Rookie Leroy Carter was still coming to terms with his inclusion in the All Blacks squad to play in Argentina in the opening rounds of the Rugby Championship when he made a shocking discovery: “The dog ate my passport.”
The utility back with the Hamilton-based Chiefs was one of four uncapped players included in Scott Robertson’s Championship squad. The phone call from Robertson informing him of his selection had come as a massive surprise.
Carter was rushing to get things together for the squad’s assembly and departure when he realized the family dog had intercepted his passport.
Photo: AP
“I got my passport out to take a photo to send to the [team] manager and I just left it on my bedside table,” Carter told New Zealand media yesterday. “My partner went to the gym and left my dog home alone and it’s gone down the hallway, jumped on the bed and just chewed up the passport and my teeth aligners.”
“It was a bit of a shambles yesterday. I was trying to get an emergency one, but I think it’s all [sorted] now. I thought it would happen to me, something like that, so no point getting stressed about it,” he said.
The All Blacks squad leaves today to play Argentina in Cordoba on Aug. 17 and Buenos Aires a week later in the first two rounds of the Rugby Championship.
A runner who stopped during a marathon in China to pose doing the splits and another who hoarded energy gels have been banned for two years, the local athletics association said yesterday. The incidents happened during Sunday’s marathon in Sichuan Province’s Chengdu and were widely shared online. Videos showed a female runner stopping suddenly and dropping to the ground in the splits position, holding up her arms in a heart shape as she apparently posed for a photograph. She “committed obstructive fouls during the race, affecting the safe participation of other runners,” the Sichuan Athletics Association said in a statement, which identified
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
Yu Yao-hsing on Tuesday nabbed Taiwan’s only goal in the final round of qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, as they fell 3-1 to Sri Lanka at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Early goals from Sri Lanka in the first half left Taiwan struggling to get on the board, and Christopher Tiao’s own goal at 53 minutes sealed the team’s fate in the third round of qualifiers. While acknowledging that the defeat, Taiwan’s sixth in Group D, was disappointing, head coach Matt Ross said he saw reasons to stay positive about the team’s development. “There were lots of positive signs in terms of the
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so