At a stadium full of recent bad memories, Australia yesterday experienced moments of anxiety before beating Japan 32-23 to start their annual rugby tour to the northern hemisphere.
The Showa Denko Dome, which hosted yesterday’s match, was where the Wallabies lost to England in the quarter-finals of the 2019 World Cup.
Flyhalves Quade Cooper for Australia and Rikaya Matsuda for Japan were influential figures as the teams struggled through an error-ridden match yesterday, deprived of continuity mainly by a high number of breakdown penalties.
Photo: AP
Cooper threw crucial passes in both of Australia’s first-half tries, then kicked a penalty to allow Australia to turn a one-point lead to a four point margin, 17-13, at halftime.
Australia seemed on top when they scored two tries early in the second half, but Japan came back strongly, scoring a try while down to 14 men in the 55th minute to leave the Wallabies with a seven-point margin, which narrowed further with another Japan penalty.
Replacement hooker Connal McInerney carried the ball in a well-executed lineout drive in the 78th minute to score a try on Test debut, which inflated Australia’s winning margin.
TROPHY FOUND
Reuters
The original Women’s World Cup trophy has been found in the attic of a house belonging to an administrator’s parents after going missing for more than 15 years, England’s Rugby Football Union has said.
The trophy had gone missing after England won the title in 1994 and a new trophy was made for subsequent editions.
“It was a very special, treasured trophy and it went out on tour and on road shows after we won the World Cup,” said former England player Gill Burns, who was a part of the 1994 team. “It was in the [World Rugby] museum briefly before it went back out on tour.”
“A few years later we started saying: ‘Does anyone know where the World Cup is?’ And nobody knew where it was,” Burns said. “A few weeks ago, one of the old administrators was cleaning out her parents’ loft and found some old notebooks, posters ... and behind them this box with the treasured World Cup in it.”
Burns said she was “very emotional” after being reunited with the trophy.
“We’re taking it back to Twickenham so it will be stored carefully at the World Rugby Museum and be on display for all to see. It’s a really special thing,” she said.
US-ALL BLACKS
Reuters
The US would be an excellent place to host a Rugby World Cup given growing enthusiasm for the game and the country’s track record for staging mega sporting events, All Blacks captain Sam Whitelock said on Friday.
Speaking to reporters on the eve of his team’s clash with the Eagles in Washington, which was to be played early this morning Taiwan time, Whitelock said that he has heard “a lot” of talk about the possibility of the 2027 World Cup being held in the US.
“You can tell there is some real momentum going into rugby here. It’s pretty cool to see,” Whitelock said.
The New Zealander has attended professional basketball and hockey games in the United States and said the fan experience is about much more than just the teams competing against each other.
“They can put on a show,” Whitelock said.
“It’s about the before, the halftime, the celebrations, the music. They do it so well,” he said. “So whether it’s here in 2027, or after that, I’m sure they’ll do an awesome job.”
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two