#Swine Flu in France: Four Possible Cases in Paris and North of Paris

France advises travelers to Mexico to avoid large gatherings of people and adhere to basic hygiene measures such as washing hands with liquid soaps or alcohol-based lotions, as well as to air out rooms in which they’re staying.

SHOOT: The worst form they're referring to here is that it manifests as a cytokine storm. The body's immunity reacts, overreacts, which causes a massive build of of puss in the lungs and vital organs and overwhelms the body. They say the symptoms are vomitting and an upset stomach - actually it's a lot nastier than that.

clipped from www.bloomberg.com April 26 (Bloomberg) -- French health officials said they’re studying four possible cases of swine flu in the north of the country. The World Health Organization yesterday called the outbreak of swine flu from Mexico a “public health emergency of international concern.” The virus is linked to 81 deaths in Mexico, and 11 flu cases in the U.S., all of them mild, have been connected as well. “We’re probably seeing the tip of the iceberg,” Weber said. The flu type looks to be “the worst form, it affects people who are young and mostly in good health,” she said.

Chabal Cited (INCLUDES INTERVIEW)

From rugbyworldcup.com:
PARIS, 14 October - Following the France v England semi-final match in Paris on Saturday, 13 October, a French player has been cited by citing commissioner Dennis Wheelahan.

The French forward Sébastien Chabal has been cited for an alleged dangerous tackle on the England player Simon Shaw. The player and his team management have been informed and a hearing will take place tomorrow, Monday, 15 October, in Paris.


Interview Of Chabal - For more amazing video clips, click here

NVDL: Let's hope none of our players get cited after the fisticuffs towards the end of the Argentina game. Seems like we are being treated to double standards in terms of citing and referee decisions apparewntly being applied more strictly to our side than other teams.

An England - Bok Final

England didn't really win their semi final did they? France lost. They were unlucky, but they seemed to also to tempt the Bad Luck Fairy. Ja, it's a sad state of affairs, because it means the Boks now have to - yawn - play England again.
I'm not suggesting it's going to be a walkover second round against England. I'm just saying it's going to be dull. A Final with France would have been an amazing specatcle to round of the Boks superb World Cup run.

Yes, the French-England game was compelling. But France seemed to lack a basic sense of knowing what to do. If they'd played the way they did in the last five minutes for the duration of game - instead of belting it ineffectually around as they did against New Zealand in the first half - England would not have stood a chance.

I had a terrible feeling England was going to score in the last 10 to 15 minutes, and that's exactly what they did. The game was compelling not so much because of the performances on the field, but because of the score. At half time the margin was one point (6-5 to France). For most of the second half France remained a single point ahead (at 9-8), and were sometimes unlucky not to score.

But you can't expect to hold off a passionate and determined team with a one point margin, especially when you don't learn from your mistakes. I was fully behind France, and felt fairly gutted by the way they lost. It could have ended a lot differently, but that's how the game goes.

For more, click here.

Chabal: The Human Wrecking Ball (VIDEO)

NVDL: Look at this guy psyching out the All Blacks during their Haka. And I like this quote: "In keeping with his primeval appearance, Chabal can make rugby look a thrillingly elemental sport..."

• Watch Chabal's monstrous tackle on Chris Masoe
  Watch Chabal's full-blooded charge at Ali Williams
  

by John Westerby
Rarely has the term “impact player” seemed so appropriate. At some point during the second half of England’s World Cup semi-final in Paris on Saturday evening, Sébastien Chabal will be unleashed from France’s replacements’ bench, a wrecking ball designed to make huge indentations in England’s defensive wall.

Off the field, he has had just as big an impact over the past few weeks. His imposing features — straggly beard and long, unkempt hair — have glared down from billboards all over France, earning him the nickname “The Caveman” and making him an iconic figure of his country’s World Cup. He has attracted thousands of French women to rugby — they are known as les Chabalistes — and has been voted the sexiest player of the tournament, described by one of his fans as “the antithesis of metrosexuality”.

Memorably Powerful

Happily for Chabal, his admirers also include Bernard Laporte, the France coach, but this has not always been the case. It is more than seven years since Chabal, 29, made his debut for France, but for several years he was mistrusted by Laporte. That changed during an otherwise miserable tour to New Zealand during the summer, when France lost 62-10 and 42-11 to the All Blacks, but Chabal enhanced his reputation with some memorably powerful performances.

