Blaze of glory
Wednesday offered Tonga the chance to reward their fanatical supporters a first win at this year’s World Cup, in a match where the stadium was quite literally on fire!
As Tanga and Japan tried to set the game alight with some ambitous attackling rugby, firefighters were called to an alarming blaze that produced large flames behind the stadium’s busy terraces about 25 minutes into the second half.
The stadium announcer told the patrons that there was no need to panic and the crowd ignore the flames and enjoyed a dramatic end to Tonga’s 31-18 win.
The match ended with Japan throwing themselves into everything in a desperate effort to snatch a late victory, while Tonga defended like their lives depended on it with two players being given their marching orders to the sin bin.
Japan’s Kiwi coach John Kirwan will have one more chance to help his team to finally break their duck of never winning a match at a World Cup when they take on Canada on Tuesday, September 27.
Eccentric French:
The uproar in New Zealand over the French team that will face the All Blacks on Saturday has blown out of proportion, according to French loose forward Imanol Harinordoquy.
Harinordoquy, who has been left on the bench for the match, believes the reaction over Morgan Parra’s flyhalf switch is over the top.
“They’re trying to light the fuse but the wood is damp. It won’t catch,” he said.
“I feel like telling them that I’ve bought four (tickets) at 250 euros each, and I’m not complaining.”
Toniolatti is the daddy:
Nothing could wipe the smile off the face of Italian winger Giulio Toniolatti after he marked his World Cup debut by crashing over for two tries in Italy’s 53-17 win over Russia on Tuesday.
After his second try he shoved the ball up his jersey in celebration.
He wasn’t trying to claim an early souvenir, he was celebrating that he is soon to become a father.
“I wanted to dedicate that try to my girl Priscilla,” an emotional Toniolatti told reporters after the match. “She’s having my first child.”
However, we can confirm that there is no truth in the rumour the couple will name their child Gilbert…
Flag poles and power cuts:
A New Zealand electricity company has warned World Cup fans to be careful how they display support for their teams after dangerous power outages caused by flags and bunting – according to press agency AFP.
Auckland-based Vector Electricity said over-enthusiastic displays of tournament memorabilia had caused two power cuts in the country’s largest city.
In one street, 70 metres (230 feet) of underground cable had to be replaced when a resident who planned to erect 15 flagpoles on his property dug too deep and cut power lines.
Elsewhere in the city, a piece of bunting was blown across overhead power lines, short-circuiting electricity supplies to about 50 homes.
Auckland’s suburbs are festooned with flags for the rugby showcase, with most supporting the All Blacks but displays of Tongan, Samoan and Fijian colours also prominent in a city with a large Polynesian population.
Vector said it had launched a radio advertising campaign to warn residents about the potential dangers of stray bunting and planting flagpoles without checking for power lines.
“Obviously we are concerned for people’s safety,” spokeswoman Sandy Hodge told the Dominion Post newspaper.
“That’s 11,000 volts, if they were to have struck it, they would have been electrocuted, so not a pretty picture.”
Usasz the usher plays the groom:
It will be a special day for Tim Usasz when he leads out the United States against Australia, the country of his birth.
The Brisbane-born scrumhalf will be lining up against a batch of players he knows from his younger days – including hooker Stephen Moore and flanker Rocky Elsom, alongside whom he played in the Australian Under-16 side.
“I certainly watched them a lot. I know a few of the players. I’ve played with or against some,” said a modest Usasz, whose American grandfather settled in Australia in the 1950s.
“It will hold some personal significance for me, but at the end of the day it’s just another game, said Usasz, who will be turning out as usher for Moore when the hooker gets married in South Africa at the end of this year.
One is not amused:
One of the ‘highlights’ of the re-enactment of New Zealand’s first rugby match in Nelson on Tuesday was the appearance of a Victorian streaker, dressed down to his long johns. He interrupted proceedings before being rounded up by a Victorian-attired policeman.
A nice touch was the honour given to 15-year-old Josh Monro, a great-great grandson of the 1870 match promoter Charles Monro, to kick off the game. For the record, the original match finished in a 2-0 victory to the Nelson Football Club over Nelson College.
Cow patter:
A young cow on a farm in Reporoa, about halfway between Taupo and Rotorua, is wondering what all the RWC fuss is about.
But the farm’s owners are not getting tired of supporting the All Blacks, who take on France in Auckland on Saturday. They clearly reckon Rugby World Cup 2011 is udderly fantastic and are milking it for all its worth.
Does this cow support the ABs?
With thanks to RNS
