Wenger primed for toughest of European assignments September 12, 2011 BORUSSIA DORTMUND vs ARSENAL ARSENAL manager Arsene Wenger believes his side has been placed in the toughest Champions League group he has ever encountered. Following their tense two-legged victory over Udinese in the final qualifying round, the Gunners continue their European campaign against German champions Borussia Dortmund in the atmospheric Signal Iduna Park, which is [...]
Broad shoulder provides England with more worries September 12, 2011 ENGLAND all-rounder Stuart Broad is unlikely to play for his country again this year after a scan yesterday revealed he has torn a muscle in his shoulder. Broad will miss the last match of the one-day series against India and the return tour next month, which compromises five ODI fixtures, as well as the chance [...]
Trott and Cook land awards September 12, 2011 CRICKET: Jonathan Trott pipped fellow Ashes-winner Alastair Cook to the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy Award for the International Cricket Council’s Cricketer of the Year. Trott, along with Cook, was the bedrock of England’s victory in Australia last winter with 445 runs batting at No3. Cook, who made 766 runs in Australia, won the Test Cricketer [...]
Dawson could miss two months September 12, 2011 FOOTBALL: Tottenham defender Michael Dawson is set to be sidelined for at least two months due to an Achilles injury. The England international picked up the problem in training and played no part in Spurs’ 2-0 victory away to Wolves on Saturday. William Gallas and Vedran Corluka also missed the clash with Wolves due to [...]
Hamilton focused on next year September 12, 2011 FORMULA ONE: McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton says he has already started to turn his attention towards next year’s Formula One campaign. The Briton finished fourth in Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix behind winner Sebastian Vettel, and as a result finds himself 126 points adrift of the defending world champion with six races left to run. Asked for [...]
Jacquelin replaces Quiros September 12, 2011 GOLF: Frenchman Raphael Jacquelin has replaced Alvaro Quiros for this week’s Vivendi Seve Trophy at St. Nom-La-Breteche in Paris. Quiros is out of the Continental Europe team to face Britain and Ireland because of a wrist injury.
Rugby and wine: NZ’s state of play September 12, 2011 QUAFFER’S CORNER IT’S Rugby World Cup time so let’s cast an eye over the state of play in host country New Zealand – also my home nation. I’m confident in predicting that the winning country will be a wine producer but I won’t tempt fate by going any further. It’s been a tough couple of [...]
Youngs enjoys the winning feeling September 11, 2011 Turning on the style not the priority, insists scrum-half as England get off to a turgid start ENGLAND saviour Ben Youngs insists winning is all that matters at this stage of the World Cup after his side laboured to a scarcely deserved victory over Argentina on Saturday. It wasn’t until Youngs’ introduction, nine minutes into [...]
Gatland tells Wales they must rise again after heroic defeat September 11, 2011 SOUTH AFRICA (17) vs WALES (16) WALES coach Warren Gatland has warned his demoralised charges they must not dwell on the pain of yesterday’s narrow defeat against South Africa if they are to resurrect their World Cup campaign. The world champions narrowly averted disaster in Wellington, recovering from a six-point deficit with 15 minutes remaining [...]
Late slip-up sours Irish relief at end of losing run September 11, 2011 IRELAND (22) vs USA (10) IRELAND captain Brian O’Driscoll blasted his team’s display after they began their World Cup campaign with a stuttering victory over the United States. Two tries from winger Tommy Bowe and another from hooker Rory Best ensured they emerged from their Pool C opener in New Plymouth with the minimum requirement. [...]