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Posted: 09 Nov 2011 03:56 PM PST

LONDON, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Rugby is in danger of muscling out the flair and skills that have made it such a great game, according to Argentina's leading points scorer and former captain Hugo Porta.

"I think those that forget the past don't have a future," the 60-year-old told Reuters next to a boxing ring at a charity event in a dilapidated former school in south London.

"We can't stop the evolution of the game, but we should at least try to preserve the essence of rugby.

"Nowadays it's a war of muscles. What is this?," he said ruefully, an imaginary ball tucked under his arm as he imitated the barging tactics of the modern game.

"I saw more blood and injured players during the World Cup than ever before." New Zealand won the seventh edition of rugby's biggest tournament last month, defeating France 8-7 in a dramatic and tense final to clinch the Webb Ellis Cup for the second time.

Porta played only in the inaugural World Cup in 1987 and was at his peak during a very different era for the game.

He led his nation to a famous victory over Australia in 1979 and a 21-21 draw against New Zealand in 1985 in which he kicked all his team's points.

In more recent times Argentina have also displayed enough skill to compete with the game's best nations, finishing third at the 2007 World Cup and regularly being ranked in the top eight. On Tuesday officials unveiled the calendar for next year's inaugural Rugby Championship -- successor to the Tri-Nations tournament between South Africa, New Zealand and Australia -- with the Pumas set to make their long-awaited debut in a major annual competition. "I think people are tired of seeing the same three teams. Argentina will bring some fresh air to the competition," said Porta.

"Let's wait and see what consequences the competition has for Argentina," he grinned, all too aware of the challenges that will face his countrymen when they take on traditionally the sport's three strongest nations. PHYSICAL STATURE

Porta's passion for the game is such that he laments the hulking physical stature of the modern player.

"Rugby's turning into a sport where the physical aspect prevails over talent," he said. "These days there's no room for talent. I lived another kind of rugby.

"In Argentina we have always had an affinity with the French, they produce players with flair like we have done.

"Nowadays, take (France centre) Aurelien Rougerie for example, put a black top on him then put him on the pitch and he would think he's an All Black."

Far from appearing frustrated at the direction the game is heading in, however, Porta believes now is the ideal time to address the rules as rugby seeks to move forward and increase the number of countries that play to a high level.

"A bit like in golf where they have people working on the rules and their preservation, it would be good if the IRB (International Rugby Board) considers a project where they use well-known players to help develop and preserve rugby," said Porta, a Laureus ambassador.

"It could be me, Sean Fitzpatrick from New Zealand, anyone. There are a lot of people who love rugby and would be ready to collaborate on this," he added.

"I'm not a specialist, so I think a discussion would be necessary. A debate between former players and connoisseurs of the game."

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Djokovic hits bonus jackpot in Paris

Posted: 09 Nov 2011 03:55 PM PST

PARIS, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Novak Djokovic pocketed a $1.6-million bonus just for turning up on court before making light of shoulder pains to beat Croatian Ivan Dodig 6-4 6-3 in the Paris Masters second round on Wednesday.

An ATP rule designed to entice top players to take part in the main events states that, as world number one, Djokovic is entitled to a $2-million bonus if he plays in all eight Masters tournaments.

The bonus drops to $1.6 million if he misses one - and to nothing if he misses two.

Having skipped the Shanghai Masters through injury, the Serbian suffered a recurrence of a shoulder problem in his semi-final defeat in Basel by Japan's Kei Nishikori last week.

Djokovic, who said he spent his time between Basel and Paris recovering from the injury, dismissed talk that he had turned up in Paris just to cash in the cheque.

"It was really somehow funny for me to see how people are coming up with that story...I even heard that I would get on the court and play a game just to get this money. This is ridiculous, " he told a news conference.

"I need more matches before (the ATP World Tour finals in) London. I think it's obvious that I'm still not (at the) top of my game. But I'm taking things quite slowly knowing that the form will improve each day that I play. "I believe in that. I have been working quite hard in the last couple of weeks after my injury, and I think things are going in the right direction." STRONG SERVE

Djokovic, who has won three grand slams and five Masters titles this year, struggled at times against world number 39 Dodig, but served strongly throughout and took his chances when it mattered to book his place in the third round.

A break in the 10th game was enough to take the lead and another in the sixth game of the second helped him wrap it up.

