rugby world cup
2015
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Semi-finals
With all of the Northern Hemisphere sides out of
the way it is time for the Southern Hemisphere
giants to clash in two mouth-watering semifinals. It will be a huge ask for the South Africans
to cope with the pace of the game the All Blacks
will play and their best hope may be to draw
their opponents into tense and tight encounter.
If they do it will become very interesting.
Argentina and Australia promises to be a
fantastic game of rugby as both sides look to
book their place in the final. Just two weeks
from now we’ll know who has won the biggest
prize in all of Rugby.
Former England and Lions Star, Tim Stimpson,
talks all things Rugby World Cup!
Having had a professional rugby career
that spanned 12 years with Newcastle,
Leicester Tigers, Perpignan and Leeds,
Tim Stimpson also became the first player
in the English Premiership to score over
1,000 points and is the only player to win
five successive titles to date – he definitely
has the authority to talk all things rugby.
It’s a grey Monday morning when
we arrive at Derby Rugby Club for our
interview with Rayburn Sports Tours’
Ambassador, Tim Stimpson. In a career
which saw Tim help kick the Tigers to back
to back Heineken Cups in 2001/2, as well
as being crowned top scorer for the British
and Irish Lions in South Africa, 1997, we
decided to sit down and quiz him about
the forthcoming Rugby World Cup and
his thoughts on the current England side.
Tim, as an ex-kicker, you’ll be a creature
of habit. What’s your routine when
watching England now as a fan?
Well it’s a lot easier! I like to watch the
game quite intensely. If I’m in a bar you
won’t get much chat out of me. When
the game starts I like to see opportunities
and space, as I would if I was a fullback –
always scanning the field.
What advice do you have for young fans
watching their heroes at this tournament?
If you like rugby you need to find out
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locally where you can play and go join in
with a local club. Rugby is a great sport and
most people have access to a club locally.
I think it’s great that those 11/12 year olds
were inspired by Johnny Wilkinson all
those years ago, and I don’t think rugby
will ever be on such a high pedestal as it
is now. We even have Proms on the Park
and rugby guys on mainstream media all
the time.
My advice would be go out there and
enjoy it. You’ll start with touch rugby so
you won’t get hurt, but those who want to
progress will do, and eventually it’ll be a
collision sport in a safe environment.
Every major event needs a legacy plan.
What have Rugby England done to
leave us with something for the future
generation?
They’ve moved the games around the
country – places like Villa Park and
Leicester – so people will be able to access
World Cup matches. I hope they engage
with schools and local clubs and pick up
on the enthusiasm of the sport, so people
who have only played football but want
to try rugby have the opportunity… I
hope in 12-15 years’ time there will be a
new generation of players who have been
inspired by this tournament.