2009 Aftonbladet Israel controversy, Swedish reactions, Donald Boström and Aftonbladet
Boström told Israeli newspaper Yediot Aharonot, "I am not an anti-Semite, and that's what saddens me most in this whole story. I've been a journalist for 25 years and I've always written against racism and segregation". He said that he had not meant to imply that IDF soldiers killed Palestinians for their organs: "Even the Palestinians don't say that. What they said is that when the Israeli army returned the bodies, 62 of them had been autopsied and 20 Palestinian families I spoke to were certain that their sons' organs had been harvested".


2009 Aftonbladet Israel controversy, Swedish reactions, Donald Boström and Aftonbladet
He acknowledged that he had not personally seen evidence of organ harvesting since the bodies that were returned to the families were never examined to determine whether organs had been taken: "As far as I know no one examined the bodies. All I'm saying is that this needs to be investigated". He also said, "Sweden supports Israel as a country and a people, and I am a part of this. There are many people, I among them, who condemn the Israeli government's policy of occupation and violation of international law. Israel needs to withdraw to its borders and evacuate the settlements. If Israel does this, support for you will reappear".


2009 Aftonbladet Israel controversy, Swedish reactions, Other media
The Swedish rival newspaper Sydsvenskan sharply criticized Aftonbladet for publishing what it called "an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory". Henrik Bredberg in Sydsvenskan said:


2009 Aftonbladet Israel controversy, Swedish reactions, Other media
"Donald Boström publicised a variant of an anti-Semitic classic, the Jew who abducts children and steals their blood.... The regrettable aspects just seem to grow and grow... the Israeli government rages and speaks of an article which 'shames Swedish democracy and the entire Swedish press'. Hardly. Freedom of expression and freedom of the press are part of democracy.... Dare to believe in freedom of the press and open debate. Even when individual editors make stupid and tasteless decisions."


2009 Aftonbladet Israel controversy, Swedish reactions, Other media
"The Foreign Ministry has made it clear that Swedish freedom of the press applies. Good. Aftonbladet should not be given the unwarranted glory of martyrdom.... Publication seems to represent an obvious lack of judgment. Unfortunately the lack of judgment did not stop there. The Swedish ambassador in Tel Aviv... attacked the article and thereby created the impression that having views about or intervening in individual publications should be a task for the government and its representatives."


2009 Aftonbladet Israel controversy, Swedish reactions, Other media
Several political commentators pointed out that Sweden held the presidency of the Council of the European Union at the time of the dispute. From an Israeli point of view, they say, discrediting Sweden as anti-Semitic might be a way to prevent European criticism of Israel's policies.


2009 Aftonbladet Israel controversy, Swedish reactions, Swedish-Jewish community
Lena Posner-Körösi, a leader of Sweden's Jewish community, criticized Israel's official response to Boström's article, stating in an interview with the Israeli army radio that Israel's reaction and media outrage had provided the claims with much more exposure than they would have had otherwise and had blown the story out of proportion. She noted how initial widespread condemnations of Aftonbladet and its article in the Swedish media quickly turned into united defence for freedom of the press when Israel requested that the government should condemn it as well.


2009 Aftonbladet Israel controversy, Swedish reactions, Swedish-Jewish community
Posner-Körösi explained that "freedom of expression is sacred" to Swedes and that no one "understands how Israel dares to interfere". Posner-Körösi was still critical of Aftonbladet, stating in her letter to editor Jan Helin that "the Jewish Central Council in Sweden insists that the description is akin to classic antisemitism – Jews who kidnap children to slaughter them and steal their blood. We are confounded how a Swedish newspaper once again permits its pages to include such hate speech and expect that you, as editor and publisher to reject antisemitic statements".


2009 Aftonbladet Israel controversy, Swedish reactions, Swedish-Jewish community
Anders Carlberg, the outgoing chairman of the Jewish Community in Gothenburg called Israel's response "unhelpful". He said that Israel should have responded by publishing a rebuttal: "The stance of the community in general is that it's strange that this has become a government issue at all.... It falls along the lines of Voltaire: I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to death your right to say it."


2009 Aftonbladet Israel controversy, Palestinian reactions, Palestinian Authority
On 3 Sep 2009, the Palestinian Authority (PA) announced the formation of an interministerial panel to investigate allegations that the Israeli military "stole organs" from Palestinian detainees. The secretary general of the PA Council of Ministers, Dr Hassan Abu Libdeh, if true, the alleged events, if true, would constitute violations of human rights. The PA's ministers of Health, Interior, and Foreign Affairs, and senior officials from each ministry would, he said, sit on the commission.


2009 Aftonbladet Israel controversy, Palestinian reactions, Palestinian Authority
In November 2015, in a letter to the UN, the Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations accused Israel of continuing to harvest organs from Palestinians killed by its forces. Riyad Mansour said that was a confirmation of "past reports about organ harvesting", which prompted Israel to reject the allegations and condemn them as anti-Semitic.


2009 Aftonbladet Israel controversy, Palestinian reactions, Ghanem family and relatives
According to The Jerusalem Post, Jalal Ghanem, the brother of Bilal Ghanem, whose photograph had accompanied Boström's article, could not confirm the allegations. Jalal said that Bilal was evacuated by the IDF in a helicopter after he had been shot. His corpse was delivered to the family a few days later, and there were stitches on Bilal's body that ran from the chest down to the bottom of the abdomen, and his teeth were missing. Jalal also said that the only time the family saw the Swedish photographer was at Bilal's funeral photographing the event. In subsequent interview with Al-Jazeera, he added that he thought Bilal was among those who had their organs stolen.


2009 Aftonbladet Israel controversy, Palestinian reactions, Ghanem family and relatives
Their mother denied having told any foreign journalist that her son's organs had been stolen, The Jerusalem Post reported in its article. However, she did not rule out the possibility that Israel was harvesting organs of Palestinians. Another relative of the family, Ibrahim Ghanem, said that the family never told the Swedish photographer that Israel had stolen organs from Bilal's body and speculated, "Maybe the journalist reached that conclusion on the basis of the stitches he saw on the body." He also said that the family had no evidence on whether the organs were removed because they had not had an autopsy conducted.


2009 Aftonbladet Israel controversy, Palestinian reactions, Ghanem family and relatives
In an interview with Aftonbladet made one week after the original article, Jalal Ghanem and Bilal's mother, Saadega Ghanem, still stood by their allegations and also claimed that Bilal was still alive when he had been taken away. They also claimed that IDF soldiers tried to prevent journalists from taking pictures of the body.


2009 Aftonbladet Israel controversy, Palestinian reactions, Media
Palestinian journalist Khalid Amayreh reported in an article in Al-Ahram that prior accusations of organ harvesting had been made by representatives of the Palestinian Authority, including by late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Amayreh noted that no genuine investigation had ever been carried out into the Palestinian allegations of unauthorized organ harvesting even though they had dated to before the 1990s.


2009 Aftonbladet Israel controversy, Palestinian reactions, Media
Jonathan Cook, a British journalist covering the Israel-Palestine conflict, said that Western journalists had heard about such rumours. According to Cook, "the families making the claims were not given a hearing in the late 1980s and early 1990s, during the first Intifada, when most of the reports occurred, and are still being denied the right to voice their concerns today". In an article for the Scottish Daily Record, British politician George Galloway asserted that Israel was "playing mini-Mengele on Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails", a reference to the Nazi physician Josef Mengele.


2009 Aftonbladet Israel controversy, Palestinian reactions, Civil society
In September 2009, hundreds of Palestinians attended a conference marking the "national day for the return of the bodies of martyrs" in Nablus. Palestinian organizations said that Israel was holding the bodies of 275 Palestinians and refusing to return them to their families. After the conference, Mohammad Barakeh, a Palestinian Member of Knesset in Israel, made a connection between the missing bodies and the article in Aftonbladet: "Israel has maintained its reputation and alerted the entire world to the Swedish article. They claim that what was published there could not be true.... The burden of proof falls on Israel, and as long as it refuses to say what the status of the bodies is or return them, it is hiding something awful".


2009 Aftonbladet Israel controversy, Reactions from elsewhere, Iran
The Iranian state newspaper Kayhan quoted Arab reporter Kusar Aslam, who claims to have been stationed in Gaza and the West Bank for 22 years, as saying, "Since the early 1970s the Israelis have snatched thousands of Palestinian bodies from hospitals in the territories and transferred them to the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute.... My personal experience verifies the report published by (Donald) Boström". She said that the IDF kidnapped living Palestinians: "I personally witnessed Israeli soldiers and army vehicles snatching Palestinian bodies from emergency rooms. In other instances I saw soldiers follow Palestinians to cemeteries with the intent of stealing bodies before they were buried. This became so widespread that many people began to bury those murdered by IDF forces near their homes – in the yard or under a tree".


2009 Aftonbladet Israel controversy, Reactions from elsewhere, Syria
Syrian President Bashar Assad's spokeswoman, Bouthaina Shaaban, praised Boström's article in Asharq Al-Awsat and said Israel "should be put on trial" for its "criminal acts". She claimed that there was a connection between the violation of Palestinian corpses claimed by Boström and the accused Israeli-American organ-trafficking ring whose members were indicted in New Jersey and New York in July 2009.


2009 Aftonbladet Israel controversy, Reactions from elsewhere, Syria
Yossi Levy, the Israeli Foreign Ministry's spokesman said Shaaban's praise for the article should be a "warning light" for the Swedish government, which "unfortunately has still not fully and courageously condemned the article".


2009 Aftonbladet Israel controversy, Reactions from elsewhere, United States
In a letter to the Swedish prime minister, Representatives Robert Wexler (D-FL) and Elton Gallegly (R-CA), members on the United States House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe, wrote:"Given the far-reaching implications for this article, which raises the unfortunate specter of similar blood libels and spurious charges that have been directed at Jews throughout the centuries, it is critical that your government unequivocally repudiate and reject the heinous allegations expressed in this article.... It is essential that this vitriolic article not be used by anti-Semites, anti-Israel advocates, and extremists as an excuse to commit acts of violence and terrorism against the Jewish community in Sweden or internationally".


