In Thursday's other third round matches, Thomas Johansson 's attempt to claim a place in the Masters Cup suffered an unexpected setback.

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"Neither of them has to run the event to fund their own program, " says Thomas Ehman, Oracle's rules adviser and a Cup participant since 1980, when he was a rules adviser for the New York Yacht Club defense.

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Turner pointed out that Thomas had another strong game in the region's EDF Energy Cup loss away to Gloucester and that he would be talking to the player to persuade him to stay.

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But with the likes of RFU chairman Martyn Thomas likening Farrell to Martin Johnson, the revered captain of England's World Cup winners in 2003, there seems little chance of the hype dying down any time soon.

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Laird, who plays most of his golf in the United States, shares the lead with Dutchman Maarten Lafeber (Carnoustie), Argentine Ricardo Gonzalez and Denmark's Thomas Bjorn (both St Andrews), an assistant-captain for Europe at the Ryder Cup.

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He said the match offers Jones a "great opportunity" to "deliver for Wales again" and has teamed him up with Thomas in the hope that the pair's speed and footballing skills will help his Grand Slam team outsmart the World Cup winners.

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