The Super 14 rugby table faces a shake-up this weekend with the unbeaten Sharks within range of regaining the top spot when they host the Wellington Hurricanes in Durban. But should the Sharks fail, a second South African side in the Northern Bulls, who face defending champions the Canterbury Crusaders, are within striking distance of drawing level with the front-running Auckland Blues.
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/ 15 February 2007
One crewman was missing after a fire erupted on a Japanese whaling ship in icy Antarctic waters on Thursday, following weeks of running battles between the hunters and militant environmentalists. The <i>Nisshin Maru</i> sent out a distress call before dawn, saying most of the crew had abandoned ship, with a few staying on board to fight the fire.
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/ 17 December 2006
A stand-out unbeaten 152 by Chamara Silva put Sri Lanka firmly in command of the second cricket Test on Sunday as New Zealand were set an improbable 504 to win. The home side now require a world-record fourth innings for victory after Sri Lanka were dismissed for 365 in their second innings.
The All Blacks came from behind to pull off a 34-27 victory over the Wallabies in a passionate and bruising rugby Test in Auckland on Saturday to clinch the Tri-Nations crown with two matches to spare. Two tries in three minutes inside the final quarter swung the game the All Blacks’ way.
A stern warning from the All Blacks has put the struggling Springboks under pressure to produce a massive improvement in their Tri-Nations Test in Wellington on Saturday to save the Southern hemisphere rugby championship from turning into a lopsided debacle.
South Africa’s woeful performance against Australia last weekend has baffled the All Blacks who admit to being unsure of what to expect in their Tri-Nations rugby Test in Wellington on Saturday. When the Springboks’ backline failed to function, and the forwards were aimless, they appeared to have run out of ideas as they submitted to a 0-49 drubbing in Brisbane.
Springboks coach Jake White denied pushing the panic button on Wednesday as he slashed a third of his starting line-up for Saturday’s Tri-nations rugby Test against a buoyant All Blacks who have rested many leading players. White made five changes to the side humiliated in Australia last week by a record 0-49, after All Blacks coach Graham Henry discarded eight from his team.
The Wallabies paid public homage to the All Blacks on Thursday, as both sides clamoured for underdog status going into the opening Tri-Nations rugby Test. The All Blacks ”are the best team in the world at the moment,” offered Wallabies coach John Connolly, as he dismissed suggestions his side would go into Saturday’s Test on the front foot.
New Zealand were forced to rely on a late charge to mount a come-from-behind 34-23 win over Ireland on Saturday to maintain their unbeaten record in 101 years of rugby internationals between the two countries. In their first outing since their historic Grand Slam at the end of last year, the All Blacks produced a bumbling performance for the first 60 minutes.
A massive earthquake with a magnitude of 7,8 rocked the island nation of Tonga on Thursday, triggering a panic evacuation in a New Zealand town after tsunami warnings were briefly issued for the South Pacific. Although the warnings were withdrawn within two hours, hundreds of people in the New Zealand coastal town of Gisborne, more than 2 200km from the quake’s epicentre, fled their homes.