New Zealand Under 20 team to play Wales

New Zealand Under 20 Coach Mark Anscombe has named his team to play their second pool match of the 2011 IRB Junior World Championship against Wales early tomorrow (NZT) morning.

Anscombe has made several changes to his starting line-up, to share the workload over New Zealand’s pool matches. New Zealand won their opening match against hosts Italy 64-7. The team named to play Wales is:

1 Solomona Sakalia Wellington
2 Codie Taylor Canterbury
3 Ben Tameifuna Hawke’s Bay
4 Steven Luatua Auckland
5 Brodie Retallick Hawke’s Bay
6 Brad Shields Wellington
7 Sam Cane Bay of Plenty
8 Luke Whitelock, captain Canterbury
9 TJ Perenara Wellington
10 Gareth Anscombe Auckland
11 Charles Piutau Auckland
12 Lima Sopoaga Wellington
13 Rhys Llewellyn Canterbury
14 Waisake Naholo Taranaki
15 Beauden Barrett Taranaki

Reserves

16 Sefo Setefano Waikato
17 Michael Kainga Wellington
18 Dominic Bird Canterbury
19 Heiden Bedwell-Curtis Taranaki
20 Brad Weber Otago
21 Francis Saili Auckland
22 Glen Robertson Waikato

Anscombe said: “We are mindful that Wales are a very formidable side with strike power in the backs and a physical forward pack. Our boys have bounced back well from the Italy game and the team is looking forward to this week’s match.”

New Zealand is seeking its fourth IRB Junior World Championship title.

New Zealand’s three pool matches are as follows:

Date Fixture Venue Local time NZ Time
10 June NZ 64 v Italy 7 Treviso 8.10pm 6.10am
14 June v Wales Rovigo 6.10pm 4.10am
18 June v Argentina Padova 6.10pm 4.10am

The semifinals will be played on 22 June at Padova, and the Final will be played on 26 June, at Padova.

New Zealand’s pool matches, the semifinals and Final will be broadcast live on SKY Sport’s Rugby Channel.

Muliaina signs with Japanese club

Veteran All Black Mils Muliaina has signed with a Japanese club, leaving New Zealand at the end of the season.

The 30-year-old and 94-test All Black has signed a two-year contract with NTT Docomo from next year.

"I consider myself to have been incredibly lucky with my career in New Zealand. Rugby has offered me so many wonderful opportunities and experiences that will stay with me forever. It's hard to single any one moment out but obviously winning Commonwealth Gold and the opportunity to captain my country were things I thought were only dreams when I was growing up," Muliaina said.

"But, once this season is over it will be time for something different. Japan itself offers a completely different culture and way of life that my entire family is looking forward to experiencing."

Muliaina made his provincial debut for Auckland in 1999, his Super 15 debut for the Blues in 2001 and his All Blacks debut against England in 2003 and has been the first-choice fullback since.

In 2004 he was the only player selected for every test and captained the All Blacks in three Tests in 2009.

He jointly holds the All Blacks test record of 94 with Richie McCaw and has scored 32 tries for 160 points, putting him eighth on the Test try-scoring list and 14th on the all-time Test points-scoring list.

All Blacks Coach Graham Henry has known Muliaina since he moved from Southland to Auckland as a schoolboy.

"Mils goes to Japan next year with the best wishes of everyone involved in the All Blacks. He is a special All Black; along with Richie McCaw our most capped Test player; an outstanding footballer who is the best in the world in his position," Henry said.

"Mils is a natural leader, he has tremendous respect of his peers and has helped considerably in the development of younger players. He has been a key member of the leadership group and has also captained the team when Richie has been injured. We will get the chance to thanks Mils personally for his contribution and commitment to the All Blacks later this year but for now, we congratulate him and wife Hayley on the next exciting adventure."

Muliaina played 49 games for the Blues before transferring to Waikato and the Chiefs in 2006 and played his 100th Super Rugby and 50th Chiefs match last month.

Muliaina also played for the New Zealand Sevens team from 1999 to 2002, winning a Commonwealth Games gold medal at the 2002 Manchester Games.

