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Fiji upset Australia to throw Pool C wide open – ARN News Centre
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AFP
Fiji threw the outcome of Rugby World Cup Pool C wide open with a 22-15 win over Australia on Sunday, in the first upset result of the tournament in France.
Australia coach Eddie Jones said he had no regrets after his inexperienced Wallabies side were beaten by Fiji for the first time in nearly seven decades at the World Cup.
The loss, a sixth in seventh tests this year, leaves his team needing to beat Wales in their third Pool C match next weekend to guarantee they do not exit the World Cup in the opening stage for the first time.
Veteran players like Michael Hooper and Quade Cooper were left out of the World Cup squad as Australia rolled the dice on youth and Jones said setbacks had to be expected.
“Look, we’ve gone with a young team,” Jones told reporters. “I’ve got no regrets at all. We’re building a team for the future, we’re gonna go through some pain.
“We’re doing our absolute best and I apologise. It’s my fault. I take full responsibility for it.”
Jones said neither captain Will Skelton, who was a late withdrawal with a calf strain, and bullocking prop Taniela Tupou, who missed the match with a hamstring issue, would be available to face Wales.
“We can’t blame the loss on Skelton not being there,” he said. “We’ve got to be good enough to be able to cope with that.”
Jones was magnanimous in defeat and praised the Pacific islanders for their performance.
“We just couldn’t get one part of our game really going, if we were able to get our maul going, that could have changed the game,” he said.
“We didn’t get any ascendancy in the scrum and we were beaten at the breakdown.”
Even the 18 penalties the Wallabies conceded did not perturb the sometimes irascible former Japan and England coach.
“When you’re not on the front foot, it’s quite easy to give away penalties,” he said. “So I’m not worried about our discipline, I’m worried about not getting on the front foot.”
Jones took off Carter Gordon to rejig his backline as Australia chased the game in the second half but backed the flyhalf to put a disappointing game behind him.
“Carter is a young 10 and he’s going to have those days,” Jones said. “But he’ll bounce back. He’s a good young player.”
The Wallabies coach was even able to draw some positives out of the 22-15 loss, the first real upset of the World Cup.
“I was really pleased with the character the young team showed,” he said. “When Fiji is on the front foot in a fairly hostile environment, it would have been easy for our team to go away but they didn’t.
“So amongst the gloom, there’s some really promising things there, particularly from the younger players.”
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Tributes have poured in after the son of former Chelsea star Eddie Newton was found dead alongside his friend following a hike in the UAE, where temperatures soared to 50C.
Cassius Newton, 34, and his friend Aran Martinson, 33, were found by rescuers on July 18 after setting out on a hike in the mountainous Wadi Naqab region.
The pair, from Dorset and Essex respectively, both lived and worked in the UAE. Their bodies were discovered between 3km and 4km from their vehicle.
According to a report, Chelmsford area coroner Michelle Brown said their provisional causes of death included cardiac and respiratory arrest.
Cassius, a non-league footballer, was the son of former Chelsea midfielder and coach Eddie Newton, who spent more than a decade with the club.
His wife was in the UK when she became concerned after Cassius failed to contact her following the hike and reported him missing.
The two men had been living at a luxury resort in Ras Al Khaimah.
Tributes after desert tragedy
Tributes poured in after the deaths.
Aran’s wife described him as “incredibly driven, hardworking and ambitious”, saying he had recently begun a new chapter in his career and was excited about the future.
Blackfield & Langley Football Club paid tribute to their former player, saying: “It is with heavy hearts that we share the sad news of the passing of former player Cassius Newton; our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with his family and friends during this difficult time.”
National League club Eastleigh, where Cassius had previously played, said it was “deeply saddened” by his death.
Chelsea connection
Cassius’ father Eddie Newton played for Chelsea from 1990 to 2001 and famously scored in the club’s 1997 FA Cup final victory.
The former midfielder also represented Cardiff City, Birmingham City, Oxford United and Barnet.
After retiring as a player, Newton moved into coaching, working as assistant manager at MK Dons and West Brom before returning to Chelsea.
He later served as assistant manager under Roberto Di Matteo and Rafael Benítez.
(With inputs from BBC, The Sun)
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