2009 Aftonbladet Israel controversy, Reactions from elsewhere, United States
Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), Chairman of U.S. Helsinki Commission, released a press release that urged European foreign ministers to denounce the Aftonbladet article: "We at the U.S. Helsinki Commission are dedicated to upholding human rights, particularly freedom of the press. But with freedom of the press comes responsibility. And when major press outlets fail to meet their responsibility, and instead raise the specter of racism or anti-Semitism, then public officials are duty bound to speak out and condemn such blatant falsehoods. I commend Sweden's Ambassador to Israel for fulfilling this duty, and I call on the Swedish Government, which currently holds the European Union Presidency, to support Italian and other EU efforts to denounce this harmful reporting".


2009 Aftonbladet Israel controversy, Reactions from elsewhere, United States
Co-Chairman of US Helsinki Commission Senator Alcee Hastings (D-FL) said, "This incendiary article draws on age old anti-Semitic imagery, and attempts to place it in a modern context of worrisome hostility in Europe towards both Jews and Israel. Government leaders must demand the press act with journalistic integrity and report responsibly, particularly when it can incite the violent potential of anti-Semitism and other forms of hatred".


2009 Aftonbladet Israel controversy, Reactions from elsewhere, United States
Abraham Foxman, the National Director of the Anti- Defamation League (ADL) of B'nai B'rith said that the ADL lodged a complaint with the Swedish embassy in Washington: "Such unfounded rumors – of Jews 'poisoning the wells' and carrying out acts of ritual murder—have been in the playbook of anti-Semites through the centuries, and continue to be believed in parts of the Arab world and elsewhere to this day. What could Mr. Boström and the editors who ushered this article into print have been thinking?" The letter stated, "This article represents nothing less than a base recycling of the medieval blood libel in which Jews were charged with killing Christian children for their alleged ritual use".


2009 Aftonbladet Israel controversy, Reactions from elsewhere, United States
In a video on its website on 24 August 2014, Time magazine quoted the 2009 Swedish Aftonbladet report as fact. After a denouncing report from Honest Reporting came out, Time retracted, within hours, the allegations that Israeli soldiers had harvested and sold Palestinian organs in 2009.


2009 Aftonbladet Israel controversy, Reactions from elsewhere, Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders expressed regret that Israel had gone after the Swedish government for a condemnation: "Regardless of the article's content and although we understand the public outcry it has triggered in Israel, the Israeli authorities must refrain from asking their Swedish counterparts to intervene.... "Aftonbladet alone is responsible for the articles it publishes. The Swedish government is not responsible".


2009 Aftonbladet Israel controversy, Reactions from elsewhere, Italy
In an interview with Haa'rez on 31 August, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said that he had recently met with Bildt and that both agreed that at a meeting of European Union foreign ministers the next week, they would work to pass a resolution making it clear that the EU, under the Swedish presidency, strongly condemns anti-Semitism and will take action against any manifestation of it in Europe. Frattini said he was intending to demand that the meeting's summary statement explicitly condemn the article.


2009 Aftonbladet Israel controversy, Reactions from elsewhere, Italy
Later that day, the Swedish news agency TT quoted Carl Bildt as denying the Frattini's conclusion and reported that the head of communications at the Swedish Foreign Ministry, Cecilia Julin, denied that Bildt and Frattini even had discussed the dispute or a possible resolution at the Council of Ministers: "From the Swedish side we have no plans to handle this question through the informal foreign ministers' meeting in Stockholm". According to her, Bildt suggested that Frattini's comment must have arisen through an "Italian misunderstanding".


2009 Aftonbladet Israel controversy, Reactions from elsewhere, Italy
Reinfeldt also insisted that the Swedish government could not take a stand because of Sweden's freedom of the press. At a press conference in Stockholm, he said: "We cannot be asked by anyone to contravene the Swedish constitution, and this is something we will also not do within the European Union".


2009 Aftonbladet Israel controversy, Reactions from elsewhere, Italy
The Israeli Prime Minister's Office did not comment on Frattini's initiative. However, Palmor said: "Every initiative against anti-Semitism is welcome. But if the declaration is general and does not specifically relate to the article in Aftonbladet, it will not resolve anything". He added that "We did not ask for an apology, or for measures against the newspaper or the journalist. All we asked of Sweden and the Swedes is that they reject and decry the content of the report. And our position has not changed".


2009 Aftonbladet Israel controversy, Yehuda Hiss interview
In December 2009, Nancy Scheper-Hughes, an anthropology professor at the University of California at Berkeley and founder of a newsletter, "Organs Watch", released the tape of an interview that she had conducted in 2000 with Yehuda Hiss, the director of Israel's L. Greenberg Institute of Forensic Medicine (known colloquially as the "Abu Kabir" Forensic Institute). In the interview, which appeared on Israel's Channel 2 television, Hiss stated that he had harvested organs in the 1990s. "We started to harvest corneas.... Whatever was done was highly informal. No permission was asked from the family". Hiss was fired from his position as director of the forensic institute in 2004 for "repeated body-part scandals". Hiss was later reinstated and remained head of the institute until he retired in October 2012 after allegations of bad procedures at the institute.


2009 Aftonbladet Israel controversy, Yehuda Hiss interview
Israeli officials acknowledged that such incidents had taken place but stated that neither Israelis nor Palestinians had been specifically targeted, that no such incidents had occurred for a long time and that Hiss had been removed from his position.


2009 Aftonbladet Israel controversy, Yehuda Hiss interview
Scheper-Hughes stated that Palestinians were not the only ones affected "by a long shot" but that she felt the interview must be made public now because "the symbolism, you know, of taking skin of the population considered to be the enemy, (is) something, just in terms of its symbolic weight, that has to be reconsidered".


2009 Aftonbladet Israel controversy, Yehuda Hiss interview
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Scheper-Hughes said the organ harvesting took place with the "sanction and approval" of the military establishment and that the "body parts were used by hospitals for transplant purposes – cornea transplants. They were sent to public hospitals [for use on citizens]... and the skin went to a special skin bank, founded by the military, for their uses", like for burns victims.


2009 Air Force Falcons football team
The 2009 Air Force Falcons football team represented the United States Air Force Academy during the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Air Force competed as a member of the Mountain West Conference. The Falcons were coached by third-year head coach Troy Calhoun. They finished the season with a record of 8–5, 5–3 in Mountain West play to finish in fourth place. They were invited to the Armed Forces Bowl where they defeated Houston.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup
The 2009 Air New Zealand Cup was the 33rd provincial rugby union competition, the fourth since the competition reconstruction in 2006, involving the top 14 provincial unions in New Zealand. It ran for 15 weeks from 30 July to 7 November. It was also the last edition of the provincial competition to use the Air New Zealand Cup name, as the competition's sponsorship contract with Air New Zealand ended after that season. The 2010 competition will be held under a new name, the ITM Cup.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup
Unlike previous seasons the 2009 Air New Zealand Cup did not have quarterfinals in their finals format, instead going straight to the semifinals with the top four teams rather than the top eight.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup
Canterbury were the eventual champions, winning their second title in a row and their seventh overall, it was the first time Canterbury had gone back-to-back in the provincial championship. They beat Wellington, 28 – 20, at AMI Stadium in Christchurch on 7 November. Wellington were down 18 – 3 at halftime but came back to close the scores to 25 – 20 in Canterbury's favour, but a late penalty goal by Stephen Brett put Wellington out of reach and gave Canterbury the win and the championship.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup
Doubts were raised throughout the season with serious support coming from the four teams likely to be axed, Counties Manukau, Northland, Manawatu, and Tasman, and their supporters, while the financial sustainability of the two unions who were to be promoted to the new first division was questioned. On 11 December the New Zealand Rugby Union decided to stick with the 14 team Air New Zealand Cup and the 12 team Heartland Championship format through 2010.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Round robin
The round-robin was the first phase of the competition, which consisted of 91 games over 13 weeks from 30 July to 25 October. The Rugby Union Bonus Points System was used to determine which four teams were to go on to the finals. There were seven games in each round.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Round robin
After the round robin Hawke's Bay, Southland, Wellington and Canterbury came out on top to advance to the finals.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Round robin, Standings
The top four teams from the round robin advanced to the semifinals.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Round robin, Standings
(1) the winner of the round robin match between the two provinces; then (2) highest point difference; then (3) most tries scored; then (4) a coin toss.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Round robin, Standings
(1) the province with the most wins against other tied provinces in the Round Robin; then (2) if two teams remain tied they shall be ranked according to the criteria listed above, but if more than two teams remain tied, they shall be ranked according to criteria (2) to (4) only.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Round robin, Statistics, Team
The lists of how many tries and points each team has scored in the 2009 Air NZ Cup Round Robin.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Round robin, Statistics, Team
Hawke's Bay scored the most points this season with 372 points while Southland had the best defensive record with 189 points scored against them. Hawke's Bay also scored, along with Canterbury and Wellington, the most tries this season with 40. Southland gave up the fewest tries as well of points with only 15 tries scored against them.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Round robin, Statistics, Team
The table shows how many points were scored by each team (white) and how many points each team was scored against them (grey) in the 2009 Air New Zealand Cup. Hawke's Bay scored the most points this season with 372 points with an average of 28.6 points per game while Southland had the best defensive record with 189 points scored against them at an average of 14.5 points per game.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Round robin, Statistics, Team
List of tries each team has scored. Canterbury, Hawke's Bay and Wellington all scored the most tries during the round robin with 40 each. North Harbour, Northland and Taranaki all scored the fewest tries with only 20 tries each.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Round robin, Statistics, Team
Southland gave up the fewest tries with 15 while Counties Manukau gave up the most with 48.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Round robin, Statistics, Team
List of teams whose players received yellow and/or red cards. Bay of Plenty were issued the most yellow cards with five while North Harbour were issued the only red card of the season.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Round robin, Statistics, Player
The list of the top players who scored the most points and tries in the 2009 Air New Zealand Cup. A total of 3953 points including 406 tries were scored with a total of 218 players scoring points.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Round robin, Statistics, Player
2009 Air New Zealand Cup Round Robin top ten point scorers. Matt Berquist scored the most with 156 points and an average of 14.2 points per game.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Round robin, Statistics, Player
2009 Air New Zealand Cup top try scorers. Zac Guildford scored the most tries during the season with 13.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Finals
The 2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals contained two semifinals that were played on 30 and 31 October while the grand final was played on 7 November. Canterbury were crowned champions after beating Wellington 28 – 20 in the 2009 Air New Zealand Cup Final.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Finals, Semifinals
After the top four teams were determined from the round robin the semifinals were played on 30 and 31 October.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Finals, Semifinals
Canterbury beat Hawke's Bay, 20 – 3, in the first semifinal on 30 October. Canterbury had their best defensive performance of the season (points wise) against Hawke's Bay which was subsequently their worst offensive performance of the season. Canterbury gained their second final berth in a row and their first home final since 2001 while Hawke's Bay were knocked out of the competition from the semifinals in the third year in a row.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Finals, Semifinals
Wellington beat Southland, 34 – 21, in the second semi. Wellington were leading 19 – 7 at halftime but Southland made comeback early in the second scoring to converted tries in the first ten minutes. Wellington recovered though with two second half tries to replacement Dane Coles and a fifth penalty by Piri Weepu gave Wellington the win and a fourth straight place in the Air New Zealand Cup Final. Southland were knocked out for the second time in a row by Wellington in the semifinals.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Finals, Final
The 2009 Air New Zealand Cup Final was played on 7 November at AMI Stadium in Christchurch between Canterbury and Wellington. It was Wellington's eighth final in eleven years while Canterbury were playing their first home final since 2001. Canterbury scored 2 tries in the first half, both coming to Colin Slade, in the 2nd and 35th minute and went into halftime with an 18 – 3 lead.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Finals, Final
Wellington came back in the second, reducing the deficit to 5 in the final 5 minutes but a late penalty goal by Stephen Brett in the 78th minute gained Canterbury back-to-back titles for the first time in the 33-year history of the competition, winning 28 – 20. Wellington, however, have now lost the final for the fourth time in a row, losing all previous Air New Zealand Cup finals.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Ranfurly Shield
The Ranfurly Shield went through 10 challenges this season and changed hands twice, from Wellington to Canterbury in round 5, then from Canterbury to Southland in the last round of the round robin.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Ranfurly Shield
Wellington held off Wairarapa Bush 90 – 19 in a convincing first up match and 61 – 6 game against Wanganui. Wellington beat Otago 23 – 19 on 31 July in a match at Westpac Stadium, and then Auckland 16–15 on 22 August. Wellington lost the shield the next week though losing to Canterbury 36 – 14.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Ranfurly Shield
Canterbury won their first challenge against Otago on 12 September, when they won 36 points to 16. They won their next challenge against Taranaki on 18 September, 29 – 17. Their next challenge was against Northland on 26 September, which they won 31 points to 21. They successfully defended the shield for the fourth time against Manawatu winning 50 – 26. In their fifth and final challenge of the season, Canterbury lost the Ranfurly Shield to Southland on 22 October 9 points to 3. Southland will not have their first challenge until next season.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Season highlights, Provincial rugby reconstruction
The 2009 season may well be the last Air New Zealand Cup, by name and format, as the New Zealand Rugby Union has restructured the domestic competition with three divisions involved: a premier division competition with 10 teams, a Heartland Championship competition, also with 10 teams, and a new first division with the remaining 6 teams. This means that four teams in this year's competition will be relegated into the new first division whilst two Heartland teams will be promoted to join them.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Season highlights, Provincial rugby reconstruction
This has since become questioned with "serious doubts being raised about the ability of two Heartland provinces to join the proposed "second-tier" competition for 2010." Nothing has been confirmed but this, allied to concerns about that competition being "meaningful", will almost certainly see a stay of execution for the 14-team Air New Zealand Cup through to 2011.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Season highlights, Tasman's inclusion
The Tasman Rugby Union was in doubt for inclusion 2009 Air New Zealand Cup, stating financial problems as the cause of their potential downfall. But in December 2008, the New Zealand Rugby Union confirmed that they were able to compete in the 2009 competition after new funding arrangements were put in place for Tasman in 2009.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Season highlights, Bay of Plenty coaching changes
The Bay of Plenty Rugby Union terminated head coach Greg Smith's contract by mutual agreement in August, two weeks into the competition. Technical adviser Sean Horan took his place for the remainder of the season as Steve Miln remained assistant coach. Smith was appointed as Kevin Schuler's successor in March this year, but stood down before the Air NZ Cup competition began on 30 July amid claims of a player revolt and a breakdown with management. A statement released by the Bay of Plenty rugby Union said the termination of Smith's contract was due to "breakdown in certain aspects of the relationship".


