Callisean Rugby Association

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THE CALLISEAN RUGBY ASSOCIATION

The Callisean Rugby Association is a sports organization in Callise that stands as the premier Callisean rugby league. The league plays according to 15s rules.

The league has a total of 16 Teams divided into four divisions. The season is fifteen games long, with each team playing each of their conference partners thrice. Once the season has concluded, a playoff begins with the top team in each division playing the top team in another division in a Semi-Finals round. The winners of the Semi-Finals round then compete in the National Championship.

Players interested in joining the League generally play for a College team and are drafted into the League in a 10 round draft. The team with the worst record is granted the first overall pick, and the National Champion is granted the last pick.

The Fontaine Nationals
The Bardin Dragons
The Foché Mountaineers
The Vinassan Elk
The Beaune Titans
The Croix Berserkers
The Lanester Musketeers
The Sainte-Beaudouin Angels
The Fontaine Republicans
The Millau Sailors
The Pourpreville Knights
The Beaune Bulls
The Gachet Callics
The Denain Grenadiers
The Bois d'Amonts Foresters
The Veynes Bison
 
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Update: August 18, 2018

As the League gears up for the season, teams are trading, signing, and honing their team for the upcoming season. Many important headlines have been released this week, so let's get into it.

Management from the Beaune Titans has announced that they signed 33-year-old free agent fullback Stephen Vester to a two year, 45 Million Devisousé (CDS) contract with 15 Million CDS guaranteed. Head Coach Phillipe Dimont was ecstatic during the announcement, stating, "This man led the Musketeers to two straight National Championships and has made the game-winning tackle an innumerable amount of times throughout his career. With him in our backfield, our elite backs in the front, and our young forwards in the scrum, we will be a serious contender for the national title." Vester, who had been released from the Musketeers in the offseason after being replaced by rookie Fabien Bassot, was very excited about the move. When asked to comment, he said, "I heard about the offer while I was in Prydania visiting my family, and I dropped my phone in shock. I am so excited to be a Titan, and I can't wait to play in 2018." Vester, who had been working out with his personal trainer in the offseason, is expected to begin practice on Monday.

Vester wasn't the only player excited about their new paycheck. 25-year-old scrum half Charles Appell was just re-signed to a five year, 130 Million CDS contract with a whopping 40 Million CDS guaranteed. The younger player, who was drafted number one overall in 2014 by the Grenadiers, was elated. In his short, four year career, he has already managed to lead his team to the playoffs twice, win the Rookie of the Year award, and be named the CRA MVP in 2017. The Grenadiers hope that Appell will be able to lead the team, which has historically performed horridly, to a National Title within the next two years.

Finally, Veynes Bison's rookie wing, Hendrik Rutting, hyperextended his left thigh in practice. Trainers say he'll be back in about a week, but it's unclear if he'll start in the debut game. We reached out to the Bison staff and to Rutting for comment but got no official response. The agent of the number three overall pick in 2018 only said, "What happens happens." His status on the depth chart is currently unclear.

This has been your weekly CRA update.


 
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Callisean All-Republic Rugby Team

Position:Name:Age:Team:
PropErnest Regnard27The Croix Berserkers
PropHenry Chopin30The Veynes Bison
HookerEmmanuel Vasseur23The Veynes Bison
LockErnest Fouqet26The Gachet Callics
LockJean-Luc Duhamel33The Veynes Bison
LockJonathan Bellegarde21The Fontaine Republicans
FlankerFalger Vikarsson29The Foché Mountaineers
FlankerDidrik Fornisson24The Millau Sailors
ScrumhalfCharles Appell25The Denain Grenadiers
FlyhalfAubin Sharpe27The Beaune Bulls
CentreAdrien LeBeau28The Sainte-Beaudouin Angels
CentreMarc Astier22The Fontaine Nationals
WingCamile Levett21The Beaune Bulls
WingArmand Marchal26The Beaune Bulls
FullbackStephen Vester33The Beaune Titans
 
The 2019 Callisean Rugby Association Honors
Comeback Player of the Year
Nominees: Stephen Vester, Titans; Maximilien Daladier, Foresters; Claude Lessard, Dragons.
Winner: Stephen Vester of the Beaune Titans.

Rookie Forward of the Year
Nominees: Dion Evrard, Musketeers; Corin Bellanger, Knights; Jonathan Bellegarde, Republicans.
Winner: Jonathan Bellegarde of the Fontaine Republicans.

Rookie Back of the Year
Nominees: Camile Levett, Bulls; Gabriel Loisel, Knights; Quentin Chretien, Foresters.
Winner: Camile Levett of the Beaune Bulls.

Forward of the Year
Nominees: Ernest Regnard, Berserkers; Ernest Fouqet, Callics; Hugo Lizot, Dragons.
Winner: Ernest Fouqet of the Gachet Callics.

Back of the Year
Nominees: Charles Appell, Grenadiers; Stephen Vester, Titans; Aubin Sharpe, Bulls.
Winner: Stephen Vester of the Beaune Titans.

Coach of the Year
Nominees: Guy Deschene, Bison; Pauline Pilliard, Republicans; Thomas LaBranch, Berserkers.
Winner: Guy Deschene of the Veynes Bison.

Player of the Year
Nominees: Charles Appell, Grenadiers; Ernest Fouqet, Callics; Aubin Sharpe, Bulls.
Winner: Charles Appell of the Denain Grenadiers.
 
