During this World Cup it has been evident that some teams have little intention of working to construct tries, preferring to simply work their way to within kicking range and then go for field goals.

Most competent kickers who get a good pass and a bit of time can comfortably slot a drop goal from 40 metres, so this is a trend that doesn’t look like heading downward any time soon, particularly when it is an easy way to keep in touch with sides whose defences are improving all the time.

Of course every side has benefited from the drop goal at various times – England in the ‘03 final of course, and certainly the Wallabies against South Africa in the 1999 semis – so no-one in their right mind would argue that it should be abolished. In the right circumstances (‘03 final) it can be a legitimate, dramatic and effective way to break a deadlock and win a tight game.

When it becomes a way of keeping the scoreboard ticking over in general play though, it certainly takes a bit of sting out of the game for spectators.

An effective way to ensure the viable future for the drop goal as a deadlock breaker, whilst maintaining the focus on running rugby and tryscoring would be to limit the number of drop goals allowed per game.

There are two choices. Either limit the number of attempts, or limit the number of successful goals. Limiting successful goals probably wouldn’t be quite as effective since teams could just keep trying till they kicked their quota. On the other hand, limiting field goals to say, 3 attempts, would have a twofold effect. One, it would force teams to be more strategic with the attempts they made, particularly in tight games where they may need to keep one in reserve as a tiebreaker. Second, it would take away the “points guarantee” which would be inherent in a limit on successful attempts. Teams might attempt three and only kick one for 3 points or they might kick them all for 9 points. The beauty of this is that the responsibility would be on teams to take their attempts at the best possible time to ensure the score rather than just “having a crack” at field goal when there was nothing else on, particularly post-advantage when they know that there’s a penalty coming.

The hoped for outcome would be a greater focus on running rugby and tryscoring, whilst ensuring the survival of the drop goal as a valid and important part of the games history and identity. I see it as being similar to cricket limiting the number of bouncers per over – also a valid tactic when used sparingly, but negative when it is used too often.

Any takers?

Roaring Hot

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Ireland v Argentina

England v Tonga

This weekend promises a bumper round of Rugby World Cup action, including the deciding match of Pool D: Ireland v Argentina.

“There has been something about the way the Irish have failed to deliver during this World Cup that has been very worrying.” Read Garth Hamilton’s match preview.

Leading into the tournament, the England v Tonga match would not have posed too many concerns for the current world champions. Their lack of form coupled with Tonga’s enterprising and courageous play make this one of the matches of the tournament. Read the match preview.

Other games in the round include All Blacks v Romania, Australia v Canada, Wales v Fiji, and Scotland v Italy.

The 22-year-old rookie told British reporters at the Japanese Grand Prix that he felt the team were more behind him than the Spaniard after a turbulent season marred by a spying controversy.

“When you are in a relationship with a certain amount of people, you do the best job you can and want to show to everyone that you are the one for the team,” said the championship leader.

“In this situation, I was a rookie and he was the two-time world champion coming into the team.

“He is the one that was looked at to bring it home, but eventually I have earned more respect from them.

“And since what’s gone on in the last few weeks they’ve realised who the real people are in the team and who they really should back.

“I feel my bond with the team is even stronger.”

McLaren boss Ron Dennis revealed at a ’spy hearing’ of the governing FIA in Paris two weeks ago that he and Alonso had not been on speaking terms since a falling out at the Hungarian Grand Prix in early August.

That same hearing, presented with e-mail evidence provided by Alonso, fined McLaren $US100 million ($A113.84 million) and stripped them of their constructors’ points for having Ferrari technical information in their possession.

Alonso, who has been unhappy with McLaren’s refusal to give him number one status, shunned the hearing while Hamilton attended.

His lawyer also made a plea for the drivers to escape sanctions.

“I want to win it fair and square. Not once have I approached the team members and asked to be favoured,” said Hamilton of a title battle that could take a decisive twist in Fuji on Sunday.

“It is just not something I have done at any team, asking for better equipment.”

Hamilton said after the controversial Monaco Grand Prix one-two, when the Briton complained that McLaren were treating him as a number two driver, the team had been scrupulously fair.