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Season highlights, Hawke's Bay 125th Anniversary
In 2009 the Hawke's Bay Rugby Union celebrated their 125th Anniversary. First founded in 1884 the Hawke's Bay Rugby Union became only the sixth team to celebrate 125 years in New Zealand Rugby.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Season highlights, Hawke's Bay 125th Anniversary
Rugby in Hawke's Bay began in 1875 when the Napier Football Club changed and adopted rugby rules. By 1878 Napier, calling itself Hawke's Bay arranged matches with Gisborne on a regular basis. The Hawke's Bay union was formed at a meeting of delegates of four clubs inside the region: Napier, Union, Hastings, and Petane. Hawke's Bay were one of the founding member of the New Zealand Rugby Football Union in 1982, also their administrators, Ernest Hoben, became the first secretary and Logan, became a member of the inaugural three-man appeal committee who also served as the first New Zealand selectors.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Season highlights, Hawke's Bay 125th Anniversary
Hawke's Bay have contributed 48 players to the New Zealand national team throughout their history including George Nēpia, Maurice and Cyril Brownlie, Kel Tremain and Norm Hewitt.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Season highlights, Hawke's Bay 125th Anniversary
Hawke's Bay was also part of a period during New Zealand Rugby history which came to be known as 'shield fever'. The revival of the Ranfurly Shield's interest was helped by Hawke's Bay's tenure between 1922–27 under head coach Norman McKenzie. They also had another lengthy period from 1967–69 under Colin Le Quesne.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Season highlights, Hawke's Bay 125th Anniversary
Hawke's Bay have won the National Provincial Championship 2nd division 7 times: in 1979, 1988, 1990, 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004; and since being promoted up to the Air New Zealand Cup in 2006, have been semifinalists in 2007, 2008, and 2009.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Season highlights, Canterbury win the Ranfurly Shield
Canterbury won the Ranfurly Shield off Wellington on 29 August. They won 36 – 14 in a one-sided affair in which Wellington only scored in the last ten minutes. It was the first time they won the shield since 2007 and the 13th time they have won the shield overall.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Season highlights, Canterbury win the Ranfurly Shield
Canterbury were leading 26 – 0 at halftime thanks to tries by George Whitelock and Tim Bateman as well as 2 conversions and 4 penalty goals from Daniel Carter. Canterbury increased their lead to 36 with 15 minutes left while two late tries by Wellington was only a consolation as the challengers cut the holders shield tenure to 6.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Season highlights, Southland win the Ranfurly Shield
Southland won the Ranfurly Shield off Canterbury when they beat them 9 points to 3 on 22 October. It was the first time they have won the 'shield' since 1959, 50 years from tenures.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Season highlights, Southland win the Ranfurly Shield
Defense was evident during the game with the only scoring coming from a dropkick by Stephen Brett for Canterbury and 3 penalty goals by Robbie Robinson for Southland. At 3 – 3 after the halftime break Robinson kicked his second penalty goal 7 minutes in and secured the game with another in the 71st minute of play.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Season highlights, Kerikeri
Kerikeri hosted its first ever provincial rugby match on 16 August at the Kerikeri Domain when the home team, Northland, lost 32 to 13 to Auckland in front of 6,000 people. It was also the first time Northland have played a home game inside the province outside of Whangarei.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Season highlights, Kerikeri
New Zealand Rugby Union CEO Steve Tew said the shift was agreed to given the redevelopment work taking place at Whangarei's Okara Park ahead of the 2011 Rugby World Cup.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Season highlights, Kerikeri
Truck and trailer units were used as corporate boxes, a marquee was set up to feed 200 people and a temporary stand was put up that could seat 3000 people. More than 6000 tickets were pre sold and a crowd of 7000 was expected.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Season highlights, Taranaki coach quits
Taranaki coach Adrian Kennedy quit on 11 November saying the province is too parochial and closed to new ideas. He was the first outsider to coach the team and finished eighth in both his seasons in charge, his winning percentage was below 50%. His tenure was also plagued by bad off-field behaviour from players. Five players were stood down this season after an all-night public drinking binge.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Season highlights, Milestones
The list of milestones of players and teams who celebrated a significant moment during the 2009 season.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Season highlights, Milestones, Firsts
The moments in the 2009 Air New Zealand Cup where it happened for the first time.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Season highlights, Milestones, Firsts
On 1 August the Hawke's Bay Magpies beat Auckland 47 – 13, this was their first Air New Zealand/NPC win over them and their first win over the Aucklanders since 1974.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Season highlights, Milestones, Firsts
Hawke's Bay scored their first of five tries after 25 minutes of play which went wing Zac Guildford who ran down the left-hand touchline after a midfield turnover. After a try just before halftime by flanker Karl Lowe, Hawke's Bay scored three more tries in the second while Auckland couldn't add onto their 13 points scored in the first. 22 points from the boot of first five-eighth Matt Berquist along with five tries gave Hawke's Bay their first win over Auckland in 35 years.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Season highlights, Milestones, Firsts
Tasman beat North Harbour 19 – 15 on 7 August, it was the first time in Tasman's short history that they have beaten North Harbour. North Harbour were Tasman's first ever Air New Zealand Cup opponent back in 2006 which North Harbour won 33 – 27 in Blenheim.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Season highlights, Milestones, Firsts
North Harbour's points all came from the boot of first five Mike Harris with 5 penalty goals while Tasman were able to score two tries and two penalties to win their first game of the season.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Season highlights, Milestones, Firsts
Auckland went down to Tasman, 12 – 8, for the first time in their two previous meetings. The first time they met Auckland won 46 – 6.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Season highlights, Milestones, Firsts
Tasman gained the halftime lead with a try and conversion from Andrew Goodman while Auckland could only score a penalty goal by Ash Moeke. Soon after the break Tasman scored their second try when Blair Cook took advantage of a blindside which Auckland failed to cover. Tasman were out 12 – 3 with five minutes before winger Atieli Pakalani made a break through the Tasman defense then passed to hooker Pat Leafa to score the try. The conversion was missed and Tasman held on to win 12 points to 8 with their best defensive performance of the season.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Season highlights, Milestones, Firsts
When Tasman and Counties Manukau played each other on 16 August, it was the first time these two teams have faced off in Tasman's 4-year history.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Season highlights, Milestones, Firsts
Tasman scored 51 points to Counties Manukau 15 including 6 tries. Both Blair Cook and James Kamana of Tasman scored two tries each while Andrew Goodman converted five of those as well as kicking three penalty goals. Sione Halani and Kade Poki scored the other tries while Matty James kicked a conversion. Counties Manukau only managed two tries to Mark Selwyn and Sherwin Stowers as well as one conversion and penalty goal.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Season highlights, Milestones, Firsts
When Taranaki beat Wellington 29 points to 16, it was the first time they have beaten them in a NPC or Air New Zealand Cup match since 1989.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Season highlights, Milestones, Firsts
Taranaki outscored Wellington two tries to one as they ended their 20-year losing streak to their Hurricanes partners. Willie Ripia scored 19 points of the boot by converting both tries and kicking five penalty goals. Daniel Kirkpatrick kicked the remaining 11 points for Wellington but it was not enough to win.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Season highlights, Milestones, Player
List of significant moments by players in the 2009 Air New Zealand Cup.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Season highlights, Milestones, Player
David Holwell, of Northland, celebrated his 100th game for the province on 11 October. However the team could not pull off the upset against his old province Wellington.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Season highlights, Milestones, Player
Holwell became Northland's 22nd centurion since their formation in 1920. He debuted for Northland in 1995 as 20-year-old against North Harbour. Before his hundredth game Holwell had played 254 first class games where he scored 2181 points including 36 tries, 450 conversion, 365 penalty goals and 2 drop goals.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Season highlights, Milestones, Player
When Wellington beat Counties Manukau on 4 September, winger Hosea Gear equaled the record for most tries by a player in an Air New Zealand Cup game with 4, 3 of them in the first 30 minutes. He now holds the record with Peter Playford from Tasman who scored four tries against Northland in 2006. The overall New Zealand provincial rugby record is five on six occasions.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Season highlights, Milestones, Player
When Wellington beat Auckland 16–15, fly-half Fa'atonu Fili kicked his third dropped goal of the season, an Air New Zealand Cup record. He also made his team the holder of most drop goals in a season by a team in the Air New Zealand Cup overtaking Southland in 2007 and Counties Manukau and Hawke's Bay, both in 2008. The overall New Zealand provincial rugby record is 4 by Ron Preston from Bay of Plenty against Waikato in 1985.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Season highlights, Milestones, Player
Manawatu's Andre Taylor equaled the record for most points scored in an Air New Zealand Cup match with 27. He scored 2 tries and was given kicking duties where he scored 4 conversions, 2 penalty goals and 1 drop goal. He now shares the record with Jimmy Gopperth from North Harbour who scored 27 points against Counties Manukau in 2008. The overall New Zealand provincial rugby record is held by Ben Blair from Canterbury when he scored 37 points against Counties Manukau in 1999.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Season highlights, Player suspensions
In total there were eight player suspensions throughout the 2009 Air New Zealand Cup with only three of them being cleared of any suspension. The largest ban went to Kurt Baker, who was suspended for eight weeks for abusing and threatening a referee.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Pre-season fixtures
2009 pre-season games including two Ranfurly Shield matches for Wellington against Wairarapa Bush and Wanganui.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Referees
The list of referees who have officiated in the 2009 Air New Zealand Cup. Garratt Williamson has refereed the most games this season with 12. Nathan Pearce officiated the Hawke's Bay, Taranaki game on 15 August, he was the first referee from outside the country to referee an Air New Zealand Cup match, he was followed by fellow Australian Andrew Lees on 11 September and Englishman Wayne Barnes on 24 September.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Final
The 2009 Air New Zealand Cup Final was a rugby union match played on Saturday 7 November 2009. It was the fourth Air New Zealand Cup final to determine the winner of the 2009 Air New Zealand Cup and the 33rd winner of New Zealand's premier provincial rugby competition.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Final
It was the last Air New Zealand Cup Final with the competition structure set to change for the 2010 season.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Final
Canterbury were the first team to qualify for the final when they beat Hawke's Bay 20 points to 3 on 30 October. Wellington gained the second spot after beating Southland 34 points to 21 on 31 October.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals
The 2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals will determine the winner of the 2009 Air New Zealand Cup season. It will consist of two semifinals on 30 October and 31 October and Grand Final on  7 November.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals
Canterbury were the first team during the round-robin to qualify for the finals when they beat Manawatu on 9 October. Canterbury also gained homefield advantage throughout the finals when they beat Hawke's Bay on 16 October. Southland and Wellington were the next teams to gain a playoff spot while Wellington gained a home game in the second semifinal. Southland gained the spot after a final round win over Canterbury while Wellington gained a spot and a home semi with a win over Tasman. Hawke's Bay were the fourth and final team to claim a playoff spot after winning their game in the 13th round with a 4 try bonus point and when Waikato, the only team who could overtake them, lost to Auckland on 24 October.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals
Canterbury were the first team to qualify for the final of when they beat Hawke's Bay 20 points to 3 on 30 October. It was the second year in a row that Canterbury qualified for the final and the first time that an Air New Zealand Cup final was held at AMI Stadium. They played Wellington who beat Southland on 31 October winning 34-21. They played the 2009 Air New Zealand Cup Final on 7 November. Wellington qualified for all four Air New Zealand Cup finals and their eighth final in eleven years, but only winning in 2000 which was also against Canterbury in Christchurch.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals, Fixtures
There was a total of 3 games in the 2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals, two semifinals on 30 and 31 October and a culminating grand final on 7 November. Canterbury (no. 1 seed) beat Hawke's Bay(no. 4 seed) at AMI Stadium in Christchurch on 30 October. Wellington gained the no. 2 seed placing and beat no. 3 seed Southland on 31 October for the second spot in the 2009 Air New Zealand Cup Final.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals, Round Robin review
Canterbury came out on top during the round-robin with 47 competition points, 4 more than their closest contenders, and a league-leading 10 wins. Wellington were second with 43, while Southland and Hawke's Bay were third and fourth respectively and both on 41 competition points.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals, Round Robin review
Hawke's Bay scored the most points throughout the round-robin with 372. They also have scored the most tries along with other finalists Canterbury and Wellington with 40. Southland came through the round-robin with the best defensive record with only 189 points scored against them and average of 14.5 points a game.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals, Round Robin review, Canterbury
Canterbury finished the 2009 Air NZ Cup Round-Robin with the most competition points with 47 and were rewarded the no. 1 seed for the playoffs which gave them homefield advantage throughout. They recorded the most wins with 10, scored 369 points, gave up 231 with an overall points differential of 138, the best in the competition. They scored 40 tries, and kicked 35 penalty goals, 2 drop goals and 29 conversion.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals, Round Robin review, Canterbury
Daniel Carter scored most of Canterbury's points throughout the season with 98 while Sean Maitland scored most of the tries with 8, third most in the competition.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals, Round Robin review, Canterbury, Canterbury squad
