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 Final arrivals New stadium, rain cause consternation
Posted: Thursday October 14, 1999 07:53 PM
LONDON (Reuters) -- Wales captain Rob Howley is frightened by the prospect of a frenzied Millennium Stadium for the World Cup's opening game while heavy rain sweeping across Britain caused consternation in the Springbok camp. As the final teams arrived in Europe for Friday's start to the tournament, Howley said he expected the tears to flow when the hosts open their campaign against Argentina. The noise was deafening when Wales upset Cup holders South Africa in June at the Cardiff ground that was less than half full and yet to be finished. "I'm not trying to think about it to be honest," Howley said. "When we played South Africa in front of 27,500 at the Millennium Stadium, it was awesome. "This is completely different -- 72,500. It is quite frightening and it is the first game of the World Cup. "I'm quite emotional. The anthem is a special time for players. My nephew [aged eight] is mascot on the day. If he starts crying it will be an emotional time for both of us." More than three billion people are expected to tune into the game on television in 130 countries. But Wales coach Graham Henry warned his players not to get carried away by the hype. "There is a wee bit of excitement but we are trying to keep a lid on it and get out there," the New Zealander said. "We have talked about the magnitude of the occasion and the importance and we don't want the occasion to overshadow the performance. "We are here to do a job and we are trying to piece together a game plan. Any thoughts about trying to entertain the crowd is rubbish."
Argentina worried by Jenkins threatArgentina coach Alex Wyllie has hammered into his players the goal-kicking threat posed by Wales flyhalf Neil Jenkins."When you have a player like Jenkins, the opposition have to be extremely wary of him," said Wyllie. "He is deadly and most teams would love to have as reliable a kicker. Center Lisandro Arbizu, who plays his club rugby for top French side Brive, was declared fit to lead a Puma side that contains just eight survivors from the one beaten by Wales in the second test in Buenos Aires in June. The scrum shows two changes from the side that lost 32-24 to Ireland last month with hooker Mario Ledesma and lock Pedro Sporleder, a former captain, included. Sporleder, playing his third World Cup, and Ledesma were suspended after an incident in a club match but they were both pardoned and reinstated for the World Cup.
Springboks prepare for rainThe Springboks trained in Edinburgh ahead of their opening group A game against Scotland on Sunday and expressed concern about the likely playing conditions at Murrayfield.Center Brendan Venter said the champions knew they had to adapt their quick-passing game to the weather in the Northern Hemisphere. "It's completely different playing this game in the wet than in the dry conditions of South Africa. If we don't adapt, we will lose. "The biggest problem is losing the ball in contact. That could be difficult for us because we are so used to carrying the ball in one hand," said Venter. "We know we have to adapt but Murrayfield is a first class field and is well drained," said assistant coach Alan Solomons The Springboks were told the team for the first game on Saturday but it will not be revealed until Wednesday.
Ireland poses problems for team tailorsIreland have been training so hard ahead of their opening group E match against the U.S. on Saturday that they are causing problems for the people responsible for kitting out the squad on and off the pitch."In terms of the physical preparation it has gone excellently," team manager Donal Lenihan said. "We were very surprised ourselves when we went to get fitted out yesterday and a lot of our players had lost about two inches (5 cm) off the waist which may have caused our clothing people a lot of difficulties. "But I think it is a reflection of the work we have done over the last couple of months. Certainly from the physical side we are exactly where we wanted to be." The Irish are also coached by a New Zealander in Warren Gatland who has introduced a strict regime with the players which has been popular with the squad.
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