Rugby Old Boys To Sing Australian Anthem
Advance Australia Fair: The Wallabies belt out their national anthem with gusto... Well, some of them.
Thanks to Facebook, a choir of former rugby players will sing the Australian national anthem when the Wallabies face New Zealand in a Tri-Nations match.
The choir will take over the field at a Tri-nations rugby test in Sydney next month to sing the Australian national anthem after successfully accumulating more than 10,000 supporters. The Old Boys Rugby Choir will belt out a no-frills version of Advance Australia Fair when the Wallabies play the All Blacks at Sydney’s Olympic Stadium on 11 September after winning a challenge to gather 10,000 fans on www.facebook.com/rugbychoir.
The Australian Rugby Union (ARU) agreed to let the choir lead the singing if they won enough support and, helped by television appearances, they confirmed on Tuesday that they passed the mark and would join country singer John Williamson before kickoff. Choir captain Michael Garnett said he had approached the ARU because he and his rugby-playing friends felt renditions of the anthem contained “vocal gymnastics” that stopped the players singing along.
“We believe that the anthem should be delivered straight and free from vocal gymnastics,” Garnett said. “When you have people do vibrato and layers of harmonics through it, that’s not what we believe in and we believe the players don’t want it either.”
He said current Wallabies Drew Mitchell and James O’Connor had been very supportive of their campaign. “Both tweeted our cause because they said they can’t sing along with those vocal harmonics either,” he said. “They want it sung straight and that’s our premise. We don’t have all the trills along with it.”
REUTERS
All In A Name
Australian, Will Power
Will Power swears his name is neither a joke nor a carefully crafted moniker put together by a public relations team.
In fact, the IndyCar driver’s mother wanted to call him Liam.
As a kid they called him Willie.
The first time Team Penske president Tim Cindric saw Will Power flash across the screen during a race in the now defunct ChampCar Series he thought it was a put-on.
“I was just shaking my head at now they’re getting drivers with a name like that,” Cindric said.
Turns out Power’s parents were on to something.
A year after a horrific crash that threatened his suddenly blossoming career, the 29-year-old Australian headed to this weekend’s Sonoma grand prix in California atop the IndyCar standings.
Will power indeed.
The Australian came to Sonoma last summer hoping to impress owner Roger Penske enough to earn a full-time ride with Team Penske in 2011.
He ended up leaving in a medivac helicopter after smashing into Nelson Philippe of France during practice, his back in tatters.
A year later he returns to Infineon Raceway with a 41-point lead over defending champion Dario Franchitti of Scotland with five races left in the season.
The storybook ending is out there. Power knows it’s up to him to write it.
“This was never the plan,” he said.
“It just sort of evolved.”
And it’s evolved quickly.
Power spent five months out of a racecar after the accident.
Penske stuck by Power, however, telling him he’d found the money to put him in the No.12 car in 2010.
He won the IndyCar season-opener in Brazil and hasn’t looked back.
He’s been in the points lead after 11 of the 12 races this season and is IndyCar’s king of the road, capturing the series’ first road racing championship after finishing second in Ohio two weeks ago.
“We’ve certainly had some consistency there,” Cindric said. “Usually there’s some kind of setback. Maybe he hasn’t had his turn yet. He certainly hasn’t made the big mistakes that put you out of the championship race.”
Maybe Power believes karma owed him one. The nasty accident at Sonoma left him battered but undaunted even if Cindric admits there is always a concern about a driver’s confidence following a major crash.
“That edge is the difference between first and 10th sometimes,” Cindric said.
There have been no such issues with Power, though he acknowledged having jitters during a test session at the track.
“If I saw some dust kick up from another car, I was a little bit wary,” he said.
Of course, that’s during practice. During road races, he hasn’t had to deal with people driving in front of him that often.
He’s won four road events this season, and Sonoma presents his last opportunity to widen the gap over Franchitti before the season ends with four oval races on which Power is still learning.
He freely admits he’s not sure what makes a good oval racer, though he’s been solid if not spectacular this season.
He knows it simply takes time and experience, something he rarely got while driving primarily road courses before coming to IndyCar.
