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 Notebook Scottish fans just not interested
Posted: Saturday October 16, 1999 05:05 PM
LONDON (AP) -- Rugby World Cup organizers, alarmed at the low attendance in Scotland so far during the tournament, say they hope interest will grow once the group stages are over. "We are staging this competition in five countries and attendance in all but one of them have been good," RWC spokesman Alan Kilkenny said. "I hope that when we get to the knock-out stages it will be full houses all round." Scotland's first match against reigning world champion South Africa was nearly a sell-out, but subsequent matches when both sides have faced minnows Spain and Uruguay have attracted less than 10,000 fans. Only 3,500 fans saw South Africa's clash with Uruguay at Hampden Park on Friday. Many Scots say the tickets are too expensive -- especially when smaller sides are involved. But Scottish coach Jim Telfer has accused Scottish fans of "abandoning" his team. South African coach Nick Mallett, who has said his side has struggled to raise its game in empty stadiums, believes children should be let in for free for such matches.
Expansion is the name of the gameOutspoken Uruguayan coach Daniel Herrera says the World Cup should be expanded even further, no doubt to the dismay of others who want it to revert back to 16 teams."I think there should be 24 [participants], not 16," Herrera said. "Alternatively, you may just have a few major teams in a Super League, then the rest of us can play in another tournament." Herrera was angered by the way his side of mostly amateurs was written off as no-hopers before the tournament. He said his side's more sophisticated and wealthier opponents have been rattled by Uruguay's gutsy displays. They may not have toppled Goliath, but they certainly embarrassed him and were feted by spectators. Herrera wants more second and third tier countries involved at the highest level so as to improve their skills and lift the sport's popularity in those countries.
Not calculatedArgentina's 33-12 victory over Japan suited coach Alex Wyllie who had warned prior to the match that his players wouldn't get involved in a points chase.Argentina was quite happy getting into the playoffs as best third-placed team, he said. And that's exactly what they did. Tournament rules dictate that if three teams finish equal on competition points at the end of the group phase, the standings will be determined by points scored during the tournament. Samoa, Wales and Argentina all finished on seven points. If Argentina had won by 69 points against Japan, the South Americans would've finished top. A win with 48 points on the board would have given them second place. Wyllie had said the Pumas would prefer to place third and avoid a possible quarterfinal clash against favorites New Zealand, Australia or South Africa. "There's all sorts of possibilities but we have got to forget them all and concentrate on one thing -- winning against Japan," the former All Blacks coach said. "When you start talking about the amount of points you are going to score you get into trouble. "Going to France and playing Ireland on neutral territory could be better than going to Scotland and playing them at Murrayfield with the All Blacks looming. And Australia looked very good against Ireland so staying in Cardiff might not be a good thing."
Poor relationsThey lost all three of their matches and have already headed home. But Namibian coach Rudi Joubert says his players should be given credit due to their humble origins."It's very hard to train players in just three months, and I think they have done more than anyone could have expected them to achieve," Joubert said. "But when they are only on 100 francs (US$16.6) expenses per day, it is difficult to understand in the modern world of professional rugby."
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