Salford forward Rob Parker suffered a fractured skull in a freak accident during their Super League defeat at Wigan on Friday. He was injured in a collision with teammate Jordan Turner and now faces a spell on the sidelines. Parker said: "I've actually fractured my skull in five places. Fortunately, it doesn't look like I need surgery."
Meanwhile France have selected uncapped scrum-half Julien Dupuy in their starting line-up for Saturday's first rugby union Test against New Zealand in Dunedin. Dupuy was the only uncapped player in a new-look squad missing a host of frontline players either through injury or their late arrival in New Zealand because of club commitments at home. sports@thenational.ae