Justin Marshall will go where few New Zealand rugby players have gone before when he faces up to the haka at Twickenham tomorrow rather than issuing the All Blacks' famous pre-match challenge.
Scrumhalf Marshall, the most-capped back in New Zealand history with 77 Test appearances, will find himself in unfamiliar territory when he captains the Barbarians, rugby union's most prestigious invitational side, against the All Blacks.
PHOTO: AP
"I have thought about it and I don't know what it is going to be like on the other side of the haka -- but I know what it's like dishing it out'," Marshall said on Wednesday.
PHOTO: AP
"Not a lot of All Blacks can say they have faced the haka before and know what it is like to stand there and be part of something that is hugely traditional in New Zealand and a big part of our game.
"I am not scared, I am looking forward to it," Marshall insisted.
"I am looking forward to the opportunity of having the shoe on the other foot, to discover what it's like to face the All Blacks. It is the uniqueness of playing the All Blacks," he said.
The 31-year-old Canterbury star was rested from New Zealand's tour by coach Graham Henry and so missed their Test victories against Italy, Wales and France.
That left Marshall free to play his first game for the Barbarians. Whereas in the amateur era a Barbarians match against an international side was often a Test in all but name, there are accusations that tomorrow's fixture is nothing more than a money-making exercise.
Henry has picked a second-string side, showing 13 changes from the team that ran out in last week's 45-6 thrashing of France, with only fullback Malili Muliaina and wing Doug Howlett retained even though more than 54,000 tickets have been sold.
"What's important is this is a brilliant opportunity to play for a brilliant club which is steeped in history," said Marshall.
"More than anything, I have bumped into players throughout the world who have been involved and they have spoken highly of the experience.
"It has taken me 10 years to be asked to play for them and it is a massive honor. I jumped at the opportunity. I am thrilled to be here, even if it means playing against the All Blacks," he said.
Unusually, the Barbarians are dominated by southern hemisphere players with Italy prop Andrea Lo Cicero the lone European representative after France's Thomas Castaignede was retained by English Premiership side Saracens and England duo Mike Catt and Chris Jones both pulled out through injury.
Now Marshall finds himself in the same back division as Wallabies Matt Giteau, Mat Rogers and Lote Tuqiri and is relishing the experience.
"They have been very receptive. You wouldn't know they are the people you go out and compete against, I am thrilled to be part of this side. It is a fantastic, unique experience.
"I have been fortunate enough to be an All Black for 10 years and played against a lot of these players. To have them in my side, to see how they prepare, has been brilliant," Marshall said.
South Africa vs Argentina
South Africa have made two changes to the side that swamped Scotland 45-10 last weekend for a one-off Test against Argentina tomorrow.
Gaffie du Toit comes in at fullback for Percy Montgomery, who has returned to Welsh club Gwent Dragons, and number eight Joe van Niekerk steps aside for Jacques Cronje.
The Test at Velez Sarsfield Stadium completes a five-match tour by Tri-Nations champions South Africa, who also defeated Wales but lost to Ireland and World Cup holders England.
Argentina shocked France and lost narrowly to Ireland on tour, but the refusal of several French clubs and Irish province Leinster to release players due to European Cup games means coach Marcelo Loffreda can call on just six first-choice players.
"We have a way we'd like to play, it is our last game of the season and want to finish well and put together things that we've worked on all year. I am looking forward to an all-round performance," said South Africa coach Jake White.
"This year we won a lot of prizes -- team and invididual -- and we don't want to spoil all those accolades," he said.
Springboks skipper John Smit said the huge Pumas scrum will prove a real test for the team.
"We've spoken about their big scrum," Smit said.
"A lot of the outcome of the game will depend on how well we play. I know Federico [Mendez, Pumas hooker] from the Sharks [KwaZulu-Natal Super 12 side] and he is a big player," Smit said.
Dubai World Series
New Zealand, surprisingly beaten by South Africa in last year's final, will be gunning for revenge in this week's Dubai World Series which kicks off the International Rugby Board (IRB) sevens circuit.
The All Blacks, 2001 world champions and winners of the first five IRB world series, won four times in a row in Dubai until crashing to the Springboks last year.
All Black coach Gordon Tietjens can count on 20-year-old Liam Messam but fans can expect to be treated to another batch of new stars.
Tietjens' record of five overall titles and 22 tournament wins in 36 finals of the 45 tournaments, sets the standard.
But the chasing pack are hard on their heels.
England, overall runners-up to New Zealand for the last two years, are determined to go one better, led by Simon Amor, the IRB Sevens Player of the Year.
England open their pool with a tough game against France.
South Africa had their most consistent season last year -- winning in Singapore as well. They will miss the injured Marius Schoeman but still have a strong squad, including Fabien Juries -- scorer of 99 tries.
Argentina were spectacular tournament winners for the first time last season in Los Angeles.
Australia have brought 11 newcomers so just how well they gel is hard to tell. They face an immediate exam of their credentials being paired with New Zealand in the same pool.
And sevens experts Fiji can never be ruled out.
The dramatic growth in the Sevens game is reflected in the Dubai tournament.
And this year's series leads to the fourth World Cup Sevens in the festival atmosphere of Hong Kong in March and a decisive vote at the International Olympic Committee Session in Singapore in July about the sport returning to the Olympic frame in 2012.
"We're pretty confident that we've shown that Sevens is worthy of inclusion. We've a lot to gain, said IRB Sevens manager Mark Egan.
Pool A: New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Arabian Gulf
Pool B: England, France, Scotland, Uganda
Pool C: Argentina, Samoa, Kenya, Tunisia
Pool D: South Africa, Fiji, Portugal, Ireland
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but
Taiwanese gymnast Lee Chih-kai failed to secure an Olympic berth in the pommel horse following a second-place finish at the last qualifier in Doha on Friday, a performance that Lee and his coach called “unconvincing.” The Tokyo Olympics silver medalist finished runner-up in the final after scoring 6.6 for degree of difficulty and 8.800 for execution for a combined score of 15.400. That was just 0.100 short of Jordan’s Ahmad Abu Al Soud, who had qualified for the event in Paris before the Apparatus World Cup series in Qatar’s capital. After missing the final rounds in the first two of four qualifier