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World rugby’s senior administrator has called for Argentina to join an expanded Tri-Nations tournament, saying the Pumas couldn’t be ”neglected” any longer. The Pumas have been the darlings of the World Cup, where last Sunday’s 19-13 win over Scotland saw them into the semifinals of rugby’s global showpiece for the first time.
In a first, Interpol appealed on Monday for public help to identify a suspected paedophile who was shown in photos posted on the internet sexually abusing young boys in Vietnam and Cambodia. The police organisation said German specialists succeeded in producing identifiable images of the man from the original pictures.
Jurors in the British coroner’s inquest into the death of Princess Diana on Monday started retracing her final, ill-fated journey from the Paris Ritz to the underpass where her chauffeur-driven Mercedes crashed. Travelling under heavy police escort, the 11 jurors set off from the Ritz Hotel on Paris’s Place Vendome.
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The battle of the brothers swung decisively in Argentina’s favour at the Stade de France on Sunday as the Pumas charged into the World Cup semifinals for the first time. The South Americans won a closely fought quarterfinal 19-13 and will play South Africa next Sunday for a place in the World Cup final.
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South Africa progressed to the Rugby World Cup semifinals on Sunday by eking out a hard-fought 37-20 victory over Fiji in a brutal but enthralling game in which no quarter was given. Some monumental hits were exchanged between two immensely physical sides.
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Defending champions England again proved Australia’s nemesis, dumping the match favourites out of the Rugby World Cup with a high-pressured 12-10 quarterfinal victory at Stade Velodrome in Marseilles on Saturday. England, who downed the Wallabies in the 2003 final in extra-time and in the 1995 quarterfinal, both with drop goals, handled the high stakes better.
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There’s no disguising this one. South Africa against Fiji should be a mismatch of a Rugby World Cup quarterfinal. Fiji would have to produce the perfect game to upset South Africa and advance to the semifinals. So that’s what coach Ilie Tabua is asking his squad to do. Fiji qualified for their first World Cup quarterfinal since the inaugural edition in 1987 with a 38-34 upset over Wales.
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South Africa play Fiji in the Rugby World Cup quarterfinals in Marseilles on Sunday with a game plan based around a return to basics in a bid to nullify the Pacific Islanders’ flair and raw talent. The Springboks are sure to dominate the set-piece, Fiji having suffered in the scrum throughout their pool games against Japan (35-31), Canada (29-16), Australia (lost 55-12) and Wales (38-34).
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In 1995, Max Brito, a dashing, 24-year-old dreadlocked winger, arrived at the Rugby World Cup full of hope for himself and his Côte d’Ivoire team. But after just three minutes of the group game against Tonga in Rustenburg in South Africa, he collapsed under a crunching tackle from flanker Inoke Afeaki and was crushed beneath an avalanche of bodies.
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South Africa coach Jake White said that hatching a victory over Fiji in the Rugby World Cup quarterfinal in Marseilles on Sunday was not ”rocket science”. Possession of the ball in contact against Fiji, an area where South Africa suffered in their narrow 30-25 pool victory over Tonga, was essential, said White.
French newspapers mined the Watergate archive to describe the political ramifications of a share trading scandal enveloping Airbus parent Eads on Thursday, posing questions about ”Who knew what, and when?” Coverage of suspicions of ”massive” insider trading focused on the risk of instability at Europe’s largest aerospace and defence group.
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South Africa coach Jake White said on Wednesday that injured prop CJ van der Linde will be fit to face Fiji in the World Cup quarterfinals. Van der Linde had picked up a knee injury and had been considered a doubtful starter for Sunday’s game at the Stade Velodrome.
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South Africa are facing a front-row crisis ahead of Sunday’s World Cup quarterfinal clash against Fiji. BJ Botha has already been forced out of the competition with knee ligament damage suffered in the 64-15 Pool A win against the United States last week, while fellow tighthead prop CJ van der Linde has bruising on one of his knees.
Always fierce rivals in sport, Australia and England’s World Cup quarterfinal on Saturday should be a classic if it matches the same level of animosity that has dominated the build-up. The players have stuck to the sportsman’s mantra that they respect their opponents and will have to be at their best to win.
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South Africa’s imposing lock forward, Bakkies Botha, has slimmed down for the World Cup but still has a huge appetite for success before he calls it quits. Botha is relishing a forward battle with Fiji in the quarterfinals on Sunday, where victory will keep the Springboks on course for a second world title and the 28-year-old on track for a half-century of caps.
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When it comes to ritual sporting humiliation, England have more often than not resembled the bloodied corpse and Australia the merciless executioner. The 2005 Ashes cricket success and the 2003 Rugby World Cup triumph have been rare highlights for England’s long-suffering fans, who have grown wearily familiar with the power of the Australian juggernaut.