“After Monaco they didn’t know what to do with the strategy so they made us equal and gave us equal fuel loads and whoever out-qualifies the other has done the better job,” he said.

“I want to win it the right way. The best feeling ever is when you know you have won and you have beaten someone as talented as he is with the exact same equipment and exactly the same opportunity.”

Hamilton, Formula One’s first black driver who has been supported by McLaren for more than a decade, said he had been forced to change his opinion of Alonso.

“You try to understand these people but then the whole idea of what sort of person they are is completely miles out of the ball park,” he said.

“He is not the person I imagined him to be, but that’s the way it is.”

By Alan Baldwin – © 2007 Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Days after one senior tennis official warned that betting could become as big a problem as doping in sport, the unheralded Belgian player told a British newspaper today he had been approached to throw his first-round match at the grasscourt grand slam two years ago.

Ranked 191st in the world and with career earnings of little more than $US300,000 ($A341,000) dollars at the time, Elseneer had been drawn to face fellow journeyman Potito Starace.

With neither player a household name, the match was destined to take place on one of the All England Club’s far-flung outside courts, in front of a handful of spectators. No matter who won, the result would barely register on the tennis radar.

Elseneer rebuffed the approach and won the match in straight sets. He told the Times newspaper: “I had my honour as a player to protect and Wimbledon meant everything to me.”

The ATP, the governing body of men’s tennis, is already investigating possible irregular gambling patterns during a match at the Sopot Open in Poland last month.

Internet betting firm Betfair voided bets on the clash between world No.4 Nikolay Davydenko and Martin Vassallo Arguello of Argentina. Russian Davydenko, who retired hurt from the match, denies any involvement.

Former world No.4 Tim Henman told the BBC this week that he had heard of players being asked to influence the outcome of matches.

“I personally have never experienced it but, listening to the players talking, it seems it goes on,” Henman said.

“We’ve got to be very careful, very vigilant about it as tennis doesn’t want to be associated with that,” the Briton added.

Former world No.2 Tommy Haas said players knew match-fixers were targeting the sport.

“There have been cases where it’s quite obvious,” the German said.
The ATP said it had never had cause to punish a player under its anti-corruption regulations, which prohibit players and their coaches and families from betting on matches.

“All the players who have said they’ve been approached have instantly said ‘no’. Our investigations have not found any evidence that a player is sanctionable under those rules,” a spokesman said.

By Pritha Sarkar – © 2007 Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Japanese police are considering charging the trainer of a 17-year-old sumo wrestler who died earlier this year on suspicion that a beating during a practice session may have caused the fatality.

Tokitaizan, whose real name was Takashi Saito, collapsed after practice on June 26 while preparing for July’s Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament.

The boy’s father, Masato Saito, wants to get to the bottom of exactly what happened to his son.

“Firstly, I want to know the truth,” Saito said at a press conference today.

“I don’t want this kind of accident to happen anymore – I want my son to be the last one.”

Police have questioned trainer, or stable master, Tokitsukaze, 57, and the other wrestlers in his stable after deciding Saito’s injuries did not appear consistent with those sustained in practice.

Saito died at a hospital on June 26 and at his family’s request, police conducted an autopsy that showed the body had numerous bruises and wounds.

Tokitsukaze, whose real name is Junichi Yamamoto, has said he struck Saito on the head with a beer bottle the day before he died, and forced him to train so hard that he could barely stand the day of his death.

Fellow wrestlers told authorities Saito had injured himself while training.

According to the boy’s father, members of the Tokitsukaze stable called his family and offered to cremate Saito’s body before the family got to see it. The Saito family declined and the body was sent to Saito’s house.

The family was shocked to see cuts and burns on his body.

According to Saito, his son fled from the training facility twice, once in mid-June and again on the day before his death but did not tell his father that he had been bullied or assaulted.

Adding to the suspicion is the fact that Takashi’s mobile phone, which could have contained information about the situation surrounding his death, was broken in two and it remains unknown who broke it.

Because of their excessive weight, sumo wrestlers, even in their youth, are susceptible to a variety of health problems but this doesn’t appear to be a factor in Saito’s death.