X-Factor

Like so many supporters of Sale Sharks, for whom he will play for a fourth season after the World Cup, Laporte could no longer resist Chabal’s rugged charms. Normally a No 8 for Sale, the France coach has found him a fitting role as a replacement lock who emerges to strike fear into the hearts of tiring opponents. “He has that X-factor when he strides on to the pitch,” Kingsley Jones, the Sale head coach, said. “The opposition take one look at him and know they’re in for a tough afternoon.”

For those who are unfamiliar with the brutal ferocity of Chabal’s play, a quick visit to YouTube provides ample evidence. One monstrous tackle on Chris Masoe, the All Blacks No 8, has been watched more than a million times and termed as le plaquage du siècle — the tackle of the century.

Another snippet from that summer tour shows his full-blooded charge at Ali Williams that left the New Zealand lock with a broken jaw. These videos do not appear to have a restricted age limit, but if your children are watching, you may wish to shield their eyes.

Strength

What these clips show is Chabal’s extraordinary strength. “He’s without doubt the most naturally powerful athlete in world rugby,” Nick Johnston, the Sale head of physical preparation, said. “You can look at the likes of Andrew Sheridan [the England prop] and Jerry Collins [the New Zealand flanker], they are players who have trained themselves to be powerful. But in terms of natural attributes, Sébastien has really been blessed.”

Low Fat

At 6ft 3in and 18st, he is not unusually large for an international forward, but, the beard and the hair aside, virtually everything else is muscle. “He has an incredibly low body fat reading,” Johnston said. “His percentage is around 7.5, whereas most professional players have about 14 per cent. When he first came to us three years ago, he weighed 107kg and he now weighs 115kg, but he’s very lean, so it’s all the right sort of weight.”

There will be nothing subtle about Chabal’s approach when he faces England on Saturday. He will run straight, hard and fast and, when he spots a would-be tackler, he will attempt to run over him, rather than round him. In keeping with his primeval appearance, Chabal can make rugby look a thrillingly elemental sport.

Sporadic Force of Nature

So if he is such a force, why has he not won more than 35 caps? Although he could not be described as lazy, Chabal’s contributions in the past have been too sporadic for many coaches. A bullocking run could often be followed by a short spell of introspective grazing away from the ball.

“Twelve months ago, we said to him ‘if you’re going to go to the World Cup, your workrate needs to improve dramatically’ and he took that on board,” Johnston said. “At the end of last season, he was coming in for three or four extra sessions a week. He’s a very good trainer, but he needs to be set specific targets. He particularly enjoys our endurance circuits, which include tug-of-war and wrestling matches, all designed to replicate his game movements.

“When he wrestles against Sébastien Bruno [the Sale and France hooker], all the lads stop training to watch because it’s a real battle. And he once dead-lifted the same weights as Andrew Sheridan, which doesn’t happen very often. We also have our players pulling our Ford Transit kit van with a bungee rope around their waist. Sébastien is very, very good at that.”

Having followed Philippe Saint-Andre, the director of rugby, from Bourgoin to Sale, Chabal is settled in Cheshire, where he lives in Cheadle Hulme with his wife, Annick, and two young daughters.

Good Hair Days

It was while he was awaiting the birth of his first child, Lily Rose, almost three years ago that he started to grow his beard and his hair. By the time Lily Rose was born, his wife liked the beard and it had become an integral part of his cult image at Sale. During the World Cup, his club’s Chabal clothing range has been sold out twice over. “I have told him that he looks like a gypsy and that he looks better with short hair,” Lionel Faure, his French team-mate at Sale, said. “But he just shrugs his shoulders, laughs and says, ‘I don’t care.’ ”

Marks and Sparks

Chabal seems to have taken to most things about the English way of life, except for the food, which is a regular source of complaint. He treasures his relationship with his local butcher, who supplies him with choice cuts of veal, and believes that Marks & Spencer is the only English outlet to supply decent French bread. Otherwise, he is a happy, home-loving family man.

“It’s funny that he has this image as an aggressive caveman because off the field he is just the opposite,” Faure said. “We go out for an espresso, we play poker and during the presidential elections, we talked a lot about politics because Sébastien is very well informed. But most of all, he enjoys being with his family. He’s just an ordinary man.”

Animal appeal

Born Valence, December 8, 1977
Height 6ft 3in (1.91m)
Weight 18st (114kg)
Body fat percentage 7.5
Clubs Bourgoin, Sale Sharks
Position No 8 or second row
Caps 35

Nicknames SeaBass, The Anaesthetist, The Caveman

— Lives in Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire, with his wife and two daughters
— Credited with attracting thousands of French women to rugby and has been voted sexiest player of the World Cup
— Chabal T-shirts have done a roaring trade in Sale during the World Cup; a third reprint has been ordered
— If there is a “hair” apparent to Chabal as rugby’s “caveman” in the England camp, it has to be George Chuter (see image 3, above), the hirsute hooker, who has admitted that “Chabal is my idol in terms of facial hair, but I’m not in his league”. Chuter’s style was not born out of a bid for a new image. “I decided to grow it because I can’t be bothered to shave,” he said.

