The Times

SARACENS resumed what has been, for them, normal service in the Guinness Premiership at Vicarage Road yesterday and then went off to Wembley, as a squad, to watch the American football.

It is on such togetherness that good sides are built, though, on this evidence, there is a fair way for Saracens to travel. They acknowledge this, just as they agree that Leeds Carnegie scrambled well in defence and deserved to take the losing bonus point, which will mean so much to the team at the foot of the league.

Maybe Neil Back, the Leeds coach, was stretching a point when he said that his players felt they should have won, but they did earn the dropped goal by Ceiron Thomas, in the 80th minute, that made the journey back to Yorkshire feel shorte

Perhaps, too, the relative parity of the sides at the top and bottom of the table is a reflection of the way the game is being played in the Premiership. The breakdown remains a mystery and of the 26 penalties awarded by David Rose, the majority came from that area; neither side could develop much fluidity which, given the greater ambition that Saracens put into their game, was a shame and it is patently obvious that players and officials are still trying to agree how best to apply the law.

Brendan Venter, the Saracens director of rugby, felt his side could have scored three first-half tries rather than the one, on the stroke of half-time, that Kameli Ratuvou grasped with both hands. However, that Thomas could keep Leeds in the hunt with his boot, even though he spent ten minutes in the sin-bin around half-time, gave the visiting team a target and they applied themselves well.

Much of the credit goes to Hendre Fourie, the open-side flanker who Back considers to be not far short of international standard. Fourie, a South African, is qualified for England on residence although, at 30, he is unlikely to receive the call from Martin Johnson; but his efforts, alongside Alfie To’oala, suggested a persistence that could serve Leeds well, and they expect to be reinforced this week by Mike MacDonald, their prop and former captain, who has now overcome his visa problems.

“We have demonstrated in six Premiership games that we can compete for 80 minutes but mentally we have to improve,” Back said. “But with each game at this level, we are growing in confidence. Mistakes can be brutal and that’s why we are where we are but today showed the quality Leeds have, we should have won.”

But Saracens have the depth. They removed Justin Marshall with less than a half-hour played, because of a calf strain, though the former All Black was less than enthusiastic about going, and brought on Neil de Kock. He instantly injected pace into the game after Glen Jackson and Thomas had exchanged penalty goals, but Saracens simply could not finish and it looked as though, even with Thomas in the sin-bin, Leeds would reach half-time on level terms.

Seru Rabeni made a try-saving tackle on Noah Cato and Leeds were denied a try of their own before Saracens tilted the balance their way. A punishing run by Schalk Brits created the position from which Ratuvou skipped past three defenders and the Fijian did it again early in the second half, taking a scissors pass from Brad Barritt and cutting through to the posts after Saracens had elected not to kick at goal but to send a penalty deep into Leeds territory.

But Saracens could not build. Their power at the scrum waned, Vili Ma’asi and To’oala made inroads and Thomas was given enough of a platform to keep his side going forward. It is not as much as Leeds would have liked but against the league’s only unbeaten side, they should not complain.

shropshirestar.com

A SHROPSHIRE mother today revealed how the life of her soldier son was saved by a heroic comrade after they were caught up in an explosion while on patrol in Afghanistan.

Sue Beighton said her brave son Captain Nick Beighton was lucky to be alive following the blast in the notorious Helmand Province, which left him seriously injured.

The Royal Engineer was found in the dark by a Fijian private who wrapped his wounds and gave him morphine, before he himself passed out from his injuries.

Captain Beighton, of Radbrook Green, Shrewsbury, lost both legs in the explosion and his mother said he owed his life to his colleague.

The 28-year-old needed 36 pints of blood in transfusions to keep him alive after he trod on an improvised explosive device. No other soldiers are believed to have suffered serious injuries in the incident on October 5 – just weeks after Captain Beighton had arrived for his first tour in Afghanistan.

For the past two weeks Captain Beighton has been in the critical care unit at Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham, with his family and long-term girlfriend Alexis Stones, who is also in the Army, regularly visiting him.

Mrs Beighton said the former Radbrook Primary School and Meole Brace Secondary School pupil now appeared to be making a good recovery and has been transferred to another part of the hospital.

She said: “He lost both legs through the knee and has other injuries. He was actually on foot patrol outside his base when it happened.

