Retour sur 2006 (1° partie) :: 2006 Review part one

Janvier a juin :: January to June

by tvnz

January - Tana Umaga announced his retirement from the All Blacks, saying he wanted to spend more time with family and concentrate on playing for Wellington in the Super 14; Welsh club Llanelli ban a supporter for life who ran onto the pitch to abuse Jonah Lomu; Keven Mealamu was named skipper for the Blues while All Black loose forward Sione Lauaki found himself in trouble, accused of assault in Hamilton.

Umaga arrete les ABs. Llanelli banit a vie un supporter pour avoir "attaquer"Jonah Lomu. Mealamu devient le capitaine des Blues.

February - The Wallabies turn to John Connelly to turn around their fortunes after the sacking of Eddie Jones; Fiji win the Wellington Sevens defeating South Africa 27-22 in a thrilling final; Scotland stun France in their opening Six Nations match, later they down England at Murrayfield; All Blacks and Crusaders first-five Daniel Carter is named New Zealand rugby's Player of the Year for the second year in a row; the new Super 14 competition gets underway with the Hurricanes taking out the Blues 37-19 at Eden Park; the Western Force have a first week to forget, losing 25-10 to the Brumbies and Scott Fava was relegated to the bench for failing the club's alcohol policy; also in trouble is Wendell Sailor, who is suspended and fined by the Waratahs for a drunken night out in Cape Town.
Connelly remplace Jones a la tete des Wallabies. Les Fidji remportent le tournoi a VII de Wellington face a l'Afriqu du Sud. Les Ecossais debutent les VI Nations sur deux bons resultats. Carter elu meilleur joueur de l'annee pour la deuxieme annee consecutive. Pour la naissance du Super 14 : les Hurricanes vont a l'Eden Park pour ecraser les Blues ; pour son premier match la WForce perd chez les Brumbies et Fava se retrouve sur le banc pour avoir etre alle a l'encontre de la loi du club en ce qui concerne l'alcool. Quant a Sailor, il se retrouve suspendu apres une nuit trop arrosee au Cap.

March - The NZ Sevens side surprise everyone, including themselves, with gold in the Commonwealth Games; Hamilton gets one in the neck after the Reds blamed "pre-match boredom" for their defeat by the Chiefs; Australia utility back Elton Flatley announced his retirement from rugby for medical reasons; France take the Tri-Nations, while Ireland win the Triple Crown.
Aux jeux du Commonwealth, la surprise vient de l'equipe a VII qui remporte la medaille d'or. L'Australien Flatley annonce sa retraite pour des raisons medicales. La France remporte les VI Nations et l'Irlande fait le Grand Chelem.

April - England win the Hong Kong Sevens, defeating Fiji 26-24; Blues player Rua Tipoki is suspended for 16 weeks after being found guilty of striking Western Force player James Hilgendorf; Wallaby star Matt Giteau joins the Western Force in a three- year deal, rumoured to be worth around $4.5 million; Welsh club Ospreys sign former All Black halfback Justin Marshall to a two-year contract after the relegation of his club Leeds.
L'Angleterre remporte le Tournoi de HK a VII en battant les Fidjis. RT est suspendu pour 16 semaines apres mal tacle JH de la WF. Giteau rejoint la WF pour 4.5 millions de dollars NZ (3 ans). JM rejoint le Pays de Galles (et le club de Ospreys) apres que Leeds eut ete relegue.

May - Richie McCaw is handed the job of All Blacks skipper; Bay of Plenty's assistant coach Andre Bell is handed the top job ahead of the Air New Zealand Cup; Wendell Sailor's year goes from bad to worse after he tests positive for cocaine, he later gets a two-year ban; the Crusaders take the inaugural Super 14 title in comical conditions at Jade Stadium as hardly anyone could see the 19-12 win over the Hurricanes due to thick fog; Sale are crowned English champions for the first time.
A la surprise generale, Richie McCaw est nomme capitaine des All Blacks!!! Bell devient le boss du championnat communement appele NPC. Sailor va de plus en plus mal : positif a la cocaine (il sera suspendu pour 2 ans). Les Crusaders remportent le premier S14 face aux Hurricanes, au Jade Stadium dans un brouillard plus que londonien!!! Sales remportent pour la premiere fois le championnat anglais.

June - Fiji win their first ever Sevens crown after victory in the London round of the series; the All Blacks are given one almighty scare in the opening test of 2006 before finally conquering Ireland 34-23 in Hamilton, after the Irish led with 10 minutes remaining, while the visitors also put up a brave battle in the 27-17 loss in Auckland; Argentina also give the All Blacks a good workout, going down 25-19 in Buenos Aires; Australia wallop hapless England 34-3 and 43-18 and down Ireland 37-15; NZ Maori keep their Churchill Cup crown; Tana Umaga agrees to play with French team Toulon after the Air NZ Cup.
Les Fidjis remportent leur premiere couronne a VII apres leur match a Londres. Pour leur premier test match de la saison, les ABs ont eu tres peur a Hamilton face a l'Irlande (les Verts menaient a dix minutes de la fin ; la semaine suivante ils ont perdu d'une facon honorable a Auckland). L'Argentine a aussi donne du fil a retordre aux ABs a BA. L'Australie a humilie les Anglais et facilement battu les Irlandais. L'equipe des NZ Maoris a conserve la Churchill Cup. Umaga a signe avec Toulon pour jouer en France entre le NPC et le Super 14 2007.