SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2016 SPORTS S Africa’s Aplon joins Portugal back Ceferin Lorenzo shades Rossi Grenoble injury list for UEFA presidency for San Marino pole GRENOBLE: Struggling Grenoble have been hit by a new wave of injuries LISBON: The Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) yesterday gave public MISANO ADRIATICO: World MotoGP champion Jorge Lorenzo will start from with South African fullback Gio Aplon, the Top 14’s leading scorer, ruled out backing to Slovenia’s Aleksander Ceferin to become the new UEFA presi- pole for today’s San Marino Grand Prix after posting the quickest time in quali- of today’s home tie against leaders Brive with a hamstring injury. Grenoble, dent. After the withdrawal of Spaniard Angel Maria Villar, Ceferin, a 48- fying at the Misano circuit yesterday. The Yamaha star is joined on the front row sitting bottom of the French table after losing their opening three games, year-old lawyer and head of the Slovenian football federation since 2011, in Sunday’s race by his teammate and local hero Valentino Rossi, and Suzuki’s confirmed yesterday they have suffered three new injuries will go up against Dutchman Michael van Praag, in the UEFA election on British GP winner Maverick Vinales. Lorenzo is placed third in before the arrival of Brive. Aplon, 33, has scored four tries September 14 in Athens. Ceferin already has the support of the French the riders’ championship, 64 points behind Marc Marquez, this season and his absence follows that of Australian Ben Football Federation while van Praag, the 68-year-old Dutch football chief, who was fourth quickest in qualifying to start on the sec- Hand (thigh), Fiji winger Sisa Waqa (hamstring), who picked has English and Belgian backing with each of UEFA’s 55 federations having ond row. The Spaniard, world champion in 2013 and 2014, up injuries in training on Friday. New Zealand’s Dayna a vote. “I know Michael van Praag for quite some time and I have a lot of has for company on the second row Italian duo Michele Edwards injured his calf in mountain training with a scan respect for him and his ideas but we will vote for Aleksander Ceferin,” FPF Pirro and Andrea Dovizioso. Lorenzo’s best lap time of 1min revealing the 31-year-old prop will be out for several weeks. president Fernando Gomes told AFP in a statement. “(Ceferin is) a dynamic 31.868 has given him a major chance of registering his fourth In addition to the injuries sustained by 10 of their lead- person, still young but with a lot of experience on several levels,” contin- win at the circuit renamed in honour of the late Italian rider ing players including Lucas Dupont, Mahamadou ued Gomes, adding the Slovenian was proposing to implement “a wide Marco Simoncelli. Lorenzo, notching up the 64th pole of his Diaby and Fabien Gengenbacher, Grenoble have and ambitious programme”. Gomes, a member of the UEFA executive com- career, was victorious from 2011 to 2013 and earned a top- also been hit by the suspension of New Zealand mittee, had himself been touted among the potential candidates to take three spot on every occasion prior to crashing out of flanker Rory Grice. — AFP over from Michel Platini as European football chief. — AFP last year’s race. — AFP BRISBANE: Wallabies player Stephen Moore, left, and Springboks player Lood de Jager, center, compete for the ball during the Rugby Championship match between the Australian Wallabies and the South African Springboks at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, yesterday. — AP Wallabies beat Springboks to snap losing streak BRISBANE: Australia edged South Africa 23-17 big losses to the rampant All Blacks this year. over. Elton Jantjies’ conversion made it 7-0 after Africans. With Genia dictating play superbly outside centre Samu Kerevi. Kerevi then went to snap a six-game losing streak and ease Australia had only lost seven matches in a row just three minutes. A Foley penalty reduced the behind an aggressive pack, they were back in close to a try but a brilliant tackle from Goosen pressure on coach Michael Cheika in the once before-a sequence that cost Eddie Jones gap to 7-3 in the 11th minute, but he undid his the contest when giant lock Adam Coleman saved a certain five-pointer, Kerevi’s leg brush- Rugby Championship yesterday. After being his job as Wallabies coach-and they were des- good work when he threw a no-look pass with crashed over in the corner after the Australians ing the sideline at the same time as the ball down 14-13 at half-time, the Australians took perate to avoid equalling the