World Cup squads primed for rugby marathon

All 20 teams were in place Thursday primed to get the seventh World Cup underway, with New Zealand hosting rugby’s showpiece event for the first time since the inaugural tournament in 1987.

The 30-strong squads were spread out from sunny Whangarei in the far north of the North Island to chilly Invercargill 1,290 kilometres (800 miles) away at the bottom of the South Island. AFP