A total of 37 players played for Canterbury in the 2009 season. George Whitelock was the captain and Rob Penney and Tabai Matson were the coaches.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals, Round Robin review, Canterbury, Canterbury squad
- Squad only include players who have been named in a starting 15 or reserves bench.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals, Round Robin review, Wellington
Wellington finished second on the 2009 Air New Zealand Cup points table and were rewarded a home semifinal for it. They finished with 9 wins and 4 losses out of 13 games. They scored 362 points including a league-leading 40 tries as well as 31 penalty goals, 3 drop goals (an Air New Zealand Cup record) and 30 conversions. They also gave up 237 points and finished with a points differential of 125, second best in the competition.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals, Round Robin review, Wellington
Daniel Kirkpatrick scored most of Wellington's points with 95 of them through 11 games while, for the second year in a row, Hosea Gear lead Wellington in try-scoring with 11 through 9 games including a record-equaling 4 tries against Counties Manukau in round 6.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals, Round Robin review, Wellington, Wellington squad
37 players played for Wellington this season. Jacob Ellison was captain and Jamie Joseph and Andre Bell were the coaches.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals, Round Robin review, Wellington, Wellington squad
- Squad only include players who have been named in a starting 15 or reserves bench.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals, Round Robin review, Southland
Southland finished third on the points table with 41 competition points, 9 wins, 3 losses and 1 draw. They were the best defensive team in the competition with 189 points scored against and an average of 14.5 points a game, they also on 6 occasions held their opponent tryless. They scored 260 points and had an overall points differential of 71. They scored 28 tries, 30 penalty goals and  15 conversions. They also ended the round robin in the possession of the Ranfurly Shield.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals, Round Robin review, Southland
Robbie Robinson scored the most points for Southland with 111 points through 11 games and 29 of Southland's 30 penalty goals. Locks Joe Tuineau and Josh Bekhuis were the leading try scores during the round-robin with 4 each.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals, Round Robin review, Southland, Southland squad
30 players have played for Southland during the season, Jamie Mackintosh was captain and Simon Culhane and David Henderson were the coaches.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals, Round Robin review, Southland, Southland squad
- Squad only include players who have been named in a starting 15 or reserves bench.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals, Round Robin review, Hawke's Bay
Hawke's Bay finished the round robin fourth on the points table with 41 competition points and 8 win, 4 losses and 1 draw. They scored the most points out of any other team with 372 and also gave up 256 points for an overall points differential of 116. They came first-equal in tries with 40 along with other finalists Wellington and Canterbury, they also scored the most 5 try bonus points with 6. In total they scored 40 tries, 36 penalty goals, 2 drop goals and 29 conversions.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals, Round Robin review, Hawke's Bay
Matt Berquist scored the most points for the Hawke's Bay team, and the whole competition, with 156 points and an average of 14.2 points a game. They also had the top try scorer of the competition in Zac Guildford who scored 13 tries through 12 games.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals, Round Robin review, Hawke's Bay, Hawke's Bay Squad
A total of 30 players were part of the Hawke's Bay team this season, Jason Shoemark was captain and Peter Russell and Tom Coventry were the coaches.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals, Round Robin review, Hawke's Bay, Hawke's Bay Squad
- Squad only include players who have been named in a starting 15 or reserves bench.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals, Round Robin review, Hawke's Bay, Statistics
Hawke's Bay scored 372 points this season, most by any other team. Matt Berquist scored the most points with 156, most among players. They also scored 40 tries including the only penalty try of the season; Zac Guildford led them with 13 tries, also most among players. Sona Taumalolo, Ash Dixon, Matt Egan and Ross Kennedy were the only players in the Hawke's Bay team to receive disciplinary cards with yellows in round 3, round 8, round 9 and round 13.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals, Semifinal One
Canterbury beat Hawke's Bay on 30 October in the first semifinal of the 2009 Air New Zealand Cup finals. Canterbury scored 20 points and put out their best defensive performance of the season only giving up 3 points against Hawke's Bay who were the leading points scorers amongst teams during the round robin. Hawke's Bay were also held tryless for only the second time all season with the previous time being against fellow semifinalists Southland. It was the third year in a row that Hawke's Bay were knocked out in the semifinals.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals, Semifinal One, Match summary
Canterbury scored 3 tries and held Hawke's Bay to a penalty goal to win the first semifinal and be the first team to qualify for the 2009 Air New Zealand Cup Final. Hawke's Bay made a late change when Richard Buckman replaced Andrew Horrell in the starting lineups because of a pre-existing injury. Sam Giddens replaced Buckman's spot on the bench.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals, Semifinal One, Match summary
Lock Sam Whitelock scored the first of Canterbury's tries from broken play when Hawke's Bay couldn't take a high kick from Stephen Brett. Tyson Keats cleaned up the loose ball and passed the ball out to Whitelock to open the scoring 9 minutes into the game. Brett converted the try from wideout and Canterbury were up 7-0.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals, Semifinal One, Match summary
Canterbury had the chance to score earlier but Michael Paterson couldn't pull in the offload by Sean Maitland after a break down the right hand touchline.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals, Semifinal One, Match summary
Hawke's Bay's Matt Berquist kicked the only points of Hawke's Bay night from a penalty 40 metres out. That was his only opportunity at goal for Berquist who had an 82.2% success rate during the round robin.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals, Semifinal One, Match summary
Canterbury scored their second try 4 minutes before halftime when Isaac Ross got the pass from Paterson who first charged down Chris Eaton's clearing kick, then regathered the ball and offloaded to Ross for the try in the corner. Stephen Brett could not convert and Canterbury had a 12-3 lead at halftime.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals, Semifinal One, Match summary
After ten minutes of the second half Hawke's Bay had possession inside Canterbury's 22-metre line and had them backed up when they knocked on and Canterbury got the ball. They spread the ball wide to Maitland who ran down the touchline into Hawke's Bay's territory, too fast for the scrambling defence, before he passed to Brett in support to score Canterbury's third try of the night. Brett missed once again and Canterbury had a 14-point lead with 30 minutes remaining.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals, Semifinal One, Match summary
Throughout the remaining minutes Canterbury sustained pressure on their opponents forcing the mistakes and also bringing on fresh legs to finish the game off, all in the final twenty minutes.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals, Semifinal One, Match summary
Brett kicked a penalty goal 3 minutes before the full-time whistle but had the game wrapped up beforehand with the teams playing most of the second half on Hawke's Bay's side of field. The game finished 20-3 in Canterbury's favour and second straight final berth while Hawke's Bay were knocked out in the semifinals for the third year in a row.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals, Semifinal One, Player movement
Canterbury used all of their seven subs during the game while Hawke's Bay 5 of their substitutions.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals, Semifinal Two
Wellington won the second semifinal against Southland on 31 October. Wellington gained a lead going into halftime and were able to hold on after a Southland comeback early on in the second half to win 34 - 21.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals, Semifinal Two, Match summary
Both teams scored 3 tries but Wellington scored 5 penalty goals while Southland had no chance for any goal kicking.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals, Semifinal Two, Match summary
Wellington were up 3 points to nil before the first try was scored by Southland's Jason Rutledge in the 14th minute of play. He got fed the ball and in midfield after an attacking lineout and was too strong for the remaining defenders. Robbie Robinson converted and Southland were up 7-3.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals, Semifinal Two, Match summary
Wellington scored their first try of the match after two more penalties by Weepu. The Lions won the ball from a defending scrum, Anthony Perenise ran the ball up and fed to Alby Mathewson who passed to David Smith to score Wellington's try. Weepu converted the try and with a penalty 2 minutes later Wellington went into halftime with a 19-7 lead.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals, Semifinal Two, Match summary
Southland regained the lead ten minutes into the second half with two tries in quick succession. The first coming to halfback Scott Cowan who stole the ball of opposite Alby Mathewson then had a clear 50-metre run to the line. Robbie Robinson converted and Southland reduced Wellington's lead to 5. Their second come from broken play of a stolen ball from the breakdown. Midfielder Jason Kawau made the break and had an easy draw and pass to fellow midfielder Kendrick Lynn for Southland's third try of the night. Another conversion by Robinson and Southland were ahead 21-19.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals, Semifinal Two, Match summary
That, however, was the last time Southland scored on the night with Wellington have most of the ball throughout the remainder of the match.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals, Semifinal Two, Match summary
After another penalty by Weepu, bringing his tally to 17, Wellington scored the second and third try both to replacement hooker Dane Coles. Coles linked up with Mark Reddish after a counterattack started by Victor Vito and carried on by Hosea Gear for his first and second was from a crossfield kick to fullback Apoua Stewart who fed Victor Vito to draw and pass to an open Coles for his second. Weepu converted the second and Wellington finished with 34-21 advantage and qualified for the fourth final in a row.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals, Semifinal Two, Player movement
Both Wellington and Southland used all of their replacements available.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals, Grand final
The 2009 Air New Zealand Cup Final was played on 7 November with Canterbury beating Wellington 28 points to 20. Canterbury had an 18 - 3 lead into halftime but Wellington fought back to lower the margin to 7 at one point but ultimately finished in Canterbury's favour.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals, Grand final, Match summary
Canterbury made a good start with a try to Colin Slade after Wellington failed to protect the ball. Captain George Whitelock picked up the loose ball which ultimately ended up with Slade who had no one in front of him 60 metres out. Stephen Brett converted and Canterbury were 7-0 after two minutes.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals, Grand final, Match summary
After a failed penalty goal attempt by Piri Weepu, Brett had his chance after a scrum penalty and put Canterbury up 10-0 16 minutes in.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals, Grand final, Match summary
Another penalty by Brett after 29 minutes and another Weepu in the 32nd put the scores at 13-3 before Colin Slade scored his second after he was put into the gap from a pass from centre Casey Laulala. Brett missed the conversion and Canterbury went into halftime with an 18-3 lead.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals, Grand final, Match summary
Wellington were the first to score in the second half with Alapati Leuia picking off a pass from Colin Slade in the 54th minute. Weepu converted and Wellington reduced the margin to 8. Canterbury hit back though with a try to wing Sean Maitland running onto a Brett pass 40 metres out and sprinting pass three players for his team's 3rd try. With the conversion from Brett, Canterbury were up 25-10.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals, Grand final, Match summary
After another Weepu penalty goal, Colin Slade received a yellow card in two minutes later for a professional foul. Wellington used it to their advantage and scored their second try coming from replacement Scott Fuglistaller. Weepu couldn't convert and Wellington were down by a converted try. But one last penalty goal by Brett in 78th minute put it out of reach for Wellington and Canterbury won their second provincial rugby title in as many years winning 28-20.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals, Statistics, Team
There have been 78 points scored through 2 games of the 2009 air New Zealand Cup Finals including 9 tries. Piri Weepu, from Wellington, has scored the most with 19. Dane Coles has scored the most tries by a player with 2. There have been no disciplinary cards issued.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Finals, Statistics, Player
Piri Weepu scored the most points in the finals with 29 while Dane Coles and Colin Slade scored the most tries with 2 each.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Round Robin
The 2009 Air New Zealand Cup was a provincial rugby union competition in New Zealand, which was run as a round-robin tournament from 30 July to 25 October. There were 13 rounds where every team played each other once. The top four teams on the Air New Zealand Cup table advanced to the semi-finals, where they played for a chance in the Grand Final.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup Round Robin
Most weeks, one game was played on Thursday at 7:35 pm (NZ Time), two games on Fridays both starting at 7:35 pm, three games on Saturdays at 2:35, 5:30 and 7:35 pm and one game on Sundays at 2:35 pm. Again, this is most common, there were games played at 4:30 or 6:30 pm and more or less games played on certain days, e.g. Thursdays and Saturdays.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup statistics
The 2009 Air New Zealand Cup ran from 30 July to 7 November. This page includes all statistics from the 14 teams during the 13 rounds of the round-robin.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup statistics
There were 3953 points scored with an average of 43.4 points per game; there also were 406 tries scored.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup statistics
Hawke's Bay scored the most points with 372 and, along with Canterbury and Wellington, the most tries with 40, while Southland had the best defensive record through the competition with only 189 points scored against them through 13 rounds.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup statistics
Matt Berquist, from Hawke's Bay, scored the most points out of every player in the competition - with 156 points and an average of 14.2 points through his 11 matches. Zac Guildford scored the most tries this season with 13.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup statistics, Overall, Team
The lists showing all statistics for all teams about points, tries and disciplinary cards.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup statistics, Overall, Team, Points
The table showing how many points scored by each team (white) and how many points each team was scored against them (grey) in the 2009 Air New Zealand Cup Round Robin. Hawke's Bay scored the most points so far with 372 (28.6 points a game), while Southland had the fewest points scored against them with 189 (14.5 points a game).