record. the Wallabies deep in attack only for Springbok opted for a line-out instead of a kickable touched the ground. Despite dominating for control of the second period and they were But they got off to the worst possible start captain Adriaan Strauss to intercept. penalty. Foley converted from the sideline to much of the second half, it took until the 61st 23-14 up within the last 20 minutes thanks to when the towering Eben Etzebeth made a make it 14-10 to the Springboks, before his minute for the Wallabies to finally crack the deter- Bernard Foley’s try. break down the right wing in the third minute AGGRESSIVE PACK second penalty five minutes from half-time mined Springbok defence when Foley crossed The Springboks fought back to within six and found flanker Teboho Mohoje in support. Strauss unloaded to Jantjies, who drew the narrowed the gap to just one point. next to the posts after 18 phases of attack on the points, but the hosts survived to give the Wallabies scrum-half Will Genia brought last Wallaby defender and kicked ahead for The home side carried their momentum into South African line. The Springboks, who lost to embattled Cheika some breathing space with Mohoje down in a try-saving tackle close to the fullback Johan Goosen to score under the the second half and they hit the front with a Argentina in their last outing, threw everything at their first win of the year. After losing the World line, but from the ensuing ruck Genia’s opposite posts. The Wallabies were shellshocked at 14- third Foley penalty two minutes after the restart, the Wallabies and Morne Steyn’s penalty got them Cup final to New Zealand last October, Australia number Faf de Klerk slipped a short ball to 3 down but they began to hold onto the ball when Etzebeth was given a yellow card for slow- to within a converted try, but the Wallabies have suffered three defeats to England and two number eight Warren Whiteley, who crashed and exert some pressure on the South ing the ball down after a storming break from weren’t to be denied. — AFP All Blacks surge past Pumas with second-half blitz HAMILTON: A devastating late surge broke Argentina’s resistance as New Zealand powered to a 57-22 victory to keep their Rugby Championship title bid on track yesterday. The All Blacks scored eight tries to one but it was not until Ryan Crotty crossed 13 minutes into the second half that they gained command at Hamilton’s Waikato Stadium. With the score at 24-22, Crotty’s try sparked a 33-point spree in the closing 27 minutes of the match. By full time the dominance was clear-cut, but after strolling to victory twice over Australia Tillakaratne Dilshan in the opening rounds of the tournament, the All Blacks this time found a more formidable oppo- Dilshan heads into the sunset nent until the Pumas ran out of steam. Coach Steve Hansen said the All Blacks were forced to content with achievements rethink their game plan at half-time. “We went back out and were a lot more effec- COLOMBO: Moving up to open the innings 21 hundreds in one-dayers. That was a posi- for Sri Lanka changed his career but it was a tion I really enjoyed. “That change in posi- tive in our roles and executing the jobs we need- ed to do and that put a lot of pressure on the decision he should have taken two years tion changed my career and I think I helped HAMILTON: All Blacks wing Julian Savea, left, is tripped by Argentina’s Juan Martin earlier, Tillakaratne Dilshan said after retir- the side there a lot as well.” Argentinians,” he said. “We’ve got to go away and work better and Hernandez in the All Blacks and Argentina Rugby Championship test match at Waikato ing from international cricket following Dilshan, who made his one-day debut Stadium in Hamilton, New Zealand, yesterday. — AP Friday’s Twenty20 loss against Australia. against Zimbabwe in 1999, was also a wily prepare better. There’ll be one or two guys who Inventor of the famous “Dilscoop” ramp off-spinner and one of the most agile Sri will have a good look at how they played and be of the Pumas pack that did the damage, but their Smith brought them back into the game with his shot, Dilshan played the last of his 87 tests Lankan fielders even at the age of 39. disappointed with that.” Despite the scoreline, turnovers and smart off-loads in an expansive first try after a powerful run by Savea in which in 2013 before quitting the longer format He took over 100 wickets in ODIs and Pumas captain Agustin Creevy sensed his side game that stretched the All Blacks. the big wing steamrollered his way up to the with 5,492 runs and 39 wickets to his name.