The coroner listed the numerous bruises and wounds as the likely cause of death.

The Saito case is just the latest blemish for Japan’s national sport.

Grand champion Asashoryu is serving a two-tournament suspension for playing in a charity soccer match earlier this summer in his native Mongolia, after skipping an exhibition tournament. He claimed he was injured.

Following his suspension, Asashoryu suffered a nervous breakdown and flew back to Mongolia for treatment after sumo officials berated him for skipping an official appearance.
By Jim Armstrong – © 2007 The Associated Press

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The hour was dark for Manly and Des Hasler was just the man they needed.

As limping former silvertails Manly emerged from the wreckage of the Northern Eagles rugby league merger, it was Hasler who put his hand up and offered to remake the proud club in his own premiership-winning image.

“I think Des brought immediately the culture of Manly,” said Paul Cummings, the former executive chairman who hired Hasler in 2004 after he’d been Peter Sharp’s assistant.

“(At the great clubs) there is a great culture there and unless you’ve been an integral part of it … that culture is not easily gained.

“Des has got that and made an easy transition in bringing that back from what it was at the Northern Eagles.

“You have to say that it was in the wilderness in the Northern Eagles era.”

Super League and the shotgun merger with North Sydney in 2000-01 had left Manly close to broke.

On the field they were a pale shadow of the club that had bagged six premierships.

People almost felt sorry for rugby league’s most despised club.

“I would think that Dessy may have got more money elsewhere and I’m sure he understood the difficulties of what the club was going through when it came back in,” Cummings said.

“It was more so not just the money for Des, it was more the fact that he could reignite the Manly culture.”

While businessman Max Delmege began turning the club around off the field, Hasler, who was a part of Manly premierships in 1987 and 1996 as a player, set about improving a rag-tag side that had finished second last in 2003.

They did improve – to third last a year later.

But that improvement was to continue dramatically and by 2005 they were eighth and in the finals for the first time since 1998.

In 2006 they were fifth, and a year later the 46-year-old former halfback and lock has guided the Sea Eagles to their first grand final since 1997.

“I suppose there’s a little culture change, that’s what Dessy brought to us,” said veteran Steve Menzies, who played with Hasler.

“The work hard, work for each other and he sort of instilled the mateship, not that that wasn’t here before but just those little things.

“He’s a bit of a perfectionist too, Dessy, and a bit of a fitness maniac as well.

“All those little pieces he’s brought to the team that’s sort of moulded it to where it is.”

Delmege agrees it was Hasler’s steely competitiveness which galvanised an unfashionable group of players.

“We seem to have this energy at the end of the game, the same energy at the end of the game as what we start with,” he said.

Hasler’s success has surprised many, not least because he comes across in public as anything but the modern, media savvy coach.

Cummings says that persona isn’t the real Hasler.

“He’s a very private man and it’s sometimes, I think, hard for him to walk the line right down the middle without saying the things that he feels.

“You don’t see Des putting his name up in the paper, you don’t see Des just being quoted for the sake of quoting.

“Des has that incredible one-on-one relationship with the players. It doesn’t matter where the players come from, whether they are locals or whether they are in fact people we brought to the club.”

And, according to Menzies, he is getting better with age.

“In the past three or four years his coaching has matured,” Menzies said.

“He’s big on the training side but he’s big on the recovery side now. I think he’s got a nice blend of being serious and making sure he gets his point across and having a laugh.”

“This is the biggest moment in our sporting history. We know that we have a lot of support and I know everyone will be cheering, including Scotland, Wales, every country … maybe even Iraq.” - Tongan centre EPELI TAIONE on his team’s make-or-break Rugby World Cup match against England.

“They don’t really like the Victorians, the blue-baggers, so I think we’re going to be copping a fair bit of boos when we run out.” – Melbourne captain CAMERON SMITH on likely NRL grand final loyalties at Sydney’s Telstra Stadium.

“I just think you can’t change culture. People hate Manly so that’s great.” Manly coach DES HASLER.

