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 World Cup Notebook All Blacks' Lomu remains hot property
Posted: Tuesday November 02, 1999 01:03 PM
LONDON (AP) -- Despite failing to get a winners medal for the second World Cup in a row, All Blacks winger Jonah Lomu remains the hottest property in rugby. Scorer of the most tries in World Cup history, the 6-foot-5, 260 pound star who has been timed at 10.8 seconds for the 100 meters, becomes a free agent after Thursday's third place playoff against South Africa at the Millennium stadium. According to reports, he could be headed for rugby league or even the NFL. "I have a lot of options open for Jonah," said the player's manager, Phil Kingsley-Jones. "But we will not lose his quality of life for money. He wants the right challenge, the right package and that's not just about money though I have to maximize his potential. "No one can give a crowd the excitement that he can. Even when he's being tackled, it still brings people to their feet." Lomu's latest two tries, which stretched his World Cup record to 15 and 25 in 37 international appearances, came in the All Blacks' 43-31 semifinal loss to France who go on to face Australia in Saturday's final. The Auckland Warriors rugby league team reportedly has made an offer to 24-year-old Lomu and the winger's name is constantly being linked with football clubs in the United States. Two English rugby union clubs, Saracens and Worcester, have also shown an interest though Saracens say they would be unable to meet Lomu's demands because of a salary cap imposed on English clubs. "Maybe American football will be the ones to get him in the end," said Saracens owner Nigel Wray. "We will be watching what happens closely because I can't see how any club in England could get him and stay under the cap." Thanks, refReferee Jim Fleming may have accidentally played a part in the stunning French fightback which gained a World Cup final spot and ousted the All Blacks 43-31 on Sunday. The Scottish official was approached at half time by French captain and hooker Raphael Ibanez about the fact that he had given 12 penalties against his team compared with two against New Zealand. "I told Ibanez that, in the tackle situation, they had to either roll away or release the ball quickly, that they hadn't been doing that in the first half and that they only had themselves to blame," Fleming was quoted as saying in the Daily Mail. Instead of continually giving penalties away, the French cleaned up their game and, from 24-10 down, broke out to score three second half tries in one of the most amazing turnarounds in the history of rugby. "They certainly got their act together for the remainder of the game," Fleming said. "The penalty ratio from then on was about even." Zinzan hits outThe All Blacks are still agonizing over Sunday's semifinal loss to France. As if the players themselves aren't feeling enough psychological pain, former back row star Zinzan Brooke reminded them how they had let down a nation after losing 43-31 despite being 24-10 ahead. "I hope the All Blacks are hurting after the French defeat because the whole of New Zealand is in mourning," Brooke told the London Standard. "The sad fact is that thousands of Kiwis paid a lot of money to come over for this World Cup and support the team and they have been badly let down. "I know some supporters who are going off on holiday in Europe rather than stay for the third and fourth place playoff with South Africa in Cardiff on Thursday. "I have never seen an All Blacks test side rolled over like that and big questions have to be asked," Brooke said. "The guillotine is at the top and ready to fall and it's only a question of who takes it in the neck."
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