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 [...]
Financial Fair Play not fair, says Gazidis October 6, 2011 ARSENAL chief executive Ivan Gazidis insists so-called Financial Fair Play rules are not fair at all but does believe they will make the Premier League a more open competition. Gazidis firmly supports European governing body Uefa’s drive to make all clubs live within their means, which came into effect this year. However he concedes the [...]
Buck: Chelsea fans dead against move are wrong October 6, 2011 CHELSEA chairman Bruce Buck has responded to criticism from the club’s fans over its plans to buy the freehold to Stamford Bridge, insisting those who blindly oppose moving to a new stadium are wrong. Some shareholders in the supporter-led group Chelsea Pitch Owners (CPO) have accused the Blues of trying to rush through a deal [...]
Capello successor can be foreign, says Robertson October 6, 2011 SPORTS Minister Hugh Robertson has urged the Football Association to reconsider their decision to restrict the search for the next England manager to only English candidates. Appetite for a home-grown candidate is high within the FA as they consider who should replace Fabio Capello after next summer’s European Championships. But Robertson believes football could learn [...]
SPORT | IN BRIEF October 6, 2011 Hamilton protests his innocence FORMULA ONE: Britain’s under-fire Lewis Hamilton has defended his driving style this season which has drawn significant criticism from his peers. The McLaren star has been in trouble for a spate of incidents, including a clash with Ferrari’s Felipe Massa at the last race in Singapore. “I’m not doing anything wrong. I’m trying [...]
Ashbrittle looks massive at 33/1 to land Cesarewitch for Beckett October 6, 2011 NEWMARKET stages its ‘Future Champions Day’ tomorrow with four Group races for two-year-olds featuring both the Dewhurst and the Middle Park Stakes. The latter is first up at 2.35pm over six furlongs and my eye was immediately drawn to French raider FAMILY ONE at a general 7/2. He’ll be making his seventh start of the [...]
Positive England selection to beat beleaguered Bleus October 6, 2011 ENGLAND vs FRANCE TOMORROW – 8.30AM ITV1 WHICH France will turn up? It’s a question asked often, particularly ahead of the bitter and sometimes brutal contests tagged ‘Le Crunch’. But in light of Martin Johnson’s selection, perhaps the outcome this time rests more on how England will perform and whether the gamble of starting Toby [...]