SPORTS SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2013 Henry backs under-fire Wallabies coach

PERTH: New Zealand’s World Cup-winning coach Graham are going to win games by playing chess-board rugby and for today’s bottom-of-the-table game against Argentina in Henry yesterday urged the Wallabies to stick to expansive kicking the balls in the air and chasing it. “That’s not the Perth. rugby and gave his surprise backing to their beleaguered way Australians play, and they haven’t got the forward New captain Ben Mowen, who only made his Wallabies new boss Ewen McKenzie. Three losses in three Tests have pack that can give you that sort of dominance. debut in June, said he has been kept busy this week ensur- piled the pressure on McKenzie, who took over from New “I think they’re trying to play the game the right way. ing the side is primed for a good performance against Zealander Robbie Deans in July, but Henry said Australia They’re struggling at the moment, but I think a couple of Argentina. “The biggest part of the job is making sure you were “trying to play the game the right way”. wins under Ewen will put them right.” The 1999 world give great clarity to the group around how we want to “When they were the best team in the world at the turn champions’ attacking style has come in for criticism follow- play and what we’re trying to execute,” the backrower of the century, they played an expansive game,” the for- ing their losing start to the Rugby Championship, includ- said.”To me, the role is purely about making it black and mer All Blacks coach, now a consultant with Argentina, ing last week’s 38-12 defeat to South Africa in Brisbane. white for the side, so there is no grey going into the week- told reporters. “It’s the way they should play because that’s McKenzie has reacted by benching Will Genia, rated one of end. The responsibility is to help navigate the side to a vic- their mentality and that’s their skill level. “I don’t think you the best scrum-halves in the world and skipper last week, tory.”— AFP

Springboks confident for ‘ultimate challenge’

