A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Deans points to Irish
AUSTRALIA’S shock loss to Ireland in the pool phase had been a harsh lesson for the Wallabies but coach Robbie Deans said the experience had been vital in helping his young side defeat South Africa in the quarter-finals.
Deans said yesterday his team could have been heading home had they not been put through the ringer by the Irish. “You are watching a young group mature . . . we try to take the meaning out of every learning experience and I think that was evident yesterday,” the New Zealander said yesterday.
“If you look at our experience against the Irish, I’ve got no doubt if we had got through that encounter with relative ease we would have suffered yesterday because we wouldn’t have been as well prepared. They were as mentally prepared as they could be because of the Irish defeat.”
Plunge punishment: Contrite Tuilagi fined by England after jumping from Ferry
ENGLAND international Manu Tuilagi was last night fined €3,445 by the England Rugby Football Union after he was warned by Auckland police for jumping from a ferry into the harbour.
Tuilagi, 20, took the plunge as a number of players returned from a day trip to Waiheke Island and he swam to a nearby pier, where was met by police.
The Leicester centre was detained for an hour at Auckland Central Police station, where he was given a formal pre-charge warning for disorderly behaviour.
Tuilagi was collected by the England team management who, according to a police spokeswoman, were “a little bit embarrassed”.
England manager Martin Johnson said: “This was an irresponsible thing to do. Manu has been disciplined internally and I have warned him about his future conduct.”
Tuilagi’s fine is less than the €5,500 he had to pay for breaking Rugby World Cup commercial regulations by wearing a branded gum-shield.
The money will be paid to the Rugby World Cup’s Christchurch appeal, the RFU confirmed.
“I’m really sorry. It was a silly thing to do and I apologise to everybody for any inconvenience caused,” Tuilagi said.
2015 Cup: Midweek matches
ENGLAND have agreed to play midweek matches when they host the 2015 World Cup after the leading nations backed proposals for a more equitable fixture list. Delegates from the so-called tier one unions discussed plans for the next World Cup at yesterday’s chairman and chief executive’s meeting in Auckland.
The smaller unions have built a strong case for organisers to implement a level playing field with regards to fixtures. Samoa, for example, had to play four times in 16 days in a pool featuring Wales and South Africa, who both had more generous fixture lists. A statement said: “The tier one union delegates at the meeting committed to playing midweek matches during RWC 2015 in order to help achieve a better balance for tier two and tier three unions.”
Referee watch: Rolland to take charge of Wales v France
IRELAND’S Alain Rolland will referee Wales’ Rugby World Cup semi-final against France at Eden Park on Saturday, writes John O’Sullivan.
South Africa’s Craig Joubert, who took charge of Ireland’s defeat to Wales at the weekend, will be the man in the middle when tournament hosts New Zealand face Australia, also at Eden Park on Sunday.
Rolland, who refereed the 2007 World Cup final won by the Springboks, will be joined by assistant referees Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa) and Wayne Barnes (England). Nigel Owens (Wales) and Romain Poite (France) will run the lines for Joubert in Sunday’s match.
The appointments were made by the IRB’s match official selection committee in Auckland following a thorough review of quarter-final performances. Rolland didn’t referee any of the four matches.
A decision on who will referee the final and the bronze match will be taken on the Monday after the semi-finals.
