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THE United States rugby team has refused to travel to a World Cup welcome event aboard a Maori canoe for "safety and security reasons".
The New Zealand Herald reported the 46-man American party was to be carried down the Whanganui River to the September 4 welcome in a canoe paddled by local Maori.
But the American team, which will spend a week in Whanganui city before the World Cup, has declined the river trip.
The chief executive of the Whanganui Rugby Union, Dale Cobb, said: "The Americans were a bit nervous about the river journey. They felt there was some risk."
Tournament spokeswoman Michelle Hooper said team managers could decline activities for "safety and security reasons" and the US team meant "no disrespect" to local Maori.