“I’d like to think there’s a bit of arrogance in our side, yeah – that means you really believe in yourself,” Port Adelaide coach MARK WILLIAMS ahead of Saturday’s AFL grand final against Geelong.

“No-one was here (then), there was a Gary Ablett but it’s not the same one.” – Geelong captain TOM HARLEY on the club’s four grand final losses in seven years to 1995.

“I’m recently advised their (Brisbane’s) prospects of making the (AFL) grand final are limited, in which case, married to an Adelaidean, you can understand where my support will be come this weekend.” – Labor leader KEVIN RUDD on wearing a striped teal tie this week.

“When I woke up this morning I actually checked to see that it was there to check that I wasn’t dreaming.” – Geelong’s JIMMY BARTEL the day after winning the Brownlow Medal

“I don’t think it was so much down. Pissed off is more the word.” – Australia’s ADAM SCOTT on the International team’s frame of mind after being hammered 5 1/2 to 1/2 by the USA on the first day of the Presidents Cup.

“We have had a very successful side and I think watching how we celebrate and how they celebrate, I think we have been pretty humble in the way we have gone about it.” – Australian cricketer ANDREW SYMONDS on India after winning the Twenty20 Championship title.

“I don’t need two eyes to beat them. I’ll fight with one eye.” Boxer Anthony Mundine, talking up his future while admitting he has less than 50 per cent vision in his left eye.

“No offence to Wellington but since being here I probably feel about six weeks younger.” – All Blacks flanker JERRY COLLINS at the Rugby World Cup in France.

<a href=”http://www.theroar.com.au/aap-disclaimer-and-copyright-notice/”>&copy; 2007 AAP</a>

Freeman will star as Madiba at the conclusion of the ‘95 Rugby World Cup tournament in South Africa – placing its significance against the backdrop of the old apartheid regime.

Clint Eastwood is apparently considering directing the movie which may also star Matt Damon as Francois Pienaar.

The collection of the world’s best players looked anything but as the tidier American team won five of the six foursomes matches, and halved the other at Royal Montreal today.

The US opened a five-point lead – 5 1/2 to 1/2 – continuing its historical dominance of the opening day foursomes.

Four of the six matches went to the 18th hole, but that was little consolation to the shell shocked Internationals.

All four Australians lost, with Adam Scott and Geoff Ogilvy setting a dismal tone when they were hammered 3 and 2 by Steve Stricker and Hunter Mahan in the opening match.

Nick O’Hern and Korean partner K.J. Choi gave Tiger Woods and Charles Howell a good fight but the Americans, with Woods in cruise control, were too good in the end triumphing 3 and 1.

And Stuart Appleby continued his abominable Presidents Cup record, hitting an appalling shot at the par-four 18th so far left of the green that it ended in an unplayable lie, costing the Internationals any chance of eking out a half point.

In the only match that did not end in defeat for the Internationals, Canadian Mike Weir gave the home fans something to cheer about when he teamed up with Fiji’s Vijay Singh to finish all square with Phil Mickelson and Woody Austin, Austin sinking a four-metre clutch putt at the last.

The US now has a 27-11 first day record in the seven stagings of the event, so it clearly knows the elusive formula for getting out of the blocks quickly.

“Our guys were sensational today,” said American captain Jack Nicklaus, while International captain Gary Player spoke about the fine line between success and failure.

Today that fine line ended in American success and International failure.

© 2007 AAP

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Only eight losses in their past 53 games is just the start as the minor premier Storm prepare to face Manly in Sunday’s grand final at Telstra Stadium.

This year they finished at or near the top of nearly every major statistical measure of rugby league excellence.

First in points scored and least points conceded. Top of the pile in tries scored and fewest tries conceded.

Cronulla just edged them out in metres gained, the New Zealand Warriors in least metres conceded.

Line breaks – they were third, while for least line breaks conceded they were on top.

Only Souths had fewer missed tackles than the Storm, and most of Melbourne’s must have been pretty effective with only two sides better in stopping offloads.

Individually they were right up there as well.

Skipper Cameron Smith was the second leading pointscorer, rookie Israel Folau the equal leading tryscorer.

