Irish sweep to bonus point win October 9, 2011 A second-half try bonanza saw London Irish sweep to a 42-22 bonus point win over Worcester. The Exiles held a slender 16-10 lead at the break, but four tries after the interval from Christopher Hala’ufi, Jonathon Joseph, Tom Homer, who landed seven kicks, and Adam Thompstone lifted Irish up to fourth in the Premiership table.
Maiden win for Slattery October 9, 2011 Englishman Lee Slattery won the Madrid Masters by just a single shot to claim his first European tour title. The 33-year-old from Southport finished one under for the day and 15 under for the tournament to edge out Italy’s Lorenzo Gagli.
Wilkinson and Flood selection not a gamble, says Johnson October 6, 2011 ENGLAND vs FRANCE ENGLAND manager Martin Johnson has denied gambling with England’s World Cup future by persevering with an out of sorts Jonny Wilkinson and shunting Toby Flood to inside centre for tomorrow’s crunch quarter-final against France. Johnson, ahead of the biggest game of his managerial career, has taken the bold decision to promote Leicester [...]
Tindall injury may prove a blessing in disguise for England October 6, 2011 MIKE TINDALL has been a fantastic servant to English rugby but I’d venture to say the dead leg which has ruled him out of tomorrow’s World Cup quarter-final against France may just have made life easier for manager Martin Johnson. England have been nowhere near as poor in this tournament as has been documented, but certainly [...]
Merritt case is athletics’ Bosman rule October 6, 2011 BRITISH Olympic chiefs have warned they will not drop their controversial lifetime ban for drug cheats despite the threat posed by a landmark European legal case that experts have likened to the Bosman ruling. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) yesterday ruled in favour of American 400m runner LaShawn Merritt, who argued that an [...]
Rooney backed for Montenegro mission despite off-field drama October 6, 2011 MONTENEGRO vs ENGLAND MANAGER Fabio Capello insists the arrest of Wayne Rooney’s father in connection with an alleged betting scam will not distract his talisman from shooting England into Euro 2012 tonight. Rooney is expected to start in Montenegro, where a draw will be enough to confirm England’s place at the top of Group G [...]
Carter injury is World Cup leveller October 6, 2011 TOMORROW sees London Scottish take on last season’s relegated Premiership side Leeds Carnegie at the Athletic Ground. It’ll be interesting to pit ourselves against a team that was playing top level rugby last season. This will be our fifth game of the Championship season, which, when you include pre-season and cup matches, means that we [...]
Balancing act reaps rewards for Gatland October 6, 2011 HEAD coach Warren Gatland believes his side’s perfect blend of youth and experience will propel Wales to their best ever World Cup finish. Wales have made it to the semi-final stage only once previously back in 1987 when the competition, the first ever World Cup, was also held in New Zealand. An Ireland side, who [...]
STRANGE FEELING | Earls has premonition October 6, 2011 IRELAND winger Keith Earls has revealed he has “a strange feeling” that they will beat Wales on Sunday and go all the way to the World Cup final. Not for Earls the sportsman’s cliche of taking each game as it comes; the 24-year-old has already visualised Irish glory and has dared to admit it. “I [...]
THE BREAKDOWN | WORLD CUP BRIEFS October 6, 2011 McCAw fighting fit NEW ZEALAND have confirmed captain Richie McCaw will play through the pain barrier against Argentina on Sunday. McCaw was forced to pull out of the final pool game against Canada as a precaution due to a long-standing foot injury. However, the talismanic flanker will return to the All Blacks line-up for the [...]