■ NEW ZEALAND
Lomu lauds Habana
Former All Black winger Jonah Lomu will be quick to congratulate Bryan Habana if the South African sets a record for tries scored in a single World Cup in Saturday's final against England. The lightning-fast Habana equaled Lomu's 1999 record of eight tries with his pair in the semi-final defeat of Argentina and will be a major threat to England's hopes of retaining the title in Paris. "The sky's the limit for him," Lomu told BBC Radio Five Live on Tuesday. "When he got to the eight the other day I was the first to stand up and applaud. He's a great ambassador for South Africa and a great ambassador for the sport. I'm hoping he will break it on Saturday because records are there to be broken. If you're defending against him you've got to shut his space down quickly. If he gets it in a dangerous area, nine times out of 10 he will score."
■ FRANCE
Bachelot rebukes Laporte
French sports minister Roselyne Bachelot on Tuesday called to order her future junior minister, national rugby coach Bernard Laporte, for his cavalier attitude after he said he would leave his new job if he didn't like it. Bachelot said 43-year-old Laporte's new job is a public service and not a question of personal pleasure. "To be secretary of state, isn't a question of personal pleasure. We fulfill a function, we don't do this for pleasure, we fulfill this function for the good of the French people," Bachelot said on French national radio. Laporte had said of the job he starts on Monday: "I have a new job; if I like it, I'll stay, if I don't, I'll go. I have always had this freedom, and all the better. I will start with a lot of conviction, a lot of enthusiasm because I believe that people who have appointed me have made a lot of effort as well."
■ ENGLAND
Will Harry invite Chelsy?
Prince Harry could face a ruck with his girlfriend Chelsy Davy over the World Cup final between England and South Africa. Harry, third in line to the throne, is an avid follower of the England team, while Zimbabwe-born Davy has spent much of her life in South Africa, where her family has interests and property. She studied at the University of Cape Town and lived in the city before recently embarking on a postgraduate course at Leeds University in northern England. British Army officer Harry, 23, reportedly missed her 22nd birthday to roar on defending champions England at the Stade de France in Paris last Saturday. He was decked out in a team jersey and was seen leaping out of his seat as he watched England's nail-biting 14-9 win over hosts France in the semi-final. Unlike hordes of his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II's subjects, Harry does not seem to have trouble getting his hands on World Cup tickets.
■ AUSTRALIA
Mortlock out until April
Wallabies captain Stirling Mortlock will miss half of next year's Super 14 season after injuring his shoulder at the World Cup, the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) said yesterday. In a major blow for his club the ACT Brumbies, Mortlock will not play until April after learning he must undergo the third shoulder reconstruction of his career. "He's out until April, he only learned this morning," an ARU spokesman said. The Brumbies have already lost the services of George Gregan and Stephen Larkham, who will play overseas next year.
Aaliyah Edwards on Monday pulled off the stunner of the opening round of the Unrivaled one-on-one tournament, beating top-seeded Breanna Stewart 12-0. The tournament to be played over three days featured 23 of the WNBA’s 36 players. A few had other commitments and a couple others were out with injuries. Stewart got the ball first against Edwards and missed a contested layup. Edwards then hit a three-pointer from the corner and a jumper from the elbow to go up 5-0. The player who scores keeps the basketball. Edwards hit two layups and a three-pointer to seal the win. Stewart, a two-time WNBA Most Valuable Player,
The Philippines curling team has been rocking it in Harbin, claiming the tropical nation’s first Asian Winter Games medal yesterday with a victory in the men’s final against South Korea. The team of Marc Pfister, Alan Frei, Christian Haller, Enrico Pfister and alternate Benjo Delarmente took gold with a 5-3 win at Harbin Pingfang Curling Arena. The Philippines Olympic Committee was quick to celebrate with a post on Instagram to mark the historic gold. “This is the first-ever medal for the Philippines at the Asian Winter Games, and the highest achievement for a Southeast Asian athlete in the Games’ history! What an incredible
Taiwan’s Lin Yun-ju and Kao Cheng-jui were defeated by their Chinese counterparts 3-0 on Saturday in the men’s doubles final at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Singapore Smash. Lin and Kao received their silver medals after being defeated by third-seeded duo Lin Shidong and Wang Chuqin of China 2-11, 4-11, 11-13. The Taiwan pair were left playing catch-up early in the match after the Chinese duo proved unstoppable in the first and second game. Although Lin and Kao picked up their pace in the third game and at one point took a 10-8 lead, they were crucially unable to take
Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien on Tuesday dumped compatriot and second seed Hsieh Su-wei out of the women’s doubles at the Qatar Open to set up another potential Taiwanese showdown, while world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka suffered a shock defeat in the second round. Wu and partner Jiang Xinyu, who earlier this year won the ASB Classic in Auckland and the Hobart International, defeated Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-2, 6-7 (3/7), 10-5 in 1 hour, 29 minutes on Grandstand Court 3 at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex. Wu and Jiang on Sunday advanced to the round-of-16 with a 7-6 (7/7),
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