"He wasn't at his best, but fully fit he is a handful for anyone."Paul has been having physiotherapy on the foot in a bid to be fully functional against his fellow countrymen. I reckon the pair of them could talk under water."The Bradford fans' conviction that Paul can walk on water took a slight denting last Monday in the Kiwi's first game since recovering from the foot injury that ruined his Wembley "He looked a bit rusty against Penrith," Endacott says. He's a very confident person for his age and, like his brother Henry, he's got plenty to say for himself. "I think he could play scrum-half or stand-off for New Zealand, but he also has all the attributes of a world-class hooker."I was also very impressed by the way he fitted in with the side. "He can play more or less anywhere," Jones says of his Bradford counterpart.
"He's going to go on to bigger things - but I suppose I don't want that to be as scrum-half."Endacott has already united the two at full international level, bringing on Paul as a substitute to play stand-off outside Jones in the recent Test against Australia in Sydney "He went very well; he made a difference," Endacott says. He goes his own inimitable way on the field while Jones is the more structured, team-orientated player. "Stacey is as good as any scrum-half in the world at the moment," he says. "He has marked Allan Langer and Ricky Stuart recently and lost nothing by comparison with either of them."There are likenesses between him and Robbie, but Stacey has the greater speed while Robbie is a bit more unorthodox."That is Paul's strength but, to some eyes, also his weakness. "I had the pleasure of watching them both right through the Auckland representative teams, and they were always two very talented young players.
But Stacey was always the scrum- half; he was always that little bit ahead."Endacott believes Jones is still ahead of the game now that he is playing against the best senior half-backs on a regular basis. Billy Taylor struck out two in a perfect ninth for his 12th save.. Near-contemporaries and near-neighbours who rank among the best half-backs in the world will stage a reunion at Odsal this evening. Bradford's Robbie Paul and Auckland's Stacey Jones were born within a couple of months of each other 21 years ago and played with and against each other during their formative years in New Zealand. "I knew him all the way through our school days and we've played in teams together since we were nippers," says Jones, whose virtuoso performance for the Warriors at St Helens last week had many in England hailing him as the best scrum- half in the world. Frank Endacott, coach of both Auckland and New Zealand, and previously the Junior Kiwis, knows the duo well. Rod Beck pitched a scoreless ninth for his NL-leading 20th save, even though this one came against an AL team.In Oakland, California, a rivalry previously confined to the World Series unfolded for the first time in the regular season as the Oakland Athletics, behind consecutive pinch hits by Patrick Lennon and George Williams, beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-4.The Dodgers and A's met for the first time since Los Angeles defeated Oakland in the 1988 World Series.