England relieved at length of Lawes ban September 13, 2011 HOOKER Steve Thompson admits the England squad are feeling a sense of relief after learning that Courtney Lawes will be back for the crunch World Cup Pool B game against Scotland in a fortnight’s time. Northampton lock Lawes will miss the upcoming matches against Romania and Georgia as a result of the ban he received [...]
Rooney can be as good as Pele, says Ferguson September 13, 2011 BENFICA vs MANCHESTER UNITED MANCHESTER UNITED manager Sir Alex Ferguson claims Wayne Rooney can be England’s answer to Pele. Fresh from scoring back-to-back hat-tricks in the Premier League, Rooney will spearhead United’s attack in Lisbon tonight against Benfica, as last year’s runners-up begin their Champions League campaign. Benfica manager Jorge Jesus’ admitted in his pre-match press conference [...]
Mancini banks on experience September 13, 2011 MANCHESTER CITY vs NAPOLI MANCHESTER CITY manager Roberto Mancini believes his squad’s wealth of European experience will allow the club to cope with a first ever Champions League campaign. City are set to take their first steps in the prestigious competition tonight when they host fellow debutants Napoli at the Etihad Stadium. But Mancini insists [...]
Central contracts for England trio September 13, 2011 ENGLAND trio Chris Tremlett, Eoin Morgan and Tim Bresnan have been rewarded for their summer exploits with coveted central contracts for the first time. Surrey paceman Tremlett won the man of the series award against Sri Lanka in the early part of the summer, but missed three matches against India with back and hamstring strains. [...]
Van der Vaart riled by Spurs September 13, 2011 FOOTBALL: Tottenham’s Rafael van der Vaart has criticised the club for leaving him out of their Europa League squad. The Holland star, who has made a quicker than expected recovery from injury, wrote on his website: “Spurs could at least have consulted me. Anyway it’s up to the point of no return.”
Sion lose Euro fight with Celtic September 13, 2011 FOOTBALL: Celtic have retained their place in the Europa League after FC Sion lost an appeal against their expulsion. Sion beat the Hoops to reach the competition but were disqualified for fielding ineligible players. A civil court in their native Switzerland ruled they should be reinstated but European chiefs Uefa ignored it.
Boom wins Tour of Britain stage September 13, 2011 CYCLING: Britain’s Mark Cavendish goes into today’s fourth stage of the Tour of Britain three seconds behind Lars Boom after the Dutchman won yesterday in Stoke. Rabobank rider Boom pipped Team Sky’s Alex Dowsett in a 140km stage not suited to sprinters like Tour de France green jersey winner Cavendish.
Surly Serena avoids a ban and escapes with a fine September 12, 2011 BEATEN US Open finalist Serena Williams avoided a ban and escaped with a fine of $2,000 for her outburst during her defeat to Samantha Stosur on Sunday. Williams received a code violation for verbally abusing umpire Eva Asderaki during her 6-2, 6-3 defeat, after a furious rant that included the remarks: “If you ever see [...]
Greenwood: England must utilise Foden and Ashton September 12, 2011 FORMER England centre Will Greenwood has urged Martin Johnson’s side to throw off the shackles and return to the expansive style of rugby that saw them brush Australia aside last autumn if they are to make a major impact at the World Cup. The error-strewn performance against Argentina on Saturday could not have been further [...]
THE BREAKDOWN | WORLD CUP BRIEFS September 12, 2011 IT’S A KNOCKOUT FOR WALES Lock Luke Charteris has reflected on Wales’ shattering defeat against South Africa by declaring: “We are playing knockout rugby now.” Wales flew out of Wellington yesterday ready to regroup and prepare for Sunday’s Pool D showdown with Samoa in Hamilton. “It’s the World Cup, and unfortunately we are playing knockout [...]