2009 Air New Zealand Cup statistics, Overall, Team, Tries
The list of how many tries each team scored in the round robin. Canterbury, Wellington and Hawke's Bay scored the most tries this season with 40 each while Taranaki, North Harbour and Northland scored the fewest with 20 each.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup statistics, Overall, Team, Competition Points
List of how many competitions points each team scored with overall and week totals.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup statistics, Overall, Team, Disciplinary cards
List of teams whose players received yellow and/or red cards. Bay of Plenty were issued the most cards with 5 while North Harbour were issued the only red card of the season.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup statistics, Overall, Player
The list of the top players who have scored the most points and tries in the 2009 Air New Zealand Cup. There were 3,953 points including 406 tries scored with a total of 218 players scoring them, Matt Berquist leads them all with 156 points and an average of 14.2 points per game. There have also been 33 yellow cards and 1 red card issued.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup statistics, Overall, Player, Top Ten Points Scorers
A total of 218 players from each team scored points in the round robin, Matt Berquist has scored the most with 156 and average of 14.2 points per game.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup statistics, Overall, Player, Top Try Scorers
A total of 218 players have scored a total of 406 tries. Zac Guildford has scored the most tries by a player this season with 13.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup statistics, Overall, Player, Top Goal Kickers
Mathew Berquist leads all goal kickers this season with 82.2% success rate.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup statistics, Overall, Player, Disciplinary Cards
The list of all players who have received a yellow or red card in the 2009 Air New Zealand Cup. Luke Braid and Colin Bourke, both from Bay of Plenty are the players who received the most disciplinary cards with two yellows each.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup statistics, Individual Team Statistics
The lists showing each teams; points scorers, try scorers, goal kickers and disciplinary card recipients where available.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup statistics, Individual Team Statistics, Auckland
Auckland scored 272 total points this season including 29 tries. Ash Moeke led them with 75 points scored through 13 games with an average of 5.8 points per game while Joe Rokocoko and Paul Williams led the try scorers with 4 tries each. Flanker Hamish Paterson and Peter Saili were the only players in the Auckland squad to receive a yellow card, which was in round 7 and round 13.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup statistics, Individual Team Statistics, Auckland
- Squad only include players who have been named in a starting 15 or reserves bench.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup statistics, Individual Team Statistics, Bay of Plenty
Bay of Plenty scored a total of 268 points through 13 games with an average of 20.6 points per game. Mike Delany scored the most of these points with 149 and an average of 12.4 points a game. They also scored 24 tries, and were issued five disciplinary cards, also most throughout the competition.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup statistics, Individual Team Statistics, Bay of Plenty
- Squad only include players who have been named in a starting 15 or reserves bench.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup statistics, Individual Team Statistics, Canterbury
Canterbury scored 369 points through the round-robin. Daniel Carter scored the most of Canterbury's points, with 98 points and an average of 16.3 points a game. Canterbury also scored 40 tries this season with Sean Maitland scoring the most with 8. Adam Whitelock was  the only player to receive a disciplinary card, with a yellow in round 2 against Auckland.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup statistics, Individual Team Statistics, Canterbury
- Squad only include players who have been named in a starting 15 or reserves bench.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup statistics, Individual Team Statistics, Counties Manukau
Counties Manukau scored 235 total points this season with Tim Nanai-Williams leading them with 70 points, they also scored 30 tries, with Ahsee Tuala and Simon Lemalu leading them with 4 each. Winger Sherwin Stowers is the only player to receive a yellow card.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup statistics, Individual Team Statistics, Counties Manukau
- Squad only include players who have been named in a starting 15 or reserves bench.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup statistics, Individual Team Statistics, Hawke's Bay
Hawke's Bay scored 372 points this season, most by any other team. Matt Berquist scored the most points with 156, most among players. They also scored 40 tries including the only penalty try of the season; Zac Guildford led them with 13 tries, also most among players. Sona Taumalolo, Ash Dixon, Matt Egan and Ross Kennedy were the only players in the Hawke's Bay team to receive disciplinary cards with yellows in round 3, round 8, round 9 and round 13.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup statistics, Individual Team Statistics, Hawke's Bay
- Squad only include players who have been named in a starting 15 or reserves bench.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup statistics, Individual Team Statistics, Manawatu
Manawatu scored a total of 305 points in the 2009 Air New Zealand Cup. Isaac Thompson led them all with a tally of 71 points and an average of 5.9 a game. Manawatu have  scored 35 tries this season, Andre Taylor led them with 3 tries. Johnny Leota, Brent Thompson and James Goode were the only players to receive disciplinary cards.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup statistics, Individual Team Statistics, Manawatu
- Squad only include players who have been named in a starting 15 or reserves bench.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup statistics, Individual Team Statistics, North Harbour
North Harbour scored a total of 244 points this season with an average of 19 points a game, they also scored 20 tries. Michael Harris scored the most points with 108 and an average of 10.8 points a game. North Harbour were issued two disciplinary cards including the only red card of the season, which went to Andrew Mailei in round 9.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup statistics, Individual Team Statistics, North Harbour
- Squad only include players who have been named in a starting 15 or reserves bench.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup statistics, Individual Team Statistics, Northland
Northland scored 226 points this season with an average of 17.8 points per game, Lachlan Munro led the team with a tally of 146 points throughout his 13 games. They have also scored 20 tries, which captain Jared Payne led with 6, and had one player receive a disciplinary card, which was also the first in the competition.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup statistics, Individual Team Statistics, Northland
- Squad only include players who have been named in a starting 15 or reserves bench.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup statistics, Individual Team Statistics, Otago
Otago scored 260 points this season with Glenn Dickson leading them all with 72 points and an average of 5.5 points a game. Ben Smith led the team with 6 tries from a total of 26 from the team. Peter Mirrielees was the only player to receive a disciplinary card with a yellow in round 12.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup statistics, Individual Team Statistics, Otago
- Squad only include players who have been named in a starting 15 or reserves bench.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup statistics, Individual Team Statistics, Southland
Southland scored 260 points throughout round-robin with an average of 20 points per game. Robbie Robinson scored the most with a tally of 111 points through his 11 games. They also scored 28 tries with locks Josh Bekhuis and Joe Tuineau leading the team with 4 each. Jamie Mackintosh was the only Southland player to receive a yellow card which came in round 7.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup statistics, Individual Team Statistics, Southland
- Squad only include players who have been named in a starting 15 or reserves bench.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup statistics, Individual Team Statistics, Taranaki
Taranaki scored 252 points this season, with Willie Ripia scoring the most with 115 points through his 11 games. They also scored 20 tries with Tony Penn and Shayne Austin leading them with 3 each. Three Taranaki players received disciplinary cards, all yellow; Scott Waldrom in round 2 against Northland, Jarrad Hoeata in there round 3 draw against Hawke's Bay and Craig Clarke in Round 5 against Manawatu.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup statistics, Individual Team Statistics, Taranaki
- Squad only include players who have been named in a starting 15 or reserves bench.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup statistics, Individual Team Statistics, Tasman
Tasman scored a total of 243 points this season. They have also scored 26 tries. Captain Andrew Goodman scored most points scoring 106 points through 13 games while wingers James Kamana and Blair cook led the team with 4 tries each. Kahn Fotuali'i and Alex Ainley were the only players from the team have been given yellow cards.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup statistics, Individual Team Statistics, Tasman
- Squad only include players who have been named in a starting 15 or reserves bench.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup statistics, Individual Team Statistics, Waikato
Waikato scored 285 points this season which Callum Brucescoring the most with 125 points through 13 games with an average of 9.6 points per game. They also scored 28 tries, led by Sosene Anesi with 5. Jordan Smiler, Liam Messam and Save Tokula were the only players to receive a disciplinary card for Waikato; all yellow.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup statistics, Individual Team Statistics, Waikato
- Squad only include players who have been named in a starting 15 or reserves bench.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup statistics, Individual Team Statistics, Wellington
Wellington scored 362 points through the round-robin with an average of 28.3 points per game, and also scored 39 tries. Daniel Kirkpatrick led the team in points with 95 through his 11 games while Hosea Gear led the team in tries with 11. Hosea Gear also, along with Daniel Ramsey and Anthony Perenise, received a disciplinary card, all yellow.


