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Article: Dropping the ball; Dropping the rugby ball in New Zealand
- Article from:
- The Press
- Article date:
- May 26, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2007 The Press. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Is New Zealand offside when it comes to securing the national
game's good health beyond this year's Rugby World Cup? MATT PHILP
reports on rugby at the crossroads.
I t's October 20, 2007, at the Stade de France, and Richie McCaw's
fingers are locked tighter than a wheel clamp around the Webb Ellis
Cup. But cutting under the noisy storm of popping Champagne corks and
sobbing Frenchmen, that sibilant hiss you hear could be the sound of
the air fast leaking from rugby's oval-shaped world.
Rugby, many are saying, is in trouble.
Win, lose or draw, the national team is set to be gutted after the
World Cup by an unprecedented number of defections to English and