A world cup miscellany
Health worries: Concerns over Lomu
NEW ZEALAND legend Jonah Lomu remains in an Auckland hospital amid growing concern about his health.
The 36-year-old was recently admitted to Auckland City Hospital’s renal and transplant unit. He underwent a kidney transplant in 2004 after New Zealand radio host Grant Kereama became his donor.
Lomu had been diagnosed nine years earlier with a kidney disorder known as nephrotic syndrome.
No official statements have emerged from the hospital about Lomu’s condition, but friends and former playing colleagues are said to be concerned.
Lomu’s last public appearance was during the World Cup opening ceremony at Eden Park, Auckland on September 9th, when he played a starring role.
The New Zealand World Cup squad stopped their training session yesterday to send Lomu a photograph message (see above).
Players and staff held up letters spelling: “Get well, Jonah. Kia kaha (be strong).”
Read fit to play
KIERAN READ will will make his World Cup debut against Canada on Sunday after overcoming a serious ankle injury in the strongest loose forwards mix available to coach Graham Henry.
Read, who suffered a high ankle sprain in the final Tri-Nations match against Australia in Brisbane on August 27th, joins captain Richie McCaw and Jerome Kaino in the loose forwards in what has been Henrys first choice combination for the best part of two years.
Veteran fullback Mils Muliaina also returns to the side to earn his 99th Test cap, while Israel Dagg who has usurped Muliaina in the fullbacks role, has moved to the wing.
Team talk: Maka has his say
FRANCE COACH Marc Lievremont is used to having his team selections criticised but even he must have been taken aback when the opposition took up the tune. Finau Maka, who captains Tonga against the French tomorrow, pulled no punches in his evaluation of the French back line.
"Probably my two centres were left behind in France – Florian Fritz and Yannick Jauzion. They won the French championship last season (for Toulouse)," said Maka.
"I think they made Vincent Clerc and Cédric Heymans and Max Médard, who scored the tries, look good, but they were the ones to do the hard work.
"I would probably have (Dimitri) Yachvili at nine and (Francois) Trinh-Duc 10, Florian Fritz and Jauzion (centres), Maxim Médard and Vincent (Clerc) or Cédric Heymans (wing) and (Toulouse fullback) Clément Poitrenaud (who is not in the squad) at fullback."
Maka's opinion comes with some experience, of course – he has played with Toulouse in the Top 14 for the past 10 years.
Hands off: No tinkering Tincu
THE INTERNATIONAL Rugby Board (IRB) should be providing more chances for smaller teams to play the top nations and ignore any calls to restructure the World Cup into a two-tier competition, according to Romania captain Marius Tincu.
Romania ended their World Cup campaign with a 25-9 loss to Georgia in Palmerston North on Wednesday, having lost all four of their games in Pool B. It was the second time they have ended the tournament without a victory.
Tincu, however, was not impressed with the suggestion from a journalist that the lower-tier nations should compete for a World Trophy rather than play for the World Cup.
"I think if they change the tournament it's not good for rugby," Tincu told reporters after he earned his 50th Test cap in the loss to Georgia. "Because if you don't play against the big teams, you don't go up. You stay at the same level (and) I think the IRB's (goal) is to help the little nations go up."
Romania, who had been thrashed by England 134-0 at Twickenham a decade ago and lost to Scotland 42-0 at the last World Cup in France, showed how competitive they were when they led the Scots with seven minutes remaining in their opening match in Invercargill. The Scots needed two late tries from Simon Danielli to win the game 34-24.