The Lanester Musketeers: A Work in Progress
There is no team who has fallen so hard in recent years as the Lanester Musketeers. Formerly the national champion in 2012, the Musketeers have been on a long title drought that shows no sign of ending soon. This culminated in the 2018-2019 season, with the Musketeers having a losing record of 0-15. To address these issues, the Musketeers have set about firing their old guard and building for the future.

The first move the Musketeers made was firing all coaching staff and hiring a mix of grizzled veterans and hotshot newcomers. The Musketeers signed Hall of Fame coach Vincent Barbeau, who led the Callics to a threepeat title run from 1992-1994, to a five year, fifty million dollar contract in the hopes of whipping their team into shape. They also hired Klaas van Riele, former Head Coach of the University of Vinassan Tribe college Rugby team. Born in Maloria, van Riele was recruited to play in Callise for the University of Vinassan. In spite of a stellar collegiate career, van Riele was passed on in the 2005 CRA Draft and was left unsigned. His spirits sullied, he was offered a job as the Props Coach of his college team, eventually being promoted to Forwards Coach in 2011 and Head Coach in 2013. From 2013-2018, van Riele turned the obscure Vinassan Tribe into national contenders by recruiting talent from historically overlooked regions of Craviter and schools in Callise. Klaas van Riele will serve as General Manager, with the Musketeers shareholders hoping he can use his scouting talents to bring in a roster of youngsters to turn the team around.

The next move the Musketeers made was to hire young free agents and send out their aging stars in packages designed to build for the future. The Musketeers acquired Hooker Emmanuel Vasseur in free agency after Vasseur demanded release from the Bison. The Musketeers then sent veteran Fullback Pierre Calloux packing to the Pourpreville Knights. In exchange for the 27 year-old Calloux, who was a Second Team All-Republic member this season, the Musketeers acquired the fifth overall pick in the draft, a second rounder, and a 2020 CRA first rounder and third rounder. Finally, the Musketeers traded 35 year-old Wing Jule LaRousse to the Beaune Titans for the 15th overall pick.

The Musketeers then turned their eye to the draft, picking up what was indisputably the best draft class of the year. With the 15th pick, the Musketeers selected Keshav Shakur, a 20 year-old Wing from Syrixia. Shakur is incredibly small, but is entering the League as one of it's fastest players. Shakur is one of the few Syrixians to ever make it to the CRA, and his small stature and country of origin have made him a favorite underdog among Musketeer fans. The team has high hopes for him in the coming years. With the fifth pick, the Musketeers selected a far more well known name, Maximillien Gaudreau. Gaudreau was the star Fullback at the University of Beaune, and the Man of the Match for the collegiate national championship. Gaudreau is considered a sure bet and the Musketeers expect him to deliver immediately.

With the first pick, the Musketeers chose one of the most hyped prospects in recent memory: the Gojan Goliath himself, Karlheinz Øvenberger. Øvenberger, a Gojan by birth, is a freak of nature within the sport. 6'7", 265 lbs, and boasting a 4.42 40 yard time, he is expected to be an insurmountable challenge for opposing teams. His explosive power from the Flyhalf position made him an instant star at the College of Villende in Sainte-Beaudoin. His talents eventually won him the prestigious Simon Award, given to the best player in Callisean collegiate Rugby.

The Musketeers may have suffered for a long time, but with the changes ownership has made, their future looks brighter than ever.
 
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The Gojan Goliath: A Legend in the Making
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Karlheinz Øvenberger in a Pre-Season Game, 2019
When the Lanester Musketeers selected Karlheinz Øvenberger in the 2019 CRA Draft, no one was surprised. The 6'7" giant was one of the largest and most physically impressive prospects ever seen in CRA history. But what none could have predicted was the immense success he would have right out the gate. At the end of a Lanester season which culminated in a playoff run and appearance in the semifinal round of the playoffs, Øvenberger was unquestionably the heart and soul of the revitalized Musketeers team. And after his impressive rookie season, Øvenberger was named to the First Team All-Republic squad and was proclaimed the League and Rookie Back of the Year.

Karlheinz Øvenberger was started from week one by coach Vincent Barbeau. And this move was immediately rewarded, with Øvenberger scoring 2 of the 5 tries in the 34-33 win over the Veynes Bison, as well as the game winning field goal. Øvenberger went on to take the league scoring title, and finishing fifth in tackles, a category dominated primarily by forwards. This made Øvenberger an instant favorite for the MVP award, as a rookie, only barely being edged out by Prop Ernest Regnard.

But Øvenberger wasn't the only young star on the young Musketeers roster. Maximillien Gaudreau, Fullback and fifth overall pick in the 2019 CRA draft, was started beginning in Week 4, scoring a try in his first match. He went on to average a try and a field kick per game, being named to the All-Republic Rookie Team. And the two rookies were further joined by Keshav Shakur in Week 15. The fifteenth overall pick from Syrixia was groomed by Barbeau but kept from the field to ensure he was prepared. While Shakur was scoreless in Week 15, he shot onto the scene in the first round of the playoff. Scoring 2 of the 6 tries on behalf of the Musketeers, Shakur was greeted with a cheering Lanester crowd after a clutch juke on the opposing Wing, making an unbelievable dive over the try line to finish in overtime. The field was stormed by fans, who carried Shakur off the field.

But in spite of the accomplishments of all three rookies, Øvenberger was clearly the star this season. Topping the list of jersey sales near the end of the season, the Gojan Giant is expected to continue to fearlessly lead the Musketeers into the seasons to come. When asked about how he felt about this year, and the impact he was making, the quiet and humble Øvenberger imply said, "I'm just doing what I do. I love this sport and I wouldn't prefer anything else."

We look forward to what is sure to be a storied and legendary career.
 
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