RWC: French Stun NZ

New Zealand choke; Aussies also on their way home

Southern hemisphere teams and supporters suffered a collective jaw drop as they saw first Australia fold under pressure against England (losing 12-10), and then New Zealand lose their composure. Both sides played with uncharacteristic caution, allowing their opponents to take up the slack and generate their own momentum.

Many rugby supporters, myself included, saw both these matches as mere formalities for the the Southern Hemisphere teams, en route to the Semi’s.

While the Aussies performance reeked, the All Blacks played well, finishing their first half with a 13-0 lead, and a lead that looked unassailable at that point. The French tactic up until then was to boot the ball ineffectually around, giving away possession, and so losing the ability to develop any cogent form of attack.

2nd Fiddle

In the second half, everything changed. Kiwi magician Luke McAlister who had already scored a brilliant try in the first half, was sent to the sin bin early in the second half for a professional foul on the try line. Beauxis kicked the penalty, putting the first points on the board for France. At this point the score was 13-3.

The pendulum begun to shift as the French team surged. Playing with visible courage, they were suddenly committed and believing in themselves. The first French try came soon after ‘caveman’ Sébastien Chabal and Dimitri Szarzewski joined the field. Sustained pressure bore fruit, starting with flanker Thierry Dusautoir’s try. Meanwhile, more and more of the big names from the opposing squad limped off the field. The French fight back was hard and tough. Facing this resurgent French team, the Kiwi’s first faded, then choked.

In one encounter 5 All Blacks converged on the ball as it passed the try line, with two All Black players colliding into one another. Then, with around 10 minutes remaining, French wizard (on his day) Michalak – replacing Beauxis – broke away and squirmed around to hand over to Yannick Jauzion for their second try.

Disciplined Defence

It was a brave and brutal fight back by the Tricolores. The French defended with tremendous discipline, even to the last second of the game. The French scored all 20 of their points in the second half; New Zealand managed only 5 points (from a single unconverted try). Despite the big hearts of the French players, the margin was small in the final score: 20-18.

But New Zealand’s second half performance overall was as off color in the as their shirts.
Captain Richie McCaw was understandably at a loss for words after the game. He described the error of engaging in ‘ping-pong’ with the French, and straying from their own game plan. But even South African viewers were shocked at this double turnaround.

That the TriNations top two teams were stymied was not necessarily due to being beaten by better teams, but losing composure under pressure. Both sides were not really tested until these quarter final games, and vitally, when you’re behind in crucial knock out games and facing a deadline, self belief and composure becomes paramount.

Not Convincing

It’s also fair to say that the 2 point winning margin doesn’t demonstrate convincing victories from either England or France. All it demonstrates is the North’s will to win overcame their adversary’s fear of losing.

New Zealand especially are guilty of putting far too much pressure on themselves when facing defeat in World Cup games. Sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind. When behind, does desperation lead to doubt, or belief?

These matches provide excellent counseling for the remaining Southern Hemisphere powerhouse, South Africa, who are now the favorites on paper. Having seen how giants can be slaughtered, do they have the composure in the face of terrible pressure and possible defeat?

After the bruising encounters on Saturday, it’s unlikely that France or England will be able to pick themselves up to face the Boks, who are looking superstrong. But stranger things have happened.

Burger cited for tackle in Samoa match

Tue Sep 11, 2007 10:39AM BST
By Andy Colquhoun

PARIS (Reuters) - South Africa flanker Schalk Burger was cited on Tuesday for a high tackle on Samoa scrumhalf Junior Polu in his team's World Cup Pool A 59-7 victory on Sunday.
If Burger is suspended he will miss the Springboks' pivotal group clash with defending champions England at the Stade de France on Friday evening.

South Africa manager Zola Yeye told Reuters the hearing was expected to take place on Tuesday evening with the time and venue yet to be determined.

"We will be defending Schalk as he was simply going for the ball," said Yeye.

New Zealand referee Paul Honiss penalised Burger for the tackle and spoke to him but took no further action. The citing was made by commissioner Douglas Hines.

South Africa name their team for the England match at 1 p.m. on Tuesday.