“Private Vakadranu, the Fijian private who saved Nick’s life, was injured himself from the blast but he managed to put a tourniquet over his legs and give him some morphine before he passed out himself.”

Mrs Beighton said the Ministry of Defence had organised for her daughter Jen to come over from New Zealand to see her brother in hospital in the UK. She said he was in good spirits despite his ordeal and was focused on making a good recovery.

Mrs Beighton said: “It’s going to be a very long time and he’s probably going to be at Selly Oak until December but he’s very positive about the future.”

By Andy Wilson, The Guardian

IT takes some doing to top the bill in a match featuring the formidable talents of Darren Lockyer, Greg Inglis, Billy Slater, Johnathan Thurston and Benji Marshall. But with all due respect to that stellar quintet and the other players involved when Australia and New Zealand open their Gillette Four Nations campaign at The Stoop tomorrow night, it is the battle between the Parramatta Eels teammates Jarryd Hayne and Fuifui Moimoi that is the most eagerly anticipated.

Hayne has taken the National Rugby League by storm this season, winning the Dally M award as player of the year for the brilliant full-back play that propelled Parramatta from eighth in the final table to a Grand Final appearance against Melbourne. But if he provided the class, it was Moimoi who emerged as the Eels’ cult hero — with a range of hairstyles as unlikely as his name, and an Abba song reworked in his honour by a Sydney radio station — and the enforcer in their pack.

“Fui’s got the game to go with all the haircuts,” the New Zealand coach, Stephen Kearney, noted in recalling Moimoi to his squad after a two-year absence, during which he took legal action in an unsuccessful attempt to represent his native Tonga in last autumn’s World Cup.

Hayne played for Fiji in that competition, pulling off the most spectacular tackle of the tournament on Lockyer, who will be his Australia captain at The Stoop. The rules surrounding international eligibility in rugby league are undeniably much more flexible than they are credible, but Hayne gives them credit for the rejuvenation of his career.

The 21-year-old has admitted that at the start of the 2008 season, he was in danger of squandering the immense potential that had earned him a Test debut for Australia and five State of Origin appearances for New South Wales, with an errant off-field lifestyle that could have brought fatal consequences when a bullet flew within metres of his head in Sydney’s Kings Cross district in the early hours of a Sunday morning. But after agreeing to represent the Fijian ancestry of his father — the former Warrington centre Manoa Thompson — in the World Cup, he was swept away by the spirit and togetherness of his team-mates during a back-to-basics team-bonding camp, which inspired him to join their pre- and post-match prayers, and to become a Christian. He remains reluctant to discuss his religion, but told the Sydney Morning Herald during the Grand Final build-up: “I’m not the sort of airhead that I used to be.”

More prosaically, Hayne has had to switch from his favourite full-back position to the wing for this tournament, with Slater, the quicksilver former jockey from Melbourne, regarded as an automatic selection for the green-and-gold No1 jersey, despite the howler that gifted Marshall a crucial try in New Zealand’s shock victory in the World Cup final last October. That is an indication of the formidable resources available to Tim Sheens, the vastly experienced Wests Tigers coach who was appointed to lead the national team with more dignity following Ricky Stuart’s verbal post-match attack on Ashley Klein, the referee for that match.

Australia are, therefore, strong favourites to gain revenge against a New Zealand team that lost several of their most experienced players to injury before the tournament, including Simon Mannering, Manu Vatuvei and Roy Asotasi. But with Moimoi up front, Marshall relishing the extra responsibility of the captaincy on his first visit to England, and another classy Parramatta back with strong religious convictions at centre — Krisnan Inu, a devout Mormon — Lockyer recognises the danger of writing them off.

“There’s a lot of talent in our back line but everyone was saying that in the World Cup and we ended up losing the final,” said the 32-year-old, who will represent his country for the 47th time to edge past Mal Meninga as Australia’s most-capped player. “It doesn’t mean anything unless you win the matches that count.”

By Chris Foy, The Daily Mail

FOR commentators across the land, the remarkable try-scoring feats of Sailosi Tagicakibau for London Irish this season could be regarded as a blessing or a curse.

He may present a tongue-twisting challenge for your average Anglo-Saxon, but at least they are being given plenty of opportunities to practise the pronunciation. It is a suitably exotic name for an exotic player who was born in New Zealand, has roots in Fiji, represents Samoa and the Pacific Islanders and is now in his element ransacking the best defences in Europe.

