He has also been buying new sails
He has also been buying new sails.The only man to take the Cup from the Americans, John Bertrand, is working very conservatively on developing the second of his two yachts called oneAustralia. Which leaves the Japanese and the French, who have seemed jinxed and now have their skipper Marc Pajot’s financial affairs coming under the microscope in France.Both reached the semi- finals in 1992, but neither went any further. The dilemma for the Japanese had been over whether to introduce their new boat, said to be no faster than their present boat, knowing that Pajot’s new boat is slowly developing an edge in speed edge over them. They have opted for the new boat.The problem for the French was whether to introduce their “secret weapon” quadrilateral mainsail, which removes sailcloth area from the less effective centre and transfers it to the more powerful trailing edge. Their wider hull can more easily cope with the extra power which this generates.CITIZEN CUP Overall standings: 1 Pact ‘95, Stars & Stripes 25pts; 3 America3 7.LOUIS VUITTON CUP Overall standings; 1 Team New Zealand 40pts; 2 oneAustralia 33; 3 Tag Heuer 29; 4 Nippon Challenge 18; 5 Defi Franais 15; 6 Sydney ‘95 8; 7 Bayona-Valencia 4.. RUGBY UNION
BY STEVE BALE
With the battle lines being drawn for the International Rugby Board’s decision on the host for the 1999 World Cup, Wales yesterday launched a pre-emptive strike in support of its faltering bid.
The Leeds scrum-half, Patrick Entat, resumes his role as captain of his country and Ezzedine Attia takes over from Cabestany in the second row. France also reshuffle their threequarter line by bringing in Claude Sirvent on the wing, and Patrick Torreilles is recalled at hooker.The trio of outstanding players brought through the ranks by Leigh are reunited for the Great Britain Under-21 side’s match against France in Albi on Saturday.Scott Martin, still with Leigh, is joined by Paul Rowley and Simon Baldwin, now playing for Halifax, in the British pack.The Rugby League is not to take any action over the incident when the Featherstone Rovers forward, Brendon Tuuta, was alleged to have struck an 11-year-old girl spectator at the end of a match at Workington.The League’s board of directors studied the video which showed Tuuta entering the players’ tunnel, but did not see any evidence with which to charge him with any form of misconduct. He will now partner Iestyn Harris in the centre, with John Devereux likely to be on the right wing and Phil Ford dropping to a place among the four substitutes.France have suffered a blow with the loss of their injured captain, Didier Cabestany. Jonathan Davies is set to lead the side as captain and stand-off after his wife gave birth to their third child on Tuesday night. Davies would have pulled out of the trip if the birth had been delayed or there had been any complications, but he now expects to be able to travel for Sunday’s match.
Allan Bateman has overcome a different problem by getting time away from work in order to travel to France. “And we are monitoring everything that is going on inside his head.”.
Wales will travel to Carcassonne to try to win the European Championship this weekend with two of their key players free to play after earlier complications, writes Dave Hadfield. It’s in his interests to be kept sedated in the circumstances, because he does not have to do anything while his brain recovers.”We’re doing everything for him – feeding, breathing,” Sutcliffe said. That is why we have been unable to bring him out of sedation yet,” said John Sutcliffe, the consultant neurosurgeon.”But that doesn’t create any extra problems so far as his hoped recovery is concerned If anything it would help it. The annoucement came just before the arrival in Peking of an international federation inquiry team..