Brother of 911 victim in moving tribute

The brother of a September 11 victim flew to New Zealand to be with the United States team Sunday and presented their match jerseys at a emotional ceremony before their World Cup game against Ireland.

Sean Luan, a player in New York, was killed when the Twin Towers collapsed and his brother John was determined to spend the 10th anniversary of the attack with the national team.

He was invited into the dressing room to present the team jerseys before the match in which the fired up US side, known as The Eagles, played above themselves in losing 10-22 against the much higher ranked Irish team.

"He turned down, or forewent, the opportunity to be with his family on this day to come down and spend it with us, just for the weekend, just for the game because that's how important it was for him," US scrumhalf and family friend Mike Petri said.

"I played with his younger brother Mike, and it was just amazing to get that jersey from him and it was really really emotional."

The impact of John Lugano's arrival to be with the team just before kick off was evident with players visibly moved when they took the field and stood while their national anthem The Star Spangled Banner was sung.

Earlier Sunday, the United States team attended a special September 11 memorial service in which the US ambassador to New Zealand David Huebner addressed the congregation.

September 11 was a day "to commemorate the triumph of the human spirit" Huebner said, making special mention of US rugby players Mark Bingham and Jeremy Glick, who battled hijackers on board the doomed United Airlines flight 93.

"They broke into the cockpit and crashed the airplane into an empty field in Pennsylvania, thus averting the destruction of the terrorists' intended target, this planet's iconic symbol of democratic self-determination, the US Capitol building."

Petri said coach Eddie O'Sullivan had to make a special effort to stop the team getting too emotional before the game.

"Coach O'Sullivan and the rest of the staff did a great job to keep us on key, keep us focussed and make sure we were up at the right times and our energies were channeled into a positive performances," he said

"They did a lot to make sure we channeled our emotion because too much was obviously a dangerous thing so you walk a fine line."

AFP