The 26-year-old wing admits that plenty of people have trouble saying Tagicakibau correctly, leading to some hysterical blunders.

”I’m used to it now,” he said. ”When I was younger, I was always amazed at the different pronunciations.

”The funniest was at the Hong Kong Sevens, when they announced me as Tagicaboo! I’d never heard that one before.

”The proper pronunciation is Tangy-thak-in-bow. My name means ‘cry for Bau’ — Bau is the village I am from in Fiji and ‘tagi’ means ‘cry’ in most Polynesian cultures.

Since the start of this season, the cry from Bau has been especially loud and proud, as the Exiles’ No.11 has touched down seven times in as many games, including last week’s Heineken Cup defeat by the Scarlets. He gives credit to the club’s attacking ethos, which means he sees more of the ball than most wings. Yet he takes all manner of chances, from the routine to the remarkable, so what is the secret of his finishing prowess?

For a start, Tagicakibau is 6ft 4in and weighs in excess of 15st, so there is formidable power. But the father of two also boasts impressive pace, nifty footwork and an eye for an opening. It’s all in the genes, apparently.

”To beat a player, it is just instinct,” he said. ”Maybe it’s because I’m blessed to be half Fijian, because they are renowned for their flair and their vision, their swerve and their speed. My mum is Samoan and my dad is Fijian.”

Growing up in Auckland, Tagicakibau attended the same secondary school, Wesley College, that had unleashed a beast called Jonah Lomu on an unsuspecting world a few years earlier. There, he started as an open-side flanker until his coaches realised his phenomenal potential as a fast, attacking runner.

It was an ideal place to progress with his rugby education, surrounded by emerging talent.

One of his compatriots at London Irish, Seilala Mapusua, eventually travelled the same path from Wesley College to the Madejski Stadium, via Super 12 rugby.

”That school was put on the map because of Jonah and it produces so many big, fast players,” said Tagicakibau.

”In my last year there, we won the New Zealand secondary schools championship. In Seilala’s final year the school also won the champs, so we always have arguments about who was in the best ever school team. In my team we had All Blacks Stephen Donald and Sitiveni Sivivatu.”

Tagicakibau played a few Under 21 matches for Fiji but they didn’t show further interest, so when Samoa approached prior to the 2003 World Cup, he chose the land of his mother.

Weeks later, aged just 20, he contributed a dazzling performance as the tiny South Sea island so nearly brought Sir Clive Woodward’s England juggernaut to a shuddering halt in Melbourne. His exploits that night were cited by Brian Smith, who recruited him for London Irish in 2005.

”I was really nervous for that game,” he said. ”The dome was up and I remember Jonny Wilkinson putting up a bomb towards me. It looked like the kick had touched the dome it was so high. It was just amazing being among players like Wilkinson and Mike Catt, who came to London Irish.

”To take England, the eventual champions, to the wire in the pool stages of a World Cup really put Samoa on the map. We lost, but it’s still a memory in the bank — another one to tell the kids.”

Next month, Tagicakibau hopes that he and the prominent band of Samoans in the English game can give their country a lift in the aftermath of the recent tsunami.

They have their sights set on claiming a third Test win in Cardiff to match the feats of their predecessors in 1991 and 1999.

”I’ve seen some clips of those games,” he said. ”It is definitely an inspiration and maybe we can turn them over again.”

Before then, Irish need Tagicakibau to maintain his purple patch in Saturday’s showdown against champions Leicester at the Madejski. The Tigers may have some trouble pronouncing his name, but they’ll have even more trouble trying to stop him scoring.

By David Willetts, The Sun

A FIJIAN hero of Britain’s Special Air Service is to be honoured with a statue.

A lasting monument to legendary Sergeant Talaiasi Labalaba, will be unveiled at the elite force’s Hereford HQ.

Military top brass hailed fearless Labalaba as one of the Who Dares Wins regiment’s greatest heroes for actions which cost him his life during a battle with Communist rebels in Oman in 1972.

The sergeant’s epic bravery at the Battle of Mirbat has inspired generations of SAS soldiers.

He was part of a unit pinned down by an overwhelming force of guerillas inside a fort.