2009 Air New Zealand Cup statistics, Individual Team Statistics, Wellington
- Squad only include players who have been named in a starting 15 or reserves bench.


2009 Akron Zips football team
The 2009 Akron Zips football team represented the University of Akron in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Akron competed as a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) East Division. The team was coached by J. D. Brookhart and played their homes game at InfoCision Stadium.


2009 Akron Zips football team, Before the season
Much of the anticipation leading up to the season involved the grand opening of the new on-campus Summa Field at InfoCision Stadium. The University set up , allowing fans to watch the progress of the stadium being built. Fans watched online as the final stages of the stadium were pieced together, including a 40-foot by 25-foot video scoreboard and ribbon boards along the east stands.


2009 Akron Zips football team, Before the season
The first Spring Training Scrimmage took place on March 12, after only five practices. With the offensive side down two key running backs (DeVoe Torrence and Alex Allen), the defense was able to win this session, along with the second scrimmage on March 28. In the annual Blue-Gold game, the defense came out victorious again, winning the game with a score of 28–24. Key plays in this game included a blocked field goal by Norman Shuford and an interception by Kevin Davis.


2009 Akron Zips football team, Before the season
Alex Allen was one of the 106 nominees for Allstate's AFCA Good Works Team. According to the Press Release, this list "honors college football players who make outstanding contributions in the areas of volunteerism and civic involvement."


2009 Akron Zips football team, Roster
The Zips lost relatively few starters from the 2008 football season. However, the starters that they did lose include lettermen Dennis Kennedy and Chris Kemme, the latter of which signed for the Detroit Lions after the 2009 NFL Draft. On the defensive side, Akron lost all three linebackers to graduation, and Strong Safety/Kickoff Returner Bryan Williams signed a free agency deal with the Cleveland Browns.


2009 Akron Zips football team, Coaching staff
The Zips made hired three new coaches for the 2009 football season. Shane Montgomery was the head coach of the Miami Redhawks for the past four seasons, and moved over to serve as Akron's Offensive Coordinator and Tight Ends Coach. During his time at Miami, he led the team to a first-place tie in the MAC East Division in both 2005 and 2007. Walt Harris is best known for being the head coach of Pitt from 1997 to 2004 and Stanford in 2005 and 2006. A week later, Akron announced the hiring of new Linebackers coach Vince Okruch.


2009 Akron Zips football team, Game summaries, Penn State
Ninth-ranked Penn State built a 31–0 halftime lead, holding Akron to 28 total yards and minus-17 yards rushing in the first half. Akron was able to get on the board in the second half on a 40-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Chris Jacquemain following a Penn State turnover. The Zips finished with 186 total yards, only 28 of which were from rushing. Penn State amassed 515 total yards including 379 from passing, mostly from quarterback Daryll Clark, who also threw 3 touchdowns. Following the win, the Nittany Lions rose to #5 in the polls and improved to 4–0 all-time against the Zips.


