Rugby World Cup: Vuvuzelas, auto parts banned
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — The vuvuzelas which provided the droning soundtrack to last year's football World Cup in South Africa are unlikely to make a big noise at the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.
The ubiquitous plastic trumpets are among several items banned from World Cup venues. Also included on an eclectic list are whistles, umbrellas, roller blades, gang insignia, furniture and — remarkably — auto parts. Leave your carburetor at home.
Tournament officials are also given "absolute discretion" to prohibit other items that might "cause injury, public nuisance or inconvenience" or possibly conflict with tournament sponsorship arrangements.
McCaw, all NZ, counting down the hours to kickoff
After four long years, Richie McCaw is counting down the hours before he can start trying to fully atone for New Zealand's disastrous finish to the last World Cup.
The All Blacks captain and coaching staff have answered more questions than they'd care to remember regarding New Zealand's failures at every World Cup since it won the inaugural tournament in 1987.
With the World Cup back on home soil for the first time since then, McCaw is desperate to end the drought. New Zealand's host cities and towns have been scrubbed and polished. There's flags for the 20 competing countries hanging all over the place, as is the sense of anticipation.
The All Blacks open against Tonga on Friday night at a revamped Eden Park stadium in what looms as a bruising, highly intense clash.
"It's a stage where everyone is at their peak and if you want success you've got to be," McCaw told a news conference Thursday. "That's what motivates me — to test yourself in the toughest environment and, when you do that and succeed, that's when you can be satisfied.
"A World Cup is the biggest stage and you want to prove yourself on that."
McCaw and star flyhalf Daniel Carter were replaced during the 2007 quarterfinal in Cardiff before France staged a magnificent comeback to send the New Zealanders to their earliest exit ever in the tournament. That came after the All Blacks had walloped the French in a warmup match.
"You'd be a mug if you hadn't learned in the four years since then," McCaw said.
The lead-up has been different this time. The top-ranked New Zealanders lost away tests to World Cup champion South Africa and Australia to surrender the Tri-Nations title and come into the World Cup on consecutive losses for the first time.
"History has shown that what has happened previously — good or bad — means nothing come kickoff," McCaw said. "There'll be no complacency this time."
That's important for the All Blacks, as the Tongans aren't likely to be ruffled by reputations. Ever since arriving on Monday, captain Finau Maka and his squad have been shadowed by thousands of resident Tongans. The welcoming committee was so large that Auckland airport became gridlocked for hours with cars and their red-and-white flags.
They're treating it like a neighborhood game.
"There's no pressure on us, the pressure is on them," said Maka, who passed a fitness test Thursday and is certain to take his place in the backrow against New Zealand. "We're just going to go out there and give it to them and see if they can handle it.
"We just don't want to turn up and make up the numbers," he added. "We want to go out there and show the world that Tonga does exist."
The Tongans won the right to start their war dance, the Sipi Tau, first. Organizers have said it's up to the All Blacks to decide when they respond. If it's anything like the encounters in 2003 and 1999, it's likely to be instantaneous.
Organizers have planned a fireworks extravaganza across this harbor city and celebrations across the rugby-mad country of 4.5 million on Friday night in the official opening for the tournament, which features 48 matches across six weeks — including eight in the first three days.
All the heavyweights are in action on the first weekend, with the most anticipated clash between 2007 finalist England and third-place finisher Argentina at Dunedin on Saturday night — under the covered roof of a brand new stadium that has replaced the city's famous "House of Pain."
Jonny Wilkinson, who kicked England to victory in extra time against Australia in the 2003 final to secure the first title for a northern hemisphere team, is back in the driving seat at flyhalf.
England team manager Martin Johnson, the captain of that 2003 squad, unveiled his starting team on Thursday, taking no chances against an Argentina squad that will be a handful in the forwards and capably marshaled in the backs by veteran captain Felipe Contepomi.
In earlier matches Saturday, Chris Paterson will set a Scotland record when he lines up in his fourth World Cup at fullback against Romania at Invercargill, Fiji opens against Namibia at Rotorua in Pool C and two-time finalist France takes on John Kirwan's Japan team.
Defending champion South Africa gets under way Sunday night in a challenging Pool D encounter with Wales at Wellington.
The No. 2-ranked Australians kick off Sunday's action against Italy in Auckland, and the U.S. squad will attend an ecumenical church service in the morning to mark the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks before taking on Ireland at New Plymouth.
While Tongan flags were fluttering all over Auckland, the Russian flag was at half-mast in Blenheim where the national squad was coming to grips with news of the tragic air crash near Moscow, which killed 43 people, including 36 players, coaches and officials of the Yaroslavl Lokomotiv team that was heading to Minsk, Belarus, to play its opening game of the Kontinental Hockey League season.
"There's a very, very strong bond across all sports in Russia. It's hit hard," the Russian rugby team's media manager, Leon Addie, told local reporters. "Plane travel is an inherent part of playing sports in Russia because of the distances to cover. All of our players can empathize completely."
The team observed a minute's silence during its official welcome in Blenheim, where it is in camp until its opening match against the United States at New Plymouth on Sept. 15.