SCRUM’S THE WORD
WORLD CUP DIARY
STEVE HANSEN is hoping to secure a famous double tomorrow — with his horse set to run in the prestigious Everest race in Australia shortly before the All Blacks’ quarter-final against Ireland. The New Zealand coach owns a share of Nature Strip, which runs in the $14million sprint race at Randwick in Sydney. Racing matters will be left in the hands of trainer Chris Waller, while Hansen is focused on the All Blacks’ quest for a third straight World Cup title. ‘I guess you could say my second horse will be the All Blacks on Saturday, although I’m not too sure the boys will like being called horses,’ said Hansen. ‘Obviously it is a highlight to have a horse in a race like the Everest. There’s not a lot I can do. I can’t ride him or carry him.’
IT MAY only be October but festive spirit has arrived at England’s team hotel in Oita. Staff have already put up the Christmas decorations including trees, reindeers and models of Father Christmas. As well as admiring the displays, there is plenty to keep the players busy at their base in the south. It has its own bowling alley and arcade — and even hosted a Japan-South Korea summit in 1997!
MOST press conferences have been set in glamorous five-star hotels, but Australia could hardly have had a less grand setting for their team announcement yesterday. Aussie coach Michael Cheika (above) spoke to the gathered press in a Portakabin in the car park next to an industrial estate after they had trained nearby. The shed had male and female portable toilets outside, but no internet facilities whatsoever. As he walked in, the Wallabies boss joked: ‘Welcome to our plush accommodation folks!’
URUGUAY’S legacy at this World Cup has been tainted after a drunken bar fracas the weekend before they flew home. The South Americans shocked the world by beating Fiji, but their celebrations escalated too far in Kumamoto, where two players allegedly assaulted a member of staff at Bacon Egg nightclub.
IRISH golf star Shane Lowry was mixing with the enemy last night when he went for dinner with All Blacks full-back Beauden Barrett. Lowry, who won the Open at Royal Portrush in July, and Barrett feasted on Japanese beef at Wagyumafia, which markets itself as an exclusive members-only restaurant.