21 November on this day… November 20, 2014 2000: Captain Martin Johnson announces that England’s rugby players were going on strike after rejecting the RFU’s new pay offer of £70,000 a year. The players wanted a bigger match fee and smaller win bonus. “The amount of effort put in had we lost on Saturday [England beat Australia 22-19] would have been no different,” insisted Johnson. It was [...]
Sport Comment: ATP Finals was a damp squib but London needs it November 20, 2014 AS CHATTY Man Alan Carr himself is wont to say: “What a week it’s been!” Well, what a week it has been for Andy Murray and everyone connected to the Barclays ATP Tour Finals at the O2. A week to forget. Murray’s year had been an unspectacular slog after last winter’s back surgery but qualification [...]
Barry Geraghty in line for Haydock payday November 20, 2014 Bill Esdaile’s tips for the Betfair Chase and the rest of tomorrow’s racing at Haydock LAST year’s first three home in the Betfair Chase (3.50pm Haydock) are set to line up tomorrow in this season’s renewal and bookmakers are struggling to separate them. Cue Card, who took Haydock’s biggest jumping prize 12 months ago, heads [...]
Highball: Cheshire sign giant Sturgess November 20, 2014 THE world’s tallest basketball player Paul ‘Tiny’ Sturgess has signed for British Basketball League side Cheshire Phoenix. The 26-year-old centre stands at 7ft 7ins and made his name during a two-year spell with the Harlem Globetrotters exhibition team. Famous for his “No Jump Dunk”, Sturgess – who wears size 20 boots – has also played [...]
Toiling Arsenal to find it tough against United November 20, 2014 BEN CLEMINSON PREVIEWS THE ARSENAL V MANCHESTER UNITED CLASH AND HARRY MADLEY LOOKS AT THE ACTION AT TWICKENHAM THE INTERNATIONAL break couldn’t come soon enough for Arsenal after a disastrous week in which they twice let leads slip. Cruising 3-0 up against Anderlecht at home, their defence crumbled, allowing the Belgians to level the game [...]
England to reverse recent record with comfortable victory over Samoans November 20, 2014 ENGLAND fell to their fifth straight loss when South Africa continued their recent dominance over them, winning 31-28 at Twickenham last Saturday. The Springboks had been thrashed by Ireland seven days before, so it was frustrating that England couldn’t end a 12 game winless run against these opponents. Although both Autumn International defeats have been [...]
Golden boot spread betting November 20, 2014 THE GOLDEN Boot Index is just one of the long-term markets offered by Sporting Index. It awards points on the following basis: Winner: 60pts, Runner-up: 40pts, Third: 30pts, Fourth: 25pts, Fifth: 20pts Sixth: 15pts, Seventh: 10pts, Eighth: 5pts. With 12 goals already, Sergio Aguero heads the market, trading at 43-46. Buyers at 46 would make [...]
Super Rugby goes global: Argentinian and Japanese franchises to join from 2016 November 20, 2014 The most prestigious club competition in southern hemisphere rugby will have franchises from Japan and Argentina added to its ranks from 2016. Super Rugby currently features 15 franchises from established rugby union heavyweights New Zealand, South Africa and Australia. The competition will be stretched to 18 teams after the participation of teams based [...]
Lancaster: New boy Ford ready to boss Samoa November 19, 2014 ENGLAND head coach Stuart Lancaster is relishing the prospect of finally unleashing George Ford against Samoa at Twickenham on Saturday as his side bid to revive their flagging autumn programme. Ford is set to make his first Test start following four appearances as a replacement and his inclusion represents one of five changes to the [...]
Wigan rapped for handing text-row boss Mackay second chance November 19, 2014 WIGAN last night came under fire from equality campaigners after handing former Cardiff boss Malky Mackay a return to football despite an ongoing probe into claims he sent racist, homophobic and sexist text messages. Kick It Out called on the Football Association to clarify whether it backed the Championship club’s chairman Dave Whelan’s assertion that [...]