- HERALD ONLINE

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McCaw facing his destiny

The All Blacks have undergone a subtle but hugely significant change of mindset in their approach to this year's World Cup. Inspired by the normally phlegmatic Richie McCaw, the senior players have agreed that 2011 is their chance to make history - to write one of the greatest chapters in an already compelling story of success.

They will be driven by that goal, encouraged to embrace it, talk about it and own the dream. This is a World Cup to be embraced says McCaw; a World Cup to be enjoyed. A once in a lifetime opportunity for the All
Blacks win in their own backyard; to celebrate in front of their people and a global audience entranced by the warmth, energy and natural charms of New Zealand.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/rugby/news/article.cfm?c_id=80&objectid=10728852

Spin doctors for Hansen

Steve Hansen has confirmed he wants to be the next All Blacks coach and that, for the past 18 months, he has been taking advice on how to improve his public image.

In an exclusive interview with New Zealand Rugby World to be published tomorrow, the current assistant reveals how he believes he is ready to succeed Graham Henry after the World Cup - and that he now has a small advisory group who have helped him improve his relationships with the media.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10728725

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The unbeaten

After dispatching Scotland and Ireland and defending a long unbeaten run against Wales this morning, the All Blacks are maintaining some of the longest unbeaten streaks in sport - 105 years unbeaten against the former two countries and 57 years against the latter. We look at 10 other remarkable sporting streaks.

1 Edwin Moses

The American remained invincible in the 400m hurdles for 122 consecutive races, including 107 finals, from September 2, 1977 in Dusseldorf until June 4, 1987 in Madrid when he lost to compatriot Danny Harris. His stretch between losses was exactly nine years, nine months and nine days... a curious quirk for the statistically-minded.

Moses cut an impressive figure bounding over the 10 three-foot high obstacles, especially in his early days, when donning a pair of chic tinted spectacles. He won two Olympic gold medals (1976 and 1984 while missing 1980 due to boycott) and set four world records.

2 Jahangir Khan

Khan won 555 straight squash matches between 1981 and 1986, thanks to a punishing training regime and uncompromising stamina which saw him wear out opponents in rallies of attrition.

The Pakistani was just 17 when the streak began. He was finally dispatched over four games by Kiwi Ross Norman in the final of the World Open in 1986 - the only time a Kiwi male has won that tournament.

Khan didn't follow a specific diet formulated to the last kilojoule but did have one stipulation... never missing two glasses of milk a day.

3 Cal Ripken Jnr

Ripken must hold the world record for the longest time spent going to work without requiring a sick note. The former shortstop and third baseman played 2,632 straight games for the Baltimore Orioles spanning 17 seasons from May 30, 1982 to September 20, 1998.

He took the record from the previous holder, New York Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig, who played 2130 in a row. He did it in style too, hitting a home run in the fourth inning. When the game was deemed official at the end of the top of the fifth inning, Ripken received a standing ovation from the crowd, estimated to have lasted 22 minutes.

Ripken also proved to be quite a wit. He was often paralleled with the Energiser bunny during his career. He quipped to an audience the pair had fallen out after the bunny was quoted as calling him a "quitter'' in a newspaper cartoon the day after Ripken voluntarily stood down a game to end the streak at the end of the 1998 season. The pair get on fine again now.

4 Ross Taylor

The Black Caps batsman is building one of the more peculiar test cricket records. At the end of the third test against India, Taylor had gone 51 innings in 28 tests without making a duck. South African AB de Villiers holds the record for a debutant - going 78 innings from his debut in December 2004 until he was stumped against Bangladesh in November 2008.

England's David Gower has the longest overall test run without a duck - 119 innings - from August 1982-December 1990. Glenn Turner had a run of 72 innings, which ended with his retirement. His only duck came in his debut knock against the West Indies at Eden Park in 1969.

5 Auckland rugby team

Auckland's 1985-93 Ranfurly Shield reign set the standard for professional rugby before its time. Auckland inspired awe and fury by the ease in which they cantered to victory. Evidence allegedly included John Kirwan having the wit and skill to tell a mulleted marker in one challenge to "get a haircut'' while fending him off on the way to the tryline.

