A NASTY leg cut to Larissa’s Georgios Gourgiotis has marred his club’s hosting of a new Greek Nines tournament. Eyewitnesses say bone was exposed in the laceration and an ambulance was called. Gourgiotis is recovering in a local hospital. Because of the time taken to treat the injury, the final between Aris and Attica was abandoned. The tournament was triangular…
By STEVE MASCORD I FIRST met Danny Kazandjian in Beirut in 2002. Lebanon were playing France in the first major match held in the country and at one point my credit card was used to guarantee the referee’s hotel room. Danny, who had discovered the game in school in north London when a rugby union coach demanded a State of…
WITH Dubbo CYMS celebrating their Parkes Nines title, the world circuit now moves 15,170 kilometres to the new venue of Larissa, Greece. Dubbo lifted the title at Pioneer Oval when they edged out Nyngan Tigers 10-6. It was a reversal of the earlier rounds, where the two sides met and the Tigers got up 18-12. The CYMS Fishies got to…
By STEVE MASCORD I’M NOT sure there is a better untold story in all of British rugby league: the former Canada World Sevens player who is now vice-president of the RFL, chairman of England touch and worldwide head of Dodgeball. I’ll wait while you read that again. Uh-huh. Yeah. That’s right. No, I’m serious. Meet 48-year-old Wiganer Mark Croston, a…
By CALLUM INSULL IT’S BEEN an average start to the 2018 campaign for Warrington as they’ve been looking to turn around their fortunes after a torrid 2017 season. After seven games under new coach Steve Price they had won three and lost four – obviously not a brilliant record having played the most games out of the entire league. An…
By STEVE MASCORD THE people you meet huddling under a marquee at the Varsity game. You’ll remember last week Mascord Meets… spoke to Mark Ramsdale, the guy who runs the annual dust-up between Oxford and Cambridge. This year’s game was delayed due to the weather and when it finally went ahead, it was still wet as an otter’s pocket (copyright…
By COREY ROSSER A LAST MINUTE try to Roydon Gillett lifted the Mt Albert Lions to their first Sportsafe ARL Nines title, beating the Pt Chevalier Pirates 20-14 in Auckland’s flagship pre-season tournament. With a near full-strength side at their disposal, the Lions cruised through pool play at Stanmore Bay on Auckland’s Hibiscus Coast, but had to wait until the…
By STEVE MASCORD ON Friday, Mark Ramsdale and I were supposed to be at the Honourable Artillery Company in London’s financial district, braving the elements. I was to be manning a Mascord Brownz stall selling jerseys and such. Mark was to be running the Varsity match between Oxford and Cambridge. Instead, when I spoke to Mark around kick-off time, neither…
By COREY ROSSER The Sportsafe ARL Nines get underway this Saturday, with 12 Auckland clubs set to battle it out for early bragging rights at Stanmore Bay on Auckland’s Hibiscus Coast. This year marks the fourth edition of the tournament, with reigning champions Pt Chevalier returning to defend their Championship title and Otahuhu, who won last year’s Plate, back as well. In…