If he needs some pointers, he need only ask teammates Helio Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe, who have welcomed the somewhat introverted Power with open arms.
Power, who admits he rarely gets recognised in public outside of Indianapolis.
“I try to keep my name off the internet as much as possible,” he said with a laugh.
Despite the quiet focus he brings to the track, Power can be engaging when he’s away from it.
Though his younger brother is a standup comedian – who has even worked a bit into his act about his older brother’s name – Power insists that he’s the funny one.
When asked how he reacts when people tease him about his name, Power starts riffing on all the people he’s sued.
“I’ve been in and out of court a lot on the name-calling thing,” he said.
“If they’re going to (tease me) they’re going to end up in court and sued for a lot of money.”
Not that he’s going to need it. The driver who basically drove for food when he came to the States is now tasting the good life. Don’t expect him to go anywhere either. He remembers being bored while dominating Formula 4 races in Australia. He’s never going back.
Courtesy of Stuff.co.nz
HAVE YOUR SAY: Which sports men and women have the most amusing names or most appropriate names?
Arrivederci Yamaha For Rossi
Defending world champion Valentino Rossi will say farewell to his Fiat Yamaha team at the end of the season.
Rossi will link up with the team from his native Italy as former world champion Casey Stoner of Australia leaves Ducati to join Honda.
The 31-year-old Rossi finished fifth in Sunday’s Czech Grand Prix for Yamaha.
His chances of retaining the world title this year were dealt a blow by a six-week absence with a broken leg.
“It is very difficult to explain in just a few words what my relationship with Yamaha has been in these past seven years,” said Rossi.
“Many things have changed since that far-off time in 2004 but especially ’she’, my M1, has changed. At that time, she was a poor middle-grid position MotoGP bike, derided by most of the riders and the MotoGP workers.
“Now, after having helped her to grow and improve, you can see her smiling in her garage, courted and admired, treated as the top of her class.
“Now the moment has come to look for new challenges, my work here at Yamaha is finished.
“Unfortunately, even the most beautiful love stories finish, but they leave behind a lot of wonderful memories, like when my M1 and I kissed for the first time at Welkom, when she looked straight into my eyes and told me ‘I love you’.”
Filippo Preziosi, Ducati Corse general director, said: “Firstly, Valentino is a great fan of motorcycles and so it has always been a pleasure for me to listen to his opinions.
“Until the Valencia GP, he will remain a competitor, one so great that he has always given a special value to our victories, but as soon as he rides the Ducati for the first time we will work together on every single detail that will develop a bike capable of showing his huge talent.
“Working with Valentino is one of the most exciting things for every engineer and it is good to know we will have this great opportunity next season.”
Courtesy www.bbc.co.uk
Eddie Jones: Springboks Decline Is Temporary
Former Wallabies coach Eddie Jones observes a rugby match closely
Former Wallabies coach Eddie Jones has warned against writing off the Springboks.
Meanwhile, Reds coach and former World Cup-winning Wallabies prop Ewen McKenzie says the extent of the Springboks’ ills won’t be known until after they face New Zealand in Johannesburg next Saturday. The Springboks lost their first three away Tri Nations tests – 32-12 and 31-17 to the All Blacks in New Zealand and 30-13 to Australia in Brisbane on 24 July.
Jones believes their decline is temporary and that they are more focused on the World Cup next year. Jones also says they are trying to use the playing style that’s been so successful for the Super 14 champion Bulls.
“They kicked more than any other team, offloaded less than any other team, but scored more tries,” he said of the Bulls. “Their lineout and kick-off was excellent. They kicked a lot and well. When they got ball in the opposition half they were able to keep the ball. That is how the Springboks want to play.”
MISSING FOURIE DU PREEZ
The crux of the Springboks’ woes, Jones says, is the absence of Bulls halfback Fourie du Preez for the rest of the season due to a shoulder operation. He is expected back next year.
“They are missing the one bloke who is the best player in the world – Fourie du Preez,” he said. “They have not only lost the bloke who kicks the ball best and who, with the ball, attacks the best, but that has put enormous pressure on their No 10 [Morné Steyn] who looked like he was going to be a player of 60 Tests but now looks like a player who will struggle to get to 40 because Fourie is not there. Once they get Fourie back they’ll be a much better team.”