As they came under a hail of fire, Labalaba raced 800m to take control of a 25-pounder artillery gun which normally needed a three-man crew to operate.

Despite being shot in the face he repeatedly fired the gun into the waves of attacking enemy.

Two other soldiers who ran to help him were also hit and, as Labalaba grabbed for a mortar, he was shot in the neck and fell dead. He was awarded a posthumous Mention in Despatches for his heroics, though comrades maintain he should have got the VC.

Now a statue of the sergeant — seen as he looked at the time in the iconic picture above — is to be unveiled on the eve of Remembrance Sunday next month.

By Luke Turgeon, goldcoast.com.au

NEW Zealand international Mika Vukona is confident of overcoming a sprained ankle in time to take on the Cairns Taipans at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre on Friday night.

Racing the clock to prove his fitness, Vukona is hoping to have a run with the rest of the Gold Coast Blaze squad after suffering the injury just one minute into last Friday night’s 101-91 loss against Townsville in Australia’s National Basketball League competition.

“I was just going up for a rebound after Corey (Williams) had gone through for a lay up,” said the 198cm Fijian-born forward, who managed just 10 minutes of game time against the Crocodiles. “He stepped backwards and I landed on his ankle

“My ankle is feeling good now. I have been getting rehab over the past couple of days, so it is looking good.”

The Blaze, who are sitting second last on the NBL table with just two wins from their opening six games, were pumped by the Taipans 83-66 in Cairns the last time the two sides met in Round 3. Vukona said the Blaze would be looking to return the favour on their home turf.

“They beat us convincingly so we will definitely be trying to go out there and make amends for our poor display,” he said.

“As long as we stick to what Joey wants us to do, hopefully we can come away with a more positive outcome.”

By Graham Clutton, telegraph.co.uk

FIJI is locked in a tug of war with Wales over Llanelli Scarlets prop Deacon Manu.

The 30-year-old tighthead, who was born in New Zealand to Fijian parents but who qualifies for Wales on residency grounds, has been named in the Fijian squad.

However, with Wales struggling for tightheads after losing Adam Jones and Rhys Thomas to injury, Manu is on the verge of earning a surprise call-up to Warren Gatland’s squad for next month’s four-match autumn series in Cardiff.

Manu, who has been outstanding this season for the Scarlets, is due to play for the region against the Dragons in tomorrow night’s Magners League game at Parc y Scarlets, after which he will decide on his international future.

Gatland watched him against London Irish in Saturday’s Heineken Cup victory at the Madejski Stadium.

Scarlets coach Nigel Davies said: “It’s a nice position for Deacon to find himself in, but there are one or two things he needs to sort out in his own mind.

“Obviously, as far as the region is concerned, we would ideally like to see him plump for Wales as we don’t want to have another non-Welsh qualified player in our squad. It would also be easier for us to manage.

“However, in the end, the decision will be up to the player. He needs to make the right choice and one with which he is comfortable.

“He has indicated that his decision will be made by the end of the week.”

By Zelim Nel, Cape Argus

COACH Allister Coetzee believes that over-eagerness, rather than winger Sireli Naqelevuki’s high tackle in the dying moments, was the chief contributing factor in Western Province’s 21-19 semi-final loss to the Blue Bulls at Newlands on Saturday.

“We mustn’t forget that Sireli has scored a lot of tries for the Province, the most tries in some games,” Coetzee said. “I don’t think we’d like to focus on any individual, the most important thing is that we know we selected players with heart.”

Referee Mark Lawrence penalised the big Fijian for a high tackle on Bulls centre Jaco Pretorius and flyhalf Morne Steyn stepped up to slot his seventh consecutive three-pointer — this time from a range of 45 metres on the wrong side of the field for a right-footed kicker — to put the Bulls into a decisive two-point lead with three minutes remaining.

But Coetzee pointed to his team’s slow start, stuttering to a 12-0 deficit in the first quarter despite the absence of Bulls enforcer Bakkies Botha, who was yellow-carded in the first minute for using his elbow in the ruck.

“This is a young side and they haven’t been in this position before and maybe that’s why over-eagerness took a grip of us at the beginning of the match,” he said. “We conceded so many penalties while they had 14 men – but being passionate is not a thing I will discourage, we’ll take this on the chin and learn from it.”

