The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- Henry hands Muliaina 100th All Black cap
- Steele and Baird set early pace as Woods struggles
- KLHC put party on hold until they have title in the bag
| Henry hands Muliaina 100th All Black cap Posted: 06 Oct 2011 04:39 PM PDT AUCKLAND, Oct 7 (Reuters) - New Zealand's Mils Muliaina will win his 100th cap in Sunday's World Cup quarter-final against Argentina at Eden Park. Two weeks after captain Richie McCaw became the first All Black to reach the milestone, a thigh injury to in-form fullback Israel Dagg has given Muliaina the chance to match him. "He has been a great servant to New Zealand rugby, he's a world class fullback, he has been a very key member of this side for a very long time and he deserves the honour," coach Graham Henry told reporters after naming his team on Friday. Colin Slade, as expected, was handed the role of flyhalf in place of Dan Carter, whose tournament-ending groin injury sparked an outbreak of jitters in the host nation. "My job hasn't changed that much, my job is to direct the team and perhaps starting the game will make that easier," said Slade, who has won nine caps to Carter's 84. "I'm going out there to be myself, I'm not trying to be DC." Sonny Bill Williams and Cory Jane come into the side on the wings after hamstring injuries ruled out Richard Kahui and Zac Guildford. Piri Weepu, who provides a back-up place-kicking option for Slade, has won the battle for the scrumhalf spot while Henry has restored first-choice centres Ma'a Nonu and Conrad Smith to play the Argentines. Williams got his first opportunities in rugby union at centre but Henry, perhaps only half joking, said he thought the former rugby league player could even be an option as a flanker. "He can play on the wing, he can play in the midfield and I think he can play in the loose forwards but this is about making sensible decisions based on his experience so far," said the coach. "There's a midfield combination which is well-established and is playing particularly well which makes it difficult for him, so he's taken his chances elsewhere." Argentina finished third at the World Cup and, although the 2011 Puma team has not been of quite the same vintage, Henry said the disappointments of the last five World Cups meant the All Blacks would not take any knockout game lightly. "We're expecting a big game," he said. "If you don't win, you're dead. There's a huge amount of pressure to perform in finals football, and we know all about that over the years." THOMSON OUT Back rower Adam Thomson was originally selected for the team but ruled out through injury, Henry said. McCaw returns at openside flanker despite the "niggly" foot problem which has seen him pull out of two of their four World Cup matches so far. "I think Richie's got a challenge on, he hasn't played for a while and he's not preparing as he normally does, so I think it's going to be a mental challenge for him," said Henry. Muliaina said it was an "honour and privilege" to match his captain's feat by winning a century of caps. "It's a pretty special achievement ," he said. "I'm just going to get out there and make sure I do my job." Team - 15-Mils Muliaina, 14-Cory Jane, 13-Conrad Smith, 12-Ma'a Nonu, 11-Sonny Bill Williams, 10-Colin Slade, 9-Piri Weepu, 8-Kieran Read, 7-Richie McCaw (captain), 6-Jerome Kaino, 5-Brad Thorn, 4-Sam Whitelock, 3-Owen Franks, 2-Keven Mealamu, 1-Tony Woodcock Replacements: 16-Andrew Hore, 17-Ben Franks, 18-Ali Williams, 19-Victor Vito, 20-Jimmy Cowan, 21-Aaron Cruden, 22-Isaia Toeava. |
| Steele and Baird set early pace as Woods struggles Posted: 06 Oct 2011 04:38 PM PDT SAN MARTIN, California, Oct 6 (Reuters) - PGA Tour rookie Brendan Steele and journeyman Briny Baird stole the limelight from Tiger Woods as they charged into a share of the early lead in Thursday's opening round at the Frys.com Open. While Woods struggled at a wet and cold CordeValle Golf Club in his first tournament appearance in almost two months, Steele and Baird fired four-under-par 67s to set the pace. Steele, who won his maiden PGA Tour title at the Texas Open in April, covered the back nine in a sizzling five-under 31 to join fellow American Baird at the top of the leaderboard. "It was a little cold and rainy this morning, and the ball wasn't carrying very far," the 28-year-old Steele told reporters after recording five birdies and a lone bogey. "It was a little tough to get going early on but, once I made the turn, things started to click. I caught some nice weather on the back nine." Australians Steve Bowditch and Matt Jones, plus American Troy Matteson, were a further stroke back after carding 68s while three-times major winner Ernie Els was among a group of nine players knotted on 69. However Woods, who has not competed since he missed the cut at the PGA Championship in August, was three over for the round with four holes to play. After making an encouraging start under overcast skies with a birdie at the par-four first, he bogeyed the second and third to reach the turn in one-over 36. COMPLETE MESS Woods squandered a golden opportunity at the par-three 11th where his birdie putt from four feet slid past the right edge of the cup before he made a total mess of the par-five 12th. As the rain began to intensify, he double-bogeyed the hole after driving into the left rough and pulling his second shot into a hazard before taking a penalty drop. Though Woods has struggled for form for most of this year while battling leg injuries and working on the fourth swing change of his professional career, he came into this week's Fall Series event with high hopes. The biggest difference for the 14-times champion since he last competed on the U.S. circuit was his return to full fitness, allowing him to practise unhindered. "I'm happy with how everything has progressed from tee to green," the former world number one said before Thursday's opening round. "I've had a chance to practise and work on everything. "That's something that I hadn't been able to do for a while, so I have to say I'm very pleased with every facet of my game." Asked how he would measure success this week in his first tournament since the PGA Championship in August, Woods replied: "Getting a 'W' (a win)." |
| KLHC put party on hold until they have title in the bag Posted: 06 Oct 2011 04:34 PM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) are putting the champagne on hold although they have virtually won the Premier Division ahead of their penultimate match in the Malaysia Hockey League at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil today. They play Nur Insafi and a win will virtually seal the title. But coach R. Vivekanandan said they should not take the title for granted until it is in the bag. "We are two points ahead of Tenaga Nasional and with a game in hand. But Sapura, whom we play last (on Sunday), is still the main rival. They can gain the same number of points as us if they beat us on Sunday. So at the end of the day, goal difference will play a part. "So it is not over and I do not want the players to think so at this stage," said Vivekanandan. KLHC are in the driver's seat simply because they have a big goal difference. They have a plus 26 goal difference as opposed to 13 for Sapura. "I do not want to worry about Sunday's game just yet. It is Nur Insafi that we have to beat first. If we drop points here, the whole equation changes. So there is no way we can afford to take it easy. Against UniKL we won 6-1 but the goals were nothing to shout about. "Most of them were due to our opponents' mistakes and not because of any great play on our part. I want the players to understand that we are still not playing to our potential and we have been lucky in some of the matches," he added. Tenaga Nasional are currently second with 16 points and will play their last match today against Maybank. They have the chance to finish second but that will depend largely on Sapura's match with Yayasan NS and KLHC. Tenaga can finish with 19 points while Sapura, who have 15 points, can finish with a maximum of 21 or if they lose one match, they will end up with 18 points. But Sapura know that the defeat to Tenaga on Wednesday has put them in a difficult situation. The loss has not only put their title run at stake but they may also lose second place in the standings. The quarter-final list is almost complete with just the Division One champions to be decided. And that will be settled today when SSTMI play Unimap. SSTMI will take the last quarter-final berth if they win the match otherwise it will be decided on Sunday with Ipoh City Council in with a chance. The other seven teams in the Premier Division have already secured their berths. Besides the top three, the other four are Yayasan NS, Maybank, UniKL and Nur Insafi. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Star Online: Sports To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan