Rugby must stop hindering smaller nations November 11, 2012 THOSE of you reading this who went to Twickenham on Saturday to see England’s demolition of Fiji know you were sold something of a pup. The blame lies at the door of the International Rugby Board who continue to allow the distinction between the haves and have nots of the game to be a blight [...]
Crystal Palace starlet Zaha earns first call-up as Hodgson patches up his injury-hit squad November 11, 2012 ENGLAND manager Roy Hodgson last night handed a first call-up to in-demand Crystal Palace prodigy Wilfried Zaha amid a spate of injury concerns before Wednesday’s friendly in Sweden. Versatile forward Zaha, 20, has scored four goals this season in Palace’s charge to the top of the Championship and has been scouted by a host of [...]
McIlroy emulates Donald to capture Euro and American double November 11, 2012 WORLD No1 Rory McIlroy hailed “the icing on the cake” of a historic season after his third place finish in Singapore saw him complete the European and US money list double. South African Louis Oosthuizen’s failure to win the Singapore Open ensured McIlroy can no longer be caught in the Race to Dubai, the European [...]
Allarydce talks up ex-Toon duo after steely win November 11, 2012 NEWCASTLE UNITED 0 vs WEST HAM UNITED 1 WEST HAM manager Sam Allardyce praised his former Newcastle players Kevin Nolan and Andy Carroll after the pair helped their new team to an impressive win at St James’ Park. A 37th minute goal from Nolan gave the visitors the advantage at the break, and Allardyce’s team [...]
Irish fight back as Welsh crash out of LV= Cup November 11, 2012 LONDON Irish produced a remarkable second-half turnaround to gain revenge over Sale Sharks yesterday with a 34-28 bonus-point win in the LV= Cup. Matt Garvey was the hero, crossing twice for the Exiles as George Skivington and Shane Geraghty also went over for the home side. London Welsh, however, were put to the sword by [...]
All Blacks too strong for Scotland November 11, 2012 Three tries late in the first half saw New Zealand crush Scotland’s resistance and win 51-22 at Murrayfield yesterday. Wing Tim Visser crossed twice as Scotland became the first side this year to score three tries against the All Blacks, but the visitors, who face England next month, responded through Julian Savea (2), Israel Dagg, [...]
Hopkins up next for Cleverly November 11, 2012 Welshman Nathan Cleverly is expected to be offered a fight against veteran Bernard Hopkins after defending his WBO light-heavyweight title against American Shawn Hawk in Los Angeles. Cleverly downed Hawk three times, on the last occasion in the eighth round to retain his title for a fourth time. Meanwhile, IBF, IBO, WBF and WBO heavyweight [...]
Defoe fires Roy reminder with treble to lift Spurs November 8, 2012 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 3 vs NK MARIBOR 1 TOTTENHAM manager Andre Villas-Boas showered praise on striker Jermain Defoe after his clinical hat-trick sunk NK Maribor and reignited Spurs’ flagging Europa League campaign. Defoe’s treble saw him overtake Teddy Sheringham in the club’s all-time scoring charts and served as a nudge to England manager Roy Hodgson, who [...]
Pietersen blasts ton as England batsmen revel November 8, 2012 ENGLAND’S Ian Bell welcomed the return to form of batsman Kevin Pietersen after he yesterday hit his first century since the text messaging row that almost ended his international career. Pietersen showed his customary flamboyance in an 86-ball ton before retiring on 110 as England plundered 408-4 against Haryana on the first day of their [...]
Federer downs Ferrer to race into Finals last four November 8, 2012 WORLD No2 Roger Federer is relishing the chance to win his seventh end of season championships, after yesterday becoming the first player to qualify for the last four of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals with a straight sets victory over David Ferrer. The 17-time grand slam champion faced 10 break points against the world [...]