster and Ireland wing once said

” I refused to let symbols like flags and songs to be hijacked by extremists on both sides”

“To me, rugby was trying to build bridges while others were destroying them, we were   finding a way of working together in friendship”.

The unique Irish rugby humour is of course legendary, from the crowds chant in far off days of “kick ahead Ireland any f*****g head” to more subtle latter day fare.

The humour and the friendliness were in bountiful supply at University College yesterday there must be an awful lot of Blarney Stone induced chapped lips in the Dublin area.

Okay so they can’t organise media accreditation to save their lives but when you see how the Dublin bus service runs it explains a lot.

So finally as I bring this article to a close  in an Irish pub, unbelievably one of the original member of the Commitments is performing in a wonderful jazz set.

The evening ends with rugby and music in harmony, with the Blues as France beat Australia and Cry me a river echoes from Searsons pub into the dark Dublin night.

Ireland host the biggest event in women’s world rugby next month, and before a ball has even been kicked many of the world’s media are nonplussed at the totally inadequate facilities for such a prestige tournament.

The number of media personnel that have been refused accreditation for the tournament is alarming, and I am not the only hacked off hack.

I have had countless e mails and tweets, from journalists and photographers, much higher up the food chain than yours truly, who are extremely upset and bewildered at Irish Rugbys total lack of appreciation, and foresight, when assessing the volume of media interest at this years Rugby World Cup tournament.

Hotels and flights have had to be booked well in advance, and at premium rates, due to the fact the biggest global sporting event taking place in August inevitably results in massively hiked up prices for travel and accommodation.

Many journalists and photographers are severely out-of-pocket, myself included, and as freelancers we have to take it on the chin, with no possibility of recompense.

A highly regarded photographer outside of Europe withdrew his name from the accreditation process last week.

He told me ” I got the impression that even with me jumping through hoops last week to get them information they have somehow lost that I wouldn’t be guaranteed a spot” 

“I was asked to hard block this time off in my calendar a year ago in peak sports/wedding shooting season and there’s a chance I wouldn’t even know if I was accredited until I showed up in Ireland”

Closer to home a journalist who is well-known and has covered every Ireland game home and away since 2008 received notification that his accreditation had been refused.

These are just two examples of many journalists and photographers who have supported the women’s game week in week out, who now find themselves questioning their future coverage of the women’s game.

Some have told me they are worried that if they complain too much they will suffer the consequences when it comes to further accreditation requests.

In most cases no explanations were given for refusal, but thanks to some high-profile support my application was taken further, although the outcome was the same as shown below.

Maybe the whole problem stems from the fact that the Dublin venue is totally inadequate to house twelve international teams on one day.

The UCD is sold out and had a capacity of 3000, bearing in mind 6000 spectators attended Ireland v England in the women’s six nations, it doesn’t take a genius to work out that something is very wrong here.

Even those that have been granted accreditation have been told, by Irish Rugby that they may not be able to attend the actual games they are being paid to cover.

Women’s rugby has been constantly crying out for the increased media coverage their game deserves, and now at a time when it gets top billing, they have been badly let down by the organisers of WRWC 2017.

With Ireland bidding to host the men’s Rugby World Cup in 2023 the legacy of this tournament may not be a very positive one.

Many of the England squad, the favourites to lift the Women’s Rugby World Cup trophy at the end of August, will return from the tournament, win or lose, to find themselves unemployed.

England rugby bosses have informed the squad that their current professional contracts will not be renewed when they expire on 31 August.

Now I’m no expert on psychology and squad preparation at the highest level of elite rugby, but I would have thought that informing your national side that they will get the boot straight after the biggest tournament of their lives, is probably not a good thing in terms of morale and motivation.

Fifty players are currently employed on either a full or part-time basis, but as from September only seventeen full-time sevens contracts will be offered.

The reason given for this incredibly ill-timed decision is that England’s focus will be switching to the World Cup Sevens, to be held in San Francisco next year, and the Olympic games event in Tokyo in 2020.

Privately I have been informed that morale in the squad has been affected, as you would expect in any walk of life when you face the sack when there are mortgages and bills to pay, although I guarantee that every loyal England player will not admit it publicly.

So when they should be focussing on rugby, these poor souls are having to fit in job hunting and CV preparations around their rugby world cup preparations.

Some of the squad will be offered sevens contracts but relatively few.

It will be interesting to see how England start the tournament, on August 9th, when they face Spain in the opening match in Dublin.

On July 13, 2017 AN Post, Ireland’s postal service issued a stamp to commemorate the 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup.

Ireland have always been keen to celebrate rugby via the postal system, particularly Rugby World Cup tournaments.

The wonderful 1995 tournament in South Africa was celebrated by many dogs in Ireland as the stamps issued, shown below, landed on the doormat to be chewed to pieces by hungry Labrador’s all across the Emerald Isle.

Not many gingers have had their “boat race” splashed over a 55c philatelic special, but in 2007 the great Paul O’Connell received the special treatment, to commemorate the World Cup in France.

The canine population of Eire celebrated equally vociferously dancing on the doormats of Dublin with a quadrupedal Riverdance.

Now, in 2017 the eighth Women’s Rugby Cup takes place in  Ireland.

Matches are planned from August 9 to August 26 in University College Dublin, Queens University, Belfast and in Kingspan Stadium, home of Ulster Rugby, in Belfast.

The pool stages take place in University College Dublin from August 9 to August 17, with the semi-finals and play-offs in Upper Malone, Queens University, Belfast from August 22 to August 26. The final will be played at the Kingspan Stadium which is one of the shortlisted venues for Ireland’s 2023 Rugby World Cup bid.

The postal services have come up trumps once again with a 1 Euro stamp featuring Niamh Briggs, captain of Ireland and Limerick Garda officer.

The stamp you see here was designed by Zinc Design Consultants, and shows the Irish captain in the thick of the action on the field.

So the Labrador’s wolfhounds and Irish setters will be rubbing their paws with glee as a new Irish rugby face is about to greet them through the letterbox.

In Ancient Rome the colour red symbolised blood and courage, whilst in China, it is regarded as a vibrant optimistic colour symbolising success, happiness and warmth, along with good luck and wealth.

On a rain lashed night in Wellington, the Westpac stadium was a sea of red, every tour party member wearing their customised red waterproofs ,the large collected droplets of rain cascading from the dark night skies reflecting on the jackets  like a sea of mirrors in the floodlit arena.

For the All  Blacks, the colour red came to symbolise the lost opportunity of sealing a series  win in which they are overwhelming favourites

With twenty four minutes on the clock, Sonny Bill Williams’ shoulder made contact with Anthony Watson’s head, referee Jerome Garces  pulled a card from his pocket, the colour ? Red.

The men in the red shirts were not going to let the chance of a lifetime slip through their fingers and end up with red faces, they levelled the series with a 24-21 victory.

The decider in Auckland next Saturday will be a noisy vibrant colourful affair and maybe, just maybe the colour red, will be the one in which the Lions and their amazing followers paint the town.