European Champions Cup semi-finals set for lowest attendance in 15 years with thousands of tickets still on sale for Saracens v Wasps and Leicester v Racing 92 April 22, 2016 The European Champions Cup is braced for the worst attended set of semi-finals in Europe's premier rugby competition for 15 years this weekend. Thousands of general sale tickets are expected to go unsold for both Saturday's Saracens v Wasps match and the Sunday's meeting of Leicester and Racing 92. European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) expect 18,000 fans [...]
Manchester marathon gets distance wrong by 380m as 24,000 runners’ times are invalidated April 22, 2016 If you ran the Greater Manchester Marathon between 2013 and 2015, you're in for some bad news: Turns out it wasn't a marathon after all. For three years the race route was mistakenly measured 380m too short of the required 26 miles and 385 yards, meaning the times of the 24,000 runners who have taken [...]
Arsene Wenger: If you love football, come to Arsenal and you’ll be treated to quality April 22, 2016 Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger insists there remains work to do before Champions League football is secured for next season despite their top-four worries being eased by victory over West Brom last night. A first-half double from Chile forward Alexis Sanchez was enough to move the Gunners ahead of Manchester City into third and four points [...]
Leicester marksman Jamie Vardy ready to fight prospect of two-game suspension April 22, 2016 Leicester striker Jamie Vardy is ready to fight the prospect of an additional one-match suspension despite accepting a Football Association charge of misconduct yesterday. England forward Vardy has requested a personal hearing in order to plead his case against further punishment following an angry outburst at referee Jonathan Moss after his dismissal against West Ham on [...]
Football betting: Everton’s Roberto Martinez will need more than magic of the FA Cup to beat Manchester United April 21, 2016 You would think that leading your team to Wembley for an FA Cup semi-final would be enough to have fans singing your praises across the terraces. But Manchester United’s Louis van Gaal and Everton’s Roberto Martinez go into Saturday’s clash with supporters far more interested in their manager’s removal. The two sides are accused of [...]
Football betting: Crystal Palace v Watford FA Cup semi-final looks a cagey clash April 21, 2016 A pair of clubs who have never won the FA Cup meet in the second semi-final on Sunday, when Watford and Crystal Palace face off at Wembley. Both sides will be hoping for a win to boost their floundering seasons, and give their fans something to cheer about. Palace boss Alan Pardew played in the [...]
Secret Cinema Presents: 28 Days Later is as accomplished as anything the company has tried before April 21, 2016 You know the drill by now: turn up at a secret location, wear a certain outfit – a haz-mat suit or hospital scrubs in this case – and experience an immersive theatrical experience based on a popular movie. This time it’s 28 Days Later, and the frenetic opening minutes more than live up to the clear potential [...]
Jane Got A Gun review: Natalie Portman struggles to save a messy film April 21, 2016 The Western, that great American genre, hasn’t treated the fairer sex very… well, fairly. Their role is usually confined to prostitutes or prizes to be won in a shoot out. Jane Got a Gun wants to be something more. It started life with Lynne Ramsay, the Scottish director behind outstanding adaptations of We Need to [...]
Funny Girl review: Sheridan Smith is show-stoppingly hilarious in this hit comedy musical April 21, 2016 If there were any lingering concerns about Sheridan Smith’s ability to fill the Streisand-sized boots of Fanny Brice in Funny Girl, they’re almost immediately dashed the moment she takes to the stage. They’re dashed and then dashed again, and then any remaining shreds of undashed concern are swept up in a little basket and hurled [...]
The Flick play comes to London’s Dorfman Theatre and it’s brilliant April 21, 2016 A man stands under harsh fluorescent strip-lights, slowly – painfully slowly – mopping the floor. We watch for what seems like hours as he squeezes out his mop, slides it dully across the ground and repeats, interminably. There's no wink towards the audience, no suggestion that some comic reward is about to follow. It never does. The Flick, [...]