IRELAND September 7, 2011 DESPITE their far from encouraging pre-tournament preparations only a series of freak results would see Ireland fail to reach the quarter-finals for the second successive World Cup. Declan Kidney’s side are rooted in a transitional phase with the stars of the 2009 Grand Slam-winning side on the wane, and the young upstarts vying to replace [...]
WALES September 7, 2011 THE TEAMS from the Pacific Islands, chiefly Fiji and Samoa, often provide the World Cup with plenty of footage for the highlights reels with their determination to bring a Sevens-style approach to the 15-a-side game. Often, however, their greatest moments have come at the expense of a Wales team who were no doubt less than [...]
Young rescues flat England September 6, 2011 Euro 2012 qualification now just a point away but little cause for enthusiasm from a lukewarm performance ENGLAND vs WALES MANAGER Fabio Capello admitted England got lucky after an Ashley Young goal salvaged a first home win for more than a year – and took them to the brink of qualifying for Euro 2012 – [...]
Capello must throw off the shackles September 6, 2011 IF Fabio Capello needs a clue as to how to get his lacklustre team firing on all cylinders again he need look no further than the recipient of last night’s man of the match award. Aaron Ramsey, the 20-year-old captain of Wales, took that honour and at once symbolised everything that was in such short [...]
HOW THEY RATED ENGLAND September 6, 2011 Joe Hart 6 Wasn’t required to make a single save of note and was nothing but a glorified ball boy throughout. Chris Smalling 6 Performed well enough against limited opposition but doesn’t look a long-term option at right-back. John Terry 7 Accomplished stuff from the skipper. Phil Jones will be waiting in the wings for [...]
Proud Speed takes the heat off Earnshaw after striker’s howler September 6, 2011 WALES manager Gary Speed refused to blame striker Robert Earnshaw for the astonishing miss which meant his side left Wembley without the point he felt their performance merited. Earnshaw, the veteran Cardiff striker, missed an open goal from five yards with just 13 minutes remaining of a game which had seen Wales more than match [...]
Scotland and Republic of Ireland keep hopes alive but Northern Ireland crash September 6, 2011 SCOTLAND gave their Euro 2012 qualification hopes a shot in the arm with a crucial 1-0 home victory over Lithuania, thanks to Steven Naismith’s second-half goal. Craig Levein’s men, who saw Darren Fletcher miss a penalty, hung on in a nervous finale for only their second victory of the campaign. Naismith (right) scored just after [...]
Cook cuts loose to show he’s man for all seasons September 6, 2011 ENGLAND captain Alastair Cook steered his side to a crushing seven-wicket win over India in the second match of the one-day series and in the process went a long way to silencing the doubters who claim he scores too slowly to merit a place in the limited overs set-up. Cook’s measured style, which has reaped [...]
Rain forces Murray to wait his turn September 6, 2011 BRITISH No1 Andy Murray will play his delayed US Open fourth round match today after torrential rain forced play to be abandoned yesterday without a single ball being hit in anger. The extra day of rest may come as a relief to the fourth seed, who was taken to five sets in his second round [...]
Pumas primed for England showdown September 6, 2011 ENGLAND will face Argentina’s strongest possible side in their crunch World Cup opener in Dunedin on Saturday, according to Pumas coach Santiago Phelan. The shock semi-finalists in France four years ago are rated as underdogs, despite being ranked the top seeds in Pool B, but their line-up will be enhanced by the presence of outside [...]