2009 Akron Zips football team, Game summaries, Morgan State
The Zips opened Summa Field at InfoCision Stadium against the Morgan State Bears, a Football Championship Subdivision team. This was the Zips' first meeting with the Bears, as well as the Bears' season opener. The Bears were led by Carlton Jackson, who had previously played for the Zips in the 2007 season. He battled for the starting quarterback position with Chris Jacquemain in that year, who prevailed and led the Zips in this game.


2009 Akron Zips football team, Game summaries, Morgan State
Logistically, the game went on without any major problems and the new stadium was well received by fans. The biggest problem according to fans was finding their appropriate parking lot. During the game, Akron amassed 436 total offensive yards, which included 186 passing yards. This was the most passing yards allowed by Morgan State since a 2008 game against Towson. Despite the 250 yards rushing, no running back individually rushed for 100 yards, because six different backs were used.


2009 Akron Zips football team, Game summaries, Indiana
The game marked the second meeting between the two teams, the first being in the 2007 season at Indiana's Memorial Stadium where the Hoosiers won 41–24. Indiana faced Akron in their third game of the season and first road game after defeating Eastern Kentucky and Western Michigan at home. This was also the first time a team from the Big Ten Conference had played in Akron.


2009 Akron Zips football team, Game summaries, Indiana
In the days leading up to the game, however, the Zips met with some adversity when it was announced September 18 that starting quarterback Chris Jacquemain would be indefinitely suspended for a violation of team rules. No reason was given in that suspension nor was a timetable provided for his return.


2009 Akron Zips football team, Game summaries, Indiana
Behind Ben Chappell's two touchdown passes and Ray Fisher's opening kickoff return, the Hoosiers were able to again defeat the Zips by a final score of 38–21. For Akron, new starting quarterback Matt Rodgers, who had just two days of practice as the starting quarterback, completed six of his eight passes in the first half, but threw four interceptions in the second half. Two of the interceptions would lead to touchdowns for Indiana. The Zips were able to score touchdowns on a blocked punt early in the game as well as a Rodgers rushing touchdown.


2009 Akron Zips football team, Game summaries, Central Michigan
Akron began the MAC schedule with an away game against Central Michigan,  their first meeting since a 35–32 Central Michigan victory at the Rubber Bowl in 2007. The Zips faced more discouraging news in the week leading up to the game. First, it was announced on September 23 that Jacquemain had been dismissed from the team. The next day, the University announced that sophomore Cowles Stewart had been suspended from the team after he was charged with felonious assault and Running Backs coach and Recruiting Coordinator Reno Ferri was put on paid administrative leave as the University began to investigate violations of NCAA Compliance rules.


2009 Akron Zips football team, Game summaries, Central Michigan
Central Michigan Quarterback Dan LeFevour had a career day against the Zips, scoring six touchdowns in becoming the seventh MAC quarterback to pass for 10,000 yards in his career. Matt Rogers achieved a pass efficiency of 120 with no interceptions. He completed 12 of his 19 passes for a total of 127 yards. Running Back Joe Tuzze also ran in for a score, which was the first in his collegiate career. The Zips fell to 8–14 all-time against the Chippewas with the loss.


2009 Akron Zips football team, Game summaries, Ohio
After an off-week during the season, the Zips awaited their next MAC Opponent, Ohio University. Overall, the series between these two schools are tied, 12–12–1, with the last game a 49–42 loss in Athens. However, this series is heavily favored year after year towards the home team. The last game that was lost at the Rubber Bowl was in 1997 when the Zips lost in a four-point decision. Prior to the game, previously suspended running backs coach Reno Ferri had resigned from his position, effective November 1. This resignation comes amidst an internal investigation by the University regarding recruiting violations.


2009 Akron Zips football team, Game summaries, Ohio
The woes only got worse once the game started for Akron. During the second quarter, starting quarterback Matt Rodgers suffered an ACL injury and was removed for the rest of the game, possibly the rest of the season. To replace him, the Zips had to turn to their third quarterback, Patrick Nicely, who was originally planned to have a redshirt year. The lone touchdown for the Zips came in the third quarter when running back Joe Tuzze ran for a 3-yard score. Other than that, the game belonged to Ohio. The Bobcats' scoring came from two field goals and two touchdowns (one two-point conversion attempt failed).


2009 Akron Zips football team, Game summaries, Buffalo
Akron began a three-game road series with a trip to UB Stadium to face the Buffalo Bulls. Akron leads the overall series 8–2, but Buffalo has won each of the past two meetings, including a 40–43 quadruple-overtime decision in the 2008 season. That was the last game in the historic Rubber Bowl, as the University was working hard on the new stadium. The Zips, 1–4 on the season, had been in this same position in 2005, when they won the most conference games in the school's history as well as the MAC Championship.


2009 Akron Zips football team, Game summaries, Buffalo
Akron began the scoring in the second quarter when Mike Ward recovered a Patrick Nicely fumble in the endzone. However, Buffalo quickly came back with 8:47 left in the first half and tied the game on a Maynard pass to make the game 7–7. Buffalo scored again only four minutes later with another pass to Roosevelt, and the game went to halftime with the score 14–7.


2009 Akron Zips football team, Game summaries, Buffalo
After the break, Zips running back Alex Allen tied the game once again with a 1-yard touchdown run, and kicker Branko Rogovic gave Akron its final lead of 17–14 with 9:57 remaining in the game. However, Buffalo was able to make the last score as Mario Henry made a 1-yard touchdown run with 6 minutes remaining in the game. Akron was never able to recover.


2009 Akron Zips football team, Game summaries, Buffalo
This game was high in injuries as the Zips lost two significant players as a result of this game. Leading receiver and senior Deryn Bowser left the game in the first half with a broken fibula. Along with Bowser, Sophomore linebacker Aaron Williams suffered a broken arm in the 21–17 loss. Both players will not return this season. The Bulls also lost players due to injuries, with tailbacks Ike Nduka and Brandom Thermilus both going down with sprained ankle injuries. Junior tight end Kyle Brey also left with a shoulder injury.


2009 Akron Zips football team, Game summaries, Syracuse
In the middle of the season, the Zips took a break from Mid-American Conference opponents and traveled to Syracuse, New York to take on the Syracuse Orange. The series between these two teams only began last season, as Akron traveled to the Carrier Dome and came out with a victory, 42–28. This victory was seen as an upset by many journalists, although the Orange finished the season 3–9 and finished last in the Big East Conference. Syracuse was poised for revenge against Akron.


2009 Akron Zips football team, Game summaries, Syracuse
Freshman quarterback Nicely got the first touchdown of his collegiate career when he connected with Andre Jones in the first quarter. After moving to the wide receiver position due to Bowser's injury, Andre Jones became the only player in the nation to start at four different positions, three on offense and one on defense. Early in the second quarter, Syracuse got its first score from running back Delone Carter on a 7-yard run with 12:20 remaining in the half. The Orange was able to score again with 4:14 remaining when Carter scored another touchdown.


2009 Akron Zips football team, Game summaries, Syracuse
With the score 14–7 in Syracuse's favor, Akron's kicker Branko Rogovic missed a 29-yard field goal to send the game into halftime. The second-half kickoff was returned by Dashan Miller for 98 yards to tie the game, but Syracuse scored two more touchdowns, one by Marcus Sales and another by Carter, to win the game.


2009 Akron Zips football team, Game summaries, Northern Illinois
With hopes of playing in a bowl game all but lost, the Zips traveled to Northern Illinois University to take on the MAC West Huskies. The Zips have faced the Huskies a total of nine times, including the 2005 MAC Championship Game on Ford Field. Northern Illinois leads the overall series 5–4, although Akron has won the last two meetings. The previous match up between these two teams was in the Championship Game. Northern Illinois was ahead 30–24 with only 17 seconds remaining in the game when Luke Getsy connected with Domenik Hixon for a 36-yard touchdown pass to give the Zips a 31–30 victory. Akron won both meetings in 2005 with a combined score of 79–62.


2009 Akron Zips football team, Game summaries, Northern Illinois
Along with the Zips, the Huskies have been having quarterback problems as well. In an earlier game against the Toledo Rockets, starting quarterback Chandler Harnish was sent off of the field with a knee injury. This forced the team to start their backup, DeMarcus Grady, for the Miami and Akron games. In the first half of the game, the only scoring was provided by Northern Illinois kicker Mike Salerno when he scored field goals in the first and second quarter. In the third quarter, however, the momentum shifted when Akron was able to make two scores to take the lead. Branko Rogovic provided the first points by kicking a 34-yard field goal in their first possession after kickoff, and then scored a touchdown on an 80-yard pass from halfback Alex Allen to Andre Jones to make the score 10–6.


2009 Akron Zips football team, Game summaries, Northern Illinois
Northern Illinois would prove to bounce back in the fourth quarter however, and put three touchdowns on the board to win the game. The first came only 1 minute and 25 seconds into the quarter, as running back Chad Spann rushed 28 yards for a touchdown. Spann would score again with eight minutes remaining to put the Huskies ahead 20–10, and the game ended on a Nathan Palmer touchdown with only 46 seconds remaining.


2009 Akron Zips football team, Game summaries, Kent State
Every year, The University of Akron and Kent State University face off in a rivalry game for the Wagon Wheel. While Akron has won 29 of the 51 matches against Kent State, the Golden Flashes held the lead since the Wheel was introduced in 1946. This year's game is unique in the series, in which both teams' quarterbacks are pure freshmen who just came out of high school not even six months ago. Kent State quarterback Spencer Keith took over the job as the original starter, Giorgio Morgan suffered an ankle injury in an earlier game.


2009 Akron Zips football team, Game summaries, Kent State
Kent State was able to score on their first drive, moving 60 yards down the field to set up a field goal by Freddy Cortez. However, Akron immediately responded with a drive on their own, but ended up scoring a touchdown to take the lead 7–3 in the first quarter. The lead was extended in the second quarter by a 59-yard reception by Jeremy LaFrance, to set Akron's score at 14.


