England winger Chris Ashton to miss entire Six Nations campaign after being banned for 10 weeks January 20, 2016 Chris Ashton will miss England's entire Six Nations campaign after being suspended for 10 weeks for eye gouging Ulster centre Luke Marshall. The 28-year-old was recalled to the England squad by new head coach Eddie Jones last week, after falling out of favour under previous boss Stuart Lancaster. But the Saracens winger will now have [...]
Harlequins boss Conor O’Shea announces plan to leave Stoop sparking Italy head coach speculation January 20, 2016 Harlequins' director of rugby Conor O'Shea has announced he will leave the club at the end of the season after six years in charge. O'Shea's contract expires at the end of the current campaign and the 45-year-old is expected to succeed Jacques Brunel as Italy head coach. "I will have been very fortunate to have had [...]
Tennis match-fixing: Why sport authorities should outsource governance and regulatory work to independent bodies to avoid corruption scandals January 20, 2016 Unless governance rules within sports are drastically changed or all regulatory functions are outsourced to an independent body to oversee all sports, the current accusations of corruption engulfing tennis and athletics will continue to occur. Recent claims of suspicions of match-fixing in tennis being ignored by the sport’s authorities may well come to nothing, unlike [...]
Leading racing trainers banned for doping horses with cobalt chrloride January 20, 2016 Two top trainers have been banned from racing after their horses tested positive for doping. Australians Danny O’Brien and Mark Kavanagh – a former Melbourne Cup winner – have been banned for four and three years respectively by local authorities for exceeding the permitted use of cobalt chloride on their horses. The substance can be used [...]
Respite and financial boost for debt-ridden Bolton in FA Cup third round replay against fifth-tier Eastleigh January 19, 2016 ENGLISH football’s crisis club Bolton were granted a modicum of respite and a much-needed financial boost by a 3-2 FA Cup third-round replay victory over fifth-tier Eastleigh. Wanderers are rock bottom of the Championship and saddled with £172.9m worth of debt, while on Monday they avoided a High Court winding up order after their case [...]
Tottenham move to Milton Keynes would be good, says Mauricio Pochettino, amid talk of sharing Wembley with Chelsea January 19, 2016 Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino insists he would be happy for the club to relocate 50 miles to Milton Keynes while a new 61,000-capacity stadium is completed in north London. The controversial proposal, which would see Spurs stage their home fixtures at MK Dons’ Stadium mk for the 2017-18 season, is under consideration as an alternative [...]
British No1 Johanna Konta slays Venus Williams but admits to doubting her ability to giant kill at Australian Open January 19, 2016 British No1 Johanna Konta admitted that she initially doubted her ability to beat eighth seed Venus Williams after outclassing the seven-time grand slam champion in the Australian Open first round yesterday. Konta, who reached the fourth round of last year’s US Open, blitzed out-of-sorts former Wimbledon winner Williams 6-4, 6-2 in just 79 minutes, and [...]
Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool appear to have run out of gas but the German is the right man for the Anfield job January 19, 2016 It was the 6-1 rout of Southampton, their seventh win from eight games, that appeared to confirm that Liverpool had made a dream managerial appointment in Jurgen Klopp. Yet little more than six weeks later Klopp’s reign has taken on a different complexion, with just three wins from 11 fixtures since then and a tricky [...]
Powerhouse centre Mathieu Bastareaud omitted from France’s Six Nations squad as new coach Guy Noves looks to 2019 World Cup January 19, 2016 Newly-appointed France coach Guy Noves has cited the need to build a squad capable of challenging for the 2019 World Cup after omitting Toulon centre Mathieu Bastareaud from his 31-man Six Nations party yesterday. Former Toulouse coach Noves replaced Philippe Saint-Andre in November following France’s 62-13 thrashing against New Zealand in the World Cup quarter-final [...]
Football supporters’ groups given government backing and extra £1m funding from Premier League in new report January 19, 2016 Premier League and Football League clubs have been instructed by the government to consult more regularly with supporters' groups in a new report. Clubs should meet with fans' groups at least twice a year and consult them on any major changes to the club's identity such as a colour change, new club crest or relocating [...]