International Roundup

All Blacks in at deep end against England

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) -- All Blacks captain Reuben Thorne believes Saturday's test against No. 1-ranked England will plunge his new-look lineup in at the "deep end" of world rugby.

"Certainly this is a tough one to start with," said Thorne, who leads a young side includes two new caps and a host of players with only a smattering of test experience.

Six Nations champion England will field a team with a cumulative total of more than 400 test caps and with an average age of 29 compared with the All Blacks' average age of 25.

"Ideally we would have liked to have had one game under our belts before we came up against England," Thorne said. "We have been thrown in the deep end here and in some ways that is great but it is also a huge challenge.

"England have had a whole campaign together, they know each other's play so well and we have not played together yet. In that sense it's difficult but if we come through it well that would have to be a good sign."

The depth and the experience of players available to England coach Clive Woodward was emphasized Wednesday when first-choice halfback Matt Dawson was sidelined with a thigh problem.

Dawson's place in the starting 15, which was previously unchanged from that which beat Ireland 42-6 in Dublin on March 30 to secure the Six Nations Grand Slam, has been taken by Kyran Bracken, a 31-year-old with a decade of test experience.

The All Blacks continued a low-key test preparation Thursday, working on attacking combinations and defensive formations with backline containing test rookies Ma'a Nonu and Joe Rokocoko. Scrumhalf Justin Marshall, with 60 tests, is the most capped international in the lineup.

"It's hard to measure where we are at because we have not played a game yet," Thorne said. "You can do as much as you like in training but there is not the pressure there is in a test match and those games are all about dealing with that pressure."

When the teams last met in New Zealand five years ago, the All Blacks twice trounced an under-strength touring English squad. England has beaten the All Blacks only once in New Zealand, and that was three decades ago.

Saturday's match will carry increased significance because it opens the curtain for the world's top-ranked teams on a World Cup season.

Woodward said that his team's 23-9 win over a New Zealand Maori team on Monday had sent "shockwaves" around New Zealand. He suggested the All Blacks would be worried by the quality of that English performance.

Thorne said he'd seen and noted England's effort and wasn't surprised by their win.

"England played intelligent test-match rugby and that was what was needed," he said. "I watched for the lineouts and scrums to get a general idea of their patterns. Their work at the breakdown and their protection of the ball was impressive. Their forwards were outstanding."

England and New Zealand won't clash again before the finals series of the Oct. 10-Nov. 22 World Cup in Australia.

Martyn Williams to lead Wales against Australia

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- Cardiff flanker Martyn Williams will lead Wales in Saturday's rugby union international against world champion Australia.

Wales placed last in the Six Nations championship and finished the series without a win in five starts.

The Welsh woes continued when injuries forced Iestyn Harris and Gareth Delve off the touring squad and a pay dispute between players and the union resulted in the squad missing its scheduled flight to New Zealand last week.

Australia goes into the match on a 45-16 win over Ireland -- runners-up in the Six Nations -- last weekend in Perth and had a 21-13 win in the last head-to-head in Cardiff in 2001.

Wales hasn't beaten Australia since its 22-21 upset in the third-place playoff in the 1987 World Cup.

The Welsh haven't defeated the Wallabies on Australian soil since a 19-16 win in Sydney in 1969.

Lineups:

Wales: Iestyn Thomas, Robin McBryde, Gethin Jenkins, Gareth Llewellyn, Robert Sidoli, Jonathan Thomas, Martyn Williams (captain), Colin Charvis, Gareth Cooper, Stephen Jones, Tom Shanklin, Mark Taylor, Jamie Robinson, Mark Jones, Rhys Williams. Reserves: Mefin Davies, Ben Evans, Chris Wyatt, Alix Popham, Dwyane Peel, Ceri Sweeney, Gavin Henson.

Australia: Chris Latham, Wendell Sailor, Morgan Turinui, Steve Kefu, Joe Roff, Elton Flatley, George Gregan (captain), Toutai Kefu, Phil Waugh, David Lyons, David Giffin, Nathan Sharpe, Patricio Noriega, Jeremy Paul, Bill Young. Reserves: Brendan Cannon, Ben Darwin, Daniel Vickerman, Daniel Heenan, Chris Whitaker, Nathan Grey, Lote Tuqiri.