2009 Akron Zips football team, Game summaries, Kent State
The Golden Flashes were able to come back at this point, scoring ten unanswered points which were finished by a field goal in the ending seconds of the first half. In the third quarter, it had appeared that Jeremy Bruce had fumbled the ball, which was recovered by a Kent State defender and returned for a touchdown. After the review however, it was determined that Bruce's elbow had hit the ground before the ball coming loose, therefore the player was down. That play proved to be crucial to the Flashes, as they ended up losing the game by potentially one touchdown, with a final score of 28–20.


2009 Akron Zips men's soccer team
The 2009 Akron Zips men's soccer team represented the University of Akron during the 2009 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. The Zips finished the season undefeated and won every match of the season except for the national championship game, where they lost in penalties to Virginia.


2009 Akron Zips men's soccer team, Roster
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2009 Al Anbar VBIED Campaign
The 2009 Al Anbar VBIED Campaign were a series of carbomb attacks (including several suicide bombings) throughout Al Anbar Province in the months following the withdrawal of US forces from Iraqi cities on June 30, 2009. In early 2009, U.S. forces began pulling out of cities across the country, turning over the task of maintaining security to the Iraqi Army, police, and their paramilitary allies. Experts and many Iraqis worried that in the absence of U.S. soldiers, AQI might resurface and attempt mass-casualty attacks to destabilize the country. There was indeed a spike in the number of suicide attacks, and through mid and late 2009, al-Qaeda in Iraq rebounded in strength and appeared to be launching a concerted effort to cripple the Iraqi government.


2009 Al Anbar VBIED Campaign
The first attack was on July 15, when six people (including five policemen) were killed and another 19 wounded in Ramadi when a suicide bomber driving a minibus struck a checkpoint of Iraqi soldiers and police. On July 21, a pair of car bombs were simultaneously detonated near a group of restaurants in Ramadi, killing 1-3 people and wounding 13-18. That same day a state of emergency was declared in Ramadi along with vehicle bans both there and in Fallujah.


2009 Al Anbar VBIED Campaign
Four days later on July 25, four people were killed and another 12 wounded when a car bomb was detonated outside the offices of the Iraqi Islamic Party in Fallujah. On August 3, two car bombs hit the cities of Haditha and Saqlawiyah. The Haditha bomb targeted a crowded marketplace, killing seven civilians and wounding 20, while the Saqlawiyah attack unsuccessfully targeted the local police chief, but killed two civilians. On September 7, two car bombs were detonated against police checkpoints in Ramadi, killing seven (including three police) and wounding seventeen. Another car bomb attack against a police station in Ramadi on September 27 killed three police and wounded four. On October 6, a suicide car bomb was detonated near a residential compound in Fallujah, killing nine civilians and wounding 30.


2009 Al Anbar governorate election
The Al Anbar Governorate election of 2009 was held on 31 January 2009 alongside elections for all other governorates outside Iraqi Kurdistan and Kirkuk.


2009 Al Anbar governorate election, Background
The governorate is overwhelmingly populated by Sunni Arabs. The sitting governorate council was elected in the 2005 Iraqi governorate elections. These elections took place at the same time as the January 2005 Iraqi legislative election and were boycotted by nearly all Sunni Arab parties. The Iraqi Islamic Party was the only significant Sunni Arab party to put up candidates but they also withdrew from the ballot days before the election.


2009 Al Anbar governorate election, Background
The turnout in Anbar was 2% for the legislative elections and only 0.5% for the governorate election. Therefore, although the Iraqi Islamic Party has traditionally been stronger in Mosul, they ended up with nearly all the seats on the governorate council.


2009 Al Anbar governorate election, Background
From 2004, the governorate became a major site of the insurgency in Iraq directed against the Iraq government and occupying United States army. However, the formation in September 2006 of the Anbar Salvation Council was a turning point, and led to the American-backed tribal forces driving al-Qaeda in Iraq and other insurgents out of al-Anbar.


2009 Al Anbar governorate election, Campaign
More than 520 candidates stood in Anbar, from 37 party lists. The main contest was between the Iraqi Islamic Party which ran the council since 2005 and various parties linked to the Awakening movements formed by tribal leaders and funded by the United States to fight against al-Qaeda in Iraq. Analysts predicted the IIP standing on their own would be "wiped out" in Anbar by the Awakening movements. the Iraqi Islamic Party formed the Coalition of Intellectuals and Tribes together with uniting the Islamic Party, the gathering of Anbar’s Tribal Leaders and Intellectuals, Iraq’s People’s Conference and the Independent Tribal National Gathering.


2009 Al Anbar governorate election, Campaign
Lists associated with the Awakening movements included the Iraq Awakening and Independents National Alliance and the National Front for the Salvation of Iraq. The Alliance was led by Sheikh Ahmed Abu Risha, Sheikh Amir Ali al-Sulaiman and Sheikh Hameed al-Hayyes Sheikh al-Hayyes left the Alliance before the election and contested as head of the "Anbar Salvation Council" list.


2009 Al Anbar governorate election, Campaign
The National Front was led by Sheikh Ali Hatim,  the tribal leader of the Dulaim tribal confederation - the largest in Anbar - and has previously clashed with Abu Risha's brother, Abdul Sattar Abu Risha, when he was the head of the Anbar Salvation Council. The Front claimed the support of the Anbar Salvation Council, the Al-Anbar Awakening Congress, and the Council of Al-Anbar Sheikhs.


2009 Al Anbar governorate election, Campaign
The Tribes of Iraq Coalition, headed by Hamid al-Hais is another list which claims to be backed by tribal leaders.


2009 Al Anbar governorate election, Campaign
Saleh al-Mutlak's Iraqi National Dialogue Front is the only significant list that doesn't rely on support from tribal leaders, being based on former Ba'ath Party supporters.


2009 Al Anbar governorate election, Results
Following the vote, supporters of the IIP and the Sahawa gathered in the capital, Ramadi, and started firing in the air to celebrate victory. Iraqi police quickly dispersed the groups and announced a curfew.


2009 Al Anbar governorate election, Results
Early leaked results indicated that the lists backed by the IIP had won 12 of the 29 seats on the council - the largest number for any party. Sahawa supporters accused the IIP of adding 100,000 fraudulent ballot papers and threatened a violent reaction if it was confirmed. Sheikh Ahmed Abu Risha threatened to "transfer our entity from a political to a military one" and "to fight the Islamic Party and the [Electoral] commission". The IIP condemned the threats of violence saying this behaviour would "take us back to the Middle Ages"


2009 Al Anbar governorate election, Results
The Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq and IIP member, Rafi al-Issawi, called for a recount with people accused of fraud prosecuted. Iraqi National Dialogue Front leader Saleh al-Mutlaq said most of the lists thought the IIP had manipulated the vote, he had seen fraudulent ballots himself and the vote had been "tainted".


2009 Al Anbar governorate election, Results
The Electoral Commission said they had received a flood of complaints which they were investigating - including some serious complaints that could alter the outcome of the vote. Commission officials met with Abu Risha, assured him they would not tolerate any forgery and asked him to avoid confrontation with the IIP.


2009 Al Anbar governorate election, Results
Following the election, the Iraq Awakening and Independents National Alliance nominated as governor Qasim Al-Fahdawi, a businessman who had recently been running a construction company in the United Arab Emirates. He was elected by 24 votes to 3 and formed a government including all parties except for the Iraqi Islamic Party's three members. Dr. Jassim al-Halbusi was elected chairman of the provincial council.


2009 Al Muthanna governorate election
The Al Muthanna governorate election of 2009 was held on 31 January 2009 alongside elections for all other governorates outside Iraqi Kurdistan and Kirkuk.


2009 Al-Fateh Confederations Futsal Cup
The 2009 Al-Fateh Confederations Futsal Cup, being the first Futsal Confederations Cup, was held in Libya from 6 to 11 October 2009. The draw was held on 4 October 2009 in Tripoli. After Spain withdrew on 3 October, it was decided to be a single group competition. Iran won the tournament after winning all their matches.


2009 Al-Nasr International Tournament
The 2009 Al-Nasr International Tournament is a friendly football tournament that takes place in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.


2009 Al-Qādisiyyah governorate election
The Al-Qādisiyyah governorate election of 2009 was held on 31 January 2009 alongside elections for all other governorates outside Iraqi Kurdistan and Kirkuk.


2009 Alabama Crimson Tide football team
The 2009 Alabama Crimson Tide football team represented the University of Alabama in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was the Crimson Tide's 115th overall season, 76th season as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and its 18th within the SEC Western Division. The team was led by head coach Nick Saban, in his third year, and played their home games at Bryant–Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. They finished the season undefeated with a record of 14–0 (8–0 in the SEC) and as national champions.


2009 Alabama Crimson Tide football team
Looking to build on the successes of the 2008 campaign, Alabama entered the 2009 season as the favorite to win the Western Division and meet the Florida Gators in the 2009 SEC Championship Game. Alabama closed the regular season with a 12–0 record including four wins against Top 25-ranked teams—and met the Gators for the SEC Championship in a rematch of the 2008 contest. Alabama was victorious by a final score of 32–13. The following day, final Bowl Championship Series (BCS) standings were unveiled. No. 1 ranked Alabama would meet No. 2 ranked Texas for the BCS National Championship.


2009 Alabama Crimson Tide football team
In the BCS National Championship Game, the Crimson Tide defeated the Longhorns 37–21 to capture their first-ever BCS Championship. With the 14-0 record, they became only the 3rd team in college football history to accomplish this feat, behind the 2002 Buckeyes and the 2009 Broncos (who completed the feat three days earlier in the Fiesta Bowl).


2009 Alabama Crimson Tide football team
Alabama earned their third SEC championship since the inception of the SEC Championship Game in 1992, and their 22nd SEC title. The victory over Texas gave Alabama their 13th national championship in football (their eighth wire service title since the AP Poll began in 1936) and their ninth perfect season since 1925. The season included victories over the previous three national champions: Florida, Louisiana State University (LSU), and Texas.


2009 Alabama Crimson Tide football team
The season marked the first time a player for Alabama won the Heisman Trophy: Mark Ingram won the award over Stanford running back Toby Gerhart. Other award winners included Rolando McClain, who won the Butkus Award and the Jack Lambert Award, and defensive coordinator Kirby Smart, who won the Broyles Award as the nation's top assistant coach. Also, six players were named to various All-America Teams with Terrence Cody, Mike Johnson, and Javier Arenas being consensus selections and Ingram  and McClain each being unanimous selections.