RUGBY- blood sweat n honour

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Rise of the minnows

MONTPELLIER: A series of unexpected results during the group stages have lit up the World Cup and given fresh heart to the minor nations.

The 2007 tournament has proved a delightful advance on the five previous editions where the early rounds were dominated by predictable and often one-sided matches.

Not only have most of the second tier nations managed to avoid the ritual floggings that marred previous tournaments but they have upset some of their more fancied opponents to reach the quarter-finals.

It all started when Argentina pulled off a stunning upset win over France in the opening match and ended when Fiji dumped Wales out of the tournament in a classic encounter that demonstrated all the great virtues of the running game.

  
[table=314][tr][td] [/td][/tr][tr][td]Sprinters

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England will not give up world title easily

PARIS: Dashing England wing Paul Sackey has promised the improving world champions won't give up their title without a fight after booking a quarter-final berth against old rivals Australia.

The London Wasps flyer has scored four tries in England's last two games, managing doubles during the 44-22 win over Samoa and Friday's 36-20 victory against Tonga which secured the last eight clash with the Wallabies

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White warns against complacency

MONTPELLIER: South Africa coach Jake White has warned his players not to even think about winning the World Cup despite getting what appears an easy path to the final.

The Springboks are now odds-on favourites to at least make the final after a series of surprise results left them in the same half of the draw as Fiji, Argentina and Scotland.

With tournament heavyweights New Zealand, Australia, England and France grouped on the other side of the draw, the signs are looking good for a Springboks' side who swept all before them in the group stages.

However, sticking to the coach's mantra that they will take it one game at a time, White said it was crucial his players did not start thinking too far ahead.

揑t's a difficult one but we'll discuss that with the players,

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American flyer all the rave

MONTPELLIER: American radiology student Takudzwa Ngwenya can expect an upsurge in interest from European clubs after he exposed Springbok speedster Bryan Habana for pace with a sensational try.

Ngwenya, who left native Zimbabwe to study in the United States, ignited the crowd when he scorched past Habana, reputedly the fastest man in rugby, to finish off an electrifying 85m try just before half-time.

South Africa won easily enough, 64-15, to advance to the quarter-finals where they will play Fiji in Marseille on Sunday, but 22-year-old Ngwenya抯 searing try was the major talking point from the game.

Ngwenya, whose parents won the US green card lottery, was timed at 10.7 seconds for 100m when at school in Zimbabwe.

But the avowed Springboks

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Top Kiwi sides to make debut at the Cobra 10s

PETALING JAYA: Canterbury Rugby Union and Hawkes Bay Rugby Union, two of the top teams from the Air New Zealand League, will be making their debut in the HSBC-Cobra Rugby 10s at the MBPJ Stadium in Kelana Jaya here on Oct 27 and 28.

And newcomers Brothers RFC of Australia will complete the cast of 16 teams for the tournament.

揅anterbury and Hawkes are currently second and fifth in the Air New Zealand League. Both teams are expected to further improve the quality of our tournament,

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England fly-half must be neutralised, says Wallabies coach

MARSEILLE: The Wallabies are focusing on blunting the effectiveness of Jonny Wilkinson in their crunch Rugby World Cup quarter-final here on Saturday to ensure there is no repeat of his match-winning heroics for England in the 2003 final.

The masterful fly-half has steadied England after their rocky start to the tournament and the Australians see him as one of the main players they must shut down for them to progress at the World Cup.

The Australians have analysed England's game and have identified Wilkinson and the nimble-footed Jason Robinson, if he plays, as the defending champions' main attacking threats.

It was Wilkinson who broke Australians' hearts with his drop goal in extra time to win England their first World Cup crown in Sydney four years ago and he is again England's go-to man.

揧ou want to take down his time, put him under pressure and pressure his kicking game,

dexa

All Blacks terdesak, Carter cedera dimasukkan

PARIS

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All Blacks skipper: We won抰 make same mistakes

CARDIFF: All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw insists New Zealand will not make the same mistakes they made in 1999 when they resume their rivalry with France in the World Cup quarter-finals on Saturday.

New Zealand squandered a half-time lead to lose an epic semi-final to the French at Twickenham eight years ago.

  

Rising high: New Zealand抯 Ali Williams catches the ball at a training session in Cardiff, Wales. The All Blacks are preparing for their quarter-final match against France on Saturday.

In 2003, their World Cup dreams were shattered again at the semi-final stage, this time at the hands of Australia but McCaw and his men are on full alert for any potential muggers this time round.

