Sat, Mar 31, 2018 page16

• SPORTS BRIEFS

  • Agencies
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  RUGBY SEVENS

  Stannard hurt in attack

  Australian rugby sevens captain James Stannard has been ruled out of the Commonwealth Games after yesterday sustaining a fractured skull after being punched by a man outside a fast-food restaurant early in the morning. Rugby Australia (RA) said that Stannard was taken to St Vincent’s Hospital, where he is in stable condition, after being struck by another man. New South Wales Police have charged a 22-year-old man over an alleged “one-punch” assault. RA said Stannard was with a group of teammates, along with head coach Andy Friend, at the time of the incident. Stannard was struck by a man in an unprovoked attack after reportedly having a conversation with him outside the fast-food outlet, RA said.

  SWIMMING

  Bee sting floors swimmer

  Olympic champion Mack Horton’s Commonwealth Games preparations have been rudely interrupted by an angry bee which stung the Australian swimmer during practice. The 21-year-old, who won 400m freestyle gold at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics in Brazil and goes by the nickname “Mack the Knife,” got a fright after an allergic reaction caused his arm to swell up following his brush with the tiny critter. However, Australia’s head swim coach Jacco Verhaeren said Horton would be ready for the Commonwealth Games, which kick off on the Gold Coast, Australia, next week.

  RUGBY UNION

  All Blacks prop Murdoch dies

  Former All Blacks prop Keith Murdoch, who was sent home in disgrace from the team’s tour of Britain in 1972 for punching a security guard in Cardiff, has died, New Zealand Rugby said on yesterday. He was 74. “New Zealand Rugby [NZR] mourns the loss of former All Black Keith Murdoch,” NZR said on their Twitter page. Murdoch, who played 27 matches for the All Blacks, including three Tests, actually scored a try in his final match, a 19-16 victory over Wales in Cardiff. Murdoch was celebrating the victory when he was refused entry to the Angel Hotel in central Cardiff and knocked the security guard down. Team manager Ernie Todd initially disciplined Murdoch, but two days later sent him home. However, Murdoch did not return to New Zealand as scheduled, having got off the plane en route and disappeared into obscurity in rural Australia, becoming an enigma in rugby-mad New Zealand. The prop was tracked to an oil drilling operation near Perth by journalist T.P. McLean in the late 1970s and confronted by a spanner-wielding Murdoch, who advised him to “get back on the bus.”

  GOLF

  Thompson smiling at ANA

  Lexi Thompson is smiling and having fun again at the ANA Inspiration. A year after a rules breach cost her four strokes in regulation in an eventual playoff loss, Thompson on Thursday shot a 4-under-68 to finish the opening round three strokes behind leader Pernilla Lindberg. Thompson also again overpowered Michelle Wie, four years after routing her in a final-round showdown on another hot afternoon at Mission Hills, California, for her first major title. Fighting dizzy spells on the front nine, Wie had a 75 that left her in danger of missing the cut. Taiwan’s Chien Pei-yun was in 36th position, while Candie Kung and Yani Tseng trailed behind, both in 73rd.
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