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/ 17 October 2007
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Francois Steyn will become the second-youngest player in a World Cup final on Saturday, hoping he doesn’t suffer the same fate as All Blacks legend Jonah Lomu who was a loser against the South Africans in 1995. Steyn, who is 20 years and five months old, has been one of Springbok coach Jake White’s young lions.
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/ 17 October 2007
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South Africa flanker Schalk Burger is relishing the thought of a forward battle against England when the two teams meet in the World Cup final on Saturday. Both the Springboks and the English have progressed through their respective pool games and knock-out phase on the back of dominant performances by their packs and Burger cannot wait for the challenge.
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/ 17 October 2007
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Springbok coach Jake White is on the verge of emulating compatriot Kitch Christie in winning the Rugby World Cup, but he admits victory will have been against the odds in what he believes is the toughest job in rugby. Just under a year ago, the 43-year-old was in danger of the sack after being recalled during the Springboks’ northern hemisphere tour.
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/ 17 October 2007
Archaeologists have uncovered the earliest known remains of human habitation at the coast, a finding that may explain how humans ventured beyond Africa at the start of their planetary odyssey. Mussel shells and stone micro-tools found in a sea cave in South Africa suggest that Homo sapiens headed for the beach quite soon after emerging from the savannah.
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/ 16 October 2007
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Jake White has a lot to thank England for as South Africa coach and he may be eternally grateful by the end of Saturday’s World Cup final at the Stade de France. Twickenham, across the English Channel from France, marked the moment 11 months ago when White’s Springbok side beat England 25-14 to ensure they remained together for the World Cup campaign.
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/ 16 October 2007
Spain’s Oscar Pereiro on Monday received the yellow jersey from the 2006 Tour de France at a ceremony in Madrid, officially replacing United States rider Floyd Landis, who was stripped of his title for doping. ”This is an emotional moment, a day that I will never forget,” said Pereiro after Tour director Christian Prudhomme awarded him the jersey.
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/ 16 October 2007
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Bryan Habana was named after a former England soccer captain and could have been a top-class international sprinter but, thanks to the Springboks’ 1995 World Cup success, he turned to rugby. The 24-year-old winger could clinch a memorable double on Saturday in the World Cup final against England.
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/ 16 October 2007
England have received a welcome boost, France have injury setbacks while Scotland manager Alex McLeish claimed his team were up against it to go through in the run-up to Wednesday night’s Euro 2008 qualifiers. England negotiate a tricky tie on an artificial pitch in Russia, France host Lithuania after a horrendous journey to the Faroe Islands and Scotland have an important trip to Georgia.
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/ 16 October 2007
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In Australia, it’s a term of abuse but in Paris on Saturday night, it’s poised to be the weapon of choice as England and South Africa eye the World Cup title. Never has the much-maligned drop goal been so important and in Jonny Wilkinson, England can boast the king of the kickers.
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/ 16 October 2007
A French rugby fan was so distraught at his team’s World Cup semifinal exit that he threw his television out of the window of his flat on to a car parked two floors below. Police said the man, who had been drinking as he watched Les Bleus slip to a 14-9 defeat to England on Saturday, also threw his video recorder and furniture from his second-floor apartment.
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/ 15 October 2007
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Winger Josh Lewsey has been ruled out of the Rugby World Cup final with a hamstring tear, England officials said on Monday. Lewsey, who played in the 2003 final victory over Australia, was forced off with the injury near the end of the first half of Saturday’s 14-9 semifinal win over France.
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/ 15 October 2007
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Former South African president Nelson Mandela has been invited to attend next weekend’s World Cup final between the Springboks and England. South Africa coach Jake White said the current president Thabo Mbeki had already confirmed he would attend the match and there was a chance Mandela might also come to Paris if he was healthy enough to make the trip.
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/ 15 October 2007
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South Africa are ready for a penalty shoot-out should the World Cup final against England be called a stalemate. Jonny Wilkinson won the 2003 final against Australia with an injury-time drop-goal, but Springboks coach Jake White said he was unconcerned that the number 10 had rediscovered his form with the boot.
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/ 15 October 2007
Airbus on Monday delivered the first of its A380s, the world’s biggest passenger jet, to Singapore Airlines, 18 months behind schedule but with both sides hailing the major advance in air travel. The 73m-long superjumbo was handed over in a ceremony at the Airbus headquarters in Toulouse in southern France.
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/ 15 October 2007
French tourism is enjoying a boom thanks to the Rugby World Cup, with hundreds of thousands of rugby fans filling top-end hotels and proving wealthier and better behaved than the average soccer supporter. France Tourism Minister Luc Chatel said an estimated 350 000 foreign fans and their families would be drawn to France during the six-week tournament, which ends on October 20.
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/ 15 October 2007
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South Africa may have reached the World Cup final, but they will have achieved nothing if they don’t beat England in Saturday’s showdown, said coach Jake White on Sunday following the Springboks’ 37-13 victory over Argentina. The 43-year-old also insisted that the 36-0 walloping of England four weeks ago counted for nothing.