McKenzie to replace Dwyer at NSW

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- Former test frontrower Ewen McKenzie was appointed Thursday to replace Bob Dwyer as coach of the New South Wales Waratahs.

Dwyer, who guided Australia on its first rugby union World Cup winning campaign in 1991, quit after three seasons in charge of the Waratahs but will remain in a development position.

The highlight of Dwyer's tenure was taking the Waratahs to the Super 12 semifinals for the first time in 2002.

McKenzie, who played 51 tests for Australia and was part of Dwyer's World Cup-winning lineup in '91, will remain part of Australia's national coaching panel and a selector until this year's World Cup ends in November.

"The Waratahs job is one of the great challenges in Australian rugby and I'm proud to get the opportunity," said McKenzie, who becomes the eighth New South Wales coach since 1989. "It's got the biggest player base and there's been a period when it hasn't been as successful as we would have liked."

McKenzie, who spent three seasons with the ACT Brumbies as assistant coach, said he wanted to mold the Waratahs into a provincial force. The Waratahs placed fifth in the Super 12 standings this season, behind New Zealand provinces Auckland, Canterbury and Wellington and the Canberra-based Brumbies.

Samoa stage mighty comeback to beat Waratahs

SYDNEY (Reuters) -- Samoa overturned a 36-7 deficit and beat New South Wales 48-41 in its opening tour match in Australia on Thursday.

New South Wales dominated the first half to lead 36-12 at the break but the Samoans stormed back after the break to steal an unlikely victory.

"It was outstanding and showed our big Samoan hearts," Samoa coach John Boe said. "We don't have the big name players but we have big hearts."

Waratahs coach Bob Dwyer, in his last match before retiring, said his players only had themselves to blame for the loss.

"We thought it was too easy," said Dwyer, whose long coaching career included leading Australia to victory at the 1991 World Cup.

"We did a few flippant things, the kick-off and lineouts, although the Samoans also found their sea-legs in the second half."

Earl Va'a, Ron Fanuatanu, Brian Lima, Lome Fa'atau, Jonathan Meredith, Tanner Vili and Trevor Leota all scored tries for the Samoans to complete the comeback.

Shaun Berne collected a hat-trick of tries for the Waratahs and kicked four conversions and a penalty for a personal tally of 26 points while Adam Freier, Paul Sheedy and Rex Tapuai also touched down.

The Samoans, who are in Pool C with South Africa, England, Georgia and Uruguay at this year's World Cup, play Queensland on Sunday.

Herbert cleared to make comeback against Fiji

SYDNEY (Reuters) -- Veteran Australia center Daniel Herbert has been cleared to make his comeback later this month, boosting his chances of fighting his way back into the Wallabies World Cup squad.

The 29-year-old was ruled out of this month's tests against Ireland, Wales and England after injuring his knee during the regional Super 12 series but expects to resume playing for Queensland against Fiji on June 29.

"I've enjoyed the break but now it's back to business," Herbert said.

Herbert has played 67 tests for Australia since making his international debut in 1994 and was a key member of the Wallabies team that won the 1999 World Cup.

But his position in the test side has come under increased pressure in the last 12 months from a host of younger players as injuries have sidelined him.

ARU facing legal action over player payments

SYDNEY (Reuters) -- The Australian Rugby Union (ARU) is facing legal action from players representatives unhappy at the participation agreement for this year's World Cup.

ARU managing director John O'Neill confirmed Thursday that the Rugby Union Players' Association (RUPA) of Australia had begun proceedings in the Supreme Court.

The players unions had stated they were unhappy at the terms and conditions for competitors at the World Cup, particularly in relation to rights of intellectual property.

They had also said they were opposed to the International Rugby Board's (IRB) plan to discuss contractual issues with the national boards instead of the players unions.

However, the ARU said Thursday it would continue to negotiate with the IRB on behalf of the players, despite the RUPA court action.

O'Neill said in a statement the ARU and IRB negotations were proceeding well and the RUPA decision to take legal action was "unfortunate, unnecessary and restrictive."

O'Neill said players were not required to sign their participation agreements until July 15 but the Wallabies would not have to sign anything until the end of the ARU's negotiations with the IRB.

 

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