Smith and Dallas Johnson both finished in the top six for tackles made during the season, a remarkable feat considering both missed a couple of games due to State of Origin commitments.

Yes, Melbourne had in over the opposition in every possible way – both with ball in hand and without it.

It was a similar story last year, critics believing a Melbourne premiership was a fait accompli as they thundered their way into the decider against Brisbane.

But the planets failed to align – a couple of questionable refereeing decisions, an untimely injury to Smith midway through the second half, and a brilliant display from Broncos linchpin Darren Lockyer cruelling the Storm as they slumped to a 15-8 loss in the big one.

The sight of Ryan Hoffman sobbing as the Broncos took off on their lap of honour told the story of the emotional letdown.

“That’s driving us but it’s also not driving us,” fullback Billy Slater says.

“It’s in the back of your mind. I’ll never forget when that hooter sounded and we were seven points behind in a grand final. It’s not something you forget.

“We’ve been dominant for two years, but no-one cares if you’ve been dominant and you don’t win a premiership.”

Centre Matt King, who will run out in the purple and gold for the last time on Sunday before taking up a deal with English Super League club Warrington, said making amends was not a motivator.

There was nothing they could do to alter the record books, which will always show Brisbane as the 2006 premiers and the Storm as the runners-up.

“The only retribution would be to take the hurt away,” King said.

“I can’t speak for everyone, but from my point of view I’m still hurting from that loss last year.

“More so than retribution, I want to take that hurt away.

“When I think about that night, if we were to win this weekend, I think it would take a lot of the hurt away.”

But after finishing second on the ladder Manly are confident they can inflict more grand final agony on the Storm.

Manly haven’t had anywhere near as much pressure to deal with this season, the burden of expectation nowhere near as high.

While many thought the men from Sydney’s northern beaches were capable of making the grand final, there was still some doubts as to their big match temperament.

But when the two teams met earlier this year on a Saturday afternoon at Brookvale Oval, it was the Sea Eagles who prevailed 13-12.

It was an epic clash, the result only confirmed when Matt Orford – a player whose ability in the big games had long been questioned – nailed a field goal three minutes from time.

“If we play a little bit better than we did earlier in the year I think we can definitely get them,” Sea Eagles backrower Anthony Watmough said.

“We’ve got them once this year and there’s no reason why we can’t get them again.

“One and two in the grand final.

“They’ve got a lot of quality players and for us to overcome them we’re definitely going to have to be on our game.”

Storm halfback Cooper Cronk feels he can relate to how the Sea Eagles are feeling.

Much like the Sea Eagles this year, the Storm didn’t have any pressure on them heading into 2006 and just gathered momentum as the season went on.

“It was kind of ‘how good is this going’ and you just hope it continues from a personal point of view and a team perspective,” Cronk said.

“Everyone had written us off before the season and we were just riding the wave thinking how good is this.”

The Sea Eagles will be hoping their wave doesn’t peter out come Sunday, but how they’ve dealt with the hype of grand final week will also play a part.

Apart from a day of media commitments at the start of the week, the Manly squad has largely been kept out of the spotlight.

It’s in stark contrast to the Storm, who were spending the last few days of their build-up in Sydney in a bid to soak up as much of the grand final atmosphere as they possibly can.

Last year the Storm travelled back and forth from Melbourne to Sydney as they looked to keep things as normal as possible and reckon they learnt a hard lesson from it.

Sunday is far from just a normal game.

© 2007 AAP

Ask any surviving Northern Eagles player and they’ll tell you they hated playing for the failed merger side. Local junior Jason King despised the fact he made his NRL debut for the Northern Eagles and not Manly.

“I hated it when it turned into the Northern Eagles,” he said.

“It was a bit of an empty feeling (playing for them) to tell you the truth, I wasn’t a big fan of the club.”

Luke Williamson only joined because he had nowhere else to go.

“I was thrown a lifeline to be honest,” said Williamson.

“That was sort of testing times. We had a relatively fair side but there was a lot of stuff going on off the field.”