Scottish giants Rangers led the way with a 3-0 victory over six-time French champions Lyon on a superb night for British clubs in the latest Champions League action on Tuesday. English powerhouses Arsenal and Manchester United both won 1-0 — Arsenal away at Steaua Bucharest and United with Wayne Rooney’s first goal of the season at home to Roma.
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South Africa faced a further worry over their slim prop resources on Tuesday after tighthead CJ van der Linde limped out of training ahead of Sunday’s World Cup quarterfinal against Fiji. Van der Linde injured his right knee in a mauling session and was unable to complete the session.
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The Wallabies are focusing on blunting the effectiveness of Jonny Wilkinson in their crunch Rugby World Cup quarterfinal in Marseilles on Saturday to ensure there is no repeat of his match-winning heroics for England in the 2003 final. The masterful flyhalf has steadied England after their rocky start to the tournament.
Seventy-five years ago this month, the England cricket, team led by Douglas Jardine and under the auspices of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), arrived in Australia on the steamship, the SS Orontes. Over the ensuing six months Jardine’s despised tactics not only threatened the future of Test cricket, but even undermined the bonds of the British Empire.
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Fiji are braced for a titanic forward battle when they take on South Africa in the World Cup quarterfinals in Marseille on Sunday. The Pacific Islanders, shock 38-34 winners over Wales in their decisive pool game, are expecting the Springboks to target their set-piece play, according to coach Ilie Tabua.
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Coach Jake White insists the Springboks are keeping their eyes on the ball as they face the tantalising prospect of a dream run to the Rugby World Cup final. The South Africans take on quarterfinal surprises Fiji in Marseille on Sunday and should they win they have a semifinal against either world number four Argentina or Scotland for a place in the October 20 final in Paris.
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/ 30 September 2007
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Tournament heavyweights South Africa lost flying winger Bryan Habana with a gashed cheek as they went on a try-scoring spree against the United States on Sunday. Habana’s injury and prop BJ Botha’s retirement with a knee injury were injury concerns ahead of the quarterfinal with the Fijians in Marseille.
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/ 30 September 2007
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Argentina defeated Ireland 30-15 on Sunday to ensure the Pumas finished unbeaten at the top of Pool D and qualified for a World Cup quarterfinal against Scotland next weekend. Wingers Lucas Borges and Horacio Agulla scored tries while playmaker Juan Martin Hernandez drop-kicked three goals.
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/ 30 September 2007
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Eddie Jones will not compromise what he knows of the Wallabies’ inner workings to the advantage of fierce Rugby World Cup rivals South Africa, Springboks coach Jake White said on Sunday. White, who is using Jones as a consultant at the tournament, says the former Wallaby coach is a huge positive for him and the Springbok team.
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/ 30 September 2007
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Two tries by wing Christophe Dominici helped France crush Georgia 64-7 in their final Pool D match on Sunday to advance to the World Cup quarterfinals. Needing four tries to secure a bonus point, France ran in nine in Marseille with Dominici becoming his country’s record try scorer in World Cup history.
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/ 30 September 2007
Oil output in Nigeria has plunged by a quarter since the start of 2006 in the face of political unrest in the Niger Delta, reducing the country’s influence in the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and limiting the effectiveness of Opec itself.
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/ 30 September 2007
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After pacing the sidelines for two weeks, Schalk Burger gets another chance to wreak havoc for South Africa at the World Cup. The bustling blonde backrower was switched from the flank to number eight in a strong Springboks lineup unveiled by coach Jake White for Sunday’s match against the winless United States in Montpellier.
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/ 30 September 2007
The new head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will ”have his work cut out” due to the global credit crunch, one of his predecessors said on Saturday. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, a former French finance minister, was named head of the IMF on Friday.
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/ 30 September 2007
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Peerless goalkicker Chris Paterson sent Scotland into the World Cup quarterfinals again when he landed six penalties to secure an 18-16 victory over Italy in a nervy, rain-affected Pool C showdown on Saturday. Paterson, who had landed nine out of nine conversions in Scotland’s first three games, continued his perfect return with six out of six penalties in St Etienne.
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/ 29 September 2007
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Fiji created the biggest shock of the World Cup so far with a sensational 38-34 win over Wales on Saturday to reach the quarterfinals for the first time since 1987. The Pacific islanders produced a wonderful opening period to lead 25-10 at the break and put themselves on course for the runners-up spot in Pool B.
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/ 29 September 2007
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New Zealand finished the World Cup pool stage in style with a spectacular demonstration of running and passing to demolish Romania 85-8 on Saturday. The All Blacks racked up 13 tries, three coming from flying winger Joe Rokocoko, as they blew away their opponents with some dazzling rugby to the delight of the packed crowd at the Stade Toulouse.