Sportesk - Social Network for Sportsmen and Women

In the last decade, social networking sites have gone viral. By using online sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin, users are able to communicate with friends, family, celebrities, employers and even brands from all over the world.

Social networking allows you to communicate with whomever you want (or whatever you want), whenever you want and the advantage of this type of communication is endless.

New social networking site, Sportesk, has really found a niche in the social media marketplace. The site, as the name may suggest, is targeted towards sports fanatics, and offers the opportunity for anybody involved in sport – players, coaches, refs, teams, agents, sponsors etc. – to connect with each other from anywhere in the world!

Opinion: It's time for Argentina, Japan and the Pacific Islands to be embraced by Super Rugby

As always during this time of the year, I arose early on Saturday morning, defying stupendous odds to catch a glimpse of the Super Rugby Play-Offs, or 'squeeky bum time' as the culmination of the season has become known in the UK.

That term was so beautifully coined by legendary Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson in the late '90s, to describe the added pressure that is piled on when results, not performances are imperative. With that ratcheting up of pressure normally comes some added excitement too.

Was it just me though or did the first round of qualifying matches seem rather a damp squib?

Rather than drawing breath after a roller coaster ride of attacking rugby, I found myself stifling the yawns. Both games were of a reasonable quality but they were also a little underwhelming; not the feast SANZAR representatives would have been hoping for when the Crusaders-Bulls and Reds-Sharks match-ups were confirmed.

John Kirwan looks to turn Blues 'Poisoned Chalice' Golden

One of Auckland rugby's favourite sons was welcomed back to Eden Park yesterday, as influential power brokers Andy Dalton and Gary Whetton revealed that John Kirwan would be given the task of leading the Blues revival in 2013.

 During the press conference of his unveiling, Kirwan wasted no time in revealing that he was 'fulfilling a dream' coaching the Blues and was noticeably bristling with excitement.

The former golden boy of New Zealand rugby has a strong affinity with Auckland, having represented them in domestic rugby 142 times between 1983 and 1994, but had recently forged a coaching career in Italy and Japan. The time seems right for Kirwan to make the next step though. At first glance, it seems a pretty good fit.

The Blues have struggled under Pat Lam this year, enduring a miserable season in which they finished bottom of the New Zealand conference, despite pre-season hopes of challenging for the title. John Kirwan's challenge therefore will be to transform a stuttering franchise, which has recently been regarded as a bit of a poisoned chalice, into a golden one.

The 'Not So Serious' Super Rugby 2012 Awards

The Round Robin stage of this year's Super 15  finally came to an end on Sunday after 18 rounds of action packed rugby. The Stormers, Chiefs and Reds clinched top spots in their conferences and can look forward to hosting some big ties in the coming weeks.

The play-offs still await us, but as not all teams will be involved over the next three weeks.....now seemed as good a time as any (out of equality) to give you Dumptackle Rugby Blog's not so serious take on the end of year 'Award Ceremony'. Sit back, crack open a beer and enjoy the daftness.


The following categories are discussed 'in depth':

The Adam Kleeberger Award for Best Beard, Best 90s Tribute Act, Distinguished Award for Services to Hamburgers, Saturday Night Fever Award, The Piri Weepu Cult Hero Award, Best Mr T Impression and M.F.P (Most Fragile Player).

Read on below to see who made the grade in our satirical Awards Ceremony and leave your own awards in the comments section if you wants your thoughts to be known!

Super Rugby - Time for the Play-Offs!

Reds snatch Aussie Conference

The round robin stage of this year's Super 15 came to a conclusion on Saturday, as a dramatic weekend of rugby witnessed the Stormers, Chiefs and Reds confirmed as  conference winners in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

The Crusaders, Bulls and Sharks also kept alive their hopes of Super Rugby glory, qualifying for the play-offs through the hotly contested wild card positions. They secured their passage after comfortable strolls past the Force, Cheetahs and Lions respectively.

Spare a thought for the Brumbies and Hurricanes though, who agonisingly missed the cut by the narrowest of margins. Sport can be cruel at times and coaches Jake White and Mark Hammett must be pondering what could have been had an extra point been garnered elsewhere during the competition.

Both can rest easy knowing that their sides surpassed all pre-season expectations though. The Hurricanes in particular, who finished as the competition's top try scorers (by quite a distance), were the 'feel good' team of 2012.

Friday Fun - Leaky Australians, Fiji's new haka and my World XV

The weekend is nearing and the rugby therefore is creeping up on us once again. The Super 15 will be acting out the final round its' Round Robin stage, with the Hurricanes kicking it all off against the Chiefs in Wellington on Friday night.

While the three conference leaders (Stormers,Chiefs and Brumbies) have all but been confirmed (barring the Brumbies collecting zero points and the Reds getting a full house), five teams remain in contention for the other three play-off spots and it's all beginning to get a bit tense.

Until the action commences though, Dumptackle Rugby Blog rounds up some of the more quirky happenings from this week for your entertainment...

We divulge on the new Fijian war dance known simply as the 'I Bole', the problem of a rogue urinator in Australian domestic rugby and select our World XV for the season. What more could you want?