RUGBY - Tasman gets shorts straw

Things couldn't have been much worse for the Tasman rugby team as they trudged on to a water-logged Homeworld Stadium on Thursday night - but at least they had their shorts on.
Just hours before the match, the province's union's chief executive, former New Zealand cricket captain Lee Germon - who along with the team doctor was charged with bringing the sponsor's "match" shorts from the team's Nelson base - ran into problems.
Germon's flight from Wellington tried to land at Whangarei Airport just after 1pm but with heavy rain still falling and low visibility it wasn't long before the flight was diverted to Auckland.
Back at Auckland with time running short, Germon, the doctor, and the shorts boarded a bus to Whangarei and, thankfully for the Makos, they all arrived at Okara Park in time for the match.
Germon was understandably disappointed after his extended journey was capped by Tasman's 3-9 defeat by the Taniwha, and he was still not back at his Nelson headquarters on Friday afternoon.