One lesson the team will be wise to heed in the future is that converting try-scoring opportunities into points is almost always the difference been success and failure.

Poor finishing is an aspect of play that has sporadically dogged Province this season and it is a trend that was perpetuated at Newlands as both centre Paul Bosch and fullback Joe Pietersen chose to ignore the overlap, keeping the ball in hand when a try seemed to be just one pass away.

But the coach chose to focus on the fact that his team had manufactured such prospects against top-flight opponents.

“It’s unfortunate we didn’t take all the chances we created in this game,” he said. “I can recall times when we could have walked over the try-line and those are good positive signs for me.

“We played against one of the best sides in the world and we scored the only try of the match and we could have scored a couple more and that gives me great satisfaction.”

The loss brought an end to captain Luke Watson’s term with the team as he makes final preparations before beginning a two-year stint with English club Bath in November and, although he would have liked to postpone his travel arrangements by two more weeks, the Province skipper was visibly stirred by the team’s performance.

“For me, it’s an emotional time, but at the same time I couldn’t ask for more,” he said.

“The boys showed so much guts and character, I don’t think anyone thought we’d be in with a shout except for the 22 men and management in that team room. The composure the team showed to come back and ultimately play some brilliant rugby in the latter three quarters of the game was unbelievable.

“From my side, support the boys, I promise you that they wear their hearts on their sleeves and they’re still going to make you very proud here in the Western Cape.”

Bulls coach Frans Ludeke was beaming with pride after his team booked their place in a seventh Currie Cup final this decade, their fourth at Loftus Versfeld.

“I must be the most blessed coach in the world, when you’ve got players like Victor Matfield and Fourie du Preez around you, they know how to win games.

“They are motivated, they want to win trophies, so it was really easy for me — there wasn’t need for all my plans and ideas, it was all in place. Heyneke Meyer worked hard to put structures up there.”

The Bulls will host the upstart Cheetahs on October 31 at Loftus Versfeld in a rematch of the 2004 and 2005 final after the Free State outfit ambushed defending champions the Sharks 23-21 in Durban to win through to their sixth final in recent years.

By Adrian Proszenko, Sydney Morning Herald

JARRYD Haybe might be the No.1 player in the game — and The Sun-Herald player of the year — but the Parramatta star has conceded he is almost no hope of unseating Billy Slater from the No.1 jersey for the Kangaroos’ Four Nations tour.

In a stunning admission ahead of their departure for Europe, Hayne conceded that rival fullback Slater had the custodian jersey ”pretty much wrapped up”.

Hayne has been in sublime touch this season and almost single-handedly lifted the Eels to their unlikely grand final berth after the wooden spoon appeared a more likely proposition midway through the season.

This time last year Hayne was playing for Fiji, but a purple patch of form has earned him a Dally M medal, another crack at an Australian jersey and plaudits from his peers. Johnathan Thurston even described Hayne as the game’s best player, a title normally reserved for the Cowboys, Queensland and Australian playmaker.

And in the latest honour to come his way, The Sun-Herald has named Hayne the top of this year’s class, pipping several big-name candidates  — including Slater.

Despite the accolades, Hayne isn’t expecting to be named at fullback when Australian selectors unveil their team for Saturday’s clash against World Cup holders New Zealand at Twickenham.

”No, I don’t think so. Billy has got it pretty much wrapped up,” Hayne toldThe Sun-Herald. ”If anything was to happen, I’ll be available and happy [to fill in].

”It’s all about getting onto the field at the moment, there are a lot of good players here. I’m just more worried about being in that starting 13.”

Hayne, who inked a multimillion-dollar deal with Parramatta during the week, revealed his intention to become a one-club man.

”I can’t see myself playing for any other club, I’ve been there since I was a baby,” he said.

”It would be really tough for me to leave something like Parra.”

The only thing left to tick off Hayne’s to-do list is a premiership win. The Eels came agonisingly close to Melbourne in the decider, but a nervous start proved costly.

However, the 21-year-old believes the club now has the playing staff and experience to go one better next season.

”I think so, the trend is that you’ve got to lose one to win one,” Hayne said.

”That’s the way it’s been over the last couple of years so hopefully that continues. When you lose one you try not to remember it and just look forward.”