揇isappointment,

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Michalak on the bench as France go for Beauxis

CARDIFF: France will gamble on Lionel Beauxis at fly-half and Damien Traille at fullback for their World Cup quarter-final against New Zealand in Cardiff on Saturday.

Coach Bernard Laporte, who announced his team yesterday, preferred the 21-year-old Beauxis to Frederic Michalak, more creative but sometimes erratic, and David Skrela, France's number one fly-half during the last Six Nations.

Another shock decision was the selection of inside centre Damien Traille at fullback, a position where he has only played as a replacement in a few games. Vincent Clerc and Cedric Heymans will be on the wing.

揑t was not easy but we've come up with a team that's well balanced and will allow us to live up to the challenge,

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French can derail All Blacks machine, says Ibanez

CARDIFF: French skipper Raphael Ibanez, one of four survivors from his team's epic 1999 World Cup win over the All Blacks, believes France can again tamper successfully with New Zealand's well-oiled machinery in Saturday's quarter-final.

Veteran hooker Ibanez played in the 43-31 win over the All Blacks at Twickenham eight years ago along with current squad members Fabien Pelous, Christophe Dominici and Pieter De Villiers.

揥e know they're very confident but you can knock their machine out of sync; throw some sand into the gearbox,

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Les Bleus have the blues in Cardiff

CARDIFF: French players got the blues when they left the comfort of their Marcoussis training camp and the Marseille sunshine to their new base in Cardiff, venue for their quarter-final against New Zealand.

揥e try to adapt but it was a shock when we flew over from Marseille, where we relaxed by 25癈 on a terrace with a sea view after our last group game, to the mist of Cardiff,

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New Zealand wait on injured Carter

PARIS: New Zealand named their leading player Daniel Carter on Tuesday for Saturday's World Cup quarter-final against France in Cardiff provided his injured calf has fully recovered by the weekend.

Fly-half Carter withdrew from last Saturday's final group match against Romania after straining a muscle in training.

揇aniel trained for 50% of the time with the team this morning and looked fine to me,

pedon

Aux armes, citoyens !
Formez vos bataillons !
Marchons, marchons !       
Qu'un sang impur
Abreuve nos sillons !

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France squander their World Cup home advantage

CARDIFF: French rugby administrators, even more than coach Bernard Laporte and the players, are to blame for the hosts running the risk of being knocked out of 憈heir

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French get shirty with Kiwis

CARDIFF: The All Blacks ran into fresh controversy over the colour of their World Cup jersey with quarter-final rivals France arriving with a strip for tomorrow's tie here which is deemed to be too similar to the New Zealanders.  

Tests carried out on Wednesday showed a great similarity between both All Blacks shirts, the traditional black and their second shirt of grey, and the navy blue jersey of France. France's second shirt is white.  

A toss of the coin to solve the problem gave the French the right to choose their colours.  

揥e'll play in blue. They're the French colours. It's an honour to wear this jersey,

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Caveman is no hero, says All Blacks

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Bad news for England

MARSEILLE: England centre Andy Farrell has been ruled out of the World Cup quarter-final against Australia here tomorrow with a right calf strain, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) said in a statement here yesterday.

揂ndy Farrell's right calf suffered a reaction after training yesterday (Wednesday),

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It抯 all down to you, Wallaby coach tells Barnes

  

Main man: Australia抯 Berrick Barnes in action against Fiji on Sept 23

MARSEILLE: Berrick Barnes will get all the support he needs from the senior Wallabies but in the heat of tomorrow's World Cup quarter-final battle against England it will be up to the youngster to call the shots.

Coach John Connolly says as the 21-year-old prodigy is playing in the pivotal fly-half position he must make instant decisions in his head-to-head duel with England's Jonny Wilkinson.

Matt Giteau and Stirling Mortlock have spoken about spreading the responsibility among the Wallabies' backs and easing the burden on Barnes, playing in just his fourth international as a replacement for injured Stephen Larkham.

But Connolly said that is all right in theory but from the kick-off it will be all down to Barnes' instinctive decision-making and the Wallaby coach has the confidence and faith that the tyro will come through.

揟here's no doubt Stirling is a great talker on the outside, but the (number) ten has to make that decision on the spot, the decisions have to be immediate, so it's up to him,

nizam_syah82

Nz vs france= Nz Win

Aussie vs England=Aussie win..

ni jangkaan aku berdasarkan prestasi semasa..

tp game ni ibarat balas dendam la..Nz dah tebus kekalahan pada semi tahun 99 kalo x silap..

Aussie nak tebus kalah final pada england pada Final yg dulu..

pedon

Haram jadah punya england...