All Blacks fullback Israel Dagg has bamboozled many defenders with his clever footwork, his subtle changes of pace and angle, but he had a substantial international media contingent entirely mystified yesterday when he was asked to explain the unusual try-scoring celebrations he has performed at the Rugby World Cup.
Dagg scored two tries in New Zealand’s 37-17 win over France on Saturday and the unusual manner in which he marked both touchdowns — a cryptic collection of hand and arm gestures — baffled many fans.
Asked to explain the meaning of the celebration at a press conference on Monday, Dagg left reporters more baffled than before.
In New Zealand slang, a “dag” is a humorous person and Dagg lived up to the name with an explanation which would have stumped the most acerbic sleuth or cryptologist.
“To be honest, I can’t really talk about it,” Dagg said at first, though he was clearly itching to do so.
“I won’t be sharing any information about it, but I can give you a few clues about it. The first clue is the dog meows — and that’s a clue about it. That’s one I’ll leave you with,” he said.
Asked if it might be seen again or if it might evolve into something new and even more bewildering, Dagg was equally cryptic.
“It will stay the same,” he said. “You might see it come out at some other stage of the tournament or someone random might pull it out. So we’ll just have to wait and see.”
Pressed for another clue, he said: “I’ll give you another clue. The laughing bear drives a motorcycle. That’s my last clue for today.”
All Blacks flyhalf Dan Carter was as bewildered as reporters as he sat next to Dagg.
Asked if he knew what Dagg was talking about, Carter replied: “I think he’s got this little private gang or thing I’m not associated with. It makes no sense with me.”
PALU SENT HOME
REUTERS, AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
Australia No. 8 Wycliff Palu was sent home from the Rugby World Cup yesterday because of a hamstring strain, but the injury-ravaged Wallabies said they would not name a replacement immediately.
Injury-prone Palu made his first start for Australia in almost two years against the US on Friday in Wellington, only to hobble from the field with a strain which could take up to six weeks to heal.
Australia said they might not replace Palu until after their final Pool C match against Russia on Saturday.
“It’s bad luck for Wycliff,” Australia coach Robbie Deans said in a statement. “Unfortunately, his previous history of injury in this area has impacted in terms of lengthening the time lines that are required for his rehabilitation.”
RECORD DEFEAT: The Shanghai-based ‘Oriental Sports Daily’ said the drubbing was so disastrous, and taste so bitter, that all that is left is ‘numbness’ Chinese soccer fans and media rounded on the national team yesterday after they experienced fresh humiliation in a 7-0 thrashing to rivals Japan in their opening Group C match in the third phase of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. The humiliation in Saitama on Thursday against Asia’s top-ranked team was China’s worst defeat in World Cup qualifying and only a goal short of their record 8-0 loss to Brazil in 2012. Chinese President Xi Jinping once said he wanted China to host and even win the World Cup one day, but that ambition looked further away than ever after a
Taiwanese badminton superstar Lee Yang broke down in tears after publicly retiring from the sport on Sunday. The two-time Olympic gold medalist held a retirement ceremony at the Taipei Arena after the final matches of the Taipei Open. Accompanied by friends, family and former badminton partners, Lee burst into tears while watching a video celebrating key moments in his professional sporting career that also featured messages from international players such as Malaysia’s Teo Ee Yi, Hong Kong’s Tang Chun-man, and Indonesia’s Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan. “I hope that in the future when the world thinks about me, they will
Former Formosa Dreamers player Ilkan Karaman was killed in a traffic accident in Datca, Turkey, Turkish media reported yesterday. He was 34. The former Turkish national team player was reportedly hit by a car, the driver of which was allegedly drunk, while he was standing on a sidewalk, Turkish newspaper Sozcu reported. Karaman and his friends were on their way to the beach town of Dalaman to go scuba diving when they stopped at a gas station to buy gasoline, it reported. Karaman was hit by the car while waiting on a sidewalk as his friends were buying gasoline, it
ANKLE PROBLEM: Taiwan’s Ye Hong-wei and Lee Chia-hsin had a disappointing end to their tournament after an injury forced them out of their mixed doubles semi-final Taiwanese badminton ace Tai Tzu-ying on Friday was knocked out in the women’s singles quarter-finals at her last Taipei Open. The world No. 3 lost 21-18, 16-21, 22-24 to Putri Kusuma Wardani of Indonesia in a match that stretched 68 minutes at the Taipei Arena. Despite her higher ranking, Tai said she was not too sad about the loss, given her struggle with a lingering knee injury. “Wins and losses are just part of the game. Actually, I think I’m going to lose every single match considering my condition now,” said the five-time champion of the Super 300 event, who has announced plans