The World Cup is only four days old and already the treatment rooms are full of the sick and injured.
The bad news on Tana Umaga's injured knee was confirmed as a ruptured ligament on Monday while England sent for another scrumhalf with three of them hobbling around in danger of missing the showdown with South Africa.
PHOTO: EPA
Umaga suffered his injury colliding with All Blacks teammate Carlos Spencer in Saturday's 70-7 victory over Italy in Melbourne.
PHOTO: AP
The team confirmed the talented center had ruptured the posterior ligament of his left knee but hadn't given up hope that he would be back to play some part in the rugby World Cup.
In a statement, the All Blacks said Norm Maxwell had been contacted as a standby option but there was "no certainty he would be the replacement if in fact a replacement for Umaga is required."
Spencer and winger Joe Rokocoko also suffered injuries during the game but team spokesman Matt McIlraith said they were "not major injury concerns."
Fiji will have to play the US on Wednesday without winger Rupeni Caucaunibuca, but not because of injury. On Monday night, he was suspended for two matches by a judiciary hearing for his part in a brawl during last Saturday's loss to France.
The decision, announced after a hearing that went nearly four hours, suspended Caucaunibuca until Oct. 23, meaning he will miss Fiji's next two matches against the US in Brisbane and against Japan in Townsville.
He will be available for Fiji's last pool match against Scotland in Sydney on Nov. 1.
Millions of TV viewers saw the winger, who had already scored a memorable try during his team's 61-18 loss at Brisbane, launch himself into a brawl that had already started after a double tackle on French flyhalf Frederic Michalak.
In the England camp, there were more wounded players and, unfortunately for coach Clive Woodward, they were all scrumhalves.
Injuries to first-choice scrumhalf Matt Dawson, backup Kyran Bracken and possibly third choice Andy Gomarsall led Woodward to scramble for cover in the early hours of Monday.
Bracken failed to take his place on the bench in Sunday's 84-6 win over Georgia because of a back injury, Dawson came off in the first half and spent the rest of the game with ice strapped to his knee and Gomarsall appeared to hobble from the field at the end.
With Bath's Martyn Wood already boarding a plane for Australia after Austin Healey apparently ruled himself out through injury, Dawson said he hoped to make it for the crucial match against the Springboks on Saturday.
"I came off towards halftime with a knock on my leg but don't believe it will affect my availability for selection," the British Lion said.
"It was decided that I should come off more as a precaution than anything. South Africa is a match that none of us wants to miss."
The match in Perth is rated the biggest of all 44 pool games.
Whoever wins has a comparatively easy ride through to the semis while the loser almost certain will face championship favorite New Zealand in the quarters.
The last time they met, a 53-3 victory for England 11 months ago, South Africa had a player sent off and were accused of dirty play.
Springboks captain Corne Krige said Monday his players had their penalty infringements counted during the this year's Super 12 and Tri-Nations campaigns this year as part of an effort to clean up their rugby.
"Guys have been monitored, habitual criminals have been spoken to," said Krige, who was accused by the Australians of spitting. "They've been hard on us so our penalty count has come down in Super 12 and Tri-Nations and we'll keep working on that."
The defending champion Australians have their injury and illness problems too.
Already ruled out of Saturday's game against Romania, lock David Giffin is still recovering from a horror fall on his head and shoulder against Argentina, center Stirling Mortlock building up strength after a stomach bug and fullback Chris Latham trying to regain fitness after pneumonia.
Having been trounced by the All Blacks, the Italians faced up to Tonga in Group D with a virtually brand new lineup. Only winger Nicola Mazzucato survives from the starting lineup although many others are on the bench.
Coach John Kirwan has stuck by his promise that he would use all his squad members in the first two matches.
That means experienced stars such as team captain Alessandro Troncon, center Christian Stoica, brothers Denis and Manuel Dallan and flanker Aaron Persico will start against the Tongans who won their only other meeting with the Italians 28-25 at the 1999 World Cup.
Meanwhile, the US announced the lineup for its first game of the tournament against Fiji and hoping for a better result that last time, when the Eagles lost all three matches.
Coach Tom Billups warned that his players "could be a handful" for unwary opponents.
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
RSS