Talk » registering the first win in Olympic rugby sevens -- 24-7 against

Opening batsman Martin Guptill has been left out of New Zealands squad for the upcoming two-Test series against Pakistan. Uncapped Auckland batsman Jeet Raval and allrounder Colin de Grandhomme have been picked, while allrounder Todd Astle, who played his only Test in November 2012, has been recalled.Raval, who was in the squad for New Zealands Test tours of Zimbabwe and South Africa earlier this year, is set to take Guptills place at the top of the order. The 28-year-old left-handed batsman averaged 55.71 in last seasons Plunket Shield and in three matches this season has scored 244 runs at an average of 40.66.Guptills form in Tests this year has been a worry for the side. In nine matches, the batsman scored 393 runs at an average of 24.56 with two fifties, struggling for runs in the home series against Australia and on the tours of South Africa and India. Four other players who were part of the India tour - Doug Bracewell, Jeetan Patel, Luke Ronchi and Ish Sodhi - missed out. Among the excluded players who toured India, Ronchi had the best performance, ending as the highest run-getter for New Zealand with 200 runs in six Test innings. Patel and Sodhi picked up six and three wickets respectively, while Bracewell did not get a game.Jeet has been in the picture for a while now and he benefitted from spending time in the environment during the tour of Africa, New Zealand selector Gavin Larsen said. His form in recent seasons has been excellent and the opportunity for Jeet to begin his international career in familiar conditions will be important.Luke, Martin, Doug miss out this series, but we know that they and the others who miss out will continue to work hard on their game and get the chance to continue staking a claim in the domestic competition.Astle and de Grandhomme were rewarded for their consistent performances in domestic cricket, with Astles legspin set to cover for the absence of allrounder Mitchell Santner, who fractured his wrist recently. Astle is the only specialist spinner in the squad.Astle has taken 116 wickets in the last three Plunket Shield seasons, and 14 in this edition of the tournament. He has also contributed with the bat for Canterbury, scoring 267 runs, including a career-best 195 against Northern Districts in the first round.De Grandhomme, who has played an ODI and four T20Is for New Zealand, has been picked as an all-round option. He has scored 216 runs in three Plunket Shield matches so far, including one century, and has taken five wickets for Auckland as a seamer. The century, an unbeaten 144, came in tight two-wicket win against Otago, in a run chase of 373.Todds been incredibly consistent at the domestic level, having been one of the top four wicket-takers in the Plunket Shield for the past threes seasons, Larsen said. His bowling has continued to improve and hes also shown impressive form with the bat, so Todd provides a similar skill set to Mitchell Santner in his absence.Since Colin returned from injury last season, hes made a number of key contributions with bat and ball. Hes made an impressive start to the current Plunket Shield season and he provides us with another strong allrounder option.Six players were not considered due to injury: Santner, Mark Craig, Adam Milne, Mitchell McClenaghan, Colin Munro and George Worker. Corey Anderson, too, was not considered, as he continues to work on building up his bowling workload, after recovering from a back injury. Anderson had been picked as a specialist batsman in the ODI series against India, but bowled four overs in the fifth match.The first Test will be played in Christchurch from November 17, while the second Test starts from November 25. Astle and de Grandhomme have been withdrawn from the New Zealand A squad for the tour match against the Pakistanis, with Kyle Jamieson and Luke Woodcock taking their place.New Zealand squad Kane Williamson (capt), Todd Astle, Trent Boult, Colin de Grandhomme, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, Jimmy Neesham, Jeet Raval, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, BJ WatlingFake NHL Jerseys . Badenhop was 2-3 with a 3.47 ERA in 63 relief appearances for Milwaukee this season. He is 18-20 in his career with three saves and a 3. Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys . -- Tony Stewart is 20 pounds lighter and has a titanium rod in his surgically repaired right leg. http://www.cheapnhlcustomjerseys.com/ . Tuesdays surgery at Atlantas Piedmont Hospital was performed by Dr. Xavier Duralde and Hawks team physician Dr. Michael Bernot. 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In that game, Zdeno Chara put a check on Tommy Wingels that clearly targeted his head.RIO DE JANEIRO -- Its promoted as a party, the loud music and dancing in the crowd as synonymous with rugby sevens as the free-running attacking movements and copious tries.A dozen womens teams made a dent on the Olympics in the debut of the abbreviated rugby format on Saturday, showing they could tackle just about anything.After the first day of Olympic rugby competition in 92 years, leading contenders New Zealand, Australia, Canada and Britain had ensured qualification for the quarterfinals, each with a game to spare.Portia Woodman scored a hat trick of tries in New Zealands opening 52-0 win against Kenya and added another in the 31-5 win over Spain. Her teammate Kayla McAlister celebrated her birthday with two tries in each game.Charlotte Caslick matched Woodmans hat trick, scoring three tries in Australias 53-0 win over Colombia, and added another solo effort in the 36-0 win over Fiji, which capped off the first day of competition. Bianca Farella had two tries in each of Canadas victories -- 45-0 against Japan and 38-0 against Brazil -- to move into a share of the try-scoring standings. The Canadians will play Britain on Sunday to determine the top spot in Pool C.Woodman scored in the first minute three times in four halves, missing a fourth try when she dropped the ball only meters from the tryline.That little fumble there doesnt happen very often, said Woodman, the leading tryscorer in the womens world series, but just got to scratch that and get on with it again.Fiji opened with a 12-7 win against the United States and produced the biggest hit of the day when Lavenia Tinais big tackle completely shut down a promising American counter-attack in the last minute. The U.S. rallied with 48-0 win over Colombia to keep its chances of progressing alive ahead of a daunting last group match against world series champion Australia.There was no doubt among the players about womens rugby belonging at the Olympics.dddddddddddd Woodman pointed to the kiwi flags in the crowd and said the experience was awesome.U.S. forward Kathryn Johnson said the feeling is pretty insane.Its kind of unreal how much this could help grow the game -- especially womens sports, Johnson said. Having a full-contact game in the Olympics is pretty amazing.The crowd grew for Brazils games in both sessions, but not even the singing, samba-dancing fans could lift the host team. A dropped goal just before halftime triggered celebrations in the 29-3 opening loss to Britain -- Brazils only points of the day.When Karen Paquin scored for Canada in the first minute of the second game, it was greeted by loud boos from yellow-clad Brazilian fans behind the goalposts. When Paquin reached over to score in the corner just before halftime, the crowd reaction was more subdued.France advanced with two wins, posting some early historic marks. Camille Grassineau crossing for the first try and the French team registering the first win in Olympic rugby sevens -- 24-7 against Spain.World Rugby chief executive Brett Gosper said it was a good start for Olympic sevens, and ticket sales were expected to average around 70 percent across the six days of the womens and mens tournaments.Everything is working very well. The players have turned up and are playing a great brand of rugby, Gosper said. Weve had good atmosphere -- (were) really happy with it.IOC president Thomas Bach watched the U.S-Fiji match, sitting beside Indian cricket great Sachin Tendulkar.Rugby is making its return to the Olympics for the first time since 1924, when the U.S. men won the 15-a-side tournament. The 12-team tournaments run over three days, with the womens final set for Monday. The mens competition starts Tuesday. ' ' '