Rugby Shirt
NFL great Reed still relishes his days at KU

KUTZTOWN, Pa. - He slowly walked across Kutztown's University Field in the most casual of attire.

Faded jeans. Long rugby shirt with dark blue and light blue stripes. Shades resting on the top of his forehead. Black sneakers.

Andre Reed looked like a regular guy, not a retired NFL superstar.

Well, for a little while, anyway.

The former standout receiver at Kutztown and for the Buffalo Bills then was met with hugs and handshakes by a multitude of school bigwigs before he received a rousing ovation prior to performing the ceremonial coin toss for Saturday's game between the Golden Bears and Clarion.

At halftime, with many of those bigwigs passing by while he stood in front of his framed autographed jersey in the president's box, Reed talked about how everything at Kutztown was still the same.

Launch of the Lexus Junior Rugby Festival 2006

Thousands of school-age rugby players are being given the chance to develop their sporting skills in a nationwide competition, sponsored by Lexus. The Lexus Junior Rugby Festival will bring together clubs from across the country in a series of regional tournaments, leading to a national final.

The festival will be supported by every Lexus Centre on the UK mainland, each supporting the junior section of its local competing team. The sponsorship package includes entry into the competition, a full set of Lexus-branded rugby shirts and a series of special launch events.

Lexus believes encouraging young sporting talent in this way fits perfectly with its brand vision of “the pursuit of perfection". The event builds on the success of the inaugural festival held in 2006, involving many more teams, and represents another dimension of Lexus's investment in sporting excellence.

SIX NATIONS RUGBY BETTING ODDS: ENGLAND

Jonny Wilkinson suffered yet another injury on Friday night in Newcastles game against Worcester and bet365 make the stand-off as big as 4/7 to take part in Englands Six Nations campaign.

Englands drop-goal hero was injured when his team-mate Andy Buist fell on him and scans have revealed damage to a medial ligament, meaning the fly-half could be out for as long as two months.

Wilkinsons latest injury is the latest in a long line of ailments and gives Andy Robinson a major selection headache, with more than a third of his elite training squad on the physios plinthe, said bet365 spokesman George Primarolo.

Although we expect Wilkinson to play some part in next years Six Nations, his injury jinx is now becoming a real worry and its not beyond the realms of possibility that England have to defend their World Cup title without him

Meanwhile, Andy Farrell makes his debut in a Saracens shirt on Monday evening and bet365 make the ex-Rugby League superstar 1/ 2 to pull on an England shirt this season.

It can happen to you, warn hijacked couple

"Dutch courage or stupidity" may have helped three people escape an attempted hijacking in Scottsville, Pietermaritzburg, on Sunday night. Shirley Clark - who was travelling with her husband, Rob, and a friend, Valerie Smith - said, in the wake of the traumatic encounter with two armed hijackers, that motorists should beware of driving in the area close to the University of KwaZulu-Natal campus and the local casino complex. Both the young assailants, who fled empty-handed, had worn white clothing and one gunman was apparently a Sharks rugby fan, judging by the Sharks T-shirt he was wearing, the still-shaken Clark said on Tuesday. .

PNGDF rugby team leave for carnival

THE PNG Defence Force (PNGDF) rugby union team were farewelled last Thursday on their way to the Pacific Nations military rugby cup tournament in Australia.
PNGDF Commander Commodore Peter Ilau presented touring shirts to the 25-man squad during a farewell ceremony at Murray Barracks in Port Moresby.
The tournament, which will take place in Canberra from Sept 12-16, includes teams from the defence forces Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga and New Caledonia (French Armed Forces).
The competition aims to foster good will, healthy competition and greater understanding between the defence forces of the Pacific through Rugby Union.
Commodore Ilau said: I look forward to the opportunity for our players to show that they are up there with the best in the Pacific and to build on our regional relationships, which have benefited so greatly from the PNGDFs successful contribution to the RAMSI operation in Solomon Islands.