Swiss Roger Federer, seeded three, barely broke sweat in a 6-2 6-3 dismissal of French wildcard Adrian Mannarino to reach the third round where he will face local favourite Richard Gasquet on Thursday.

Second seed Andy Murray started his campaign in ruthless fashion, beating France's Jeremy Chardy 6-2 6-4 to reach the third round.

World number three Murray, who withdrew from the Basel tournament because of injury, had little difficulty with Chardy, setting up a meeting with 13th seed Andy Roddick in the next round.

Briton Murray completed a stunning hat-trick of titles in as many weeks on the Asian swing of the ATP tour after winning the Shanghai Masters on Oct. 16. He also won in Bangkok and Tokyo.

"I take a few weeks off and the first match is always a tough one, even if you've been winning a lot of matches," Murray told reporters.

"But always after taking a break things feel a little bit different.

Hopefully I can build on today's win. Maybe if I get through a couple of rounds, I'll feel that momentum."

Serbian Janko Tipsarevic kept alive his slim hopes of reaching the ATP World Tour finals when the 11th seed thrashed American Alex Bogomolov Jr. 6-1 6-0 to reach the third round.

Spaniard Nicolas Almagro, however, was ruled out of the London event when he lost 6-3 7-5 to Italian Andreas Seppi.

Djokovic, Rafa Nadal, Murray, Federer and David Ferrer have qualified and four players are now vying for the three remaining spots after Mardy Fish's 6-1 6-2 win over German Florian Mayer ruled out Gael Monfils, who later lost to Feliciano Lopez 6-3 6-4.

American Fish, the seventh seed, is now only one win away from securing his London spot.

Frenchman Gilles Simon's chances also vanished into thin air when the 10th seed suffered a 6-3 6-0 drubbing by Argentine Juan Monaco in which he was booed by the crowd in the last game.

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Malaysia on a roll

Posted: 09 Nov 2011 03:23 PM PST

JOHOR BARU: Malaysia moved up to second in the standings after a thrilling 2-1 win over Pakistan in the Sultan of Johor Cup junior hockey tournament at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium yesterday.

Malaysia, with seven points, are very much on course to make the final on Saturday. They need to beat India in their final preliminary round match tomorrow to set up a showdown against Australia, who have confirmed their place in the final.

It was truly an inspiring performance from the Malaysians, much to the joy of the vociferous 5,000 home crowd.

Once again Malaysia fielded their second goalkeeper Mohamed Hazrul Faiz as first choice Mohamed Hafizuddin Othman had not fully recovered from his illness.

And Hazrul did not disappoint as he proved reliable and made several good saves.

Malaysia, as usual, went into attack mode from the start and deservingly took the lead in the 11th minute from their first penalty corner. Mohamed Noor Faeez cleverly scored past Pakistan goalkeeper Mazhar Abbas with a drag flick.

In the 25th minute Mohamed Ramadhan had a good chance to increase the lead but with just Mazhar to beat he could not get the ball around the keeper.

Malaysia started just as aggressively in the second half but poor finishing let them down.

They came close in the 50th minute when Nor Izzat Sumantri had a chance to score from the top D but instead decided to cross the ball which went wide.

A minute later the Malaysians made amends when they struck the second goal.

A long cross into the D was well met by Amir Farid who coolly slotted past an onrushing Mazhar to make it 2-0 for Malaysia. Pakistan reduced the deficit in the 59th minute through Mohamed Umar Sardar's field goal.

Inspired by the goal, Pakistan came charging at Malaysia and they earned a penalty corner in the 61st minute but the attempt was saved by Hazrul.

Pakistan turned on the pressure in their bid to find the equaliser but the Malaysian defence held sway until the end to collect three valuable points which took them up to second place in the standings.

Malaysian coach K. Dharmaraj was pleased with the win as it kept them on track to achieve their target of a top–two finish.

"At this stage we are happy to be where we are as we are still in the running for a final berth. There were lapses in the game and we need to ratify it. If we don't we are only making it hard on ourselves.

"We now have one more match to get into the final and we will play to win it as well. There is no point in thinking of a draw. Our path to the final will also depend on the game between South Korea and New Zealand," said Dharmaraj.

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Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

Rabu, 9 November 2011

The Star Online: Sports

The Star Online: Sports

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