AUCKLAND: The Springboks are bristling with confidence that they can break open fortress New Zealand when they face the All Blacks today in a top-of-table Rugby Championship clash. South African coach Heyneke Meyer said beating the world champions on their home turf is “the ultimate challenge” while the hosts see the game as their toughest since winning the World Cup two years ago on the same Eden Park ground. The All Blacks’ incredible home record is there to be broken, Springbok skipper Jean de Villiers said as he rated his side’s preparation for the Test between the world’s top two sides as their “best ever”. History is stacked against the South Africans, with the All Blacks on a 30-match winning streak at Eden Park, a venue where the Springboks last won 76 years ago. The All Blacks have not lost in New Zealand since 2009 when the Springboks beat them 32- 29 in Hamilton, and that result, said de Villiers, has proved a huge motivating factor. “It just shows nothing is impossible. It’s first of all a massive chal- lenge but secondly one that we can really look forward to.” While the Springboks are buoyant, the All Blacks, who will be without injured skipper Richie McCaw, have toned down their pre-match rhetoric. “The team that executes their game with the greatest effectiveness, SAN FRANCISCO: Emirates Team New Zealand (right) chase Oracle Team USA during the 34th America’s Cup September in San clarity and intensity will be the one that comes out on top,” said Francisco. Emirates Team New Zealand won race six and seven. — AFP coach . Although the All Blacks have won all six Tests they have played this year, stand-in captain acknowl- edged they are yet to produce a complete performance. “But we’re Kiwis win 6th; Oracle losing confident in our abilities and know that we can play a lot better than we have done,” he said. The visitors go into the Test with a one bonus point advantage over the All Blacks and a win today would make grasp on the America’s Cup them difficult to overhaul as their last two matches, against the Wallabies and All Blacks, are at home in South Africa. SAN FRANCISCO: Oracle Team USA’s bid to turn the tide in its a dozen of the taxing maneuvers as the huge catamarans zig- New Zealand play Argentina away in their penultimate fixture in floundering America’s Cup campaign by bringing sailing super- zagged into a light 12-knot breeze to the windward mark. Spithill the four-nation southern hemisphere championship. The robust star Ben Ainslie aboard failed on Thursday, when Emirates Team said the upwind speed differential caught his team off guard. “I Springboks command a 30-kilogram advantage in the forwards, sug- New Zealand crushed the defenders in two do-or-die races. The think it is a shock that they’ve got the edge upwind,” he said. gesting the All Blacks will look for quick turnover ball at the break- Kiwis now have scored six of the nine victories they need to bring But he added: “There’s a lot of racing to go. It’s a long way down, which should suit McCaw’s replacement . This will be home the trophy the yachting world refers to as the Auld Mug. from over in my mind.” New Zealand used an aggressive match the biggest Test of 21-year-old Cane’s brief career, but Hansen Oracle, slapped with a jury-imposed two-race penalty, has won racing “dial-down” tactic in race six to pass Oracle. The challenger believes he has the required mental toughness. “He’s ready. He’s a only one race and still needs to win another 10 to keep the 162- had the right of way as it was about to cross tacks with its foe, and good athlete and mentally he’s able to put things in perspective,” the year-old trophy. by aiming straight at Oracle forced it to duck and lose distance. coach said. The Springboks have retained the same line-up that Government-backed New Zealand finished 66 seconds ahead Ainslie, the most successful Olympic sailor of all time, was knight- thrashed the Wallabies 38-12 last week while the All Blacks have of software billionaire Larry Ellison’s Oracle in its high-speed, 72- ed for his achievements on the water. He took over as tactician made five changes from their 28-13 win over Argentina. Some, such foot catamaran in the second race of the day and 47 seconds aboard the AC72 from American John Kostecki. as Cane, were injury-enforced, but the surprise selection on form is ahead in the first heat. “We cannot give up,” said Oracle skipper The 36-year old Briton was the skipper of Oracle’s second that of at hooker ahead of veterans Keven Mealamu and Jimmy Spithill at a post-race news conference. “We’ll keep fight- yacht during training matches and remains a fearful competitor . Coles has only started in two of his eight Tests and ing all the way to the end. I’m still convinced we can win races.” for New Zealand. “It feels nice to have won six races, but it’s only weighs 96 kilograms, considerably lighter than the hulking Springbok In Thursday’s first race, the sixth of the series, Oracle won the start two-thirds of the way toward winning the America’s Cup,” New Bismarck du Plessis, who hits 112 kilograms. Meyer sees a weakness in but lost the lead upwind on the third leg. In the second match, Zealand skipper Dean Barker told reporters. “We know it’s far the All Blacks scrum, although he concedes they could command the New Zealand won the start and kept the lead throughout. from over.” Earlier this week, a tactical blunder by Kostecki cost lineout. Both backlines relish playing with pace and width which, if Oracle has looked slow against New Zealand on the upwind Oracle a lead, allowed the Kiwis to cruise into a commanding forecast rain holds off, opens up try-scoring opportunities, meaning legs, where it has forfeited leading positions in five races. The fourth victory, and prompted the American team to call for an the game could come down to the accuracy of the kickers. —AFP Kiwis in Thursday’s first race forced Oracle into having to perform unusual time-out.—Reuters Ogier takes grip on Rally of Australia

SYDNEY: Series leader Sebastien Ogier dominated the second Belgian Ford Fiesta driver Thierry Neuville, who is Ogier’s clos- was some dust so, for the four-minute gap (between cars), we day in the Rally of Australia to take a grip on the FIA World Rally est rival for the title 75 points in arrears with three WRC rounds to thank the organizers. “It was a tricky one so I’m glad it’s done.” Championship yesterday. The Frenchman, who could wrap up his run, was third some 38.1 seconds down. “It was a perfect day,” Hirvonen was much happier at the end of the day than the start, first WRC title during the competition this weekend at the wheel admitted Ogier, who will secure his maiden title tomorrow if he when he and his colleagues were finding it difficult to get trac- of his Volkswagen Polo, posted the fastest times of all six stages collects nine points more than Neuville. “It was a short day and tion on the slippery stages. “Really good-I’m really happy. It felt yesterday. Ogier held a 20-second lead over Finnish Citroen driver there are two long days in front of us so nothing is done, but we clean and we had a good drive,” he said. Competitors face six Mikko Hirvonen, who is not in contention for the 2013 title, but couldn’t have expected better. more stages covering 132.68km today ahead of tomorrow’s final has won the Rally of Australia three times in 2006, 2009 and 2011. “There were more rocks on the road than this morning. There day. — AFP