"This is tremendous news for Rugby World Cup, " IRB chairman Bernard Lapasset said.
There was good news for the World Cup hosts as Ramnaresh Sarwan returned to action after a hand injury with 27, but he had to play second fiddle to Samuels, who is now adding consistency to his undoubted natural talent and showed no sign of worry about an ongoing investigation into claims that he recently passed team information to a bookmaker in India.
Two of his sons are facing corruption charges, his time as president is fast running out and only Korea's astonishing run of success in the football World Cup has broken the spell of bad news for his party's election campaign.
The good news: 2010 is a World Cup year, which has the industry poised for a modest rebound, according to NPD Group, which is forecasting a 1% lift in sales for this year.
State-controlled television interrupted its coverage of Pakistan's nail-biting World Cup cricket match with arch-enemy India to break the news.
"I had confidence in these players at the World Cup and I still have now, " he told a news conference in Madrid.
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Maradona, whose team are in real danger of missing out on the World Cup, seemed to cast doubt over his future in a news conference on Wednesday.
"The news, for us, was almost like winning the World Cup in soccer, " he said.
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Lord Triesman later told a news conference that a successful England bid could take the World Cup's commercial aspects "to the next level".
Qatar, which borders Saudi Arabia, is also peaceful, Bidois said, which is good news for football fans planning a trip to Doha for the 2022 World Cup.
In other news, this week Qatar showcased designs for 9 sustainable stadiums for the 2022 World Cup and BIG unveiled plans for a plant-wrapped waste to power plant that doubles as a ski slope.
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Italy play Cyprus at home on Wednesday and have been buoyed by the news that talismanic forward Francesco Totti has said he would consider coming out of retirement for the World Cup.
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