Hartley hopeful over second Test June 11, 2012 RUGBY UNION: England hooker Dylan Hartley is confident England can deliver in their next Test against South Africa, despite losing their series opener. “We played our best rugby [at the end],” he said. “It is a statement that we are not going away. The lads were saying to each other, ‘We’ll get them next week’.” [...]
Expect France to give Three Lions Les Bleus June 10, 2012 France England Today, 5.00pm, ITV ALL this talk of the low expectations at the Euros being a boost to England’s chances; I just don’t buy it – they are heading for a fall. How the boffins that devise the FIFA rankings can say England are the sixth best in the world, and France the 14th, [...]
Makeshift England not scared of in-form France, insists Hodgson June 10, 2012 ENGLAND manager Roy Hodgson insists his embryonic and injury-hit side is not daunted by the challenge of facing a France team unbeaten in their last 21 games in their Euro 2012 opener today. Hodgson also played down fears that scorching temperatures forecast for this afternoon in Donetsk, Ukraine, would make it even harder to avoid [...]
Rain delays Djokovic bid to overcome Rafa’s rule June 10, 2012 RAFAEL Nadal and Novak Djokovic will today resume their battle to win both the French Open and a place in history after the Serb’s fight back was suspended by heavy rainfall. Clay-court expert Nadal led 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 1-2 when play was temporarily suspended for the evening but, with Djokovic again in the ascendancy and [...]
Trapp defiant despite torrid Ireland opener June 10, 2012 REPUBLIC OF IRELAND (1) vs CROATIA (3) REPUBLIC of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni insists his side will continue to believe that advancing to the European Championship quarter-final is possible, even if last night’s defeat to Croatia makes doing so exceptionally difficult to achieve. Two headers from Mario Mandzukic and a masterful finish from Everton’s Nikica [...]
Ramdin stunt mars Best record June 10, 2012 WEST Indies fast bowler Tino Best smashed his way to the highest score by a No11 batsman in the history of Test cricket yesterday, yet the visitors’ strong performance was marred by a public dispute sparked by his batting partner Denesh Ramdin at Edgbaston. England were left trailing 221-5 in the first innings, after West [...]
England confident of bouncing back despite injuries to Barritt and Brown June 10, 2012 ENGLAND coach Stuart Lancaster expects his squad to be ready to take revenge on South Africa after losing Saturday’s Test 22-17 in Durban, citing their performance as sufficient cause for optimism. After an even first-half in which England looked capable of victory, the Springboks’ forwards began to dominate to inspire victory in the first of [...]
Spain boss Del Bosque: Playing Fabregas up front was no mistake June 10, 2012 SPAIN (1) vs ITALY (1) SPANISH coach Vicente del Bosque last night stuck up for his eyebrow-raising decision to name a starting line-up without a recognised centre forward after his team narrowly avoided defeat to Italy during their opening game of the European Championship. The defending champions grabbed a second half equaliser through Barcelona’s Cesc [...]
Di Matteo set for one-year deal at Chelsea June 10, 2012 CHELSEA are today expected to end weeks of speculation by finally handing Champions League-winning interim manager Roberto di Matteo the job on a permanent basis. But the Italian is only likely to get a one-year contract, despite arresting the team’s slump and leading them to an historic first triumph in Europe’s top club competition. Chelsea [...]
Bolt escapes unscathed from early morning car accident June 10, 2012 SPRINT superstar Usain Bolt suffered a huge scare just weeks before the defence of his Olympic 100m and 200m titles when he was involved in a car crash in the early hours of yesterday morning. The world’s fastest man, 25, escaped unhurt from the accident in his native Jamaica, which was also said to have [...]