And Steve Menzies, the ultimate clubman and Sea Eagles legend, admits the years of the merger with bitter rivals North Sydney were the toughest of his stellar career.

The thought of playing in a grand final was nothing more than a distant dream.

“It was are we going to get paid and are we going to have a team next year,” said Menzies.

“I think those were the types of things that were in the forefront of everyone’s minds, not when are we going to play our next grand final.”

Victims of the Super League war, Manly and Norths merged in 2000, but it was a marriage made in hell and it lasted just two seasons.

The Sea Eagles, once despised for `buying’ premierships and known as the `silvertails’, were on the verge of collapse.

Enter Max Delmege. A wealthy businessman determined to not let the maroon and white Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles die, he coughed up $6 million just to keep the club alive.

The club was privatised in 2004 and the Penn family, through their company Penn Sport, weighed in with more financial support soon after.

That same year former player Des Hasler was appointed coach and ever since the club has been improving.

With a five-year plan aimed at premiership success, the Sea Eagles now stand one win away from achieving their goal, and it’s still 12 months ahead of schedule.

“We had 22 players on our books and Des and I had no money and no hope,” recalls Sea Eagles recruitment officer Noel Cleal.

“With the help of Max Delmege and the Penn family we’ve been able to be active in the market place.

“We targeted specifics, where we had voids in the club and we always wanted to get a marquee player every year which we have done.

“We set a five-year plan and it’s funny, while we’ve done that we’re probably a year ahead of ourselves.

“We thought we might make a bigger dent next year. This year is a bonus but we’re not going to knock it back.”

It cannot be stressed enough that without Delmege and Penn Sport chief Scott Penn providing continued financial assistance, the Sea Eagles would still be a rabble – if they were alive at all.

Hasler rates the businessmen’s contributions as “very crucial”, but Delmege says the staff at the football club deserve all the credit for the turnaround.

“You can’t give any more credit to the staff that have been doing the recruitment, in particular Des and Crusher (Cleal), it’s just awesome,” said Delmege.

“I leave it all to them. I’m purely there to give moral and financial support.”

Manly will go into Sunday’s grand final against Melbourne with just three surviving members of the Northern Eagles debacle – Menzies, King and Williamson.

Since 2004 the club has recruited heavily and developed their own young talent.

Top recruits include representative players Ben Kennedy (now retired), Matt Orford, Brent Kite, Steve Bell and recent addition Jamie Lyon.

Test hopefuls Brett Stewart and Anthony Watmough plus Kiwi centre Steve Matai were talented juniors handed a first grade opportunity by the Eagles.

Together they’ve formed a disciplined outfit on the verge of premiership glory.

It’s an amazing transition and King is relishing the change in fortune.

“We’ve been through the dark days and finally come out and we’ve made the grand final a few years down the track,” he said.

“I always dreamed this day would come … but those dark days were pretty tough.

“We had CEOs coming to training sessions assuring us that we were going to be paid and all that type of stuff.

“So the club has really come a long way since then and it’s a credit to the administrators and the staff at all levels.”

Williamson has little doubt Hasler is responsible not only for Manly’s on-field performance, but for attracting players to the club.

“Ever since Des came on board, I’m pretty sure he had a goal of achieving the ultimate prize and that’s shown in the way they work on and off the field,” said Williamson.

“Players have come and gone in that time, but the club’s recruited well and a core group of players have been here for three or four years and now it’s proving its worth.”

Local junior Watmough says he can remember how popular Manly were back when the club made three successive grand finals from 1995-1997.

He thinks the support is even greater now.

“I can still remember last time Manly were in three grand finals in a row and the buzz around the local area was unbelievable and now it’s even bigger,” he said.

“I don’t think we’re the team everyone loves to hate anymore. I think we’re the team everyone is starting to shine to and take in as a second team.”

Just how well Manly are liked will be determined on Sunday. But win or lose, Delmege says it’s up to the fans to decide whether they won’t their nickname back or not.

“If Manly supporters want us to be known as the silvertails then I’m all for it,” said Delmege.

“But if they want us to be known as the Manly Warringah battlers, then I’m all for that too.”

