Nude Rugby Players
ST HELENS WILL STICK BY LONG AFTER GB EXIT
St Helens coach Daniel Anderson insists the Super League champions will support controversial scrum-half Sean Long following his decision to cut short his involvement in the Tri-Nations Series. The club's acting captain is on his way back to England after asking to be released from the Great Britain squad currently preparing for Saturday's crucial match against Australia. Mystery surrounds the precise reasons for Long's sudden departure but, on a day of high drama on both sides of the world, Lions coach Brian Noble insisted the player had left due to "personal issues". Noble strongly denied the 30-year-old, one of rugby league's modern-day greats, left the GB training camp in Manly because of gambling or drinking problems, as initial reports in Australia had suggested.
EDITORIAL: No-one was going to buy Sel's dummy
The New Zealand Rugby League has taken a poorly drafted rule, bent it to the maximum and, when it has been rumbled, petulantly refuses to play if it is punished. The row over the fielding of Aussie-born Nathan Fien is the stuff of high comedy. League rules allow foreign nationals to take the field of a country if they have a grandparent born there. In Fien's case the NZRL interpreted the rule with magnificent generosity to itself. The 27-year-old Warriors hooker, who has played two Tri-Nations tests, had a great-grandmother born in New Zealand a century ago. The Aussies are crying foul, and who can blame them? Unlike the rest of us, the NZRL can see no difference between a grandparent and a great-grandparent. .
LONG FACING UNCERTAIN FUTURE AFTER TOUR EXIT
Great Britain scrum-half Sean Long's colourful career took a new twist today when he cut short his involvement in the Tri-Nations tournament to make a hasty return to England. The 30-year-old, one of rugby league's great characters, left the Great Britain training camp in Manly, Australia, for personal reasons, according to the Lions management. The shock development comes just nine days after arguably his greatest performance, a man-of-the-match display in Britain's magnificent 23-12 win over Australia in Sydney and just 24 hours after it was revealed he was in talks about a permanent move Down Under. The St Helens star will no longer be a part of the Lions squad for the remainder of the Tri-Nations tournament. A statement released by the Great Britain team read: "The player Sean Long has left the Great Britain training camp based and has returned home to the UK for personal reasons.
August 20th, 2008 03:45 AM
|
|
Rugby Dinner (Jersey Insight)
|
|
Word class rugby players are in the island today. Ex-England rugby captain Martin Corry is holding a fundraising dinner at the Hotel de France as part of his testimonial year. Hell be joined by stars like England Coach Martin Johnson and Irish international Jordan Murphy.
|
August 20th, 2008 03:45 AM
|
|
Rugby Training (Jersey Insight)
|
|
Youngsters in Jersey are getting rugby tips from top coaches this week. Around 150 schoolchildren are taking part in a training course run by the Leicester Tigers. Its the third year its been run and is open to boys and girls who want to improve their skills.
|
|