Auckland defended the Log o' Wood 61 times before Waikato prised it away in September 1993. All Black greats like Kirwan, Grant Fox, Gary and Alan Whetton, Michael Jones, Joe Stanley, Sean Fitzpatrick and Zinzan Brooke made up the core of the team which kept the tenure alive.

Former midfielder Bernie McCahill provided perhaps the best example of Auckland's invincibility. He played 91 times for the union within the period - never in a losing team.

6 Sir Steven Redgrave

Redgrave's streak, winning a rowing gold medal in five consecutive Olympics, takes some beating for sheer longevity - and in such a gruelling sport. Over a period of 16 years from 1984-2000, in three different boat classes, Redgrave always crossed the line first when it came to Olympic finals.

At 38 he was perhaps best tested in the Sydney 2000 coxless four final after being diagnosed with diabetes and taking insulin since 1997. The result came after the crew had placed fourth at the Lucerne world cup just three months out from the Games. They had been unbeaten for three years previously.

7 Lance Armstrong

He might suffer from a case of "I'm a great cyclist, why don't you love me?'' but Lance Armstrong's Tour de France achievements cannot be questioned.

Anyone who can come back from an orchiectomy, the operation to remove a cancer-riddled testicle, deserves respect - especially when the cancer had spread to his brain and lungs. What's more, Armstrong recovered to win the 3500km ride around France seven consecutive times from 1999-2005. He proved he was still a top rider when he finished third in 2009 after retiring four years earlier (he could have won if eventual winner Alberto Contador wasn't also in his team).

He now spends his time twittering, fundraising for cancer research and fighting off perpetual allegations of doping.

8 Tiger Woods

This time last year the-artist-formerly-known-as-Eldrick had some trouble manoeuvring around in his SUV in the early morning and his wife tried to "help'' him. Woods' wholesome image might have been forever tainted but his records haven't. Jack Nicklaus is probably still the best golfer of all time but Woods' pedigree stands up to scrutiny.

In what was referred to as the "Tiger-slam'' he is still the only golfer to hold all four major titles in a row after winning the 2001 Masters. Until Y.E.Yang held on to beat him at the PGA Championship last year, he held a 14-0 record of winning when going into the final round of a major with the outright lead, or at least a share of it.

9 Brazilian football team

No international team can match the skill of Brazil when it comes to World Cup glory - or consistency. Brazil have won the tournament five times and appeared in all 19 episodes since their debut in Uruguay in 1930. They have had their lean spells, like not appearing in a final between the wins of 1970 and 1994. They also didn't win the tournament until 28 years after its inception.

The win in 1958 established them as a world power. Contrary to the perception as visionary, independent fun-loving types, that team was all about discipline. The players, including 17-year-old Pele at his first World Cup, were given a list of 40 things they couldn't do like smoking in official uniform and talking to the press outside allocated times.

The team even took their own psychologist to Sweden to help some team members get over being runners-up to neighbours Uruguay when Brazil hosted the tournament in 1950. They also took a dentist because a number of the team who came from humble origins suffered gum disease.

10 Rocky Marciano

He won't be remembered as the greatest boxer ever but Marciano's record of 49 straight professional wins remains, as does the moniker "the only undefeated heavyweight champion''.

Born Rocco Marchegiano, he changed his name early in his career because ring announcers struggled to get it out. Marciano didn't have any such struggles with his punches. He finished his career with 43 knock outs, thanks in part to his thunderous right, the Suzy Q. He used that punch to knock Jersey Joe Walcott unconscious in the 13th round when challenging for the heavyweight belt. He needed it - Walcott had knocked him down in the first round.

Marciano went on to defend his title six times over three-and-a-half years before retiring aged 32. He was renowned for displaying an enormous heart and a concrete chin. ESPN described him as "a ceaseless aggressor, a human tank who would gladly absorb two or three punches just for the opportunity of landing one''.

Marciano died in a plane crash in 1969, a day before his 46th birthday.

By Andrew Alderson | Email Andrew

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