SCRUM’S THE WORD
WORLD CUP DIARY
EDDIE JONES could be almost 5,000 miles away in Sydney on the eve of England’s crunch Pool C match against France, attending the funeral of beloved Randwick club-mate Jeffrey Sayle. The RFU have approved his request to fly back for the funeral which is on Friday morning Australia time — less than 36 hours before England’s pivotal Test at the Yokohama Stadium. Jones told the Sydney Morning
Herald he is in the process of trying to arrange the trip, which would mean he misses next Friday’s captain’s run. The Red Rose coach could feasibly leave Tokyo Airport after Thursday’s team announcement and return on an overnight flight to land back on Saturday morning. ÷THE Wallabies will wear a green shirt, inspired by the Aboriginal people of Australia, against Uruguay today. The away kit has yellow tribal patterns on it and Kurtley Beale loves it. ‘As a proud indigenous Australian, I am very excited to be wearing the indigenous Wallabies playing strip against Uruguay,’ he said. ‘It is a true representation and acknowledgement of the First Nations people. It’s going to be a very special night for all involved. I can’t wait.’ ÷URUGUAY have Luis Suarez’s favourite drink to thank for their World Cup win over Fiji. Los Teros are looking to give Australia a bloody nose today and Agustin Della Corte reckons it’s all down to traditional herbal tea. ‘When we are travelling, we have a lot of leisure time. We like to share a mate,’ he explained. ‘Each one of us brings our Thermos but the yerba mate [the herb] came with the team — we brought 200 kilos!’ ÷JAPANESE fans have innovative ways of getting autographs. Wales trained with 120 schoolchildren in Otsu yesterday, and were watched by about 1,000 more people. To get their memorabilia signed, some supporters dangled balls and shirts from pieces of string so the players could reach them! ÷NAMIBIA are rated as having no chance of beating the All Blacks tomorrow but they are hoping for a regal performance from the wonderfully-named Prince Rivaldo Gino !Gaoseb. The exclamation mark is no typo — it is part of the flanker’s full name.