KIRIBATI: A spanner was thrown in the works of the Kiribati's Rugby World Cup preparation yesterday after Guam announced it would send an under strength team in next week's Micronesian Cup decider. Kiribati rugby boss H.G. Solomon labelled the team an "insult" and suggested the move was cowardice. It is believed that Guam are sending the Hagatna Boys High School 2nd XV in place of their national side.

"Guam know they are on a hiding to nothing so they send us this third rate team," Solomon said in a press statement directed to the IRB and the Micronesian Rugby Board. "After our glorious nation thrashed the Marshall Islands and also won easily against that little coral atoll that is sinking and no-one really knows the name of anyway, there is fear in the hearts of our neighbours."
 
The move is believed necessary to protect the starting fifteen for Guam's first pool game against England at Twickenham on October 3. Guam rugby chairman Nolocii Ferdinand defended the move by saying any argument was hypocritical. "The Kiribati kept all their players out of the SuperMicronesia tournament in their [World Cup] preparation. Our teams had to resort to picking those deformed nuke babies of the Marshall Islands and those shitheads from Nauru."
 
The Kiribati are odds-on favourites to meet the All Blacks in the final in Paris on October 20.