Michael Essien his power-packed performances. In the quarter-final against Nigeria, when team captain John Mensah was dismissed on the stroke of the hour for a professional foul on Nigeria's Peter Odemwingie, Essien assumed the captaincy for the remainder of the match as Ghana eventually won 2–1. He was voted as an All-Star Player during the tournament. The Team of the Tournament was decided by the Technical Study Group (TSG) after careful observations of all the tournament's matches. During an international match played against Libya on 5 September 2008, Essien ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament playing for Ghana in the World Cup qualification
South African Country Districts XV for the visitors, while Gareth Davies added 11 points through a conversion and three penalties. Lineups: On 26 May 1981 a Country Districts B XV recorded a 17-16 victory in Wellington against the touring Irish side whilst the following year they were defeated 33-24 by the second South American Jaguars touring side. The Country Districts side played against both the 1984 touring English and South American Jaguar sides.The team was drawn from players competing in the Sport Pienaar Cup,losing both fixtures 33-12 and 30-18 respectively. South African Country Districts XV The South African Country Districts XV was an invitational rugby