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/ 14 October 2007
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Bryan Habana scored two breathtaking tries as South Africa ended Argentina’s glorious Rugby World Cup adventure with a 37-13 semifinal win at the Stade de France in Paris on Sunday. The Springboks will now face England, whom they beat 36-0 last month at this ground in a pool game, when they return for Saturday’s final.
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/ 14 October 2007
Although Lewis Hamilton couldn’t wrap up the Formula One title in the Chinese Grand Prix, he is still in a position to make history as the circuit’s youngest champion. Since the Englishman was nine years old he has nurtured a dream of following in the steps of former champions Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher and Alain Prost.
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/ 13 October 2007
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Jonny Wilkinson booted defending champions England into the World Cup final with a late penalty and trademark drop-goal against France in a gritty 14-9 semifinal in Paris on Saturday. England struggled to convert their massive territorial domination over France into points.
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/ 13 October 2007
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How much do Argentina have left in the tank? The answer should be clear in the second half of a ferocious forwards clash between the Pumas and South Africa on Sunday. Cracks appeared among the Pumas last Sunday when they let slip a 19-6 lead around the hour mark to give Scotland a sniff at victory. The Springboks are too dangerous for anybody to afford easing off at any time.
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/ 12 October 2007
French police have arrested 310 people suspected of having downloaded images of child pornography on the internet, police said on Friday. Police said 144 of those detained across France since Monday had admitted they had downloaded pornographic videos of young girls.
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/ 12 October 2007
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South Africa prop CJ van der Linde will start against Argentina in the World Cup semifinal at the Stade France in Paris on Sunday after recovering from a knee injury. The 27-year-old tighthead prop is the only change to the starting XV that beat Fiji in last Sunday’s quarterfinal — Jannie du Plessis drops to the bench as the Springboks attempt to reach their second final.
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/ 11 October 2007
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South Africa might boast some of the most electrifying backs in rugby but they might not play much of a part in Sunday’s World Cup semifinal against Argentina. As much as the Springboks might want to play a razzle-dazzle brand of game, they believe the best approach to beating the Pumas is to employ a more simple, conservative game plan.
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/ 11 October 2007
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Rarely has the term ”Le Crunch”, often used to describe internationals between England and France, been more appropriate than for Saturday’s World Cup semifinal at the Stade de France. The old rivals will meet for the 90th time, knowing that defeat for either side could signal the end of some distinguished rugby careers.
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/ 11 October 2007
Floyd Landis, facing the loss of his 2006 Tour de France title on a doping charge, will take his case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the cyclist said on his website on Wednesday. Landis will ask the Lausanne-based CAS to overturn the decision handed down on September 20 by a panel of three United States arbitrators.
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/ 11 October 2007
A self-professed art lover stood trial this week accused of damaging a $2-million painting by kissing it while wearing red lipstick. The deputy prosecutor in Avignon accused the defendant on Tuesday, Sam Rindy, of "savagery" for having left a lipstick smear on the work by United States artist Cy Twombly.
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/ 11 October 2007
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Argentina and South Africa have pumped up the volume in a war of words ahead of their World Cup semifinal on Sunday by exchanging mutual insults. Pumas full-back Ignacio Corleto blasted the 1995 champions as ”arrogant” while Springboks scrumhalf Fourie du Preez claimed opposite number Agustin Pichot was ”irritating”.
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/ 10 October 2007
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Bryan Habana’s year just keeps getting better and better but the South Africa wing is hoping the best is yet to come. The 24-year-old already had an inkling that this was going to be a special season when he helped the Bulls become the first South African team to win the Super 14.
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/ 10 October 2007
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South Africa have always prided themselves on their giant forwards, but scrumhalf Fourie du Preez, one of the smallest members of the team, has arguably played the biggest part in getting them to the World Cup semifinal. Du Preez may be little in stature compared with his teammates but what he lacks in size he makes up for skill and sheer courage.
A British jury on Tuesday visited the Ritz hotel in Paris where Princess Diana and her boyfriend, Dodi Fayed, spent their last hours together before their deaths in a fatal road crash 10 years ago. On the second and last day of a familiarisation trip to the French capital, the 11 jurors in the inquest into their deaths walked through the corridors of the luxury hotel.
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Argentina are expecting their World Cup semifinal against South Africa in Paris on Sunday to be a bruising, no-holds barred encounter. The Pumas won through to the last four of the tournament for the first time with a narrow 19-13 win over Scotland in the quarterfinals at the Stade de France last Sunday.
<a href="http://www.mg.co.za/specialreport.aspx?area=rugbyworldcup07_home"><img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/317644/icon_rwc_03.gif" align=left border=0></a>The International Rugby Board (IRB) has backed Wayne Barnes, who refereed the France-New Zealand World Cup quarterfinal, following reports that he had received death threats. The Englishman yellow-carded All Black centre Luke McAlister at a crucial moment of the game and also missed a forward pass in the move that brought France the match-winning try in their 20-18 triumph.