(REUTERS) – The USA rugby team have confirmed they will attend a 9/11 attack memorial service before their World Cup game with Ireland on Sunday.
American ambassador David Huebner and a New Zealand government minister will also attend the service at St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in New Plymouth, eight hours before kick-off of the game at Stadium Taranaki.
USA coach Eddie O’Sullivan said earlier in the week that the big task for him on Sunday would be ensuring his players’ emotions did not get the better of them as they remembered the attacks on New York and Washington, which killed almost 3 000 people.
“Motivation isn’t going to be an issue for these lads, they’re always easy to fire up,” he said.
“It’s going to be emotional I think.
“For me, part of my job is to contain the emotion. If they get too emotional, they’ll make mistakes, and if they make mistakes they’ll pay a big price.”