Rugby World Cup: New Zealand cruise past plucky Namibia September 24, 2015 Defending champions New Zealand ran in nine tries to dispatch a truculent Namibia and maintain their winning start to the Rugby World Cup at the Olympic Stadium last night. Full-back Nehe Milner-Skudder dotted down twice as the All Blacks crossed the line five times before the break, while No8 Victor Vito, centre Malakai Fekitoa [...]
Rugby World Cup 2015: Once bitten twice try for South Africa in open Samoan encounter September 24, 2015 Last Saturday afternoon, South Africa were on the wrong end of arguably the biggest upset in World Cup history, losing 34-32 to minnows Japan. Tomorrow’s opponents, Samoa, played the part of underdogs in another contender for that crown when, as Western Samoa in 1991, they overturned Wales to stun the sport. They’re much more competitive [...]
Rugby World Cup: Sam Burgess feels ready to start England’s crunch Group of Death match against Wales September 24, 2015 England rookie Sam Burgess insists he unfazed by being thrust into the starting line-up for Saturday's pivotal Rugby World Cup fixture against Wales at Twickenham. The rugby league convert, 26, has just three caps to his name since switching codes last year but is set to form an untried centre combination with Brad Barritt for the Pool [...]
Rugby World Cup 2015: England v Wales Group A clash previewed in seven stats September 24, 2015 England face Wales at Twickenham on Saturday in a crunch Group A tie that could either lift or irrevocably damage both sides' World Cup campaigns. England coach Stuart Lancaster has made the bold call to pick union rookie Sam Burgess at inside centre, while Gatland has made nine changes to the side that destroyed Uruguay last [...]
Kyran Bracken: Stuart Lancaster’s pick of Owen Farrell and Sam Burgess is no surprise considering Wales’ strengths September 24, 2015 I’m not surprised that Stuart Lancaster has gone with Owen Farrell and Sam Burgess at 10 and 12 for England against Wales this Saturday. The most important thing for this match is to have a very, very strong defensive line. Wales will want to get over the gainline and those two probably won’t let [...]
England v Wales: Hosts willing to thrust Sam Burgess into frontline Rugby World Cup action after Jonathan Joseph struck by injury September 24, 2015 England are ready to thrust international rookie Sam Burgess into frontline Rugby World Cup action against Wales at Twickenham on Saturday should centre Jonathan Joseph fail to recover from a chest injury, according to backs coach Andy Farrell. Joseph, who scored four tries during this year’s Six Nations, has emerged as an injury doubt for [...]
Jane Eyre at the National Theatre review September 24, 2015 Jane Eyre Lyttelton Theatre, National Theatre Rating: ★★★☆☆ Everyone has their own idea of who Jane Eyre is. To some she’s a 19th century feminist, fighting to make her way in the world. To others she’s a doormat, a person to whom interesting things might happen, but not nearly as interesting as the woman in the [...]
Film review: Captive September 24, 2015 Cert 12A | ★★☆☆☆ Perhaps the strangest detail in the true story of recovering addict Ashley Smith’s seven-hour captivity at the hands of escaped killer Brian Nichols is the moment in which her captor dips into her stash of crystal meth. Captive ends with a snippet from a 2006 interview between Smith and Oprah, [...]
Film review: Life – a snapshot of Hollywood legend James Dean September 24, 2015 Cert 15 | ★★★★☆ If you paid to see a biopic, you used to get your money’s worth. But it seems three-hour cradle-to-grave-athons are fast becoming a thing of the past. These days, one defining moment is plucked from a life and examined from all angles to determine what maketh the man. It must have [...]
Theatre review: Hangmen at the Royal Court September 24, 2015 Hangmen Royal Court Rating: ★★★★★ True feelings are throttled and big questions left hanging in Martin McDonagh’s blacker-than-night comedy. The setting is an Oldham pub owned by Harry Wade, the country’s second-best hangman; the date is 1965, the day after the abolition of hanging. At once proud of his work and jealous of his rival Pierrepoint’s [...]