RUGBY - Dropped beer spells end of dream

Rene Ranger turned down the chance to finish the job with the world championship winning New Zealand sevens rugby team so he could start a new task with the New Zealand Maori.
Then - shock upon horror - he dropped his beer at an after-match function and set in motion a sequence of events that scuppered all hope of adding a bright new chapter to his burgeoning rugby career.
Now he is sitting around with his hand in a cast, instead of hurtling around making a name for himself with the aim of making history with the NZ Maori team.
Which is a pity, because the 23-year-old winger was well fired up for the biggest challenge of his career after getting a whisper from the selectors that he was in line for a spot in the NZ Maori team named yesterday to play in the Pacific Nations Cup, starting next week. It is the first time the NZ Maori team have been included in the tournament to play against Australia A, Tonga, Manu Samoa, Fiji and Japan.
"I'm gutted," Ranger said.
"I asked to get a release from the sevens so I could play a bit more 15-a-side and get fit for 15s rugby rather than sevens stuff, so I would be ready for the Maori team. Then I broke my thumb," he said.
"I'm not even sure how I did it. I think it was while tackling but it wasn't until I couldn't pick my beer up later on after the game that I thought `gee, something is up with my hand'. It turns out it is broken and I'm stuffed for six weeks."
The frustration reached a peak yesterday when the All Blacks and NZ Maori squads were named, and the gut wrenching realisation hit home.
"Just to see the squad and your name isn't there is pretty disappointing."
NZ Maori coach Donny Stevenson, from Whangarei, said Ranger had been "in the selection mix" as late as last week. But when news of his injury filtered through he dropped out of contention.
"We have a list of about 30 players we consider. Rene was there and probably one of the candidates but once he broke his thumb that pretty much ended that one," Stevenson said.
In the meantime the NZ Sevens team, under coach Gordon Tietjens, have wrapped up the IRB sevens title even before they play the final tournament of the world series in Scotland tonight.
Ranger wasn't the only Northland player who was sweating on the squad announcements yesterday either. Prop Bronson Murray was another Stevenson had considered but a lack of game time with the Blues in the Super 14 this year counted against him.
"When you look at the props in our (NZ Maori) squad we have good depth there with the likes of Clint Newlands, Keith Cameron and Aled de Malmanche," Stevenson said. "Bronson was on our radar but we didn't get to see enough of him to make a selection."
It is one of the strongest NZ Maori squads assembled for some time with discarded All Blacks Daniel Braid, Stephen Brett, Piri Weepu and Jason Eaton all included.