The Springboks have recalled fullback Francois Steyn from France, winger JP Pietersen and breakaway Juan Smith for their 29-man squad.
OUTDATED GAME PLAN
McKenzie said: “They were dominating. Now they’ve fallen behind. It will be interesting to see what they do tactically. The next [few] weeks will be pretty important. There’s some desperate stuff happening over there. The All Blacks are in the box seat. If they get their bonus point to win the Tri Nations, they can relax and play without much care. That might be a daunting prospect.”
However, McKenzie believes the Springboks must change their game – and by Saturday’s Test. “They are playing a probably slightly outdated game plan,” McKenzie said. “It will be interesting to see if they play the same way… interesting to see who they pick at 10. Will they play Butch James and use the ball more or stick with [Morné] Steyn and play a fairly orthodox game?”
That Test should reveal how great the challenge will be for the Wallabies to win either – or both – Tests at Pretoria and Bloemfontein on the Highveld where they have not won since 1963. Not that McKenzie has ever shied away from taking on history.
“I don’t think it’s too big an ask,” he said of the Wallabies’ chances of winning there. “I am sure they are going over there to win two games to solidify that second position – in the world rankings or [Tri Nations].”
With thanks to stuff.co.nz
Youngs: England Can Win Rugby World Cup
Ben Youngs flies over for a try against Australia during the Cook Cup match
England’s 20-year-old scrumhalf Ben Youngs believes his team has what it takes to win the 2011 World Cup.
Youngs insists the 21-20 victory in the second Test in Sydney was a watershed moment for Martin Johnson’s squad after two tumultuous years, and if they build on their victory against the Wallabies, they can win next year’s World Cup. The Leicester scrumhalf emerged as the leading light of the June tour, scoring a try on his full debut in what was only England’s third victory against the Wallabies in Australia.
Although New Zealand’s subsequent domination of the Tri-Nations has provided a more sobering context for England’s achievement, Youngs says there is now a “great atmosphere” in the squad, who are taking part in a training camp at Twickenham this week. And the 20-year-old, having relished his taste of success on the international stage, is convinced England are on track to make a big impact at the World Cup in New Zealand next year.
“The tour was fantastic and the win for us was a long time coming, we showed glimpses against France and all the boys put in a huge effort to get it right in the second Test,” said Youngs, who has emulated his father Nick, another Leicester and England scrumhalf, who won the last of six caps in 1984. “The key for us is to keep moving forward and use the performance [against Australia] as a base. It is up to the players to work hard and put in the performances and for the coaches to come up with the ideas. If we do that together there is no reason why we can’t push ahead and put ourselves in good shape for New Zealand next year.
“We have got to believe as English players that we are capable of winning [the World Cup] and this is a big year for many players, myself included.”
Former England coach Brian Ashton is among those who have earmarked Youngs as the outstanding player in an impressive group that won the Grand Slam with England Under-20s in 2008 and reached back-to-back finals of the International Rugby Board Junior World Championship. “Youngs looks as though he has got an old head on young shoulders, he is quick of service and of foot and pace is something you can’t defend against, no matter what the level,” Ashton said. “It also will be interesting to see how the young second-row forwards come through.
“I don’t know Courtney Lawes that well but I do know Dave Attwood because he came through the national academy. He is a good footballer as well as being a big, hard man. That is the modern game.”
Youngs agrees that a new generation of players is eager to make a breakthrough with England. “There are a lot of young players who deserved a go and it was nice that it didn’t just work out for me but also went well for players like Courtney, Chris [Ashton] and Ben [Foden],” he said.
England’s autumn series, which features matches against Australia, Argentina and New Zealand, will provide a useful test of whether England are indeed making progress. Youngs, voicing a sentiment that will no doubt impress Johnson, said that to become a world power again England would have to put in a lot of hard work. Starting with himself.
“My game management and basic skills have to improve,” said Youngs, whose training regime at Leicester includes extra sessions with former England scrumhalf Kyran Bracken. “You can never rest on what skills you have got. My feet are firmly on the ground and I will work for everything I get.”
With thanks to the Telegraph
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