By Todd Balym and David Beniuk
© 2007 AAP

The one-day world champions are missing five of their stars because of injury and personal reasons while paceman Glenn McGrath has retired.

Australia play their first one-day match since claiming their third straight World Cup in Barbados in April at Bangalore’s Chinnaswamy Stadium.

The Australians looked underdone at this month’s Twenty20 world championships in South Africa, the national side’s first competition in five months.

They were bounced out in the semi-finals by eventual winners India but Ponting said they were good enough to overcome their personnel problems.

“We have got no excuses as far as our preparation is,” said Ponting who will sit out the early matches of the seven-game series with a hamstring strain.

“We have had three months to get fit and and get our skills to a certain level I guarantee that when Saturday comes around you will see a very well drilled Australian team.”

All-rounder Andrew Symonds agreed the new-look Australian side was ready to rumble.

“I I don’t feel like we are unbalanced or unready and don’t have the personnel to do well,” he said.

“We have had a lot of injuries in one hit but Mitchell Johnson has improved a lot over the past year and this is a real good opportunity for him and James Hopes coming into the group.

“He has played some good cricket over the past couple of years, it would be a good chance for those blokes to have an extended go at it.”

Symonds predicted an intriguing series as it pits Australia, the 50 over a side champion against the best Twenty20 side on the globe in India.

“I think seven games against one team is a lot but it will sort out the best side,” he said.

“I think the feeling between the two sides, if ever there was a chance to play seven games it is now.

“The expectations are high, the (Indian) team’s confidence is high and the country is abuzz.

“Traditionally we enjoy a spicy challenge.”

© 2007 AAP

Wallabies Coach John Connolly said the 29-year-old utility had failed to make a satisfactory recovery since injuring the shoulder on his first carry of the ball during last Sunday’s 55-12 win over Fiji.

“(Team Doctor) Martin Raftery examined him this afternoon and the movement in Scott’s shoulder was still fairly limited,” said Connolly.

“He’s suffered a pretty bad cork and bone bruising and probably needs another four to five days to get over the injury.”

Staniforth’s omission paves the way for several changes in the Wallabies backline for Saturday’s clash with Canada at Stade Chaban-Delmas in Bordeaux.

Adam Ashley-Cooper switches from outside centre to take Staniforth’s place at inside centre, while Lote Tuqiri moves in one place to outside centre.

Cameron Shepherd moves from fullback to wing with Chris Latham to again start in the number 15 jersey.

Matt Giteau is the new man on the reserves bench, wearing jersey number 22.

The revised Wallabies team list for Saturday’s final Pool B clash is as follows:

AUSTRALIA v CANADA
Rugby World Cup 2007
Pool B Match
Saturday 29 September, 2007

Stade Chaban-Delmas, Bordeaux, FRANCE

Kick off: 3.00pm local (11.00pm AEST)

Australia
1. Greg Holmes
2. Adam Freier
3. Al Baxter #50
4. Nathan Sharpe (vc)
5. Mark Chisholm
6. Hugh McMeniman
7. George Smith (c)
8. David Lyons
9. Sam Cordingley
10. Julian Huxley
11. Drew Mitchell
12. Adam Ashley-Cooper
13. Lote Tuqiri (vc)
14. Cameron Shepherd *
15. Chris Latham

16. Sean Hardman *
17. Guy Shepherdson
18. Rocky Elsom
19. Phil Waugh
20. Stephen Hoiles
21. George Gregan
22. Matt Giteau

Key: #50 = 50th Test Cap
* = RWC Debut

Canada
1 Rod Snow
2 Pat Riordan
3 Jon Thiel
4 Luke Tait
5 Mike James
6 Colin Yukes
7 Dave Biddle
8 Sean-Michael Stephen
9 Morgan Williams (c)
10 Ander Monro
11 James Pritchard
12 Derek Daypuck
13 Mike Pyke
14 Justin Mensah-Coker
15 Dth van der Merwe

Replacements:

16 Aaron Carpenter
17 Dan Pletch
18 Mike Pletch
19 Mike Burak
20 Mike Webb
21 Ed Fairhurst
22 Dave Spicer

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