World Cup in Brief: Little apologises for Fiji's feeble display; All Black icon Lomu 'stable' in Auckland hospital

Fiji fly-half Nicky Little rued his team's lack of fight in a 27-7 defeat to Samoa in Auckland yesterday as the highly-anticipated Pacific Islands confrontation failed to produce fireworks. Samoa overran their rivals in front of a carnival atmosphere at a packed Eden Park to leave the Fijians with virtually no chance of reaching the knockout stages. "I feel sorry for Samoa. We did not put up a good enough fight so apologies for that," Little said after winning his 70th cap. "I do not think we fired a shot and in games like this you've got to."

All Black icon Lomu 'stable' in Auckland hospital

Jonah Lomu is in a stable condition after entering an Auckland hospital. The All Black icon, a special guest at the opening ceremony, had a kidney transplant in 2004 but his wife Nadene said: "Until we know exactly what's wrong, we're not prepared to comment." Kiwi coach Steve Hansen said: "Our thoughts are with the big fella."