Rugby World Cup to give Georgia the chance to earn their seat at rugby’s top table September 12, 2019 Georgia have spent the better part of a decade stuck in European Rugby’s no man’s land, wedged under the glass ceiling that separates them from the continent’s elite. Currently, their primary competition is the Rugby Europe Championship, the second tier beneath the far more prestigious Six Nations. Georgia have won nine of the last 11 [...]
Quique Sanchez Flores’ Watford return is fraught with complications after frosty exit in 2016 September 12, 2019 When Watford wrote in their parting statement with manager Quique Sanchez Flores in May 2016 that he “leaves with all our best wishes for the future and the knowledge he is always welcome at Vicarage Road” it appeared a generic gesture of good will. But three years and three months – and three managers – [...]
World Cup winner but Ashes failure: Trevor Bayliss leaves England with lopsided legacy September 11, 2019 Tomorrow’s final Ashes Test match at The Oval marks the end of Trevor Bayliss’s four-year tenure in charge of England and, naturally enough, the landmark has prompted an assessment of his body of work. The man himself rates his time in charge as a five out of 10 – a straight-down-the-middle judgement which is fairly [...]
Front three are as good as any but England must improve defence and midfield September 11, 2019 England’s pair of high-scoring wins over Bulgaria and Kosovo will have left Gareth Southgate broadly happy, although the Euro 2020 qualifying double-header did highlight their shortcomings. They were always going to takes six points from these fixtures – anything else would have been a huge shock – but I’d suggest Southgate would have expected two [...]
Horse Racing Betting Tips: Atzeni will put punters in fine Spirits at Donny again September 11, 2019 IT IS not the same as York but nearby Doncaster has its own charms, particularly during the four-day William Hill St Leger Festival. The highlight of the meeting, the world’s oldest Classic on Saturday, could have a big impact on the destination of the trainers’ title with John Gosden and Aidan O’Brien battling it out. [...]
England 5-3 Kosovo: Three Lions show all their colours in wide-open thriller at St Mary’s September 10, 2019 Fans often moan that international football is boring, that games are one-sided and that results are predictable. Those gripes were nowhere to be heard tonight as England and Kosovo served up an absurdly open, seesawing and incident-packed eight-goal thriller at St Mary’s. It was a crazy Euro 2020 qualifier which had it all, displaying all [...]
Hong Kong Betting Tips: Tycoon to kick start Lor’s Mission for the trainers’ title September 10, 2019 THE beginning of a racing season is always a tough nut to crack for bettors, with so many imponderables to consider. After a six-week break due to the stifling heat in July and August, punters have to consider whether a horse is fit enough on his comeback run, has improved during the close season and [...]
Hong Kong Betting Tips: Moreira’s mount looks the Perfect Play at the Valley September 10, 2019 RACING returns to Happy Valley for the first time this season as an eight-race card takes centre stage this afternoon. Hong Kong may be suffering its own internal problems at present, but that hasn’t stopped racegoers flocking to Sha Tin for the last two Sundays in the hope of winning ‘lucky money’. In fact, the [...]
England must press the reset button and use their Ashes disappointment to drive a new era September 9, 2019 Not so long ago England were the best Test cricket side in the world. The story of how they went from world No7 in 2009 to the summit just over two years later has been retold recently, first through the gripping film The Edge and now with the release of former England captain Alastair Cook’s [...]
Why England should beware in-form Kosovo in Euro 2020 qualifier September 9, 2019 England play Kosovo for the first time on Tuesday as both sides attempt to take another step towards qualifying for next summer’s European Championship. Here’s the lowdown on the opposition. Kosovo are ranked below Tajikistan, so this should be easy, right? England will be expected to maintain their 100 per cent start to Group A, [...]