Hayne might have forced his way back into the Australian squad, but he’ll be keeping a close eye on the other team he has represented at international level, Fiji, in coming weeks.

The Bati are the top seeds in the Pacific Cup and will kick off their campaign against a qualifying nation at Lloyd Robson Oval in Port Moresby this Saturday.

The winning team from this tournament will compete against Australia, England and New Zealand at next year’s Four Nations.

The Eels’ star described his time playing for Fiji in last year’s World Cup as the catalyst for his stunning turnaround on and off the field.

”It was great, it opened my eyes and look what I’ve done,” Hayne said. ”I’ll continue to have something to do with them and I hear a lot from them, their board members and players. I keep in contact with them and it’s good.”

Fiji’s assistant coach, Max Ninnes, said Hayne left the team camp a different person to the one who came in. However, Hayne almost missed out on the life-changing experience.

”He was lucky to make the plane,” Ninnes recalled.

”The Australian team wasn’t announced until the day before we left for Fiji.

”The day before we left we got on the blower [after Hayne was omitted from the Kangaroos World Cup squad] and told him he had to do this and that to join us. It was such a rush.

”I was on the train when his mother rang me asking ‘what does he have to do?’ I was going to the airport at the time. His grandmother looked after him and brought him to the plane.”

More accustomed to the luxury digs the Kangaroos took for granted, Hayne was initially taken aback by the Third-World conditions his adopted team experienced in Fiji. On more than one occasion, Hayne quipped, ”What have you got us into, Max?”

However, the experience had such an impact on him that Hayne refuses to rule out the prospect of again representing the Bati in the future.

”After a while he started to realise he was Fijian. That’s pretty important,” Ninnes said.

”He was adamant before we played Australia [in the World Cup] that they all go and get a tattoo. We’re talking a day before the game. That’s how important the experience was to him. Thankfully we talked him out of doing it the day before the game.”

By Wayne Heming, AAP

AGELESS warhorse Petero Civoniceva says ending his highly decorated rugby league career back in Brisbane Broncos’ colours would be a fairytale finish.

While the 36-Test veteran stressed his first commitment was to Penrith, he didn’t rule out a farewell season with the Broncos.

Civoniceva, 33, could return from the upcoming Four Nations tour of Britain and France as Australia’s most capped forward ahead of Dragons’ great Johnny Raper (39 Tests).

Many still believe Brisbane committed one of its biggest recruitment blunders in letting Civoniceva walk out the door at the end of 2007 because of salary cap issues.

His experience, leadership, stability and influence over young players was sadly missed in 2008 when several players embarrassed the club with their alcohol-fuelled behaviour.

“Obviously my first priority is to sit down with the Panthers and see what they’re looking for over the next few years,” Civoniceva told AAP when asked about constant rumours linking him to the Broncos in 2011 after serving out the final year of his current contract with Penrith.

“But if there is interest from the Broncos, I’d definitely look at it.

“I’d love the opportunity to come home. My wife and I have settled in really well down here and if I had to see my career out in Penrith, that would be great for us too.

“We’ll see what happens in the first few months next year but if there’s room (salary cap) for the Broncos to make an offer, I’d definitely have a look at it.”

Civoniceva played his first 215 NRL games for Brisbane under Wayne Bennett, winning premierships in 1998 and 2006.

He has a history with the club’s current coach Ivan Henjak who took Brisbane to within one game of the grand final this season.

“Ivan’s been very influential in my career, he was my first senior coach there,” he said.

“I’ve got so many great experiences with him and I get on really well with him.

“It would be great to link up with Ivan again but we’ll have to wait and see.”

The fact his latest tour could be his last alongside Darren Lockyer is not lost on Civoniceva who said it would be “very special”.

Lockyer is on target to re-write the record books, passing Mal Meninga as Australia’s most capped player, which he’ll do in his 46th Test in Australia’s first game against New Zealand before equalling Churchill’s record of 27 Tests as captain.

If he scores two tries during the series, he’ll also break former North Sydney flyer Ken Irvine’s all-time Test record of 33.

“What can you say about the guy?” Civoniceva said of his former Brisbane captain and long-team Queensland and Australian teammate.

“He’s a fantastic leader and he deserves everything he gets from the game and he deserves to have his name up their with some past legends.

“He’s a legend himself.”